In a Dream

The old, worn tavern was nearly empty.

Hilde sat at the bar, toying with the wineglass in her hand. Beside her sat an old woman dressed like a knight, who called herself Aisha Greyrat.

"Thump, thump—"

Hilde tapped the tabletop with her fingertips, signaling the bartender to pour her a drink.

She downed the cloudy amber liquid in one gulp, but the sharp burn she had imagined never came. She could not even taste the alcohol at all.

After all, she was dreaming.

Ignoring Aisha, who had begun chattering away about something beside her, Hilde looked around the tavern. She was certain she had never been to a place like this, yet such a scene had appeared in her dream. It was truly baffling.

Her last memory was of arriving at Isolte's house with Rudeus and Eris.

After Rudeus explained what had happened, Tantris, as the head of the Kruel family, agreed to lend them a hand. Hilde had no memories after that.

When she regained consciousness, she was already back in this tavern again.

It was exactly the same as the scene from her last dream.

No, perhaps it was better to say it had continued from there...

It made no sense at all.

And even though she knew perfectly well that she was dreaming, she could not wake up.

How long was this incomprehensible dream supposed to go on?

"Hey, sis, are you even listening to me?"

The old woman calling herself Aisha knocked on the table, seemingly displeased that Hilde had completely ignored her.

Hilde drew her gaze back and glanced at her.

Hmm...

Although her hair and eye color were basically the same.

Hilde still could not connect the old lady before her with Aisha, who had only just been born and was still a tiny infant.

"What were you saying just now?"

Hilde asked.

"...So you really weren't listening."

Aisha smiled helplessly. "Well, I suppose that's no surprise. After all, you've spent all these years running all over the world, used to a free and easy life. Being suddenly dragged into something this troublesome... of course you wouldn't want to."

"But I did come to find you on the king's orders, after all. At least hear me out, so I'll have something to report when I go back."

"Go on, then. I'm listening," Hilde said.

"Hmm... Let's talk about the current situation. You probably want to know at least a little."

Aisha raised a hand and ordered a drink from the bartender as well.

Then, as she drank, she slowly explained the current state of affairs.

About twenty years ago.

The Bihiril Kingdom, located on the Northern Continent and originally a minor power content to occupy its own corner, suddenly began expanding outward with extreme aggression.

In a season when the ground was covered in heavy snow and war was unsuitable, it took the initiative in starting a war with its neighboring countries.

And it achieved astonishing victories on the battlefield one after another.

In just two or three years, it had swallowed up all the surrounding nations and began continually expanding the scale of the country.

At first, no one realized just how far the flames of war would spread.

Especially the people of the Asura Kingdom.

Thanks to the naturally rugged terrain provided by the Red Dragon Mountains, the Asura Kingdom could remain untouched by the chaos of war and sit comfortably upon its vast, boundless plains.

No matter how chaotic things became over on the Northern Continent, it had nothing to do with the Asura Kingdom.

However, the Bihiril Kingdom kept expanding its territory, swallowing the surrounding countries one after another and building up its strength, showing no sign of stopping.

Ten years passed by without anyone quite noticing.

By the time the people of the Asura Kingdom came to their senses, the once isolated Bihiril Kingdom had vanished. In its place stood the Ghost God Empire, which had united the entire Northern Continent after destroying every enemy nation and established a bloody regime through military merit.

It had become a colossal power great enough to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Asura Kingdom and the Millis Holy Country.

Even so, the Asura Kingdom still did not worry about this powerful enemy right on its doorstep.

Because between the Northern Continent and the Asura Kingdom lay the Red Dragon Mountains, like an impassable natural moat.

As long as the Red Dragon Mountains existed, the Asura Kingdom could not possibly suffer an invasion from a foreign enemy.

Unless that enemy had the ability to lead an army of thousands across a great distance, traversing that treacherous natural barrier where red dragons roamed.

...That was how it should have been.

However, the Ghost God Empire had silently gained control of a secret passage.

By using that secret passage, they could cross an almost impossible obstacle and push deep into the heartland of the Asura Kingdom without restraint.

No one knew why a passage like that existed.

By the time the Asura Kingdom realized what was happening, it was already too late.

After unifying the entire Northern Continent, the Ghost God Empire showed no intention of stopping and brazenly launched a war against the Asura Kingdom.

Since the Demon God War five hundred years ago, the flames of war had once again spread to this blessed, untouched land.

Naturally, the Asura Kingdom did not shrink from battle.

As the oldest kingdom in human history, the kingdom that had reversed the tide during the Demon God War and turned defeat into victory, the Asura Kingdom had the confidence to resist any enemy.

However, the Asura Kingdom had overlooked one thing.

Even during the Demon God War five hundred years ago, the Asura Kingdom's army had never achieved particularly outstanding results on the frontal battlefield. It could even be said that it had been driven back again and again. By the very end, the vast Asura Kingdom had nearly fallen in its entirety, with only the Asura Kingdom Territory still holding out.

It had been the seven heroes led by Dragon God Orsted who, prepared to throw away their lives, carried out a decapitation strike against Demon God Laplace.

The three who survived in the end came to be known as the Three Heroes of Humanity.

The Asura Kingdom, which prided itself on being the strongest kingdom of humanity, did not realize that its long years of peace had left it severely lacking in sensitivity toward war.

And that flaw was laid bare the very moment it clashed with the Ghost God Empire.

The Asura Kingdom's army was pushed back again and again.

In the blink of an eye, half of its vast territory had been lost.

Of the four great dukes, two had already lost all their lands, their titles reduced to empty names.

The king personally visited Armored Dragon King Perugius, one of the Three Heroes of Humanity who was still alive, expressed his willingness to pay an enormous price, and asked him, for the sake of their old ties, to act on behalf of the Asura Kingdom and sweep away the foreign enemy.

However, the Armored Dragon King refused without hesitation.

There was no special reason.

It was simply that the Asura Kingdom of today was rotten to the core, long since nothing more than a festering corpse painted over in gaudy colors, with no need to continue existing.

Moreover, whether it was the Ghost God Empire or the Asura Kingdom, in the end this was nothing more than a civil war between humans, utterly different from Demon God Laplace's attempt to exterminate humanity in the past.

Even if he was honored as one of the Three Heroes of Humanity, the Armored Dragon King was still a pure-blooded dragon.

That made it even less reasonable for him to intervene.

The Asura Kingdom sank into despair.

Still, even when cornered, it had to try to struggle.

As the saying went, a starving camel was still bigger than a horse. Even in such dire straits, the Asura Kingdom still lived up to its name as a kingdom with thousands upon thousands of years of history, constantly recruiting capable people and unusual talents to throw into the battlefield and resist the Ghost God Empire to the death.

And Hilde was one of those the Asura Kingdom had set its sights on.

"The Asura Kingdom needs you."

"Come on, sister. We still have a chance to fight side by side again."

"Mm... and maybe you'll even get a chance to collect my corpse."

Aisha spoke with a faint hint of self-mockery, but in truth, she viewed all of this quite lightly.

After all, she was already very old. It was only because some of her juniors were still serving in the knight order, and she could not stop worrying about them, that she was unable to simply walk away.

Hilde silently finished the wine in her cup.

She tapped the table with her fingertip, signaling the tavern for another drink, and casually asked, "Where is Rudeus now?"

"Rudeus? Why ask about him?"

"It's just that after listening to you say so much, I haven't heard you mention Rudeus at all. Where is he living now?"

"Sister, what are you talking about?"

A look of confusion and shock appeared on Aisha's face.

"It's the year 510 of the Armored Dragon Calendar."

"He passed away more than twenty years ago."