I Became the Hero Who Banished the Protagonist chapter 40

40. skirmish (2)

“… Right.”

Archduke Quenore looked at the head of one of the crawlers on the long table and sighed. Its head was different from that of a normal crawler. The head was twice as large, and the shape of the black armor covering the outer surface of the crawler was also decorated and ominous. Just like that of a leader leading a group.

“That means someone like that appeared.”

Archduke Quenore tapped the crawler on the head. He looked at the head of the named monster for a long time, then turned his gaze to me.

“Did you say anything?”

“I did leave out words that seemed to foreshadow an attack, such as that we would soon be crushed under the feet of giants. It’s fortunate that I’m not a very intelligent guy yet.”

Just because he didn’t have good intelligence didn’t mean he was weak. It was because the attacks of the one who twisted his body and resisted with his last breath were much more severe than I thought. Of course, it was just enough to kill me and Reese’s attack right away, but if we attacked a regular patrol, we could have dealt close to annihilation.

“It must mean that dozens or hundreds of monsters worse than this guy are gathering beyond the limit line.”

“Yes. They will be preparing for war, just like humans. These guys sent today to figure out our dynamics are just scraps that are not expendable.”

Archduke Quenore picked up Crawler’s head and handed it to the waiting soldier.

“When sending a request for assistance to the capital, be sure to present this neck together as a basis. If you are a discerning knight commander, you will immediately realize the seriousness of the situation.”

The soldiers and other personnel left, leaving only the patrol captains, a few retainers, the Archduke of Quenore, Luke, and our party.

“How serious the situation seemed.”

Reese answered the Archduke’s question this time.

“From the shore of the lake, the end of the limit line could be observed with the naked eye. It is thought that it is a change caused by the movement of the giant. Also, the water temperature in the lake has become freezing cold.”

“… The patrol area will be reduced sooner or later.”

Grand Duke Quenore murmured. The Grand Duke turned his head to me.

“If we send out patrols in the future, these minor clashes will continue.”

“… As you know, what makes the war against monsters particularly difficult for humans is that we cannot understand their actions with our thoughts.”

I remembered how incomprehensible the monsters were in the original work. There is no such thing as rationality for them. Gains and losses are not considered, and even when attacking the same target, the concept of an ally does not exist.

“Never be careless when patrolling. You can think of the skirmishes as having already begun. However, the fortunate thing is that we can read the monsters’ large-scale movements and situation itself.”

“The giant’s move. Is that right?”

I nodded. No matter how irrational the monsters were, they didn’t lack a principle of action. As long as disaster is worshiped as a god, there will be no sudden large-scale air strikes even when the giant is not moving. It was the giants who bound the monsters into one army, not the other monsters.

“Illroy is right. Even in the third catastrophe, the Kraken War, the monster always moved with the Kraken. Disaster has always been their focus.”

Georg nodded in agreement.

“… But we must be careful about approaching their territory. It’s just that we won’t launch a massive invasion, and there’s no guarantee that we won’t raid the patrols like today.”

Archduke Quenore nodded resolutely.

“Thank you for letting me hear your opinions. It is fortunate that at least the residents will have time to evacuate.”

The Archduke turned to Luke and put his hand on his shoulder.

“If the evacuation of the residents begins in the future, you can lead the procession. The residents will also feel comfortable with the Strop family blood at the forefront.”

“Grand Duke, I… .”

“I know you want to fight, but I take no rebuttal, Luke. It’s not because you’re not good enough to fight the enemy, and it’s not because I put you first.”

Archduke Quenore spoke to Luke in a low voice, as if he had thought of a time like this a long time ago.

“Evernode is not just our castle and land. I’m entrusting you with the most important thing in our estate. Do you understand, vice-captain?”

Luke looked into his father’s eyes. After the two people’s gazes, as blue as a frozen lake, exchanged for a moment, Luke nodded.

“… Yes, I understand. Grand Duke.”

After the conversation between father and son, there was an awkward silence. Archduke Quenore patted Luke on the shoulder several times and exhaled briefly.

“From the next patrol, I will go out with you. Rather than just sitting and watching, there will be something you can only know by seeing it with your own eyes. Also, be sure to start evacuating the residents as soon as preparations are complete. In the process, make sure to work closely with Evernode’s adventurer branch.”

The Archduke of Quenore ended the meeting and ordered its dissolution. The leaders of Evernode all left the conference hall with heavy expressions. I looked at them for a moment, then followed them and walked out of the meeting room.

“Wait, Illroy, Georg.”

Me and Georg turned our heads to the Archduke who was calling us. After letting the rest of the party go first, I approached the Archduke.

“Would you like to talk a little bit?”

Why are you so anxious about this person?

I narrowed my brows and looked at the Grand Duke of Quenore, but he looked no different than usual. As usual, he was just looking at me with his lofty eyes and momentum. I’ve always heard that that kind of thing is the most dangerous. When I glanced at Georg next to me, he was looking at the Archduke of Quenore as if he was of the same mind as me.

“Well, it’s not serious enough to make that face.”

Archduke Quenore burst out laughing when he saw us.

“It’s just that you’re the only ones here to have encountered a disaster first-hand, and you’re arguably the best catastrophe expert in the country, so I just wanted to ask you a few things.”

Archduke Quenore pulled out a chair and sat down. The Archduke said he had several questions he wanted to ask, but he seemed reluctant to let them out. Hey man, you said you weren’t serious.

“Do you think Evernode will be able to repel them if this citadel faces a catastrophic invasion without outside support?”

