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I slept most of the day. In my waking hours, I was very busy, with all my time taken up by people of Dotrin who came to talk to me. Many visited – they were the knights and nobles of the outpost who had survived the running battle through the forest.

They thanked me again and again, saying that they were able to survive the pursuit of the imperial wizards due to my efforts. I was proud until the same scene played out the next day, the day after that, and the day after that day. It might have been one or two good words that they spoke to me, and it wasn’t that painful to share stories of our mutual trials.

Yet, no longer able to bear it, I blocked all visitors from my tent on the pretext that I had to recover my strength.

I closed my eyes, pretending to sleep if anyone just so happened to enter my barracks. I cursed the name of Bernardo, who couldn’t play the part of gatekeeper properly.

“What? Asleep?”

I gently opened my eyes as I heard a familiar voice, and there stood Jin and Doris.

Seeing my open eyes, Doris laughed at me with that clear face of his. He said I wasn’t a boy, so I shouldn’t be pretending to sleep. However, the prince laughed only for a while, for stern-faced Jin soon spoke up, asking me for my understanding.

It was widely believed that the recent fighting went to and fro, with equal exchanges between Dotrin and Burgundy, but the reality of things was that the recent battle was a defeat for Dotrin: Their entire outpost had been destroyed.

Dotrin’s command felt the need to focus the attention of their troops on something to quell their fears and boost their morale.

This was why Jin and Doris now came to me, I who had taken such great strides in that battle. In other words, they wanted to create a hero for the common soldier to believe in, instead of letting their minds wander to the past defeats.

“You have your Sky Knights. So why me?”

Doris responded with a somewhat stern face to my question, saying that the Knights of the Sky would soon leave the frontlines and head for the southernmost coastal fortress of Dotrin.

He told me that a large imperial fleet has sailed to the southern sea of Dotrin. It was a large armada with about seventy ships. The estimated number of troops who wished to make landfall ranged from 12,000 to 14,000 – which was a low number when compared to the imperial forces who crouched in the forest.

However, Doris considered it likely that the fleet was the true invasion force of the empire. Jin explained this to me. Up to now, the imperial forces who have crossed into Dotrin were almost all conscripts mainly drummed up for the war by nobles from

Their command structure was also in tatters, with commanders with no military proficiency placed at the head of the army. On the other side of the coin, the fleet that appeared on the South Sea consisted of regular legions of the imperial army. It was a true army.

“That means…” I frowned, and Jin replied with a firm voice, “The imperial army in the forest is a diversion.”

I was speechless by the absurdity of such a thought. The troops numbered a little over 100,000, and with the additional power of their knights and wizards, that entire army was about as strong as the whole kingdom of Dotrin.

But they were just the bait – even if the flesh and blood of the emperor was part of that bait.

“The emperor’s pledge that the princeps who makes the greatest contribution to the war is to become his heir was actually an empty promise,” said Jin.

“This is the empire, and the emperor is our true enemy,” said Doris with a heavy voice.

How terrible a monster was our foe; how heartless the emperor. Doris spoke so of him.

“From our point of view, even if we knew they were a diversion, we couldn’t draw back our troops to deploy them somewhere else.”

Just because the emperor used the army led by the princeps as a bluff before he drew his trump card, that army couldn’t be dismissed. Aside from the poor skill of the commanders and the quality of the troops, the enormous number of soldiers in itself posed a threat to Dotrin’s survival.

“We need stability. If we make the Knights of the Sky the heroes of the common soldier, the soldiers will be anxious when the knights leave,” Jin said, asking for my patience in a respectful tone. I politely bowed my head.

“We must ensure that there is someone they can look up to in the camp itself. Someone who remains with them.”

“Please tell us in advance before you leave. Anyone who bothers your Highness, who must be devoted to recovery, will face a court-martial, be sure of it.”

That was it, and the conversation was about to arrive at its inevitable end.

“What about the promise?” an idle voice interjected. Bernardo Eli was standing at the entrance, looking at Doris with a cold face.

“Originally, he said he’d allow us to leave whenever we want. He promised to put a wyvern on standby so that we could return to Leonberg whenever we wished. Didn’t you promise as much?” demanded Eli.

