Chapter 147

Jereuth’s room in the knight order barracks.

Jereuth usually handled both his meals and rest in his office, so this room was almost always empty.

Jereuth even slept on a cot in his office.

But this dawn, for the first time in a very long time, Jereuth had returned to his room.

But not alone, but with someone else.

It was Jereuth and Silvia.

“My sister… seems to have had a happy life after leaving the village.”

Silvia, sitting hunched on Jereuth’s bed with her legs pulled tightly to her chest, nodded as she listened to Jereuth’s stories.

As an elf who originally wore thin and short clothes, her beautiful legs were revealed without concealment.

‘…There’s nowhere to put my eyes.’

Jereuth was a man, after all, so Silvia in that state was a poison to his eyes.

And to make matters worse, she was sitting deep in his bed.

So Jereuth had not looked at her properly all this dawn, while talking with Silvia.

He talked with Silvia while forcing himself to read a book that he couldn’t even read properly.

“All I got from my sister were occasional letters. It’s nice to hear about my sister directly like this. And… Jereuth, it seems my sister was happy thanks to you.”

“It’s not thanks to me. As I said, the one Victoria loved was—.”

“Yes, a human named ‘Philip’. The deceased king.”

“……”

“But that doesn’t mean your existence was meaningless. It seems you liked my sister a lot too.”

Liked a lot.

It was such a plain expression. The unique, sincere purity of an elf was evident.

“Thank you. I thought my sister was forcing herself to write letters saying she was doing well after leaving the village so that our family wouldn’t worry.”

“The time Victoria was happiest was when she was writing letters to send to Roterion. Even after a big fight with Philip, she would be smiling when she was writing a letter.”

“Did you never fight? With my sister?”

“How could there not be? I’m like that too, but Victoria’s personality was not ordinary either.”

“Hmph……. That’s true.”

Silvia let out a light laugh at the trivial joke.

At the satisfaction of having made her laugh, Jereuth also felt a smile forming on his lips—.

‘…I can’t. I shouldn’t smile.’

I am a knight. The only precious things should be the kingdom and the king.

If more precious things than that increase, a knight’s heart weakens, and his courage diminishes.

And a knight with diminished courage is a useless being. No, a being worse than useless.

‘If I lose my courage, the courage of the subordinate knights and soldiers who follow me will also be broken.’

Thinking that, Jereuth once again composed his expression.

He also composed his heart with a stern expression.

‘But… I’m reaching my limit. I can’t be with her any longer.’

“It’s late, so could you please leave now? I have a lot to do tomorrow, so I need to rest.”

“Already? It’s only four o’clock.”

“Four o’clock is late—.”

As he was speaking.

Jereuth took another shallow breath.

‘Elves don’t sleep much. Victoria was like that.’

Even a trivial commonality, even that made Victoria and Silvia overlap in Jereuth’s eyes.

“Humans are different. We need to sleep to function properly tomorrow.”

“Oh.”

Silvia nodded her head as if disappointed.

Then she stretched out her long legs and got out of bed in one motion, tidying her clothes.

Click—.

She opened Jereuth’s door and, turning only her head, looked at Jereuth and spoke.

“Then I’ll be going for today. I hope you’ll tell me more stories tomorrow instead.”

“……”

“I’ll bring some fruit wine I made myself.”

“Alcohol is—.”

Without even listening to Jereuth’s words.

Silvia quickly left the room. It was unclear whether she was playing a prank or if she had left before hearing his words because she was so fast.

Hoo— thud.

Letting out a sigh, Jereuth threw himself onto the bed.

Talking with Silvia alone in the room had been a more tense situation for Jereuth than going to the battlefield.

‘…I need to sleep soon.’

—Though Jereuth was trying to sleep.

Jereuth couldn’t sleep well.

Because of Silvia’s scent that faintly lingered on the bed—a forest scent similar to Victoria’s.

Though the scent of the forest was certainly one that cleared the head, Jereuth’s head was complicated.

Jereuth let out another sigh at his uncontrollable state.

Haa—.

“This… this really shouldn’t be happening.”

