The First Strategy Meeting
The evening air still carried the heat of the departure ceremony.
The members of the Hero's Party and the senior commanders of the subjugation force had gathered in a single hall. It was to be the first strategy meeting for the perilous journey ahead.
The meeting began under the direction of Anastasia, Imperial Crown Princess and Supreme Commander of the subjugation force. On the outside she strove to maintain a calm, dignified bearing, but inside, a storm of tangled emotions raged without pause.
Logan......
Five years since they had last seen each other. She had wanted to sit across from him, just the two of them, to ask how he had been, to talk the way they once had — easy and unhurried.
How can this even be possible...!?
That woman, Irene, had received so much of Logan's love and devotion for so long. How could she set her eyes on another man? Anastasia simply could not understand it. Nor could she understand why Logan kept enduring, kept taking wound after wound, at that woman's side.
Logan..!
It wasn't too late yet — she wanted to tell him to stop tormenting himself, to lean on her instead. But she couldn't. Not now, with so many eyes fixed upon her. As Crown Princess, as Supreme Commander, she had to keep public duty and private feeling strictly apart.
Forcing down her personal emotions, she moved to present the agenda.
"Now, then... as for what we must do going forward..."
And that was when it happened.
"Hahaha! Irene, your name is every bit as pretty as your face! We're party members now, so let's drop the formalities!"
"Ah... a... yes, yes... Sir Rian..."
"Oh come on, 'Sir Rian' is much too stiff! We're comrades who'll face life and death together! Just call me Rian, Irene!"
"Umm... okay... Rian..."
Amid the solemn atmosphere that was meant to open the meeting, the Hero Rian and Irene chattered away as if the two of them existed in a world all their own. Rian's boisterous laughter and Irene's shy, girlish voice echoed awkwardly through the conference room.
Anastasia's brow furrowed of its own accord. And she was not alone.
Elara Silvanus, Knight Commander representing the Elven Kingdom of Sylvania, made no effort whatsoever to hide her displeasure, clicking her tongue aloud.
"Tch. The short-lived species truly lacks all sense of propriety. Do they not know where they are, seeking out mating partners at every hour of the day?"
"Ahem. For once, I find myself in full agreement with the pointy-eared one."
Baldur Ironfist, Grand Elder representing the Dwarf Kingdom of Ironhammer, rumbled in his deep voice. Elves and dwarves had been bitter rivals for ages, yet in this one moment they seemed to share the exact same thought.
"Are we not in the midst of a solemn council? Can you truly not grasp the situation, Hero?"
At the rebuke from the two nonhuman representatives, Irene's face flushed hot and she lowered her head. Rian, however, flared up as if they were the ones at fault.
"Isn't that rather heartless of you? We are comrades gathered to defeat the Demon King together — to speak so rudely to someone you've only just met seems terribly discourteous to me!"
"Heh heh... look at this lad. Does he truly not know which of us is being rude, young one?"
Baldur stroked his beard with an air of utter incredulity, and Elara added coolly,
"I share the beardling's opinion. We barely have enough time to discuss strategy as it stands — and it is you two, prattling and disrupting the council, who know nothing of courtesy."
"What did you just say!? We were only trying to build camaraderie as comrades!"
BANG!
Rian slammed his fist on the table and shouted, worked up into a fury. Sensing the mood turning ugly, Anastasia raised a hand to stop him.
"That is enough."
Rian apparently mistook this for her taking his side, for his expression brightened at once and he declared with great swagger,
"As expected, Your Highness the Crown Princess understands! Come now, say your piece! Strategy meetings matter, of course, but camaraderie among comrades is also—"
"I said that is enough, Hero."
At Anastasia's icy, resolute voice, Rian's face froze in bewilderment.
"Pfft."
"PWAHAHA!"
Elara and Baldur burst into poorly concealed snickers at the sight of his face.
"Why, you insolent—!"
Just as Rian, his pride wounded, opened his mouth to retort, Saintess Sera smoothly interposed herself.
