Right after Rei defeated Calvin.
Bret was backing away.
"My stomach hurts."
He watched almost the entire battle.
His stomach was making rumbling noises.
"I have to go to the bathroom."
"That was weird, I'm scared and it's really scary."
He watched as a human fought an undead.
The death knights and fake angels disintegrated a little after the encounter ended.
Being away from Sieghart and the others, he drew his sword.
I must dig a hole so it won't be noticed.
Just as he thrust the sword in.
"Gyaah!"
He heard a cry of pain.
A lot of blood was coming out of the ground where he stuck the sword.
Bret panicked and screamed.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't know the earth was bleeding too!"
He was so frightened that he blurted out incoherently.
The others heard that scream, Sieghart and Sig went over to see what was going on.
When they arrived, they were shocked.
Wearing natural camouflage, Diethard was still alive.
Even with a sunken area of his head he was trying to run away.
Why was he still alive when he should be dead?
Just as Calvin was bringing the dead to his side, Diethard who was with one foot in the grave revived.
The dead cells regenerated causing the still living cells to gather information and process sending electrical signals.
This brought Diethard back to life, basically he was a real living dead.
He planned to run away, he wanted to live so he could recover and come back.
It was what he longed for.
"I'll get revenge on those fools one day, you'll see. I'll get the support of the cult and destroy this country."
Right after he said that, Bret accidentally punctured his lung.
Diethard was drowning in his own blood.
He looked at Bret with his bloodshot eyes.
"Damn you... I knew you were dangerous... but to even be able to notice that I wasn't around and that I was slipping away..."
"I admit it. Bret Elliott, you are the most cunning and dangerous man in the world... certainly an enemy to be feared..."
Those were the last words Diethard uttered before he finally died.
Sieghart walked over and checked his heart rate.
"In any case it's best to make sure he's dead."
He cut off his head and then used fire magic to burn it Sig.
They both stared at Bret.
Sieghart smiled and grabbed his subordinate's shoulder.
"I'm sorry."
"Bret, I sent you on this mission to assess your capabilities based on the last few incidents, I thought you were an opportunist and they were all mistakes and misunderstandings."
"But I realized the wrong one was me."
"I'm so sorry, you certainly deserve your job. You got caught on purpose to know the location of the enemy, didn't you?"
"After I saw you running away, I realized it was so. It was very risky, but no one was hurt so it can be taken as a successful mission."
"Don't do it again, it might work, but you shouldn't rely on luck."
"You even noticed that guy was running away and went to take care of him, even I didn't notice that."
"Again I'm sorry. I'm certainly getting old, consider with this, you've earned my appreciation and trust."
Said the strongest man in the country as he smiled at Bret.
He wasn't the only one, Sig too.
"I'm sorry, I thought he was a liar too, but I realized he's not. He was calm at all times, he even took Rose out so that when Rei woke up she wouldn't be in danger, he had it planned, didn't he?"
"No doubt his plans are terrifying, but he accomplishes his goal, I'll make sure my father gives him a reward."
"There is much to do now, let's go with the others."
Sieghart and Sig stepped forward, leaving Bret static.
A snot ran down his nose and he said.
"Huh, what the hell happened!"
Unbeknownst to him, Bret was part of this day's saviors.
◇◇◇
A few days after the event.
A funeral wake was being held.
It was not for the soldiers who died.
But for a certain boy.
The wake was for Bertram, that means that all the men and women of the Bartolt family are present.
Nobody found Bertram's body, which is still being eaten by cockroaches.
In tears of siblings and family members, in a separate room, three individuals were chatting on this day of mourning.
"Why are they crying? They didn't even know Bertram."
"Neither did we and he's our younger brother."
"Don't say it like that you idiot, you don't make it look like scum."
"Scum you are, I did know him."
"That's why I say, you didn't know him well and that's why you're fake, I did know him well unlike you."
Said a 21-year-old boy, green hair and blue eyes, his way of dressing was eccentric, he wore asymmetrical clothes, even his hair was asymmetrical.
The left side covered his eye while the right side was combed back.
His name was Ulrich and he was the second son.
"And you knew him well you say? Don't be hypocritical."
He was answered by a young man older than him, about 24 years old. He wore sports clothes, his head was shaved and his eyes were brown.
He had no eyebrows and his expression was serious as a rock.
His name was Heinrich and he was the oldest of them all.
"Shut your mouths you pair of idiots, don't you understand that your younger brother is dead?"
The two fell silent as a man sitting cross-legged smoking looked at them angrily.
"I'm sorry father."
"I-I'm sorry."
That man was the head of Baron Bartolt's family.
Klyde Bartolt.
A middle-aged man, black hair with white locks combed to the sides.
Navy blue eyes and scraggly beard.
Klyde was angry.
"That stupid."
But not about his son's murderer.
"He really did it."
But for his own son.
"He dares to die and incidentally makes my private guards die with him too. I would like to have him here to kill him with my own hands."
Ulrich was the most level-headed and talkative of the three.
"Finne was there that day too, shall we ask her what happened?"
"Forget her. I took her to the church and they say her head is in the clouds, they can't help her."
"I left her to my younger brother to take care of her, she is his daughter after all, he can't put her to sleep as it would be an embarrassment to us."
"In that case what do you suggest we do father."
Heinrich commented as he flexed his muscles.
"Stop exercising for a moment, you idiot eldest son."
"Hah? The second son dares to speak to the first son? You understand your rank in the family don't you?"
"I will inherit everything and you will be my shadow. That's the way it is."
Ulrich sneered at him.
"I doubt very much that an ape who only knows how to use his arms and not his brain can say that. These days brains matter more than brawn."
"How do we know I won't become the head of the house after father sees that you're completely useless?"
"Hoh? Do you want to die already Urs?"
"I return the same words dear brother."
A hostility like rivalry between the brothers was evident.
Both desired the position of head of the house.
But Klyde did not care about that.
(Not only is Bertram dead, so are my Six Fingers.)
(Harrisburg is and so are you Calvin.)
Klyde was not a Calvinist, though he supported his cause.
Everyone knew Calvin had died and at whose hands.
Klyde bit down on his cigar until it shattered.
"Reidel Redblade. That snotty little shit has been messing with my life since the beginning of this year."
"I'm getting gray hair just because of him, it's unforgivable that."
"Whether I have to use the church or some foreign country but I swear."
"I'll kill you next year for sure."
Klyde declared his death sentence to Rei.
What no one knew and Kurono did not remember was that Klyde was the secret boss who moved in the shadows.
And now he will move as his anger will not subside until he sees Rei's blood spilled on the ground.
"I will finish off the Redblade whatever it takes."
____________________
To close this arc with a flourish, I leave a spoiler of Klyde's design, the already proclaimed enemy of the next volume: https://chan.sankakucomplex.com/es/post/show/31188567