Hanumayer.

As Clay’s party approached the border, the soldiers stationed there moved in.

“Who goes there!”

Though they had come through Krata’s territory, which should have meant lax defenses, these soldiers seemed to have been expecting trouble.

“Identify yourselves!”

Clay stepped forward toward the tense soldiers.

“The Demon King, Clay.”

The moment he spoke, the soldiers flinched in shock and raised their weapons.

“Th-The Demon King!?”

“It’s really him…!”

Once they confirmed his face, they assumed stances as if ready to strike at any moment. Clay addressed them again.

“It seems you expected me to show up… yet this is all the defense you’ve prepared?”

There were barely a hundred soldiers here—enough to stall for time to send word if something happened, nothing more.

“So Selvaro made some kind of arrangements, then?”

It was clear the King of Hanumayer had given specific orders.

At Clay’s question, the soldiers exchanged uneasy glances. Clay turned his head slightly.

“Selimia.”

“Yes, my lord.”

At his call, Selimia stepped forward. The sight of her made the soldiers waver.

“So Selvaro wasn’t waiting for me after all,” Clay said as he moved to stand beside her.

“What did Selvaro say? To bring you in if you showed up?”

“Don’t jump to conclusions!”

The border captain barked sharply.

“His Majesty ordered that you never set foot in Hanumayer again!”

Clay glanced at Selimia, who fidgeted under his gaze.

“W-We just had a little argument.”

“What happened?”

“Selvaro opposed the idea of meeting you again. I said something back, and then he got angry and told me if I left Hanumayer, I shouldn’t think about coming back.”

The details were vague, but Clay understood the gist. He sighed lightly.

“Well, no matter how angry he was, it doesn’t change the fact that you’re still on his mind.”

He addressed the captain.

“Open the way.”

“What?”

“I don’t want to pick a pointless fight with Hanumayer.”

“Don’t be ridiculous!”

The captain’s face was taut with tension.

“Do you even realize where you’ve come from? Straight from the Holy Krata! You’ve invaded another country and now want entry into Hanumayer without even stating your purpose?!”

“You’re not wrong.”

Letting them through without question would indeed be dereliction of duty—but they had Selimia.

“So are you planning to attack and kill Selimia here instead?”

“What are you…?”

“I’m asking—did Selvaro actually order you to do that?”

The captain faltered at Clay’s words, briefly looking unsettled before glaring back.

“I was told not to let her back in, and that’s what I’m doing!”

“I see.”

Clay gave Selimia an order.

“Selimia, deal with them.”

“Yes.”

“But—” He continued, “Don’t kill them.”

“What?”

“Hanumayer is not our enemy.”

With the war against Krata raging, there was no need to make Hanumayer an adversary.

“Turning a force like Hanumayer against us would be a nuisance.”

“I understand.”

Selimia nodded.

“So just don’t kill them?”

“…Or maim them.”

“I wasn’t going to do that anyway,” she muttered, looking away.

The soldiers of Hanumayer watched her with uneasy expressions.

Is that really her?

The captain especially felt suspicion stir.

I heard she was a witch pretending to be His Majesty’s sister.

He had even seen her once beside Selvaro himself, perfectly normal in appearance—just as she seemed now.

No… I can’t be fooled.

The events between Selvaro and Selimia were already widely rumored. On top of that, the royal court had issued formal orders to treat her as dangerous, making those rumors as good as fact.

His Majesty himself ordered it.

If they encountered Selimia, they were to prevent her from entering Hanumayer.

“What are you thinking about so intently?”

Clay’s voice broke in.

The Hero turned Demon King.

A monster who had swept across the continent and extended his reach to Krata.

Swallowing nervously, the captain looked up as Clay spoke.

“I’ll tell you one thing.”

He sneered.

“Do you really think Selvaro believes you can stop Selimia with just this force?”

Selimia was the Witch of the North. Back when Selvaro still wanted to believe she was his sister, he might not have gauged her power accurately—but did anyone truly think Selvaro was unaware of what she could do?

“The moment he had no choice but to recognize her as a witch, Selvaro would have already made his judgment of her.”

In other words, he knew exactly how dangerous she was.

“And yet he left only this many troops at the border. What does that tell you?”

“It only means we couldn’t spare more men here!” the captain shot back.

“No one would have expected you to come from Krata! His Majesty would have sent more soldiers to the border with the Demon Realm!”

“So you’re only guessing.”

In truth, the man didn’t actually know.

Clay shook his head.

“Pathetic.”

 “What?”

“It’s sad you can’t even read your own ruler’s intentions.”

