Bermuda [bl]

Thanks to the dense vegetation on both sides, the open road in the center looked particularly barren. Chaotic wheel tracks on the sprawling ground all led to one point.

Originally, there was no checkpoint here. The flimsy barricade that could be broken through if rammed was evidence of this. The serene forest path visible beyond the hastily erected obstacles arranged in two rows was perceived as if it were a disconnected space-time.

Meanwhile, one of the knights who spotted them raised his arm high and wiggled his hand as if beckoning them to come closer. The arrogant gesture was clearly reflected in the dark car window.

The driver swallowed dryly and looked at her lord in the rearview mirror. Although there was no significant change in his expression, a bluish vein protruded on his jaw.

Beep–

–My lord, shall we retreat?

The blue eyes surveyed the number and atmosphere of the people visible about 50 meters ahead on the left. It was to determine if the five knights who had been chasing them earlier were among them. If so, they would have already witnessed the vehicles fleeing, making it pointless to continue this standoff.

However, horses couldn't outrun the escort vehicles, and since they had driven almost in a straight line, there was no possibility of another shortcut existing. Moreover, to interfere with their communication, Hareth's knights had been spreading jamming signals since the moment the convoy departed. The anti-eavesdropping radio, unaffected by the signal interference, was the only means of communication available in this area.

In other words, there was a high possibility that they didn't know the identity of this vehicle. That alone was enough to make the gamble worthwhile. Hugo lowered his own body temperature to calm his heartbeat.

He gestured towards the front seats as if telling them to press the transmit button.

"No, keep going straight ahead. Slowly."

"Pardon?"

The two in the front seats asked back with surprised faces. As the person in the passenger seat had just pressed the button, the voice from the radio hadn't come back yet. However, a similar emotion could be felt from the shadows visible through the rear window of the car in front.

Hugo calmly added:

"This is the road that the Council's Southern Branch support troops used. It's not strange for a few escort vehicles to pass through. Act naturally as if transporting the deceased to headquarters."

"But my lord, if they insist on inspecting the interior–"

"They have no justification to inspect the Council. If they want to inspect, they should have sent a cooperation request to a superior commander in advance, and if they had, I, as the highest-ranking official, would certainly know about it. If not that, then..."

'They would need to bring an imperial edict.'

But it was unlikely that they had come with an imperial edict. If their purpose aligned with the Emperor's will, an imperial order would have been issued to him first, even before they had to come all the way to this remote area.

Although he didn't know for what purpose or on what grounds they were moving, their behavior of chasing the vehicles without warning fueled his suspicion that they were looking for the pitiful one in his arms.

Hugo grasped Leonardo's limp hand. At this moment, the Imperial Knights were enemies to be shaken off.

Even if a situation arose where they had to clash with them by force, he would step in himself rather than let this hand fall into their possession.

"...If they pressure us claiming they have justification or tell lies, we'll have to use deception too."

Hugo continued in a subdued voice. The two in the front seats met each other's eyes.

As they understood his meaning and nodded, soon the radio beeped.

Beep–

–Understood.

The car in front that had been stopped slowly started to move.

The sound of wheels crushing the dry dirt ground gradually grew closer. Two knights on horseback dismounted from their saddles. They gestured for the two approaching vehicles to stop in front of the barricade. Soon, one of them approached the driver's side of the front car and politely knocked on the window.

"There will be a brief inspection. Please cooperate."

Although the sound was muffled because the window was closed, it was close enough to clearly understand what was being said outside. The driver of the lead vehicle didn't open the window. He had his nose and lower face covered with a gas mask.

The radio's transmit button was fixed to stay pressed without needing to touch it.

The driver answered the knight in a tone that was polite but lacked leisure:

"What's the matter? We're in a bit of a hurry right now."

Any words spoken without opening the window would sound like a refusal to cooperate. Perhaps because of this, the knight's expression strangely hardened. However, he didn't forcefully open the window like someone who had blocked the northern convoy.

The knight, with his face half-covered by a helmet, explained the situation once more:

"We received a report that a suspect in a heinous crime in Barmot's central area has stolen a black military vehicle and fled."

–...received a report that he fled.

In the car behind, they were receiving the conversation through the radio. Hugo sneered as if finding it absurd.

Barmot was attached to the northern side of Fidele and was quite far from here. Moreover, if someone had really stolen a vehicle and fled, there was no reason to come down south near the branch. In the first place, if there had been a heinous crime, it should have been transferred to the Council. Yet here were the busy Imperial Knights personally conducting inspections to catch one criminal; such a half-hearted lie sometimes makes people angry.

