Chapter 60

────Why didn’t you just leave me behind?

A young girl forced the words out like a curse as she stood before the charred remains of her family.

Her brother, her father, and her mother had died horribly—burned black, their bodies oozing a sickly yellow fluid like spoiled vinegar.

"You idiots. If you’d just left me, everyone could have survived."

"Don’t say things like that!!"

She spoke to the corpses, their cloudy, white eyes staring blankly at her. Each had died reaching toward her, agony etched into their faces.

"Your family was brave. They didn’t abandon you. They charged into a burning house, unafraid of the flames, and pulled you out from where you were trapped under the collapsed beams!"

"That the house collapsed right after… it was just misfortune. Nothing more."

"…They were all just fools."

"I know you’re sad to have lost them, but don’t speak ill of such brave people."

"No, they were just plain stupid."

She continued talking to the dead.

To each of them who had risked their lives to save the youngest daughter left behind in the fire—only to all perish, leaving her alone.

"…Why didn’t you leave me behind?"

That day, the girl learned something.

That sometimes… being left behind would have been the happier ending.

Mino was completely alone in the world.

She lost her family around the age of five, and with no one to rely on, was forced to survive on her own.

The only reason she managed to stay alive was sheer luck. She happened to possess talent for magic, and a kindly priest from a nearby church noticed it. He patiently taught her healing magic.

"You should live here in the church."

The priest hoped she would help out at the church. The more healers, the better.

A man of great character, the priest took good care of the young girl. Mino came to admire him and earnestly threw herself into her training.

Years passed.

"Three days ago, it came on so suddenly. Please, I’m begging you—save my child!"

"…I’m sorry. With my current healing magic, I can’t cure this child."

"No! There must be something—anything—you can do!"

Mino had mastered healing magic. She had grown to be the priest’s equal in ability and was now working independently as a proper healer.

"Healing magic isn’t all-powerful. This child has a few days left, at most. Prepare yourself. Also, don’t touch the child’s blood. The disease seems to be spreading that way."

"A-ahh… Thomas, Thomas…"

But healing magic isn’t omnipotent.

In fact, it’s a surprisingly simple craft. All it does is accelerate the body’s natural healing—making it fairly limited in use.

It’s highly effective against physical injuries. Even a split abdomen can be mended.

But it’s weak against disease. If the root cause—like an infection or tumor—isn’t identified and treated properly, the magic won’t help.

In mild cases, you can sometimes brute-force a cure by ramping up the body’s healing, but with severe illness, that often just worsens things by exhausting the body and accelerating the spread.

In those cases, without knowledge of medicine or drugs, the patient can’t be saved. The priest, despite his healing prowess, lacked medical knowledge. Mino, his disciple, was no different.

Based on how the disease was spreading and the infection timeline, she had guessed it was bloodborne. The most she could do was warn the parents not to touch the child’s blood.

"Well then, I’ll be going now. I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help."

"…Ugh…"

Some lives can’t be saved. The priest had told her that many times.

Feeling a quiet pain in her heart as she left behind the sobbing parents clutching their dying child, Mino stepped out of the hut.

"Excuse me, Mino."

On her way back to the church, a man grabbed her shoulder.

It was the village chief—someone Mino knew well.

"Village Chief? Is something the matter?"

"We’ve located the den of a stray demon that’s been lurking around. We’re planning a hunt soon."

"A stray demon?"

"Been living in the mountains behind the next village for the past six months. Seems it’s been snatching up children and eating them. When we go to take it down, there are sure to be injuries."

According to him, the neighboring village had requested help, and this village would be joining the fight. If the next village fell, this one would be next. It was the logical choice.

"Mino, would you be willing to go lend them a hand?"

In other words, they were asking her to join the expedition to treat the wounded.

"Haha, I see. Sure, that’s fine."

"Thank you. If you could cast healing magic after the battle, it would be a huge help. Of course, we’ll pay you."

"Much appreciated."

She had no objections. Just as the priest had taught her—if there were lives she could save, she would do everything in her power to do so.

"...Ah."

────But then, suddenly,

A thought occurred to her.

"Oh, right. If everything goes well, I might be able to kill that demon all by myself."

"Really!?"

"If everything goes well, that is."

She had thought of it—an idea. Clever as she was, she came up with a way to kill the demon effortlessly, without risking a single casualty in the upcoming battle.

"Then by all means, try it. If you succeed, we’ll reward you handsomely."

