["Ian! We're coming! Just hold on a little longer!"]

Moiken's booming voice burst from the elemental's throat. Ian felt like his eardrums were about to rupture.

"No. Don't come."

["This isn't the time for pride! We're all exhausted from the aftermath of battle, but that's nothing compared to what you've been through fighting demons directly. Don't worry. Elf Rangers do not betray their comrades."]

The elemental thumped its chest with a fist, mimicking its contractor.

"Don't come."

["You're still worried about your pride—!"]

Does this idiot not listen?

Ian wondered why that elf bothered carrying around such large ears.

"Your side is being attacked too."

["What?!"]

"The mamool heading for the dungeon aren't all of them. Get ready to defend your own village."

Ian reached out to brush the elemental aside. Twisting its body, the elemental dodged his hand.

["W-Wait."]

"What?"

["A-Any instructions? Like... how we're supposed to handle it?"]

...Huh?

Why was the same idiot who had ignored orders and caused headaches during the last battle suddenly acting so obedient?

Either way, this was not the time to deal with Moiken.

"Figure it out yourselves."

["What?!"]

Ian shooed the elemental away as if chasing off a fly. Unprepared for such treatment, the elemental stared at him with betrayed eyes before shooting off into the distance.

They need to experience a crisis themselves.

People only learned how bitter the world was after leaving home and suffering a little. Then they'd start listening to Ian properly. He needed to raise the alliance's trust levels a bit more, especially the elves'.

"Are you sure about sending them away? Will they be able to hold out?"

Good-natured Contacca asked.

Instead of answering, Ian tore off a piece of paper and quickly scribbled something down. Then he handed the note to Jenea.

"Give this to Moiken. Tell him to read it if things become dangerous."

"May I ask what is written on it?"

Jenea asked.

"A solution."

"As expected of the wise ruler, Lord Ian. You immediately saw through Moiken's tendency to act without a plan."

"That's just how I am."

What does understanding Moiken's personality have to do with my reputation as a wise ruler?

Ian genuinely wondered.

Regardless, Jenea's elemental departed carrying the note.

With that, Ian had personally blocked the alliance that could have provided help the fastest.

They would have to stop the first wave using only the forces gathered here.

We can do it.

According to the reports, only two kinds of mamool were participating in the first wave. Creatures that traveled across the ground and creatures that flew through the sky.

Ian had told Nameita that whether it was insomnia or not, people slept just fine once exhaustion finally caught up with them. Even so, throwing troops suffering from fatigue debuffs into battle was inefficient.

Their strength was lacking.

Their number of combat-capable personnel was lower than it had been at any point in recent memory.

So how did one stop a horde of mamool with only a small force?

Hit them with environmental debuffs.

If the fliers were thrown somewhere they couldn't fly, and the ground beasts were drowned somewhere they couldn't run, wouldn't that solve the problem?

Fortunately, the dungeon contained spaces perfectly suited for both conditions.

"Contacca. You'll lure the four-legged beasts."

"Where should I lead them?"

"The lake."

Ian turned to Louise.

"You take the winged ones. You know where to bring them, right?"

"Yes. The trap zone?"

"You catch on fast."

Ian ruffled Louise's hair and lightly tapped the desk.

"While Louise buys us time, we'll hunt down the ground beasts first. They came all this way looking for a glorious death. The least we can do is drown every last one of them."

As for that elf merchant who would definitely be useful, who knew where the bastard had hidden himself again?

He had run away during the last battle as well. Since recruitment had failed, it seemed Ian couldn't make use of him as part of the dungeon's defensive forces.

Still, the dungeon lord's decisive attitude filled his followers with unwavering confidence.

There was no way the path chosen by their lord could be wrong.

The people gathered around the strategy map gradually began wearing expressions similar to Ian's own.

They would stop the mamool.

The Village of Betrayers had descended into chaos.

"Enough, enough! Stop arguing and get ready to run! Just pack the essentials! Do you think we have time to waste?"

"But Village Chief, where are we supposed to go if we abandon the village?"

"When did we ever become people who settled down and lived in one place? We're wanderers! Wanderers by nature! We can put down roots nowhere, and we can put down roots anywhere! Wherever we stay becomes our homeland!"

"That was true in your generation. Nobody would take us in, so you had to tell yourselves that. But we finally settled down, didn't we? This place is our home. And now you're telling us to abandon it..."

"Then what? Sit here and die?"

"The problem is that you aren't even considering fighting!"

"Fight a horde of mamool?"

The Village Chief yanked at his graying beard.

The elders who had lived through those years were supposed to be retiring from active affairs by now. He had planned to cultivate promising young men and entrust the village's future to them.

