The Walking Fortress
"S-Squad leader! Something seems to be approaching!?"
The gatekeepers immediately went into Level One alert.
They raised their rifles and took cover behind the barricades.
A moment later, the source of the tremors emerged from the dense forest.
It was an enormous boulder.
The boulder was moving.
But that impression lasted only briefly. As it drew closer, they realized it was not a golem, but a suit of armor.
No—could it truly be called armor?
It was so heavy that the ground trembled with every step.
It looked as though one of the golems normally seen underground was advancing toward them.
It came closer and closer.
The figure was only about two meters tall, yet it seemed as imposing as a mountain.
As it approached, the squad leader opened his mouth to fulfill his duty.
"S-Sto…"
The man could not even properly utter the simple word stop.
Once the armored figure was close enough, he came to a halt and lowered his shield in front of him.
Kooong!
The shield sank deeply into the earth, and the man stopped moving.
One of the gatekeepers cautiously approached and asked,
"W-Who are you?"
Faced with a threat to his life, his speech naturally became polite.
Without saying a word, the armored man unfolded a crumpled sheet of paper.
It was tattered beyond belief, but the seal stamped upon it belonged to Count Consilus.
"'This document certifies that the bearer is a knight who distinguished himself in the current monster subjugation campaign and has come to seek an audience with Regent Ferda Valdrova'… Huh?"
The gatekeepers looked at the document, then at one another.
"That can't be… Isn't there some kind of mistake?"
"The armored knight who was supposed to come already entered, didn't he?"
"Yeah. We were told he'd arrive around the morning, and he did arrive this morning…"
Despite the certificate, they could not simply refuse him entry, leaving the guards visibly troubled.
"Y-You may pass."
When the squad leader returned the certificate, the armored man lifted his shield and resumed walking.
His impossibly heavy footsteps carried him toward Hestia Village.
Meanwhile, Erika was delighted that the armored knight, Valdrova, had accepted her proposal.
I thought this would take much longer to resolve. I never expected it to work out so easily.
Erika clenched her fists to suppress the trembling brought on by her sense of accomplishment, then expressed her gratitude.
"Kh…! Thank you very much. If the day ever comes when the Cerdes Continent is saved, it will undoubtedly have been made possible through your assistance, Sir Knight."
Taking advantage of the pleasant atmosphere, Erika carefully asked another question.
"I will guarantee your anonymity, so could you perhaps reveal just a little about your identity?"
Shake, shake, shake!
"I understand. It is unfortunate… but I suppose it cannot be helped."
One defining trait of Iorga's spawn was that once their curiosity was aroused, they had to satisfy it eventually.
Erika concluded the conversation for now while privately vowing that she would uncover the knight's identity someday.
She dispelled the isolation magic.
"Then tomorrow, please visit the Adventurers' Guild first rather than the labor union. We need to coordinate our movements, and I understand that you are not working merely for financial reasons, so we will also need to adjust your schedule."
Nod, nod.
With the discussion concluded, Valdrova and Erika stepped outside.
Hanson, whom they had expected to find waiting outside the door, was standing in front of the labor union lobby, flustered and unsure of what to do.
It was because of the statue standing before the entrance.
Hanson was speaking to that statue.
"Excuse me, but this is not the Adventurers' Guild. It is the labor union. This is not somewhere you should be…"
But it was not a statue.
It was a man clad in such heavy armor that calling him a fortress would hardly have been an exaggeration.
His armor and shield had rippling surfaces, as though they had melted and hardened over and over again. They looked so heavy that merely taking a single step seemed impossible.
At the same time, the fact that he had walked here at all proved that he possessed enough strength that no one would dare stand in his way.
The sight alone was suffocating.
Erika tilted her head slightly and asked Valdrova,
"Do you know him?"
Shake, shake.
The only acquaintances Valdrova had were dragons, and there was no dragon who would walk around wearing armor like that.
Even if one of them had taken human form, they would have shown their own appearance rather than wrapping themselves up so completely.
The helmet of the knight, who had been standing perfectly still like a statue, shifted.
Valdrova felt a gaze from behind the visor.
He was looking directly at her.
"Is it… you?"
A reverberating voice broke the deep silence.
"The shameless thief who stole another man's achievement."
At that moment, Valdrova's exceptional combat instincts allowed her to see it clearly.
The subtle precursor to his movement revealed that he intended to bring his club down upon her head.
The thick, solid club began to move.
"What do you think you're doing…?!"
Erika reacted immediately.
She used magic to bind his arm and stop the club.
Crash!
No—she failed.
Erika's intention shattered along with the magical chains she had cast.
"What…?!"
Erika's spell was a fifth-circle binding spell.
It was powerful enough to restrain even an ogre, a creature nearly impossible to overpower in a direct contest of strength.
