Episode 413
A few months after the Demon King’s declaration of war was declared.
On the roadside of the empire, which had become cold thanks to the darkening sun, a woman was walking with her head down.
– Slap…!
Even though it is still the transition from summer to fall, a bone-chillingly bitter wind is surrounding her.
“…ah?”
Thanks to this, she did not stop walking even though she stumbled, but soon stopped and looked down.
[Breaking News: The Demon King’s Army lands on the coast of the Empire!]
[I can’t tell when we will advance to the capital… It’s imminent]
[A blockaded empire, is there really no way out…]
Newspapers written in the past, written in the hands of many people, were flying around and hitting my feet.
– Sreuk…
She stares at the newspapers blankly, then reaches out a trembling hand and grabs a handful.
Soon, the despairing news that hit the empire some time ago comes into her sights.
[Countless numbers of the Demon King’s army are encamped on the coast.
The number is almost impossible to count, but according to rough estimates from informants, it is about…]
[Even if all the imperial citizens were mobilized, let alone the imperial army, it would be close to impossible to stop them.
In this situation, where on earth is the hero who can stop the Demon King, and where is the head of the Starlight family with private military power?
If they are seeing this tragedy, they should never sit idly by and watch this situation…]
– Kkugit…
She was reading a commentary written a few days before the declaration of war, crumpled it up, and opened the next newspaper.
[A month has already passed since the Demon King’s army landed on the coast.
That’s not all. Dragons allied with the Demon King’s army have taken over the sky and blocked the last escape route, and the land route has long been covered by an unidentified erosion phenomenon.
The good news is that not all of them are advancing towards the capital.
The demon lord and demon lord on the coast have shown no signs of moving for a month, the dragons are just casting shadows on the ground, and the erosion phenomenon that was moving down has stopped expanding for a while.]
“ha.”
She was reading a relatively recent newspaper, then sighed and looked up at the sky.
Even at this moment, dragons were flying low in the darkened sky.
It radiates its unique energy to the things below the ground, fixing its sparkling gaze.
[But, can we really call that fortunate?
The ice that began to cover the entire empire, starting from the coast, brought an untimely winter to the empire.
Is it really because of the Ice Demon King? Or is it because of the dying sun?
Either way, it is a self-evident fact that the darkness and cold that has come to the Empire of the Rising Sun is pushing its citizens to their limits.
That’s not all.
The energy and gaze emitted by the dragons that have taken over the sky are causing fear and panic to everyone.
The sparkling eyes of the monsters seen in the darkness far away are taking away everyone’s hope.]
She stared blankly at the dragons in the sky for a while, then lowered her head again and started reading the newspaper.
[Is there really no hope for the empire?
No, it was there originally.
We just took it with our own hands.
Now there is only despair in the empire.]
Then her hands began to quietly tremble.
[Nevertheless, I would like to bet on a very small possibility.]
A summary of the imperial public opinion that slowly began to coalesce as the desperate situation arrived was written in that newspaper.
[A noble and noble boy that no one knew about.
The savior of all who were persecuted by everyone.
A warrior of great evil.]
If you are reading this article.
Unless everything is already too late.]
Eventually, her hand holding the newspaper gained strength.
[Please give us a chance to kneel.
Please give the empire that has lost its shine a chance to atone.
A chance to respond to your dedication now.
May I dare to ask you a favor?]
Thanks to you, the newspaper was completely crumpled.
[Now that the planned end is in sight.
I just hope that this useless article reaches you.]
When she saw the last sentence in the newspaper, she immediately let go of the newspaper she was holding with a blank expression.
[Please show tolerance even to the innocent…]
“Whoa…”
Eventually, she let out a soulless sigh and started trudging away again.
[Sorry, warrior.]
[Please come back, warrior…]
[Please don’t abandon us…]
[Help me…]
Around her, people tightly wrapped in clothes were walking down the frozen street holding picket signs.
The final struggle for the hopes of the people of the empire, which had already begun a few weeks ago.
In a situation where there was no way to survive, it was the last thing they could do with some hope.
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– Beep beep… beep beep beep…
However, as she silently watched the action, which was quite painful for those who knew the truth, a mechanical sound was heard from her arms.
“…hello.”
– Vener, where are you?
“For a moment… I’m just getting some air.”
– In this weather?
Eventually, she took out a communication crystal ball from her pocket, and when Venere responded with a wide look, a mysterious voice was heard from the crystal ball.
– Anyway, please return to the Countermeasures Committee room quickly.