Instead, those fools were spouting nonsense like this.

Growling at the Village Chief himself?

"You don't know how terrifying they are! None of you have ever experienced war—!"

"Enough with the war stories. You never fought in the war yourself, Village Chief."

Someone muttered under his breath.

The Village Chief's eyes widened.

"Who said that?! Which one of you said I know nothing about war?!"

"I didn't say that. I said you never fought in it."

"Back then, surviving was war! What we did was war!"

"It's the same now. You keep saying we don't understand mamool, but we're not children. We've lived alongside mamool since we were babies."

"If the older generation hadn't started a war in the first place, maybe we'd have grown up as ignorant youngsters who didn't understand how terrifying war was."

"Y-You little...!"

The Village Chief clutched the back of his neck. Blood vessels bulged in his eyes from the strain.

"We weren't the ones who opened the gate! It was him! That former Village Chief! That bastard who always acted so superior betrayed us all—"

"Right. Of course. You've never done anything wrong, Village Chief."

"We all know that."

"Know what? You little brats...! Is this my fault? Is it my fault that the demons trampled us? The son of that former Village Chief is still alive and breathing, isn't he?!"

"Speaking of that, do you think it's true?"

The young captain of the guard furrowed his thick eyebrows.

The Village Chief immediately understood what he meant.

The tyrant's recent proclamation.

The one declaring that the Clan of Betrayers had committed no crime.

"Nonsense!"

The Village Chief declared.

"Can you really say that? He's still our lord."

"Our lord? Since when? We are nobody's subjects."

The Village Chief snorted.

"Frederick... no, that criminal was framed? Louise isn't the son of a traitor? Sounds like he took a liking to the boy. The lad has a decent face, doesn't he? Not much charm to him, but still. I hear that tyrant loses his mind whenever he sees a pretty one."

"Forget charm. Louise's personality is so stiff I can't imagine him doing something like that."

"Enough useless chatter! Pack your things!"

The Village Chief slammed his cane against the ground.

"I'm serious. We should request troops from him. Whatever happened, he clearly values Louise. Whether he's a favored attendant or a subordinate, would he really ignore the fact that Louise's hometown is in danger?"

"This is exactly what's wrong with young people."

The Village Chief clicked his tongue.

"Do you really think Louise would kneel before that tyrant and beg, 'Please send soldiers to save us'?"

"Considering they didn't beat the son of a traitor to death and even raised him, that's already a blessing from the heavens."

"If he has any conscience, he should come repay that debt."

The younger leaders muttered among themselves.

The captain of the guard, however, looked uncomfortable.

The image of a hungry child appeared before his eyes.

A boy who had always kept his head down in silence despite the curses and beatings.

But he himself had done nothing to save that child.

Just like everyone else.

His own family, his wife, his children, had been more important.

And whenever pity for Louise surfaced, anger soon followed at the thought that the boy's parents had helped bring this terrible world into existence.

"Enough. Hurry up! Before we don't even have time to run!"

People who lived long lives accumulated wisdom to match.

The Village Chief knew the truth.

Even before the world had changed, they had been rejected.

Nobody helped the Clan of Betrayers.

No.

The Wanderer Clan.

Occasionally, a territory would allow them to stay.

But the residents would smile warmly while pushing them toward death without a trace of guilt.

In exchange for temporary shelter through the winter, they would be sent to hunt savage beasts.

The Village Chief ground his teeth.

Fight the mamool?

To protect what?

People who wouldn't even spare us a place in their graveyards after we died?

He refused.

They would run.

While Tyrant Ian held back the mamool, they would flee far away.

And survive.

That was how he had always lived.

Unlike former Village Chief Frederick, who had foolishly dreamed of being accepted somewhere.

The Village Chief had survived through his own strength.

"That's right. Hurry!"

"We have to protect the children. Isn't life the most important thing?"

Even the hesitant young men reluctantly nodded as the other elders urged them on.

But they were already too late.

"Aaaahhh!"

"Eliza!"

Hearing his granddaughter's scream, the Village Chief's vision went white. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

He sprinted forward.

What he saw was a house-sized mamool lunging at his granddaughter.

"No!"

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

In the next instant, dozens of arrows turned the mamool into a pincushion.

Boom!

Behind the collapsing beast stood a tall young man.

The Village Chief knew him.

Without question, he knew him.

And yet somehow he felt unfamiliar.

That boy...

The Village Chief rubbed his eyes.

As his blurred vision cleared, the young man's face came into focus.

The boy who leapt down from a wolf's back was unmistakably Louise.

The outcast had returned to save the village.

Leading dozens of soldiers with bows slung across their backs.