Prologue

WHEN I woke up, Maria was sleeping next to me in a state of undress.

For a split second, I froze. I considered telling myself it was all a bad dream and going back to sleep, but then my memories of the previous night came back to me. Vividly.

Now I’ve gone and done it…

As I stared at Maria’s exposed skin, I was at a loss.

🍖🍖🍖

THE night before, Maria had visited my tent alone, saying she wanted to report her conversation with Deputy Captain Caim of the Holy Knights. I wanted to get to sleep, so I turned her down, asking her to save it for tomorrow, but she insisted she needed to give me her report then, so I ended up hearing her out.

Her report was well worth the listen. She spoke with plenty of feeling, mixing in various gestures as she did—though I suspected that half the time she was just describing things in a way that was convenient for her. For example, the part where she said Caim got real close and forcefully grabbed her hand had to be a lie. She had definitely been leading him on, and had probably grabbed his hand herself. That was just the type of person she was.

Then, just when her story was getting to the interesting part, she said, “I was so afraid! But when I thought about how it was all for you, Lord Mars, I held out the best I could!”

As she spoke, for some reason, she took off her robe and cast it to the side, then threw her arms around me. Beneath her robe, she wore revealing white clothes that showed off her shoulders and her chest, hardly befitting a holy woman.

What a flirt! I thought.

Though I wanted to try and pull her off of me, I couldn’t actually make my arms move. After all, she was quite beautiful. She had an attractive body, and she at least maintained the appearance of charming modesty. Besides, there wasn’t anyone else around. It was literally just a fight with myself. But still, with my final vestiges of reason, I made a last-ditch effort to resist her advances.

“Hold on, Maria,” I said. “Aren’t you supposed to be a saint? You really shouldn’t do this sort of thing…”

“Everyone is fighting for my sake! There’s about to be a huge war, all over me, and I just can’t stand being all alone anymore…”

You sure are being awfully forward, with that blushing face of yours. Wait, why are you smoothly sweeping my legs out from under me and trying to push me onto the bed? Hey, stop that, stop—eep?!

Outside the tent, a red blossom fell from a tree and plopped gracelessly onto the ground.

🍖🍖🍖

AND that brings us to the present.

As I was lying there in a daze, Maria sleepily opened her eyes. The drowsy look on her face was downright angelic. Then, she noticed I was there, and she smiled at me and said, “Good morning.”

For some reason, she seemed much more tired than she ordinarily should have been, but her innocent smile was still, without exaggeration, that of a saint. Her looks really were the only good thing about her.

Maria hastily dressed herself. Then, with a sorrowful expression, she abruptly said, “Really, I don’t mind,” as if she were some kind of victim.

“What? Um, you were the one who—” I hurriedly tried to explain myself, but she put a finger to my lips, keeping me from speaking.

“Let us make this our little secret,” she said with a playful smile. Then, she left the tent—but not before saying, “Oh, by the way, all I want in return is Eyland.”

…Excuse me? The price of a single night is an entire country?

🍖🍖🍖

THE encampment of the army of Eyland was cloaked in a grim silence. One of their coalition partners, the Magedom of Kiel, had vanished with no warning, and no sooner had another member of the coalition, the nation of Vulcan, arrived on the front than they had turned around and gone home to take care of a sudden rebellion in their country. In all, half of the forces that had mobilized to defeat Farune were out of the picture.

Eyland had covered this up to at the very least keep morale from flagging, but then half of the Holy Knights deserted out of nowhere—right after announcing to everyone that Kiel and Vulcan were lost. The morale of the coalition forces was officially as low as it could go.

“I believe it would be best for us to withdraw for a time and revise our plan,” proposed Count Wolf, one of Vulcan’s vaunted Three Counts, to the king of Vulcan. The white-haired count was a battle-hardened commander over fifty years of age with an impressive scar on one cheek. “We deployed our forces for an offensive in the field because our side had an overwhelming numerical advantage,” he continued, “but the coalition army has greatly decreased in size. We still have the edge in numbers, but to prepare for every eventuality, might I suggest a withdrawal as one of our options?”

Count Wolf’s statement was entirely reasonable. However, the king of Eyland believed that withdrawing wouldn’t resolve anything, and would only postpone their eventual defeat.

“There are rumors that Kiel was attacked and destroyed,” the king of Eyland said, a weary look on his face. “If we withdraw now without doing anything, we may be unable to avoid ruin. Do we have any other options?”

“Perhaps we could adopt a scorched-earth policy,” Count Broome, another one of the Three Counts, said solemnly. Count Broome was an intelligent man who wore glasses. While there were flecks of white in his hair, he was somewhat younger than Count Wolf, and he was well-versed in strategy and known for being a clever military leader.

“A scorched-earth policy? What’s that?” the king of Eyland asked him.

“It’s a strategy that aims to weaken an advancing enemy army by poisoning wells and requisitioning all food supplies in a territory as one retreats. Naturally, this leads to serious harm to the land and the population, but if a nation’s very existence is on the line, that sort of tactic may be necessary.”

“Hrmm…” The king of Eyland grunted. It was an ill-advised plan. Yet the reality was that this sort of measure was all they had left.

“But Count Broome, you’d be sacrificing the citizens!” Count Wolf objected, his face turning red with indignation.

But Count Broome didn’t back down.

“Right now, we need time,” he said. “If we lose, the entire continent will become Farune’s. Everything will fall into the hands of those demons who devour the flesh of monsters… That is the one possibility we must do anything to avoid. We, Eyland, are Ares’s last hope!”

“You’re right…but…” Count Wolf was beloved by his subjects. He was reluctant to sacrifice them, even if it was for the sake of defeating Farune.

“That isn’t all,” Count Broome said, on the verge of proposing another plan. “Nearly all of the Hundred should be here, which means that right now, the defenses around Farune’s capital to their rear should be relatively sparse. Let’s scrape together some assassins and attempt to kill King Mars’s children. That should cause some commotion.”

“Hasn’t that plan already failed once?” the king of Eyland asked with a skeptical look.

“Well, this wouldn’t exactly be an assassination,” Count Broome explained. “It would be more akin to a surprise attack. We would gather assassins in numbers and execute the plan, knowing that there will be few guards to stand in their way. I believe it is worth attempting.” The proposal seemed closer to an assault that aimed at throwing the enemy rear into confusion than a covert operation.

“Hmph, yes, that may very well act as a diversion,” Count Wolf said. Though he had expressed reluctance at a scorched-earth strategy, he seemed to be on board with an assault by assassins.

“Very well!” the king of Eyland said, making his decision. His eyes were bloodshot. “We’ll adopt a scorched-earth policy and go ahead with the castle assault. Get ready at once!”

There was a stir among the king’s assembled vassals, and Count Wolf hurriedly moved to stop the king from leaving.

“Please wait, my king! With a scorched-earth strategy, even if we achieve victory, we’ll lose more than whatever we may gain! I believe that just the assault will be enough to buy time.” The old general’s forehead was slick with sweat.

“Wolf, I understand what you wish to say. But if we lose, we lose everything. Our only option now is to use all we’ve got. Otherwise, we’ll never be able to beat Farune!”

Broome and most of the other vassals nodded heavily at the king’s words.

Eyland was closer to the brink than ever before.

I: Pillage

THE village of Nest was located in southern Eyland near the border with the country of Dorssen. With the war with Farune close at hand, this place too was filled with tension, but most of the villagers were optimistic.

“Don’t worry, Eyland will win for sure! The king of Farune is a heinous criminal who raided the Theocracy of Mauve on the back of a dragon and kidnapped a saint. That’s why the whole world has joined forces to fight him. This is a holy war to rescue the saint!”

“Even Vulcan, our old enemy, and Kiel, that place with all those amazing wizards, are fighting on our side. There’s no way we’ll lose!”

“From what I hear, those Farunian warriors called the Hundred eat monster meat and slurp up their blood. It’s transformed them into disgusting creatures themselves. Our village will have to help out if we’re going to defeat them!”

These were the sorts of statements that made up the majority opinion. The villagers believed Farune was an evil empire—partly because of Eylish propaganda—and they were ready to spare no effort in fighting against it.

However…

“Give us every piece of food in this village!”

A squad of Eylish soldiers had come to the village out of nowhere and immediately started making violent and forceful demands.

“I don’t know if we can give it all away,” said the mayor of the village. “Do you need food supplies for the war with Farune? If so, we won’t hesitate to help as much as we can.” Although the mayor was disconcerted, he strove to settle things peaceably if possible.

“No, that’s not what I meant,” said the leader of the squad. “Just bring out all your food. If you don’t listen to me, you might as well set fire to your village now.” Despite the look of anguish on his face, he did nothing to soften his uncompromising stance.

“We can’t! If we give you all our food, we’ll die!” the mayor yelped.

“You’ll die either way! If that demonic Farunian army comes, we’ll all die! We have to do anything we can to hurt them, no matter how small!”

This helped the mayor grasp what the Eylish army’s intentions were. Basically, they were planning to put pressure on the Farunians by making it impossible to obtain provisions in Eylish territory. However, the first ones to feel the squeeze would be them, the commoners. It made it impossible to tell whether Eyland or Farune were the bad guys.

“Is the king of Eyland commanding us to lie down and die?!” the mayor shouted in spite of himself.

“There is one way to survive,” the officer said after a short pause. “Beg the Farunians. Get provisions from them. That will be your fight!” He had to have known how self-serving this suggestion was, but this plan was the only way for Eyland to win. “And if you choose to defy us—” He raised a hand, and the soldiers around him held up torches.

The soldiers looked just as anguished as the officer. This wasn’t what they wanted to do; they were all just reluctantly obeying their superiors’ orders. The mayor understood this, and it only deepened his feelings of helplessness.

“All right,” the mayor finally said. “We’ll give you our food.”

He obeyed the officer’s orders and instructed the villagers to bring all of their food to him. There were some who brought only a meager amount and were then harshly rebuked by the soldiers, who subsequently barged into their homes and ransacked them for anything edible. The squads that had been ordered to carry out the scorched-earth policy had been told in no uncertain terms to thoroughly collect every last bit of food.

🍖🍖🍖

“YOUR Majesty, the Eylish army has begun to withdraw!”

It was midday, and after one thing and another with Maria that morning, I was at my wits’ end. I had only just entered the tent that served as headquarters for my most important vassals when Captain Chrom of the Black Knights made his report.

I paused. “Why?”

“It seems that Your Majesty’s various stratagems have borne fruit.”

Stratagems? What’s that supposed to mean? Is he talking about Frau and Keely going off on their own and destroying Kiel? Or Sheila capturing Thracia, the capital of Vulcan, for some reason, even though I sent her to the country for diplomatic negotiations?

I hadn’t planned either of those things. They had done it all without my permission. If anything, they should have been punished for disobeying orders.

I had wanted Frau and Keely to take care of the Magedom’s army, so why had they attacked the country itself? Actually, whatever else the case may have been, there was no way they should even have been able to destroy an entire country with just the Mages’ Guild and the monster army anyway. Anyone should have been able to see that.

I wished they wouldn’t act like all these abnormalities were some kind of big victory.

As for Sheila, I had only assigned around ten guards to her, so how had she managed to occupy Vulcan’s capital? Where in the world had a rebel army with three thousand soldiers come from? I was so baffled I could hardly think about anything else. Maybe Sheila’s family had been preparing for a coup for a while. There was no way they could have raised such a large force out of nowhere otherwise. Maybe they had actually taken advantage of Sheila because she was now a princess of Farune. That was definitely a troubling idea. I was disappointed to hear people say that it had all been my scheme.

But still, a withdrawal? Hm… That isn’t good. There are some people here who tend to get carried away when that sort of thing happens.

I had hoped the Vulcanians would give us a good fight, and that maybe we could end things with a draw.

“Zero, I believe we ought to pursue and thoroughly smash them!”

An overexcited Ogma immediately proposed that we chase after the Eylish army. His expression was frenzied, like a hunting dog that had hit upon its prey. He was so full of energy that he seemed ready to go running after the retreating soldiers at any moment.

“I shall defeat one thousand enemy soldiers myself and line up their heads before Your Majesty!” he added.

Does he think that I’m a malevolent god that demands sacrifices or something? Who cares, just let them run away, if that’s what they want. You know, if we can finish this without a war, that’s really the best outcome.

“Pursuit won’t be necessary,” I declared.

Come to think of it, maybe all of this is happening because I never make myself clear. From now on, I’ll make sure to put everything into words, out loud.

“We shouldn’t engage in useless fights,” I said clearly. “We’ll head for Eyland’s capital at a slow pace.”

I actually wanted to go back to Farune right away, but as you might expect, it would have been hard to leave without negotiating a ceasefire first. There was always the possibility that our opponents might come back and try to start a war again later, plus I couldn’t behave too weakly in front of my subordinates. I had to apply pressure by advancing slowly, and get the Eylish to propose peace themselves.

“Slowly, sir?” Ogma asked, displeased. He was so raring to fight that he could hardly sit still.

“That’s right, slowly,” I replied. “War is about more than just fighting.”

We also had to deal with Vulcan, the capital of which we had carelessly occupied, and I wanted to avoid a war on two fronts. As for the Vulcanian army that had come to us, Frau and the other mages were sure to act as a roadblock against them, but I still had to watch the situation and adapt as needed. If we advanced too quickly into Eyland, we would get too far away from Vulcan and be unable to respond in an emergency.

For the time being, I wanted to make peace with Eyland without getting into an all-out fight with them, all while staying vigilant against Vulcan’s movements. International conflicts ought to be resolved diplomatically first of all, with war only as a last resort. The military was best used to apply pressure and make threats as another component of diplomacy. Getting into a war every time there was an issue would just make us lose manpower and strength as a country.

Though for some reason, Farune only keeps expanding and getting stronger through war…

🍖🍖🍖

THE Eylish army proceeded with the scorched-earth strategy at a steady pace, taking advantage of the fact that the Farunian army wasn’t pursuing them. The soldiers seized food from towns and villages and poisoned wells. Then, they said this to the citizens: “Rely on the coming Farunian army. Get food supplies from them. That is your duty.”

The country that ought to have protected them, its own people, had betrayed them and was trying to use them to obstruct an enemy country. And it was hard to imagine that the notorious Farune would extend a helping hand to the citizens of Eyland. In the midst of a desperate situation, the people of Eyland were overcome with sorrow.

Unsurprisingly, one of these places—the village of Nest, which had been the very first to lose its food supply—had fallen into destitution. The villagers were quenching their thirst with water from the nearest river, but the few scraps of food they had hidden away were already almost exhausted. The surrounding towns and villages were in a similar state, so it wasn’t like they could seek help from them either.

“At this rate, we’ll starve…”

Were they supposed to eat grass, or start gnawing on tree roots? Tormented by their empty stomachs, the villagers began to fear that they wouldn’t even live to see the next day.

It was then that the Farunian army came along. Luckily, they were only passing nearby, and showed no indications that they would be stopping at the village.

