CH 649

The allied forces would be stationed for about three days to regroup.

A few days passed as they continued to wrap up the aftermath of the battle.

Royal Class garrison, Cliffman's barracks.

"Why does it feel like we're busier after the battle is over?"

Late at night, Erich brought a piece of bread from somewhere and lay down on a mat, mumbling to himself.

"Are there many wounded?"

At Lint's question, Erich looked over at him.

"When have there not been many?"

Erich, who could use divine magic, had been working tirelessly to heal people.

In the barracks were Erich, Cliffman, and also Cayer and Lint – the four of them.

As always, Cliffman lay on his makeshift bed, staring blankly at the tent.

With Heinrich added to the mix, they almost always gathered like this.

Of course, Cliffman had never once suggested using his barracks as a sort of hideout.

At some point, Kono Lint began to frequent Cliffman's barracks, followed by Cayer and Erich who came looking for Lint, and Heinrich sat down after searching for the others.

Cliffman never had much to say about it.

"Where's Heinrich?"

At Lint's question, Cayer tilted his head.

"He's usually with his sister. There's probably a lot for him to do as royalty."

Erich stared at him, still lying down, at Cayer's words.

"…Even if Heinrich is with the temple, his sister is the commander of Kernstadt and the future queen. Is it okay for us to call her 'sister' so casually?"

"…Is it?"

Suddenly faced with this question, not only Cayer but also Erich tilted their heads.

"Is this disrespectful?"

Could commoners and royalty address each other so informally if they were friends with the royal siblings?

They all began to ponder this unexpected dilemma.

They decided to ask Heinrich when he returned.

"Only one more left."

Word had spread that all other regions had been pacified.

Everyone knew that the capital of Riselen, Diane, was their final destination.

At Lint's words, everyone's expressions turned solemn.

"When the war is over, I want to visit all the people who have sent me letters."

Lint's words made Erich's expression uneasy.

"…Do you remember all those people?"

"I've kept the letters, so I should be able to find the ones with addresses, right?"

"Why would you bother going to see them in person?"

"Well… I'm curious about how they're doing… and if they're safe…"

As Lint stumbled over his words and Erich asked why he would go to such trouble, Cayer clicked his tongue.

"This guy probably wants to see if there are any pretty girls."

"Ah…"

"Ah, no! I have! Pure! Intentions!"

It was hard not to see through Kono Lint's flimsy cover.

Of course, no one knew what his true intentions were, but Kono Lint began to chuckle.

"If there happens to be something like that… and if there's someone I want to see…"

Smack!

"Ouch!"

Before he could finish his sentence, Kono Lint received a powerful blow to the back of his head, causing his eyes to bulge as he rolled on the ground.

The one who had suddenly struck Lint's head was Cliffman.

"Why did you hit me out of the blue?"

Kono Lint shouted, having received an unexpected blow to the back of his head.

"Shut up, people who talk like that always end up dead."

"Huh? What kind of superstition is that?"

"Anyway, let's talk about it after everything is over."

At that moment, everyone looked at the suddenly serious Cliffman with wide eyes.

Rustle

"Oh, everyone's here."

Heinrich entered Cliffman's tent.

Kono Lint looked at Heinrich, rubbing the back of his head.

"Have you finished your business?"

"Yeah, more or less."

Heinrich sat down on one of the chairs inside the tent.

Since Heinrich had arrived, the topic they were discussing earlier had to come up.

In the end, it was a pointless conversation.

Whether they should treat Louise, their friend's sister, as a close friend or respect her as a noble, and whether Louise would be upset if they called Heinrich casually in front of her, and so on.

Hearing the question, Heinrich furrowed his brow.

"...Why on earth are you curious about that?"

"Just because."

"Yeah, just because."

There was no grand reason or purpose for asking, they were just curious.

What kind of meaningful conversations could friends have, anyway? Most of their talks were casual and without any particular reason.

"Come to think of it, except for Erich, everyone else here... is a commoner."

Everyone in this place, except for Heinrich and Erich de Lafaeri, came from commoner backgrounds.

"You just realized that now?"

"I didn't just realize it, it just feels strange."

Heinrich had almost forgotten his background, so thinking about it felt odd.

"I think my sister wouldn't mind how you treat me... And her as well..."

Heinrich thought that Louise wouldn't care much about such things either.

He didn't know their mother well, but Heinrich didn't think Louise was strict about social status.

"Well, come visit Kernstadt after the war is over. There won't be much leisure time, but we won't treat you poorly."

Heinrich said.

"..."

"..."

"..."

Everyone fell silent and looked at Cliffman.

Kono Lint had just been hit in the back of his head for talking about the end of the war.

"...So what?"

Cliffman replied.

"Why do you let him off the hook when you hit me so hard!"

Naturally, Lint couldn't help but be angry after being hit for just one wrong word.

