Ch.105105. Reorganization

– Undead army appeared at the border fortress. Suspected to be controlled by an archlich comparable to the Tetrad or multiple powerful liches.

– Reinforcements dispatched from the Margrave’s main castle; predicted to be able to defend using the fortress, but severe casualties expected.

– Relief forces desperately needed.

***

I received this brief report right in the middle of entertaining a distinguished guest.

It wasn’t that I had suddenly become responsible for diplomacy; I was merely receiving the guest in my capacity as the Hero.

The guest was an Elder from the Great Forest.

Equivalent to a duke in the Empire, he appeared to be a young man but was actually a veteran who had lived for hundreds of years.

Perhaps due to his status, his entourage was quite impressive.

“Kairos,” who was both the vice-captain of the Forest Knights—the only knightly order in the Kingdom of Lessotona, which borders the Great Forest—and a member of the Hero’s pursuit team, had brought the elf. Up to this point, it wasn’t my concern.

The problem was what came out of the Elf Elder’s mouth.

“Hero. Please understand our concerns. The argument that we shouldn’t recklessly hand over our Great Warrior is gaining strength among the Elders.”

“And so?”

“We would like you to show us your trustworthiness.”

The elf’s request was simple.

Given the precedent of Gwon Heejin, they needed to verify the Hero’s character. They couldn’t dare test the protector of humanity, but at minimum they needed an interview. They wanted the Hero to visit the Great Forest in person to meet with the Elders.

That was the ridiculous request.

‘The timing is just impeccable.’

I couldn’t blame the elf since their visit coinciding with the invasion wasn’t likely intentional.

But I had to admire the audacity of saying, “If you want a Great Warrior as a party member, come to the Great Forest for verification,” with such confidence.

They didn’t seem to care that I was a high official of the Empire, or what role I had played in the Empire until now. Or perhaps they didn’t know at all.

Though it wasn’t something I should say to an elf who was at least 20 times my age, I did think they were a bit immature.

Still, I had no intention of criticizing the closed nature of elven society.

Persuading elves was a completely useless endeavor. Just as it would be pointless to try convincing the ghosts of the exchange to stop gambling, forcing elves to break their customs would be equally meaningless.

Anyway, thanks to this, I could decide how to form my Hero party.

“Elder. Right now, the most important defensive stronghold of the Margrave is under attack.”

“Ah, my thoughtlessness.”

“It’s fine. And I have absolutely no intention of personally visiting the Great Forest to be vetted by elven leaders, even if it weren’t the Demon Lord’s army. To be more honest, I don’t even want to invite a Great Warrior to join my party.”

“What did you just say…?”

The Elf Elder, who had maintained a composed appearance, momentarily showed an unpleasant expression.

It’s understandable that he would be displeased when a mere human disrespected a noble being of elven society. Or perhaps he was worried I might seek out a heretic like Silvina as a party member. Still, he managed not to get angry.

“…I see. I understand, Hero. Having obtained such mighty power, you must be intoxicated with a sense of omnipotence. That is the inherent nature of humans.”

“……”

“I will keep our doors open so that you may rectify today’s mistake later. Feel free to visit the Great Forest anytime, Hero.”

The Elf Elder left, displaying what he thought was magnanimity.

Kairos of the Forest Knights, who had come with him, was about to leave as well, but…

“Vice-Captain, please remain at the Imperial Palace.”

I stopped him.

Though he looked puzzled, he followed my wishes obediently. Just like when I told him to jump in as a foreign investor when I was short selling.

I didn’t keep him behind to discuss ways to humiliate the elves. I understood how important relations with the elves were to the Kingdom of Lessotona.

I simply wanted to recruit him into my Hero party.

‘Right. There’s no need to be bound by convention.’

Until now, the composition of Hero parties had been fairly standard.

A Hero and Saintess in their teens or twenties. Along with promising young talents and an elven Great Warrior full of a sense of superiority.

While there weren’t Heroes who were as obsessed with virginity and beauty (especially virginity) as Gwon Heejin, the ratio of women tended to be high.

This composition wasn’t entirely without rationality.

The journey of a Hero party was extremely harsh, and there were even frequent cases of long expeditions into the Demonic Land. To endure this harshness, being bound by affection was most efficient. Most hardships could be overcome with hearts that cared for each other.

But I was completely different from previous Heroes in both social position and role.

I had no intention of pursuing a romantic journey while being lovey-dovey with party members, nor did I need to build up my skills step by step.

Moreover…

“Um, Hero. As you know, the Lancarth Margraviate doesn’t grow autumn wheat due to the climate. They’ve probably just planted oats or rye.”

