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Ichinari had already gone ahead of us, and we, Fraus’ army, had increased our speed of advance. I, Tsukihara Hikari, tried not to fall behind, but I felt the gap in our statuses had grown significantly. I couldn’t appraise Ichinari during battle, so I didn’t know the exact numbers, but I wasn’t confident I could defeat the demon general he had taken down.

I probably would have to keep firing high-ranked magic from a distance just to stand a chance.

Still, I hoped the war would end quickly. Every additional day it dragged on increased my chances of dying and my chances of failing to protect Seira. I had pledged my allegiance to Fraus because I wanted a foundation strong enough to protect what was important to me, Seira.

It was the same for this war, too. They had situated Seira in the back lines because I had asked them to. Normally, she would have been sent to the front lines just like the rest of us. But if I could prove that Seira was not needed on the front, then she could stay in the rear and focus on healing. In that sense, Ichinari, who was going wild with flaunting his power, was a welcome presence.

Regardless of what his mental state was like right now.

It was all fine as long as he didn’t point his blade at us. However, given that he was now a slave, it was almost certain that he’d protect us.

“Hahahaha. You’re weak! Too weak! Bring someone stronger.”

After the war began and Takuma died, Ichinari became obsessed with strength. He sought out stronger opponents and grew even stronger by defeating them. He no longer heard our voices.

If we spoke to him, he’d respond, but he no longer listened to our suggestions. He had become like a beast, acting only on instinct.

As I mentioned before, this had saved our lives, so I wasn’t complaining.

While all of that was happening, the ground suddenly shook. The earth cracked, the weather went haywire, and we were no longer in any condition to keep fighting. Even so, our orders weren’t rescinded, so we managed to maintain the front line bit by bit. But morale among Fraus’ soldiers, not to mention the already unmotivated heroes, plummeted.

In contrast, the demons’ morale stayed high. Just as we were beginning to lose ground, Princess Topersion arrived at the front.

From that moment on, morale recovered dramatically. With just a single speech, the Fraus’ army managed to regain its footing. As usual, Princess Topersion was extremely popular. She later summoned me, and I entered her private tent.

“How is the battle going?”
“Morale was down after the recent disaster, and we were starting to get pushed back. But thanks to Your Highness, things are improving. I think it won’t be long before we reach Nigel’s capital.”
Princess Topersion listened seriously, then asked, “What’s the damage to the heroes?”
“After Takuma fell, we haven’t had any physical harm. However, we’ve been charging more and more into enemy lines. Is that okay?”
“That’s fine. You are currently our kingdom’s strongest assets. You should be careful not to lose those assets quickly.”
“If you order me to do so.”

There wasn’t much I could do about it. They didn’t listen to me anyway. Besides, I was seen as a close friend of Princess Topersion, and my standing among the heroes was complicated. I would prefer not to get involved in complicated situations.

After I met with Princess Topersion, I returned to my tent. In a way, it was helpful that each hero had their tent. After all, we were like tools to the royalty but heroes in the eyes of the soldiers. If we were treated too poorly, the royal family might be criticized. Still, they hid that reality well, both in their orders to us and their outward treatment.

Lying alone in my tent, I quietly pondered over the day.

(We survived yet another day. It might seem like we’re still quite safe, but we might die tomorrow. Seira could die. I’m just glad that it didn’t happen today.)

I didn’t know how much longer this would go on, but as long as we kept fighting and surviving, the day would come when they would no longer need us. Until then, we would survive. We would offer ourselves as a fighting force if needed and pledge our loyalty to Fraus in exchange for a little freedom.

I had played my part to make that happen. I had acted with that goal in mind. Princess Topersion’s treatment of me was better than how the others were treated.

Whatever happened, I had to live for tomorrow. I had to survive the day after tomorrow. I had to survive this war.

I heard we were close to reaching the capital of Nigel. The end of this war was in sight. We had no choice but to win.

The disaster that had just happened didn’t matter to us.