The Strongest in the World Doesn’t Want To Do Anything

29 – Knock, Knock, Knock

“While there is no problem with starting the battle immediately…”

Handro, the military commander of Terossa, stroked his white beard.

“If we attack the church with only the intelligence that we know, many of the faithful in Terossa will strongly resist. It could even lead to rebellion.”

There were wrinkles around his eyes, but his gaze still shone brightly.

“And internally, there is much to sort out. We have not properly held the funerals for the knight and the captain of the guard who were killed by Wolfgang, and the outlying cities that suffered great damage due to the long war need to be inspected. And also…”

If Wolfgang was the leader of the special demon unit called the Decimation, then Handro, who commanded all the military units except for the Decimation, was the highest-ranking officer who had been a loyal soldier of Terossa since before the birth of the current Queen Rosalia, with a career spanning over 40 years.

While the Decimation carried out the core missions during the war against the demons, Handro mobilized the military forces to form a large front and fought against large numbers of demons.

Even after the war ended, he was busy with repairing the damage that occurred across the continent and dealing with the remaining demon remnants, unable to attend social events.

He hurriedly returned due to the queen’s urgent summons after the warrior Adeus was killed by Wolfgang.

“My head hurts. Handro, what should we do then? Haganess has swallowed the church right next to us. Rumor has it that she’s trying to involve Wolfgang too. Are you suggesting that we just let her grow stronger? Or is there another way?”

“Of course, there is another way, Your Majesty.”

“How…? What is it?”

With a calm voice, Handro smiled leisurely and spoke, as if pacifying the queen.

“No matter what Haganess does, she won’t pay any attention to it.”

The queen let out a frustrated sigh, as if feeling suffocated.

“No! In the end, it’s telling me to just sit still and take it!”

“That’s not it.”

Despite the queen’s infuriatingly arrogant attitude, Handro remained unfazed.

“Even if Haganess takes control of the Order, only the citizens of Lom are aware of that fact. Even if she successfully assimilates them, it won’t be on a threatening scale.”

The confident queen calmed herself at his composed voice.

“We are working to create a justifiable pretext. Many followers in Terosa still adhere to the teachings of the old Order. If we present the fact that Haganess forcibly took over the Order, you can become the rightful successor of the Order’s opposing leader, right?”

“…Are you suggesting dividing the Order?”

“Yes. We will be the guardians of the sacred Order, while Haganess becomes the heretical faction trying to dismantle it. If it goes that way…”

“Lom will become a city to be reclaimed from the heretics.”

Handro nodded with the same smile as before.

“Unprepared, Haganess won’t attack us first. There’s no need to worry about it right now.”

“Fine… Handro. I’ll look into the establishment of the Terosa Order of Paladins first. We also need to handle the piled-up tasks.”

“Excellent.”

“But what about Wolfgang? They were close, and if he sides with Haganess…”

“There’s no need to worry about that.”

Handro brushed his white hair and spoke calmly.

“Wolfgang never forgives traitors.”

***

Wolfgang felt a tickling sensation in his ears, as if insects were crawling inside.

“Ugh, it’s itchy.”

Scratching his ear, he hurriedly ran to the square where he had collided with the blonde woman.

The space that had been filled with crowds after the lecture by the man in knight’s armor was now empty.

“This is maddening.”

Wolfgang looked around, hoping to find even the slightest clue.

A loose thread from the woman’s clothes or a strand of her blonde hair would have been enough.

However, despite scrutinizing every inch, even pressing his face almost against the ground, he found nothing similar.

In frustration, Wolfgang kicked the ground.

Dust rose from the floor, tickling his nose along with a musty smell.

“Achoo!”

As Wolfgang sneezed with a thunderous roar, the dust that had been blocking his nostrils scattered, and fresh, clear air rushed in.

The refreshing scent of the wind and an unfamiliar fragrance of flowers subtly spread around.

“Ah! I’m such an idiot.”

Wolfgang decided to utilize his sense of smell, which helped him find an inn in the forest.

