Daiden V3 - Chapter 2: His Hefty Burden

 Volume 3: With Great Plans Comes Great Distress

Chapter 2: His Hefty Burden

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“Why are Ryner and Ferris going together while I’m all alooooneeee!” Kiefer yelled, full of passion, as she walked all alone. She had dignified, shoulder-length red hair, and a feminine body with a cute and short dress that she wore for her lonely journey, without even the lightest of armor.

Why? Because Ferris was wearing a dress, too! Even though she had the expression of a dead-fish! Even though she looked like she didn’t care about fashion at all! She wore that cute dress!

And so Kiefer ended up thinking that maybe if she got one or two or three or maybe even four skimpy dresses, then that idiot Ryner would stop thinking that girly things didn’t suit her. Because she couldn’t stand the thought of him treating her like she wasn’t even a girl.

“Idiooot!” Kiefer shouted to the sky, even though she knew it wouldn’t change anything.

In any case, Kiefer was walking on a messy path a little ways away from a main road in Nelpha. According to people from the nearest village, this area was home to some bandits.

“W-wait, miss,” the villagers had stuttered. “If you go out looking like that, they’ll kidnap you the second they get the chance! You’re too cute for them to leave you alone!”

‘You’re too cute for them to leave you alone.’

She couldn’t help but think that she wanted Ryner to hear them saying that.

“Why couldn’t Ryner be here for that!” Kiefer yelled, even though no one really cared. “Not that this is really the time for me to be yelling about this…”

She’d spent the past couple years searching for a way to cure Ryner’s Alpha Stigma and lessen his burden. She traveled the whole continent by herself for that, and in that time that she’d spent alone, she got into this awful habit of overthinking everything to hell and back. She was alone today, too, left with her overactive imagination. At least it kept her from getting bored.

“Aah… the fact that I’m so used to getting wrapped up in my own head like this just makes it even lonelier,” she mumbled and smiled to herself. She looked up at the bright blue sky.

“……”

The weather had been perfect ever since she entered Nelpha. Being outside always felt wonderful. It was strange to think that such terrible things were going on here under this happy sky.

The situation wasn’t happy at all. Soon chaos would sweep through this country like a storm, whether the sky was clear or not.

Kiefer had seen the same thing happen many times during her travels. One country would take another, and all their resources—their power, money, knowledge, even their people—would go to the aggressor, leaving nothing behind.

The ones who suffered most of all were the people who didn’t have anything to do with the conflict, and were sucked up into it just because their country waged war. Even the people of the village that Kiefer had just passed would be swept up into the war between Nelpha and Roland. But here she was, worked up about wearing her pretty dress all alone.

Still, the majority of those who were capable of running had already made their way north. The elderly were all that was left here, and they all shared the same expression; they were calm, having already accepted their deaths.

“……”

Kiefer wanted to cry when she thought of their expressions.

War was always like this, wasn’t it?

All it did was destroy and spread misery.

Her sisters were killed for a war just like this one.

She hadn’t been able to do anything then… no, she hadn’t even been able to think of something she could do. All she could think was that it’d be nice if no one had to die for the sake of war.

“…In the end, all it does is kill people…”

But this time was different.

This time, she was on a journey to stop this fruitless war instead of being frozen in place. She was working off of Ryner’s plan, one that he’d devised after wracking his brain. He was so kind.

It was a brilliant plan, too, and he’d entrusted Kiefer with the most important part of it. She couldn’t help but feel a little proud of that.

“……”

She recalled what he told her.

“Kiefer, I’m trusting you with the most important part. I think it’s something that only you can do. That’s why I need your help.”

 It’s something that only you can do. That’s why I need your help.

That’s what he said, an earnest expression on his face. Hearing that, she remembered why she trusted Ryner so much: he was the only one who’d trusted her, back when all she could do was betray, betray, and betray.

“…Hehe.”

She laughed all to herself. Lonely as it may be, she was still so happy about it that all she could do was smile at the thought. 

She couldn’t get all excited about traveling alone now, especially knowing that Ryner was with the beautiful Ferris. In fact, thinking about that still made her groan, but when she thought about how Ryner was trusting her with this, she couldn’t help but giggle. Basically, she was keeping herself busy despite traveling all by her lonesome.

“But still,” she mumbled as she looked around. A map of Nelpha opened in her mind. Nelpha was north of Roland, south of the Autonomous Holy City of Cassla, and if one continued north past the Central Continent, then they’d arrive in the Gastark Empire, which now covered nearly half of the continent.

That was how the world looked right now.

She’d never expected that the knowledge she’d accumulated through her three years of travel would eventually come in handy, but right now, that was what made her Ryner’s greatest asset.

Kiefer looked to the path ahead. To her left was the shore of a river. A plain ought to be just past that river, and past that should be a small forest. It’d make sense for Toale to hide his 10,000 soldiers there, out of the Roland military’s sight. That was why Kiefer came all the way here.

“…Looks like I was right,” she said.

There were the covered remains of an open fire before her. Bandits wouldn’t have bothered to cover their fire, so it couldn’t have been them. Who was left, then, but the military?

“……”

Kiefer crouched down and pressed her fingers to the ashes, searching for signs of how long ago the fire was extinguished. It was most likely a fire left by a reconnaissance group sent by Toale to search for campgrounds left by the Roland military.

