I Planned a Su*cide Mission and Got Kicked Out of the Party

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After the meal, the coffin exited the Imperial Palace. The speech within the palace was being broadcasted in the square outside. The responses to the speeches of the Emperor and the Hero were tremendous. Although there were slight emotional differences depending on the residential regions, many citizens of the Empire believed that the overwhelming voices of local powers acted as obstacles to the unity of the Empire.

Rose slightly misinterpreted Jenis’s original intentions, making it sound as if Jenis aimed for a unified nation centered around the royal family to the average person. Thus, those who had grievances against Jenis for supporting a strong imperial power began to feel that they had misunderstood the Great Sage after listening to Rose’s speech, and they started to genuinely idolize her.

Jeongjae’s speech also had a decent effect. He had an image as an untouchable otherworldly being and a reputation as the world’s most formidable destroyer, alongside a common-person evaluation where he was friendly with all the powerful individuals yet indifferent to power himself.

In his speech, Jeongjae subtly belittled the great heroes and spoke as if he were the spokesperson for ordinary citizens; this approach proved effective. Such remarks could only have originated from Jeongjae, who was on friendly terms with key figures and would have been too fearful of losing his life to speak otherwise. On the other hand, he was also someone who was distanced from the idea of a hero himself.

There was no one in the world like him. His declaration that he alone was the commander of this war was by no means an exaggeration.

As Harker’s coffin covered with blue cloth made its appearance, the crowd in the square erupted in cheers, waving blue handkerchiefs. Some had the golden circle symbol of the hero or a gold VR symbol drawn on them, but many were simply pieces of cloth dyed blue.

Looking back, Jeongjae noticed plenty of people still holding white cloths, unable to forget the previous hero. He realized this wasn’t just a funeral procession; it resembled a farewell ceremony heading towards the last war.

Deciding not to overthink it, he wondered if even she, placed within the coffin, might hope that her funeral wouldn’t be an emotional place of remembrance but rather utilized as a stepping stone towards the future. She was a rational person, cunningly intelligent to a fault.

As the Emperor appeared, the cheers grew louder. Clad in a red uniform with a tiara atop her head, the Emperor was followed by the Grand Duke of Eramenia.

Immediately, the vibrant colors of the floats and flags created a lively spectrum. To Jeongjae, who was used to seeing black or white at funerals, it evoked an indescribable feeling.

However, he thought to himself that perhaps this was all right. Indeed, what was needed was hope and passion. Sadness is the emotion closest to despair, and isn’t it despair that the country needs the least at this moment?

The Hero watched as the coffin carrying Jenis was loaded onto a carriage, heading south to the Harker family’s residence, escorted by Alex Harker himself. He was still the commander of the Royal Knight Order and an important general in the Empire, but as a duke, Alex needed to ensure the imperial dominance in the southern region.

Once all the events concluded, the Emperor suggested that Margaret and Jeongjae stop by the palace for a moment before heading off on their expedition.

Rose also had many reasons why she couldn’t immediately join the battlefield. There were plenty of public reasons, and personally, she wanted to care for the still-infant Crown Prince a little more.

Inside the palace, the Emperor playfully asked the two, “So, are you two dating now?”

“Uh?”

Jeongjae blinked in surprise at Rose’s unexpected question, while Margaret shot him a displeased look.

“Why can’t you answer that readily? Is there something on your mind?”

“No, it’s not that, I just didn’t expect someone to ask that…”

“If your father asked you, would you still stammer like that?”

“King Richard?”

Jeongjae momentarily imagined himself asking King Richard for official permission to date Margaret; the thought made him think it would be easier to challenge the Demon King one-on-one instead.

“I think it’d be worse than that.”

“Hmm, it seems the two of you feel that way.”

Rose stuck her tongue out. Margaret quickly grabbed Rose’s tongue and pulled it side to side.

“What do you mean by ‘that feeling’? If you can’t answer straightforwardly, you’ll live with a short tongue from today on.”

“Eep, ebevebe…”

The Emperor, with his tongue caught by the Fairy Lord, stammered unintelligibly. It wasn’t until Margaret let go of Rose’s tongue that she could chuckle and respond properly.

“What I mean is, there’s this gap in generations between the two of you. I know teasing like this is lame, but in 400 years, how many countries have fallen and how many people have been born and died… It’s just something that can’t be ignored—”

Her attempts to tease Margaret were thwarted by a playful slap to her head from the Elf Lord. Perhaps her protective aura had weakened, as Rose seemed to feel the pain even more than usual.

“If you want to talk about generations, you should have come in as my adopted daughter instead of my younger sister. Are you considering doing that now?”

“No way. That would mean I’d become her daughter in terms of generation.”

Rose shook her head while pointing at Jeongjae. Jeongjae, who was curiously observing their conversation, was startled when his name came up, leading him to blurt out.

“No, I didn’t say we were getting married…”

Realizing his blunder the moment he met the Elf Lord’s gaze, he hastily added, “But recognizing it was almost a done deal… You’re still sharp, Rose.”

“I’m not so sure about that, but I do see that your instincts have somehow become completely shattered, and you’ve only just managed to survive again.”

