Extra S*ave Saves the Crown Prince

“Seth.”

There was a commotion outside the barrack.

Shane called out to me in a low voice.

His mouth opened and closed again as if he wanted to say something.

Then he grabbed my hand.

The most important thing to do at the moment is to find out where the demon popped out.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

We went outside together.

The flags on the fortress were fluttering from side to side following the beat of the drums.

It meant that a demon had appeared outside the fortress.

I felt a strong grip on my hand and looked up at Shane beside me.

The corners of his eyes were slightly furrowed.

That little expression of emotion made my heart tingle.

So this time, I squeezed his hand harder.

“Sir Shane.”

I wanted to tell him to be careful, but calling him by his name was all I could muster.

“Yes.”

He must have had a lot to say, but he replaced it with an answer instead.

The sound of the drums banging made me feel urgent.

Boom, Boom, Boom.

Shane placed a hand on the top of my head once, then turned away.

The knights were still waiting for him.

The back of his head, which was supposed to be at the front of the line whenever and wherever a demon appeared, looked stronger today, and more forlorn.

“Haah!”

The Knights of Thorn, who had quickly gone into formation, rushed through the fortress gates and toward the demon.

Morale-boosting shots rang out in the clear sunlight.

The sight of the horses galloping in the blue sky looked like a beautiful painting.

One might have called it a magnificent sight, if it weren’t for the fact that they were on their way to risk their life.

“Seth?”

I was staring blankly at the closed fortress gates again, when a familiar voice called out.

“Ah, Father.”

It was Father O’mont, one of his legs was bandaged tightly, while crutches can be seen at his side.

His usually dutiful face was gaunt.

He had injured his leg while saving Ronde.

Seeing the priest walking limply, I suddenly felt a tug at my heart after realizing that this was the man I had shared life and death with.

“The gods have helped you greatly, thank you.”

O’mont took one look at me and closed his eyes to the sky for a moment.

The corners of his eyes were shining moistly.

I followed and looked up at the sky for a moment.

I was very grateful that the priest was safe too.

“It was because no one had told me anything before, but I’ll forgive you this time, because you came back safely.”

“I’m sorry. You probably had a lot of work to do without me…”

After spending the night in the crown prince’s barrack, the priest must have had his hands full.

It’s a busy day for the Herb warehouse after all.

“Huh? What do you mean? Anyone can help with the work. Anyways, I thought I was closer to Seth than anyone else in Einfork.”

“What…?”

“I didn’t think that there was someone else closer than me. No wonder it was kind of suspicious.”

O’mont’s eyes narrowed.

“But it would have been all right to tell me, Seth. Was I that unreliable?”

“No, not that. Father it’s me— I..”

“Eh? Your ears are turning red.”

O’mont laughed.

“Just kidding, though I was surprised to find your stuff in the herb warehouse.”

“What? My stuff…?”

“No, no. I was more surprised when the crown prince suddenly split the demon. Um, yeah, I figured it out then.”

O’mont nodded with a playful expression.

Then he slowly returned to a serious look.

He limped a little closer to me, while hobbling on his crutches.

His gaze was as heavy as it had been that night when he’d screamed ‘Watch out!’.

“So, Seth.”

“Yes.”

“I may be more reliable than you realize.”

“Father…”

O’mont had been my benefactor, after he allowed me to work at the herb warehouse.

He’d taken care of me without me realizing it.

I was grateful.

“If there’s anything else you need to hide, you can tell me.”

‘Something else to hide…’

I had to do my best not to let my expression waver.

“I have no divine power, but I am a priest.”

The words were deliberately light, but I could feel the sincerity in them.

If he could have been the one taken by the demon instead of me, I knew he would have gladly done so.

Not because of me, but because it was in his nature.

“Yes, father. I will. Thank you.”

“Really?”

I nodded my head.

I felt like his eyes had become sharp, so I was startled for a moment.

‘Don’t tell me he knew something…’

“All right. Then let’s get to work.”

O’mont returned to his usual gaze.

I watched him for a moment as he limped away, looking for something to do.

I guess he’s really a man with a generous heart.

I hurried after him with an extremely grateful feeling.

There were so many things to prepare, before the knights could return after their battle with the demons.

⚘

The knights who went out the gates did not return even though it’s already dark.

The priests who stood by to give them support eventually took turns to rest.

Occasional shouts could be heard over the walls, but the signal of the end of the battle was still unheard.

“What’s going on?”

Vaslow hadn’t participated in the battle this time because he was assigned a task to guard the inside of the fortress.

He had sent his men up to the top of the fortress to check the current situation outside.

“The second wave of demons, the ones that showed up after, are getting close to being contained.”

“Close to being contained? You call that a report?”

“Sorry!”

The top of the fortress was quite high up, it was only accessible to knights on shifts.

The knight who just arrived was out of breath, after speeding up to the top of the fortress thanks to Vaslow’s urging.

“Do you want to go up one more time?”

“No! There were five demons, and there are currently two left, and they’re about to collapse! Argh!”

The knight gagged after his report.

His face was pale as if he didn’t want to go up again.

After the first wave of demons attacked earlier, another news came that the dimensional rift had opened a second time, and so the Knight’s who were about to return, had to fight a again.

As desperate as it was inside, it must have been even worse for those who were facing it directly outside.

“I’ve never seen them appear so often.”

Priest O’mont was also worried about the increasingly short intervals between the demon’s appearances.

Even if they took turns, the knights were bound to get exhausted.

