# 39. Polar Night, Pritzenkaya.
The Hero Party had been together for over a decade. While traversing the depths of demon territory where they could hardly expect anyone's help, they came to understand each other more deeply than their own parents.
They had to compensate for each other's weaknesses and break through deadly situations. Even though each was a mighty hero in their own right, no one could be without flaws.
Enrique was vulnerable to direct confrontation, Patricia lacked direct combat ability. Einar was careless, Beolgreen was excessively cautious, and Gilbert lacked flexibility.
And Maximillian, well.
In Ivan's memory, Maximillian had no shortcomings. Despite observing him more carefully than anyone else.
During that time, Ivan was both a scout for the Hero Party and a spy who identified their weaknesses and reported them back to his homeland.
If the Hero Party completed all their objectives and disbanded—that is, if they defeated the Demon King and returned home—wouldn't they become the most powerful and influential individuals in this world? Foreign nobles, no less.
Therefore, as an agent of Krasilov, Ivan had a duty to analyze the weaknesses of these potential threats. So during his years with them, Ivan was preoccupied with finding the hero's weakness.
He couldn't find any.
Even when the party despaired, even when they became extremely sensitive in the harsh environment of the demon realm, the hero would smile and reassure the party with ease.
It was a perfection that couldn't even be envied.
"Hmm, excellent. You have good skills too."
When Ivan took night watch, Maximillian would eat the nutrition bars Ivan grilled over the campfire with a smile, praising him like a benevolent king.
Ivan didn't envy him. He only admired him. He was the most complete and most personable madman in this world.
So now, at this moment.
"If I were Maximillian..."
The Hero Party had been together for over a decade. They survived by understanding each other more deeply than their parents. Even at the end of the world, in the most terrible environments. Even in front of the most powerful adversaries.
They advanced by compensating for each other's weaknesses. And that, conversely, means:
They understood each other's weaknesses more clearly than anyone else.
"At this point, I would strike Pritzenkaya."
Ivan told Isabelle in the slowly swaying military camp.
Now is the only chance when Enrique must defend the entire city area alone. A chance to push away one pillar of the Hero Party. If Enrique falls too, then only Einar remains from the former Hero Party.
"But, um... sir. Professor Enrique is a vampire. An Elder Vampire. She can operate even under the sun..."
If she decides to hide within the city, no one can capture her. Maximillian had already tried long ago and failed.
Therefore, if you want to eliminate her, you need an army. You need elite forces capable of blocking and surrounding her entire range of activity.
Maximillian alone cannot eliminate Enrique by infiltration. She is nearly invincible within Pritzenkaya. She's no different from the Seven Dragon Generals stationed in the royal palace. Because the entire underground of the city is her nest.
So what follows is in the realm of speculation.
The inherent tendency in the world now was clear. The neutralization of the former Hero Party. Starting with Gilbert, Beolgreen disappeared, and Patricia lost her power.
Now only Einar and Enrique remain, and at this very moment, Enrique must defend the most vulnerable city alone.
Therefore, excluding means, reasons, and purposes, if we draw only the conclusion: there is no other way to eliminate Enrique except now.
In this situation, how could the world not follow the cliché? "The former heroes fall while heroically struggling and sacrificing to pass their power to the current generation." This cliché has been repeated three times already. When something is this typical, a trained agent cannot fail to notice.
Of course, this time will be no different. Once the conclusion is drawn, all that remains is to infer the process. That is, what means does Maximillian have to eliminate Enrique?
"Enrique is not without weaknesses."
Ivan had been analyzing the Hero Party's weaknesses for 10 years. Enrique was no exception.
"The fact that all vampires cannot refuse an Elder's command. The curse of the bloodline is her only weakness."
"But, sir. Isn't Professor Enrique an Elder? I heard she's the only Elder vampire in Krasilov."
"Yes. In Krasilov."
There are older bloodlines remaining in the demon realm.
