I Planned a Su*cide Mission and Got Kicked Out of the Party

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The Sage Gwen of the Magic Tower immediately took Walter’s hand as soon as she saw him and led him to where the Grand Mage’s staff was located.

Walter, after leaping up the spiral staircase that spun around, arrived at the place where the staff was laid down and, without wasting any time, grabbed the red crystal ball and placed it on the pedestal.

“Sage, what exactly is the scene you’ve seen?”

“Just wait a moment, Hero. It will appear soon.”

As Gwen lightly waved her hand over the crystal ball, Walter swallowed hard, watching the spell she was casting. The serene scenery of the countryside flashed by, showcasing the trolls wandering around as usual, and soon the scene Gwen was trying to show appeared on the crystal screen.

“Whoa.”

Walter adjusted his glasses and stared intently into the crystal. The scene shown was not much different from the time Gwen had hurriedly searched for Walter. The orcs skillfully assembled the belly, and giant trolls moved materials. From the sea came the unmistakable sight of a giant Kraken, swinging its tentacles adorned with sucker cups.

Seeing the Kraken’s form made Walter’s expression stiffen.

“The Kraken is clearly defensive.”

“Yes. That’s worrying.”

“It seems there are no signs of dragons or wyverns, but they certainly don’t need to launch from the harbor, so we can’t let our guard down…”

The legion of dragons, renowned for their beloved Dragon Lord, presented an immense nightmare for the imperial army with their clumsy cannons or marksmen’s arrows, lacking any aerial capabilities.

Even the output of the cannons, which were hardly even deployed because it was challenging to imbue each with magic, could not reach the flying dragons, and no matter how skilled the archers were, inflicting fatal damage on powerful dragons was nearly impossible.

However, Walter also knew that the Dragon Lord was the brain of the Demon King’s Army while simultaneously being a coward.

Fearing that the situation might continue to spiral down, he gathered all the heroes and successfully killed a single red dragon, annihilating its Wyvern squadron. Afterward, the Dragon Lord, afraid of losing any more dragons, hesitated to bring out his trump card.

But this was an amphibious landing operation. In any situation, the attacker was at a disadvantage in a landing operation, and if the dragons provided aerial support, the balance of the battle would flip fundamentally.

“Do you think the dragons will intervene, Hero?”

“If I’m right, no, they won’t. The Dragon Lord is likely uncertain about this operation. Yes, I’m sure. He can roughly guess the targets we’re aiming for.”

After contemplating with the help of Harriet’s glasses, Walter concluded that the Dragon Lord wouldn’t deploy his precious dragons in this battle.

Rather, it was more about the Dragon Lord himself being doubtful about this operation.

“The Dragon Lord fears that I have the power to kill dragons, so he’s avoiding a direct confrontation with me. Since these vessels are certainly headed for Harriet’s Territory, if the Dragon Lord suspects that I might directly intervene in this battle, he won’t send his dragons. A single dragon and a Wyvern squad are far more precious to him than thirty thousand orcs.”

“Are you talking about Harriet’s Territory? The barony currently presided over by the Grand Mage?”

Gwen was surprised by Walter’s reasoning. Walter nodded.

“I know this harbor. It used to be part of the Empire’s territory located in the Eba region, but now it has been ravaged by the Demon King’s Army to the point that I can’t even remember when we last controlled this land. If we launch a fleet from this harbor, we can directly head south for thousands of kilometers to arrive at the coastline of Harriet’s Territory.”

“If we have to sail that far, the chances of the dragons getting involved decrease even more.”

No matter how transcendental these creatures are, dragons also need to rest. Moving along ship routes for thousands of kilometers without a break would be impossible, even if they could surprise land safely over a distance of dozens of kilometers.

“Exactly. However, there are several small islands in the midst of the ocean, so please focus your surveillance there.”

“But why are you so sure it’s Harriet’s Territory? What if it’s a surprise targeting the closer western coast of the Empire?”

“In that case, their fleet would be smaller. The fact that this crystal has picked up the operation indicates that the Demon King can’t hide it because a substantial fleet is moving. It would take just twenty ships to strike the western coast of the Imperial Palace’s Directly Governed Territory. If they exceed that scale and their movements are detected, the surprise effect is lost.”

“So this time, is it a move that doesn’t aim for a surprise effect?”

“Precisely. The Demon King intends to observe our movements. Why did Walter Hellhound place such an important asset as Jeongjae in such a remote area? Is it because Jeongjae is useless? Or is it because Harriet’s Territory is more important than it seems? If the latter is true, when they come at us with such an obvious attack, will Jeongjae face them with full force?”

Gwen seemed to begin to understand Walter’s words. The Grand Mage’s dismissal of his party, followed by the barony’s reassignment. Amidst this series of events, the Demon King seems to be revealing the fact that he’s striking Harriet’s Territory to gauge Walter’s response.

Through Walter’s response to this, the Demon King could ascertain how much Walter Hellhound values Harriet’s Territory.

“If you’re so sure, I will believe your words. How should we respond?”

“Harriet’s Territory is important land. Ideally, I would like to station an army to prevent any landings. With that size of fleet, we could probably burn three orc legions. As long as Jeongjae is there to protect that place, a single legion from the Empire would easily drive back the enemy.”

“Then, you should do that.”

“I already mentioned it. This is a test. A test of how much we truly value this territory. If I were to split troops and mobilize forces for active defense, a second wave of landings would surely be planned. At that point, it would be hard to be confident that the Dragon Lord wouldn’t send his dragons.”

That being the case, it was a situation where help could or could not come.

Walter, with a tired expression, took off his glasses, rubbed his eyes, and sighed.

