Count Bolens was a noble with considerable influence in the East.
Enough to be counted among the top five after Yon Torno.
To Count Bolens, the current situation was filled with things he could not understand.
The princess’s sudden appearance.
That was a little surprising, but not incomprehensible.
He knew about the civil war currently taking place in the capital.
“I am the magician Hio Pavlenko.”
But putting that aside, why was a clown stepping forward to brief them on the operation?
And why were the princess and Yon Torno simply leaving such a clown be?
…A magician? Was that not merely another word for clown?
“Operation name: Blind the Eyes of God. It’s a marvelous operation that can spare your precious troops and save time as well.”
In the face of this incomprehensible situation, Count Bolens had no choice but to step forward.
“See here, clo—… you.”
“Yes?”
He barely managed to twist the word that had almost come out as “clown.”
For all he knew, this man might be closely connected to Yon Torno or the princess. There was no harm in being cautious.
“Do you know the scale of the monster horde coming toward us before you say such things?”
“Of course.”
A large-scale offensive great enough to require defending every direction of the long-stretching wall.
Even so, they could not fully take advantage of the benefits of siege defense.
“Even with that number, you cannot simply hold them off from behind the walls, can you? The damage from large monsters would be enormous.”
Because the enemy they faced was not human, but monsters.
If they fought from behind the walls from the very beginning, they would suffer fewer casualties, but walls were not invincible.
Damage from large monsters would accumulate, and if the wall were to collapse… they would have to retreat to the inner wall, and in that process the human and material losses would become tremendous.
“You must have been fighting until now by going all the way to the foot of the mountain range, installing structures, and pulling your troops back one stage at a time.”
Hio’s explanation was so detailed it was as if he had experienced the monster wave himself.
“You would have formed a special strike force made up of knights and skill users to intercept as many large monsters as possible. The remaining troops would have been used to draw attention and buy time, so the strike force could take down as many large monsters as possible.”
Of course, this was an extremely dangerous strategy.
A strategy in which the majority of troops had to be sacrificed for the sake of a small strike force.
Sacrifice was inevitable, but it was also the reason Yon Torno’s castle had remained standing for decades.
“You would have repeated interception and retreat, interception and retreat, and only once you judged that the number of large monsters had fallen below a certain threshold would you have returned inside the walls. For a full-scale siege defense, that is.”
At the detailed explanation, Yon Torno showed a rare look of surprise.
To others, that expression might have looked the same as any other, but he was sufficiently surprised.
—The magician Hio Pavlenko will accompany us as well.
The words the princess had spoken the previous evening.
She had said she would bring a self-proclaimed magician dressed in bizarre attire to the alliance meeting.
Well, that much was fine.
It was a request from none other than the princess, so bringing along one member of her party was something he could tolerate.
However.
—I have a good operation to propose.
The man was not merely accompanying them, but presenting an operation.
—I will explain the details tomorrow, when everyone has gathered.
The only reason he had left the man alone after such arrogant words was entirely because of Princess Sylvia.
Because he had seen her resolve in their previous conversation.
Because she had said she would see it done no matter what, he intended to watch and see what she was trying to do.
The only information he had given him was the approximate scale of the monsters.
And even then, the man had not shown much interest.
‘And yet… it is as if he saw it himself.’
He knew far too much.
And Hio Pavlenko’s eccentric behavior did not end there.
“There is no need for you to do that this time. If you follow the operation, you will be able to greatly reduce both the length of the battle and the loss of troops.”
An operation that could greatly reduce troop losses and battle time.
At that, the meeting hall began to stir.
“Are you saying that is possible?”
Count Bolens asked Hio directly.
If such a thing were possible, why would they have struggled every year to lead their troops all the way here?
Maintaining and moving troops all cost money.
The soldiers lost in every battle also all cost money.
Even if they spent that money and stopped the monster wave, there was no particular return, so it was truly a business that brought nothing but losses.
At Count Bolens’s question, Hio’s smile deepened.
“Of course. All of you need only trust me completely.”
His appearance was hardly one that inspired trust, but before they knew it, the nobles were listening to Hio’s words.
He had said they could prevent massive losses.
They had no choice but to listen.
“First, we establish a defensive line as usual. However, I would like you to think of it as being for offense rather than defense.”
“Offense? And outside the castle, at that?”
“That’s right. Instead of placing soldiers in front, the knights will form the front line. The soldiers will pour arrows from as close as possible, then retreat into the castle when the monsters approach.”
The more the explanation continued, the more absurdity crept into the nobles’ expressions.
