After firing five consecutive flares to signal an emergency, the captain chose to retreat without looking back.

I didn't have the confidence to face that sheer volume of enemies either, so I quietly urged Fredrick on.

As if it had been a while since he last ran at full speed, Fredrick excitedly moved his hooves.

"Knight Dietrich is approaching!"

"Open the gates!"

Should I call it good luck? It seemed the swarm of Mermen hadn't reached the city yet.

Thanks to that, the soldiers opened the gates without hesitation. If there had been enemies nearby, that would have been rather difficult.

CREAAAK.

They must have prepared to open the gates in advance. The sentries opened them with perfect timing.

It seemed the soldiers who arrived earlier had warned them.

"Captain! The Lord is on the castle walls!"

"Thank you!"

The same went for lighting up the streets with torches so we could ride through.

People heading to the castle easily spotted us and made way, and thanks to the clear line of sight, we were able to gallop all the way to the walls without stopping.

CREAK.

However, the sight of residents opening their windows to see what was happening made them look exactly like stone statues cloaked in the night.

It's weird to say this, but I feel like I've seen this in a horror game.

PRRRR.

"Hold on just a little longer!"

But there were too many torches around to be scared. Besides, the fact that the torches weren't flickering meant there were no ghosts around, haha!

Boasting the guts I had honed through jump scares in various horror games, I focused on Fredrick's breathing. I was quite worried about his stamina since we had sprinted all the way to the city between a canter and a gallop.

I was in a position where I had to deliver the news, so it couldn't be helped... but I was worried if I had pushed him too hard.

Looking at Fredrick drooling and foaming at the mouth, I silently urged him to push through just a little more. The finish line was right before our eyes.

"Knight Dietrich! Have you returned!"

A soldier on the castle walls spotted us and shouted.

"Where is the Lord!"

"He is in Sector 4!"

"Adventurer, to the left!"

Wow. Bemurhen sure is huge. I followed the captain's signal while calculating how long it took to get here.

There were many soldiers and adventurers bustling about below the walls as well, so the galloping horses automatically slowed their pace.

"Demon Knight?"

Oh. I didn't know where Sector 4 was, but I found the Inquisitor for now. He wasn't alone; standing next to him were Deathbringer, the Archmage, and an unfamiliar face.

"Lord!"

"Dietrich!"

Ah, so that guy over there was the Lord. Then again, there was no way someone the Hero's party kept around would hold an ordinary position. There were a lot of soldiers around him too.

"My knight!"

Watching the Lord leap down from the wall—not metaphorically, he literally jumped down—I hurriedly dismounted.

Finally coming to a stop after their sprint, the horses breathed heavily.

The captain's horse looked like it was about to die, while Fredrick seemed to still have some energy left, but anyway.

"Are you hurt anywhere? No, thank you for returning. God has blessed you."

The bushy-bearded Lord tightly grabbed both of the captain's arms. The captain, who had been about to kneel and pledge his loyalty, smiled awkwardly. It seemed he was used to this kind of attitude.

"Dietrich, I have returned for the castle."

And his expression slowly filled with pride. The captain saluted in their customary manner.

"Lord, more importantly, the Mermen on the beach..."

"Is it very serious?"

"Yes. The coastline is packed with Mermen."

"Those damn rotten fish. Any other peculiarities? Can you estimate the number of Mermen?"

"The number of Mermen was simply too vast; I could not properly observe if there was anything unusual or estimate their exact count. I apologize."

"I see... Then it can't be helped. It's fine."

The Lord patted the captain's shoulder and told him to rest since he had worked hard. The captain looked slightly moved before shouting that he could still keep going.

Their lord-vassal relationship was certainly admirable, but from a third party's perspective, it was rather awkward to watch.

PRRRR.

"Wait."

Well, if they were giving me time to let Fredrick drink water, I had nothing to complain about.

I poured some of my stored water into my hand and even sprinkled some salt in it for Fredrick to drink. The reason I poured it into my hand was because I didn't think drinking a lot of water all at once right after a full sprint would be good for him.

SLURP, SLURP, SLURP. The leather gloves I bought not too long ago got damp with Fredrick's saliva.

"Um, Demon Knight..."

Then, the Inquisitor, who had just come down from the wall, tried to speak to me while gauging my reaction. The same went for Deathbringer.

He stood dejectedly behind the Inquisitor, staring blankly at me. He was holding a long wooden box in his arms.

"How did you end up with the knights..."

Hm. It seemed like there would be a massive battle with demons soon, so it was probably right to open up a dialogue.

But did I really have to disclose my whereabouts too?

"Take this guy too."

"Ah, yes."

