Athanasia had not returned.

The front lines had held steady for several days. Clay neither advanced the Demon King’s army nor took action himself.

All he did was step outside from time to time, hoping to see Athanasia return.

“Demon King.”

At his side, Geshkafor approached.

“The troops are eager for battle. If you would only give the order to advance…”

“Geshkafor.”

“Yes, Demon King?”

“When you knew there was a trap, how did you respond?”

The sudden question made Geshkafor flinch.

“Ah… I’m not really the sort to think too deeply about such things.”

“Meaning you just charged in?”

“Yes. Forgive me.”

His sheepish face betrayed how little help his answer was.

“It’s fine. I wasn’t testing you.”

Even so, the burden weighed heavily on Clay.

‘Is time on my side?’

It wasn’t. Krata’s territory wasn’t completely blockaded—starvation wouldn’t come so quickly.

‘No choice, then.’

Every scouting party sent had vanished. Lutan clearly had prepared something. But withdrawing was impossible too. That might be exactly what the enemy wanted.

“Geshkafor.”

“Yes?”

“Ready the army for advance.”

“Yes, sir!”

Bright-eyed, Geshkafor hurried away, almost thrilled at the prospect of battle.

“So you gave the order to advance.”

Beatrice came to him. Clay nodded.

“Athanasia hasn’t returned, and even the scouts vanish. I have to decide.”

“You don’t regret that I sent her?”

Clay stood silent a moment before sighing, “I do. But it wasn’t wrong of you.”

After all, he was the one who had once told her to live unforgiven.

“I merely forgot that for a time.”

“And so?”

“Even remembering, it may not please you.”

“Perhaps not.”

Beatrice didn’t deny it.

“And Tia? You’ve no intention of using her?”

Athanasia was gone. Scouts had disappeared. The Saintess would have been a powerful and relatively safe option for reconnaissance.

“…Scouts must be chosen with care.”

“That’s not the real reason, is it?”

“Don’t expect too much from one who isn’t of the Demon King’s army.”

Beatrice frowned faintly at his words.

“What if I send Tia myself?”

“…”

“Clay.”

“Don’t worry. It’s not for the reason you think. I simply don’t want to be entangled.”

Seeing, hearing, feeling—everything about her was exhausting to him.

“You, of all people, know how far I’ve been pushed emotionally.”

“And I worry there may still be more left to push you.”

“That isn’t something I can control.” Clay spoke plainly, “Even I sometimes don’t understand my own mind. At times, anger comes for no reason. At times, I just want to rest.”

But rest had never been granted to him.

“There was never room for choice. No space to be cautious. The best I could do was follow through with decisions and keep driving myself forward.”

He had never had the chance to measure his own heart.

“Tia is a past I never fully parted with.”

A remnant—like dregs of a nightmare—that lingered in his mind.

“No matter how many choices and decisions I make, that one I can’t just cast aside.”

Forgiveness had nothing to do with it. The problem was that his most peaceful days had been tied to her.

“When I think of rest, my mind drifts back to those times. I can’t help it. I can’t reject it. Because it holds things I can no longer feel.”

He didn’t suffer because he couldn’t see Tia as who she was now. He suffered because he could never again return to who he had been then.

“If only there had been nothing at all.”

If his life had been only pain and torment, he might never have learned what peace was.

It was his own inability to be ignorant that made it unbearable.

“That is why I’m here.”

Beatrice leaned her head against his shoulder.

“Pain and suffering—we cannot part from them. We must learn to live alongside them.”

“Is that so.”

“Before the most important battle, thoughts always multiply. You can’t help but wonder how you came this far. But what matters is who stands beside you now.”

She tilted her face, meeting his gaze.

“Let’s make a new future together, Clay.”

Her whisper was soft.

“Don’t wander lost in a past you can’t control. Think only of what you can do now. With me, you can do anything.”

“…Even find peace?”

At that, Beatrice smiled faintly.

“If only you don’t believe it exists solely in the past.”

Clay held her gaze for a moment, then turned his eyes forward again.

