Chapter 95

The northern metropolis, Rostia.

The Magic Tower was built first, and Rostia was a city formed around that tower.

Since so many people gathered to make it a city, the northern Ingrid Kingdom couldn’t ignore it and built walls around Rostia, dispatching a lord to manage it.

But naturally, enemies didn’t invade this freezing land as much as they did in Cresnig, and even the bandits targeting travelers fled from the cold, making the area around Rostia incredibly peaceful.

Even if someone tried to commit fraud or theft within the city, the Magic Tower wouldn’t let it slide if anything remotely bad happened to those associated with it.

And making enemies of the magicians? That’s a choice so terrible that suicide would be a better option.

In other words, Rostia’s authority and public order were practically non-existent.

As if to prove this, Rostia’s walls and government offices were incomparably smaller than those of other cities.

“Shall we wait a bit?”

In front of the government office, where we came after hearing Nigelung’s testimony.

But Riana and I were just individuals, so we had no excuse to enter the government office.

Of course, just as Nigelung waited for us outside the restaurant, we could simply wait outside for Commander Balthazar.

Riana and I found a seat in a teahouse, the kind that’s usually found near even the smallest government offices.

“Whew. Honestly, bro, I’m completely out of it.”

“Who do you think has any? But remember this, Riana. You might want to persuade and stop your dad, but from what I see, he’s likely to just listen to you with one ear and let it go out the other.”

“…I know. But I still can’t believe it. After finding out what my dad went through in the past, I looked at him with worried eyes, and he comforted me, saying he was fine. And he treated me so warmly, as if that past didn’t matter.”

“There’s a saying for that, Riana. Ignorance is bliss. Sending you to the Rostia Magic Tower wasn’t just to make you a strong magician, was it?”

“Yeah. But if my dad still has even a little love for me, he won’t be able to reject me like this. Ah!”

Riana, who was almost lying on the table, straightened her back.

Following her trembling gaze, I saw a familiar, long-awaited face.

Commander Balthazar.

Riana left me behind and rushed out of the teahouse first.

And then…

“Dad!”

She threw herself at Commander Balthazar.

Balthazar looked a bit surprised but gently opened his arms and embraced her.

He even spun her around in a circle.

“Who’s this? Isn’t it my one and only daughter? I’m glad you’re so full of energy.”

“I missed you, Dad.”

“Me too. I was planning to come find you once this was over, but somehow you found me first. And…”

Commander Balthazar gently put Riana down and slowly turned his head toward me.

“Have you been well, you too?”

“Thanks to you, I’ve been having a very fulfilling vacation. I also successfully completed the mission to recruit Riana.”

“I thought so. What about Abelin?”

“……”

Balthazar seemed to sense something from my silence, his eyes darkening slightly.

“…My deputy?”

“She’s resting very well.”

“I see. That’s why…”

Balthazar muttered with a hint of disappointment, then looked back at his daughter, who was tightly holding his hand.

Not just holding, but gripping it with all her might.

“You already know, don’t you, Riana?”

“Yeah. So let’s talk. Just you and me, as father and daughter.”

“…It’s only natural to take the time, now that we’ve met after so long. I’m glad you asked first.”

Commander Balthazar was willingly pulled by Riana into the teahouse.

The corner of the teahouse, where no one else was, was the perfect place for a secret and serious conversation.

“Dad, so don’t you have anything to say to me?”

“Anything to say? What do you want me to say?”

“Master. No, Ronos was a demon. And now I know everything. Why the Vanguard was created, and what you’ve been doing.”

“……”

“You’re not going to make any excuses, are you?”

“There’s no reason to hide it. You’re my daughter, Riana. No matter what anyone says, you’re my beloved daughter. So until now, I thought you didn’t need to know and kept it hidden, but now that you know, I won’t try to hide it anymore.”

“You love me? Then why are you trying to destroy the world? That’s where I’m supposed to live!”