"Okay. Just leave it to me."

And then, Mino—

—let the demon eat the terminally ill child, whose days were already numbered.

---

"Give me back Thomas!!"

The child's parents, furious, charged at Mino.

They had gone all the way to the neighboring village searching for their child, only to find their beloved son—barely clinging to life—being devoured by a beast-like demon, his limbs torn off, crying out in agony.

"What are you talking about? That child was already beyond saving."

Overcome by rage, the parents hurled every insult they could at Mino.

But Mino only tilted her head slightly, wearing a puzzled expression.

"That disease is contagious to demons too. If the demon eats the child, it’ll be infected—and that way, we can eliminate it without any human casualties."

"Don’t screw with us!! What did he ever do!? Why did he have to suffer like that!?"

"No, listen. If we fought that demon head-on, there would’ve been a lot of casualties, right? This was the most efficient—"

They couldn’t understand each other.

That was the raw, honest truth—on both sides.

Mino couldn’t understand why she was being scolded for choosing the option with the least harm.

The parents couldn’t understand how she could take such a cruel course of action.

"Get out."

So then—whose values were more common?

Whose sense of right and wrong aligned with the majority—Mino’s, or the parents’?

"Mino… I never thought you were that kind of person."

"Why!? Why don’t you understand!? You’re just farmers with no combat experience—there’s no way you could beat a demon like that! With that size, at least ten people would have—"

She was cast out.

The villagers reviled her, calling her a heartless monster without a human soul.

"Don’t ever show your face in this village again."

"You should be grateful we didn’t kill you."

Of course they did. Humans are emotional creatures.

They become angry not over abstract calculations, but at the tragedies right in front of them. They couldn’t see that if Mino hadn’t used the disease to kill the demon, the village might have suffered tremendous losses.

"I should never have taken you in and raised you."

Those words came from the priest—her beloved father figure, the man she revered.

Even he cut ties with her. And so, Mino was banished from the village.

---

And so, Mino, who had been driven out of the village—

To prevent the spread of the plague, she ventured alone into the forest, purified the corpse of the demon, and quietly left.

Even if those people had persecuted her, she couldn’t allow lives to be lost in vain.

Mino didn’t shy away from extreme methods, but her actions were always driven by a kindness that sought to save as many people as possible.

Perhaps, at the root of that kindness, was a sense of atonement—toward her family, who had sacrificed themselves to save her.

“…I’m all alone again.”

The scorn from the priest, whom she revered as a second parent and deeply trusted, wounded Mino more than anything.

“…Maybe I really am the strange one.”

Her keen mind had already realized it. Her values probably didn’t align with those of others.

“Maybe… I’m not even human anymore.”

She simply wanted more people to stay alive.

She just wanted to reduce the number of victims, even a little.

Was that wish really so wrong? As she walked alone with no destination in mind, tears welled up in her eyes.

“…Maybe it’d be better if I just died.”

At that moment, Mino gave up on something inside herself.

She accepted her abnormality, and lost any path forward in life.

But then—

“Huh? That’s not your fault at all, you know.”

As she wandered in despair, searching for a place to die, she encountered a certain boy.

“If you didn’t want people using tactics that involved feeding kids to demons, then you should’ve been strong enough to prevent it. If someone in that village had the strength to utterly crush a demon, you wouldn’t have had to do what you did.”

Just as Mino, walking alone through untrodden paths, was surrounded by bandits, the boy appeared out of nowhere. Laughing boldly, he slaughtered every last one of the bandits who had tried to violate her.

“So that’s why a beauty like you is walking all alone without an escort. Disgusting. You were protecting that village, weren’t you?”

“Ah, um—”

“Alright, I like you. You’re mine now. Living on your own must be tough—starting today, you’re coming with me.”

A bolt from the blue. The girl who had thrown everything away and longed for death suddenly found herself claimed as someone else’s possession.

That boy saved Mino from the bandits with nothing but a single sword, and with just a single sentence, pulled her out of the depths of despair.

“Remember this, Mino. I’m gonna be this country’s great general someday.”

With a cocky grin, he held out his hand to her.

“And I’ll vouch for you. Mino, you—”

—aren’t wrong at all.

What an utterly self-centered thing to say.

What a completely irresponsible thing to say.

“…Ah… uh…”

And yet, how deeply did those words save Mino?

“Hey, why’re you suddenly crying—”

“Uwaaahhh…”

And just like that, Mino became a companion of the boy who called himself Mello.

