Years ago.

The school on the central would always thrive all the year, as students and teachers roam around it. It was always lively. The spring air was slowly fading and the heat was blowing from the eastern side of the continent. It was summer when Paramour and Raphael met. It was their 2nd year in the academy.

Raphael was a social butterfly for his own good, totally good with girls and popular with everybody.

While Paramour was the silent type, he had a hard time socializing especially since he was a bastard of a noble. His estranged background scarred him while growing up and girls? He had difficulty talking to them.

It was out of sheer curiosity and being a rascal Raphael was the first one to approach the ever-loner Paramour, gloating as he had a few girlfriends here and there. He said that the innocent smile would always do the trick. But Paramour was not a good pretender; there would be scuffles between the two. But Paramour’s honesty was the main reason Raphael loved hanging out with him.

And now… Paramour wallowed in the memory of his best friend. The underground settlement of the northerners was cold, but his feelings felt much colder.

They didn't have the chance to bring any part of his body. He was still there in the underground tunnel, buried in the debris along with the Spikes. Just thinking of it made Paramour burn.

Paramour was eating alongside the warriors that survived the long fight that night when the Walkers almost broke the last gate.

Simon suddenly sat in front of him. The boy had a steel on his face, he knew how to rouse the hero’s spirits.

“Let’s go back,” Simon said, and in one sentence, the hero stopped eating.

It would be suicide to go back there again, but Simon really had his mind set on what he would do next, he knew what words he should say.

“I buried the old man in the island where he was born… he wanted it there… how about Raphael, what would he like?” Simon added.

It ignited the small burn in the hero’s heart. He had been feeling bad and was now feeling worse… how could he let his friend stay there… cold and alone? His self guilt eating his heart out.

“... I would bury him near our school… he loved it there?” Paramour spoke. It was the first time Simon saw the hero make that kind of grim face, trying to smile.

“Let us kill the ugly walker too in Raphael’s honor,” it was the black hood who was listening along with the warriors and adventurers that were in the pantry eating. He stood up and looked at the hero and Simon.

The warriors knew that they were not joking. They would come back.

<--->

The lucky rabbit, the lucky man that he was, was now on the bed. They had to properly cut his right arm as it was carved and ruined by the walker’s tail blade. He screamed all night, and now he was at peace, looking at the ceiling.

He didn’t remember why he agreed to go to the north. He had just heard from a well-respected acquaintance that there was trouble up north and help was needed.

“Adventurer, you did good, rest,” for some reason, a large knight was together with him. It was Vish, the leader of the knights. She saved him when he almost died. As far as he could remember, she was also the one who fixed his arm.

“You should retreat now… we will probably lose. The 6-legged enemies are totally on berserk; they are fighting intending to die,” Lucky Rabbit warned.

“What would you do?” Vish asked him.

“Hmm… I would stay, use all the luck in my body… we are all going to die someday… the wall is important… probably,” the Lucky Rabbit smiled.

Vish stood up and glared at Lucky Rabbit. “Hmm… find me when this is all finished,” was the only word she said, and she went outside the room. There were others there inside screaming in pain.

A hall under the town was instantly turned into the sick bay as per Gallo’s instructions, the Forest Folk were there tending the wounded, easing the dying.

<--->

Gallo was at his desk, with a frustrated face. He was calculating, minimizing the damage, the ammo of the cannons… they would only last a few more days. When would the enemies end?

There were so many uncertainties but not enough information at hand. Afara, who was by his side, placed another warm tea beside him.

Gallo snapped; he needed air. For the first time, he felt nausea from the smell of the salt pepper they were using, or it was probably the scent of the burnt spikes outside of the wall.

He then walked outside of his room, inhaling and exhaling. Afara saw this, but he let him be; he needed it.

Gallo finally knelt. 'Maybe I should escape… I can still make it… I can’t save them all… I’m just a boy,' he thought… guilt… despair, and losing lives for the first time… he was just a boy… the pressure was breaking him apart… he started walking left and right, feeling restless.

And he thought everything in war was simple.

He could still smell the smoke and blood everywhere, his vivid mind was backfiring on him… he was frustrated… he kept walking.

“Tie it!!! I will stay!!!” he then heard a familiar voice. And before he realized it, he was in front of the princess’s quarters… she was together with her knights.

