Chapter 59

“What was…… that just now?”

Optatum asked with an expression that had grown quite serious.
Everyone’s gaze was demanding an explanation from Lars.

“I have not figured out everything either. It is just that when Demonic stones gather, they release powerful Demonic energy, and when that Demonic energy collides with the energy of beings living here, something like what you just saw, something monsters come out of, is created.”

Lars called the jewels that emitted Demonic energy Demonic stones.
He had not given a name to the vortex that monsters came out of, but it was not important, so it did not bother him.

“By the energy of beings living here…….”
“Yes. Aura or Mana.”

Optatum pressed a hand to his forehead as if this was troublesome.

“The fact that you deliberately used the phrase beings living here must mean the opposite case exists as well.”

His thick fingers tapped the table.

The silence lengthened.
The others focused their attention on the conversation between the two magicians.

“Hasn’t this been said since monsters first appeared? Unlike our three races, which continue through reproduction, monsters do not reproduce. And yet their numbers increase. It has always been called a bizarre phenomenon.”
“It was an unsolved mystery. But if, as you say, monsters are crossing over from another place…… things will become very complicated.”

Optatum’s speech grew shorter.
Deus quietly looked at him.

“My king. The dwarf archmage has a habit of speaking curtly when he becomes serious.”

Viento bowed his head toward his king and whispered.

“They say even his king could not correct that habit, so perhaps you might overlook it generously.”
“I had no intention of nitpicking it in the first place.”
“My apologies.”
“It is fine.”

After thinking for a moment, Optatum let out a sigh.

“Let us do it. The all-out war.”

As his firm declaration spread, Kerum lightly clenched his fist.

“What do you think, Lord Deus?”

Kerum’s question.
Deus’s gaze passed over the Demonic stones placed on the table.
After finally exchanging glances with those on either side of him, he gave a shrug.

“Is this not for all three nations? We cannot be the only ones to stay out. Let us do it, the all-out war.”

Serpens simply found the situation difficult to follow.
He was too busy trying to follow the flow of the meeting.

Still, it was better than before.
Had he not grasped the context to some degree?

That the vortex Lars had created was the problem.
And that because of it, an all-out war would break out between the three races and the monsters.

Perhaps he had not merely grasped the context, but understood everything.
Thinking that made him feel proud, but the unwelcome news of an all-out war made it hard to smile.

An all-out war required a great deal of blood no matter what.
And that blood…….

‘It won’t be theirs.’

Serpens squeezed his eyes shut.
He could not forget the horrors of the southern front.
The suffering soldiers and the dying land flickered before his eyes.

At the same time, the memory of Satus also came to mind.
A village that had collapsed in an instant because of monsters, including the Wyvern.
In less than half a day, the homes of countless people had been destroyed.

He vividly remembered the despair and anger he had felt in that moment.
It may have been an illusory space created by Lars, but that didn’t mean what he experienced inside it was also an illusion.

“Then let us discuss the specific plan. Since this is an all-out war, we must create a strategy with the utmost caution.”

Kerum looked at the capable people from each nation.

The elven Sword Master, Viento.
His storm-like sword had swept through and killed countless monsters.

The elven divine archer, Stella.
According to rumors, she could pierce hundreds of monsters with a single arrow.
Rumors from the battlefield tended to be exaggerated, but the fact that she was sitting here was proof that they were not merely exaggerated rumors.

The dwarven archmage, Optatum.
A powerhouse capable of bearing the weight of the Calor Empire alone.

And finally, the two figures before his eyes.

Lars Musica and Lucas Liberator.
Oratio’s shield and sword had returned to his side.

The corners of Kerum’s mouth slowly rose.
With them, perhaps they could end the long war.

“Lars. Would you explain that vortex in more detail?”
“Of course, Your Majesty.”

Lars lightly placed both hands on the table.
Blue light moved along his fingertips.
The light split into several branches and drew a large map on the table.

“With everyone’s help, we subjugated the three problem areas.”

The south, the west, and the east.
At Lars’s words, blue light sparkled above each region.

As that light gradually faded.

“What happens when a monster with a powerful Demonic stone dies? It would be nice if peace came, but that is not the case. Another monster simply appears somewhere else.”

Lars spoke in a slightly softer tone.

His eyes turned to Serpens more often than to anyone else.
As if this explanation were for the boy, he even nodded and watched his reactions.

“It is the same phenomenon as pressing one part of a balloon and having another part bulge out.”

At that moment, light sparkled in three other places on the map.
Lights brighter than the previous ones began to flicker ominously.

The representatives of each nation’s eyebrows twitched.
The problem was the location of the lights.
They were places adjacent to the capitals of the three empires.

“The time between one monster disappearing and a new monster taking its place is one month. We will aim to eliminate the monsters within the next five months. Ah, do you have a question?”

Stella, who had been silent, quietly raised her hand.
At that sight, Viento reacted as if he was rather surprised.

“You used a balloon as an example……. If that is the case, what meaning is there in wiping out the monsters? Even if we press down where it bulges, another place will simply bulge out.”

Her soft-spoken voice struck cleanly.
There was no malice in it, but her expressionless-looking face could easily cause misunderstanding.

“That’s right. Another place will bulge out. That is why it is five months.”

Lars answered with a bright smile.

“If we press down the bulge, press it down, and press it down again! The balloon is bound to burst.”

Serpens blankly looked up at the sunset sky.

