Thanks to the dense vegetation on both sides, the open road in the center looked especially barren. Chaotic wheel tracks across the sprawling ground all led to one point.
Originally, there was no checkpoint here. The flimsy barricade—something that could be broken through if rammed—was proof of that. The serene forest path visible beyond the hastily erected obstacles arranged in two rows felt like a disconnected pocket of space and time.
Meanwhile, one of the knights who spotted them raised his arm high and wiggled his hand, beckoning them closer. The arrogant gesture was clearly reflected in the dark car window.
The driver swallowed dryly and looked at her lord in the rearview mirror. Although there was no significant change in his expression, a bluish vein stood out along his jaw.
Beep–
–My lord, shall we retreat?
Blue eyes swept over the number and atmosphere of the people visible about fifty meters ahead on the left. It was to determine whether the five knights who had been chasing them earlier were among them. If so, they would have already witnessed the vehicles fleeing, making it pointless to keep up this standoff.
However, horses couldn’t outrun the escort vehicles, and since they had driven almost in a straight line, there was no possibility of another shortcut. Moreover, to interfere with their communication, Hareth’s knights had been broadcasting jamming signals since the moment the convoy departed. The anti-eavesdropping radio, unaffected by the interference, was the only means of communication available in this area.
In other words, there was a high chance they didn’t know the identity of this vehicle. That alone was enough to make the gamble worthwhile. Hugo lowered his body temperature to calm his heartbeat.
He gestured toward the front seats as if telling them to press the transmit button.
“No, keep going straight ahead. Slowly.”
“Pardon?”
The two in the front seats asked back with surprised faces. The person in the passenger seat had just pressed the button, so the voice from the radio hadn’t come back yet. Still, a similar emotion could be felt in the shadows visible through the rear window of the car in front.
Hugo calmly added:
“This is the road the Council’s Southern Branch support troops used. It’s not strange for a few escort vehicles to pass through. Act naturally, as if transporting the deceased to headquarters.”
“But my lord, if they insist on inspecting the interior—”
“They have no justification to inspect the Council. If they wanted to inspect, they should have sent a cooperation request to a superior commander in advance—and if they had, I, as the highest-ranking official, would certainly know about it. If not that, then...”
‘They would need to bring an imperial edict.’
But it was unlikely they had come with an imperial edict. If their purpose aligned with the Emperor’s will, an imperial order would have been issued to him first, even before they came all the way to this remote area.
Although he didn’t know for what purpose, or on what grounds, they were moving, their behavior—chasing the vehicles without warning—fueled his suspicion that they were looking for the pitiful one in his arms.
Hugo clasped Leonardo’s limp hand. At this moment, the Imperial Knights were enemies to be shaken off.
Even if a situation arose where they had to clash with them by force, he would step in himself rather than let this hand fall into their possession.
“...If they pressure us, claiming they have justification, or tell lies, we’ll have to use deception too.”
Hugo continued in a subdued voice. The two in the front seats met each other’s eyes.
As they understood his meaning and nodded, the radio soon beeped.
Beep–
–Understood.
The car in front, which had been stopped, began to move slowly.
The sound of wheels crushing the dry dirt grew closer. Two knights on horseback dismounted from their saddles. They gestured for the two approaching vehicles to stop in front of the barricade. Soon, one of them approached the driver’s side of the front car and politely knocked on the window.
“There will be a brief inspection. Please cooperate.”
Although the sound was muffled because the window was closed, it was close enough to clearly understand what was being said outside. The driver of the lead vehicle didn’t open the window. His nose and lower face were covered by a gas mask.
The radio’s transmit button was fixed in place, staying pressed without needing to be touched.
The driver answered the knight in a tone that was polite, but had no leisure in it:
“What’s the matter? We’re in a bit of a hurry right now.”
Any words spoken without opening the window would sound like ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ a refusal to cooperate. Perhaps because of that, the knight’s expression hardened strangely. However, he didn’t force the window open like the man who had blocked the northern convoy.
The knight, his face half-covered by a helmet, explained the situation once more:
“We received a report that a suspect in a heinous crime in Barmot’s central area has stolen a black military vehicle and fled.”
–...received a report that he fled.
In the car behind, they received the conversation through the radio. Hugo sneered, as if finding it absurd.
Barmot bordered the northern side of Fidele and was quite far from here. Moreover, if someone had really stolen a vehicle and fled, there was no reason to come down south near the branch. In the first place, if there had been a heinous crime, it should have been transferred to the Council. Yet here were the busy Imperial Knights personally conducting inspections to catch one criminal; a half-hearted lie like this sometimes made people angry.
