Skeleton Knight, in Another World Volume 6 epilogue

Translator: Silver Editor: Namorax

「Epilogue」

The Branier territory of the Salma Kingdom.

In the study, the one in the feudal lord’s castle…… an elderly man sat at his large desk in the center of the room.

A sharp light could be seen in his eyes as he stroked his gray mustache and glanced over documents as he rested his large body in his chaise chair.

His name was Margrave Wendelin De Branier.

Although he was a prominent member of Salma Kingdom’s aristocracy, he rarely showed his face in the capital as the capital’s nobles held a grudge against his family, and he found dealing with them rather troublesome.

His territory had a surplus of soldiers since they were necessary to deal with the occasional skirmish or routine monster subjugation.

Thanks to the regular military patrols, the relatively rich Branier territory was a safe haven of sorts. The taxes collected through the region were fed back into the standing army, which in turn allowed the region to continue prospering.

This, however, didn’t mean extensive problems no longer occurred. When disasters spread, the territory’s profit fell, which meant that the maintenance of the standing army would be heavily affected as well.

Therefore, Margrave Branier personally read the reports of every worrisome occurrence within his territory, hoping to find a clue that would let him settle any issue quickly and precisely.

He was currently waiting for a report to come on a recent worrisome issue, but “waiting” was an activity he never enjoyed, and the time in-between action was painful for him.

It was under such conditions that his female assistant entered the study after being granted permission to do so.

She stepped forward and bowed towards Margrave Branier, he was the first to speak as he gestured for her stop with the unnecessary formalities.

“So, have the whereabouts of the mysterious official been discovered?”

The women immediately nodded at the Margrave’s question.

“Perhaps. However, today’s report deals with the deformed monsters mentioned previously. Of the six platoons which were sent to search the other day, the second suffered heavy causalities, the third suffered minimal losses, and the fifth was half destroyed. Here is the complete list of casualties.”

“What!?”

The woman gave her report in an indifferent tone before a flushed Margrave Branier snatched the list from her hands and started examining it.

“According to the reports, there were four deformed monsters in total. Even though all four of them were slain, the inexperience fighting the enemy lead to the heavy casualties.”

“Four!? There were four of these abominations scurrying around my territory!?”

Margrave Branier unintentionally looked away from the list and focused on the woman before him.

His expression was becoming harsher and harsher while the woman, being used to this, nodded along and continued to read out the document in her hand.

“In related news, an unknown armed force appeared as the fifth platoon were combating two of the deformed monsters. Here is a summary of their armament and numbers……”

The assistant pulled out another document and handed it to Margrave Branier.

The Margrave scowled as he snatched it from her and began to read it.

“Approximately one hundred cavalrymen…… in addition to a knight and two women riding a mysterious monster……?”

The Margrave became puzzled as he looked over the document’s contents again and again.

The mysterious knight and female duo assisted the fifth platoon in battle…… but the participation of the cavalry isn’t mentioned.”

The woman agreed with the Margrave as he began to groan while reading the document.

“That is correct. The fifth platoon managed to avoid being annihilated thanks to the assistance of the mysterious knight. The man faced an enemy capable of decimating a platoon and won.”

The Margrave calmly nodded after hearing her assumption.

“They were northward bound, huh…… The cavalry probably belongs to Earl Dimo. The Knight was probably a mercenary, but something about this bothers me……”

Margrave Branier stood up and walked over to a map that hung on the wall as he spoke. He stroked his mustache as he glared at the map.

“The first slain group of guards was found here, and the witnesses first reported sighting the group…… here. Then……”

While the Margrave mapped out the locations to himself, the attendant looked at the map as well.

It was only after he’d gathered all his thoughts that the margrave turned to her again.

“Perhaps something has happened in Nozan…… I don’t know what exactly, but something has happened. The group was chased by the deformed monsters, but then obtained reinforcements and returned to the kingdom. Yet, they didn’t simply leave the platoon to their fate when they encountered them……”

The Margrave stroked his chin after speaking up.

“Hmph, send a messenger to Nozan’s capital! Ensure that the number of guards doesn’t warrant an attack and prioritize speed above all else! I will head towards Larisa myself.”

The woman skillfully made a memo of the instructions that had been given in rapid succession.

“Hurry, this can’t wait…… I have a bad feeling about this!”

The attendant bowed towards the margrave and immediately left the room.

Margrave Branier listened to the door closing behind him before returning to his work desk…… his eyes scanned over the pile of the documents before picking the one he’d been looking for.

The content of the report was a description of a mysterious monster that had been sighted entering the Rouen Forest across the Uiru river. The witness had been a long distance away and it had been dusk when they saw it, but they reported the monster having four arms.