Rose shook her head in disbelief. Margaret shrugged her shoulders.

“That doesn’t kill you. I’m way too kind and generous of an elf for that.”

“You haven’t dated before, have you? It’s a new personality emerging after 400 years of being unaware. If you have any questions, ask me anytime since I’m quite experienced in this area. I’m just glad I could find my sister a suitable match before I die…”

It momentarily felt like they had returned to times when the war situation wasn’t so serious. Yet several individuals who could have joined this conversation gradually left for their own reasons, leaving just the three of them to share trivial banter.

There were times when they couldn’t afford to laugh and chat like this when the tension peaked. While the tension now was no less than it had been then, the three felt a strong desire to loosen their minds for a moment and exchange jokes in light of the upcoming battle’s significance.

However, time was not infinite. They had no idea when the enemy would complete their reorganization and retaliate. Rose’s distribution of power to Jeffrey and Koesernis was not because she expected them to achieve outstanding military exploits but solely to keep the situation from collapsing until the real commanders returned.

They had to head back as quickly as possible. The first to drive the conversation back to seriousness was Rose, who had initially opened the humor floodgates.

“So, what’s your plan, Park Jeongjae?”

“A plan…”

Jeongjae’s lips felt dry. He was neither a military expert nor a military genius. He answered simply.

“Honestly, strategically speaking, as straightforwardly as possible. And in petty ways, as cunningly as possible.”

“What does that even mean?”

“It means we’ll be employing our old tactics again.”

Rose tilted her head at Jeongjae’s words, while Margaret nodded in understanding.

“Are you talking about the Hellhound strategy?”

“While both I and Rose, as well as you, Margaret, have all left, the enemy hasn’t been able to properly target our flimsy defenses, even with their overwhelming numbers. There’s only one reason for this: the enemy lacks a commander. When Jean Helmut faces that level of defeat, it won’t be easy to swagger around in Demon King’s Army for a while. We’ll prioritize eliminating the Succubus and Helmut from the battlefield as quickly as possible and mobilize towards taking the Demon King’s Castle without a particular strategic directive.”

“Setting aside the Duke, what about the vassals? The enemy has a large number of troops. At the very least, we need vassals or reserves to distract them or surround them.”

“That’s definitely a point to consider. But I’m unsure. Who among us could win in a wits contest against the Demon King right now?”

All three fell silent.

Rose had never even considered competing against the Demon King in a strategic showdown from the start. Margaret was still shaken from her previous defeat against the Demon King and couldn’t shoot her bow properly.

Jeongjae nodded.

“We can maintain a tactical advantage against whatever division of the Demon King we face, wherever it is on the battlefield. Why? Because the enemy’s troops are weak, while ours are strong. Even if we combine the enemy general’s forces, with my utmost effort, we can always make our side stronger. Even if the Demon King himself were to arrive.”

“Your power is greater than the Demon King’s. That’s not up for debate.”

Margaret stated.

“Of course, it doesn’t mean you’ll win just by fighting the Demon King. However, if we were to only consider the sheer total of pure strength, you are undoubtedly more powerful than the Demon King.”

“That’s what I’m saying. Here’s my thought: The arithmetic power is tilted on our side. In such a situation, the simpler the battlefield becomes, the more favorable it is for us. However, the more complicated it gets… the environment becomes one where the side with more cunning will prevail. Yet what we have to do is simple: take the Demon King’s Castle. I believe all conditions to accomplish this simple task for us have been met.”

“It may be a valid method, but it doesn’t minimize the damage.”

Rose pointedly remarked. Jeongjae nodded in agreement.

“I know. I understand it’s far more efficient to collapse the enemy’s line and then encircle them rather than risk a direct clash. I get that it’s far greater to strike when the enemy least expects it or exploit their unguarded gaps rather than pushing directly into where they are prepared.”

“But didn’t you just say you were no longer pursuing a grand victory?”

Margaret unveiled Jeongjae’s true intentions.

“In such an obvious fight that both the enemy and I are aware of, you’d rather take the path of suppressing them by power, even if it means enduring a slightly greater sacrifice. That’s the essence of your speech, isn’t it?”

Jeongjae nodded. He was a mediocre at finishing what geniuses had started. He was a dwarf standing on the shoulders of giants. The great heroes before him, having borne all responsibilities, displayed their talent to narrow the overwhelming disparity under disadvantageous conditions, edging closer and closer, eventually reaching near reversal. While numbers might be few, the Audrich Empire’s capabilities were certainly not inferior to those of the Terkeon Empire. The victories won in the consecutive Northern campaigns had led to the current situation.

It was admirable to idolize the great heroes of the past.

But leveraging what they had created was Jeongjae’s role, and imitating and trying to catch up with them was not his task.

At last, the Hero found his place. He did not need to do anything monumental. He did not have to accomplish something that no one could even imagine, such as raising mushroom clouds right in the enemy’s midst to shock everyone. Such a thing was not a must for Jeongjae.

“Got it. Then let’s get started right away. I’ll follow soon after.”

The Emperor spoke to the Hero.