Extra S*ave Saves the Crown Prince

Chapter 23

The sun was setting. People were gathered in a circle in the middle of Einfork camp. All non-combatants had been ordered to gather.

“Today, we will be practicing a mock drill in the event of a demonic attack within the fortress. The crown prince himself has ordered this in order to reduce the number of casualties, so treat it as if it were a real situation and stay alert!”

At the top of the tree trunk stood a Knight of Thorns, and next to him was the knight who had introduced himself as Vaslow, so I concentrated on hiding behind people as much as possible.

‘It was nice to see you!’

I could still hear his booming voice saying that.

He might not be able to recognize my face, but he was one of His highness’ closest aides, so I needed to be careful.

“If there is a demon within the fortress, the flag will be raised at half-mast.”

As if on cue, the man on horseback, who was also the one waiting on top of the fortress, moved the flag downwards a little.

Instead of fluttering and waving from side to side, it was a vertical up and down motion, accompanied by the sound of drums.

“Okay, you need to watch and pay attention to that signal!”

Everyone listened to the knight without taking a breath— The signal was a matter of life and death and must be remembered by everyone.

“I know how you feel, but not this close.”

A voice whispered in front of me, and I stiffened for a moment.

The voice sounded greasy like oil. It must have come from behind me since I’ve been trying to duck through the crowd. I tried to sidestep him, but it was a lost cause.

“Mr. Ronde, you’re here, too.”

I didn’t expect him to be standing in the middle of a non-combatant group, after talking about wanting to become a knight and training.

“I’m still training.”

He must have read my eyes, because he came up with an excuse.

“As soon as you see that signal, we’ll be out of the fortress through that gate. Make sure you stay in line so that we don’t all go at once.”

On the outskirts of the fortress was a small gate, just big enough to fit a person or two through.

“Huh!”

“Out of the fort?”

There was a murmur around us, and people immediately chimed in, one by one.

The priests, slaves, and servants here had never been outside the fortress before.

“Concentrate! If there is a demon inside the fortress, it may be safer to leave.”

“Sir, what about the wounded?”

One of the priests raised his hand and asked.

“The infirmary will be escorted separately by the knights. Only those gathered here now will have to move.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Now, return to your places. At the signal, I want you to calmly assemble at that gate. Again, this is a mock drill.”

Everyone scattered around, looking anxious and nervous. I headed back to the herb warehouse. I was purposely sticking to the side of the herd.

I was trying to be careful to stay out of Vaslow’s line of sight.

“Father.”

“Uh, Seth.”

“Are you all right?”

O’mont usually wore a relaxed, smiling expression, but he was unusually stiff now. I wondered if he was nervous because of the training.

“Uh, sure. I’m fine.”

His voice sounded unnatural.

Pooh-wooh.

As promised, the horns sounded again. O’mont and I walked outside and saw the flag moving vertically.

My heart raced again, even though I knew it was obviously a mock drill, and It wasn’t true.

I watched as the knights and soldiers quickly dispersed to their assigned positions as if they were practicing.

“Move as fast as you can.”

The knight leading us urged us to walk faster as the priests came out and was walking slowly.

The small gate was on the outskirts of the fortress, so we were walking to a place that we don’t normally go.

One of these barracks must be where the crown prince is staying, I thought to myself as we walked forward.

“Seth. You must be looking for me.”

No, why do I keep running into him, I don’t need to see his face to know who was speaking.

“Don’t worry, I can take care of myself.”

I don’t really know why he’s here as a non-combatant.

“Walk without stopping.”

The first servant at the gate hesitated, and the line quickly began to move. He’s never been outside the fortress before, so he’s obviously reluctant, and I can tell he’s not the only one with the same thought on his face.

At the knight’s urging, we quietly lined up and went through the gate one by one.

I was in the back of the line, so I waited until a lot of them had already left.

I didn’t go far, just in case there was danger inside the fortress, so I huddled in front of the gate.

Einfork was surrounded by high mountains on all sides except the fortress.

Black ashes littered the ruined buildings.

They were the scorched remains of demons.

The scent of blood still drifted on the wind.

What was that?

The walls of a building stood tall in the center of the lowest area.

It was all covered by vines, it was also the tallest building I’d seen in this world.

‘Was it a tower or something?’

It was hard to tell from the rubble what it used to look like, but the sheer size of the wall alone made it seem even more imposing.

“Not scared?”

O’mont followed my gaze to the wall beside me.

“No.”

“Really? Everyone else seems to dislike it or scared of it.”

I glanced around, and I saw everyone’s faces were all frozen stiff. Most of the people around me couldn’t even look toward Einfork, especially Ronde, who was standing while staring at the gate with a pale face.

“They say that Demons were particularly fond of heights. This is probably a sign of that.”

O’mont’s eyes scanned the height of the wall as I did, and it felt strange to think about it.

