The liberation of Kalinsha had been surprisingly easy.
The combination of the Zerns rising up in revolt, the sheer lack of demihuman manpower compared to the size of the city they had to defend, and the absence of the henchman demon to command them meant that it was a foregone conclusion. Of course, there were many casualties on both sides, but the losses of the Holy Kingdom Liberation Army were surprisingly light considering they had managed to retake such a large city.
One of the main reasons for that was Neia, who carried the Ultimate Shooting Star Super on her back.
Of course, Shizu had assisted from the shadows, but Neia and her spectacular bow had been a majestic sight that greatly inspired the people.
And so, Neia stood atop a platform and passionately addressed the audience gathered in the plaza.
She told them: there was no greater king in this world than the Sorcerer King.
The first thing Neia did after liberating Kalinsha was to canvass support in order to go searching for the Sorcerer King.
The Zern did their part and questioned the demi-human captives about the Abelion Hills, but she was still lacking in many things, like material resources, information, experience, and so on.
It would be one thing if they could try as often as they wanted, but it was difficult to repeatedly send out search parties and rescue teams into enemy territory. In other words, they had to get it right the first time. That being the case, they could not prepare themselves enough. That was why she had decided to capitalize on the fact that many people had been freed through the liberation of Kalinsha and seek their aid in various areas.
That said, the people did not volunteer their help immediately after it was requested. Even after taking back Kalinsha, there were still many other cities that had been captured by the demi-humans, as well as many people who had been imprisoned or who had lost track of their relatives. Neia was trying to sell them on the benefits of aiding the Sorcerer King in order to move their hearts.
However, as the number of helpers increased, the contents of her speeches gradually began to change.
The people who had come to hear Neia speak about the Sorcerer King were all people that the Sorcerer King had once rescued. They were people who had suffered greatly and who now wanted to cling to a powerful being in order to heal the lingering emotional trauma in their souls.
Those who knew of the Sorcerer King's greatness could be considered her comrades.
It was second nature for Neia to joyously tell them about the Sorcerer King's magnificence.
Gradually, people who had not met the Sorcerer King began to take part as well. They were friends of those who had been rescued by the Sorcerer King. As word of mouth spread, more and more unrelated people came to listen to Neia's words.
With her visor on, Neia gushed to these people about the excellence of the Sorcerer King during the liberation of the city and the battle with Jaldabaoth.
She would not have been able to speak so unreservedly several weeks ago. She would have tensed up under the eyes of the audience and she would have been at a loss for words as her mind blanked out. But after addressing crowds over and over again, she finally came to realize that she did not need to express her own thoughts, only paint a picture of the Sorcerer King in her heart with her words. Neia had become an eloquent speaker.
Yes, they now spoke of her as the Faceless Evangelist.
And so—
"Thus, His Majesty is truly beyond compare! How could there be another king who cares so much for the people! Yes, I know what you want to say. After all, Her Majesty Calca Bessarez is also an excellent queen. However — has anyone here heard of a king who would go this far for the people of another nation! You!"
Neia pointed at one of the members of the audience in front of her.
"Have you ever heard of a king who went out by himself to save another nation's people from torment?"
"Eh, ah, no, that, I've never heard… anything like that… before…"
As everyone's eyes focused on him, the voice of the man who had been called out gradually trailed off.
"Excellent answer! That's exactly it!"
As Neia praised him, the rows of like-minded people beside Neia on the stage joined the people in the audience who shared Neia's views to applaud the man.
The man blushed and looked a little shy.
"In truth, we checked to see if any other king had done that much, but no! There was nobody else! We could not find any king like the Sorcerer King!"
There had been kings who had led armies to rescue neighboring countries, but it was a fact that there had been no kings who had gone alone.
"Think of it, a king going to aid the people of another country regardless of the risk to himself! It's never been heard of before! Only the Sorcerer King!"
Neia paused, then continued. "Only His Majesty! Only a king like that truly deserves to be called a righteous king!"
"But can we trust him?! He's undead isn't he?!"
Neia responded to the question from the audience with a gentle smile. Neia had once thought the same thing herself. In other words, he was like her past self. He simply did not know; he did not understand.
She would make him see — no, she would open his eyes, just like she had opened her own eyes, and those of everyone else's. With that feeling in her heart,
Neia addressed the crowd.
"Yes! His Majesty is undead! It is only normal that you should all feel uneasy! It is a fact that the undead are frightening monsters. I have no intention of saying that all undead are good. Many undead are evil, and there is no doubt that they hate the living!"
Now that everyone was listening to her in earnest, Neia seized on the mood in the air and forcefully declared her summation.
"However! There are exceptions to all things! Just as there might be a warm day in winter, just as a bud might bloom from a withered branch, just as a brilliant shooting star can streak across the darkest night. So too is His Majesty — he is an undead being who aids the living. You must have heard the stories from the people he rescued. It is also possible that some of you were rescued by him. Then based on what you know to be true, you have the proof that I am not lying!"
After verifying that there were no objections from the crowd, Neia spoke in leaden, grim tones.
"…This time round, that sturdy fortress line was broken, and the demihumans rushed in like an avalanche. Will such a tragedy only happen once? Does anyone believe it will not happen a second time?"
The silence of the audience spoke for them.
Of course they hoped that it would not happen again, but nobody could honestly believe that.
"I fully understand how uneasy you are. Perhaps our generation and that of everyone's children might be able to rest at ease. After all, the tragedy that just occurred will spur us on to unceasing vigilance… However!"
Neia's tone grew forceful.
"Can anyone guarantee that such a tragedy will not repeat itself in the generation of our grandchildren, or our grandchildren's grandchildren? Does anyone dare say it will never happen again since it happened before?! That is why we must prepare, so the fortress line will never be breached again!"
Voices saying "Yes," and "That's right," began to float up from the crowd.
"—It seems everyone agrees too, but in the far-off future, in the age of our children's children and our grandchildren's grandchildren, in an age when this tragedy is but a distant memory, can the people then still remain vigilant? Do you think we can station twice or three times as many people as we do now on the fortress line?"
The military expenses would drain the national reserves, and they would deploy an intimidating amount of fighting strength but have no obvious results to show for it.
"I trust there are people who served in the fortresses during your conscription. Then I ask you to search your memories. If the daily expenses and stores consumed back then were tripled, do you not think it would greatly strain the nation? At that time, do you think a country that only knows of that tragedy from memory will remain vigilant?"
As understanding dawned on the faces of her audience, Neia delivered her conclusion.
"—That is why we need the protection of His Majesty!"
"Why?! Why must we seek the help of the undead?!"
The same voice from before rang out.
It was the man who had questioned her earlier. People like him put Neia at ease. Her toughest crowds were the ones where nobody reacted at all. When that happened, she felt uneasy about whether her words had reached them at all.
Neia's supporters had suggested planting a few naysayers like that in the audience beforehand, but Neia refused. Similarly, she had rejected the idea of planting shills in the audience.
"I am saying this precisely because he is undead. His Majesty is powerful, but more importantly, he is undead, and so in that far distant future, he will still be alive — still exist."
"But, but I heard that the Sorcerer King fell in battle and died."
"That rumor is both true and false at the same time. Sadly, the first part is true. His Majesty expended a great deal of mana and cast many spells in order to save we who were powerless, and in the end he was defeated by Jaldabaoth. But the second part is false. His Majesty is not dead! The existence of Shizu will prove that to everyone."
This was the cue for Shizu — one of the key figures in the liberation of Kalinsha — to enter from the side.
