Wasn’t This Supposed To Be a Strategy Game?

“The Demon King?”

 

“What nonsense is this lunatic spouting…?”

 

“What’s he doing? Everyone, step back!”

 

The knight commander’s gaze turned sharp.

 

“Seize him!”

 

But the cloaked man wasted no time. He raised his hand high and hurled the orb with all his might. Knights tackled him to the ground, but it was too late—the orb had already left his hand.

 

“Protect the Emperor!”

 

The knight commander shouted until the veins in his neck strained as he raised his sword. But the Emperor was safe; the orb had been thrown in the opposite direction.

 

Roll, roll.

 

Asmun watched as the orb rolled toward him, far from the Emperor’s side.

 

“…”

 

Crack.

 

The orb fractured, releasing a dark, curling smoke. Asmun watched it with a remarkably detached gaze.

 

Someone recognized the orb and shrieked in terror.

 

“A—a magic orb!”

 

While people scrambled to get away from Asmun, Eden fought her way closer, positioning herself where she could clearly see him.

 

From the broken orb, a massive monster emerged.

 

“Graaaah!”

 

The creature let out a horrendous shriek. It resembled a horrifying fusion of snake and centipede, towering over twice the height of a grown man. The monster, inexplicably enraged, locked its gaze on Asmun and charged straight at him.

 

“Aaah!”

 

“A monster! Run!”

 

The sight of a monster appearing in the holy imperial palace, right in the middle of the banquet hall celebrating Founding Day, threw the place into utter chaos.

 

The Imperial Knights were fully focused on protecting the Emperor, leaving no one free to come to Asmun’s aid.

 

And even if knights were available, they would hesitate to help him. Someone threw a scroll in desperation.

 

“Graaah!”

 

The scroll’s weak magic bound the creature temporarily, causing it to shriek in agony as it thrashed against the magical chains.

 

“What kind of creature is that?”

 

“I—I’ve never seen a monster like it before!”

 

In Hesmore, where people constantly battled monsters, knights were familiar with many types and knew their weaknesses like a well-thumbed manual. But this particular monster was unfamiliar.

 

“Asmun, Your Highness! I’m coming!”

 

One of Asmun’s loyal retainers, who had briefly left the hall due to the first prince’s scheming, returned to find him in peril. But before he could reach his master, the first prince, Kyris, blocked his path.

 

“Do you dare?”

 

Kyris’s voice boomed loudly enough for even the Emperor to hear.

 

“If a prince of Hesmore can’t handle one mere monster, does he deserve his title? Stand down—Asmun will handle this himself.”

 

“But…”

 

The retainer gripped his sword, torn between duty and watching his master stand alone against the creature.

 

The monster was clearly of at least intermediate rank. Though not large enough to be considered high rank, its tough hide required magic-infused attacks even from swordsmen.

 

And Asmun, officially, didn’t have enough power to handle a monster of this level.

 

Not officially, at least.

 

“Are you insulting a prince?”

 

Kyris’s voice thundered, causing an odd shift in the expressions of the high priest, Serman, and Karon, the Holy Knight Captain.

 

If the monster had been targeting the Emperor or an ordinary noble, they would have intervened immediately to neutralize the threat. But the one in front of the monster was Asmun.

 

Asmun was also a prince and had played a part in monster-hunting campaigns. Stepping in now would imply that Asmun was incompetent.

 

“To distrust Asmun is to distrust the imperial family itself.”

 

Thus, as Kyris argued, interfering would amount to an insult to the imperial family.

 

Everyone understood this, so no one moved to help Asmun.

 

Even the Emperor seemed inclined to wait and see if Asmun could handle the situation on his own.

 

The magical restraints binding the monster began to weaken.

 

“…”

 

Asmun, too, was fully aware of why he was in this predicament. This was clearly Kyris’s trap.

 

Asmun’s monster-hunting successes had recently drawn Kyris’s suspicion. Kyris, who had harbored resentment toward Asmun since childhood, chose this banquet to set his plan in motion. The ambush on the way here had likely been Kyris’s doing as well.

 

And there was one more person in the room who understood Kyris’s scheme perfectly: Eden, who had seen all of this unfold before.

