A few days after the day of the conference of rulers.

    “We need to evacuate immediately! Even as we speak, the Demon King’s Army is advancing!”

    “That’s nonsense! Are you suggesting we abandon the Empire?”

    In the council chamber of the Sunrise Empire’s imperial palace, people were shouting at each other.

    “That’s not what I’m saying. Don’t you understand strategic retreat?”

    “That’s a hollow phrase! If we retreat now, and they occupy the area, we’ll never be able to reclaim the Empire.”

    “Then what do you suggest?”

    “We must stand our ground.”

    “That’s nonsense! How do you plan to stop the Demon King?”

    “...Enough!!”

    Amidst the heated debate between the two factions of ministers, Princess Limia, who had been holding her head in her hands, gritted her teeth and shouted.

    “Enough! You’re all too noisy!!”

    As her sharp voice resonated through the chamber, the ministers reluctantly fell silent and glanced at her.

    “The Demon King’s Army is only targeting the Academy, right?”

    Limia, surveying the ministers with a weary expression, shrugged her shoulders as she spoke.

    “Then can’t we just give up the Academy?”

    “Your Highness. If I may... could I speak?”

    “What is it? Go ahead.”

    Tilting her head in curiosity, Limia listened as a moderate minister, unaffiliated with any faction, began to explain.

    “Do you really believe the Demon King’s Army, whose goal is to destroy the world, will stop at just the Academy once they land in the Empire?”

    “Um...”

    “And even if they only attack the Academy, that is also a problem.”

    “Why so?”

    “Because what they seek is likely within the Academy. The Academy was the last stronghold against the Demon King a thousand years ago.”

    Hearing this, Princess Limia’s expression twisted dramatically.

    “The First Hero even sacrificed his life to protect the Academy. If the Demon King can’t capture the Academy, maybe he can’t destroy the world...”

    “Hero this, Hero that... I’m sick of it.”

    Interrupting the earnest minister’s explanation, Limia muttered with an irritated expression.

    “I’ve spent the whole week explaining the Hero’s statements... I’m fed up...”

    It was a rather inappropriate comment for a princess.

    “At least Lady Clana wasn’t incompetent.”

    “She was actually quite capable.”

    “Where on earth has she gone...”

    As a result, Limia’s already tarnished image from her careless remarks at the conference of rulers was further plummeting.

    “Can we win if we fight?”

    Despite everything, Limia, who relished the power she wielded in Clana’s absence, asked magnanimously.

    “The imperial army stands no chance. They might not even manage a proper battle.”

    “Then order the nobles to defend the Empire.”

    “We have already sent a round of letters, but the response has been minimal.”

    “What?”

    Limia’s expression turned icy as she glared at the ministers.

    “What do you mean, minimal?”

    “It’s partly due to those prioritizing their own territories... but the main issue is likely the Starlight family.”

    “...The Starlight Dukedom?”

    Seeing her confused expression, one of the few remaining elder ministers of the imperial family sighed and spoke up.

    As the head of the strategy department, a highly respected position, his words drew everyone’s attention.

    “The Starlight family, as the star that protects the Empire, holds considerable authority. Even the imperial family can’t easily overrule them.”

    “Hmm...”

    “You are aware of the thousand-year oath made with the Starlight family, the Hero’s descendants chosen by the gods, who are on equal footing with the imperial family, aren’t you?” Ra

    Listening to the elder minister who had held his position for many years, Limia nodded quietly.

    “One of the authorities granted to the Starlight family by that pact... is the right to approve private armies.”

    “...What?”

    “For the nobles of the Empire to raise or deploy private armies, they need the Starlight family’s permission.”

    “That’s absurd!”

    Limia stood up and raised her voice, shocked by the frightening truth.

    “How can a noble family, while being vassals of the Empire and the imperial family, hold military power that can control the entire nation?”

    “They are not just any noble family. They were chosen directly by the gods, representing one of the three families equal to the imperial family. They are the Hero’s descendants who saved the world.”

    “Then why haven’t we required that permission until now? The imperial family has controlled and managed private armies for centuries!”

    “The Starlight family has simply been considerate of the imperial family. They have entrusted their rights to the imperial family for centuries.”

    It wasn’t just Princess Limia; most of the newer ministers looked stunned, having never considered this.

    “And a few days ago... a public notice arrived from the Starlight family in the name of the Duke.”

