When the sky began to tint itself red, Kaito returned to a small clearing in the forest, accompanied by two soldiers who had submitted to Adelheid's Iron Will.
Among the trees, ten newly recruited soldiers stood in formation. Different in age and origin, they all shared one thing in common—
empty, obedient eyes.
Eyes purified by the ideology Adelheid had implanted within them like a sacred poison.
Kaito observed them one by one, still unable to fully believe it.
"…Are they really all on our side?"
"There is no reason to doubt it," Adelheid replied in a military tone.
"They do not act of their own free will, but under your command they will obey you as if you were an object of faith."
One of the soldiers stepped forward and handed him a scroll wrapped in aged leather.
"The map, my lord."
Kaito took it. His hands trembled—but it wasn't fear… it was excitement.
The map displayed every key point of the Kingdom of Avernor:
fortresses, villages, warehouses, trade routes, guarded border zones…
Every line.
Every symbol.
Everything now lay before him.
"…This is in my hands…"
"Believe it," Adelheid said, leaning over the map.
"From this moment on, your decisions will change the fate of the world."
Kaito swallowed.
In his chest still lingered the memory of the boy who once slept covered in filth.
He spread the map over a flat rock and knelt to the ground.
"Here… this warehouse supplies three northern garrisons.
If we destroy it, the kingdom will be forced to redistribute its resources."
"We can make it look like a bandit attack," Adelheid proposed.
"We will create order within chaos."
"And this border village… security is minimal, and it's poor.
No one cares about it. But if we use it as a base… by the time they notice, it will already be too late."
Adelheid nodded, pride gleaming in her eyes.
"You are already thinking like a conqueror."
Kaito inhaled deeply and stood up.
"Listen carefully."
He turned toward the soldiers.
"This kingdom… this rotten system called me 'trash.'
They spat on me, abandoned me, and tried to kill me.
But now, I will be the one who looks down on them.
Not with hatred… but with strategy."
The soldiers saluted in unison.
"Understood, Commander!"
Kaito fixed his gaze back on the map.
"First, we take the village of Dreisburg.
A forgotten place. It will become our main base."
"…And if the kingdom notices something strange?" Adelheid asked.
"Let them notice," Kaito replied without hesitation.
"Let them understand that a threat is approaching.
That something beyond their comprehension has risen from the 'frontier' they themselves despised."
Adelheid's lips curved slightly.
That smile… was dangerous.
"You are no longer the starving child who cried, are you?"
"…No.
I am the commander of an 'inevitable destruction.'"
That day, preparations for the operation began.
With Adelheid's military knowledge and the experience of the subjugated soldiers, they moved forward with squad formations, supply acquisition, and attack planning.
Wood, tools, rations.
And Kaito also ordered the design of a provisional banner.
A black background, with a symbol yet undefined—
an emblem capable of awakening fear and curiosity.
When night fell, the soldiers took turns resting.
Kaito and Adelheid remained seated by the campfire, in silence.
"…I never thought I'd be able to come this far," Kaito murmured.
"You haven't 'arrived' yet," Adelheid replied softly, yet precisely.
"But you are becoming it."
"…Am I turning into someone like them…?"
Adelheid averted her gaze slightly.
"'Them'? The ones who burned villages, murdered ideologies, and ruled through terror?"
Kaito nodded faintly.
She tucked her hair behind her ear.
"The difference between a monster and a savior is legitimacy, Commander.
They ruled for their own desire.
You do not. You only wish to prove your worth.
That is why… you are worth following."
The firelight illuminated Kaito's face.
"…And what if someday I start enjoying this power?"
Adelheid moved closer in silence and spoke in a low voice.
"Then I will remind you.
And if you still refuse to listen…
I will stop you myself."
Kaito looked at her in surprise.
"…You would kill me?"
"If you betray the qualifications of a leader."
Kaito smiled tiredly.
Yet there was satisfaction in that smile.
"…You truly are a dangerous woman."
"And at the same time—your most loyal shield."
Kaito leaned his back against a rock and closed his eyes.
"…Then let's see how far we can go together… Adelheid."
She did not respond.
But she did not leave his side.
Even when Kaito slept, she did not close her eyes.
Because—
Even as he rested,
the world had already begun to move.
And that night, the Kingdom of Avernor did not yet know—
that its collapse
had already begun.