‘Our ally is our enemy.

  Remember that, and survive.’

  By Johson Ottop, a retired soldier after 30 years of service.

  In the very heart of the Kingdom of Shiena, the capital city of Heartspire burst with life. Buildings stood tall and proud, while below, streets were filled with people laughing, eating, drinking, and talking.

  At the city's center rose the royal castle, the largest and most magnificent structure in Heartspire. Built by the kingdom's first king, it stood as a symbol of Shiena's strength.

  Inside the royal castle's throne room, a fat man sat upon the throne. His face was full of displeasure as he watched the old woman standing before him. This was King Aric Von Smallstar, ruler of the Shiena Kingdom. The woman addressing him spoke with a cold expression.

  “Your Majesty, I must ask your permission again.”

  Her name was Vespera Sinhope, commander of the 1st Corps and Marshal of the entire military. At fifty years old, she remained in active service, recognized as one of the most brilliant tactical minds the kingdom had ever known.

  She was currently in the capital, as she needed to attend the Council of the Nine Generals to deliberate on matters concerning the Fifth Hero and the Crown of Emerald alongside General Cedric and the other commanders.

  On top of that, she had personal affairs to settle while she was there. Even so, she had not expected the news that King Aric had refused to deploy the 9th Corps to the Eastern Line.

  "We must deploy the 9th Corps to the Eastern Line while the 8th Corps moves to the Northern Line," Vespera said, her sharp eyes fixed on the king's face. "We've suffered heavy casualties. The 3rd and 4th Corps desperately need reinforcements."

  "But who would defend the capital? And the west?" King Aric yawned. "We need the 8th Corps here and there."

  "The Emerald Order can handle that," Vespera replied pointedly, hoping the king would grasp what she wasn't saying outright: The Empire won't attack from the west.

  The Emerald Order was an elite knight order in direct service to the crown. Though they numbered only around a thousand, they possessed the skill and power to face an entire army.

  "Nonsense!" The king's shout made his belly jiggle. "Without them, the capital will descend into chaos!"

  "Your Majesty," Vespera said through gritted teeth, "if the Eastern Line falls, we will lose this war."

  She desperately wanted to cut him down for his stupidity, but restrained herself. "There is no guarantee of victory if the rest of our corps are destroyed."

  The Eastern Line was already struggling just to hold ground near Fort Stonebridge, which had fallen to Imperial forces. With the arrival of the Storm Crusaders,any hope of retaking it had vanished. Now they were simply trying not to be pushed back further.

  King Aric didn't respond, merely huffing indignantly.

  Vespera suppressed a sigh at the king's foolishness. She knew Aric understood perfectly well that he should send the 9th Corps to the Eastern Line. But a personal grudge was holding him back.

  The reason for his refusal was petty and stupid: Cedric's granddaughter had rejected his marriage proposal.

  Freya Airviss, renowned throughout the kingdom for her beauty, had turned him down flat. And because of Cedric's considerable influence, Aric couldn't force the marriage without consequence.

  So instead, King Aric had chosen to weaken the Airviss household by sabotaging the 9th Corps: denying them opportunities for successful campaigns and military glory. Without those achievements, Cedric would lack the political leverage to oppose him, allowing Aric to eventually force the marriage without resistance.

  The fact that this child-like revenge might cost the kingdom its survival didn't seem to concern him.

  "If you continue down this path, I will have no choice but to resign from my position," Vespera suddenly declared, her words dropping. "Refuse to send the 9th Corps, and I will step down immediately."

  King Aric smiled at her words, clearly thinking she was bluffing. Then she turned and walked toward the throne room doors without another word.

  The king's face went deathly pale.

  "Wait! Wait!" King Aric shouted frantically, his previous arrogance evaporating. "I'll send the 9th Corps! Please don't resign!"

  Even King Aric wasn't foolish enough to lose Vespera. Her leadership was important to the kingdom's survival. The Eastern Line held only because of her strategic genius. Without her, their defenses would collapse within weeks, if worse, days.

  "I will be watching closely," Vespera said without turning back as she exited the throne room.

  King Aric slumped in his throne, sighing deeply. His planned marriage to Freya would have to be postponed, again. He had already spent a fortune on wedding preparations that would now go to waste.

  "I want to sleep..." King Aric murmured, yawning once more.

