Assembly
These past few days, Glova had been plagued by vivid nightmares. He'd wake up drenched in sweat, an lingering unease clinging to him like a bad aftertaste.
"...You okay? You looked really sick."
Glova forced a smile. "I had a dream where some other guy stole my beautiful Diana away from me."
"You turned pale as a ghost over that?"
"Hey, it's not just that! To me, it's like the sky falling!"
"It was just a dream anyway."
Just a dream. His wife was right. Dreams fade with time. But Glova kept having the same nightmare every night. He'd wander endlessly through a forest, only to see Ezek—his entire body gruesomely crushed—staring at him. Glova would reach out desperately, but he could neither approach nor pull away.... Then he'd snap to his senses, surrounded by tentacles sprouting from somewhere, and jolt awake. That sticky feeling wouldn't leave him. It felt almost real.
"Wanna take the day off?"
Diana asked with worry in her voice.
"Should... I?"
He buried his face in her chest, seeking comfort.
"Nah, I gotta go to work."
"I'll make you some food. Get up."
"You're heading back to work today too, right?"
"Yeah."
Gazing at the nape of Diana's neck, Glova felt a swirl of complicated emotions. Lately, his wife seemed even sexier somehow. Four years into marriage, and Diana was still a goddess of a wife to him. They were both so busy they rarely had time for proper husband-and-wife moments, though.
Glova wanted to make a baby with her. A daughter would be great, a son too. Ideally, one of each. He was hoping to snag a long vacation soon.
Diana...
When they'd first married, his subordinates had beaten him black and blue over it—a beating straight out of boot camp. Diana had heard endless whispers of "Why'd she marry Glova?" She was the daughter of a prestigious noble house, with marriage proposals piled high as mountains.
"Anything different lately?"
"H-Huh? Different how?"
Diana seemed a little flustered. Glova took her hand and kissed her forehead.
"You just seem even prettier."
"Ugh... you're giving me goosebumps."
"Like I'm falling in love all over again."
"...W-What, like I wasn't always in love?"
"I fall for you anew every single day."
"...I said no second verse."
Diana turned away sharply, but her expression wasn't one of pure annoyance. The talk he'd planned at the door never happened. It stung a little that even his wife had secrets she couldn't share with him.
I'll take a step back and wait.
There was no one right way in a marriage. Glova opened his arms wide, waiting for Diana to come to him. No matter what was going on with her.
Glova was on Diana's side. He'd sworn it four years ago, and nothing had changed.
A moment later, just as they were about to head out, someone knocked on the door. A visitor at this hour?
"I'll get it."
Glova opened the door before Diana could say anything. He was a little startled. His standards were sky-high thanks to his heavenly wife, but even he froze like a statue when he locked eyes with the goddess standing there. Lustrous silver hair shimmering with life, clear blue eyes without a hint of cloudiness. Her slender yet toned body exuded a dignified air, but her ample breasts and cinched waist made it extremely hard for a married man to know where to look.
"Sorry to drop by unannounced, Glova."
"C-Captain Claire."
"I have important news to deliver in person. Mind if I come in?"
"Of course."
Glova had watched over her since she was a kid, but a superior was a superior. No way he could turn down the captain asking to enter.
"Diana. Hello."
"Claire? What's up?"
"I need to speak with your vice-captain."
"I'll step out, then."
Diana figured if Claire was carving time out of her busy morning to come here, it must be serious. Leaving her perverted husband alone with a stunning young beauty made her uneasy, but it was Claire. To the capital's people, Claire was synonymous with "trustworthy." She was a flower blooming on a cliffside—rejecting marriage talk in a world that wouldn't allow it, pushing aside incredible talents to claim her spot as one of the kingdom's top forces. The Rune Kingdom's strongest knight in history.
After Diana left, Glova tensed up in front of his far-too-great superior, despite her youth.
"How's married life?"
"...Very good. My beautiful wife's got me happy every day."
"Glad to hear it, old man Glova."
"...Urk."
Claire flashed a sudden sly smile. That was her way in private.
Glova tamped down his pounding heart and said, "You can't tease a married man like that, Captain."
"I was just asking about my subordinate's well-being. No ulterior motives, right?"
"Ulterior... motives."
Glova's eyes drifted to Claire's well-developed breasts. He'd thought himself hardened by Shiroko's, but Claire's were on another level.
"Still the same old perv, huh, old man."