Of course, there was always a chance that Kiefer was wrong.

But if she wasn’t, then finding Toale’s recon group and talking to them was the fastest way to get to Toale.

“……”

Ryner’s face rose in Kiefer’s mind—his unusually serious face, knitted-brows and all.

“But you have to be careful when you’re trying to get in contact with Toale, okay? Toale isn’t the kind of guy who’d do whatever with a girl without hearing her out, but the Nelphan soldiers will assume that you’re a Rolander spy and kill you before you ever get the chance to see him, so please, be careful.”

Kiefer had smiled. “Oh, my. Are you worried about me, Ryner?”

“Obviously,” Ryner had said, a little meek. “I mean, I’m making you go straight into a war camp by yourself. There’s no way I wouldn’t be worried. I’m begging you to be careful, Kiefer.”

“……”

Her expression softened. She had an important and dangerous duty to perform here.

There was no way that the army would see anyone as their ally at this point—even their own countrymen. Those 10,000 soldiers that Starnelle was sacrificing to save himself must have felt that their demise was inevitable until Toale appeared to lead them.

That was why this mission was so impossibly dangerous… but her side of things wasn’t the only dangerous one. Ryner and Ferris were out fighting the infamous monster of Roland’s military, Crimson-fingered Claugh, to use their ability to win over Claugh as well as Claugh himself as a hostage. That was even more dangerous than what Kiefer was doing now.

“Whether I succeed or not will decide Ryner’s fate, so I have to do this right…” 

She began to walk again. She hid the sound of her footsteps as she moved to avoid coming across the Nelphan army with poor timing. 

But that was her specialty. 

She’d spent so much time traveling alone, entering various countries undercover as she did.

She had to do this right, too.

“Let’s get some praise from Ryner,” Kiefer whispered to herself.

But just then—

She heard a small sound, carried by the wind.

She crouched down close to the ground. 

It was such a small sound that it could have very well been a trick by the wind, but either way, she concealed herself on the ground, moving towards the tall grass, fully on her guard.

However.

“……”

She didn’t hear anything else, aside from the sound of the wind blowing the tall grass.

Even so—

“……”

She was frozen in place. Her travels had taught her that that was the right move. She just had a feeling that something was there. Besides, even if it was just her imagination, hiding and waiting wouldn’t hurt anything. After all, her alternative was to ignore her intuition and continue on, and that could be fatal.

She was nowhere near as strong as Ryner and Ferris were. She could really die here if she didn’t play her cards right.

“……”

She held her breath for some time.

Then she heard it - a sound that the wind carried from afar.

“…Ah……gh.”

It was real. She definitely heard it just now.

It was a person’s voice, and it was getting closer. She had to decide now if she was going to figure out who was coming towards her or if she was going to avoid them for safety’s sake.

It could be Toale’s scouts. She had to decide if she was going to make contact with them or if she was going to avoid them.

So what should she do?

“……”

Kiefer continued to hold her breath as she thought.

They kept getting closer and closer. It wasn’t just one person. It was several, accompanied by the sound of three sets of hooves on ground.

The horses were trotting along at a high speed. Kiefer felt that it was likely that they were scouts.

“…Now what to do.”

Kiefer pushed the grasses aside just enough for her red eyes to see through the gap. When she did, she could see a dust cloud rising up to the south - it was dust made by hooves treading through the prairie. The horses were running in her direction. But the people riding them were… strange.

“……”

Kiefer couldn’t help but make a surprised sound. Her eyes widened and she wanted to scream what the hell!

There were three horses, but only the middle one had a rider. No, scratch that - it wasn’t a rider. It was three riders. 

“Yahoo!” the person manning the horse yelled. It was a pretty blonde girl of about ten years old. One that Kiefer recognized. 

Kiefer stood. “I-Iris! You can’t yell like that out here!” Whether or not her own voice was quiet or not apparently didn’t matter.

Iris heard her and looked over. She smiled wide at the sight of Kiefer and waved at her with all her might. 

“Waah! I see you, Kiefer!”

Kiefer put a finger to her mouth in an attempt to shush Iris. “I told you to be quiet! Shh! Shhh!”

“Shh?” Iris repeated and mimicked Kiefer. “Shh, shh.” Then she moved her fingers to make a peace sign. “Yay!”

“That’s all wrooonnng!” Kiefer yelled. She couldn’t help but make a fool out of herself with how absurd this was.

Iris brought the horses up close to Kiefer, then stepped down. “Huh? Huh? What’s all wrong?”

Kiefer couldn’t help but laugh. All the tension left her body. She rubbed a hand against Iris’ head. “No, it’s okay. But anyway, Iris, you made it back from Roland in one piece, didn’t you?”

Iris nodded, proud. “I did!”

Iris had blonde hair just like her sister’s and big blue eyes. It was obvious that she’d grow up to be just as beautiful as Ferris. She had a frilly dress on and carried a huge backpack. She never changed.

Despite being so young, Iris had an important duty. Ryner’s help was limited to the point where he even had to rely on a young girl like Iris to do her best.

“……”

That was a problem they’d have to solve. 

Opposing the so-called Hero King Sion Astal with these few people was tough at best. Of course they weren’t trying to go to war with him or anything. Even so, things were bad. They had to be quick about gathering as many people as possible, especially considering how worked up about this Ryner was.

