Selemus Plains, at the Bestir Empire’s camp.

  In a tent near the centre of the camp, a man sat on a chair with a faint smile as he looked at the map before him.

  He had glossy black hair that stretched all the way down his back. He was handsome enough that some people might even mistake him for a woman. However, there was a strong will in his eyes that would destroy all that opposed him. Anyone who saw his gaze would not underestimate him. It was a gaze that gave off a sharp will and unfathomable awe.

  With so many years of fighting between the Bestir Empire and the Mireana Kingdom, both armies had a good grasp of the terrain in the surrounding area and detailed maps of the Selemus Plains.

  The map in front of the man was a secret map that had been created with certain people, it was probably the most detailed map of the Selemus plains in the world.

  However, the area that the man was looking at wasn’t the centre of the Selemus Plains, which would be the main site of battled……but rather, an area closer to the Mireana Kingdom.

  「……How are the preparations going?」


  A woman in her mid twenties, who was standing next to the man, quickly spoke after hearing the man’s murmurs.

  「Yes, the transfer circle is already prepared and can be sent over at any time. With your Excellency’s command, we can transfer over and ambush the Mireana Kingdom from the rear.」


  「There are no problems with hiding the transfer circle?」


  「Gilgos is standing by at the transfer circle destination, so there shouldn’t be any problems.」


  The man smiled faintly at his second in command’s calm explanation.

  Normally, that smile would have looked glossy with the man’s neat face. But, his smile was one that would send terrifying chills down your spine.

  「I see. If Gilgos is there, it is unlikely that the transfer circle will be found by the Mireana Kingdom. ……How much longer do we have?」


  At her leader’s question, the woman took out a watch from a pocket and checked the time.

  In most cases, watches were an expensive magic item. But in the Bestir Empire, the rapid development of alchemy had succeeded in reducing its cost to the level that it wasn’t hard for military officers to own one.

  「If it is as scheduled, it will be 20 minutes before the war begins」


  「I see. Then, the Mireana Kingdom’s army will cease to exist in under an hour.」


  「That is only if things go according to our calculations. In particular, according to the information we have collected, Philma de Giel, known as the right hand of Duke Kerebel, Elena Kerebel, the General Princess and Daska Rowlocks, the general and leader of the Neutral faction, have all be sighted in the Mireana Kingdom’s army. There are also many other famous people from the Nobles and Neutral factions.」


  Hearing the woman’s report, the man gave a faint smile.

  However, it wasn’t a ferocious smile that one would have when facing a powerful enemy. Rather, it was more like a smile of pity.

  「It is true that both the Nobles and Neutrals are aware that our actions this time are serious. You can see that based on the preparations they have made for this war. But, that’s only two factions, right? The Royalists, their largest faction and main fighting force, have not done the same.」


  「Yes. The general of the Mireana Kingdom’s army appears to be Count Arius.」


  「Count Arius? Not a bad choice. ……If this war was the same as past ones, that is.」


  The handsome man gave a cynical smile.

  「It is as Theorem-sama says. An invasion like this happens every few years. It is clear from the Royalist’s choice of general that this is all they think of this war.」


  The woman had a smile like she had just caught a fish. However, it wasn’t a warm smile, as one would expect when they hear the word ‘smile’. Rather, it was a cold smile that would chill people who saw her. That was the kind of smile to be expected from someone of the same mind, as the second in command of Lord Theorem.

  「It seems our work behind the scenes has gone well. The shadows are exhausted, but since they’ve managed to get these good results, that is fine.」


  「……I heard that the Ministry of Magic had a lot of things to say to Theorem-sama about the death of a skilled alchemist?」


  「Oh, that did happen. It is true that Postguerra was a good alchemist, but once he got caught by the Mireana Kingdom, there was a possibility he would betray us and become a threat. In the first place, his skill aside, Postguerra was too honest about his curiosity. If the Mireana Kingdom offered to give him ample research facilities, he would probably have turned traitor.」


  At Theorem’s words, Cyanus frowned slightly.

  「It’s good that alchemy is advancing, but why is it that so few of our key alchemists have decent characters?」


  「Is that so? Well, I see what you mean, but his personality was decent……well, our country’s alchemy would definitely have not developed so far with common sense and tastes. And……do you think that people with common sense would have been able to tolerate the existence of Demon Soldiers in the first place?」


  After Theorem said that, Cyanus had no more words to say.

  The Demon Soldiers were the secret weapon of the Bestir Empire. It was true that their strength was amazing and each one was a match for 30 soldiers, if not 100. But in exchange for that ability, those that became Demon Soldiers lost many things. There were few that could endure the process of becoming a Demon Soldier and the probability of losing their lives was high. Even if they could endure it, they would lose their way of life and even their original appearance. In some cases, some might even lose certain emotions and their ability to reason.

  It was hard to say that an alchemist with common sense and ethics would allow such as existence as a Demon Soldier. Because of that, there were very few alchemists with common sense in the Bestir Empire. The Bestir Empire had protected alchemists who had been exiled from the Magic City Osus for various reasons including illegal research.

  「Anyway, that is that. ……Did you find him?」


  At the sudden change of topic, Cyanus thought for a moment before quickly understanding who her leader was talking about.

  「Rei, that adventurer? He’s repeatedly interfered with our work around the city of Gilm.」


  「That’s the one. I couldn’t confirm his ability, but I could confirm that he has a heaven defying amount of magic power. He’s also followed by a rank A monster, a Griffon. ……To be honest, the Griffon is more vigilant that Rei is.」


  In Theorem’s mind he thought of the Griffon that he had seen in the final stages of the plot he had set up in Abuero.

