Joseph's eyes slowly rolled around. He was trying to read Frederick's mood.

Frederick was older and more experienced than Joseph, but in this situation, that was actually the problem.

'In other words, it means Frederick could try to commit insubordination at any time.'

But fortunately, here, Frederick's target was not Joseph.

"Aha... No wonder headquarters was hounding me to return—it was because of this."

The corners of Frederick's mouth turned up as he looked at Erich.

Erich could roughly guess what he was thinking. Recruited as an executive as soon as he arrived. Not only that, but a young noble who hadn't even undergone proper training, so he hadn't even been issued a black cloak yet.

All those factors probably kept Frederick's lips curled in a sneer.

"Frederick."

Frederick extended his hand to Erich. At that, Joseph looked at the two of them with evident tension. He had a foreboding feeling that Erich might twist Frederick up.

"Erich."

Erich took Frederick's hand. A vein sprang up on Frederick's forehead. That was proof he was squeezing Erich's hand with all his strength.

But Erich matched Frederick's grip exactly, as if it was nothing special. He had no intention of winning, but there was no need to deliberately lose, either.

Frederick strained for a moment, then wore an odd smile, different from before.

"Seems you're not just another weakling."

"The Black Citadel isn't stupid."

"I think I know why they assigned me to you. I'll go get ready, so wait here."

With those words, Frederick left the room.

'So he didn't even plan on preparing at first.'

Apparently, Frederick had no intention of following a new executive. If Erich hadn't met his standards, he probably would have done nothing but cause trouble instead of coming along.

The fact that he now said he would prepare meant that Erich had at least met the minimum requirements. Joseph exhaled deeply.

"Phew. My heart nearly shrank. I thought something big would happen if a fight broke out..."

Then, suddenly, Joseph's gaze fell on Erich's forearm. He clearly remembered that when a watchman had tried to play a power game with him before, Erich had simply crushed him with strength. But why hadn't he done the same to Frederick?

"There are some people you can overpower with strength and some you can't. I think Frederick is in the latter category."

"You recognize that at a glance—amazing. That man is notorious even among our members for his troublemaking..."

Erich smiled quietly. Frederick wasn't someone you could make listen just by pushing with force.

Yet, paradoxically, you also couldn't let him disrespect you.

Before returning in time, Frederick was famous for his abilities, and even if he wasn't a close subordinate, he was an indirect subordinate Erich valued and used often.

'To begin with, Frederick has his own circumstances for being how he is.'

He didn't talk about it openly himself, but among those in the know, it was well known why Frederick had changed like that.

Erich had never heard the actual details, though.

Besides,

'He's a talented person I need to use right below me.'

It was a waste to treat his abilities as just average. More than anything, while he had good fighting ability, Frederick's true strength lay in how he handled his subordinates.

Frederick, while he might drive his superiors up the wall, was very popular with those below him. In fact, before Erich's regression, there was always a line of guys wanting to be assigned wherever Frederick was.

His personality was foul, and he was the type to consider mutiny on a whim, but if handled with care, he was a sword with more benefits than drawbacks. No, a sword that absolutely had to be used.

Erich's arrival at the watch had come much sooner than in his previous life. Having spent most of his time as an ordinary watchman, the information he could access was limited.

That was why he needed an ally who knew the current watch very well, and Frederick was a perfect fit for Erich's needs. That's why Erich intended to make good use of Frederick from now on.

"I've got a rough idea why the commander assigned him to me."

"After all, the essential qualification for an officer is handling people well. If you can manage that man however you like, sir Erich, you'll never have trouble with subordinates here. I suspect that's what the commander was thinking."

Joseph's guess was spot on. It was exactly as Erich thought, too. The fortunate thing was that Joseph seemed to know Frederick fairly well.

"So that's why I've got Frederick as my deputy."

"That's right. In any case, you'll be in charge of an outpost, and the one you're going to is currently missing a senior member."

"Did someone run away?"

"Transfer requests haven't stopped coming in."

Joseph looked cautious. He gave off the feeling of wondering what would happen if this person also ran away in fear.

"Isn't there any useful information? If it's a place that unpopular, there must be some rumors at least."

"To be honest, we don't really know ourselves. The stories are all bad—there are rumors of ghosts appearing, or hairy yetis climbing the Great Wall, and so on. And verifying these rumors..."

"It's difficult. Not that any of them are true."

"But it's a fact that several members have gone missing. Whether they ran away in fear or really fell victim to something, we can't tell."

"If you were asked to be assigned there, senior Joseph, would you do it?"

"Heh heh, if I'm told to, I have to. But I'd probably moan in bed for several days first."

Having said that, Joseph glanced at Erich. But Erich just smiled faintly.

'Either way, it's interesting.'

Erich had already heard plenty of rumors about the 'Black Serpent' outpost. Mysterious incidents always spread like an epidemic among ordinary watchmen.

Rumors grow more grotesque as they're passed from mouth to mouth.

Erich, however, was intrigued. He'd finally be able to find out for himself whether those rumors were true.

—Bang!

"Let's hurry and go!"

And as a bonus, he'd be going with insubordination expert Frederick.

Frederick greeted him with a self-assured smile. Without hiding it, Erich burst into laughter at Frederick's odd confidence.

