A flickering purple light ran in front of Philos-Treit's eyes.

　To tell the truth, he didn't know what had happened at that moment. All he knew was that the captain, who should have been standing beside him, had pushed him.

　He was pushed, and when he fell off his horse, he must have been knocked from the shoulder to the ground. The right side of his body ached strangely.

　I tried to tell the captain what I was doing. Philos thought he would get the usual swear words from the captain.

　The moment he looked up, something hot splashed against his cheek. Something hot, with an unpleasant odor. Reflexively, he wipes it off with his finger. He could see a nearly black red color slick on his fingertips.

　Perhaps it was the effect of falling off his horse, but for a few seconds he didn't realize that it was blood. What? Blood is a natural part of warfare. It shouldn't be unusual.

　But the red liquid stained his cheeks and hair, one after the other. Shiro eyes looked up, wondering where all this blood was coming from.

　I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing. It should be the same figure - if only the body and neck hadn't been separated.

　The sword that the captain was holding in his hand had been cut in two, and a purple foreign object was now sticking out of his neck instead of his head. For a moment, it even looked like a bizarre object to Philos.

　The strange object was spewing out red liquid without stopping. Philos's cheeks and body were stained again. The stench of iron caressed his nostrils.

　After a moment, the body of the captain, who must have lost his strength and couldn't move a single finger, collapsed and let himself fall to the ground. At the same time, a voice echoed.

"Listen to me, soldiers of the city of Philos. Your commander has collapsed here!　I won't cut your back if you run away, platoon leader, gather your men and return to the city!

　Or I'll drag your intestines out. Philos saw the face of a man echoing these words.

　Eyes glowing with fire. Eyes that glowed with fire, a green uniform, and a tyranny that twisted fear. There was Lugis, the man of vice and malice.

　He killed his own men. And so he killed the captain.

　Philos understands that it's only natural. On the battlefield, I had risen up as his enemy. It would be unreasonable to hold a grudge against him just because he killed a soldier or someone he was somewhat close to.

　Depending on the course of the war, we might have killed someone close to him, or even him.

　I am well aware of that. So Philos doesn't want to throw his feelings at him, and he doesn't want to be unforgivable. But...

Wait. Lugis--Lugis the Vicious.

　Philos stood up on his knees, which seemed to be convulsing, and forced himself to stand up straighter. I couldn't tell if my voice was clear or not. The voice that had always been full of confidence since he had taken over the name of Philos seemed to be weak and thin at this moment.

　Fortunately, Philos's voice seemed to have reached Lugis in the midst of the barbaric shouts and noise of the battlefield. His steely eyes stared at Philos from his mount.

　His eyes are piercing, which sounds good, but they are not the eyes of a good man. I wonder if he can understand me at all," he says, his lips twisting for a moment.

"The head of the Autonomous City of Philos, the Autonomous City Corps, is not himself. I, Philos-Treit, am the ruler of the city and the head of the Autonomous City Guard.

　Perhaps this is not the right name to use. True or not, this Lugis is saying that he will let the City Militia go. Considering the fact that the High Priest's army is probably already on its way, it's not hard to believe his words.

　Therefore, the right thing to do is to leave quietly with the soldiers and return to the autonomous city of Philos. That must be the best option for a ruler.

　But Philos was not the kind of man who could make such a decision. The more he thought about being the best ruler he could be, the more he couldn't bear the thought of just running away without saying anything.

　A ruler has a responsibility. I can't accept that the captain died here and I survived and that's all that matters.

　The sunlight shone on Philos' glasses. For a moment, Lugis raises his eyebrows and seems to chew on Philos' words. Then he says. Philos looks at Lugis' expression, ready to have his head chopped off.

Just as well, then. The troops are in disarray, just gather them up and pull them out.

　Rougis said, as if it was nothing. Philos opened his eyes and looked at Lugis' expression. He had a look on his face that was neither nervous nor angry, just stating the obvious.

　Even more, Philos' thoughts are confused. No matter how you look at it, the words he speaks are not the words you would throw at an enemy commander. On the contrary, if you find an enemy commander or ruler, aren't you supposed to capture him or behead him? Why did I come forward with this in mind?

　He felt a throbbing in his blood.

"Do you think less of me, sir? I am the ruler of the city of Philos, and I do not take kindly to--

"Well. Well then, you can do as you please. I'm sorry, but I don't have time for this.



　Really, Lugis said, as if he didn't care. As if he didn't care about Philos. He reined in his horse and quickly disappeared from Philos' sight. He probably went to cross blades with the High Holy Church army.

　His cheeks twitched. Philos felt his back teeth chattering.

　He wondered if Lugis didn't believe him, or if he thought he was just talking nonsense. Or perhaps there was some other reason to overlook it. It could be a statement that he does not want to actively antagonize Philos.

　But right now, there was something in Philos' heart that shone with a heat that was clearer than anything such reason could tell him.

　--I've been insulted. He was underestimated, not worthy of a word.

　My head starts to smoke. Philos felt his cheeks burn and his eyes water in the flames of humiliation.

　From the past, he didn't want to be underestimated. Because being underestimated and underestimated is always something that can only be taken away from you. It's not a matter of strength or weakness, it's a matter of who you become if you're underestimated and underestimated.

　Oh, I still remember. The brothers and sisters of the Treit family who once underestimated, belittled, and mocked you as an adopted child. I guess my adoptive parents treated me like a tumor and kept me away. How many times have I been humiliated by my brothers and sisters when they were out of sight?

　They made me beg, shine their shoes with my bare hands, and beat me up many times. They treated me as if I were a servant.

　Still, I thought that if I could deepen our friendship, if we could exchange words, we could become a real family someday. I thought so. After all, he had been with the Treit family since he was a baby, when he had never known his real parents.

　--I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do it, but I'm going to have to.

　His first eye blazes up. I'm not going to let you get away with it.

　I'll never forgive you. I'm sure you'll be able to figure out what's going on. That man too. I'll make him regret he didn't kill me right here. I'll make you regret it.

　Pain leaks from my toothy lips.

"Listen, Philos autonomous soldiers-- retreat!　Collect as many wounded as you can!　Platoon leaders, gather your men!

　The platoon leader collects his troops! In the event that you've got any questions regarding where and the best way to get in touch with us, we'll be happy to assist.

　At any rate, for now, there was no choice but to retreat. It's not a situation where you can fight, and I'm sure the captain didn't push you away at the end of the day to let your life and your soldiers die in vain.

　I know that. I know that, and I know that I should be happy that Lugis let me off the hook, if that's what the captain wanted. But still... My heart refuses to accept it. Shiro teeth, snapping.

　--Hyuh-uh!

　A powerful arrow whistles past Philos. The bow and arrow now firing from behind him is the only one from the Archbishop's army. Perhaps they have given up on the disintegrating Philos soldiers and have sent their archers forward to shoot the heraldic army dead. They may have given up on the disintegrating Philos army and sent their archers forward to shoot the heraldic army, even involving the Philos city soldiers.

　The heraldry and the high holy orders... He'll lick them all off. It's almost refreshing. Even a smile of mockery flashed across his face.

　Even with the bitter taste of defeat on his tongue, Philos repeatedly called out to his soldiers to retreat.