TYBMB 07

Chapter 7: A World of Just the Two

While preparations to attack Rift No. 4 were in full swing…

Martin sat at his desk, sifting through documents with a grave expression.

They were research materials on mind-control-type monsters.

Although he had dealt with such monsters several times in the past and was quite familiar with them, he still went over every page meticulously.

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

Just as he was fully immersed in the documents—

“Commander. I’ve finished sharpening your weapon.”

Simon, the attendant Martin had brought with him from his own household—the Duke of Habicht—entered the tent.

In Simon’s hand was a halberd with a freshly sharpened blade.

A weapon with a long shaft and a sharp, heavy axe head.

Martin took it and inspected the blade carefully.

“Well done. You’re getting better.”

“Thank you. It’s all thanks to you, Commander. You make me go outside and sharpen it every time, even in this freezing weather…”

“You’re thankful for everything, huh. If you’re that grateful, should I give you more work?”

“…I’ll pass.”

Since they had grown up together as noble and servant, there were no formalities in their conversations.

They could talk freely about anything.

That’s why Simon said something now that most others wouldn’t even dare to bring up to Martin.

“Are you really going into the rift alone with that woman?”

“Yulia?”

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

Despite Yulia being from a marquis family and a renowned knight in her own right, Simon always referred to her with striking bluntness.

That woman.

Martin didn’t bother correcting the openly hostile term.

It was common for Simon to call her that when they were alone.

Instead, Martin simply replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

“We have to go in alone. They say it’s a mind-control-type monster.”

“What if it’s all a trap she’s set up?”

Simon’s suspicion that Yulia may have orchestrated everything wasn’t entirely baseless.

He cautiously laid out his reasoning.

“You know just as well as I do. That woman—Yulia—is the emperor’s right hand.”

Simon lowered his voice, wary of someone overhearing his disrespectful tone toward the emperor.

“The emperor is constantly looking for ways to harm you. Watching for any opportunity.”

“…”

“If she received orders from the emperor to eliminate you, then the whole story about the mind-control monster could be a lie. She’ll get you alone inside Rift No. 4 and then attack when there’s no one around. This is a trap.”

“…”

“The way the emperor always seems to know everything you do—it’s because she’s secretly spying on you and reporting it—”

Thud! Martin deliberately slammed the thick document shut with force.

It was a silent warning to stop talking. Simon immediately shut his mouth.

Though they were close, there was a line that even he couldn’t cross.

And Simon knew instinctively that he had just crossed it.

Martin glared at him with hardened eyes.

“Regardless of what you think, she’s still a noble. She’s not someone you can talk about so carelessly.”

“…I—I didn’t mean—”

“She’s also a knight. She wouldn’t do something so dishonorable.”

The truth was, Martin already had a rough idea that Yulia had been spying on him and reporting it to Hernant.

He also knew that Yulia’s blind devotion to Hernant went beyond mere loyalty—it stemmed from deeper feelings.

Yulia was in love with Hernant.

In the truest sense of the word.

But even knowing that, Martin could confidently say one thing:

No matter what, Yulia, as a knight, would never stoop so low as to stab someone in the back inside a rift.

“Even if—by some chance—Yulia forgot her honor and did such a disgraceful thing, I wouldn’t care. I’m not so weak that I’d die by her hand. And if she reveals her true colors that obviously, then it’ll make things easier. I’ll know her intentions for sure.”

With that, Martin turned his attention back to the documents.

He left only a single warning for the stunned Simon still standing there.

“Put those useless worries aside.”

“S-sorry…”

Simon, who had only meant to offer a word of caution, backed down with a frightened voice.

He’d wanted to warn Martin how dangerous Yulia was, but knew that pressing further would only provoke him.

So Simon quickly left the tent before Martin’s temper could flare again.

From what I knew, Commander Martin wasn’t the kind of man to hesitate once he’d made a decision.

As expected, he swiftly ordered all preparations for entering the rift.

Thanks to that, we completed everything in just three days, and now the two of us stood before Rift No. 4.

“Phew…”

I took a deep breath to calm my nerves.

Despite spending nearly ten years entering rifts and fighting monsters, I still broke out in cold sweat and trembled when facing one.

Understandable, considering how immense a rift was.

It looked like a hole punched through the sky by a god—so vast that humans standing before it seemed no bigger than ants.

And beyond that hole lay a world entirely different from ours—a dangerous one.

The world of monsters.

Monsters used these twisted distortions in space-time to cross over to our side.

So it was our duty, as the Silver Knights, to enter the rift first and destroy the magical core stones to close the passage before the monsters could come through.

I turned to the commander who would be entering with me and said,

“It may be a little late to say this, but… thank you. For trusting me.”

“That is a little late. You were practically begging for your life like you’d die if I didn’t.”

“Haha.”

I’d only tried to lighten the mood out of nervousness, but thankfully, the commander responded well.

As I was still calming my tension with deep breaths, the commander suddenly addressed me.

“You already know this, but… I don’t like you very much.”

“…”

“But I respect you as a knight. If you die, it’ll be a great loss to the order. So keep your head straight in there and make sure you survive.”

The moment I heard those words, memories flashed through my mind.

Words he’d said to me as I lay dying, having swallowed poison in my past life—

—“You won’t die today. The others will bring the antidote soon.”

—“Don’t give up. Just hold on a little longer. I’ll stay by your side.”

—“Yulia! Stay with me! Yulia!”

He’d clung to me, encouraging me, when I was already slipping away.

He had grieved for my death more than I had.

So how could I doubt his sincerity?

“I know. That you value my life. That’s why… no matter what happens, I’ll survive.”

“…Enough chatter. Let’s get going.”

I nodded, and the commander stepped forward.

As his loyal subordinate, I followed closely behind his broad back.

And just like that, we stepped beyond the rift—into the monsters’ world.

Bzzzzzz—

As we crossed the boundary between worlds, a ringing filled my ears.

A normal phenomenon during transitions like this—nothing to worry about.

The real threat here was the toxic miasma and the monsters.

Everything in this world—the air, the water, the plants—contained harmful substances for humans. It was tolerable for a short time, but long exposure was extremely dangerous.

That meant we had to move fast.

I quickly scanned the world beyond the rift.

My impression?

It was exactly the same as before my regression.

Nothing had changed.

A barren land under a bleak, violet sky… and far in the distance, a lone ancient castle standing inexplicably in the middle of the wasteland.

Exactly like I remembered.

I never did understand why a castle existed in the monsters’ world.

Maybe humans had once lived here too.

Maybe they, like us, had once fought off monsters from the rifts… only to perish in the end.

If so, then that castle in the distance was one of the last remnants of their lost civilization.

As I was lost in those thoughts, the commander muttered beside me,

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