In the afternoon, before evening, at the entrance of the mansion.

The first party to arrive at the mansion was unexpectedly not the one I called.

"Jupiter?"

Confused, I muttered tentatively.

"What brings you here?"

"..."

Dressed in clean imperial army uniform, Jupiter flashed a thin smile.

Despite her pale face marked with unmistakable signs of disease, her sole eye remained as sharp as ever.

"Your Majesty. Do you remember what I told you before? I said I was spreading a rumor across the continent, didn't I?"

"Hmm?"

"That the monster front here pays well. That the new commander, His Highness the Prince, is generous. Didn't I say I was spreading that rumor?"

"Ah, right, that one."

Yes. It happened a few months ago, but I remember it clearly. I told her to spread rumors among the continent's mercenaries.

I had readily agreed to it.

After all, there was nothing better than having mercenaries flocking to this city.

"The old mercenaries I knew heard the rumor and have come."

Jupiter pointed to the mercenaries standing behind her.

Men and women of middle age, with vividly lined faces, politely bowed to me.

Including Jupiter, they were a group of five - exactly one party.

"We're thinking of naming the party... 'Old Hunters'. How does that sound?"

Jupiter proposed confidently.

"They are veterans, having rolled through hell-like frontlines. They'll be of help."

"Jupiter."

But I shook my head slightly.

"Your magic explosion injuries haven't healed yet. I can't allow you to join the frontlines."

"Your Majesty."

Jupiter didn't back down.

"I heard this defensive battle involves vampires."

"..."

"You'll need as many capable mages as possible, won't you?"

I clenched my jaw. What she said was undeniably true.

Even at a glance, these people were high-level veterans. Their rankings were decent too.

If they were to join the upcoming battle, they would be of great help.

However...

"Don't worry. I'm a mercenary. I'm not foolish enough to burn myself out just to spit out magic."

Jupiter, who had stepped forward, pleaded desperately.

"Your Majesty. Please give this old woman a chance."

"..."

"To prove that I still have some use... Please give me a chance."

I couldn't bring myself to refuse her.

"Come in. We're about to have a strategic meeting over dinner."

I gestured into the mansion and smiled wryly.

"I suppose I'll have to prepare five more servings."

***

A few hours later.

Inside the Lord's mansion, in the dining room.

Although I asked everyone to gather by 6 p.m., all the party members had arrived even before 5 p.m.

A long table was set in the dining room, and the members of the four parties were seated in a row.

From the top seat, there was the main party, Shadow Squad, Dion Mercenary Group, and the newly joined Old Hunters.

Junior, who I had separately called, was also sitting at the table with the main party.

From the friendly chatter, it seemed they had become friends.

At that moment, Junior locked eyes with Jupiter, who had been silently sipping water in the corner of the table.

"..."

"..."

The grandmother and granddaughter quickly averted their eyes, pretending nothing had happened. Seriously.

"Everyone's here."

When I stood at the head of the table, everyone fell silent and focused on me. I nodded.

"Originally, I was going to feed you first then start the meeting. But since you all arrived early, let's have the meeting first and then eat. Is that okay?"

Dion and Godhand immediately nodded.

"Of course, Your Majesty!"

"The strategy meeting for this defensive battle is much more important than a meal."

I scratched my chin.

"Hmm... You're right, but... the food might not taste as good after the meeting."

"Haha! Even if the world ends, my appetite won't lessen. Don't worry about that."

Evangeline laughed, and Lucas nodded seriously. These gluttons.

"Alright. Before the appetizer comes out, let me briefly share some information about this defensive battle."

Clearing my throat.

"The most important piece of information first. The boss monster for this defensive battle, the Vampire Lord Celendion, has..."

I boldly started with the most crucial detail.

"...1,000 lives."

Celendion had a stock of 1,000 lives.

It was almost appropriate to call him the savings king rather than the vampire king.

"..."

The dining room fell silent.

At the table filled with an atmosphere of silence, Evangeline stuck out her tongue and mumbled softly.

"Ew?"

See, I told you it might ruin your appetite...

"...So you're saying we have to kill this powerful vampire lord a thousand times?"

Lucas mumbled apprehensively.

"Even killing it once seems very challenging... but a thousand times?"

"Of course, it's impossible to kill that monster a thousand times."

I smirked.

"That's why we have to find another way."

***

Vampires.

Monsters who take over the life rights of others through the act of blood sucking, making them part of their own lineage.

The lord stands at the apex of this vampire race.

The individual who owns the lives of all his legion members.

"Celendion's vampire legion was once annihilated for some unknown reason."

I don't know what this 'unknown reason' is. Only the setting that it happened in the distant past remains.

In any case, Celendion, who was left alone after all his subordinate vampires died, did not abandon them.

Noblesse oblige.

A lord is responsible for the lives of his followers.