"Hero, Her Highness is quite right. Please, take your seat for now."
"But Sera! These people are being so disrespectful—"
"Hehe... yes, I know exactly how you feel, Hero. So calm yourself first, and..."
As Sera gently drew Rian's arm toward her ample chest and murmured to him,
"AHAHA!! Right, of course, Sera. I understand."
Rian beamed as if he'd never been angry at all and obediently took his seat.
"Tch..."
Baldur and Elara clicked their tongues at the display, and Irene's complexion darkened noticeably.
How dare she... touch my Rian...!
Sera did not miss the shift in Irene's expression, and laughed inwardly.
Oh dear, my apologies — but this man has been mine from the very start.
Irene hadn't read Sera's mind, but she caught enough of her intent to bite her lip in frustration and shoot a glare at her. The invisible war of nerves between the two women made the air in the conference room grow colder still.
"....."
Logan watched all of it unfold in silence, his face an unchanging mask. No one knew how his insides were burning.
Logan...
No — not no one. One person alone: Anastasia, who faintly sensed the anguish behind his stiff expression and could only send him a glance full of sorrow.
"...Then let us proceed with the meeting."
No more open clashes erupted after that, but the first meeting between the Hero's Party and the subjugation force had gotten off to a creaking start — one that promised an uncertain future.
Once the meeting had somehow been brought to a close, Irene approached Rian as if she'd been waiting for the chance, greeting him with a bright smile.
"Rian! If you're free, would you like to have dinner with me?"
"Oh! That's a wonderful idea, Irene!"
Rian accepted readily, laughing heartily. At his easy answer, color bloomed in Irene's cheeks. She'd felt a flicker of anxiety over how intimate Sera had seemed with Rian during the meeting, but Logan had been right after all. Rian clearly had feelings for her.
She remembered the smile he'd given her the first time their eyes met on the dais, and the sweet words he'd used to praise her looks and her name. Irene's heart fluttered with anticipation.
But then, another obstacle appeared.
"Oh my, are you two off to dinner? If you don't mind, may I join you, Irene?"
Sera asked with her signature gentle smile.
"Wh..? Um... well..."
Irene's face stiffened on the spot. She couldn't bring herself to say she wanted to dine alone with Rian, and simply hesitated — afraid of looking like a selfish, mean little girl.
And then Rian, of all people—
"Sounds great! Let's all go together, Sera! The more the merrier! That's fine with you, right, Irene?"
Without even asking what she wanted, he granted Sera's company. Irritation prickled inside Irene, but outwardly she forced a smile and reluctantly nodded.
"Y-yeah..."
"Great! Let's get going!"
And so, with Rian at the center, Irene and Sera set off together.
Logan stood alone in place, watching their receding backs with a bitter taste in his mouth.
"....."
Eight years he had endured every hardship for Irene's sake without complaint, and never once — not until this very moment — had his heart ached like this.
I... what... no... calm down... I have to stay calm......
Merely suppressing the boiling emotions and keeping his face composed seemed to drain every last ounce of strength from his body.
Just then, someone quietly approached his side.
"...Logan."
A familiar voice — one that carried, somewhere within it, a trace of warmth — called to him. It was Anastasia.
"Ah... Your Highness. It has been a long time."
Logan immediately bowed at the waist in impeccable courtesy.
At his stiff formality, Anastasia's brow twitched ever so slightly. He evidently hadn't forgotten her — that much was a relief — but he was very clearly trying to keep his distance.
But surely... he wasn't like this five years ago...
Hiding her disappointment, Anastasia spoke gently.
"Logan... as you said, it really has been a long time, hasn't it? There's hardly any need for such grand formality, is there?"
Her voice was tinged with hurt. Could it be that he was still wounded over how she'd left five years ago, without so much as a proper farewell?
But that, apparently, was not the reason at all.
"...I am merely showing the proper respect owed to the Crown Princess."
Rigid in these matters, one might call him. Utterly inflexible.
