The fallen Martial God was laid to rest in the knights’ lounge.
By the time we managed to arrange him into a comfortable position, his complexion had completely returned to normal, and the strange scales on his body had vanished entirely.

The Vice Commander’s office was now steeped in silence.
However, it wasn’t an unpleasant silence.
Instead, those of us in the room, myself included, were enveloped in a sense of profound relief.

Even so, none of us dared to speak.
There was an unspoken worry gnawing at us—what if this wasn’t real?
What if this was just a fleeting, sweet dream?

That concern was evident in the expression of Vice Commander Marenne, at least as far as I could tell.

The Commander of the Knights appeared lost in thought, as if deliberating where to begin.
There were too many untold stories, too many mysteries left unexplained.

Finally, she exhaled sharply, as if she’d organized her thoughts.

“Your name is Tanton, correct?”

“Yes, that’s right, Commander.”

The Commander finally broke the silence, casting a bitter smile in my direction.

“While I was off doing who-knows-what, it seems you took good care of everything. You have my gratitude. I owe you quite a bit.”

“It was nothing. I was simply doing my duty as a knight.”

The Commander nodded lightly in response to my words.

“Hmm, I see. Since it’s said that this one could embed an Outer God into his own body, I suppose I can now speak more freely.”

With that, the Commander turned to the Vice Commander with a mischievous grin.

“So, where should I start? Should I explain how I ended up like this, or recount everything that’s happened since that day?”

Marenne hesitated briefly at the Commander’s question, her expression torn, but eventually, she straightened her posture with determination.

“Please start from the beginning.”

“Alright, then.”

The Commander adjusted her position.

“Very well. It all began during the time of my reckless expedition.”

The Knights of Londan.

After sending Marenne and a few other knights back to Londan, the Commander took the main officers on a campaign to subdue the Giant of the Snowy Mountain.

For the Knights of Londan, strategy was entirely dependent on mutual trust and coordinated attacks.
It was through such methods that they had managed to defeat every Outer God they had encountered thus far.

“Commander! Why the sudden decision to go after that creature? You’ve always been cautious until now!”

It seemed strange for this question to arise only now.
The Commander chuckled at the Martial God’s inquiry.
The other knights, sharing her sentiment, let out faint laughs as if they found the question amusing.

“You’re one of those who act faster than you think, aren’t you, Martial God?”

“Of course! If you waste time thinking, the Outer Gods will crush you first! I’m always the type to smash through them!”

Hmm.
The Commander never fully understood what the Martial God’s jokes symbolized, but she would often laugh them off just because his tone was so absurd.

“Yes, you asked why we’re heading there.”

The Commander glanced around at the officers before speaking.

“Hope.”

That single word silenced every mouth in the room.
A word that could lift their spirits as much as it could crush them.
Hope.

One knight raised a hand.

“How does coming here represent hope?”

“Yes, I thought you might ask that.”

The Commander offered them a faint, wistful smile.

“To those of you who followed me this far, I owe an apology. It’s only now that I can tell you the truth.”

The Commander’s uncharacteristically serious expression filled the entire group with tension.

And when the words finally came out of her mouth, every knight widened their eyes in shock.

“I will not return from here today.”

“W-What are you saying, Commander?!”

The outburst came from one of the officers.

“You never mentioned anything about not coming back!”

“As you all know, I cannot die. No matter what means or methods are used.”

By this point, the knights began to piece together the meaning behind her words.
A dreadful, gut-wrenching realization.

“I believed from the start that not everyone would return alive from this mission, as I told you all. But someone had to try. It had to be done eventually. How long will we continue to live under the oppression of the Outer Gods? Isn’t that right? To show them that humanity can take a step forward, we must give them hope! I want to be that symbol.”

“But what does that have to do with you not coming back, Commander?!”

Even the usually jovial Martial God protested, glaring at the Commander with fierce determination.
Though he was always optimistic about his own fate, he was uncompromising when it came to the suffering of his friends.