“There seems to be a misunderstanding. I…”

“No, there’s no misunderstanding in anything Riana said.”

I cut off Balthazar’s words a beat earlier.

“You said it yourself, Commander Balthazar. I heard it clearly with my own ears. If you want to deny it as a misunderstanding, then tell me that what you said to me was a lie and what you’re about to say to Riana is the truth.”

Commander Balthazar was silent for a while.

And for good reason, because I remember it clearly.

When I went to Commander Balthazar’s house for dinner, I tried to kill him in the yard but failed.

I cut his throat, but Balthazar left that body behind and walked out of the house with a plate of fruit, completely fine.

And then he threatened me, saying he would kill his children one by one if I didn’t eat the fruit and talk.

Using his own children as hostages to threaten me, and then telling Riana that he loves her as a father.

How dare he…!

“You’re also misunderstanding, Kairon. Since you heard it from me, it’s natural that Riana would misunderstand too. Now I’ll answer your questions slowly, so listen to my story first. You can scold me later.”

Commander Balthazar, even in a tight spot, didn’t sweat or show any panic, calmly taking a sip of hot tea to moisten his mouth.

“Once the gate is open, the invasion has already begun. This world may end someday. But not for a while.”

“That’s not the point. Innocent people are sacrificing their lives and their livelihoods to fight in the Vanguard to clean up the mess you made. If the Vanguard falls, the whole world will be thrown into chaos. Do you think that’s the right thing to do?”

“Yes, I do.”

“What…?”

Balthazar nodded again, as if emphasizing his point.

“I think it’s right. In fact, it’s for the sake of this world.”

“You need to give a convincing explanation. Not just to me, but to your daughter Riana as well.”

“There’s no need for a lengthy explanation. This world needs to change and awaken.”

Commander Balthazar took another sip of tea, emptying the cup and setting it down.

Then, after rubbing the teacup handle a few times, new contents filled the cup.

Contents with a bitter smell.

Before I knew it, the cup was filled not with tea, but with moderately cool alcohol.

“Gasp…!”

And Riana, who was watching this scene before her eyes, widened her eyes in shock.

“All living things become infinitely weak in the face of an unbearable crisis. On the other hand, they become overly relaxed in the face of a laughably light crisis. But in the face of a properly thrilling crisis, they exert everything they have to escape it. Isn’t that right?”

“What does that have to do with the demons continuously crossing over…”

I stopped mid-sentence, realizing it myself.

The Vanguard wasn’t just simply blocking the incoming demons.

The people who came to help the Vanguard, those who were once part of the Vanguard and left, spread the danger of demons throughout the world.

The people of the world don’t know how dangerous demons are, but they’ve heard stories and are vaguely aware of them.

And when the Vanguard alone can no longer stop the demons, the demons, now fully matured, will spread across the world and create a crisis.

“This foolish and divided world will unite in the face of the threat I’ve invited. In the end, I’m not trying to simply destroy this world. I want to instill in humans, who are divided and engaged in pointless squabbles, the consciousness that they must unite and not fight each other. I want to save this world by becoming the villain.”

“That, that kind of…”

Riana, who had come to persuade Commander Balthazar, seemed to have been persuaded by him instead, unable to lift her head.

Commander Balthazar’s words were very convincing.

But there was something that needed to be pointed out.

“That’s sophistry.”

“Hmm?”

“Commander Balthazar, what you’re saying now is missing the most important part.”

It was so absurd that it was beyond absurd, so I snatched the cup from Balthazar’s hand, downed the alcohol in one gulp, and shouted.

“You say you want to save this world, but throwing the people of this world to the demons, is that really salvation?”

“So what are you going to do about it?”

Balthazar replied dryly.

Before I knew it, his hand was holding a new cup filled with new alcohol.

“What can you do, Kairon? You’ve already…”

And he added with a grin.

“Become one of us, haven’t you?”