The Soldier Shouted Save

Chapter 31

A ball of fire filled the space above my head.

Recalling the flames that had mercilessly scorched my body, I pressed my left hand against my temple and looked down at Hyerin.

“…Why? Are you hurt somewhere?”

Hyerin’s face filled with concern as she studied mine carefully.

I took a deep breath, looking up at the sky, and then, with a slightly clearer mind, I thought to myself.

‘Did Lee Hyerin have any reason to kill me?’

Hyerin, who was about the same age as Croa, wasn’t good at hiding her emotions.

If she had been plotting something, I would’ve caught on just by looking at her face.

Even if a quest like ‘Kill Lee Hyerin’ had targeted me, she wouldn’t have decided to kill me overnight.

‘So, the conclusion is simple.’

Hyerin had unintentionally killed me.

“The magic for marking coordinates, Situs. Could that magic ever mark the wrong coordinates?”

Drawing that conclusion, I recalled the moment before I died and asked Hyerin.

“…Situs magic? If you’re using it through parchment, distorting the coordinates isn’t difficult. You just need to tweak the formulas a bit.”

The one who had driven me to death wasn’t the second daughter who died engulfed in flames, nor the youngest, Goil Walker, but rather someone who had been in a safe place.

“…If it doesn’t feel right, why don’t we just go back?”

At Hyerin’s suggestion, I grinned and lifted the corners of my mouth.

“No need. I’ve roughly identified the enemy.”

“…What?”

“Let’s go. We’ll choose the second daughter.”

―Step, step.

As I stretched my legs and moved forward, Hyerin hustled with her short legs to catch up.

“Hey, wait up! Walk with me!”

Hyerin’s protest made me stop after a short distance.

“…”

Lowering my head, I spoke to the second daughter, who hadn’t managed to recruit a single person.

“I will follow you.”

Startled by my words, the second daughter raised her head to look at me.

At my face.

And then, at Hyerin’s face, dressed in the royal mage’s uniform. The second daughter couldn’t hold back the upward curve of her lips as she jumped to her feet.

“If you, you fine nobles, are willing to follow me, that would be a great help! Truly, I am pleased!”

Perhaps the fact that no one had remained with her this time around, unlike the previous life where at least I had, had dealt a severe blow to her charisma.

Even now, the second daughter was anxiously observing our reactions.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure the rewards you get are comparable to those given to my elder brother and younger sibling.”

As soon as her gaze shifted toward her siblings, Kyle and Goil, the second daughter hurriedly promised rewards.

“…Ah. W-wait!”

I abruptly turned my back on the second daughter.

As she desperately tried to grab me, I spoke in an indifferent tone.

“There are a few people I’ve had my eye on.”

“…People you’ve had your eye on?”

“Yes, if I bring them, they’ll be a significant force for your faction. I’ll persuade them.”

Before the second daughter could respond, I began walking, and Hyerin naturally followed.

“Stay here where everyone can see you.”

“…Just stand here?”

Leaving Hyerin in front of the second daughter, I wandered in front of the gathering of knights, pacing back and forth.

‘This should do it.’

In just a few minutes, more than five knights had gathered in front of the second daughter.

Turning my back again and heading toward her camp, I noticed that Mari Walker, surrounded by knights, gave me a bright smile and whispered in my ear.

“I will never forget your contributions.”

All I had done was pretend to convince others.

It was Hyerin, dressed in the royal mage’s uniform, who had drawn people in, but there was no need for me to reveal that fact.

“It’s an honor, Lady.”

One thing I had learned in the previous life was the second daughter’s noble instinct for turning ‘crises into opportunities for honor.’

* * *

After the factions had split, the second daughter began a meeting about the great magical beast, Mantis.

A key feature of Mantis was its ability to control animals at will.

The first to present a strategy was the second mage of the second daughter’s faction, a skinny, bespectacled man.

“The animals in the Forest of Spirits are strong, and there are many variables. Therefore, I believe a defensive stance, supporting the main force, is the most suitable strategy.”

It was a strategy similar to the one I had first suggested in the previous life.

As she nodded in agreement, the second daughter naturally looked toward me.

“It doesn’t seem like a bad strategy, but what do you think, noble?”

Still thinking the credit for recruiting people was mine, the second daughter leaned on me for decisions whenever possible.

Recalling the second daughter from my previous life, I brought up a concern that I knew would trouble her.

“Supporting the main force isn’t a bad tactic, but it means going with the flow. Even if we succeed in the subjugation, no one will remember our contribution.”

