How dare these kids who have never experienced a war dare to discuss who deserves to be a hero?
In the first place, a 'hero' is not determined by the presence or absence of a hero's fragments. A hero may not seem like much, but it is a truly special title.
A person who runs into a burning house and saves people is a hero, and a person who shouts to evacuate because there is a fire is also a hero. A person who shows kindness to a child on the side of the road becomes that child's hero, and upright parents also become heroes to their children.
Something that is both easy and difficult to obtain is the title of 'hero', so isn't it natural that someone who covets it without even knowing what it truly means doesn't have the qualifications to be a hero?
Moreover, the Murderous Knights were saved by Deon Hardt during the Eight Year War.
There were many people who were guided by that small hand at the crossroads of life and death. Even if the Empire did not recognize him, they recognized him as a hero, but when they saw these guys in front of their eyes by not recognizing him as a hero... wasn't the reaction of the crazy dogs obvious?
"Are you jealous?"
"... What?"
"Hey guys. These bastards are jealous of our Marquis!"
"These guys? Our Marquis? You don't even know the topic? You dare?"
In the chaos, at least one person might be killed by an ally.
Above all, Deon Hardt, whom they first met during the Eight Year War, was too young. No matter how small the age difference between them and the Lofty Knights was, they went from being an older brother and a younger brother to being like an average uncle and nephew, so how could there not be affection for the other?
Some of them had a really large age gap, and the difference was on the level of father and son, and their leader was a monster when it comes to combat and psychological warfare, but in the end, he was a child who was not good at everything else, so in the process of taking care of him secretly, knowingly or unknowingly, they naturally came to think that he was 'their baby'. They had no choice but to get attached.
'The war ruined everything.'
Tsk. After regaining his momentum, Milan grinned as he walked towards the 'hero candidates'.
"The Marquis is not of such a low standard that you guys would dare to be jealous. You should look at stairs you can climb, but what if you're looking at the sky? Why don't you just give up cleanly?"
"... You!"
Of course, he know that the hero's fragments were not something to be trifled with. If he fought them head on, he will lose all out of a hundred.
Still, he couldn't just sit there and watch his baby being ignored, right? In particular, his captain hated being ignored more than anything due to his fighting style.
"Someone who has no fragment of a hero!"
"What kind of name is the Nameless Knights!"
"The name of the knights has nothing to do with combat power!"
"We fight well even without the hero's fragments!"
"... If you fight properly, you will lose!"
He giggled as he saw the guy grabbing him by the collar, then looked at him with a straight face and pulled out his sword.
As they had been working together for a long time, the other guys also took their own positions and raised the tension.
While the hero candidates were shocked, Milan twirled the wrist holding the sword a few times, then put his chin on his shoulder and smiled crookedly.
"Let's fight? Oh, but we can and you can't, isn't that right?
"..."
The Lofty Knights were directly under Deon Hardt.
They went through hardships on the battlefield for eight years, and the bond they shared even afterward was not going anywhere, so even if he cursed, he would overlook most accidents, but the 'Nameless Knights' in front of them are under the direct control of the emperor.
There was no need to go through hardships with the Emperor, and the mperor would not be swayed by his affections, so if an accident occurred, it would have been the same.
"Ah, since you are hero candidates, you won't die."
Because the Emperor cherishes talented people.
"But, there will be some disadvantages."
"All we have to do is get criticized."
"The captain will probably hit us a bit."
"Oh right. That's it."
As they stood there making useless small talk like that, for a moment, someone asked, "What are you guys doing?"
"Ah, Marquis!"
Deon Hardt has arrived.
Milan immediately smiled, put away his sword, and turned around. A white hood could be seen with the top slightly folded, as if the hood had been lifted for a moment.
What should they do if their captain still couldn't organize his outerwear like this?
"It's no big deal!"
He slowly reached out his hand to clean up that part and smiled as if nothing had happened.
***
There was a battle. A battle to stop the Demon King's army from advancing toward the Empire.
No, it wasn't a battle, it was 'annihilation'.
The Demon King used his brain a little. He pretended to push through the closest border and then entered the human world through another border.
The 'border' was a passage connecting the demon realm and the human world. Just as it is not possible to see every corner of a house from the outside just because the door is open, it is impossible to infer movements with the naked eye from a distance, so it is difficult to notice what is happening in the human world from the demon realm and the movements of the demon realm from the human world without going through a spy.
Still, the Emperor, who had a rough idea of the Demon King's thoughts by combining various circumstances, sent troops fairly quickly, but it was not enough to drive out those who had already arrived. On the contrary, they were pushed to a very dangerous position and all the major troops were almost gathered together.
But there were heroes who could provide great power against demons.
The second hero, Stigma Primero, and the third hero, Deon Hardt.
'It's very luxurious.'
The 'annihilation' order not to leave even a single person alive made sense.
This combination would be quite possible.
'The compatibility isn't good, though.'
Cleter, a member of the Murderous Knights, recalled the clash with the hero candidates that had occurred in the morning, sighed and retrieved the weapon that cut into a demon's stomach.
Since Marquis Primero and his knights were responsible for blocking the retreat route and killing those who were running away, the Murderous Knights inevitably had to kill the enemies along with the hero candidates. They fought right before the battle started, so would they become calm after the battle begins?