The audience gasped in awe, and worshipful murmurs of "Shizu-sama" could be heard.
"…Mm."
Shizu held her head high and puffed her chest out.
"Once, she was one of the maid demons in Jaldabaoth's service, yet she fought alongside us in the Battle of Kalinsha. That is because His Majesty wrested command over her from Jaldabaoth's hands."
Many people had seen Shizu slay demi-humans one after the other during the battle. The people who addressed her with -sama had probably been directly aided by her.
Shizu was very popular. While she had once been a maid demon of Jaldabaoth, she was still very pretty, and more importantly, she felt youthful. One could say it was difficult to bear hostility against her.
Had the Sorcerer King considered this when he bound you to his service? Neia had once asked Shizu. Shizu had replied, "Maybe."
"Shizu was bound by the magic of His Majesty, and that remains in effect as long as the Sorcerer King still lives. In other words, she is the proof that His Majesty still lives."
As the air turned electric, Neia raised her arms to indicate that everyone should be quiet, because she was not done speaking.
"I am sure you are all wondering why His Majesty has not yet shown himself. In truth I do not know either. However, I cannot imagine that such a compassionate lord would abandon us! There must be some reason why he cannot return here immediately. I do not know if that is because of His Majesty's considerations, or if some danger has arisen. And that is why—!"
Neia's voice reverberated through the silent plaza.
"That is why I beseech all of you for your strength! Please lend me the strength to find His Majesty. Even if we bet our lives to walk the length and breadth of the Abelion Hills where the demi-humans live before finding His Majesty, the Holy Kingdom still cannot fully repay the debt we owe Him. And I have said this before, but His Majesty came only to fight Jaldabaoth, yet he ended up fighting the demi-humans on behalf of our weak selves, thus wearing down his strength and leading to his defeat!"
Neia raised her voice even louder as she shouted.
"Nevertheless — everyone! That is why we ought to repay the debt we owe to the person who came to save us! That great man came by himself to save us!
Even if he is one of the undead, I do not intend to be an ingrate! —And so, I call upon the people who seek to repay the debt to His Majesty in some small way."
Neia stopped for a while to let the anticipation build before shouting again.
"I am looking for people to help me find His Majesty! But you do not need to go in person! Your skills, your knowledge, anything you can contribute will be useful. Please lend me your strength! Please help us!"
Neia bowed her head, and beside her, so did Shizu.
Ohhhh! the crowd roared.
After raising her head, Neia finished thusly:
"…I am certain there are some of you out there who cannot believe based on my words alone. However, how about asking the people from the Liberation Army before Kalinsha was taken back? That way, I am certain you will believe that my words are not lies."
***
After returning to her room, Neia sank limply into her chair.
"Thank you for your hard work, Baraja-sama."
The person thanking her was a quiet-looking — though somewhat gloomy — woman.
She seemed to be in her twenties, and her distinguishing features were a pair of ample breasts that drew men's eyes and a head of short hair. Apparently, it had once been long, but it had been cut short in a prison camp.
She was part of the support team which Neia had established. Neia's supporters wanted to name themselves, and so they called themselves the Sorcerer King Rescue Corps.
Her job was to help manage Neia's increasingly busy daily life.
While it had only been half a month since they had first met, this woman had become irreplaceable to Neia. That was because she had completed her assigned tasks — cleaning, laundry, cooking, and various other tasks — with consummate perfection.
"Ahh, thank you."
Neia wiped her face with the cloth the woman had offered her, and the cool sensation felt very comfortable on her burning face.
She then went Whew in a way that seemed very reminiscent of a middle-aged man before laying the towel on the table and turning to the woman who immediately reclaimed it.
"Ah, while I've been saying it all this time, please don't call me -sama. After all, I'm hardly an amazing figure."
"What are you saying? You are His Majesty's spokesperson in this country and act on his behalf. Not addressing you as -sama would be rude."
The fact that a woman older than herself was saying this slightly bothered Neia.
This was a problem only experienced by those who were not used to a superior position.
Speaking of which, Neia was not a spokesperson or anything. Rather, she was wondering how she had ended up in that position.
Neia felt that Shizu — who was staring aimlessly while lying down casually on couch — fit the description better.
In the first place, the Sorcerer King's greatness should have been obvious to everyone from an objective point of view. She was simply stating the obvious, not arguing on his behalf, and she had not intended to begin preaching any form of organized belief or opinion.
While Neia had started out doing that of her own accord, she had never expected things to turn out like this.
"I'll take my leave, then. Also, Bertrand Moro-shi wishes to meet you."
"I understand. Can you help me call him in? Thank you for your hard work today."
The housekeeper bowed to her, and then left the room. A man entered, as though to swap places with her. The woman was averse to men and feared them, and she felt uncomfortable when she was in the same location as men.
Therefore, she had chosen to excuse herself.
"Baraja-sama, I apologize for disturbing you while you are resting. May I ask for some of your time?"
Bertrand Moro.
He had the stout body of a man in his forties, but the part about him that stood out most was the thinning hair on the top of his head.
The Moro family had a tradition of buttling for notable noble houses, and in the past he too had worked as a butler. That was why he served as a secretary in the rescue corps, in order to make full use of his skills.
Neia had been very lucky to meet someone like him when she had first founded the group. If she had not met him, her hair would have gone white at an early age.
"No, it's fine. What is it?"
"Thank you. I shall be brief. I wish to say that the membership of our organization is now in excess of 30,000."
"Ah, that's wonderful! To think we'd gain so many people who understand His Majesty's greatness! No, that's only to be expected. His Majesty truly is an amazing person, after all!"
Shizu nodded and went "Mhm."
The organization now had more members than the population of a small city.
Of the 3.5 million-odd residents of the Northern Holy KIngdom, around 1% of them now belonged to the group.
"Our supporters have expressed a desire for a symbol of some sort to show their membership in the group."
"I see… indeed… That… makes sense."
"Indeed. Some wearable item to indicate their membership is essential in order to foster a sense of reassurance and belonging."
Mhm, Neia nodded. They would be very happy to have some symbol of solidarity — something related to the Sorcerer King. Neia wanted one too.
"Please use the best possible means at your disposal. However, I do not wish us to give preferential treatment based on cash donations and the like."
"…Unoff… fan…ub…"
Neia picked up something that even her acute hearing could not fully make out.
"Shizu-senpai, what did you say?" Neia asked.
"…Nothing."
"…Really? Still, if I make a mistake when speaking about His Majesty, you must tell me."
Neia turned her gaze back to Bertrand. Recently, there were more and more people who remained unshaken even when she looked at them, and it made Neia very happy.
"Let the craftsmen take care of that, then. Now… can you tell me about the rest of my schedule?"
"Yes, Baraja-sama. In about two hours, the supporters will be organizing a 'Thanksgiving to the Sorcerer King.' I believe you are scheduled to take part and speak of His Majesty's great deeds."
"I understand."
Neia felt quite excited. Having discovered that the Sorcerer King was justice, she felt a sense of camaraderie and closeness to the supporters who could understand how she felt, and she enjoyed talking to people who shared her views.
"Also, there are people who would like you to witness the fruits of their training. Given that you are very busy now, should I reject them?"
Neia had recently founded an honor guard unit of her supporters and was currently putting them through intense training. Both Neia and Shizu had taken part in that training.
To Neia, who felt that weakness would only be a burden to the Sorcerer King, working hard to become strong was second nature. If Neia's participation could liven up the mood and motivate them, then she had to join them.