“The promise still holds-“

“That’s good. But now you made up some cause to tie his Highness down here so that he doesn’t leave the front lines. Even if your promise is still valid, it is clear you don’t want his Highness to leave the front, or it’ll make your soldiers anxious.”

Eli was now becoming very hostile, and he opened his mouth to continue but addressed me instead.

“Your Highness, don’t you know it? How Dotrin is using you? The one who claims to be your Highness’s friend is only trying to stabilize his ranks by leaving his friend, who is in discomfort, so near the battle lines. He wants to mollify his soldiers, who don’t know when the imperial troops will break out of the forest and begin their massed advance.”

Bernardo Eli wasn’t sarcastic, nor was his a fiery anger. His voice was cold, and through this, I could feel how great his anger truly was.

“I realized it only after your Highness fell. They truly mean to conceal your identity and make you fight as a mercenary in another country’s war,” said Eli.

“It’s my choice if I want to stay here. I didn’t come for the sake of the public good,” came my reply.

“You do not deserve to die here. It will not be your death,” he insisted.

I wanted to end this unproductive debate, so I suddenly looked Eli in the eye, trying to let him know that he had to go. It was then that I saw how afraid he was for my sake.

“Your Highness is the hope of Leonberg. If something goes wrong with your Highness here, everything will have been in vain.”

I replied by saying that he was exaggerating, yet Eli denied this. Then I saw what he was getting at for myself: While we had been in the empire, the north, which had seemed so strong, began to divide.

“If your Highness dies here, Leonberg loses everything. His anxiety and fear pierced my chest.

I knew it too – the burning will of independence that has been lighted was in truth nothing more than a smoldering ember which has caught flame on wet firewood.

If even a weak breeze blew, it would disappear once more. To think of it was to invite sorrow.

Leonberg still needed a windshield so that the fire could blaze, and that was my role.

“You’re not wrong, Bernardo.”

I studied Eli’s face, for I didn’t believe I would fall in this place and make all our efforts amount to naught.

However, I could see Eli did not trust my word.

“What if the enemy’s archmage, who has scorched the outpost to cinders and almost crisped your Highness like a fowl, attacks the main force of Dotrin? Are you sure you’ll be okay then?”

I had a response ready.

“No, the next time will be different. If he appears again, I won’t just be standing still and taking it.”

I wasn’t just saying that. Muhunshi poems grow the soul as you recite them, and [Mythic] level poems are like a super-nutrient that far outclass the other poetic levels.

I used a [Myth] myself – and even though I had been aided by Agnes – my body still experienced the [Mythic] level when it acted as a medium.

I wagered that when my softened heart hardens, I would have a much larger and stronger mana heart than before.

I knew the arch-wizard was coming, but things wouldn’t be like before – I awaited his appearance, for through it, I would gain my revenge.

But Bernardo dismissed my viewpoint time and time again until Jin finally intervened.

“As a countermeasure against the great imperial wizard and his thunder, Dotrin’s mage-class wizards are coming to the front lines, so don’t worry.”

“Ah! Then those handsome mages of Dotrin can protect this camp,” Eli responded with a laugh.

“Knights and wizards are essentially different. Wizards will never make out the brunt of an attack. The wizards will work their miracles safely from the rear and bring ruin upon the foe, but they cannot press an advantage.” said Jin.

“Then the Sky Knights can remain here. You have no Sword Master in Dotrin, yes? I don’t understand why you’re trying to overload his Highness, whose body is yet to heal,” came Eli’s refutation, saying that this was Dotrin’s war. As I listened to the heated argument, I watched Doris. His face was wracked by indecision.

I didn’t know if it was because Eli was warping his intentions or if he was just embarrassed by the atmosphere that reigned in the tent.

The only thing I was certain of was that Doris didn’t want to use or abuse me, for he was a great noble man who did not use others for personal gain.

“Jin, stop,” Doris ordered.

“In truth, the cause of this war is due to Leonberg’s mission and-“

“Stop!” Doris commanded his friend, his face stern.

“If we want to talk about justifications, I am the one who must take responsibility. His Majesty said that, and I think the same thing,” said Jin, not shutting up, grabbing onto me and exclaiming, “Your Highness, I don’t know what the others think, but I think it’s reasonable for your Highness to feel responsible for this war as-“

“Enough!” shouted Doris, and his face, always filled with mirth, was now set in stone. His eyes trembled with anger. There was no sign of his normal clownish persona.

