From below the stairs came the sound of someone ascending.
Clank, clank.
The low metallic ring of metal boots striking the floor spread up the staircase.
At that moment, the disorderly atmosphere on the second floor slowly sank into silence.
Everyone’s gazes turned as one toward the footsteps.
As soon as he climbed the stairs, he shouted in a booming voice.
“Attention!”
The one who appeared at the top of the stairs was a tall man clad in silver full-body armor.
His brown hair gleamed, and his face was oddly plump.
Standing at the head of the stairs with his back straight, he confirmed that all eyes were on him and continued confidently.
“This city is now facing a crisis. But if we defend this place, your families will also remain safe. Who will fight with me!”
“......”
Silence flowed.
To his grand speech, the only answer that returned was a cold hush.
Only his enthusiasm, left hanging awkwardly in the air, remained.
To be honest, weren’t lines like that the sort of thing that only worked in front of regular soldiers?
Most of the people here were outside mercenaries who had been dragged in by force.
For those who valued meals and rewards more than a noble cause, the words “let’s protect our families” weren’t particularly stirring.
‘Tsk, tsk. He’d have been better off just making the pay clear...’
I chuckled inwardly.
Beside me, Baldik muttered quietly.
“That idiot’s here again.”
“Who is that?”
Aileen asked cautiously.
“No idea. I heard something in passing... supposedly the castle lord’s son or something. But there’s no shortage of people like that.”
“So he’s a noble...”
I silently turned my head and looked at the man.
He seemed somehow familiar.
Not a face I’d seen recently, but he had the impression of someone I’d seen somewhere long ago.
When I looked around, most of the mercenaries wore indifferent expressions.
Some had already crossed their arms and were frowning, while others pretended not to hear and looked elsewhere.
Perhaps belatedly noticing the mood, a flash of panic crossed the noble’s face.
Soon, he turned his head toward the adjutant standing beside him and whispered something in a low voice.
‘That man... he reminds me of an assistant manager at a company dinner, cleaning up after the department head said something weird.’
The adjutant briefly twitched his eyebrows and nodded.
Then he naturally stepped forward and adjusted his tone.
“What was just stated means that those who fight bravely will receive appropriate prizes and rewards.”
“Ahem! I promise a great reward to those who stand and fight bravely!”
“Wooooooo!”
Only then did applause and cheers burst out here and there.
The once-quiet waiting room began to stir in an instant.
‘As expected, money beats words.’
I muttered softly and nodded.
At least the adjutant seemed to understand the nature of mercenaries well enough.
Sailun, beside me, widened his eyes and asked.
“Do you think they’ll really give out rewards?”
“Who knows.”
I shrugged as I answered.
The noble toured various parts of the watchtower with his adjutant, then went upstairs alone.
The adjutant left behind watched his back for a moment, let out a small sigh, and opened the list in his hand.
“I will divide the personnel.”
For a moment, a strange silence settled.
As though everyone knew their fate would be decided by where they were sent.
“Forty-eight people in total. You will be divided into four groups and assigned accordingly.”
Gate guard unit, wall defense unit, city patrol, and tower defense unit.
Every single role was important.
Among them, the three of us were assigned to the wall defense unit.
“The wall... will that be all right?”
When Aileen asked cautiously, I nodded and muttered.
“Well, two of us can provide long-range support.”
I was a mage to begin with, and Sailun had a bow slung over his back.
I’d never seen his skill with a bow firsthand, but he had to at least know how to shoot one.
Surely... it wasn’t just for fashion, right?
Soon, following the soldiers’ guidance, we climbed onto the wall.
The wind atop the high wall was sharper than expected.
The sunlight beating down from above was dazzling, but the fierce wind offset its heat.
“Wow...”
Before our eyes stretched vast fields.
Beyond them, the familiar—and slightly tiresome—edge of the forest could be seen faintly.
The dark shadow of the forest flowed along the boundary.
“...Feels like something else is going to happen.”
No one answered my words.
For now, it was quiet.
But the premonition that this quiet would soon be broken came riding on the wind.
***
Well, as expected, most of our duty consisted of waiting, just as the standby unit’s name suggested.
Standing all day atop the sun-drenched wall was the entirety of the job.
Of course, considering there were others who couldn’t even do that and had to run around outside the castle chasing bandits...
Being able to rest like this was something, at least.
Thanks to that, I had plenty of time to catch up with Baldik.
“Did you see Drek?”
That was what I was most curious about.
Since he was someone who had been swept away in the river with me, I thought he might know something.
“No.”
Baldik shook his head.
“When I came to, I was already floating down the river alone. I must’ve been carried quite far, because the water had gotten shallow enough that I barely managed to swim out.”
“But you still survived.”
“That’s right. If I’d known it’d turn out like this, I should’ve just jumped in from the start. I went through all that trouble for nothing, acting like I was taking a request...”
