Agni was stunned as if hit with a hammer. He’d been under the belief that all giants were the same in leaving the weak to die and valuing the strong, even if they were the enemy, but Gallarus was showing a very different side now.
“But…but you ate my friend Romo!”
Gallarus sighed. “One thing that’s exceptional about you is your ignorance.”
Agni hated Gallarus’s guts, but for some reason, the king’s frustrated remark really got to him that day.
“Why are you interested in haitenios?”
“I just…want to know more about them.”
Agni visited the oldest of the ministers to ask about avians. He was not prepared for the answer he got.
“Well, the common name for haitenios is parasite birds. As they near maturity, they burrow into the body of their parent and begin to eat them from the inside out, absorbing their power.”
“Wait… So if I kept one as a pet…”
“It would recognize you as its parent, and one day, it would wait for you to fall asleep and devour you. They spread here with us when the king annexed our land.”
The minister used to be a warrior from the Kingdom of Wind. The Kingdom of Wind had trained flying monsters to fight alongside soldiers. The fierce haitenios were valued allies, but raising them required extreme caution. Almost everyone knew that.
“One thing that’s exceptional about you is your ignorance.”
Agni was overcome with shame, having finally realized it hadn’t been out of cruelty that Gallarus killed his pet haitenio. The minister smiled warmly at the boy.
“You understand the king now?”
“…”
“King Gallarus isn’t impulsive. Say he spotted a bandit. He wouldn’t take any action immediately, letting the bandit go free. He’d do that in order to discover the bandit’s hideout and every one of his accomplices, and only then, he’d deal with them all at once. Despite appearances, Gallarus is deliberate and logical…”
Gallarus didn’t let his emotions weigh in on his decisions. He always thought in the long term and followed sound logic.
He wouldn’t kill the orphans because by supporting and training them, he earned himself more loyal soldiers. Agni was no exception.
The boy deeply regretted his prior actions.
“Make up for past mistakes by fighting valiantly on the battlefield. This will please the king the most,” the minister advised him, and Agni resolved to do just that.
He soon began to distinguish himself in battles, climbing up the ranks until he became the general of the army and Gallarus’s right-hand man.
For decades, Arvosa, the Kingdom of Fire, had been growing in strength, building up its army until it had many powerful soldiers besides General Agni. Their preparations complete, they started a full-scale war against the other five kingdoms. In the blink of an eye, the Kingdom of Steel was annihilated.
“…”
But when the news of victory reached the king, he didn’t even twitch.
“Your Majesty! The army reports the Kingdom of Thunder will be the next to fall!”
“Tell them to keep going.”
Of the five kingdoms, which had so tenaciously defended themselves against Arvosa, only four remained. The scales had been tipped toward Arvosa, and it seemed only a matter of time before Arvosa defeated all the other kingdoms…until another messenger burst into the castle with a new report.
“Your Majesty! The united armies of the Kingdom of Light, Kingdom of Darkness, and Kingdom of Wood have breached our borders and are advancing on the capital!”
The jubilant mood instantly changed to shock. Fighting could already be heard outside. The foe was suddenly at the heart of their kingdom. For the first time in Arvosa’s history, the king’s castle was under siege.
From his throne, Gallarus spoke to his elderly minister, who used to be the general in the army of the Kingdom of Wind.
“…Do you insist even now that I stay here instead of leading my army?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Your death would mean the death of Arvosa. You’ve been building your army so that they may fight without you.”
“It’s not working very well if the enemy’s made it this far.”
“Your Majesty, I ask you to please trust your soldiers.”
Gallarus thought the minister was sheltering him unnecessarily, but he had no interest in continuing the conversation. He got off his throne.
“Y-Your Majesty?! Where are you going?!”
“The common people must be anxious. Don’t want to have them revolt while we wait for the army’s return.”
He headed out to the castle town.
The civilians were as terrified as if they’d seen ghosts. Nobody in the land had ever experienced a siege. The sounds of battle just outside the town walls scared children into wailing loudly, and even adults were shrieking and lamenting—but the sudden appearance of a certain man immediately silenced the cacophony on the streets.
“I-it’s the king!”
“King Gallarus is here!”
Gallarus walked unhurriedly, looking around with interest. The civilians parted way for him and bowed their heads low as he passed by. The king’s appearance created an unreal atmosphere; it seemed as if even the sounds of fighting had grown more distant.
Gallarus found a spot to sit down. He set down a massive wine cask he’d brought next to him on the ground, and then he began to talk in a voice so mighty, probably everyone in the castle town could hear him.
“The peerless army of Arvosa isn’t going to lose to the losers from the Five Kingdoms’ Alliance! Come, talk and drink with me while we wait for our soldiers’ triumphant return!”
The anxious civilians began to calm down. They came over to the king to thank him for coming out to reassure them, and then they toasted together and chatted for a while. Along with the townspeople’s trust in their army, the morale of the soldiers guarding the castle town was also restored. They defended the main gate, which had almost been breached, with renewed ferocity, pushing the enemy back.
“Nobody sleeps until our army returns victorious!” ordered Gallarus.
The castle town was as lively as if they were holding a festival.