What kind of disgrace was this at his old age?

This feeling, as if he had returned to being a teenage boy, before he became a knight.

It was the feeling he had when he first found someone he wanted to protect besides the people of the kingdom.

***

“Then, Your Highness, I will take my leave now. Please rest well.”

“I will also be leaving, Your Highness.”

Elly and Peralta spoke politely to me and left the room.

“…Your Highness, you must rest. You just returned today, so you can’t pull another all-nighter.”

Just before closing the door and leaving, Elly spoke with a worried voice and came back into the room.

“I know. I’ll just skim through this document Peralta gave me and go to bed right away, so don’t worry.”

“If it won’t take long, I can stay with you—.”

“I said it’s fine. Go and rest quickly. You must be tired too.”

Only after I spoke again did Elly leave the room.

Though her expression seemed to say she really wanted to see me lying in bed before she left.

‘Then… now shall I look at the strategy Peralta has drawn up?’

Gulp—.

The coffee Elly had made for me, which had cooled down to a lukewarm temperature, I drank it in one go.

***

30 minutes later.

Tap tap—.

I tapped Peralta’s ‘strategy book’ on the desk to straighten it.

My thoughts after reading this strategy book were—.

‘…Will this really work? I don’t think it will.’

That was my honest thought. Was this possible? Would this strategy work?

Peralta’s strategy was roughly this.

First, divide the kingdom’s army into 3 units. The 1st Knight Order, the 2nd Knight Order, and finally the Royal Guard Knight Order.

The 1st Knight Order was a joint force of elves and humans. And the 1st Knight Order was in charge of the northern part of the kingdom—to be precise, the area north of the Monster Mountains.

The 2nd Knight Order was a joint force of Giants and humans. The 2nd Knight Order was in charge of the southern part of the kingdom, the area south of the Monster Mountains.

‘The main role of those two knight orders is… to build and protect fortresses and earthen walls at the main routes leading from the Monster Mountains to the kingdom. And to lure the main force of the monster army to the center.’

According to the ‘Map of the Monster Mountains’ in Peralta’s strategy book, there were roughly six routes the monster army could advance through.

Three routes to the north of the Monster Mountains, two to the south, and one in the center.

‘The three northern routes will be blocked by the elves creating wooden fortresses with magic.’

The south was the same. They would block the routes by borrowing the overwhelming ‘labor force’ of the Giants.

They would build fortresses on the main roads.

According to the strategy book, both the north and the south could block all the main passages in about a year.

The reason that was possible was because most of the soldiers had been deployed in ‘construction’ until now, and also thanks to the magic and labor of the elves and Giants.

‘But there is something missing here. The labor of the Gryphons.’

I didn’t know how heavy an object a Gryphon could lift and move, but if it could lift something like a rock, it would be a great help in building the fortresses.

‘The reason the Gryphons weren’t included in the labor force is probably because Peralta doesn’t know the strength of the Gryphons well. And it’s not certain if the Gryphons can be used for construction.’

Up to this point, it was a fairly standard strategy. To block the northern and southern routes to lure the monster army to the center.

‘But… from my point of view, there are two problems.’

The first problem.

It was that this strategy required the monster army to be completely blocked by the fortresses in the north and south. It was a must.

Even if that went well….

‘There’s a second problem.’

The second problem.

It was that the main force of the monster army had to be blocked by the ‘Royal Guard Knight Order’ alone.

In the wide plain in the center of the royal capital—the Ness Plains.

Of course, Peralta’s strategy was not for the Royal Guard Knight Order to have an all-out battle with the main force of the monster army.

It was to have the Anakros dig a pit deep in the ground of the Ness Plains, lure the monster army there, and then… have the mages detonate the ground below all at once, creating a huge ‘sinkhole trap’.

Thinking of it this way, it might be a fairly doable, easy strategy.

But.

‘The timing is too important. If you’re even one step late, you fall into the sinkhole with them.’

It was actually written in the Future Diary.

That Jereuth would fall into that trap with them.

Peralta’s strategy book also stated that 「Since the role of the bait is the most dangerous and important, Jereuth, who leads the army the best, will take it.」.

