1094. Choose with emotion, do your best with reason
“This wall will not crumble unless that bastard called the devil makes up his mind to step forward. However, when spring comes, they will likely scatter on their own.”
For some reason, Sinar approached and kindly explained to Aurelia. Why was he kind? I realized the reason after listening to Ingis nod from the side and speak.
You’re back.
At first glance, he appeared composed thanks to his habit of suppressing his emotions to the point of being called “the Iron Mask,” but his eyes told a different story.
Fragments of deep emotion were revealed within Ingis’s eyes. They were eyes filled with affection, including joy at seeing him.
“oh.”
Vera, who had been quietly watching from the side, let out a gasp of admiration. Until now, she had kept her mouth shut and just stood there watching, as it wasn’t her place to step forward, but seeing the knight named Ingis, she couldn’t help but open her mouth. He was
the very person she had been eagerly anticipating and imagining. Of course, she wasn’t looking at him as a man, but was curious because he was her friend’s lover.
Rita looked around and grumbled that it didn’t seem like the right atmosphere for her to shine. Only Theodore smiled, appearing slightly excited.
They, too, finally breathed a sigh of relief. After all, they had risked their lives to come here, and now they were no longer in immediate danger.
Meanwhile, Theodore was laughing not for any other reason, but because he was slightly excited by the situation.
I think I might be able to put this to good use.
They had developed a throwing dagger that scatters blade fragments upon receiving a certain amount of impact, and this was an opportunity to throw a few of them from the top of the castle wall.
That is, if the monsters of the Demon Realm were to storm in here.
That was the case for the three of them, and Sinar’s kindness stemmed from Ingis.
“I heard you’re a couple?”
“Sinar Kirhais,” asked the fairy, whose lines had become lighter and hair color faded for some reason.
Unlike before, she displayed a smile that revealed her emotions.
But what should she answer to the question? Lover? Is that right? Should she deny it? Aurelia thought for a moment and nodded.
She had come this far thinking she might die today or tomorrow. Naturally, she had much she wanted to say to Ingis if she were to see him.
Therefore, pointless refusal or rejection was meaningless.
You really suit each other well.
Aurelia read the fairy’s true intentions. She was not showing interest in Encred, who was crying out that he was her fiancé, and was content that she already had a lover.
That is why she was showing kindness.
Right, the fight has just begun.
Aurelia nodded at Ingis’s words. Come to think of it again, even though she had come completely unaware, hadn’t there been things she did know?
Were Encred or Crys the kind of people who would make someone a scapegoat?
Had she not realized that? Had she been too busy reflecting on herself?
Still.
I knew it implicitly.
While staying at the Border Guard, I saw and felt their atmosphere. Perhaps that is why I came here blindly without questioning it.
However, at the time, my cold mind simply acted first.
I was consumed by the fact that a scapegoat was needed and that my grandfather and Ingis were the most convenient pawns to use in this situation.
Cold reason is not the only answer.
It was a thought that struck me anew. And here, Aurelia found a clue to her realization.
Sometimes, intense emotions provide the answer.
What did Encred or Krys intend?
Gain? A formula for victory derived from calculation?
They likely did that as well. They calculated the benefits.
However, the fundamental premise is different. They did not calculate only the benefits before making their choice.
Choose with emotion.
Doing one’s best on the path believed to be right.
If this were calculated solely by a cold head, the gain would be minimal.
What if the miracles shown by Sinar Kirhais and the City of Fairies had been used in a different way? What if they had been used at a more critical moment?
Yet, they did not. Their power was used to defend the southern front. What is the reason?
Because it cannot be cold.
My grandfather protected this land through a vow, and that was the result of throwing away all calculations.
The current situation is the same.
Hot emotions.
Cold reason.
It is the gap created by two opposing concepts.
If you are only hot, you will be foolishly taken advantage of. If you are only cold, you will not be able to dream.
Vera’s dream is to start a family.
Rita’s dream is to start a trading company.
Theodore’s dream is to have his own laboratory.
What is my dream?
If one were to dream of what comes after the battlefield, what would one wish for?
Encred asked himself that question countless times. Instead of speaking it aloud, he did so through training, and beyond training, through his attitude.