The Elder who bit Enrique died at her hands 200 years ago, but that Elder wasn't a being who fell from the sky.
Ivan surveyed the retreating legion with dry eyes. An alliance army of dwarves and humans, specifically an artillery corps. Armies slow down in movement and speed in proportion to their size. This is true even when using underground tunnels.
So it's three weeks. Even though this is an amazing speed, it's not satisfactory enough. If Ivan were given three weeks, he could turn Pritzenkaya into ruins. The same would be true for Maximillian.
So they need to arrive faster. Even now, beyond the tent, there were bow officers watching him with suspicious eyes. Surveillance placed by Elizabeta.
Ivan nodded lightly toward the officers and whispered to Isabelle.
"Isn't it a servant's duty to secure safety in advance before the king enters the city?"
"Are you trying to persuade me?"
"I'm trying to persuade myself."
Ivan quietly closed the tent and said.
"Get two horses, Isabelle."
"Two horses, so we're going together? No one else? Just 'us' two!"
"Hmm."
"Leave it all to me. The hero is on it!"
Isabelle ran out of the tent with a goofy smile.
During this season, Pritzenkaya was experiencing a busy time. It was summer now, and summer is Krasilov's only "mild climate." Therefore, there was frequent trading and a surge in the floating population.
They were preparing for the winter that would begin in just a couple of months. All train stations in Pritzenkaya were bustling with noisy travelers.
And a high floating population meant that a perfect environment had been created for foreign spies to run wild, so Enrique was spending day and night checking the intelligence network.
"Why am I really going through this trouble..."
She was clearly not part of the counterintelligence command, nor even the Krasilov administration. She was clearly a civilian.
But what could she do? The queen had taken the main force of the counterintelligence command and even the capital defense forces on a southern expedition. Now there was barely a handful of proper forces in this huge city.
The reason they could account for such a military vacuum during this period was thanks to Enrique's existence. She was a being who could oversee the entire city even while sitting in the dark underground, her cradle.
Elder Vampire. She held all the vampires, bats, and rats of Pritzenkaya in her grasp. In place of the lacking agents, rats in the tunnels during the day and bats under the eaves at night became her eyes and ears.
While pressing her tired eyes and sucking on a blood pack, she soon frowned and turned her gaze.
At the edge of her detection range, that is, at the outskirts of this city's metropolitan area, a carriage was rushing toward the city gate.
"A carriage... in this season?"
Krasilov is only mild during summer. That means all seasons except summer are winter. In simple terms, it means that roads are frozen for most of the year.
So when summer comes, the roads that have been frozen all season thaw. Roads soaked with snow and rain become muddy. This is called Rasputitsa.
During this season, most unrepaired roads turn into swamps. In other words, summer in Krasilov is not suitable for traveling by any means of transportation other than trains.
Yet in this season, a carriage is coming from the north?
This is clearly suspicious. Enrique quickly moved her hand to call a swarm of rats. Her will spread through the short souls of the rats to the ends of the city.
Rats near the northern gate began to raise their heads and gather, staring at the carriage's route with red eyes.
Soon, the carriage arrived at the city gate.
A skinny coachman took off his hat and bowed to the gate sentries. Staggering, he got down from the carriage and took out documents from his pocket to hand over.
Only then did the sentry check the seal hanging beyond the coachman's seat and nodded. Soon the gate opened, and the carriage entered the city with a rattle.
A carriage bearing the seal of the Northern Army Command Headquarters crossed through the city center.
Elizabeta anxiously tapped the table and suddenly asked.
"How long has it been? How much time has passed?"
"Two hours have passed, Your Majesty."
"What on earth are two grown adults doing in a tent for two hours! I can't tolerate this any longer!!"
She shouted as she stood up. It had been two hours since they left to briefly organize the operation plan for future coordination with the Hero Party.
Moreover, Isabelle, that girl, had openly flirted with Ivan right in front of her eyes. She had no choice but to step aside because it was Hero Party business. The Hero Party must be guaranteed independence even in front of all military kings, they said... that was tradition!