Farune’s main force was made up of a bunch of battle maniacs known as the Hundred. They were practically demons, said to suck the lifeblood out of monsters and devour their flesh. On top of that, they also engaged in fights to the death with each other in the arena back in Farune on a nearly daily basis. The citizens of that country got their kicks from betting money on the outcomes of those very fights. Basically, the place was a total hellhole.

As one might expect from people who had heard these stories, the villagers paid close attention to the Farunian army’s movements. What in the world did they look like? How fierce were they, really? Depending on the answers to these questions, the villagers might have found themselves with no choice but to flee their homes.

Following a village-wide conversation, three young people were selected to go investigate the Farunian army. They discreetly approached using their knowledge of the lay of the land, then observed their targets from a distance. Contrary to expectations, though, Farunian warriors in the flesh looked no different from regular humans—though they were certainly extremely muscular.

And what was this? They were marching ahead calmly while engaging in friendly chatter. They hardly gave the impression that they would be unwilling to talk, and they didn’t seem like they were going to attack and loot the village, either. The important-looking man riding a horse up front had to be the king of Farune, and although he was wearing a forbidding-looking suit of pitch-black armor, he had ordinary, kindhearted features. A woman rode a white horse next to him, someone who looked pure and beautiful, like the reincarnation of a goddess. She was speaking to the king affectionately, while he responded curtly. From an outsider’s point of view, his attitude could have been taken as a sign of hidden embarrassment, so the two looked from afar as if they were flirting.

It hardly seemed the terrifying army of rumor.

The three lookouts hurriedly returned to the village and reported to the mayor that the Farunians didn’t look so bad.

The mayor thought it over—this changed things. If, in contrast with the rumors, the king was someone they could make a deal with, maybe he would share his supplies with them. And, considering the fact that the other towns and villages were in similarly dire straits, it would be in the village’s favor for them to seek aid quickly.

“Let’s get the king of Farune to help us,” the mayor decided. After all, they wouldn’t be able to endure their hunger for much longer.

Guided by the three young lookouts, the mayor headed to the Farunian army—after cautioning everyone to flee the village if he didn’t come back.

Meanwhile, the Eylish army had organized mercenaries, adventurers, and other irregulars into a separate detachment and made them lie in wait for an ambush on the highway the Farunian army was expected to use for their supply route. The Eylish had stripped the land of its food supplies, but that would be meaningless if they didn’t also cut off the enemy’s own supplies. The hidden detachment silently waited for the Farunian supply corps, which was bound to come soon.

However, days passed, and it still didn’t show up. It was odd. There was no way an army with several thousand soldiers on the march could go without supplies. Their daily food consumption should have been quite high, so regular replenishment would have been absolutely necessary. In theory, they could have been using wizards to teleport their supplies, but magic wasn’t suited to carrying massive quantities of goods—it was just too inefficient. Ultimately, the safest choice would have been to transport their supplies by cart.

What the hell are those Farunians eating? the adventurers and mercenaries of the Eylish detachment wondered, suspicious of their enemy’s behavior.

🍖🍖🍖

I slowly advanced through Eyland on horseback. I was up front, to contain the speed of the march. If anyone else took the lead, I knew they wouldn’t hesitate to rush ahead at top speed.

In any case, ever since that morning, Maria had been acting very familiar with me at every opportunity, and it was incredibly awkward. The fact that it was in front of my subordinates didn’t help. Not only that, but the content of what she said was just awful. She kept casually bringing up truly bloodthirsty topics with an innocent smile on her face—asking how she should rule Eyland in the future, when she should annex the Theocracy of Mauve, how she should eliminate all those in her way, and so on. I was sick of it, so I only gave her terse responses, but she had nerves of steel and didn’t pay my bluntness any mind.

No matter what I did, she constantly followed me around. It was a massive headache.

Just when I was starting to wonder, Is there any way I can abandon this woman somewhere? some people appeared to block my path. They weren’t armed, which meant they weren’t part of the Eylish army. One of them was an old man, while the other three were young, and they all looked emaciated.

Chrom, who was guarding me, stepped forward. “Identify yourselves!”

“I am the mayor of the nearby village of Nest,” the old man replied weakly.

“What business does the mayor of some village have with His Majesty?”

The four clearly weren’t hostile, and they didn’t look strong enough to hurt us anyway, but Chrom didn’t lower his guard.

“Right. We were wondering if His Majesty might offer us aid.”

“Aid?” I asked. The word piqued my interest. “What are you guys worried about?”

“Food, sir,” the mayor replied.

“Food? You don’t have anything to eat?”

“No, we do not. In fact, the Eylish army confiscated everything we had…”

After that, the mayor began to explain the dire situation in which their village found itself. Apparently, Eyland was depriving the towns and villages on our route of food in order to cause problems for us.

“As such, I humbly request that you share your provisions with us…” the mayor said, seeming extremely apologetic.

I see. He spoke candidly about the situation, so if there’s anything I can do, I’d like to help. But, how are our logistics coming along? I left it up to others, so I wasn’t paying any attention…

As I was thinking, Ogma stepped forward.

“King Zero, please allow me to handle this,” he declared. “I shall do something about the village’s plight!”

He doesn’t really look like someone who’d be any good at that. Will this go all right?

“Can you really fulfill that duty?” I asked him.

“Indeed I can.”

The villagers’ faces brightened at Ogma’s reply.

“Ah, you’ll share your food with us? Thank you!” the mayor said.

“No, we won’t. Our army has no food to give,” Ogma flatly replied.

We what? Say that again?

“Farune’s rule is local procurement.”

This time, the villagers’ faces turned pale. They were probably afraid that Farune was also going to start pillaging.

“Our army gets fresh food every day by hunting local monsters!” Ogma declared.

Oh, we do? I was forced to eat raw monster meat every day, whether I was in the castle or on the front, so I hadn’t noticed a difference. This must have meant they were taking the time to hunt nearby.

But wait a second. Does that mean we don’t have a supply corps? That makes it sound more like we’re a tribe of nomadic hunters than an army. Are we from ten thousand years in the past or something? Please, can’t we just do things normally? I just want to eat ordinary rations.

“Um, what do you mean by that?” the mayor asked hesitantly.

“It means that we’ll get you to eat monster meat too, of course!” Ogma replied, brimming with confidence as he gave his unwanted answer.

The mayor looked pleadingly at me, but I quietly averted my eyes. If we don’t have any food supplies, then there’s nothing I can do. Sorry.

“My, what a wonderful initiative!” Maria said next to me, smiling brightly. “If that’s the plan, then I would love to be of assistance!”

That’s right, she’s a monster meat lover too. But “assistance”…assist in what way?

Having been offered monster meat by the most respectable-looking people in our cohort, the villagers were utterly bewildered.

🍖🍖🍖

“LISTEN to me, people of the village!” Ogma shouted, standing in the middle of Nest’s public square.

The gathered villagers had uneasy looks on their faces. Although they were glad to see their mayor return from seeking relief from the Farunian army, they were disappointed to see that he had come back empty-handed. Also, they were clearly suspicious as to why the leaders of the Farunian army were with him.

Next to Ogma stood Maria; comments like, “Is that beautiful woman the saint?” could be heard coming from the crowd.

“I envy you!” Ogma continued. “Why, you ask? In the past, my king, Zero, once had nothing to eat and suffered from starvation! The fact that you are able to experience what he did fills me with envy!”

Then why don’t you go without food? the villagers thought, but there was no way they were going to say it out loud, not to this man whose muscular body was covered with what looked to be battle scars.

“What saved King Zero from starvation?! It was monster meat!” Ogma held aloft a piece of meat from a monster he had hunted in the area. It looked obviously poisonous, with a revolting purple sheen, and it somehow possessed the miraculous ability to lessen the starving villagers’ appetites.

He isn’t actually telling us to eat that thing, is he?

A commotion arose among the villagers.

Perhaps Maria sensed this, because she raised a question. “But monster meat is poisonous, isn’t it?” she asked, her tone unnatural and somewhat theatrical. “Are you sure it’s okay to eat it?”

“That’s not a problem!” Ogma replied vigorously. “If you just eat a bit of meat from a weak monster, you’ll only vomit and get some indigestion. You won’t die!”

“Well, that’s a relief!” Maria turned to the villagers and smiled.

What’s such a relief about food that makes you throw up and leaves you in intestinal distress? the villagers thought, but there was no way they could criticize the saintly Maria out loud.

“I see that it doesn’t harm your health all that much, but I’ve heard that monster meat doesn’t taste very good. What about that?” Maria asked in the same forced manner.

“Of course it doesn’t taste good, Lady Maria. Monster meat is awful! It tastes like nothing you’ve ever had before! When I first ate it, it was so bad that I would’ve rather died than eat any more.” As he spoke, Ogma tossed the raw meat into his mouth.

There was a sizable stir in the crowd. They said things like, “Whoa, he actually ate that thing,” “I can’t believe it,” and, “He isn’t afraid of anything, even God!” The response was not very positive.

“It’s bad. Like eating poison. But that’s what’s good about it!” Ogma said, a satisfied look on his face.

What could be so good about eating poison? the villagers wondered, their gaunt faces drawn.

Maria gave an exaggeratedly positive reaction, then raised another obvious question. “But if it tastes so bad, then won’t it be hard to eat for people who’ve never had it before?”

“That’s no problem either! You’re free to cook it, or put some salt on it,” Ogma explained. “Normally, the Hundred frowns on anything besides raw, unseasoned meat, but even the young King Zero drained his meat of blood, seasoned it with spices, and cooked it. So, there’s nothing wrong if you do the same. If anything, you’ll be able to experience exactly what he did! There’s nothing more wonderful than that!” Ogma shouted the final words of his appeal, spreading his arms wide.

“My, how truly wonderful!” Maria added, smiling from ear to ear.

In contrast, the villagers’ faces had turned as white as chalk. Basically, these two seemed to have come to the village to spread the benefits of monster meat consumption. In fact, the villagers had the sneaking suspicion they would be forced to eat monster meat whether they chose to or not, but—worse still—they didn’t have any other food anyway, so they had no choice but to eat it of their own volition.

“Um, excuse me,” one of the villagers said, summoning the courage to speak. “We can’t defeat monsters ourselves, so it will be difficult for us to get their meat…”

This was their only means of resistance. In a roundabout way, they were implying, “Unlike you battle-hungry meatheads, we’re ordinary people.”

“No problem!” Ogma replied. “My subordinates are hunting monsters for you as we speak. A huge amount of meat should be arriving here shortly.” Just like that, he shattered that particular villager’s resistance.

“But still, you all may be hunting monsters now, but what are we supposed to do after you leave?” the villager asked, continuing his last-ditch effort to protest. His expression plainly stated that he would have done anything to avoid eating that vile stuff.

“That’ll be no problem either! Eating monsters will make you stronger! Just like me!” Ogma flexed both arms, showing off his biceps. His strength was something that any man would admire, and any woman would be captivated by. “If you eat monsters, you’ll be able to defeat them easily. After all, their meat is a perfect food, bestowed upon us by God!”

“That’s right,” Maria said, emphasizing the merits of monster meat as if to rub salt in the wound. “And don’t forget, you can get a large amount of meat from a single monster, so it’s good value. Your food shortage will be over before you know it.”

The pair’s enthusiasm eventually proved infectious, and the villagers started to wonder if maybe trying a bit of monster meat couldn’t hurt—a feeling reinforced by their desperately empty stomachs.

And that was when a group of Farunian warriors arrived, carrying a large quantity of monster meat with them. Most of the haul came from Morats, monsters that were like mice, only bigger. Morats were at the same level as Killer Rabbits in terms of strength, and their meat was not very poisonous.

Ogma and the others started a fire right away. With practiced movements, they skinned the monsters, drained their blood, then skewered their meat on the ends of pointed sticks before meticulously roasting them over the fire. If it had been ordinary meat, a savory smell would have begun to waft through the air, but the monster meat gave off an unpleasant beastly stench.

After making sure the meat was cooked, Ogma sprinkled some seasoning on it, then turned to a young, healthy-looking villager and held it out to him, saying, “Eat up.” As number one in the Hundred, Ogma was quite intimidating, and it was impossible for the villager to refuse. He did as he was told and took the meat, then met Ogma’s gaze. The man’s deep blue eyes plainly said, “Eat it, or I’ll kill you.”

Steeling himself, the young man decisively bit into the meat. It was awful—but, perhaps because it was cooked, or maybe because the spices were masking its flavor, it was just barely not inedible.

“How is it? Can you eat it?” Ogma peered at the young man.

The villager barely managed to swallow. “Yes, somehow,” he said. Spurred on by Ogma’s coercion and the greatest spice in the world—hunger—he had accomplished an impressive feat.

“Did you see that!” Ogma called out to the villagers. “We’ve just proven that monster meat is safe to eat! There’s plenty here, so have as much as you want. But not too much. Because then you’ll die.” It was hard to tell if he was recommending monster meat or issuing a warning about it.

“Don’t worry, I’ll heal you if necessary,” Maria said. It was unclear if she was being reassuring or further exacerbating the villagers’ unease.

The villagers exchanged looks. It was written all over their faces that, no matter how hungry they may have been, they would rather not have eaten any monster meat, so as to preserve their dignity as human beings. But then, when they scanned their surroundings in search of an escape, they discovered something: without even realizing it, they had been encircled by the same muscular Farunian warriors who had brought the meat. Now, the men were staring at the villagers, patting their unsheathed blades.

Beginning with the mayor, the villagers’ shoulders drooped, and they silently formed a line in front of the cooked monster meat, resembling nothing so much as a row of livestock proceeding to the slaughterhouse.

🍖🍖🍖

“SO, what happened with all the townspeople and the villagers ?”

A few days had passed, and those who had been aiding the towns and villages suffering from starvation had returned to the army. The chief members of the group had been Ogma, Maria, Chrom, and Warren, as well as other top-ranking members of the Hundred.

I was still leading the army on a slow advance through Eylish territory, so it hadn’t been all that difficult for the group to rejoin us. I couldn’t do anything about the scorched-earth policy myself, so I’d left our response to it completely up to them, but I was too afraid to hear what they had been doing, so I hadn’t yet asked. That didn’t mean I was receiving absolutely no reports about it, though, which was why I had braced myself and asked outright how things had gone.

“It went well, exactly as you planned, sir!” Ogma replied, his face lighting up.

Exactly as I planned? What did I plan?

“At first, I couldn’t comprehend why we didn’t hurry to pursue the Eylish army, but now I see that it was part of a vast, visionary strategy!” Maria said next, showering me with ardent praise.

“Huh? Um, uh-huh.” I didn’t really get what they meant, but nothing they were saying seemed bad, so I found myself nodding along unconsciously.

“Rejoice, Your Majesty. Your Eyland Purification Project is proceeding smoothly,” Chrom added, a bold smile on his face.

What’s the Eyland Purification Project? This is the first I’m hearing of it.

“I never would have thought Your Majesty planned to take advantage of Eyland’s scorched-earth policy to spread the monster meat diet,” Warren said. “Yes, a leisurely advance is certainly necessary to carry out this project.” He crossed his arms and nodded several times.

Just hold on a minute. What the hell have you guys done?

“Yeah, about that ‘Eyland Purification Project,’ what exactly—”

Before I could finish speaking, Chrom hurriedly continued.