---

Mino decided to travel with the boy.

She had no one. A frail healing mage like her couldn’t survive on the road alone.

Trusting him, she chose to stay by his side.

"What did you say!? Are you making fun of me!? Fine, I’ll kill you!"

"W-Wait! Mello, why are you always so quick to pick a fight?"

That boy, to put it mildly, was a hopeless case.

If something bothered him, he’d start a fight right away. If things didn’t go his way, he’d throw a tantrum.

And yet, his combat ability was absurdly high—completely unmanageable. He caused trouble wherever he went, to the point that the national army considered him a threat.

"I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’ll take care of the damages somehow…"

The only reason he hadn’t been arrested was because Mino meticulously handled the aftermath. She calmed down the victims, appeased the army, and worked behind the scenes to prevent things from turning against him.

"Mello’s tearing up the tavern again!!"

"Again!?"

She had chosen the wrong person to follow. Mino secretly regretted it.

And yet, the fact remained—she owed him. He had saved her when she was in danger, and given her a reason to live.

Loyal by nature, Mino continued to support the unruly boy from the shadows.

"A war’s breaking out?"

Then one day, Mino found an opportunity.

Apparently, a neighboring country had crossed the border and launched an invasion. It was, without a doubt, the perfect chance.

In peacetime, he was just a menace, but in war—he could become a hero.

"Alright. Let’s enlist in the army, Mello."

"Huh? Shouldn’t the army be the one bowing their heads and begging for my help? ‘Please become our supreme commander and protect the nation,’ they should say."

"That’ll just lead to more casualties. It’d be better for everyone if a warrior like you fought from the very beginning."

"...Hmm."

"Please, Mello. I just want to minimize the suffering. Even if it’s just a little."

Using her silver tongue to move him, Mino and Mello enlisted in the national army.

Despite what he said, it might have been exactly what the boy had wanted all along—he had always intended to become the supreme commander anyway.

The two quickly made their mark within the army.

Mello, a mighty warrior with overwhelming combat power and devastating force.

Mino, a brilliant strategist with a bird’s-eye view of the battlefield, able to see through enemy plans.

Together, they were a terrifying combination. As long as Mino held the reins, Mello could be called a once-in-a-generation warlord. The number of enemies they felled was beyond count.

Initially on the back foot, the Pedia Kingdom's forces regained momentum thanks to their arrival.

"We’ll hire adventurers too, as mercenaries."

"You trust those unpredictable types?"

"We’ll just place them where they can’t betray us, and lure them with generous pay. Besides, there’s talk of some absurdly strong adventurer out in the frontier—just a kid, apparently."

Mino was soon promoted to commander and placed at the heart of the army.

The then-supreme commander, the lecherous old man Laurel, forcibly pulled her in—he wasn’t the kind to let a young, talented beauty slip by. But even if he hadn’t been a womanizer, with his keen eye, Laurel would’ve noticed Mino eventually.

As a result, she rose through the ranks with unusual speed. Laurel gave her wide-reaching authority and made her work for it.

"We’ll have the volunteer soldiers meet up over there. They’ve got spirit, if nothing else."

"Understood."

"...We’ll need those two—Penny and Emma—to pull their weight too."

Before she knew it, Mino was treated as Laurel’s right-hand strategist. Or perhaps it was Laurel who orchestrated that outcome.

Laurel was old and had yet to find a successor.

Then, like a comet, the brilliant strategist Mino appeared. To him, she must have seemed like a blessing. Beautiful, charming, and highly capable—he wanted to leave things in her hands and retire.

"Mino, from now on, people will surely call you cold-hearted."

"I’ve gotten used to it."

"Remember this—that means you're doing the right thing."

Laurel was fond of her. Mino, too, held him in high regard. Womanizer though he was, his uncanny insight made him one of the few people Mino could truly respect.

"Politics, strategy—they’re inherently cruel. If you can’t stomach ruthless methods to defeat your enemies, you’re not fit for this."

"...But I’m always hated for it."

"Don’t look through the people’s eyes. Your vision has to be far higher than theirs."

Laurel taught her this:

"If you truly want to protect the people, then even if it means using methods they’ll despise you for—protect them anyway."

"..."

"That’s what it means to serve them. What matters more: being liked, or protecting them? Which will you choose?"

…Those words. They were exactly what Mino had always been screaming deep inside her heart.

I just wanted to protect them. I just wanted to minimize the damage—even if it was just a little.

