Dawn of the next day.

The Guardian Knight Order and the Scarlet Scales Knight Order marched toward the seal at sunrise. The objective was a hill about five kilometers from the seal.

Once at their staging area, the Guardian Knight Order inspected their weapons and tools and rested from the dawn march. Beside them, the Scarlet Scales Knight Order prepared for the scouting that was to follow.

“Don’t be reckless, and if you think there’s danger, send a signal right away. If you send one after you’re caught, you’ll only end up with bloodshed.”

Dreyfe paced near Cadel, fretting unnecessarily. He was looking at Cadel without noticing Van’s sharp gaze, but Cadel actually reacted indifferently as if he were dealing with his annoying younger siblings.

“Yes. I’ll signal you as soon as I see a monster’s tail.”

“I’m not kidding! Unless you’re an assassin, it’s impossible to hide your tracks perfectly, so if you want to live, you have to act faster than they do.”

“Sure. I’ll be quicker than anyone else.”

“How quick! Last time I saw you running, I thought a toddler who had just started walking would be faster than you.”

It was Sorin who stopped him, relentless in his criticism of Cadel’s attitude. He casually pulled Dreyfe back to give Cadel a warning.

“If the gathered monsters are at a manageable level, shoot the signal flares I gave you yesterday. If not, shoot the fireballs. We will be able to join within 30 minutes, so focus on defense as much as possible.”

“Yes.”

“There’s no need to force the seal to activate. It’s safer to wait for the magicians over here to join, so conserve your strength.”

He nodded silently and felt Sorin’s longing gaze on him. When Cadel locked eyes with him, Sorin hesitated, as if he had something to say, and then turned away without a word.

Cadel had a vague idea of what was holding him back, so instead of prying, he chose to walk away.

“Let’s go.”

He dragged his subordinates toward the seal circle, drowning out the last of Dreyfe’s tiresome nagging.

* * *

As he rode diligently up the rolling hills, Cadel watched his surroundings carefully. From what he had heard, monsters in the areas where seals were located like Alithis were more powerful and ferocious than normal. To avoid being ambushed, he would need to learn their location quickly.

By this time, Cadel was feeling self-conscious about his rapid breathing, which contradicted his calm mind. Lydon was in the lead, flapping his wings and enjoying a relaxing flight.

“I can handle 500 monsters in front of the seal. What do you think, darling? Am I cool?”

“Uh. You’re cool.”

Throughout the trip, Lydon cracked jokes and smirked, gauging Cadel’s reaction. As time went on, Cadel’s responses grew colder, but Lydon was still quite satisfied. The one with dissatisfaction was only Van.

“That’s ridiculous. Only 500 monsters and you want to look cool? Commander isn’t the kind of man to be satisfied with that.”

“Hmmm, so how much can Van catch?”

“Maybe even 5.000.”

“Ahaha! Look at the bluff!”

“……Do you want to die?”

“Then it’s 50.000 for me!”

Seeing Lydon wriggling his ten fingers out in a teasing manner, Van fiercely pulled out his greatsword. Even though Lydon teased him with the same tactics all the time, Van fell for the provocation every time. Cadel glanced at his two lively subordinates and shook his head.

‘What are they eating that’s giving them so much stamina?’

He was just jealous. If he had wings like Lydon or stamina like Van, he would have been able to go on a scouting mission as easily as a walk.

‘Should I just take the wind attribute now?’

In his inventory now was a [Potion of Circulation], a gift from Garuel. He was saving it in case other attributes would be useful in future battles.

Until that day came, Cadel had to rely on fire magic as insurance for the 10 attribute points he’d earned from the quest. Part of him wanted to cast [Wind’s Path] right away, but he was afraid he might regret it.

“By the way, Commander. What exactly does it mean to manage a seal? I thought it meant something a little different than activating it.”

Van, who had sent Lydon flying with a swing of his greatsword, stood by Cadel’s side. Cadel used Van’s arm like a staff to distribute his weight, then spoke in a tired voice.