He rested a hand lightly on Selimia’s back.

“Selimia.”

“Yes.”

She stepped forward, and the soldiers flinched. The captain rallied them.

“Don’t be afraid! Remember our pride!”

Hanumayer’s soldiers prided themselves on surviving the North’s countless beasts without aid from other nations.

“Even if it’s the Demon King’s army, it’s no different!”

For them, duty came first—they would wield their weapons for their mission, no matter the odds.

“If we don’t defend this place, who will?!”

“His Majesty entrusted this to us!”

“We won’t let them through!”

And with that, the soldiers charged at Selimia.

Then—

Crack!

A field of ice blossoms erupted in an instant.

The moment she exhaled a wave of cold, the ground froze solid, and the soldiers standing on it turned into ice statues one after another, their movements ceasing entirely.

The border captain’s eyes went wide as he watched the scene in stunned silence.

The few men who had been ready to fight like seasoned warriors hadn’t even managed to cross blades before being taken out. He couldn’t help but let out a breath of disbelief.

Whoooosh—

In the blink of an eye, he was the only one left capable of moving.

“This… this is impossible…”

Trembling, the captain turned his head toward Selimia, only to meet her cold, unblinking gaze.

A… witch!

Gone was the woman who had seemed so different when speaking to Clay. The figure before him now was nothing but a monster of icy malice.

Step.

She began walking toward him, and only then did the thought occur to him—

Did Selvaro know this would happen?

Selimia was not someone ordinary soldiers could hope to stop. Selvaro, who had fought the North’s monsters all his life, would never have been ignorant of that fact.

Which meant… the order to keep her from returning had been nothing more than an outburst of anger at her leaving. Or perhaps it had been a mere show—an official stance against Selimia now that her true identity had spread.

There’s no way around it.

The captain sighed.

Surviving against something like this was impossible. He had pledged his loyalty to Hanumayer, but this was how it would end.

Just as he closed his eyes—

“What are you doing?”

The voice of the Fallen Hero, Clay.

“Weren’t you going to fight to the end?”

“You…!”

The captain opened his eyes and shouted.

“Don’t toy with me! Just kill me! Like those soldiers!”

“They’re not dead.”

“What…?”

“Look.”

Clay gestured toward the frozen soldiers. Reflexively, the captain turned to look—and his breath caught.

“Huh?”

They were frozen, yes. But their eyes and mouths still moved.

“What… is this?”

“They’re not dead. They’re just trapped inside ice molded around their bodies.”

It sounded absurd, but just as Clay said, the soldiers were alive.

“I’ll say it again,” Clay continued, “I have no intention of making Hanumayer my enemy.”

“…”

“Or did you really want to cross paths with the entourage of some bloodthirsty mad Demon King?”

The captain had no answer.

“Sorry to disappoint, but I’m not the sort you think I am. It takes the right… disposition to enjoy that sort of thing.”

“What are you talking about?”

“It means, when someone talks to you, try listening.”

Clay’s red eyes fixed on him.

“Is it really your duty to raise your weapons and die to someone who’s willing to speak first?”

He had explained enough.

“Selvaro didn’t station you here to actually stop Selimia.”

“That’s—”

“Selvaro still thinks of her as his sister.”

And if that was true, there was no question who mattered more to him.

“So lead the way,” Clay said flatly.

He wasn’t in the habit of killing those who weren’t his enemies.

“That’s what your lord truly wants.”

Clay’s voice was low, almost calm, as he spoke to the dazed border captain.

“Do you really think he believes that?”

After Selimia released the soldiers safely, the captain himself served as coachman, taking Clay’s group by carriage deeper into Hanumayer.

“He’s so stiff-necked I can’t imagine him going that far,” Selimia murmured from the cargo bed, looking at Clay.

“Doesn’t matter whether he does or not,” Clay replied.

“…Huh?”

“What matters is that no blood was spilled.”

Clay’s goal now was to secure Selvaro’s cooperation.

“I could overpower him, sure. But no one knows the North like Selvaro. If I want to get what I need, it’s safer with his help.”

“Mm.” Selimia exhaled softly, “You’re not planning to just hand me back to Hanumayer and leave, are you?”

“I’ll know when I get there.”

“…What?”

“Kidding.”

Selimia just stared at him, speechless.

Silence settled over the carriage.

Watching the unlikely exchange between a Demon King making jokes and a woman too stunned to respond, Syltanaro rested her chin on her palm.

So the Demon King has that side to him, too.

She decided then and there that one day, she’d dig deeper into that side of him.

(End of Chapter)

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