Well, maybe she was getting a little ahead of herself.

In any case Iris, who was looking up at her with her big eyes, had just as important of a duty here as Kiefer did.

“……”

Kiefer looked up at the two horses that no one had been riding. They were carrying massive backpacks, even bigger than the one that Iris had.

“So what’s in those?” Kiefer asked.

Iris nodded. “I brought flags, just like I was supposed to. Roland’s flags, flags~!” Then she pointed to the backpack on her back. “Oh, but not this one. This one has the stuff my sister asked for - dango, dango~!”

The dango was whatever, but the flags were indispensable to their plan.

The Nelphan soldiers would raise Roland’s flags and invade Nelpha.

Best case scenario said that they’d never need the flags, but they had to be ready for anything when faced with a threat like what they were up against.

Kiefer approached one of the horses with a serious expression, then reached up and opened one of the backpacks to confirm its contents. Sure enough, it was filled to the brim with countless flags carrying Roland’s crest of snakes encircling lances.

“This is perfect, Iris!” Kiefer said and turned to face Iris with a kind smile.

Iris raised her hands up in a cheer. “Iris is a perfect kid!”

However, that was only half of what Iris was tasked with.

“……”

When Kiefer looked back up at the horses, more closely this time, she spotted them - two kids even younger than Iris. They were allies that Ryner had brought to Roland a while back… if kids as young as seven or eight years old could even be called allies. 

The two kids were a boy and a girl. The girl was cute with short hair and an uneasy look on her face. The boy had his arms around her as if he was chivalrously protecting her. He had black hair and a similar atmosphere to Ryner, somehow.

Kiefer instantly understood that these were the two kids who Ryner had left behind in Roland. 

“So are you Kiefer?” Arua asked. In the past, he had been caught by the Runan army and tortured for having the Alpha Stigma. He had polite mannerisms that one wouldn’t expect from a kid his age. Sure, his eyes and disheveled hair was similar to Ryner’s, but Arua’s disciplined manners were a far cry from Ryner’s.

The way Arua moved left no gaps, a clear trademark of someone who had been training. After being brought to Roland, he was left in the care of the famed Eris family and had likely undergone training at their manor. 

Even so, it was strange to see a child his age acting so mature. It was like his violent past had aged him.

“……”

Kiefer’s expression warped from sadness. Even so, she soon shook her head and a kind smile returned to her face. “Sorry to introduce myself so late, but I’m Kiefer Knolles. I was traveling, but a lot happened and now I’m one of Ryner’s allies. And you guys are…”

Arua puffed his chest out with pride. “I’m Ryner’s disciple.”

Just the fact that he was proud of that made Kiefer a little happy. So even kids liked Ryner. 

The girl spoke next. “And I’m Arua’s fiancée, Kuku!” 

Arua’s face instantly turned beet red. “Wh-what!? Fiancée!? K-Kuku, what…”

“What? Am I wrong?” Kuku asked.

“Forget being wrong or not, I’m not even ten yet…” 

“Whaaat? So you’re saying that you were lying when you said you’d protect me for the rest of our lives back when we left Roland?”

“I-I wasn’t lying, but…”

“That makes me your fiancée!”

“I mean…”

“I’m right!” Kuku said. “It’s for the rest of my life, right? So that means we’ll be together for the rest of our lives, right?”

“It does, but…”

“Then that means we’re getting married!”

“I guess so?”

“Then it’s settled! Now that that’s out of the way, let me do this again. I’m Arua’s fiancée, Kuku. It’s nice to meet you!” Kuku said, happy as could be.

Arua reddened a second time. “Uuh…” 

Kiefer could only smile. It was good to see that Arua could still smile from the bottom of his heart despite his dark past.

He was the same as her, in a way. Ryner had saved them both.

Kiefer had met several Alpha Stigma bearers in her travels, and virtually all of them had the same unhappy face, and when the time came, that was the expression they wore to their graves. She’d seen it again and again.

Arua was different, though. He had Professor Ryner to look up to, sleepy and unmotivated as he was. Now he was able to smile like this.

Just seeing that made Kiefer think that she was doing the right thing. That Ryner was doing the right thing.

Ryner was always trying to save others, after all. What he was doing now was no different - he was trying to save his crying friend who he’d always walked the same path as - Sion Astal.

How would all of this end?

“……”

Kiefer honestly had no idea.

She’d met Gastark’s king, Riphal Edea during her travels. He’d told her something at the time— 

“I want you to save Ryner from the monster of the south, Sion Astal.”

He wanted her to prevent Ryner from being devoured by Sion. If she didn’t, then Ryner, the foolish and pitiful Lonesome Demon, would be happily devoured by Sion Astal, the Mad Dark Hero.

That was what Riphal said. That he wanted her to stop that from happening. 

He told her that it was an old story from long, long ago, from a time so far away that it didn’t feel real, yet she somehow understood.

There was the Lonesome Demon, who thought only of his friend.

The sad Alpha Stigma bearer, overflowing with kindness.

He was betraying Ryner’s kindness. Even so, Kiefer could hardly tell Ryner to throw his friend away.

Because she… 

“……”

Because she fell in love with that kindness of his.

That was why she’d believe in him and help him try to save his friend… though she had no idea what the outcome of it all would be. 

She’d try to save Ryner, kind as he was, who wished for Sion’s salvation.