“…………”
– If the chairperson is away, the atmosphere will worsen.
When the academy closed, she was the only one among the warrior party outside.
Thanks to that, she was recognized as a qualified person and served as the representative of the task force. When she received the telegram, she closed her eyes and nodded.
“Don’t go back right away…”
With those words, Vener cut off the signal from the communication crystal sphere and began trudging again outside the empire for the first time in a long time.
“ha.”
The capital was so crowded that the Demon King was invading.
Actually, it is natural.
The way to escape is completely blocked.
The outskirts of the empire and the forests are already covered by erosion or occupied by the Demon King’s army.
Ironically, the safest place was the capital at the center of the empire.
In fact, this is the only place where you can survive rather than be safe.
And it would be ironic to discuss a safe place when dragons are covering the sky in the first place.
-Turp, trudge…
Vener suffered from such a dilemma again and again, and eventually ran out of the tent of the task force.
She was walking aimlessly down the streets of the Empire with a completely exhausted expression, but soon turned her gaze to the side.
[Simple Shelter]
“…ha.”
What was coming into her sight was none other than a simple shelter.
As people from all over the empire flock to the capital, a lot of people have been popping up on the streets, and in that pig pen-like space, beggars are gathered together.
They are suffering from cold and hunger because they have not been able to eat properly because their supply has been cut off for a long time. In some ways, they are worse than beggars.
What if there were imperial nobles among them?
And if those noble people looked like beggars and begged for food, would anyone really believe?
Probably, I would have laughed until a few months ago.
“Um, uhm… um, that potato… could you at least give me the skin…”
But at this point, it is a truth that cannot be laughed at.
The poor-looking girl over there, shivering from the cold, wrapped in rags and talking regretfully to the commoner girls, was the daughter of a count family until a few months ago.
“Chu, it’s cold… Mother…”
“………….”
And on the other side, the viscountess’s daughter and wife were shivering from the cold and rummaging around the extinguished campfire.
“”…………””
Behind them, the maids of a popular marquis are hugging each other to keep warm.
Unless they had been able to evacuate the empire in advance, no matter how many flying and crawling nobles they had, they could not escape the approaching apocalypse.
Because the mansion, goods, and food were all frozen in the devil’s ice, they had no choice but to come down to the shelter where supplies were provided.
“Here, it’s potatoes and melted water.”
“Thank you, thank you…”
“Is there anything else you need?”
“Ah, no… thank you for just this…”
Until a few months ago, they used to spend several months’ worth of food on a single meal, but now they are groveling on the potatoes that the girls gave them.
“They were people I usually looked down on…”
“Why did we do that…”
“…If I could go back then, I would donate every day.”
Who knew that the harmony between commoners and nobles would occur so dramatically?
“Oh, it’s a big problem, everyone! We’re out of fuel…!”
“Well, we’re out of firewood…! There’s nothing more to burn…”
However, it became clear that even such a small miracle at one shelter would soon wither.
“Well, then we… uh, what happens?”
“………….”
This was because, as of a few days ago, the empire’s supplies had completely run out.
We saved and saved supplies, but there were no more supplies to supply.
Even Bener, who had just come out, had already starved for several meals.
“Nuh-uh, my eyes are closing… I’ll sleep for a little while…”
“Oh, no! You can’t sleep!”
“hey…”
The countess who received the potatoes spoke with sleepy eyes as she looked at the commoner girl shaking her body.
“I’m sorry…”
“yes?”
“I don’t know… living like this…”
“hey!”
Venere, who had been staring blankly at the sight, soon turned his head.
“………….”
Temporary shelters lined up endlessly along the frozen empire’s roads.
Perhaps a situation similar to what she had just witnessed was occurring within those numerous shelters.
“…How did it end up like this?”
Venere, who was standing on the side of the road looking hopeless for a while, soon sat down on the frozen ground and muttered:
“How on earth did it happen…..”
Eventually, as she muttered that, she closed her eyes for a moment and began to recall the past in a hazy state.
.
“hey.”
“……”
“Hey?”
“Uhm…”
Bener was squatting in the bitter cold with his head down for a long time.
Then, at someone’s call, she opens her eyes and raises her head.
“If you sleep here, you’ll freeze to death.”
“Ah, yes… thank you…”
Eventually, she nodded to someone in front of her and tried to force her stiff body to stand up.
“…uh?”
Then, she immediately opens her eyes and looks at the man in front of her.
“Oh? Ugh?”
“Uhm…?”
Eventually, Venere made a strange sound and grabbed his cheek.
