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5. Engagement – War

A chilling report arrived at Abrival Castle as the snow began to melt.

The Austin Kingdom declared war on the Belita Kingdom located in the center of the continent. The Austin Kingdom had always coveted the warm and rich central region.

Upon hearing the news of war, Dehorman summoned his family along with Leo and Noel Dexter, throwing aside any pleasantries and getting straight to the point.

“There’s a war. The Jerome Holy Kingdom declared they won’t get involved this time, so we’ll need to draft troops from our castle.”

Abrival Castle was closer to the Jerome Holy Kingdom than the Belita Kingdom. If the Holy Kingdom had not backed out, Abrival Castle would have kept their troops for defense, but the situation unfolded unfavorably.

Dehorman’s tone mixed with complaint.

“Why do we have to go to war when we could just live like this… I don’t understand what the nobles are thinking.”

Silence filled the room at the mention of troop drafts. Some soldiers from Abrival Castle and some warriors from the Ainar Tribe would be heading to the battlefield.

But that didn’t matter much. Responding to a war was an honorable duty for a warrior.

Everyone’s discomfort lay elsewhere.

“Lena… must participate.”

If the child of a great warrior was a warrior themselves, according to Ainar Tribe customs, they had to take the place of their father or mother during war. It would be a disgrace for a great warrior to participate in war while their child stayed behind.

Lena nodded, as if she understood everything.

“Got it. This is actually a good thing. If I achieve great deeds in this war, it’ll help with my knighthood.”

She seemed rather enthusiastic, but Dehorman’s heart was uneasy.

His daughter, who had only just become a warrior, was going to the battlefield.

Though he showed no signs, he regretted not having taken Lena hunting for a few months.

The family gathered, each returning to their daily routines with heavy hearts. There was still some time before the deployment day.

Leo recalled the last hunting event. If Lena had been injured facing the Old Phantom Fox, she could have avoided participating in the war.

But even if they had known about the war in advance, it wasn’t an event they could challenge. It would be impossible for the two of them to take down the Old Phantom Fox together.

‘Another event where Lena is leaving…’

Previously, there had been an event for becoming a priest, but this time she was headed for the battlefield. Since Lena Ainar dreamed of becoming a knight, it might have been inevitable.

Leo had no way to stop her from leaving.

In Demos village, Lena didn’t want to part from Leo, but this time it was forced conscription, and she didn’t appear to have any intention of refusing.

After some contemplation, Leo found Noel’s room. His father was reading a book in his rocking chair as usual.

“Father. I want to participate too.”

Unlike Lena, who was not a soldier or a warrior of the tribe, Leo had no obligation to participate in the war.

The families of soldiers were exempt from conscription. Since some soldiers already affiliated with the castle were participating in the war, Noel Dexter, although affiliated with the castle, was a retired knight, giving the Dexter family complete exemption.

Still, support was always possible, and Leo was thinking of following Lena.

Noel slammed his book shut with a loud thump.

“No! You will definitely die if you go now. Absolutely not.”

To Noel, his son’s swordsmanship was terrible. For some reason unknown to him, Leo had been overly focused on probing for weaknesses with his nearsighted eyes, failing to predict his opponent’s movements.

A haphazardly swinging sword with no stability. If he went to war, he might get lucky and catch an enemy a few times, but in the end, he would surely die.

Leo fell to his knees at his father’s blunt refusal.

“Father, please. I must go!”

“No means no!”

“Not everyone dies just because they go to war.”

“You don’t understand war!”

Noel was well aware of the chaos of the battlefield. This foolish son did not realize that swords flew indiscriminately in battle. Cavalry might fare slightly better, but defensive swordsmanship was essential for infantry.

“If I hear one more word about you wanting to go, I’ll make sure you can’t go! I’ll break your legs if I have to!”

Leo was thrown out of the room with Noel’s shout.

In the end, he couldn’t participate in the war due to his father’s violent opposition.

