episode_0020

“…?”

The story about Ronan, which was progressing in a somewhat melancholic situation.

In that story, Charlotte and Trisella couldn’t help but feel a little bewildered.

“Hmm… But what does this really mean?”

Ronan coming to rescue them…?

While they did think that Ronan might come to rescue them, they wondered if it was okay to say it so directly.

It felt like Amy assumed that Ronan would come to their aid as a matter of course.

Hence, they almost misunderstood Amy.

“Ah… No, that’s not what they meant.”

Amidst the slightly tense atmosphere,

Amy hastily corrected her words.

“I… just wanted to see Ronan… sniff…”

With tears streaming down, she said her intention wasn’t that.

She simply expressed her wish, hoping things were just like that.

“… I see.”

“It’s natural to miss Sir Ronan.”

Seeing Amy’s words and expression, the party members understood.

Well, Amy wouldn’t speak in such a way.

“We understand.”

“Yes. Stay strong, Amy.”

The party members knew without a doubt that Amy was an incredibly kind person.

If anyone had spent time with her until now, they would know that Amy was one of the kindest individuals.

They were the ones who betrayed Ronan, not Amy; she was only led astray by them.

“Amy, we will surely meet Ronan again.”

Charlotte approached Amy, offering some comfort.

Although they didn’t know where Ronan was at the moment, Amy’s words were undoubtedly correct.

“If all goes well, he’ll return… Let’s promise to treat him well for the rest of our lives when he comes to us.”

“Yes. Since Sir Ronan has suffered, we must do our best too.”

They were confident they would meet Ronan without a doubt.

Since Ronan was fundamentally a very kind man, even if they parted ways on bad terms, he would eventually come to their aid if they were in danger.

Let’s make sure to treat him well when that time comes. There’s no avoiding the fact that there isn’t much life left, but if they treat him well during that remaining time, they might be forgiven to some extent.

“… Yes… everyone.”

Upon hearing those words, Amy seemed to gain some strength.

She stopped crying and lifted her head, looking as if she was now okay.

“Hey. What are you all doing?”

Amidst such a heartwarming atmosphere, a man approached the party members.

With olive skin and blonde hair, he was Jax, the warrior of the Hero Party they currently belonged to.

“We’re about to depart, so stop fooling around and follow me quickly.”

Jax gestured to the party members.

It was time for the war to begin soon. Even they, as members of the Hero Party, needed to start moving.

“Got it. I’ll be right there.”

“Alright. Let’s all get going now.”

“Understood.”

After double-checking to ensure nothing was left behind, the party members followed Jax.

From now on, the mission of the Hero Party would begin.

“They mentioned attacking the First Legion, right…”

Following Jax, Charlotte once again recalled the mission of the Hero Party.

Led by the inter-tribal coalition, they were set to face off against the Demon Lord Army’s First Legion on the back road leading to the Holy Land.

“This mission is quite important…”

While the First Legion was strong, it was clear that the inter-tribal coalition, comprising dwarves, elves, and other races, was equally formidable.

They had enough strength to break through the First Legion. If the inter-tribal coalition could clear the back road, they could also put significant pressure on the Demon Lord Army’s Second and Third Legions guarding the main gate of the Holy Land.

Therefore, this mission had to succeed.

“They mentioned the Four Kings Garthos…”

The only problem was the Four Kings leading the Demon Lord Army’s First Legion.

Among the Four Kings of the Demon Army, known as the second strongest, Dura, a knight without a neck, was not an easy opponent to defeat.

“If Ronan were here, he probably would have pierced through easily…”

Without Ronan present now, one might think that he could defeat Dura. However, Ronan was no longer in the Empire.

That part was indeed a moment of regret.

“It’s okay. We still have Jax.”

However, that did not mean failure in their mission because even though he was a backup, Jax the warrior was strong enough.

“That, surely matches the Warrior’s Helmet and Warrior’s Armor, right?”

“Yes. That’s correct. It seems like the Empire has allowed Jax the warrior to wear the equipment known as relics.”

Charlotte and Trisella glanced at the armors Jax was wearing.

The shining golden armor and helmet, those armors were not just flashy equipment but special armors called [relics] that greatly enhanced the user’s abilities.

“There isn’t a Holy Sword, huh?”

“…It seems we couldn’t obtain the Holy Sword.”

Well, it is said that true power can only be unleashed with the Holy Sword, and not having it is a flaw.

Nevertheless, those armors must still hold great value.

“He should be able to defeat Dura…!”

If they could create a 1:1 situation between Jax and Dura, Jax would undoubtedly be able to defeat him.

Creating that situation would be the role of the rest of the warrior party.

“I’ll go first, so follow the plan.”

The plan was simple.

The warrior party members would divert the attention of the demon army as much as possible.

