Goto, standing watch, was beginning to grow afraid.
'Fuck, why isn't he coming?'
Rohan had not returned even though the sun was rising.
Goto had even lied to the Deputy Platoon Leader because Rohan had promised him meat...
He had never imagined Rohan would stay out until morning had already arrived.
The other sentries had said Rohan usually returned before morning training.
But it was time for training now, and there was still no sign of him.
If Rohan did not return, Goto would also be held responsible as the man who had been on watch.
'And where did Rainer go?'
The Deputy Platoon Leader, who had said he was going on patrol, had not returned either.
Rainer was secretive and strong enough to handle most matters alone, so Goto was not too worried about him.
Even so, he could not shake the uneasy feeling lodged in a corner of his mind.
CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG!
At last, the signal announcing the start of the day's duties rang out.
It was the sound of a spoon striking an empty pot.
"Yaaawn. Goto, nothing happened, right?"
"...Ah, of course not."
The damned senior sentry finally shuffled out, his hair sticking up like a bird's nest.
Before he knew it, Goto had lied again.
"If anything happened, you're dead."
"......."
The senior sentry went back into the tent.
Goto sighed in relief when the man asked no questions, only for someone else to tap him on the shoulder.
"Shift change. Anything happen?"
"Ah... no."
He had no idea why so many people were asking whether anything had happened today.
After blurting out another lie, Goto removed the sentry's armband and handed it over.
Just in case, he peered into the Fourth Squad's tent.
"What? Get lost."
His blood pressure rose when someone shoved him, but once he saw it was Kaisen, he said nothing.
Getting on that bastard's bad side would make the whole day miserable.
The best course was to avoid a mad dog.
"One of our squad members told you to get lost."
When he continued peering inside, a woman's voice spoke this time.
Her gaze was icy and cold.
Johanna, who seemed to possess not a speck of feminine charm, shoved Goto aside and entered the barracks.
'What a bitch...'
At the commotion, Squad Leader Creed looked steadily at Goto from where he was arranging the bedding inside the tent.
Unable to read that gaze, Goto finally left.
There was not a single likable bastard in the entire Fourth Squad.
'He's not here. Where the hell is he?'
Fear abruptly seized Goto.
His chest tightened more and more.
Then he spotted a tiny boy in the distance.
The boy was trudging toward him with meat slung over one shoulder...
'It's Rohan!'
He had never imagined he would be so happy to see that face.
A bright smile appeared on Goto's face, which had been stiff with worry all morning.
Rohan looked like a savior to him.
Meeting Goto's eyes, Rohan gestured toward the supply warehouse.
There should be no one in the supply warehouse right now.
'Whew, that took ten years off my life.'
When Goto opened the tent flap and stepped inside, ah... the scent of meat, which he had not smelled in ages, stimulated all five of his senses.
Rohan handed him what appeared to be a piece of meat from a deer's leg.
Goto snatched it at once.
With the tension gone, Goto began pouring out everything he had suffered through.
"Hey, Rohan. Do you know how worried I was? I lied to the Deputy Platoon Leader, lied to my senior..."
"Yeah. Thanks."
"What the hell happened to you?"
Goto had not gotten a proper look from a distance, but up close, Rohan was a wreck.
Blood dripped from a gash across his chest, and his face was pale.
His robe was caked in dirt, as though he had rolled around somewhere.
"I ran into a wild boar on the way back."
"It happens. You must've had a rough time. We both suffered, so we'll call it even."
His concern lasted only a moment.
Goto sniffed the meat, then took a huge bite.
The rich taste he had not experienced in so long nearly brought tears to his eyes.
"Ah, it's delicious. Delicious. To think I'd get to eat this in the middle of a war. Tell those fucking potatoes to get lost."
Chomp, chomp.
Rohan silently watched Goto eat.
While Goto was devouring the meat, Rohan suddenly spoke.
"Goto. Do you know much about monkshood?"
"Monkshood?"
Goto blinked with food still in his mouth.
It was a lethally poisonous flower no soldier could fail to know.
'Ah, Rohan is a new recruit.'
Then perhaps he really did not know.