“Would that not isolate the knights? Are you saying we should sacrifice knights in order to save soldiers?”
“The knights can also slaughter monsters to their hearts’ content, then withdraw inside the castle once the signal is given. It’s a simple operation.”
In order to spread Darkness over a wide area, a large amount of death energy was needed.
Hio would gain death energy while sitting still, and the nobles of the alliance would be happy because their own forces would not be sacrificed.
Even though it was such a fine operation, the nobles still failed to understand it.
“What kind of nonsense is that! Did you not say with your own mouth that the wall might be breached!”
“I knew it. What could we expect from someone who has never faced monsters…”
“A waste of time. A waste of time. Let us proceed with the meeting we intended to have.”
Most had taken interest just in case, only to react as if they had known it all along.
Amid those reactions, several people raised their voices and asked Hio questions.
“If that is what you mean, we might as well defend from the walls. Why go outside and waste time?”
“If all we do is run away like that, who is supposed to kill the monsters flooding in? Good grief. Where did someone like this even come from…”
They were jeers disguised as questions.
Even so, Hio pointed at the questioner as if he had been waiting for that very question.
“An excellent question.”
It was a question that pierced the heart of the operation.
“The reason the soldiers and knights go outside the castle is to buy time.”
“Buy time?”
“Yes. You need only buy enough time for me to prepare.”
“Prepare? Are you going to kill all those monsters yourself?”
“Precisely. That means all of you will save a great deal of troops, time, and money. You will owe me a great debt. Hahahaha.”
His words were so utterly preposterous that the room was engulfed in silence for a moment.
Then came angry voices.
“He is not in his right mind.”
“I have been restraining myself because we are before Her Highness, but this has gone too far!”
“Does it make any sense to allow a fraud like that in here!”
“Stop spouting nonsense and get out at once! Do you think a monster wave is a joke!”
At their violent reactions, Hio waved his hand.
“Now, now, calm yourselves. I am not quite so unreasonable a man.”
Hio lightly shook the staff held in his other hand.
Everyone’s eyes gathered at the sudden movement, but…
To a surprising degree, nothing changed.
The room remained exactly the same as it had been at first.
Even so, Hio smiled as he looked around.
As if asking, How was that? Did you see it properly?
“Well then, what do you think? Do you have a little more faith now?”
At his playful demeanor, the nobles grew even more enraged.
They believed they had been mocked by a mere clown.
“What are you trying to do!”
“Are you making fools of us!”
“Where does this damned wretch get off…”
Amid those reactions.
“…What is this?”
There were those who had frozen in shock.
“Wh-what have you done?”
Those who were nobles themselves, yet had also achieved accomplishments as knights.
And the nobles’ personal guards and guardian knights.
At one playful wave of Hio’s staff, every one of them looked up at the sky at the same time.
Of course, all they could see was a splendid chandelier and the gray ceiling.
“I-I will go outside and see!”
“Me too…”
“I will confirm it and return!”
The knights who should have been protecting the nobles were the first to rush outside.
Any knight who knew how to handle ki to some degree must have felt it.
An energy so thrilling it sent goosebumps across their entire bodies.
It was hard to suppress the desire to confirm just what that suddenly appearing thing was.
Hard enough that they rushed out under the pretext of checking what had happened.
“I-I as well…”
“I will step out for just a moment…”
As several nobles who had learned the sword left the meeting hall together with those knights, the remaining nobles were left bewildered.
And they were not the only ones surprised.
‘What manner of tyrannical aura is this?’
They said one saw only as much as one knew.
Ordinary knights may have merely sensed a sudden, enormous energy and been startled by it, but the two people here felt something beyond that—something close to astonishment.
The princess’s guardian knight, Teordo, and the king of the East, Yon Torno.
Both of their gazes turned toward Hio.
He was merely smiling and twirling his staff, but there was no doubt that he was the owner of this astonishing energy.
After all, it was a phenomenon that had clearly occurred the moment Hio lightly shook his staff.
Teordo gripped the hilt of his sword so tightly it seemed it might shatter.
‘So this is… Hio Pavlenko’s true ability.’
He must never be deceived by that mischievous attitude and clownlike appearance.
The one the professor was wary of and Jason feared.
That was the identity of Hio Pavlenko, which he had briefly forgotten.
As a swordsman, as a martial man, how could his fighting spirit not rise?
Of course, he could not possibly imagine winning against such immense energy.
Even so, desire surged within him.
Just how far would his sword reach?