Yet that man had broken through it.
She had already estimated his strength from the fact that he wore such heavy armor, but even that assessment now seemed like a severe underestimation.
That immense force descended toward Valdrova's head.
KOOONG!!
A shockwave erupted.
"Aaah!"
"Uwaagh!"
Everyone nearby was knocked onto their backsides, and dust rained down from the ceiling.
Had the blow landed directly, there would not have been enough left of its target to recognize.
But that did not happen.
The club had not struck the floor.
It had stopped above the armored knight's head.
Just as the man had swung the club with one hand, the armored knight had caught its end with one hand.
"..."
The man exhaled audibly.
"So even a thief like you possesses some skill?"
Still holding the club, Valdrova looked around.
People had fallen over, and the entire building had shaken violently.
The building… almost collapsed.
Emotion surged within her.
The building I constructed…
It was the first true anger she had felt since the incident with Godwin.
Just as that emotion was about to burst forth from Valdrova's heart—
"What is the meaning of this disturbance in someone else's territory?"
A young man's voice rang out.
It carried a weight that made it difficult to believe its owner was not even twenty years old.
The moment Valdrova heard it, her anger evaporated like steam.
The voice that came between them belonged to someone Valdrova knew extremely well.
Mr. Ferda…!
It was her incomparably handsome fiancé.
Before the incident occurred,
Ferda had received a report from Isabella.
—An armored knight had already entered, but we have received word that another armored knight has now arrived.
Ferda could not make sense of it, so he asked Isabella to explain.
—The first is the armored knight who was already working here. The one who arrived afterward is a man carrying a certificate issued by Count Consilus.
"Is that so?"
The first had to be the armored knight he already knew.
And the second was undoubtedly Alberdo, the man known as the Walking Fortress.
Had that been all, Ferda would simply have dismissed it as a misunderstanding.
Isabella probably would not even have bothered reporting it.
The problem was what came next.
—The man was heading toward the labor union instead of Valdrova Castle.
"Did he say he wanted to work as a laborer too?"
Ferda wondered whether this fellow was another eccentric cut from the same cloth as the armored knight.
—That does not appear to be the case. I suspect he may bear a grudge against the knight who arrived first.
"A grudge?"
—There is speculation that the people assumed the armored knight scheduled to arrive today was the one working as a laborer and welcomed him accordingly. He may have taken offense at that.
Isabella's reasoning made sense.
There could not be more than one oddball willing to perform manual labor while wearing armor. If Alberdo was heading somewhere completely unrelated to his business, then her conjecture was likely correct.
—I reported this in advance because it seems likely that an incident will occur. I intend to head to the scene now.
"I'll go as well."
Two men possessing monstrous strength were about to gather in one place.
Ferda was curious about what might happen and decided to witness it with his own eyes.
When he arrived, an astonishing scene was already unfolding.
KOOONG!
A terrifying shockwave erupted through the labor union.
Tables and chairs were sent sliding away, and even the people nearby were pushed back.
Impressive.
Ferda had naturally assumed that the armored knight would be overwhelmed.
The knight possessed tremendous strength, but considering Alberdo's reputation, Ferda had believed that displaying strength before him would be like teaching a fish how to swim.
Yet the sight before him was entirely different.
The fact that the armored knight had stopped Alberdo's attack with one hand proved that he was no ordinary individual either.
The clash between their evenly matched strength had created the shockwave and shaken the building.
Ferda privately wondered which of them would prove stronger if they fought in earnest.
But he could not allow that to happen.
This was Hestia Village, not a battlefield.
He could not stand by and watch its buildings collapse.
"What do you think you're doing in someone else's territory?"
The murderous atmosphere vanished the moment Ferda appeared.
He stepped between the two knights and turned toward Alberdo.
The man had looked enormous from a distance, but he seemed even larger up close.
Alberdo handed Ferda the certificate.
"This document certifying that you were permitted to come here is not permission to run wild."
"I was merely trying to catch a thief who covets another man's achievements."
Ferda was mildly surprised.
So he can speak.
Alberdo, the Walking Fortress.
Ferda had never heard of him speaking before, so he had naturally assumed the man's tongue had been cut out.
But that was not the case.
He simply never spoke because he saw no need to.
Even this fellow had opened his mouth, yet the suit of armor standing behind Ferda remained completely silent.
"..."
"That was probably not his intention."
With no other choice, Ferda defended the armored knight on his behalf.
"He has taken a vow of silence and was likely swept along by the situation without an opportunity to explain himself. The matter of him stealing your achievement was merely the result of everyone's misunderstanding. Isn't that right?"
Ferda glanced back at the armored knight.
She nodded rapidly.
Mr. Ferda…
Valdrova was overjoyed that he had taken her side even though she was not in her true form.
