“M–My mother is alive...?”

    Clana’s trembling voice echoed through the dining room.

    “Is... is that true?”

    “Yes, it’s true.”

    “But how? Why?”

    “First, calm down a bit.”

    “H-How can I calm down?”

    Ruby spoke to her in a gentle voice, but Clana, with tears in her eyes, shook her head.

    “I-It’s my lifelong regret. My mother dying like that.”

    “Hmm...”

    “Everything that made me strong, everything that made me clench my teeth, it was all because of my mother’s tragic end...”

    “It seems it’s time to tell you the bad news before it’s too late.”

    As Clana hung her head, Ruby sighed and began to speak.

    “Do you know why you were always offered as a sacrifice for the Demon King’s descent?”

    “...What?”

    Clana, who had been sobbing, now looked up with a hardened expression.

    “It’s not because you have royal blood. The influence from your mother’s side played a bigger role.”

    “What do you mean?”

    “Your mother and you were the highest quality sacrifices in the world.”

    “...”

    “Even though the Emperor was indifferent, your mother’s fall was so unexpected because of that.”

    Clana, consumed by cold anger, listened intently.

    “Your mother’s soul was extracted from her body at the moment of her execution.”

    “Grhh...”

    “And thanks to that damned Empress Ramie, it was sold to the kingdom that offered the highest price.”

    “...What’s the evidence?”

    “In the Zeroth cycle, when I tried to rescue her, the auction was already in progress.”

    As Clana ground her teeth and asked, Ruby answered in a low voice.

    “So... where was she sold?”

    “...Sigh.”

    Ruby sighed quietly, looking at Clana who had begun to display the qualities of a supreme ruler again after so long.

    “The Church, Count Justiano, Marquis Hylin, and even the Secret Lord were among the competitors–”

    “Just tell me who bought her.”

    “The Cloud Kingdom.”

    “I see.”

    As soon as Ruby said that, Clana stood up, emitting a murderous aura.

    “I’ll erase the Cloud Kingdom from the map.”

    “Calm down. To be precise, she ended up with the court wizard of the Cloud Kingdom.”

    Ruby quickly grabbed Clana and gently guided her back to her seat.

    “The kingdom knew nothing. It was the sole action of that swindler, who was treated almost like a chancellor.”

    “Then I’ll find and butcher that swindler.”

    “That’s your choice. But listen to the rest of the story first.”

    Clana, barely containing her anger, fell silent at Ruby’s earnest tone.

    “Your mother’s soul is intended to be offered as a sacrifice during the Siege of the Academy.”

    “...How do you know that?”

    “The court wizard who collaborated with the Demon King is planning to activate an artifact buried under the Cloud Kingdom.”

    “...”

    “I’ve experienced it several times.”

    Clana and Ruby’s eyes met briefly.

    “I don’t know what to say. I’m really sorry...”

    “You know you don’t have to apologize.”

    Clana spoke with an aura of authority after a long time, as Ruby tried to apologize.

    “You saved my mother in the first place. And then what you did after the Zeroth cycle was not of your own will.”

    “But still...”

    “Let’s move on. There’s no point in arguing about it now.”

    As Clana summed it up, Ruby nodded with her eyes closed and continued speaking.

    “Anyway, the good news is, if we win the battle and prevent the complete consumption of her soul, there’s a chance to revive your mother.”

    “...Then what’s the bad news?”

    “The bad news is... the current Demon King is Aishi.”

    “Why is that a problem?”

    Clana asked with a puzzled look, and Ruby responded with a dark expression.

    “During the previous battle, I managed to prevent that court wizard’s ritual from being completed.”

    “Why?”

    “If the artifact buried under the kingdom had fully awakened, it would have been a major headache for me, too.”

    Ruby sighed and looked at her.

    “The reason so many magic crystals were buried under the Cloud Kingdom was to suppress that artifact.”

    “Hmm...”

    “And since I won’t be the one invading this time, the artifact will likely be fully activated.”

    “So... the bad news is that the difficulty of the upcoming battle will be extremely high.”

    Ruby nodded quietly to Clana’s words, answering in a subdued voice.No?v(el)B\\jnn

    “I thought you should be the first to know.”

    “...So there’s no hope?”

    “Hmm. Who knows.”

    Clana asked with a worried expression, and Ruby softened her expression and spoke.

    “Frey and I are here. We’ll manage somehow.”

    “But–”

    “And there’s still that person who hasn’t awakened yet.”

    Ruby glanced at Irina, who was peeking from the exit and murmured. Irina flinched and looked away.

    “It’s your turn now, Irina.”

    “So, if I’m not human, then what am I?”

    Irina asked in a low voice, filled with trepidation. Ruby grinned and stood up.

    “Irina, you are...”

    As Ruby began to speak, sweat started to trickle down Irina’s forehead.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    A few hours later, in the completely isolated Sunrise Academy.