“It’s like facing a puzzling riddle every day. It feels like this world hates me.”

“I genuinely apologize for that, Hero.”

Walter placed his glasses back on his nose and began to carefully watch the scene inside the crystal. The Kraken’s tentacles continued to wrap around the ships, accelerating the time to run aground.

It’s a creature that can exert little power outside the depths of the ocean, but the magical prowess that squid-like creature wields was not something even a Grand Mage could easily ignore. Even for Jeongjae, a direct confrontation with the Kraken would require considerable preparation.

Walter, who had been contemplating, seemed to realize that further solitary contemplation was pointless and lifted the crystal, placing it back on the Grand Mage’s staff.

“I suppose I need to see my companions a bit. Ultimately, this isn’t something I can decide alone.”

“I think so too. I hope you can handle this crisis wisely.”

After bowing slightly to Gwen, Walter left the Magic Tower. The first person the Hero sought for consultation was not Bernard, who had been helping with interrogations in the prison, but his beloved Rose Caprice.

Rose, who was helping her younger brother with sword training in the Imperial Palace, was hurriedly summoned to Walter’s office after receiving his call.

Today, as well, Rose donned heavy armor, making a clanking sound as she approached Walter. As she entered the office, she couldn’t hide her anxiety upon spotting the Hero taking off and putting on his glasses repeatedly, sensing that something was going wrong.

“I heard you called, Walter.”

“Uh, Rose. You made it. Come here, have a seat.”

Following Walter’s invitation, Rose sat directly opposite his desk. With a worried look, she scanned Walter’s face.

“What’s going on? Why do you look so anxious again?”

“Jeongjae is in danger. I believe he can overcome it, but it’s undoubtedly a dangerous situation.”

“Stop speaking in half measures. What does that even mean?”

Walter nodded, then took off his glasses and briefly explained the current situation. The scene that Gwen had witnessed, the conclusion drawn by Walter, and the context of the situation that had unfolded.

After roughly grasping Walter’s explanation, Rose nodded.

“So, you mean that despite the success of the last Lich Lord extermination operation, the Demon King doubts our intentions?”

“It can’t be helped. The Demon King isn’t a fool. He can’t be deceived by just one move.”

“Then is Harriet’s Territory really an important matter? Is that why he appointed that guy as Baron there?”

“Somewhat important. No, quite a bit. But that’s not the main reason for his appointment.”

“It’s not just because of that magic scroll, either. I really don’t get it. I don’t understand what you’re thinking.”

Walter chose not to comment on this issue. Thinking that there must be a reason he couldn’t disclose about Jeongjae’s appointment as Baron, Rose decided to focus on the immediate issue at hand.

“So, you’re saying we need to defend it? No matter how much we anticipate an attack, we can’t leave it unattended. We just have to repel the attacks. We have to protect that territory, right?”

“I knew you’d say that. But in my opinion… in my opinion…”

Walter put his glasses on again with an annoyed expression. Rose looked at him with a slightly shocked expression.

“You’re not saying you’re going to leave it alone, are you? Walter, three legions including the Kraken! And there’s not a single soldier left in that tiny territory of yours. How do you plan on defending it?”

“Actually, I do have some soldiers. He wrote me a letter. He asked if I could hire twelve captured criminals as personal soldiers. I stamped it and approved it recently.”

“Twelve? Are you kidding? No matter how much of a little mage Jeongjae is, he can’t hold back an army of thousands with that. It’s doubtful Harker’s support will help guard his own territory.”

“I know. I know. But… but you know we can’t move hastily either. Harriet’s Territory can’t be in the spotlight during this war. If it does, the meaning of sending him there is lost.”

“Is that really that important? Is it such a big deal that Jeongjae shouldn’t be at the forefront in this war?”

“It is important. At least for now.”

Rose sighed and slumped down in her seat.

“So, what’s your position that you want to take?”

“I want the Demon King to think we don’t value Harriet’s Territory. That is, while pretending to protect Jeongjae and Jenis Harker, we don’t actively support the war itself. If it’s not that important, that would be a proper response. We would let the territory burn, withdraw the citizens, and then gather our forces inland, pushing the enemy back beyond the coast.”

“That would be a reasonable response; however, would Jeongjae do that?”

“He’d never do that. No, he must not do that. He has to defend the territory. If Harriet Castle burns down, it can lead to losses in various ways.”

“Then what on earth are you trying to say?”

Rose exclaimed in frustration. Walter sighed and nodded.

“We will not intervene. No, rather it’s better to take the opportunity to plan a new offensive towards the border. However, Jeongjae must hold off the attacks. It’s a heavy burden, but he can do it. If it’s him… he can do it. If it’s him, he can protect it…”

“What a crazy thing to say. While it’s fine to trust a friend, leaving it alone isn’t my style.”

“Who said this was in someone’s style?”

A moment of silence passed between the two. Rose abruptly stood up and spoke to Walter.

“I’m willing to tell you this because I’m infatuated with you, but if Margaret hears what you’re saying, she will definitely go into a rage. Normally, she listens to you well, but with this order, she would absolutely refuse it. I can swear by the name of my iron wall. She’ll definitely bring her fairy troop to charge.”

“That’s right. It would be like that. Princess Margaret has no confidence in being persuaded. She doesn’t shy away from saying something illogical.”

“What are you going to do then? Are you going to hide this from Margaret?”

“If I do that, I’ll really get killed. No, I have to tell her. I’ll go myself and explain. I probably won’t be able to persuade her about this issue, and if that’s the case…”

Walter let out a wry smile.

“At the very least, I think I can stop her from leading troops to Harriet’s Territory.”