The First Princess's Schemes
Several days had passed since the chaotic day of the hero's summoning. Beneath the warm yet slightly awkward spring sunlight, Hwian spent his time in a corner of the training grounds, swinging a wooden sword.
“Hup…!”
With a heavy whoosh, the air tore sharply. Sandbags strapped all over his body caused sweat to pour from him like rain.
Thanks to his memories from before the regression, his technique was flawless. His body, however, was another story. Compared to the physique that had once survived the hellish battlefield, his current form was sorely lacking in both stamina and strength.
To defeat the Demon King, this level would never be enough. At his current state, setting out on a journey would only lead to an early grave.
Fortunately, Serena had willingly offered him the training grounds, so there were no major obstacles to his conditioning. The accumulated experience in his mind also accelerated his progress. At this rate, he would be able to rebuild his body in a relatively short time.
“Hup!”
The wooden sword sliced through the air once more with a fierce whistle.
As he trained with gritted teeth, several displeased gazes fell upon him from the side.
“…Tsk. How annoying.”
“Behaving without any dignity inside the royal palace…”
“Why on earth does His Majesty keep such a barbaric man around…?”
When Hwian turned his head at the voices, the gathered crowd flinched. He watched them scatter like ants and let out a scoff.
The Royal Guard. A unit that stood shoulder to shoulder with the Royal Knight Order led by Serena.
Though they were called equals, that was only in name. In reality, they were nothing more than a disorganized rabble who barely trained. They were parasites who lounged around the palace under the pretext of protecting the king.
‘…They must have hired some skilled healers. Even rotten, high-ranking nobles still have their uses, I suppose.’
He had clearly beaten them once before, yet many of them had returned without so much as a scar—some even looked cleaner than before. As he thought about how wasteful it was to expend mana healing such worthless humans, one figure suddenly stood out.
“Ugh…!”
A fat man wearing golden armor came into view. His eyes were bloodshot as he stood at a distance, glaring at Hwian as if he wanted to kill him.
Sikal Front. The captain of the Royal Guard whom Hwian had thoroughly crushed a few days ago.
It was pathetic how the man was furious yet lacked the courage to approach, choosing instead to glare from afar. Hwian adjusted his grip on the wooden sword, swung his arm with full force, and hurled it toward the insolent captain.
Whoosh—… Bang!!
With a dizzying sound, the wooden sword embedded itself in the stone wall beside the captain.
The surrounding guards immediately fled in panic like ants from a flooded nest. In the midst of the chaos, Hwian spoke to Sikal, whose face had turned from red to deathly pale.
“If you have something to say, say it. I’d prefer it if you spoke with a sword.”
Srrrng—. He drew another spare wooden sword that had been stored nearby.
It was clearly made of wood, yet the moment it entered Hwian’s hand, an aura as sharp as steel seemed to radiate from it.
“Since it’s been a while, how about a spar with wooden swords? Don’t refuse. Let’s settle all our built-up grudges while we’re at it.”
“U-ugh…!”
There was no reply.
Sikal’s face flushed with humiliation at Hwian’s mocking tone. But no matter how incompetent he was, he could at least tell the difference between an opponent he could beat and one he couldn’t. Grinding his teeth uselessly, Sikal turned to flee and spat out,
“His Highness will not let you get away with this…!”
Do as you please, Hwian thought, snorting at the man’s retreating back.
The Royal Guard—the very symbol of incompetence. Yet they were a troublesome organization that granted the noble faction considerable authority simply by claiming to “protect the king.”
‘Well then. Where should I start breaking them?’
Recalling the rumors he had heard before his regression about the civil war in the Adonia Kingdom, Hwian stroked his chin.
Sikal Front, the spark that ignited the civil war. As he pondered how to deal with him, a low chuckle escaped Hwian’s lips.
“You’ve gotten a bit bigger.”
“Hm, have I?”
“Yes. Your arms, your waist…. Though you were already tall to begin with.”
It was a sweltering noon inside the hero’s room.
While Hwian was resting after his morning training, Serena’s sudden comment made him tilt his head in confusion.
Gotten bigger? He couldn’t quite tell himself. It felt like he had, yet at the same time, it didn’t.
“I’m not sure. Maybe it just looks that way because you’re so small?”
“…Are you teasing me? I’m not that small, you know?”
His lighthearted joke elicited a more entertaining reaction than expected.
