Chapter 202 – The Hero (1)

“Everyone, come quickly. I knew you would come on time.”

As we crossed the gate with our party members, Yelena and Irene greeted us with bright smiles.

“Was everything alright here?”

“Yes, it seems the Demon King and his army have no interest in this place. Even though they lost important subordinates, no more of the Demon King’s forces have come here.”

As she said, the expressions of the two who greeted us were good, and the atmosphere in the Jeonju City safe zone wasn’t bad either.

The city of Jeonju, visible below the mountain, was in ruins, but the area around the gate on the mountainside was different from before. There were many traces of people, with several tents and camping gear scattered around. And in the distance, people were watching us with frightened faces.

‘People?’

As I looked at them in surprise, Yelena explained who they were.

“They are the people from Jeonju City. They came here after that battle.”

“Ah, after that battle, they must have been able to move.”

On the day we fought the Demon King’s army and the horde of undead, the undead in Jeonju City were also swept up in the horde and pushed into the safe zone.

And that horde of undead was completely wiped out in this safe zone.

Since the undead from Jeonju City that came with them also turned into corpses, Jeonju City must have become much safer after that day.

Unlike before, it wouldn’t have been difficult for people to leave their homes and come to the safe zone.

“After seeing that battle, everyone came to this safe zone. They came here to survive, so we’ve been living together.”

I understood the situation, but I was still a bit worried.

It wouldn’t have been easy for Yelena, a person from Ea, to get along with Earth’s refugees.

“Wasn’t it uncomfortable?”

Contrary to my expectations, Yelena shook her head at my question.

“Well, we needed a lot more food, so we had to go into the city several times to find supplies, but other than that, it wasn’t difficult.

At first, there were people who didn’t know about mages and spoke rudely, but after I drove them away, everyone started treating me with caution.”

‘That must be why there aren’t many people from Jeonju City here.’

In any case, it was an unnecessary worry.

After all, Yelena was a mage.

She treated us comfortably, but she was a disciple of a battle mage and a proper noble from Ea.

Having lived her entire life in a class-based society, she wouldn’t have let anyone treat her rudely.

Moreover, the fact that she simply drove them away without smashing their heads with her staff showed that she was a kind mage.

‘Clearly, those people are afraid of not just us, but also Yelena.’

Or maybe they were afraid of us because of Yelena.

“Is everything alright in Ea? The fact that you could come here means the situation has improved, right?”

At Yelena’s question, we shook our heads.

“The situation isn’t good. The Demon King is killing people from this world and turning them into his army to attack the Empire. We’re still being pushed back.”

“Then…… how did you come here? Surely, you didn’t run away.”

“Hmm…… it might have been better if we had. Anyway, we need to clear the area. There are more people coming.”

“Ah, to stabilize the gate, mages need to come through, right? But how many are coming that you need to clear the area……?”

As the party members who came with us stepped aside and the onlookers moved further back, Yelena looked at me with a puzzled expression.

Whoosh.

Then, the next group of people began to come through the gate.

As Yelena had guessed, the mages came first.

One, two, ten, and then dozens of mages came through the gate, causing Yelena’s eyes to widen.

After the dozens of mages, no more mages came through, but then other people started to arrive.

This time, it was the knights.

The Imperial knights began to come through the gate one after another.

Yelena, who had been looking at them in disbelief, almost stopped maintaining the gate when she saw the last two people who came through.

“The Sword Masters…… Isn’t that Count Schröder?”

Perhaps because she was also a mage, Yelena’s eyes sparkled excessively when she saw Archmage Count Günther.

Some of the mages who had come through first began to check the gate and the magic circle to stabilize it, while the rest looked around with curious eyes.

The knights immediately set up camp and checked the safety of the area, and the two Sword Masters who came through last looked at the city below the mountain as soon as they arrived.

“Is this the other world……? The city looks different, and the buildings are different too.”

As the elderly Sword Master nodded while looking at Jeonju City, the Archmage next to him smiled wryly.

“But I can feel the same energy, so it doesn’t feel that unfamiliar.”

“Indeed…… Moreover, while intact cities may differ, destroyed cities are similar across worlds.”

The Sword Master shook his head while looking at the city, but after checking the surroundings, he nodded with a satisfied expression.

“In any case, this is a good place to set up a base. The view is good, and being on the mountainside makes defense easier.”

“Still, we’re not here to fight a defensive battle.”

“Well, even if it’s just a place to rest, it’s good to rest in a safe place.”

“That’s true.”

“Then, since we don’t have much time, shall we get started?”

“Yes. I’ll check the gate first.”

The elderly Sword Master, Duke Charles, went to the knights who were checking their equipment, and the Archmage approached Yelena first.

“Are you the mage Yelena?”

“Yes, Count Schröder.”

At Günther’s question, Yelena answered with a stiff expression, like a freshman standing in front of a professor.

