If You Retreat, You Die
As evening passed and early morning arrived, Henessi hurried to Capier's side.
"Hero... I..."
Henessi seemed like she had something to say, but she just hemmed and hawed, unable to get the words out.
"What is it? If you've got something to say, spit it out. We're waking the others and heading out soon."
"Y- yesterday, I'm sorry!"
She blurted it out in a rush, and Capier stared at her with a baffled look.
"Doesn't matter. I didn't give a shit anyway. Speaking of, we need to get moving, so pack your gear and wake the rest of the party."
"Got it..."
-Click.
Capier opened the door and stepped outside.
The moment he did, Merian stirred with a rustle.
"Mm... Lady Henessi, you're up early..."
Henessi dashed over to her in a flurry of footsteps, then gazed up at her with wide, sparkling eyes.
"Merian! What do you think of the hero?"
"Um..."
Merian glanced at Henessi's expression, pondering for a long moment as she scratched her head.
"I... I don't really know him yet. But... he doesn't seem like a bad person..."
She subtly turned the question back. "Wh-what about you, Lady Henessi...?"
Henessi's face flushed red in an instant as she waved her hands frantically.
"I-I think of him as a... a reliable comrade, of course! I mean, he's not a bad guy when you think about it. He's got a good height, broad shoulders... strong... and his face is..."
-Gasp.
Henessi clamped a hand over her mouth, realizing she'd been rambling like a lovesick fool.
"A-anyway! That's all I meant!"
She quickly changed the subject. "More importantly, he said we're leaving soon! Let's wake the others and head out."
Henessi and Merian packed their things, roused Frensia and Rasitena, and stepped outside.
There stood the hero, the village chief, and the villagers. The chief and Capier were deep in conversation.
"Hero, you could stay longer if you wanted..."
"I've got too much to do. Can't afford to linger here."
For some reason, Capier's tone was a touch gentler than yesterday. Henessi wondered if it was because of her comment about his speech, but she shook her head—no way someone like him would change over a single remark.
With that, Capier pondered for a long moment before dropping a bombshell.
"Hey, chief. What do you think about you and the villagers coming to live in the Ellinsier Kingdom with me?"
The villagers—and even Capier's own party—froze in shock.
Rasitena, in particular, flew into a frenzy. "Hero! What are you saying? Bringing them to the Ellinsier Kingdom? Without His Majesty's permission? That's impossible!"
"It's possible."
"Wh-what nonsense is that? H-have you lost your mind?!"
Normally, accepting refugees was the king's sole prerogative—no one else could interfere. But there was one exception: the rewards granted to a hero for slaying a "corps commander"-level Demon King's Army officer.
Defeating one such monster allowed the hero to choose a reward from the king. Options included vast sums of gold, territory, artifacts or weapons infused with holy power. But the strangest was this: forgo all other rewards, and you gained the right to form your own faction.
For instance, you could conscript merchants within the kingdom into your personal force. Or claim an entire village from outside the borders as your "faction" and relocate them inside.
To a hero of immense power, such a faction was irrelevant—they'd just be seen as migrants under the hero's wing.
Rasitena gaped at Capier in disbelief. "You're saying you'd forfeit all other rewards just to use that right on some migrants? And you'd hunt down a Demon Army corps commander for something so trivial? You're insane!"
Capier replied flatly. "Yeah... Rasitena, shut your trap for now. From here on, don't open your mouth until I say so. Open it without permission once, and you'll really die."
"..."
"Answer me."
"Y-yes, sir..."
She muttered the response grudgingly, then clamped her mouth shut.
"So, chief. What do you think of my offer?"
"W-well, we don't have grand ambitions, but living here in the village has felt precarious... Especially not knowing when more monsters might attack."
The chief sighed, eyeing the charred ruins of homes and the monster corpses strewn about.
"So, are you in or out?"
"If the hero shows us such mercy, of course we'd love to follow."
The chief glanced around, and the others nodded in agreement. Another monster wave would mean certain death for them all—that fear was plain.
"Then we're agreed. I don't know how long it'll take, but on the way back to the kingdom, we'll swing by and go together."
"Thank you so much..."
The chief dropped to his knees, bowing deeply in profound gratitude.
Capier turned wordlessly and led his party away amid the villagers' farewells.
As they walked a short distance, a frantic figure came dashing from afar.
"H-hero... huff... huff..."
Shailia panted up to Capier.
"What's wrong?" Capier asked.
Shailia held out a necklace cradled carefully in both hands.
"This was left to me by my grandfather. He said it brings good luck. I wanted it to help you, even a little, on the road ahead..."
The crescent-shaped pendant gleamed with an ethereal light—clearly no ordinary trinket.
"I don't believe in superstitions. Luck and all that crap is just excuses for people too weak to rely on their own strength."
Shailia's shoulders slumped, her head drooping.
-Clink.
Capier took the necklace from her hand. "Still, I'll keep it. Sometimes, reality forces you to lean on that shit."
Only then did Shailia beam with joy. "Thank you!"
She skipped happily back to the village.
Capier pocketed the necklace. Frensia watched the scene with a warm smile.
-Whoooosh.
Suddenly, a red glow flickered from the staves held by Merian and Rasitena. It was like a communication spell, used only for emergencies from the kingdom or knight orders.
"What is it?"
"B-big trouble...!"
Merian stammered, trembling.
"A-a knight order... is on the brink of annihilation..."
Capier quickened his pace. "Where? Lead the way—now."
-Clang. Clang.
The clash of swords and bludgeons echoed endlessly across the battlefield.
"Don't fall back! We've sent a request for hero support! Hold until he arrives!"
"Raaah!!"
The knights surged forward with rallied spirits.
Hundreds of monsters swarmed before them.
-Crunch.
The head of a front-line knight exploded under a monster's foot. But those behind pressed on undaunted.
"Fall back and we're surrounded—dead meat! Break through, no matter what!"
Laterion, Captain of the 2nd Knight Order. He bellowed bravely, but deep down, he knew.
'This is way too unfavorable.'
They'd called for the hero, but no one even knew his exact location. Could he and his men survive until Capier arrived?
-Stab.
"Gah... f-fuck..."
A knight beside him took a monster's blade to the gut. Even as he collapsed, he hacked off the beast's leg in defiance.
-Slash.
Laterion followed up, severing the monster's neck. His dying comrade would soon be gone—but there was no time to mourn.
-Whoosh.
The monster clawed at the blade embedded in its arm, but it sliced only air, missing Laterion.
-Thud.
Laterion closed in, thrusting into its heart. He yanked the sword free and jammed it into the eye of the next beast.
"Huff... huff..."
The battle had raged over an hour already. Even Laterion, hailed for superhuman strength, was nearing his limits.
'If I fall, the whole unit dies.'
He was the strongest fighter here and the one commanding the field. Without him, their already dire odds would collapse.
"W-watch out!!"
In a lapse of focus from the grueling fight, a squad member shouted desperately.
But it was too late.
-Crunch.
The sickening sound of a mace crushing his body reverberated chillingly across the field.