Einfork was the home of the Ephiro, they used to gather here before they were exterminated.

I knew the setting in my head, but seeing it with my own eyes made it seem even more desolate than I thought.

“Can we go in now?”

“I’ll be right inside, just wait.”

Ronde even asked the knight if he could bear it. He really, really didn’t want to be here.

For an ordinary person, this would be the last place they would want to be.

I looked around Einfork.

The fortress is relatively high up, so it’s easy to see all of Einfork.

I have no blood ties to this place, but I’m intrigued to learn that it was once home to people with abilities like mine.

Did the mother who gave birth to this body live here, too?

Did they know their city would be ravaged by demonic corpses?

Why would they open a dimensional rift that was inhabited by demons?

I looked closely to see if there were any clues about the rift, but there were none.

‘This is why you have to read the novel to the end, Seth.’

I mostly read the part with the male lead, I actually didn’t pay much attention towards the settings.

“Okay, front row now.”

The knight stood by the gate to lead us back inside.

They had been waiting for us, so we hurriedly walked inside one by one.

“Uh…?”

The air seemed to shift a little, and a chill ran down my body like a cold rain.

Suddenly, the ground beneath my feet seemed to give way, and I remembered that I had felt this sensation a few days earlier.

POOOOOOOOOOO!

The horns blared loudly. I bit my lip, then looked up to see the flag rising and falling vertically.

It was the same signal when they started the mock drill.

“Aaaahhhhh!”

The first to enter the gate screamed and poured out again, their disorganized rush causing those standing in the gateway to fall and be crushed.

“Demons!”

“What the hell! What’s going on!”

People were confused by the flags and drums.

“The training has become real.”

I locked eyes with O’mont. He was looking at me with eyes as heavy as ever.

Kwagwagwang! BANG!

The sound of something breaking violently inside the fortress was heard one after another.

We were being trained to follow the drill in case a demon would appear from within the fortress, but now it was happening.

Some squatted with their hands over their ears, others were wounded by the crash of the gate, and everyone was frozen together, unable to move.

‘He must be in the lead again.’

This is how he lived his life, in a place where battles were fought every other day.

I wondered if he ever had time to relax while fighting a demon that could appear at any moment.

I clasped my hands together and hoped, wished, prayed, and hoped again that he was safe, and that he was unharmed.

⚘

Deep into the night.

None of the men spoke as they walked back into the fortress.

If it weren’t for the training, some of them might not have survived.

I was the last to enter, and when I did the first thing that welcomed me was the acrid odor. A demon corpse was being burned in front of our eyes.

“Huh!”

Ronde, who had rushed in first, gasped.

After passing a few broken barracks here and there, we managed to come into the area where the demon corpses were gathered.

It was the same place where everyone had gathered earlier to receive instructions for the mock drill.

The corpses of the demons were burning brightly.

It was difficult to recognize its original form because it had been mutilated here and there, but I could see a lump of what I assumed to be a face.

One eye glowed red in the fire. I knew it was dead, but the moment I met those eyes, my entire body stiffened.

Some of the demons had skin as hard as wood, while others had watery skin.

More than half of them were already burned into ashes, but I could still tell that they were huge.

“Ugh!”

The sight alone made some of the people around me feel nauseous.

On the outskirts, some distance away from the demon corpses, were soldiers lying on the ground.

They looked more like dead men than wounded.

I looked at them, more than at the demon corpses, and my legs went weak immediately.

Smoke drifted toward me on the wind, and I covered my nose and mouth with one arm, the sting blurred my vision and my eyes watered in an instant.

I stayed still for a moment, while crouching.

I felt like I had to do something, but I didn’t know what to do first.

I thought I felt someone’s eyes on me, so I looked to the side and saw the priest looking at me.

He would normally say, “Are you okay?” and help me up, but he remained stiff-faced and turned away first.

He must be heading out to help the wounded. ‘I should follow.’ I thought to myself as I forced myself to stand up.

“Your highness.”

It was then that the two words uttered behind me froze me into place.

The men beside me suddenly bowed.

The crown prince must have appeared from behind.

I froze as I watched the demon corpses burn again.

“Looks like we’re going to need your divine powers. Gather the priests so that everyone may receive some, except those that are not in dire need of it.”

I could hear the tone in his voice that indicated he needed mental comfort.

“Yes, Your Highness, but…”

As much as I wanted him to pass behind me immediately, I found myself wanting to hear more of his voice.

It was a voice I hadn’t heard in a long time, and it seemed to cling to me more deeply.

“Your Highness, you have blood on your arm.”

‘Blood on his arm?’

I wanted to turn around, but I clenched my fists and held it together.

“I need you to gather, right now.”

“Yes. Okay.”

There was a moment of silence, and then O’mont spoke again.

‘What the hell, what’s going on?’

I hope he’s not hurt, but I can’t tell because I couldn’t see it, so I bit my lip.