At those words, a chuckle slipped out of me before I knew it.
I had thought something similar myself.
Of course, I hadn’t been confident I’d survive even if I jumped into that wide river.
In the end, whether it was me, washed all the way to the riverbank, or Baldik, who got out in the shallows, both of us had simply been lucky.
The fact that, after nearly dying and surviving, all that remained were these powerless jokes... felt somehow a little bitter.
“Still... I hope Drek’s all right.”
“Yeah. With his skills, he won’t die easily.”
Baldik said that and cast his gaze far into the distance.
Toward the edge of the forest, still lingering like a shadow beyond the vast plain.
“What happened after you got out of the river?”
“Me? First, I went into a nearby forest. I don’t know how it was for you, but I must’ve drifted for quite a while, because I couldn’t see a village, let alone a single person.”
Baldik paused for a moment, as if recalling the memory.
“I survived in the forest for a few days. Drank river water, picked up fruit and ate it. At first, it was bearable enough, but my insides got wrecked. I kept eating fruit that wasn’t even ripe.”
“I can imagine... My stomach hurts just thinking about it.”
“Then, a few days later, I happened to meet a group passing through the forest. On the outside, they looked like mercenaries, so I thought I was lucky and followed them—”
The end of his sentence trailed off.
“—worst choice I could’ve made...”
“What? Why?”
“Those bastards were bandits.”
“Bandits?”
At my surprised voice, Baldik smiled bitterly.
“Yeah, bandits. Since I was just one dwarf with nothing to my name, they let me tag along without much suspicion. Looks like they were planning to shove me to the front and use me as a meat shield anyway.”
“...Then how did you escape?”
“I got lucky. They ended up fighting a real mercenary band along the way, and I used the chance to stab them in the back and run. Fortunately, they didn’t chase me properly. That’s how I barely made it to the city.”
“...You really went through a lot.”
“I did. I’ve fallen into the gutter more than a few times myself, but this time I survived on pure luck. Maybe the gods helped me.”
...A man who got chased out after stealing holy water to make liquor was talking about the gods. What a joke.
In any case, there wasn’t anyone who hadn’t suffered.
“What about you?”
“Me?”
I gave a short laugh and briefly told him what had happened.
The demonkin. The Goblin King. The bandits. The bizarre spider. And even the ghoul.
Even as I spoke, a hollow laugh escaped me.
Listing it all out like this, I wondered how I’d managed to survive.
“...Thinking about it, a damn lot happened.”
Baldik listened to me blankly, then quietly threw out a single remark.
“...So I had it easy.”
“Mm...”
I had nothing in particular to say in rebuttal.
Now that we’d talked about it, it did kind of seem that way.
“Well, we’re both alive, so isn’t that enough?”
“Ha, well, that’s true.”
Baldik chuckled and glanced to the side.
At the end of his gaze were Sailun and Aileen, who had been standing quietly beside us.
“You little friends should talk too. You there, the one holding the bow.”
“Huh? Me? Yes, hello. I’m Sailun.”
“Sailun? Right, what an idiotic name.”
“...Idiotic?”
When Sailun asked back with a flustered expression, Baldik responded coolly without even laughing.
“Well, idiotic or whatever. I’ll remember your name once we fight together.”
“That’s a compliment, right?”
“No, I’m just saying it.”
Sailun blinked and nodded ambiguously.
Aileen, standing beside him, looked at Sailun and let out a small laugh.
“I’m Aileen.”
“Right. For a young lady, you’ve been through some pretty rough places. You managing?”
“...I’ve gotten a little used to it lately.”
“Then that’s good.”
Baldik nodded without saying anything more.
He was a dwarf who only spoke bluntly, but there was a strangely heavy resonance in his words.
A brief silence passed, and the wind swept once more over the quiet wall.
Far away, dark clouds hanging at the end of the plain were slowly flowing toward the city.
***
“We’ve lost contact with the scouting party?”
“Yes. Contact has been cut off with the two groups that went ahead.”
At the young soldier’s report, the elderly man pressed a hand to his forehead and let out a deep sigh.
His brown hair was streaked here and there with gray, and his long locks fell over his forehead.
He swept his hair back and barely lifted his head.
“Haa... Just what kind of grudge do those monsters have to be pulling this sort of thing?”
He gritted his teeth.
“Don’t tell me... are they bastards sent from Aiden?”
The man organizing documents beside him spoke cautiously.
“According to the church... the demon worshippers have begun moving again.”
“Ha, the church says that?”
He spoke as though letting out a hollow laugh.
“Damn it. Of all times, why now? Why in my castle of all places!”
Bang!
Unable to contain his anger, he slammed the desk.
But soon, as if he himself knew that it would not help, he pressed his lips tightly together in silence.
“...No. At times like this, I must not get worked up...”
“...My lord.”
