Chapter 7 – Emperors Kingdom’s 1^st Knight Order Commander

-Emperors Kingdom’s 1^st Knight Order Commander’s POV-

I confirm the final report from Elegali City.

The death toll: 847 (including former slaves).

The number of missing person: 141 (including former slaves).

Many are injured.

I lifted my gaze from the report while holding back a sigh.

In front of me are the 2^nd Knight Order Commander, Altrog, and his Vice-Commander, Bisrog.

「Thank you for your hard work. That must have been quite a strenuous journey and you must be tired.」

「No, we’re fine. What are you planning to do with the situation in Elegali City? It is already spreading to other towns and villages.」

「….nothing. I know it’s cowardly but I can’t think of any solution right now.」

「Understood.」

「Ah, Commander Altrog, please get some rest. For the sake of your men.」

「…..okay.」

The vice commander looked relieved upon hearing that.

If I don’t tell him to do so, Commander Altrog will immediately go on to another work and will forget to have his men rest.

It’s not that he forgets, it’s just that he thinks his men are fine since he’s fine himself….his men are not happy.

They even cried out to him before when they were in the same situation.

I can still see the bitter smile on the vice commander’s face.

I watched them leave the room and let out a big sigh.

-0-

Right now, the Emperors Kingdom is in the midst of chaos.

One of the most chaotic places is the city of Elegali.

The city had collapsed due to a dispute between the citizens and the former slaves.

What the 2^nd knight order saw when they arrived at Elegali was that the city was in flames.

My subordinates informed me that there were conflicts in the city so I asked the 2^nd knight order to move immediately but they weren’t able to make it in time.

In just two days, a city was burnt to the ground.

-0-

The former slaves were forced to work behind the scenes to support the towns and villages.

It could be said that they knew the best way to destroy towns and villages.

There was no way those who spent their lives without hardship could win in a fight against them.

Since the outcome was obvious from the beginning, the members of the 1^st knight order were sent to towns and villages to persuade the lords….

However, without sacrifices, they would never understand.

But there were too many sacrifices.

-0-

There are voices of opposition to the liberation of slaves in various places of this kingdom now.

However, given what happened to Elegali, perhaps those voices will calm down for a moment.

Given the present situation, if we don’t do something about it, more damage will be done.

….what should we do?

-0-

—Scene Change—

-0-

The entrance of the room opens with a bang.

When I look at who it is in surprise, I found the 3^rd Knight Order Vice-Commander, Krubiavis.

「The magic stone!….a part of the magic stone was stolen!」

I gulped upon hearing what he said.

I had asked the 3^rd Knight Order to guard the magic stone in case something happened.

「I’m sorry. The commander is….」

Ah, Virtua, the 3^rd Knight Order Commander, is certainly someone I don’t trust that much.

However, because of the lack of manpower, I turned blind eye to it.

「I’m sorry. I made a mistake.」

The 3^rd Knight Order was split into two groups. One was under the commander and the other one was under the vice commander.

The vice commander understands the importance of freeing the slaves but the commander was….

According to the vice commander, nearly half of the 3^rd Knight Order disappeared along with some of the stolen magic stones.

The vice commander repeatedly apologizes to me with a heart breaking expression.

「Calm down. This is something that I should have anticipated.」

That’s right.

There were few pro slavery groups among the knights but there were a certain number of them.

The 1^st, 2^nd, and 4^th Knight Order have seen the slaves being protected by something in the castle.

Even if they hadn’t seen it themselves, they had heard rumors about the consequences of those who had messed with the slaves.

It’s horrible for a knight to have his memory and knowledge taken away, that’s basically losing everything.

Those who felt the horror became proactive in freeing the slaves.

However, the 3^rd Knight Order had been dispatched to various villages back then so they haven’t felt the horror firsthand.

That difference has become a major dividing line here.