The Survival of an Inferior

One Year Later

Prince Armin, a man with blonde hair and jewel-yellow eyes, sits in a red luxurious chair with his legs crossed under a desk. 

He taps his finger on the desk and glances at the stacks of paper. 

A bearded servant in a suit kneels on the floor beside Armin, trembling. 

"How was the investigation?" Armin asks, despite already knowing the answer. 

"I..."

Armin frowns, his eyes furrowing as he glares at the servant. 

"Answer me!" He shouts and releases a wave of bloodlust. 

"I-I...found nothing. The Knight of Justice was nowhere to be found and...we couldn't stop the leakage of information." the servant says. 

Somehow, many people came to know of the evil deeds of those nobles that died one year ago and whose heads were showcased marvellously at the banquet. The Prince previously supported those people. 

Someone behind the scenes was sabotaging Prince Armin's reputation. 

As a result, there are now many clusters of distrust and discontent among people, including some nobles and organisations. 

Prince Armin's mana discharged from mere anger. 

"B-But we did find her origin! She was from Elvis!" The servant says. 

"Elvis...it's Elvis again!" Armin exclaims. "They were supposed to fall! How are they still standing!!" 

Prince Levy from Elvis did a scheme that forced the demons to retreat. He sent a team of magicians and knights to erupt the volcano of ice, forcing beasts to migrate to the demon territory and enraging a mythical dormant beast within the volcano. 

The demons had to retreat and reorganise their forces for defence. 

But that is only one issue. It has been a year and a few months since the snow rains. Recently, the snow died down but no signs of sun are shown. Elvis is the most vulnerable to this. Yet they are thriving. 

Somehow, they were able to make a deal with firms in Rodgof, sharing magic agriculture technology amongst many of the deals that pushes them through the endless winter. Magic is truly a miracle.

Thus, the state of Elvis bought some time and things were ordinary as they stabilised.

War did come across Armin's mind but the drawback of it outweighs the pros. In the end, he has no choice but to wait for Elvis to fall by itself. 

He sighs and grabs his forehead. "Hah...fine fine. Let's look at things on the bright side. At least I have more time to prepare." Armin mumbles. 

He pulls a drawer under his desk and sees a yellow file. 

"Right, report about the mercenary Arsto."

The servant looks up. "So far once again, nothing out of place. He diligently trains with another mercenary and patrols around the streets at night." 

Intelligence officers have been spying on Samuel's movement for the past year. 

Armin pulls out the yellow file and passes it to the servant. "We've observed long enough, retract all operations. Instead, focus on finding Rena."

The servant tries to say something until he sees Armin's frustrated expression, his face contorted with rage. 
Prince Armin places his hand on the servant's shoulder and whispers "I don't care how or what. Find her. Even at the expense of sacrificing a few lives. I have never suffered such gruesome humiliation in my entire life, especially at the hands of a mere woman. Find. her."