“Yes, my sincere apologies. Your Majesty’s grand plan was so magnificent that we took the liberty of naming it ourselves.”

Not that I remember planning anything, but okay.

“And, this plan…?”

“I understand what you’re asking,” Chrom said. He probably didn’t understand anything at all. “The first phase of the strategy—to make Kiel and Vulcan leave the front by targeting their countries directly—was brilliant.”

That had just been Frau, Keely, and Sheila getting out of control.

“As part of the second phase, Your Majesty acted through Lady Maria to make the Holy Knights desert and throw the enemy into chaos, forcing the Eylish army to withdraw.”

“That was just Maria going off and—”

“Yes, I simply did everything Your Majesty commanded me to,” Maria said, cutting me off as I tried to deny it and forcing all the responsibility onto me.

This conniving…is she really planning to keep up her pure saint act?

“As part of the third phase,” Chrom continued, “Your Majesty anticipated that the king of Eyland would panic and adopt a scorched-earth policy, so the plan was to take advantage of that and spread monster meat to the starving people. Come to think of it, many of the citizens of Eyland are devout followers of Mauve, so they would never have accepted Farunian rule just because we occupied the country. By getting them to eat monsters, we changed them into Farunian citizens in both body and soul. I would expect nothing less from Your Majesty. What a formidable strategy.”

What’s up with that evil plan? Don’t make it out like I’m the guy who came up with it!

“Mwahaha,” Ogma actually cackled, a nasty expression on his face. “You should have seen those pious fools with tears streaming down their faces as they ate monster meat. It was a riot.”

Are you a demon or something?!

“After the starving rabble eat monster meat once, their aversion to it disappears, and from then on they will eat it without hesitation. Humans are so easily corrupted. How disheartening,” Maria said, turning her face downward. However, her expression was not one of sadness; she was faintly smiling.

You’re talking about food, right? Not some weird drug or something? You know, maybe I’m just worried over nothing, but I get the feeling that Farune is going to go down in history as an insanely evil country.

“That reminds me, what about the water issue?” I asked. “I heard that their wells were poisoned, too.” Food aside, potable water was a vital concern for the entire army.

Ogma scoffed. “No one in Farune’s army is affected by such weak poison.”

Wait, really? You mean that everyone in the army has acquired a resistance to poison because of monster meat?

“If anything,” he continued, “showing off to the people that we can drink the water from poisoned wells was a good advertisement for monster meat. That acted as one last push for many. Truly, every single thing the Eylish army did has been to our army’s advantage. It makes me laugh.” Then, Ogma actually broke into laughter, and the others followed suit.

I felt nothing but sympathy for the king of Eyland. As king, it must have taken a great deal of resolve on his part to implement a scorched-earth strategy, and it was unbearably sad to see it being absolutely ineffective.

Finally, still laughing, Maria spoke. “By now, the Eylish probably won’t be able to live without monster meat anymore,” she said. “This must be what it means when they say the way to someone’s heart is through their stomach.”

This is definitely not what it means.

II: Assassins and a Maid

NUMEROUS assassins from various regions were congregating in Farune’s capital; Eyland had spared no expense hiring them. Ten thousand gold coins awaited whoever managed to kidnap one of King Mars’s children successfully, and even if they killed their target, they would still be paid five thousand. It was an unprecedented reward, even considering that the targets were royalty.

In times of peace, the Hundred and the Mages’ Guild were stationed in Farune’s royal castle, so it was simply impossible to sneak in, but it was currently the middle of a war with the fate of the country at stake. The only ones left in the castle were the Blue Knights, led by Captain Bledd, and Third Princess Cassandra. Needless to say, Eyland’s hired assassins were members of the criminal underworld, and absolute experts at gathering information, so they had a good idea as to exactly how difficult this job would be.

Their greatest obstacle would be the Blue Knights, but the assassins had largely judged that they would be no different from the average knightly order. After all, the only accomplishment the Blue Knights had to their name was being trounced by Farune’s current second princess, Carmilla, when she had stormed into the castle to confront the king. Although Carmilla—known as the Frenzied Princess—was quite powerful, the fact that she had broken through their security all on her own was enough to indicate the Blue Knights’ limits. Still, they were one of the infamous Farune’s knightly orders, so they must have had some degree of strength.

The next anticipated obstacle was Third Princess Cassandra, who looked to be the one remaining princess consort in the castle. She was the victor of the Consort Selection Tournament, a novel way of choosing a new princess that had shocked the surrounding countries. As it happened, Cassandra was also a superhuman who had won the tournament empty-handed, without even touching a weapon.

She was an unknown quantity, and the assassins didn’t want to face her if at all possible. But they also thought that as long as they didn’t target her daughter, Hilda, there would be no problem. After all, Hilda was third in the line of succession, and with how things were now, there was no way she would ever end up on the throne. It would be in Cassandra’s best interest if the first in line, Arthur, or the second in line, Leon, were out of the picture. So, the assassins judged that as long as they didn’t do anything to her daughter, Cassandra wouldn’t go out of her way to act against them.

Incidentally, the several dozen assassins had decided to join forces. They were natural competitors, but they were all there under the same directive from Eyland, so they had chosen to split the enormous reward and increase the odds of success for either a kidnapping or an assassination.

And that was why several people, all clothed in black, were currently approaching Farune’s royal castle under the cover of darkness. Needless to say, they didn’t pass through the front gate, which had security fortified by the Blue Knights. Instead, one assassin who had infiltrated the castle as a servant dangled a rope from a window and let the others in.

“Over here,” the disguised assassin said, showing his fellows the way. “The brats are in an inner room. I don’t know what the security’s like because only a select few people ever go over there, but the area’s pretty deserted, so it should be light.”

The assassins proceeded carefully, taking cover in the shadows of pillars. Luckily, there were only a few Blue Knights on guard, and it was easy for the assassins to evade their gazes.

Piece of cake, most of the assassins thought. Farune was always on the offensive, so its defenders probably never thought they’d be the ones getting attacked. The assassins got the feeling that the country’s lax security was due to arrogance.

The castle wasn’t very large, so the assassins made it to the door that led to the inner rooms surprisingly easily. For some reason, there was no one on guard. They felt that something was slightly off. The door was locked—had the Farunians thought that they didn’t need to place anyone out front because the door was locked? The assassins were all veterans at something as easy as lockpicking, and it didn’t take them much time to unlock the door. They coated the hinges in oil to keep the door from making any noise, then opened it, slowly but surely. When they had the bare minimum amount of space, the assassins smoothly slipped inside, one after the other.

The room was large. But the rough, bare stone walls and floors were more reminiscent of a training ground than the living quarters of a castle.

Inside, there was someone waiting for them. It was a woman, clad in a black dress and a white apron. At first glance, she seemed to be a maid. But she was also wearing two intersecting shortswords on her lower back. Behind her, a door led even deeper inside; that was probably the wing that housed King Mars’s wives and children.

“It makes me sad,” the maid said with a sigh. “Whenever I see fools sneaking into Farune, I remember my old self and I feel sad. My old, foolish self…”

One of the assassins threw a knife at the maid, giving no heed to her mutterings. The weapon flew toward her throat with perfect accuracy. But she caught it with just two fingers.

“I see you made sure to coat it with poison,” she said, feeling something slimy on the blade. “You’re wasting your time with that here.” She grabbed the handle of the knife, then flung it back at the assassin who had thrown it, at more than twice its original speed.

“Gah…” The knife was so fast the assassin couldn’t dodge it, and it pierced his neck, killing him instantly.

The other assassins quickly recognized the maid as a threat, and quietly set on her like shadows, making no unnecessary movements. Four of them targeted the maid from her front, back, left, and right in perfect sync. Their coordination seemed flawless, but the maid swiftly stepped forward, drew her two shortswords in the blink of an eye, and attacked the assassin in front of her with a spinning slash. Using the momentum from her first strike, she let loose a low backward roundhouse kick on the three assassins to her rear. Her pale, slender leg flashed through a slit in her dress.

Despite the small size of her leg, her kick was as tough as steel, and all three assassins’ feet were swept out from under them, leaving them suspended in midair for a split second. They floated for the briefest of instants, but during that time the maid mercilessly cut them down. The speed and technique with which she intricately handled her two shortswords were nothing short of masterful.

“Who the hell is that woman?” one of the remaining assassins let slip, finally speaking. This was rare for those in the criminal underworld, who maintained strict silence on the job, but this maid was just that abnormal.

“You can’t tell? I’m a maid,” she replied. She had just eliminated five people in the space of a moment, but she showed no signs of being out of breath.

A beam of moonlight shone through the window, revealing her face. She had unremarkable, yet well-proportioned features. Her expression was somewhat stiff.

Seeing the maid’s face, one of the assassins took off his mask and called out to her. “Hey, hold on. You’re Nia, aren’t you? I heard you took on a request from Eyland and came to Farune. You’re still alive?” Apparently, he knew her.

“I gave up that name,” the maid said. Picking up a dagger from one of the assassins she had killed, she smoothly threw it at the man who had called her Nia, as though saying farewell to her past. The dagger buried itself in the man’s exposed face, killing him before he could even let out a groan. “I’m Violetta now. They call me Vi. I’m not allowed to go by anything else. Whether I want to or not.” Her murmured words contained a hint of melancholy.

Vi had snuck into Farune with the goal of assassinating the nation’s king, Mars, but instead, she had been defeated and lost every one of her comrades. Seeking a chance for revenge, she had infiltrated the castle, had for some reason been forced to join the Hundred, and then had become Third Princess Cassandra’s personal maid. After being exposed to Cassandra’s terrible strength, Vi had sworn her absolute loyalty to her.

Seeing that they wouldn’t be able to avoid a fight, the assassins silently surrounded Vi. Then, so they’d be able to react to anything that might happen, they slowly tightened their circle. They moved with bated breath, the air crackling with tension.

Indifferent to the assassins’ nervousness, Vi nimbly leaped forward, landing a powerful kick on an assassin in front of her, as unerring as the point of a speeding arrow. Unable to dodge it, the man in black was sent flying backward.

The other assassins, not wanting to let this opportunity slip by, closed the distance in an instant. They assailed Vi with daggers that had unreflective black blades, specially crafted for assassination.

Unafraid of their poison-coated edges, Vi used both of her shortswords to sweep the daggers aside, then countered with a kick. She moved almost as though dancing.

“She’s really strong,” one of the assassins groaned. Half of his thirty fellows had already been taken out.

However, the assassins were professionals, and they didn’t just stand there and take it. They had managed to wound Vi several times, though they were only light grazes. And that was enough. Now, the poison on their blades would bring death to their foe.

The assassins momentarily distanced themselves from her, waiting for the poison to take effect. It was quick-acting, so it shouldn’t have taken much time.

However…

There were absolutely no signs of anything unusual happening to Vi. On the contrary, she held the bottom of her skirt, then curtsied to the assassins as if to show off that she was still going strong.

“There’s no point in waiting, milords,” she said with an affected politeness. “As I believe I made clear at the start, poison is useless in Farune.” Then she smirked—or at least, she appeared to. At the same moment, she broke into a dash.

As if to say that playtime was over, she flourished both shortswords, adding footwork to her movements as she hopelessly crushed the assassins. In the end, they numbered only five.

It’s impossible to carry out the job now, the remaining assassins thought. They realized they had failed, and they began to flee.

However, awaiting them outside the door were the protectors of the castle, the Blue Knights.

“Geez, Lady Cassandra sure can be a handful,” said Bledd, their captain, furrowing his eyebrows. “I couldn’t believe it when she ordered us to overlook intruders because she wanted to test her maid’s strength. But I haven’t forgotten about you guys. You’ve got some nerve, sneaking in here as such a big group. You didn’t think it was weird that nobody was around? You didn’t think it was too easy?”

The assassins listened to Bledd’s lecture, unable to move. With that maid behind them and the Blue Knights in front of them, they were surrounded and had no way to run. But they had an idea: that maid may have been a master swordswoman, but maybe they could break through the Blue Knights. The five of them exchanged looks, quickly understood that they were thinking the same thing, and finally all moved at once. They reckoned that if they each went in separate directions, someone would be able to escape.

“Are you kidding me?” Bledd sighed, then nimbly swung his sword. In a single slash, he effortlessly cut one of the assassins in half as if he were made of paper. “You didn’t really think that I’d be easier to defeat than Vi, who’s only just joined the Hundred, did you?” he asked the assassin’s corpse, shaking his head.

In the meantime, the Blue Knights easily took care of the other assassins.

“I’m tenth in the Hundred, you hear me?” Bledd called out. “Though people do say that my fighting style is overly serious, plain, and boring.”

Bledd had an inferiority complex about this. Neither his Blue Knight subordinates nor—needless to say—the fallen assassins gave him any reply.

🍖🍖🍖

AFTER defeating the assassins, Vi headed to Cassandra’s quarters to make a report. Inside, Frau’s son Arthur and Carmilla’s son Leon were sleeping soundly in a big bed. Both Frau and Carmilla had placed their children in Cassandra’s care, seeing as that was the safest place in the world for them to be. But as for Cassandra herself, her daughter Hilda was wide awake, even though it was the middle of the night, trying to wriggle out of her mother’s arms.

“Don’t you think you were a bit slow?” Cassandra asked. Vi’s body twitched in response.

“M-My deepest apologies!” she said, kneeling as she begged for forgiveness. It was hard to believe this was the same woman who had effortlessly crushed a gang of assassins only moments earlier.

“You took your time, and now she’s awake.” Cassandra lowered her gaze to her daughter in her arms. “Compared to her, Arthur and Leon have fantastic self-control. They can sleep peacefully because they don’t see those petty intruders as a significant threat. But Hilda thought someone was coming to play with her, so she woke up. And after all you did to put her to sleep.”

Vi’s feelings turned fatalistic. She had to put Hilda to bed again. If she had known that she was about to have to look after this inhuman toddler, she would much rather have continued to fight the assassins.

“C’mon, Hilda. You can go to Vi now,” Cassandra said, releasing her daughter.

Hilda began to crawl forward at an intense speed. Vi squatted down, stabilizing her stance, sweat beading on her forehead. She hadn’t been this tense at any point during the earlier fight.

With a thud, Vi caught Hilda, sliding backward as she did.

She’s so heavy, Vi thought.

Feeling a dull pain, she tried to carry Hilda in her arms, but the red-haired toddler resisted her, all while cackling as if to say, “You were just playing earlier, weren’t you? Play with me now!”

“Hm, it looks like she’s excited by the scent of blood on you,” Cassandra muttered with great interest as she watched the two of them.

The comment made Vi shiver. Is Hilda a carnivorous beast or something? Am I going to end up as her prey someday? The baby was just that powerful.

When Vi had first begun working for Cassandra, she had considered Hilda to be somewhat tough for a baby, but the girl had grown in strength by the day, and now she almost constantly pushed Vi to her limits.