She’d already decided to sacrifice herself if Ryner was forced to tears. It didn’t matter what it took. She’d even beat him up and take him to Gastark and make him hate her forever if that was what it took. Anything to save him.

But that was only if he exhausted all of his options.

She’d devote her everything to him as he traveled the path he’d chosen.

So his plan had to succeed.

“Alright,” Kiefer said. “Now that we’re done with introductions, let’s get out of here. This place isn’t safe.”

Arua nodded and looked around. “Toale’s army is probably hiding just a little past here.”

Kiefer nodded. “I agree. The terrain here suits an army well.”

“It suits it so well that I’m worried the Roland army will find it soon,” Arua said. “We have to move them to Professor Ryner as soon as possible… but it isn’t a good idea for all four of us to go there together. Not only that, but I’m worried about meeting the Nelphan army with all these flags. It’s dangerous. We should split into two groups. Kuku, Iris, and I will go to the Runan border first.”

He’d said exactly what Kiefer was thinking. He was a smart kid - like professor, like student.

Kiefer looked to Kuku. “Your fiancé is amazing.”

Kuku nodded heartily.

Arua went bright red.

For some reason, Iris was doing a handstand while eating dango in the background.

“……”

She was probably older than ten. Why was she so childish… 

Then again, Ferris’ mannerisms were similarly strange, and yet somehow cute. Maybe that was where Iris got it from.

Then Kiefer got back to thinking about just how cute Ferris was, and ugh, Ryner had to be madly in love with her, uuugghhhh!!

They really didn’t have time for this, but her head was a mess. It lasted a few seconds before she got a grip on herself.

“Now, then…”

Kiefer looked to the north.

There was a small hill to her left, and a river past that. If she followed it upstream she’d find meadows, then a forest. If she continued through there, she’d likely find Toale Nelphi’s camp of 10,000 men.

That’d be about a two day journey on horse. She’d have to find it, sure, but because she already knew the general area it shouldn’t be too hard. Going straight there would leave her more open to be found by the enemy, but she was running out of time. She had to fulfill her promise to Ryner - to see each other again at the Runan border. She really didn’t have the time to linger here.

Arua descended from his horse, then helped Kuku down from hers.

“Please use this horse,” Arua said. “We’ll take the flags to Runa.”

Kiefer nodded, then mounted the horse. She patted its mane, then looked down at the kids. “Alrigh, Arua. I’ll leave Kuku and Iris to you.”

Arua was bewildered. “Huh? But, but Iris is so much stronger than I am…”

“Arua, Arua!” Iris said.

“Huh?”

“I’m counting on you!” Iris said, totally unbothered.

Arua nodded. “O-okay. I’ll do my best.”

Kiefer laughed, then turned her horse towards her destination. “Alright, then. Be careful, everyone!”

With that, she rode off.

The terrain changed quickly. She was close to fulfilling her duty.

She’d find Toale Nelphi, who she had never met, and his group of 10,000 defectors. Then she’d coax them into becoming Ryner’s allies. It was dangerous. She’d be killed if she didn’t play her cards right. 

“……”

Her lips just barely formed a smile.

“That’s my specialty,” Kiefer whispered to herself.

---

To the north lay the Gridle river. The riverbed split to reveal open land littered with compact tents.

“I don’t know how many times I’ve worn this now, but it’s still stiff,” Toale Nelphi said and adjusted the collar of the Nelphan military uniform he was wearing. He had brown hair and kind eyes that hid his coherent nobility. He was nineteen years old.

Toale was an illegitimate son of King Starnelle who had been thrown to the side due to the blood of his common mother running through his veins. He had been living a normal life in the capital raising his half-siblings, entirely divorced from the country’s politics.

“……”

At the very least, he was supposed to be.

Right now, he was with an army of people who said they wanted to follow him and gathered close. It started with 10,000 soldiers, but now there were 20,000 more who had also pledged their loyalty to him, who they believed was their king.

“…Well, what can you do,” he mumbled. 

Toale stood and exited his tent. Outside was packed full with people to the point where one could hardly see anything else. Everyone was wearing the Nelphan military uniform - men, women, and even the elderly and children.

The kids crowded around him when he left the tent.

“Lord Toaallee!” they screamed.

Toale looked across the crowd and waved. There were people bowing to him… some to the point of kneeling to the ground for him. 

If he thought the uniform was tight to the point of making things hard to breathe, then this was downright suffocating. But there was no way he could let that show on his face. These people were even more uncertain of their futures than he was, after all.

It was all he could do to smile and wave. When he did, the soldiers and commoners alike all cheered for him. He nodded with forced confidence. 

“…This was never supposed to happen,” he whispered to himself. 

Then someone spoke to him from behind. “This is all because of how virtuous you are, Lord Toale.”

It was the familiar old man he’d always been indebted to who ran the library back home - Gynell.

“It’s tough, Mr. Gynell. In the first place, I didn’t want you to come all this way with me. This is, to be blunt, a suicide mission. You know?”

And that was the truth.

His dad Starnelle had thrown those ten thousand troops to Roland’s wolves, so Toale did everything in his power to keep the wolves at bay.

And as a result— 

“Our star, the true high king Toale Nelphi, has risen!”

“Everyone, we must follow Lord Toale!”

They shouted such incomprehensible things, and before he knew it, he was being touted as king.

