Time passed, and the last day of February arrived.
A memorial service for all those who had lost their lives on this front was held.
Then, as days passed, March came.
With the chill of early spring still in the air, troops and supplies from all over the world began to arrive in Crossroad.
"I've never seen Crossroad this busy in my life..."
Evangeline exclaimed softly, looking down at the bustling city.
As troops arrived in full force and supplies began to accumulate, the city was busier than ever.
Looking at the crowded barracks filled with carriages and soldiers, I nodded my head in approval.
"Good thing we built additional barracks."
Months ago, just before the existing barracks were full, I had ordered the construction of new ones.
The new barracks were completed just in time, and new troops began pouring in.
'Come on, move into the new expansion~'
As I received reports of the rapidly expanding troop situation and felt satisfied, Lucas cautiously added,
"Actually, even with the new barracks, we might still be short... If more troops come, we'll need more space."
"We'll have to order additional construction then."
As I pondered where to place the third barracks, Evangeline beside me started to babble.
"But what will we do with all these buildings once we've defeated the monsters?"
Hmm, indeed.
They'll be useful for a year, but after that, dealing with all these barracks will be a headache. They'll be empty.
I turned to Evangeline with a gesture.
"Evangeline Cross, the future Margraves, do you have any ideas?"
"Wha, what?! Future Margraves?!"
Evangeline jumped up in excitement at the mention of 'future Margraves'.
She crossed her arms and pondered deeply, huffing through her nose.
"That's right. By then, I'll be ruling this city as its Margraves... I should be the one to solve the problem of what to do with the military facilities. Ha!"
"Ah, I trust you with this responsibility, Margraves-to-be."
"Ho ho!"
Great, successfully delegated.
I grinned wickedly behind the seriously pondering Evangeline, and Lucas looked at me with a bitter smile. Whatever.
In addition to the troops, various military supplies also lined up into Crossroad.
As a result of discussions, countries that found it difficult to send troops instead sent money or supplies.
The military warehouses, having been expanded in advance, had no issues accommodating them.
'But we'll need to sort the wheat from the chaff.'
Whether it's troops or military supplies from various places, the actual useful proportion might not be that high.
We're not in a position to be picky, but we still need to sort through them.
'It's going to get busy...'
I was already busy enough, but oh well.
***
The third year of the monster front is about twice as harsh in terms of volume compared to the first and second years.
Over the past two years, we conducted 25 defensive battles.
In the third year, we have to conduct 25 defensive battles in just one year. In other words, stages 26 to 50 will all hit within a year.
The onslaught of monster waves will be double what we've seen so far. It's literally a wave-like offensive.
A very tough year lies ahead. But we can't just sit back because it's hard.
We need to prepare.
'So, we begin reconstructing the forward base.'
Before the monsters start pouring in more seriously.
We need to get the forward base operational again. In as complete a state as possible.
Fortunately, resources and manpower are flowing in from all over the world, and since we've rebuilt it once before, the task shouldn't be too difficult.
In the lord's office, I twirled a pen in my hand, lost in thought.
'The immediate task is to reconstruct the forward base. Sorting and reallocating the newly arrived troops and military supplies. And...'
Though a lower priority, the spoils from the last battle also needed to be dealt with.
'What equipment should I make with the magic core of White Night, and to whom should I give it...'
The opportunity to create a new Nightmare Slayer had arisen again.
Given that White Night was a very powerful sorceress, the Nightmare Slayer that could be created would undoubtedly be extraordinarily potent.
What kind of equipment should I make? Offensive gear? Defensive gear? An artifact? And if made, who should be the user? A mage? Or someone else?
"..."
But in truth, there was a more troublesome spoil than the equipment.
It was the information gleaned from delving into White Night's mind.
'Demon King, Outer Gods, the play of destruction...'
Stories from outside this world.
And the information I had gathered from various other places up to now.
Putting it all together, it seemed I was finally beginning to see the bigger picture.
'...Anyway, that's not what's important to me.'
The reality in front of me.
In the third year of the monster front, surviving with everyone. This was the real problem I had to devote all my efforts to solve.
So, putting aside the headache of all these settings, I was about to refocus on the pressing issues at hand...
That's when it happened.
Bang!
"Lord, it's a big problem!"
Lucas burst into the office, his face filled with urgency. I blinked my eyes.
"What is it? What happened?"
It wasn't time for the monsters to attack yet, was it?
"It's about some of the new troops who have just joined us..."
Lucas reported, sweating profusely.
"They're picking fights with our soldiers!"
"What?"
I snorted and leaned back in my chair. What now?
"Well, isn't a bit of jostling common? They usually get friendly through a bit of conflict. Kids become friends by fighting, right?"
Our kids aren't the type to get beaten up anywhere. Unless they are the ones doing the beating.
"Tell our kids not to just take it. If the other side starts something, show them what we're made of. The lord will take responsibility!"
"But, but..."
Lucas hesitated and looked at me cautiously.
