Published: July 3, 2025
List of Southern Army Leadership
Supreme Commander: King Abel the First (Aide: Ryo)
Imperial Guard Captain: Phelps A. Heinlein
The Imperial Guards are mainly composed of the red sword and the white brigade, along with adventurers from the City of Run.
Commander of the Heinlein Marquisate Army: Marquis Alexis Heinlein (Aide: Dantan)
Commander of the Barony of Run's Army: Alfonso Spinazzola (Aide: Neville Black)
Commander of the Southern Army Magical Association: Ilalion Baraha
Deputy Commander: Arthur Velasis
Adventurer Unit Commander: Hugh McGrath
Deputy Commander: Landenvia
Each army includes volunteer militia, totaling over twenty thousand at this point.
Ryo is the only aide assigned to King Abel.
He always follows slightly behind Abel, protecting him... his role is more akin to a bodyguard than that of a typical aide...
Originally, the Imperial Guard Captain and the guards should handle that role, but they are strictly the "Imperial Guards on the battlefield."
Their duty is to protect Abel in the field... but everyone understands.
Although Abel is a king, he is also an adventurer and, moreover, a swordsman.
It is likely that if a charge is ordered, he would be the first to dash forward.
At that moment, it would be the Imperial Guards and the adventurers from Run charging alongside him.
Thus, until they reach the battlefield, Ryo is the sole protector of Abel.
This is Abel's wish, and the other leaders understood it as well.
"Hey, that's him, right? The one..."
"Yeah, the one with the water attribute..."
"He doesn't look that strong, does he?"
"Well, he's a mage... but he's quite abnormal, isn't he?"
"Freezing someone solid is impossible. Yet, he manages to do it..."
"More importantly, he’s pretty cute, isn’t he?"
In the camp, Abel walks around quite a bit.
Not just among familiar adventurers and knight order members, but also actively engaging with those who have come from other towns.
During this, Ryo always walks closely behind him.
Essentially, there are no suspected spies among the enemy... despite the gathering of more than twenty thousand people, the assurance that "there are none" is solely thanks to Phelps and Alexis, the Heinlein clan.
However, since anything can happen, Ryo always follows closely.
As a result, he overhears conversations like the ones mentioned earlier.
"Ryo has become quite famous, hasn't he?"
"I wonder if I'll be okay after the war..."
Ryo's worry is that he might get caught up in the power struggles among the nobles or be forcibly detained, a concern he had previously.
"Ah, you'll be fine. I have some strategies prepared for that. Leave it to me."
Despite the words coming directly from his majesty the king, Ryo's gaze at Abel was still filled with distrust.
"Hey, what kind of look is that? Why do you have a distrustful look even after I said it's okay?"
"Because... if you think about what the past Abel has done, you’ll understand, right?"
"Past...?"
The good-natured Abel puts his hand on his chest and thinks... but nothing particular comes to mind.
"Nothing comes to mind?"
"At the fortieth floor of the dungeon, he promised to treat me to food for a week and then didn’t!"
"Ah..."
"He said I had the privilege of cake once a month, but if we’re on a march, I can’t enjoy that privilege, can I?"
"Ah..."
At this point, Abel began scratching his cheek with his right hand.
"Abel, taking away even the monthly cake is terrible!"
Ryo knelt down, letting out a heartfelt cry.
"Well, I didn't expect to be deployed this quickly back then..."
Saying this, Abel smiled wryly.
However, a woman's voice suddenly interjected.
"Who decided that one cannot eat cake on the battlefield?"
Along with that voice appeared Lin and Warren.
Lin was holding something in her right hand, while Warren was offering a box.
Rubbing her teary eyes, Ryo looked at what Lin was holding.
"Could it be... cream puffs...?"
That small whisper went unheard by anyone else.
As Lin approached, she opened her mouth.
"This is the final form of the portable cake that has finally been developed recently, cream puffs."