After that.

I heard from the unit members about what had happened while I was gone.

According to them.

The Legion had obeyed my orders while also trying to think of a way to dispatch troops to rescue me.

And as a result.

They had settled on dealing with those orders with incredible speed first.

No matter how many monsters that were difficult to subjugate were scattered all over the place.

Not all of them necessarily interfered with the conquest war.

Rather than stabilizing the whole of South Korea, they decided to push ahead with the “conquest war” itself as quickly as possible.

And to do that.

They joined forces with friendly human factions.

‘At first, I only thought of Gyeonggi Province.’

The unit member who had first come to meet me had said we were at war with that Church.

So.

Naturally, I had assumed our only ally would be the Gyeonggi Province Association.

But that was not the case.

“Our core allies were the Gyeonggi Province Association and the Church in South Chungcheong Province. Those two guilds.”

There had been one more ally.

In the first place.

Until recently, they had shown me a friendly attitude.

I had also told the unit to consider forming an alliance with them.

So the Legion members had faithfully followed my words.

“While our forces and the awakened of Gyeonggi Province moved south from Gangwon Province and conquered the eastern side of South Korea, the Church also advanced south with our support.”

“Support?”

“We supplied them with equipment we made. Some of it was personal gear, but we also had specially produced military weapons, so soldiers capable of operating those weapons were deployed with them as well.”

If South Korea was divided into north and south.

The northern side had already been occupied by our Legion and the awakened of Gyeonggi Province.

What mattered was the southern side.

The Church took charge of conquering the west.

And we and the awakened of Gyeonggi Province took charge of conquering the east.

“They also followed Lieutenant General Kim’s command thoroughly... and seemed impressed by that command as well.”

Lieutenant General Kim Hyeon-seok had been commanding that level of force.

There had been a reason the conquest war had succeeded so quickly.

...Though even taking that into account, the speed was still absurd, but anyway.

The problem was....

“At the final stage of the conquest war....”

Corporal Seo Suhyeok frowned as he spoke.

“They suddenly expelled our soldiers from their territory.”

“...Expelled?”

In the end.

For this conquest war to be completed, one organization had to succeed in occupying 100%.

Even if humans succeeded in ruling every inch of this land.

If those human forces were divided into multiple groups.

The conquest war would not end immediately.

“Just when we were about to talk about matters related to that, they expelled all our soldiers who were inside their territory.”

The Church.

Turned against the Legion right at the stage where those forces were supposed to be united.

“Not only did they expel our soldiers, they also attacked our soldiers when they tried to approach the territory.”

“What?”

“They also marched straight into areas without guard forces and recaptured occupied territory. More than 6% of the occupied land fell into their hands during that process.”

Insane.

The Legion had said it prioritized carrying out the conquest war over stabilizing each region.

If the betrayal had been that sudden.

Then having those occupied areas stolen would only have been a matter of time.

“Thanks to that, here we are.”

Squad Leader Lee Sanga shrugged as she spoke.

“Even production personnel like me had to rush down here to defend the border against them.”

“...I see.”

“Fortunately, they don’t force attacks into places where defending forces are stationed. But they keep trying to slip in through gaps, so there’s no time to rest.”

After that.

Both sides had dispatched their forces to the border like this, and a stalemate had been maintained.

“To be honest, it hasn’t been long since the situation became like this.”

“Only a few days ago, small skirmishes were still breaking out all over the place.”

At those words.

I had no choice but to frown.

‘I would rather it had been some powerful monster faction showing up.’

The enemy was not a monster.

It had to be humans, of all things.

As I frowned at that fact.

“...This seems like a difficult situation.”

Suddenly.

A small voice reached my ears.

“If military strength is needed, would I not be of help?”

The one who had been staying inside my shadow.

Ariella spoke to me from behind.

***

“......”

“You....”

When Ariella revealed herself.

The squad leaders frowned at the sight of her.

Whenever we discussed unit matters.

Ariella had always listened with me from inside my shadow.

But she had never shown herself directly like this before.

All of the squad leaders were people who had fought against her.

Not only did they harbor strong hostility toward her.

‘Ariella herself never tried to step forward unnecessarily, either.’

Unless I gave her an order.

She did not actively involve herself in situations that offered her no benefit.

The old her had only ever been in a position of forced cooperation with me.

At most, she would offer her opinion when she was certain it would help her growth.

‘For an Ariella like that to reveal herself and give an opinion.’

It was a little surprising even to me.

The problem was.

“...Who said you were allowed to participate in this meeting?”

On the faces of the squad leaders looking at her.

There was not the slightest trace of goodwill.

‘...Ah, this is a problem.’

After everything we had gone through.

I had felt for quite a while now that Ariella and her retainers’ status needed to be changed.

But.

There had been the fact that I had needed to head to Seoul to treat my body.

And then afterward, the fact that I had ended up being unintentionally thrown all the way to China.

‘I never had a chance to actually put that thought into action.’

Forget persuading the squad leaders.

There had never even been an opportunity to discuss it in the first place.

It would be right to talk about it properly even now.

But convincing them would not be easy.

As I scratched my head, wondering how to bring it up....

“We have more or less understood what happened here during our absence.”

At that very moment.

“Then allow us to inform you of what we experienced as well.”

There was someone who stepped in front of Ariella.

In my place.

“Squad Leader Jeong Sua?”

The others looked at her and asked with puzzled expressions.

“What do you mean, what you experienced?”

“Wasn’t it that after the Legion Commander’s treatment ended, you were thrown into another country because of a monster’s rampage... then obtained mana and returned by reactivating the transfer gate?”

Ah, come to think of it.

After the first time I fell into China.

I had never given them a detailed report about what I had experienced.

