The Answer to a Question

"Is this the person we're looking for?"

"Rumors say this is the place of that man. We must find him and ask for his help." Born was convinced Damian would receive them.

Sebastian, leading the way, followed by four Night Guard soldiers and four more behind the red-haired brothers, looked at the soldier sculptures on the stones and said, "We're close. We don't usually receive guests at the castle, so I apologize for the way to access it."

Rollo looked at Sebastian, knowing he was a common man, and asked, "Is there anything your lord doesn't like?"

"If you speak with respect, I believe nothing strange will happen. Don't make irrational requests, or even I don't know what would happen. By the way, how did you know that my lord eliminated that demon?" Sebastian's eyes showed a ferocity rarely seen.

Born sighed and said, "A woman gave us a mission and entrusted us with this. We know about your lord for that reason."

"Interesting, we have arrived." Sebastian stopped in front of a huge door that was meticulously decorated. It seemed very sturdy, giving this castle the appearance of an impregnable structure.

Born watched as the gigantic door opened naturally, then a huge hallway with large sculptures of what he believed were demons in many corners of this castle.

"If you're wondering what those things are, many of those figures have been defeated by my lord," Sebastian said, noticing the people's gaze around where there were sculptures.

Rollo examined one of the sculptures more closely and said, "I don't think these are simple sculptures."

"I noticed some magic inside them; those are magical marionettes." Born identified many of them, but others didn't have that magical presence.

Sebastian turned right, leading to a much brighter corridor that led directly to the main hall, where Damian was waiting.

When they arrived, Sebastian gestured with his hand to over fifty guardian soldiers outside the door. These soldiers were marionettes created by Damian to protect this place.

As new people arrived, these soldiers changed their guard position to a slightly more aggressive one, but after that, they didn't move again.

"Enter; my lord awaits you, and he is a man with much time."

Born nodded and walked to the door that had been slightly opened.

"My lord, I have brought them."

When they entered the enormous hall, Born and his brother Rollo could see a gigantic space, and beyond them was a throne where Damian sat. Beside Damian was Frieren, who wore a silver dress and had a very calm expression.

Although Damian had tricked her into coming here, she was not at all uninterested in the discovery made today.

Damian looked at these two great men, and after they arrived, Sebastian introduced them, but raising his hand, he stopped Sebastian and said, "What are your intentions for coming from a long way?"

"Since you know the whole story, we are here as envoys of the Alliance to invite you to the coalition against the demons beyond the Red Sea," said Born, who didn't want to waste Damian's time.

Damian smiled; he had heard the story from this man, so after that, he said, "Well, if you are humans, I would like to join. But it is clear why you are here, and as you can see, we are losing the war. It will be about twenty years before the soldiers I am training have enough numbers to do something noteworthy."

"We only need you. The elf saw that you killed the demon Calmadios, so we need you to be the new commander of the coalition troops." Born wasn't here for troops; he wanted Damian to come with them.

Frieren looked at these men, and upon hearing them talk about an elf, she asked, "Which elf are you talking about?"

Rollo saw that this silver-haired elf should be Damian's wife, so he said, "My lady, that woman is a high elf who is at the head of all the elves on the continent I come from. If you permit it, she could also accompany us."

"That cannot be made a reality; my men need me here, so I cannot retire. But if you give me about five hundred years, I can create an army so strong that it could wipe out all the demons." Damian refused to support this cause; if he went, he knew it would be futile, according to the message from the book.

Born frowned and shouted, "By then, we will lose the war, we will all die, and you will also lose everything you have built."

"He may be able to do something better in a thousand years, although you probably won't be here then, so he will be able to create a good army by that time." Frieren interrupted Born's words; obviously, going to another continent was not something she supported.

Rollo looked at his brother. Was that man in front of them an elf?

But obviously, Damian wouldn't explain anything about himself, so he said, "I need to create a good naval fleet; besides, I also have to defend my territory. If you can wait, I will help you as soon as I have time. Of course, you can try with the same King, and you will get a more concrete answer."