"No, I'd like to be there with them."
"I am certain they will be delighted… and while that summary of events was quite basic, that is all I have to report to you. As for how long it will take to gather the supporters — after considering the time needed to prepare, I believe you will have an hour to slowly rest and relax."
Bertrand bowed his head and left the room. After watching him leave, Neia got up from her chair and walked over to the couch where Shizu was. Then she lay down beside Shizu and tightly embraced her, like she was trying to squish her with her body.
"…There, there."
Shizu was shorter than herself, but she patted Neia's back in a soothing manner, like a mother would for her child.
"When will we be able to go look for His Majesty… it's been a month already…"
The people searching the eastern region of the Holy Kingdom had not found the Sorcerer King, and while they could not rule out the possibility that they might have missed him, it was almost a foregone conclusion that he had fallen into the land of the demi-humans, the Abelion Hills.
Therefore, they had to make ample preparations, but doing so was simply taking too long.
Of the 3000 Zern who had betrayed Jaldabaoth, 2800 of them had gone with their prince to the Sorcerer Kingdom, while the remaining 200 or so had gone to the hills to collect information, but they had not found anything so far.
"…You must not fail."
"I know! But, but…"
Neia hugged Shizu tighter. She took a deep breath of the scent — like that of black tea — which came from her.
Shizu's mere presence was enough to keep Neia's uneasiness at bay.
That was because her existence was the proof that the Sorcerer King was alive.
"…It'll be fine. Ainz-sama is generous."
"Ah, that's right, Shizu-senpai."
"…Therefore, you should get more supporters and work out a search plan that cannot fail."
"Ah, that's right, Shizu-senpai."
"…That way, Ainz-sama will be happy."
"Ah, that's right, Shizu-senpai."
"…Neia. I'm quite interested in you. Now that I've gotten used to it, your face is quite cute."
"…Quite cute… Speaking of which, you must be really bored because you can't go outside, Shizu-senpai. Shall the two of us go somewhere together next time?"
Shizu's extraordinary beauty — it was practically sculpted — attracted a lot of attention. However, the looks directed at her would become ones of fear and caution if people knew her true identity as a maid demon.
Many of them would have exaggerated delusions like "She's going to steal my soul!" which stemmed from the stories where demons transformed into beautiful women to claim souls as part of a deal. However, Neia felt that demons had a right to choose their partners.
For starters, being that she was a subordinate of the most merciful Sorcerer King, this difficulty 150 maid demon would not possibly desire the souls of the people around her, let alone want to charm theirs away.
Even so, there had been troublesome things which they could not avoid, and Neia — as a squire of the Sorcerer King — would not be able to face him if she ended up causing trouble for Shizu, his subordinate. Of course, Neia also understood that Shizu was so powerful that she would not be harmed.
For that reason she spent much of her time here, but now that there were more people in their organization, it ought to be all right to bring her where the supporters gathered.
"…Not a bad idea. We'll go together as practice."
"All right, let's get ready, then. Although, those maid clothes are a little eyecatching… could you change into something more ordinary?"
"…The doctor… ahem. No problem. Lend me clothes. I'll leave the coordination to you."
"…I'm sorry, but I didn't have anyone I could go out with and I had no interest in clothes at all, so I'm not confident in being able to pick out clothes for you."
Shizu gently patted Neia's shoulders. While she looked emotionless at a glance, Neia could understand her maternal warmth. After that, Shizu pointed her thumb at herself.
"…Leave it to me."
"Really?"
The discovery that Shizu's tastes were unexpectedly good would be a matter for later.
***
Caspond's workload had increased dramatically after the recapture of Kalinsha. He had to work on organizing the people who had been rescued, the resulting amount of information which needed to be processed had increased greatly, and both the verification and assignment work was very timeconsuming.
During this busy period, only one paladin was stationed by Caspond's side for his safety.
This represented a lack of security, but one could not use a skilled paladin —
they could read, write, do accounts, conduct religious rites, and keep the peace — as a mere bodyguard. In that respect, it would have been most efficient to assign Remedios to him, but after considering her mental state, he decided to have her train with other paladins.
When Neia and Shizu had returned with Kelart Custodio's head, her resulting frenzy caused such a disturbance that it was a wonder nobody died as a result.
While she did calm down eventually, they still had to handle her with care.
In truth, nobody could do anything by themselves. He had to be grateful to his maker for blessing him with wisdom. As he deepened his devotion to said maker, Caspond threw himself into his work, his pen flashing over the pages.
While it was practice for the future, this work was still very annoying. His paladin aide either could not read the mood or he was indeed very bothered, but he spoke to Caspond, who was trying to bury his grumbling in the depths of his heart.
"—My Prince, is it really okay to let the Neia Baraja situation continue as it is?"
Caspond understood the meaning of that question, and he smiled tiredly without taking his eyes off his documents.
"It can't be helped, can it? Just leave it as it is. Also, Prince will do."
"Thank you very much. However, what do you mean by it can't be helped?"
The paladin could not seem to accept that, so Caspond lifted his head from his documents and looked him in the eye.
"What do you think would happen if we did anything to her, like say, pressuring her to stop?"
"I don't think anything would happen, my Prince. All she is doing is causing unrest in the nation."
.
"I see. So, her speeches — while I'm not sure if asking is appropriate — have you heard her speak? …Judging by the look of things, I guess not, but you've probably read a summary of what she's talking about… Now, my first question… has she lied?"
Caspond watched the paladin search his memory before answering:
"She has not… well, it would be better if she was lying. Next, anyone with a modicum of intellect can check what she has said and find that almost all of it is justified. The Sorcerer King did free them, and he is a hero who single-handedly recaptured a city too."
He took a drink of water from the glass on the table to wet his throat before continuing.
"And then, Neia Baraja is a hero who helped liberate Kalinsha. We declared that ourselves. As for the maid demon — we introduced her as a minion of the Sorcerer King. That led to a sky-high opinion of the Sorcerer King, and so we had to go a little overboard in praising her. Also, her equipment befits a hero."
The sight of Neia carrying the marvelous bow which the Sorcerer King had loaned her and wearing the Grand King Buser's armor was nothing less than heroic.
"Now, let's go back to the original question. If we try to silence her, how will the world view us? Do you not think they would see us as trying to shut a hero up because she's saying something inconvenient for the royal family?"
"But that…"
The paladin tried to stammer out a denial, but his face already said that he understood better than his words could. He knew what would happen.
"On one hand, you have a hero whose stardom is rising, and on the other you have the royal family which is on the decline. Who do you think the people will believe?"
"—My Prince! Please don't say that!"
"I apologize… but more to the point, what do you think the Sorcerer King's maid demon will do if we try to interfere with Neia Baraja?"
"Uuu…"
The paladin's face went stiff, and a ghastly look came to Caspond's face.
"Heheh. The fact that she's protected by that maid demon means she commands the most power in this city, you know? Trying to directly silence her with force is extremely dangerous, so we'll have to leave things as they are. I understand your concerns, but every move available to us is a bad one."
There was a knocking on the door, and one of the soldiers from the outside entered.
"My Prince, the Vice-Captain-sama wishes to speak with you."
"Send him in right away."
Perhaps he had heard Caspond's voice, but Gustav rushed in from where he had been waiting outside. The slight panting in his breath showed that he had come here in a hurry.
"Forgive me, Your Highness Prince Caspond!"
Gustav's work took him further afield than Caspond, and made him more busy, so he very rarely came here. That was why Caspond knew that this was a sticky situation. If he had come here in person, he had brought with him a difficult problem that he could not handle on his own.
