Simon Lemea is a warrior of the North before being a Duke.
Due to the nature of the North, where monsters frequently appear, he became a person more suited to leading a battalion of warriors rather than a group.
Knowing this about himself, Simon Lemea chose the Second Prince as his lord early on and decided on his path.
He resolved not to waver, even if it led to destruction.
This was during the time when the Winter Demon King was rampaging and the number of monsters in the North had surged.
Following the orders of the Second Prince, Simon Lemea took on the role of the North’s guardian.
He endured for a year without any support from the capital and thus earned the title of hero.
Ern had acted as bait with him against the Demon King of Winter, and they had participated together in several monster subjugation campaigns.
Because of these experiences, Ern had a general understanding of what kind of person Simon Lemea was.
Simon tended to unconsciously test those he considered his peers.
Because of this tendency, he was notoriously strict when it came to strength.
“Technically, you’ve rusted quite a bit. No matter how well-trained the skill, if you don’t use it, it deteriorates. I always taught you that.”
There are times when you’re so dumbfounded that you can’t even speak.
That’s exactly how Ern felt right now.
Ern let out a deep sigh and dismissed the thoughts of cursing Simon from his mind.
He decided to sort out the situation first.
“Let’s postpone that discussion for now. Given the circumstances, let’s travel together to the Duchy.”
“…Alright.”
Due to their fierce battle, the surrounding area was obliterated.
There were no major towns or cities nearby, so there were no civilian casualties, but some of the warriors brought by Duke Lemea were injured.
“They’re not seriously hurt, just some medicine and bandages will do.”
Duke Lemea said this and turned his back.
With his tension relieved, Ern gave Lea an order.
“Call the members and tend to the injured. Provide them with medicine and bandages as needed.”
“Yes.”
After Lea left, only Epherna remained by Ern’s side.
Ern looked at the silent Epherna with concern.
Given her personality, it was unusual for her not to say anything to Duke Lemea.
If the Second Prince were here, he would have coldly demanded accountability, and Epherna, who inherited the same disposition, would have done the same under normal circumstances.
“What are you thinking so deeply about?”
Epherna watched Duke Lemea’s receding figure until he was out of sight and then voiced her thoughts.
“That man. It seems he really doesn’t like me.”
*****
The most crucial thing for governing a nation is the ability to see through people’s hearts.
Even though it might seem impossible for a human, it is an ability a king must acquire to rule over hundreds of thousands of people.
Epherna had been learning this method for three years.
She had been honing her intuition to discern the true feelings of people who hide their thoughts and emotions behind their expressions.
However, even without using that intuition, Duke Lemea’s hidden feelings were blatantly obvious.
“Isn’t it too blatant?”
In the guest room of Duke Lemea’s estate.
Epherna expressed her dissatisfaction while eating the dinner provided by the Duke’s servants.
Since arriving at the duchy, Duke Lemea hadn’t even met with her.
“He doesn’t even want to have a conversation.”
She had just wanted to ask what his dissatisfaction was, but he didn’t give her the chance.
‘It’s not that I can’t guess the reason.’
It’s probably largely due to the Second Prince.
Simon Lemea is loyal to the Second Prince.
Since he is working hard to transfer the throne to Epherna, it wouldn’t sit well with him.
‘So what does he expect me to do?’
It’s not as if she did something to particularly offend him.
It’s just that he doesn’t like the existence of the First Princess.
Even if someone else were in her place, Duke Lemea would have taken the same stance.
So there’s no way to think of a plan to fix or negotiate this.
Turning the heart of one duke is as difficult as love. Just as she was about to vent her complaints.
“Still… there’s nothing we can do.”
Epherna stabbed her fork with a resolute expression.
Now, she was in a position where if there wasn’t a way, she had to create one.
“Mister, where is that man?”
*****
A colossal mountain range splits the North into two regions.
The people of the North call this the Karun Mountains.
Sometimes, monsters from the demonic territory beyond cross over and harm the settlements, so the warriors of Duke Lemea’s domain regularly conduct monster subjugations.
“We have exterminated all the monsters that crossed the mountains.”
“What about the ones still crossing?”
“So far, we have been defending successfully, but we do not know how many monsters there are.”
“We need to deploy more troops.”
Simon donned his helmet.
Knowing that there would be significant damage at this rate, he decided to step in personally.
“Order the first and second squads to deploy. I’ll go ahead.”
“Yes.”
Simon dismounted and headed directly to the Karun Mountains on foot.
This was faster and more efficient.
He channeled mana into his legs, and his steps accelerated explosively.
The scenery changed with each stride.
Despite the greatsword strapped to his back, his speed only increased.
Simon infused more mana into his legs.
Double level physical enhancement.
For an ordinary warrior, this would be enough to tear their legs apart, but the body of a hero could easily withstand it.
‘I have a bad feeling.’
