[Proofreader - Gun]
The two stepped out onto the street to grasp the situation.
Whaaaang—!
Amidst the blaring of the loud alarm, people were just poking their heads out of windows to check.
Some could also be seen stepping out onto the streets themselves, wearing light coats.
"It's doing this again."
"Didn't it ring a few hours ago too?"
"Exactly. I think they said it was some kind of error back then."
"...If it's doing this twice a day, hasn't something really gone wrong?"
"Hey now, man, don't say such ominous things."
Listening to the conversations of the citizens out on the street, the two looked at each other.
It seemed that this situation had indeed occurred a few hours ago as well.
Perhaps because of that, people only voiced their complaints and showed no signs of great worry.
-Bzzzt, bzz.
A moment later, an announcement voice echoed throughout the entire city.
-Ah, ah. Attention, citizens of Pervache.
-The emergency alarm that went off a moment ago is presumed to be a malfunction of the automatic alarm system caused by a temporary disruption in the northern communication network.
-We are currently verifying the exact cause, and we inform you that no danger whatsoever has been confirmed within the city. Citizens, please rest assured and go back to sleep.
At this, the people began to murmur instead.
"Rest assured, my foot, when you've woken up everyone who was sleeping!"
"Just how do they do their jobs, eating up our taxes, for this to happen twice!"
"This won't do. I need to go to city hall as soon as it's light out and file a complaint."
Highly agitated, the people grumbled as they went back into their respective homes and buildings.
Watching the sight, Oscar also entered an alleyway with the Commander.
"Still, it's a relief. Seeing as they say it's an error."
Click, as Oscar turned the doorknob, the door to the safe house opened easily.
They had merely been startled by the sudden alarm; there seemed to be no issue with the magic power code.
"It's clean, unlike what it looks like from the outside."
"Well, it is His Majesty the Emperor's secret safe house."
No matter if they were in the middle of fleeing, one couldn't possibly host them in a collapsing abandoned house.
Perhaps because of that, magic such as "Air Purification" and "Cleanliness" was heavily imbued all over this place.
Oscar collapsed onto the plush sofa and tilted his head back.
"Ah, I feel like I can live now...."
"You've worked hard."
The Commander, sitting on the opposite sofa, also took off the cognition-hindering artifact he was wearing on his head.
At the face and horns that were revealed, Oscar made an unexpected expression.
"Is it okay to just take it off like that?"
"Because you've already seen my face."
"No, still, you're revealing your face in front of a human... don't you feel any reluctance or anything?"
"Reluctance? I've spent more time in the Empire than in the Demon Realm. There's no way I'd have any."
Come to think of it, was that so?
Nodding in agreement, Oscar suddenly paused.
It was because the condition of the Commander's face looked quite severe.
"Wait, didn't you clearly say you were fine? Your face is a total mess."
Bulging blood vessels had burst, and blood was flowing all over his face.
At this, the Commander replied as if it were no big deal.
"It seems like traveling through subspace multiple times in a short period makes it increasingly worse. Honestly, during the last two transfers, I thought I was going to die."
"If it was that bad, you should've said so earlier."
"Wasn't it a situation where there was no other way anyway?"
Hearing that, it indeed made sense.
Because flying a distance of tens of kilometers just because he was hurt would carry the risk of being discovered.
Swish!
As the Commander took off his top, his upper body was also completely covered in blood.
He wiped it with the tissues provided on the table and said,
"There's no particular need to worry. I may look like this, but this is a demon's body, so I can feel it recovering even at this moment."
"In other words, as long as you don't enter subspace right this second, you're fine?"
"Yeah."
Even if he didn't know how long it would take for that condition to improve, it would be best to rest for at least two days.
Oscar nodded.
"Right, we've hidden ourselves in the safe house anyway, so there'll be no need to move for a while."
"...I wish that were the case, too."
"What do you mean?"
When asked with a furrowed brow at those seemingly pointed words, the Commander opened his mouth after some thought.