"I tell you every time, don't worry about it. Also, you don't need to bow if we're the only ones around. Since you're in such a rush, it must be quite urgent, right?"
"Yes, sir! Our scouts report a 50,000-strong army flying the flag of the Southern Nobles heading for this city!"
"I see… don't tell me the South has already overcome Jaldabaoth's forces? In any event, prepare for battle, because we do not know whether the Southern armies are being controlled by Jaldabaoth. Be careful. I'll leave it to you."
"Yes, sir!"
"You are not to attack under any circumstances until the enemy makes a move. If they want to talk, bring them here. After that—" Caspond turned to the paladin. "You will be in charge of welcoming our guests. If they're what I think they are, there ought to be several high-ranking nobles present. Prepare food and wine that would please them."
Both men replied, "Yes sir!" and then left the room. As Caspond watched them leave, he muttered to himself.
"Now then… I wonder if this is a good time? "
***
"I am truly glad you came, Marquis Bodipo, Count Cohen, Count Dominguez, Count Granero, Count Randalse, and Viscount Santz."
"Oh, think nothing of it, I'm glad to see you're well, My Prince."
"Indeed! Indeed! We were so worried about you, Your Highness!"
After a toast, Caspond and the Southern nobles were all smiles, drank to their respective safety, and exchanged greetings again.
The nobles described the situation and spoke of their travails. Caspond listened attentively, because doing so was playing to their vanity about how hard they had worked — how much they had given up for the sake of their loyalty to the Holy Kingdom.
Count Cohen, who had been speaking for a very long time, suddenly seemed to have noticed something and asked a question.
"—Oya, Prince-denka. Is it me, or do you seem slightly different now?"
"Ahh, but of course. I trust you know how Jaldabaoth invaded the North? It greatly changed me inside. In addition, I think the parts you cannot see have changed even more… do you not think I have become thinner?"
Caspond indicated his belly. "Well, that does seem to be the case," everyone cheerfully replied. At the same time, there was a keen glint in the nobles' eyes.
Caspond did not miss that. He instantly realized that they were evaluating the worth of Caspond in the past to the present Caspond.
While they had carefully concealed that fact, he understood that the appraisal was still in progress.
Now he hoped that they would think that nothing had changed, in the hopes that they would not interfere with the royal family after the war.
"…Still, I, Caspond, am deeply grateful that you have led your houses here to save the Holy Kingdom."
"What are you saying? Your Highness, as noblemen, it is only natural that we should marshal our forces and set out for the sake of the royal family. Or no, anyone who is physically able and does not join a battle concerning the survival of the Holy Kingdom cannot even be considered a nobleman!"
The nobles each nodded and made noises of acknowledgment. In other words, the noblemen who had not come here were the political enemies of the ones who were present.
Unfortunately, Caspond did not know which noble houses were not getting on with each other. That probably meant he was not sufficiently informed.
While he wanted to avoid committing himself to unfavorable promises here, he would need to give the people here preferential treatment or face rather dire consequences. Everyone hated a bat who flitted around trying to get in everyone's good graces.
"Gentlemen, your loyalty to the royal family needs to be trumpeted far and wide. I feel it needs to be a matter of historical record."
While it was only for a moment, the one who seemed the happiest about that was Marquis Bodipo, the oldest person present, whose blonde hair was flecked with white.
Now that he had power and position, he probably wanted prestige on top of that. The others would probably prefer to be rewarded instead. Of course, it was only natural for them to expect a certain return on their investment now that they had mobilized their forces.
The Marquis muttered some polite words of refusal — more of a courtesy than anything — even as he adopted a smarmy tone. During this time, Viscount Santz — who looked quite ill at ease — seized on the right moment to interrupt the conversation and hesitantly asked a question.
"My Prince, I have a question I would like to ask you. What is the present condition of Her Majesty? I hear she has passed away…"
"That is a fact."
Startled by Caspond's frank and direct answer, Viscount Santz asked another question.
"Then, then where does Her Majesty's body lie?"
"…It was in a hideous state, so we had to cremate it. Originally, we were planning to use a [Preservation] spell on it and give her a state funeral after driving off Jaldabaoth…"
Caspond shook his head with a pained look on his face, as though he could not bear to continue. "At the same time, we confirmed the death of the high priestess, Kelart Custodio."
"Is that so…"
During this silence, Caspond used the time to take a drink.
Calca's substitute was right before their eyes. However, the high priestess Kelart Custodio — who stood at the apex of all divine magic casters — could not be so easily replaced. Therefore, they were carefully considering how best to use Kelart's death.
After seeing they had not reacted even after he had taken two drinks of wine, Caspond gave them another tidbit of information.
"Her remains were also in terrible condition, so they were cremated as well."
The nobles frowned. Had they felt something from the deaths of two of the Holy Kingdom's top individuals? Perhaps they had finally realized that this was a battle where their lives were on the line and losing meant death. They were probably frightened by the realization that they would not be ransomed even if they were taken prisoner.
"How about the captain of the paladins, Custodio-dono?"
"Do you wish to speak to her? Can it wait?"
"Oya, so she's still alive? Meanwhile, Her Majesty and the high priestess-dono are both dead…"
Count Randalse had a magnificent beard. When he delivered those words in a contemptuous tone of voice, the others smiled mockingly, as if to follow suit.
Caspond opened the door and ordered the paladin outside to summon Remedios.
Just as the wine in the glasses was about to run dry, Remedios entered the room.
Before Count Randalse could speak, he took a look at Remedios and his eyes went wide.
"What?! Are you Captain Remedios, leader of the paladin corps?!"
The mockery in his tone had been replaced by shock. Every noble in the Holy Kingdom knew what Remedios looked like. Count Randalse was no exception either, hence his surprise. She looked tremendously different from how he remembered her.
Right now, Remedios Custodio looked like a ghost.
Her eyes were deeply sunken and her cheeks were haggard. However, a brilliant light shone in her pupils.
"You called me here right? Who else would I be?"
"What! The… the nerve…"
Count Randalse's voice trailed off, and he stared intently at Remedios.
Right now, Remedios looked very frightening. The fact that nobody knew what she was thinking or what she would do made others uneasy. That was why Caspond did not keep Remedios by his side. It was also why he took care not to let Remedios know anything about Neia.
"What do you want?"
Everyone in this country knew that Remedios Custodio was the best paladin in the country. When it came to sheer brute force, she was the foremost being in this nation.
What use was authority against violence that was on the verge of running wild? The most solid armor of the aristocracy was like paper to her. In the past, there were people close to her who held her reins, so she was in a state of mind where she could endure being badmouthed. However, it was a different matter now.
The nobles all understood this, so they said nothing. Remedios snorted as she saw them, and then shrugged.
"…May I leave now, Your Highness? It seems there was no reason to call for me."
"Ahh. Thank you for coming."
After Remedios left, the nobles finally allowed themselves to look unhappy.
"How dare she show such disrespect to His Highness?"
"Even if she is the captain of the paladin corps, that attitude is intolerable. Can we allow someone without any loyalty to the royal family to remain as captain?"
Caspond raised a hand to quell the venting of their spleens.
"We are at war now. Her talents are still useful. Let us leave her disposition to the future Holy King."
Quite a few people were upset by Remedios' attitude. Some of them were hiding their fear of her with anger, but others had ulterior motives. Caspond knew this, and he smiled coldly in his heart.