His desperate struggle to find the answer to that question led him to enter the unit and mingle among the soldiers.
In the process, Aurelia met Encred’s Royal Guard, mingled with Rem’s assault unit, and eventually blended in with the regular infantry.
My dream.
Aurelia thought this as she looked at Ingis. After all, her dream wasn’t much different from Vera’s.
It was to spend time walking, drinking tea, and talking with the people she loved.
It was simple, yet difficult. In today’s world, it was truly hard. It was difficult, especially since she possessed the talent and was the only one in the family destined to succeed her grandfather. Even
after the war ended, Everhold, her main family, would want her to live on the front lines.
That was the only way to maintain the wealth, honor, and dignity of the noble family.
As she thought this far, one thing came to mind that she wanted to do.
My dream is a little clearer.
I wanted to go and ask my father and mother.
If they truly wanted me to live on the battlefield, if they preferred me to follow in my grandfather’s footsteps and become a member of the Knights.
Putting talent aside, if they never had any desire to keep me by their side.
Looking around, it might sound like I was being spoiled, but even the life I experienced after being born into a noble family wasn’t exactly happy or easy.
Aurelia had shown talent at a very young age, and knight training was her only life.
That is why I wanted to ask.
However, to do all of this, I would have to survive first. Aurelia gathered her thoughts and opened her eyes.
Ingis had been guarding her, but he had suddenly forgotten her, cut off from the world, and stood there lost in thought.
That was exactly two full days. The words that came out when she woke up after that were this.
So that no one dies.
She also heard Enkrid’s speech at the banquet that day. She shows her determination. She hopes that no one—not Ingis, not her grandfather, not her friends—will die.
Let’s do that.
Ingis replied. He did not look like someone who had stayed by his side for two days.
Aurelia had spent the two days standing, and she had mounted the knight just like that.
Ingis had simply replied that way, even though he had noticed all of it.
* * *
Gurrrr!
It was a nine-headed monster. These creatures turn people to stone just by making eye contact.
However, anyone of the rank of Knight or higher could not defeat them. After all, a curse steeped in malice can be overcome with sheer willpower.
It was the resurrection of an ancient monster known as the Hydra.
Its skin bore visible stitching marks, as if someone had mended it, and three of its heads spewed fireballs.
Was it a declaration of intent to burn down the wooden walls?
Its size was larger than three average ogres combined. Simply put, it possessed a mass that looked as if it had been molded from the dough of about twenty adult men.
“Let’s go. It’s our turn.”
Ingis and Aurelia dealt with the Hydra. Ingis’s blade severed three necks, and Aurelia charged with a long spear and pierced its heart.
Although its hide was tough, it was not strong enough to withstand the spearhead of a knight who had thrust Will into it.
Ooooo!
The soldiers watching let out a shout.
Under the autumn sky after the rain had stopped, it was the tenth day of the siege battle.
“We are!”
“Guardians!”
The soldiers’ cries of protest erupted one after another.
Although the Demon Realm ceaselessly sent out monsters, they dealt with what they could handle and left the rest alone.
The battlefield quickly reached a stalemate. The Demon Realm could not readily attack; while the moat was a problem, the primary reason was those staying behind the forest walls built by the fairies. Whether
it was a Hydra or a genus of black specters, they were eliminated one after another whenever the Demon Realm brought them out. It seemed likely that things would go awry if the demons had stepped forward directly, but since they did not, a strange balance was achieved. A
spellcasting ogre stepped forward only to be impaled and collapsed by arrows shot by the Fairy Legion unit, and although a few ghouls that exploded to cause plague appeared secretly in front of the walls at night, they were dealt with by the arrival of a priest from the Holy City Legion.
There shall be no error in the goddess’s scales!
It was a divine force sent with deliberate intent. Furthermore, troops from Naurilia gradually joined the fray.
The situation was one of continuously holding back the forces of the Demon Realm as they ceaselessly pounded the castle gates. Well, the structure of this was different from a typical siege battle.
It involved using asymmetrical forces to constantly strike the inside of the walls and counterattacks.
By consistently succeeding at this, they were also boosting the soldiers’ morale.