"We can't really react strongly..."
"Huh? Why?"
"Because the other side has high-ranking individuals."
Ah. Right, that could happen.
Unlike other mercenaries who had joined the monster front, among those currently joining from around the world were several notable figures like royal family members and knights from various lands.
If they weren't of equal status, it might be difficult to handle them.
I grunted and stood up from my seat.
"Looks like I have to sort out the pecking order after selecting the best..."
What can I do? This is a natural occurrence when organizations merge.
I put on my coat and stepped out of the office, with Lucas leading the way. I shouted with gusto.
"Alright, let's go! Time to firmly establish the discipline of these new recruits!"
***
New barracks.
At the entrance of this place, already chaotic with newly arriving soldiers, two opposing forces were engaged in a tense standoff. Blocking the way, what are they doing!
On one side stood our soldiers and heroes.
Impressively built figures - Kuilan and Torkel at the forefront, along with the formidable blind swordsman Nobody, the dark sorceress Chain, and others, all scowling and emitting a menacing aura.
'Reassuring~'
It looked like a scene where they could teach manners to anyone, regardless of who the opponent was.
They seemed reliable enough to get a refund even after falling for some shoddy sales trick.
On the other side stood... a knightly order clad in silver armor and crimson cloaks.
Their armor and cloaks, uniformed and battle-worn with minor scratches, were impressive in their own right, but the creatures they had brought along were even more threatening.
A creature with the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion.
'Griffins!'
Saddled, and even armored, the griffins spread their beaks threateningly.
Our soldiers, seeing such creatures for the first time, flinched each time.
'If it's a military force that fights riding griffins...'
There's only one on this continent.
'Sky Knights!'
I craned my neck to find the commander of the opposing side. Soon, a boy knight standing out in the center of the knights caught my eye.
He had crimson hair, with one side braided long.
Like the knights around him, he was draped in silver armor and a crimson cape, with a rapier studded with a crimson gem at his waist.
The Northwestern part of the continent, between the desert and the snow mountains – the Vermillion Kingdom.
The crown prince and commander of the knights, Mikhail Vermillion!
'He's an SSR-grade!'
Moreover, Mikhail is not just any SSR-grade.
He's a unique position as a magic swordsman who fights riding a griffin, an air cavalry.
A character who can maneuver in the air, skilled in both magic and swordsmanship, receiving an insane amount of favor in the world setting.
'The only demerit is... he's young.'
He's fifteen in the current third year.
Evangeline was sixteen when she joined in the first year, but he's even younger than Evangeline was then.
His potential is MAX, but it's still a long way from full bloom.
In the game, he had negative traits like 'Error-Prone' and 'Rashness'. I guess they balanced his outstanding performance with various demerits...
Anyway, he was my number one recruitment target.
'In the game, Fernandez caused the downfall of the Vermillion Kingdom, turning him into a wandering prince of a fallen kingdom who joined towards the end.'
This time, with my and Fernandez's final battle brought forward, it seems the domino effect spared the Vermillion Kingdom from destruction... resulting in the crown prince and knights joining as part of the World Guardian Front.
'Anyway, it seems this Mikhail and the Sky Knights are the culprits picking fights with our guys.'
I strode towards them with Lucas. Our guys spotted me first and were overjoyed.
"Captain!"
"Have you arrived, Your Highness!"
I could feel a certain desperation in the eyes of our guys. 'Please show these guys what's what!'
"Hmm."
As I approached, Mikhail looked up at me, slightly squinting his round crimson eyes.
"Are you the famous Born Hater?"
"Am I famous even in the Vermillion Kingdom? That's flattering."
As I flashed a smile, Mikhail scowled and muttered.
"Of course, you're famous. As the human scum who broke off an engagement with my sister after just two weeks."
"..."
I froze, still smiling.
I could feel my subordinates staring at me in shock. Cold sweat ran down my spine.
'No, it's not my fault! I didn't know about this!'
What the hell was Ash of the past thinking, breaking engagements across the world?!
Wiping sweat from my forehead, I cautiously asked.
"Uh, excuse me... How is your sister...?"
"Oh, you don't have to worry about my sister. She was so angry after you broke off the engagement that she's had five husbands since then. She's doing well."
Is she really doing well?! It's not my fault she's gone off the rails, is it?!
"The broken engagement with my sister was a political issue between our countries, so it's not something to discuss now."
The young knight standing before me flared his small chin threateningly.
"What I want to discuss now is the situation on this front itself."
"The front itself?"
"Father was swayed by your threats and sent our Sky Knights, the kingdom's greatest force, as if giving everything away. But I'm not fooled by you."
Mikhail stood straight with his small stature, crossing his arms.
"Let's be honest. I don't understand why, for something as trivial as monster extermination, such a global mobilization of forces is necessary."
"..."
The expressions of our soldiers hardened. I too narrowed my eyes, furrowing my brows.
What did he just say? Little guy.
Just monster extermination?
Trivial... really?