Prologue

“How the hell did it come to this...?”

Standing atop the ramparts, Furado’s face twisted in sheer despair.

The domain capital of Aeolis was completely encircled by a massive army claiming numbers of three hundred thousand. Opposing them, Furado and his forces had a paltry few thousand at best.

“Kill the grand traitor Furado!!” “Avenge His Holiness the Pope!!” “Traitors!!”

The soldiers encircling Aeolis bellowed in fury, their gear and attire a wildly haphazard mix.

Some wore crude rags and wielded wooden clubs; others were clad in full plate armor bearing heavy lances. Disparate as this ragtag force was, they all shared a single defining detail: around every neck hung a Sakura Great Character Ornament—a pendant crafted in the shape of a cherry blossom petal, proving their allegiance as devout followers of the Saku-sha Faith.

“I was framed, damn it! I didn’t trigger any magical disaster!!”

“Silence, heretic!!” “Child murderer!!” “Apostate!!”

Furado’s desperate shouts were instantly drowned out by the roar of the mob.

“Well, if they were the type to listen to reason, we wouldn’t be in this mess to begin with.”

Edna chimed in, her expression completely cool and unbothered.

“Edna...”

【Nothing can be done about their mob mentality, but we know full well our master is innocent. That should be enough.】

“Dee... Yeah, you’re right. Looking back, going to Belkrant was where everything went wrong...”

The Holy Theocracy of Belkrant—

A holy city-state located at the heart of the continent, it governed all followers of the Saku-sha Faith. Its supreme religious leader was the Pope, who occupied a holy throne divinely granted by the creator god, Saku-sha.

The nation took its name from Belkrant, the sacred land described in holy scripture where the Pure White Goddess—created by Saku-sha—was born and raised.

Though Belkrant possessed no standing army of its own, it held the authority to mobilize a subjugation force known as the Saku-sha Army against heretics, pagans, and any enemies of the faith.

Upon his elevation to Margrave, Furado had traveled to Belkrant as an envoy of goodwill at their urgent request.

Yet during his stay, a disastrous atmospheric phenomenon known as a Magical Tornado swept through the region.

Faced with a calamity far beyond human strength to control, the Pope cast a spell that sacrificed her own life to quell the storm. The disaster was brought to an end, but at the cost of the Pope’s martyrdom.

And somehow, through some twisted turn of events, Furado had been branded as the great criminal who triggered the magical disaster and forced the Pope into her fatal sacrifice.

“After barely shaking off their pursuers and making it back alive, this is what I get...?”

He had fled for his life all the way from Belkrant back to the kingdom, only for the Saku-sha Army to be rallied and launch a full-scale assault on his doorstep.

“Though to be fair, refusing the invitation would have caused a whole different set of problems, so it was a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t situation, Furado-sama.”

【Indeed. Matters like this tend to converge toward a single outcome regardless. Had you stayed behind, things likely would have played out much the same.】

Furado nodded at their assessment.

“Yeah... I guess that’s the only way to look at it. Actually, no—the more I think about it, the madder I get! Being framed is bad enough, but watching those brainless morons in the Saku-sha Army get dragged around by a complete fabrication is making my blood boil...! Hey, you idiots down there!!”

Leaning over the ramparts, Furado screamed at the top of his lungs down at the besieging host.

“Do you idiots honestly believe I triggered a natural disaster?!”

“Of course we do!!” “Who else could it be?!” “Stop playing innocent, villain!!”

“Use your damn brains for five seconds!! Doesn’t anything about this sound fishy to you?! What could I possibly gain from causing a natural disaster?! I have zero motive and zero reason! Besides, how in the hell could an ordinary human pull off a natural disaster in the first place?!”

“Then why did you murder Her Holiness?!” “You can’t change the facts!!” “Cowardly scum!!”

His logical appeal was met with nothing but a barrage of mindless insults.