“I know. If we don’t repel the Demon Lord’s army quickly, this year’s production will be affected. The farmers will be scared and try to evacuate.”

“And an even bigger problem is the fodder. As you’re aware, the cold-resistant fodder produced in large quantities in the Margraviate is quite an important commodity.”

This was a report from the Finance Minister.

Yes, I was fulfilling this kind of role as well.

I’m not sure how I ended up involved in the Empire’s economy, but once I had dabbled in futures contracts, there was no turning back.

With many territories already suffering from productivity issues due to Cordana, we couldn’t afford to lose the Margraviate as well. The immediate death of thousands of soldiers was problematic, but if things went wrong, tens of times more people and livestock could starve.

I didn’t want to waste time forming a Hero party in the midst of this.

Without hesitation, I announced to the ministers:

“I will go to their aid, right now.”

“Ah, then the available troops…!”

“No. For now, I’ll just take the Hero’s pursuit team.”

It wasn’t something to say when we didn’t even know how many enemies we were facing, but no one raised objections. Everyone seemed to understand that I wasn’t just showing off.

The Empire was currently short on fighters and mages.

Even goblin hordes without higher entities couldn’t be repelled independently, forcing territories to beg for help from the two knightly orders or the royal guard.

In this situation, deploying elite troops en masse would cause leaks elsewhere. Perhaps that was what the Demon Lord’s army wanted from the beginning.

‘There’s no need to sacrifice innocent humans.’

I immediately summoned the Hero’s pursuit team,

No, the new Hero party.

***

A few hours later.

Those who received my summons gathered one by one.

The people from the Papal State had already departed, though the composition was expected to change slightly. This was because Bishop Rowan had decided to drop out.

He was scheduled to be enthroned as Pope in two weeks.

Thinking it would be awkward to skip becoming a cardinal, he planned to receive the cardinal appointment first, then be enthroned the following week. It was a blatant disregard for the traditional enthronement procedures, but in these times, no one would point that out.

Instead, Saintess Gang Hannah had agreed to join.

A friend who had barely completed her first reading of the scripture was being deployed to the field.

Of course, she wouldn’t be smashing undead with a mace, but even observing the battle from a distance would be an intensive education for her.

‘I don’t have time to teach her gently anyway.’

The first to join me was Professor Weaver.

His face was clouded with guilt.

He said he had a student who had been persistently visiting his lab, expressing a desire to become a Hero party member. Despite family difficulties due to Cordana, this student had managed to graduate from the Academy at the top of their class.

“…The child was excited, believing that you would select based solely on ability.”

Instead of recommending his student, Weaver himself had become a Hero party member. Given his personality, he might feel like he had stolen his student’s position.

“Well. It’s true that I selected based on ability.”

“Thank you for saying so, at least.”

The second to join was Lord Ordellon, who had been absent from the Hero’s pursuit team during the beastfolk massacre.

He happened to be staying in the capital. He had come personally to sell mana stones obtained from exterminating monsters in a neighboring territory (he said he came himself to get a good price) and planned to use the funds to purchase rabbits.

“White mountain rabbits, they say. They grow well even on just fresh grass and get along fine when raised with other animals.”

Rabbits that provide both fur and meat, breed well, and grow quickly. He probably wanted to provide his territory’s people with a means of income.

“I see. If you fight hard, the Imperial family will surely reward you with something.”

“I suppose so…?”

Lord Ordellon showed modest expectations at my polite remark. I appreciated his clear objectives.

Shortly after, my junior Katie also joined.

“Sorry I’m late… My parents and brother tried to stop me.”

I could easily guess why they tried to stop her. She had nearly died fighting the beastfolk, so it was natural for them to worry when she said she was going to face an undead army. No matter how dangerous a knight’s profession is, it’s only natural to worry when they’re heading into a truly deadly situation.

However, Katie herself didn’t seem concerned at all. One misstep could mean death, but if she survived, she would grow tremendously, so it made sense.

‘For someone who lives by the sword, it’s normal to be ambitious.’

Others with various objectives joined naturally, each with different expressions. I looked around at them and briefly announced:

“Let’s depart.”

“Yes!”

After leaving the capital, we met up with the people from the Papal State at the second milestone. Somehow, it reminded me of the day we set out to capture Gwon Heejin.

The flow was similar to the pursuit team days, except that I wasn’t blinded by rage and a carriage had been prepared for Saintess Gang Hannah.

“…Barrier of Radiance!”

The power of the holy magic that the old priest cast on both humans and horses was still impressive.

The biggest difference was that we were going after the Demon Lord’s undead legion rather than Gwon Heejin, but since both were enemies of humanity, I didn’t feel any sense of incongruity.