How did he survive?

"I can see that you and your men have went through their fair share of suffering." Elmeria says before puffing out her chest. "You should be thankful that we decided to show up when we did." She said haughtily as you think back to Carnachias' description of her. There was tsundere, then there was belittling a leader who was cut off from his main army, had no supplies, and beset on all fronts by hostile monsters. Regardless, Rohan seemed unfazed by the remark and gave a curt smile.

"Yes, we barely made it through without you." He said as Elmeria's smile faded slightly as she had a look of visible confusion. Blinking several times, she seemed deep in thought before speaking up.

"Yes, if we were a bit later, you would have likely died." She said, less confident as you and Rohan studied her. Why the sudden change of mood? While you were trying to feel out this arch bishop, Rohan continued speaking, his face betraying a subtle sign of understanding and caution.

"I'm quite happy to see you here. My soldiers have been here for 180 days and held out in the hopes of your presence." He began as Elmeria's face changed again, as though she were looking at something particularly dirty. "No, I was wrong. It was 183 days." He said while shaking his head, his eyes fixated on Elmeria's face. As he corrected himself, her face calmed as both you and Rohan realized the same thing.

This overpowered heroine also had a lie detection ability. One false word, and you were doomed. You prayed to any god that wasn't one of the three that put you in this mess to get you out of this mess as Alkadabuki begins speaking.

"You have done well to last as long as you did with the resources you had and your men." She says with a look of respect. "I can tell you hunted your fair share of monsters even without our help." She adds as Rohan's face grew rigid.

"We fought our hardest at the start, but we steadily lost strength. Eventually, we halted monster hunting entirely." He said, keeping his answers as vague as possible. Was this a threat from her? The only person who could fight those monsters equally was Rohan himself. The rest of his men were underleveled and outnumbered by them by a significant margin. Sure, you managed to beat one of them at level one, but you were a monster with numerous buffs from the gods of light and darkness and were primarily backing Asriana up. There was no way these men could hunt monsters of this caliber for 183 days straight.

"Regardless, your men are mighty fighters. You should be proud." She said as Rohan nodded.

"I'm always proud of my soldiers. They have given to me their loyalty and lives. It is only fair I do the same." Rohan said, refusing to lie and take credit for your kills. "Tell me, heroes, have you repelled the Court Mage of the Demons?" He asks, changing the subject as Elmeria's face grows stern.

"No. She's escaped." She answers as Alkadabuki scowls at the mere mention of the court mage.

"This entire charade was a distraction to get the 5 of us focused on this one area." She says coldly. "A day before we arrived, Leraje blew up the canyon and escaped." She says, Rohan's face growing pale. You worry that this fury would transfer to you, but you're relieved to know he's still a man of honor.

"Is anyone hurt?"

"No, but the supplies the army had are gone. We have to fall back and regroup." Elmeria answered.

"You said this was a distraction. A distraction for what?" He asked as Elmeria bit her lip.

"The Hornet Empress and Carnation Seneschal have made their move, entering several cities while we made our way to save your army. Runa and Tomoko were sent to help with the Hornet Empress. We've been tasked to gather your men and deal with the Carnation Seneschal." She answers as you mull over the greater implications of their conversation. So that was why the forces of darkness weren't outright exterminated with these overpowered heroines running around.

The forces of darkness had three things going for it. First, it had higher numbers due to how prolific monsters were. Second, their leaders were independent, refusing to work as a single team like the heroines, and instead dispersing themselves over vast areas. Lastly, they were tacticians rather than fighters. Deception, subterfuge, and political intrigue ensured that the heroes were focused on halting different attacks rather than going on the offensive. The heroes could win battles, but the forces of darkness were the ones winning a war.

"You have my apologies. I shall rally my men to leave on first light tomorrow." Rohan said as you began mentally cheering and almost wanting to kiss the man for saving your life. Of course, it was repayment for your kindness, but you half expected him to ruin you like everything in this cursed world did.

"You have my sincerest apologies for forcing your men to endure such hardship." Alkadabuki says with a sorrowful voice. "When this war ends, your men will be lauded by all for their courage." She says as Citrinas tilts her head and stares at him, deep in thought. Until now, the arch-imago was silent, but now she seemed like she wanted to say something.

"Is something the matter, archi-imago?" Rohan asked as the blue haired youth stared him down.

"Field Marshal, did you steal your entire army's potion supply when you ran away?" She asked innocently, instantly causing Elmeria and Alkadabuki's faces to go pale. Rohan, on the other hand, had his face go red as his steel mask of calm shattered.

"No! I did not steal anything, and we were given orders to march into this area by the General himself! We were obeying orders, not fleeing! I am not a thief, I am not a coward! I am, and always have been a loyal servant of the Queen!" He roared as you looked to Elmeria's face. Since she didn't have that sour look again, it seemed he was telling the truth. Despite that, Citrinas was unfazed by his outburst.

"Citrinas! How could-Field Marshal, you have my sincerest condolences." Elmerias said quickly, realizing her friend had gone too far. Rather than apologize, the arch-imago continued to stare at Rohan with a confused look on her face.

"So why do I smell healing potions on every soldier here?" She asked, now forcing Rohan's face to go pale. You yourself feel a chill run down your entire body as both realize the danger of the situation. You had been pumping the entire army with healing potions. A master of alchemy like her could easily detect them from smell. Even though you didn't adulterate the potions, that still didn't explain why Rohan had enough to keep his men healed.

This was bad. Very bad.