“Yes.”

It was the only answer he could give.

♧

“What’s all that noise?”

Outside, the commotion stirred Naiad from sleep.

“Why is it so loud?”

She stepped from her tent and found the Demon King’s army in frantic motion.

“Hey!”

She grabbed a goblin hauling a loaded cart.

“What’s going on? Are we advancing?”

“Huh? Isn’t it obvious? The Demon King ordered the advance—gghhk!”

Before he could finish, a massive green fist smashed into him, sending him flying.

“Forgive him, Lady Naiad.”

The orc, his massive jaw and tusks striking, apologized in the goblin’s stead.

“He’s a new recruit, Lady Naiad. He likely didn’t know who you were.”

“It’s fine.”

Naiad’s mind was on something else.

“So Clay gave the order to march?”

“Yes. Straight to Krata’s capital.”

“Hmm.”

She didn’t know the details, but she had heard enough. Beatrice had sent Athanasia into Krata’s capital to scout, and she had not returned.

“Did Athanasia come back while I wasn’t paying attention?”

“No.”

The orc shook his head.

“She never returned.”

“…What?”

Athanasia was an ancient god, one of the strongest beings in this world. Yet she had gone out to scout and simply vanished.

‘Was she captured?’

Surely she hadn’t been foolish enough to storm the palace itself. But if she had attempted it, there was no ruling out that Lutan had caught her.

‘Lutan is strong.’

How strong, Naiad did not truly know. But she understood enough—that his power exceeded human limits.

“I see. Thank you.”

She dismissed the orc and returned to her tent.

There, Tia still lay on her bed.

Sigh.

Since arriving here, Tia had spent most of her time shut away, as though she had no right to act on her own.

‘This is giving me a headache.’

Clay hadn’t said anything about Tia either. He clearly had no desire to interact with her.

Naiad had even tried staying by Tia’s side instead of going back to Clay, but Clay hadn’t reacted. He hadn’t sought her, hadn’t asked after her—as though he already knew exactly where she was.

He simply ignored her until she returned on her own. Which made it clear: he didn’t want to hear anything about Tia.

“I don’t get it.”

Naiad raked her fingers through her hair in frustration. She didn’t want to antagonize Clay. She only wanted Tia to be of some use to him. There were plenty of things a saintess could do.

“Tia.”

She shook the woman’s shoulder.

“Clay ordered the march. The army’s moving.”

Tia flinched at that. Naiad pressed on.

“Clay won’t ask anything of you. So take it on yourself. Take the vanguard, do something, anything—just don’t sit idle.”

“…I’m not sure.”

“What do you mean, not sure? Just do it.”

At that, Tia rose slowly and turned her eyes toward Naiad.

“But I think even that help would only displease Clay.”

“Of course it will. What did you expect?”

Naiad clicked her tongue.

“You didn’t come here to make yourself comfortable. Clay won’t ever feel at ease because of you—whether you act or not.”

She leaned closer, voice sharp.

“But you’re still here. If you want to breathe, even under the weight of your guilt, you have to be something for Clay. Do it for him, even if it’s only in the results. Don’t let yourself end as nothing but a burden.”

Harsh words—but Tia showed no protest. Instead, she seemed to take them to heart. She stood.

“I must do something, then.”

She looked around.

“There’s work that needs doing.”

At her words, elves emerged from the shadows.

“I need scouts. We must know the lay of the battlefield.”

Most of the Demon King’s sentries were gargoyles, who circled overhead to watch the ground. But Krata had countermeasures against gargoyles, limiting their usefulness.

“On the road to Krata’s capital, the forests are thick. The trees block the gargoyles’ sight. We need scouts who can climb, leap, and move through the canopy to watch the enemy.”

The elves nodded.

“Naiad.”

Tia turned back to her.

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For this. Without you, I might have stayed nothing but a burden.”

Naiad sighed. How had things come to this? Her thoughts tangled in every direction.

“All I want is for Clay to keep living.”

It was the only answer she could give.

(End of Chapter)

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