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The prophesied attack of the dragons. While there were indeed elves harboring doubts, they were not a species so foolish as to respond indifferently to such blatant warnings.

First and foremost, there was nothing odd about the warning itself. The concerns that the Eramenia Forest would be targeted for enemy attacks were shared by both interventionists and isolationists alike. Only the most hopeless optimists occasionally put forth the delusion mixed with complacency that the Demon King’s army would be too afraid to invade Eramenia. Those who made such claims were treated as ignorant elves who could hardly even get a foot in the Eramenia Grand Council.

This Demon King is unlike any other. So far, among the rulers of the demon race, none have obtained territory as vast as Violet Moriarty, and never has a ruler successfully governed such a wide expanse for many years.

The fates of numerous self-proclaimed Demon Kings in the past have been almost uniformly similar. When a new Demon King appeared, humanity, wary of this threat, would cease fighting amongst themselves and form temporary alliances or establish unified kingdoms to stand against the Demon King’s army. The demon race, which underestimated the humans merely engaged in petty squabbles, gradually began to feel the pressure of the unexpectedly fierce human resistance.

The moment the demons’ rapid expansion came to a halt, questions rose around the Demon King’s leadership, and ultimately, a consensus formed that “this Demon King is a flop,” causing the demon tribes to scatter in hopes of avoiding extermination.

Countless Demon Kings gathered the foolish demons to dream of conquering the continent. Among them were highly intelligent orcs, wicked human-born dark mages, and other races such as vampires and succubi, who took turns claiming the title of Demon King while feuding among themselves.

Yet none have been as successful as the current Demon King. No one has dared to push humanity, even an integrated human empire, beneath their heel in the Central Plains.

The current Demon King has achieved this. All of Eramenia perceives this fact as an unprecedented and grave threat. If Anton Caprice’s Nomember defense strategy were to fail, Eramenia could find itself open to invasion not only from the north but also from the western borders.

About eight years ago, just before Walter Hellhound was designated as a hero, the emergency session of the Eramenia Grand Council passed a resolution stating, “If the Audrich Empire fails to protect Nomember and the Caprice System is breached by the enemy, we will immediately send forth an army of over 50,000 to rescue the empire.”

While there were voices calling for quicker intervention out of fear that they might have to fight the enemy while being surrounded on three fronts, the prevailing opinion was that the rearmament of a kingdom’s forces, which had long been out of practice, would require time.

At that time, the fall of the system seemed a foregone conclusion, with the only question being “when.” Ill-prepared for war, Eramenia needed time to fabricate weapons and train soldiers. King Richard and Margaret, both ready for deployment, fervently hoped that the empire could buy just a few more months.

Then, Walter Hellhound boldly drew the Holy Sword and stood up.

The hero, appearing like a comet, wielded the Holy Sword used by his ancestors and immediately took command of all the military authorities of the empire. Walter Hellhound, who even called upon the yet-untested Crown Princess to confront the demons head-on, achieved a grand victory in his first sortie, slaughtering 100,000 orcs and annihilating dozens of commanders.

Lich skeletons rolled on the ground, and the blood of monsters formed rivers. And that was when the mass advance of the Demon King’s army finally began to halt in a true sense.

That is the situation that has unfolded up to now. Though there may be individual differences, ten years is not an excessively long time for the long-lived elves. This means that many elves still consider the council’s resolution from ten years ago—that an enormous rescue force would be dispatched if Nomember is breached and the system fails—to still hold validity.

While Margaret was at the frontlines, there has been an ongoing debate about whether the resolution from ten years ago remains valid in light of the unexpected appearance of heroes like the hero and Park Jeongjae, or if it is now appropriate to consider it void.

Margaret naturally supported the position that the resolution from that time was void, but she could not present a clear and solid argument for it. Many elves believed humanity could still endure, and they thought it best for intervention to occur only when humanity could no longer hold out.

However, what if there were information suggesting the Demon King is planning to attack Eramenia with separate forces instead of focusing solely on his fight against Audrich? This information could not be easily dismissed. Many elves, even those initially opposed to intervention, began to arm themselves and rush to the barracks.

As Margaret was observing the training of the newly organized legion, an elf approached her.

It was Hamad de Phyllis, the head of the elders, who had clashed heatedly with her in prior meetings.

“What’s the matter?”

“Councilor de Phyllis.”

Margaret turned her head toward this old elf and smiled softly. Despite being nearly 900 years old, he looked no different from the other elves in appearance. After watching the legion’s training, De Phyllis spoke to Margaret.

“Is this a reliable prophecy?”

“Do you doubt the words of the Great Sage? Or the power of that staff?”

“I cannot doubt such things. However… yes. It seems too obvious to be merely a trick.”

“Please elaborate.”

“Ten years ago, when the council was preparing for arming. I became curious where the soldiers who were most eager to participate in the armament have ended up.”

Margaret caught onto the implication of De Phyllis’s words and let out a small snicker.

“Are you pointing out that most of them are currently involved in the war under my command, Councilor?”

“I distinctly remember discussions about this. Many elves expressed concerns that only the forces of the Crown Princess’s small kingdom were participating in the war in limited numbers. However, the logic that ‘not deploying prepared forces is also a waste’ took hold.”

“Councilor, your words imply that I am fabricating a crisis to arm the forces and, in the event of emergencies, might leverage them into war.”

That was perhaps De Phyllis’s intent, but he hastily shook his head to deny her accusation.

“Surely, I wouldn’t accuse the Princess of such unfair allegations! No, absolutely not. However… we are dealing with humans. Let’s assume that the impending dragon invasion is indeed real. But do you think that the most cunning and capable humans would not have the means to direct that attack towards Eramenia?”

“They directed the attack? What do you mean by that?”