Anastasia wanted to plead with him to call her 'Anya' again, comfortably, the way he used to — but this was neither the time nor the place. Their positions had changed, and above all, she didn't want to burden him needlessly.
"I see... if that's what you're comfortable with, Logan, then that's fine... although..."
"....?"
She couldn't bear to leave him alone like this, though. She wanted to comfort him, even a little — him, wounded because of that damned woman.
So Anastasia gathered her courage and made an offer.
"If... if you wouldn't mind, would you care to join me for dinner?"
"I... what?"
Caught off guard by the unexpected invitation, Logan stared at her for a moment. Seeing his eyes waver slightly, Anastasia added carefully,
"...Of course, it would be better to eat with your party members, but... as you can see, all three of them have already gone ahead."
"Ah..."
At her words, Logan stared blankly in the direction Irene's group had vanished.
His face was washed over with hollowness. Irene had left without asking him a single word about dinner. Disappointment and misery crashed over him like waves.
"Logan..."
Just as Anastasia, her heart aching for him, opened her mouth to offer some word of comfort—
"Ah! LOGAN!!!"
Irene, far ahead of the group, abruptly stopped in her tracks, turned around, and called his name.
"!!!"
At that single call, Logan's frozen expression melted away in an instant, as if by magic. Anastasia felt something inside her twist at the sight.
What? Why is Logan with the Crown Princess?'
And then, upon spotting Logan standing beside Anastasia, Irene hardened her face and hurried over, snatching Logan's arm decisively into her own.
"Logan! What are you doing lingering here instead of following?"
"Huh..?"
As if the Crown Princess standing right before her didn't even register, Irene openly displayed her displeasure and began tugging Logan away.
"N-now, just a moment, Irene..!"
Logan hesitated — it would be discourteous to leave without properly excusing himself to Anastasia — and at his hesitation, Irene only raised her voice higher.
"Don't tell me, Logan... were you plotting something with Her Highness behind my back!? Trying to curry favor with a highborn woman so you could climb the social ladder!?"
"...Excuse me?"
Irene's absurd accusation left Logan speechless.
"What on earth is that supposed to..!"
Anastasia's face turned ice-cold at the insulting words. To behave with such audacity before the Crown Princess herself.
She moved to rebuke them severely on the spot—
I beg your forgiveness. Please, bear with it just this once... forgive her... I am asking you.
—but at Logan's desperate look, she could barely swallow her rage.
"...."
Meanwhile, when Logan's gaze turned toward her, Irene apparently took it as him looking down on her, and grew angrier still, yanking hard on his arm.
"Come on, hurry! Rian and Sera are waiting!"
And so Logan was practically dragged away.
Logan... what on earth does he even see in a woman like that...!
Watching the two figures disappear into the distance, Anastasia's heart churned with pity and sorrow and a deep, seething fury at Irene.
Just then, Renate, having finished tidying the conference room, noticed Anastasia standing there and quietly approached.
"...You should return to your chambers, Your Highness."
"...Yes."
Anastasia answered in a hollow voice and finally turned toward her quarters. Renate followed behind her, and for a moment, cast a troubled glance in the direction where Logan and Irene had disappeared.
......
Renate's heart was heavy as well.
Why was that upright young man — who owed her mistress nothing, and had instead shown them such kindness — choosing to walk such a foolish, painful road? And her mistress too... how much more heartache would that young man put her through before the end?
It was simply heartbreaking to watch.
Despite the ominous signs of discord from the very start, the Hero's Party and the subjugation force began their march toward the Demon King's army all the same.
Each member of the Hero's Party was undeniably capable, and Anastasia's command of the subjugation force was superb. The elite allied army faithfully fulfilled their duties in their respective positions, steadily crushing the Demon King's forces.
On the surface, the Demon King's subjugation seemed to be proceeding relatively smoothly.
Yes — on the surface, and only on the surface.
The reality was entirely different. Nowhere near harmonious, nowhere near easy. Problems large and small erupted without end, and at the center of every one of them stood the Hero, Rian.
