Of course, slaying the remaining demons himself was the surest and easiest way to slow the progress of the invasion. But Cadel’s mind was already leaning toward leaving the extermination of the demons to the knights of other countries. In the meantime, it would be better to keep an eye on the Empire’s movements, replenish his stamina, inspect the remaining High Demons to be dealt with, and begin work on the sealing when the time was right.

‘But what? Volunteering to exterminate demons when I’m barely able to save up my stamina? The Emperor has already approved it, and now I can’t back out just because I don’t want to……. Ugh! That annoying old man.’

Currently, the Scarlet Scales Knight Order and the Guardian Knight Order were in pursuit of an enemy in ‘Jedi’, an independent nation that had turned its back on the Empire. A few hours earlier, reports had come in of a large group of monsters in a nearby forest.

After entering the forest, Cadel and Ector, the Knight Order’s commanders, stayed behind to talk, as opposed to the rest of the members who were leading the search.

“Isn’t it nice to be walking in the forest first thing in the morning? Such fresh air. I can feel the forest’s energy on my skin.”

“In the morning, I’d rather stay in bed and let the sunshine in.”

“Nonsense! As the body stretches, so does the mind.”

“When your body is tired, so is your mind.”

“……You don’t seem to like our morning walks together.”

“Is that possible? I just hate morning walks. Besides, there’s no point in calling something like this a walk.”

The potion cured his hangover, but his body still cried out for rest. Cadel continued his soulless reply as he followed the brisk pace of his subordinates.

Ector glanced over at Cadel and rubbed his chin in a low hum. To him, Cadel was the commander of the Empire’s elite Knight Order, the man who had saved his adorable son’s life, the one he’d dragged along on this occasion to socialize, and he’d gotten a surprisingly poor response. The other knights were more than happy to move their bodies together. As expected, the magicians were tricky to deal with.

“If a peaceful walk isn’t your thing, why not make a bet?”

“……A bet?”

“Your Knight Order and mine, to see who can slay more monsters.”

“Hmm……. Sounds like fun. You’d have to put something on the line for a bet. Do you have any conditions in mind?”

“It’ll take at least three days to clear the area of all the monsters. The losing side gets three days to clean up, and the winning side gets three days to rest in town. That’s a pretty good bargain, don’t you think?”

Ector’s face quirked as he looked back at Cadel, smiling with satisfaction. Cadel’s eyes, which he’d expected to be filled with scrutiny and grudging acceptance, burned like firewood tossed into a brazier. Cadel spoke, his voice more serious than ever in front of Ector.

“All you have to do is kill more monsters no matter what you do, right?”

“That’s right…….”

“Let’s summon our subordinates immediately. Bet details must never be changed.”

* * *

“You have to win at all costs. Do you understand?”

Among the assembled subordinates in the circle, Cadel locked eyes with one, then another, and spoke gravely.

“If someone else has the monster first, we’ll snatch it by the hindquarters and make it ours. Any dirty trick will do.”

“Isn’t that a brawl rather than a bet―”

“I don’t care if it’s a brawl! What matters is whether we get a three-day break or not!”

“Even if it’s three days, you never know when the demons will resume their raids—”

“I want to be cozy in a warm room until the demons attack or ambush me!”

He glared as hard as he could, cutting off any retort. It didn’t make him much of a threat in the eyes of his subordinates, but if Cadel wanted to rest so badly, what was the harm in winning a bet?

Unlike the Scarlet Scales Knight Order, which had been more than happy to nod in agreement, the morale of the Guardian Knight Order was through the roof.

“Who are the representatives of the Imperial Knight Order?!”

“Guardian Knight Order!”

“Who is the face of the Empire, the shield of the Empire, the guardian of its borders?!”

“Guardian Knight Order!”

“That’s right! The first Knight Order of the proud Osma Empire! The Guardian Knight Order!”

Ector swept his gaze across the parallel rows of soldiers and spoke menacingly.