Although she was taller than him while wearing the armor, his back seemed exceptionally broad and dependable.
Would that fool truly go out of his way to do such a thing?
Judging from what had happened during the labor union incident, Ferda doubted it.
The knight had probably stepped forward because he knew nothing and merely believed he had to do something.
Ferda thought of the armored knight as foolishly kindhearted and honest.
This had undoubtedly begun as a misunderstanding rather than an attempt to steal another person's achievements.
Alberdo breathed heavily.
He seemed to be considering Ferda's words, but his club still pointed toward his opponent.
"Even a man himself cannot always know what lies in his heart. How could you claim to know?"
"I agree with you on that point."
People admired unwavering conviction precisely because maintaining it was so difficult.
A person's heart could change as easily as turning over one's palm.
"Nevertheless, you have now declared before everyone that this was a misunderstanding. Why not end this here rather than continuing to wield force recklessly and causing trouble?"
Ferda spoke solemnly.
This was Valdrova's territory, and he could not tolerate any threat to it.
If Alberdo intended to cross the line any further, Ferda was prepared to fight him himself.
"Very well."
Alberdo backed down without resistance.
He had not come here to cause trouble in the first place.
His true objective had been Ferda.
Fortunately, he was not needlessly belligerent.
"Follow me."
The incident came to an end as Ferda led him away.
Alberdo rested his club on his shoulder.
Five deep finger marks had been imprinted into its end.
***
Ferda continued the conversation at the town hall, the largest building in Hestia Village.
Many people occasionally needed to gather there to discuss village affairs, so it also contained a reception room suitable for private meetings.
There was a simple reason why he had chosen not to go to the castle.
Because of Luri.
The castle had a rule requiring knights to bathe before entering.
To do so, they naturally had to remove their armor, but Alberdo never took his off.
Even though he did not smell particularly bad, Luri still harbored resentment toward knights, so expecting her to make an exception for Alberdo would have been unreasonable.
Thus, Ferda had decided from the beginning to hold the conversation at the town hall.
Alberdo did not appear to mind.
"So, what reward do you want?"
Ferda first questioned him according to what was written on the certificate.
"I need none."
It was the answer Ferda had expected.
Alberdo had not been driven here by simple material desire.
He had come to see Ferda.
"Then what is your purpose in coming here?"
"Do you know of the white-skinned demon?"
Demons were known for their black skin.
Yet among them was an unusual individual with white skin.
Gokma was such a being.
"I do."
"I met him."
Ferda was not surprised.
For a wandering knight who punished everything that disturbed the world, demons would naturally be his highest-priority targets.
Encountering one sooner or later was inevitable.
Does he intend to cooperate with us in order to eliminate him?
That would be welcome news for Ferda.
"He said something to me."
"What did he say?"
"That he had discovered someone with the potential to become the next Demon King."
The Demon King.
Although the Black Dragon Godwin was said to be the source of every calamity, the Demon King was also a figure who could never be underestimated.
The Twelve Heroes had struggled desperately to kill him, and in the end, one of the heroes had only succeeded by sacrificing his own life.
If Gokma had said such a thing, Alberdo could simply have gone in search of this prospective Demon King.
Ferda could easily deduce why he had come here instead.
"Are you saying that person is me?"
"Yes."
"And you believe the word of a demon?"
It was a roundabout way of asking whether he was an idiot.
"No. I do not believe him."
He was not an idiot.
"But I saw no reason to disregard his words entirely."
Nor was he reckless enough to ignore a warning outright.
Ferda leaned back against his chair.
"If you observe me and conclude that I truly possess the potential to become the Demon King?"
"Everything I do is for the sake of the Cerdes Continent."
In other words, he would kill him.
"What is a Demon King?"
"A fool who wishes to reduce this continent to nothingness."
"And you believe I could become such a fool?"
"Anyone can become such a fool. Loss creates emptiness, and that emptiness is then filled with twisted emotions. That is what makes a Demon King."
Ferda understood his meaning.
After his mother died, every trace of affection within him had vanished.
In the end, he had even been cast aside.
It was much like the distant future he had lived through before returning to this time.
The person he had been then was no different from a Demon King.
"So I ask you: are you certain that you will never become one?"
Ferda considered the question.
He would do anything for Valdrova.
"No."
That was why he could not trust himself completely.
The conviction that he would do anything for her could become corrupted and eventually distort even its original purpose.
That was human nature.
And Ferda was human.
"Then allow me to make you a proposal."
Ferda extended his hand toward Alberdo.
"There is an abandoned territory not far from here."
It was the territory that had belonged to the executed Thessalos Wolcher.
At last, the time had come for that land to find a new master.
"How would you like to remain there and keep watch over me?"
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