‘The role of the Royal Guard Knight Order in the center of the Monster Mountains is to lure the monster army into the trap. Kill as many of the main force of the monster army with that trap… and then immediately retreat and have a siege battle at the royal capital. The 1st and 2nd Knight Orders will have a defensive battle, defeating the remaining monster army in the north and south individually, until they can come to the royal capital.’

To capture a castle, the attack must be three times greater than the defense.

That’s how advantageous defense is in a siege battle.

But could the Royal Guard Knight Order alone hold off the main force of the monster army?

‘Even if a lot of the main force of the monster army falls into the trap, about half will survive. Then can the Royal Guard Knight Order alone block the remaining half of the monsters? If Jereuth dies, the morale of the entire army will hit rock bottom. No matter how much support I have from the kingdom’s army, for now, Jereuth’s presence is—.’

……No, I shouldn’t think like that.

‘I have to change the strategy in a way that Jereuth doesn’t die. I decided to do that.’

Correcting my wrong thoughts inwardly.

Shhhlick—.

I placed Peralta’s strategy book aside and opened the Future Diary.

‘A way to prevent Jereuth from dying. What should I do?’

I skimmed through the beginning of the newly written Future Diary.

I carefully read from the shocking part where Jereuth falls into the trap.

…….

Thanks to Jereuth becoming the ‘bait’, Peralta’s strategy was almost a success.

The monster army chased Jereuth and the detached force into the ‘trap’.

Their eyes were bloodshot with the desire to catch Jereuth.

—Catch him!!

—If we catch that bastard, victory is ours!!

—Kiyaaaaaaa!

—Jereuth!! You cowardly human! Stop!!

—Chieeeeeek!!

The problem was…….

Kwaaang-!

The prepared trap, the ground collapsed greatly.

—U-uaaaaaak!

—Kiyaaaak!

—T-the ground is collapsing!

—Retreat! Re…!

—St-stop…!

Though the majority of the monster army fell into the trap.

Jereuth, too, had been greedy in trying to lure them in perfectly and had failed to get out of the trap’s range.

“…Commander!!”

A few steps ahead, right before my eyes, Jereuth sank into the ground. He fell into the trap.

That brief moment stretched out, and time seemed to pass slowly.

Perhaps that was why I could see the changes in Jereuth’s expression from moment to moment.

“……!”

At first, he was flustered by the ground collapsing.

Then he looked at me, gave a thumbs-up, and smiled.

“Your Highness, I leave the rest to you.”

“……!”

“To Silvia, too—.”

I couldn’t hear Jereuth’s last words properly. Because he had fallen below the ground before he could finish.

“…………!!”

As the Ness Plains collapsed with a huge roar.

The plain, which had been filled with all sorts of noise, became quiet. As if it had been muted.

Even though Gargoyles and Gryphons were still fighting in the sky, and knights were shouting and commanding soldiers.

There were quite a lot of monsters that didn’t fall into the trap. About half of them had survived.

But even their roars couldn't be heard.

Tatata—!

I—no, my body moved before I could even think of saving Jereuth who was falling into the pit.

I couldn’t let Jereuth die like that. I had to save him from the trap. He had fallen, but he might not have fallen yet. I wanted to believe that.

No, it had to be so.

But then.

Thud—!

“…Your Highness! You can’t! You must go!!”

Someone grabbed my arm. It was Hagen. Next to him were other knights, the knights who had been the ‘bait’ with Jereuth and lured the monster army into the trap.

The Royal Guard Knight Order.

They, who had been running on two feet as bait, were now on horseback to retreat to the royal capital as planned.

“Let go!!”

“I can’t!”

“I said let go, you bastard!!”

“I can’t!! Hey, what are you doing! Escort His Highness!!”

At Hagen’s sharp rebuke, other knights grabbed me. As if to restrain me from going down into the pit where Jereuth had fallen, they grabbed my arms and legs.

“Won’t you let go?! I said let go—!”

“The Commander sacrificed himself! But if Your Highness stays here now, that sacrifice will be in vain!!”