  [(0)]

  "Congratulations on your promotion to Major, Aria." An old man with not much white hair and a neatly trimmed beard grinned at me like a grandfather proud of his grandchild's accomplishments. "And here are your gifts."

  "Thank you, sir!" I saluted sharply.

  The first gift was a sword, one I recognized immediately as Windwhisper, the blade that had belonged to Major General Remnell, one of the generals I had killed. The second was... stranger. A massive egg, easily the size of my head, sat in a red cushioned case.

  "The sword has been verified for your use," Cedric explained, still smiling. "Several craftsmen in the capital examined it thoroughly, and it's safe to wield. As for the egg, consider it a personal gift from me. For your promotion."

  "Thank you, sir, for your generosity!"

  I had heard that some artifacts, like Windwhisper, contained special runes that would activate catastrophically if used by the wrong person. Exploding, cursing, or worse. The verification process was absolutely necessary.

  And yes, I was genuinely excited about wielding a magical sword, though I worried about using it without having mana of my own.

  "You don't need to be so formal around me, you know," General Cedric said warmly.

  I couldn't quite bring myself to relax, though. Not after he had tricked me when I first arrived at the fort, making me treat him like just another random officer and getting chewed by Brigadier General Devon.

  For anyone wondering who I was and why the commander of the 9th Corps was personally gifting me magical artifacts, my name is Aria. Just Aria. I am a soldier serving in the military of the Shiena Kingdom.

  But I am not exactly human. I am a homunculus, an artificial human created by the very nation I serve. I was designed to be a weapon. Then... well, I accidentally got reincarnated into this body. It is complicated.

  After waking up in this form, accidentally killing a person or two during my confusion, and undergoing brutal training under Instructor Demo to become a "super weapon," I was deployed to the 9th Corps.

  There, I fought soldiers from the Emavia Empire, an enemy nation hell-bent on dominating the entire continent. The continent's name is Olina, by the way.

  After slaying not one but two enemy commanders, I was promoted to Major and awarded the Crown of Emerald, a legendary medal granted to only four people in the kingdom's entire 500-year history. So now, apparently, I am considered a hero.

  Recently, though, things have gotten worse. A new enemy force called the Storm Crusaders, the Empire's elite 5th Knight Brigade, had appeared on the Eastern Line.

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  They had single-handedly annihilated the 5th Corps, nearly destroyed the 4th Corps, and put both the 6th and 7th Corps in grave danger.

  From what I had heard, the 1st and 2nd Corps were doing their best to support the 6th and 7th, but couldn't spare resources for the 4th. So the 3rd Corps, famous for having the most battle mages in the kingdom, had been dispatched from Staedergh Citadel to reinforce them.

  Which meant the 9th Corps would likely be redeployed soon.

  So General Cedric had been summoned to the Eastern Line about two weeks ago to address the crisis. When he returned, he didn't go to his office first, no, he came straight to my room, where I was lounging in pajamas and reading a book.

  My hair was a mess, my breath probably smelled, and I was frankly filthy from skipping my bath after tonight's training session.

  Cedric didn't seem to mind my state of disarray. Someone else, however, very much did.

  I could feel the murderous glare radiating from Devon, who stood beside Cedric wearing an expression that would make a demon lose his job.

  "I am doing my best as an officer, sir," I said quickly, trying to calm the immediate situation before it escalated into something worse.

  "Doing your best while wearing pajamas?" Cedric seemed to be suppressing laughter, his eyes twinkling with barely contained amusement.

  "Yes, sir. I'm prepared to charge into battle in pajamas if the situation calls for it," I replied, keeping my face as serious as possible.

  I glanced at Devon, whose murderous expression had transformed into a smile. Somehow, that was infinitely more terrifying. Cold sweat ran down my back.

  "Anyway," Cedric continued, either oblivious to Devon's glare or deliberately ignoring it for his own amusement, "this egg is a monster egg. It will begin hatching once the owner feeds it enough mana."

  Well, that was interesting. Monsters did exist on the continent of Olina, but they were increasingly rare. There were several reasons for this: First, constant warfare meant countless animals and monsters died as collateral damage. Second, the Emavia Empire absolutely despised monsters. The first Emperor's wife had been killed by one, so the Empire had hunted them relentlessly ever since, driving their populations to near extinction. And finally, monster parts were incredibly valuable, which meant the few that remained were mostly domesticated breeds raised for harvesting.