    “Are we really stuck here...?”

    “I don’t want to die... I don’t want to die...”

    “Sniff... Hicss...”

    Students, exhausted from the lack of hopeful news, were sitting down around the barrier’s boundary, murmuring in despair.

    “Uh, come on... there’s no way... We’re all going to die here... won’t help come?”

    “I-I’m the eldest son of a marquis. I can’t die here...”

    “They’ll definitely come. Yeah, they’ll definitely come...”

    Among those kids, there were still some denying their situation and mumbling to themselves.

    “Still... isn’t there some hope?”

    “R-Right. There’s no guarantee the Hero is dead yet...”

    And it was the same for the task force, who had set up a tent outside the academy’s boundary.

    “The Hero is a good person, right? So if there’s a crisis... he will definitely return.”

    “Y-Yeah. That’s what a hero does...”

    “There’s no way he’d abandon us... right?”

    Whether students or members of the task force dispatched to the academy, they all echoed the same sentiments.

    This was partly because many still held onto the hope that the Hero would save everyone.

    Those with contrary thoughts or who knew the truth remained silent in despair or were in a state of panic.

    “Hero...”

    “What do we do now...?”

    The Hero Party, staring blankly at some academy students filled with false hope, was one such group.

    - Bzzz... bzzz...

    “...?”

    As thoughts diverged and time continued to pass in vain, an event occurred that shook them all.

    - Citizens of the Sunrise Empire. How have you all been?

    Aishi’s chillingly smiling voice echoed throughout the Empire and the academy.

    - Well, I just landed in the Sunrise Empire. Thought you should know.

    As her words resonated through the Empire, bad news began pouring into the task force.

    “The Demon King’s Army has landed on the southern coast!! Their numbers are uncountable!!”

    “Demons hidden throughout the Empire are emerging simultaneously!! The imperial army can’t handle them all!!”

    “Remaining forces of the Church have landed on the western coast!! At the same time, a force presumed to be fanatics is occupying coastal villages...”

    “The cardinal and first executive of the church have escaped from the underground prison! Some dangerous criminals have also escaped...!”

    “The underworld has been taken over by an unknown force!! Reports say the enemies have strange tattoos on their bodies!!”

    “The Erosion Phenomenon covering the northern border is rapidly moving toward the imperial capital. And... there are reports that the sun is getting darker.”

    The expressions of the people who had turned pale at the influx of bad news from the informants in the tent hardened upon hearing the last report.

    “In-intelligence from the entire western continent...”

    “...Dragons scattered across various lairs in the Western Continent are all flying toward the Empire.”

    “A-Additionally, the leader of the dragons has sent an ultimatum... to abandon the academy...”

    The tent of the task force turned into a funeral home upon hearing that the leader of the dragons, known for their terrifying majesty and refusal to participate in the conference of rulers, had issued a direct ultimatum.

    - This is too easy... I was worried... I thought the Hero would take a stand by now.

    As if mocking them, Aishi’s laughter-filled voice resonated throughout the Empire.

    - The Hero, who should be opposing me, must be receiving a warm welcome, right?

    “...”

    - After all, he’s your only hope... It’s strange if he’s not treated well. Puh, Puhahaha...

    After Aishi’s laughter died down, a terrifying silence enveloped the entire empire.

    “We... we have to find the Hero.”

    In this situation, the terrified princess Limiaspoke up from within the tent.

    “We, we must mobilize the entire nation... and conduct a thorough search.”

    “...”

    “And then... even if we have to kneel... no, even if we have to grovel on the ground...”

    Looking around at the despondent people, she finished her statement in a trembling voice.

    “We need to sincerely apologize and... and bring him back...”

    However, aside from her, most of the citizens of the Empire were recalling one particular scene.

    “E-everyone?”

    Frey, with an extremely exhausted and dark expression, had declared his intention to leave the Empire and spend his remaining days in the mountains of the Eastern Continent.

    “A-anyone...?”

    The silence of the Empire’s citizens persisted for a long time after that.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    “...So, what am I?”

    Meanwhile, at the seaside cabin.

    “You need to realize it yourself. I thought about it, and it wouldn’t have any meaning otherwise.”

    “...?”

    Irina, looking puzzled, tilted her head as Ruby, who had been talking, suddenly fell silent.

    This lizard...

    Ruby, with a meaningful smile, stared at Irina.

    “Tell me! Damn it!”

    The strongest lizard in the world.

    “Hey! I’m in a hurry!”

    Although it’s a derogatory term used among demons, a lizard is still a lizard.

    “What the hell...”

    A thousand years ago, the ice witch was also an arrogant and rude ice dragon.

    “Shit.”

    What an ill-mannered little lizard.

    Ruby continued to smile slyly at Irina, who was getting more and more frustrated.