    The elder minister’s expression grew even darker as he continued his report.

    “The message was simple. They are reclaiming all rights over the private armies that they had entrusted to the imperial family.”

    “That’s... that’s treason... a treason!”

    “Of course, we could consider it treason and mobilize the imperial army. The imperial family manages the imperial army, and the Starlight family manages private forces, so they can counterbalance each other.”

    “Then do it immediately...”

    “But we are in a state of war, Your Highness. We have no time to fight among ourselves.”

    “...Ugh.”

    “The head of the Starlight family, Abraham, who recently awakened from a long sleep and lost his son, the Second Hero, now holds the lifeline of the Empire.”

    As the elder minister finished his grim report, a suffocating silence fell over the chamber.

    “We have reinforcements, don’t we?”

    Princess Limia, sweating nervously, looked around and spoke with a forced smile.

    “Many countries have refused to send troops for various reasons, but some have agreed to send reinforcements, haven’t they?”

    Some students, losing their sanity as their status became meaningless due to the isolation, were in denial.

    “A-are we... all going to die here?”

    “The barrier’s there, right? So the Demon King’s Army can’t get in...”

    “Don’t be foolish! How many kingdoms have fallen relying on ancient magic!!”

    “I don’t want to die... Let me out...”

    Others were trembling in fear of death.

    “You... you guys are the Hero Party...!”

    “That’s right! Y-you guys can do something, right?”

    “Save us! Please...”

    And most of the students were surrounding the Hero Party on the sport field, pleading desperately.

    “The Demon King... can only be confronted by the hero.”

    However, the Hero Party couldn’t tell the students the truth they wanted to hear.

    “Only Frey... could stand against the Demon King.”

    Because the truth was clear.

    “Then where is Frey...?”

    The academy students recalled the incident that happened on the day Frey left.

    “Come to think of it... he cried a lot that day...”

    “Was that... his last moment...?”

    The briefing the Hero Party had given to the rulers had already been made known to the entire world.

    The sad story of a Hero that no one had known about.

    As they reached this realization, all the students surrounding the Hero Party fell silent.

    “Look over there, everyone...”

    In the long silence that followed, a student pointed outside the barrier.

    This is a live broadcast from the academy!

    Can you see this?

    Some reporters, fearlessly approaching the barrier, were holding up signs and pointing their recording devices at it.

    Send us your messages!

    Seeing this, the students slowly began to approach the barrier, understanding the reporters’ intentions.

    “P-please help us... Hero...”

    “I’m

    One by one, they began to voice their pleas.

    “We want to live...”

    “Please, help us...”

    “Help us, we beg you...”

    All they could do was call out the name of the Hero they had driven away, hoping to be saved before the Demon King’s Army arrived.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    - We were wrong... Lord Frey...

    Meanwhile, at the Starlight mansion.

    - Please come back...

    - We need the Hero...

    When the academy’s live broadcast was aired, countless people gathered in the mansion’s courtyard.

    “Frey! Are you there?!”

    “The Empire is in danger...! Hero...!”

    Somehow, the rumor had spread that Frey was in the mansion.

    “...Ugh.”

    Princess Limia, who had come reluctantly to the Starlight mansion, looked at the gathering with a grimace before stepping forward.

    - Rustle...

    The crowd parted urgently when they saw her.

    “M-My Lord... I-i

    “W-We heard you woke up... W-We came to see you...”

    “P-Please, let us in...”

    There, kneeling at the mansion’s entrance, were the former servants of the Starlight household, scratching at the door in desperation.

    “...Move.”

    “Ah!”

    Princess Limia, unaware of who they were, coldly passed by them and knocked on the door.

    “It’s Princess Limia.”

    Lifting her head high, she announced herself.

    “I come in the name of the imperial family to speak with the head of the Starlight Dukedom...”

    - Creak...

    “...Open the door.”

    But as the door opened with a creaking sound, her previously confident demeanor faltered.

    Silence fell over the courtyard.

    “Heh.”

    Appearing before the world for the first time in days since his awakening, Abraham looked at everyone with a smile.

    “...Quite a ruckus you’ve all caused.”

    In one hand, he held a picture of his son; in the other, his beloved sword. His face was pale, and his eyes, though smiling, held no warmth.

    - Rumble...

    The terrifying killing intent emanating from his body began to envelop the whole mansion.