“Damn it, it’s an order! Let go!”

“Get a grip! The Commander is already…! Your Highness must command! We must return to the royal capital and prepare for the siege! You know that!!”

Hagen was right.

This was all part of the plan. The Royal Guard Knight Order—Jereuth and the elites—would lure the monster army and drop them into the trap, inflicting fatal damage on them.

The remaining monster army would be blocked using the walls of the royal capital.

I knew that well too. Because I had read the strategy book Peralta wrote so many times that I had memorized it word for word, I knew it better than anyone.

And Jereuth had succeeded in the operation perfectly.

More than half of the main force of the monster army had fallen into the pit. This was an even greater success than Peralta’s plan.

But.

“Let go!! I will ride the Gryphon down into the pit and save him!!”

I didn’t know why. I was out of control—.

“Damn it…! I’m sorry, Your Highness!”

Thwack—!

Hagen struck my stomach with the flat of his sword. Even though I was wearing armor, the impact was not small, and I had trouble breathing.

“Ha-Hagen. What is this….”

“Escort His Highness quickly! We retreat as planned! We return to the royal capital!!”

And so, I was forcibly led back to the royal capital by the knights.

It was clear in my eyes. Jereuth, before falling into the pit, smiling confidently and saying to me, 「“I leave the rest to you.”」.

That smile was just like… my father, King Philip.

Like the man who had entrusted the kingdom to me, choosing to sacrifice himself to seal the Minotaur.

…I had lost something precious again.

This was the latest, the ‘future closest to the present’.

Though it was called the future closest to the present, it was about the war with the monster army that would happen in about 2 years.

I closed my eyes.

And thought calmly.

‘So… in the end, Jereuth died. He sacrificed himself to make the operation succeed.’

Then how could I save Jereuth?

Should I tell Jereuth to lure the monsters in moderately, to be safe, even if fewer of them fall into the trap?

But what if not many monsters fell into the trap then?

‘Then the main force of the monster army would suffer less damage… and the tide of the war itself could change. It means the royal capital could be captured. The current Future Diary is written on the basis that Jereuth performed the operation perfectly.’

Of course, we might still win the war even if Jereuth lured the monster army in ‘moderately’.

But something felt uneasy. My instinct kept warning me that this was not a war that could be won ‘moderately’.

In other words, to win the war with the monster army.

I had to make the monster army fall into the trap perfectly, more than perfectly, just like the Jereuth in the Future Diary did.

‘Then… can I have another knight take on Jereuth’s role?’

I didn’t want that. No, I couldn’t do that.

To have someone else take on Jereuth’s role meant telling them to die in Jereuth’s place.

And in the first place, I didn’t know if there was anyone who could draw the ‘aggro’ of the monster army as much as Jereuth could.

‘Jereuth is like the commander-in-chief of the kingdom’s army. So the monster army must have been chasing him with bloodshot eyes to catch him. …Then in the end, is there no one but Jereuth? The perfect ‘bait’?’

It was a checkmate.

For victory in this war, Jereuth had to be sacrificed.

There was no other way.

—As that thought was consuming my mind.

“…No, there is. A bait as perfect as Jereuth, no, even more perfect.”

Words flowed out of my mouth without me realizing it.

***

The next morning.

Peralta was summoned by the king early in the morning and came to his room.

When he was summoned by the king, Peralta felt both worry and anticipation.

Anticipation that the king would evaluate the strategy he had devised favorably, and on the other hand, worry that his strategy might not be satisfactory to the perfect king.

But, Peralta realized that both his anticipation and worry were wrong.

At the first words King Leonardo spoke to him.

“Peralta. Your strategy is good in all other aspects. But the role of luring the main force of the monster army to the trap in the Ness Plains—the role of the ‘bait’.”

“……”

“I will take that role. Not Commander Jereuth.”

There was an ironclad rule for knights.

To simply nod when the king speaks.

Peralta had also been taught and trained that way.

But for some reason, he just couldn’t nod his head immediately to this.

“…I must have misheard?”

The king himself was going to be the bait, how could he not be surprised.