"...Not too good at greetings, are ya? When you ask for someone's name, you're supposed to introduce yourself first."
"And? My, what an uninspired response. You're quite boring, aren't you?"
"Oh...? Big words, you shit."
I sounded casual, but I wasn't nearly as calm on the inside. After all, I hadn't felt his presence at all.
Sure, I was off guard and he took the opportunity, but that wasn't the point. Though I sometimes overlooked people who were hiding, this was actually the first time I'd failed to react to a hostile sneaking up on me.
The weirdest thing about the situation, though...
"Well? What's wrong? You killing me or not?"
...was the fact that I nonchalantly played along.
He caught me off guard? So what? He had a blade? What of it?
I was Wilhelm Ehrenburg, one of the Gold's Claws and Fangs, and a knight of the Longinus Dreizehn Orden. He couldn't kill me even if he had a machine gun instead.
Hell, I wouldn't even give him time to pull the trigger. If I really wanted to, I could've pierced him without even turning around.
And yet, I didn't do it. Or rather, I couldn't do it.
My intuition told me that something bad would happen if I did.
"...Oh, the Longinus Dreizehn Orden, I see."
As I was overcome by an indescribable malaise, the mysterious man sighed.
"As tasteless as always. I fail to comprehend him. You were told to investigate this place by the Mercury, weren't you, vampire?"
"...You fucker."
How did he know of me? Or Mercurius, for that matter?
"Sorry, but I'd prefer to avoid any trouble. Your corpse will do fine for getting that message across. That might not be enough, but it's about my only option. And I'm sure you, too, will be far happier this way."
"Ah...!"
I felt a shiver run down my spine when...
"N-Nghh..."
"..."
The man's bloodlust wavered. I instantly turned around and fiercely attacked him with the back of my hand.
"Tch!"
I was confident I got him, but the sensation was vague, as though I'd just struck a cloud of mist. Before me, there was a black cloak covering my vision.
What the hell? What was I supposed to make of it? That was the first time someone'd made such a fool out of me, and I couldn't even tell what he was.
I'd experienced something that could shatter my pride, and I didn't even get a chance to make up for it.
"Ah... Wilhelm. Did you come to save me?"
"Bey! Claudia!"
As the room grew noisy, I realized that I'd missed the opportunity. I clenched my teeth while the man grinned and put his cloak on again.
"Who are you...?"
"Ludvig."
With fake courtesy, he revealed his name.
"Ludvig van Rosenkrantz. I'm a Vatican operative. That makes my position similar to yours, I imagine. I will tell you more when we're outside. This place is quite dreary, I must say. We have to be considerate of this lady here... Can you stand?"
"Y-Yes. T-Thank you very much."
With knightly regard in his movements, he kneeled before Claudia and extended his hand to her.
"I see. So you also came here to investigate Katyn's anomaly."
"Yes. And sadly, I am the sole survivor. Shameful as it is to say, it's nothing but the truth."
We exited the cavern and started interrogating the man claiming to be "Ludvig."
No. "Interrogating" wasn't the right word. I was the only one present who didn't trust the man, so it was more like some light questioning.
After all, we already knew that the Church had come here, and he was wearing clothes fitting for someone belonging to them. Not to mention that Germany and the Vatican were allies back then.
Sure, we barely even belonged to our country by that point, but it was clear that the man was no enemy. At least to Babylon and Beatrice, anyway.
I, on the other hand, didn't think we could trust him just because of those points. But if I pushed it, I might have had to reveal the fact that he'd caught me off guard back in the cave, and the very idea of that was nauseating.
And so, I simply silently watched the questioning with a grimace on my face.
"If you have any doubts, you may ask the Church to verify my identity. I can even provide my ID."
"Very well. We'll take it and ask the Church about you. Still, it's impossible to be thorough in a place like this, so we'll have to ask you to come with us. We take our job seriously, so we have a duty to report you to our higher-ups."
"I understand and will do as I'm told. You have superiority here. As one who allowed his comrades to die, I'm not in a position to talk back. I will let my superiors hear of this through yours."
"Thank you. Glad you understand."
Things were going pretty smoothly. Though I was with Babylon on the idea that we couldn't just let him go, the relaxed atmosphere of their exchange made me click my tongue in frustration.
"Well, if you don't find any problems, we'll let you go right away. No need to worry, we'll try to make it quick. That aside, is it safe to assume that this situation's been dealt with."
"From what I can tell, yes."
Babylon nodded in a mildly self-deriding manner.
