Chapter 107
It was only natural that the unit was thrown into chaos when news of Carlyle’s desertion spread.
“So… you’re saying Private Carlyle deserted?”
“Y-Yes!”
“Damn it!”
Krabel slammed his fist on the desk and jumped up from his seat.
“What were the military police doing at the detention quarters?! What on earth were they doing that Private Carlyle could desert?!”
“I-I’m sorry!”
“Do you think an apology is enough?! Desertion! Grrrr! Grrrrr!”
Krabel clutched the back of his neck in agony.
Carlyle’s desertion was no trivial matter.
Even a lowly private deserting would throw the unit into turmoil.
But this private was the son of Grand Duke Guntram?
Krabel, who had been excessively strict with Carlyle in hopes of reforming him, naturally felt a sudden dread about the consequences.
“Damn it… I can’t believe he actually deserted.”
Krabel felt cold sweat streaming down his back.
His plan had been to reform Carlyle and gain favor with Grand Duke Guntram, but now, instead of earning trust, he was likely to be despised.
And if Carlyle wandered through the blood-soaked land of Kuberin and died, went missing, or caused an accident elsewhere…
“It’s over.”
Krabel’s face went pale.
“Bring the commander of the 3rd Company immediately! Hurry!”
“Yes, Colonel.”
Helen rushed to the colonel’s office at Krabel’s summons.
“Reporting, sir.”
“You’ve heard the news, I assume?”
“Yes, Colonel.”
“How have you been managing your subordinates?”
“Um…?”
“How could you have managed Private Carlyle so poorly that he deserted?”
“I did my best to ensure Private Carlyle could serve properly.”
“What did you just say?”
Krabel raised his eyebrows.
“You think that’s acceptable?”
“I believe I did nothing wrong.”
Helen’s expression was icy.
“Strictly speaking, wasn’t the reason Private Carlyle deserted your constant interference and harassment under the guise of command?”
“How dare you!”
Krabel yelled.
“Are you trying to shift the responsibility for Carlyle’s desertion onto the colonel?!”
“Surely it’s not me. For the past month, it wasn’t me who directly managed Private Carlyle—it was you, Colonel.”
“W-Well…”
Krabel was at a loss for words, trembling.
“Immediately… dispatch a reconnaissance team to retrieve Private Carlyle. Quietly. If we can just bring him back, we’ll let this slide.”
“So… quietly?”
“You mean you want me to report to the higher command and involve the military police?”
“That would be the proper procedure, wouldn’t it?”
“You don’t understand at all. Do you not realize that if news of Carlyle’s desertion spreads, not only I but you won’t be safe either?”
“If I have to take responsibility, then I will.”
“So we die together?”
“I’ll follow the rules.”
“Damn it!”
Krabel exploded in anger.
“Is it that hard to just handle this quietly?”
“If you wanted me to be flexible, Colonel, you should have been flexible first.”
“What?”
“Private Carlyle is a troublesome child whom the Grand Duke himself raised carefully. Yet you picked unnecessary fights and harassed him.”
“Humph!”
“If you truly want me to be flexible… you, Colonel, need to promise a few things.”
“What do you want?”
“Return the equipment that Private Carlyle donated to our 3rd Company.”
“Fine.”
“And refrain from any unreasonable harassment or picking fights with him in the future.”
Krabel gritted his teeth.
“If you promise, I’ll do my best to quietly bring him back.”
“…Very well.”
Krabel surrendered.
“I won’t touch that damn troublemaker again. Go bring him back quickly.”
“Yes, Colonel.”
Helen smiled subtly as she turned and left.
“Master.”
“Hm?”
“So where are we going?”
“I don’t know.” Carlyle answered the baby dragon.
“Shall we go to some town or city and spend a few days there?”
“If we get caught, we won’t be able to handle it quietly, though.”
“Oh, right.”
“Is there a place where we can quietly hide for a few days?”
“Hm…”
After thinking for a moment, Carlyle said,
“Then let’s go there.”
“Where?”
“The place where you first met me. It’s well-preserved, and we could stay there for months, not just days.”
“Sounds good. Let’s go.”