Is it really such a crime to sacrifice a few for the sake of many?

"I wasn’t… wrong."

"Huh?"

"I wasn’t wrong at all."

She wept. Mino, who had always been denied, reviled, and unable to affirm her own worth—was finally needed.

Thus, Mino shed her doubts and, after Laurel’s retirement, was appointed the Chief Strategist and Supreme Commander of the national army.

At the same time, Penny, the leader of the volunteer army, and Mello, who had made extraordinary contributions in the war, were also appointed as supreme commanders. These three new heroes came to be known as the “Three Great Generals,” the pride of the nation of Pedia.

---

"War is a ten-year plan; domestic governance is a hundred-year plan."

Mino placed overwhelming importance on domestic affairs.

With the recent victory in the neighboring country's invasion, there would be no war for a while. Now was the time to build up the nation’s strength, to grow so formidable that others would think, “We’d better not pick a fight with them.”

"Commercial development, public safety improvement, food storage, increased productivity..."

She had no political knowledge. With Laurel's wisdom as her guide, she desperately tackled governmental duties.

And since she’d always been sharp, she managed to acquire political know-how in just a few years.

"Mino, what should we do here?"

"I already issued a directive! Read it, everything's written down!"

"The truth is... I can't read..."

"Why is someone like you working as a civil official!?"

"My father was a civil official, so..."

It was then that she realized just how incompetently the country had been run.

"Girl, why have you changed the way things were done? If we have to record every expenditure, we’ll never get anything done!"

"The way it was before, you could embezzle as much as you wanted! The numbers clearly don’t add up!!"

"Are you accusing me of embezzlement!?"

"You really think I wouldn’t suspect you!?"

The civil officials were, frankly, a disaster.

The clever ones were involved in corruption and embezzlement. The foolish ones just lazed around doing nothing.

The entire administration was barely held together by a handful of sincere officials with a sense of duty.

Laurel, being primarily a military officer, did have some administrative knowledge, but held no political influence among the civil ranks.

That’s why even Laurel had left this mess of a government untouched until now.

"This is awful, Laurel... You really just left this disaster alone?"

Driven by her natural sense of responsibility, Mino reluctantly began a reform.

"...Hm?"

She hadn’t had proper sleep in days, buried in work.

"Did I... fall asleep?"

With no time to even talk to Mello, she spent her days like a person swept away by a raging current. One day, she realized she had collapsed unconscious in her room, papers scattered everywhere.

"I fell asleep... Crap, I have to catch up."

She didn’t know when she’d passed out, but letting her work pile up even more was dangerous. Panicked, Mino jumped to her feet from the floor.

"...Blood?"

She noticed her robe was stained with blood.

"This is... the Blood Sickness..."

She immediately examined her body.

As a result, she discovered that she was afflicted with a disease.

"Ugh, my body feels heavy... Right, a doctor, or the Royal Library..."

Until now, Mino had had no access to medical knowledge. But her current status was that of Grand General.

The royal palace had doctors, and the king's personal library held knowledge from across the ages.

"Seriously, just my luck... I need to fix this fast..."

And thus, a new task was added to Mino’s long list: curing herself.

And then Mino—

"This is no good."

—learned just how terrible her condition really was.

"Your body has stopped producing blood. Gradually, your body will weaken, little by little."

"......"

It was a disease known as the "White Blood Sickness," considered incurable.

"No way..."

Mino shut herself in the library.

She scoured every medical text from ancient to modern times.

"If I die young, then everyone who risked their lives for me will have died for nothing."

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to die—she couldn’t afford to die.

But all the records in the Royal Library labeled the disease as incurable, and there was no record of anyone who had ever survived it.

"......"

Even so, Mino didn’t give up. If Pedia’s current medical technology couldn’t help her, then she’d seek knowledge from other nations and distant villages.

But no information came. The royal capital of Pedia was the most advanced city in the region—if the knowledge didn’t exist here, it certainly didn’t exist anywhere nearby.

"Yeah, makes sense. We’re the most advanced, after all. Lost technologies... ancient treatments—guess I’ll focus on that."

Then, half-resigned, Mino expanded her search to include "ancient, forgotten medical techniques."

She hired adventurers to explore ruins and so on─────

---

"...The Demon Lord's Army?"

She learned that a threat unlike any before was closing in.

"Lady Mino, what’s going on? You were so desperate to investigate this..."

"Something even more urgent came up."