Hilda’s existence made Vi recall a certain story that was passed around among assassins, about making children with the potential to become assassins jump over a fast-growing tree every day. It was said that by putting them through this training, their jumping strength would grow along with the tree, and in the end, they would be able to clear even large trees. Of course, the story wasn’t meant to be taken literally, and no such training actually existed. People had certain, unchanging limits, and it was impossible for anyone to grow at the same pace as a tree. But Hilda was like a tree—a tree that exhibited explosively fast growth.

I can’t jump any higher than this, Vi thought. She had felt this nearly every day lately. However, there was no way that sort of complaining would be tolerated. She was Cassandra’s one and only personal maid. If she even so much as considered running away, that crazy-perceptive Swordmaster would no doubt sense it. And on top of that, this Swordmaster and her daughter had apparently taken a liking to her.

As these thoughts went through Vi’s mind, Hilda clung tightly to her. Vi smiled kindly. The girl behaved no differently from any ordinary toddler. Vi didn’t dislike her, not at all. And she really was adorable—on the outside.

The cute child sweetly extended a hand to touch Vi’s forehead. But she did it so quickly that Vi couldn’t follow the motion with her eyes. The toddler’s fierce blow knocked Vi’s head sideways, and for a second, she almost lost consciousness.

Those assassins must’ve been after Lady Hilda, but what were they planning to do with this monster of a child? Vi couldn’t help but feel pity for her former colleagues who had broken into the castle. They had been doomed to fail from the start.

Ever since losing to Carmilla, the Blue Knights had apparently devoted themselves to training in the same style as the Hundred, and they had become quite skilled. They were much stronger than a newcomer like Vi. The only reason they had let the assassins into the inner chambers was to give her some real combat training; the assassins themselves had merely been unwitting pawns.

Even if Vi and the Blue Knights hadn’t been there, though, Cassandra would’ve been waiting for them, and undoubtedly would’ve wiped them all out the moment they stepped foot in the room. And even if Cassandra hadn’t been there, King Mars’s children were strong enough to protect themselves. Their parents seemed to still think of them as small, weak children, but that was far from true. Arthur could already use magic, and Leon could fire off a technique resembling Sonic Blade by swinging a stick. Their parents’ frame of reference was the Hundred, so their standards were off; in reality, the kids were stronger than most warriors.

The more Vi had learned of Farune, the more she had come to believe that it lacked any weaknesses. At times, countries lost stability because of political or economic blunders, or sometimes collapsed due to military coups. There were even examples of extraordinarily beautiful women bringing about a country’s downfall. However, while Farune appeared to be a constitutional state thanks to Gamarath’s administration, in actuality it was no less than a pack of wild beasts ruled over by one powerful individual. Political and economic stability were essentially irrelevant, and because it was ruled by force, there was no way a coup could occur.

Farune’s princess consorts were all women who could easily have brought down governments—by means of physical strength, that is. As a matter of fact, Carmilla had usurped Dorssen, Frau had conquered the Magedom of Kiel, and Sheila was reported to be in the middle of taking over Vulcan. It was no joke. If any woman did try to gain power using nothing but seduction, Farune’s terrifying princesses would probably have instantly crushed her into a fine paste. One just couldn’t make it in Farune without strength.

Somehow managing to clear her mind, Vi focused everything she had on managing Hilda as she tried to play. If Vi let herself relax, she could very well pass out like she had almost done earlier. If she was really unlucky, her life could be at risk. Taking care of a child like this every day toughened her up, whether she wanted it to or not.

Vi keenly felt herself being tainted by Farune.

III: The Battle of Lind Plain

AFTER returning without incident to the capital city of Gardon, the king of Eyland reorganized his army, solidified his defenses, and made preparations for the approaching Farunian army. However, no matter how long he waited, they didn’t come. According to a scout patrol he had deployed, Farune was spreading monster meat to the towns and villages deprived of food due to the scorched-earth policy. With nothing else to eat, the people were accepting it, and the aversion toward monster meat in Eyland was in the process of fading away.

“We were tricked!” the king shouted like he was spitting up blood. “Once they’ve eaten monster meat, they’ll never come back to us. They’ll think they’re not normal humans anymore, and they’ll abandon Eyland. Anyone who hasn’t eaten the meat will see them as nothing but traitors, and a rift will form between the two groups. It’s like my territory is being smashed apart!”

The king and his retainers realized what Farune’s goal was, and all the color drained from their faces. Although they had attempted to weaken the Farunian army with a decisive scorched-earth strategy, it had been completely ineffective; if anything, it had actually resulted in Farune winning the population over to its side. It would have been an understatement to say that the strategy had backfired.

“The Faurunian army has proclaimed, ‘There are two kinds of people in the world: those who eat monster meat, and those who don’t!’ and is forcing Eylish citizens across the country to eat monsters,” Count Wolf reported, a disgusted look on his face. “If this continues, everywhere except the capital will become Farunian territory. We may hold the castle, but at this rate, we’ll lose everything else. Our nobles are growing restless, worried over the state of their domains. We have no choice but to make a sortie and crush the Farunians’ main force!”

Count Wolf had been against the scorched-earth strategy from the start, so now that it had failed, he had gained the support of nobles dissatisfied with the king. There were many of them, and they formed a large power base that even the king couldn’t afford to ignore.

“Hold, Count Wolf,” said Count Broome. “That would just be playing into the Farunian army’s—into King Mars’s hands. They intend to use crafty schemes to draw us out. If we launch an attack now, it’ll be a fight out in the open, Farune’s specialty. Our chances are slim.” Count Broome had been the architect of the scorched-earth strategy. However, he didn’t oppose a sortie because his plan had failed; he was dissuading Count Wolf on the basis of his detached appraisal of the situation, and nothing more. “The Farunians are fundamentally aggressive. They’ve obtained their victories by always being on the offensive. They’re currently adopting a strategy of provocation, but if we stay in our fortified position, there’s no doubt they’ll eventually grow impatient and assault the capital. We must wait until then.”

Count Broome’s judgment was highly accurate. As a matter of fact, the Farunian army had begun the Eyland Purification Project on the spur of the moment, and it wasn’t the result of any profound reflection on Mars’s part. However, nobody on Eyland’s side knew that. Not even anyone on the Farunian side knew it.

“And when will that be, Count Broome?! Tomorrow, the day after that, or a year from now? At this rate, the nobility will start to secede from the capital,” Count Wolf reasoned. “I’m doing my damnedest to keep them here, but it’s only a matter of time now. Once they secede, they’ll either be individually conquered, or they’ll swear fealty to Farune. That is the enemy’s goal! The entire army must fight as one before that happens if we are to achieve victory!” Count Wolf wasn’t seeking a sortie out of a personal grudge either. He sensed the risk of internal collapse, and so asserted that they ought to preempt it by throwing down the gauntlet as soon as feasible. “From what I hear, the king of Vulcan has been defeated,” he continued. “If Frau’s Mages’ Guild comes here, there’s no telling whether we’ll be able to fight at an advantage, even from our fortified position. We may merely be sitting idly by and awaiting our deaths.”

Frau had completely wiped out the army led by the king of Vulcan on its return from Eyland. However, the brutal method of their destruction had united the remaining Vulcanian nobles against Farune, and they were putting up fierce resistance. Because of this, Sheila was having a difficult time occupying the capital of Vulcan, and Frau was too busy supporting her to go back to Eyland herself.

“The lords of Vulcan are continuing to resist! Now is not the time to sortie on a whim. We must remain steadfast and wait!” Count Broome glared at Count Wolf, persistently advocating a defensive strategy.

“Yet I hear that the plan to ambush King Mars’s children failed! Nothing you say can be trusted, Count Broome!”

Communications had ceased with the assassins who were supposed to have assaulted Farune’s castle, and it was clear that the strategy had ended in failure.

“What did you just say to me?!” Count Broome fired back. “Did you have any other ideas?! Like standing idly by and doing nothing, perhaps?!”

The tense atmosphere around Count Wolf and Count Broome was stretched to its breaking point and a stormy mood had settled over the room. Still, the king was unable to make up his mind. He could see where Count Wolf was coming from, but he himself had been the one who had chosen the strategy of holing up in the castle. It was clear to him that if he reversed his decision after all this time and decided to fight out in the open, he would be vehemently criticized for not having done so earlier. And if he lost the support of the nobility in a situation like this, the entire country could come crumbling down around him.

After a brief silence, the next person who spoke was another one of the Three Counts, Count Godwin. He was the son of the late Count Godwin, whom Yamato had defeated in Dorssen. In his twenties, he was still young, but he was both wise and courageous, and much was expected of him in the future.

“I have a plan,” he said, beginning slowly in an attempt to lower the temperature of the discussion. “I have something in my domain that I prepared in anticipation of a fight with Farune. I believe that it may well be the trump card we can play against the Farunian army.”

“What is it?” Count Broome asked hopefully.

“Crossbows.”

“Really?” Count Wolf said, disappointed.

Crossbows were a type of bow that used the force from a spring to fire a specialized arrow called a bolt. They were quite powerful, but nocking the arrow involved the use of levers and handles, so they took some time to load, and they were said to be less practical than ordinary bows. As such, few countries had adopted them for use on the battlefield.

“Do you seriously think you can beat the Farunian army with crossbows?” Count Wolf spat.

“Yes, I do,” Count Godwin asserted. “Crossbows are inferior to ordinary bows in that they’re costly and can’t fire rapidly, but once you overcome that, they have the potential to be a powerful weapon against Farune. After all, Farune doesn’t have any archers.”

Farune’s main military strength was in the Hundred, the Black Knights, and the Red Knights, but none of those units employed archers. In Farune, one-on-one swordfights were particularly popular, so the use of bows was not widespread. The excessively powerful ranged magic attacks of Frau’s Mages’ Guild also contributed to the trend.

“I’m aware,” Count Wolf said with a sigh. “But won’t they easily evade long-distance attacks with a bow of any kind?” It was common knowledge, gleaned from past battles such as the war with Dorssen, that bows didn’t work on the Farunian army. Eyland had also tried using bows against Farune in border skirmishes, but they had been completely ineffective—they had actually stopped using them because it was just a waste of arrows.

“They evade arrows because they’re being fired from a long range,” Count Godwin continued patiently. “Crossbows show their true power at close range. And, anyone can operate them—they don’t require any specialized skills. Crossbows are strong enough to pierce through armor, and the speed of their projectiles is too fast for the human eye to detect. I believe they’ll work well, even against those berserkers of the Hundred.”

“Hm.” Count Broome nodded. “You may be right. Crossbow bolts are faster and more lethal than regular arrows. If we use them at close range, even the powerful Farunian army may be hard pressed to come up with a response.”

“But loading a crossbow isn’t easy. It’s impossible to quickly follow up one attack with another,” Count Wolf retorted. “If you miss, you’ll instantly be the target of an enemy counterattack while you set up your next shot. That’s why crossbows haven’t been used on the battlefield. Though they may very well prove effective for defending against a siege. Do you support fighting a siege, Count Godwin?” He looked over at the count with a suspicious gaze.

“No, there’ll be no issues, even in a fight in the open,” Count Godwin said, still perfectly calm. “And I have a solution for the reloading issue.”

“What’s that?”

“We will prepare a large quantity of crossbows beforehand. For example, say that we were to organize three squads of crossbow users. The first squad would make their attack, and then change places with the second squad. Once they finished their attack, they would then rotate with the third squad, and during all that time the first squad would finish reloading. Repeating this would allow for continuous crossbow fire,” Count Godwin explained. “Farune’s army has always been small. Our army vastly outnumbers theirs. The point is to make effective use of this disparity.” With this latest addition to his explanation, Count Broome, and even Count Wolf, began to show interest in his strategy.

“The crossbows I’ve made are designed with the assumption that they’ll be used at close range, and they’re specialized for speed and power,” Count Godwin went on. “I invested my personal fortune as a count to make more than one thousand of them. Farune’s main force is only three thousand strong. This should be enough.”

Firing crossbows, known for their intense power, at short range—it certainly did seem like a potentially effective tactic against a Farunian army that predominantly engaged in close-quarters fighting.

“Is it really worth a try?” Count Wolf asked himself after a moment of consideration.

After hearing that it would be executed on the battlefield proper, he agreed to Count Godwin’s plan. Even Count Broome, who had supported staying put, judged that it would give them a chance to win, even in the open, and didn’t oppose it.

Finally, the king made his decision.

He had been sulking earlier, but now he raised his head and commanded in a powerful voice, “I approve of Count Godwin’s proposed crossbow strategy! We’re going on a sortie! We’ll defeat Farune out in the open!” With this, his retainers’ hearts came together as one.

And so, it was decided that the Eylish army would create a new unit of crossbow wielders to confront Farune.

🍖🍖🍖

“THE Eylish army is making a sortie?” I said.

I was at a war council, and I was taken aback. I had been advancing slowly specifically in the hopes of getting an offer of peace, so why were they attacking now? I couldn’t understand what they were aiming for.

“Hah, they must’ve gotten scared of Your Majesty’s Eyland Purification Project,” Chrom said with a scoff. “They know if we continue our awe-inspiring strategy, Eylish territory will only become more and more like Farune.”

Whoa, hold on. Even in Farune, ordinary citizens don’t eat monsters. And by the way, I wasn’t the one who came up with that evil plan.

“The enemy was lured out, exactly as Your Majesty wanted. Now, all that’s left to do is to destroy them!” Ogma declared, raising a fist. My other subordinates followed suit, like it was only natural.

Hmm, I don’t know about that. We aren’t as strong as they are in magic. Are you sure you aren’t selling them short?

“Frau and the others haven’t gotten back yet,” I said, calmly pointing out a valid cause for worry. “We’ll be at a disadvantage in a magic fight.”

“As long as you don’t get hit by a spell, there’s nothing to be afraid of,” Warren said, which was a patently ridiculous solution. But, everyone was nodding along.

Is it that easy to dodge spells? Well, I can do it, but that’s not the point.

“Their army is ten times the size of ours. You shouldn’t disregard our numerical disadvantage,” I said. Because the enemy was so much more numerous than we were, the fact that we were the ones invading them was abnormal to begin with. These guys should take that part a bit more seriously.

“Don’t worry, we only have to take down ten of them each,” Ogma said, casually accepting the challenge. “It’ll be a walk in the park.”

What I’m trying to say is that it’s wrong for a military to think that way!

“If the Eylish army is going on the offensive again after momentarily withdrawing, that means they must have some sort of plan,” I said. “You shouldn’t underestimate them.”

I was trying to urge further caution, but no one around me got the message. The mood in the council was more like, “Your Majesty is quite careful indeed.”

They’re getting carried away. Now if only that ever got them into trouble, even once…

“Fine, if you all insist, then I’ll leave it up to you,” I relented. “Go then, and defeat the whole Eylish army.”

I spoke dismissively, but despite that—

“Yes, sir!” my retainers energetically responded, and they rushed out.

I wished they’d pay a bit more attention to their king’s tone.

🍖🍖🍖

THE Lind Plain in central Eyland was a region with gently sloping terrain, and the substantial height of the grass that carpeted the landscape allowed for even adults to crouch down and hide in its midst. In this way, the Eylish and Farunian armies met face to face in a spot with somewhat poor visibility.

The forthcoming fight was to be called the Battle of Lind Plain.