Even now, they were nothing but hopeful, whether soldier or civilian, young or old.

It really wasn’t a hopeful situation at all. It couldn’t get any worse. But here they were, seeing some kind of light inside of him.

“……”

Toale wanted to sigh.

Why? Because it was obvious that that ‘light’ would soon burn out. His life—their hope—would soon reach its end, fallen prey to the Roland Empire’s overwhelmingly powerful army as it advanced north. They were so strong that the whole of Nelpha was panicking… 

On top of that, Toale’s father Starnelle had gone mad. He was leading his army through the country, and they pillaged anything they could get their hands on. They weren’t thinking about the people at all. All they did was think about themselves as they escaped. 

It was all meaningless, though. Because Roland would soon control all of Nelpha. Where exactly did Starnelle plan to run from them?

Runa? That was impossible. Runa was allied with Roland. There was no way they’d take him.

What about Gastark to the north? No, that was also impossible. They would never accept his 70,000 soldiers. They wouldn’t be able to cross the border. In fact, it’d be a declaration of war if they even tried. Starnelle was essentially stealing from and slaughtering his own countrymen. Gastark would never shelter a man like that.

So what outcome was waiting for Starnelle at the end of everything?

“……”

There was only one answer. 

Imperial Nelpha would cease to exist. The powerful Roland Empire would conquer and occupy it. They were weak, so they’d fall to the strong. Toale’s grandfather, the virtuous king Gread Nelphi, had understood that. That was why he had wanted to surrender - he had known that it would be the course of least sacrifice. He knew it’d be the best end for Nelpha.

“……”

Even so, the end result was the worst case scenario.

Toale had inherited that scenario. He inherited his grandfather’s way of thinking. His duty was one that he, with royal blood flowing through his veins, could accomplish.

That was why Toale took action.

He would convey a message to Roland with his 10,000 discarded soldiers. He didn’t intend on directly opposing Roland with them. Instead, he had to make a declaration - he was not Starnelle. He was not mad. He would not defy Roland. So would Roland accept his life in exchange for an end to this war? Couldn’t his life and these 10,000 soldiers make them forgive the people of Imperial Nelpha?

That was what Toale had to declare to them.

If all went well, a portion of the 70,000 soldiers following Starnelle would surrender, and there would be a few less sacrifices. 

This was a suicide mission.

If Toale was executed, it’d save the lives of others. But things weren’t going very well right now. 

The more people heard about him and his 10,000 soldiers, the more people wanted to join them and fight under his command. It wasn’t just regular people, either. It included the bandits and brigands who controlled this area. It included the nobles who had sworn loyalty to Gread Nelphi. Defectors from Starnelle’s army.

No one had found them yet, but it was only a matter of time. He’d amassed too many people in too small of a space to keep this hidden for long. These tens of thousands of people could be sacrificed as part of Toale’s suicide mission.

In that sense, this was the worst case scenario. He had gathered so many people that Roland’s army likely wouldn’t believe him if he said he didn’t want a fight. It’d turn into an all-out war, one with no chance of success, one that existed only to kill.

“…I’m in trouble.”

Gynell looked at him with a confident expression that only made it worse. “It’s not trouble. You can become king of Nelpha, Lord Toale!”

So he said.

“We’re all on your side!”

So… he said.

“……”

A tired, gloomy feeling settled in Toale’s stomach.  

Who was Nelpha’s king, now? What was that even supposed to mean? Nelpha wouldn’ even exist once the dust settled!

Toale so wanted to scream that, but he settled for a more diplomatic response: “That’s why I can’t abandon them.” With that, he looked around the crowd again. The 10,000 soldiers and countless civilians he’d amassed.

Everyone was looking at him with matching smiles.

They smiled as if happy. They truly saw him as their only light in this worst-case scenario. 

There were over 30,000 refugees here, abandoned by their country and hounded by Roland.

He had to feed these people. Provide for them. No matter how he looked at it, this was a large-scale operation. Telling them not to plunder under those circumstances was harder than it looked.

If they did that, they’d be no different from his father Starnelle. If they didn’t, these thirty thousand people would begin dying of starvation in two months’ time.

“So what… should I do…?” Toale mumbled to himself, deep in thought. All he could do was stare at everyone gathered for his sake.

The experienced soldiers with their dignified expressions, and the thin, still-inexperienced soldiers with weak expressions.

The kids, having fun as though this were a game, and the women and elderly who chased them around.

A woman’s face peeked through the surging crowd, and Toale happened to catch her eye. But once he saw her, he couldn’t look away. Because she was staring straight into him.

“……” 

She had charming red eyes, and red hair cut to fall around her shoulders. He couldn’t help but think that she was pretty. They were about the same age, too.

And that kind-of-cute girl was staring right at him.

“…Are you Toale?”

Toale nodded, and she smiled happily. He just couldn’t take his eyes off of her smile.

She took a step towards him. “Ooh, you know, infiltrating your camp is pretty easy. You have tons of women and children here, after all,” she said and smiled again. Her expression was so bright that the people around her smiled too, but Toale’s expression hardened.

It was because of what she said.

‘Infiltrating.’

That single word made Toale’s whole body tense up.

He figured it’d happen eventually, but this was faster than he’d been expecting.