“Activation is the materialization of the seal’s energy in the seal circle, so you can visually see the state of the seal. Management is looking at the state of the seal, whether it’s cracked, whether it’s loose, and reacting accordingly. If everything is fine with the seal, you’re just going to reinforce it more.”

Van nodded, looking down with satisfaction at Cadel, who was holding his arm.

“If there’s a crack, it could lead to a big battle, because you never know what’s going to pop out of it while you’re trying to repair the seal.”

“I guess so. Still, this many people gathered here. We won’t have any trouble with just a crack.”

Unlike the Battle of the Gateway, this dispatch had a significant number of magicians and was fully prepared for battle. Plus, this mission wasn’t even a main quest. It was just a short cutscene to show the status of the seal, and it was an event that Cadel could skip right now.

The actual quest took place outside the Empire. There was no risk of encountering a High Demon like Sellev here.

‘It’s a warm-up. The big wars won’t happen until after the liberation of the Demon Realm. For the first time in a long time, I can move around with peace of mind.’

It was frustrating that Cadel didn’t know the details of how the Demon Realm was liberated, but roughly speaking, since the seals were broken, it must have been liberated. Even if a large group of people took turns checking them carefully, all it needed was a seal to be broken.

It felt like a waste of time, but it was a process, so Cadel decided to embrace it.

‘The seal isn’t going to be broken right away, so I need to get my work done and get myself ready.’

Preparing for full-scale Demon War. Recruit the last knight.

‘If Lumen and Garuel are successfully recruited, there is only one knight position left. Who should I bring in…….’

Cadel had had someone in mind for a while now, though it was a matter of finding him.

‘I have permission from the Emperor to add members to the Knight Order, so there’s no need to hide anyone, and if I can’t find him, I’ll have to find another good knight to fill his place.’

Before the Demon War, he needed to complete the Knight Order and focus on their development, so that the grand finale would be perfect.

‘……The finale.’

The thought of the end of the story made Cadel feel strangely heavy, and being able to see it in his expression, there was worry in Van’s voice.

“Commander, are your legs hurting? Tell me if you’re having trouble walking. I’ll carry you up.”

“Huh? ……No, it’s okay. I’m still full of energy.”

Quickly shaking off his thoughts, Cadel pressed the corners of his mouth together. Since his promotion to knighthood, he had often felt this way. He had a feeling he knew why, but he refused to delve too deeply into it. It seemed he shouldn’t.

When Cadel shook off Van’s worries with a forced smile, Lydon, who was leading from the other side, shouted.

“Darling, don’t you think this is where you’ll find the seal circle?”

“That’s right, but lower your voice. I don’t want to be surrounded by monsters from the start.”

“It’s no fun being surrounded by ten of them!”

Ten monsters? Cadel asked, and Lydon flew at him, a look of disappointment on his face. Then, out of nowhere, he wrapped his arms around Cadel’s waist and lifted him into the air.

“What, what’s with you all of a sudden?”

“Look at that, darling. Those sparse monsters. If I had known there would only be this little, I would have sat down and had a snack.”

On the ground seen from the sky, there was a white seal covering an entire wide hill. And around the hill, small dot-like monsters were seen. There are so few monsters that the meaning of scouting faded.

“……Are there really 10 of them?”

“Not funny. It’s boring.”

Their numbers would make even a fear of siege unnecessary. Besides, they were as common as goblins, so it shouldn’t take more than ten minutes to destroy them.

‘Very desirable.’

Lydon was busy complaining about the pitiful numbers, but from Cadel’s point of view, it was a very good thing. For them who had been fighting tooth and nail until now, this simple subjugation was no different from a reward.

Cadel fired a signal flare while being held in Lydon’s arms. They could handle monsters of that level without having to look any further.

“There’s only a little, so I’ll give you that, Lydon. You catch them all.”

“Are you passing the job on to me?”

“What are you talking about? You, who can handle 500 monsters, should take care of this. I’m going to deal with the seal circle.”

Smiling shamelessly, Cadel ordered Lydon to descend, and with a sigh of disappointment, Lydon lowered his altitude.