In contrast with the Eylish army’s thirty thousand, the Farunian army was three thousand strong, a tenfold discrepancy. But despite their overwhelming disadvantage, the Farunian army made the first assault. The Black Knights, commanded by Chrom, and the Red Knights, commanded by Warren, led the attack.

Each force was composed of one thousand cavalry, and they approached the Eylish army from both sides, the Black Knights taking the left flank, and the Red Knights taking the right. Just as Warren had promised, they easily avoided spells cast at them from the Eylish lines, and their momentum showed no signs of stopping. Then, just when they were about to make contact with the enemy, the knights at the head of the army, along with their horses, suddenly tumbled to the ground. And it didn’t stop there. The knights following them were felled too, one after another.

“What’s the meaning of this?!”

Chrom and Warren each shouted the same thing from their separate positions. Mars’s warning flashed across both of their minds and they wondered: Do they really have a plan? A chill ran down Chrom’s spine, and he hurriedly issued an order.

“Stop, stop, I tell you! And bring everyone who fell with you!”

The Black Knights halted their charge and began to recover the injured—and those who did so fell to the ground.

“What’s that?” Chrom had noticed that the unit on the front line of Eyland’s army carried strange weapons. Not only that, but they had crouched down to hide in the grass, making their very existence hard to detect.

Chrom dismounted from his horse and rushed over to help his fallen subordinates. Just then, something flew at him out of nowhere. He reflexively swiped it away with his sword. Bows and arrows? No…crossbows?

Technically, he was a soldier, more or less, so he knew about crossbows. However, the weapon had hardly ever been used in combat in the once-remote Farune, so he didn’t have any concrete information about them.

The crossbow bolts now being fired at him in quick succession were shorter and thicker than regular arrows. He somehow managed to defend against them, but it demanded a considerable amount of strength and technique. The soldiers operating the crossbows also hardly made any preparatory movements, so it was difficult for Chrom to ascertain the timing of their shots. They were shifting ranks to fire at him in turns, so he had no opportunities to rush them, either.

This is bad. You’d have to be a highly ranked member of the Hundred to deal with this. Accurately grasping the threat the crossbows posed, Chrom raised his voice:

“Retreat! Run away!”

The Black Knights obeyed and began to withdraw all at once. But three thousand Eylish cavalry pursued them in an attempt to keep them from escaping. They were led by one of the Three Counts, Count Wolf.

“Bring the hammer of justice down on the Farunian devils!” he shouted.

Then he began a fierce assault, as if to vent his pent-up frustration. However, as was to be expected, the Black Knights had the upper hand in a close-quarters fight, and once they were out of the range of the crossbows, they fought on equal or greater footing, even against a force three times their size. After a brief clash, Count Wolf saw that he couldn’t beat them and called off his pursuit.

“Tch.” He clicked his tongue in frustration. “They’re still strong. Is this as far as I can go?”

When the Eylish soldiers stopped their pursuit, the Black Knights pulled out.

Something similar had happened to the Red Knights on the right flank. Count Broome commanded the Eylish cavalry on that side, and after meeting resistance from the Red Knights, he too gave up on his pursuit. However, from the Farunian army’s perspective, this was an unprecedentedly great loss.

As for the center, Ogma had led the Hundred on a charge. They weren’t mounted, so they lagged behind the knights on both flanks, but they took the full brunt of the crossbows, just like the knights. Ogma, Aaron, and the others on the same level as the First Five could have brushed aside the crossbow fire and rushed the enemy. However, the top-ranking members of the Hundred were stopped in their tracks by an intense, concentrated barrage of spells, just as the others were felled by the crossbows. Even the self-assured Ogma realized the situation put them at a disadvantage, and he ordered a retreat.

“Damn, it won’t be good if this continues!” he called. “For now, let’s run away!”

The Hundred withdrew, carrying their injured on their shoulders.

“Not on my watch.”

Here, the young Count Godwin embarked on an all-out attack, seeking to avenge his father. He commanded ten thousand soldiers, most of them heavily-armed infantry. In contrast, the Hundred were only around one thousand strong. The force ten times their size descended upon them.

The Black and Red Knights had been mounted, so they had been able to quickly flee crossbow range, but as the Hundred were on foot, the crossbow unit stayed hot on their heels. The Hundred put up a last-ditch resistance, but under spell and crossbow fire while being chased by an enemy ten times their size, they couldn’t escape their unfavorable position.

🍖🍖🍖

“WAIT, they’re actually struggling?”

I had thought that after everything was said and done, they’d still manage to win somehow, but both the Black Knights and the Red Knights had begun to withdraw. As for the Hundred attacking the center, they looked to be on the brink of total defeat.

“Your Majesty, this looks a bit bad, doesn’t it?” Luida asked with a frown as she stood by me. “Those idiots are going to die.”

Casualties were only natural in war, but thanks to the Hundred’s abnormal strength and Luida’s powerful restoration magic, there had been effectively no losses up until this point. However, now they were facing unprecedented difficulty.

“They really are going to die,” Maria said, standing while snuggling right up against me. For some reason, she had a look of ecstasy on her face. “If I heal them, my fame will surely grow. Just thinking about it makes me tingle with excitement.”

Incredible. She’s only thinking of herself.

As for me, I’d known everyone in the Hundred for a long time. I’d been hoping they’d get in a bit of a jam, but I never wanted them to die. Whatever else could be said about them, they had always stayed with me.

“How about I go do something kingly? Hey, guard Luida and Maria, will you?” I said, entrusting the two of them to the remaining knights at headquarters. Then, I rushed out to the front lines.

The Black Knights and the Red Knights looked like they would be able to escape on their horses, so I decided to save the Hundred in the center. I put on my helmet and got a good running start before making a great leap, landing right in the middle of the battlefield. Right away, I used all my strength to make a horizontal sweep with my sword, mowing down the enemy with a full-power Sonic Blade. In one stroke, I sent the Eylish soldiers deployed up front flying.

“He’s here! It’s Zero!”

“That bastard killed more than ten men with a single swing of his sword! He’s a monster!”

“Retreat! You’re gonna die!”

After the Eylish said whatever they wanted about me, they skittered away like scared spiders. Thanks to that, all the enemy soldiers around me were gone—but then I was showered with a torrent of spells. Each individual shot didn’t have much power, though, and they were downright adorable compared to the spells Frau fired at me for fun.

I concentrated mana in my palm, creating an invisible shield—Mana Barrier. It was like a simple magical barrier spell. The spells from the Eylish side crashed into it and dissipated like mist.

“He can block magic?! Is King Zero an actual demon or something?” the pompous-looking knight leading the Eylish army shouted.

How rude. I’m just a normal guy…though Mana Barrier is a skill that monsters use.

“Crossbow unit, focus your fire on King Zero!” the knight said, issuing a new order.

Crossbows? What are those again? I wondered, and as I did, a bunch of things that looked similar to arrows came flying at me with incredible speed.

“What’s this?” I said, catching one of them between two fingers. It was thicker and shorter than a regular arrow. I sent it whizzing back where it came from, and it buried itself in the head of one of the soldiers holding odd weapons that looked like bows turned horizontally, killing him.

“He caught a crossbow bolt with his fingers!”

“And he threw it back!”

“I knew it, King Zero is a monster!”

The soldiers with the strange weapons cut and run, each scrambling to be the first to get away. Apparently, those weapons were called crossbows. Come to think of it, I got the feeling I’d seen one before.

“Gah, I shall definitely defeat you, King Zero!” the knight spat, leading his soldiers to withdraw.

I could have chased after them, but more important was the bleak situation around me. The Hundred’s warriors were lying on the ground all over the place. Nearly all of them had been hit by those arrows. Looking closely, I could see that the projectiles had even penetrated armor. Those crossbows seemed to be quite powerful.

There were many I recognized among the fallen. I held one of them in my arms, and he spoke.

“Sorry, Zero…I’m sorry,” he said to me. “I’ve disgraced you…but, I’m truly grateful that I was able to meet you…” After that, his strength ebbed from his body, as if he had breathed his last.

“All this, just from getting hit by an arrow that was a bit fast?” I said after a few seconds of silence. I quickly became somber. The members of the Hundred had certainly been unrepentant meatheads, but they hadn’t been bad people. It was inevitable that their deaths would have affected me. Still, they had defeated many enemies before coming here. This was them getting their just desserts. Maybe, in a certain sense, going down fighting was what they had always wanted.

Regardless, this had been bound to happen eventually. As war drags on, people die. Maybe the Hundred had continued to seek conflict because they hadn’t fully understood that. Now that they had lost some of their own, they would probably reform their reckless tendency to start wars. This was a necessary sacrifice. I had to think that these men would serve as the foundation of a new peace—otherwise I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.

I sighed deeply, then reminisced about the dead. They had affectionately called me Zero, and eaten monsters together with me. I would have been lying if I’d said I wasn’t going to miss them.

However, that didn’t justify me taking revenge; if I did, the war would never end, no matter how much time passed. I couldn’t waste these sacrifices. This time for sure, I had to make sure there was peaceful negotiation…

As I immersed myself in those sentiments, someone passed by in front of me.

It was Maria.

She quietly stood in the center of what had been the battlefield. Then, slowly and clearly, as if she was singing, she began to give voice to a prayer. She even started to dance, just as she always did in the arena.

Huh? No way, is she going to use a restoration spell under these conditions? Hold on a second, if she does that now, she’s going to make life itself less precious…!

🍖🍖🍖

THE Eylish army was suffused with excitement. They had just been the first to successfully defeat the famously invincible Farunian army. Although King Mars had gotten in their way in the end, this was still undoubtedly a magnificent achievement. Every one of the soldiers and officers were overjoyed.

“We can do it! We really can! We defeated those demons!”

“Let’s keep pushing, and smash Farune!”

“I knew this was a righteous fight! God is on our side!”

They shouted these and other similar things. Their morale, which had been at a low before the battle, now reached its peak.

“Well done, Count Godwin!” said the king of Eyland, a radiant smile spread across his face. He had stayed back at headquarters for the duration of the fight.

Count Wolf and Count Broome, who had commanded the right and left flanks, respectively, also generously showered Count Godwin with compliments.

“I didn’t think crossbows would be this effective. It’s a wonderful accomplishment!”

“The absence of Frau’s Mages’ Guild worked in our favor, but figuring out a way to counter the Hundred is a historic achievement!”

Count Godwin, his face flushed, insisted that they attack again right away.

“Thank you, my king,” he said. “It is with Your Majesty’s aid that I was able to deal a great blow to the Hundred. However, King Mars is still alive and well. We cannot lose focus. We must wear down the enemy’s fighting strength while they’re still shaken—until King Mars, with his formidable strength, is the last one standing. Once we’ve accomplished that, defeating even that Demon King will be simple.”

After seeing Mars’s strength up close, the count had keenly realized how difficult it was going to be to slay the king of Farune head-on, so he proposed that they first wipe out all of his subordinates, arguing that now was the time to do so, while their army had the momentum.

“Hmph, very well. For now, attack!” the king agreed. “Avoid a fight with King Mars, and kill all his lackeys! Today is the day we defeat the country that has brought disaster to the continent!”

His order made the Eylish army boil over with enthusiasm. They quickly got into formation and prepared to make another assault on Farune. The troops’ high morale made them forget their exhaustion. The crossbow unit, which Mars had definitively routed, learned that they would be able to avoid another fight with the king for the time being. This allowed them to regain their will to fight.

However, just then, a heavenly light was sighted on the battlefield where they were headed.

🍖🍖🍖

WHAT a perfect opportunity. This was truly divine providence. If I managed to heal the Hundred here, my reputation would no doubt rise even further.

Apparently, Luida was off with the Black Knights and the Red Knights, but their injuries seemed minor, so I allowed her to take care of them. There wouldn’t be much in it for me if I healed them anyway. But over here, Lord Mars was standing still in a well-positioned spot, watching over me. The stage was perfectly set.

Luckily, everyone in the Hundred had unnecessarily high vitality. They were dying, just a bit, but I knew I could heal them. If I succeeded at raising them from the dead like zombies, my name would go down in history as a saint who had performed a miracle.

Now, I shall make a prayer to God.

If my beautiful voice didn’t reach Him, then no one’s would. There are two types of people: me, and everyone else. As such, it was only natural that I was particularly loved by God.

Ah, I can feel Lord Mars’s warm gaze on me. He was surely expecting a miracle.

Right now, His Majesty had to be thinking this: Show me that you can revive my dying subordinates. If you manage it, I’ll throw Eyland into the bargain.

And it wasn’t just him—everyone in the Farunian army was looking at me. The Eylish army was some distance away, but surely they, too, were transfixed by the sight of me. They had even gotten together in a neat row and begun to come closer.

I understand, I understand completely.

This was my time in the spotlight. As part of the qualifications to become a saint, it was required that one perform a miracle, and this was the perfect time and place for me to do so.

Lord Mars had to have prepared this moment for me. There was no way the insanely strong Hundred would have lost otherwise. What a wise king, to have been able to see this far ahead. It was truly worth it to have slept with him. That man was the only one fit to be my husband. All I must do now is answer his expectations!

With prayer and with dance, I gradually felt a rise of mana and the presence of God. But it still wasn’t enough. There was no way I would be able to heal the fatally wounded members of the Hundred with this. And failure would not be tolerated.

I would, yes, I would burn through my life!

Hear my prayer, feel my dance, listen to my thoughts. I will become a saint, a pope, a queen, and stand above all mankind! Everyone will sear my divine form into their sight!

🍖🍖🍖

MARIA was dancing on the battlefield where many of the Hundred had fallen. She was both beautiful and divine, and it was enough to make even me feel like a miracle was occurring.

What do I do? I thought. Her prayers might actually reach God. At this rate, everyone dying is going to be revived. In reality, it won’t be a holy miracle; it’ll be more like necromancy or something. I’m begging you, stay out of this! Once these guys learn that even if they die, they can just be revived, they’ll never stop fighting! Personally, I don’t want to go to war if I don’t have to. But there are some people who, if they don’t spill blood and feel pain, will never learn the importance of life!

Indifferent to my desire for peace, a hemisphere of light expanded around Maria, engulfing the bodies of the Hundred. It was a mystery why such a wicked woman could produce such a holy light. Her praying voice resounded throughout the area, and her dance steadily increased in fervor. The ritual was reaching its climax. Then, the light flashed especially brightly, and the arrows sticking out of the Hundred’s bodies began to disappear.

Huh? God’s miracles even have physical effects? Isn’t that a bit too convenient? Hey, God, I don’t think those guys are really all that religious, so giving them such a blessing is meaningless. Shouldn’t you be using your power on more devout believers?

As my faith in God rapidly declined, one of the healed members of the Hundred twitched a finger. Then, he slowly rose to his feet, regaining his strength. This continued in groups of one and two, until eventually all of the fallen got up. It was an eerie sight, as if the dead had come to life. The Farunian army had approached at some point, and they started cheering.

“It’s a miracle! Way to go, King Mars! Way to go, Saint Maria!”

I didn’t have anything to do with this. That scheming saint just acted as she pleased.

“The saint is praying for the Hundred?!”