Seeing her expression, the Archmage smiled and waved his hand.

“Since we’re both mages, you can call me by name.”

“Ah, Archmage Günther.”

“Lately, being called an Archmage is a bit embarrassing……”

The mage, who was already sitting to the side cleaning his gun, scratched his head and noticed the girl standing next to Yelena.

“Surely, the girl next to you is your disciple? She seems to be of a similar lineage to you.”

“Yes. She’s a disciple I acquired here. Her name is Irene.”

“A local from here?”

“Yes. I met her in a country called America not long ago and took her as my disciple.”

At Yelena’s words, he looked at Irene again with surprised eyes.

“Really? Then she hasn’t been your disciple for long, and she hasn’t been on the path of a mage for long either…… But she doesn’t look like she just became a mage……”

“She’s a disciple with exceptional talent.”

“She certainly seems so. I was impressed by you, who can create and maintain a gate alone, but your disciple is even more impressive.”

Hearing that, even I, who was listening from a distance, looked at Irene again.

It had only been about a month since I last saw her, but she had changed.

The unique mana of an Awakened had now transformed into that of a mage.

During the month we were in the Imperial capital, Yelena must have been diligently teaching Irene.

Since I’m not a mage, I couldn’t fully understand how remarkable it was for her to grow so quickly, but judging by the Archmage’s expression, it was clearly no ordinary feat.

Just as the Archmage was about to ask more about Irene, a group of mages rushed over to them.

They were the mages who had been examining the gate and the magic circle Yelena had drawn.

“We can’t do this on our own. We need your help, Mage.”

“Huh? Aren’t you Imperial mages?”

At the mages’ request for help, Yelena looked at them in confusion.

“I’m not a spatial mage.”

“Well, I am a spatial mage, but there are many formulas in this magic circle that I don’t understand……”

“Moreover, can you really operate and maintain a gate alone with this magic circle? I’ve never heard of a spatial mage being able to do that alone.”

At her question, the mages looked at each other with awkward expressions.

“Whether you’re an Imperial mage or not, if you don’t know, you have to learn. Mage Yelena, please explain to these ignorant Imperial mages.”

At the Archmage’s words, the gathered mages looked at him in surprise.

“Ah, Count Günther is here?”

They must have been in such a hurry that they didn’t even notice Yelena was talking to the Archmage.

And so, Yelena was dragged away by the mages, and I confirmed the final plans with Duke Charles.

“Fortunately, there are no major issues here, so we can proceed as planned.”

At the Duke’s words, the senior knight of the Imperial Knights began the briefing.

The map created by the expeditionary force’s headquarters, which had fled earlier, was spread out on a table littered with food scraps, and the senior knight began explaining while pointing at the map.

“First, the Hero and the decoy force will head to Pyongyang, the city where the Demon King’s main base is located.

The purpose of the decoy force is to cause as much chaos as possible, drawing the attention of the Demon King and his army towards them.”

It was exactly what the Emperor had said.

The following words were no different from what he had said then.

“The main force will wait and, after the decoy force attacks Pyongyang, move into Daejeon, the city where the gate captured by the Demon King is located.”

It was all information I had heard before, but there was something I hadn’t heard yet.

Namely, which group we belonged to.

‘What if they tell us to join the decoy force?’

I had brought these people here because of my promise to Yelena.

The promise to safely return her to Ea.

Now that the mages were stabilizing the gate, that promise would be kept.

But that didn’t mean our party had to be part of a suicide squad.

Of course, I was concerned about the Hero and the Saint, and Ea was in a dangerous situation, but that didn’t mean I was willing to throw my life away.

‘I’ve changed. In the past, I would have just run away.’

Now, I was thinking about it.

Honestly, if I were alone, I would have been even more conflicted.

But my party members had no reason to join a suicide squad.

‘In the worst case, we’ll have to run away.’

It would be desertion for now, but the expeditionary force was already close to being disbanded.

Even if it became a problem, as long as we could cross the gate, we just had to avoid the Empire.

If we were unlucky, we might not be able to cross the gate…….

‘Then we’ll just have to hold out in this world until Yelena finds a way.’

There’s Jeju Island, and America wants us, so we can survive in this world.

In the meantime, Ea might be destroyed by the Demon King…….

‘But is that my fault?’

As I made that decision, the Duke’s words reached me.

“The decoy force will include me and Count Günther. You and your party will join the main force. And even if you join the main force, avoid combat as much as possible.”

Surprisingly, the Duke’s words were much better than I had expected.

It was almost hard to believe.

“Huh?”

I ended up asking again, and the Duke looked straight at me and spoke.

“You are our last resort. After that Hero’s party dies, you will be our last Hero’s party.”

The Sword Master, as well as the senior Imperial knight next to him, had eyes filled with faith in the Hero.

But those eyes, filled with faith, were not looking at the young Hero, but at me.