Remedios had once been the mailed fist of the previous Holy King and a powerful weapon. Surely someone out there would not want to leave that weapon to the next Holy King. No, all of them might be thinking that for all he knew.
"Ohhh! Your Highness is correct! This is wartime! However, we won't keep fighting the demi-humans forever!"
"The Count is right! I believe our envoy already mentioned that we managed to come here because we defeated the demi-human forces. Your Highness! We ought to press our advantage and mount a pursuit!"
"Exactly! We ought to destroy the demi-humans in one fell swoop, so Your Highness' achievements may reach more ears."
"I see, I see. Then — how's Old Purple?"
The nobles looked at each other, and then Marquis Bodipo spoke on their behalf.
"The old man seems unwell, so he did not come here with us."
The Marquis was the most senior person here, and so the person that he called an "old man" was an 80-year-old individual who had been appointed one of the Nine Colors. As a great noble of the South with the rank of Marquis, he had been granted that color in recognition of his loyalty to the royal family and his achievements.
Not all the Nine Colors had earned their position because of their fighting strength. Much like Purple, some of them had gained their title because of some great contribution. For instance, there was a Duchess who had been appointed Blue due to her fame as a composite artist.
As Caspond pondered Marquis Bodipo's reply, he sensed for a moment that the other man was not hiding anything, and Caspond smiled coldly in his heart again. While he already knew this, he was simply confirming that reaction with his own eyes.
"…I see. It would seem that your opinions coincide with mine." Caspond outlined his plan to ruin Jaldabaoth's scheme by slaughtering the demi-humans.
"However, what will we do if Jaldabaoth shows up?"
"Is Jaldabaoth such a mighty demon? I hear even the Captain-dono could not protect Her Majesty."
Count Granero had never faced Jaldabaoth before, which was why he was asking such an innocent question. Caspond responded in a somber tone.
"He is extremely powerful. We asked the Sorcerer King to face him, and his battle with Jaldabaoth was truly intense."
"The Sorcerer King? Do you mean that undead king?"
It was only to be expected that they would exclaim in surprise.
"Oya? Did you not hear about that? I see…"
"So you called upon the help of another country's army, my Prince? That is very bad!"
"Not an army. Just the Sorcerer King."
The nobles froze with an "Eh?" on their lips. It took some time before they stirred again.
"The Sorcerer King? By himself? The one and only king, the one who stands at the pinnacle of his nation, came over by himself?"
Caspond nodded in response to Count Randalse's question.
"How could that be, that's impossible, right? There's no way such a king would exist! Did he not have his armies on hand?"
It makes no sense at all, the gathered people muttered. Some wondered if this was some kind of scheme. However, Caspond denied them with the finality of an executioner's axe.
"Though you might say so, it is the truth. All we can do is accept it. In addition, if the Sorcerer King had brought his armies with him, then they would have moved out the moment he lost his duel against Jaldabaoth."
"He lost?… I don't get it. They say he's one of the undead, so could it be that even his brains rotted away? However… is this not very bad?"
"It is. However, one of the envoys who requested the Sorcerer King to come was Remedios. I believe handing her over to gain the forgiveness of the other party will be a necessity, as are other diplomatic measures."
"Will that settle matters? …Now that you mention it, the Sorcerer Kingdom is a nation within the borders of the Kingdom. In that case, they will not be able to cross the Kingdom's borders to reach us… does that mean we must be on alert once the Kingdom is destroyed?"
They could not understand what was going on, and the nobles all clutched their heads. It was as though they were thinking about what to do if the sun rose in the west. Therefore, they decided to shelve the matter for the time being.
"Well, let's put that aside for now. What are your future plans, Your Highness?"
"I — I would like to retake the capital. And I would like to do this as soon as possible."
"In that case, we will surely aid you!"
"Your Highness will become the hero who saved this nation from Jaldabaoth!"
"The demi-human army which invaded our nation was 100,000 strong. They've been culled to around 30,000 strong now, if we rally the people of this city and the soldiers we brought, we'll be able to beat them easily!"
"Your Highness! The day will soon come when they call you Your Majesty!"
Caspond faced the flattering nobles and put an expression of his face that said they had hit the nail on the head.
"Umu. I will not forget to be grateful for the help all of you have given me."
"What are you saying? We are only doing our duty to the Holy Kingdom and the royal family!"
In his heart, Caspond smiled in a completely different way.
"Very well. Then, gentlemen, let us make ready to take back the capital!"
-x-X-x-
A week after they had joined up with the armies of the Southern nobles, they finished their preparations and began a new advance.
Their next target was the city of Prart, to the west of Kalinsha.
Neia could not hide her unease as she wobbled on the back of a horse.
While it made perfect sense to seize this chance to exterminate the demihumans while Jaldabaoth's wounds had not yet healed, it did not sit well with her feelings. She wanted to increase the number of supporters and put her efforts into finalizing the preparations for the rescue effort that would be sent out in search of the Sorcerer King.
That said, Neia knew from first-hand experience with Remedios that a commander's irritation was closely linked to morale. She could not take her frustrations out on her subordinates.
Neia took several deep breaths to calm herself, and her lungs filled with cool air. While spring was close, one could still feel winter in the air.
After regaining her composure, Neia surveyed the army which was going forth.
There were about 95,000 people here, in a column that seemed to stretch on forever. Their forces were composed of roughly 30,000 men from the Southern nobles and 65,000 men from the Liberation Army. Incidentally, of the remaining 20,000 men from the South, 10,000 were assigned to secure their axis of retreat and the other 10'000 were resting in Kalinsha.
Among them were 2000 archers led by Neia, all of whom belonged to the Rescue Corps.
Facing them were the remnants of the demi-human army, which were estimated at around 30,000 strong, so there was an overwhelming disparity in numbers.
However, each individual demi-human was stronger than a human being, and more importantly, they had to be on guard against Jaldabaoth, so they could not be careless even with their numerical advantage.
They had embarked on this operation under the assumption that Jaldabaoth was still wounded and unable to take action. If Jaldabaoth had fully recovered, then they would be marching to their deaths.
Her heart beat like an alarm clock.
Should I have prioritized the Sorcerer King's rescue over everything else? Neia wondered. Her thoughts began to go around in circles.
"—Baraja-sama. Do you require information from the corps members in other units?"
Bertrand had walked his horse beside her before asking his question, and Neia blinked in response. She had no idea what he was talking about.
After some thought, Neia finally got it, and she hurriedly waved the hand which was not holding the reins of her horse.
"No, no, we don't need to do spy-like stuff like that. After all, we're comrades marching towards the same goal."
"Ohhh! I expected nothing less of you, Baraja-sama. As the spokesperson for His Majesty, your words are most kind."
"…Although her face is scary."
After Bertrand praised her, Shizu spoke up from behind Neia. Since Shizu could not ride, the two of them shared a saddle.
Even if Shizu was her senior, and one who was worthy of her respect, it was still a little annoying to hear her keep harping on that over and over again.
Should I just have her walk…
Shizu's stride and stamina exceeded those of a regular human being. She was riding only because it would be rude to let one of the Sorcerer King's subordinates walk.
Bertrand heard this, but he did not help her at all. He neither supported nor rejected that statement. He probably could not deny those words because they had been spoken by a subordinate of the Sorcerer King and more importantly, because they were obviously true.
Well, I guess he can't just say no… after all, I wouldn't have to wear the visor if I weren't like that…
That said, Neia was a girl. Even if it was true, and even if people had said it enough that she had become used to it, having people say her face was scary still hurt.
