The next day, I still remained staying in the Palace. The Emperor allowed me to stay here temporarily. Actually I thought of this as one of the "rewards" because I helped win the battle against those hell monsters. However since yesterday David still went home as usual. Why did that feel contrasting to me? David who had already defeated the strongest demon Azkerath should also stay in this Palace. Was it because he still wanted to maintain his own privacy?
When I was having breakfast in the palace dining hall, suddenly Grelmure approached me and joined breakfast together as well.
"Is there another agenda after this, Sir Grelmure?" I said trying to open a conversation.
"Of course there is, Johann. After this Grivendal will celebrate a massive festival after decisively and permanently winning against the large invasion of terror realm monsters. The Emperor already planned this after you woke up. The day when the war ended has been established as a historical day of the empire."
Ooohhh... once again I felt touched hearing it. Maybe they considered me as important as David so the victory celebration event waited for me to regain consciousness.
"Actually I want to ask you. How could you enter the battlefield and save me from that demon king's attack?"
Grelmure laughed again. I suspected that he also disobeyed Gruzhnil's order just like me.
"Let me tell you. When you turned off the Graganthurion communication channel with Commander Gruzhnil's radio, he kept shouting angrily and sounded like he wanted to cry. I also felt very shocked at that moment too, Johann... Without thinking long, I ran leaving the commander toward one idle Graganthurion. I saw its upper hatch open and there was an emergency rope ladder hanging downward. I immediately climbed it quickly right then. I also heard the pilot below cursing at me but I ignored it until I entered the control room and drove that robot toward you. The commander had also cursed at me but I lowered the volume so it could not be heard. At that moment I was not afraid even though someone like me had to face that demon king. So I thought I was sacrificing my own life to save you but in the end you still remained stubborn too..."
I sighed and smiled softly hearing Grelmure's confession. For a moment I felt there was a similarity in attitude and behavior between the two of us.
"After this war ended did you get scolded again by the commander?" I asked curiously.
"Of course... After everything ended, Commander Gruzhnil immediately asked me to meet him at his house. He directly poured all his emotions onto me until he cried. The commander also felt very guilty because he could not warn all his troops so nearly half his forces perished when struck by the demon king's great spell. But after that he immediately hugged me because he was very grateful no one he cared about truly died, including you..."
My cheeks instantly became slightly red knowing I was included as someone Gruzhnil cared about even though I had clearly disobeyed his order. But I think he understood my desire at that time and it was also reinforced by the event of many soldiers dead simultaneously because of Azkerath's curse.
After breakfast, suddenly Grelmure's wristwatch rang again signaling an incoming call. After Grelmure accepted the call, he immediately smiled at me again.
"We were just talking about the commander and he wants to meet you at headquarters. Can you already walk normally, Johann?"
I nodded and we walked out of the palace. Even though my legs had improved, I still could not walk faster and Grelmure understood that.
During the trip toward headquarters, citizens who saw me at the roadside immediately shouted my name. I felt embarrassed because I never imagined becoming even more famous like a top celebrity. I remembered when I first arrived here, I immediately became the center of attention after violating the arena of judgment.
"Hahahahaaa... You are already considered a hero by them, Johann. So from now on you must get used to their attitude okay!" Grelmure said teasing me again.
I only smiled softly and replied to the citizens greeting me from afar by merely waving my hand.
When arriving at the central headquarters, once again the soldiers there saluted every time I crossed paths with them and I replied only with a nod. We arrived at Gruzhnil's office and he immediately hugged me again. I was invited to sit on his sofa.
"So the purpose I invited you here is to discuss what the future prospects will be like after the great war later. I have already held a major meeting with the high officers of The Graendall and there will be changes in the military system later." Gruzhnil said opening the conversation.
He said that after the military strength was restored, they would receive a mandate from Archangel Geriel to form the Grivendal-High Heaven alliance. The goal was to invade hell back, capture Ruciphar and conquer the entirety of that hell realm.
Suddenly my memory flowed again regarding the game's storyline and my encounter with the previous demons. According to the original plot, The Graendall indirectly led by David also invaded hell together with High Heaven to pursue Azkerath. But this time the one to be pursued would be the main ruler of that hell realm itself.
My question was how long would this counter invasion plan be carried out? In my opinion if it took too long there would be a risk of Azkerath being revived again and that would become an even greater disaster if we had to fight directly in his original realm.
