“Count! Get away quickly! There’s a horde of undead monsters behind you!”
“Don’t worry. It’s my army. To be precise, it’s the army my guard commands, so you needn’t be concerned.”
“…?”
The Archduke of the North was taken aback and lost for words.
Behind Count Vermont’s party stood rows of skeletal soldiers.
Their calm demeanor and lack of aggression made it clear they were no ordinary monsters.
At first glance, the condition of the bones showed no excessive accumulation of mana.
So, were they not really monsters?
Skeletons that moved as if they were alive?
And somehow, the shape of the armor the skeleton soldiers wore seemed familiar.
“Can you let us in? The flying monsters will arrive soon.”
“What should we do, Your Excellency? Should we open the gates?”
“Merilda is outside, so there’s no choice… Ugh! Open the gates!”
With that, the Archduke made his decision and issued the command.
Aslan Vermont smirked wryly, while the Archduke trembled in discomfort.
‘I feel like a foolish lord who has been deceived by a high-ranking demon and opened the castle gates to an undead army…’
If Aslan Vermont were truly an ambitious villain, today would be remembered as the worst day—unable to stop an unparalleled fiend while also leading to the Empire’s ruin.
Yet, there was no alternative.
Merilda is held hostage.
His only daughter, Merilda…!
Through the now-open castle gates, hundreds of undead soldiers poured in alongside the Vermont party.
If his decision was wrong, this would spell the end for the Empire.
However, there was no regret.
The Archduke of the North gripped his massive sword tightly as he prepared to confront the undead army.
Then, a skeleton approached, continuing forward until it stood before the Archduke. The resplendent armor it wore suggested it had once been of noble birth.
Unfazed by the Archduke’s imposing presence, the skeleton boldly faced him and opened its mouth.
“Clack clack! Clack clack!”
“…!?”
Is it threatening?
Or is it casting some sort of spell?
The Archduke frowned and was about to draw his sword.
“Julia, translate.”
“I am Franz Mark, the firstborn of Mark II. I led the first Demon Realm Expedition, but we became isolated and ultimately perished. I’ve heard that you are the Archduke acting as the lord of this castle. That would mean you are of royal blood, correct?”
“Y-Yes. Yes, indeed.”
“Clack! Snap! Clack clack!”
“Hey, you! Can’t you show respect to your ancestors? Is proper etiquette not taught these days? …I-I swear, I didn’t make this up!”
At the scolding from the skeleton, no, the skeleton noble, the Archduke flinched and trembled.
Mark II?
That must be one of the saints who laid the foundations of the empire when it was being formed, right?
If he is the firstborn, that would make him royalty from about a thousand years ago.
The appearance of such a distant ancestor left the Archduke extremely flustered.
“Snap! Clack clack!”
“You. How many generations back are you?”
“I am Richard Friedrich, the 38th descendant of Alexander Friedrich the Great, ancestor.”
“Snap? Clack clack? Clack clack clack! Snap! Snap!”
“What? Friedrich? Then you are a side branch! My niece married into the insignificant Friedrich family! How dare such unworthy people step into the royal palace!”
Cold sweat ran down the Archduke’s back.
What am I supposed to do when you chastise me for something that happened over a thousand years ago?
The Mark family insisted on maintaining pure bloodlines through inbreeding and ultimately perished from genetic diseases, so it’s only natural that the imperial authority would change hands.
…Though he desperately wanted to retort, he couldn’t argue with such a distant ancestor.
“Clack! Snap! Clack clack! Snap! Snap clack!”
“Well, it’s true that ten years can change a landscape; the empire wouldn’t remain the same for a thousand years. We should be grateful that it hasn’t disbanded. So, how much has the Empire’s territory expanded now?”
“Well, the truth is… several independent kingdoms have split off, so it’s currently reduced compared to the territory from a thousand years ago…”
“Clack! Clack clack! Clack clack! Snap!”
“My Empire! If I had known that such fools would ruin it while pretending to be emperors, I would have claimed the title myself! I should be fighting in the capital, not dying a dog’s death fighting filthy beasts in this backwater!”
“…”
The skeleton noble clacked its bony chest in frustration, making the Archduke feel too ashamed to lift his head.
Somehow, the skeleton noble’s speech began to sound increasingly like the clattering of dentures to the Archduke.
“Clack! Snap! Clack!”
“Anyway, all that is in the past. It would be ridiculous for a forgotten spirit to give advice to its descendants.”
At that moment, the skeleton noble drew his sword, shouting.
He held the blade out, offering it to the Archduke.
The Archduke made a bewildered expression and accepted the sword with both hands.
“Snap! Clack clack!”
“Take this. Instead of burying this ugly remnant of bone, bury this sword in the grave.”
“Clack clack! Snap! Clack clack!”
“And today, the resurrected spirits will perish here and be forgotten once more.”
“Clack! Clack clack! Clack clack clack!”
“Those still alive, hide behind those who have crumbled into dust!”
“Clack!”
“Today, no one will die!”