I handed Fredrick's reins over to the soldier who was retrieving the captain's horse. However, perhaps because it was an unfamiliar human, Fredrick tossed his head and tried to resist.

"... Give this to him once you reach the stables."

"Yep."

I had a special countermeasure for times like this. I handed the soldier the pouch filled with blueberries as well.

Recognizing the blueberry pouch, Fredrick calmed down again. He was quite shrewd, anyway.

"Let us resume our conversation, Great Sage."

Why was the timing so good today?

Right after I sent Fredrick away, the Lord finished his conversation with the captain. His foot was just about to step onto the stairs leading up to the wall.

"Let's do that. Will you... Demon Knight, will you come up too...?"

The Archmage called out to me in a slightly hesitant tone. I had no reason to refuse. Knowing where one would be deployed was a privilege surprisingly few could enjoy.

Once the label of being a member of the Hero's party was removed, there was no way for someone like me, a mere adventurer, to hear such things without their help.

"Lord, may he join the conversation?"

"Why would I object to someone the Proxy has made his companion?"

Fortunately, the Lord agreed to my intrusion. Perhaps the captain had said something about me, as the eyes looking at me were somewhat favorable.

"Although we have received additional information, I don't think there's any need for significant changes to what we discussed earlier."

But instead of speaking to me, he stood atop the castle walls. The two who had been ignored and became sullen, along with myself, matched paces with the Lord.

"Hero, please stand by in the center, and then head towards the location with the most enemies."

"Yes...!"

"The Archmage will be with the Mage, and you will..."

"I'll just assist the soft—the Hero by his side. During another siege, there was a surprise attack that aimed for the vulnerability of not being able to move while casting a sanctuary."

"I will leave that to your companion's discretion. However, do not leave the Hero's side carelessly. Soldiers or knights who mistake you for an enemy might attack you."

But for some reason, it felt like one person had been missing this whole time.

I felt a strange mood as I thought about the person who I assumed would be on the wall, yet wasn't there.

"If we had ample time, I would have made your presence known, but you don't exactly have a striking appearance like the Hero, and the enemies are right on the verge of invading... Hmm. Would you like to wear a glowing string or something so you can be distinguished?"

"I absolutely refuse."

"Then I ask for your understanding regarding that matter."

"Yep."

"Instead, you are free to act at your own discretion. As long as it doesn't harm the castle, I will protect you with my authority as the Lord."

'It can't be that she sat out because of the bout we had... right?'

"And as for you..."

Feeling even more troubled by the fact that our relationship was in such a state that I couldn't even ask about it, I focused on the Lord who was speaking to me.

"Strictly speaking, knights don't have much meaning on this land. We usually utilize the castle walls to shoot arrows and thrust spears for one-sided attacks."

Saying so, the Lord pointed below the wall we were standing on—the side facing the sea. At a distance, I saw another castle wall built further out, and beyond that, a space tightly packed with spikes. The sparsely placed magical lights were useful for illuminating the dark view.

The intertwining dikes and turrets were right behind that.

"Thus, the only times knights step forward are for reconnaissance, to deal with Mermen who breach the walls, or to walk along the exposed dikes after the tide ebbs at the end of the battle to kill any Mermen that failed to escape."

Certainly, this would make it hard for me to step in. Honestly, pretty much all naval battles were like that.

"So, if there is a place you want to go, I can assign you..."

Should I just go to a protrusion on the outer wall instead? I pondered as I looked at the bridges connected to the first row of turrets—they looked too fragile to be called bastions, and seemed to have no function other than connecting to the turrets over the sea—and the soldiers standing on them.

'If I go over there, I suppose I can freely spam my sword aura and magic spears. Since it's right in the middle of the sea, I won't have to worry about friendly fire or destroying the surroundings.'

"You want to go there? We usually compose that area with adventurers, so it doesn't matter, but..."

The Lord's expression became peculiar at my words, but he didn't object. Instead, he gave a warning. He said that was the place with the highest casualty rate, and that it would be easier to fight there if I knew how to shoot a bow.

It was a rather unnecessary warning for me, since I wasn't lacking the confidence to return alive even if I fell into the sea, and I could just spam magic spears instead of arrows anyway.

"I wish you good luck in battle."

With those words, the Lord gestured, saying he needed to notify the soldier in charge. A few soldiers on standby hurriedly moved and brought someone over.

"I know you're not the type to be stopped just because I say so, and I don't have the right to interfere, but..."

Meanwhile, the Archmage, who had merely been watching everything, spoke up.

"Come back in one piece."

"... That's right, Demon Knight! Please don't push yourself too hard!"

"And don't go collapsing for two straight weeks again this time..."