Roland, seeing him as a threat for gathering the people up, had sent an assassin to find him. That or Starnelle sent her, knowing that Toale would only get in his way. Either way, she was contracted to kill him. 

He was, after all, the biggest ‘obstacle’ in Nelpha right now.

Even so, he couldn’t let her kill him here and now - not before he made his declaration of surrender to Roland. He had to save his death.

He had to call for help. He had to scream ‘guards!’ for the soldiers bowing to him to act as his defense. 

But she was faster. She took a step towards Toale before he could say anything. “Ah, no, wait, don’t run,” she said in a hurry. “I came to help you.”

“Liar.”

“It’s the truth.”

“Then why are you coming closer?”

“Because you’re running away from me?”

“I… I can’t let myself be killed here,” Toale said.

“I know that. That’s why I came to help.”

“Don’t mess with me. No one in this country has the means or desire—”

—to save him now.

That was what he wanted to say, but she was faster.   

She stared through him with her red eyes and spoke. “Ryner is trying to save you.”

Toale’s foot stopped mid-step. “Huh?”

He knew that name, but it’d been a long time now since he’d last heard it. A full year. Even so, he remembered it clearly.

Ryner Lute, the strange man who always looked like he needed a good night’s sleep. Him and his partner Ferris Eris had saved Toale and his siblings from some hoodlums a year ago. They stayed at his house for quite a while, and they’d gotten pretty close by the time they left again to continue their journey. 

“……”

Toale watched her in an effort to see through her smile and into her heart. Her smile tensed.

“…Who are you?” Toale asked.   

“Oh, so you’re going to hear me out now?”

“…I wonder. At the very least, I understand that you’re not an assassin.” She wouldn’t have bothered with this conversation if she meant to kill him. She would have just killed him. A lone girl in a camp of Nelphans didn’t have time for idle chatter like this, assassin or not. But here she was, chatting away.

Why? What was the point? To make him do this or that before killing him?

Either way… 

“…I’ll hear you out if you’re really not here to hurt me,” Toale said. 

She grinned, and Toale couldn’t tear his eyes from it. She was dangerous. He tensed.

Even so, that didn’t stop her smile. “Let me introduce myself, then,” she said. “I’m Kiefer. Kiefer Knolles.

“Hm. So where did you come from, Kiefer?” Toale asked. He didn’t even know where Ryner Lute had come from or, for that matter, where he had gone. All that he knew was that Ryner had come to Nelpha to research legends in their imperial library one year ago. Toale had absolutely no idea why. But here was this girl, a messenger saying that Ryner sent her here to help him.

Who exactly was he?

Toale had to figure that out before all else, but Kiefer spoke first. “So stuff like where I came from, why I’m here, and where I’ll go from here are really long stories, and we don’t really have time for stuff like that right now. I came to give you Ryner’s message. Okay?”

“His message?”

“Yeah.”

“What did he say?”

Kiefer looked up at the sky for a moment, then back to Toale. When their eyes met hers were sleepy but kind, much like Ryner’s had always been. “Ooh, Toale, it’s been forever. But you’re in a pinch, so even though it’s a massive pain, I’m gonna help you. Because we’re friends. Okay?”

Because we’re friends. Okay?

It was just… so carefree. Toale couldn’t help but laugh. “Uwah, he’s so persuasive,” he said with a smile. 

“Oh, Ryner was right. It really did work,” Kiefer said, relieved. “Ryner told me that you’d understand if that was all I said, but I was worried.”

“I would be worried, too,” Toale said. Now that he knew that Kiefer wasn’t a threat, he lightened up a bit and regarded her more politely.

“Right?” Kiefer agreed. “I was running off the assumption that I’d need to use another tactic to persuade you, so I thought seven different things up. But I’m glad this first one worked. Will you listen to me now?”

“Of course. Ah, but let’s talk inside of my tent,” Toale said and motioned towards it.

Kiefer shook her head. “Unfortunately, we don’t have the time for that. I have to stay on the move.”

“What do you mean?”

“If I don’t keep going, then Roland’s scouts will find this place soon. So I can’t stay here for long.”

“But they’ll find us anyway, whether it be sooner or later. It’s not possible to hide this many people…”

 “Ryner has already taken care of that. There’s somewhere where neither Roland nor Nelpha’s armies will find you. It’ll give us a little more time.”

Toale tilted his head. A place where neither Roland nor Nelpha could find him? “Where might that be?”

Kiefer smiled, but just like her previous smiles, it was dipped in unease. She pointed to the east. “Past the Runan border.”

Toale’s whole body tensed up at the sound of those words. He understood the broad implications of Ryner Lute’s plan.

Right now, Toale was rolling on the edge of a deep pool of despair. This might change his course. Move him a little bit to the side, away from the depths.

But it was gambling at best, and the idea of exposing his people to this kind of danger was making him indecisive.

Kiefer saw his nerves and traded her smile for a serious expression. “I understand your doubts, but is there any other way to reduce the amount of sacrifices here…?”

“I know,” Toale said before she could finish.

Even his plan was uncertain at best. There was a large chance that he’d be executed but Roland’s massacre would continue. There was no such thing as a fail-safe answer, so he might as well go with Ryner’s plan instead.

Toale raised his head to meet Kiefer’s eyes. “And what if you betray—”

“There is no merit in betraying you.”

“But there’s no merit in saving me either, right?”

