Not-So an Extra

—Chomp —Chomp —Chomp

The gruff sound of chewing flesh echoed throughout the meadow as the monsters devoured the carcasses of the fallen soldiers. 

The monster's name was Chadalizt.

Chadalizt was a quadrupedal creature that closely resembled a large lizard.

Its body was covered in sharp spikes that ran from its head to its tail, its jaws were lined with razor-sharp teeth. 

Although Chadalizts occasionally tolerated the presence of other monsters in their territory, they were generally not social monsters and did not form packs or groups. 

In fact, they were known to be aggressive towards other Chadalizt, especially during breeding season when males fought over females.

After the cavalry and the Aeon Knights returned to the Refugee Camp, a horde of Chadalizt came to the meadow. 

They were drawn by the stench of thick blood and began their feast upon the Kearny soldiers' dead bodies.

—Crunch —Crunch —Crunch

Their powerful jaws dug deep into the dead body of the soldier, tearing through flesh and bone with ease. 

With one swift motion of their head, the monsters ripped away a hand with a loud crack and immediately gobbled it up in one mouthful.

Suddenly, all of the monsters ceased their feast and turned their eyes toward the sky. 

There, a strange hue of pinkish-orange was beginning to illuminate the sky, signaling the imminent arrival of the day's first light. 

Without hesitation, they all began to scamper away in a flurry of movement, retreating into the forest.

Some of them were seen dragging away the last few remains of their late prey as if to take it with them as a farewell gift.

Just like animals, monsters were split into two distinct, nocturnal and diurnal.

The monsters like Chadalizt had no liking for sunlight, they would retreat long before the sun's first rays would spill into the horizon.

And the moment the sky gradually changed from a soft pink hue to a deep, rich shade of blue, the guards opened the portcullis wide. 

After confirming that all the monsters were gone, the cavalry dashed towards the meadow, their horses' hooves pounding against the earth.

—Gallop —Gallop —Gallop 

A middle-aged man stood atop the jagged, broken remains of the battlement.

His blonde hair swayed along the gentle breeze as he surveyed the meadow below.

What was once a field of vibrant green was now littered with scattered body parts and limbs.

Sharp earth spikes could be seen planted throughout the meadow, impaling those who had fallen in battle.

Arriving at the scene, the knights dismounted and began to work.

Some soldiers created deep holes in the ground, while others carefully collected the remains of the Kearny soldiers before dumping them in the pit to be burned.

"Haaa…"

Graham sighed and his mind drifted.

=====

The man with purple hair inhaled deeply before continuing.

"Your Grace, it was Prince Adrian who took on the role of strategist and with his magic, His Highness single-handedly eliminated three-quarters of the enemy forces."

Graham was stunned. 

"What?"

He was surprised by the revelation and Gizel began again. 

"As a teacher, I am delighted by His Highness' impressive Magic."

The man paused for a moment and resumed.

"However, in the case of His Highness, his magical abilities are exceptionally strong. Therefore, I strongly urge that someone be appointed to oversee him and guide him in the responsible use of his powers."

Despite being only 9 years old, Adrian's magical abilities were already impressive. 

It was clear that his power would only continue to grow as he matured.

Graham cast a sidelong glance at the white-haired boy lying peacefully on the bed, his chest rising and falling with each breath.

Returning his attention to the front, Graham sighed and nodded his head.

"Alright, I'll reconsider it."

Gizel smiled and stood before bowing.

"Thank you so much for listening to me, Your Grace. If you will, excuse me."

With that, Gizel left.

=====

Shifting his gaze towards the refugee camp, several knights and refugees were seen working together to move and gather the soldiers' dead bodies.

Graham was aware of Adrain's magical abilities, but upon hearing Gizel's story, it almost sounded too fantastical to be true.

It felt so unreal.

Although the corners of his lips tugged up into a smile and a sense of pride filled his heart, he couldn't shake off the uneasiness that lingered in his mind. 

Gizel's words about Adrian's magic power continued to trouble him.

Pushing those thoughts aside for the moment, Graham descended the battlement and returned to the tent.

Lifting the entrance flap, the sight inside the tent made him raise one of his eyebrows in wonder.

A black-haired boy turned to face him and their eyes met.

"Your Highness, you're awake?"

