'Why on earth was I infiltrated as a disguised soldier in the Allied Forces?'

It wasn't what he had wanted. He didn't know where this place was, where he had logged out, or even the location of the castle they had marched from. But what was certain was that there must have been a good reason he hadn't started the quest again from that castle. A difficulty that warranted a 1,000 gold reward, plus the perfect cover for him to infiltrate the Allied Forces without suspicion. This was not to be taken lightly.

One might think that joining the Allied Forces as a mere soldier would be as simple as walking up and volunteering, but would they really not check the identity of a soldier joining their ranks while hunting down Imperial remnants? At the very least, he should have had a token proving he was a citizen of one of the allied kingdoms. Of course, he had no such identification.

Nevertheless, he had joined the army, donned the armor of an allied soldier, and come this far. Perhaps this was a more valuable reward than the 1,000 gold.

'How should I play this?'

This small snowball. How could he roll it and roll it until it was big enough to wipe out the countless Allied soldiers here? Or could he completely block the entrance to the gorge and secure an escape route for the Imperial Army? Any ordinary method would be impossible. If it were that easy, the Imperial Army would have already collapsed the gorge to block the path and fled, using the wide, dead-end canyon as a shield. But doing so would leave them isolated.

In the end, it came down to one of two things.

"Either annihilate them or create a situation equivalent to annihilation."

The Imperial Army, with the gorge at its back, would not be easily destroyed. The advantage of the narrow passage would completely neutralize the difference in numbers. But conversely, if the Imperial Army also had to escape through here, the geographical advantage of the gorge could become a death sentence.

"First, let's just watch for a bit."

He couldn't make a plan without understanding the situation. He discreetly slipped his hand inside his armor and took out a small device. A location tracker. It was the only item he had left after giving all the others he'd bought in Chapter 1-2 to the princess. He had forgotten it in the pocket of the pants he was wearing at the time, so he hadn't taken it back to reality. Now, it was right back in his pocket.

'She's definitely in there.'

A fairly precise map and a single dot were displayed on the small screen. He could probably even check the surrounding terrain if he looked closer, but not with soldiers reeking of sweat swarming just a few steps away. He put it back in his pocket and waited for the right time.

"All troops, on alert! The vanguard will remain, and the rest will set up camp!"

On a battlefield where a man had to relieve himself in front of others, Buja waited for a moment when he might be granted a sliver of personal time.

3.

The standoff lasted longer than expected. The vanguard surrounded the gorge on an eight-hour rotating watch, food was distributed, and sleeping hours were designated in the camp. It seemed the Allied Forces didn't have a plausible solution to the current situation either.

"Makes sense."

Thanks to that, while pretending to take a dump on the rear mountain slope designated as a makeshift latrine, Kim Buja was able to examine the terrain displayed on the location tracker and roughly formulate a plan. As expected, the situation was not good for the Imperial Army. The area beyond the gorge, surrounded by high mountains, was a basin. To get out, they would have to climb a rocky mountain that was nearly a cliff. Assuming most of the fleeing imperial soldiers were knights, that wouldn't be too difficult. The problem was time.

'Looks like they originally planned to go around.'

If the Imperial Army had had more time, it would have likely chosen a path that skirted the gorge and headed toward the Empire, rather than this dead end. Their failure was likely due to the tightening encirclement of the Allied Forces. Fleeing into open space would get them caught, so they must have ducked sideways into the narrow gorge to make a last stand and recover their strength, even for a moment.

Therefore, the Imperial Army would also have to make a decision: divide their forces, with some defending the gorge to buy time while the others escaped, or share the same fate together. He had to get results before that. That was the conclusion he reached after spending a day on the battlefield.

He had also devised a method. Sooner than he'd thought.

"I heard a rumor that the princess, who made a pact with a warlock, is inside the gorge preparing some black magic by sacrificing those imperial bastards."

"Really? Does that mean we'll be fighting demons?"

"What's the problem? Whether demons or the demon king himself come out, we have the saintess with us."

"Right, I caught a glimpse of the high priest and the other priests, too."

"It's actually better for us if she uses black magic and summons demons. The probability of dying while pushing into that narrow gorge is higher."

The idea didn't come from his own head. He had plucked it from the words of common soldiers, lying in their beds after returning from night watch.

'Black magic, huh.'

A very plausible and attractive concept. He opened the Gold Shop and began to shop.

* * *

The atmosphere inside the gorge was grim.

"We are running out of food," Callis reported to the princess, his expression grave. They hadn't been moving like a grand procession with abundant supplies, so a shortage was inevitable. To bring up the lack of food now meant that their already low supply had dwindled to a critical point. In short, they couldn't last more than a few days. With so few Imperial soldiers left, it was a death sentence.

"There are four hundred knights, Your Highness. If we station two hundred in the gorge, the rest can surely escape and reach Teheran."

There was only one reason Callis brought this up. A bold decision was needed. The princess couldn't make one—or rather, the bold decision she had made offered no hope in this situation. So he, the only subordinate who could change her mind, was daring to ask her to reverse it.

"If we do that, Sir Callis, will you follow me?"

