Dusk Bringar, who had been staring blankly at me, suddenly sat up.
"Ash! Are you hurt anywhere?!"
"No, it's the Duchess who's injured, the Duchess! You have serious injuries, so please lie down."
"What? What are you... Ugh!"
As she tried to get up, Dusk Bringar moaned in pain and fell back onto the bed. Only then did she notice the bandages wrapped around her entire body.
"Uh. So, this is... what is this...?"
"Do you not remember wrapping me up and taking the breath attack in my stead?"
"Ah..."
It seemed she recalled the final moments of the battle against the eyes of the Black Dragon, and Dusk Bringar's voice faded weakly.
"Right, I remember now... I was about to do something dangerous again, and without thinking..."
"I at least had the minimum protective gear when I did that."
I was a bit sheepish but still spoke sternly.
"The Duchess even put her armor on me, and then took the breath attack bare-bodied. If you were going to do that, you might as well have worn the armor."
"Your safety was my top priority."
Dusk Bringar murmured in a voice still heavy with sleep.
"The life of the Commander of the Front here is at stake; how could I spare my armor?"
"..."
I clamped my mouth shut.
My recklessness in not taking care of myself is ultimately causing my heroes to get injured.
If I don't change this, more heroes will die trying to protect me.
'But what can I do if the difficulty itself is screwing with me...'
I scratched my head with a sigh and then explained what happened next.
"Thankfully, right after that, Nameless beheaded Ipian, stopping the breath attack in its tracks. A few seconds longer and you could have suffered much more severe injuries."
"That's typical sister Nameless for you... hehe."
This sister fixation... How did the ranks here at the front get so twisted.
Anyway, to finish explaining the situation... Nameless had shaken Ipian's head, and the battle ended.
But the last few seconds of the breath that Ipian unleashed with all his dying strength scorched Dusk Bringar's body.
Even though I deployed a shield with the rampaging power of the Red Dragon, it melted instantly, and even the heroes standing behind suffered minor burns.
Afterwards, returned to Crossroad. Spent a few days recovering from injuries and repairing equipment, waiting for Dusk Bringar to regain consciousness.
Just today, Dusk Bringar finally opened her eyes. I was honestly scared she wouldn't wake up at all, so I'm relieved.
I picked an apple from the basket beside her bed and peeled it myself. My skills aren't great, so it wasn't peeled very nicely, but still, this Dragon Lady needs to eat something.
"It's strange, the elders here at the front keep dramatically throwing their lives away. Shouldn't they be aiming for retirement? I do not permit it!"
"Right, as long as no one is seriously hurt, that's what matters."
"No, you were the one seriously hurt..."
As I handed her the apple I had peeled, Dusk Bringar took it without complaining and nibbled away.
"So, what day is it today? And what time is it about? It looks dark, so it must be night..."
"..."
I stopped peeling the apple.
I looked Dusk Bringar in the eye. Unaware of what was happening, she blinked her pumpkin-colored eyes.
"Phew..."
I wasn't keen on spilling everything to a patient, but I had to tell her the truth.
"The current time is noon, Duchess."
"...What?"
Dusk Bringar, startled, gestured towards the window.
"What are you talking about, it's this dark... Ah, is this some kind of joke? The jokes these young people make nowadays are so hard to understand..."
"It's no joke, Duchess."
With a sigh, I stood up and drew the curtains aside.
"...!"
Dusk Bringar widened her eyes and suddenly sat up from the bed.
Together, we looked up at the sky.
"It has been getting darker over the past few days... And now, even at what should be the brightest time, it has come to this."
"..."
"The day has disappeared from this world."
Outside, the sky stretched out, pitch black.
It was as if covered by an artificial veil, stiflingly dark, with the sun shimmering faintly and distantly in the center like a full moon.
I reiterated to Dusk Bringar, who clenched her fist.
"'Night' is coming, Duchess."
Night Bringar, as his name suggests, had finished preparing to descend.
And he draped the world in the veil of night.
Dusk Bringar, her face gone pale, bit down hard on her pointed teeth and suddenly turned to look at me. Just as she was about to speak—
"Your Excellency?!"
"You're awake, Your Excellency—!"
Her four personal dragon knights rushed into the room in a flurry.
Originally, they were nursing Dusk Bringar around the clock, and I had just taken over for a moment so they could rest, but it just so happened that Dusk Bringar woke up at that time.
The dragon knights, their eyes rimmed with red, clung to the Duchess like children.
Dusk Bringar, though flustered, soothed the dragon knights and scolded them for recklessly throwing themselves into danger.
"..."
Watching this from a distance, I slowly moved and left the hospital room. I didn't want to interrupt the time being shared by the sovereign and her subjects.
'There's no need to precisely inform her of the remaining time right now.'
Once outside the hospital room, the long corridor of the temple stretched out before me.
Despite it being midday, candles and torches were densely lit in the corridor, and standing there, I looked up at the dark sky again.
"..."
Truly, facing the swiftly approaching 'night,' I unwittingly clenched my teeth.
The final battle is just around the corner.
Stage 40. The invasion by Night Bringar.
Only 7 days left—
***
Whoooo—
The cold wind slices through the ears.
Although it's still autumn, as the veil of darkness fell over the sky and the sunlight weakened... the temperature dropped rapidly, as if it might start snowing at any moment.
'As if night wasn't enough, it had to bring winter forward too.'
"Why cause such a nuisance even before making an appearance."
Lord's mansion. Office.
Having returned, I grumbled as I threw a few more logs into the office's stove. Irritably pushing the fire poker into the stove and stirring it, I continued to grumble.
"He can't be satisfied without advertising his arrival everywhere... He enjoys seeing people panic and struggle because of him... Just like a brigade commander visiting the troops on a holiday..."
