"Go down the right corridor, through the courtyard. Got it?"

  Silva tightened his grip around the soldier's neck, waiting for a nod of confirmation. As soon as the soldier nodded, Silva applied more pressure, constricting the man's throat to the point where he could almost hear the crack of his cervical vertebrae.

  "Guh… gu…"

  Crack.

  A dull sound reverberated from within Silva's arm as something snapped. The soldier, in a final, desperate attempt to push Silva away, lost all strength and slumped to the ground.

  "Sorry about this, I really want to live" Silva muttered, pulling his arm back and looking down at the lifeless body at his feet. It was the only word he could offer to the enemy soldier who had mistaken Silva for a comrade and had genuinely been concerned for him.

  Silva quickly returned to his preparations for escape. He rummaged through the pockets of the three soldiers he had killed, retrieving a pouch of gold coins and securing it to his armor's waist. Then, he soaked a bandage in boiling water and meticulously wiped the blood splattered on his helmet and armor.

  He couldn't afford to draw attention with bloodstains on him.

  Once he had cleaned himself up, Silva set fire to everything in the infirmary the bed, curtains, and even the cloth stored in the medicine cabinet. The flames quickly spread through the room, consuming everything in their path.

  Silva exited the smoke filled infirmary and took a deep breath.

  "Fire! There's a fire!" he shouted, his voice echoing through the palace.

  Orlando, who was just approaching the infirmary from the courtyard, froze when he heard the alarm.

  "What?! A fire?!" The color drained from his face. A fire breaking out in the palace was a catastrophe. If the palace the residence of the royal family and the administrative center burned down, it would be a severe blow to the Ortomea Empire.

  His reaction was understandable.

  "Fire! There's a fire in the infirmary!"

  "A fire? Where's the fire?"

  "It's in the infirmary! Fetch water immediately!"

  "No! Call the court mages! Have them use magic to extinguish it quickly!"

  "Fools! We must first evacuate His Majesty and the royal family!"

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  Panic spread through the palace as soldiers, maids, and stewards scrambled to put out the fire. Everyone was shouting orders, running back and forth. Some tried to save valuables, others sought guidance from their superiors, and still others ran with buckets of water, desperate to douse the flames. It was utter chaos.

  In stark contrast, the nobles, accompanied by their soldiers, were fleeing from the infirmary toward the courtyard in a frenzy.

  Orlando sprinted toward the infirmary, trampling the carefully tended flowers in the courtyard without a second thought. This was not the time to worry about trivial matters like garden maintenance. If he could get there quickly, he might be able to extinguish the fire before it spread.

  But in his haste, he failed to notice Silva blending in with the noble soldiers. Dressed in palace guard armor, Silva moved alongside the panicked nobles, making his way toward the exit.

  (If I keep moving like this, I should be able to slip out…) Silva thought.

  This was an unexpected fortunate turn of events. A faint smile crept across his face. He had planned to start a fire and use the ensuing chaos to break through the castle gate, but he hadn't anticipated the nobles rushing toward the gate in a panic.

  Silva watched as the nobles fled through the castle gate.

  "Phew… I managed to pull it off somehow," he muttered.

  By blending in with the panicked nobles, Silva successfully slipped through the castle gates without being noticed by the guards. He glanced back at the imposing white castle he had just escaped from, defying its towering presence with a cold stare.

...

  As he passed through the gates, a townscape reminiscent of medieval Europe unfolded before him.

  "Wow!"

  A breath of admiration escaped his lips as he took in the orderly and well structured streets. Impressive houses with grand entrances lined the streets for several hundred meters in both directions. Watching the nobles who had fled from the castle disappear into these homes, it was clear these mansions belonged to the aristocracy.

  If he continued straight down the main road for about five hundred meters, he could see another gate leading to the commoners district. The roofs beyond the gate were noticeably smaller.

  Silva decided to head toward the commoners area first. It would be easier to hide among the crowd there.

  Wearing the armor of a royal guard, he occasionally passed by nobles, maids, or soldiers in armor, but none paid him any mind. After about ten minutes of walking, he reached the town gate.

  The gate stood wide open, the drawbridge lowered. It seemed they only closed the gate in emergencies. Silva nodded slightly to the guards standing on either side of the gate as he passed through.

  The moment he crossed the threshold, the lively energy of the commoners district hit him like a wave. The area was bustling with activity, stalls and shops lined the streets, people moved about in all directions, and the vibrant hum of life filled the air.

  Unlike the neatly paved cobblestone streets of the noble district, the roads here were bare dirt, and the buildings were more haphazardly constructed. The people wore a variety of attires robes, cloaks, armor, simple shirts and pants, and women in aprons. It was a diverse crowd.

  "There are more people than I expected… and some of them are armed," Silva murmured, his eyes locking onto several individuals with weapons mingling among the crowd.

  They clearly didn't look like the kingdom soldiers, some had such a menacing appearance that he almost wanted to shout, "They look like criminals!"

  Their hair and skin tones varied greatly black, white, yellow, and even shades of blue or green. Relieved that his own appearance wouldn't stand out in such a diverse crowd, Silva patted his chest.

  "Well then. First, I need some clothes…" he mumbled, just as his stomach growled loudly, reminding him of his hunger.

  After all, he had been summoned to this world while heading to the rooftop to have his lunch, so he hadn't eaten yet.