"Because the alarm that went off a moment ago is bothering me."
"Didn't they say that part was due to a disruption in the communication network?"
"It would be nice if that were true."
Setting down the blood-stained tissue, the Commander spoke.
"Do you happen to know that the communication networks of major cities are linked together by region?"
"That's the first time I'm hearing of this."
"This was requested by the Imperial Family to the Yellow Tower. The reason, of course, is because of the threat of war."
"Explain in detail."
"To put it simply, if danger strikes a certain city, it's a system where an alert is automatically sent to other neighboring cities."
If it worked that way, it certainly seemed good for preparing for danger.
Pondering, Oscar spoke up.
"In other words, you're saying something happened in a neighboring city just now, and since telling the truth would cause the city to go into an uproar, they're controlling the information?"
"I'm just speaking of possibilities."
Well, honestly, he didn't think the possibility was zero.
Because he himself had experienced firsthand just how much information gets controlled during a war.
"Hold on, in that case, asking directly will be faster."
"Because of the communication network disruption, it wouldn't work anyway... Ah, by any chance, are you planning to go alone?"
"No, who knows what would happen if I left you alone in this state?"
Wasn't it a situation where it wouldn't be strange even if the Purple Brigade barged in right this instant?
Standing up, Oscar began to rummage through the shelves of the surrounding furniture.
"It should definitely be somewhere... Ah, here it is."
A peculiar light gleamed in the Commander's eyes upon seeing the item he subsequently pulled out.
"Is that a communication crystal ball?"
"That's right. Even though it's an old-era relic that doesn't use the Yellow Tower's communication network, it's useful at times like this."
"Do you know how to use it?"
"Of course. You must not have heard how I survived against Kaya in Baran, huh?"
Chuckling, Oscar sat down and flowed magic power into the crystal ball.
'I'm sure Mister Emperor's crystal ball code was....'
As he sent a message while searching his memory, a response came back in less than 10 minutes.
"What did it say?"
"Ah, this is a kind of code. To verify each other's identities."
Upon sending the agreed-upon countersign, a storm of questions poured in from Mister Emperor.
[Are you still in Pervache?]
[Yes, Your Majesty. I don't know if it was transmitted well since the communication status was bad earlier, but I've safely rescued the Commander and we are currently in the secret safe house in Pervache.]
After that, there seemed to be no answer for a moment.
[Leave that place right this instant.]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Deciphering it, a rather chilling message had arrived.
Pausing at this, Oscar urgently sent a message back.
[What is the matter?]
And at the moment his insides were burning up from receiving no answer for quite a while.
A lengthy message arrived.
[12 hours and 37 minutes ago, all contact with Starfall was lost. At the same time, an abnormally massive demonic energy reaction was detected in that area, so the Imperial Family is operating under the premise that Starfall has been occupied by hostile forces.]
"What in the...."
His thoughts momentarily ground to a halt.
A feeling as if his brain had stiffened and wouldn't move.
"What is it? Why are you suddenly acting like that?"
The Commander, noticing the atmosphere had taken a grave turn, asked.
It was only when that question had been repeated about three times that Oscar snapped back to his senses and explained the situation.
"I see."
The Commander muttered, nodding his head.
"That guy has hated uncertainty more than anything since he was young. Now that he has pinpointed my location and whereabouts, it seems he intends to kill me by any means necessary."
A family member who was tenaciously trying to kill him, huh.
Biting his lip tightly, Oscar tapped the communication crystal ball.
[If demonic energy was detected, is it certain that they are demons?]
[It is not certain, but as of now, it is the highest possibility. The demonic energy levels weren't ambiguous like the toys handled by the Black Finger.]
"Hmm?"
Sensing something strange, Oscar quickly tapped the crystal ball.
[Shouldn't you just check the outposts built in the Red Mountain Range? They have communication crystal balls over there, too.]
