The number of adventurers who had gathered to capture the dead city of Necropolis was two hundred and ten.
　For an adventurer who usually worked with at least twenty adventurers, this was an unprecedentedly large scale capture mission.

　However, most of the roads in the ruins are narrow, so the more adventurers you gather, the more advantageous it will be.

　The members of the Creon Salvation Knights made up half of the assembled adventurers.
　Among them were some of the thirteen officers of the old Knights of St. Sophia, such as Holy Knight Creon, Astrologer Flora, Guardian Warrior Galerus, and Sage Arte.

　The adventurer parties that joined the Knights of Salvation, such as the Old Basileus Adventurers and the Old Golden Tower Knights, are also as powerful as the Knights of St. Sophia.

　Of the rest, a few dozen are adventurers that the government has raked in with all sorts of hands. Some of them are military men.

　And the last thirty are on my side.

　Standing at the entrance to the dead city of Necropolis, I looked over at them.
　An ancient white-walled palace looms in front of us, and we are gathered in the ruins of a garden that used to be the palace's facility.

''It's nice to have all the right people in place.

'Thanks to Laskarus and Rylen Remilia,'

　I replied sincerely to Notaras' words.
　Without the cooperation of these two, we wouldn't have been able to gather this many allies.

　Laskarus and the others were still dressed in the white uniforms of the old Knights of St. Sophia.

　On the other hand, the adventurers of the Viscount's family, Lairen Remilia's family, were dressed and armed differently.

　The only thing they had in common was that they had strong feelings for Lailen Remilia, the daughter of the Lord.

　A woman who seems to be the first of them advances.
　Dressed in black robes and holding a heavy staff in her hand, she looked like a typical black mage.

''You are Solon-dono, right?''

That's right.

'How can I thank you for saving your daughter's life and saving her from danger but at any rate, I thank you.

　The woman, whose name was Nasha, looked at me with blue eyes.
　Beautiful eyes.
　I also knew that she was a mage of considerable ability.

　As long as Notaras, Rascalos, Nasha, and I are around, Creon won't be able to get to Filia so easily.

　Creon and the others approached me.
　I thought he looked reluctant, but he was surprisingly in a good mood.

'I didn't expect you to gather such a large number of adventurers. I owe Solon a debt of gratitude.

　Next to Creon was the wise man Arte, who was looking at me evasively.
　As if he was really unpleasant, Arte's black eyes were several times sharper than usual.

''Even if Solon-senpai and the others weren't here, the mission would still succeed.

Well, you can always have more allies.

　Is Creon unaware of my intentions to protect Filia?
　Or does he have some other agenda?

　I say to Creon.

"Creon and the others assured me of a successful invasion of the Necropolis. You must promise me one more thing. I want you to find a way to get back to the surface with as few injuries and as few deaths as possible.

That's not going to happen.

　Creon said simply.

'Of course, I won't take any unnecessary casualties. Of course, I will take care of your safety as best I can. But there will inevitably be casualties in this fight.

You shouldn't go on an adventure that you know will cost you.

'I don't think so. There are times when you have to make sacrifices for this country, for humanity, to move forward.

Can Creon say the same thing in front of Shea?

　Creon twitched and trembled and suddenly seemed to be speechless.
　After all, even now, Shea is still an important companion and a special person to Creon.

　Even if she died a long time ago.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about it.

It's a good thing that you're not the only one. You became the companion of Creon and his friends, but he was slowed down and also killed by the small-fry demon tribe of the ruins and died easily.

Arte. Shea was one of us. I wish you'd think of a better way to say it.

　When I chided him, Arte made a disgusted face.

'What's wrong with calling someone who wasn't good enough a person who wasn't good enough?　If he wasn't strong enough, then it's the fault of Shea himself that he died miserably, right?

Arte....

''I shudder to think that such a person is still alive today and might have become an executive of the Order like senior Solon. That person called Shea deserved to die.

　As expected, I was about to raise my voice and protest to Arte, but when I saw Creon next to me, I decided not to.
　It was because Creon was looking at Arte with hatred in his eyes.

　I felt a cold sweat run down my back.
　There was a fierce anger in Creon's eyes, as if he was ready to kill Arte at any moment.

　As for Arte, he didn't seem to notice it at all and smiled as he looked at me unconcernedly.

''There are sacrifices to be made in everything. So there will be casualties in this Necropolis attack as well. Still, for the sake of the empire and a greater power, no matter how many sacrifices you make, you will be forgiven.