Just after returning from a free exploration. Late in the afternoon.
Downtown Crossroad. The shrine.
"..."
In front of the infirmary, I was nervously cracking my knuckles.
As soon as the exploration ended, we all came here for treatment. The final battle had left us all with minor injuries.
Particularly, Jupiter's injuries were severe.
She had recklessly blocked a combined attack from two wizards of higher levels, which had resulted in considerable damage.
"..."
Crack. Crack. Crack.
I continued to crack my knuckles.
My head was dizzy with anger at them, but a sense of bafflement filled me.
'Whether they were living in the dungeon under the lake, or they were hostile NPCs that could not be recruited... after all, they are humans.'
I have to fight against humans.
This is a completely different aspect from the battles so far.
No, it's more than just a different aspect.
'It's a matter of values.'
I rested my chin on my clenched hands and frowned.
'All this time, we've been fighting against monsters. To protect people.'
But now, we have to fight against people.
To protect people, we have to kill people.
'It's not a matter of PVE or PVP. This is...'
I bit my lip hard.
Sure, in the game, we've fought against hostile NPC factions too.
I used my characters to kill the enemies one by one as efficiently as possible, stealing their items and gaining experience points.
But, this place is reality now.
They're definitely living, breathing humans too.
Can I exterminate them as I did with monsters?
"..."
Back in Stage 2, when I had ordered Damien to snipe the Pied Piper, he hesitated and ultimately couldn't shoot.
I'm facing the same dilemma that Damien had then.
Is it okay to fight against humans for survival? For clearance?
Is it okay to kill humans?
"Your Highness."
At that moment, Saintess Margarita and the priests under her command walked out of the infirmary. I hurriedly stood up.
"Is the treatment over?"
"Yes. Fortunately, no one's life is in danger."
Margarita wiped her blood-soaked hands with a towel.
"However... Jupiter has fallen into a state of magic overload due to the after-effects of overusing her magic."
"Magic overload? Isn't that extremely dangerous?"
"Yes. It's a state where magic escapes control and consumes the caster's body. If we're not careful, she might not be able to use magic for the rest of her life."
It's similar to the principle of self-devouring magic in martial arts novels.
It's the most dangerous injury a wizard can sustain in a game. It couldn't get worse.
"She needs absolute rest for a while."
"I see..."
I gritted my teeth.
Jupiter was the core of our power in this stage.
But with this injury, she's out for at least this stage. If we're unlucky, she's out for the season.
"Who would have thought a disaster would strike like this..."
After composing myself, I asked Margarita,
"Can I visit her?"
"Unfortunately, you can't see Jupiter. She's in a very critical condition."
"I see..."
I glanced awkwardly at the direction of the ward.
I wondered if I had gone too far, activating my negative Gold-Fever trait just now. I felt terrible.
"The others have finished their treatment. They will be out soon."
"Always grateful. Here..."
After generously making my usual offering, I left the temple.
Lucas, Evangeline, and Damien were waiting for me at the entrance of the temple. I tried to put on a cheerful face as I approached them.
"You've all worked hard. How is everyone feeling?"
"We're okay, my Lord. How is Lady Jupiter?"
I told them the truth.
"She's severely injured. It'll be a while before she can return to the frontlines."
"That bad, huh..."
"We should be grateful that it ended like this. We could have all died there."
But the expressions on my party members' faces weren't good.
The unidentified hostile forces in the dungeon and the injuries to our allies...
It was enough to unsettle everyone.
Standing in front of my troubled party, I crossed my arms and raised my voice.
"I'll make this clear, everyone. I'm going to make them taste their own medicine."
My party members looked at me, their eyes wide open. I nodded.
"They dared to touch me, Ash, the prince of the Empire, and my close associates. It's only right they pay the price."
I was serious.
If they were unintelligent monsters, I could have avoided them.
But as long as our enemies were human, I was determined to take fiery revenge to ensure they never targeted us again.
'Stripping them of their lives is a question for later...'
Anyway, we have to give them a taste of their own medicine, just as they've done to us.
However...
"But that's not happening immediately."
We need to be fully prepared.
"Once we safely pass this stage and have everything in place, we will destroy them."
Revenge is best served cold.
Rationally, meticulously, sharpening our swords and stocking up on ammunition, we will wipe them out in one swoop.
Until then, we need to remain cool-headed. We still have to tackle the current stage in front of us.
"So everyone, take a break today. Stop overthinking."
I disbanded the party.
I shepherded the lingering youngsters to their respective lodgings. Go eat, wash up, and get some sleep!
***
As I returned to the mansion and trudged up the stairs leading to my room...
"Whew..."
All the bravado had been just for show.
'How will we manage the upcoming defense battle...?'
We've lost Jupiter from our party. Filling the immediate gap in the main party with Lilly would work, but...
