A battle against the demons. The day has come when the citizens of Borvat will be told so.

　A little less than 10,000 soldiers, including about 6,000 survivors of the main army of Borvat, 3,000 heraldic soldiers, and a few volunteers.

　Only a few of them made it through the night without sleeping. In this city, with the tension of war and the uncertainty of when the demons would turn on them, it was extremely difficult to just sleep. As the pale sunlight illuminated the mid-air, the soldiers finally took a breath.

　They were equipped differently, came from different regions, and carried different banners. The common denominator was that their distant fathers had undoubtedly killed each other with spears and swords.

　Now they have only one goal.

　Eliminate the demons that have taken root in the capital of Borvat. Everyone had a feeling that the state of this city was the future of humanity.

　Anxiety is natural. The demons that Borvat's army had fought and defeated head-on, and the great demons that stood behind them.

　What could this huddled mass of people do in the face of them? Isn't this just giving us a place to die?

　Such doubts and fears were bitten away by the soldiers with their overflowing will to fight. They thought that dying on the battlefield would be a much better way to die than being tortured by demons and dying in misery.

But I never thought I'd be in command again. I thought that was Lugis-dono's job.

　I thought it would be Lugis's job," said Mastighios the Magician General as he looked closely at the soldiers lined up before the final battle. His voice was calm, yet his demeanor was dignified. It's something he's learned since joining the army.

　On this day, before the final battle, not only Mastighios, but also many other commanders were gathered in front of the soldiers. It was almost a simple review ceremony.

　While the soldiers looked at Mastighios and the commanders, they were also putting the final touches of heat into their preparations for the battle.

　In truth, Mastighios and the others cannot tell what the demon army will do. If you think they are coming to crush you immediately, they are taking an oddly long time to do so.

　But even so, a straightforward assault from us would inevitably result in defeat. The enemy outnumbers us in numbers and outnumbers us in quality. That's why we must build defensive positions on the streets inside the city and move forward little by little to see where the enemy is going. And then they would have to go on the offensive, building up their position again.

　Fortunately, the demons were not as patient as the humans. As soon as they realized that the human side had finished their preparations, they began to accumulate the demon army again.

　Perhaps, Mastighios thought, they wanted to crush us once and for all. They're going to attack us today.

　Kalia responded to Mastighios' words, her silver hair shining at her side.

No. I don't know how well he can command now, and I don't want him to command too much in the first place.

　Mastighios opened his eyelids involuntarily at Kalia's cold words. If you don't want him to, does that mean he's not good at commanding?

　Although Mastighios had not directly seen Lugis' command of the troops, he had heard of many battles in which he had led the troops to victory, such as the Battle of Sarnio. I had never heard of any rumors that he was not good at managing troops.

　Nor did I expect it to come out of the mouth of a follower of Lugis, of all people, Caria.

"You don't want me to do this because you have no experience? I'm sure you're more popular with the troops than you deserve.

　Kalia's silver eyes narrowed in response to Mastighios' words.

Yes, he's very good with soldiers. He drinks with his men as if they were his brothers and sisters. But that's no way to be a commander, General.

　Kalia was less reserved, even with Mastighios. But his words were frank, and Mastighios immediately understood his intentions.

"I see. So this is what you are trying to say. You're good with soldiers. But you can't tell them to die.

　Kalia shook her head only slightly.

　Or, more accurately, you can tell them to die. But then you say that you will die with them, and you do.

　As a general, that's not possible. A general must survive, even if it sometimes costs the lives of 10,000 men.

　The value of a general's life is different from that of a soldier's. But Lugis easily put the same price tag on his own life as on that of his soldiers.

　It was horrible. His death would upset many gears, and at the very least, humanity would lose a card to play against the demonic.

　And Kalia herself had no idea what would happen to her if Lugis died. Pressing her fingers against her temples, Kalia lets out a heavy breath.

　She suddenly remembered the words that Agathos, the jewel, had said to her last night.

　--Love is blind. Love is blind. It affirms all means.

　Say what you like. Without thinking, Kalia bit her lip hard.

　I don't think this is normal. It's more like a temporary dream. Lugis has only been robbed of his memories and past, and he will surely regain what he needs.