“No way! Is God siding with Farune?!”

Meanwhile, shouts of despair came from a spot some distance away. It was the Eylish army. It looked like they had also come closer.

I understood their feelings of desperation very well. Please, mind your own business, God.

The risen Hundred noticed that I was nearby, and they all simultaneously kneeled.

“Your Majesty! My apologies for exhibiting such a failure!” one of them cried out.

A failure? I mean, you were basically dead, I thought. But what do I do now? If they get right back to fighting, they’ll just be taken out again by the crossbows. Should I order a retreat, to make them cherish their rescued lives? The Eylish army looks surprised by their miraculous resurrection, so they’ll probably let us withdraw easily. Maybe they’ll decide they don’t want to fight such a creepy, terrifying country again. That would be a relief. Yeah, that sounds good. I’ll go with that.

“Listen to me! You lost! You died! Why is that?!” My voice made everyone around me fall completely silent. “It was pride! You were arrogant! Your conceited belief that you were strong led to this defeat! The warriors of the Hundred, of all people, succumbed to such weak weapons! Do you have any right to battle after this? Ask yourselves that!”

All the idiotic meatheads surrounding me had confused looks on their faces. They probably didn’t know how to respond.

Why don’t I admonish them a bit more harshly?

“Let me be clear! You’re not good at anything except fighting, and you lost at the one thing that gives your lives meaning! You’re all worthless now. Trash! Scum! Lower than dogs! Tuck your tails between your legs and get off this battlefield! And never leave Farune again!”

All right, now that I’ve said this much, even they will surely get the hint. Now, if I just physically threaten them a bit on top of it, they’ll definitely feel like going back to Farune.

“What are you doing, scum?! Go home, now!” I charged my black sword with mana and struck the ground with it, producing a shallow fissure. I was giving my all to appearing really angry. It was probably pretty convincing.

Maybe my threat worked, or my words struck a chord with them, because the Hundred all slumped their shoulders. Now, if I just said some kind words to them, the effect would be perfect. But what to say? Something harsh, like, “Life is about more than just fighting. Take a long hard look at yourselves back in Farune”? Or maybe something to bring me closer to them, like, “You shouldn’t throw away lives that you’ve already lost once,” could have been good. “Go back home. You have families, don’t you?” wasn’t bad either. They would surely follow my guidance and return to Farune like obedient lambs.

On second glance, though, I saw that the kneeling members of the Hundred were beginning to get up, gloomy looks on their faces. Good. Now, if I just give them one last push—

“Everyone, are you really all right with this?” Suddenly, a clear voice resounded around the battlefield.

It was Maria. She spread her arms wide and began tenderly addressing the Hundred.

“This is what His Majesty is saying,” she continued. “‘I can take on Eyland myself. Those who can’t overcome such minor hardships aren’t fit to follow me.’”

I haven’t said anything like that! Why would I ever fight an entire country by myself?! Don’t be ridiculous!

“Right now, all of you are being tested! Are you true heroes, or are you not?! You have certainly grown stronger, physically. But what about your hearts? Have you trained your minds? That is what His Majesty, what King Mars is asking you!”

Their minds are already nothing but muscle. This is the perfect opportunity for me to send them back, right now, while their resolve is weakened, so could you just stay out of it?

“This is a challenge from His Majesty?” Juza mumbled, dumbfounded. He was one of the Hundred who had been defeated.

Don’t get tricked by her. This isn’t a challenge at all. Just go back home already!

“Yes, all of this is a test from his Majesty, to make you steel your hearts,” Maria murmured, both hands clasped as if in prayer. Even though I knew it was only on the outside, it still annoyed me how divine she looked.

Why are you agitating for a fight? As a priestess, you should be against violence.

“However, His Majesty’s anger is genuine,” she added. “He is disappointed in you for losing against Eyland. He says that to be felled by mere arrows is a failure unbecoming of the Hundred. Can you understand that anger? His Majesty’s expectations were betrayed. He believed in you, and you treated his faith with disdain.”

Dammit, she’s riling up the Hundred so she can get Eyland for herself. I won’t let that happen!

“Hold on!” I said. “I’m not angry at all! And I don’t want you to fight anymore! I just want one thing: for you all to quickly return to Farune!”

The Hundred all jolted.

All right, I stopped the battle! Maria, I’m not going to let you get away with whatever you want! Take that, you witch! Wait, what?

For some reason, the Hundred had started acting strange, and they groaned their next words:

“His Majesty is going to abandon us!”

“Zero is trying to give up on us!”

“No way, if I’m not part of the Hundred anymore, I’m nothing!”

“What do I do, what do I do?”

“Strength…I have to show my strength…”

“That’s right, I’ll dedicate the heads of our enemies to Zero!”

“I can’t show such a shameful sight to His Majesty ever again…”

“Kill, even if it means death! Kill, then die!”

“Death! As His Majesty wishes, I’ll spread death!”

Everything I could hear was unsettling. The warriors of the Hundred were an eerie sight as they took up their weapons, their eyes empty.

“Well done, Your Majesty,” Maria said, approaching me with a virtuous smile on her face. “I gave them a little push myself, but I could never have gone that far on my own. To think that by making them believe you’d given up on them, you pushed them to head into near-certain death.”

Huh? That wasn’t what I was trying to do at all!

“At first, I also wondered why they were struggling, but I see now that this was your goal. It was Your Majesty’s intention to remake them in both body and mind to train them up as a vanguard for world domination.”

The only person around here with a villainous ambition like that is you.

I looked and saw that at some point the Hundred, who were wandering around like a bunch of ghosts crowded together, had been joined by their top members.

“There’s no way I can let you guys go by yourselves…” Ogma’s voice was unusually gloomy. “I messed up too. I blocked every single spell, and I still got bogged down…how pathetic. I should’ve ignored all that and charged ahead…”

No, defend against magic! You’re still human, after all.

“It’s fear, we had to conquer our fear!” Aaron shouted.

You need fear to live, so I think you’d better give up on conquering it.

Next, Barry spoke. “Damn, I’d forgotten. Zero always teaches us what really matters.”

I didn’t mean to teach such a dangerous lesson. Please, forget it, right away!

Bill and Bruno were there too. As one, the group slowly moved toward the Eylish army.

Everyone was unusually single-minded, which made it impossible for me to say anything to stop them.

🍖🍖🍖

“SEND those Farunian demons back to hell once more!”

The Eylish soldiers felt sheer terror at the sight of their defeated enemies coming back to life, but at the order from Count Godwin, the crossbow unit assembled yet again on the front line. Then, the wizards in the back fired a wild barrage of attack spells.

But the Hundred didn’t dodge them. They just kept getting back up and moving toward the opposing line, even when they were sent flying after taking a direct hit. Maria continually recited words of prayer, but the area was too large, and even she couldn’t heal them all. Still, the Hundred pushed ahead, though they were becoming more and more bloodied and battered as they advanced. They were like a procession of immortal demons.

Finally, they entered crossbow range. The enemy unit lying in wait let loose a volley of arrows. The Hundred didn’t dodge them either—they did use their hands to block the bolts coming at their heads, but that was all they did. And when the bolts began to pierce their armor, they all broke into a run, as if they’d been given a sudden command.

While letting out incoherent screams, they endured the pain and, still riddled with crossbow bolts, rushed the enemy. With their bodies completely drenched in blood, the Hundred looked like nothing less than the most terrifying of monsters, to put it mildly.

“Eeek!”

Intimidated by the Farunian army’s unearthly vitality, the crossbow users broke formation and ran. Some even discarded their weapons, deciding that those heavy things could only get in their way.

“Don’t run! Fire the next volley!”

The commanders shouted themselves hoarse, but as the Hundred continued to charge even while pincushioned with crossbow bolts, the soldiers lost faith in the effectiveness of their weapons.

And the Hundred didn’t allow their foes to escape. They stayed hot on their heels, systematically cutting down the crossbow users in revenge for their previous defeat. Some of the Hundred’s warriors even pulled out the bolts in their own bodies and used them to stab their foes.

The other Eylish soldiers hurriedly headed to reinforce the crossbow unit, but the two armies were already in a confused tangle, and the battle turned into a fight at close range. In other words, the Hundred were right in their wheelhouse.

Clearly seriously injured, the Hundred howled and rampaged like wounded beasts. It was no longer possible to see them as human—they were monsters, and there were more than a thousand of them. It was more than enough to trigger a person’s instinctive, primal fear, and the Eylish army fell into a state of panic.

“Surround them! We’re ten times their size! Take advantage of our numbers!”

Count Godwin barked instructions, trying to reverse the tide of the battle. As he did so, he attempted to lead a unit under his direct command around the enemy’s rear—which only led to a group of knights charging at him. It was the Black Knights, freshly healed by Luida.

“The Hundred aren’t the only ones who have to redeem themselves! Count Godwin, I’ll be taking your head!” Chrom shouted, leading the Black Knights as they fell on the count’s unit.

“I won’t lose to the likes of you!” Count Godwin instantly activated his ancestral skill, a physical strength enhancement. He cloaked his body in a pale blue flame, then confronted Chrom.

This new Count Godwin was younger than his father had been, and more skilled with a sword. He was also quite adept with his ancestral physical strength boost. Plus, he had no intention of fighting a member of the Hundred one on one; his close subordinates, elites all, moved to support him.

However, Chrom broke through. While he usually cut down his foes with dexterous sword techniques, this time he brutally crushed his enemies in their suits of armor without any concern for his own injuries, using his incredible brute strength to force them to yield.

“That’s impossible!” Count Godwin shouted. He was unable to accept the reality unfolding before his eyes, that the capable knights who had served by his side since childhood were dying, one after the other. He had heard that the Hundred was powerful, but he hadn’t expected their strength to be so far above his.

Nevertheless, the count, with his strengthened physical abilities, rained fierce blows on Chrom. With this extra power, he thought he’d be able to force him back—but incredibly, they were only now evenly matched.

“How, how can a man have so much power?!”

Count Godwin swung his sword like mad, but no matter what he did, he was unable to defeat Chrom. Time passed, and when the effects of his strength enhancement expired, he found that he was the one being pushed back. He used his sword to catch a fierce overhead blow from Chrom, but that left him unable to change his stance. Contrary to his will, his arm steadily lowered under the gravity of Chrom’s blow. The young count could only watch with despair as—even though he had used his sword to fend off Chrom’s attack—he was forced back and, finally, cut apart.

The annihilation of their ace in the hole, the crossbow unit, and the death of Count Godwin were the twin cues for the Eylish army to retreat. As they fled, they shouted, “I never want to fight these people again!”

The Battle of Lind Plain was the first fight to result in large Farunian casualties. Ultimately, however, it made the Hundred come to their senses, and only solidified their strength.

IV: A Vassal’s Resolve

“HURRAAAAAH!”

The Hundred let out a cry of triumph. They were excited about their victory, but they sounded like wild animals and it gave me the creeps. The battle had resulted in many wounded—or rather, many had been injured so badly that they normally would have died, but Maria was enthusiastically restoring them. Those whose wounds she healed were deeply moved, and glorified her name.

Don’t you know she only thinks of you guys as pawns to help her take Eyland?

“Now, all that’s left is the capital, Gardon!” Maria said, her eyes sparkling. She had healed the entire Farunian army, and seemed quite tired, but her excitement was apparently even greater than her exhaustion. She couldn’t even fully conceal her ambition like she usually did.

Honestly, I want to go home. Why should I have to go along with your greedy scheming?

I wanted to say that to her, but the members of the Hundred surrounding the two of us had scary looks in their eyes. I knew those looks. They were the eyes of agitated monsters, starved for blood and searching for battle. When monsters got like that, they’d keep fighting no matter how tired they got. These guys were probably the same.

“Let’s go to Gardon,” I said after a moment, and my subordinates once again let out a bellow. Their eyes were bloodshot; they were totally berserk. No one would have wanted to fight against people like them, not even me.

The king of Eyland must also be having a tough time of it, with the likes of the Hundred after him.

I sympathized with the enemy king from the bottom of my heart.

🍖🍖🍖

HOW could this have happened?

The king of Eyland hung his head. He had returned to Gardon. The Farunian army had already arrived outside the city walls, and were bound to begin their assault at any moment.

All the king’s important vassals were present in the conference room—the refined furnishings of which were emblematic of Eylish culture—and all wore matching gloomy expressions. There had been a flood of desertions as they withdrew to the capital, and the army’s size had collapsed to less than half of what it had been before the sortie. More troops had run away than had been defeated by the Farunian army, and most of those who ran most likely intended to surrender to the Farunians. They had come to the conclusion that it would be better to submit to those monsters than to fight them.

This is all Maria’s fault, the king thought, gritting his teeth.

He had acquired information beforehand that apparently, Saint Maria’s relationship with Farune wasn’t actually that bad. Unfortunately, the king had underestimated her and assumed that it wouldn’t matter if she sided with Farune, that a single girl would be powerless as long as he won the battle—history was written by the victors, after all.

But that girl had outwitted him. He hadn’t expected that. In the past, the saints of the Theocracy of Mauve had always been mere window dressing, and their power had been insignificant—at least, as far as the king was aware. Sainthood was conferred upon those priestesses whose families had high status, and strength in restoration magic was irrelevant. Maria was of commoner origin, and the king had heard that she had the unusual honor of having been made a candidate for sainthood due to her ability, but he hadn’t thought she would be that powerful.

Then, the king of Eyland reconsidered it. No, she must have acquired all that power after she got to Farune.

He had heard a rumor that Maria was being forced to eat monsters. King Mars had surely jammed the meat right into her mouth, then robbed her of her purity so he could manipulate her body and mind as he wished.

What villainy, what horror!

Everything was because of King Mars’s schemes. Once the king of Eyland thought of it that way, all the pieces fit together. King Mars had won Maria over, granted her power by forcing her to eat monsters, then used her for Farune. Then, when Farune had fallen into dire straits, he had shown off her miraculous power, so everyone could see that justice was on his side.

As a matter of fact, after Eyland’s loss, all sorts of news was flying around: the saint, who had supposedly been kidnapped, was actually on Farune’s side; she had performed a miracle for Farune; she and the king of Farune seemed to be in an intimate relationship. Most of the Mauve faithful who had backed Eyland were now standing by and waiting to see how things were going to play out. The various western nations that had been secretly giving Eyland support were also beginning to withdraw.

It had been a singularly brilliant move—perhaps Farune’s struggle against the crossbow unit had also been a ruse by King Mars. Otherwise, there was no explanation for how the Hundred had suddenly charged right into the crossbows like they were nothing, despite the fact that they had been defeated by them once before.

At any rate, no one has talked for a while now, the king of Eyland thought. Even Count Wolf, who had pushed for a fight out in the field, and Count Broome, who had advocated for a siege, weren’t saying anything. It was probably unpleasantly clear to them that it would have been pointless no matter what they said.