"Is it because you can't hit royalty even though they don't say anything? Huh?"

"Be quiet. I didn't hit him because he was too far away."

In fact, Kono Lint was sitting next to Cliffman's makeshift bed, and Heinrich was too far away to hit him in the back of his head.

"...What on earth are you guys talking about?"

Naturally, Heinrich couldn't understand the situation and didn't know what they were discussing.

"No, they say that those who talk about what they'll do after the war before it ends will die!"

"...Ah, that's what you were talking about?"

It was impossible to know if the superstition was true or not.

"It's not a good attitude to talk about the next thing before it's over. There's nothing good about relaxing."

Heinrich nodded as if he understood what Cliffman was saying.

The moment they relaxed because the end was approaching, they could lose everything and their lives.

And Diane was their final destination, as well as the most dangerous place.

An incomparable number of people would die compared to before.

Thus, it was absurd to discuss what would come after everything had ended. After hesitating for a moment, Heinrich cautiously added more.

"And, even if the Gate Incident comes to an end, it won't be the end of everything..."

At Heinrich's words, Erich looked at him.

"What do you mean? It's not the end even if the Gate Incident is resolved?"

"..."

Heinrich fell silent in response to the question.

For quite some time.

As Heinrich suddenly remained quiet for so long, everyone had no choice but to look at him.

It wasn't a look of having nothing to say, but rather, it was clear he was choosing his words carefully.

"Now, there's something you all need to know."

This wasn't a signal for casual chatter among friends, but for a very important conversation.

Heinrich was the only one in this gathering with remaining royal authority.

Thus, Heinrich, although a friend in this setting, was the only person who could access information from the high ranks of the allied forces.

Heinrich looked around.

"Lint, take us somewhere far away from the allied base."

"…Suddenly?"

"I'll tell you later; just don't ask anything for now."

For everyone present, it was their first time seeing Heinrich so serious.

------

Due to the sudden change in Heinrich's demeanor, everyone felt that it wasn't a situation for jest.

As Heinrich requested, Kono Lint brought each person to a place very far from the allied base.

A place where the lights of the base could be seen from afar.

Naturally, it was a conversation that others couldn't overhear.

There was nothing to illuminate the surroundings, except for the uneasy moonlight.

"Hey, why are you acting so scary?"

Even Cayer asked with a stern expression due to the changed atmosphere.

Everyone focused on Heinrich.

"As I said, everything won't be resolved just because the Gate Incident comes to an end."

Everyone was only looking at that.

Once the Gate Incident ended, people would finally be liberated from the fear of monsters.

But that wasn't the case.

"Of course, everything won't end just because the Gate Incident ends. We still need to deal with all the remaining monsters on the continent. That's an uncertain task as well."

Lint's words were true and undeniable.

"Yeah, you're right. But I'm talking about something else right now."

While Heinrich was pondering how to broach the subject,

"Are you talking about the Demon King?"

The previously silent Cliff cautiously opened his mouth.

Seeing everyone else fall silent, and Heinrich staring at Cliff with wide eyes,

"That's the only thing it could be."

Cliff had some idea about what topic would come up.

"..."

And, Kono Lint, who had been pretending not to know, couldn't help but harden his expression.

The topic of the Demon King had to be addressed at some point, and the Demon King's affairs would inevitably surface.

With the Gate Incident resolved and the remaining monsters dealt with, the undeniable reality was that they would have to think about the Demon King's business.

"That's right."

Heinrich finally broke his silence.

"Right now, more than half of the allied forces have sworn loyalty to the Demon King."

"...What?"

"What did you say?"

However, everyone couldn't help but forget their words at Heinrich's shocking revelation.

“My sister had also decided to follow the Demon King.”

Upon hearing his next shocking news, everyone couldn't help but want to deny reality.

------

There was no one who wouldn't be surprised by the news that a considerable number of the coalition's high command had already sided with the Demon King.

Even within the coalition, obtaining information from the headquarters was difficult unless one was a special case like Heinrich or Ellen, despite the fact that the members of the Temple, especially the Royal Class, received special treatment.

However, to understand why the coalition had chosen to side with the Demon King, there were several things that had to be considered first.

The massive riots and massacres in the Imperial City.

The army of the dead, the Immortals.

The increasingly precarious position of the Empire.

And the movements of the Holy Knights and the Five Great Religious Orders.

Heinrich explained everything he had seen and heard upon his return to the Imperial City, the events he had been involved in, the secrets he had discovered, and the overall situation that had unfolded so far.

“That army… is made of… undead warriors?”

Cayer muttered blankly.

“Not just warriors, but also the deceased heroes of the past.”

Historical figures had been resurrected as undead and were fighting alongside them.

The true identity of the mysterious allied forces turned out to be a more terrifying and formidable army than anyone could have imagined, leaving everyone speechless.

However, Kono Lint's reaction was bound to be different.