Carlyle and the baby dragon headed for the wizard Antiros’ laboratory.
“Ugh!”
“Ah! Smell!”
The lab reeked of a terrible stench.
The corpses of the chimeras that Carlyle’s group had defeated had started to rot, emitting an indescribable stench.
“I didn’t expect this.”
Carlyle pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and held it over his nose.
“Here.”
The baby dragon flapped angrily at the corpses and breathed [Breath of Purification] onto them.
The corpses vanished without a trace, and the foul smell disappeared entirely.
“Not bad.”
“Right? That’s me. Ahem!”
The baby dragon puffed out its chest proudly.
“Good job. You saved us.”
“Hehe.”
The baby dragon grinned broadly.
“Master… I’m…”
“Hungry?”
“Yes.”
“Wait. Let’s see if there’s anything to eat.”
After searching the lab, Carlyle found a food storage room.
It contained fresh meat, vegetables, fruits, desserts, drinks—everything imaginable.
Thanks to preservation magic, nothing had gone bad.
“Eat as much as you want.”
“Yay!”
Carlyle and the baby dragon ate their fill and then lay down in the wizard’s bedroom.
“No wonder it’s called a wizard’s dungeon. We could live here.”
“Yeah. Haah…”
The baby dragon rubbed its sleepy eyes.
“For a human wizard, this isn’t bad. Of course, compared to us dragons, it’s nothing.”
“Dragons are good at magic, right?”
“We’re the ones who taught humans magic.”
“Huh?”
“Anyway, I’m going to sleep. I’m tired.”
“Alright.”
The baby dragon soon fell asleep, and Carlyle followed.
Compared to the damp, dirty, dark detention quarters, this place was a hundred times better, and sleep came quickly.
‘I might even stay here while pretending to be on a mission.’
Carlyle decided to make Antiros’ lab his secret hideout and slowly drifted off to sleep.
How many hours passed?
Tap. The bedroom light flicked on.
“…So unnecessarily punctual.”
Carlyle opened his eyes slowly and checked the wall clock.
9 a.m.
Antiros must have gotten up at the same time every day to start his work.
Carlyle tried to go back to sleep but couldn’t, so he got out of bed.
‘Might as well train.’
He found a spacious spot in the lab and practiced swordsmanship, which he had been unable to do due to Krabel’s harassment.
“Master, I’m hungry.”
“Right, let’s eat.”
“But… that room—what is it? Nyam nyam.”
The baby dragon pointed to a firmly closed door.
“That’s…” Carlyle glanced at the door.
“A place where a scary person is sleeping.”
“Scary person?”
“It’s better not to touch it.”
The baby dragon had pointed at a woman lying asleep in that room.
Even the game [Overlord] didn’t reveal her details.
What was certain was that she was extremely dangerous.
Waking her would result in instant death for anyone who sees her.
Players who tried to find out her identity failed; some were imprisoned or killed in the attempt.
“So, don’t go in there.”
“I’m a kid? You want me to go in there?”
“Biologically, yes, but mentally, no.”
“Fine, fine. Stop whining and let’s eat.”
“Already eating. Nyam nyam nyam.”
After lunch, Carlyle trained again, then showered, ate dinner with the baby dragon, and returned to bed.
‘Might stay here for a month, training and hiding. No annoying colonel.’
Carlyle already liked Antiros’ lab.
While Carlyle and the baby dragon slept deeply…
Swish.
The eyes of the woman asleep in the cylindrical tank opened.
“Ugh… Opp…”
Her lips moved slowly.
“…I’m here.”
She moved very slowly, like a bear waking from hibernation.
Splash!
The mysterious liquid in the tank poured out, and the tank door opened with a clank.
She stepped out, soaked in the transparent fluid, like a drowned mouse.
Shiver shiver
Her steps were unsteady, her legs trembling like a sapling.
Slip!
Thud!
She slipped on the liquid but groaned in pain and got up again.
Her steps gradually became more stable.
With a clunk, she left the room where the tank had been.
“I… want to see… my handsome… oppaaah…”
She muttered as she walked.
Her destination was the wizard Antiros’ bedroom—where Carlyle and the baby dragon were sleeping.
