He was a royal knight defending the Dark Forest frontline.
Hansen Drake sighed deeply.
The reason was, unsurprisingly, the Hero’s party that had come as reinforcements.
Normally, a hero would be a welcome asset due to their overwhelming power, but…
‘It just so happens that the mage Lee Hyun-woo is absent.’
Lee Hyun-woo was the core strength of the Hero’s party.
Frankly speaking, Hyun-woo was more important than the hero himself.
Even the sword-wielding knights trusted Hyun-woo more than Leon, the owner of the holy sword.
‘Well, if the skill and reputation gap is that wide, it can’t be helped.’
Even the knights, who usually looked down on mages, acknowledged his strength and power.
How many could defeat Hyun-woo in swordsmanship alone?
If he also enhanced his physical abilities with magic, it would be very few.
Even Hansen remembers being impressed by his swordsmanship and attitude towards the sword.
His efforts were enough to earn respect as a human being beyond a knight.
The Hero’s party that expelled a man like Lee Hyun-woo.
It was impossible for Hansen and the other knights to view this favorably.
‘Is the hero in his right mind?’
The royal household was keeping Hyun-woo’s expulsion a secret for morale’s sake.
This was well kept, known only to the commander of the knights and some nobles.
To the other soldiers, Hyun-woo was said to be on another important mission.
It was uncertain how long this temporary measure would last.
‘Sigh, no use thinking about this.’
Hansen, who seriously considered the possibility of the hero colluding with the demon race, shook his head.
Regardless, Leon was a hero chosen by the god of the heroes.
Until he lost that status, he needed to be treated as a hero, at least on the surface.
“Commander, the hero has arrived.”
“Alright, let them in.”
As the hero entered, women followed him.
With Hyun-woo gone, all members of the Hero’s party, except the hero, were women.
There were murmurs of the hero’s harem from behind, and many reports suggested it was true.
Seeing them now, they were indeed all beauties.
Beauty didn’t kill monsters, so it was a matter of little concern to Hansen.
“Hmm?”
Hansen made a strange expression while observing them.
Including the hero, only three had entered.
Even without Hyun-woo, shouldn’t the Hero’s party be four people?
There seemed to be an elf before.
“One person…is missing. What happened?”
“Oh, the journey here was a bit rough, so they’re resting for now.”
Hansen closed his eyes tightly.
How could it be that the Hero’s party, fighting against the demon race, was exhausted from the journey?
If you had heard the usual rumors about the hero, it would not have been hard to guess what happened at night.
‘Ah, I want to throw my hands up in frustration.’
It was understandable that young men and women had overflowing energy.
But wasn’t there something called discipline?
Even mercenaries rolling on the roadside prepared thoroughly before a war.
And now a member of the Hero’s party was too tired from sex to attend a strategy meeting?
Was this something he was supposed to hear now?
If it were a subordinate telling him this, they’d be thrown out immediately.
Seeing this, the deputies who tried to intervene probably realized from the hero’s explanation and retreated on their own.
‘Sigh, let’s be patient.’
But still, the person in question was a hero.
The one and only hero chosen by the goddess herself.
He didn’t understand why she made such a choice, but anyway, he’s the hero.
“Hmm! Hmm! Then, I will explain the current operation overview.”
After all, he was someone Hansen had to work with for a while.
And it seemed like he wouldn’t listen to anything he said.
Well, if Leon was his subordinate, he would’ve dealt with it somehow.
But he was not someone who would just end here.
Hansen had the mindset to just do his job.
“As you know, the Dark Forest is a major stronghold for the demon race. Primarily because the presence of demonic energy strengthens their magic.”
It went without saying that while mages were strong in offensive abilities, their real power lay in defense.
It was practically impossible for a regular knight to break through a mage who had fortified defenses and was bombarding them with spells.
To penetrate this, another mage was needed.
“As for the demonic energy, Claire here should be able to handle it.”
Saint Claire, who was next to him, smiled broadly.
Hansen nodded his head, though it wasn’t a very positive response.
“It’s impossible for one person to purify all the demonic energy in the Dark Forest alone. Of course, it will be helpful at the beginning of the breakthrough.”
“Are you underestimating the Saint’s power? Hmph! Such petulance!”