"You! I almost died!"
"Oh my gosh, why is it going that way? Sorry."
"This crazy bastard...!"
The blind weapon strangely aimed only at the back of the hero candidates' heads. Perhaps out of pride in being on the same side, those who failed to defend themselves only received minor injuries to their arms and legs and did not injure any vital parts...
"Do it in moderation!"
There's nothing good about fighting between allies with the enemy right in front of you. As expected, he could hear the angry shouts of Lien Reiner.
Normally, he would have tried to stop him before she stepped forward, but this time, Cleter pretended not to notice and just ignored him. They looked down on the Marquis, so they had to do this.
'Well... they won't even think of looking at him funny anymore.'
He rolled his eyes and looked at a corner of the battlefield.
A place where the smell of blood was stronger than anywhere else. A lump of red meat, presumed to be a demon, was rolling on the floor, and in a place filled with fear, there was their leader, smiling broadly.
'You're tough, our Marquis.'
The conscious mind thought so, but the unconscious expressed rejection.
Even though he knew that relying on drugs was not a good thing, he kept wondering if he should have taken drugs like other people.
It was difficult to see the devastation committed by Deon Hardt with a clear mind.
'I didn't use medicine because I was dealing with demons...'
Would it be better to do it now?
Since this war was not against humans but against demons, there was a divide within the knights between those who used drugs and those who did not.
Those who decided to turn to medicine because they could not deal with human-like demons with their sanity, and those who decided to treat them on the same level as monsters since they were demons that are different from humans in at least one part.
Cleter chose the latter because he did not want to abandon 'reason'.
'I failed to consider the Marquis' actions...!'
Regardless of feeling unconscious rejection, his eyes keep going in that direction.
It felt similar to not being able to take your eyes off a wild animal you accidentally encountered. An unrealistic and unreasonable feeling that if he looked away even for a moment, that beast would bite the back of his neck.
Even he, who had watched him closely for a long time, felt this way, so what about the hero candidates who saw this for the first time today?
'They're scared.'
Their frightened gazes were fixed on Deon Hardt. Their eyes were confused and were trembling.
Even the guys who were good at fighting suddenly found Deon Hardt in their sights and couldn't easily take their eyes off him, as if their gazes were tied together. It was a dangerous act to look away during battle, but since this drawn gaze applied equally to demons, the damage was less than expected.
Cleter indifferently looked away from the hero candidates and adjusted his grip on his weapon.
'... Should I also take drugs next time?'
Annoying hero candidates were not even considered.
Although not as good as Deon Hardt, he gained time and recovered his stamina by brutally killing demons in his own way, and took up his weapon again to end this damned battle quickly.
Even if you are someone who has not mastered even the most basic sword techniques, you will develop some knack after spending several years on the battlefield. Cleter and the Murderous Knights no longer recklessly and cruelly killed their opponents.
Deon Hardt alone was enough to create an atmosphere, so at the start of the battle, he only acts cruelly to suppress the momentum, leaving that field to the captain and focusing on ending the battle quickly by killing as many enemies as possible. The cruel hand was a tactic used to buy time when stamina was low.
This was not a rational way of thinking and acting, but an instinctive behavior that occurs even while under the influence of drugs.
Should he be happy or bitter?
'For now... let's think positively.'
Cleter stopped thinking and moved.
***
Of course, the battle did not end with just one fight.
The Demon King sent support, and the 'annihilation' order remained unchanged.
Was it fortunate that he did not send a Corps Commander?
Stigma Primero was able to observe Deon Hardt in his own way through these several battles.
Deon Hardt, he observed, was quite anxious.
'Maybe it's because it's a war zone.'
He couldn't explain it exactly, but it felt like water was slowly overflowing from a cracked dam. Even if a single small stone fell, a wave would occur and the water would overflow, making it impossible to take your eyes off the dam.
It looked dangerous just by looking at it, but it was an area that no one else could compensate for. Stigma wondered for a moment with a bit of regret whether other people had not noticed, but then turned his gaze elsewhere.
"Keep your back straight. Straighten your shoulders and lift your chin appropriately. Walk straight and without shaking. When talking to someone, you must make eye contact and speak elegantly."
Advice as a 'senior'.
Although he didn't realize it, Deon called him 'senior' and Stigma also acknowledged him as 'junior', so as a senior, he supposed he should give him some help.
Deon Hardt's fighting style was the complete opposite of Stigma. So, he couldn't or shouldn't touch this area, and the only advice he could give was 'how to go somewhere and not be ignored'.
In noble language, wouldn't it be 'the attitude of an aristocrat'?
"If your subordinates ignore you, others will also ignore you. So, be a respected boss. It doesn't matter which way. Whether it is respect due to fear or respect due to affection. You just have to show others that you are respected."
Among the information obtained while observing Deon Hardt was about his immediate subordinates, the Lofty Knights.
At first he thought they were ignoring Deon Hardt. But when he watched closely, he saw it.
"Junior, you are already loved so much, so all you have to do is train them into the knighthood. How should they express 'respect' for the boss they love?"
Their blind love for Deon Hardt.