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Chapter 50 Part 12 – Alisa and Scarlet in the previous「108 times」. The Queen and the Maiden of Salvation. Malice is like a burning fire.

Seeing Ethelreed’s expression, Matzo, too, regained his serious expression, which had begun to slacken.

「…… What happened?」

「…… Sir Steindorf, the fierce tiger general of the Kingdom of Frida, has passed away. The Kingdom of Frida is still lying low.」

Matzo’s eyes widened.

Steindorf is one of the most famous military men in the Nine Kingdoms. He is renowned not only for his strategies but also as an expert of martial arts. His fierce fighting style is likened to that of a ferocious tiger. His full-body armor, known as the Golden Tiger, is so tough and unmatched that swords and arrowheads cannot penetrate through it. A normal person would not be able to even take three steps wearing this extremely heavy armor, but Steindorf is completely unaffected by the weight. He moves around as if he were wearing paper armor. Full-body armor may look amazing, but inside it is a hell of heat and humidity. In fact, several nobles clad in full body armor have died of heat stroke before battle.
That is why Steindorf is so awe-inspiring. Although he was already quite old, his military fame was still going strong for a quarter of a century, and he was the one who had beaten the young Matzo, equipped with an iron ball, to the ground with a single hit.

「That is regrettable. If it were possible, I would have liked to see him again on the battlefield. He was the kind of man who wouldn’t die even if you tried to kill him. …… Was it because of sickness?」

Matzo contemplated the news of the passing of his senior on the battlefield, but was shocked by Ethelreed’s next words.

「No, General Steindorf was killed in a one-on-one confrontation while being clad in the Golden Tiger. His opponent was bare-handed.」

「…… Impossible!! There is no way anyone could defeat that man while he is clad in that armor in a one-on-one confrontation!! And with bare hands!? No, no, it might be possible if it’s that Bradd Stalker. Could he have defeated him in an endurance fight or ……?」

The Golden Tiger is a fearsome piece of equipment, but the full-body armor makes the wearer’s visibility extremely poor. Its maneuverability is also poor and the more time passes, the more heat builds up inside. It was only natural that Matzo thought of Bradd when he heard that General Steindorf’s opponent fought with bare hands. After all, Bradd is the son of the chief of the〈Lawless Crew〉and is renowned for his speed and genius. If Bradd used his inhuman footwork, made Steindorf fatigued, and then finished him off with the secret arts of the〈Lawless Crew〉, it might be possible …… However,

「Bradd was not the one who defeated General Steindorf. Judging from the handprints left on the body, his opponent is probably a …… woman ……! In addition, according to the person that inspected his body, the opponent also crushed the Golden Tiger with a single blow and brought General Steindorf to his death.」

「There is no way someone could do something like that!! The Golden Tiger is an armor that took a few hits from my steel ball to finally give it a slight dent!! And you’re saying that his opponent crushed that armor with a single blow from her bare hands ……!! Moreover, it was a woman ……!? Who was it!! Who did that ridiculous autopsy report?」

Sweat broke out on Matzo’s forehead.
He understood why Ethelreed looked so grim.

If such a thing was possible in the body of a woman, then she is not human. It must be the work of a devil. Since he himself was an outstanding warrior, Matzo was able to roughly predict the opponent’s strength just by hearing what Ethelreed said. The current Matzo is stronger than Steindorf. As long as he had the iron ball with him, he would be named as a candidate for the strongest person in the world. But against a skilled opponent who could take out Steindorf with a single blow, he would probably not be able to stand against her for more than a few minutes. That’s why he can’t believe it. It was a rather clever decision to consider the possibility that the autopsy report was wrong. But Ethelreed gave an even more shocking answer.

「…… The autopsy was done by Bradd, the man you just mentioned. He happened to be there, and because he had taken care of General Steindorf in his final moments, he became the suspect for the General’s murder and was being hunted throughout the Kingdom of Frida. I was the one who helped him escape.」

「…… What ……!?」

Matzo was speechless, his eyes blinking in surprise.

The〈Lawless Crew〉can manipulate the blood flow and are well-versed in human anatomy. Their autopsies are far more trustworthy than those of ordinary doctors. After a few moments of contemplation, Matzo finally squeezed the words out of his throat.

「That’s why your return was delayed …… Did Bradd saw the killer’s face?」

「No, because the fog was dense, he only saw a figure in a dress moving away. But from the way she carried herself and the silhouette of her body, it was most definitely a woman, not a cross-dressing man ……」

「…… A figure in a dress …… It sounds like a ghost story, that’s horrifying.」

The broadminded Matzo shivered with a chill down his spine.

「In any case, with the death of General Steindorf, the kingdoms are back in the midst of a turbulent time. That man was a leading figure in the anti-war faction. Now there is no one left who can stop the outburst of the four princes. Such bad timing, don’t you think? The Kingdom of Hydrangea that is currently weakened by the rebellion caused by the『Maiden of Salvation』will be the first to be targeted.」

Matzo sighed and covered his face with one hand.

「This means that Princess Scarlet will be anxious again. I feel so sorry toward her and it breaks my heart. But there is not a moment to lose. We must rouse ourselves.」

「I agree. But we are not enough. What this kingdom needs from now on are young talents. There are some men I would like to call upon. Including the aforementioned Bradd, Seraphy of the Orange Privateers, Arnold the Hunter of Darkness, Solomon of the Witchcraft Clan, and one more person …… I believe that these five men can be trusted with the future of Princess Scarlet and this kingdom.」

「And then we, old soldiers, will leave. But it is not enough to simply clean up after ourselves. In the face of our honor as old soldiers, we must do our best to remove the mud that stands in the way of the future of the young ones.」

「…… That sounds great. We’ll be just like a water lily blooming in a muddy swamp that blossoms magnificently and then falls apart. Water lilies were Marie’s favorite flower ……」

「…… I see …… If I’m not mistaken, in flower language, water lilies meant purity. It’s embarrassing for us old men, but it’s a fitting flower to dedicate to our beloved women waiting for us in the afterlife. We have to do our best so that we can face them on the other side. I’m counting on you, my comrade.」

Matzo remained sitting as he thrusted out his fist.
Ethelreed’s eyes widened in surprise, then he grinned and bumped his fist against his.

「It’ll be my pleasure. Let’s show the younger generation what the last brilliance of sinking old soldiers is all about. I’ll get right to it and contact those young stars.」

The fists of the two comrades who share the same desire and who will never forget the vestiges of their deceased lovers bumped against each other, making a dull, heavy sound of determination echoing through the air.

However, they did not know.
That the sound of their fist that might have originally been supposed to change history has already become meaningless.
The fate of the five young men Ethelreed had set his sights on was already in the devil’s hands and they would eventually bare their fangs toward Scarlet. Only tragedy awaits the old soldiers.

「…… Ahaha, it’s too late now. All the seeds have already been planted. No one can stop the fate that is tumbling down. It’s the beginning of the madness of malice. Let all human thoughts rot and become nourishment for the earth. All for the sake of making the great flower of sorrow called Scarlet bloom. Ahahahaha!!」

The footsteps of Hydrangea’s destruction, led by the devil’s sneer, were slowly beginning to come closer.