"Celendion divided his immense life force into a thousand pieces and distributed it among his already deceased followers, resurrecting them."

I nodded gravely.

"Celendion's life is divided amongst the entire legion."

All for one and one for all.

That is the vampire legion.

The setting is lengthy, but how is this applied in the game?

"Celendion won't die until the last member of the legion falls."

You have to kill all the mobs before you can kill the boss mob.

"And if we fail to finish off Celendion at the end, he will retreat, regenerate his legion, and return."

If the boss raid fails, these bastards regenerate. Though it does take some time.

"The explanation was long, but in the end, the structure is simple."

I summarized.

"The incoming vampire legion of a thousand. Until we completely incinerate the last scrap of ghoul... we can't kill Celendion."

This isn't metaphorical. The word is literally stamped on Celendion's status window.

Unkillable.

Immortal.

Bastard.

"In other words, we don't need to face Celendion."

There's no need to waste firepower on someone who won't die.

"I will isolate Celendion with a secret plan I've prepared, and tie his hands. In the meantime, you all and the regular soldiers will annihilate the vampire legion."

It's easily said, but it will be a terribly difficult battle.

Even without Celendion, the remaining vampires alone are incredibly powerful.

But without giving anything away, I raised my voice.

"After that, we raid the alone Celendion and finish the defense. This is the overall flow of this defense battle."

Alright, that's the big picture.

"Now in detail... I will tell you one by one how to crush them."

I snapped my fingers.

Then, Aider rolled in a blackboard full of writings and drawings into the dining room.

"Frost ghoul. Enhanced frost ghoul. Fallen blood. Regular vampire. Vampire general. And the vampire lord, Celendion."

Drawing a staff in my hand, I banged on the blackboard.

"I will now lecture in detail on how to deal with each entity, so everyone better drill this into your heads."

It's lecture time by the hit tutor 'RetroAddict' of 'Protect the Empire'!

"Remembering this will be your blood and flesh... and your life in this defense battle, so make sure you understand it clearly."

"Senior!"

Then, Evangeline raised her hand. I pointed at Evangeline with the tip of my staff, exclaiming, "Oh!"

"Good, student Evangeline. Do you have a question before the lecture?"

Evangeline, who was rolling her eyes to catch the atmosphere around her, asked cautiously.

"... Can't we have the lecture after eating?"

"Put your palm out."

"No, really, I feel like my appetite will completely disappear after hearing about how to deal with vampires! Even when we were supposed to eat!"

Young lady, is the meal the problem now?! The future of the defense battle is the problem!

***

And so, my heated lecture on strategies ended three hours later.

It was well past 8 in the evening.

"..."

"..."

Really, all their faces turned pale, having lost their appetite.

As I meticulously explained the specifications of vampires, a species they had only vaguely known about until now, they were bound to feel disheartened.

As my lecture continued, the chef who had been watching from the back of the dining room started serving the appetizers cautiously.

But while food was being placed on the table, all the party members remained lost in their thoughts, unable to touch the food.

"Do you think... we can pull this off?" 

The careful question was voiced by Damien.

"We are facing an enemy more formidable than any monster we've encountered so far..."

"..."

I recall encountering Celendion on the 'Path of the Overlord' just a few days ago.

Back then, our main party was helpless against him. He was undeniably strong.

'But that was a dungeon. It was his base.'

This time, we fight at our base.

And his stats will be adjusted down to match Stage 5. It will be much more manageable.

'In the end, this game is an RPG.'

Level is the bully, and gear luck is king.

In other words,

"Think about the battles you've all fought so far."

If he's downgraded, and we're upgraded,

We can catch up. We certainly can.

"All the previous battles were nearly impossible, harsh battles. But we made it through."

I looked around at everyone and smiled broadly.

"And we will do it again this time."

I was confident. Confident that we could clear this stage, in our strategy.

But...

"..."

Honestly, I wasn't so confident.

How many of them could I actually save?

I was doing my best given the circumstances, but...

Limits do approach, clearly.

'...ugh.'

Suddenly, that scene flashed through my mind.

When we cleared the last stage on Earth.

Every party member character was annihilated, with only Lucas left standing alone.

Standing alone on top of the bodies of friends and foes.

'I won't let that happen again.'

I shook my head vigorously.

'This time, it's different.'

Here, the real Lucas is nodding at me with a face full of trust.

I won't leave you alone, Lucas.

I won't leave anyone behind... I won't lose anyone I can save.

"We have 9 days left until the start of the stage. We have determined our strategy, so we will train accordingly."

Seated at the head of the table, I picked up my fork and plunged it into the appetizer plate that nobody had touched yet.

"So, everyone, make sure to eat a hearty meal!"

Chewing the salad vigorously, I grinned.

"Because I'm going to be pushing you all to your limits from tomorrow."