“What we need to do now is get this situation under control. Whether it’s the church or demons, no matter what those bastards say, I cannot let my castle fall.”
The one called the castle lord let out a heavy sigh, then looked around.
The large indoor space that might once have been a banquet hall had now been transformed into a command post.
Instead of noble decorations, an old map was spread across a wooden table.
Beside it, the people responsible for defending each sector sat quietly.
Fatigue and tension were plainly etched across their faces.
“What became of the request for reinforcements sent to the lord?”
“There has still been no reply. It seems, likely due to the aftermath of the war... contact has been severed.”
“...Haa.”
The castle lord let out a long sigh, then slowly looked around.
“What forces do we have remaining?”
“A pursuit unit has been dispatched into the forest after the scouting party.”
“Good. Have the rear personnel focus on protecting the citizens, and the remaining men maintain the defense until dawn.”
He rose again.
Taking one of the pens lying on the desk in hand, he murmured as if making a brief declaration.
“If there is no support at all, then we will have to defend it with our own strength...”
“......”
“Relay the situation to the north gate guards as well, and send messengers to the other castles.”
“Yes, understood!”
The castle lord’s eyes gleamed like the red sunset.
The castle had not fallen yet.
And he intended to defend it to the very end.
***
Past the north gate of Mondak Fortress, beyond the northern hill, there lay a small forest.
Deep within that forest, far inside the undergrowth, several figures were carefully hiding themselves.
“That’s them, right?”
“Looks like it. Who else would be wandering around there at a time like this?”
“But there are only three of them. Fewer than expected, aren’t they?”
“If we capture even just those bastards, we should be able to find out something.”
They were dressed less like soldiers and more like mercenaries.
Coifs caked with dried mud, stained cloth armor, and razor-sharp gazes.
The exchange was brief, but not one of them took their eyes off the targets.
“Rather than splitting up, wouldn’t it be better to hit them on the road back...?”
“No, let’s just go.”
“......We’re attacking right away?”
“We have to. If they run, it’ll get annoying.”
At a brief turn of the head, one of the men in the rear signaled with his hand.
“I’ll circle above. Slip out and lure them.”
“Got it.”
One of them lowered his body and slipped quietly into the forest.
Without so much as a rustle, the way he vanished between blades of grass and shadow was that of a seasoned man.
The remaining two lay flat where they were and drew arrows from their leather quivers.
A dark oil had been smeared on the arrowheads, and a mutter that might have been a short prayer or a curse slipped from their mouths.
“If it’s true they even blew away the castle wall, they’re not pushovers.”
“Still, there are only three of them. We’re four.”
“Didn’t you hear from the ones who were at the castle? They said there was a monster with them too. Don’t let your guard down.”
“Cheh, that’s all just rumors. If a monster like that had really been there, there’s no way the castle would still be standing.”
The end of his sentence blurred with a trace of unease.
Beyond the thicket, the three shadows they had been watching began to move.
“They’re moving. Go.”
The pursuit team formed the encirclement they had agreed on in advance.
Scattering quickly to the left and right, they silently tightened the net.
“Stop. Surrender and we’ll spare you.”
“If you run, we’ll take your ankles first.”
“Wh-what the hell? You bastards, just two of you—”
Ping!
With a short whistle through the air, an arrow flew forward and pierced the throat of the bandit who had stepped out shouting.
“Aaagh!”
The remaining two, not even knowing where the arrow had come from, hurriedly threw themselves flat on the ground.
The mercenaries swiftly subdued and bound them, letting out hollow laughs.
“Tsk. Are these really the ones? This is way too anticlimactic.”
“Right? Guys like these attacked the castle? Hard to believe.”
— Gurgle, gurgle.
That was when it happened.
The body of the bandit who had collapsed after being struck by the arrow began to convulse.
Breaths mixed with blood leaked from the hole in his neck, and an unknowable black aura spread over the pool of blood.
“...What is that?”
The bandit’s skin turned black, and his fingertips lengthened grotesquely, curving like claws.
His tongue curled inward, his teeth jutted out, and his pupils glowed red.
“...A m-monster?!”
“Fuck! Run—!!”
It was already too late.
The thing that rose, stepping through the pool of blood, was no longer human.
“GRAAAAAAH!!”
With a monstrous roar, it sprang.
One of the pursuit team was hurled into the air in the blink of an eye and slammed into a tree, while another had his entire arm torn off.
“Aaaaaagh!!”
“Why is something like this here...!”
Those following behind fell into chaos and raised their swords, but the black claws were faster.
Before a blade could cut through the air, it was shattered by a hand that had already dug into its owner’s throat.
“Urk...!”
At the sight, the mercenary with the bow recoiled in horror and twisted around in a panic, only for his foot to catch on a tangled vine and send him crashing down.
Thud, crash!
“Guh, damn it... damn iiiii—!”
Slice!
The scream did not continue to the end.
And the forest became silent once more.