Chapter 3: Golden Dawn III

 

The Path to Conquest According to Gwaranie

It began in a place that would seem quite unexpected—at least to anyone other than those directly involved.

That place was the former territory of the demon race, which had been under their control until just a year ago.

In one of the towns located within that region, now being settled by humans, a strange rumor began to circulate some time after they declared their intention to act.

The rumor claimed that the ghosts of demons killed in the area were appearing in groups.

While the rumor had originated in that single town, it quickly spread throughout the entire settlement zone. However, the authorities initially avoided getting involved.

The rationale was simple: the demons were evil beings. So something like that wasn't entirely out of the question.

That was the official reason.

But the real reason was quite different.

They feared that if they acknowledged the matter and acted on it, it would blow up and disrupt the colonization project that had only just begun to take shape.

It would also impact a groundbreaking local supply initiative—specifically, a plan to locally procure food, which would eliminate the need to transport it from the homeland and dramatically accelerate their military advance.

And that wasn’t the only potential setback from delays in the colonization project.

It also concerned a matter of critical importance to the nation’s future.

Having settlers in place demonstrated that the land belonged to their nation. This would give them an advantage in the territorial negotiations expected to follow the end of the war with the demons.

Conversely, without settlers, there was no guarantee the territory would be awarded to them.

In other words, the failure of the colonization project would be tantamount to falling behind their rivals also invading demon lands. And that was something absolutely unacceptable.

Due to these unspoken political concerns, the ruling officials concluded that it was best to pretend they hadn’t heard anything and simply ignore the situation.

Their suspicion about the ghost sightings only began to grow when they received reports that the ghosts were traveling surprisingly long distances.

What’s more, a careful review of the ongoing reports made it clear that the ghosts were unmistakably headed toward the capital—moving through regions that had always been under human control.

“This might be a demon counterattack.”

Voices with such concerns began to surface, and so, under the guise of caution, a reluctant investigative expedition was launched—doubling as a supposed extermination effort.

However, the problem was the nature of the enemy—ghosts.

When spotted, they simply vanished without fighting, making them immune to swords or spears.

In the end, the only thing the investigation confirmed was their existence, and so, just like before, they decided to continue monitoring the ghosts' movements.

Some time later, in a mansion on the outskirts of the demon kingdom’s royal capital…

In the study of that mansion, the master of the house spoke to the man standing before him.

“Looks like they’ve decided to leave the ghosts alone.”

The man nodded deeply at this statement, which was delivered with ample sarcasm and referred to rumors currently spreading across the capitals of the human nations. Then he paused to think.

…Based on the nature of the information and how fast it arrived, this wasn’t obtained from prisoners.

…Which means it came from the Great Pirate Wyvern.

The man silently mouthed the name of the only trade partner of the demon race—the one likely responsible for gathering such information so quickly from enemy capitals—but he didn’t confirm it with the master.

Because for the two of them, such things were already understood without needing to be said.

The man nodded again, then spoke.

“Well, if they can’t capture them, and they can't admit failure either, then this outcome is only natural. But thanks to that, the plan is moving along even faster.”

This time, the master nodded.

“Indeed. I was worried this key phase of my plan might be disrupted, but it seems we’ll finish it unnoticed. Still, despite putting on such an elaborate festival, the fact that no one has uncovered our true aim shows that the humans may lack truly capable personnel.”

“In other words, they’re no better than us. The only difference is whether or not they have a Hero. That’s the current situation between us.”

“Fortunately for us, that seems to be the case.”

“‘Fortunately’... A fitting word.”

The two figures, both demons in human form, exchanged words with amusement.

Yes—truth be told, these two were the very masterminds behind the ghost incidents.

And the purpose of orchestrating this entire haunting was to prepare for a certain advanced spell that would serve as the very core of Gwaranie’s grand upcoming operation.

Teleportation Magic.

A spell that allowed one to instantly move from their current location to another.

However, in this world, there was one crucial requirement to activate it:

The caster must have previously set foot on the destination.

This meant teleportation to unknown locations was impossible—hence why even the Hero was traveling through demon lands on foot, slowly.

A large map was spread across a table, covered with marks not only in the former demon territory, but also in the original human lands, and even around the capitals of the six nations invading the demon realm.

Looking over it, the aide—Baya—spoke once again.

“Thanks to the cooperation of veteran travelers among the elders, our mages will soon be able to teleport to most towns in the former demon lands. It will still take a little more time before they can do the same in the human lands, but we are progressing as planned.”

“Good. And what about the other preparations?”

“…Also proceeding smoothly. Of course, they lack real combat experience, but in terms of training and discipline, they are probably at the highest standard. They can deploy at any time. However, we mustn’t act until the teleportation magic—the foundation of everything—is perfectly in place. If we rush, all of it could be lost.”

A formally worded report, along with a soft warning.

Gwaranie nodded in satisfaction at Baya’s words, then added quietly:

“Exactly. Our unit is small and without achievements, so the generals pay us no attention. Ironically, not being considered a real military force has given us all the time we need for training and preparation. A bit of irony—but one I plan to exploit fully.”

Then, two days after all the preparations were complete—

It began.

The plan.