“Unbelievable!! Out of three hundred thousand people, is there literally not a single person with a brain cell?! Listen up!! Is there even ONE person among you who can logically explain my motive, my goal, or the method I supposedly used to cause a natural disaster?! If there is, step forward right now!! If your explanation actually makes sense, I’ll surrender without firing a single arrow!! I am begging you, just think about it logically for a second! It makes no damn sense, does it?!”

“Die, bastard!!” “Scum of the earth!!” “Shut your mouth, murderer!!”

“It’s no use!! Every single one of them is dumber than I am!!”

Furado fell into utter despair at the catastrophic lack of intellect among the Saku-sha Army.

“The world really has gone to the dogs, hasn’t it?”

“Tell me about it!! And why the hell is it that whenever a natural disaster happens, everyone automatically blames ME?!”

If he were facing reasonable foes, that would be one thing—but the thought of being brought down by a horde of three hundred thousand idiots (who were dumber than him, no less!) filled Furado with unbearable frustration.

“I refuse to accept this...! But still... we’re completely isolated with zero allies...! Is it really over...? Am I really gonna get wiped out by a mob like this...??”

King Drachma was sympathetic to Furado’s plight, but as long as the charges remained uncleared, he could not openly take his side. Doing so risked the kingdom being excommunicated by the church, leaving the king no choice but to turn a blind eye to the Saku-sha Army’s march.

“After going through all that hell to overcome every single cause of my death from my past life, plus extra...!”

“No, Furado-sama! It is far too early to give up hope!”

Kain, who had been quietly standing by until now, stepped forward.

“Kain!”

“With the newly expanded fortress walls of Aeolis, we can easily hold out for several months! If a new Pope ascends the throne during that time and clears your name, there is every chance we will survive! What’s more, Princess Florencia is currently working tirelessly at the royal court on your behalf! The more time passes, the more the scales tip in our favor!”

“That sounds great, but even if they’re morons, it’s three hundred thousand against a few thousand...! Can we really hold out...?”

“They may boast three hundred thousand, but they are nothing more than a disorganized rabble! Their fervor may be high, but they cannot match a properly trained army. Above all, Belkrant lacks the supply lines and provisions to sustain such a massive host over a prolonged siege! If we simply endure, their forces will collapse under their own weight!”

Kain’s logical breakdown convinced Furado.

“I-I see! You’re right, Kain. It really was too early to despair!”

“Yes!”

“Hearing that makes me feel a whole lot better! Haha, hahahahaha!”

KABOOOOOM────!!

“Whoa!? What the—?!”

At the sudden, deafening roar, Furado and the others whipped their heads around—only to see a massive section of the fortress wall completely obliterated.

“What the hell?!”

Panic washed over the group.

“Was that... magic...? But we received no intel indicating the Saku-sha Army possessed a mage capable of wielding such immense power...!”

Kain stood frozen in utter shock.

“Furado-sama!! Enemy forces are breaching the inner courtyard!! We can’t hold them back!!”

Gerard burst in with the news, sending Furado plunging back into the abyss of despair.

“Ah...!! It’s over!! Dee!! Take Edna and get out of here!! Kain!! Take Sara and the maidservants and run!! Gerard, you’re with me—we buy them time!!”

Furado instantly drew his sword and shouted his orders.

“What on earth are you talking about, Furado-sama? I’m staying by your side until the very end. If we don’t make it, I’ll just be saving you a seat in the afterlife.”

【Count me in as well. As the saying goes, we’re all in the same boat now.】

“Mother and I feel the exact same way, Furado-sama! We live together, and we die together!”

“These old bones shall follow you to the end as well!”

“Ah...”

Hearing their unwavering loyalty, Furado was crushed by a regret far deeper than anything he had felt in his previous life.

Because of him, the people he cherished were going to die.

To Furado, that was a fate far more unbearable than his own death.

“Aaah────”

Pouring into the castle grounds, the Saku-sha Army mercilessly slaughtered the domain soldiers who had remained loyal to the bitter end.

There was no escape.

He couldn’t save anyone.

“No... I refuse to accept an ending like this!! I won’t let them die... I don’t want to die...!! I don’t wanna die──────!!!!”

At that desperate cry, Furado’s vision blacked out entirely.

ToC