A personal desire that perhaps he might break through the wall that had blocked him for so long.
But Teordo endured.
What mattered above all else was Princess Sylvia’s safety.
Because he was her only knight and guardian knight.
“…Your Highness.”
He moved a little closer to Sylvia.
Though the possibility was slim, if that magician were to harbor even the slightest ill intent, it was so he could stand against him.
“Hio… did something, didn’t he?”
Sylvia could not sense ki like a knight, but she could sense something else.
People’s emotions.
She had been restraining herself as much as possible because Hio had told her her body would deteriorate further if she used her ability, but intense emotions like shock, excitement, and bewilderment naturally entered her awareness.
“Yes. It seems he intends to make a proper display of his ability. In order to carry out that… operation or whatever it is.”
“I see.”
At Teordo’s words, whispered so quietly only Sylvia could hear them, worry suddenly came to Sylvia.
It was because of the master of the castle, Yon Torno.
How would Yon Torno react to this?
Would he be enraged by this rude display of force?
Or would he hold them responsible for ruining the meeting?
Since he was such a principled and aristocratic person, worry came first.
With those thoughts, Sylvia turned her gaze toward Yon Torno.
“…?”
And her eyes met those of Yon Torno, who was in a half-risen posture.
It was a posture like that fleeting moment when someone had hesitated over whether to stand or not, then thought, To hell with it, and was just about to get up.
It felt as though their eyes had met at that exact instant.
“…Uncle?”
A solemn expression and an awkward posture that was anything but.
“Ahem…”
With his usual expressionless face, Yon Torno sat back down as if nothing had happened.
“If you are curious about outside, you may go out and take a look.”
“No. As the presider of this meeting, I cannot do something so frivolous.”
“…I see.”
Yon Torno sat back down and solemnly looked over the meeting hall.
But Sylvia, seated right beside him, could see it.
Yon Torno’s leg, trembling as if he wanted to rush outside at any moment.
* * *
In the end, those who could no longer contain their curiosity began slipping outside one by one, only to discover the blue sun floating in the sky.
It was unexpected that even Yon Torno, unable to hold himself back, had gone out, but in any case, it was a positive development for Hio.
Those who had gone out returned to the conference hall.
"······."
Everyone’s gazes turned toward Hio.
Hio shrugged and let those stares slide off him.
"As you have seen, you need not worry about the monsters. However, there are a few conditions required in order to prepare······."
There were two things needed to cover the eye of god.
One of them was—
"I need mana stones."
A large amount of mana.
Naturally, the mana Hio currently possessed was nowhere near enough.
Activating the improved Darkness spell alone required a considerable amount of mana, and to spread it over an entire wide area would demand an amount beyond imagination.
If this had been any other region, he would have given up. But where was this place?
Was it not the East, overflowing with monsters—and among its lands, the very front line?
It was not an unreasonable demand.
And as expected, Yon Torno nodded.
"We do have plenty of mana stones······ but can you use them?"
Even in an age when magic had disappeared, mana stones were widely used in many places.
But no one used unprocessed mana stones as they were.
It was an era that had lost magic, and with it, countless methods of utilizing mana had also been lost.
"Yes. I can use them. So I would be grateful if you could provide as many as possible."
This time, one of the nobles in the conference hall raised his hand slightly and asked Hio a question.
His attitude was utterly different from before he had gone outside.
"You said you wanted us to send the knights forward and buy time while you prepare······ How long do you think that will take? If there is any delay and the knights become isolated, would that not be disastrous?"
"Ah, there is no need to worry about that either. It should not take long."
He would likely need a large amount of death energy as well, but this was, in its own way, a large-scale war.
Death energy could be gathered in an instant.
"Once the preparations are complete, I will give the signal. Then you can withdraw according to the plan. There will be almost no casualties, and all of you will be able to protect your precious forces without suffering any losses."
At those words, the hall grew noisy once more.
To them, that was more important than anything.
How much damage had they suffered every year because of the monsters that came swarming in?
Even after desperately holding them back, all they gained was a handful of mana stones that were not even particularly valuable.
"So long as you give us a clear signal to retreat, we are in favor."
For them, there was no reason not to agree.
The blue sun covering the sky was vast and majestic enough to overturn their thoughts.
"Please do not worry about that either."
Seeing that they had all but been won over, Hio grinned once more.
"The signal will be unmistakable to anyone who sees it."
Hio, too, stood to gain a great deal from this.
"It will be dazzlingly extravagant."
With a willing heart, he prepared for the war to come.