Reinforcements were on their way. The Crown Prince Acerus had sent a messenger asking Memoria City to hold out and that he was running to Gorgon with a huge army of reinforcements. And because of that, Memoria City returned to life after having been darkened by the death of the Emperor.
Warm bedding and food were provided to the messenger, who had run a long way without losing time. But instead of collapsing on the spot, he went to the Barbarians.
"This is the message from His Imperial Highness. He offers his gratitude for your help to recover His Imperial Majesty's body…"
"Oh, forget it."
The messenger was someone who closely aided Acerus as a knight. Lampion declined his obvious greeting while picking his ears. But the knight suddenly bowed down.
"What's wrong with you?"
"Thank you very much. I'm not just passing along the request of the liege. We all appreciate the bravery and kindness that the Barbarians have shown. If it weren't for you, His Imperial Majesty…"
The messenger's eyes flushed red. Still, he did not cry until the end though he spoke in a trembling voice.
"I know we have been acting cowardly because of our jealousy towards the Barbarians' skills. We have no excuses to say even if you curse, blame, and hit us. We were shallow and dishonorable. We don't deserve to be called knights."
"Uh… What's gone into you? Are you out of your mind? Did you eat something wrong? Are you going to die tomorrow? Hey, go and see if he has a fever."
Lampion jumped up and scratched his forearm. The Barbarians looked at him and laughed loudly. But Oscar and Domino did not laugh. Oscar, in particular, stood up and approached the messenger and said calmly.
"We're fighting to protect this land, not for the Empire."
"I know."
The messenger nodded his head fast and many times. Then, he told Oscar and other Barbarians who gathered there.
"Allow us to stand shoulder to shoulder with you in future fights. We will be allies whom you can trust and leave your back to even on the battlefield of death."
What he said was the will of all the knights of the Crown Prince Acerus.
"We will not take a step forward if we have to step on Barbarians' bodies. We will share our lives before honor and glory. And one day, when this war ends… we will go home and tell our wives and children…"
"What are you going to say?"
Lampion asked as though he was curious. The messenger said with a faint smile.
"We're going to say we fought with heroes."
He puffed out his chest. He was not as big as Lampion, but he was still quite big. Lampion, who sprang up from his seat, puffed out his chest with him.
"They look like bear cubs bragging about their bodies."
Domino muttered with disgust. He crept up to Lampion and pinched him on his ribs.
"Hngh"
Had Lampion not let out a bizarre groan, Domino would not have burst out laughing. When Domino, who had been silent all along, shook his shoulders and laughed, the rest of the Barbarians burst into laughter once again. The knight, who came as a messenger, left after giving his greeting with a more relaxed face.
"Wait a minute."
But there was someone who followed him out and held on to him. It was Oscar.
"What's going on?"
The knight asked. He was relieved at the thought that he could resolve his long emotional struggle with the Barbarians. Perhaps Lampion's thoughts were not much different.
But it was not the same for Oscar. Not once did he laugh during the messenger's visit. He listened carefully to the messenger, but he neither nodded nor did he sympathize. Oscar spoke with the face of a courteous, flexible, eccentric Barbarian, as he had always done.
"I know you mean it."
"Mean what?"
"But know this before you go. Those few words do not eliminate the discrimination, oppression, and insults we have experienced. We'll probably never forget it. I will hate you until I die, and these feelings and past experiences won't go away even if you apologize like this a hundred times."
"I know."
The messenger looked bitter and swept down his face with one hand. He stood there and stared at Oscar for a long time. Then, he mumbled his lips as though he had mixed feelings and said.
"But, I'm still sorry."
"I won't accept any more apologies. I'll do my best when I fight, as I always do, so don't worry and return."
"Still, I thought you would understand us a little bit…"
When the messenger muttered like that, Oscar, who was about to turn around, looked at him again. Then, he said with a smile that resembled Lara's.
"Why did you have to have such delusions?"
After the messenger returned, Oscar entered back into the building. Inside was Lampion getting noisy in a pleasant voice.
"Those bastards are finally acknowledging the greatness of the Barbarians, hahahaha! As expected, people are bound to appreciate it when you do them a favor!"
"Then go live in Dandelion after the war."
"Nonsense. I'll die fighting on the battlefield like my father."
"They called us heroes after all."
"About that… Hehehehe!"
Lampion laughed alone and Domino smiled at him. Oscar was the only one who did not smile until the end.
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
That night, a man appeared in the area where the Barbarians stayed. It was Demian, who had appeared out of nowhere with white snow all over his body.
The weather was cold, so cold, in fact, that the soldiers standing on guard had their fingertips frozen and their senses dulled. The wind from the mountains descended on the city and snowflakes flew in the sharp wind. Still, Demian was not cold at all and was the only one in the city dressed lightly.
"Where have you been? You suddenly disappeared."
When Demian entered the building, Lampion, who was laughing and chatting with his comrades, asked. These days, they followed Demian into the woods inside the Gorgon Mountains Range to hunt for herds of hell troops.
"Hey, I asked you, where have you been?"
Lampion asked again. He thought that Demian seemed suspicious for suddenly disappearing without saying a word while they were resting after the hunt.
