Plain Girl Hero of Darkness
Chaos in Fort Astra! - (3)

"Thank you for your kind offer, I'll gladly accept it."

It is not wise to sit with Holy Angel, but Sofitia hates insignificant manners. Lara did not protest, and sat in a chair prepared by the officer who was terrified of her. Another officer timidly poured tea for him. The refreshing aroma of the tea rose with steam and entered Lara's nose.

Meanwhile, Sofitia had an escort prepare another snack.

"-What brings you here? You don't seem to be feeling well."

Sofitia faced Lara and asked in a joking tone.

"Excuse my presumption, but may I ask why you sent Amelia to this task? Lady Berlietta might not exist, but she would still face the Crimson Knight. In my humble opinion, he is not a suitable choice. "

Amelia was promoted to Chiliarch recently. He is capable, but clearly lacks experience. If something unwanted happens, he may not be able to react appropriately. So Lara felt she would be the best candidate for this task.

(Chiliarch: Ciliarch. Military rank from ancient Greece.)

"- I understand what you are saying ... But didn't you underestimate the abilities of your subordinates?"

"Impress them? Did she?"

"Yes. You judge them by using yourself as the standard, don't you?"

Sofitia gently put down her teacup and looked at Lara with a stern look. Lara was stunned for a moment, but still remembered Sofitia's words. Lara was not confident enough to directly reject this statement. Sofitia was right, Lara always compared her subordinates to herself, and felt disappointed by their incompetence.

"As you say, Holy Angel."

Lara confessed, and Sofitia smiled in response.

"Amelia is not as strong as you. He is young, and still immature in many areas. But I'm not worried about him at all. Otherwise, I wouldn't have promoted him to Chiliarch in the first place."

In rank order (bottom dr to top), the military ranks of the Holy Nation of Mekia are 《Sentinel》, 《Decanus》, 《Senior Decanus》, 《Centurion》, 《Centurion Senior》, 《Chiliarch》, etc, 《Senior Chiliarch》 and 《Holy Legate》. Normally, when an ordinary person graduated from the only Military Academy in the Holy Mekia Country, St. Endumion, they will be given the rank of Decanus, while the nobility will be appointed as Centurion (Perwira).

After all, things were different when they reached the Chiliarch rank. In addition to extraordinary abilities, the ability to cast magic was a mandatory requirement. In other words, 《Chiliarchs》, 《Senior Chiliarchs》 and 《Holy Legate》 are all Witches.

But those who had an innate talent for Magic were rare. And most of them would die young due to their uncontrolled magic power. The Pope of the main Church of Saint Illuminas, Krishna Halbert, also lamented the decline of suitable candidates over the past decade.

For all these reasons, Witches were like trump cards to the Mekian Saints.

"... I've understood. I am also a Holy Representative (Holy Legate), and will not object to the wishes of the Holy Angel (Holy Angel)."

Lara got up from her seat, and knelt in front of Sofitia.

"I understand your concern, but this mission is to weaken the Crimson Knight, not seize their territory. In this case, Amelia was perfectly suited for the task. Next-"

Sofitia stopped in the middle of the sentence, and silence enveloped the courtyard.

Lara raised her head slowly, and saw Sofitia smiling coldly. Lara's throat felt dry, and she gulped before asking in a tense manner:

"next?"

"Silver. Moreover, her smile was the most beautiful on the battlefield."

Imperial Army, Main Gate of Astra Fort

Late at night, two soldiers stood guard at the main gate of Fort Astra.

One of the guards, Derek curled up with trembling legs could not stand it anymore, and complained:

"Hey, has the next shift arrived yet? If they don't come, I'll freeze to death. "

The middle-aged soldier beside him, Kyle, clamped his spear under his armpit, and looked at Derek before replying:

"Given the bad weather, they might be hiding by the fireplace."

"Curtain! That's very possible. "

Derek clicked his tongue and looked inside the gate. He then clicked his tongue reluctantly again. They are assigned as night watchmen because of their incredible skills within the Crimson Knight, albeit so-so

"Hmm?-Hey, there's movement, and it's heading our way."

The tense-sounding crane quickly scanned the area. In addition to his exceptional skills, his sharp hearing became another reason why he was chosen as the night watchman.

Kyle steeled his spear and looked ahead warily. A while later, a person in white robes appeared before them with calm footsteps.

"-woman? Oh ~ it's a woman. "

- Derek sounds a lot more relaxed.

"Don't let your guard down even if she's a woman."

Kyle looked at the woman who appeared and scanned the surroundings, but did not feel anyone else.

"You're there! What are you doing, woman?"

The woman did not react to Derek's question, and approached slowly like a ghost.

"Hey, stop!"

Kyle shouting. They had orders from Colonel Gaier not to let anyone near the gate, not even children.

"This is your last warning. If you take one step closer - "

Derek stepped forward quickly and drew his sword. It was clear from his face that this was a threat. But even so, the woman did not stop.

"... You got guts."

A murderous glint appeared in Derek's eyes, and he raised his sword to prepare to attack. Somehow, a few steps out of the reach of the sword, the woman suddenly fell down.

"... She fell?"

"It seems so..."

They looked at each other and walked together. As Kyle examined the woman, Derek leaned forward and asked:

"Is he dead?"

"No, he's still breathing. He just fainted."

"Curtain! So he didn't hear what we said."

The confused crane sheathed his sword and kicked the stone with his foot. The sound of rolling stones resounded in the night.

"Forgot that, look at that woman's robe."

At first glance, this was only a manufacturer's robe, but if looked closely, not only was the robe of excellent quality, there was intrinsic embroidery on it from collar to shoulder.

"This silver wing symbol ... He's a worshiper of the Saint Illuminas Church?"

Derek looked tense, and Kyle was the same.

"It should be. And he also has a high position."

"I think so too. So what are we gonna do?"

"Even if you ask me, I don't know ..."

If he was just an ordinary worshiper, there would be no problem with throwing him into the wild. But the thing is, he has a high position. The influence of the Church of Saint Illuminas is extensive. If they ignored him, he would freeze to death. If the Church finds out about this, it will be chaos.

As Kyle was thinking of reporting this to the top of the chain of command, the woman groaned and turned her body face down. His white forehead opened completely, and Derek gulped from the lewd scene.

"Hey... Don't even think about it. He's out of your level."

Looking closely, the woman looked beautiful. Derek was known to be depraved, so Kyle warned him beforehand.

"W-You don't have to tell me that."

Despite saying that, Kyle's gaze towards the open thigh was very distorted. The girl seemed to wake up, and she tried to stand up while swinging her head. His robe fell down and his long blue hair unraveled.

"Hey! Are you okay?"

Seeing the girl almost fall again, Kyle quickly supported her. After blinking a few times, the girl heaved a sigh of relief. Understanding what happened, he said timidly:

"I-I'm sorry to bother you."

"No, not really. but what are you doing here?"

Kyle asked. The girl was apparently attacked by bandits during her pilgrimage. His friends were killed one by one, and he fled towards here after fighting desperately.

As she told her story, the girl began to tremble again, probably due to the fear that was building up in her heart.

"It's terrible."

"You're right... By the way, has anyone escaped here?"

...****************...

...To Be Continue's...