“I have no idea,” Elliot said. “They finally broke through the walls. It makes no sense to throw away that victory.”
Both heroes were left utterly perplexed by the inexplicable retreat.
Moolah looked over her shoulder at Metel. There were currently two heroes within the city. The appearance of a second hero had been unexpected, but she had more than enough forces to make up for it. It wouldn’t be hard for her to overwhelm them.
It wouldn’t be hard, but defeating the heroes would defy Demon Lord Nakshatra’s will—and that of the Evil God. Above all else, she hated the idea of dancing atop Lishbaum’s palm.
“With the slightest push, I could’ve defeated them right then and there...”
If her goal was simply to defeat them, all she had to do was unleash the three grotesque demons. That she couldn’t was a nuisance. But this was her duty.
This was why Moolah preferred doing things with her own hands. She didn’t want to borrow the power of some shady bastard who appeared out of nowhere. She wanted everything to be accomplished by the demons who’d been there from the beginning.
“I’ll get things done my way...”
To fulfill Nakshatra’s will, she had to exhaust a hero’s spirit and power. Now that there were two heroes here and not just one, she had to change her approach.
To make adjustments to the plan, Moolah pulled out a certain item wreathed in miasma.
A huge horn. A fragment of a blade. A chunk of meat.
Anyone who knew what it was would recognize it at a glance. Moolah handed it to one of her subordinates.
“Go. Set the stage.”
If this succeeded, the capital would fall with ease. Even with two heroes there, their struggle against the grotesque demon meant what she was about to set in motion would be overkill. Anyone else would probably see this as her defying orders. However, she had to take action, “just in case.”
“Everything is as you will...” Moolah muttered to herself, as if offering up a prayer.
After confirming that the demons had retreated, Reiji and Elliot fell back to the second walls. Christa would contact Mizuki’s group while the two of them caught their breath, and once their stamina and mana had recovered somewhat, they headed inside the walls to rendezvous with Mizuki.
The major question on everyone’s minds was the demons’ inexplicable retreat. The demons had broken through the first walls, had sowed chaos among Astel’s ranks—their offense was only just beginning. And yet, they’d fallen back as if that had been their goal all along.
“What the heck is going on...?” Reiji muttered.
Was this part of their strategy? Reiji figured it might be a plan to lure the soldiers out of the castle, but Astel’s forces were playing by the rulebook. They dedicated themselves to repairing the walls and adjusting their defensive formations. They weren’t going to take the bait.
“I don’t know what they’re planning, but there’s no point brooding over it,” Elliot said, slapping Reiji on the shoulder. “In these kinds of situations, you’re better off getting some rest. You can think about it once your mind is back in prime condition.”
“Really...? Mm. I guess that makes sense.”
Reiji did as Elliot suggested and just stopped thinking about it. Elliot was right. Reiji’s mind was out of sorts, and in this state he wasn’t going to be able to figure anything out. The battle with the grotesque demon had simply exhausted that much of Reiji’s spirit.
“Oh, would that be the princess?” Elliot said, standing up on his tiptoes as he spotted someone.
“Yeah, it’s Tia.”
Reiji saw her too. She was currently surrounded by soldiers, ordering them on the distribution of rations. Despite putting up such a fight atop the walls, she was already right back to work. Reiji couldn’t help but admire her.
Rations were apparently being allocated to those unable or unwilling to evacuate. At a glance, it was clear to see how drained everyone was, physically and mentally.
Setting those thoughts aside, Reiji walked up to her. “Tia, good work today.”
“Oh, Reiji-sama,” she said. “Christa-dono has informed me of the situation. I’m glad you’re unharmed.”
“Thanks. You sure you don’t need to rest?” Reiji asked.
“I’m fine. Now is not the time for that,” Titania said.
“Really? You were fighting just a few minutes ago,” Reiji pointed out. “I think it’s better not to push yourself.”
“No, this is nothing,” Titania insisted with earnest eyes. “There are those around us who are pushing themselves far harder.”
“Tia...”
Reiji’s worry for Titania only worsened. She had a strong sense of responsibility, but what if that ended up crushing her?
“It’s alright,” Titania told him.
At that moment a gruff voice suddenly piqued Reiji’s senses. He turned out of curiosity and saw a fight break out over rations.