“That might be true, but… Ryner is stupidly nice, so he’s going to save you. So won’t you believe me?  If you don’t, then I’m ready to put my other seven methods out on the table.”

“……”

Toale smiled and waved her offer away. “No, it’s okay. I believe Ryner.” There was no need to add ‘besides, I don’t have any other choices’ - that much was obvious.

Kiefer smiled and nodded. “Then let’s get these soldiers on the move,” she said and looked around. “But the situation is a little different from what I was envisioning. I heard that you had 10,000 soldiers. This is… clearly more than that, and over half of them aren’t even soldiers…”

“…If this plan can’t accommodate them, then I can’t…”

“It’s okay,” Kiefer said quickly. “Ryner will say it’s a massive pain in the ass, but he’d definitely save every single one of them.”

Toale thought back to when he first met Ryner. Back then, Ryner had complained and complained, but in the end, he had saved Toale’s siblings.

“……”

Maybe that was just the kind of person Ryner was. Toale didn’t know if he’d changed or not since then, but either way, this was it.

His only path forward had been one of suicide, but now he had the chance to take the hand his friend was offering him. It was bound to be more lively than his original plan.

Toale looked to his army’s commanders and nodded.

His army men nodded back and got to work. “We’re moving, so stand up. Don’t dilly dally around, now!”

Toale looked back to Kiefer, who smiled. Her eyes were willful, but had a transient sort of weakness to them. He couldn’t help but think that he’d never met a woman as beautiful as she was.

Her expression turned curious. “What’s wrong?”

“Huh? Oh, um, n-nothing… I was just thinking about how tough things are going to be from here on out.”

She nodded. “Honestly, you’re not wrong. But we have to do this, for the sake of everyone here if nothing else.”

“Umm, uh, yeah. You’re right,” Toale said and nodded appropriately, then averted his eyes.

A feeling he’d never experienced before was born inside of him. It was stupid. He knew it was stupid. What was he even thinking? Every possible outcome ended with his execution.

“…Ah, shit,” Toale mumbled and shook his head, then began to move. He really didn’t have the time to think of stupid things like this. It was time for them to move. The lives of these tens of thousands of people were counting on him. He didn’t have the time to even consider entertaining this feeling. He moved without looking at her. 

“Commander, tell Major Serues to take five thousand troops as a vanguard towards the Runan border, but to absolutely not make contact with Runa itself. Our armies will go to battle if we do, and we cannot allow that to happen. The remaining five thousand will shoulder everyone else as we move carefully, but as quickly as possible to disappear from this place. Got it?”

His commander bowed, then ran off to complete his duty.

First the soldiers moved, followed by the common people. Before long all 30,000 people who Toale commanded were on the move.

“…I can only pray that this choice is the correct one,” Toale whispered as he watched.

“I  thought Nelpha didn’t have an organized religion?”

Toale watched his people for some time, never looking at Kiefer, even as he replied to her. “There isn’t. I’m praying to the god of the pious country we call the Runa Empire… asking him to not go to war with us no matter how close we get to their border.”

It was all Toale could do to watch right now, really.

His people were moving slowly. It’d take them three days to get to where they needed to be at this pace. 

“Three days, huh…”

If Roland found them during those three days, it’d be the end of everything.

This was a tough battle. Even so… 

“…We have to succeed,” Toale murmured as he looked to the west with a bitter expression, where Roland’s northbound army was approaching. 

---

The world was spinning. He knew that.

It was spinning in a direction unlike what it had been doing up until now.

He knew the sound of it as it spun sights unlike before into existence. 

“……”

And there Sion Astal was, stooped down inside the vortex of that sound.

He had noble silver hair and willful golden eyes, but those eyes of his were not seeing the throne room that he was currently seated in. No, they were seeing something else entirely.

They saw darkness. Everything they saw was ‘darkness.’

Every now and then a light would be born, but it was soon extinguished. Hazy lights could never linger in a world as dark as this.   

That was what he was seeing now.

The world that the Hero saw.

The world that the Demon saw.

It was all overlapping with his present reality.

“This is the worst,” Sion whispered.

The madness within him was already opening its eyes.

The ecstasy within him was getting hard to hold back.

Everything was being altered.

The world was being exchanged.

The beginning was upon them. The door was before him.

He could see the door; the door connecting darkness to what lies beyond. All that he needed now was to unlock it.

The key.

The key.

The sacrificial demon.

If Ryner’s life would just become his… 

“……”

“Your Majesty.”

Sion blinked the darkness away and returned to reality. His eyes darted to the man standing before him. He had beautifully straightened pitch black hair and frozen deep blue eyes.  

It was Lieutenant General Miran Froaude. His dark eyes were fixed on Sion.

“Your Majesty.”

“What?”

“Well… It seems as though you did not notice me entering the throne room. Might you be tired?”

“No, I’m fine,” Sion answered. 

Even so, Froaude looked worried. It was an expression that didn’t suit his face in the slightest. “Is that so. Then perhaps you were able to sleep just a bit in my absence—”

“Did you come here just to talk about that?” Sion interrupted. 

Froaude’s troubled eyes didn’t leave Sion. “No, I have numerous matters to report.”

“Then spit it out.”

“Yes. Firstly, regarding Ryner Lute’s capture…”

“You let him get away? I knew that. He’s in Nelpha.”