"...Hey, my wife's made an honest man of me."
"Your speech is more polite now too."
"Keep that up, and I might end up kissing your feet, Captain."
"...Diana would actually get mad if she heard that joke."
It wasn't a joke. Glova swallowed his wicked wish.
"The reason I'm here..."
Claire hesitated after starting, so Glova prompted her.
"...Deployment?"
Deployment. The biggest reason he hadn't had baby-making sex with his pretty wife in four years. Constant deployments and training! He ground his teeth.
The captain suffered the most, so he couldn't complain openly.
"Not deployment exactly, but we have work. I don't think I can approve your leave, old man."
"...Mind if I ask why?"
"Your speech is getting weird, old man."
"My heart's in despair."
Claire closed her eyes briefly.
"It's a sign of the Demon King."
"......"
Demon King. An entity you couldn't discuss human history without.
"Where this time?"
"Saintess Esilla prophesied it. The location is the Rune Kingdom..."
"Here? The Rune Kingdom?"
"Right here in Furnaul."
A Demon King precursor in the Rune Kingdom. This was absurd. Precursors were like early warning systems. A massive being like a Demon King inevitably left traces humans could detect or caused bizarre phenomena. That's what a precursor was. They appeared with high probability where a Demon King would emerge. Meaning one had either shown up in the capital's heart—or already had and started moving.
This was huge.
"Something like that... but..."
"Mobilization orders have gone out to all knight orders."
"......"
Ah. Screwed. He might not see home for two months.
"What kind of bastard is this Demon King... Haah..."
"Who knows. Probably a nasty one."
Glova chuckled wryly. No Demon King had ever been anything less.
"Isn't the cycle too short this time? It's only been four years since Eskalia was defeated."
"That's why it's hard to guess what this one is."
"In the middle of the city, though..."
"Any hunches? I've been asking around..."
"Hmm......"
"If a Demon King appeared in the capital, there might be traces near us somehow..."
Traces...... Glova hesitated on whether to mention his dream, then let it go. It was just a dream.
"Planning to take it down yourself if we find it, Captain?"
"...Did you read my mind, old man?"
"Even the Hero ended up half-paralyzed fighting Eskalia. What're you gonna do?"
"We're the White Flame Knights."
Claire smiled brightly.
"We purge evil with Lady Nimyuel's sacred white flames."
"...You're the only one who can use those White Flames, Captain."
Glova thought for a moment, then said, "Actually, isn't this good for us? With you here and the Seongyul Knights coming, the capital's defense will be airtight."
"That's what I was about to explain."
Claire sighed.
"Around this time, the Rune Kingdom holds a crucial exam to decide the next Hero."
"Ah."
He realized with a start. The Rune Kingdom's Royal Academy Deseval, the Holy Kingdom's St. Ilesia Monastery, and the Parnion Empire's Dragon's Snowfield—the three premier Hero-training academies of their nations. The top performer became the leader of the Demon King subjugation force: the Hero.
It wasn't that whoever slayed the Demon King became Hero; they picked the Hero first, then sent them after it. The system dated back centuries, maybe millennia. Deep history, deep grudges.
"Damn......"
Glova sighed. This time of year drew not just dignitaries from each nation, but their hottest rising talents, brimming with competitive fire. All converging on the Rune Kingdom.
Why? It was the first Hero-producing nation, and the previous Demon King Eskalia had fallen to a Rune Kingdom Hero. Natural flow. The nation that produced the Hero wielded massive influence—diplomatic and otherwise.
It was a massive event.
"Can't just send 'em home because a Demon King showed up, huh?"
"They'll see it as a boon. 'Grab the Demon King quick, become the next Hero.' That kinda thing."
"No way..."
Unacceptable. The glory of slaying a Demon King wasn't for just anyone. If some outsider snatched it like a thief, the Rune Kingdom would grieve.
But sending away those who'd trained for it? Absurd. The games were on; no stopping now.
"Old man Glova. We have to protect the academy students while hunting the Demon King. Any incident now would upset the princess."
"Understood."
Glova, whose leave had been cut six times, could only nod. National crisis. They needed every hand.
"Now, the princess's orders."
Glova could guess what came next.
"If you spot an immature Demon King, eliminate it on our side. Even if it means clashing with foreign forces."
......Yeah, the empire and holy kingdom's hotshots probably got the same orders. Bloodbath incoming.
Glova's heart ached.
Baby-making... it'll have to wait...