But isn't it also tradition that a paired adult male should not be left alone in a closed room with another woman? Elizabeta stood up, fuming.
She soon crossed the military camp toward the tent where Ivan and Isabelle were. The officers she had dispatched for surveillance bowed as they saw her.
"Are they inside?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Was there anything suspicious?"
At this time, "suspicious" of course meant inappropriate things that shouldn't be done in broad daylight.
The officers solemnly shook their heads.
"They seemed to be having a quiet conversation, but there was no such indication."
"Of course, Vanka wouldn't do such a thing. That blockhead wouldn't."
Elizabeta nodded with satisfaction and strode toward the tent. After taking a deep breath, she roughly opened the tent.
"Vanka, it's mealtime! I had to skip meals waiting for you to be satisfied—."
The tent was empty. Elizabeta blankly surveyed the interior of the tent. The tent was neatly arranged as if no one had ever stayed there.
She turned her head blankly. She saw officers with the same expression as hers.
"Is this not the right place...?"
"It is... it is, Your Majesty."
"Then... why? How...?"
"That... I don't quite understand either."
Elizabeta turned her head back to the interior of the tent.
"Vanka? Stop playing around and come out. Do I have to get angry before you'll appear? Hmm?"
"..."
"Vanka. Come out now and say it was a joke. Hurry."
"..."
Elizabeta, who had been muttering inside the tent, soon nodded lightly. Hmm, no one's here. Really, no one's here. Surprisingly, no one is here.
In front of his pregnant wife's eyes, he disappeared with a woman, eluding everyone else.
"Dmitri."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Form a pursuit team."
"Uh, well. Your Majesty. I humbly report... if the senior has truly withdrawn, pursuit would be nearly impossible..."
"I won't order twice."
"Yes, Your Majesty. I will obey your command."
Dmitri disappeared with a clattering noise. Elizabeta watched his back and laughed emptily, "Haha."
"Dwarf-made prosthetic hands are good indeed. It wouldn't interfere with daily life... How convenient to just attach it when needed?"
The ceremonial officers could only quietly bow their heads and wait for the king's wrath to subside.
"Finally—!!"
"Really... I've been through so much... This is really hard."
Asidis wiped away tears while sobbing. After passing through the vast forest, they finally reached the plains. In the distance, the familiar cityscape was spread out.
Lucia supported the Saintess while making the sign of the cross. Now that the holy power was gone, making the sign of the cross wouldn't cause vampires to burn. It meant she could freely practice her faith. (Additionally, drinking the Saintess's blood would no longer twist one's internal organs.)
At the head of the group, Oskar smiled faintly.
"We're finally back. This time was really tough."
"I'm never riding a horse again even if they beat me to death. I have no feeling below my waist."
"I don't want to go near a stable for a while either."
Oskar chuckled and rode his horse. Pritzenkaya was right in front of them.
"Let's go ahead and wait for Lord Yeremov."
It had been several weeks since they rushed to request military dispatch to Krasilov. Meanwhile, they heard that the Papal State had been reduced to ruins and that the Seven Dragon General had died.
They thought about joining Ivan's side instead, but there were only rumors that he had moved through underground tunnels. With the distance already too far to return to Ovidis, if they missed each other on the road, they would just be wasting time.
Therefore, they decided to head straight to Pritzenkaya. After all, Ivan would return to Pritzenkaya. Elfihera's argument that they needed to check on the orphanage's condition during that time also played a part.
"Let's just rest like we're dead for a few days. Let's meet again after a week of rest. I really feel like I'm going to die."
"I need to go report to my teacher too. Then see you in a week."
After passing through the city gate, the group dispersed.
Having barely returned after numerous life-threatening situations, they didn't want to do anything for a while.
Five days later, before daylight disappeared from Pritzenkaya.
An untimely polar night began.