“No one hasn’t noticed the Guardian Knight Order’s shine fading lately. It’s natural for a new Knight Order to be in the spotlight, but that spotlight only lasts for half a year. If they’re still in the spotlight after that, it’s either because their abilities are skyrocketing, or the old mantle is crumbling! Who wants to lose their title as the Empire’s greatest Knight Order?!”

“None, Sir!”

“Who wants to reclaim the glory?!”

“We want to reclaim it!”

“This is no small bet! Show the pride of the Imperial Knight Order!”

A thunderous shout echoed through the forest. Birds rustled leaves and flew through the air, startled by the noisy humans. Animals, sensing danger, scurried away.

“Any monsters that were there will flee.”

Van, standing stiffly with his arms crossed, gave a short click of his tongue. The Scarlet Scales Knight Order’s expression didn’t change, even as the Guardian Knight Order charged up next to them. Lydon yawned openly, even shedding a few tears.

Regardless, Ector and his men approached, their faces grim.

“Please set a time for the start, Sir Cadel.”

“Do you see that yellow leaf up ahead?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s start when that leaf falls.”

“You can’t use magic to make it fall.”

“Of course.”

Cadel pointed to the tree out front. A single wilted leaf dangled precariously from the lowest branch.

A cool breeze blew periodically, causing the yellow leaf to sway from side to side. The knights’ eyes focused on the leaf, which looked as if it might fall at any moment.

As soon as it fell from the branch, they would rush out and slay the monsters. The monsters would have reacted to the commotion earlier, so they would have to move in unison.

Ector had carefully planned his men’s movements. His eyebrows furrowed as he stared at the leaf as if he were going to pluck it. He blinked a few times, staring at the leaf, and then slowly turned his head to look at Cadel.

Cadel was staring at the leaf, his expression just as determined as his own. The others behind him did the same.

Ector’s eyes widened as he studied them for a moment, picking them apart one by one.

“What a dirty……!”

The faces of the men standing behind him turned to bewilderment at the sudden anger of their commander. Ector turned red and barked at his men.

“Come to your senses! It’s the fairy’s illusion spell! The battle has already begun!”

As Ector quickly gathered himself, the landscape he was capturing changed slightly. The yellow leaf was already rolling in the distance as if it had fallen long ago, and Cadel and the others who were supposed to be at his side were already running off into the distance.

Ector didn’t know when the fairy had cast the illusion, but for someone of his caliber, he would have stared at the leaf for an eternity before realizing what was wrong. Ector pounded the men who hadn’t yet broken free of the illusion to bring them back to their senses.

“Run now! Don’t be defeated by those dirty knights!”

He couldn’t believe Cadel had cheated right from the start. He’d gotten the impression that Cadel was quite skilled and honest, so Ector figured he’d be fair in his wagers. Ector, enraged at his own ignorance, rushed off in search of the monsters.

* * *

He thought a year of training had given him the stamina he needed, but it wasn’t enough to beat the physical knights who had spent years rolling and training.

Cadel gritted his teeth as he watched the Guardian Knight Order catch up to him, even though they had a head start.

“That’s what muscle pigs are for!”

“Stop, Commander Cadel! You have to start fair and square! Are you now tarnishing the face of the Imperial Knight Order?!”

“What’s fair and square?! Try to say the same thing in the middle of a battlefield somewhere!”

How could it be fair and square when there was already such a difference in numbers? Even if their individual skills were overwhelming, it was difficult for them to win if they only caught one monster per person.

While many of the battalion members were sleeping, the pitiful elite Knight Order was scouting. Just thinking about it gave him goosebumps and he couldn’t bear it.

Cadel sneakily unleashed his dark mana as he singled out the pursuing knights. The mana swept across the ground without a sound, blinding the knights as they quickly closed the distance.

“What, what the heck, I suddenly see……!”

“It’s black magic!”

“The black magician interfered in this way……!”

“Damn it, where are you, you masked magician!”

He felt like he could hear Garuel expressing his resentment from somewhere, but he just ignored it. Cadel sprinted full speed, shaking off the blind, flailing Guardian Knight Order.

He would win the bet, no questions asked, and earn himself a sweet rest, his eyes glinting with determination.