  I lifted the egg from its red velvet cushion. As I did, I noticed a letter tucked beneath it. My enhanced vision caught the words even as I tried not to look:

  Happy Birthday Freya! From your most loving grandfather, Cedric Airviss

  Cedric's boot suddenly came down hard on the letter, hiding it from view.

  It was too late though. I had already gotten the gist of it. His granddaughter, Freya, apparently hadn't wanted the gift, so he had passed it along to me instead.

  I couldn't help but wonder if he would have bought me something if she had actually kept it.

  "I hope you didn't see that," Cedric said, clearly flustered and embarrassed. "Um, anyway, I hope you have good luck with whatever hatches. It's completely random."

  With that, Cedric and Devon left. Thankfully, Devon didn't stay behind to chew me out once Cedric was gone. Though he did pause at the doorway, looking at me with an odd expression, something close to hesitation, before disappearing after the general.

  Huh. That was strange. Though not that strange.

  Now alone, I examined the egg more carefully. It was black with intricate silver patterns tracing along its surface. Despite its size, it wasn't particularly heavy. I placed it on my desk, wondering what kind of monster might be inside.

  Though I would have to figure out how to hatch it first.

  Nine, I thought, directing my attention inward. It would be really helpful if you could send me some mana.

  Nine, the original soul of this body, resided somewhere inside me. Or more accurately, sharing space with my own soul. Despite only meeting directly once, she had done something incredible for me: during my fight with Major General Caelen, she had allowed me to access mana.

  But I hadn't been able to reach her since. Still, I figured it was worth trying now.

  I focused inward, waiting for some response, a feeling, a whisper, anything. Nothing came.

  I wasn't particularly disappointed. Instead, I decided to take a more practical approach: research. I grabbed a jacket and the egg as I headed out to find the library.

  Fort Kespare was one of the oldest fortifications in the kingdom, allegedly used by the first king himself. Over the centuries, it had accumulated all sorts of entertainment beyond its military function: library, a football field, a music hall, a costume room, even a ballroom for dancing.

  As I walked down one of the dimly lit hallways, I spotted a familiar figure approaching from the opposite direction. He had brown skin, shining blonde hair, and an annoyingly handsome face that would have made me jealous back on Earth.

  "Hey, Aria!" Deryk, mage and fellow Major, greeted me with his usual bright

  smile.

  "Hi," I replied, stifling a yawn. "What are you doing up this late?"

  "Just heading back to my room after dancing with some friends." He grinned, and the magical lights lining the hallway reflected off his teeth, making me squint. "What about you was what I was going to ask, but what is up with that egg?"

  "Going to the library for some research." I showed him Cedric's gift, the mysterious monster egg, and my problem. Since Deryk was a mage, I hoped he might know how to hatch it without using mana I didn't have. "Do you have any ideas?"

  "Hmm..." Deryk rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I always slept through Monster Studies because the professor was incredibly boring... but I do know someone who can help you."

  He gestured for me to follow, leading me in the opposite direction from the library. We walked through several corridors until we reached what looked like the fort's stables.

  The place was chaotic. Animals of all kinds filled the pens and stalls; Sakys, Wind Birds, and various creatures I had never seen before. The air smelled of hay, feathers, and something vaguely sulfurous.

  In the middle of this chaos stood a man with wild, unkempt hair. He was feeding what appeared to be some kind of fire-breathing bird, almost like a small phoenix. He smiled contentedly even as his clothes smoldered from holding the creature.

  "That's our guy?" I asked, somewhat skeptical.

  "Yep. Lieutenant Colonel Trevion, leader of the Magical Monster Division," Deryk said as he strolled past.

  "There's a division for that?" I murmured, following while sidestepping to dodge a Saky being led past by its handler.

  "Hey, Trev!" Deryk called out in a friendly tone. Clearly they already knew each other. "I see you forgot to change into fireproof clothes again!"

  "Oh, Deryk!" Trevion grinned, then noticed the flames spreading across his shirt. "Ah, look at that. Guess I'll have to throw this one away too. And it was a nice shirt!"

