"Are you all ready?"
Yesterday, an emergency meeting was held at the royal castle, summoning ministers from all sectors.
Yurik had barged right into that meeting and tearfully pleaded with the Queen to close the door to the Leng Plateau from which demons were pouring out,
And the ministers, who already knew about his prophecy that had spread throughout the royal castle, murmured and then agreed with Yurik.
In the end, the Queen had no choice but to allow Yurik's journey to the east, if only to read the mood.
Among those going east this time, he was the only one excluded.
To be precise, he was someone who shouldn't go east this time. It would be strange for him to accompany them after making the prophecy.
Early morning, in front of the 3rd Prince's palace stood Yurik, Cellinne, Eva, Dardin, and Valter.
Of course, no matter how much they tried to hide it, it was obvious that the entire country would be watching them.
Before carrying their luggage and weapons down the stairs, looking at the five people who were looking his way... somehow he felt strange.
It was like the feeling of leaving children at the water's edge, or the feeling of releasing children who had just entered elementary school.
"How is everyone's condition?"
"Good."
"Our cute little forest fairy is doing all the worrying."
"I'm fine. Though the medical bag is heavy."
"Very good."
"Listen here, there's no one more frail than you here. Are you doing push-ups? Hm? You need to build muscle, muscle!"
Hmm. Everyone seemed fine.
He scratched his head and approached Grandfather Valter, handing him one of the bundles he had been carrying under his arm.
"What's this?"
"It seemed like you don't eat well without meat. I asked the prince's palace kitchen to prepare it. The one on the left is venison, and the one on the right is beef. I had them smoke it while still not fully dried, so you can eat it as is."
"Ooh... this is precious food. Venison has a strong smell but it's very delicious!"
"They said they made it so it wouldn't have a gamey smell. I haven't tried it myself, so I don't know."
"Yes, yes. Young man. Thank you for this!"
Valter received the food with a beaming smile.
The gazes of the other four standing beside him pierced his face.
No, even if they didn't look at him like that, he was going to give them all something.
"Dardin."
"Do you have something for me as well?"
"About the demons in the wasteland. I said I chose only ones that wouldn't physically harm people as much as possible, but just in case. I drew pictures so you could recognize them, and wrote their characteristics too."
"Did you write this material yourself? You must have worked hard all night."
"You can share it with Eva. There should be at least one person to treat people."
"Thank you, Yesung. But you must memorize the positions and duties of all the nobles working in the royal castle by the time I return."
Damn. That assignment.
He pretended not to know and turned his head to Eva. The gift for her was a bundle of herbs with calming effects and the black powder medicine he had received before.
"I'm returning this."
"This is medicine His Highness used. Wait, you haven't used any of this, have you? Haven't used it? Then why are you alive now?"
"In the east, treating mental wounds will be more important than external injuries. Be careful when using it on people. It can cause strong hallucinations. There's only a paper's difference between poison and medicine."
"I understand what you mean... I'm grateful, but I still have to ask this. The cut from that time didn't get infected, did it? Take it off a bit, I need to see if there are any scars!"
"What? No!"
This person really! Was making people undress a physician's characteristic?
He hurriedly ran to Cellinne to avoid Eva's burning gaze.
Cellinne smiled broadly and extended both hands.
"What's my gift?"
"Here."
He handed her a pair of sturdy gloves.
They were well-finished with thick leather and had steel protective parts attached to each finger joint.
"Even though Valter uses an axe, you fight with bare hands and bare feet. When you two train and come back, only your hands will be red."
"Hands? Ah, ice. I didn't think about it being cold."
"I couldn't go out to buy them myself, so I asked the royal castle servants. Don't let your hands split while hitting something."
"Hehehe."
Cellinne made a strange laughing sound and immediately put on the gloves.
Actually, those gloves had a secret.
Among the clothes Yurik had given him to wear, there were quite a few with various decorations and metal parts,
And since it seemed too wasteful to throw them all away, he had asked the servants in charge of tailoring to make gloves from them.
What expression would Cellinne make if she knew those were parts of Yurik's clothing?
He would have to keep it a secret for life.
Finally, he approached Yurik.
He was already carefully looking at his now-empty sides and asked.
"Aren't you giving me anything?"
"As if I wouldn't."
Yurik received what he handed him after rummaging in his chest.
As soon as he confirmed the identity of the gift, he made a very mysterious expression and was silent for a long time.
Cellinne peeked from the side, but Yurik clenched his fist and wouldn't show it.
He barely managed to ask.
"Can you give this to me?"
"I'm not giving it, I'm lending it temporarily. Since Eibon left it for me, it doesn't matter if I do what I want with it."
"Really?"
"The black horse suited you well. Go safely."
Yurik looked at him as if he couldn't believe it, then suddenly hugged him tightly.
From the side came sounds of 'What?' 'Is Your Highness hurt somewhere?' but at this moment he couldn't tell Yurik to let go.
That would seem too heartless for a hyung to say.
Instead, he reached under his arms to pull Cellinne in,
And Cellinne thankfully giggled and hugged both him and Yurik tightly together.
Eva muttered as if dumbfounded.
"This kind of atmosphere? Suddenly?"
"...Do we have to do this too? I'm not really comfortable with physical contact."
"Uhahaha! What's wrong with young friends sharing some friendship!"
"Don't push me, Grandfather, I said don't push!"
Hot and heavy.
But the experience of five people clinging together and hugging each other wasn't unpleasant.
Yurik, who was burying his face in his shoulder, mumbled.
"I'll go and come back."
He hoped this time he could become a hyung who could say "welcome back."