Then I also questioned why The Graendall and High Heaven wanted to conquer hell which sounded rather strange to me. What I feared was if they would eliminate Mareketh and Banasphate. Even though they were still demon entities, to me they were not troublemakers of other realms like Azkerath. I was very worried that later I would clash again with David if I defended the two of them. He had not even the slightest mercy toward hell entities.
Suddenly I remembered the Dreadstones that had disappeared after being stolen by those terrorists. Could it be that High Heaven through this military order wanted to control the Dreadstone deposits to create more Elements of Desire?
Of course I could not say this right now to Gruzhnil. It was enough that I had made him emotional during that war.
"When approximately will The Graendall and High Heaven carry out the counter invasion into the realm of terror, commander?" I asked.
"Hahahahaaa... You really come up with strange questions! Of course not that soon! We still have many other agendas that need to be done. We must plan it very carefully. Besides, the ancient portal has already disappeared and there is no other way yet to enter the that realm..."
I felt Gruzhnil didn't yet understand about the life cycle in hell, but I only listened to him.
"Oh yes commander. Will we hold a victory celebration in the near future?"
"Hmmm... it seems Grelmure has already told you this. The answer is yes. But before that we will conduct a grand ceremony to give final honors to the soldiers who fell. The Emperor has planned it for tomorrow. You can join, right Johann?"
"Yes. I want to pay respect to our warriors who sacrificed their lives for this war, commander..."
Gruzhnil only smiled at me.
"One more thing commander. This is actually just a trivial question. If I'm allowed to stay in the palace, why isn't Sir David? Is that his own wish?"
"Actually the Emperor has already given The Great Lord David an even more special place and it was only recently completed. Previously he also asked him to stay in the Palace so he could more freely visit you while you were still asleep. But Lord David refused and still returned to his house at the foot of the hill. I'm actually also rather confused but the Emperor and I still respect his decision."
I thought that even though David had obtained divine power, he had become someone not easily predicted. When I first met him, I felt I could understand David's character because I repeatedly played him in the game and read his books. Had he now become a complete person because of my interactions with him which were quite intense? I could only speculate.
After that I was brought by Gruzhnil together with Grelmure to the main military base again for the next inspection. As usual when the soldiers saw me, they immediately approached us and loudly called my name. Some of them wanted to shake hands with me and even asked for my autograph on their helmets or armor. Honestly this made me rather uncomfortable even though Grelmure had warned me beforehand. Gruzhnil had briefly become angry at them to return to work when I appeared overwhelmed.
I felt that actually they idolized David more. But maybe because I was considered the closest person to him and approachable, they made me their second figure, it seemed...
"After the great war yesterday happened, nearly half of our combat equipment was destroyed and damaged. I have asked every production chief to supply more but it indeed requires more time so I often come here so the process continues running smoothly..." Gruzhnil said while returning to headquarters in the afternoon.
"Commander, will that require more Starstones? Didn't you say their production is decreasing and experts are searching for a new source?" I asked.
"Wow... I'm quite impressed by your memory even though you have passed through the hardest suffering! The answer is yes, but remember also we are the central planet. After the war ended The Graendall from other planets immediately came here and helped with post-war recovery. This is as a form of their responsibility for not being able to send assistance to us, one of them being contributing some Starstones to restore the military strength of Planet Grivendal. Planet Grohn through Tiberos is the largest contributor." Gruzhnil answered.
I was instantly touched hearing that the other planets helped Grivendal recover after this disaster, especially Planet Grohn and Tiberos. Even though each of us knew about the tragedy that caused an invisible fracture between Grohn and Grivendal, Tiberos still showed his concern.
But at that moment my suspicion returned again. From Tiberos's behavior that had seemed quite strange since the sudden arrival at the festival tent before, why did I instead think there was a possibility of hidden intentions behind his concern. I didn't want to think further anymore. The chaos caused by this demon invasion was enough and I wanted to enjoy my peace period first.
"Commander, can we go to Sir David's house first? Maybe He went to the palace this afternoon and I was not there..."
"Ohh yes... That is also a good idea. But I didn't receive a call if Lord David visited the palace earlier. Yesterday He met me first to escort Him there..."
Ahh... I already suspected now he was bit more open and no longer truly isolating himself. I was happy about that.
Gruzhnil asked Grelmure who was driving the go-kart to head to David's house first. After arriving, I saw David sitting with his back toward us on a large rock located at the edge of the hill cliff.
I observed David holding something like a spear where only both blade tips were visible in blood-red color. As if he already knew of our presence, David stood and turned his body around. It became clearly visible that he was holding that spear with both hands. He only stared at me.
Instantly the hairs on the back of my neck stood up when I realized what spear David was holding.