He tried to enlist secretly, but as a knight affiliated with the castle, Noel discovered the truth, and on that day Leo received a beating so severe that he limped for several days.

The day of deployment approached rapidly. Everyone laughed and chatted as if it were nothing, but amidst their words, there lingered a strange wistfulness.

*

In the clearing where weeds started to sprout, Leo approached Lena and offered her a wooden sword.

Tomorrow, Lena would leave.

“Let’s have a match.”

Lena silently swung her sword in preparation for her departure, but at his provocation, she smiled and put down her real sword, picking up the wooden one.

“Better be careful. I feel great.”

Lena offered her wooden sword as well.

They faced each other cautiously, Leo wiggling the tip of his sword to lure her in, but her sword seemed to be aware as it mirrored his movements.

She was ready to counter no matter what. ─ It seemed to say, pushing Leo to take the initiative first.

Sure enough, she smoothly deflected Leo’s sword. The two wooden swords scratched against each other, creating a rough sound like scraping.

Lena swung down with her arm over her head. Leo stepped forward deeply and struck the end of her wrist with his sword’s handle. Naturally, his wooden sword aimed for her chest, but Lena dodged and aimed a kick at his abdomen.

Not like this!

Leo sidestepped to evade the kick and swung his sword down with all his strength.

– Thud!

The two wooden swords clashed violently, and there was a brief struggle for power. Lena’s eyes sparkled behind her sword.

Lena straightened her bent knee, forcefully shoving Leo back and praised him.

“Wow. You’ve improved a lot.”

“I wasn’t just sitting around.”

The two smiled at each other, but after a short bout, Leo lost his balance. Lena seized the opportunity and swept his ankle with a kick.

He tumbled to the ground.

As Leo hastily regained his footing, he felt something heavy against his neck. Lena pushed him down with the wooden sword and said,

“Leo, your strange swordsmanship is still far from completion.”

The duel ended rather blandly.

Though he lost, Leo, filled with frustration, leaped up and grabbed Lena’s waist, throwing her off balance.

The two dropped their swords and tumbled around in the clearing.

A silent struggle and exchange took place, but eventually, Leo overpowered Lena with strength.

“Hey! Leo! That’s cheating!”

“I know!!”

Leo yelled at her face.

Lena, pinned beneath him, gazed up at Leo with a smirk before reaching up to touch his cheek.

“Always so foolish… I’ll come back alive, so don’t waste your time worrying and wait patiently.”

Lena wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss, and Leo didn’t shy away.

Tomorrow, Lena would leave, and he couldn’t join her due to his lacking swordsmanship. He felt like he might cry out of despair, but he stifled it, afraid of appearing to mourn a warrior headed to battle.

The two remained entangled in each other’s arms for a while, embracing each other deeply in the clearing before sharing a mug of beer.

Lena pushed Leo away.

*

The next day, Leo woke up to find Lena gone from the room.

After putting on his scattered clothes, he went downstairs to see her fully armored and already having breakfast.

Dehorman, who was having breakfast nearby, noticed him and shouted with gusto. In that awkward shout that seemed to hide his sadness, there was both concern and love.

“Look at these two lovebirds, making a big fuss before even getting married. You both wanna break your legs and stay home? Hahaha!”

“Oh, come on. What do you mean breaking legs before going into battle? That’s a bit much.”

Lena rolled her eyes, and an embarrassed Leo sat beside her in silence as she finished her meal but didn’t leave his side.

After finishing their meal, the entire family went out to see them off. In the village clearing, warriors and soldiers were bustling about, forming ranks for the march.

Lena hugged her family tightly.

“Daughter. Please take care of yourself.”

“Kill them all and come back! Huh… Haah.”

Leo and Lena squeezed each other tightly one last time.

Even after holding on so tightly the night before, they still didn’t want to let go. She felt so close yet so far away. He wished he could hold her like this forever, but Lena twitched, signaling that she wanted to be released.