"Now then, Baraja-sama. A messenger came from headquarters. Our pioneers have sighted the demi-human army. Their numbers are estimated at 30,000.
Therefore, we will be taking formation here. The messenger returned to headquarters after relaying that message. What do you make of this?"
"That's fine. If you feel it needs to be done, then it should be alright."
Bertrand was doing very well as her executive officer.
"Still, do the demi-humans really want to fight a field battle…"
The demi-humans had a mere third of the Holy Kingdom's numbers. While each of them was a superior individual combatant, surely they would have no chance if they fought on an open field. If they defended a city instead, they would be able to make full use of the city's defenses and make up for the shortfall in fighting strength.
In any event, it would be extremely difficult to win once Jaldabaoth recovered.
The demi-humans' best strategy ought to be buying time.
Either that, or setting up areas inaccessible to cavalry and limiting the scope of the fighting.
"So we're set to fight in an open field, then?"
"Yes. Just so. There are no woods nearby where the enemy could hide ambushers. Rather, there aren't even any hills, so surely they would be squabbling over where to form up."
"…Why in a place like that?"
Bertrand prefaced his response to Shizu's question with "It's most likely that…"
"They're preparing to run away, I think?"
"Running away?"
"That's right, Baraja-sama. Just like how the Zerns betrayed him, not all the demi-humans are devoted to Jaldabaoth. If they want to flee even if it means betraying Jaldabaoth, then the people who want to live would not hole up inside a city but choose to fight on open ground. That's because disengaging will be difficult if they're defending a city."
Bertrand's eyes trembled as they went dark, and it made Neia shiver.
Just as Neia wondered if she ought to use the ability she had recently developed, the darkness gradually ebbed away, and his eyes regained their usual shine. Since the fighting was about to start, maybe it might be good to quell the hatred inside him.
"…I see."
Shizu nodded in approval, and Bertrand simply replied, "That is probably the case."
Bertrand's words made a lot of sense.
Not even Jaldabaoth could know for sure if they were planning to die in a field battle or run away. If that was the case, it might be better to wait until nightfall, which would afford the demi-humans a chance to flee, and thus reduce the amount of people who would die for nothing.
Neia knew this, but she did not say it.
The demi-humans had caused too much woe to the people of this nation.
While the demi-humans under His Majesty could probably be forgiven, they're going to kill all the other demi-humans besides them…
There had even been rumors that people who advocated coexistence with demi-humans or spoken up for them had been secretly killed or openly lynched.
In truth, when the Sorcerer King had brought her along to liberate prison camps, where she had witnessed several human corpses which looked like they had been lynched. They had apparently been people who had tried to suck up to the demi-humans.
"Baraja-sama. While I do not know how headquarters intends to deploy us, shall we gather all the unit commanders first?"
"No, I just need a rough idea of where they've been allocated. No matter where they've been assigned, I believe everyone will know what to do."
The position of Neia and the others would be determined by how the Holy Kingdom's leadership wanted to deploy Shizu, who was hugging Neia around the waist.
If there were strong foes among the demi-humans, then Shizu would be sent to the frontlines in order to make use of her. If she was to be used as a normal archer, then she would be positioned in the middle of the formation, or perhaps she would be stationed with the other archers. If they did not want to let Shizu
— a subordinate of the Sorcerer King — achieve too much, then they would place her all the way in the rear.
Neia predicted that they would remain into the rear until they had made contact.
Three hours later, she realized that this was the right answer.
***
.
In contrast to the demi-humans' fish-scale formation, the humans had chosen to divide into two columns. The left flank was composed of 30,000 men from the South and 10,000 men from the Liberation Army, for a total of 40,000.
The remaining 55,000 members of the Liberation Army made up the right flank, and together they formed something like a crane-wing formation.
Since the humans wanted to exterminate the demi-humans in this battle, they had chosen to encircle the enemy and slowly draw the noose closed.
The demi-humans, on the other hand, had chosen a formation that emphasized penetrating power, though whether it was in order to break out of the encirclement or to slaughter as many humans as possible in a melee remained to be seen.
Finally, Neia and the others were placed in charge of protecting the engineers who were setting up camp for them, in a detached unit that was some distance away from the battlefield.
This was less an order from Caspond than a request, which meant that they had practically been allowed the run of the place. They could even neglect their duty to protect the engineers with no consequences, which meant that the leadership of the Holy Kingdom had essentially relinquished all command authority over them.
Surely enough, the reason for that was because of Shizu's presence.
While Neia was nominally in command, the fact that she travelled with Shizu
— who was practically a citizen of the Sorcerer Kingdom — meant they could not order her around as they wished. A member of the Holy Kingdom's royalty issuing a command to a minion of the Sorcerer King might end up becoming a casus belli.
Neia very much wanted to ask why they were doing things differently after Shizu had done so much during the attack on Kalinsha. However, the arrival of the Southern nobles had changed the reception she had gotten. This was because they could not simply consider the present, but future events in mind as well.
As Neia and the others formed up, they watched the distant battlefield.
That said, they were far enough away that they did not feel the tension of being on the battlefield, because the bloodlust from there could not reach this place. The sound of the engineers pounding stakes with their mauls sounded very tranquil.
"…Are they still looking at each other? When will it start?"
"The situation grows worse for us as time passes. While I feel we ought to make the first move…"
Bertrand had answered Shizu's question.
The darkness of night was the demi-humans' ally. While one could see clearly on a plain as long as there was moonlight, the sky was clouded over. There was no doubt that the demi-humans would be a very tricky opponent if they attacked under these circumstances. That was because the camp they were building now was not very sturdy.
Therefore, the humans should have made their move before nightfall.
Besides, they had a massive advantage in numbers, so if they could achieve a complete victory here, they might be able to ruin Jaldabaoth's scheme. In other words, the Holy Kingdom would be freed from this long torment. There was no reason not to advance.
Neia also hoped that the fighting would end here. That way, nothing else would bind Neia. She could throw her full strength into searching for the Sorcerer King.
Neia looked up.
Her keen hearing had picked up a mighty shout and the thunder of many people running. Bertrand seemed to have heard it a moment later, because he quietly said, "It's begun."
Nobody knew how these two armies — which numbered over 100,000 strong when totaled together — would move, or how they would clash.
The plains where the demi-humans waited was flat, with no high ground from which they could overlook the battlefield.
This should have been their cue to set up a watchtower, but they did not have such a structure in their camp.
"…What now?"
"Our mission is to stay here and protect them. Let's focus on completing it."
It was practically impossible for the tremendously outnumbered demi-human army to break through the human forces and reach this place. Keeping Shizu —
their strongest fighting force — here was a good political move, but it was a poor military move.
If they placed her on the frontlines, it would greatly diminish the losses to the Holy Kingdom's forces.
Everyone understood that, but nobody could actually do it. That was because they wanted to avoid building Shizu's reputation even further.
What a senseless waste of lives, Neia thought, but wild horses could not have torn the words from her.
30 minutes later, there were cheers from the right flank. It was not just Neia and her keen ears which picked it up — the cries of joy were loud enough that they reached the ears of everybody in Neia's squad. They must have scored quite the victory if they could be heard over such a great distance.
10 minutes after that, a messenger from the battlefield loudly announced what had happened.
"Captain Remedios Custodio of the Paladin Corps reports that she has just defeated the enemy commander, one of Jaldabaoth's henchman demons, the Scale Demon!"
The messenger left after relaying that message.
Neia began to wonder if it was actually true.