The driver of the front car, speaking face-to-face, also found it ridiculous, though he didn’t show it. Still, while letting some displeasure seep through, he tried to brush it off relatively mildly.
“A heinous crime, you say? Thank you for your hard work. These days, the branch has hardly been able to pay attention to that area... We haven’t spotted any suspicious vehicles on our way here. If we do notice anything later, we’ll immediately report it through headquarters.”
The driver answered with a nuance that suggested this matter was irrelevant to them at the moment, and they wanted to pass through now. Then he gripped the steering wheel and eased the vehicle closer to the barricade, implying they should clear the obstacles. However, perhaps taking this as a sign of escape, the knights blocking the front suddenly moved with speed.
Click–
They shouldered the muskets strapped to their backs and aimed the muzzles at the driver. The two people in the front vehicle recoiled at the sudden collective aim. The driver, eyes wide, confronted the knight at the window:
“W-What is the meaning of this?”
“We were instructed to check the faces of all occupants and search the interior if we saw similar vehicles, as the suspect might have disguised himself or hidden inside. It will be troublesome, but please cooperate with the investigation. If you move the vehicle without permission like just now, you may become a target for firing.”
The knight spoke without hesitation, using a calm, articulate tone despite his rude words. As he finished, another one behind him circled the vehicle once. Prowling like a hyena and tugging at the door handles several times, he came back, aimed his gun at the driver’s seat, and said:
“Either get out, or open the back door yourself.”
It was a clear threat. The driver stared blankly at the blade fixed to the end of the gun barrel.
Being an old-fashioned bayonet, even if the trigger was pulled, it wouldn’t fire as long as the blade was blocking the muzzle. Thinking it was only for intimidation, he found it merely ridiculous. The driver shook his head.
“We are transporting corpses collected from the peninsula. The temperature is high, both outside and inside the vehicle, so we need to hurry to headquarters before the bodies decay further. I understand the situation, but this kind of forced execution—”
“Open it.”
At that moment, the knight who had been speaking politely until now changed his tone and issued a cold command.
“...”
“Don’t waste time. I said open it.”
Hugo, who had been gauging the situation only through the radio while the curtains were drawn over the car windows, felt a vein jump on his forehead. Whether they were acting like this because they didn’t know he was here or not, such behavior could lead to inter-agency conflict—and it was profoundly disrespectful.
Hugo’s hand, which had been firmly pressing against his lips, slowly moved toward the door lock. He organized in his mind how to handle the situation afterward if he revealed himself here.
Just then, the driver, sensing the movement, turned back and silently shook her head at him. Then, after drawing the curtain between the seats to completely cover the back seat, she put on dark glasses, faced forward, and advised:
“Please wait. We’ll handle this ourselves.”
Meanwhile, the driver of the lead vehicle simply stared at the other party without taking any action. He gazed at the eyes inside the helmet with an ambiguous look, then reached a hand back and unlocked the car door.
Click–
As soon as the unlocking sound rang out, the knight aiming the bayonet lowered his gun. He grabbed the handle of the back door, flung it open, and grumbled in an irritated voice:
“It’s easier for everyone if you just do it quickly. Why take so long?”
He grabbed the long-drawn curtain and half-yanked it as if about to tear it off. At that moment, the knight who had dropped his bayonet stumbled back in shock.
“Ugh, uwaagh–!”
His heavy body, clad in armor, lost its balance and tumbled to the ground.
Pale-faced, he flailed his legs, clawed at the dirt, and quickly crawled backward. Then, trembling like a foal, he got up, tore off his helmet, ran to the edge of the grass, grabbed a tree trunk, and collapsed.
“Urgh, uurgh, kuh–”
Kneeling and bending over in the undergrowth, he repeatedly dry-heaved, his face reddening. Vomit mixed with bile splattered down with a wet smack. Filthy remnants and gastric juices spattered in all directions.
His back, heaving grotesquely as if he might breathe his last, trembled like an aspen leaf.
The air around them chilled at his colleague’s alarming reaction. In the middle of the road, thick with tension, only the rattling engine and the sound of retching remained.
“...What’s going on?”
The knight at the window, unsettled, immediately drew the sword at his waist and gripped it in reverse. Taking a stance as if ready to strike down whatever might spring out, he walked toward the back seat, slow and wary.
He lightly caught the curtain swaying in the wind and peeked inside.
“Oh, sh—!”
Spitting out a curse, he slammed the door shut. He closed it so hard the vehicle body shuddered.
Although he hurriedly covered his mouth and nose with the back of his hand, a horrific sight was still reflected through the car window. A form so mangled it was hard to believe it had ever been human was sprawled miserably on a stretcher.