His excessive idealism and his stubbornness, untethered from any sense of reality, tripped them up again and again.
"A surprise attack? Absolutely not! As the Hero blessed by the Goddess, I could never stoop to such cowardly tactics!"
"Why do we even need strategy? I am the Hero! We simply smash into them head-on, face to face, and crush the Demon King's army!"
Anastasia and Logan — and even the elven and dwarven representatives — all stepped forward to stress the need for efficient strategy and tactics, but Rian was immovable.
"If you intend to resort to such cowardly methods, then I withdraw from this subjugation! How else would we be any different from the demons!"
Should the Hero abandon them, morale would collapse and their fighting strength would suffer a devastating blow. Everyone chafed at his threat-that-wasn't-a-threat, yet none dared defy him lightly.
"The Hero is right. We must follow the will of the one chosen by the Goddess, wielder of the Holy Sword."
Worse still, Sera took Rian's side — and even Irene, desperate to win his heart, blindly echoed him.
"I-I agree with Rian and Sera too!"
Irene even went so far as to corner Logan and demand that he devise a new plan to suit Rian's wishes.
"Logan, Rian is right. We're the righteous Hero's Party. We should fight in a fairer way. Couldn't you think over a different plan for us?"
"Irene! Are you in your right mind right now!? Surely you know full well that Logan's plan is the best option!?"
Anastasia shouted in fury, but Logan quietly raised a hand to stop her.
"...It's all right, Your Highness. I will review the plan once more."
In the end, Logan had no choice but to draw up a new, inefficient plan centered on frontal assaults to accommodate Rian's stubbornness. He gave it everything he had, but the revised plan inevitably produced needless casualties — many soldiers lost their lives or were wounded.
Even then, Rian merely insisted that his judgment had been correct.
"They were noble sacrifices, regrettably necessary for the greater good."
Judging that this could not go on, Logan sought out Sera — the only person capable of influencing Rian — and asked her to persuade him. But Sera refused, and instead laid before Logan a condition he could not fathom.
"......If you become that, I'll consider it."
Logan refused her offer, of course.
But when Irene learned of this, she came looking for him with accusations ready.
"Logan! How could you go sneaking around with Sera without telling me!? What exactly are you hiding!?"
"Irene, that's not—"
Logan tried to explain what he and Sera had discussed, but Irene refused to hear any of it.
"Spare me! Stop making excuses! Rian and I are working hard to subjugate the Demon King right now, and you're out there meeting women? I'm so disappointed in you!"
Irene unleashing her one-sided fury on Logan — she even welled up with tears before storming out. Logan couldn't bring himself to stop her; he simply stood rooted to the spot, dazed.
Behind him, Anastasia, who had witnessed everything, stepped closer and spoke quietly.
"Logan... are you all right? ...Don't let words like those wound you. They aren't worth a second of your attention."
But Logan shook his head weakly.
"...No, Your Highness. The fault is mine for being lacking. And... please, do not treat Irene unkindly. She has... done nothing wrong."
Watching Logan shield Irene even in the moment she had hurled abuse at him and walked away, Anastasia felt as if her heart were being torn apart. She tried to offer more words of comfort, but Logan left with nothing but an apology, slipping away from her side.
The journey toward the Demon King continued, but the rift within the Hero's Party only grew deeper and deeper.
As time passed, Logan became the target of open ostracism within the party. Rian blatantly ignored his suggestions, while Sera acted as if he simply didn't exist, deftly excluding him from every conversation.
Hardest of all to bear was Irene's cold transformation. She no longer met his eyes, and at even the smallest disagreement she took Rian's side and lashed out at Logan with cutting words.
Logan wanted, more than anything, to talk with her again. Just like before — even for a few brief moments, he wanted them to face each other and clear up the misunderstanding. But Irene turned her back on him utterly.
He ached to speak with her, yet no matter how long he paced outside her barracks deep into the night, all that answered him was the cold silence of an empty room.
And so the days slipped by, until at last—
The end of the long, long march.
The day they felled Demon King Belzegor had arrived.