Moreover, the air was thick with the anxiety of not knowing when or where another demon would appear.

“There’s a Smoke!”

Black smoke burning the demon carcasses began to rise above the night sky.

The acrid scent of the smoke was suffocating.

It was a sign that the battle was finally over.

It was probably the longest day I’d ever had ever since I arrived at Einfork.

Even though I knew that the demons were no match for Shane, I was still needlessly anxious, and more worried for him, than for those knights that were unable to return.

After all, he had no one else to replace him.

The crown prince had fought every battle in Einfork.

Everyone knows that, but no one had ever asked him to rest.

I could see that he was going to give it his all this time, as well.

After the smoke had been rising for some time, the gates of the fort were finally raised.

Thump, thump, Thump.

After a clatter of hooves and footsteps, a large black horse appeared first, and I almost ran straight towards it.

I could see that the crimson cloak the crown prince was wearing was soaked and heavy with blood again.

But most of all, I felt a great presence rushing toward me, like the wind.

It was an intangible presence that completely pushed me away.

It was a feeling I’d definitely felt before.

My mind flashed back to the cave where I first met him in an instant.

I thought I heard the clinking of chains in the distance.

“Huh!”

Whoosh!

The priests on either side of me were pushed back.

The force that seemed to be crushing their bodies caused everyone’s expressions to distort at the same time.

The air around me seemed to distort as well, but I squinted my eyes to regain my senses.

Then, my body suddenly felt light.

There was a pungent aroma rushing in all at once as I finally released my breath.

“Cough! Cough!”

I unconsciously took a step closer to him, amidst the sound of people coughing.

It was only for a brief moment, but it was clear that he had lost control of his power again.

“Your Highness!”

Vaslow came to his senses and turned to his master, who was still some distance away.

He was dismounting from his horse in an uncharacteristically slow motion, Then his gaze quickly traveled to my direction.

“Hah.”

After looking me up and down, he let out a long breath of relief, which made his shoulders rise and fall.

I watched him closely, and took a deep breath in return.

I realized that my chest had been tight ever since the beginning of the battle, and my legs unconsciously moved toward him.

“Wait, stay back.”

His words were directed at Vaslow and the chamberlain, but his gaze was still on me.

His golden eyes were sharp as knives.

I could sense that the energy within him hadn’t been fully channeled yet.

“Yes, Your highness.”

Vaslow and his chamberlain stepped back and bowed, in a familiar manner.

Behind him, the knights were a further distance away than usual.

He strode off from them, neither fast nor slow…

Alone.

It broke my heart that the crown prince and the hero of the empire would have to hide himself away like that after the battle.

“Seth.”

I was staring at his back, and unconsciously tried to follow him.

Vaslow, who saw my little action, called out softly, and stopped me.

I looked at him, and he shook his head.

He was telling me not to follow.

“Bring the wounded this way!”

“Water! Water!”

“My merciful God, please breathe life into this weary soul…”

It was then that I was enveloped by the sounds of the priests praying, the groans of the wounded, the panting breath of the exhausted horses, and the pungent, acrid smell of incense.

It seemed that as soon as he was out of sight, the tranquil atmosphere changed abruptly.

I should be doing something, like lending a hand.

So I forced my stiff body to move towards the bucket of water.

⚘

“Yo—Your Highness.”

Shane did not return to his barrack, but headed for the mountainside at the end of the fortress instead.

The men who had greeted the crown prince as he passed by sensed a strange aura emanating from him, and stepped back.

Fear instinctively flashed in their eyes.

“Hah.”

Only after entering the deserted mountains did he place his hand on a thick tree.

A powerful force was rampaging all over his body.

Energy raced from his head to his toes, as if demanding to be released, and he could hardly breathe as he focused all his attention on keeping it from escaping.

“Ugh.”

One of his knees touched the ground.

A moment later, there was a snap, and the tree next to him cracked under the impact.

Even though he was trying his best to contain as much force as possible, if he let his guard down a bit, it could suddenly burst out like this.

It will still harm his surroundings.

‘Didn’t you say that he wouldn’t be able to make it after a year?’

A jumble of memories flashed through his mind.

It was when he was still younger, when he wasn’t quite sure how to channel his strength.

That was the time when he suddenly heard a conversation at his bedside.

He’s been in bed all day, but he knew it was his mother’s voice.

However, her tone did not contain any feelings such as concern or worry for her child.

‘Then why is he still holding out?’

She asked.

That’s it.

Even without making eye contact, he could feel the fear in her eyes.

When he was very young, he might have thought it was very sad.

But now it didn’t move him at all.

He hoped that this power would end up hurting no one but himself.

That was all he wanted.

Every cell in his body creaked under the unbearable force.

A searing pain suddenly erupted all over his body, like he was being set on fire.

‘Don’t hold it in.’

‘Don’t stop it.’

The ever-present voice continued to urge him on.

‘Sir Shane.’

He then desperately pulled a voice out of his memory.

In the midst of the heat, that voice was the only thing that sent him a cool, and calming feeling.

‘It was so, so good.’

After the battle, when he passed through the fortress gates, she must have felt his power too.

Everyone else around him stepped back, but she gestured to come closer, and just recalling those small steps she made seemed to take the edge off the pain in his nerves for a moment.

He dropped to one knee, then recalled that small gesture and voice over and over again.

He clung to all the memories he had of her while trying to suppress the power that threatened to erupt inside him.

The look in her eyes, that was not fearful, but concerned, made him feel strange and sweet because it was the first time he saw someone look at him in worry, and not in fear.