“For example, this: The Princess’s reputation as a dragon slayer is well-known across the continent, and naturally, the Dragon Lord would know who killed Etrias. While I am worried about your wounds, considering the recent talks that the hero has not achieved significant feats during the northern campaign… you had no need to return to Eramenia to treat your injury. Rather, the journey back to Eramenia might have even been more dangerous.”

De Phyllis had a point. The amber stones allow the elves to return home instantaneously, yet Margaret, bearing the remnants of the dragon’s curse within her, couldn’t carelessly assuming the risk of mana overflowing within her.

In essence, Margaret had to undertake the adventure of crossing the uninhabitable mountain range once more after a solo endeavor to return to Eramenia. Considering that she could at least receive protection from soldiers on the front lines, perhaps staying at the battlefield was safer than returning home.

“That could be possible. What difference does it make?”

“Why, then, did Walter Hellhound send you back home? If the intent was to send the killer of Etrias to Eramenia to channel the wrath of the Dragon Lord towards Eramenia, then what could his reasons possibly be?”

Margaret momentarily lost control of her expression and tightly closed her mouth. Perhaps it was one of the many issues that had tormented her since deciding to return to Eramenia.

What on earth was Walter Hellhound thinking? To what extent could she trust him? Was the hero someone capable of making the decision to sacrifice Eramenia for humanity’s sake? If that were the case, should Margaret respect the hero’s position at the cost of such a sacrifice?

Margaret, appearing to ponder for a moment, suddenly burst into loud laughter.

“Why are you laughing, Your Highness?”

“Councilor de Phyllis. Do I appear to you to be the hero’s servant or vice-captain?”

“Of course not. No matter how great a hero may be, how could they ever command a noble High Elf?”

“In that case, do you see me, Margaret, as someone who would follow his orders thoughtlessly? Why would you think that Walter Hellhound holds all the decision-making power? That assumption is downright insulting. My return to Eramenia was a decision I made entirely on my own. Do you doubt even that?”

“I certainly didn’t mean it that way—”

“Enough. I understand well that you didn’t mean it in such a way. But with your words today, I now know how I am perceived. Perhaps, there will come a time when I must show you my true worth. I, Margaret of Eramenia,”

The elven lord cast a piercing gaze at the elder who was nearly double her height.

“Just who do you think I am?”

“My apologies. I will take my leave now.”

Sensing instinctual danger, Hamad de Phyllis hastily bowed and receded back into the brush. Margaret, taking a deep sigh while watching the old elf disappear, mulled over Walter Hellhound’s intentions.

Margaret was not someone who had never considered the matter of loyalty. Especially since news of the dragon invasion reached her ears, she could not help but ponder if her killing of Etrias was the catalyst for this incident.

To speak frankly, she was bothered by Park Jeongjae’s words. The suggestion that her notebook piled up after defeating the Demon King a century ago might have sparked this attack. If all of those circumstances were indeed true, then this assault would effectively be something Margaret had single-handedly orchestrated.

She believed firmly that confronting the Demon King’s army as soon as possible would ultimately be the best fight for Eramenia. It was that belief that allowed her to deploy her precious elven comrades onto the battlefield and maintain her composure in the face of the homeland being attacked. Yet, was this truly the best course of action? Were there alternative means to minimize the damage to Eramenia while still winning this war, as clever and experienced elves like De Phyllis had suggested?

But as those thoughts crossed her mind, looking at the comrades surrounding her, she could not help but feel driven to bring more forces, shoot more arrows, and swing her sword more vigorously.

The hero, burdened by the weight of too much light, was instead floundering in the shadow, while Rose, though somewhat temperamental, steadfastly upheld her belief in justice, became akin to her sister.

Outwardly appearing to harbor no beliefs or clear purposes, the hunter displayed a propensity to wield weapons for more than mere monetary gain at crucial moments. Moreover, there were great mages submerged in the sense of duty to save the world, to the extent that they often forget themselves.

“Walter… Hellhound.”

The image of the hero, who had fled in a fluster, face flushed, upon having a sudden vision of the future while killing Etrias, welled up in Margaret’s mind. It was undeniable that she had not witnessed a tidy scene. No, judging from the subsequent events, it seemed clear that Walter had dumped a significant burden onto Margaret.

In his gestures, she could read serious anguish, a hint of guilt, and internal conflict. Yet what troubled Margaret most was that Walter began to conceal his true thoughts over time.

It all began from the moment he cast Park Jeongjae aside. It was not new for Walter to keep hidden visions of the future or his plans for the sake of security. However, such prolonged silence had never occurred before.

The hero had never provided proper explanation for why he drove Park Jeongjae away. As a result, while Park Jeongjae played a significant role in the war, actively maneuvering in the south, it was uncertain whether this was something Walter had accounted for or was simply an unforeseen variable even he couldn’t predict.

From the hero’s conduct alone, it was evident he had neither expected nor even imagined much of what Park Jeongjae had experienced. And while he parted ways with Margaret this time, he did so without providing an explanation.

Just how far could Walter see, and what was he truly contemplating?

More importantly, whom did he trust, and whom did he doubt?

Recently, Walter had begun to play a game he had not before engaged in. While Rose seemed clueless, Margaret sensed a peculiar odor from Walter’s actions as he dragged Jenis onto the stage, suspecting that he might be attempting to use Jenis to keep the Crown Princess in check.

Yet at other times, it seemed as though the hero was utilizing Rose to hinder Jenis’s activities. The hero, engaging in a game entirely uncharacteristic of him… was clearly agonizing over it. Margaret could not figure out what future he was preparing for while suffering so much.

“Hero, you have so many friends who would fight for you,”

Margaret murmured to herself.

“Is it true that you do not truly trust any of them?”

 

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