No, it was probably true that Remedios had defeated a demon. But was that demon really one of Jaldabaoth's henchmen?
Neia knew very well the power of the demon she and Shizu had fought in Kalinsha.
She did not think that Remedios could have beaten it.
Is the Captain strong enough to beat something like that? Or… could it be some kind of double? If I don't ask senpai…
"Shizu-senpai, I have a question. How strong is that Scale Demon?"
"…Enough that the Captain could beat it."
"But the Circlet was stronger, right?"
"…The existence of strong demons implies that there are weak demons. The Scale Demon is one of the weaker ones."
"I see…"
Neia was relieved. Two of the henchman demons which had entered this country had already been defeated. While that left the great demon in the hills, there was no point thinking about that one.
"The country's saved now… Since the enemy commander's dead, the demihuman army ought to break up. According to the Prince's plan, everything should be over."
There was a wistful look on Bertrand's face, because he had lost the chance to avenge himself with his own hands.
"…Still need to hunt down the stragglers."
"That's right! I expected nothing less of you, Shizu-sama!" As Bertrand answered, his joyful expression suddenly froze.
The left wing — right in the middle of the noble forces, in fact — suddenly sprouted a pillar of flame. The roaring inferno was high enough that they could see it clearly even from this distance, and it looked like it would scorch the sky.
Everyone looked worriedly to Shizu.
They could think of only one being which could do such a thing. Right after that, Shizu confirmed their what they were imagining.
"…Oh no… it's Jaldabaoth."
***
"Captain Remedios Custodio of the Paladin Corps reports that she has just defeated the enemy commander, one of Jaldabaoth's henchman demons, the Scale Demon!"
The right wing exploded into cheers as they heard what Caspond's messenger had told them. Marquis Bodipo's face lit up with a smile.
"Fuhahaha! She did it! She took down the enemy general! Whatever that woman's brains might be like, her swordsmanship is first rate. That ought to weaken the enemy's momentum. I order everyone to force them back and kill every last one of those demi-humans! Let none survive!"
"Yes, sir!"
The soldiers spread out immediately upon receiving the Marquis' orders.
"Truly splendid, Marquis-sama. We are truly fortunate that the commander of the unit facing us in this battle — in the same battle as us — has been eliminated. "
Count Cohen, a man who was held in quite high regard in his faction, was all smiles as he said so.
"Indeed it is, Count. Now we're a step ahead of them."
Eliminating the commander of the unit that had skirmished repeatedly with the forces of the Southern Noble Alliance during their long confrontation was a massive coup. It was undoubtedly a significant card they could play when negotiating with the other Southern nobles.
Compared to Remedios Custodio, her sister Kelart Custodio had left far more bitter memories in their minds. However, this was an achievement that could wipe that hatred away.
In addition, this was also a feather in the cap for Caspond. Simply put, if he managed to survive until the end, the position of the next Holy King was practically his. Even the remaining Southern nobles with any power would not be able to complain about it, and with the Marquis' own complete support, there would be no problems at all.
If there were any uncertain elements in this scenario, that would be the other members of the royal family. There would be no problems if all of them were dead. However, he was not yet prepared to stain his hands, so all he could do was pray.
The Marquis joyously imagined the future balance of power in noble society.
If he wanted his family to become the most influential one in the Holy Kingdom, he could not afford any mistakes in the clean-up operation that would follow this. Everything until now had been perfect. All they had to do was keep on going like this.
"Count. Do you think we can drive the demi-humans to the south?"
"Marquis-sama, why would you do that?"
The Count looked surprised, and he sounded confused as he asked his question. The Marquis laughed at him in his heart.
There was no way the Count could not understand what he was up to. The Marquis would not have favored anyone who was that incompetent. The Count was pretending surprise even though he knew what the Marquis had in mind.
He must have been trying to give the impression that he could not fathom what the great and mighty Marquis-dono was planning. It was truly a dull attempt at sucking up to him.
The Marquis decided to go with the flow. If he made the Count believe he could be that easily manipulated, it would be easier to use him.
"Are you listening? The demi-humans are an excellent tool to weaken the nobles who aren't of our faction."
He raised a finger, adopting the air of an old man who could not resist the urge to explain himself.
"Now that the Northern nobles have been weakened, the balance of power between the North and South has been shattered. Things being what they are now, it is unavoidable that the Southern nobles will end up having a greater say in matters… However, that would be problematic for the royal family. In other words, this is what the royal family we are helping will face."
"I expected nothing less of you, Marquis-sama. To think your considerations stretched that far!"
The flattery was blatant at this point, but the Count still delivered it with a joyful tone and a loud voice.
"Indeed. Nothing would be better than if they would ravage the lands of the nobles who did us no good."
As he watched the Count look around worriedly, the Marquis stroked his beard and thought, this man really is a good actor.
"Relax, Count. We are surrounded by trustworthy people. Word will not get out. Besides, who would believe it?"
"Is, is that so? But, there are too many uncertain elements if we simply let the demi-humans flee to the South. In that case, why not press them to their wits' end, and then forge a secret pact with the demi-humans…?"
"Employing demi-humans, then? Not a bad idea."
Although the Count sounded like he was disgusted by the idea of using demihumans, that was probably acting too. He was the sort of man who would use everything he could until there was nothing left.
Getting such an excellent man in his own faction was also to keep an eye on him.
In truth, he had already embedded several people in the Count's family. He had also used people from other factions so he would not be found out even if one used charm spells.
"Count, would you go as well if there was a chance to make a deal with the demi-humans?"
The Marquis was keenly aware that the Count was plotting all sorts of things behind those eyes of his.
"I, I don't really want to go, but if you intend to go, then I would certainly accompany you, Marquis-sama."
He was probably doing this so he could say "the Marquis said so-and-so" and thus obtain a trump card to use against the Marquis. However, just going there with him would tar him with the same brush. It was too feeble to be used as a trump card.
"…Is that so? Then should we not tell His Highness to stop attacking the demihumans? There's no need to sacrifice more people in fighting. After this, we shall achieve victory at the negotiation table."
"It is as you say, Marquis-sama. However, the other Counts seem to be mounting an all-out attack, so we ought to stop them as soon as possible for a better effect."
"Indeed."
While stopping them as they were trying to make a name for themselves would be doing them a disservice, it would be better to keep things as they were when one considered the future. The Marquis was delighted that he would soon be able to influence the future of the Holy Kingdom. Of course, he would never let that show on his face.
"Contact the Counts—"
The pillar of fire that erupted cut the Marquis off halfway.
The Marquis was not completely clueless about magic. He might not be able to use it himself, but knowledge about divine magic was commonplace among the Holy Kingdom's nobility. However, he only knew about spells of up to the second tier, and his knowledge did not extend to spells from other traditions.
Even so, he understood that the pillar of flame before his eyes was incredibly powerful magic.
"What, could that be magic of the so-called fourth tier? The kind that Kelart Custodio and Her Majesty could use?"
"I, I don't know. What, what should we do, Marquis-sama?"
"Er, hm. I'm not too sure, but let's just back up a little and move to a safer place."
-x-X-x-
Trooper Robby was a young man who was 24 years of age. While he had not received a complete education, he understood that there were many things in this world which he did not know.
Therefore—
"Humans. I have returned. —Truly you have indulged yourselves while I was healing the wounds which the Sorcerer King left on me."
—As the angry roar reverberated through the core of his body, Robby pissed himself.
He could no longer feel his soaked pants sticking to his skin.