　But still... You should teach him what you need to teach him now. Maybe because it was so close.

　--What, are you trying to say she was my girl?

　How can you say no when he asks you like that?

　In fact, Kalia has no idea what Lugis thought of her before. But Karia was not strong enough to answer no when he asked her directly.



　And maybe even Lugis was thinking about it. Even if she didn't, if she said it now, she might be aware of it when she recovers her memory.

　The pain of having drunk lead and the pleasure of poison are coexisting in Kalia's heart.

　She had never been taught how to handle this in her studies as a knight.

"Mister Kalia, Mister Kalia. Are you alright? Lord Lugis will be speaking to the soldiers soon.

　Suddenly, his vision brightened. She rubbed her eyes, apparently lost in thought. On the steps of a simple wooden platform, Lugis looked out over the crowd of soldiers.

　Before the final battle, the general looks at the soldiers and the soldiers look at the general. It was especially important that Rougis, the man who had been instrumental in the retaking of Mastighios, appear before the soldiers and give them a pep talk.

　For this purpose, he took the time to gather the troop leaders, who were normally divided to some extent, at the camp on the main street.

　Karia could see that Lugis was looking at a piece of parchment in one hand on the table. It was a draft of the speech that Caria and Mastighios had been working on for several days.

　The current Lugis didn't seem to have the slightest intention of speaking to the soldiers or people. Therefore, I compromised with him by having him read the draft that I had made. Apparently, he did not forget the parchment.

　Karia looked up at Rougis with a slight sense of relief.

　Rougis looked at the parchment lightly - and then tossed it aside and opened his mouth.

I heard that these people are a bunch of idiots.

　There was not a single word of that in the draft. I'm not sure if this is a good idea or not, but it's a good idea.


　I'm not sure what to say.


　I'm not sure if this is a good idea or not.

Why are all these humans here?

　I'm not sure what to make of this. I'm not sure what to make of this.

I'm sure they're trying to kill the demons and the demon army. What's wrong, did your memory fail you again?

"No. I've heard that before. You guys know what a demon is, there's no way a bunch of mere mortals can defeat a demon. I really thought there wouldn't be that many humans on the day.

　This is the reason why it's so important for you to have a good understanding of what you're doing. Dohasura agreed with that opinion.

　I don't understand why humans are gathering like this to fight against the demons. They wouldn't even be able to hurt a demon anyway.

　But at the same time, Dohasura thinks, Lugis has changed a lot.

　His strengths of caution, daring cunning, and an eye for human emotion were gone, and only a strange fearlessness remained now.

　Perhaps this was his true nature, and the rest was fostered by memory.

　What is certain is that he will probably never be able to create the kind of centripetal force that would make soldiers run to their deaths together. But for this moment, he must be made to mend.

It's that simple. They're all idiots!　If I were you, I'd run away as soon as you asked me to fight a demon!

Yes, I understand. Please shut up for a minute.

　I'm sure you're not thinking of anything else," Doherty said, holding Shadrapto in place with one hand. It was strange to see the boyish Doherty holding down the taller Shadraupt.

"Well, yes. It's strange for me, a demon, to say this, but... The point is, it's because you're here.

"Because I'm here?

　I'm sure you're not the only one who has a problem with this. Doherty said, holding Shadrapto's head.

You've been leading your troops in battles that have been called reckless and reckless, and you've won. That's why we're all counting on you. But of course, against a demon, you're prepared to die as much as you can.

　Well, please cheer up the troops with this as planned, said Dohasura, handing a small rolled up parchment to Rougis.

　Rougis took it, but only glanced at it and seemed uninterested. In fact, he even repeated what Dohasura had said in his mouth and seemed to be thinking about it.

　As it was, Lugis showed his back and walked up the stairs. You can see Doherty opening the parchment proudly on top of the hill.

"...... No, I think it's time to let go!　I'm not sure what to make of that.

　Shadrapto slaps Dohasura's arm and asks her to release him. To be honest, Doherty didn't really want to give her too much freedom because he didn't know what she would do.

　However, he couldn't stand the noise, so he finally tried to loosen his arm.

I heard that these people are a bunch of idiots.

　The voice came out. Without thinking, Dohasura's cheeks fluttered and he choked Shadrapto.