* * *
Kinzelo headquarters.
Khud, Zephyrin bit the cookie. It looked similar to Latrie Cookies, but the taste was...… so terrible that it was difficult to describe. Even torturing her tongue with soldering iron might have been better than this.
'How on earth you manage to make such a dreadful snack, the princesses of Kaligo.'
Next to her, the Kaligo sisters who made the cookies themselves, were waiting for her evaluation with bright eyes.
Zephyrin nodded awkwardly and gave a forced smile, and the sisters jumped with joy taking that as a sign of honor.
"As expected! Our cookies beat their cookies, sister!"
"Oh, thank you ... for eating...… deliciously... Grand Duke."
Beyond just running, they joined with Bubare and sang a strange song while running around the meeting room like a playground.
'Since the demons came, there hasn't been a single quiet day at the headquarters… I can't say anything because of the Grand Duke.'
'Berakt obviously doesn't want to see them. If I say something, he'll say, "shut up, otherwise I'll tear up your mouth." He doesn't even know I am taking his side!'
'Bubare and...… female Bubare...… both... are so disgusting. The female Bubare is still funny sometimes, but no. Shit! What am I thinking? Both are intolerable beings. How can Lady Bianca be associated with such things?'
Berakt, Joe, and Bishkel clicked their tongues inwardly, while Zephyrin stared blankly out the window.
"Lady Zephyrin."
Margiella pulled her wheelchair to Zephyrin's side.
"Miss Margiella."
"What are you thinking so much about? You look like you have a lovesick. It's as if there's a subtle sorrow in your gaze. Perhaps a lover hidden in the demon world...? Oh my, how romantic."
It was strange.
Zephyrin, when in a rational state, used honorific words for everyone and seems kind, but she is truly merciless towards those who cross the line even a little bit.
It was true for demons and dragons, especially to those who were not superior to her. To throw a joke at her, one had to at least be the leader or the next in line among the demon world dukes. Or unless you are an idiot like Ainas.
But for some reason, Zephyrin had never felt uncomfortable with Margiella's jokes.
'Well, considering the existence that dwells in you, it's not that surprising after all.'
Zephyrin raised Margiella and sat her next to herself.
"I am not lovesick, but there are similarities in some aspects, in the sense that I keep thinking about it. It's not love but rather resentment... Anyway, I was thinking about the sad thing that Miss Margiella said the other day."
- Shall I tell you a funny story for the depressed Lady Zephyrin?
- What is it?
-Maybe something sad will happen to Sir Jin soon, Lady Zephyrin.
- Something sad...… ?
"You were thinking about Sir Jin."
"I didn't know that the sad thing Miss Margiella was talking about was that stone."
"Ah, did you feel disappointed that I didn't mention it beforehand?"
"I'd be lying if it wasn't, but I suppose there was something on my mind about my master, who was lying there and gushing blood like a weakling."
"Um, but! It was Lady Zephyrin who made the leader vomit blood."
When Margiella brought it up, the other executives in the meeting room perked up and watched.
Recently, the leader's health has been the biggest problem in Kinzelo. It was because he kept having problems while he was getting better.
It was the leader's will to use his power during the Sword Emperor attack last year, but the problems after that, namely the Black King incident, the Sota Desert, and the accidents that occurred during the visit to Tikan this time, were all the responsibility of Zephyrin.
However, no one dared to question or scold Zephyrin. The only punishment she received was that Bishkel asked her to work as a spy in Zipfel once.
'Oh, as expected of the vice-leader's younger sister! She knows how to scratch the itch! Well, I hope Lady Zephyrin wouldn't intimidate Margiella, right?'
'Even if it's Margiella, if she speaks so bluntly... Is it okay? Even if I recall some of the stories I heard from Lady Bianca about the demon world, Lady Zephyrin is a bit more ghastly than Berakt.'
'Margiella! Good job! No, why are you saying that!'
Zephyrin nodded smoothly, dismissing the concerns of Berakt, Joe, and Bishkel.
"That's right, it was my fault. I tried to be as careful as possible, but as you know...… Jin Runcandel. That devil is just inscrutable, you know?"
"Of course, I know it well. It's really not ordinary, right? Thinking about how we've been beaten by Sir Jin all this time..."
"Killing him a hundred times wouldn't be satisfying."
"Of course, that's a reasonable statement! Actually, I still want Sir Jin to come on our side."
"I have seen that kind of person often in my long life. Humans like him will never associate with those who have different beliefs."
"You speak as if you acknowledge Sir Jin."
Zephyrin didn't answer and turned her head out of the window.
"Our Kinzelo is always open, so an opportunity might come someday. But before that, I think the patience of Lady Zephyrin and uncle Berakt might run out."
"You have a little strange side, Miss Margiella."
"Haha, I hear that occasionally."
"If you really wanted Jin Runcandel to be on our side, you should have first informed him of the true nature of the stone and persuaded him not to get involved in this matter as much as possible."
"I've considered that too. However, even if we revealed the true nature of the stone, we wouldn't be able to prevent the destined fate, right?"
The destined fate.
As Margiella put it, it meant the death of Dante Hairan.
"Your friend will surely die, and the white stone is a dangerous object, so you should never go there. Sir Jin is not the kind of person who would listen if we told him to stop. As Lady Zephyrin said, Sir Jin is that kind of person."