The existence of the Demon Lord’s Army had been reported by the adventurer Rex.

An unexpected and unknown enemy. It was hard to believe that the Demon Lord’s Army had traveled all the way from the distant demon lands just to observe Pedia.

"...But I can't imagine Rex-kun lying about this. I’ll leave the investigation to Emma-chan and focus on rearming."

Still, if this report was true…

If the Demon Lord’s Army was truly targeting the capital…

"...Heh."

"What’s funny, Lady Mino?"

"Nothing. Just... I’m grateful, I guess."

Mino quietly closed her eyes.

"Thank you... for coming while I’m still alive."

She had realized what the final task of her life would be.

Her parents and siblings had died saving their youngest, Mino.

But they hadn’t died for nothing.

They gave their lives to save Mino, who would go on to save an entire kingdom.

That was a worthy way to die, wasn’t it?

"No matter what it takes, I’ll drive back the Demon Lord’s Army."

At first, the rearmament efforts met with difficulty.

The king of Pedia himself didn’t believe in the Demon Lord’s Army. He laughed it off in front of his vassals, saying, “Preposterous! What nonsense!” He even scolded Mino, saying, “There’s no need to worry so much,” and ordered preparations for a banquet instead.

Hearing this, the other ministers also turned against Mino. After all, if the king dismissed it, siding with Mino could risk falling out of favor.

"...That king, honestly..."

Mino quickly gave up on getting the king's cooperation and began planning an invasion of the castle town.

If there was an attack, the truth would be clear. Funds were tight. Mino judged the sacrifice to be necessary and worthwhile.

"Lady Mino, are you truly going to attack the castle town?"

"If we miss our window, we’re done for. I don’t have time to threaten every noble one by one to get them to cooperate."

"But after everything we’ve done to build it up—"

"We can rebuild it. You all remember what I’ve done until now, don’t you? Do the same again."

Even if it meant destroying the very town she had poured everything into developing through her emphasis on domestic policy—now was the time to be ruthless, if it meant protecting the lives of even more citizens.

"What about negotiating with that bat to delay the attack?"

"...No. They’d refuse without question, and even if they did agree, it’d be a terrible move."

"Why?"

"Because by the time the battle comes... I might already be dead."

And there was another reason—Mino had sensed that her end was drawing near.

"I don’t mean to brag, but if the Demon Lord’s Army attacked when I wasn’t here... I think it’d be a disaster."

"......"

"Prioritize looting over killing. We’re raiding the castle town."

While she was still alive.

While the greatest tactician in the kingdom of Pedia could still lead—she wanted to settle things with the Demon Lord’s Army.

---

The operation proceeded smoothly.

The assault on the castle town plunged the kingdom into a state of war readiness.

They secured the cooperation of the strongest man among humanity, "Rex," and continued extracting information by pretending to assist the Demon Lord Army officer known as "Bat."

And then—

“Huh? This is… for me?”

“It’s an anonymous gift from one of the castle town survivors, apparently.”

“R-Really? Whoa…”

It was the lost technology she had long searched for.

A miraculous item said to bring a dead person back to life, but only once.

Without warning, the “Lily Hair Ornament” was delivered to Mino.

—It was genuine. Mino, who had thoroughly studied the “Lily Hair Ornament” through old texts, immediately saw that it was no imitation.

By analyzing the spell formulas woven into the ornament, she might be able to grasp the logic behind this miracle. Perhaps… she wouldn’t have to die after all.

To Mino, it was the greatest gift imaginable.

And yet—

“Knew it. I had a feeling.”

What slipped from Mino’s mouth as she analyzed the ornament was—

“So it’s just a fixed mid-tier healing spell, huh? With current tech, we could probably make something better.”

—words of disappointment, having discovered that the miracle item was nothing but junk.

“……”

What delusion had she been under? Did she think a villain like her could be saved?

She’d slaughtered innocent people in the castle town, and now she wanted to survive unscathed?

“…Heh. Guess that’s a harsh kind of divine punishment.”

She had steeled herself for death, and now collapsed in tears once again.

To glimpse hope after accepting your fate, only to be let down—it was perhaps the cruelest punishment imaginable for her in that moment.

“……”

It was only natural. The attack that killed the original owner’s brother had been carried out on Mino’s orders.

A gift of gratitude had, without intention, become a quiet act of vengeance. That was all.

“…I need to move on. Tomorrow, we march.”