“That’s unacceptable! Even if I lose my limbs, the Commander must return alive! Do you hear me?!”

“If only everything turned out as hopefully as you wished, do you think Londan would have continued living under the Outer Gods, submitting beneath the Princess’s faint ember of a flame?”

It was a deeply pessimistic statement.
Yet no one could argue or criticize it.
This was the reality of the Empire’s history since the Emperor had been slain by an Outer God.

“Regardless, if I land even a single blow on this Giant and freeze myself solid in the process, Londan will have gained hope. Humanity might finally escape the clutches of the Outer Gods. Even if we achieve nothing else, we’ll gain an understanding of how strong this creature is, enough to calculate our future strategies.”

“But Commander…! What about your promise to the Vice Commander…?”

At the Martial God’s sorrowful words, the Commander offered a bittersweet smile.

“…I must keep that promise. And to keep it, all of you must grow stronger. Use the information we uncover during this campaign.”

With those words, the Commander raised her arm.

“Now, I ask you again: anyone who wishes to withdraw from this campaign may do so. I’ll protect you as best I can, but in the worst case, everyone here could die. If you choose to return, it’s fine to lie. Say that you fled under my orders, unable to accomplish anything.”

She offered them one final chance.
But none of them raised their hands.

Instead, one knight lightly punched the Commander on the shoulder, causing her expression to briefly turn comically sour.

“Huh?”

“Commander! Do you think we’d run off in fear after you’ve said something like that? Don’t insult us! What do you take us for?!”

The Martial God’s booming laughter was soon echoed by every knight in the room.
Overwhelmed by the display of unity, the Commander looked momentarily startled before smiling proudly.

“Damn it, I’ve been blessed with such fine subordinates.”

The decision was made.
All that remained was to see it through.

The Commander turned her back on them, raising her hand high.

“I swear to you, your chivalry will shine brighter and more enduring than the sun beyond those clouds! I sincerely wish for your glorious futures!”

With those words, the knights roared their battle cries and charged toward the territory of the Snowy Mountain Giant.

The Commander would come to regret her decision as foolish.
Unable to move further, she lay collapsed on the frozen ground, gazing around her.
Ice.
Ice formed from frozen human bodies.

Had her knights merely been frozen, it wouldn’t have crushed her so completely.

Yes, they were frozen.
But they were not dead.

“C-Commander!!! Cooooommander!”

A wretched scream echoed from a distance.

When the Commander turned her gaze toward the sound, the sight was horrifying.
One of her officers was freezing solid, starting from his legs.

“It’s so cold! Too cold! It hurts, I can’t stand it! So hot—ahhhhhh!”

There was a saying that extreme cold could mimic the sensation of burning.
Her subordinate was writhing in agony, frozen by searing cold, his body gradually encased in ice.

He could no longer move his legs, collapsing forward and thrashing desperately.

“No! No! Am I supposed to suffer in this pain forever?! No, Commander, save me!”

With those final words, he froze solid, his face twisted in agony.

The only reason the Commander knew they were still alive, even as ice, was the sight of a knight frozen from the head down, frantically kicking their legs to the very end.

It must have been the work of that Giant.
The Commander stared blankly up at the creature, her expression void of hope.

“K-Khh.”

“What’s wrong, Tanton?”

When the Commander paused her story, Marenne glanced at me with concern.
Despite her worry, I couldn’t stop the tears streaming down my face.

How much suffering had she endured alone?
I thought it had been hard, but I had no idea it was this horrible.

“I haven’t even finished the story yet.”

“Commander, just bring me the one who put you through this. I’ll take them down myself….”

I struggled to get the words out, my pronunciation stumbling. The Commander looked at me with an amused expression, like she was watching a curious kitten.

“Thanks. Hearing that makes me feel a bit better.”

“Tanton’s always been the emotional type. Please, continue the story,” Marenne interjected.

At her request, the Commander nodded.

“Alright. Now, I’ll tell you how I ended up like this.”