The mountainous region of southwest Arcadia. Here was where Arcadia bordered with the small kingdom of Taiyar. One may ask why a little country was could border one of the seven kingdoms, but rather than that, it was exactly because it was one of the seven kingdoms, and because Arcadia was such a big kingdom that there were many country borders like this. Even if there was a difference in military power between the countries, it wasn´t possible for Arcadia to perfectly take control of all regions around.

The degree of priority of Taiyar wasn´t high for Arcadia. Because of that, they would fight in skirmishers. No, it used to be that way. Until now, that is…

“Now then, let´s go. You two will guard Karl-sama; leave the rest to me.”

It was a group with green mantles covered in dirt. By looking at them from close on, it looked like the earth and the scenery they a.s.similated with were moving. Throwing away their mantles, they went down the slope all together at once.

“Wha!?”

It was a surprise attack from above. By the time they were noticed, it was already too late. The flank of the enemy formation was caught from above.

“Hyu*”(ひゅ)

There was no way the enemy could do anything. In addition to that…

“Orah!”

Except for the person leading, all were armed with long spears. They had the high ground advantage, the advantage in equipment and also the tactical advantage. Complete and flawless. The formula for a decisive victory. In the end, the battle…

“White mask!?”

“It´s… the end.”

…had ended before it begun.

The amount of corpses in this battlefield at the borders of the kingdom had increased by ten. In an instant, the life of ten people were wiped out.

“Willian! Are you alright!?”

The blonde man who came running was Karl Von Teirah. The white masked man he was running in direction of turned his head to his way.

“Does it look like I am not alright?”

The white masked man, Willian Rivius, showed a refres.h.i.+ng smile and said in irony. Looking like Karl had calmed down, he made a relieved face.

“Alright, let´s move to the next place. It is a mountain battle after all. We need to get a few more achievements.”

“Compared to open-field battles, there is a wider viability of usage of tactics in mountain battles, isn´t it? Because the effectiveness of terrain is huge, just by getting a good position makes great difference in the battle, and because of the limited view, you can make ambushes and surprise attacks, right?”

“You studied well, didn´t you?”

“Ehehe. I did all the homework Willian gave me.”

“…If possible, I would like you to study on your own volition.”

“…I-I will do my best.”

It was the conversation between master and servant that would give inversed impressions their subordinates had already become used to seeing. Karl was the captain of the ten-man squad while Willian would be his counselor, but their relations.h.i.+p was one that Karl looked up to Willian independent of their positions. Of course, it was Karl who stood in public, and they wouldn´t cross that line. However, that relations.h.i.+p was a weird one which Karl was instead dissatisfied about being the one to get the fame.

“Even if we are getting only a few more, in mountain battles, it is easy to raise achievements. The sun is still high, so I still want to take two more heads. Ignahts will be at the front and Frank will be at the flank. If there aren´t any unexpected movement in the battlefield, we should be fine if we follow the same plan from yesterday. Karl-sama will stay in the middle and command the squad while I will protect the rear.”

“Understood.”

Ignahts was a small man full of spirit. Frank was a gentle, tall and calming man. Both were talented man taken from the companies affiliated with the Teirah house at the time Karl was forming his ten-man squad. They were so-so in handling the sword, but because they were loyal to Karl, their value was different from the other soldiers. However, considering how their family and companies were being used as hostages to them, this was only the obvious.

Ignahts was at the front and Frank was together with the remaining ones. Willian, who was at the rear, wouldn´t let the squad move out until he confirmed that everyone took their positions. Recognizing that everyone had gone to their positions, he would wait in his place until there was a certain distance between them and him. This looked as if he was isolating himself in his own accord, but for Willian, him having the vision of their rear guard had a great effect. In addition, even if the enemy caught them, as long as the enemy didn´t surround him, it would be possible for him to run away. Therefore, he would take some distance from the others. And so, he would have some free time before moving out.

“…Hmph.”

Just for fun, Willian kicked the head of the enemy ten-man squad captain that he had sent flying moments ago. Seeing the head rolling on the ground made Willian well up with a strange feeling of exaltation and a bit of a feeling of having conquered something.

“How was your life until now? Were you happy? Were you unhappy? Did you have a wife? Did you have a daughter, a son? Did you have friends?”

Willian couldn´t resist showing a smile filled with excitement.

“What a shaaaame. It is the end if you die, you incompetent. It doesn´t change anything if you were happy, or unhappy, or rich, or poor, or if you were a n.o.ble or a slave. You, who has died, is the one who lost, and me, who is still alive, is the winner. This is how everything goes.”

Being carried by the of the words, he stepped at the man´s head. And at that instant…

“Hm?”

A bad feeling went through his chest. It felt like pain, it felt like sadness; it was an indescribable pain.

The image of the masked Willian was being reflected on the eyes of the man that were opened in a gruesome manner. An ugly beast. A scary beast that changed the death of the others, change unhappiness into his own pleasure. The [himself] that was being reflected deep in those eyes had a sad face.

“This… is everything, you ordinary.”

Saying that, Willian stepped onto the man´s head and crushed it with all his strength so he could ward off those illusions. The head became squashed. The blood splashed at Willian´s cheek, which he then wiped it off. The illusions, and also the pain disappeared. All that remained was…

“In the end, it is really good… War. It iss nice how so close to death it is, how the communication is simple, and also how plain simple it is to understand.”

A beast that wore the skin of human.

He covered his mouth with his hand and hid his smile. This was something even he knew. Just as he was aware of, that smile wasn´t something that would give people a good impression. Rather, it would give them discomfort. That was why he was hiding it.

“”Yes, masks are also useful for spreading [fame], so it isn´t that bad. It is also stylish.””

Since that day, Willian had been going to battles. Among those battles, there wasn´t even a single one that he went mad just like at that time at Raconia. In a composed way, he would sometimes let some of his steam off just like now, but after that, he would have everything under control.

“”Except at night…””

Since that day, he had kept seeing the same dream. The black haired girl and the boy, and also…

“”The crowd of corpses that keep increasing.””

The more battles he went in, the more corpses there was. The boy would hug his legs and cry like a victim. The girl would gently embrace him and protect him. It was a scene that for some reason really made him want to throw up. These last few days, rather than the corpses, it had been about those two that would make him feel uncomfortable. Why was that was something Willian didn´t know.

“”Oh, I should soon move out.””

Willian immediately removed all unnecessary thoughts. He could do that because the mask would reflect his self. (TL note: Not sure about this last line. ->仮面は自身を省みるもの<>

““Fuh, I´m really being able to switch over it, aren´t I?””

As he would get in many battles, his fame would suddenly rise in the battlefield. Willian Rivius, the [white mask] that was part of the powerful ten-man squad: Karl´s ten-man squad. It was the undefeatable squad that kept changing the tides of battle. The name of [white mask], their cornerstone member, was bit by bit, starting to resound through the battlefield.