In that gap, Jax would face and defeat Dura one-on-one.

To execute this plan, Jax and the warrior party needed to separate for a while.

“Got it.”

“Take care.”

Charlotte and Trisella bid farewell to Jax appropriately.

“After this is over, the three of us should enjoy ourselves thoroughly on the bed.”

Before leaving, Jax smirked slyly at his party members.

With the mindset that they should enjoy themselves after this is over.

“Well, I might not be able to handle two, but I can handle the rest, right?”

“Get lost.”

“Arrogant, but it might be fun to slowly educate that arrogant mouth on the bed later.”

Well, Charlotte didn’t like that side of Jax at all.

But she decided to think about it after this was over.

“Now… let’s begin.”

“Let’s move too.”

After Jax left, about 10 minutes passed.

The warrior party members also began to execute the plan gradually.

“Fireball…!”

Charlotte’s magic started attacking the alley guarded by the First Legion.

# # #

Boom!!!

From the direction of the stronghold of the First Legion, there was a fairly loud explosion.

The Demon King couldn’t help but be surprised by what was being hit, but I was surprisingly calm.

Because I knew the entire story of the game.

“Is it starting now?”

As expected, following the game’s story, the warrior party seemed to have decided to attack the First Legion first.

Perhaps the explosion sound was from the mage Charlotte of the warrior party casting a spell.

“Nothing seems to have changed up to this point.”

I was worried that even the course of the war might not change due to my absence…

Fortunately, it seems that despite Ronan’s absence, the course of the war has not changed.

“Can Jax adequately replace me?”

Well, the reason would be that Jax, as a warrior, is still present.

Although weaker than me, he is still a warrior after all.

He will probably take on the role that Ronan played in the game.

“Running straight to where Dura is right now would be the best option…”

The way to stop the operation the warrior party is currently executing is actually very simple.

I was running straight towards where Gartos was.

I block Jax with Gartos. By doing so, the strategy of the Hero Party would be easily thwarted.

“That’s a sewer-like move.”

But I don’t plan to do that.

Because then, I wouldn’t be able to achieve a satisfactory accomplishment.

“Let’s help out as much as possible in crisis situations.”

I am in a position where I must achieve an accomplishment in this war.

And it’s quite a significant accomplishment.

So I try to step up as much as possible in crisis situations. It’s natural that accomplishments grow as crises escalate.

“Lily, go to Gartos first. Just observe the situation and don’t act on your own. If anything happens, contact me immediately.”

“I don’t know what’s going on…! I understand.”

Let’s send Lily to Gartos for now.

Well, of course, I made it clear not to intervene because if Lily steps in, Gartos might win.

“It’s a bit boring until then. Shall we hang out?”

After sending Lily away, I think I can pass the time adequately for a while.

If I do nothing, it might raise suspicions.

“Shall we go meet the old cleaning ladies after a long time?”

There was only one thing to do, of course.

I headed to where my former party members were.

# # #

“Things are going smoothly.”

Charlotte’s bombardment began in the Demon Army’s 1st Corps.

Her bombardment, known as the genius sorceress of Matop, was no easy feat.

“Ugh… drinking mana potions constantly is really tiring.”

“Stay strong, Charlotte. I’ll keep buffing you from the side.”

“Yeah… I’ll do my best.”

In addition, with the support of top-grade mana potions from the Empire and the assistance of the promising saint candidate Tricella.

Considering all these factors, her attack was akin to firing a long-range cannon.

“Things are going smoothly.”

Of course, even though it was ultimately a solo bombardment, and thus may not have had a significant impact.

Still, her magic was annoying and could attract the attention of the Demon Army.

The Demon Army’s 1st Corps was mobilizing troops to eliminate her, the cause of the bombardment.

“Jax should be able to take down Gartos.”

In such a smooth situation, Jax probably succeeded in approaching Gartos.

I believed without a doubt that Jax could definitely take down Gartos.

Everything should continue like this…!

That’s what I thought, but…

“Huh…?”

“Charlotte, bow your head.”

A huge sword flew towards where Charlotte was.

The hero party members were inevitably taken aback by the sudden attack, but…

“Thank goodness.”

“Ugh…”

Thanks to Tricella deploying a shield in time, there was no harm done.

“It seems they arrived faster than expected.”

“That’s true.”

Who exactly launched this attack, nobody knew.

Well… it’s certain that fighting the opponent who has come this far is inevitable.

“Let’s finish this quickly and return.”

The hero party members were preparing to fight for a while before retreating, although it was a bit earlier than expected.

However… they couldn’t help but be extremely surprised afterwards.

“This can’t be happening…”

“You. Could it be?”

“Oh… no way?”

The demons who attacked them.

And the one behind it was none other than…

“Long time no see. Have you been eating well?”

It was Ronan.