“That’s...”
“Oh no. We must stop them immediately!” Titania shouted, raising her voice in a fluster.
She immediately ordered the soldiers to intervene in the fight. But the uproar had already influenced the crowd; chaos was spreading. The soldiers weren’t able to keep it under control, and as result Titania stoutly set forth herself.
“Stop this at once!” she roared at those responsible.
Normally, everyone in the area would fall silent and listen to her, but now her voice had no effect on the aggravated civilians. They shouted back at her, with nobody seeming to recognize just who they were yelling at.
“Shut up!”
“We don’t gotta listen to you!”
“There are more than enough rations!” Titania yelled. “There’s no need to rush! Wait your turn!”
“Wait?! And what’re we supposed to do if we lose our share?!”
One of the instigators of the fights tried to grab Titania.
“Hyah?!”
Caught off guard by the unexpected action and probably exhausted from the battle, Titania failed to get out of the way and lost her balance. She fell backward and put out her hand to catch herself, scraping it along a sharp edge. A line of blood ran down her slender white arm.
“Tia!” Reiji shouted, rushing over to her.
“You cur! Do you have any idea who this is?!” one of the soldiers roared.
“Like I give a damn!” one of the civilians shouted back.
“Give us our fucking rations!”
Reiji lent Titania a shoulder to help her get back on her feet. Things kept getting worse by the second.
“You’re hurt...!” he shouted.
“I-I’m fine...” Titania muttered, smiling to put him at ease. “It’s just a scratch.”
Reiji’s eyes were glued to the bright red blood trickling down her arm.
“How dare you!” he roared, glaring at the man who was responsible for this.
Titania had fought for her country’s sake—was drenched in sweat doing everything she could for her people—and this was how they treated her?
“How dare I what?!” the man shouted back at him.
“You don’t know...? Do you have any idea what you’ve done...?” Reiji asked him.
“Ah? Who the hell cares about that?! Just give me my—”
Just? Just what? As long as you’re fine, it’s okay for other people to get hurt?
And as those thoughts crossed Reiji’s mind, he heard a voice calling to him out of nowhere.
“If you can’t stand him, crush him.
“Wouldn’t it be so easy for you?”
Yes. He could just crush this scum. It would be so simple. He had more than enough power to do so now. Compared to the grotesque demon he’d been fighting not long ago, it would be like taking candy from a baby.
Before he knew it, Reiji had the weaponized Ishar Cluster in his hand. Anger surged through every pore in his body. Those around him must’ve sensed something was wrong; after a single sobbing shriek, the area fell silent.
“R-Reiji-sama...! I’m fine! I’m alright! Stop!” Titania screamed.
“B-But...”
“Reiji-sama, please contain your temper! I’m begging you!”
Thanks to Titania’s desperate pleas, Reiji slowly regained his composure.
“Fine...”
With that, he returned the Ishar Cluster to its original form and stowed it in his pocket. Still, thanks to this, the uproar had died down and everyone started to obey the soldiers’ commands.
“Your Highness, what will we do about these men?” one of the soldiers asked.
“Forget about it,” Titania told him. “We can’t drive the people further into a corner. So long as they receive rations, they’ll be sure to calm down.”
“As you say...”
At Titania’s command, nobody was to be punished over this matter.
“Why did they have to try and steal from each other like that...?” Reiji mumbled with a sigh. “In times like these they should be supporting each other...”
“This is what it means to be in a battle with your back to the wall,” Elliot told him. “These men haven’t even gone off the deep end yet. You’ve never seen friends plunder from each other?”
“Back home, whenever a disaster happened, people were more likely to help each other,” Reiji explained.
“I see... What a blissful country,” Elliot remarked. “Oh, don’t misunderstand me. I don’t mean that sarcastically.”
It was then Reiji realized something. His shock must have partly come from how generally prosperous and peaceful his home was. But crucially, another reason he’d never seen such behavior was because his home was constantly exposed to natural disasters like earthquakes and typhoons. People helped each other because they couldn’t survive without each other. Buying up all the goods on the market was a frequent event, but Reiji had never seen people fight over goods out of pure self-interest.
The sight of it now wedged into Reiji’s heart like a splinter.