Former General Is Undead Knight - Act 3-26 - Gentleman of Death, Tony Lair②

「…Well then, armored swordsman. Who are these two?」

As he asked Lambert, Kreuz shifted his attention to Alante and Elise.

Upon hearing his cold voice, chills ran down into both Alante and Elise’s spines.

It was natural for him to doubt their identities.

Despite being treated like hostages, Alante was indeed a member of 『Angel of Death』, wearing the same robes as them at this very moment.

His daily job was handling general research like a normal sorcerer due to his personality, but he was still a member of a revolutionary organization.

Thus, Kreuz raised his vigilance against the two.

「W-we’re actually…」

Alante tried to say something.

Depending on his answer, the two of them might be executed on the spot.

In fact, the 『Inquisition Squad』, often hailed as the strongest force in the kingdom, was rumored to slaughter anyone suspected to be part of revolutionary organizations, regardless of the kingdom’s laws.

「I saved them since a suspicious sorcerer was attacking them. It seems the youth was trying to help the girl escape. He said that he was kidnapped and forced to join the organization.」

Shifting his attention to the girl sitting in a wheelchair, Lambert replied to Kreuz.

Elise nodded as if trying to say that Lambert’s explanation was right on the money.

But Kreuz still had some doubts in his mind.

「…That robe is the one worn by those fellas from 『Devil’s Piper』. Besides that, the fact that he, an ordinary human, remains uninjured is already strange enough. Honestly speaking, we should protect them. But here is the problem—we’re in the middle of sweeping the city. They might sabotage our job.」

「Are you saying that they might blow themselves up once they get close to us?」

「Maybe they want us to let our guard down. Armored swordsman, you’re too careless in this regard. We can’t just trust everything that the people who came from our enemy’s camp told us.」

As he spoke, Kreuz looked slightly disappointed.

Kreuz was aware of just how terrifying sorcerers could be.

Especially in regard to the current Lambert, Kreuz had to make sure that the former was aware of how crafty the sorcerers from 『Devil’s Piper』 were.

Even in the history of the Worimia continent, limited to real historical figures, the sorcerers who gained near-invulnerable bodies could be counted on one hand.

Now they were in the den of those kinds of sorcerers. Kreuz realized that Lambert was still too naive, as he was sheltering these people who appeared out of nowhere.

He suspected that Alante might really try to sabotage them.

Kreuz truly admired Lambert’s overwhelming strength, but he was disappointed with his naive character.

The personification of an idealist—that was how Lambert looked in Kreuz’s eyes right now.

Kreuz’s subordinates weren’t as cool-headed as their captain, but they had the same opinion regarding the current Lambert.

Although Alante would definitely die if left to his own devices, there was still some doubt in regard to him.

But even now, he couldn’t deny the fact that he was part of the same group as those mad sorcerers.

「…I don’t mind if you don’t believe me. But can you at least shelter the escaped children and Elise-chan? I’ll do my best to escape from Tetomburgh by myself.」

「STOP, BIG BROTHER! I mean, they’re targeting you too… There’s no way they’re going to let you escape from this place…」

Elise stretched her arms from her wheelchair, reaching for Alante as she tried to stop him.

「Fine, leave those two under my protection. I’m aiming for the Eight Wisemen who are hiding somewhere in Tetomburgh. I’ll leave the protection of the other children who escaped first to your group.」

「I don’t mind protecting the children. But that youth is way too suspicious.」

「No way…」

Elise was at a loss for words.

She knew that Alante was the vice-leader of 『Angel of Death』, Tony Lair’s favorite.

But even with that, his life might really be in jeopardy if Tony Lair knew that Alante was the one who let the children escape.

Although Tony Lair looked like a normal gentleman from the outside, he was an extremely selfish and irritable person. Once his mood went downhill, he would even kill his own subordinates for trivial mistakes.

If Lambert hadn’t saved them, Alante would definitely have been caught by Flander and handed over to Tony Lair.

In 『Angel of Death』, there were dozens of white sorcerers whose abilities rivalled those of the former legendary white sorcerer, Flander.

Once Tony Lair chased after him, Alante definitely wouldn’t be able to escape.

「Anyhow, leave the matter of this area to me. Please understand the situation. We can’t just trust everyone, armored swordsman. Though I feel bad for saying this to you, they’re already considered lucky to have their lives spared.」

「…Yes, thank you very much. Please take care of Elise-chan.」

Alante bowed his head as he spoke.

Maybe because they were shaken after seeing the exchange between Alante and Elise, Kreuz’s subordinates looked alternately between Kreuz and Alante.

But Kreuz’s decision was final.

Kreuz nodded lightly toward Alante, and then he glared at Lambert.

「I’m disappointed, armored swordsman. The thing you say is just the ideal situation. You’ve failed to see reality.」

「Fools, protecting the citizens is the job of the soldiers. Aren’t you just looking for a justification to abandon the citizens due to your fear?」

Lambert spoke with a plain voice, but what he said lingered in Kreuz’s ears.

「…What?」

「The citizens pay their taxes. And we, the soldiers, have to protect their lives in return. You’ll stray from the proper path once you fail to recognize that.」

「That’s why I say that you’re an idealist!」

「Protecting the kingdom, thus achieving the ideal situation, is our duty.」

「And that’s how 『Devil’s Piper』 took advantage of us! Have you ever doubted for a moment that a cornered man might be a trap laid for you? What are you going to do then?!」

As he asked Lambert, Kreuz raised his voice.

「Slay him, of course. Those who use cowardly acts to counter cowardly acts don’t have the right to protect the kingdom. Sticking with justice will also protect the kingdom. By achieving that, we show our enemy that we’re different from them.」

Lambert declared this without a shred of doubt.

Kreuz’s eyes opened wide as he looked at Lambert’s helmet with a dumbfounded look on his face.

Lambert was dead serious when he talked about an almost unrealistic ideal.

He could still say that. After all, his service uniting the eight kingdoms in a fair-and-square war ended with him being betrayed by Griff right at the very end.

When he noticed, the air in that place had changed.

The hesitation and confusion on Kreuz’s subordinates’ faces was gone.

They no longer showed hesitation on their faces. The same could be said for Kreuz.

「…I guess we really can’t beat you in this regard.」

After saying that, he gave the instruction to half of his subordinates.

「Withdraw while protecting these two, and do the same when you meet the other children.」

「W-what about you and the others, Kreuz-sama? The enemy outnumbers us. You’ll only run out of strength if you keep being pushed back…」

「I shall follow Lambert-dono and bring back the heads of the Eight Wisemen. No one objects to this, right?」

His squad cheered upon hearing Kreuz’s declaration.