Around the time preparations for attacking the 4th crack were in full swing.

Martin sat at his desk, looking over documents with a serious expression.

It was research material on mental manipulation-type monsters.

Although he was already familiar with handling such monsters in the past, he still thoroughly examined the materials.

He knew that thorough preparation against the enemy always increased the chances of survival.

So while he was deeply focused on reviewing the documents.

“Commander. I’ve sharpened the weapon.”

Simon, the servant Martin had personally brought from his family’s Habicht duchy, entered the tent.

In Simon’s hands was a well-sharpened halberd.

A weapon with a sharp, heavy axe blade attached to a long pole.

Martin took it and carefully examined the blade portion.

“Well sharpened. Your skills seem to be improving?”

“Thank you. It’s all thanks to you, Commander. Making me go out to sharpen the blade even on such cold days…”

“You’re grateful for such trivial things. Should I give you more work if you’re so appreciative?”

“…I’ll pass.”

Having been close as master and servant since childhood, there were no barriers in the conversation between the two.

A relationship where they could say anything without hesitation.

So this time too, Simon said something to Martin that others would not dare to say.

“But are you really going to enter the crack alone with that woman?”

“Yulia?”

“Yes. She’s the only one I would refer to as ‘that woman.'”

Despite Yulia being from a marquis family and active as a renowned knight, Simon used quite a bold term of address for her every time.

That woman.

Even hearing that term full of hostility, Martin didn’t bother to point it out.

It was common for Simon to use that term for Yulia when it was just the two of them.

Instead, Martin responded to Simon with simple words.

“We have to go in alone. There are mental manipulation-type monsters coming out, remember?”

“What if it’s all a trap set up by that woman?”

Simon’s claim that Yulia might have set a trap had some basis.

Simon carefully voiced that reasoning.

“You know it all, don’t you? That woman, Yulia, is the Emperor’s… subordinate.”

Simon, who in his anger didn’t use an honorific for the Emperor, lowered his voice cautiously in case someone might hear.

“Even now, the Emperor is constantly looking for a chance to somehow harm you, Commander.”

“…”

“If that woman received orders from the Emperor to eliminate you… then the claim that mental manipulation-type monsters are coming out of the 4th crack is also a lie. She made up that lie to attack you when you’re alone with her in the crack, with no one else around. This is a trap.”

“…”

“Look at how the Emperor knows your every move. It’s all because that woman secretly monitors you and reports to the Emperor—”

Thud! Martin deliberately closed the thick document he was looking at with force to make a loud noise.

Realizing it was a wordless warning to shut his mouth, Simon immediately stopped talking.

Though they were clearly close, there was still a final line that shouldn’t be crossed even in their relationship.

Simon sensed that he had just slightly crossed that line.

Martin glared at Simon with fierce eyes.

“Regardless of anything else, the Vice Commander is still a noble. She’s not someone you can casually talk about.”

“Th-that’s…”

“And she’s also a knight. She wouldn’t do such dishonorable actions.”

In fact, Martin was vaguely aware that Yulia was spying on his own actions and reporting them to Ernant.

He also knew that Yulia’s blind devotion to Ernant stemmed from deeper emotions beyond simple loyalty.

Yulia loves Ernant.

It meant she was literally in love with him.

But even so, Martin could assert:

As long as Yulia was a ‘knight’, she wouldn’t do such a cowardly thing as backstabbing inside the crack.

“Even in the unlikely event that Yulia forgets her honor and does such a vile thing, it doesn’t matter. I’m not weak enough to die by her hand. Rather, if she shows her true colors so openly, it would be good because I could confirm her ulterior motives.”

After saying that, Martin turned his gaze back to the documents.

Leaving just one word of warning to Simon, who was standing there dumbfounded in surprise.

“Keep your useless worries to yourself.”

“I-I’m sorry…”

Simon replied in a frightened voice, having offered advice only to be scolded.

He wanted to tell Martin more about how dangerous a woman Yulia was, but Martin wouldn’t stand for it.

Simon fled the tent before further upsetting Martin.

As far as I knew, Commander Martin was not one to hesitate once he made a decision.

As expected, he quickly gave orders to prepare for entering the crack.

Thanks to that, all preparations were completed in just three days, and now the two of us were standing in front of Crack No. 4.

“Haa…”

I took a deep breath to calm my nervousness.

Even after nearly 10 years of going in and out of cracks dealing with monsters, standing before one still made me break out in a cold sweat and tremble.

For good reason, as cracks were simply massive.

They were so enormous, like holes punched in the void by a god, that humans standing before them were no different from ants.

And beyond those massive holes lay a completely different, dangerous world from this side.

A world of monsters.

Monsters cross over to this side through cracks formed by distortions in space-time.

Thus, our role as the Silver Knights was to go over there first, before the monsters came, and destroy something called mana stones to close the cracks.

I spoke to the Commander who would be going with me for that task.

“It may be odd to say this now, but… thank you. For believing me.”

“Indeed, it is odd. Acting so desperate as if you’d give up your life if I didn’t believe you.”

“Haha.”

I tried making small talk because I was nervous, but fortunately the Commander responded well.

As I was trying to calm my unresolved tension with deep breaths, this time the Commander called out to me.

“You probably know this, but I don’t particularly like you.”

“…”

“Still, I highly value you as a knight. It would be a great loss to the knighthood if you died. So keep your wits about you when we go in, and make sure you survive till the end.”

The moment I heard those words, I remembered.

The words the Commander had kept saying to me before the regression, as I was dying after swallowing poison.

−”You’re not going to die today. My subordinates will bring the antidote soon.”

−”Don’t give up, just hang on a little longer. I’ll stay by your side.”

−”Yulia! Stay with me! Yulia!”

You had tried to give me hope until the very end, even as I was dying with no chance of survival.

You had been more heartbroken by my death than I was.

So how could I doubt your sincerity?

“I know too. That you value my life, Commander. So… I will survive no matter what situation arises.”

“…Enough with the useless talk, let’s go in now.”

As I nodded, the Commander started walking.

I too, as his reliable subordinate, followed behind his broad back.

And so we stepped into the world of monsters beyond the crack.

Beeeep—

A ringing sound echoed in my ears as we crossed the boundary between worlds.

This was a natural phenomenon that occurred every time one crossed into another world, so there was no need to worry much about it.

What we really needed to worry about was the poisonous energy permeating this place and the monsters.

The air, water, plants, and everything else here contained components harmful to humans, so while it was fine for a short while, staying for long was extremely dangerous.

Because of that, we had to hurry with the mission, so I quickly scanned the place, the world beyond the crack.

My impression after looking around was this:

It’s exactly the same as when I came before the regression.

Nothing had changed at all.

The desolate purple sky, the vast gray barren land stretching out below it…

Even the lone castle inexplicably standing in the middle of the wide land was exactly as I had seen it before the regression.

I didn’t know why such a castle-like structure was built in the monsters’ world.

Perhaps humans lived here long ago too?

Did they also face monsters pouring out of cracks like we do now, only to eventually perish?

If so, that distant castle must be one of the sad traces they left behind.

As I was lost in such thoughts, the Commander muttered beside me.

“First, we need to locate the Queen’s position.”