Wiping away tears and the blood she coughed up, she began preparing for her first battle against the Demon Lord—intent on reducing enemy forces as much as possible.

The first battle ended in a human victory.

But the outcome of that war would be far from what she had envisioned.

The monster Rex, whom she believed unbeatable, was nearly killed. And Flatche, whom she had assessed as merely equivalent to a top general, far exceeded expectations and somehow snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.

“…Yeah, I guess I’ll never have Grandpa Laurel’s talent for analyzing battle strength.”

Mino revised her view of the Demon Lord Army. Even with a trump card like Rex, there was still a real chance of losing.

That being the case, from the outset, she’d need to accept some losses and stop trying to avoid direct combat with physically superior demons. A shift in tactics was necessary.

“Looks like it’s finally time to use that massive setup. I doubt the demons will expect us to sink the entire plain leading to the capital.”

“If we do it mid-battle, our own country will suffer casualties as well.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Let the adventurers handle the frontlines. Keep the army’s main force in reserve. That’ll cripple the enemy’s ability to keep fighting in one blow.”

“As you command.”

The royal capital had always been protected by steep cliffs. The south was already bordered by such terrain, and if they sank the northern plain as well, turning it into a cliff, commerce and logistics would take a hit.

Mino wasn’t particularly fond of this method either, but there was no time to be picky.

“Wait for the right moment. When the enemy’s losses will be greatest, and ours won’t be too heavy.”

This secret plan, which the kingdom of Pedia had kept as a last resort—

—would, just a few days after this strategy meeting, be sealed away once more, never seeing the light of day thanks to the absurd super-magic of Mino’s ditzy younger sister.

---

"─────That bureaucrat standing there is a true devil, one without blood or tears!!"

Ah, crap.

That was what Mino felt the moment Karin denounced her.

"I had the Church investigate. The records of the corpses from that day, the pitiful details of the poor victims who were laid to rest."

She was going to die anyway. Trying to clear her name could wait—there was far too much urgent work that needed to be done first.

Maybe this was the price of that decision. Mino had assumed no one would go out of their way to accuse her in the middle of a war.

No—she had to assume that. After all, she hadn’t been feeling well these past few days. Her work efficiency had dropped, and she’d had no choice but to cast aside anything low on the priority list.

"First off, Karin-san has made a fundamental mistake. If I point that out, I’m sure her face will go pale─────"

Rex and his companions were hotheaded and simple-minded. If they ever found out the truth, they’d surely leave the country.

And with their forces already stretched thin, losing both Rex and Fratche was not an option.

So Mino presented the clothing of Rex’s companion she had prepared in advance, flaunting it. From that point on, she decided to control the two of them through intimidation.

As a result, she ended up severing ties with a young swordswoman she had just started to befriend.

…Incidentally, kidnapping Natal had been ridiculously easy. “Here, have some bread. We’ll take care of cleaning the mansion.” After saying that and showing her the national army’s crest, she trusted them and followed without question.

Even now, while under soft confinement in the royal capital, it seems Natal hasn’t realized she was kidnapped. Her future is rather concerning.

---

As expected, upon hearing about the attack, Penny disappeared.

This was a heavy blow. Mino had something she wanted Penny to do later on.

She didn’t mind if the current king’s child took the throne after his death. But ideally, she’d wanted Penny—who held great charisma and influence—to become the next monarch.

If Penny became king, Emma would give her all for the country. After Mino's death, Emma's strength would be essential to maintaining the nation. Mino wanted her to think beyond the interests of a single general and consider the entire country.

Besides, Penny had what it took to lead. He was popular among the people. More than anything, his intuition was downright supernatural.

It might’ve seemed minor, but Penny’s disappearance was a national loss.

“…A coup?”

“Yes. It seems General Penny is secretly plotting a rebellion.”

“Pfft. Ahaha, well that’s perfect.”

That’s why—right after learning Penny’s true objective for vanishing—Mino called off the search for him.

“Emma-chan’s still immature. Give their coup a subtle nudge from behind the scenes, would you?”

“…Is that truly acceptable?”

“It’s fine. I’ll also pressure some of the nobles I know to side with them.”

Their uprising would likely happen right after the war. If they rose up at that moment and took her down, Mino could avoid the hassle of postwar clean-up and hand it all over to Emma as she died.

Lucky, Mino smirked to herself.

“A rebel group being funded by the current regime—it’s almost laughable.”