[That is why it's even more confusing. Until now, there hasn't been a single outpost that was attacked or collapsed.]
What?
Oscar's eyebrows twitched.
The number of Imperial Army outposts built in the Red Mountain Range alone numbered 400.
The outposts, built densely at regular intervals, were impossible not to encounter if the demon army crossed over.
'And those outposts would inevitably be destroyed.'
However, the outposts being perfectly fine meant there were only a few possibilities.
The first was if the demons had not crossed the Red Mountain Range.
The second was if the reports sent by the outposts themselves were lies.
The last... was if they had crossed the mountain range using a method the outposts could not detect.
[All three are the absolute worst.]
[The Imperial Family has sent messengers to the vicinity, keeping in mind the possibility that the reports themselves are lies. If that is true... it means the northern defense network itself has been paralyzed, so we must prepare for an all-out war.]
At the phrase "all-out war," he felt the blood in his entire body run cold.
If they had waited just a little, just a little bit longer, our side could have rounded them all up in one fell swoop.
Grind, clenching his teeth tightly, Oscar tapped the crystal ball.
[Then what will be the response?]
[Some of the Western and Eastern armies are already marching north. The Central Army is also scheduled to join soon, and Code Red has been issued to the entire military in preparation for a potential all-out war.]
Code Red.
This referred to a state no different from a wartime situation.
Even if the situation wasn't conveyed to the citizens, as far as the military was concerned, it was no different from being in the middle of a war.
"Damn it."
Of all times, now; of all situations, this.
Oscar touched his forehead and quickly explained the situation.
"...Demons from above, the Imperial Army from below, huh."
"It might actually be a good thing. For now, the tip of the Empire's spear that was aimed at you has been redirected towards the demons."
"Looking only at right this moment, that could be the case."
But eventually, if they went down south, that place would be swarming with bounty hunters.
Even so, staying in the northern region—which could become a battlefield—just because they were afraid of them would be foolish.
[I will take the Commander and head down right now.]
[I recommend moving to the south, or to the Yan Kingdom, via spatial teleportation.]
Oscar explained the reason why they currently could not use spatial teleportation.
[...It can't be helped. In that case, I will dispatch the Security Bureau, so let's have you be arrested by them.]
Arrest, huh.
Thinking deeply, Oscar nodded.
'Not bad.'
Being arrested by the Security Bureau, which took orders from the Emperor, and being locked up in the imperial prison would guarantee their minimum safety.
The Emperor could just order them to be kept alive under the pretext of digging into the mastermind behind them.
'Of course, the best thing would be to run away, but....'
Right now, it was a situation where powerful demons, or a force equivalent to them, were presumed to have appeared in a neighboring city.
It was better to be locked up in a prison under the Emperor's patronage than to be caught and killed by them.
[Understood. Where would be a good point?]
[The outskirts of Sirin....]
Having decided on a meeting place, Oscar set down the communication crystal ball and stood up from his seat.
"Let's move."
"What did you decide to do?"
"I'm handing you over to the Imperial Family. Ah, don't misunderstand. To be exact...."
"I understand. The Emperor is trying to protect me."
As he nodded, the Commander quickly put his clothes on and pulled the cognition-hindering artifact back over his head.
And just as the two left the safe house and stepped onto the street.
"From this moment on, we are completely restricting entry and exit through all city gates! Citizens, please return home immediately!"
"This is a special drill being conducted at the request of the Imperial Family! Please return with peace of mind!"
Soldiers and knights ran about the streets in perfect order, controlling the citizens.
"Hey, you should at least tell us exactly what kind of drill this is."
"Detailed information will be announced separately soon. For now, please return home."
"Tsk...."
Smacking their lips in mild disappointment, the citizens returned to their homes.
The aftermath of information not yet being released to the citizens because it was still Code Red.
Thuuuud!
Before long, the sound of the gates of the Pervache citadel firmly shutting could be heard.
[Proofreader - Gun]

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