<--->

The room was cold, totally different from her room back in the central continent. They only had two wooden boxes as stools. Their own cloaks were the only thing that they could use to sleep and rest. It was the most un-royal type of place the princess shouldn’t be on but she felt attached to it. She would not leave until all was finished.

“Princess, please… I can mend it, but it would still sting!!” the knight with the magic of healing said.

“Just tie it!! And go in the sick bay and help the wounded… don’t waste your time on me!!!” the princess was demanding like the princess that she was.

“Princess… we must retreat… if the wall falls… Samara is not here; we have no magic to escape!” another of her female knights pleaded with the princess.

“For long we nobles have lived in the comfort of our riches… we are born with it… entitled with it… the history of our ancestors… the name of our blood…” the princess then stood up.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“The Nobles Oblige: We Lead, We Protect, We Fight.” She then tapped her sprained ankle, and finally, the healer knight tied it tightly. “If I backed down from this… if my ancestor backed down from anything… I would not be here,” Carla smiled… the healer started sniffing for a bit.

“Then allow me to escort you… let me be by your side,” one knight said, and all of the knights in the room knelt to her.

“I will see this to the end... don't worry, I will not die here,” Carla said.

<--->

Gallo was listening, it was uncouth for him to do it but those words from the princess were what he needed right now.

It's been a long time since Gallo has heard it… Noble Oblige. Because of the exceptional commoners that have risen in the ranks and the hero system, the nobles have forgotten why they were nobles in the first place.

Gallo then stood up… he was surprised to see that Simon was already standing there, he didn’t even hear him coming. “You are crying?” Simon asked, just to be sure.

“... No, I’m not… it’s the smell of the salt pepper… it's stinging my eyes and nose,” Gallo answered.

“... We want to go back there,” Simon suddenly said, this was the reason he approached Gallo.

“...” Gallo looked into Simon’s eyes… he was serious.

“SLAM!!!!!” the door of the princess room suddenly opened hard.

“What the hell are you 2 doing in front of my room!!!” Carla screamed with a tinge of embarrassment.

“Boobs Oblique?” Simon suddenly asked. Carla instantly blushed as she tried to smack Simon, which Simon dodged effectively. “Don’t move!! By royal decree!! Don’t move!!! Let me smack you twice!!!” Carla's face was hot and the pain in her feet disappeared as she had a new goal to smack the boy, and Simon wondered why.

Carla then saw Gallo standing there… “Hello… ouch!!!” and she smacked Gallo on the head before the redhead even reacted.

<--->

They were in the room of Gallo in the wall. Papers were stacked everywhere, and cluttered things of random use were displayed on the floor. It was not the updated state of the field but Gallo used it to emulate on his mind.

Simon was a boy of unknown origins. He tuckered his hand in his pocket while he was chewing meat on his other hand.

Carla Felafel was a princess that was from the central continent, an imperial princess to that. She glared at Simon because he was uncouth, stupid, and a bullock. She waved her hair that hadn’t been properly washed for days. Still, she was confident with herself.

The Hero of the Era Paramour was just on the opened door leaning and silently pondering. He was waiting for the red-haired boy. He knew what they were asking was a bit of crazy.

Was there any other way? These words have been circling around Gallo's mind for a while. It was suicide... It was the first time he'd be sending soldiers to die.

Yesterday… and into the night, the attack was so devastating. If the hero and his party who arrived out of a well were late, they would have been annihilated. Percival led the defense; if it wasn’t for him, more lives would have been saved… the knights really respected him after the battle.

Even then the princess's knights have been endorsing her to retreat, which she ignored. ‘I will see this to the end... don't worry, I don't plan to die here,’ her words flashed back on Gallo’s mind.

The attack of the walkers destroyed 2 of the layered gates inside the wall. Some of the walkers even upscaled the lower walls and attacked the warriors on top.

“And it was all going smoothly…” Gallo sighed... he started stating the plan, his voice was shaky, and it was the pressure that made him stop and gulp sometimes. Lives were within his words.

…

Gallo finished stating the plan but he was just staring down waiting for any objections... the representatives of warriors and adventurers were letting him be, and nobody was insensitive enough to tell him anything… after the battle, they had 4 hours of peace but after that, the siege continued, and was still happening… but their side had dwindled… some of the walls' storage were even destroyed. Gallo should have moved the new stores to a safer location.

They would not last much longer. Gallo actually expected this but… the walkers are starting to mix with the waves. He had devised a plan to counter them but it was taking a toll for the knights, adventurers, and the warriors. 4 days more… if everything goes fine.