  Then, without any apparent concern, Trevion proceeded to pull off his burning shirt, with the fire bird still perched on his shoulder. Beneath the ruined fabric was a torso covered in old burn marks, scars, and impressive muscles. His skin began to redden from the heat as he casually changed into a fresh shirt.

  What was even the point of changing if he was just going to let his skin burn anyway...?

  "Anyway," Trevion said with a smile as the fire bird finally flew off, "what brings you two here?"

  "Well, one of my friends wanted to ask if you could take a look at her egg," Deryk said, gesturing toward me.

  "Oh! You must be Major Aria, the Fifth Hero of the Shiena Kingdom!" Trevion clasped my hand and shook it with tremendous enthusiasm. "My name is Trevion, but please, call me Trev."

  "Um, hi," I said, slightly taken aback by his cheerful energy, but I was used to all sorts of strange people. Especially after I received the Crown of Emerald and many people looked differently toward me. "As you probably know, I'm Aria, and I was hoping you could examine this."

  I carefully pulled out the black egg and handed it to him. He lifted it easily, turning it over in his hands as he inspected it from every angle. He knocked on the shell, listening carefully. Then he held it up to his ear. And then... he licked it. I tried not to grimace. Kind of gross.

  "Hmm, I don't recognize this species," Trevion admitted cheerfully, handing the egg back. "But based on the shell composition and weight distribution, I'd guess it's something that flies. You'll need to feed it mana to hatch it, but not a massive amount. Just a little twice a week. Should hatch within a month or so at that rate."

  "Alright, that should help a lot. Thanks." I didn't know if everything he had said was accurate, but there was no harm in trying. Though that wasn't quite the answer I needed. "Um, about hatching it. I don't actually have a lot of mana of my own, so I might have trouble feeding it, even once a week."

  "Ah, that is a problem." Trevion looked at me with a mixture of pity and curiosity. "The reason we're able to domesticate monsters is by feeding them our mana. It makes them believe we're their parents."

  Deryk fell silent, clearly thinking. I pondered the problem as well while Trevion tilted his head thoughtfully, which caused a green Wind Bird to land on top of it, pecking at his forehead. He didn't seem to notice.

  "Maybe you could get close to a mana crystal and try channeling it that way?" Deryk suggested after a moment. "At least it's worth attempting."

  "That's a good idea," Trevion agreed, reaching into his pocket and pulling out some seeds to feed the Wind Bird. "Anyway, give that a try. I've got to go now. Oh, and please step back for a few seconds."

  Deryk immediately complied, grabbing me by the scruff of my neck and pulling me backward. I looked at him, confused, and he mouthed: Just watch.

  Then the ground began to tremble beneath our feet. Something was approaching, something big. I reached for my sword, but Deryk caught my arm and shook his head.

  Then—

  BOOOOOM!!!

  A herd of massive cattle-like creatures thundered past, their hooves shaking the earth. They crashed straight through the stone wall of the stable as if it were made of paper. Trevion, who had been standing directly in their path, let out a delighted laugh and leaped onto the back of the lead creature as the entire herd stampeded away, leaving destruction in their wake.

  "Minoroas," Deryk said, watching them disappear with an amused smile. "The military wants to use them as living battering rams against Fort Stonebridge. They have hides tough enough to withstand arrows and even 3rd Order spells. But they're having trouble taming them, so they sent them to Trevion."

  "Okay...?" I watched the dust settle where the wall used to be. I guessed that the larger the monster, the harder it was to tame. That probably explained why monsters weren't used more frequently in warfare. "So, do we just, um..."

  "He'll be fine," Deryk shrugged. "Probably. Now, let's go see if the merchant has any mana crystals."

  "Sure," I said, still slightly shaken by the whole stampede incident.

  However, one thing I had learned about myself: I had the memory of a goldfish. Because after doing some research that night, I completely forgot to wake up early and woke up late to insistent knocking on my door.

  When I opened it, I found myself face-to-face with a smiling demon, I mean, Devon, who was radiating an aura so cold it instantly jolted me awake. The expression on his face clearly said: I'm going to end your whole career.

  "I see you haven't learned proper discipline from yesterday's visit," Devon said, his eyes twitching. "Follow me to my office. In your pajamas, of course."

  There was no room for argument. I was promptly dragged through the fort corridors, passing officers and soldiers who offered me looks of pity mixed with barely suppressed laughter.

  This was going to be a long morning.