  The monster was over 5km away, and even though he had been hidden in the darkness, the Griffon had still sensed him. It was the first time that Theorem had seen a Griffon, but the appearance of that rank A monster was printed firmly into his mind.

  However, since she hadn’t seen it herself, Cyanus was puzzled after she heard the story.

  「It’s true that as far as I’ve heard from Theorem-sama, it’s a monster that we can’t let our guard around. But isn’t it still a tamed monster? So, as long as we can hold Rei down, the Griffon won’t be able to do anything.」


  「No, that would be difficult. As I said, he’s someone with such an enormous amount of magic power that I could feel it from 5km away. ……Honestly, it is hard to say whether I could win in a straight up fight……no, no matter how well things go, my chance of winning would only be about 30%」


  「……Theorem-sama, isn’t that joke too much? Someone that Theorem-sama, the Bestir Empire’s invincible general with the title of Glint, cannot defeat?」


  Can my leader also make such a joke? Thinking like that, Cyanus gave a sharp smile. But, she soon realised that Theorem wasn’t laughing at all as she started to frown.

  「Is that really true?」


  「Do I look like I’m joking? No, I may joke from time to time, but I won’t tell jokes when I’m having a serious discussion.」


  「Such a person, someone that Theorem-sama cannont defeat even if you fought seriously?」


  Those words were spoke calmly and collectedly, but Cyanus wasn’t able to believe those words. She looked at Theorem in shock.

  However, despite saying that he would likely lose in a fight, Theorem remained calm as usual. ……No, he even had a faint smile on his mouth.

  「Theorem-sama? Are you sure that it wasn’t a joke that you couldn’t win?」


  Because of that, it wasn’t surprising that his second in command would ask a question like that.

  Theorem shook his head before continuing.

  「I only said I couldn’t beat him in a straight up fight. If I can’t beat him, I don’t have to fight him directly. All I have to do is to hold Rei and his Griffon on the battlefield. Fortunately, the Royalists, which have the largest force of Dragon Knights, has only brought a few Dragon Knights this time. The Nobles faction seems to have brought a few as well, be we have the greater number of Dragon Knights overall. In that case, I guess I should hold him down with Dragon Knights?」


  Cyanus was convinced by Theorem’s words, but the next moment, she sighed in regret.

  「That’s the only thing we can do. If our Dragon Knights can move more freely, the battle will progress faster, but……」


  「It can’t be helped. It’s not good to be too greedy. It’s fine as long as we can suppress such an abnormal force like this Rei. If we can avoid unnecessary damage, there is nothing better we can do.」


  「It’s a pity that we don’t have any Demon Soldiers that can fly in the sky. According to the information that came from Gilm, the Demon Soldiers can fight against Rei fairly evenly.」


  「For some reason, even if we used magic stones of flying monsters to create a Demon Solider, there is a high probability of failure. When it did succeed, none of them were able to fly, so the higher ranking researchers soon gave up on flying Demon Soldiers. However, it seems that research is still continuing, perhaps because it is an interesting research target.」


  「To be honest, I don’t really like those Demon Soldiers, but……」


  Theorem shook his head at his subordinate’s frown.

  「The Bestir Empire is definitely the most powerful country in the area. However, even so, a powerful country is not one that is unrivalled. Don’t our repeated losses to the Mireana Kingdom on the Selemus Plains prove that?」


  「……I understand. Those are just my own sentiments.」


  As a citizen of the Bestir Empire, as a soldier, as a woman and most of all, as a human being, Cyanus had her own feelings about the Demon Soldiers. However, she wasn’t so stupid as to ignore their overwhelming strength. That was who Cyanus was, second in command to Theorem, the Glint of the Bestir Empire.

  Seeing his second in command like that, Theorem spoke to comfort her.

  「If we can get access to the sea, the power of the Bestir Empire will grow further. If that happens, you’ll be able to fight against them. ……And, Mercurio-sama doesn’t like those Demon Soldiers either.」


  The figure of the Third Prince passed through Theorem’s mind as he said those words.

  Although he was only 15 years old, Theorem was convinced that the Third Prince had what it took to become the next emperor.

  The current emperor of the Bestir Empire was still in his 40s and fight to succeed him hadn’t officially started. But under the surface, people were already paying attention to who would be his successor. There were currently four people who had the rights to succeed the throne, and the one Theorem revered……no, the one he was trying to protect, Mercurio, was the Third Prince. In terms of succession, he was fourth in line and the one furthest from becoming emperor. However, in his capacity as the Glint, he had seen the Third Prince and decided that he was the right person to become the next emperor, thus forming the Third Prince’s faction.

  This war had drawn in people from the military, the Ministry of Magic and even the Demon Soldiers, their secret weapon. The Bestir Empire had long coveted the sea as a means to increase their national strength. It was also a step need for the Third Prince to step into the light.

  (Yes, because of that, we cannot lose this war.)

  As he muttered to himself, an unpleasant premonition went through his mind.

  The person that had blocked their plans over and over again came to his mind, but he immediately shook his head to erase his thoughts.

  (Sure, he might be strong, but we should be able to hold him down with the Dragon Knights. But for now……)

  「Theorem-sama, get ready. It’s time to transfer over.」


  「……I see. Then tell the Demon Soldiers to prepare for battle. We’re going to deal a deadly blow to the Mireana Kingdom’s army.」


  Saying that Theorem stood up.

  Victory and glory had to be grasped. All for the person he saw as the next emperor.