Chapter 53 THSK Vol. 2 Chapter 3 Part 9

22

I rushed over to the collapsed Princess Valtrune. The blindfolded woman she was lying on top of twisted her mouth in annoyance, coughed, and muttered,

“…Heavy.”

Looking far too spry for someone who’d been on the brink of death, she pushed herself up.

“Lady Dorothea! You’re alive!”

“We thought you were a goner!”

“Shut up,” she snapped. “It’s ringing in my head. Keep your voices down, you idiots.”

“That’s her! That’s definitely Lady Dorothea!”

“What a stupid way to confirm it.”

The ‘White Smoke Lizards’ erupted in cheers, overjoyed at their leader’s revival. Dorothea, in contrast, just shot me a look of pure confusion.

“…Why am I alive?”

“Rune-sama used healing magic on you.”

I explained, but her expression remained clouded.

“Healing magic isn’t a cure-all. My wounds… they were fatal. For her to heal me this completely…”

Dorothea looked down at Princess Valtrune, who was still slumped over her.

“She’s… something else. I’m in her debt, more than I can ever repay.”

“If you really think so, then I’d like the ‘White Smoke Lizards’ to join the Provisional Elite Corps as intelligence agents. …For Rune-sama’s sake.”

She remained silent, then shook her head.

“Even after this, you still won’t join her?”

“No. I am honored to serve my savior. But… I’m not the one you should be talking to.”

“Meaning?”

“…I’ve already died once. This… this is a miracle. Before the fight, I told Fadi… ‘If I die, the ‘Lizards’ are yours.’“

“So you’re stepping down as leader?”

“That’s right. I’ve transferred all authority to Fadi. If you want to absorb the ‘Lizards’ into that ‘Provisional’ corps of yours… you’ll have to talk to him.”

Her words were, in effect, a total concession.

“…Are you sure? I thought a King never abandons their people.”

“Heh. You remembered that? …You’re right. I never intended to let go… But I think I’ve found someone I can trust to take over.”

She slowly stood up and walked over to Fadi, who was still unconscious from magic exhaustion. She lifted him into her arms and glanced at her surroundings.

“Alright, you lot! The fight’s over! Collect our dead, and let’s get the hell out of here!”

“””Yes, ma’am!”””

As Dorothea gave orders, I hoisted Princess Valtrune onto my own back. Right, I’d forgotten to ask one thing.

“Dorothea.”

“…What’s with the grim face?”

I pointed at the depot entrance.

“Didn’t you say the only way to open these doors… was for your magic to break when you died?”

That’s what I wanted to know. How do we get out?

Dorothea tilted her head, then looked away, as if playing dumb.

“…Stupid question. I never planned on any of us walking out of here alive. So, no. The doors won’t open.”

“You mean… we’re trapped.”

“Ah. Well… yes. That’s what it means.”

Her voice was calm, but this was a serious problem.

“Ah, it’ll be fine!”

“Yeah! As long as Lady Dorothea’s alive, who cares!”

The ‘Lizards’ clearly didn’t grasp the severity of the situation.

“Even if we try to force it, that door looks way too solid to break easily.”

“I know. And I reinforced it with magic. It’s tougher than it looks.”

“…Seriously, what are we going to do?”

“We’ll have to break it, won’t we? That swordsmanship of yours… the one that crushed ‘Red Broad.’ Show us what it can do.”

She said it, then let out a huge, lazy yawn.

“By the way, I’m… ‘recovering.’ So I’m leaving the rest to you.”

And with that, she walked to a corner and lit a cigarette.

Where did all that battlefield intensity go?

She was… unbelievably selfish.

“Hey, Aldia! Is that true? We’re trapped?” Flegel ran over, his brow furrowed.

“Yeah… afraid so.”

“Lady Valtrune and Fadi are both out cold… It’s up to us.”

