Episode 95: Hide and Seek

Having failed to persuade Volfirio, Ricardo left the command headquarters with a look of disappointment.

“How did it go, Captain…?”

Greeting him was a young man with reddish-brown hair—Feder, the deputy leader of Ricardo’s unit. He was close in age to Ricardo, still carrying a trace of youthful vigor.

Ricardo gave a small shake of his head.

“No good. His Highness Volfirio has decided to retreat with the command staff.”

“Damn it!”

Feder’s anger flared openly.

“He won’t even show his face at the front lines… what a coward!”

“—Enough.”

Ricardo quietly placed a hand on his shoulder, shaking his head once more.

“His Highness Volfirio must have made his decision for his own reasons. I reported the situation on the ground and made my recommendations. As the commander of the entire army, he considered the bigger picture and rejected my advice—that’s all there is to it.”

“…Yeah, right. He’s just scared and running away.”

Feder still seemed unconvinced.

To shift the mood, Ricardo brought up another topic.

“Also—I’ve been tasked with commanding the rear guard.”

“The… rear guard?”

A hint of something close to disappointment colored the deputy’s voice.

The rear guard—essentially, the role of holding off the enemy at the very back.

It was an extremely dangerous task, with little hope of survival.

“Needless to say, it’s the most critical role in a retreat. That said, in this situation, simply performing the rear guard’s duties… would likely end with us being crushed by the enemy.”

Ricardo commanded a mere hundred men. If he could lead a larger force, it might be different, but with only a hundred, they’d be swept aside by the Kirchhen Kingdom’s army, which numbered in the tens of thousands.

“…Then let’s escape. Even I can see there’s no winning this fight.”

“You’re right. But I will fight. Having been given this responsibility, I cannot abandon my post. However—you and the rest of our unit are another matter.”

“What?”

“As your captain, I’m ordering you. Take command of the unit and retreat immediately. Gather as many allies as you can and ensure an orderly withdrawal. That will save far more lives than stubbornly holding the rear guard.”

“But… what about you, Captain Ricardo? Are you seriously planning to fight alone?”

“Exactly.”

Ricardo nodded quietly. Not with reckless bravado or grim resolve, but with calm determination.

“There’s an old well nearby. I’ll hide there and strike the moment the enemy passes by. If I can take down even one of their commanders, it could slow their advance. With this strategy, even I alone have a chance to make a difference.”

Of course, the enemy commander would likely be wary of ambushes, surrounded by guards.

But—Ricardo was a young genius swordsman, having won numerous swordsmanship tournaments across Serodonia.

With his skill, breaking through the guards to reach the enemy commander wasn’t impossible.

“This is the best plan I, as captain, could come up with. …Please, follow my orders.”

Feder met Ricardo’s unwavering gaze and fell silent for a moment. Then… he slowly shook his head.

“…No way. I can’t follow that.”

“—Why not?!”

“Because it’s not the optimal strategy. To increase our chances of success… we need a two-pronged ambush. Specifically, I’ll lead the unit to launch a surprise attack with arrows on the enemy. Their commander will naturally order a counterattack. That’s when you, Captain Ricardo, hidden in the well, spring out and strike. The enemy, focused on the first ambush, will be slow to react to you… What do you think? This raises our odds, doesn’t it?”

“But—”

Cutting off Ricardo as he began to speak, Feder pressed on.

“Don’t say something like, ‘That plan puts you all in danger, so it’s no good,’ okay? We’ll be fine. We’ll fire our arrows and get out immediately. No one’s planning to die here.”

“—Understood.”

With things laid out so clearly, Ricardo had no choice but to agree.

“I’m sorry… for dragging you all into my selfish decision.”

It was Volfirio who had assigned Ricardo to lead the rear guard, but if Ricardo hadn’t made his suggestions to Volfirio in the first place, it might not have come to this.

In that sense—Ricardo felt this was, indeed, his own selfish choice.

“What are you talking about? Our unit’s full of guys who owe you, Captain, starting with me. Let us do at least this much.”

 

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Once the plan was set, Ricardo immediately hid himself in the dried-up well. Conveniently, the terrain made it so the enemy army would have to pass right by it.

The abandoned well was shallow, perfectly suited for a person to conceal themselves.

He slipped inside and covered the opening with dry grass, ensuring he wouldn’t be spotted from above.

The enemy would likely pass by without paying the well any mind.

Meanwhile, Feder and the rest of Ricardo’s unit hid in tents further ahead, quietly observing the enemy’s movements.

The moment the enemy entered range, they would burst out from the tents and unleash a volley of arrows.

(Come on…!)

Ricardo crouched in the well, waiting for the enemy’s approach.

Serodonia’s soldiers rushed past the well where he hid, fleeing in disarray. The front lines had already collapsed, and their forces were retreating in chaos.

And then, in pursuit of them—the enemy army finally appeared.

(The one leading the charge… is that their commander?)

Peering through a narrow gap between the well’s crumbling bricks, Ricardo observed the enemy’s movements.

At the forefront was a silver-haired young man. He looked to be around Ricardo’s age, but his presence clearly set him apart from the soldiers around him.

No doubt about it—he was a high-ranking commander.

(…Alright. If I can take him down, it’ll throw the enemy into significant disarray.)

Ricardo remained hidden, waiting for the moment to strike.

(I’m sorry. This isn’t an honorable way to fight… but I’ll have to take your life.)

The silver-haired youth, riding a black horse, was about to pass by the well where Ricardo hid—or so it seemed.

Suddenly, the youth vanished from sight. All that remained was the black horse he’d been riding.

(…He disappeared!?)

Even peering through the narrow gap between bricks, losing sight of him was unthinkable.

(Where is he? Where did he go…!?)

As Ricardo’s gaze darted around in growing panic, a gust of wind whipped past him.

The dry grass scattered, exposing the open sky above—and in that moment, a hand gently landed on his shoulder.

“What…!?”

Ricardo spun around reflexively. Standing there was the silver-haired youth.

His expression was calm, yet something unfathomable lurked in the depths of his eyes.

“Hide and seek, huh? That looks like quite a fun game.”

“W-What!?”

“But personally, I’ve always preferred tag. The ‘鬼’ in tag—doesn’t that mean ‘demon’ or ‘evil’? In other words—tag is a game that mimics the hunt for evil.”

Whispering words that Ricardo couldn’t begin to comprehend, the silver-haired youth smiled.

“Now, what exactly were you planning to do, hiding in a place like this? Could it be… you were hoping to take down the villainous demon?”