The driver of the front car, who was conversing face-to-face, also found it ridiculous, though he didn't show it. However, while showing some displeasure, he tried to pass it off relatively mildly.

"A heinous crime, you say? Thank you for your hard work. These days, the branch has hardly been able to pay attention to that area... We haven't spotted any suspicious vehicles on our way here. If we do notice anything later, we'll immediately report it through headquarters."

The driver answered with a nuance that suggested this matter was irrelevant to them at the moment and they would like to pass through now. Then he gripped the steering wheel and moved the vehicle closer to the barricade, implying they should clear the obstacles. However, perhaps seeing this as a signal for escape, the knights blocking the front suddenly moved swiftly.

Click–

They shouldered the muskets strapped to their backs and aimed the muzzles at the driver. The two people in the front vehicle were taken aback by the sudden collective aiming. The driver, with wide eyes, confronted the knight attached to the window:

"W-What is the meaning of this?"

"We were instructed to check the faces of all occupants and search the interior if we saw similar vehicles, as the suspect might have disguised himself or hidden inside. It will be troublesome, but please cooperate with the investigation. If you move the vehicle without permission like just now, you may become a target for firing."

The knight spoke without hesitation, using a calm and articulate tone despite his rude words. As he finished speaking, another one standing behind circled the vehicle once. Prowling like a hyena and pulling the door handles several times, he came back, aimed his gun at the driver's seat, and said:

"Either get out, or open the back door yourself."

It was a clear threat. The driver stared blankly at the blade attached to the end of the gun barrel.

Being an old-fashioned bayonet, even if the trigger was pulled, it wouldn't fire as long as the blade was blocking the muzzle. Thinking it was just for intimidation, he found it merely ridiculous. The driver shook his head.

"We are transporting corpses collected from the peninsula. The temperature is high, both outside and inside the vehicle, so we need to hurry to headquarters before the bodies decay further. I understand the situation, but this kind of forced execution–"

"Open it."

At that moment, the knight who had been speaking politely until now changed his tone and delivered a cold command.

"..."

"Don't waste time, I said open it."

Hugo, who had been gauging the situation only through the radio while the curtains were drawn on the car windows, felt a vein pop on his forehead at that moment. Whether they were acting like this because they didn't know he was here or not, such behavior was a matter that could lead to inter-agency conflict and was extremely disrespectful.

Hugo's hand, which had been firmly pressing his lips, slowly moved towards the door lock. He organized in his mind how to handle the situation afterwards if he revealed himself to them here.

Just then, the driver, sensing movement, turned back and silently shook her head at him. Then, after drawing the curtain between the seats to completely cover the back seat, she put on dark glasses, faced forward, and advised:

"Please wait. We'll handle this ourselves."

Meanwhile, the driver of the lead vehicle just stared blankly at the other party without taking any action. He gazed at the eyes inside the helmet with an ambiguous look, then reached his hand to the back seat and unlocked the car door.

Click-

As soon as the unlocking sound was heard, the knight aiming the bayonet lowered his gun. The knight grabbed the handle of the back seat door, flung it open, and grumbled in an irritated voice:

"It's easier for everyone if you just do it quickly, why take so long?"

He grabbed the long-drawn curtain and half-pulled it as if about to tear it off. At that moment, the knight who had dropped his bayonet stumbled back in shock.

"Ugh, uwaagh–!"

His heavy body, clad in armor, lost balance and tumbled to the ground.

Pale-faced, he flailed his legs, grasped at the dirt, and quickly crawled backward. Then, trembling like a foal, he got up, threw off his helmet, ran towards the edge of the grass, grabbed a tree trunk, and collapsed.

"Urgh, uurgh, kuh–"

Kneeling and bending over in the undergrowth, he repeatedly dry heaved with a reddened face. Vomit mixed with bile plummeted to the ground with a splat. Disgusting remnants mixed with gastric juices splattered in all directions.

His back, heaving grotesquely as if about to breathe his last, trembled like an aspen leaf.

The air in the area suddenly chilled at his colleague's alarming reaction. In the middle of the road filled with tension, only the rattling engine noise and the sound of retching lingered.

"...What's going on?"

The knight at the car window, finding it strange, immediately drew the sword from his waist and gripped the handle in reverse. Taking a stance as if ready to strike down whatever might jump out, he slowly walked towards the back seat.

He lightly grasped the curtain swaying in the wind and peeked inside.

"Oh, sh–!"

Spitting out a curse, he slammed the car door shut. He closed it so hard that the vehicle body shook slightly.

Although he hurriedly covered his mouth and nose with the back of his hand, a horrific sight was reflected through the car window. A form so mangled it was hard to believe it had been human was sprawled miserably on a stretcher.