Demian looked as if he had no intention of solving Lampion's curiosity. He strode to where Lampion was sitting, glanced over the food on the table, and picked up the biggest and most delicious-looking meat.
"Hey! That's mine! I couldn't eat it because of that messenger bastard earlier so I saved it for later first! Why would you eat that?"
"Why would you save on food? Are you a fool?"
Demian laughed and gulped down the beer that Lampion had brought.
"You thief…"
"How can a man be cheap with food?"
Demian patted Lampion on the shoulder and turned straight to the stairs. But his long hair suddenly got on his nerves. He returned back. Then, he took a sharp dagger from Lampion's waist and cut his hair off on the spot.
His comrades were taken aback and flocked around him. They brought scissors and said that they would trim his messed-up hair. But Demian could not leave his hair to the Barbarians as they did not have the word 'delicate' in their vocabulary. Eventually, he had to call Konny. But she gave him a long lecture for calling her at an ungodly hour.
Lampion asked with his lips pressed.
"How can a God not know how to control his hair? Since you got it longer as you please, shouldn't you be able to shorten it as you please?"
"I'm not gonna do that."
"Why?"
"Because I don't want to."
"Why?!"
"Listen here, you brat. Would you feel happy if you're able to shorten and lengthen your armpit hair as you please?"
"Ha, you idiot. It's nice and comfortable, you know? I don't need to shave and I can even thin out my leg hair. Isn't that good? God, my ass. You're the fool, not me."
Lampion scoffed at Demian. He said that Demian was finally looking like the slow-witted guy his father had picked up on the street, and then he complained that Demian sucked for all this time.
Demian listened to Lampion without lashing out, but suddenly, he made Lampion's hair grow long like a lion's mane, making him scream.
"Both of you, sit down."
It was a matter of course that Konny was angry. The cute maid, who even dominated the demon lord, was not discouraged even among the bear-like Barbarians and raised her sharp scissors.
"Before I shave everything including your eyebrows and nose hair…"
The two men sat in the chairs at the same time with their mouths shut. They could not cough up a word until Konny had finished her work.
As she almost finished trimming their hair, Konny went away for a while. During her absence, Lampion said.
"The Crown Prince's knight came to us earlier and apologized for everything they have done."
"I see."
"We have to accept it, right?"
"Why are you asking me that?"
"Because you're our captain."
Lampion said as though it was a matter of course. Demian smiled and closed his eyes. He said.
"Do as you guys please."
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
The sporadic battles near the city and at the entrance of the mountain range had edged the war into a momentary state of lull.
The Imperial army was well aware of the reason why the Barbarians had made a separate unit with the Emperor's knights and raided and subjugated the herds of hell troops that were swarming around Gorgon.
Dejected by the loss of the Emperor, the Imperial Army concentrated on defending the city. Meanwhile, the Barbarians went out of the rampart to hunt the hell troops down. With enemy intelligence that demon lord Lara leaked, along with Demian's ability, the Barbarians continued their conquest without a single defeat.
The city remained undiminished and morale was high. Although there were still countless hell troops and demon worshippers in that huge mountain range, the human city had not yet been invaded.
The Imperial Army, the Barbarians, the Hautean Royal Knights, and merchant Isadora came to help. And as time passed and as the people watched the reinforcements from each country arriving one after another from nearby places, they raised their hopes for victory with a passionate soul.
"It's Crown Prince Acerus!"
"The Crown Prince has arrived!"
On a day of intensely cold weather, Acerus Elin Tarragon finally arrived. A much larger number of reinforcements appeared with him than when the Emperor first came to Memoria City.
From the three eastern countries, the north, and even the distant neighboring countries—there was almost no country that did not send their troops to the Empire's new owner, Acerus. If an allied country's military strength was weak, they would send resources instead. If an allied country was unable to do both, they would manage the distribution of goods and war labor. Warhorses and weapons were everywhere.
Acerus appeared with a heavy cloak over his shoulders and a huge war horse. The sound of the soldiers' boots that arrived with him filled the city. The Emperor's old knights stood at the front and greeted the Crown Prince with swollen eyes.
"Your Imperial Highness, we beg your pardon for failing to protect His Imperial Majesty."
They knelt down all at once. They stabbed their swords into the coarse ground and spoke in a loud voice.
"We will fight the Hell Corps even when our limbs are torn until the end of our lives. Please allow us to avenge His Imperial Majesty before we meet our death!"
After the arrival of the Crown Prince and the reinforcements, the heated atmosphere of the city subsided in an instant.
Acerus looked down at them from the horse. The old knights were covered with scratches. Some people had not yet recovered from the injuries. They were so thin that they did not look good. They did not look after themselves out of anger and sorrow at the thought of losing their liege to the demon.
Acerus got off his horse and stood before them.
"Elders."
Then, he sat down together, hugged their shoulders, and said.
"Let's go and hold a funeral for my father first."
It was not just the knights who were thin. Little wrinkles grew on the face of Acerus, who was full of energy like a growing lion. His eyes became deeper and his gaze became sharp.
The old knights suppressed their tears.
"We have to say goodbye to my father."
Acerus reached out to them, trying to smile, and said.
"After that, let's have a drink, eat some good food, and talk about him. We can even badmouth him. There's no reason for you all to be like this"
Acerus Elin Tarragon—The owner of the Empire.