I had not had the leisure for it.

And they were probably busy with their own duties as well.

That place could hardly be called a good situation, even as empty flattery.

I had felt there was no need to tell them about it and create unnecessary anxiety.

“That was our initial objective, but while exploring mainland China, the situation changed. The force ruling that land was....”

And then.

Jeong Sua began explaining what we had experienced in that land.

The vampire force that had ruled over more than 90% of the continent.

How I had been forcibly detained by them, then barely escaped.

How we joined up with the survivors in that land.

And how the vampires had launched a nuclear missile at the island where the survivors were gathered....

“...Nuclear?”

“W-wait. What is this—”

As Jeong Sua’s explanation continued.

The expressions of the squad leaders changed rapidly.

“...My God.”

And when the entire explanation was finally over.

Bang!

“If something like that happened, you should have told us earlier!”

Sergeant Lee Minjae.

Slammed the table and shouted.

“Damn it. If I’d known it was that kind of situation, we would’ve charged over there even if we had to break through the wall with Bimana....”

“The wall between countries should be incomparably harder to break through than the wall between regions. Do you have any guarantee you could break through it?”

“Even without a guarantee, we would’ve tried!”

“You would have. That’s why I didn’t tell you.”

At my words.

Sergeant Lee Minjae sank into his chair as if he had been left speechless.

“We should have shoved the Church or whatever aside quickly and finished the conquest war....”

“That’s already in the past. It’s all resolved now, and I came back fine like this.”

No.

In truth, I was not fine.

I had come back with something like a time bomb somewhere inside my body that could go off at any moment....

‘But there’s no need to say that much.’

Then.

“My unit members and I accompanied the Legion Commander under the pretext of protecting our benefactor... the Legion Commander.”

After confirming that Sergeant Lee Minjae had gone quiet, Jeong Sua continued.

“However... both in Seoul, where we went to treat the Legion Commander, and in that land of China, where we unexpectedly crash-landed.”

As if her pride had been wounded.

She lowered her head slightly.

“With our strength alone, we could not secure the Legion Commander’s safety.”

“......”

“The fact that we were able to survive and return from there was largely thanks to the Legion Commander’s own abilities.”

Her gaze.

Turned toward Ariella.

“But without that woman’s help, it would likely have been impossible.”

***

“We are a guard unit. We can hide where we cannot be seen and take charge of the Legion Commander’s protection. We are confident when it comes to identifying those who secretly approach the Legion Commander, or assessing threats in advance in places the Legion Commander is heading.”

At those words from her.

Even I could not help being a little surprised.

“However... our essence is that of a reconnaissance unit. When a situation requires full-scale combat, we inevitably become powerless.”

Thinking about it.

Even before we headed to Seoul, Jeong Sua and Ariella’s relationship had not seemed very good.

“Then couldn’t another combat unit support him? If Corporal Seo Suhyeok were assigned as part of his force....”

“Are you saying a force on the level of Corporal Seo Suhyeok should focus only on bodyguard duty? And if a full-scale combat unit is mobilized, it will be difficult to hide that from outside enemies. It would amount to telling the enemies searching for the Legion Commander exactly where he is. Given the Legion Commander’s nature, he enjoys covert action. In those cases, can you guarantee his safety without interfering with his stealth?”

“......”

“The reason the guard unit I formed specializes in covert movement was precisely because I took those points into account.”

However.

As a result of what had happened in Seoul and China.

“Our guard unit is sufficient for defending against assassination and identifying threats. What is needed beyond that is a full-scale armed unit.”

“A unit that can guard the Legion Commander from immediately beside him, while remaining hidden from sight and accompanying all of the Legion Commander’s covert activities.”

She, who had once clashed with Ariella.

Now.

“She and the soldiers she leads are the ones suited for that role.”

“......”

“If we were to give it a name... it would be something like the royal guard.”

More than anyone else.

Was standing at the front.

Defending Ariella.

“That woman’s forces have already been carrying out that role for some time. If they are going to protect Youngjun, then that is enough. But there should be no need for her to speak during meetings.”

“She is the leader of the royal guard responsible for the Legion Commander’s military force. Considering the importance of that role, its commander should be treated accordingly.”

“She is a monster who devoured our comrades. We will never forget the crimes she committed.”

“She is also someone who has saved the lives of the Legion Commander and the unit members several times over. Shouldn’t we also not forget those contributions?”

Jeong Sua looked at Sergeant Lee Minjae as she spoke.

“The Legion is changing, Squad Leader. It is no longer... an organization made up only of humans.”

“......”

“However, among the Legion members of other races currently belonging to the Legion, not one has risen to a high-ranking post.”

Even those beastman warriors.

Despite their tremendous strength, they remained only instructors.

And Borjin, the shaman of [Green Mane], likewise.

Despite possessing exceptional abilities, remained in the role of an advisor.

“Contrary to the Legion Commander’s intention to accept non-human forces as well, they still have not properly blended into the Legion.”

“That’s—”

“Perhaps in the future, we may also bring forces that fought against us under our command. Whenever that happens, do you intend to treat them like slaves merely because they once fought us, and because they are not human?”

At Jeong Sua’s words.

Sergeant Lee Minjae’s expression twisted. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Looking at that expression.

Jeong Sua spoke in a careful tone.

“I am not saying we should forget their crimes. But... if even those who have sinned have no right to be forgiven at all... isn’t that too harsh a judgment?”

Those who repent of their sins and wish to earn merit.

Those who, even if they were once enemies.

Wish to devote themselves to the Legion.

“To them, the grace of our benefactor... no.”

Jeong Sua’s gaze.

Turned toward Ariella.

“I believe they should be given the right to be treated as proper Legion members.”