"The sooner we depart, the better," I said to the group assembled as the 'strike team.'
"That said, rushing in without any preparation isn’t an option."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
After my discussion with the king the previous day, I relayed the decisions to those I had spoken with earlier. Thankfully, I didn’t have to scale rooftops to reach Charlotte again. As the saying goes, no parent can win against their child, and it seemed the King of Belvur was no exception. Charlotte’s determination remained unshaken, and that night, she visited my room to hear the finalized plans alongside the others.
Afterward, I finally managed to get a proper night’s sleep—actual rest, not the kind gained through meditation. Exhausted from lack of sleep and the physical exertion of the night before, I fell asleep almost immediately upon lying down. It wasn’t even fully dark outside, yet when I opened my eyes, morning had already arrived.
Feeling far more refreshed than the day before, I gathered the candidates for the strike team.
Alice and Charlotte.
Leo and Claire.
Mia.
Jake and Lottie.
And Lena and Sophia.
Including myself, these were the ten who had ventured into Lutetia’s underground before.
These were the individuals I had handpicked. People I trusted implicitly, those I could entrust with my back. They were also the ones I felt a responsibility to protect until the end.
In addition to this core group, there were volunteers.
First was Jennifer Winterfield and Carolyn Northwood.
Jennifer was a seasoned veteran who had proven her skills on the battlefield multiple times. Though younger than what one might imagine for a veteran, no one could deny her capabilities.
Frankly, to an outsider, Jennifer might seem more reliable than the combined strength of the nine core members accompanying me.
Carolyn, on the other hand, lacked real combat experience. She had never used magic against people, being the sheltered daughter of a noble household.
But that didn’t diminish her abilities. In the context of the original storyline, Carolyn was as versatile a character as Mia. While more specialized in healing magic, she wasn’t incapable of an offensive setup either.
It wasn’t surprising to me that these two decided to join. They were already viable party members in the original story, so it would have been more surprising if they hadn’t volunteered.
Ada, meanwhile, chose to stay behind to coordinate support from the rear. Additionally, most of the commoner-class students would remain in Lutetia. If every staff member left, there would be no adults to manage or protect those students.
"Uh, c-could I join too?"
One unexpected volunteer stepped forward—Lily Baker.
She was in the same class as Lottie, a commoner-class student.
In the original story, there were several commoner party members beyond Lily Baker. Each had their own backstory and were intriguing in their own ways. Some created tension in the story by clashing with the noble characters.
Originally, I had planned to take more time to get to know everyone and build rapport gradually. However, the story's rapid progression left me with little opportunity to even speak to some of them.
The sheer number of potential party members meant that, in the original story, many became "background characters" outside of their personal arcs. Given that Leo, the protagonist, was from the noble class, it was naturally harder for commoner-class characters to take center stage in the main storyline.
Moreover, the story’s focus had been on the Fangryphon family during my playthrough, reinforcing this dynamic.
"...I’ll make a decision based on the situation," I told Lily Baker.
There were a few others gathered around Lily, likely her friends from the commoner class. Some of them seemed like characters I remembered being recruitable in the original game.
Saving all the key characters and achieving a proper happy ending had become my goal since realizing my abilities in this world.
If possible, I would have liked to recruit these party members as well. However—
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—Even managing the current ten members, myself included, was already overwhelming.
Adding Jennifer and Carolyn to the mix expanded the group I needed to support.
At least the current state of affairs wasn’t a full-scale war between the kingdom and the empire, so I didn’t have to worry about bombardments targeting them. While I couldn’t guarantee absolute safety, those "out of sight" would likely remain relatively secure.
"If we need additional help, I’ll be sure to ask. But with our current numbers, adding too many could make things more dangerous."
I offered words of reassurance to Lily Baker, whose expression had dimmed at my response.
In a larger force, blending into the crowd might provide some safety. But in this scenario, a small, cohesive group was more critical.
Besides, I was relatively certain of one thing.
In the original story, the deaths of party members were used to emphasize the protagonist’s inability to prevent tragedy and add dramatic weight to the narrative.
If this world followed the original, then the commoner-class students, who had little connection to us, had no reason to face such fates.
And every character marked with a "death flag" was from the noble class. While the original game made it impossible to save all flagged characters, this world was different.
Those students would be safer staying behind.
"I understand. In that case, I’ll stay back and prepare to support you from behind," Lily said, her expression slightly more at ease.
Her gaze briefly shifted toward Lottie.
Were they particularly close?
...Though I hadn’t grown close to them this time around, there were still three years left after this battle. Perhaps we could form closer bonds in that time—assuming no one decided to quit along the way.
"I’ll count on you."
I nodded seriously, and the commoner-class students, including Lily, stepped back, some showing disappointment, others relief.
"Ahem."
Someone else had been waiting quietly until I finished my other conversations.
His hair was streaked white, his face lined with wrinkles characteristic of age, and his beard—ah, at least it was trimmed this time. Though still a bit unkempt, he looked far tidier than when he lived in the mountains.
Despite his aged face, his back stood perfectly straight, without the stoop or turtle-like posture typical of the elderly. His figure brought to mind an indomitable fortress, unyielding and firm.
Broad shoulders and a robust frame beneath his clothing hinted at his physical strength.
Frederick, the Sword Saint.
In this situation—or perhaps precisely because of it—he wore a grim smile on his face.
"...Are you looking forward to this?"
I didn’t bother asking if he really planned to go. After all, the Sword Saint wasn’t someone who could be persuaded with words like "don’t go."
Even back when I had convinced him to leave the mountains, it was only after mentioning the existence of someone stronger than him that he had taken any interest. Despite the grand title of "Sword Saint," he was, at heart, a man driven purely by curiosity and excitement.
Calling him immature might be unfair, but it wasn’t entirely inaccurate either.
"Lucas is likely in there, isn’t he?"
"While I can’t confirm it for sure, I believe the odds are high. Along with him, the Emperor’s other children are probably there as well."
Since the Emperor vanished, none of his children had contacted me or shown any signs of activity.
The Emperor wouldn’t have entered alone. He must have brought an elite force with him.
And at the core of that force would be the Emperor’s children.
"I see."
The Sword Saint nodded, seemingly satisfied.
...Somehow, I couldn’t shake the feeling that even if the light pillar posed a danger to him, he’d simply charge through it unbothered. While severe burns would incapacitate anyone, I couldn’t picture this man ever collapsing.
That’s what it meant to be the Sword Saint.
Even knowing there were characters in the original story who could defeat him, every time I faced him, I felt the same way.
"I’ve lived long enough already. If there’s something worth staking my life on at the end, it’s not a bad deal. After all, I’ve got little to lose besides the time I have left," he said, flashing a sharp grin.
That expression—bold, resolute—was simply... quintessentially the Sword Saint.