Chapter 62: Fort Polwyn (1)
Fort Polwyn has a structure much like the Innocence Academy.
It’s not just Polwyn, but most of the cities that have become fortresses near the Demon Lands.
It remains independent, belonging to no country, and is home to many different nationalities and races under the name of the Alliance.
All of this has happened since the war against demons began over a decade ago.
Soldiers are the most common inhabitants, but the fortress wasn’t always intended for military purposes, so there are some civilians who were unable to abandon their homes.
It’s hard to say that it’s as well maintained as the Academy.
Even though they were united in a hurry to fight the demons, there were many cases where the cogs were creaking because each country had different interests.
This is also the background of what will happen on this field trip.
The cadets cross the gates flying the flags of each country and enter Fort Polwyn.
The grounds themselves are much larger on the academy side, with forests and varied terrain, but the size of the city itself is similar.
“This is drearier than I thought…”
While walking down the street, Lucia muttered softly as her gaze fell on an alleyway.
The alleyway was lined with shops that, at first glance, looked like a red-light district.
Crank doesn’t miss her muttering and responds.
“That’s because there are a lot of soldiers, right?”
“Soldiers?”
Lucia repeated, still not understanding Crank’s answer.
Yuri, who has been listening to their conversation, decides to answer Lucia’s question.
“Perhaps the laws are lax in the fortress compared to the countries… Don’t you think there should be more brothels and bars in this cold place to relieve the stress?”
“Brothels…”
Suddenly, Lucia cringed and looked around, scanning the area.
As Yuri had said, the forts were forced to be multicultural, so the laws were loosely enforced. However, military law is very strict.
It was not uncommon to encounter races other than humans in the fortress like elves, dwarves and more.
The Innocence Academy was, after all, an academy for humans, so these races were rarely seen within the academy.
The most common of these races were the beastmen. They looked like humans, but with animal ears.
Next, the cadets entered a huge building in the center of the fortress and followed their instructors into a large hall.
“Wow.”
“I was already hungry.”
“This is why there was no breakfast.”
As we enter the hall, there are several long tables set up, with a variety of foods laid out on them.
“Welcome to Polwyn cadets of the Innocence Academy!”
The cadets’ attention is drawn to the man’s booming voice as a man in a red cloak rises from his seat at the far end of the hall.
“My name is Mikhail Aigus, commander of Polwyn. You have traveled a long way to the north so let us eat first. I hope you like the food of the North, so make yourself at home and grab your food. Instructors, this way.”
With that, Mikhail’s instructions ended, and the hall began to buzz with activity.
“…Commander Mikhail, is from the Empire, right?”
Yuri asked Amon during the meal since as a native of the Empire, Amon would know the answer.
After all, Polwyn had been an Empire province in the first place, and it was the Empire that still had a strong presence in Polwyn.
“Yes, I’ve seen him a few times, when I was following my father around.”
“The Commander seems very close to the instructors.”
I glanced in Mikhail’s direction, taking in Crank’s words that followed Amon’s reply.
Mikhail was talking closely with the instructors, especially the three Black Bloods.
They have a close relationship since it was Mikhail who had led and guided Kaliman and Reina during the war.
Well, Edward was in a different unit, so it wasn’t a big deal… In any case, Mikhail was quite fond of the Black Bloods.
The reason why we were allowed to visit Fort Polwyn, a military facility, was because they were close to Mikhail, the commander of the fort.
[Mikhail, from what I remember, was known for his skill with a spear, but this is the first time I’ve actually seen him face to face.]
Sierra’s voice echoed in my head as she stared at Mikhail.
She didn’t seem to know much about Mikhail, perhaps because she wasn’t interested in anything other than defeating the Sword Saint.
Afterward, various things were said around the table but they were mostly about the food and the North.
All the while, Aizel didn’t say much but she had stopped staring at me.
‘What is she doing in the North?’
Aizel didn’t appear in the game when I fought the lich but she was a regressor and knew the lich would appear.
‘Maybe she has other things to do.’
In any case, her behavior was simple if not simplistic.
She’s trying to make sure her regression doesn’t repeat itself and that she doesn’t die again.
It seemed to be designed to allow the player to play, but it wasn’t the only thing that made sense about her behavior.
As time passes and the dinner draws to a close, Mikhail, who has been chatting with the instructors, stands up.
“I hope you enjoyed the meal.”