Flegel, wasting no time, started blasting the sealed iron doors with magic. But…

“…It’s not budging.” He whispered, his voice full of despair.

“…Hah. I’ll help.”

“Please. My magic isn’t even scratching it…”

In the end, it took us over two hours to break the door down. And that was with the help of all the ‘Lizards’ (minus Dorothea). A normal iron door would have taken ten minutes… It just shows how powerful a mage Dorothea really was.

“Oh. You’re done? That was, like, ten times faster than I thought.”

Her complete lack of remorse… I had a feeling she was going to be a permanent headache.

“Next time… clean up your own mess.”

“Don’t get so worked up over little things. Stress will kill you, you know?”

“I don’t want to hear that from the person who actually just died.”

“Heh. I thought you were just some stiff-necked knight. You’re actually pretty funny. I like you.”

“…Thanks.”

We finally passed through the warped, mangled doorway. The mission was, at last, over.

…Now, for the mountain of paperwork.

---

23

“Hey! Hey! The ‘White Smoke Lizards’ are officially our allies!”

Fadi, giving me a cheerful thumbs-up, looked happier than I’d seen him in a long time.

I shoved a mountain of documents aside on my desk to look at him.

“…That’s great.”

“Huh? You don’t sound very excited.”

“Well… it was an absolute nightmare integrating the ‘Lizards’ into the Provisional Elite Corps. The negotiations, the paperwork, fabricating new identities for every single member, pulling strings for the new unit’s budget…”

Honestly, the battle was the easy part. Three days and three nights in this office, non-stop… I never want to go through that hell again.

“Ahaha! You look so alive when you’re fighting, but right now you look like a zombie!”

It had been five days since the battle. ‘The White Smoke Lizards’ were now officially an intelligence division under Fadi’s command, answering directly to the Princess. And among their members was Dorothea, who had, by Princess Valtrune’s hand, been pulled back from the brink of death.

“Just so we’re clear, the fact that they are the ‘White Smoke Lizards’…”

“I know, I know! My lips are sealed.”

“Good.”

It was, of course, a secret. As far as the official records were concerned, they were just a group of commoners from the slums who had been recruited.

“…And please, keep them in line, will you? If they cause any more trouble, I will die.”

“You got it, boss!~”

“…I’m not kidding.”

Was it really a good idea to make Fadi their leader?

Well, Dorothea is there to supervise him… which, now that I think about it, is probably worse. They’re just going to cause trouble together.

I was half-hopeful, half-terrified. What this new unit would bring to the corps was still a complete unknown.

“And then! And then! Dorothea said…!”

“Uh-huh, I’m listening.”

“She… she praised me! She actually…”

“I see. Wow.”

“And then…”

“Mhm.”

I was half-listening, half-working, when Fadi suddenly shouted, “AH!” I jumped, my shoulders lurching.

“…What is it now?”

“Oh! I… I totally forgot to tell you something.”

“Forgot?” Before I could ask “What?” he snapped to attention, straightened his back, and gave me a deep, formal bow.

“Thank you very much… for saving the ‘White Smoke Lizards’—my important people!”

It was a thanks filled with genuine sincerity. But I didn’t really do all that much.

“You should be saying that to Rune-sama, not me.”

“Oh, I already thanked her! And Flegel, too! You’re the last one. Hehe.”

He shuffled his feet, looking embarrassed.

“…If you guys hadn’t helped… the ‘Lizards’ would have been wiped out. And Dorothea… she wouldn’t have made it. So all of us… we’re just really, really grateful.”

Being thanked… it didn’t feel bad. And if they really felt that indebted to us, it meant things had gone exactly as I’d hoped.

“…If you’re grateful, then work hard for Rune-sama. That’s the best way you ‘Lizards’ can repay the favor.”

“Yeah! We will!”

A unit composed entirely of former underworld operatives. The potential for disaster was high. But I don’t think they’ll ever betray Princess Valtrune. Fadi’s gratitude… it felt real.