"What meaning would my life have if I added the disgrace of abandoning my subordinates to the shame of leaving my liege behind?"

Of course, the princess did not yield. Even in the worst of situations, she was level-headed.

"Myself and two hundred knights. Even if they are the elite of the Empire, is there any meaning in surviving if our numbers are split even further?"

"Your Highness, your very existence—just breathing somewhere on this continent—is meaningful. Until you are gone, the Allied Forces will never be able to call themselves rulers of the continent and will tremble in anxiety."

"That alone is not enough. We must defend Teheran Castle and rebuild the Empire. To do that, we cannot afford to lose any more of you, Sir Callis, or the remaining knights."

"But…"

She knew. Callis knew, too. It was a struggle even with their current forces. If their numbers dwindled further, if he, the greatest swordsman of the Empire, met his end here, there would be no hope left for the princess. Nevertheless, the decision he made to find hope even in this dire situation was this: the princess's survival. That was the one thing he wished for.

"Is it impossible to leave the gorge and break through?" she asked.

"The estimated number of enemy soldiers is two hundred thousand."

There were no other options. The Imperial Army was far smaller than Kim Buja had thought. It had to be.

"Hah…"

A deep sigh escaped the princess's lips for the first time. She felt despair. It was a sigh that hadn't come when the Imperial capital was burning, when the Allied Forces killed her family, or when she was captured by slave traders and dragged along, suffering all sorts of humiliation. It was the stark reality of facing the end, a point where even hope had vanished. There was nowhere left to turn for salvation. She had hit a dead end, just like the cliff behind her.

As Callis said, if she wanted to live, she could certainly escape. Their numbers were small, but the four hundred knights were the Empire's First Knight Order. They were the single reason the Allied Forces didn't dare to charge with two hundred thousand soldiers, even without the advantage of the gorge. If she wandered aimlessly, disguised her identity, and hid in the mountains, even the Allied Forces would not be able to find her. But there was no reason to live like that. If she had intended to, she would have taken her own life when the heart of the Empire collapsed.

With the futility came the memory of the most meaningful and special moment of her life. What kind of luck had brought him to her in a situation so similar to this one? Kim Buja's face came to mind. The face she thought of every day. After being captured, she had endured day by day, believing things would work out somehow. But at the moment when no answer was in sight, that man had appeared.

"…If he appeared now, would things have been different?"

The Kim Buja she had seen was special. He gave her strange foods that were fresh and tasted like nothing she had ever had before. He had also bought her time to escape from the slave traders with his abilities. But that was all. In the end, without his mana shackles, he hadn't possessed the strength to subdue them. Would his presence here have changed anything?

A siege would be possible. He had the ability to multiply their scarce food supply. But it would only be a matter of time. The gorge was high and steep, but not impossible to climb. A few scouts were probably already watching from above to see if the Imperial Army was escaping. A day, two days. If the Allied Forces somehow managed to occupy the top of the gorge, the Imperial Army would be annihilated like rats in a trap. No, if they pushed in right now, they would eventually be overrun. The Allied Forces were waiting for only one reason.

"Hah, I'm at the point where I wonder what it would have been like if I had really made a pact with a demon."

"…Your Highness."

A rumor had spread that she was associated with something forbidden, a word that should not even be uttered on the continent. The princess knew it too. She had denied it until the end. Demons were evil, a danger one should not even be curious about. She had kept her distance, deepened her faith, and believed in God.

But God had betrayed her. Because of a word so profane it was blasphemous to even utter, the Empire had been split in two, and everything had collapsed under the Allied invasion. So now, the princess hated God more than the demons.

"If I could, I would make a pact with a real demon right now. Even if I have to sell my soul."

Her lips were clenched, her fists trembling. The tears welling at the corners of her eyes showed the depth of her resentment and sorrow. That was why Callis couldn't say anything. He, too, as the Knight Commander of the Empire, could do nothing. He, too, was overflowing with the desire to sell his soul to a devil for revenge.

Sorrow, hatred, and anger, filled with sincerity, bloomed amidst the silent four hundred knights. And with it, the seed of a miracle.

—You'd sell your soul?

"......!"

A man's voice, seeming to come from the princess's own heart! In an instant, everyone in the gorge froze. Even though every knight present was skilled enough to face a troll, the pressure of the word 'demon' was that great. Besides, no one could have expected it to manifest with such timing, here of all places.

Silence ensued, broken only by Callis.

"I will sell my soul! I want to make a pact!"

No one questioned how the demon's voice had appeared at this moment. What was important was that it had appeared at the perfect time. 'So this is what demons are like,' they thought. 'They appear anywhere, the moment sorrow emerges from the depths of the human heart!'

Unfortunately, Callis's resolute cry was not answered.

—No, I don't need some male's soul. The princess's is enough. To be honest, I'm a little more drawn to her body, but that seems too scummy, so let's just go with the soul.

The princess's gaze fell to the source of the coarse voice that pierced her ears: a small brooch pinned to her chest.

"…Mr. Buja?"

In any case, the seed of a miracle had indeed bloomed for the princess, borne from the voice of Kim Buja, who had appeared like a demon.

* * *

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