At Margiella's words, Zephyrin nodded her head.
"Hehehe, fools! They don't even know that the stone is a bomb... Woop, woop!"
When Bubare intervened, Bishkel quickly covered his mouth. He intended to prevent his disgusting voice, so it would not further offend Zephyrin.
In Bishkel's view, the white stone was something that the likes of Bubare shouldn't carelessly say with their mouths.
"... Anyway, I'll be more careful about using the master's power from now on. First of all, let's have a snack while watching the fire (while Kaligo sisters weren't looking, Zephyrin threw the cookies they made out the window.) I hope after the incident is over, Sir Jin will rationally choose the date for the meeting."
***
April 4, 1800.
Everyone in the sword emperor castle spent the night with wide-open eyes. A huge enemy was approaching the castle, and the white stone seal surrounding Dante was revealing a darker color of chaos than yesterday.
The knights gathered in the castle still showed no signs of leaving Dante behind.
It wasn't because they believed in the power of the Vamel alliance. It wasn't because they gained any hope from the overwhelming victory in the first battle. It wasn't because they believed that Jin could display another miraculous power.
The knights knew very well that when Zipfel's real main force came, the Vamel Alliance and themselves would not be able to handle it.
The reason why the Hairan knights didn't leave was a matter of loyalty, belief, and efficiency.
"If anyone has to leave, it should be Sir Jin, not us," Shuras Helter said.
He didn't look well due to the injuries suffered in the first battle. Jin met his eyes without answering .
"Sir Jin and the Vamel Alliance have fought enough for us. I can't express my gratitude in words.... But Sir Jin, you and your people will be swept away by Zipfel's fire at this rate."
"Sir Shuras, I am Runcandel. Runcandel and Zipfel are originally enemies that kill each other."
"That's not a reason for you to die in this land, Sir Jin. Don't you have the whole life in front of you, Sir Jin? Wouldn't it be right to plan for the future, rather than die fighting with us here? The enemies will arrive when midnight passes and it becomes dawn."
"I will not die in this land, Sir Shuras. And it is right to plan for the future...… The same goes for the knights of Hairan."
"No, it is different. We have no future. You may have plans to evacuate us and incorporate us into the Vamel alliance or Runcandel for our safety. But if you do, we will be burdened with the guilt of abandoning Hairan for the rest of our lives."
While Jin was choosing his words, Shuras turned his gaze to Dante's seal and continued.
"Sir Jin. To put it bluntly, we are worthless. Strength, wisdom, wealth, and influence within the empire. It's all insignificantly small. The role of most of the knights gathered for Hairan in this war is like cannon folders."
"Oh, come on. Why are you talking like that? Huh? Thanks to you, the refugees have saved their lives, and Dante too, right? He gained courage, and it doesn't look good when you lower yourself. You guys were cool, you know. Why belittle yourselves?"
"Since the Black Dragon said that, I don't know what to say. But even after all that, we are insignificant beings in this war."
"Oh, so you're saying it doesn't matter if you die, so you'll just sit still and die?"
"Rather, we can deal a blow to the enemies by dying in this land. Zipfel and the Empire trampling on the insignificant knights who fought until the end to keep their faith...… Our enemies will lose their honor by killing us. Sir Jin, haven't you often defamed them more than anyone else?"
"I've never sacrificed my life to tarnish the enemies' honor."
"While you may not have sacrificed it, you must have risked it every time. We also risk our lives for that. To tarnish their honor. This is the most meaningful counterattack ordinary knights like us can make against great forces."
From Shuras' perspective, his words were not wrong.
Jin also knew it well. The reason he wanted to save the knights gathered for Hairan was simply that he didn't want to witness their deaths.
"If you continue like this, I'll save you even if it's by force."
"Sir."
Shuras grabbed Jin's hand and lowered his head.
"Sir Jin... Please respect us. As a fellow martial artist, as a companion who fought together."
"Isn't it too much for me, Sir Shuras? It's just like you are asking me to watch you die."
"There's nowhere else to ask for respect other than from you. I'm sorry, it seems that only wretched beings who throw away their grace are left."
Shuras held Jin's hand for a while, then turned around and left with firm footsteps.
"Murakan."
"Yes."
"Before midnight today, stun all the knights except for the front line of Hairan with Sir Valkas, and Proch siblings, and send them to Tikan."
"All of them?"
Just as he was about to answer 'all of them.'
Cuicantelle sighed as she grabbed Jin's shoulder.
"Miss Cuicantelle."
"That man Shuras, even if he said that... He spent the night going around convincing all the clans gathered for Hairan. He said that it was too harsh for them to endure, and told them to leave and lighten the burden for the rest, leaving only himself and the old knights behind."
"Whoa."
"It looked like something he was doing not because he wanted to survive, but because he knew it was a judgment for you. And even I could feel his inside pain."
"Even so, too many lives are at stake. Do you mean to tell the Kid that just let them die? Are you joking?"
"… Also, the knights still haven't given up hope for Ron. Imagining themselves absent when Ron wakes up is even more horrifying than death to them."
It is obviously painful for Jin that the knights do not leave the castle and prepared for death.
But for the knights, the significance of their existence was at stake.
"That's why respecting them might be a good idea. Jin, it's painful for you too. But for them, it's a matter of their very existence."
For a long time, Jin couldn't take his eyes off the door through which Shuras had left.