In response to the skeleton noble’s declaration, the undead army clacked their jaws in unison, raising a cheer.
The skeletons discarded the swords inscribed with their names onto the ground and received new ones from Ester’s soldiers.
They climbed the walls instead of the soldiers, preparing for battle.
The Monster Wave was approaching.
***
‘To think there’s someone who can turn the Archduke of the North into a docile lamb…’
It was truly a shocking sight. Even the Empress wouldn’t have anything to fear from someone like that.
The sight of an ancestral figure from so long ago wielding such influence was astonishing…
However, even more surprising was that Julia’s undead army had voluntarily rolled up their sleeves to defend against the Monster Wave.
If they had resisted, Julia would have had to use her commands to force them into action.
What a relief it was.
“My lord, the monster wave is imminent.”
The wyvern monsters were now close enough to be seen with the naked eye.
The fortress city had filled with silence and tension.
We were positioned at a lookout on the inner wall, a point from which we could see the entire battlements.
The reason we had chosen to come here instead of the shelter was simple: if the undead army turned their weapons against us, we wanted to be the first to know and allow Julia to issue her commands.
“But, Charlotte.”
“Yeah?”
“When we faced those skeleton grandpas earlier, were you really that scared you wanted to hug Aslan? Is the Super Super Strong Sword just for show?”
“Th-that’s not it! I realized right away that the skeleton grandpas weren’t bad people, so I deliberately didn’t draw the Strong Strong Sword!”
“Then what about when you were clinging to Aslan with your eyes shut, sobbing?”
“I-I never did that!”
“Hmm. Now you’re just distorting history entirely.”
Even though a battle was about to break out, these two were just being innocent.
It felt like they were arguing over who was the bigger coward, but in reality, both were equally scared.
If Julia was the type to get startled by the slightest thing but found her courage in critical moments, then Charlotte was the type who rarely got scared but panicked when facing any significant fear.
They were indeed polar opposites yet complementary.
“You, Julia, were hiding behind Mister as soon as you saw the pit!”
“Th-that was just because Aslan was nearby!”
“But Knight Sister was closer. Did you really like Mister that much?”
“Ah, no way…!”
Their quarrel grew increasingly heated.
Yet, a smile that I could no longer hide spread across my face.
In this terrifying situation, perhaps they unconsciously wanted to rely on me.
I had no combat abilities at all.
The fact that the children turned to me before Sylvia, who had overwhelming combat power, was proof that they saw me as a pillar of support.
I looked at Sylvia with a gaze full of superiority.
“…”
Soon, Sylvia shot me a look that seemed to say, “What do you want?”
I felt a surge of pride, realizing I hadn’t misled the children after all.
It seemed that training, or rather education, was progressing smoothly.
“What’s wrong, Yuria? You don’t look so well.”
“It’s nothing… I’m fine… Ugh…”
Seeing him biting him lip in distress, I encouraged him.
Yes, pay attention.
This is reality.
Charlotte and Julia had already become unable to live without me.
If they understood that well, they would know how to behave.
I gave Yuri’s shoulder a reassuring pat.
“The battle is starting!”
Trrrr.
Thunder rumbled. At that moment, the swarm of wyvern monsters approached with dark clouds.
Before long, the sky was completely obscured by their wings.
Swoosh!
The monsters above, with their wings folded, began their dive.
The skeleton soldiers, holding their torches high, stood firm without retreating.
“They’re fighting…!”
Soon, the monsters clashed with the skeleton soldiers, and chaos erupted.
Some skeleton soldiers shattered into pieces when struck by the massive wyverns.
Yet, many stubbornly clung on, expertly slicing through the monsters’ necks.
[Kyaaak! Come here!]
On the ground outside the walls, the traps set by the undead were doing their work.
Drawn in by the light of the bright flash spells, the monsters that poked their heads into the pits were buried under heavy mounds of dirt, becoming future fossil fuels.
“Hang in there, skeleton grandpas!”
Despite the children cheering for the skeleton soldiers, who were falling one after another, the skeletons fought valiantly, getting swept away.
By the time the battle ended, nothing was left moving atop the walls.
Over a thousand wyvern monsters had been exterminated.
However, the skeleton soldiers were also shattered and scattered everywhere.
As the soldiers slowly ventured outside, they were left speechless by the horrific scene.
“Ancestor…”
Thud.
The Archduke of the North climbed atop the chaotic battlements.
He picked up the severed head of a skeleton noble and closed his eyes in silent prayer.
The atmosphere turned solemn, and all the soldiers bowed their heads slightly in respect.
“Thank you for your hard work. Now, may you rest in peace…”
“Clack! Snap!”
“Dang! You scared me!”
“The skeleton grandpas…!”
At that moment, the skeleton noble’s jawbone began to shake wildly.
Simultaneously, the skeleton bones scattered around began to move independently, finding their rightful places.
In an instant, the undead army was reassembled and lined up in formation.
Charlotte and Julia cheered in delight, while the Archduke’s expression turned noticeably pale.