“Don’t be ashamed for my sake anymore, Jin.”

Only the prince who led his country and his knights was there in that tent.

“Highness!” protested Jin.

“If you say a single word more, I will discharge you as vice-commander and send you to the rear. This is a formal order I give to you as the commander of Dotrin’s Wyvern Knights, vice-commander Katrin.”

As he heard those words, Jin shut his mouth. The prince then began to apologize politely.

“I’m sorry. Leonberg is not the cause of this war. It would have come. Sooner or later, the empire would have warred against us. Rather, it is thanks to you that many people have their lives, so Dotrin should only be grateful.”

Doris bowed his head. Jin tried to say something again, but when he saw Doris’s cold eyes, he kept his mouth shut.

“You can leave whenever you want. As Bernardo Eli said, this is our land. Forcing someone to bleed in our stead is an affront against our ancestors.”

Doris apologized several times more and then immediately gave Jin his orders.

“Leave the swiftest of the wyverns here so that their party can, at any time, return to Leonberg.”

Jin did not answer. His face brimmed with emotion, and he brought his fist to his chest.

“Did you hear me!” shouted Doris, and only then did Jin reply.

“I know, I know! Leave the good ones! I’m the bad guy every time, damn it!”

Jin could no longer take it and stormed out of the tent.

“It’s a shameful statement, but please understand Jin.”

“I don’t understand him, yet I don’t resent him for his words.”

Every person has their own take on reality, and I would have acted similarly were I in his position.

“Thanks to all of this, my thoughts have become clear,” said the prince.

“Doris Dotrin is here for Dotrin. I exist for my kingdom.”

* * *

Doris had said goodbye.

Although the conversation became heated in the middle, it seemed that he had actually visited by barracks to say goodbye before he left for the south and also to make a single request.

That request bred conflict, but I had no regrets. I promised him that I would always repay the friendship and goodwill he had shown me.

“I look forward to seeing you again, my friend,” Doris clasped my hand and gave me a meaningful look. He then left the barracks, bowing his head to Eli before doing so. Faced with the selfless nature of the prince, Eli couldn’t act angry anymore and bowed his head low in return.

After Doris left, Eli began making excuses.

“It was an honest visit to say goodbye, but the vice-commander encouraged argument. His Highness Doris now feels responsible, but I have no doubt of his sincerity in coming here. But that fox-like vice-commander is a different matter.”

After asking Eli about what he had done all day, he told me he was studying the state of the war. His talent on such topics shone through as he spoke.

“But are we really going to leave?” he finally asked me.

“Why not? Wasn’t it you who said that we shouldn’t become too involved in the wars of others?

“It is so, it is so. But your Highness does not have a personality that considers the opinions of others.”

“Now that’s quite the open evaluation to tell a prince to his face.”

“It is just a very honest deduction based on the facts.”

Eli, his voice now softer, asked again, “Are we truly going to leave?”

“Not right now, but I do have to go back.”

In fact, I had heard stories through Berg Berten of things that had only existed in the past now reappearing all across the forests.

The world had changed, and this change was not limited to Dotrin, but the entire world.

Leonberg could not have escaped this cataclysm.

Furthermore, since Leonberg was a kingdom forged by expelling non-humans, it would not be strange if things were happening there right now, no matter what.

“Then we have to go back in haste!” Eli exclaimed as I told him such things.

I shook my head, for I couldn’t leave immediately. Before I left, I had to achieve the purpose that had originally drawn me to Dotrin. Bernardo Eli asked me what my true purpose was.

“I have to create a Sword Master.”

Adelia, who had just then entered the tent with a meal, flinched and trembled when she looked at me – Adelia, a meek [Butcher] who cannot so much as swing a butter knife at people.

The forests were overflowing with non-humans. Such foes were enough to forge a Sword Master, to make them vault over the wall of completion.

“I see,” said Eli, and he knew what I meant. It looked as if he was pitying Adelia and the hardship she would soon face.

“I’m also going out?” he asked.

“Yeah. You are also a Sword Expert.”

Eli was sweating as he heard my words.

“You want one of us to become a Sword Master. I guess it won’t be easy.”

“Of course not.”

As I answered, I quickly noticed that Bernardo Eli couldn’t get rid of his anxiety.