“When the new government comes around, make sure you say, ‘I was only obeying Mino because my family was held hostage,’ and help them out, alright? Just don’t you dare abandon the country.”

“If that’s your will, Lady Mino.”

And with that, Mino no longer had any regrets.

Now, surely, the country would be safe even after her death. Emma, that young genius, would one day surpass her as a tactician.

Which meant the only thing left for Mino to do was eliminate the immediate threat before Emma, still young and inexperienced, had to face it.

And while she was at it, she might as well go out in a blaze of glory.

If she gave her life protecting the country, perhaps her bad reputation would be washed away. It would also serve as an offering to the family who died protecting her.

That was her resolve. The final act of a woman who lived like a flash of lightning—Mino’s endgame.

“…"

A hand approached, open-palmed.

It was the crushing grip of the Demon King, radiating rage.

“…"

She was going to die. Mino was finally, truly, about to die.

Even for someone who had steeled herself for this moment—it still brought a flicker of regret.

“…Hah.”

The White Blood Disease.

Death was inevitable.

Her time was almost up.

But she wouldn’t mourn her fading life. She’d use what little remained. That was how Mino had always lived.

Still… That didn’t mean she had no regrets.

“…Maybe I could’ve said something… just once, at the end.”

A man’s face floated through Mino’s mind.

He couldn’t be called handsome by any stretch. Like an incompetent younger brother—selfish, ill-natured, a hopeless idiot.

“…No, if I’d said anything, I’d just be burdening that fool with something he didn’t need.”

The man who saved Mino, who had already given up on everything.

The idiot who, for the first time in her life, gave her unconditional affirmation.

That rude, inconsiderate bastard who didn’t care what others thought and always spoke his mind.

────And, to young Mino, her very first love.

“You really were the most hopeless guy, weren’t you?”

Ah, how embarrassing.

The reason she’d poured herself into protecting this country all these years.

Even as the people hated her, she kept choosing the path that would serve them best.

And at the bottom of her heart, the one thing that had truly been driving her—

“But you were the one who accepted me, who looked me in the eye and said I was right. And I just wanted to be of some use to you.”

It wasn’t some grand ideal, nor a shattered obsession, nor even an ironclad resolve that had been pushing Mino forward.

“I loved you, Mello.”

She just wanted him to see the good in her. To follow through on the actions he’d once said were right.

In the end, what had moved her—what had driven her, deep in the core of her being—

────Was a quiet, gentle love for the one who’d saved her from despair.

With a sharp whoosh, the air twisted and snapped.

And then, death came closing in.

It was, undoubtedly, the right conclusion.

Mino, as herself—acknowledged and affirmed by him, by Melo—would carry out her justice to the very end.

“……”

Goodbye. This was her choice.

She would keep her feelings locked away, so as not to burden him.

Silently, without anyone to witness her end, she would be brutally slain by the demons.

That… was supposed to be her fate.

But not everything goes according to plan. There are hopeless men in this world who ignore even the most important of orders.

Do not leave the castle walls. No matter what happens, do not take any independent action unless instructed by Mino.

So had been the strict, absolute command given to one man────

The slicing wind roared past as someone soared through the air, snatching Mino away.

The Demon King’s massive hand, poised to crush her, swung through empty space.

“…Huh?”

It was completely unexpected. In this sealed-off space where only Mino and the Demon King should’ve been, someone had suddenly broken in and whisked her away.

“...HAAAAAAAA!?”

Mino looked up at the figure holding her. Her mind blanked completely, and all she could do was let out a stunned, absurd cry.

Of course. Why… why are you here?

The very man she had strictly, repeatedly ordered not to leave his post────

“Hm? There’s still a human here?”

“Curious. And judging by Miss Mino’s reaction, this wasn’t part of her plan.”

The Demon King and his allies blinked in confusion at the man who’d crashed in at lightning speed. Mino’s eyes darted wildly, her mouth flapping open and shut, speechless.

Seeing them all, the man scowled and barked in irritation.

“You don’t know who I am!? You think you can wage war without even knowing your enemy? If you want to fight, learn who the scariest bastard on the battlefield is first!”

“…Hoh? You’ve got quite the mouth, human. And who might you be?”

“Tch. Fine. I’ll make an exception and enlighten you. So clean out your ears and listen up.”

Still holding Mino in his arms, the man gave a fearless smirk.

“The White Radiance, Mello.────The strongest in the national army.”

One of the three great generals of the kingdom—Mello himself—had arrived.