“… I dare to say that it is impossible. If we can’t defeat the giant and let it get close to Evernode, the castle will collapse anyway.”

“In the end, we have to defeat the giant before it reaches this castle. Called.”

The scenery that came to my mind at those words was the original version of Evernode, which fought a desperate defense against numerous monsters. Because Illroy was defeated, they must have had no choice but to engage in a time-limited defensive battle.

“How would you feel if you faced a disaster yourself?”

The question seemed to stem from pure curiosity. This time Georg opened his mouth.

“Feeling helpless, frustrated… . But more than anything else, the thing that dominated my heart the most was,”

Georg’s voice seemed to grow cold just thinking about him.

“It was a horror.”

It wasn’t just frustration. A sense of rejection welling up from the deepest part of the body. A cry of instinct to run away. No one is trying to fight an erupting volcano, or fight off an approaching tidal wave or typhoon, Georg said.

“There is a reason they are called disasters.”

An incontestable but inevitable existence. Hence the catastrophe.

“fear.”

Archduke Quenore repeated Georg’s words and grabbed the hilt of his sword. In the original story, it is said that the Archduke directly confronted the giants and their forces several times and delayed their advance. How many people exist in the world who can slow down the march in the face of a disaster alone?

And, in the end, the Archduke of Quenore burns his life, pushing Arjen to the point where he is on the verge of defeating the disaster. The Grand Duke opened the way, and Arjen decapitated the giant.

“I guess I’ll have to practice imagery for the first time in a while.”

The Grand Duke’s eyes widened as he said that. Blue eyes glistened like a lake in the midnight sun. I had to try not to read death in it.

“Thanks for the answer, Illroy, Georg. You can go in and rest today. From tomorrow, we will start preparing for the match against the giants in earnest.”

“Yes, Grand Duke.”

Me and Georg walked out of the meeting room together, confused.

“I thought I would have adapted to a certain extent after fighting a disaster once, but thinking about having to fight the next disaster makes my heart complicated.”

Georg stopped in the hallway and said.

“… You must be trying to prove the decision you made at that time.”

Georg spat out those words and looked at me with a frown. Speaking of determination, are you referring to the conflict that arose between Illroy and Arjen during the battle with the Kraken?

“I have full trust in you now, Illroy. It’s different from back then.”

“… What are you talking about?”

Georg smiled bitterly and slowly walked away from me. I waited for Georg to leave the hall first, then slowly followed him.

And, at the end of the corridor, I ran into an unexpected person.

“Illroy.”

Daphne with a shy smile on her face,

“… Warrior.”

The iron-blooded princess, whose eyes turned red and wet, seemed to have cried uncontrollably.

Karin stood there holding Daphne’s hand tightly. I didn’t know why, I looked at Karin and Daphne alternately.

“what’s the matter?”

“It looks like I was caught several times trying to leave the mansion to see Illoiwa Grand Duke. I happened to be nearby, so I told him to wait until the meeting was over, and I was waiting like this.”

sniff

I heard Karin snoring. Suddenly, a big earthquake occurs, and people are walking around in a panic. I smiled bitterly and bent my knees to meet Karin’s eye level. Carefully wiping her tear-stained face, Karin seemed to have calmed down a bit, and her breathing changed evenly.

“The Grand Duke will be in the room for a while for training. Until then, would you like to take Daphne and me for a walk?”

Karin nodded without saying a word. I led Karin to the back of the mansion. I heard the people of Strov Street hurrying about. Karin continued to glance in the direction the noise was coming from.

“People say there will be a war.”

While walking through the support, Karin spoke first. Daphne and I looked at Karin with slightly surprised eyes. Karin wasn’t just crying like this because she was surprised.

“Hey, they said that a lot of scary monsters would come down from beyond the castle wall. That’s why the people of our castle have to go fight those monsters. And I have to run away from here.”

Karin’s voice trembled a little.

“What should I do, warrior? With Rhys, with Celine, with Hemil. with my father… .”

Karin said the names of the knights she was close with, one by one, and then fell into tears again. Daphne hugged Karin, who started sobbing again, and Karin burst into tears again in Daphne’s arms. I waited until Karin stopped crying, then bent my knees again.

“… it’s okay.”

Karin couldn’t stop crying even when I stroked her hair.

“Since Lisdo, Serindo, Hemildo, and Grand Duke are all strong people, we should be able to defeat the monsters and meet again at Evernode.”

The word ‘strong’ didn’t seem to convince this smart kid.

“… They say that when a war breaks out, even the strongest people die.”

And, this child vaguely knew that it was war, even in print. And, only then did I know why this child was trying to find me. I squeezed Karin’s hand and spoke lowly.

“Karin.”

Karin raised her head. For now, I decided to forget that I was possessed. For this child who is just crying, I am going to make a promise.

“I will protect you.”

Karin blinked. The tears in his eyes seemed to be about to stop.

“Lith, Serin, Hemil, and Grand Duke. all.”

Karin’s green eyes seemed to regain their light beyond my vision.

“The warrior… ?”

“Yeah.”

yes. No matter what happened to Illroy in the original story, he was a hero. And, I, who came into this body, also have to live as a hero.

One day, the words that ‘someone’ heard, not ‘me’, suddenly came to mind.

“Because a hero is someone who protects people.”

I wiped Karin’s teary eyes again.

“I promise… ?”

At Karin’s question, I nodded while sticking out my little finger.

“Yeah.”

Karin’s little finger got caught in mine.