Serena puffed her cheeks in a pout. Seeing her like that, Hwian let out a soft chuckle.
“Well, let’s leave it at that.”
Hwian sat down heavily in a chair and held out his hand. Serena looked as though she wanted to say something, but she quietly handed him the stack of papers she had been holding.
“As you requested, I’ve compiled the recent movements across the continent. I couldn’t gather everything, but…”
“It’s fine. This is more than enough. I only need to grasp the general flow.”
Hwian took the papers and began reading through them quickly.
The bundle Serena had brought was essentially a newsletter. It was a collection of notable activities from various countries and unusual incidents, neatly organized.
Of course, he had his memories from before the regression. But he couldn’t claim to remember everything perfectly. In case something had changed, it was better to have as many references as possible to cross-check his recollections.
As he read through the contents one by one, Hwian narrowed his eyes.
‘The Second Prince of the Michael Empire has departed on his coming-of-age journey…. Right. It was around this time.’
Some news he remembered,
‘Due to a surge in bandit activity, the Adonia Royal Knight Order and the Third Prince have been redeployed. They’re certainly working hard.’
Some that brought a wry smile,
‘The Margrave of the North has successfully summoned a hero. …Hm? That man? Did that happen…?’
And some that made him tilt his head in confusion.
As he continued scanning the newsletter, a strand of white hair suddenly swayed right in front of his face. When he looked up, he found Serena staring intently at him.
“…What is it?”
“Ah, no! It’s nothing. Really.”
Serena flinched and stepped back. In front of the puzzled Hwian, she waved her hands awkwardly and laughed.
There really wasn’t any particular reason.
She had simply found herself unable to look away from his serious profile as he read the text.
When Hwian lowered his gaze back to the papers, Serena let out a small sigh of relief. Even though it was still spring, the room felt strangely warm.
“Um, Hero. May I ask you just one question?”
“What is it?”
“I wanted to ask about your plans going forward. I haven’t really heard anything, so…”
His future plans. At the somewhat abrupt question, Hwian thought for a moment before answering.
“I need to prepare. Gather supplies, collect equipment, and… comrades.”
A sharp pain throbbed in his head the moment he mentioned comrades.
A deep-rooted trauma. The overwhelming scent of blood and the screams that clung to his ears.
“Hero?”
“…It’ll be impossible alone.”
Defeating the Demon King was impossible by oneself. It was a truth he had learned through bitter personal experience.
And it wasn’t just the Demon King.
The worshippers who offered sacrifices to him. The fishmen who had surrendered to madness. The power-hungry, the heretics… and even the four ancient beasts lurking at the edge of the continent.
“Even though it’s so peaceful right now…”
Hwian murmured as he looked down once more at the papers filled with gentle news.
The peace would not last long. Recalling the land that had frozen over in utter despair, he closed his eyes.
He needed comrades. Comrades strong enough to survive hell itself.
Fortunately, there were a few promising candidates.
‘The Margrave of the North, the survivors of the Ervan Kingdom, the master of the Holy Sword.’
Candidates who could stand against the ancient beasts.
And one more.
“…Carmen.”
He spoke the cherished name aloud.
Beside him, as he savored the bittersweet emotion, Serena tilted her head in confusion.
‘Carmen?’
It was a name she had never heard before. Yet it was easy to tell that it belonged to someone precious to him.
The moment he said the name Carmen, the complexion that had darkened so sharply when he spoke of comrades had softened considerably.
‘…A woman, perhaps?’
Serena felt an inexplicable tightness in her chest and clutched at it. In her golden eyes as she gazed at him, an emotion she herself could not yet name shimmered faintly.
Meanwhile, in the heart of the royal palace.
“Mmm~. So that’s how the hero is behaving?”
“Yes. I fear that if things continue this way, he will tarnish the honor of the royal family. That is why I wished to inform Your Highness…”
“Enough, no need for formalities. The hero, you say…. Yes. This is perfect timing.”
In front of the bowing Sikal, the woman with crimson hair stroked her lips with clear interest.
A seductive atmosphere filled the dark room. The overwhelming authority of royalty that dwarfed even nobles.
“My foolish little sister has apparently become quite infatuated with him lately, hasn’t she?”
The First Princess of the Adonia Kingdom, Elisie Adonia.
“Then I simply can’t resist meddling.”
She lifted the corners of her mouth in a grin, as if she had just found a fascinating new toy.