Dhalis and Neece were in charge of Zarario’s army. Their former advisers had been defeated in the previous mad dash for a walking-dead body, their egos fully extinguished. The thronus class of angels could be so weak-willed that way. After all that fighting, too…but no, it was actually the opposite. They had performed the same work for untold amounts of time, and it wore out their souls, causing their senses of self to fade. Zarario’s presence as a seasoned warrior was perhaps another reason for that.
Obela’s forces were quite different. With her, camaraderie mattered, and every member of her army adored her. Many of them had died in battle, with Ohma her only assistant remaining, but each one was a valiant warrior willing to risk their life for Obela.
Zarario, on the other hand, operated his force like a fine-tuned machine, not a single cog out of place. There was no need for self-awareness in this force; all they had to do was follow their orders, and everything would work out fine. Thanks to that, Zarario had few true friends—and now only two, Dhalis and Neece, were alive.
Zarario approached them.
“For reasons I cannot surmise, Benimaru protected us as well,” noted Dhalis. “We’ve temporarily paused fighting subsequently, but should we continue with it?”
“Are you sure about all this, Sir Zarario?” Neece asked. “I’m afraid Sir Feldway might see this as treason.”
Dhalis was sticking to business here. Neece, out of consideration for Zarario, was implicitly asking about his future plans. It wasn’t at all the direction Zarario thought the question would take…but that was why he found these guys so amusing.
They’re really starting to act like individuals now. Surprising.
Zarario hadn’t paid attention to it before, but even his assistants were expressing their own opinions now. It gladdened him.
“Heh… You guys are way too serious.”
““…?!””
Dhalis and Neece were astonished to see him smiling. It was as momentous an event as the world itself ending. In all their memories, there wasn’t a single instance of Zarario smiling.
“S-Sir Zarario?”
“Is this some kind of a trick as well? Or are you testing us?”
Zarario raised a hand. “Calm down. I’ve decided further fighting is pointless.”
“What?!”
He had just formally declared the end of hostilities. It surprised Dhalis, but he meekly obeyed the order and transmitted it to the rest of the army.
“And also, Neece…I did not betray Feldway. Quite the opposite. He took away my free will. He trampled all over the trust we built as friends!”
There was a quiet anger in his voice. It was his way of saying farewell for good.
“So will we…not see Sir Feldway again?”
Zarario nodded back at the fearful Neece. “That’s right. I have decided to part company with him.”
The statement made Dhalis and Neece gasp.
“Fortunately for you,” he continued, “neither of you acquired an ultimate skill. You weren’t given an ultimate gift, and you still have your own freedom. You may continue to follow me, or you may join Feldway. I will give you a moment to make your choice.”
This sudden ultimatum confused Dhalis and Neece.
“Y-you don’t need us any longer?”
“Did…did we do something wrong?”
“No,” he said, assuaging their panic. “I, too, have just been freed from his domination. It’s taught me the importance of freedom all over again. You should take a break, too, and look at the beauty of this world.”
The two angel assistants looked around. The sky was completely clear and beautiful, like no war had been fought there at all. The sacred tree, saved from the threat of Milim, loomed high above them, although the burnt bark stood out here and there. Each branch was long and wide enough to support the heavens themselves, their green, lush foliage spread wide. A pleasant breeze blew across the leaf they were standing on—a breath of fresh air, blowing away the old ways of thinking.
“After ages of hostility, we now have a truce with the insectors as well. I was doing Feldway’s bidding as a favor to a friend, but I can no longer tolerate the way he conducts his life. It’s time for me to find a new way to live.”
Clearly, Zarario didn’t want to serve Feldway if he was going to be that unfaithful to him. He might have been a warrior, but he wasn’t constantly looking for new challenges on the battlefield. He fought because he had to, not because he found it his calling. He had been forced to fight all his life, but now Zarario wondered if it was time to turn his attention to other things. His assistants agreed with him.
“Well…actually, ever since I’ve occupied a walking dead, I’ve been thinking a lot about what matters, too. It feels like someone else’s will resides within this body. If I was able to, I think it’d be great if I could find a hobby besides fighting.”
Dhalis sounded hesitant, but he managed to get it all out.
“That’s fine,” Zarario replied, nodding.
“I don’t have any particular thoughts,” said Neece. “I will continue to follow you, Sir Zarario, for as long as I can.”
Her will was certainly firm. All she wanted was to be of use to Zarario.
“That, too, is fine.”
He accepted the offer. He had decided to live his life freely but not irresponsibly. He would never abandon those who loved or followed him.
“In that case,” said Dhalis, “I will join you, too.”
“Oh? Are you sure? I won’t stop you from finding your own pastimes to pursue.”
“Hee-hee-hee… I’m sure that’d be fun, but I’m not in a hurry. I’ll wait until everyone’s settled down first.”
That sounds good, too, Zarario thought. They had a lot of life left to live. There was no harm in taking their time to rethink their future paths. But for that to work, they needed the world to be at peace first.
“I suppose our next goal is decided, then.”
The world was so beautiful…and yet Feldway hadn’t even tried to look at it. Now he was actively trying to throw it out of order. As a friend, Zarario thought, he couldn’t afford to overlook this outrage.
“Listen to me, all of you! Our enemy is Feldway! Let us put an end to his delusional ambitions and make the world a stable place!”
“““Yes, my lord!!”””
Zarario’s army was still a well-oiled machine. Here, too, the decision was unanimous.
At Zarario’s command, the entire army disarmed at once.
“I see no point in further combat,” he said. “What about you?”
He had gone up to Elmesia alone. She agreed with him.
“I’m in the same boat. I don’t think this battle was much to your liking, either. Let’s call it a draw and put away our weapons.”
The statement was tantamount to saying she wouldn’t demand reparations or apologies from the other side. She could have asked for them, being the politician she was, but instead she proposed a draw in order to force this war to a quick end.
The noble families near her were in support of this—not that they had a choice. If the fighting continued, the very future of Thalion was at stake. The Magus had sustained severe damage, but at least their magic mounts were repairable. If the battle continued, though, the casualties would undoubtedly start to grow. You couldn’t use money to compensate for the loss of a life, and the nation as a whole would grow weaker. Feldway’s chaos was likely to continue going forward, and they couldn’t afford to waste resources on things like this.
Fortunately, the leaders on both sides were smart enough to see this. None voiced objections about the emperor’s decision, and thanks to these high-end talks, Elmesia and Zarario signed an agreement to end the war.
A joint statement was released soon after, and so—for the time being—Zarario would station his army in Thalion to prepare for the unprecedented crisis that likely lay ahead.
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