Strictly speaking, those were words that could easily be said even between people who weren't close, but for some reason, it left a dry taste in my mouth.

"Also..."

That might have been because of Deathbringer's wooden box, which had been bothering me for a while now.

"Just in case, could you please take this with you... Boss?"

CLICK. A white sword could be seen through the opened wooden box. An incomparably beautiful, pristine sword.

"It's a much better sword than this one."

... Deathbringer still had the sword he offered to give me before as well. As for why, well. I suppose it was because he still held onto the hope that I would accept it someday.

"You frequently shatter your swords while fighting, don't you? It wouldn't be bad to have a spare just in case. So..."

'However... I can't because the colors don't match. Yeah, the color palette is important.'

With the most lighthearted thought I could muster, I looked away. The person who had just finished talking with the soldier was granting us a moment of patience after seeing how serious we looked.

"Should I go now?"

"You can, but..."

Then that was fine. I approached the soldier who appeared to be the person in charge. He had a somewhat strange look in his eyes, but he didn't say anything to me.

"This way."

The soldier led me and told me a few points of caution.

Do not leave your assigned spot as much as possible unless the wall collapses.

If there is no space, it is fine to push or clear away the corpses of the dead, so continue to attack.

Unless specifically ordered, absolutely do not go to the bridges.

If you are standing on a bridge and see signs of it collapsing, evacuate to the nearest side—either the turret or the castle.

"Don't force your way across to the castle just because you don't want to be isolated on the turret. More people die doing that."

The soldier, whose scars were visible here and there despite his body being mostly covered by armor, advised me in a dry tone.

"Because the speed at which the bridges collapse is incredibly fast."

The soldier said they weren't built super sturdy since they collapsed so often—it seemed more like they weren't built to withstand bombardment, rather than being poorly constructed.

"Also, don't try to pass the time chatting with those around you just because you can't see the enemies. That means you shouldn't let your guard down, but there's another reason as well."

He advised that it was best to keep quiet to listen for the sound of Mermen trying to gnaw away at the base of the turrets to collapse them, which they often did. This was definitely something I had to remember.

"Keep an eye on the lamps illuminating the sea as well. Those bastards will put out the lights first to blind us, so consider that the start of the battle."

Fortunately or unfortunately, there wasn't much other information. Just meals, where to relieve oneself, and shift times.

"Mr. Adventurer, you can stand over there for now..."

Just then, the soldier stopped mid-sentence and forcefully slapped the back of a person who was shivering in their spot.

"Relax! If you can't keep your wits about you, you'll lose your chance to survive!"

There was a sense of long-standing experience in that unwarranted shout.

"Ahaha! Just leave him be, it's 'cause he's a rookie. Even a Priest couldn't fix that!"

"Tsk. Then why would a rookie come here?"

"They pay handsomely here. This is the only place that pays even if you die!"

"You can only spend money if you're alive... Tsk."

Aside from that, the Lord's words about this place being manned by adventurers seemed to be true. Sweeping my gaze around, there were barely any soldiers, and almost everyone was an adventurer.

"Is it your first time here too?"

"You don't look like you're going to get nervous, but... I'll give you some advice just in case, don't worry too much. Fewer people die than the rumors say."

"Of course, if a turret collapses, everyone dies without mercy!"

"Eek!"

"Wahaha! The newbie is scared!"

But despite being adventurers, they seemed incredibly accustomed to this place. Only their clothes were casual; the way they moved wasn't much different from the soldiers assigned here.

And that showed they had been reporting here for a very long time.

"Stop chattering and watch the sea! Report immediately if any lights go out!"

"Yes, sir."

"Heh, that sounded just like a soldier."

'Then again, from the Lord's perspective, he wouldn't want to regularly throw his soldiers into a place with a low survival rate. It's not like soldiers magically pop out of nowhere; they require money and time.'

'Adventurers, on the other hand, provide their own equipment, and even if they lack skill, they're the only ones who die, so it's no loss for the castle. Even if they die, more bastards will keep coming to fill the spots, so all he has to do is spend money.'

'To put it nicely, it was efficient; to put it bluntly, it was sacrificing them. Though since he paid proper compensation and they volunteered for the job, it wasn't something to be condemned for.'

"Ahead! A light went out!"

Just then, one of the few soldiers shouted. A voice coming from the very top of the turret echoed resoundingly over the night sea.

"Abandon any thoughts of returning to the castle now! Everyone, arm yourselves!"

The bright lamps that had been kept on so we could see into the sea at night began disappearing one by one.

"Keep this in mind! Every single one we kill lessens the burden on the castle walls!"

Splashing tails began emerging one by one from the rising waters of the sea.

"Attack!"