Ch.104104. Change

At that time, when the ghosts of the exchange were being captured one by one and incorporated into the rehabilitation system.

A gloomy atmosphere hung over the fortress located closest to the border.

This fortress was commanded by one of the Margrave’s vassals. The mood here was always depressing. It couldn’t be helped, as the proportion of penal troops was quite high.

In the past, most were commoners who had committed serious crimes like rape, murder, and insubordination, but now there were occasional economic criminals from noble or semi-noble backgrounds mixed in. The composition was diverse, from those involved in nominee trading to associates of Prince Matthias.

Since there were quite a few former knights, it helped strengthen the Margrave’s military power—

But minor side effects were occurring.

“Damn it, roll again!”

“Hey, you don’t even have any tobacco left to bet with.”

“I’ll advance next month’s rations as my stake!”

“You’re insane… But I respect your spirit. Fine, I’ll take that bet!”

Gambling had become popular among the penal troops. Specifically, dice gambling.

The penal troops received no separate wages.

However, they were occasionally supplied with things like cigarettes or herbs with calming effects. If they weren’t given even that much, they’d collapse from stress.

And there were people who used these items as stakes to roll dice.

It wasn’t exactly a pleasant sight, but some commanders maintained an attitude of tolerance as long as they behaved. Before dice gambling became popular, the penal troops had filled their rest periods with distinctly violent entertainments.

Thanks to this, small gambling sessions like children’s games were taking place everywhere.

Roll, roll, and roll again.

When cigarettes ran out, they would gamble with biscuits or beef jerky.

Those who had run out of money just watched the gambling with envious eyes while engaging in meaningless chatter. Mostly stories about their glory days.

“Hah. I was once worth 1.5 billion, and I don’t know what I’m doing here. If I hadn’t been marked as Prince Matthias’s associate, I wouldn’t have ended up like this.”

“1.5 billion? Last time you said 1.1 billion. Why does it keep growing?”

“…Don’t pick a fight. Anyway, if I had gotten out at the right time, I’d be enjoying life with several women by now. My life has turned to shit.”

“What’s the point of talking about that now? It just makes you feel worse. By the way, I wonder how Prince Matthias, that bastard, is doing.”

“He’s probably living the good life somewhere. He’s the Emperor’s son after all.”

Despite claiming it made them feel worse, their expressions were actually steeped in nostalgia.

It was because they couldn’t forget the times when they were filled with dreams of hitting it big while looking at the trading floor.

It was a pathetic sight to behold, but no one reproached them. After all, most people around them were in similar situations.

“Roll again!”

Ghosts of the past who couldn’t forget the thrill of Cordana. At least, unlike the addicts in the imperial capital, they were just rolling dice among themselves, so the harmful effects were less severe.

And there was one female knight watching these ghosts from a distance.

A female knight with pink hair and pink eyes that stood out wherever she went. Though her complexion was haggard, it didn’t detract from her beauty. There were quite a few female knights among the Margrave’s subordinates, but none as strikingly beautiful as her.

She was once a figure renowned throughout the Empire.

Millia Neize.

Once a female knight of the Hero’s party, she now sat crouched in a corner watching the dice gambling. Or to be honest, she wasn’t even watching. She was just staring blankly, having nowhere else to look.

‘I shouldn’t be like this.’

With a clank, she tried to get up but then sat back down helplessly.

***

Millia’s attitude hadn’t always been this poor.

On the contrary, she had been working twice as diligently as others. It was to improve her reputation that had been thrown into the gutter.

Trash who ruined the Empire along with Gwon Heejin, daughter of the Cordana Exchange director, disgrace of the imperial nobility.

Many people objected to the fact that she came as a knight rather than as part of the penal troops. The atmosphere was like, “You’re getting paid?”

In the beginning, she was constantly insulted by other knights and even by members of the penal troops.

– I heard you were knocked out by a side kick from the Beast King when he was on the verge of death. Is that true? If you had just managed to stab him properly then, history would have changed.

– Your entire clan should be breaking rocks in a quarry, yet you’re being treated like a human? Did you use some special method to get your sentence reduced…?

– Sparring? Sorry, but I’m not comfortable crossing swords with you. Please understand.

…She had to live as a punching bag for a full three months.

Fortunately, as she endured silently and worked hard, prejudices gradually decreased, and recently she had been recognized as a proper knight. Thanks to diligently wielding her sword and volunteering for night patrol duties, her skills had improved considerably.

The only driving force that moved her was the sense of crisis that if she faltered even here, it would truly be the end, and her family’s recovery would become impossible.

‘After adapting with such difficulty.’

She knew she shouldn’t show such a lack of discipline now. Despite knowing this clearly, somehow she couldn’t muster the energy.

The one fortunate thing was that she had a comrade who understood her feelings.

“Millia. Sitting like this again today?”

“…Yuni.”

