I Was Connected to Earth’s Black Market From Another World With The Skill [Market]! (WN)

Chapter 292

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Chapter 292 – Two Saints

“…Mm?”

Deep in the pitch black, a bluish-white light came on. The light continued to glow at the same intensity for a while, then flickered.

“Is it a battle?”

“There is no sign of it. There are no more enemies, and the light is even. Could that be the signal from Ecla-dono…?”

Myrril-san asked, looking back at the rear compartment. Hjelmar woke up before we knew it, probably from the commotion.

“It’s a magical light signal. It’s telling the Demon King and the others to come over.”

I looked at Myrril, and she shook her head as if to say, “I don’t know.” The signal is a unique symbol of either the Elves or the Republic.

“It’s not like she’s stuck, is it?”

“I don’t think so. Maybe it’s about the treatment of the commander who was kept alive.”

“Hjelmar. I’ll be right back. Take care of the refugees.”

“Leave it to me.”

We avoided opening the gun emplacement, which would let the snow fall on us, and Myrril and I stepped out the door of Casspir. I put on a helmet with night vision goggles, as it seems that my night vision, as well as my eyesight, is fatally compromised compared to the people of this world. Noticing her eyes on me, I offered it to her as well. Nojaloli-san accepted it and happily put it on, not because she had to, but because she and I were matched. She can probably see quite well with the naked eye.

“She’s waving at us.”

I looked in the direction Myrril was pointing and saw a figure in my green field of vision that appeared to be Ecla-san. She was about a hundred meters away. As I teleported with Nojaloli-san in my arms, the witch looked down at a middle-aged man lying in the snowfield. The man, wearing silver armor and a dark blue cape, was breathing out small white breaths slowly and regularly. The shot had been in his knee, it seemed, and if he had been hit by a 7.62mm rifle bullet, his knee could have been shattered into a thousand pieces. He must have been very close to death, but Ecla-san must have cast a healing spell for the purpose of interrogation. His light-colored pants were stained with blood, but as far as I could see, the bleeding had stopped.

“Was this face the result of the interrogation?”

I looked at him and saw that he was looking up at the sky with a happy face.

“From the beginning.”

“It’s a nasty story, isn’t it? If it had been the Imperial Army, it would have been better. At least if it was the cloak of the Eastern Territories, at least the story would be simple.”

Isn’t he wearing blue? It’s too dark to tell, and the image I see is a shade of green.

Ecla-san points to a soldier-like corpse lying on its back a short distance away. On his back was a caricatured sun emblem.

“A red sun on a blue background. It is the cloak of the central territory. I don’t know the guards of the central territory very well, but they are probably the real thing.”

“What is the purpose of the attack? Is it us? Ecla-san? Or anything that enters the central territory?”

“That’s the thing, he didn’t say anything. It’s locked with a magic key, so if you force it out, the whole vessel will be destroyed.”

“…It’s… warm.”

The man who seemed to be the commander shivered as if he had just pissed himself, and he stood still with a smile on his face. That’s one of the things I’ve learned from my experience so far. The more useless the death, the funnier it looks.

“Was it of his own volition that he attacked us?”

“There was no magical inducement, but it is possible that his emotions and memories were altered. That agitated look on his face suggests an instigator.”

“Any ideas?”

“Too many.”

“That’s the same as knowing nothing.”

Myrril laughed, and Ecla-san shook her head in dismay.

“There are many people in the Republic who do not want to make peace with the Empire. In the current situation, especially in the Central Territory. The more people who were in the center of the Republic until recently, the more so.”

“Is it possible that they have called in their allies?”

“Yes. Whether they would attack us immediately or not, they would certainly call them.”

We should assume that they know we are on the move. It is more natural to assume that the enemy is waiting for us on the way to the capital. That would be inconvenient. The hovercraft Griffon is not armored, and the armored troop carriers, the Casspir, are not suited for moving through deep snow. If it weren’t for the refugees, forcing our way through would have been an option.

“No, don’t worry. We just need to keep them away from us.”

“I know it’s not that easy. Well, we’ll just have to do it.”

After storing the bodies of the attackers, we trudged back into the forest where I had parked Casspir.

“We’ll get right on it.”

The night vision goggles revealed a figure. There were eleven of them. I remember the atmosphere of silence and silent killing intent. They were like the secret assassination squads I had seen in the Southern Territories. I don’t remember their names.

“…Mitsuo Tribe, or something like that. Nearly forty of you have been slaughtered, and you still don’t get it. You are offending people you should not be messing with.”

In the past, the Southern Lord McKin was sentenced to death on the orders of a dead member of the Republic Council. Even then, the attackers were destroyed, but the guards escaped. Even though they know the difference in strength between them and us… maybe that’s why they can’t retreat.

“They are beyond help.”

Once they appeared in front of Myrril, they had no chance of victory. The beastmen who rushed forward were shot in the eyeballs one by one and rolled over. The elf who seemed to be trying to turn around and shoot a bow was easily twisted and broken by Ecla-san standing behind us. Myrril-san looked around and fired a straight shot deep into the forest with her head tilted. Blood splatters erupted in the middle of nowhere, as if by some kind of concealment magic, and someone who looked like a lookout rolled over.