In Vulcan, the Farunian faction led by Fourth Princess Sheila was struggling with the king’s faction, whose figurehead was the deceased king’s young son. However, it was reported that the Farunians had the upper hand. Apparently, Farune’s powerful monster army was being deployed in combat, to say nothing of Queen Frau’s Mages’ Guild, which was in Vulcan to aid Sheila. The monster army, mainly composed of Warwolves, could appear and disappear at will, and unlike wild monsters that ran amok as they pleased, these obeyed orders with extreme precision. They were especially good at ambushes and night raids, and they were physically and mentally wearing down the king’s faction.

King Mars being able to control monsters at will is proof that he’s got to be the Demon King! We were completely right from the start! The king of Eyland tried feeling outraged, but at this point, it was fruitless. Who could have expected that Eyland, Vulcan, and Kiel could join forces, obtain the Theocracy of Mauve’s support, and still be defeated?

With this, the whole eastern half of the continent of Ares would fall under Farunian control. Only the west, which was entirely made up of small countries, and the Ronzan Empire, which controlled the entire north, would remain. The west didn’t have the strength to resist Farune; perhaps the great Ronzan Empire, which was even more brutal and ruthless than Farune, could stand up to them, but that was it.

No, I can’t do this. I’m at a war council; I shouldn’t be thinking about what happens after our inevitable defeat.

The king of Eyland once again surveyed the faces of his vassals, but just as before, they had all lowered their eyes, and the room was dominated by silence.

“Should we surrender?” he asked, and as soon as he did, he felt at peace. He was certain that nearly everyone else was thinking the same thing, and had just been unable to bring themselves to say it.

There was a stir among his vassals.

“But my king, that’s just too…” Count Wolf said, distressed. The brave, seasoned general’s expression was full of anguish. The nobles of his faction were probably pushing him to surrender as well, but he was by no means opposed to the king himself. It put him in a difficult position.

“Indeed. It is still too soon to give up!” Count Broome said. “Gardon is a hardy fortress city. Farune has no experience in a full-scale siege. We may have lost strength, but the numerical advantage is ours. I believe now is the time to endure.”

The king of Eyland knew all that. However—

“We may hold the city, but we can’t count on anyone for reinforcements,” he said. “Vulcan is gradually falling to the Farunian advance. At this rate, Lightning Empress Frau will come to Eyland. That terrifying witch…”

Several of the gathered vassals shuddered at the mention of Frau’s name. They were probably remembering a certain incident from the recent past.

At one point not too long before, Eyland had attempted to abduct Frau’s son, Arthur. The plan itself had ended in failure, but the events that followed had been much worse: Frau had turned the kidnappers undead and set them loose in Eyland’s royal palace. It had been utter pandemonium. The one saving grace was that the undead hadn’t been that strong, so it hadn’t been difficult to put them down.

Naturally, the officers in charge of castle security and the wizards who maintained the barrier around the castle had been investigated for their responsibility in the incident, which had uncovered a shocking truth. The teleportation magic Frau had used on the undead had apparently been a flawed spell that, if used on a person, would kill them. Undead couldn’t be killed, so this had allowed Frau to send them into the castle in a way that had been impossible to anticipate. Had she turned them undead for the specific purpose of sending them into the castle, or had she sent them into the castle because she had turned them undead? Either way, it was a fiendish act of inhumanity beyond all imagining. Just like with King Mars, no one wanted to fight Frau directly if at all possible. And now, she might have been on her way to Eyland. It was unreasonable to expect anyone in the room not to feel shaken.

“But my king, Farune does not tolerate the existence of royalty or nobility,” Count Wolf said. “We nobles may survive with only our lives intact, but royals…” He hesitated to continue.

The king would most likely be killed. That was nothing unusual. Farune or otherwise, royalty was usually purged when their countries were conquered, and this was all the more likely given that Farune’s policy was to eliminate the nobility.

“That’s no object. We mustn’t needlessly shed blood. And, I doubt that any who still have the backbone to fight Farune are left in this castle. Any further resistance will—” Before the king of Eyland could finish speaking, Count Broome severely admonished him.

“My king, you are being too hasty! Farune’s reign of tyranny will not last long. It is but a house of cards erected during King Mars’s lifetime. It will surely collapse at the slightest gust of wind. Right now, it is Your Majesty’s duty to keep the royal bloodline from dying out until that comes to pass.”

“Hm…” the king grunted. Farune’s fall was certainly one possibility. He had been leaning toward surrender, but now his resolve weakened.

“Your Majesty must flee abroad now, to rebuild the future Eyland!” Count Broome proclaimed, and everyone nodded. Their expressions were determined.

“We shall buy time. Please, use that opportunity to flee,” Count Wolf advised emphatically. The king’s vassals remained silent, not out of resignation, but because they had resolved to meet their ends when the castle fell.

“I’m sorry,” the king of Eyland replied after a silence. Internally, he lamented how pathetic he was for being unable to say anything else. His life hadn’t mattered to him. But from the perspective of Eyland’s future, he reflected, perhaps it was only right for him to swallow his shame and flee.

V: The Last Battle

GARDON, the capital of Eyland, was a massive fortress city. It was surrounded by tall, solid walls and protected by a legion of soldiers.

How am I supposed to capture this thing? Isn’t it impossible?

I could have just leaped over the city walls, but I didn’t want to be the first one to attack. The Hundred seemed to have regained their composure somewhat, and they had the sense not to go charging in.

“What do you think, Your Majesty?” Ogma asked. He asked me for my input right away, perhaps bitterly remembering his experience of being taken out by crossbows.

That’s right, I’m your king, so you should ask my opinion first.

“We just have to wait,” I said. Naturally, I had no desire to attack. I mean, assaulting a castle with our numbers would have been just plain ridiculous. The capital of Dorssen had only fallen to Carmilla because she had secretly stationed her own forces in the city beforehand. Also, she was Dorssenian, and the troops guarding the city had lacked morale. The circumstances now were wildly different. That was why I wanted to get into a standoff against Vulcan for a while, then find a good spot from which to sue for peace. I just had to pray that the enemy wouldn’t go crazy and sortie against us in the meantime.

“Wait, sir?” Ogma replied. Confused looks flashed across his face and the faces of Chrom and some of my other high-ranked subjects, but they seemed to quickly rethink their misgivings. “No, this is His Majesty we’re talking about, so he must have deeply considered reasons,” Ogma said after a moment. “Come to think of it, Lady Frau should be returning from Vulcan soon enough, so time should be on our side.”

Oh, that’s right. If I take too long, Frau will show up. There was no telling what sort of ridiculousness Frau and Keely would get up to if they joined us. I mentally called out to the king of Eyland, shut away in Gardon: You know, if you don’t negotiate for peace now, you’ll be in danger.

After I finished speaking with my high-ranking subjects, Maria, who had gotten too friendly for comfort, brought her face close to mine and asked, “Your Majesty, what do you think I ought to do?”

Nothing at all. In fact, why don’t you go somewhere far away and take it easy? I know you’ll just get up to no good if you’re here.

“Umm, I’d like you to go west,” I said.

“West? What should I do there?” she replied.

“Make the people there eat monster meat. That’s what you’re good at, right?”

The consumption of monster meat had already spread to most of northern, eastern, and southern Eyland. If I wanted an excuse to send her somewhere, the only place I could send her was the west.

“Monster meat, in the west…” Maria seemed to be thinking about something.

“I’ll assign a few of the women in the Hundred, like Karen, to go with you. Use them as you please.”

Karen and I had known each other for a long time, and she was strong enough to have participated in the Consort Selection Tournament. I could place my trust in her, and there would be no one better to serve as a guard. When Maria heard me, a smile blossomed across her face.

“As I please! I see, so that’s what you mean!”

I had absolutely no idea what Maria thought I meant. She was probably going to use Karen and her other guards to work on increasing her followers in the west. And if that was all, I could tolerate it.

“Exactly. Now, can you go do that for me?”

“Yes, sir, gladly!”

I called five of the scant female members of the Hundred, including Karen, and instructed them to escort Maria before sending them on their way. I hoped that now, Maria would fulfill as much of her ambition as she wanted to—out of my sight. With her gone, the Hundred wouldn’t push themselves too hard, either.

🍖🍖🍖

“FARUNE’S army has positioned itself outside the city and isn’t attacking,” Count Wolf said, irritated. He was at yet another war council. The Eylish army had hardened their resolve in expectation of a fight to the finish, and were making every preparation to meet the Farunian army in battle. Now, they felt let down.

“In all likelihood, they’re waiting for Frau to arrive,” Count Broome said, pushing his glasses higher on his nose and scrunching up his face in disgust. “The Lightning Empress’s magic will be effective in a siege. The monster army she has with her is also dangerous. If you think about it, waiting is Farune’s best option. I expected them to keep up the momentum and attack, but I suppose that’s King Mars for you.”

“If they don’t breach the walls and attack, the king will never be able to escape. He’ll stand out far too much if he leaves the city under these conditions,” Count Wolf said, his anguish showing on his face. They needed to fight with a certain degree of showiness to draw the enemy’s attention away from their king’s flight. That wouldn’t work if Farune continued to do nothing but wait.

“There’s a danger that once the formidable wizard Frau is here, she’ll spot the king’s escape even in the midst of battle. He won’t stand a chance if the Warwolves in the monster army pursue him as he’s fleeing. Now that it’s come to this, is our only option to go on the attack ourselves?”

“We have no other choice.”

The corners of Count Broome’s lips turned upward in a smile, and he laughed. “Come on, you and I are two of Eyland’s famed Three Counts, aren’t we? How could we ever lose to that Farunian rabble?”

He was putting on a brave face. However, he was also a seasoned general, so it didn’t seem like an act. His laugh made Count Wolf laugh as well.

“You’re right, we are. As Counts, we’ve long borne the burden of Eyland on our shoulders. It isn’t like us to fear something as trivial as the Hundred.”

“You two…” The king of Eyland, who had been silently watching their exchange, spoke with a shaky voice. “I’m sorry.”

“What is there to apologize for, Your Majesty? You must have some faith in us,” Count Broome said, shrugging his shoulders in a stilted gesture.

“Indeed.” Count Wolf grinned, flashing his teeth. “We are Eyland’s strongest knights. We must show our pride, and make sure no one can say that Eyland was a weak country.”

The Eylish army began preparations for a sortie. Count Wolf and Count Broome solicited volunteers and selected knights and soldiers to fight by their side. There were quite a few of them; all those who were afraid had already fled. The counts ordered the volunteers to say their goodbyes to their families, to make sure they were leaving no regrets behind. Finally, after the soldiers spent one final moment together with their loved ones, they made their promises:

“I’m going to fight to protect our country.”

“This is for your future.”

“There’s no way I’ll lose to Farune.”

Count Wolf and Count Broome did the same, on top of giving detailed instructions for what to do once they passed. Then they headed into battle with grim resolve.

🍖🍖🍖

“YOUR Majesty, the Eylish army has come out on a sortie!”

Chrom, who had been observing the enemy’s movements, rushed into the tent to report to Mars. The king had been hoping for peace, and his expression warped slightly.

“There are armies coming from the east and west gates, and they appear to be attempting to execute a pincer movement,” Chrom continued.

Battle cries resounded from afar. Clearly, the Eylish army’s morale was high.

At this, Mars instantly issued instructions. “The Black Knights and the Red Knights will take care of the east gate. The Hundred will meet the army from the west gate at headquarters.”

“Yes, sir!” Chrom hurriedly exited the tent.

“Why now?” Mars wondered aloud with a long sigh, unable to read the enemy’s intentions.

🍖🍖🍖

COUNT Broome led the army attacking from the east gate. They had come out to attack, but that didn’t mean they were in any hurry to fight. Instead, their goal was to buy time and try to take advantage of their numbers by adopting a formation that encircled the Farunian army.

Meanwhile, Chrom and Warren led the Black and Red Knights on a daring assault before the enemy could deploy in formation. The Eylish army let loose arrows and spells at them, but neither of the knights paid them any mind.

“Raaah!”

Warren was the first to make contact with the enemy, his competitive spirit on full display. His colleague, Chrom, had defeated Count Godwin in the last battle, so this time around, Chrom had deliberately given up his position in the vanguard to Warren.

The greatsword Warren wielded literally sent Eylish soldiers and knights flying. Though they used spears to try and contain, encircle, and defeat their foes, it was meaningless in the face of the Red Knights’ tenacious advance. When they tried to block using swords, they and their weapons were swept aside, and when they tried to defend with shields, they were simply crushed beneath them. The motto of the Red Knights was that the best defense was a good offense, and Warren personified that.

The Red Knights made a beeline for the enemy commander, Count Broome, and although the Eylish troops tried to stop them, it wasn’t as effective as they were hoping. The Black Knights guarded the Red Knights’ backs, and their skilled support helped make it impossible to tell who was actually attacking.

“Their strength as individuals is too much,” Count Broome said with a grimace as he watched the approaching Red Knights.

War had taken on its present form after going through a sort of refinement, and this form existed to harness the strength of the collective to its maximum extent. The era when individual strength could turn the tide of battle was already in the distant past, verging on primitive. Ultimately, humans were social animals, and their strength was best leveraged when put to work as parts in a system.

There were all sorts of tactics to deal with just one or two powerful individuals. However, Farune simply had too many powerful individuals. They were like undomesticated beasts running amok. It was almost enough to make a person start grumbling to them about learning to be better members of society.

Though Count Broome ordered his subordinates to surround Farune’s knights in large numbers, the knights in question tore their way through. It was like trying to hold back an elephant with a line of ants. The enemy had more vigor than when they had fought on the Lind Plain, and they were also exerting more pressure. It was only a matter of time before they made their way to the count.

“But as one of the Three Counts, I can’t afford to retreat,” the count said. He drew his sword and let it rest on his right shoulder, waiting motionlessly until the time came. The sound of wild shouting gradually came closer. Finally, the Farunians broke through the last of his army’s lines, and Warren appeared before him. The knight was an imposing redhead with a commanding presence. His red armor was blackened with sprays of blood, and even his face had turned bright red from the excitement of battle.

Count Broome sprang into action the very moment his foe appeared. A sword technique called Flash had been passed down through generations of the Broome family. It was a skill where the user risked everything on a single stroke, consuming extreme quantities of energy and mana, but in exchange one could let loose a powerful, lightning-fast attack. It was the epitome of a certain-death technique.

As the name suggested, Count Broome’s sword became a ray of light as it cut into Warren’s shoulder.

“Guh…” Warren grunted, his determined face twisting in anguish. He had taken a direct hit from Flash, leaving a deep cut in the top of his shoulder, right through his armor.

“What?!” Count Broome exclaimed, seemingly surprised at his own actions. But his surprise came from the fact that he hadn’t inflicted a fatal blow. It’s a shallow wound?! That’s impossible! he thought.

Flash was a skill that cleaved one’s opponent in half with near-total certainty. It wasn’t supposed to end with half of his blade being stuck in his foe’s shoulder.

Count Broome’s energy began to ebb. This was the price of using Flash.

It can’t end here! Just this once, give me strength! He tried to use his remaining stamina to pull his sword out of Warren, but it wouldn’t budge. Warren was tensing up his body to keep it from moving.

“Damn, old timer! That smarts!”

The red face of the knight before Count Broome transformed into something fierce. It was a wicked look that the count recognized.

“You… You aren’t human! None of you are! You’re monsters!”