Graham conveyed his mind upon entering the room.

Instead of answering, Nathaniel kept his gaze fixed on his brother and posed another question.

"He's… having a Mana Exhaustion, right?"

"Yes."

"I see."

Given that he had created numerous massive Magic Circles, it was understandable why he was passed out.

As Nathaniel thought back to the briefing session, he remembered how that little brat had been evasive when others asked about his plan. 

Adrian simply brushed off their concerns, saying, "Don't worry about it, I'll take care of it."

Now he realized that he intentionally kept his plan a secret because Adrian knew that the others would be against it. 

Nathaniel clenched his fists, feeling a surge of anger rise within him. 

He wanted nothing more than to wake his brother up and give him a piece of his mind.

'Hurry up, wake up, and let me smack your head! You stupid little imp!'

Nevertheless, of course, he didn't really mean it.

Nathaniel reached out and stroked Adrian's hair.

He loved his brother unconditionally and would do anything to protect him.

"Do you want me to call a physician?"

Graham's voice roused him from his thoughts, and Nathaniel shook his head in response before settling back into his bed.

"No, it's alright, I'm fine."

The old man nonchalantly shrugged and took a seat next to Adrian's bedside.

He held Adrian's hand and spoke.

"Well, Your Highness' response reminds me of a story my friend once told me."

Nathaniel raised an eyebrow, taken aback by the sudden display of friendliness.

"What kind of story?" 

"Yes, apparently, in the middle of a war, a friend of my friend abruptly departed from the battlefield and ventured into the forest alone."

The black-haired boy's forehead creased, for some reason, the story was somewhat quite familiar to his ears.

Nonetheless, he continued to listen to it anyway.

"When my friend discovered him in the forest, blood was oozing from his shoulder and saturating his clothes. Despite this, he insisted, 'I'm fine, don't worry about me.' Your Highness, do you happen to know what became of him?"

"What?"

"The next moment later, it turned out that he was poisoned and almost lost an arm."

Nathaniel's lip quivered in annoyance.

This damn old man…

Was he mocking him for his reckless decision to chase an enemy into the forest alone?

Nathaniel massaged his wrinkled forehead and let out a deep sigh, trying to alleviate his rage.

"Haa…"

After composing himself, he opened his mouth.

"Thank you so much for saving me."

"You're welcome, Your Highness."

Leaning against the headboard, Nathaniel asked.

"How long have I had unconsciousness?"

"Just half a day."

Graham answered flatly and he asked another.

"How did the war go?"

"Well, we won, even without my knights joining the battle. The victory had already been secured."

The old man stood and approached Nathaniel, handing him a bundle of papers, and returned to his seat.

He received it without much thought and flipped through the pages.

[ From 1,000 Knights and 200 Elementalist.

The total casualty was 127 people; 72 infantry, 36 archers, and 19 Elementalists. 

The approximate survivors were 1073 people; 648 infantry, 244 archers, and 181 Elementslists, excluding the refugees and the Lancaster Knights. ]

'So we lost about 9,45% of the Knights.'

Nathaniel calculated.

Turning to the next page, his eyes widened in surprise after reading the report.

Despite having more than 2,000 refugees, there were no casualties. 

However, there were around 87 heavily injured individuals and 524 refugees with minor injuries.

The only thing that crossed his mind right now was: this was a miracle.

Nathaniel did not come here in the past timeline because he had already graduated; however, he knew about the report on this accident.

In contrast to the past timeline, there were almost no survivors for both the Aeon Knight and the Refugees, and even the Refugee Camp was razed to the ground.

This time was different.

And the reason why he chose not to graduate earlier in this timeline was that he wanted to protect Adrian, but—

The corners of Nathaniel's mouth tugged up into a curve.

But who would have thought that the little brat he had always tried to protect would be the one to save the day?

However—

The smile on his lips vanished and his face turned serious.

Nathaniel couldn't help but furrow his brow.

What did the Kearny Kingdom offer to the organization to the point that they were willing to lend them a hand?

As far as he knew, that shitty society was solely focused on acquiring those 'items' and nothing else.

That fucking item was worth more than their entire kingdom!

'Has the King of the Kearny Kingdom lost his mind?!'

It made no sense and was not worth it at all!