“Fuck, why didn’t I remember this at the start! What’s going on in this region…… what’s happening in that capital?”

The Margrave scowled as crumpled the parchment and tossed it at the map in an attempt to vent his anger.

◆◇◆◇◆

Four countries occupied the southwestern region of the Northern Continent, two of which shared a border with all other countries.

One was the Nozan Kingdom, the other was the Hiruku Theocracy.

Of all the human countries that existed on the Northern Continent, Hiruku held the greatest influence thanks to being the center of the Hiruku religion…… The theocracy’s capital sat at the base of Mt. Arthus, which housed a massive mithril mine, and shared another border with the Great Leburan Empire.

Halfway up the mountain, in the center of large, manmade overlook stood a massive white cathedral.

It was the Arthus Central Cathedral.

The cathedral acted as Pope Thanatos Shirubiwes Hiruku’s main residence.

The building was like a piece of art in it of itself, with white marble floors polished to a mirror shine, impressively tall walls and the religious story depicted on the ceiling’s mural one had to crane their neck to see.

In the depths of such a gorgeous sanctuary was a small room where not even the most saintly of believers were allowed to enter, even the cardinals rarely set foot in this room.

The interior of the room was expertly decorated, but it lacked the excess and splendor of the rest of the cathedral, giving it the atmosphere of a high-class inn.

Two unmoving soldiers clad in ornamental armor were stationed at the room’s door, the only eye-catching feature of the seemingly ordinary room.

One man calmly sat in a reclining chair inside the room as he casually looked over the reports stacked on his desk.

However, the most striking thing about this scene was the man himself.

His body was adorned in luxurious robes and he wore a mitre embedded with holy symbols of the Hiruku religion.

However, the veil attached the mitre covered the man’s head, and made it impossible to see his true face.

It was none other than Pope Thanatos Shirubiwes Hiruku.

A hand extended from the robes sleeve…… the gloved hand felt the smooth texture of the parchment through the silken fabric as he picked one document out of the pile and glanced over it.

The contents of the document focused on the invasion of Delfuento’s capital by one of his cardinals, Pope Thanatos merrily enjoyed the pleasure the reading delivered.

“So, Delfrent’s capital has fallen……Yet, their forces contained nothing but Ghost Knights and Undead soldiers…… I thought most things could be handled as long as a Ghost Knight was present, but I was clearly mistaken back then. Hahaha.”

Pope Thanatos chuckled and shrugged as he spoke.

The Pope’s laughter had been the only sound within the room, but it wasn’t long before he settled down.

“…… Assuming that a force of that level won’t be a match for the Eastern Empire, I should probably come up with something ‘new’, hmm. I can afford to be a little bit more relaxed in dealing with the Western Empire.”

Pope Thanatos began to stroke his chin beneath the veil as he began to sort through his options.

“The heavyweight undead can easily break through thick walls. Or maybe some explosive types. No, I still like the materials for the explosion line of undead. Those skilled at scaling walls, perhaps.”

Voicing his ideas to himself, agreeing with them, then rejecting them before moving on to the next thought…… this process repeated itself over and over again.

His eyes suddenly focused on a thicker stack of documents and he proceeded to pick it up.

He casually flipped through the document before stopping on a specific page.

A smile worked its way onto Pope Thanatos’ face beneath his veil.

“The Silver Knight who defeated Cardinal Charos on the Southern Continent…… He seems fun, maybe I should send someone there to rebuild the foothold…… no, I can’t be too hasty when crossing the sea. One step at a time. Hahaha.”

Thanatos rose from his chair and took hold of another symbol of his power, the Pope’s decorative staff, and triumphantly left the room.

He laughed once more as he closed the room’s door…… it was the only sound that echoed in the room.

Silver’s Thoughts:

This was, in my opinion one of the best volumes in the series. Everything was on point, the world building was a step above the previous volume, the overarching conflict continued to be developed, and the payoff for Arc’s heavenly knight skills were worth the wait. I’m not saying it was perfect, as the series is still weighted down the pacing and other nitpicks I have, but the good far out-weights the bad. For a while I’ve heard complicates of Arc’s lack of op-ness, but this volume proves his still has that, it’s just that he’s been making an effort learn control over his power. Both Ariane and Chiome had good showings here, in case anyone forgot why Arc sees them as his equals, while he has the power they outclass him in terms of skill and battle experience. We got more out of Lille and Margrave Branier than I thought we would, but it’s obvious that Lille is still a work in progress. However, this was an Arc focused volume, perhaps more than in any other volume we dove into his psychic and saw what the air head knight is capable of when he has a personal stake in the conflict he’s involved in. On if the Author can get to Ariane and Chiome perspective chapters, I will be truly a truly happy man.