...
"...Hmm, it should be fine, right?"
An image of Lilly clutching my pant leg, sobbing and pleading not to be taken out, was clear in my mind, but let's move past that for now.
The real issue was the difference in combat power.
'Lilly is a good mage, but she's not a powerful area dealer like Jupiter.'
Lilly's skills were more effective against single entities rather than dealing mass damage.
Above all, the issue was the efficiency of her MP.
The number of common monsters she could knock out with a single magic attack was significantly different from that of Jupiter.
There was a reason why Jupiter, the wide-ranging magician, was favored up until the later stages of the third year.
'The Gargoyle Legion has high physical defense and low magic defense. Their defensive situation is similar to those Living Armor creeps. Without Jupiter, I'll be in a situation where I have to fight without my main firepower. What should I...'
While puzzling over this, I climbed up to the second floor of the mansion,
"Milord!"
Aider burst out.
"Thi-this is bad! Really bad!"
I dodged the charging Aider and swiftly lifted my leg. Collision averted.
"Whoaaa!"
Stumbling, Aider unceremoniously rolled down the corridor.
I kicked the groaning guy, sprawled out haphazardly, in his butt.
"Hey, Director, you've been pretty scarce lately. What have you been up to? Are you doing your job properly?"
"Yes, of course! Just leave the city administration to me! But, that's not the main issue!"
"What could be more important to you than city administration?"
"I'm saying that something much more serious has happened! It might be the worst event of this stage!"
"Well, well."
I snorted.
What could be more serious than our main party mage being injured?
But his next words even widened my eyes.
"The prisoners have escaped!"
This was news to me.
"...Prisoners?"
I blinked in confusion before finally asking,
"Who are these prisoners?"
***
After hearing Aider's report, I massaged my temples, feeling a headache coming on.
"So, after repeatedly requesting reinforcements from the capital..."
"Yes, yes!"
"...Instead of sending reinforcements, they sent five convicts sentenced to death."
"That's exactly it!"
"And these five extremely vicious criminals, former soldiers of the empire, all sentenced to death, managed to overturn the carriage they were imprisoned in while being transported to Crossroad... And they all escaped..."
I glanced at the glass window leading outside the mansion. It was already getting dark.
"...And this happened around noon today. And up until now, they've not been captured. Is this what you're saying?"
"That's exactly right, Milord! You're a summary genius!"
"Is now the time for summaries, you damned fool!"
I grabbed Aider by the scruff of his neck and shook him violently.
Aider let out a deflated balloon-like sound, "Eeeee!"
"Why did they send convicts instead of reinforcements from the capital! Why did the escort party let them escape midway! Why couldn't you prevent this from happening! You're supposed to be a Director!"
"I...I...I have no power in this world! I cannot foresee the future!"
"Is incompetence your passive skill, you fool! Then start by helping where you can! Do you know anything else about this matter?"
The convict delivery event...this was a situation I had never encountered before.
Would Aider have any information for me?
"I...I do not know how things in the capital led to this...I do not know the cause..."
As my gaze turned icy, Aider quickly added,
"B...but I can give you information on the five convicts! I have already entered their profiles into the system. Please check."
"You should've started with that."
I opened the system window and started searching for the convicts' profiles. Let's see...
"And."
Aider then lowered his voice.
"Although they are convicts, they were still sent as 'reinforcements' from the capital."
Catching my glance, Aider seemed to grin slyly.
"If you can manage them well, who knows? They might become 'actual reinforcements'."
"...!"
While looking for new talent to recruit, I had definitely said:
It didn't matter if they weren't human.
As long as they were good at killing monsters, I would be willing to recruit even ghosts, demons, or zombies.
But convicts?
Aren't they much better than ghost demons or zombies?
This thought solidified as I checked the profiles of the five convicts.
"Capture them."
After quickly scanning the profiles, I told Aider with a grim face.
"Whatever it takes, we're recruiting these bastards."
"Even though they're notorious criminals from the Empire?"
"Better Empire criminals than enemy soldiers, and better communicating criminals than monsters who can't talk."
Better than the Gargoyle monsters that would attack in a few days.
Better than the white-masked enemies who ambushed us from under the lake.
At least these guys are negotiable.
'What's more, they're good.'
Their abilities.
And plenty of them.
"So, incompetent Director, you do have an idea where these guys fled to, don't you?"
As I glared at him, Aider nervously scratched the back of his head.
"I have sent scouting parties in all directions since noon, and I received a report just before your return."
"Where are they?"
"They're in the mountains north of the city. It's not far, but a bit remote."
"There's no need to delay. Guide me there immediately."
Straightening my clothes, I broke into a grin.
"Let's have a meeting of sorts, all of us driven out of the capital."