A subtle enthusiasm welled up from deep within Erich. In this life, he had some faith in himself.

Making Frederick want to follow him, uncovering the secret of this outpost...

And further, being recognized at the Black Citadel, reporting about the rampaging dead, and quickly uniting human forces to highlight the true enemy of humankind—these were all part of his broader plan.

So of course, Erich couldn't help but feel motivated.

Whether Joseph was aware of Erich's thoughts or not, he gazed at him with nervous eyes.

He was wishing, with heartfelt sincerity, that the two would return safely.

***

Erich and Frederick, backpacks loaded, marched out into the snowfield.

They'd left after lunch, but the sun was now setting and darkness was falling.

"Senior Frederick, have you heard anything about the Black Serpent outpost?"

"Didn't Joseph tell you?"

"He said he didn't really know. All that's known about the place are the grim rumors."

"That's probably all I can tell you, too. Like how a member disappears every month or so."

"Was an investigation team ever dispatched?"

"I heard there was, but whether it was properly investigated, who knows."

"They didn't investigate it properly?"

"Well, there was an investigation team that went. But Nicholas was in charge."

At Frederick's words, Erich's brow twitched.

'Nicholas was the one in charge?'

Nicholas.

In Erich's memory, Nicholas was the worst officer in the watch. He lacked ability, so he never rose high in the ranks, but he was infamous for his terrible handling of every job he touched.

When Erich started managing the Watch, the first thing he did was demote Nicholas.

Erich suspected there might have been a group in the unit supporting Nicholas behind the scenes. It was telling just how difficult it had been to finally get rid of that incompetent fool. Though in the end, he never found the mastermind.

"So what was the conclusion?"

"It was written off as just a groundless rumor. Seemed like the commander was satisfied with that. Well, things like that happen all the time on the Great Wall, so it's not that odd."

"So if there are no ghosts or yetis, what do you think is really going on?"

"Well, honestly, it's the kind of place where anything could happen. The most plausible thing I've heard... is that those barbarian barstards use it as a spot for adulthood rites."

"That's... at least believable."

Barbarians undergo a coming-of-age ceremony when they reach adulthood. To prove themselves as warriors, they go out to achieve feats they can show off to their tribe...

According to Frederick, those coming-of-age barbarians sometimes climbed the Great Wall and massacred the Watchlers standing guard.

Of course, that theory had its flaws.

"But wouldn't some of those barbarians fall to their death climbing the Great Wall? If that happened, the investigation team would have noticed."

"Well, it's just speculation. But..."

Frederick's eyes narrowed.

"How come you know all that? Shouldn't you be asking, 'What are these barbarians? What's this adulthood rite?' at this point?"

Upon hearing Frederick's question, Erich realized—

He was looking awfully knowledgeable for a newly assigned officer.

He had tried to be careful, but he wasn't sure what level of knowledge was plausible. Then again, he hadn't regressed several times, so it was inevitable.

Erich quickly spun a story that left Frederick no room for doubt.

"Frederick, do you like books, by any chance?"

"... Books? You look at my mug and ask if I'm into books? Why do you ask?"

"It's all in books. Books."

"Tch. These desk jockeys, honestly..."

Hearing this, Frederick seemed to accept Erich's excuse.

That was only right, since there was little chance a regular watchman here had ever read a book.

This was the farthest-flung outpost of the empire, a last resort or even a punishment.

Criminals, death row inmates, younger sons who would have been murdered by their families if they'd stayed, and disgraced knights made up this unit.

Books, here? It was almost nonsense.

As their chatter died down, Frederick put his hand to his brow and peered into the distance before speaking.

"We're here. That's the Black Serpent outpost. But how come there's not a single guard?"

Erich looked toward the outpost Frederick had indicated. As he said, there were no guards posted.

Just climbing the massive Great Wall was a feat in itself. That was why the role of these outposts was to protect the winches and stairs used to ascend the Great Wall and to Watch their section—essentially, each outpost was a fortress guarding those climbing facilities.

But—

Even if there was little chance of an attack from inside, for no soldiers to be stationed on the walls was another problem entirely.

But that thought passed quickly, as a strange chill crept down Erich's spine. He quickened his pace.

"We should hurry. Looks like something's happened."

"... Mm."

Erich and Frederick trudged quickly through the snow toward the outpost. Its gate stood open, with no guards posted.

Almost as if it was already deserted.

—Clink.

"For an adulthood ceremony, this is a bit much, isn't it?"

"... Don't get stabbed by a blind blade. At least keep your sword ready."

Frederick, tense, led the way. He headed inside the gate. Among the simple buildings of the outpost, a campfire was still smoldering.

He poked the fire with the tip of his sword and spoke.

"It hasn't been long. They left in a hurry."

And then, at that moment—

—Tap tap-tap tap.

Small pebbles tumbled down from the steps connecting the outpost to the Great Wall. Erich's gaze snapped in that direction.

Something black was moving there.

Erich and Frederick's eyes met.

"... Just what is going on?"

Their eyes landed halfway up the stairs.

There, the neck of a watchman was hanging, swaying in the fierce wind. Even Erich, who had rotted for years in the Watch before his regression, and the veteran Frederick, couldn't look away from the scene.

Erich was now certain.

What was happening at this outpost was not just rumor—there was definitely something real and tangible going on here.-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

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