“Just stay seated. No one’s going to criticize you anyway.”

Turning her head, she saw the magician Yuni sitting beside her with a complicated expression.

Though they had been distant during their Hero’s party days, here at the fortress, Yuni was the only one she could call a friend. They always ate together and shared the same quarters.

“Are you still troubled by that news?”

“Mmm. I can’t say I’m not.”

News about the new Hero Erick and Saintess Gang Hannah had reached this place three days ago.

It was a bit later than other regions. This was due to the Margrave’s judgment that if the news that “Erick Wellesley has become the new Hero” reached this place, where there were many people related to Cordana, it would cause a commotion.

Indeed, there was a brief disturbance right after rumors about the Hero spread.

However, contrary to the Margrave’s concerns, the troops’ agitation wasn’t severe.

The reaction was as if whoever became the Hero or Saintess was irrelevant to their lives. And in reality, it was irrelevant.

‘Actually, it has nothing to do with us either.’

Knowing this full well, Millia still found it difficult to compose herself.

Inferiority, helplessness, a bit of envy and jealousy. Added to that was the fear that came from seeing the world changing rapidly without her involvement.

“Hah… Come to think of it, when they form a new Hero’s party, our names will be forcibly summoned too? It’s fortunate we’re here so we don’t have to see that spectacle.”

Yuni muttered while fidgeting with her fingers.

Millia was about to agree but then shook her head.

“Yuni, what do you mean form a new one? They’ll just reorganize the pursuit team into the Hero’s party.”

“Ah.”

“Those people were the ones who massacred the beastkin last time, right? Why would they form a new party when they already have people who work well together? Since it’s difficult for the Hero’s party to be treated as a family honor like in the past, they’ll just use people who have been proven.”

“…So the people who defeated us will become the Hero’s party. I guess the average age will be the highest ever.”

Yuni, who had been speaking sarcastically, finally buried her face between her knees.

Millia stroked her small shoulders. Despite her poor choice of words, she was one of the few acquaintances Millia had left.

‘I guess I’m fortunate to at least have her.’

As she exchanged words of comfort with Yuni, she became curious about the other party members.

She was especially curious about Claire. She had heard that Claire was working as a low-ranking nun in some provincial territory, but couldn’t know her detailed situation.

‘She must have been very upset when she heard about the Saintess being summoned.’

And as for Silvina… honestly, she was a bit worried. Unlike herself, who had no particular attachment to Gwon Heejin, Silvina had remained loyal until the end.

These days, Silvina was living a relatively happy life. She enjoyed hunting while roaming the vast primitive forests of the borderlands, and spent her days solidly processing her game into preserved meat. Currently on a scouting mission, she probably didn’t know about the Hero yet.

“I’m worried she might lose heart when she hears the news.”

Bwooooo-

Fortunately, it seemed she could tell her directly.

Hearing the sound of a trumpet, she climbed up to the wall and saw a figure presumed to be Silvina rushing urgently toward the drawbridge. It seemed she was returning from her mission.

“I’ll go get Silvina, Yuni.”

Millia weakly got to her feet.

It seemed tonight would become a reunion of former Hero’s party members after a long time. If Silvina was struggling, it wouldn’t be bad to share a drink and comfort her. She wanted to erase her feelings of inferiority even in this way.

However, Silvina’s appearance was unusual.

She was panting heavily, and her quiver was empty. Seeing her empty-handed, it seemed she had used her arrows for something other than hunting.

Had she played tag with beastkin again?

Or…

“Silvina? What’s wrong?”

Silvina took a sharp breath without even glancing at Millia.

At that sight, even those enjoying dice gambling turned their heads with sour expressions. Only then did Silvina speak.

“Prepare yourselves. The enemy is coming.”

“What…?”

Everyone’s expressions, including Millia’s, froze. Although Silvina was treated as an eccentric, no one doubted her abilities as a scout.

Eventually, the soldiers hurriedly moved to prepare defenses.

Even at this point, the atmosphere wasn’t too serious.

After all, the Beast King couldn’t leave the borderlands following the ceasefire negotiations with Wellesley. The beastkin had also reduced their aggression accordingly.

Whatever was coming would probably be just a dozen or so monsters or magical beasts. They could quickly deal with them by casting lubrication magic on the walls to prevent climbing and picking them off one by one…

That’s when the elf Silvina dropped a sharp remark. She said if they didn’t want to die, they should request reinforcements.

A few hours later, Millia could confirm this report was true.

Undead magical beasts, skeletons, and even ragged golems with flesh dripping off them. An undead army was advancing slowly while spreading miasma.

A large-scale undead force that hadn’t been seen even before the “Death King” was subjugated by the Hero’s party led by the Holy Knights.

Millia swallowed hard and gripped her sword hilt tighter. She realized this was no time to talk about comfort.

This was a full-scale invasion by the Demon Lord’s army, which had only engaged in sabotage until now.