“Dododo, young master…? Are you really young master?”
“…yes?”
“Well, really… are you really back?”
“Hey, what are you doing? Why are you like this?”
Eventually, as she asked that question with great excitement, she shook her head with blank eyes when she saw the shocked expression of the man in front of her.
“…ah.”
And then, she lowers her head with a sullen expression.
“I’m sorry. I saw the wrong person…”
“is it so?”
“Yes… he looks very similar to someone I know… he has a similar body shape… and he’s the same height…”
She mumbled like that, but soon asked a question as if grasping at a straw.
“Ho, maybe… isn’t it?”
“Huh? What is it?”
“P, p… p…”
“……?”
“…no.”
Then, upon seeing the boy who still had a puzzled look in his eyes, Vener apologized again with dark eyes.
“But… why are you wandering around outside?”
“yes?”
“It’s dangerous out there right now. Where are your parents?”
Then, when she asks the boy who woke her up, he scratches his head and answers.
“Oh, well… Actually, I just arrived here.”
“yes?”
“I’m actually from the Eastern Continent, and I went on a trip to the Empire a few months ago. But when I arrived, the atmosphere was so… strange.”
“…….?”
After hearing the boy’s explanation, Venere looks at him with a blank expression for a moment.
“It’s impossible.”
“Impossible? What?”
“My empire’s border is currently surrounded by erosion. It’s infested with monsters.”
“Oh, you mean that dark fog thing?”
When the boy heard those words, he opened his mouth with a shy expression.
“I already had a lot of trouble because of that.”
“…yes?”
“While I was walking, I was enveloped in a black fog and had to fight for several days. Thanks to that, I received many injuries.”
When he said that and showed the incredible wounds on his body, Vener’s mouth dropped open.
“Excuse me… what were you doing on the Eastern Continent?”
“It’s nothing special… Was it a Taoist? Anyway, that was it.”
“…What is that?”
“I travel around the country and sharpen my body. In addition to doing this, I also receive requests from time to time.”
Eventually, the boy who said that awkwardly opened and waved his fan, and Venere grabbed his shoulder and knelt down.
“Ho, by any chance… then… could you please help our empire?”
“yes?”
“Right now, our empire… is in crisis. It wouldn’t be surprising if it collapsed right away.”
“Uhm…”
When the boy opened his eyes after hearing those words, Vener earnestly made a request.
“Joe, even a small amount of troops are very welcome. Judging by the fact that you came through the border, you seem to be very strong… Bu, could you please help us?”
“Well, actually, I’m not that strong. I’m the lowest among Taoists, and I’m a sage… no, coming through that black fog has put me on the verge of death several times.”
When the boy shook his head with a burdened expression, Venere knelt down in front of him and began to ask for a favor.
“Oh, no. Just for breaking through the erosion, I can give you the rank of knight commander.”
“…Uh, um.”
“Most of the knight commander-level talents have gone outside the border to retire or request reinforcements… so please… won’t you help us out a little? We will pay you generously.”
Hearing those words, the boy, who had a troubled expression on his face and covered his face with a fan, soon sighed and opened his mouth.
“There is one condition.”
“…yes?”
“I want to judge with my own eyes whether this empire is really in such a critical situation… and how critical it is.”
The boy who said that stood up Bener and spoke.
“I’ve been training for several months… no, I don’t have any information because I’ve been through the border.”
“ah…”
“So, I’d like to take a quick tour of the Empire to get an idea of the situation. So could you please guide me?”
Then, the boy smiled and added something.
“…If I think it’s serious enough, I’ll lend you a hand for free.”
“Go, thank you…!”
“Ouch.”
Then, with an expression of emotion, he slightly pushes Vener, who is holding his arms, back.
“I’m sorry. I have a slight injury on my left arm… so it would be difficult to pull it.”
“ah…”
“Then, please guide me slowly.”
“All right…”
When Venere, who bowed her head to him, looked at the boy and took a step forward, the boy started to follow her with his back to her.
“Hey, over there…!”
Then, he quietly turns his head when he hears a voice coming from the temporary shelter behind him.
“Okay, thank you….”
“Wow, it’s warm…”
The girls inside were sitting around warming themselves in the glowing energy in the center of the shelter.
“Wow, it’s shiny…?”
“What is this…?”
The boy, who was looking at the energy shining brightly like a star, soon quietly turned his gaze away.
“Whether it is worth coming back or not.”
Eventually, the boy started walking while muttering that.
fantasy,
