Chapter 1181: Captured Neidhart

「…We have a favor to ask you regarding that subject.」

「Please save our captain! I’m begging you!」

Quint and Boldor lowered their heads, and the members behind them simultaneously took the same pose.

「What happened?」

「Captain Neidhart got captured by Raydoss…」

「He stayed behind to let us escape.」

Quint and Boldor went on to explain their actions in Raydoss.

Neidhart first entered the country with Sibylla and her group, but went his own path shortly after.

Not because of a quarrel or anything; this had been the plan from the beginning.

Neidhart had assisted Sibylla in various fields within Kranzel, so now Sibylla would do the same for him in Raydoss. That was the agreement.

Furthermore, Neidhart was allowed freedom of movement as long as he refrained from harming civilians, and Sibylla promised to overlook any crimes Neidhart committed when rescuing his enslaved comrades. It wasn’t just Sibylla. The Chancellor, her superior, also gave a seal of approval.

From the moment Neidhart entered into the contract, the Chancellor had sent a decree to various lords, instructing them to hand over the enslaved half-insectkin.

Ostensibly, the decree would utilize the half-insectkin more effectively as military assets. The real goal, however, was returning them to Neidhart.

Many of the slave owners complied with the request, and any who didn’t were deemed treasonous. It would save the Chancellor a lot of trouble if Neidhart punished these uncooperative nobles on his own.

The Chancellor sought information from abroad, and Neidhart was highly useful as a military and intel asset due to his well-traveled mercenary brigade. He also had little affiliation with Raydoss’s enemies: Kranzel, Belioth, and Phyllius. They had every reason to cooperate.

Offering Neidhart the heads of rebellious nobles ended up benefiting both parties.

The Chancellor had also assigned Neidhart and his brigade an important mission: the investigation and dismantling of the South Conquest Duke’s secret research facility.

It was known that multiple half-insectkin were taken into the facility, so Neidhart accepted the request.

「So he attacked the South Conquest Duke’s lab?」

「Chancellor-dono apparently wants to restrain the Dukes of the South, West, and East.」

「The dukes were known for repeatedly violating orders, so maybe the ideal situation would be to mark them as traitors. However, a civil war will only serve to reduce Raydoss’s national power.」

The dukes can’t be punished as easily as common nobles, so the Chancellor was trying to subtly weaken their influence. Thus forcing them to obey.

Those in Kranzel likely view this as taking way too long for no visible results. But from the Raydoss perspective, the worst-case scenario would be a large-scale internal conflict between them and the dukes.

Even if the Chancellor was on the moderate side, weakening Raydoss isn’t an option when surrounded by foreign enemies.

「We managed to infiltrate the South Conquest Duke’s hideout and successfully freed the slaves.」

「But then… we bumped into the monsters of that facility.」

According to them, the facility contained strange, powerful monsters that resembled metallic golems. Neidhart managed to defeat them, but then an even more peculiar monster stood in his path.

They challenged this new foe, who first looked like a large man in metal armor. However, they quickly realized their mistake. This man was not wearing any armor. Instead, various magical tools had been embedded or fused into his body.

「And this monster’s identity was Sigrald, the South Conquest Duke.」

「The South Conquest Duke turned into a monster?」

「That’s right.」

The South Conquest Duke unleashed powerful attacks from the relic-like tools all over his body, incapacitating several of their comrades.

Neidhart decided the fight was too dangerous, and stayed behind to let his subordinates escape.

「But our captain suffered a serious injury and got captured in the end. One of our members with Farsight witnessed this first-hand.」

「Captain slew the South Conquest Duke before he fell and got taken away. I’m begging you, help us rescue him!」

It seems Neidhart was responsible for the South Conquest Duke turning undead.

They had heard about Kranzel’s movements from the Chancellor, so Neidhart knew Fran was in Raydoss. He apparently recognized Fran as someone likely to assist the brigade, so they were told to ask for her assistance in escaping the country.

Why us though!

Rather than getting angry, it seems Fran questioned the meaning of Neidhart’s words.

「Neidhart told you to run, not to save him?」

「Yes, we were supposed to run. However, that is one order we cannot simply follow.」

「No way I’m running without our captain…!」

The mercenaries nodded unanimously. I can see how much they admire Neidhart.

（Master.）

I see Neidhart as a traitor who betrayed Kranzel for the sake of his comrades. He clearly cared a lot about his old friends, but not so much for everyone else. That said, Fran seemed oddly fond of him. I expect her to insist on joining the rescue.

There’s also the matter of Persona, so I understand why she wants to stay in Raydoss.

But it just isn’t that simple.

『…No way.』

We’re currently members of the Kranzel army. How can we just leave without permission to join this rescue mission?

（They’ve finally been freed of slavery, and they refuse to run… That’s how worried they are about Neidhart.）

Having once been a slave herself, Fran understood how much determination that requires. If we don’t lend a hand, they’ll likely go on without us.

No matter how strong they might be, they can’t compare to Fran and Urushi in terms of combat strength. It’s practically suicide.

（I don’t want them to die…）

Even so, it’s just not possible. Going off on our own gets Fran marked as a deserter. There’s no way Kranzel will let go of Fran, especially when they’ve taken such a huge blow to their military.

Jean, who had remained silent up until now, responded with some unexpected words.

「Hmm. After listening to your story, I think it should be fine.」

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