MN-ST-3 Silent Departure

It's me. The spokesman incident is over——

......Platinum.

...Who are you? I'm looking for the director...

Doesn't matter. You should have received the authorization code for this terminal.

Since you know about this channel, you aren't one of the two Lazurites. So...

Just keep your suspicions to yourself and refrain from looking too hard.

What I am saying next will be between the 'Armorless Union', and nothing to do with the 'directors'.

......Alright.

A squad of campaign knights crossed into the Twilight Wood in secret. This went unnoticed by the General Chamber of Commerce, so it likely has something to do with the Radiant Knight.

Silverlance...?

The Lazurite will take full responsibility for this matter, don't trouble yourself.

Haah? Since when are they so responsible?

Your mission is to monitor the Radiant Knight in their stead.

The Radiant Knight... that's a pain.

——So they've got an even bigger pain over there?

Still unclear. The ripples from a single stone spread far. The return of the Radiant Knight has brought us a lot of trouble... In fact, we're devoting too much of our attention on her.

...One more thing.

No matter what, do not take action against the Sarkaz with the Radiant Knight.

Those two Sarkaz... You seem to know a lot about them.

The Confessarius and the Radiant Knight also belong to another 'company.' Will this matter be so simple...? I'm not sure.

......

Just handle your own tasks properly and don't mess up like before.

We'll be busier.

Ahh... It's the phone again... Are they looking for Mr. Czarny?

But Mr. Czarny... has been gone for a while.

......

...Hello?

The spokesman?

Ah, no. Sorry, Mr. Czarny is currently——

Wh-what?

I dialed the spokesman's number, and you answered.

Therefore, you are the spokesman.

Huh? Wh-what? I don't understand——

Name.

Me......?

Name.

Err, please call me Malkiewicz. I used to work for Słoma Food Company, until Mr. Czarny invited me to work with him...

......

S-Sir? Is Mr. Czarny——?

Good day, Mr. Malkiewicz.

Ah, sorry, Miss. I thought that——

I am the Director and CEO of Słoma Food Company, you should be familiar with my voice. Mr. Malkiewicz, you are now officially dismissed.

Huh?

From now on, you no longer belong to the Słoma Food Company, nor the Mieszko Group——Please keep in mind at all times that you are representing the General Chamber of Commerce.

When the Major ends, you may choose to stay or leave. You will be generously compensated based on your performance.

Right now, there are three tasks waiting for you. You have no right to question them.

Firstly, ensure the smooth continuation of the Major. This is of the utmost importance.

Secondly, guide the public opinion regarding the Radiant Knight and related matters. We are not asking for 'damage control', what we want are 'benefits' on top of that.

Thirdly, some contacts from the Armorless Union will be arriving at your location within three minutes. Supervise them as they carry out their duties. If there are any issues, report directly to the General Chamber of Commerce's Board of Directors.

Wait...! I don't want to be...!

Is there anything you wish to say? Spokesman Malkiewicz?

I-I don't think...

......

No, I... I understand...

Very good. I wish you the best of luck.

......

Haa... A dream... This is definitely a dream...

I heard the good news. Czarny's authority has been completely transferred to you, Spokesman... Malkiewicz, right?

What do we do next? You might need a minute. I don't mind taking a break.

I-I don't understand. Why me...?

Wait, wait. Aren't you the same, Platinum? Why did you allow yourself to be pushed into this position? What should I do...?

Who knows? Maybe they just wanted to see someone become as nasty as they are.

Don't think too much when you're in Kazimierz.

But... Just look at me... I can't even afford a decent suit. I...

Right, Mr. Czarny must have arranged some tasks for you. You should know what the Armorless Union is doing——

No idea.

Eh...?

I only know what I'm doing.

Th-then, what are you doing?

Oh... Usually people stop asking when I answer like that. You...

Never mind. I screwed something up a while ago and now I have to deal with it.

Five Knight-Assassins were made while hunting a target. Then they disappeared.

The Armorless Union w-went missing?

...Are you really prepared to know the truth?

I... I have no other choice.

Really.

Pay close attention to the 'Pinus Sylvestris Knightclub' then. They're more than just competition knights. They openly... oppose the Armorless Union.

...The Radiant Knight has returned?

Word on the street is she descended from the skies and rescued Maria.

Rescued?

The Knights Association... No, it probably came from higher up. They arranged that match for Maria. The audience all believed that it was just a thrilling performance, but those with discerning eyes could tell...

They were going at it for real. If the Radiant Knight was any later, Maria would be dead.

...Are they giving up the game already?

Maybe we gave them more credit than they deserved. These things happen in every season of the Major——They don't care.

What they care about doesn't matter. I never expected them to understand, but to think they don't even want to keep up appearances...

What's important is that in Kazimierz, no one cares.

They're telling people we're out of competition for a while because of a training accident...

...That's ugly.

'That's ugly.'

...Pfft. Hahahaha. Hey, what the hell's up with that? Isn't that totally good for us?

If they had gone through the National Council instead of scurrying around in the dark, we'd really be in trouble.

You... You let yourself go after just relaxing for a bit.

