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A few days passed since then, and it was midnight. Inside the hero’s tent, Walter was deep in his paperwork. As he diligently marked two lines on the document and signed his name, he suddenly paused, a look of realization crossing his face. He placed his pen on the desk and slightly stood up.

“Who’s there?”

Walter asked into the empty air. A bead of sweat trickled down his forehead. Calmly, he placed his hand on his waist and surveyed the surroundings.

“I won’t ask again: who are you?”

“Hero. Walter, Holmes Hellhound.”

A sharp voice pierced through the air. Despite not looking back, he felt an intense gaze upon him. Recognizing who had called him, Walter quickly turned around and drew his holy sword. The Demon King, Violet Moriarty, looked at the hero with a puzzled expression.

“Drawing your sword without even greeting me is impolite, no matter where you are on the continent. Especially between the likes of us!”

“Violet Moriarty. What else would I draw if not my sword upon meeting you?”

“Be reasonable. If I had started a fight here, it would be your side that would bleed. I’m merely—”

Violet rummaged through her robes as if searching for something. Fearing she might pull out a weapon, the hero quickly took a defensive stance, but what Violet revealed was a small book.

“I understand you already have some knowledge about the machine our father constructed, hero. And you must be concerned about it. Let me tell you one crucial fact: that machine is already practically complete.”

“You’re boasting. If it were truly finished, you wouldn’t need to come here and threaten me.”

“Though I am infamous for having taken many lives, the truth is, I dislike fighting and have a peaceful nature. I could easily massacre both humans and fairies at any moment, but that would take time. And it’s just too messy.”

“What do you want?”

“If you surrender, I’ll kill only five million of the six million human population and spare one million capable individuals to become slaves in the new empire I shall establish. If the Audrich Empire and the Eramenia Kingdom surrender to me under this condition, I’ll show great mercy and refrain from using my machine to eradicate all races completely. Not a bad deal, don’t you think?”

Walter scoffed at the ridiculous proposal. “Did you really come all this way to say something like that?”

“I told you, you will all die soon.”

“I don’t believe you, Violet Moriarty.”

“Then the negotiations are over. Do not forget that I at least offered you a chance to save one-sixth of your population.”

With that, Violet turned her back on Walter, as if she were done with all her business, and left the hero’s tent. Walter stood there, blinking in silence until the Demon King’s figure had truly faded away.

Moments later, he walked over to his desk and unlocked his personal file cabinet with a secret key to check inside. Just as he had suspected, the cabinet was completely empty. Throwing himself into a chair, Walter fell into deep thought. Just a while ago, it had been filled with various documents. There was no way someone else could have taken this; he was the only one with the key.

“The inevitable has come.”

The hero muttered as he finally calmed his pounding heart. He promptly called for Bernard in the middle of the night. Bernard Silverpoint sprang up from his sleep to answer the hero’s summons. The world’s greatest hunter was given a direct order.

“Call Harker. Have him come here personally.”

“You mean Jenis Harker?”

“In this world, who else could Harker be? Bring the Great Sage here. Make sure he comes alone. No one else can come, especially Jeongjae; don’t bring him here at all.”

“Understood. I’ll convey that properly.”

Bernard responded immediately. However, noticing that Walter’s complexion was worse than usual, he added with a worried expression.

“What’s going on? I have a bad feeling about this.”

“I have a bad feeling too, Bernard. It’s not good at all.”

Bernard didn’t press further. The loyal messenger of the hero prepared to sprint to the northernmost part of the continent to deliver the message.

Meanwhile, at the northern Febria Fortress, Jenis was staring intently at Reina’s crimson eyes without even trying to sleep.

It was good that Jeongjae had somewhat resolved the situation, but even with the additional strength, there was no way to break through the Gargoyle Queen’s blockade.

The HMS Victoria couldn’t make it to land, and the Dragon Killer Cannons couldn’t reach the opposite side of the second defensive line. Even trying to break through would leave them severely outnumbered. The risk of being defeated in detail was overwhelming if they split their forces to engage on multiple fronts.

Jenis kept staring at the Great Sage’s staff, almost pleading with the magical artifact to provide an answer. Jeongjae’s warnings about her health were futile; Jenis pretended briefly to follow her old master’s advice but would stay up alone examining the staff during Jeongjae’s sleeping hours.

“Nothing.”

Jenis said.

“There’s nothing anywhere for some reason.”

Cold sweat trickled down Jenis Harker’s forehead. The Great Sage’s staff was an astounding piece of magical equipment, and it never showed the desired future clearly to the user. Even when it did, it offered only limited glimpses.

Interpreting and utilizing those scenes depended solely on the user’s ability. While struggling to extract useful information from vague evidence and clues, Jenis suddenly saw a clear and terrifying vision.

