Ch.8989. What Was Left in the Past (4)

The sound of ship horns echoed through the air. Vessels preparing for departure raised their mooring lines and anchors. The port city of Barktins had already been fortified, with countless knights and soldiers standing by. Half of the Kingdom of Kairos’ military power—essentially all troops except those guarding the borders, frontier zones, and the royal palace—had been poured into this effort.

All to stop a single Kraken.

The strategy meeting proceeded in an atmosphere that couldn’t exactly be called heavy. These people had never directly encountered a calamity. Some tilted their heads as if wondering why so many troops needed to be mobilized, while other knights maintained expressions that showed little tension. Meanwhile, some glared at the admiral who held the command baton, their faces full of jealousy and envy.

“As I’ve mentioned before, the one consolation when facing these calamities is that we can pinpoint exactly where they are.”

The naval admiral in charge of this operation—the commander-in-chief—said this while spreading out a sea chart for us to see, using his command baton to point out the geography of the strait.

“This sea route has been eroded by glaciers. The entrance to the mainland through this complex and narrow passage is where Barktins begins.”

Dozens of small islands and waters deeper than typical coastal areas. It could be the decisive battleground, or it could become our grave. I frowned as I looked at the terrain. There was some logic to the argument that we should fight here.

“According to reconnaissance, the Kraken seems to be waiting in the open sea. It appears to be gathering a force of monsters… we’ll have to wait and see what happens.”

The commander-in-chief tapped the sea chart with his baton.

“The creature is enormous. Its shadow on the sea is said to be much larger than a small island. I believe it’s just barely small enough to enter the sea route.”

Snickers erupted from other high-ranking officials. Knights looked on with suspicious gazes. Looking around, I could see the atmosphere was on the verge of chaos. George folded his arms with an uncharacteristically solemn expression and sighed, while Aryen glared at the uncooperative individuals with hatred in his eyes.

“Anyway, the biggest issue now is ‘how’ to deal with this monster. I’d like to gather opinions on this matter—raise your hand if you wish to speak.”

As soon as the commander-in-chief finished speaking, someone raised their hand.

“By the way, is there really a need to prepare such a large-scale operation? After all, isn’t it just a monster that happens to be ridiculously large?”

An older man who appeared to be around the same age as the commander-in-chief spoke up. Probably someone at the army commander level—likely the Grand Knight Commander. I could roughly guess the situation. He was suspicious that this was being blown out of proportion for something insignificant, perhaps with political motives.

“If you truly think that way, you’d be better off leaving,”

The commander-in-chief frowned in displeasure as he snapped back.

“Or we could just let that ‘hero’ handle it, couldn’t we? It’s laughable that this wet-behind-the-ears kid is sitting here with the same speaking rights as us.”

I quietly folded my arms and ignored the old man’s words. There was no point in wasting energy on this. Perhaps the original Ilroy would have responded. Instead, I looked at the commander-in-chief and asked:

“Have all the residents been evacuated?”

What kind of frustration was the fog trying to instill in me? Did it want to remind me of my powerlessness? Was it unrelated to the fact that my current self doesn’t dwell on the past?

“We’re planning to start the evacuation as late as possible. There’s no need to cause unnecessary anxiety among the residents. It could also spread rumors to other places.”

At the commander-in-chief’s words, I frowned.

“That won’t do. We need to evacuate the residents right now, as far away from this city as possible.”

“Heh, our hero is true to form, putting people first.”

The mocking sounds of old men. Those who had become so accustomed to battles that kill people that they’d grown insensitive to fights that protect people. I sighed. And most of these people who were now sneering at me would die in the battle against the Kraken. Should I feel sorry for them?

“Even starting the evacuation now is too late. If by any chance the Kraken makes landfall at Barktins, we’ll have to deal with severe casualties. You still don’t properly understand what a calamity is.”

“Then can’t the hero just prevent the Kraken from reaching land?”

I heard giggling laughter.

“Why don’t you answer that, Admiral—I mean, Commander-in-Chief? The hero is making such claims.”

For Ilroy, the right to speak seemed to be nothing more than an empty shell. An outsider pushed down with only authority and symbolism. That’s how I must have appeared in the eyes of the admiral and commanders. After pondering for a moment, the commander-in-chief looked at me.

“…I will take the hero’s opinion into consideration. That would be better than risking an unforeseen situation.”

“How amusing. You two make quite the pair, don’t you?”

The Grand Knight Commander turned his head away in disbelief. In such a volatile atmosphere, the meeting about defeating the Kraken continued. But no effective countermeasures were discussed, and it repeatedly ended in conflicts of opinion.

It was truly a hopeless situation.

I could understand how much the original hero’s party must have struggled. I could also see why Ilroy had no choice but to act independently and sharply. I kept my mouth shut as I looked at the chaotic meeting hall, careful not to let out an obvious sigh.