With that, Mikhail proceeded to explain how the field trip would work at Polwyn.
In a nutshell, it’s all about building cadets’ adaptability so each cadet is assigned to a different unit to experience the life of a soldier in Polwyn.
New recruits who are established in the unit stay with the cadets and teach them about Polwyn and what they need to do.
Mikhail adds that most of the recruits are the same age as the cadets, so they’ll get to know them quickly and concludes by suggesting that if life here is a good fit, they should consider joining the Allied forces after graduating.
At the end of Mikhail’s slightly propagandistic speech, he snaps his fingers and soon, several soldiers enter the hall and hand each table a large sheet of paper.
Crank grabs the one near me.
“These are your assigned groups. I think you should all check them out.”
Crank said, placing the paper on the table.
“Where am I?”
“Zetto is…”
Yuri trailed off as she read the paper.
“Uh…? That’s weird…?”
When Yuri found my name on the paper, her voice was filled with questions.
“Why is that?”
“Because……”
Yuri rambled on, unable to answer.
***
What I need to do in the North is relatively straightforward.
The second main boss, Lich, is currently dead. But there is someone who can resurrect him from the dead.
An agent of the demon cult has infiltrated Polwyn.
He belongs to a cult that calls itself the Apostle, but he’s not really an apostle, a true demonic “apostle” is a far cry from this.
Here’s how it all started.
One day, while on a tour, the Three Black Bloods and the Commander find themselves outside the fortress.
I don’t know why, but it was important for the demon cult agent that the commander was away and on that day, he resurrects the Lich from within the ice block.
However, this will give me less experience since the Lich won’t come back to life.
Plus, he’s likely to be an ally “for now,” making it harder to kill him quietly.
I can’t just go on a killing spree when the Academy cadets are on a field trip so I intend to let him resurrect Reach as planned.
There are two ways to deal with him…
Go to the mountain where he is and kill him before he revives or wait for him to come down from the mountain and fight him with the cadets in Polwyn.
I would definitely choose the former since the latter will give me a tiny bit more prestige than the former, but I’ll get less experience and fewer rewards.
In short, it’s a matter of difficulty, like there’s a beginner level and an expert level.
Equipped with the Hero’s Favor Necklace, I didn’t feel too scared of the undead Lich.
‘I’ll let the cultist revive the lich and kill him as soon as he does.’
I walked down the street, replaying my plan for the North.
I hadn’t realized it when I was in the hall, but now that I was outside, I was reminded that this was the North.
The feast in the hall was over, and the cadets were now on their way to their assigned groups.
The groups are also randomized in the game but which group I was assigned to didn’t really matter to the story since I would have plenty of time to deal with the lich.
Aizel and Yuri were assigned to Patrol 2 while I was in the same group as Kaen.
“Cadet Zetto, are you sure this is okay? Maybe there was a mistake…”
I was walking alongside Kaen when she suddenly turned around to look at me and said those words cautiously.
“Haha, I don’t know… Shall we go in different groups now? I was feeling pretty good being in the same group as Ms. Kaen.”
“That, that’s something to feel good about!”
Kaen stammered and blushed at my laughing exclamation.
It wasn’t that the group I was assigned to was a bad fit, as she feared. I just wanted to go.
It wasn’t long before Kaen and I arrived at our destination and as we approached the shabby-looking house, Kaen tilted her head and opened her mouth.
“Is this it…?”
Immediately, Kaen reads the sign by the door.
“Night Reconnaissance Team 1.”
Convinced by the sign, Kaen knocks on the door.
“Come in,” a voice was heard from behind the door, granting us access.
The door opens, and Kaen and I enter the room as the faces of the people inside reveal their shock.
In the room are two beastmen women and two men with animal ears.
One of the men, holding a piece of paper, opens his mouth with a confused expression.
“Uh… Cadet Zetto and Cadet Kaen, right…? This is a scouting party… Reconnaissance………”
Each and every one of them couldn’t take their eyes off the bandages around my eyes.
It was embarrassing that a blind man who couldn’t see was a scout. Nevertheless, I didn’t want to change the group.
I got lucky, because the demon worshiper who wanted to revive the Lich was in this group so I’ll be able to scout him out when I meet him.
I smiled at them and opened my mouth.
“Yes, I know!”
My confident voice echoed through the room, and they, and even Kaen, began to stare at me like I was some kind of madman.