“…… I’m just talking about practical matters. Besides, wouldn’t it be troublesome for the hero if the Saint, who should be healing in actual battles with the demon race, is absent?”
“Hmm! Hmm! That’s true. The hero definitely needs me by his side.”
Hansen passed the conversation with an awkward smile and continued his explanation.
“Frankly speaking, without a mage, it’s impossible to conquer the Dark Forest right now. So, I want to maintain the frontline and hold out. With the hero’s party here, we can minimize the damage to the soldiers.”
“What? So, you’re just going to watch the Dark Forest?”
“Going in now will only increase our losses. I’ve requested mages from the Magic Tower, so the best we can do is hold out until then.”
That was actually the reason for the delay in the assault.
Despite expecting the Hero’s party, they expelled a mage and delayed their arrival, which was one reason.
Then, hearing this, the Magic Tower got infuriated and cut off support, which was another.
As a result, unnecessary time was wasted, and the assault became even harder.
‘The problem is, I don’t know when the negotiations with the Magic Tower will end.’
With Hyun-woo’s expulsion, the Magic Tower was thoroughly enraged.
In other words, they were furious.
They declared a boycott on dispatching mages to the royal family.
A mage was an essential and hard-to-find talent.
That route of securing them reliably was cut off.
‘…Well, I can understand how the head of the Magic Tower feels.’
The problem was that even those fighting on the frontline understood this.
Compared to the knights, it was like attaching a promising swordmaster to the Magic Tower as an escort, only to expel them and even have them go missing.
Yet, no fireballs were flying at them from behind.
That alone made it seem like the princess was working hard.
“Why do we have to wait for a mage?”
Whether the hero knew about this situation or not, he frowned and said.
“Haven’t we arrived? We can just force our way through with strength.”
It must have seemed like a natural question to a hero.
After all, there had never been a time when they waited for a mage’s support, even when the Hero’s party was present.
In fact, that would have been the Hero’s party’s role in the first place.
They were essentially a special force for the assault.
Thus, Hansen finally brought up the words he had been holding back.
“Currently, in your party, Hero… there is no mage, right?”
At that moment, the hero’s shoulders twitched.
Hansen heard him mutter, ‘Not him again…’ but chose to ignore it.
“Our knight order is also without a mage. For this assault, a mage is essential. Therefore, we have no choice but to wait for support to arrive.”
For Hansen, it was a way to persuade the hero while also blaming him.
It meant that this situation was due to the hero expelling Hyun-woo.
Being human, Hansen couldn’t deny feeling resentment towards the hero.
But unfortunately, this hero lacked the common sense and conscience to think that way.
“There’s no need for that. We don’t have time either.”
“Excuse me?”
“If it’s just the generals and not the Demon King, we are enough. We have killed generals before. And now, we even have a knight order here. We have more than enough power.”
…Of course, back then, mage Lee Hyun-woo was there.
Hansen praised himself for keeping that comment to himself.
“Let’s break through the forest and confront the mage chief. After all, mages can’t do anything if you get close and swing a sword.”
Hansen, running the knight order, had seen many youths.
That was why he could read the hero.
The unique pride and vanity of the inexperienced.
‘…This is going to drive me crazy.’
The strategy the hero proposed as soon as he arrived was just a head-on clash.
If that worked, why would they be suffering like this?
A mage on defense required a thorough strategy and preparation, and even then, the success rate was not high.
Even if it succeeded, the extent of the losses would be obvious.
“Hero, that is too dangerous. Just wait a little longer. We should hear good news from the Magic Tower soon.”
“Honestly, I don’t like the Magic Tower either. They are just fighting over pride in such a dangerous situation. They lack chivalry.”
‘That was all your fault, you idiot!’
Hansen held back even this comment.
It was a remarkable patience honed over the years.
“If you’re really worried, just support us from the rear. I’ll bring you the head of the Demon Army’s mage myself.”
Hansen sighed deeply.
It seemed like he wasn’t going to listen.
In fact, there was no justification to stop him.
The Hero’s party had the right to act independently without following any military orders.
A special authority created for the previous heroes had become a poison in this case.
‘Ancestors, please watch over us.’
Hansen muttered inwardly.
The reason he couldn’t pray to the gods was his resentment towards their choice of such a hero.