The cultivated royal garden swayed in the warm wind.
There, Serpens was following Lucas’s instruction to wait for a while.

“An all-out war…….”

No one had opposed Lars’s opinion.
According to him, just as monsters had crossed over to this world, the people of this world would also be able to cross over there.

The plan that came from that.
For five months, they would subjugate the monsters in each empire,
gather the Demonic stones they obtained, and create a massive vortex.
Then they would enter that vortex and wage an all-out war against the monsters there.

Was it because of their desire for revenge against the monsters?
Or because they thought it was the only way to end the long suffering?
Whichever it was, those in the meeting room had decided to follow it.

“Phew…….”

The boy let out a sigh.

Something felt off.
Rather than there being something specific bothering him, it was a sense of wrongness he felt instinctively.

Would things really flow according to their strategy?
He did not want to think pessimistically, but worldly affairs did not always flow the way one wanted.
He strongly felt as if something had been missed-

“Hello. It’s been a while.”

Serpens blinked.

“Should I call you…… Lord Viento?”

A handsome face filled his view, blocking the sky.

Light blond hair and emerald eyes.
As Serpens felt a strange sense of defeat, Viento smiled and shook his head slightly.

“This is neither a battlefield nor an official setting right now. Call me Viento.”
“But you’re still older than me.”
“Most elves are not very conscious of age, you see.”
“……How old are you?”
“Hmm. In about another hundred years, I’ll be two thousand, I suppose?”
“……What?”

Viento smiled as if it were nothing.
Serpens stared blankly at him.
Two thousand years old.
Such a number didn’t feel real.

“So, what do you think, Serpens?”
“About what?”
“About today’s meeting.”

Viento bent down and sat beside the boy.

What was his intention?
Serpens felt suspicious for no reason.
He still wasn’t used to people treating him kindly for no reason.

The opposite was far more comfortable.
At least then he didn’t have to try to figure out what they were really thinking.

“I don’t know. I just hope it goes well without any problems.”
“You hope it goes well?”

Viento chuckled.
Feeling strangely offended, Serpens raised his voice.

“W-What’s so funny!”
“How old are you?”
“……Thirteen.”
“I have never seen a thirteen-year-old like this even once in my life.”

The elf placed a hand on the boy’s head.
When the callus-covered hand ruffled his hair, Serpens jerked his head away.

“What was that all of a sudden!”
“It’s impressive. Having such impressive skill at a young age.”
“Thank you.”

The end of Serpens’s words faded.
The corners of his mouth were raised, but his eyes had drooped.

“……What is with that bitter smile that doesn’t suit your age? It makes the person who praised you feel awkward.”
“Ah! I’m sorry.”
“I wasn’t saying it to get an apology. What’s going on?”

Serpens’s expression shifted this way and that.
After sorting through his complicated feelings for a moment, the boy opened his mouth with a sigh.

“Will I be able to help if I go there?”
“There? You mean inside the vortex?”

Serpens nodded.

“They said the only ones entering it will be the people who were in the meeting.”
“That’s right. It’s a place where we have no information, and we don’t know how many monsters might be swarming there. I’m sorry to say this, but we decided to leave even the Expert-level people behind because they probably wouldn’t be much help.”

Serpens’s expression darkened further.
That was exactly the problem.

Just in case, he had quietly asked Lars.
If they went inside the vortex, would they leave him behind?
Could they not take him with them?

He had answered with a smile, as usual.
He said that even if Lucas didn’t take him, he would take Serpens himself.
At first, Serpens had only been excited.

But only after his excitement died down could he face the realistic problem.
The vortex was certainly a dangerous place.
The biggest problem there was the boy’s skill.
The problem was that his skill didn’t even reach the toes of people like Lucas.

“I’m worried I might just become a burden for no reason.”
“A burden?”

Serpens scratched his cheek.

“With my skill, it’s true that I’m a burden. Right now, there isn’t a major crisis, so they’re being generous and letting me travel with them, but if I become a burden inside the crisis that is the vortex…….”

Wouldn’t I be abandoned?

Serpens could not bring himself to finish the sentence.
Somewhere in his heart, emotion stirred.

He remembered when he first met Lucas.
He had said it.
That he did not want to face unexpected danger while protecting him,
and that because of that, he might abandon him in a dangerous situation.
That Serpens should not resent him if that happened.

Serpens had been confident he would not resent him.
That was why he boldly followed Lucas.
Because he was used to being alone.

But as time passed and he went through many things, he realized something.
He had not been used to being alone.
From the beginning, he had followed Lucas because he hated being alone.
And as a result, he became afraid of being alone.

He had learned the warmth that came from relationships with others, and he no longer wanted to go back to how he had been before.

Now, if Lucas abandoned him and left……
he felt he would resent him terribly.

But he couldn’t blame him.
Who could he blame for his own shortcomings?

“Why do you look so down?”

Viento draped an arm over the boy’s shoulder.
Serpens’s pupils widened at the sudden warmth he felt.

“If that was what you were worried about, you wouldn’t have time to be watching the sunset right now.”
“……?”

Viento pulled the boy to his feet.

“I mean that instead of worrying about becoming a burden, you should train so you won’t be one.”

As he looked at the smiling elf, the boy found himself smiling along.

“You’re right.”
“In that sense, shall we have a spar?”
“……How did the conversation turn into that?”
“That is how life is. Sudden, and never the way you want it.”

Serpens let out a deep sigh and nodded.

“Good. Then shall we go lightly?”