“You heard the plan... what do you think?” Gallo said while scratching his head.

The plan was simple: the princess would open the same collapse she made during their escape, go back there to attack the mutated walker, and the princess would be on standby at the seal to open it for their escape, but the problem is what comes after. There is a 50% chance that they will be flooded by spikes.

Once was enough to take caution... they lost Raphael through that, and his sacrifice will be remembered.

“I will go... but just for the record how is the survival chance?” Percival asked.

“20 percent chance, even with the hero and Simon… we don’t know much… I don’t know that much,” the red-haired boy answered without batting an eye from Percival.

It was an honest answer. ‘It might be the right time to use it,’ Percival thought... it was time to use the relic Zhisata gave him.

<--->

Preparation, was the key to everything, the reason for a time to be well spent. But not everything could be predicted which means everything couldn’t be prepared against. A truth that Percival embraced. They were just near a guard house a few walks into the wolf-carved gate.

“I don't want to... just don't use it,” It was Simon's answer to Percival's request.

“But we will…” He tried to persuade Simon to be the carrier of the relic to Zhisata after he died.

“... Okay... but only use it when there's no more choice,” Simon sighed.

Percival smiled and tapped his back. “It would be an honor to fight together with you,” it might be their final talk as they were going on the suicide mission.

Simon left him be to prepare… Percival realized that even though Simon was showing no fear, the boy knew that he was needed… he was not sure if the boy was just brave or just had his emotion dulled… he was needed to do the mission and that’s all it is…

<--->

Back into the deep roads.

The more they wait, the more warriors and soldiers die. As soon as they were ready, they went down the well again… it was where the hidden tunnel was… they exited from there the day before and they will be coming back.

After a few hours, they found themselves on the same collapse, it was around 10 meters but to Carla it was easy to create a path, she left the entrance sealed as she created a tunnel in the collapse turning it into a closing and opening block, she reinforced it, it only took her 20 minutes to do it.

“There are still enemies there” one of the knights who was using magic sense warned them.

The princess looked at the elite team. It was composed of the Hero, the Black Hood, Percival, and finally Simon.

“Good luck... if you can break through and buy a chance to stop the flooding then I will use all my power to undo this seal and let you through then seal it back again... use the sticky notes!” Carla wanted to go with them... if she wasn't a princess of the empire.

She then cast another magic… a corpse comes out of the collapse. It was half burnt, Paramour glared as he saw the body. The tattered clothes were a familiar green… it was Raphael’s corpse.

“We will take care of him” The knight immediately took out a large clothes and wrapped the body in it.

Carla was quite a sheltered princess… though she would sometimes go with his older brother in the dungeons she had been fighting together with adventurers, and their goal was always one of the 2. To raise money or become more efficient in battle, gaining power is the natural way in the emperor’s family.

She have never felt regret about parting with those adventurers… but this group here… they were amazing… they were a bit crazy as they are good too… she sniffed up a little thinking that she would probably not see all of them again.

She opened the collapse by pushing the block, it revealed the path she created. Spikes emerged from if as if they had been waiting for them, Simon and Percival quickly cut down the spikes that tried to pass, there were a lot of them.

“Buy me a minute!” the princess screamed as she prepared to fire a large fire magic.

Simon nodded while the hero who’s first to act continued mowing down like a madman, the continuous butchering made two minutes short.

“I will see you all soon,” Carla’s magic reached its peak and turned it into a giant ball of fire. Using her hands to direct the fire it turned into an arrow and flew into the hole.

Simon and Paramour didn’t need the warning, the two went to their opposite side letting the magic fly. A space and burned meat was created from the fireball that flew.

The air inside was completely depleted and out of her good will, she used wind magic to make the airflow while closing the hole.

“Princess! You are using wind magic amazing!” the knight exclaimed.

Carla was actually not good with wind magic but for some reason after feeling frustrated because she couldn’t go together with them, she was able to use this magic.

As soon as they were inside the collapse was closed down. The Black Hood immediately activated buffs except for Simon then he shared his magic sense with them… since Simon can see in the dark they started seeing too… the black hood would still maintain a small orb of light.

The hero was pumped up and the others shared his sentiment. He had no word but Simon just had to say it.

“Let's do this for Raphael,” Simon said, he stepped up in the front…