I, reincarnate as the leader of the villainous knight order

Chapter 12: Omens

After finishing the patrol around the town and placing orders at the shops, we returned to the barracks for our lunch break. Usually, we rely on the sound of the bell ringing at noon to return, but since the absence of knights can make it easier for crimes to occur, some squads return at staggered times.

“Ah, I’m starving! Oh, isn’t that Florian who returned earlier over there! It must be nice for you, huh, getting to lunch so quickly, being a clerk and all.”

“Hey, don’t bother Florian. He’s doing a different job from us and having a hard time. If you want, you can try being a clerk for a few days.”

“Eek! No way, no way! I absolutely won’t do it!”

Simon tried to tease Florian, who had returned to the barracks earlier after finishing the order job in the morning, so I stopped him. Considering Simon’s personality, paperwork would be absolutely impossible for him. Florian seemed visibly relieved that I intervened.

“Hehe, Commander Vandière, thank you. I’ve already handed the documents to the head chef and explained everything.”

“I see. Thank you for your hard work. Don’t worry about us, just enjoy your meal. Come on, let’s go, Simon.”

“Roger that.”

Heading to the counter with my subordinates for lunch, I heard voices from the table where the clerks were sitting, questioning whether I was really Commander Vandière. They’re surprised now, but I need to make it so that in the future, this is taken for granted.

I grabbed some bread and soup, the usual lunch, with fruit on the side. Today’s soup seemed to have sausage in it. As I was about to eat, my subordinates were looking at me with expectant eyes.

“…Alright. But the pepper is still in grains, so I’ll need a mortar and pestle.”

“I’ll get those for you!”

Marius, the squire, quickly stood up and headed towards the kitchen. I couldn’t help but smile at my subordinates’ obvious attitudes.

“Hehe, you guys are quite gluttonous too, huh? I knew you liked eating, but didn’t realize you were this much of gluttons.”

“We’re not laughing… I mean, it’s not that we want to eat more because it’s delicious. But the soup you gave us yesterday, Commander, that’s the kind of taste that makes you want more.”

Simon said as he pushed the soup bowl towards me.

“From tonight, maybe our meals will change into ones that we think are delicious? Commander is considering making even the modestly seasoned food enjoyable with the flavors of sausages and other ingredients, so be grateful and eat it.”

“Wow… did those words of gratitude really come from the Commander…”

“Did you say something?”

I glared at Arnault, who quickly looked away.

“No, nothing! Oh, look, Marius is back!”

Such reactions are only for now, I told myself, as I started to crush a few peppercorns in the mortar and pestle that Marius had offered. Quite proactive, aren’t they?

As our meal was coming to an end, there was suddenly a commotion at the entrance of the barracks.

“What’s going on?”

I stood up and went to check, finding Vice Commander Orel and his squad covered in blood at the entrance. It seemed like they had gone to thin out the monsters in the forest, but all ten of them were injured.

“Call the healers immediately! Tell them there are ten injured! Orel, what happened?”

Although the injuries seemed relatively minor, their knight uniforms were still stained with blood. Since everyone was slumped at the entrance, I applied healing magic to Orel to make it easier for him to talk.

“Th-thank you. Strange monsters suddenly increased around the eastern ruins, and although we managed to defeat them, you can see the result. Luckily, there were no casualties.”

Orel chuckled self-deprecatingly, but I felt a bit uneasy at the mention of the eastern ruins. It triggered something in my memory from the novel… Oh, right! It was about sending injured subordinates to the forest, and then the Stampede happened, resulting in nearly half of the subordinates being wiped out in the forest with the ruins!

I remember the Vice Commander died during that time, and when I returned to the capital, the newly appointed Vice Commander was a subordinate of the Crown Prince! The new Vice Commander was the one who had been scheming to add insult to injury.

“In any case, you’ve returned safely. With the recent increase in monster activity, it’s likely a prelude to a major Stampede. Marius! Immediately go to the office and have the clerk inform the Border Count that a major Stampede is imminent!”

“Yes, sir.”

In the novel, they were too overconfident and sacrificed their subordinates thinking they could handle it themselves. They abandoned the Vice Commander, whom everyone had relied on, and lost the trust of the surviving subordinates.

Knowing that, there’s no choice but to cooperate with the Border Count. After a while, three healers, including those off duty, arrived, but they were overwhelmed, so only the severely injured were taken to the infirmary.

The relatively minor injuries were treated with healing potions, and the knights present took them to their rooms. While the wounds were healing to some extent, they were still dizzy from the impact on their bodies.

This period of lingering effects would last at least within a week. The old me might have said they could go back tomorrow. But because there are preparations to be made, the possibility of tomorrow is low, maybe the day after tomorrow is questionable.

“Is Commander Vandière here!?”

As everyone went to their rooms and I pondered alone at the entrance, the Knight Commander of the Border Count suddenly appeared.