Goto swallowed his food and spoke.
"Of course. It's deadly poisonous. Eat it and you'll die, so don't even look at any purple flower with its head bowed."
After finishing, Goto took another bite of the meat.
Rohan watched him for a while, then abruptly asked.
"Is it good?"
"Yeah. It tastes good... Huh? Smack, smack... smack. Fuck, why does it suddenly taste like this? Ptooey!"
After chewing a few more times, Goto spat out the food.
It was as though his tongue had suddenly gone numb. He could no longer taste anything.
And it was not only his tongue.
Sensation was gradually vanishing from his body.
He saw Rohan smiling.
"Something's wrong with my body. Do I have a fever?"
Goto placed a hand against his head.
He did not seem to have a fever.
That was when it happened.
The commotion outside the tent suddenly grew intense.
The Fourth Platoon's Deputy Platoon Leader was dead!!
Rainer was dead!
He could hear soldiers rushing about in droves.
Goto's eyes widened.
'Rainer is dead?'
Goto stared at Rohan in shock.
Only then did he take a proper look at Rohan's chest.
'Fuck, what is that? It's a sword wound.'
Now that he looked closely, it was plainly a cut from a blade.
Could Rohan have done it? Killed Rainer?
It was impossible, but...
"Ugh..."
And what was wrong with his body?
Why had Rohan suddenly asked about monkshood...?
"You couldn't have... Gasp!"
Goto clutched the area around his heart.
He could no longer speak.
His bloodshot eyes turned toward Rohan.
Monkshood......
You son of a bitch......
CRASH. Goto finally toppled sideways.
- Who was on watch yesterday!
- G-Goto... It was Goto!
"Ugh..."
He had to get outside quickly.
He had to tell them the truth...
But his body would not move.
Through his fading vision, he saw Rohan looking down at him.
A chill ran down Goto's spine.
There was not a trace of emotion in Rohan's face.
***
Rohan hid Goto well in a place inside the warehouse where no one would notice him.
The supply warehouse was not guarded by a dedicated sentry, and few people entered it, so it would take time for anyone to find him.
Goto would not die.
Rohan had applied only enough poison to leave him bedridden for a few days.
There was no need for needless killing.
His mother had taught him not to harm innocent lives.
Rohan crawled back to the Fourth Squad's tent.
He had no strength left in his body.
Perhaps they had heard that the Deputy Platoon Leader was dead, because no one was inside the barracks.
'I nearly died.'
Rohan placed the deer meat he had brought in the bucket that served as a food tray, then sat on the edge of his bed.
He crushed the herbs he had picked while retrieving the deer and laid them over his chest.
The burning in his chest eased considerably.
'I need to be more careful from now on.'
He had fed Rainer poison, then attacked because he wanted to see the Swift Sword with his own eyes before the poison spread.
Rainer would have died even if Rohan had not challenged him.
In the end, Rohan's needless bravado could have gotten him killed instead.
It had been a day that made him keenly aware that the world of the sword had no end and he still had far to go.
Rohan's eyelids trembled.
There was too much to think through and organize.
The enemy's scheme, the details of the coming operation, Rainer's swordsmanship, the Swift Sword, his life...
So many things had entered Rohan's mind.
His first priority was attending the gathering of Noxis spies in three days.
To do that, he first needed to recover.
Rohan's consciousness faded into the distance.
Even then, he was certain of one thing.
'The supplies must be mine.'
The supplies the Carnia Empire was fighting so desperately to transport.
The supplies Noxis was fighting so desperately to seize.
The contents had entered Rohan's mind.
'A Phantom Beast Egg...'
Imbued with an unknown power.
A Phantom Beast was said to grant immense power to its owner.
That was the true nature of the supplies.
***
"Rainer is dead?"
Knight Commander Shupern jerked in surprise when he received the report.
Rainer was a highly skilled man.
No one could match his Swift Sword.
Most people in the unit would have been unable to kill him.
"Cause of death?"
"Poisoning, sir."
"Poisoning?"
"And..."
The soldier giving the report hesitated.
Shupern gestured with his chin for the man to continue.