Froaude’s eyes widened just so in surprise. “Oh? So Your Majesty was aware. Could it be that you have men monitoring me?”

Sion shook his head. “No.”

“Then how might you have…?”  

“I know when Ryner leaves the country. He’s the key that opens the door, after all. I know when all necessary things leave this country. Also,” Sion started, then looked up to the nothingness by his side for a moment, “Lucile has been praising you. He said that you’re an excellent piece, so I should treat you well.”

Froaude’s pure red lips were opened in a smile when Sion looked back at him. “I will accept that praise with the highest honor. Then is it from him that you heard the rest?”

That wasn’t the case. It was just as Sion had said earlier - the power of the Mad Hero was encroaching on his mind, dominating him to the point where he knew if the man he wanted to devour had left him or not. Sometimes Sion couldn’t even tell where he himself ended or where the Mad Hero began. 

He should have already used the key to open the door and become ‘Truth,’ but everything was moving so slowly that the power had began spinning in a strange direction. 

For some reason, Lucile said it was ‘interesting.’ He said that neglecting to devour Ryner and not repeating the mad past was an interesting development. 

“……”

Though there was no real point in thinking about that now. 

Sion looked to Froaude, who was regarding him with that worried look, and smiled bitterly. That bitter feeling felt like a part of his humanity coming back. “No, ah, sorry, Froaude. I was looking a little too deeply into another place. I really haven’t been sleeping much, but it’s just like you said - I’m a bit tired.”

Froaude nodded. “The road ahead is still long. One could say that your dictatorship has only just begun. You must pay close attention to your body and its needs.”

“I understand.”

“Perhaps you’d best take the rest of the day off?”

“…Maybe. But I can’t rest yet. I need to know how things are progressing in Nelpha first.”

“The situation is favorable.”

“…Ha.” I’d be going ‘favorably’ if the war was over. If Nelpha surrendered, then everything would end, but… “I heard that Gread Nelphi died.”

Froaude nodded. “He was killed by his son.”

“And no one could have prevented it?”

Froaude smiled sarcastically. “It seems that Nelpha’s upper echelon goes far down and below expectations…”

“So it’s turning into an all-out war?”

“Yes, it would appear that way,” Froaude said.

“And Claugh is okay with that?”

“…No. Marshal Klom has sent a distinctly different message.”

With that, Froaude handed over a letter he’d been holding. Sion took it, and looked down at what was written. It was from the man who had escaped the country. From Ryner— 

—from his buddy.

“……”   

The letter outlined a plan that Ryner had thought up to break through this horrible situation.

And, at the end… Sion’s eyes narrowed as he read Claugh’s characteristically ugly scribbles at the end. 

‘Sion Asstal is my friend, so I won’t abandon him.’ Feels gross reading that kind of message from a sleepy guy like him, right? So what will you do, Sion?

“……”

Sion looked up at the ceiling, deep in thought. He thought that Ryner’s plan was pretty interesting. Going along with it would yield interesting results, he felt.

And Ryner had come up for it for Sion and Sion alone, right?

He came up with this plan to save Roland—no, to save Sion even if Nelpha didn’t surrender like he’d thought it would. This plan wouldn’t leave Roland paralyzed, unable to move forwards or backwards. 

He did it because they were friends. Because they were buddies.

Sion had betrayed Ryner in the worst kind of way, but here Ryner was, telling him all about this plan. Sion couldn’t help but think of his sleepy, but always kind face.

“……”

Sion gripped the letter hard, then spoke to the man before him, still wearing the devil’s smile.

“Froaude.”

“Yes.”

“What do you think of this message?”

“It is nothing but a joke from the lips of a spineless coward.”

“…Yeah,” Sion agreed. “Roland is not a country that could stop for something like this. We have already announced that we will conquer the world with the fewest steps, fewest sacrifices, and in the shortest amount of time. We must show our power and ability to do that off to the Central Continent as quickly as possible. We should ‘save Toale Nelphi’s life?’ We should ‘go the path of least sacrifice?’ Ridiculous.”

Sion took a breath before continuing. “The gears are already turning. There’s no way for us to stop it now, and even if we tried, it’d just end in more sacrifices. The longer we hesitate, the more people will die. And what would you even say to those who have already died if we stopped here? What would you say to the casualties? The dice have been cast. The world is already changing. What would you have us do? Which choice makes for the best decision?”

Froaude smiled, happily, and yet somehow like a devil might. “I understand your feelings, Your Majesty. Let us slaughter them all, then, so that they can’t stand up against us a second time. So that they can’t even think of rising up again,” Froaude said, then turned to leave.

“Bring Bayuz with you,” Sion said. “Set everything straight in one blow.”

“As you desire.” With that, Froaude left the throne room, leaving it quiet once again.

Now Sion was alone, enveloped by the stillness. By the solitude. 

This world enveloped him so closely that Ryner, his friend, his buddy, the one who reached his hand out to help… could never reach him.

Sion wanted to cry from the force of the despair enveloping him.

“……”

He smiled. Sadly, yes, but he smiled. Because the gears would turn either way. The scenery would change either way. So he closed his eyes again to the sound of silence so that his consciousness could escape this reality and fly to the other side of the darkness, where he might kill all of those depressing goddesses.

Then, the next time he opened his eyes… 

“………”  

---

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