...Wait? Hold on, am I talking about myself?
I suddenly reflected on my own actions, as I had a habit of intruding into the heroes' quarters whenever I felt bored. But hey, it's fun playing with the troops, right? You guys agree, don't you?
"This 'veil of darkness' has emerged from the Black Lake, and is gradually covering the skies in the area."
And to entertain the brigade commander on his day off, the main party members had gathered here in this office.
Among them, Junior reported to me with a serious face.
"At first, it was just above the lake, but it has gradually expanded and now has engulfed Crossroad in its domain, and if it continues, within a few days the entire south... eventually, it is expected to cover the skies of the entire world."
"That's one hell of a scale..."
Stop the show of power, you damn dragon! You're breaking the balance of the world by yourself!
"...But I'm curious, how do people in this world perceive celestial bodies like the sun and the moon?"
"Huh?"
"You know, like the geocentric theory, or the flat earth theory, those kinds of things..."
I asked out of curiosity, wondering what people in this world thought of this phenomenon that made the sky dark. What was their astronomical view?
Junior then glanced at me as if I were talking nonsense.
"Of course, the heliocentric theory is the accepted view. The earth isn't flat, but spherical..."
"What! Why do you know this so well!"
'Became a heliocentric genius in a geocentric worldview fantasy world'... I had been fantasizing about introducing a new astronomical view and getting reactions like 'Wow, Prince Ash is amazing!'
It turned out that the heliocentric theory was naturally accepted here. I had unnecessarily gotten my hopes up. Oh well.
"Phew, but still, the earth moves..."
"Excuse me?"
"Never mind, just the usual nonsense from the prince... But really, does it make sense that magic could cover the sky this much?"
I tried to recall the earth science knowledge I'd almost completely forgotten from high school, but Junior calmly answered again.
"The opponent is a mythical dragon who rules over 'night.' There's nothing it can't do."
"...Ah, I see. There's nothing it can't do."
This darn fantasy world! It seems like common sense matches that of Earth, but then it doesn't!
"Ah..."
I swept my fingers across my forehead.
It wasn't a time to deny reality, whether scientific or magical. There was a real situation unfolding right before my eyes.
The sky was covered in darkness, the temperature was dropping sharply, and an early winter was approaching.
Right now, it might only be over Crossroad, but a week from now when Night Bringar makes his move... the day might truly disappear from the entire world.
If we fail to subdue Night Bringar, that night will continue forever.
The world will freeze over and ultimately drown in an unending darkness.
"...The soldiers are anxious, my lord."
Lucas, noticing the mood, cautiously spoke up. Evangeline followed suit.
"Not to mention the citizens. The whole city is in chaos."
"I see. Both the soldiers and the citizens..."
The next moment, we looked as if by agreement at the last member of our main party.
Click, clack, clank...
Damian was quietly maintaining and checking the condition of his magun.
His expression was calm, and his hands steady, but the problem was that we had never seen Damian do this in the office before.
He was anxious. Even the heroes who fought monsters at the forefront.
'It would be stranger if they weren't anxious.'
If they woke up to a world that was still dark, what could be more terrifying than that?
Up until now, the word 'doom' had hovered around us like an invisible atmosphere, a blurred air. Although unsettling, it had been a dull sensation.
But now, with the day erased, doom had become a clear reality hanging over our heads.
No one could be unafraid.
The end of the world was, truly, just around the corner.
"Prepare winter clothing that we had ready for the season, and distribute the stockpiled firewood. Start distributing it to the citizens as well."
That's why I directed practical measures.
To keep the minds of those floating in anxiety grounded.
"As instructed beforehand, continue doing what we can, as we have been doing."
The magic cores from Ipian we had reclaimed, as well as the stockpiled high-quality cores and materials, were all put into equipment production.
People worked day and night, and the southern wall was nearing the end of its construction. Everyone was putting in a death-defying effort in preparation for the final battle against the Black Dragon Legion.
From Plan A for the Black Dragon subjugation to Plan F in reserve in case of failure, all were prepared just for Crossroad.
Military advisors from various countries gathered worldwide brainstormed and devised strategies.
Under the directives of my father, Emperor Traha, Crossroad too was nearing the end of its preparations for the final battle.
'Of course, if Plan A... direct subjugation fails, then any subsequent measures from that point are merely desperate floundering...'
But it's better to try than not to. Those struggles might just work.
"I've said it many times, but the heroes who will go directly into Black Dragon subjugation... take some more rest."
I looked around at the main party members and smiled gently.
Tactics against the Black Dragon had been briefly briefed beforehand. Detailed tactical orders would be given again soon...
But still, I wanted to give the heroes a proper rest.
To fully recover from injuries sustained in previous battles and to muster all their strength for the last confrontation with the Black Dragon.
And, perhaps...
This might be the last peaceful time we could spend together.
"Until I call for assembly, take time to rest. You can ponder alone, spend time with loved ones, or even just lie down and sleep."
I grinned.
"Let's each endure this long night in our own way."
As soon as I finished speaking, the four exchanged glances...
"My lord, then I'll take a nap here for a bit... I stayed up all night and am tired."
"Ah! Me too, me too! I want to nap! Move over, uncle. Let me use your knee as a pillow!"
"Then, Your Highness, I'll just finish up the memo I was writing."
"This room is so warm and easy to breathe... I'll stay a little longer too, Prince."
Thus, all four naturally took their places on my office sofa and lay down. Oh well, that's how it is, huh?
I dragged my chair from behind the desk and placed it between the sofas, then sat down on it like lying down.
After that, there was no further conversation.
We spent the time quietly in front of the dying fireplace, listening to each other's breathing.
Looking into the flickering little flames, I hoped.
I hoped that this long night, before the final battle, would be peaceful for everyone.