I, on the other hand, just watched. I didn’t even have time to raise my weapon because the enemies were destroyed in an instant.

My main job is not to fight. Yes.

“How far is the capital from here, Myrril?”

“A little less than a hundred miles, about ninety or so.”

It is about 150 kilometers. The shortest would be two hours, and several times that, considering detours, fighting, and clearing obstacles. It would be better to wait until morning than to continue in the snowy darkness.

“I’ll take care of the night watch with Hjelmar. You should get some sleep.”

“I’ll do that.”

◇ ◇

I must have slept in the driver’s seat for three or four hours. When I woke up, there was light all around me. Everyone was awake except me, each quietly chewing on the portable food. I had left it in the rear compartment for them to eat as they pleased. After all, it had become a continuous meal. I’ll think of something decent for lunch.

“What are you talking about?”

“I don’t know. It’s new to me, too.”

Behind the driver’s seat, Myrril and Ecla-san were whispering and tilting their heads. When they saw that I was awake, they approached me with confused looks on their faces.

“Did you get some sleep?”

“Yes. Is there a problem?”

“I don’t know. I just got a call from the Council, and I told them about our situation.”

Ecla-san was holding a small box with a magic circle engraved on it. It seems to be some kind of communication magic circle. It looks like a fantasy version of the answer button on a quiz show.

“The guards in the northern and eastern territories were disbanded and those involved in the rebellion were executed. It is said that some of them escaped out of the area before the central army could enter, so it seems that there were some people from the central area who led them. It is said that some of them might have been the ones who showed up in the middle of the night. They want to interrogate him, so can you bring the body in?”

“I will. So what’s the problem?”

Myrril and Ecla-san looked at each other and shook their heads. It was not that they were not in trouble. It was more that it was hard to explain what was troubling them.

“If the people in the northern and eastern regions were to flee, it would be to the empire involved in the rebellion. There’s a lot of fighting going on over there.”

When asked if she knew about it, she nodded. But it is only hearsay. The only thing that seems to be the case is that the General’s faction, which had been pushing for a foreign campaign against Casemaian and the Kingdom of Sariant, has collapsed, and the Prime Minister’s faction, which is now pushing for an expansion of domestic politics, is in power (it seems). After that, I saw that the remnants of the General’s faction incited a rebellion in the Republic, and it was destroyed.

“I see; you were involved in that.”

“Not that we wanted to be.”

“But, Ecla-san, the Prime Minister’s faction is probably the only one left in the Empire now. I understand that the defeated soldiers from the northern and eastern territories would not be accepted, but what do you mean by civil war?”

“There are hardliners and moderates in the Prime Minister’s faction.”

“Those who came to the ceasefire agreement are the moderates, aren’t they?”

“I suppose so. As far as I have read the preliminary negotiations, the current situation is relatively clear. They are willing to make peace and rebuild the country, even at a loss. They even managed to get the Emperor on board and are now negotiating terms at the Hagway. The problem is the hardliners. They would rather sever diplomatic relations and close the borders than bend the knee to the Republic.”

From the Republic’s point of view, this is extremely selfish. They have been ravaging other countries, albeit unsuccessfully. There was no way they could get away with refusing to pay reparations. It is no longer acceptable to say, “They did it on their own, we don’t know. If a cease-fire agreement fails, armed conflict is inevitable, regardless of the scale of the conflict.

“It is like the General’s faction without the backing of the military. No matter how much bravado they have, they will end up being laughed at. If we are to engage in battle, the Empire, which has no troops, will have to draw its forces from somewhere else.

Last night, Myrril killed a former guard from the eastern territories who had either surrendered to the hardliners or been recruited by them. So far, so good. But why are Myrril and Ecla-san in trouble there?

“The only forces that can be brought in are the wanted men of the Republic, and the hardliners of the Empire are at their wit’s end.”

“So we’ve been led on a fool’s errand?”

“I think they’ve been forced to find a new standard bearer.”

“What’s that?”

I remembered hearing the same line when I awoke from my sleep. Myrril asked Ecla-san the same thing. Which brings us back to the first part of the story.

“I heard that the remnants of the defeated soldiers from the North, East, Central, and the Empire are gathering here. They have taken over an old fort called Ilm, located in the southwestern part of the Northern Territories, near the border with the Empire, and call themselves a third force that belongs to neither the Republic nor the Empire.”

Myrril and I looked at each other. Well, I guess they are a third force. It’s all good to create a nation of defeated soldiers, but who would approve of such a thing? It’s not like the Casemaians, who were able to bend over backward and maintain their supply. If they were to survive in isolation, there is no way they could make a living as a group composed only of soldiers. As a bandit group, they might be able to get by.

“What is their purpose? Is it to cancel the execution order? Or to recognize the fort as an independent nation?”

“I haven’t heard anything about that. They just keep repeating, ‘Repent.'”

“Is the flag bearer a religious figure?”

“Not far off, huh? According to them, they are ‘apostles of the saints.'”