I didn't do anything about the thing nesting in the cavern, and these two were the same in that regard. Despite that, the anomaly had vanished as if it were never even there in the first place.
"I don't feel anything in the area. There's not a single trace of the arcane around us. I'm not sure if I should be glad about that."
"Well, we still don't know what made the darkness in the cavern disperse. Do you have any ideas, Ludvig?"
"Regrettably not. All I know is that my vision suddenly grew clear and this man was standing before me."
"Hmm, how mysterious. The best explanation I can think of is that it dispersed because taking all of us in was more than it could handle. It's but a remnant of old magic, after all. It would make sense for it to be fragile."
The room in the cavern had a coffin which had aged considerably. In it, there was a corpse that seemed centuries old, which crumbled to dust due to some mild exposure to open air.
Needlessly to say, Beatrice's hypothesis was reasonable.
"Still, it feels off. I feel like the Major would yell at me if I reported this."
"Truly. I find it troubling, too. Though, even if the conclusion isn't satisfying, there's no point in complaining. Let's take it for what it is."
"Agreed. Also, Claudia, I'm glad you're not hurt."
"Ah, thank you. Apologies for the trouble. Also, umm..."
Upon becoming the topic of the conversation, Claudia suddenly became somewhat bashful. She was staring at the gloomy-looking son of a bitch.
"Yes?"
"Oh, it's just that... I have something I wish to ask you. Mister Ludvig... May I call you 'Louie?'"
"Huh?"
Her words didn't make a lick of sense to me.
Sure, it wasn't unusual for people close to someone named "Ludvig" to shorten the name to "Louie" or "Lutz" but this just wasn't the time to say that.
As everyone present stared at her in confusion, Claudia waved her hands and began explaining herself.
"Wh-What I mean by this is that... You and I belong to the same group, so there's no need for us to be too formal. And if you will be with us for a while, I wouldn't want our relationship to be tense. We have to be a bit more... Easygoing, I think? Like Beatrice already said, there is no need to worry, but a little more peace of mind wouldn't hurt, so I..."
"Do I really look that gloomy?"
"W-With all due respect, yes. But of course, you have every reason to be like that."
I'm obviously not the type to preach this shit, but it was pretty insensitive of her to say that to a man who'd just lost all his comrades. She herself seemed to understand that, but she had no intention of taking her words back.
"We cannot become a replacement for those you've lost, but I would like for you to view our meeting positively. With that in mind, I want us to become friends... Oh, apologies. I'm asking for too much, aren't I?"
"...No."
After a strangely long pause, the man shook his head.
"Thank you for your consideration. You're a pure and gentle person, Claudia. Losing my comrades is painful indeed, but that, too, is His will. I would appreciate it if you prayed for them. The soothing words of a saint such as yourself are more than enough to dispel my unease."
"A-A saint!? Please, I'm not worthy!"
Seriously. At most, Claudia was just your basic idiot. I literally had no words for the fact that she'd call her that.
"Regardless, you will pray for them, yes?"
"Y-Yes. Definitely. Without a question. But, umm..."
"Oh, do call me whatever you please. Allow me to etch the bliss of this meeting onto my heart and join you in prayer."
"I'm thankful for this meeting, as well, Louie. Now, with hope that the many souls sleeping here in Katyn find a way to their sanctuary... Towards a better place."
The two of them cupped their hands together, radiating a dignified aura around them.
"Amen."
"..."
"...what?"
"Nothing. This scene just makes me realize how much of a scumbag a certain someone is. I warned you, didn't I? Look what happens when you're too complacent. There's not a single good thing about you, after all. Still, this brings me some peace of mind. Oh, what a great day this is."
"Keh, shut up, you idiot. I don't know what you're going on about."
Her nonsensical instigating pissed me off, so I turned around and started walking. We'd completed our mission, so I had no reason to stay in the filthy forest.
"Heh, look at the pathetic loser just walking away. Serves him right."
"Come now, don't overdo it. I can't say I don't understand you, though. Bey, once you calm down, return to where we first gathered. And don't get lost."
"Quit lecturing me! I'm not some brat, damn it!"
I roared and kicked a stone beneath my feet.
Suddenly...
An explosion sound rended the darkness, and my head was thrown backward. The impact brought me back a few feet.
It surprised me and I did feel a bit of pain, but that was the extent of it. I quickly understood what was going on.
"Now this is what I'm talking about..."
It was a gunshot. I spat one of the bullets I caught with my teeth and realized just how obvious this turn of events was.
We were in hostile territory — in a place with complicated special circumstances, no less. Even if we were deep in a dense forest, we made more than enough noise to be noticed.