Since the Demon King was subjugated, there had never been as many monsters crossing the Karun Mountains as today.
There had been instances of starving monsters attacking settlements, but that had a reasonable cause.
However, there was no such cause for the current mass crossing of monsters.
It was improbable that such a large number of monsters were starving at the same time. If that were the case, there must be a significant reason.
With a worried expression, Simon frowned and then had to come to a halt.
“You’re too slow. At that speed, when do you expect to arrive?”
Epherna and her Personal Guard, Ern, stood before him.
“Give me your hand for a moment.”
Simon quickly understood her intention.
There was only one way she could have arrived here before him, despite being at the Duke’s estate.
Simon took Epherna’s hand.
An unfamiliar flow of mana was felt, and the surroundings changed.
‘Teleportation at this age, huh.’
Simon looked at Epherna with a gaze of amazement.
To his knowledge, only Bergamot had succeeded in teleportation at such a young age.
To perform teleportation, one must grasp the constantly shifting flow of mana, a skill that requires sensitivity to mana on par with the elders of the Magic Tower.
‘I’ve heard she has great talent in magic, but to this extent?’
Simon put his thoughts aside and looked ahead.
“Father!!”
His son, Hon Lemea, was calling out to him.
Simon nodded and approached his son.
As he received the report and grasped the situation, an ominous glint flickered in his eyes.
“Not good. Of all things, Living Armors.”
Living Armors are monsters made of armor itself.
They are not easily affected by ordinary bladed weapons, making them particularly deadly to the northern warriors.
“Order the men to switch their weapons to maces. If there are Living Armors, there must be a witch controlling them, so form a search team.”
It wasn’t his first time dealing with Living Armors.
Having cut down countless of them during the war, Simon knew the proper tactics to counter them.
“Gather all the mages in one place and prepare a large-scale spell. Do not let the Living Armors scatter; corral them into one spot. We will annihilate them all at once.”
“Yes!”
Simon raised his greatsword high.
Having given the orders, it was now time to boost morale.
With mana circulating through his body, strengthening him, Simon leapt high into the air.
As he lightly swung his sword.
KA-GA-GA-GAK—!!!
A cleaving strike tore through the ranks of the Living Armors.
With a few more slashes, their formation began to crumble.
Riding the momentum, the warriors broke through the lines and began smashing the cores of the Living Armors.
However, Simon, looking down from the sky, couldn’t smile. Despite his earnest slashes that had obliterated dozens of Living Armors, more than 70% still remained.
‘This seems endless.’
It appeared that they had brought at least a hundred of these creatures.
Simon gripped his sword, realizing today’s battle wouldn’t end easily.
At that moment.
FWOOOSH–!!
Simon looked up at the intense heat emanating above his head.
Epherna, holding a miniature sun in her hand, was looking down at him.
“Let me help.”
With her words, a gigantic sphere of fire brushed past him and fell.
The result was predictable.
Kwaaaaaaaang—-!!!!
*****
Epherna thought to herself.
‘It’s better to gain favor this way.’
Currently, Duke Lemea didn’t like her.
So it was better to show a good side, even if it meant putting on a pathetic display trying to please him. It was an unavoidable necessity for a princess.
Meanwhile, where Epherna’s fireball had fallen, nearly half of the remaining Living Armors had been annihilated.
The ground was burning as if it would sizzle and cook, causing damage to the Living Armors.
‘It was worth increasing the output.’
Epherna’s Magic Awakening ability allowed her to conjure flames with her will.
However, she wasn’t satisfied with just that, so she learned to mix mana into the will that fueled her flames.
Through experience, she discovered the optimal ratio of will to mana to maximize output.
Combining Will and Mana in a roughly 6.5:3.5 ratio produced the most efficient and destructive performance.
Adjusting the ratio required significant mental effort, but the resulting power was well worth it.
Ern thought.
‘Wow… that’s impressive.’
He knew she had grown a lot over the past three years, but he never imagined it would be to this extent.
Moreover, judging by her condition, it didn’t seem to be her maximum output. She looked like she could still use it several more times.
‘In terms of power, I can’t catch up to her anymore.’
Is this what it means to be a genius?
Ern was reminded of Epherna’s genius after a long time.
‘If she ever gets angry, I don’t think I could stop her.’
If Epherna ever made demands or threats, Ern honestly didn’t think he could refuse.
As he watched Epherna descend from the sky, Ern suddenly felt a sense of deja vu and activated his eyes.
His eyes followed the flow of murky mana, leading to a witch concealed by invisibility.
The witch was chanting a spell.
Her staff was pointed towards Epherna, who was descending to the ground.
“…!!”
Ern leaped high.
But he was a step too late.
The teleportation spell activated.
The witch’s spell transported Ern and Epherna from the battlefield.
*****
That’s how it was.
Ern and Epherna were transported to different locations deep within the mountain range.