...No, had there been times when he couldn't say that to someone before? Why was he suddenly having strange thoughts? Not that it mattered.
He closed his eyes while feeling warm and somehow sticky as if he might melt.
* * *
The demons pouring out from the wasteland ravaged the army blocking the edge of the wasteland.
With support from the royal castle, borrowing the power of mages and the Small Mage Tower, even forces stationed in other regions had been concentrated in the wasteland,
But virtually everyone arriving there had been neutralized.
It wasn't that the soldiers had suffered injuries serious enough to prevent them from fighting.
If that had been the case, they could have reported the wounded and recruited new forces from the rear.
However, the neutralized soldiers had intact limbs. Nothing was broken either.
Most hadn't even shed a drop of blood.
Yet the reason they couldn't fight was,
"-They can't move?"
"That's correct. The medical tents can no longer accommodate more personnel, so we first ordered those with no visible injuries to return."
In the command tent, some distance from the fierce battlefield in the wasteland,
The Banneret Knight with command authority over 3 banners finally shouted in frustration at the absurd report.
"How can they not fight when their arms and legs are intact! Why exactly! Because of what!"
"Th-that is."
"Not a single wounded person, but they can't fight. Can't fight! I've never seen or heard of such a bizarre battle!"
"Th-that's because the enemy consists of demons-"
"Demons or whatever, don't they have substance! There are things you can see and touch directly, so why can't you kill them!"
The messenger couldn't say a word in the face of the knight's indiscriminate outpouring of rage.
However, he too agreed that this battle was extremely bizarre.
The demons of the wasteland were monsters unlike any seen before.
They had horns, teeth, and iron fins that looked like they would split flesh in half with just a graze.
Yet they didn't bite or kill people.
More precisely, the monsters seemed to have no such desire.
The black bugs suddenly burst out from underground and swallowed people nearby.
Of course, they did spit out the people they had eaten, but that wasn't the problem.
Those who had passed through the bugs' bodies had their mental strength plummet and showed extreme reactions to even the smallest stimuli.
Some couldn't even put on clothes and had to stay naked.
What about the demons that couldn't be touched but could be seen with the eyes?
Enduring the sight of giant monster deep-sea fish and masses of tentacles floating through the air wasn't easy.
Of course, since they couldn't touch each other, there was no real threat, but for those who had been eaten by bugs once, they caused terrible visual fear.
Moreover, what about the human subspecies hiding in the darkness from time to time?
Their gazes were creepy, and their occasionally clicking pincers were eerily threatening as if they would strangle necks.
In such situations, soldiers couldn't run away or attack, only suffering from psychological pressure.
Even the soldiers who could still move were about to collapse from continued mental attacks.
To face defeat without even lifting a sword once or holding a single spear.
Just as the Banneret Knight's face turned red and blue from the messenger standing silently, and he was about to strike the makeshift desk.
-Bang!
-Rrrrrrrumble!
Suddenly the ground shook. The two people, who now knew what this was a sign of, turned pale.
"H-here too! You said they wouldn't come here!"
"I also don't really know what happened-"
"Aaahhh!"
For people who didn't know that the demons of the wasteland lived by eating minds rather than human blood or flesh,
And that while soldiers had been their prey until now,
The demons' range of activity had expanded because the fresh food was now depleted, this was cause for panic.
Just as the tent that had been swaying helplessly collapsed behind the two people running out of the tent,
-Whoosh!
A giant bug burst out of the ground in front of them.
A bug standing upright only on its rear end, looking down at them.
Dozens of pairs of gleaming eyes attached to both sides,
A disgusting monster that opened and closed its round mouth resembling a sturgeon, as if already anticipating a feast.
White mucus dripped from the monster's mouth opening onto their faces.
"Aaaahhh!"
The commander, screaming at the top of his lungs, pushed the messenger forward.
Watching his superior run away clanking in heavy armor,
The fallen messenger couldn't even think of getting up and trembled violently.
Even knowing he wouldn't die, just the fact of facing such a monster felt deadly.
Just as it was opening its snout wide over the messenger's head, which was dripping with sweat and tears-
-Thwack!
It made an incomprehensible sound and toppled sideways.
A nimble figure landed softly on top of the writhing body lying down.
Small in stature but dignified. The half-gauntlet style gloves on her hands sparkled in the sunlight like new.
The woman with vivid pink hair tied up high looked at the messenger and jumped down.
A hand suddenly extended toward him.
"Are you okay? You're completely out of it."
"Uh, uh."
The messenger, who grabbed the hand while making stupid sounds, was lifted up by surprisingly tremendous strength.
Only after barely standing upright did his surroundings come into view.
People who had rushed out of nearby tents were looking at someone in shock.
Not just this dazzling one who had appeared like a fairy,
But the party slowly approaching behind her.
A mercenary with a huge axe, a cool and intellectual physician, a gentle man with a soft smile,
And the one leading them at the front.
Soft platinum hair swayed in the breeze.
Unlike other commanders, he didn't have unnecessarily cumbersome, gleaming full plate armor or a great sword,
But with protective gear emphasizing mobility and practicality, he looked sufficiently robust.
The person who had rushed to the east faster than anyone in the royal castle. The one who had come to quell the east's calamity.
Aquilonia's 3rd Prince, Yurik den Aquilonia, looked around once and said.
"From this moment, I strip the Banneret Knight who commanded the 3rd and 4th banners of his position. I will temporarily assume the role of supreme commander, and the former commander will be held accountable for deserting the battlefield according to appropriate military law afterward. Any objections?"
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