Of course, those who had reached the level of knights would get exhausted as time went on, but conversely, there were many gains. The most important thing was buying time.
So, this structure was correct. This was the best option. They
just needed to ensure that demons themselves did not intervene, or that entities equivalent to them did not step forward. That was the situation.
All of this was based on Crys’s calculations.
“Two of the demons are dead. Besides them, we killed a fellow known as the One-Killer in the Fairy City, and dealt with the Sea Serpent in the Beastman City. Are they fearless, those who live in the Demon Realm and aspire to ascension? No. I do not think so. They are cowards. That is precisely why they desire ascension. Therefore, they will not reveal themselves in a situation where they might die. They do not charge in boldly. That will be the biggest reason we can endure until spring.”
Trembling with anxiety, yet filled with conviction. It is a truly peculiar attitude.
Encreed went about his daily life while listening to stories from the front lines.
He trained and met the people he needed to meet. That was his job until spring.
And so, today was the day he rode his winged horse.
He hadn’t specifically made plans, but he did so because the guy who occasionally dropped by seemed to be looking for him particularly often lately.
Riding a winged horse was more uncomfortable than expected, but Encreed bent his knees and roughly placed his feet on the back.
This way, the wings wouldn’t get in the way even if they moved.
Going a step further.
Is this comfortable?
The goal was to communicate with Jjak-nuni and find a position or posture that was comfortable for both of them.
Ultimately, Encred did just that. He adjusted things like where to place his legs from behind his back or where to grip his mane.
Foot a little higher.
He leaned his upper body forward, and since there was no reins, he gripped the mane.
From this point on, it had an unexpected effect; by doing so, the one-eyed creature flew higher and faster.
Even though Encred’s dynamic vision was only at the level of catching a sling bullet thrown by Rem with his bare hands, it was fast enough to make all surrounding objects appear as lines.
Heeeeeeeing!
Jjaknuni liked flying in the sky as much as racing on the ground, so from that day on, Encred rode Jjaknuni every day.
“He seems like he hates giving people rides, but the captain is actually pretty good at it.”
This is what Krys said while watching the one-eyed one’s behavior.
“Because we’re friends.”
“Well, if it’s the boss, that’s understandable. It’s getting wintery.”
My breath is barely visible. The temperature dropped sharply in the early morning, so if I collected water at night, frost formed on it.
“Do you think it’s going to be a tough winter?”
“That’s right. Unless the Demon Realm is a fool, they won’t just sit around watching and letting time slip away.”
“Is that so?” “Yes
, I just hope those on the front lines hold out.
” “If you’re worried, why don’t we sortie too?”
“No. Not yet.”
Winter is not a good season for marching. This winter, it is up to the Fairies, the units guarding the southern front, and the Master of the Red Cloak to carry on.
Above all, now is not the time to show a move that exceeds the enemy’s expectations. It is only effective to deliver a harsh blow to the enemy’s back of the head in terms of strategy and tactics.
They must do something that would surprise the Lords of the Demon Realm, who are outside the Knights’ forces. That was the prerequisite for victory.
“I heard Krang went to the front lines.”
“……I’m saying this again, but our King isn’t exactly normal either. What kind of madness is that?”
“He said that if that line is breached, the majority will die anyway, so once they’re all dead, he doesn’t have the confidence to continue acting like a king on the throne.”
“Hah, you crazy bastard. A king, for crying out loud.”
“That tone is disrespectful and disloyal, Kreis.”
“Go ahead and catch and kill me.”
Kreis stretched his neck out and spoke.
Encred chuckled and spoke again.
It is because he is that kind of king that I have come this far.
The candlelight in front of him swayed in the cold wind coming through the window. The temperature had certainly dropped. If it rained even once, it would get even colder.
“We must hold out. That is the kind of time it is. We might still be pushed back. But we cannot leave the border guard undefended. The demons might not gather there and could strike from behind. If we move with a small, elite force, they can do the same. They are fully capable of doing anything that exceeds my expectations.”
Kreis was never wrong. This was especially true of his statement that he would not let the winter pass by like this.
* * *
“This guy is using a vicious tactic.”
Cypress on the castle wall spoke, furrowing his brow.
As Kreis said, the demonic realm was not merely observed.