"His eyes... The corpse has no eyes."
"What?"
Shupern frowned.
The culprit had not only killed Rainer but taken his eyes?
Who in the unit could possibly have done such a thing?
"The culprit?"
"We haven't found them yet. The sentry assigned near Rainer's barracks is missing."
"What did you say?"
And even the sentry had disappeared.
That meant the crime had been committed according to a meticulous plan.
'Who in the world...?'
A thought struck Shupern like lightning.
'Could it be?'
Only one person came to mind.
"Rohan. Where is Rohan?"
"Do you mean the Fourth Platoon's new recruit?"
"Yes. Bring Rohan here. If he isn't there, bring his Squad Leader. Hurry!"
"Yes, sir!"
The soldier jumped at Shupern's shout and hurried away.
Left alone, Shupern pressed a hand against his head.
'Rohan, you bastard...'
Rohan had told Shupern he would root out the spies.
Shupern had offered to help, but Rohan argued that the spies would probably notice if the Knight Commander made a move, so Shupern had trusted him and stayed out of it.
If Rohan was responsible for this incident, then Rainer had been a spy for Noxis.
Shupern's headache grew worse.
That was when it happened.
"Commander, this is Creed, Squad Leader of the Fourth Squad."
Creed's voice came from outside the tent.
"Come in."
At Shupern's response, the tent flap opened and Creed entered.
He seemed to have some idea why he had been summoned.
Before Shupern could speak, Creed spoke first.
"Rohan killed Rainer."
"Evidence?"
Shupern also went straight to the point.
Creed took a vial from inside his clothes.
"It's poison made from pressed monkshood. I found it on Rohan."
"What is Rohan doing now?"
"He collapsed with a sword wound to the chest. He's been asleep ever since."
Shupern stroked his chin.
There was no way to know immediately whether Rainer had been a spy.
But trusting Rohan completely also left him uneasy.
"Creed. What do you think?"
Creed was the person who had observed Rohan most closely.
Shupern thought he needed to understand Creed's position first.
"He said he was going to catch the Noxis spies. Then Rainer died."
"Do you believe him?"
"No."
Creed answered flatly.
"I still doubt that Hans was a spy. The same goes for Rainer."
"How long had Hans been in the squad?"
"Three years."
Shupern's eyes narrowed.
He searched through a drawer, took out the soldiers' record cards, and rapidly flipped through them.
After checking the date Rainer enlisted, he murmured.
"Rainer also joined the unit three years ago."
"......"
Shupern searched the drawer again and took out a potion.
It was so expensive that ordinary soldiers would never even see one.
He tossed the potion to Creed.
"Wake Rohan."
"And then?"
"Rohan said the Noxis spies would gather sometime this week. Help him if there is anything you can do."
"You believe him?"
"Who knows? The outcome will tell us. But there can be no more killing. You stop him from doing that."
"......Understood."
Creed wore a troubled expression.
Shupern felt just as uneasy.
But since he had given Rohan one week, all he could do was wait for the result.
Moving rashly would only ruin everything in this line of work.
'He's strangely careless. That only bothers me more.'
If Rohan had killed someone he should not have, Shupern doubted he would act this carelessly.
Had Creed not noticed and reported it at once, almost as though Rohan wanted them to see?
Shupern wanted to visit Rohan himself or summon him for questioning, but too many eyes were watching.
He remembered the conversation he had with Rohan on the first day.
- Is there anything I can do to help?
- If the Knight Commander makes a move, the spies will notice easily. Just trust me.
Shupern narrowed his eyes.
Rohan had clearly spoken after accounting for the weight carried by the rank of Knight Commander.
If all of this was truly meant to catch the spies...
One rash move from Shupern could ruin everything.
Shupern suddenly asked.
"How long has Rohan been in the camp?"
"Including the time he spent unconscious, this is his fifth day."
"Five days."
Shupern narrowed his eyes.
He had given Rohan one week.
Only two days remained.
"If the spies don't gather within two days..."
That was the reason Shupern had kept Rohan alive in the first place.
If Rohan could not prove it.
"Kill him quietly."