He tried to recall her face as vividly as possible.

A slender, tall figure with short blond hair, a face that seemed delicate despite the sturdy physique.

“And… were her eyes blue?”

While her impressive figure remained a clear memory, the detailed features were harder to recall.

Wolfgang closed his eyes, flared his nostrils wide, and amidst the myriad of scents in the air, sought to find her scent.

The faint flowery fragrance that was perceptible until a moment ago had vanished, replaced by a fragrant yet somewhat musty and peculiar scent lingering in the air.

“This is it!”

Wolfgang began running in the direction where the scent was strongest.

After about five minutes, far from the city center, in a secluded area, he saw a solitary house.

It was an old, shabby log cabin that bore the marks of time.

The scent was particularly strong from inside.

Carefully moving, Wolfgang peeked inside through an open window.

A well-built, tall figure… even short blond hair.

It seemed like the woman he was looking for.

Wolfgang grabbed onto the window frame and leaped into the house.

Twisting his body in mid-air, he landed gracefully on the floor and swiftly rushed to overpower her.

After mounting her body lying on the ground, he pressed down, restraining her arms.

“When I ask nicely for my belongings…”

“Why… why are you doing this?”

Her voice from beneath sounded strange.

Wolfgang released his hold, turned her body, and flipped himself to face her, enabling him to see her face.

“What the—”

Thud-

“Ugh!”

Startled beyond measure, Wolfgang inadvertently punched the man in the face with such force that he lost consciousness immediately.

“Unintentionally. Enough.”

Because I vaguely recalled the figure, I had been chasing after the scent of a completely different person.

I flipped open the eyelids of the man I had rendered unconscious.

As Wolfgang had recalled, they were blue irises.

“From gender to eye color… I must have mistaken the color of the irises.”

Once again, I closed my eyes and slowly visualized her appearance.

“Ah! They were green.”

***

Various precious jewels and gold trinkets shimmered in the brown irises of the woman.

“W-what’s all this?”

Five years as a pickpocket.

She had reached her peak when she managed to snag several gold rings from a priest’s pocket.

Finally, luck had struck for her.

“Wow-hahaha! Finally, this dull, boring, tedious, and pretentious… “

Raelle raised both arms wide in joy but paused momentarily in thought.

“Boring and tedious are redundant. It’s time to escape this city!”

The exquisite metals spread across the partially wrecked table sparkled beautifully.

All these items had come from the pockets of a black-robed outsider in the square a couple of hours ago.

If only I had known, I would have checked the pockets first before bathing or anything else.

Disappointed by the unexpectedly light weight of the bag, she thought she had wasted her time.

“I’ve wasted enough time! I need to leave right away.”

Raelle swiftly began to pack her belongings.

“Let’s buy almost everything! There’s nothing Tessa doesn’t have.”

The creaky floor screamed as it struggled to differentiate whether she was dancing or packing due to her exhilarated movements.

Having lived for ten years in this raggedy place, hiding in an old abandoned house in the suburbs, there was no trace of sentimentality left in her.

“All packed up! Most importantly, our darlings! Should we take them with us?”

Raelle swept all the precious metals on the table into her pockets.

Despite being a small pouch, it seemed to hold an infinite amount.

Yet, the weight was as light as a few coins.

“What a truly remarkable pouch.”

Raelle, once again in awe of its magic, suddenly sensed a presence.

The sound of footsteps prowling around the house echoed.

Instinctively, she silenced her own movements and focused on the sounds she heard.

It wasn’t the patrol guards.

If they had been alerted and dispatched, their loud commotion would have been audible from a thousand steps away.

“Ma’am… Who could it be?”

Raelle lowered herself, hiding in a space beyond the window’s view.

After a while, the footsteps prowling around ceased.

Soon enough, someone rapped on the door.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

…

With no response, the intruder knocking on the door grew more insistent.

Tap-tap-tap.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Tap!! Tap!! Tap!!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Raelle tightly shut her eyes and sealed her lips.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

– Click