“…You have a point.”

The second daughter had always wanted to achieve great merit, even with a small force.

“Then what kind of strategy do you think would be best?”

As if she had been waiting for me to speak, I removed all the pieces from the map the bespectacled mage had set up and proposed a new strategy.

“Instead of following behind, we need the subjugation force to follow us.”

“…Follow us?”

“Yes, we should take on the role of scouts.”

The second daughter folded her arms, her face filled with contemplation.

“You mean we should lead the reconnaissance? In a place as unpredictable as the Forest of Spirits, it’s not a bad way to earn merit. But isn’t it too dangerous?”

At that, I pointed to Hyerin, dressed in her splendid royal mage’s uniform.

“Our faction has the only mage capable of using teleportation magic. If someone who can quickly detect danger is with us, we can retreat swiftly, even from the front line.”

The knights unconsciously turned their gaze toward Hyerin.

As they seemed to be slowly swayed, the second daughter nodded. But just then, someone voiced their opposition.

“Hah, this is why knights with muscles for brains are useless. What’s the point of assuming we’ll have someone to detect danger? Do we even have such a person in our faction?”

The knights averted their gazes, as if admitting their incapability.

But one person, standing with their head held high, nodded positively.

“Fine, Allen. We’ll go with your strategy. As for detecting danger, I’ll handle it, even if I have to buy a magical tool to do so.”

A magical tool for detecting danger.

There was no way she could obtain such a thing in this short time.

‘The ability to detect danger. That’s probably the second daughter’s special trait.’

Despite lacking battle experience or sword skills, the second daughter had always been the first to sense danger during the subjugation.

It was likely related to her unique ability.

The second daughter smiled at me and declared.

“This meeting is adjourned.”

As the second daughter opened the door, Hyerin and the others exited the meeting room.

Now, only I and the second daughter remained.

I asked a question to the second daughter, who knew the Walker family better than anyone.

“Do you know where the eldest, Lord Kyle’s, private office is?”

“…I do, but why are you asking about that?”

“I plan to examine the commanders Lord Kyle trusts. By understanding the commanders, I’ll gain insight into the likely tactics and strategies he’ll use.”

What I said was nonsense—there was no way to figure that out without stealing the eldest son’s strategy maps—but the second daughter, inexperienced in combat, nodded, as if mesmerized by my long explanation.

“If it’s such a necessary task, there’s no reason to refuse. I’ll draw you a map.”

The blank parchment quickly filled with the layout of the Walker estate.

As expected of an educated person.

The map was far more detailed than I had anticipated, and I smiled as I bowed my head.

“I will ensure we achieve results.”

The second daughter smiled broadly in return, nodding.

“I’ll trust you with this.”

* * *

After leaving the second daughter’s room, I took Hyerin back to the lodging.

“We’re being followed.”

“…Huh? Followed?”

A familiar face—a maid—was tailing either me or Hyerin.

Despite her seemingly vacant expression, she was skilled at concealing her presence.

As soon as we turned the corner of the hallway, I quickly pushed Hyerin’s back and moved with haste.

“H-Hah… hah…! Are… are they still… following us?”

Typical of a mage, Hyerin’s stamina was abysmal.

We hadn’t even run for a few minutes, and she was already drenched in sweat, her face flushed bright red.

In the storage room where we hastily took cover, I asked her a question.

“Do you know why we’re being followed?”

“Hah… hah… I dunno? Isn’t it just because of teleportation?”

Her unexpected answer made me frown as I fell deep into thought, and Hyerin, slowly regaining her breath, continued her explanation.

“Uh… what was it again? They made us sign some confidentiality oath or whatever, telling us not to talk about the operation outside.”

“Right.”

“But honestly, a mage of that level could disable the magic from the oath for a bit.”

Even after spending so much time in the royal palace, I hadn’t heard of such a thing before.

“…How could they disable it?”

“By using Dispel magic.”

A highly advanced magic that nullifies other spells.

“But isn’t Dispel only usable if you have a perfect understanding of the magic you want to disable?”

I had heard that one needed to understand the spell in question well enough to write a thesis on it, but Hyerin’s response was completely different.

“If you put it in your quick slots, it just works.”

Her words turned centuries of magical theory upside down in an instant.

I let out a small laugh as I realized that Hyerin might be more skilled than even the royal court magicians, and then I came to a conclusion.

“So, Walker House is keeping an eye on you because a powerful mage could bypass the oath and leave at any time?”

“Exactly. Since I could teleport out at any moment, they’re not guarding the exits but following me around instead.”