Inside the orb, Rose Caprice was looking down at her. A golden tiara, symbolizing her regency, sparkled on the crown of the Crown Princess, and she held a beautifully adorned rapier that was not meant for battle in her hand. It was the very sword Rose had wielded during their duel in the closed area.

With her elaborate jacket and crown, she appeared not just as a Crown Princess but very much like an Emperor themselves. However, the strangest detail was that Harriet’s glasses, which should have belonged to Walter, were perched upon her face.

Rose looked down at Jenis with a resentful expression. Despite it being just a vision inside the orb, Jenis felt a chilling sensation wash over her body. Her face was cold, and her gaze was terrifying. More than anything, Jenis could tell from Rose’s entire demeanor that she was on the brink of breaking down.

With a scream, Jenis shot up from her seat.

“What! What’s happening!”

Hearing Jenis’s scream, Jeongjae rushed into the commander’s quarters. Jenis urgently shook her head, hastily setting down her staff.

“No, it’s nothing.”

“Jenis, please.”

Jeongjae cast a glance at the Great Sage’s staff that had fallen to the ground and then spoke.

“Walter has a habit of taking off those glasses when he gets bored. It’s just a pair of glasses. Harriet’s glasses are a weak magical item compared to Reina’s crimson eyes. Even so, that pair burdens the human mind immensely. Walter isn’t a weak person, yet even he feels it.”

“I know. So… I’m trying to use it as little as possible…”

“Except when doing paperwork, you spend all day wearing that orb, and now you’re sneaking off to stare at it in the dead of night, and calling that moderation? What exactly did you see to wake me up with a scream in the middle of the night!”

Jeongjae lifted the cross necklace that hung around his neck, showing it to her. Realizing that her scream had reached Jeongjae, Jenis slightly bowed her head.

“I’m sorry for waking you up.”

“Waking someone while they’re sleeping happens often in the military or grad school. But you, by far, are the worst. That’s not what annoys me, though; it’s just… listen, please. I have seen more than a few people break down obsessively searching for answers in a hopeless situation.”

“I know, I know…”

Jenis sighed deeply.

“Why can’t I see anything? I mean, there should be something visible, but I see nothing everywhere. This can’t be right. I can’t explain it precisely, but… there’s nothing that should be there. Nowhere. Absolutely.”

“Let’s just take a break for now. That orb doesn’t show an answer anyway.”

“If even this can’t provide an answer, then what else could?”

Jeongjae had no words to reply. They had already been holed up in this fortress for quite some time, and the maritime supply routes were still not entirely safe from wyvern attacks. The fact that Margaret’s special area plan was approved and trade between Eramenia and Audrich had begun in earnest was a silver lining, but that was not enough to significantly improve the fortress’s situation.

Many soldiers were showing signs of fatigue and nostalgia due to what already seemed a hopeless siege. The Southern Army was definitively weaker than the Central Army. They were not mentally trained like Walter’s elite troops.

“Walter may have shown signs of anxiety in front of us, but he never did so in front of the soldiers. Do you know why?”

“I know, of course. To the soldiers, the hero is a god. If they were to witness that god crumble, how could mere grunts display any confidence?”

“Yet, to these soldiers, you are that hero. Are you aware of what shape you are portraying to them in this fortress?”

At Jeongjae’s words, Jenis looked as if she had been hit. Jeongjae was not particularly eloquent, but when it came to essential matters, he rarely spoke incorrectly.

It is nearly impossible to win a debate against someone who speaks only the truth without any rhetorical flourish. Jenis acknowledged the validity of Jeongjae’s words and laid back down on the bed.

“I suppose I should get some sleep. You’re right, professor.”

“I really hope you think like that. Then I shall take my leave.”

Jeongjae nodded as if satisfied and departed from Jenis’s quarters. Jenis genuinely attempted to fall asleep, tightly shutting her eyes and striving to empty her mind.

But she saw it. The face of the Crown Princess gazing at her through the lenses. Those burning eyes, as if ready to commit some heinous act, were glaring fiercely.

The Great Sage gasped for breath as she rose her upper body up from the bed again.

Like a modern person reaching for their phone to check the last messenger notification just before falling asleep, Jenis slowly reached for the staff that had fallen to the floor.

As her hand nearly touched the staff, it trembled violently. The voice inside her, urging her to restrain herself, halted her movement. The warning of Jeongjae, who had just been there to deliver a warning, loomed in her mind, reminding her to exercise caution.

Ultimately, Jenis succeeded in suppressing the impulses within her and laid back down on the bed. After that night, she never picked up the staff again, but it would take a long time for her to shake off the delusions and distractions in her head and properly fall asleep.

 

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