“That old geezer calling himself the Grand Knight Commander is ridiculous,”

Nella said with a snort as we walked back to the quarters prepared for the hero’s party. Her distinctive bright red hair fluttered in the sea breeze.

“Contradicting everything, sneering. He was disgusting to look at. Don’t you agree, hero?”

I shrugged. The meeting had been successful enough in that the evacuation of residents had been approved. Otherwise, it had been nothing but a debate among old men in the back room. I had to suppress my rising anger as I quietly watched them.

“I can understand those old men to some extent. We haven’t shown anything as heroes yet.”

Aryen muttered. Nella narrowed her eyes and glared at him.

“You kept your mouth shut throughout the meeting, saying nothing. Now you’re suddenly talking so well? You didn’t defend the hero once when he was being attacked.”

Nella twisted her lips. Aryen snorted and looked at the magician.

“Why would I speak up when we have a party representative? No need for party members to get caught up in the insults too. If you hadn’t jumped in and turned it into a fight, the meeting would have progressed further.”

With Isis joining in, the three of them growled at each other, while George secretly sighed.

“Enough. Fighting among ourselves only helps the calamity.”

I spoke up. Aryen raised his eyebrows and looked at me.

“Are you suddenly trying to act like a good party leader now?”

What am I supposed to do in this illusion? How is the fog trying to make me submit?

“Get a grip. What are we doing arguing in front of a calamity? We might disagree with each other normally, but if those residents die because we’re fighting amongst ourselves, who’s going to take responsibility?”

Was I getting a bit irritated? I confronted Aryen with an aggressive tone.

“Take it down a notch. Stop acting like a child.”

I spat those words out and walked ahead. It seems this won’t be as easy to overcome as the spider incident last time. I glared at Aryen, who shook his head and backed down. Could we defeat the Kraken in this state?

“…Well done.”

On the way back to our quarters, George quietly spoke to me from behind. Even in the fog, George seems to be George. Is he the only one I can trust? I smiled slightly as I walked.

==

The next day, unexpected news greeted us when we arrived at the meeting hall. The previously crowded hall had become quite empty. The commander-in-chief, looking at the hero’s party, pointed at the empty seats with his baton.

“I used my authority to remove the Grand Knight Commander from this operation. He left this morning with his knights. When news reaches the royal palace, he’ll likely struggle to keep his position.”

The commander-in-chief looked at the empty seats and smiled somewhat mockingly.

“Too many cooks spoil the broth. I knew it all along.”

The commander-in-chief folded his arms and turned toward us.

“I know how terrifying the Kraken is. What happened to the warships that went out for reconnaissance. Only those who haven’t seen it directly can attend strategy meetings with such a light heart, laughing and chatting.”

Fear seeped into the commander-in-chief’s voice. I frowned at the sight.

“Then why did you delay the evacuation of residents?”

“…I have duties. Not just to stop the calamity, but also to minimize the chaos it would cause to the kingdom in the process.”

Even while trembling in fear, he’s still trying to protect his own position. Seeing my distorted expression, the commander-in-chief spoke in a rigid voice.

“That’s how the world works, hero. Some things can’t be helped.”

“…Yes. I understand. Let’s start the meeting.”

I spoke while suppressing the disgust that threatened to seep into my voice. The commander-in-chief nodded and placed his baton back on the sea chart.

“The Kraken is gradually approaching Barktins. It seems likely to make landfall within days. The monitoring vessels are currently withdrawing, and we’ve decided to focus all our efforts on defense.”

The commander-in-chief slapped his baton onto his palm with a sharp sound.

“Any questions so far?”

“Not a question, but I have a suggestion.”

I reached toward the sea chart.

“A suggestion?”

The commander-in-chief stepped aside slightly, and I pointed at the chart as I spoke. I don’t know why the fog is showing me this scene, but if so, my duty is clear.

“We should conduct the defensive battle here.”

Even in an illusion, protecting people is what matters. I pointed to the narrow sea route leading into Barktins and said:

“If we fight here, we can prevent the Kraken from making landfall.”

“…On the sea? Against that monster?”

“If the evacuation had been started earlier, we wouldn’t have had to do this.”

I added sharply. The commander-in-chief sighed at my words.

“That was… unavoidable…”

“It was your choice, and you must pay the price. We need to protect the evacuating people, and if we let the Kraken reach land, everyone will die.”

The commander-in-chief frowned.

“Didn’t you say a horde of monsters is coming with it?”

“Then all the more reason not to let them reach open ground, don’t you think?”

I leaned in to pressure the commander-in-chief, who looked into my eyes with a troubled expression. As our staring contest continued like a tug-of-war, someone spoke up.

“That won’t work.”

I turned my head and met Aryen’s eyes as he looked at me.

“There’s no chance of victory if we face the Kraken at sea.”