The embrace ended.

“Have a safe trip. Don’t get hurt.”

“Don’t worry! I’ll come back as a knight!”

She set off confidently.

Bold drums sounded in Abrival Castle for the departing soldiers, and the Ainar Tribe blew their horns long and loud.

The resounding drumbeats and trumpet calls seemed to encourage the soldiers to return alive, fading away only when they disappeared over the horizon.

Leo stood at the castle gate for a long time, unable to move.

After that, he swung his sword like a madman. He was determined to improve his swordsmanship to the point where his father would recognize him, intending to enlist and chase after Lena.

Leo didn’t rest until summer arrived, which followed spring.

On a hot summer day, as usual, Leo was sweating, when he suddenly saw a message floating before his eyes.

[Lena has died.]

The message coldly announced Lena’s death.

The sword fell from his hands, but there was no sound. The surroundings faded away, engulfing him in darkness.

[Thank you for playing Lena’s Journey.]

[Lena Ainar]

[Final Class: Warrior of the Ainar Tribe]

[Marriage Partner: Engaged to Leo]

[Leo Dexter]

[Final Class: Knight]

[Marriage Partner: Unmarried]

[Engagement Ending: Honorary Death]

– Lena Ainar, born in Abrival Castle, had a happy childhood. As the daughter of the great warrior of the Ainar Tribe… (omit) …fighting in the war against the Belita Kingdom’s Second Knight Order, she achieved remarkable feats but was ultimately slain by the knight Katrina. –

– Leo Dexter, born in the capital Barnau, had a happy childhood but lost his mother early on. He lived a life as a knight guarding Abrival Castle without ever marrying… (omit) …and died young. –

Once again, letters appeared in the darkness.

The scene of Lena bravely fighting on the battlefield also surfaced as a faded illustration.

She, who had declared she would return as a knight, did not return.

In truth, she was slightly too young to go to war.

But it would be a disgrace for a warrior to use age as an excuse, and Lena, who was more warrior-like than anyone else, likely didn’t regret a thing until her last moment.

Leo could only feel humiliation at the fact that he wasn’t by her side.

I should have at least been there with her. After the scenario ended, did Leo, who remained in that world, meet the same premature end out of this shame?

Leo found it unbearable to endure the fading of her ending. He twisted his body in shame and self-reproach before disappearing alongside Lena’s picture.

Minseo’s spirit floated to the forefront.

His girlfriend Chaehwa and parents also surfaced, twisting his feelings painfully, but perhaps because he had gone through it once before, it wasn’t as maddening as it had been.

Hope was born.

‘I learned a bit of swordsmanship. I should do better next time.’

This comforted Minseo.

Just as the hunting skills he learned in the first scenario had not vanished, swordsmanship remained in his mind. He began to feel a glimmer of hope that even if this were to repeat infinitely, he might someday be able to finish it.

‘If it comes to it, through sheer brute strength, I’ll go through everything until I reach the ending.’

It was the route that men enjoyed most when playing games.

Despite having a normal route, they’d power-level their character to the point of annihilation, smashing everything in sight.

After all, there was a saying: “Annihilation is assassination.” He cherished the idea of an annihilation route and waited.

[You have not cleared Lena’s Journey.]

[Leo, you became a knight and protected Abrival Castle for your entire life. Due to your achievements, some of Leo’s {Swordsmanship} skills will carry over.]

[It will restart.]

The exact contents Minseo wanted appeared. And unsurprisingly, the introduction video announcing a new beginning unfolded before his eyes…

“Oh… Seriously. Another one.”

This time, the introduction video rushed toward a grand city across an expansive plain. Beyond the massive castle gates, a grand royal castle could be seen in the distance.

If only it went straight to the royal castle, but the perspective suddenly turned and stopped at a dark, filthy alley going past a bustling market.

There, a beggar sibling duo appeared.