Although he didn't know the specifics, Kono Lint was aware that the Empire's scheme was related to resurrecting the heroes of the past as undead.

That's why he had some idea about the true identity of the Immortals. It was just that he couldn't tell anyone.

There was one new piece of information.

Christina, Louis Ancton, and Anna de Gerna were deeply involved in the creation of the Immortals.

Not just deeply involved, but practically core members.

“What have they been doing…”

They were B-class, but they were classmates.

He had thought they didn't do much on the battlefield, but they had been working on the most important tasks while hiding it from everyone.

“So, did Kernstadt side with the Demon King because they thought the Empire might collapse after the Gate incident?”

At Cliffman's question, Heinrich fell silent for a moment.

“Yes, whatever reason you attach to it, you're right. Now, people within the coalition are wondering whether they should side with the Empire or the Demon King to survive. And my sister has already made her choice.”

It was no longer a matter of right or wrong, but survival.

After the Gate incident, they would have to choose between the Demon King or the Empire.

Such a choice could be made by the leader of a group or, in some cases, even by each individual.

Erich muttered blankly.

“This… this doesn't make sense… The Demon King wants to rule the world? Is that even possible?”

There was a mix of horror and disbelief in Erich's words, as if people wouldn't just stand by and let it happen.

“Whether it's possible or not, it's already halfway done. People just don't know it yet.”

“While the high command may be able to make that decision, whether others can accept it is another issue.”

At Cliffman's words, Heinrich nodded.

“That's a problem for that time. Anyway, what I want to say is, now is the time to make a choice.”

The Demon King or the Empire.

A choice had to be made.

Now that the end of the Gate Incident had arrived, they had to recognize that another problem existed and think about it as well.

"It's impossible."

Then, the silent Cayer Voiden quietly opened his mouth.

"All of this happened because of him, the one who we couldn't find nor know what he was doing all this time. He's trying to swallow humanity and is actually succeeding? That can't be."

In front of Cayer's restrained anger, Heinrich fell silent.

"Creating such an army might be a problem. It was a mistake. It must be a sin, indeed. But if the Gate Incident hadn't occurred, none of this would have happened. Yet, you're saying we should follow someone who wants to live and take everything away after just watching from the sidelines? That's... That's impossible. It can't be..."

"He didn't do nothing."

The one who cut into Cayer's words wasn't Heinrich.

Only two in the room had met the Demon King directly after the Gate Incident.

Heinrich von Schwarz.

And there was Kono Lint as well.

"To be honest... I met Reinhardt last time."

Heinrich, who had surprised everyone, was now the one who couldn't help but be astonished.

------

Just as Heinrich had something hidden from everyone, Kono Lint also had something he concealed.

The deployment of the Immortals to the frontlines was recent, and even before that, suspicious events continued on the march.

Cities that were destroyed after suffering preemptive attacks.

Kono Lint found those incidents suspicious and went on reconnaissance, where he saw unidentified people fighting far ahead of the allied forces.

And he learned that they were the Demon King's army.

He was then kidnapped by one of Reinhardt's subordinates and woke up in Reinhardt's castle.

Afterward, he briefly spoke with Reinhardt.

There was no detailed explanation, but he had been moving because he wanted to stop the Gate Incident.

Now that everything was in disarray, he was doing his best to end the Gate Incident.

It couldn't be a lie. Lint had really seen with his own eyes Reinhardt leading his army and fighting ahead of the allied forces.

"So all those things that happened last year... were all done by the Demon King's army?"

"That's right. Now, it seems like they aren't moving because of the Immortals."

Cayer, who had been furious, couldn't help but lose his anger at Lint's explanation.

"The Gate Incident happened because of Reinhardt. But he never wanted it. That much is clear."

He hadn't been just standing by and watching.

He had been doing something in places where people couldn't see.

"But back then, he said that if others knew his truth, it would cause more problems, so it was better to leave it alone... He asked me to keep this a secret. That's what he said."

Clearly, if the truth was something that would lead to the ruin and division of people, it was better for it not to be revealed.

So, Kono Lint remained silent.

"But now the situation has changed. If the empire were prosperous, it wouldn't matter, but with the empire on the verge of collapse and the situation worsening... I guess there's no choice but to step in."

"That's probably true."

This was the first time Heinrich had heard a detailed account of the background, so he agreed with Cliff's speculation.

"Anyway, he sent me here safely. We did meet one more time afterward, though..."

"One more time?"

"Ah, umm..."

Kono Lint's face couldn't help but turn red.

After that, Lint met Reinhardt again.

He had asked for help with an issue related to the undead, but there was one reason his face turned red.

"I was... deceived... by the beauty."

It wasn't because the Demon King had asked him to come, but because he had been tricked by the situation in which Sarkegaar, transformed into a beautiful girl, had lured him into seeing him. That was the problem.