Mhmm... Our opponents couldn't wait any longer and acted first, but ended up giving us the win instead. How could I not be happy?

When those two finish their jobs, we'll finally get to the main point.

......

What? Didn't you get your fill in the arena?

Tch...... The more I cross weapons with that trash, the more I hate those knight nobles. What disgusts me the most is that I used to be one of them.

*Sigh* So complicated.

They don't have a penny's worth of dignity or faith. The knight nobles are total sellouts now.

Don't get yourself worked up. This topic always does that to you. Don't worry, they'll get what's coming to them.

Though, before that, we should straighten out the enemy right in front of us.

——The Armorless Union.

We'll expose them out in the open for all to see, yeah?

Hey Margaret, how long has it been since you've been home?

Your room is still as it used to be! I clean it all the time... Oh, I think we sold the furniture though...

B-but, it's fine! At least——

Maria, just seeing you all makes me feel like I've returned home.

...Margaret.

Maria, your equipment...

Oh! I went and borrowed your old stuff... Hehe, how is it? Fits me nicely, right?

Yeah, it's a nice fit. You've really grown up.

Hehe... I'm as tall as you now.

You've worked hard, truly. I wasn't able to talk with you properly in the arena earlier...... I've really missed you, Maria.

Ehh... Sis, you're making me embarrassed...

You've fought alone until now, but you survived, you've persisted.

I was aware what kind of impact my decision back then would have on Uncle and you, but I never thought that you would——

Margaret!

There's something you absolutely have to do, that you'd never back down from, right?

...Yeah.

Then you didn't do anything wrong!

Besides... I was never able to become like you, tough inside and out...

But I've started to understand. At least, I can think about what Aunt Zofia has always said... I can think about what a knight truly is.

Even though I still couldn't become like you... I've been able to get where I am today, with everyone's help!

If there were ever any beliefs that I held on to, they came from you! Because I too am a member of the Nearl family!

B-But, Margaret, you can't ever leave again, not like how you left six years ago...

I'll follow you this time, no matter what happens to us in the end... I, I believe in you.

Maria, you... Heh, you've really grown up.

...E-Ehh? Where did all of that come from...?

Anyway, just go upstairs and have a look——

...Margaret.

Uncle... this is...

Keep quiet.

Margaret. What did you come back for?

Don't you know what it means for you to appear here?

......

You rescued Maria... But why did you return to Kazimierz?

Do you know how much your father and grandfather sacrificed to 'send you out'?

Yet you dare to appear here so brazenly... Do you think that the Association and the corporations aren't watching your every step?

...I will join the Major.

Impossible.

I will retake the glory that belongs to the knights.

Glory is meaningless.

Meaning is in the eye of the beholder.

Kazimierz has changed. They have changed.

—Yet I'm still here. We're all still here.

......

Don't be greedy... Margaret.

I imagined you would calm down after leaving Kazimierz... But this is your answer?

You're wasting my time.

Uncle...

Enough.

In the time I've spent talking to you, a mountain of documents has piled up waiting for me to handle. Don't interrupt my work...

Leave Kazimierz before things turn worse. You've made a life for yourself elsewhere, just don't come back anymore.

Uncle! How can you say that?!

Maria.

Margaret...

Uncle Młynar, I understand your decision. I still respect you just as I did back then.

I also hope for your support.

—Understand?

You know nothing of what I've seen, what I've done. Yet you still hold on to your idealistic thoughts...

I was once lucky enough to catch a glimpse of hope. I have also experienced the shadow of war.

I'm merely choosing to continue believing in my faith, and to fight for it.

...Kazimierz will not change one bit, no matter how much the Radiant Knight sacrifices, no matter how much she wins.

Of course. Of that, I'm very clear.

Even so...

Even so.

......

...Draw your blade, Margaret.

U-Uncle?!

If you insist on being so stubborn, I have no choice but to to teach you how to 'give up' the hard way. To fall by my blade is far better than falling into the shadow of the Armorless Union.

...As you wish.

Those stupid competition knights are just a bunch of trash willing to be manipulated for the sake of money.

If the young mistress of the Nearl family were to have an accident as well, don't even bother calling this campaign knight a knight anymore! I'll go flip the National Council's goddamned table myself!

——That's what the old man said.

...Senomy, there's no need to mimic him so convincingly...

Ehh, but he specifically instructed me to convey the exact message.

You don't need to listen to everything he says.

He even said that if the Grand Knight didn't agree, he'd go greet the Radiant Knight himself, even if he had to hobble all the way there.

......

He also said that if you sighed and cupped your forehead, reluctant to answer, he would——

Alright, alright... I know how unhappy he is. He hasn't changed at all, still causing a ruckus in the Court Sprawiedliwi Kazimierz every day over what few accomplishments he has...

Don't forget he is still an offender.

But the National Council, totally corrupted by the General Chamber of Commerce, has no right to convict my old man. They don't representing the citizens or the law at all. They're just representing themselves and the merchants behind them.

...He taught you that as well?

No, I figured that one out myself.

*Sigh*...

Is that all?

Ah, there's one more thing.

...Yeah.

The people from Rhodes Island seem to have arrived.