After realizing the power of the monster before him, he had a premonition that he was about to die, and so his survival instincts went into overdrive. They abandoned his useless senses and swiftly searched for a way to survive.
However, before they could find anything, Jaldabaoth unleashed his power.
"Die. Burn to ash in the flames of Wrath."
Fire roared up, and a wave of heat struck Robby in the face. The incredible heat dried his eyes out and filled him with incredible pain. The hot air entering his lungs felt like it was about to set his entire body on fire from the inside. In fact, that was exactly what had happened.
Flames scorched his skin and its water content evaporated. His dermis burned, and then the fat beneath, followed by his muscles and then his nerves.
Where the subdermal layers of fat were thin, such as on the arms, the flames immediately reached the muscles and nerves. This should have caused the muscles to contract and make him take up a bizarre pose. However, the high temperatures seared his skin to his armor, which prevented that.
His clothes, skin, muscles and the fat of his belly all caught fire, and his innards poured out intact.
Human bodies contained a lot of water. That was why it took time for their insides to burn. If this were an ordinary fire, the flames would have continued burning inside the body for some time, but since Jaldabaoth's fiery aura was magically generated heat, it vanished as he moved away.
Therefore, Robby's scattered guts were not discolored by the heat and remained a pretty pink color. The sight of piles of scorched bodies and the fresh offal peeking out through oceans of blood were enough to make onlookers want to throw up. It looked like hell on earth.
Jaldabaoth left Robby — who had sprouted a garland of fresh innards — and over 50 other scorched corpses around him as he walked forward.
Jaldabaoth — the newly-summoned Evil Lord of Wrath was walking. Even that was enough to kill the people around him who were caught up in his fiery aura.
"Get lost! Out of my way!"
While several such shouts could be heard, the first to scream was Militiaman Francesco.
He thought, why am I so unlucky every day. Thanks to the Holy Kingdom's system of conscription, everyone had to do their national service and join the army.
Indeed, even the son of a great merchant like himself — a man with a bright future promised to him — was no exception. Granted, his father had paid the appropriate bribes to have him assigned to a slack unit, but the life of a soldier was still miserable.
And just as that misery was about to end, this war had broken out.
Not a day went by when he did not complain about his unhappiness and the unfairness of it all. Still, it would all be over soon, and he could go back to being the heir of a big merchant family and indulge in the money-making activities he so enjoyed.
Things were just a little bit away from turning out like that.
It had been just a little bit.
However, he was now fleeing desperately from the monster in front of him.
If it caught him, he would certainly die.
He desperately moved his legs, which refused to listen to him owing to his fear.
He was surrounded by other people who were also fleeing like himself. Thus he made little progress despite his panic.
In particular, the fat man in front of Francesco was an eyesore.
Therefore, Francesco shoved the man away.
He did it to get just a single step further away from that monster. He did it for the sake of his joyous future.
However, as he shoved the other man away, Francesco saw that the people in front of him also had the same idea.
If the man who had been shoved away collided with the people in front of him, it was very likely that they would collapse en masse like dominoes. In fact, that was exactly what had happened to the people in front of Francesco.
Perhaps if it were just one or two people, he could have avoided them. Perhaps he could have jumped over them.
However, Francesco was not athletic enough to avoid a huge mass of falling people at once.
He collapsed onto the mass of people.
He thrashed around to get up — but he was not given the time for that.
The aura of fire centered on Jaldabaoth had caught up to him.
Francesco had no time to scream. Why me? he thought, and then said thought was instantly swallowed up by sheerest agony and all he could feel was pain.
Francesco had been lucky. That was because he had died immediately.
Jaldabaoth did not stop moving, He trampled blackened human corpses underfoot as he walked on, like he was in an empty wasteland.
"Run away! Run awaaaay!"
One man shouted the obvious. His name was Trooper Gorka. He was a man who had faith in his sword skills.
That was why he had the courage to shout those words in front of Jaldabaoth.
Still, that was just foolhardiness, because Jaldabaoth changed course towards Gorka. There was no telling if he had piqued Jaldabaoth's interest or because it had been mere coincidence.
While that was a godsend to the ones Jaldabaoth had been chasing, it was the foulest luck imaginable to the ones on Jaldabaoth's new course.
Gorka saw that it would be very difficult to flee the monster amidst the chaos, and so he drew his sword.
The monster's eyes shifted, and less than a second later, he walked past Gorka.
That was what the monster thought of Gorka.
He was only worth a single glance.
Gorka bellowed and ran in the opposite direction of the flow of humanity.
The sight of charred people collapsing nearby was very scary, but perhaps there might be some hope for him. Perhaps he might hope to be able to reach that monster.
Gorka learned the answer with his body.
Pain filled him.
He could not possibly close in on that monster.
Gorka burned with the other troopers who were weaker than him.
Gorka realized something.
To that monster, Gorka was no different from the civilians around him.
If only I had run, he lamented, before that thought was drowned out by the agony of being burned alive. Gorka collapsed with a silent scream, contorting on the ground like all the corpses around him.
Jaldabaoth had no aim in mind as he walked. However, if humans tried to run, he pursued them.
"Stay away!"
She ran.
Viviana, who had joined the campaign as a divine magic caster, was running for her life.
Her long blonde hair swayed wildly as she fled with all her might.
She had no time to wipe away her snot or her tears.
Nobody could beat a monster like that.
Somebody was saying something.
She had no time to care about that.
All she could think of was I just want to get away from that monster!
She could not shove away the people running in front of her. All she could do was squeeze past them and keep running.
Out of my way.
Out of my way.
Out of my way!
Why were there so many people in her way?
I don't care if everyone else dies, but I don't want to die!
Viviana ran with that thought in her heart.
While she was ostensibly running, she was surrounded by people fleeing in all directions. Even Viviana, who was faster than the average person, was as slow as a turtle. She could not get away from the demon.
Sizzling heat caressed the tips of Viviana's hair.
Nooooooo!
She thought of the horrible way people looked when they died.
"I don't want to die!!!"
It was a perfectly natural thing to scream.
Anyone would have thought the same thing.
It was very difficult to accept one's death calmly when it loomed before you.
This was more true the more suddenly death appeared in front of you.
"It huuuurts!"
The incredible heat meant she could not feel anything other than pain. Her brain was assaulted by unbearable agony. She realized that she would soon be dead.
No, I don't want to die! Viviana thought as she burned to death.
Jaldabaoth continued forward in silence as he began to feel bored.
"Don't run! Fight!" a brave man shouted from horseback.
Leoncio was the second son of a retainer in service to the Marquis. He had joined the battle in the hopes of being recognized for his swordsmanship.
Around him were the men his father had placed under his command, all of whom were people who knew his abilities.
The demon walked in a leisurely manner, and it left countless corpses in its wake, each of them twisted in agony. He wanted to run away, but if he did, his future would be grim and dark. All he could do was take a bet for a shining future.
Having made that decision, he shouted "Don't run!" over and over again.
However, his horse was a different matter. Its instincts screamed that the approaching demon was a terrifying monster, and so it wanted to flee.
What would happen if a horse broke into a gallop among all these people?
The answer was simple.
The horse got tangled up in the crowd and fell. The people which the horse landed on screamed. No, some of them had died.
Leoncio was flung from his saddle and thrown to the ground.
Fortunately, he had landed on top of people and had been spared the fate of being trampled by the fleeing mob.
However, intense pain filled his arm as he tried to stand. He had sprained it when he had been thrown from his horse.
He had no idea where his sword had gone. It must have been flung away by the shock of being thrown off his horse.
.