The enemy wouldn't ignore all this just because they were afraid of some zombies. If ordered, soldiers would even jump in a fire.
And so, we were forced to face a bunch of normal people. It was a good way for me to unwind, and I prepared to go all out on them, but...
"..."
For some reason, I remembered something I shouldn't have. Specifically, the bullshit Beatrice told me.
You know, the stuff about the lack of a sense of danger, that I mistreat Claudia and all that. It completely killed my vibe.
As a result, I took a few moments longer to make my first move. I was in a half-assed state that any soldier worth salt could take advantage of.
I didn't do anything about the bullet storm that followed. Of course, it wasn't like they did anything to me. I would've been completely unharmed even if they turned me into Swiss cheese. The problem was someone else.
"Claudia!"
I couldn't do anything about the stray bullets heading for her. She was the only one of us who could be harmed by them, and though I had to prevent that from happening, I failed.
Yeah, this was a real failure on my part.
"Are you hurt, Claudia?"
"Ah, no... Thank you..."
The one to jump to her protection first was that Ludvig son of a bitch. He took that stupid woman in his hands and fled the bullets.
Then, affectionately, as if handling a treasure, the fuckhead let her go right next to a tree.
"You hide here. No need to worry about me. I'll be fine. Don't do anything unnecessary and close your eyes. It will be over in a moment."
Without waiting for a response, Ludvig ran out toward the attackers. Apparently, he planned on taking care of them on his own.
"You little shit...!"
His show of bravado pissed me off something fierce. I spat to my side and prepared to join him, but then felt something on my shoulder.
"Wait, Bey. Let him do it."
"The fuck?"
I had no fucking clue why he said that and tried to go regardless, but she just added more strength to her grip.
Then, as if chiding me, she continued.
"Let's see what he's made of. You understand the importance of that, don't you? We'll have to treat him differently depending on how he does. And the fact that he went in there himself implies that he doesn't expect our assistance. Even if he dies, it's of no consequence to us. That would just mean he's unworthy to stand before Lord Heydrich."
"..."
She was being completely logical, and I had no counter-argument. Hell, I was honestly interested in the extent of his abilities, myself.
Sure, I wanted to ignore her and go wild, but I knew I couldn't allow that to take precedence. Having a contest of who was the cooler one here was nothing but unsightly.
I clenched my teeth and did as Babylon ordered. Beatrice seemed unsatisfied, too, but she didn't show any resistance to her idea.
"Excellent. Now, let's watch. This is a chance to see the Vatican's shadow corps at work."
And so, we began observing Ludvig van Rosenkrantz and gauged just how of a man he really was.
The battle had already begun.
First, he skillfully downed one of the soldiers by throwing a pebble he'd picked off the ground. A rather primitive method, but no small feat.
It couldn't be done without precise arm control, shoulder strength, and guts. Normally, that was a desperate measure that only succeeded by accident, but he did it on purpose and without a single misstep.
The movements that followed were smooth and never seemed wasted. Not having a weapon on him, he used the trees as barriers in a dash to close the distance between him and the enemies.
They were a squad of only about ten or so men, and they didn't seem particularly skilled. As proof, Ludvig downed them one by one, making their morale crumble so badly you could almost hear it.
Obviously, they were a sad, pathetic bunch. Even so, by normal standards, Ludvig was remarkable, since not everyone could take on ten armed people all by themselves.
However, I didn't enjoy the sight one bit. Sure, I didn't expect the man to just get shot and die, but something didn't sit right with me.
"He's impressive. Truly. You can tell he's had lots of training. Regardless of whether he's what he says he is, there's no doubt of him being an elite."
"At the very least, he does seem quite used to it, yes."
That was exactly what I found suspicious about him, however. Ludvig's movements were way too clean and ordinary.
It basically made me feel like he was just perfectly copying the idea of what he believed to be a capable soldier. Beatrice had said he looked like he'd had lots of training, but really, she didn't seem to have moved past that framework.
All his moves looked highly "textbook," making it seem like an act. I thought of telling that to them, but I had nothing to support my claim. I knew they'd just say I was overthinking things.
Despite not using anything remotely magical, the man was far from normal. You could just call him "skilled," but I couldn't help but feel like there was more to him. I mean, really, how could a man that effortlessly dodged one of my attacks not be supernatural in some manner?
Sadly, just like I said, his enemies were far too weak. Even if Ludvig was just hiding his true self, I didn't expect a situation where he'd have to reveal it.
As my observations irritated me, the smooth battle continued until...