This clear reasoning came from a calm mind.

In the previous life, I hadn’t been able to think like this because I’d been so mentally and physically exhausted from being constantly monitored and kept at a distance.

“…But, who ordered it?”

“There’s no need to think hard about it. It’s the eldest son, Kyle Walker.”

“…Hmm, is confidentiality really that important?”

I smiled at Hyerin’s question and said, “We’ll know for sure once we raid the eldest son’s room.”

“…What?”

I pulled out the map the second daughter had drawn and spread it on the floor.

“When did you prepare something like this?”

From our current location to Kyle’s office.

After mentally mapping out the route, I pointed to Kyle’s room on the map and asked Hyerin.

“Can you unlock the spell on the door with Dispel?”

“Yes. I think I could break all the magic inside the room in about five seconds.”

“Good. Then let’s proceed with that.”

Once I confirmed that the maid spying on us had left, I quickly moved out.

The corridor connected to Kyle Walker’s office.

As we approached, seeing the guards enforcing the restricted area, Hyerin’s face turned pale, and she shook her head.

“I-I’m telling you now, I can’t do it.”

“What can’t you do?”

“Move quietly without making a sound. You know, sneak in all stealthy like that?”

I laughed and shook my head.

“If you’re not confident, just teleport and follow me.”

“I can’t teleport to a place I haven’t registered coordinates for.”

“In that case, write ‘Situs’ on a parchment and pass it to me. I’ll sneak in and mark the coordinates.”

At my words, Hyerin placed an empty parchment on the floor and reached into the air with her hand.

“Hold on a second… I need to switch to my magic scroll crafting skill.”

She moved her fingers through the air for several seconds.

Then, while looking down at the parchment, she mumbled.

“Confectio Situs.”

In an instant, the parchment filled up with complex runes.

Tucking the parchment into my coat, I asked her, “Do you have enough mana stocked to use teleportation?”

“…Uh, no. I can’t make a round trip.”

“Drink a mana potion. Once you arrive, chant Situs immediately.”

After confirming Hyerin’s nod of agreement, I kept my eyes on the guards and launched myself forward.

‘They’re only guarding as a formality. This shouldn’t be hard.’

The guards, distracted and slacking off, were chatting with each other.

“Haha! So who’d have thought that guy would buy me drinks, huh?”

I quickly vaulted over a railing, taking down one guard after another before they even realized what was happening.

That’s when I heard a familiar voice.

“Hohoho. Yeah, it’s good to dream about the future while you’re still young.”

Walking with a group of skilled knights was an old swordmaster—Walter.

Recalling how exceptional he had been, I quickly slipped through a door and hid.

“…Wait a minute. Feels like there’s a rat hiding around here.”

Walter’s voice was filled with suspicion, as if he had heard my footsteps or glimpsed my fleeing figure, and he began approaching.

“It’s nearby! Search every inch!”

As the footsteps drew closer, I pulled out a dagger without hesitation.

‘Again.’

I stabbed the blade into my throat, and everything went black.

—You have died from your own attack. [Confirm]

—You have been restored from the auto-save. [Confirm]

A life in repetition.

And here I was, having arrived back at this point without any deviation.

I hid near the same hallway I had memorized earlier and listened to Walter’s voice.

“Hohoho. Yeah, it’s good to dream about the future while you’re still young.”

I waited long enough for Walter to pass the room where I was hiding.

‘Now.’

Once he had moved far enough, I quietly left the hiding place and stood before Kyle Walker’s office.

‘Good, no one’s here.’

The room was a mess, covered in papers.

First, I pulled the parchment from my coat and ripped it.

“Situs.”

I chanted the coordinate-marking spell, summoning Hyerin.

“Ugh, it’s messier than my own room.”

Hyerin, looking around at the scattered documents, wrinkled her nose in disgust.

Ignoring her reaction, I focused on the desk in front of me.

“Documents about the great magical beast, Mantis?”

There were records of subjugation attempts, and it was clear that Kyle had studied the magical beast extensively.

But then, as I sifted through more papers, I noticed something that made me scowl and chuckle bitterly.

“…What a bastard.”

The magical beasts that Kyle had been meticulously researching all had one thing in common—they could influence animals in the forest.

“Why? What is it?”

As I glanced between the druid’s behavioral patterns and the magical beast data, I came to a realization. Tucking the papers into my coat, I spoke with a grim expression.

“The great magical beast, Mantis—it never existed from the start.”

The hidden truth behind the subjugation force was beginning to take shape.