 

“Seeing this in person… palace politics are worse than I thought.”

 

Eden muttered under her breath, her gaze fixed on the monster.

 

The creature was called a “Tannir.” Among intermediate-level monsters, Tannir possessed particularly strong magical energy, making it difficult even for seasoned knights to pierce its tough hide.

 

Its favorite scent was the smell of spoiled blood mixed with rotting wine.

 

Eden realized that the wine spilled on Asmun earlier was meant to bait the Tannir directly toward him.

 

Most intermediate monsters could be killed with ordinary swords, but Tannir was different.

 

Tannir could only be harmed by someone wielding magic at the level of a 5th-circle or higher—precisely why Kyris had gone to such lengths to procure it.

 

‘If Asmun successfully defeats the Tannir, it’ll reveal that his power is at least 5th-circle, not the officially stated 3rd-circle.’

 

And if that were the case, Kyris would see Asmun as a threat and take stronger measures to eliminate him.

 

But if Asmun failed to confront the Tannir, he’d suffer a humiliating defeat, which would solidify doubts about his worthiness as a successor.

 

Kyris was likely betting on Asmun choosing humiliation.

 

If that happened, Kyris would probably save the day, eliminating the Tannir and securing his reputation at the Founding Day banquet—just as he had done in Eden’s previous playthroughs.

 

“The monster’s breaking free!”

 

Someone shouted as Asmun watched the weakening magical binds.

 

Facing humiliation was no longer his primary concern. If he didn’t draw his sword now, he would likely suffer injuries from the enraged creature.

 

Kyris would let the monster injure him before finally stepping in to “rescue” his incompetent younger brother.

 

Asmun’s calm eyes assessed the Tannir’s deadly fangs, calculating the risk.

 

While Asmun stood, seemingly unfazed by his predicament, the magic holding the creature snapped completely. Watching him from across the hall, Eden picked up a glass from the table and smashed it against the floor.

 

The glass shattering went unnoticed amidst the chaos, allowing Eden to discreetly grab the sharpest shard.

 

“It’s loose!”

 

As screams erupted around her, Eden clenched her eyes shut and used the glass shard to slice her left palm open.

 

Blood flowed freely from the deep cut, and just then, the Tannir, finally freed from its restraints, twisted its body and let out a piercing screech.

 

Eden quickly pulled out a vial from her pocket, bit off the cap, and poured the dark red liquid over her bleeding hand.

 

“…!”

 

And in that moment, Asmun, who had resigned himself to offering his shoulder to the creature, noticed the Tannir suddenly hesitate.

 

“Over here. Come on, good boy,” Eden murmured softly.

 

As if entranced by a scent, the Tannir’s nostrils flared. It turned sharply, sniffing the air as its gleaming eyes searched for the source of the enticing aroma. Finally, its gaze landed on Eden, who stood with her bloody hand extended.

 

“What… what’s going on?”

 

“Where’s it looking?”

 

Everyone’s attention followed the monster’s gaze, and they saw the young novice priestess standing there, clutching her bleeding hand.

 

“…”

 

Even Asmun’s gaze followed the Tannir’s, his brow furrowing as he realized it was focused on a priestess.

 

“She’s a priestess?”

 

“Ugh! What’s that smell?”

 

“Oh no, it’s going for her!”

 

Indeed, the Tannir, seemingly more excited than when it was restrained by magic, began slithering rapidly toward Eden. Watching his plan fall apart, Kyris’s face hardened.

 

Kyris shot Eden an annoyed look, his expression one of barely concealed anger. He wasn’t the only one caught off guard by Eden’s actions.

 

“Aaah!”

 

The guests scrambled to distance themselves from Eden, fleeing in all directions.

 

Eden, however, remained frozen in place, staring unflinchingly at the Tannir as it charged her. It wasn’t until the creature’s fangs were mere inches from her face that she turned and began sprinting.

 

Thrown off balance by its momentum, the Tannir crashed into a table, smashing it into splinters.

 

Now furious, the Tannir let out a frenzied shriek and turned to chase Eden again.

 

“…!”

 

Desperately, Eden’s eyes scanned the room for a golden-haired man.

 

At that precise moment, as if on cue, a figure raised his sword high.

 

It was Karon.