By way of reply, Warren seized the count’s neck in his right hand.

He’s unarmed?!

Warren’s strength was unbelievably tenacious. The count’s throat closed, preventing not only his voice but also air from passing through.

If I could just use my sword!

Count Broome had sought a knight’s death. In his final moments, he heard the sound of his neck as it snapped.

🍖🍖🍖

COUNT Wolf, on the other hand, was leading a force on a sortie from the west gate, and he was closing in on Farune’s camp. The warriors of the Hundred were there waiting for him, standing in a disorganized mass in front of the count’s goal. Then, they began to walk toward him at a leisurely pace, like they were entirely confident in their complete mastery. They had an eerily forceful aura that made the advancing Eylish army falter.

“Shoot spells! Fire your bows! Make them flinch, even a little!” Count Wolf called out. He commanded a standard response to the Farunians, though he knew it wouldn’t have much of an effect. If he didn’t reduce the enemy’s momentum, even if only slightly, they would swallow him up and he’d be defeated.

The Hundred blocked the Eylish spells with their hands as if they were warding off a light rain. This didn’t mean the spells weren’t working; they were just blocking them because taking direct hits was irritating. As for the arrows, the Hundred nimbly twisted their bodies to avoid them, or otherwise swatted them out of the air like so many insects.

Watching their opponents, the Eylish were reminded not of humans, but of demons that only existed in nightmares. Filled with dread, the Eylish army finally stopped in its tracks.

“You monstrosities!” Count Wolf said, standing at the head of his army to embolden his troops. He held his greatsword up high, then poured mana into it. This was Giant Edge, the Wolf family’s ancestral sword technique. It involved enclosing one’s sword in a blade of mana more than twice as large as the original weapon.

With an earsplitting shout, the brave, white-haired general brought down his massive blade.

The Hundred met him with glee—now this one was entertaining. However, Count Wolf was an orthodox expert swordsman, and he wielded a nonstandard weapon, so although they were in the Hundred, those outside the rankings stood absolutely no chance against him. They had high vitality, so they didn’t quite die, but Giant Edge felled the powerful warriors one after another.

This emboldened the entire Eylish army, and they surged forward, no longer regarding their foes as anything less than monsters without a shred of humanity. They steadily pushed back Farune’s warriors in groups of five. It was short-lived, but the Eylish army managed to pressure the Farunian army.

The Eylish troops were taking advantage of their momentum when they were caught up in a sudden gust of wind and sent flying. This was from Ogma’s sword technique, Storm Burst.

“You’ve got moves, gramps,” Ogma said. The Hundred’s first bared his canines with a wicked grin.

“That’s an amusing trick, boy!” Count Wolf replied with an intimidating warrior’s glare. With a single swipe of his Giant Edge, he chopped Ogma’s gales apart.

“This is fun!” Ogma slashed at Count Wolf, fast as a whirlwind, as if to say he was only just warming up.

“Hmph!” Count Wolf tried to use his massive sword to overpower his opponent, but Ogma blocked him straight-on with his sword. The blow was just as heavy as it looked, and his feet sank into the ground.

“You’re strong, gramps,” Ogma said. “Guess you aren’t one of the famous Three Counts for nothing. I didn’t think I’d see anyone this strong outside of Farune!”

He flexed his arms and, in a display of strength unbelievable for someone with his build, turned the count’s Giant Edge to the side.

“Silence, boy!” Count Wolf momentarily stepped back and tried to ready another attack, but during that slight interlude Ogma closed the gap between them.

“Hey, gramps, did you know?! Huge swords are weak when you get right up close to someone!”

“Wha—?!”

The sight that greeted Count Wolf was the base of his Giant Edge just barely reaching Ogma. Then—he felt something hot welling up from his chest.

Is this…blood? He lowered his gaze and saw Ogma’s sword buried in his chest. But still, he didn’t fall. Though his Giant Edge had already disappeared, returning to an ordinary greatsword, he thrust that sword into the ground and stood motionless, showing his determination to remain where he was, no matter what.

“Geez,” Ogma said after a short silence, “you sure were strong, old man.”

Feeling a deep respect for Count Wolf, Ogma skirted around the white-haired general’s body and headed off in the direction of the other Eylish troops.

VI: The Sun Sets on Eyland

THE king of Eyland and his family discreetly hid in a horse-drawn wagon, exited Gardon through the rear gate, and began making their way away from the city. It was a humiliating flight, but the king’s vassals had risked their lives to secure it. A single thought made the king’s chest seethe with emotion: One day, I’ll destroy Farune, whatever it takes!

He was headed west. The plan was to obtain safe harbor from a friendly nation, which would also be getting something in the bargain: the king of Eyland would become a pawn they could make use of in the future.

Besides the king and his family, the wagon was also loaded with valuables, mainly the royal family heirlooms. These would serve as bargaining chips in any negotiations going forward, but they were also to blame for the state of the wagon. Crucially, it was packed so full there wasn’t enough room for food or water.

If need be, we can just buy it with gold, the king simply thought. He didn’t even consider the possibility of being frugal. Both he and his family had been raised as royalty, so they didn’t know the meaning of self-restraint. They were by no means arrogant, but they didn’t pay attention to such things as making their scant food supply last, and they consumed it in no time at all.

The driver of the wagon, a knight who had been chosen for his loyalty, was greatly troubled—he for one knew the risk of trying to obtain food in the midst of an escape.

I can’t believe it, he thought. If they were going to eat this much, they should’ve brought food, not treasure.

The morning after they had finished off their food supply, the knight timidly reported to the king that there was nothing left to eat.

“Then go get some supplies in a town or village nearby,” the king ordered. “I have plenty of gold.” He believed that the citizens would obey him—this was his own kingdom, after all—and easily come to an agreement once he paid them.

Needless to say, the loyal knight found it impossible to disobey his king’s command. He just replied, “Yes, sir,” and decided to stop at a village that was close by.

It appeared to be a typical, run-of-the-mill village. However, the villagers eyed the approaching wagon with suspicion.

The knight observed the situation from his perch. To him, the villagers looked ill, or rather, vaguely uncanny. However, if his party didn’t obtain food here, it would be quite a distance before the next village. So, the knight spotted a plump middle-aged man among the villagers with a sympathetic air about him, brought the wagon close, and addressed him politely.

“Excuse me, would you mind sharing some of your food? I’d like as much as possible. I’ll pay you handsomely.”

“Food? In this village?” The man looked curiously at the knight. His tone was a little rude, but that was understandable; the knight was dressed as an ordinary coachman, after all.

“That’s right,” the knight confirmed. “Do you not have any?” He felt slightly disconcerted by the man’s reply.

“Well…we don’t not have any. But are you really sure you want it?”

For a moment, the knight was at a loss, but then he said, “I am. Could you bring it here?” He reasoned that if he was given something strange, he could just dispose of it.

“Indeed I can,” the man replied cheerily. He was friendly, but his eyes were strangely intense.

Something strange is going on, the knight thought, watching the man’s back as he left hurriedly. The knight reached behind himself into the wagon and pulled his sword close. His combat training meant he wouldn’t lose in a fight with some commoners, even if he was at somewhat of a numerical disadvantage.

“Is something wrong?” the king asked from inside the wagon.

“No, nothing in particular. Just a precaution.”

After a brief wait, the knight could see the man returning, carrying a wooden tray with what looked to be a large quantity of meat on top.

Damn, I should’ve asked for food that kept well. The knight regretted not having been more specific. However, as the man got closer, and as it became abundantly clear what type of meat was being offered to him, regret became the least of his worries.

That’s monster meat!

It did appear to be cooked, but with its poisonous appearance and intense stench that repelled even insects, there was no mistaking it. The knight felt a chill run down his spine, and he hurriedly tried to start the wagon moving again, but before he knew it, the villagers had surrounded it. It was impossible to get away like this.

“Where are you going? I thought you wanted food,” the man with the meat said, his eyes glinting with a fierce light. “Did you know? There are two kinds of people in the world: those who eat monster meat, and those who don’t.”

The villagers stared at the knight as though trying to ascertain whether he was friend or foe; there was no telling what they would do if they discovered he was the latter.

The knight used his right hand to draw the sword he had placed behind him and brandished it threateningly in the air. “Out of the way! I won’t hesitate to hurt anyone who—”

But the moment he was about to finish speaking, the arm holding his sword fell to the ground.

“Huh?” he exclaimed. The sight that greeted his eyes was that of a brown-haired woman wearing a headband. She was lightly armored and held a sword in one hand. What the knight didn’t know was that this was Karen of the Hundred.

“This village is under Farunian protection,” she said. “I’ll show no mercy to those who seek to harm it.”

What…what is she saying? The knight’s vision warped, then he swayed to the right like a puppet with its strings cut, falling from his perch to the ground with a thud. He had lost consciousness due to the blood loss from his missing right arm.

“What the?! What’s going on?!” the king cried out. Sensing a disturbance, he peeked his face out from the wagon. There, he saw that the villagers and several female warriors had surrounded him.

“Would you be so kind as to get down from there, king of Eyland?” Karen pointed her sword at him. “This is my message to you, king who so cowardly fled alone from your fallen country: you must be punished.”

“Punished? You’re going to punish me?” the king said, unable to believe his ears. “Tell me, what have I done?! I tried to fight Farune, the enemy of the entire world! I was right, I had justice on my side! You villains are the ones who should be punished!” He pointed a finger at Karen, but she reacted with neither fear nor anger; she merely scoffed.

“Hmph. Justice is strength. And strength is justice. That’s the one, simple truth, but you’re making complicated excuses. It’s comical, and pathetic. So, what will you do?” she asked. “If you don’t come down from there, we’ll hack the whole wagon apart. Not that we would mind that whatsoever, of course.”

The king of Eyland slumped his shoulders. It was the truth. There was no such thing as justice in conflicts between nations. Ultimately, he had seen Farune as a threat and tried to eliminate them, only to fail—that was all.

“All right,” he relented. “I’ll come down.” The king slowly got out of the cart, along with the family he had brought with him. He tried his hardest to act brave, so as not to lose his dignity as king. His wife and his young son and daughter embraced each other protectively.

“So, what do you mean to do with us?” the king asked. “Will you kill us?”

“That’s not up to us,” Karen replied, sheathing her sword. “It’s up to the people you once ruled.”

Then she and the other members of the Hundred stepped aside. The villagers stepped forward in their place—monster meat in hand.

“Because of you, Your Majesty, we were forced to eat this disgusting meat,” one of the villagers said. He had a blank look in his eyes.

“If only you hadn’t robbed us of our food, this never would’ve happened,” another villager said, voice full of regret.

“Hold on, I only ordered for food to be confiscated from the south and the east. I didn’t do anything like that in the west!” the king said, desperately attempting to defend himself.

“That doesn’t matter!” another villager shouted. “Monster meat came here from the south and the east! They said, ‘Are you friend, or foe?’ Now that Eyland’s lost, we all have to eat this stuff! And it’s your fault!”

“What?!” The king gasped. He had been frightened of monster meat consumption spreading, and it seemed that it had happened even more quickly than he had expected.

“But this village was one of the lucky ones,” an old lady said, smiling faintly. “The saint came, and graciously said, ‘Please, eat while I’m still here. If you feel at all ill, I shall heal you.’ How truly fortunate. Without her, who knows what would have happened…”

“The saint?! You mean Maria? Did Maria do this?!” the king pressed, enraged.

“What are you saying, my king?” one of the villagers said. “She’s the one who’s traveling around and healing people to clean up your mess.”

The villagers’ eyes flashed with hatred.

“You’re wrong! Maria is in cahoots with Farune! She’s the one who’s making you eat monster meat!”

“You just don’t get it, do you?” one well-built villager said. “There’s no avoiding eating monster meat in this country anymore. If you don’t eat it, your fellow villagers will see you as an enemy.” He smirked. “And by the way, it isn’t all bad. They say that when you eat it, you get stronger. I hear that in the south, where they started eating it first, farmwork is a breeze now.”

“That’s the most idiotic thing I’ve ever heard! Would you eat that awful meat just because it makes farming easier?!”

The plump middle-aged man the knight had first called out to spoke. “Yes, we peasants are idiots, unlike you royals and nobles,” he said. “After all, we’re doing all we can just to survive day in and day out. We don’t give a damn which government rules over us.” He looked coldly at the king. “Well, none of that matters. You want food, right? Well, I brought some for you. It’s monster meat.” He took a chunk of cooked meat off the wooden board and pushed it in the king’s face. “Eat it. Aren’t you hungry?”

“Who the hell would eat this trash?! I’m the king of this country!” The king of Eyland swiped the board away with his hand, and the meat fell to the ground.

“We’re the ones who eat that ‘trash.’ And it’s because of you.” The man picked the meat up from the ground. “Also, you’re not king of anything anymore.”

The other villagers grabbed the king, holding him in a full nelson.

“Stop it, I’m telling you, stop!” the king shouted.

“I’m sure the southerners thought the same thing. ‘Please, don’t take our food.’ But you didn’t listen to them, did you?”

The villagers began to forcibly cram pieces of monster meat into the mouths of the king and his family.

“Shouldn’t I heal them?” Maria asked with pity as she watched the spectacle from afar.

“It’s all right, Lady Maria,” Karen said, having returned to Maria’s side. “These are his just desserts. What sort of king steals food from his subjects, only to run away by himself?” She spoke with unconcealed anger. Like Maria, Karen had been born to poor commoners, and she had never liked royalty or nobles who did as they pleased. Needless to say, Mars was the one exception.

“But…at this rate, their lives will be in danger… At the very least, I want to help the children…” Maria’s expression was tinged with melancholy.

“You’re too kind, Lady Maria. But if we let Eylish royalty survive, they’re bound to become an obstacle to His Majesty’s rule,” one of the other members of the Hundred said chidingly. “We must not take pity on them.”

“I see…yes, you’re right. But that’s just too sad. Lord Mauve is surely lamenting the foolishness of man.” Maria hung her hooded head.

Karen placed a hand on her back, and urged her to leave. “Let’s return to His Majesty,” she said. “No doubt this outcome is all part of Lord Mars’s grand plan. Otherwise, he never would have deployed us all the way out here. Good grief, his intricate designs are beyond me.”

🍖🍖🍖

YES, they truly are, I thought, chuckling to myself beneath my hood.

When he had first told me to go west, I hadn’t understood what he was thinking. But after that, he’d said I could use my bodyguards as I pleased, and I’d finally grasped his intentions. Essentially, he was telling me that if I wished to become queen of Eyland, I would have to use the people he gave me to kill the king myself.

What a fearsome man, to make a saint such as myself dirty her own hands. He had surely wanted to test my resolve. And on top of that, it had been the optimal choice to entrust this plan to me, someone from Eyland who was familiar with the country—I could spread monster meat consumption to western Eyland as I went about my task. Everything Lord Mars did had a deeper purpose.

Oh, I can hear death throes coming from behind me.

With this, my preparations were complete. Now that Eyland had lost power, a change of leadership was sure to occur in the Theocracy of Mauve as well. Lord Caim would get that done for me. It was only a matter of time before the pope who had neglected me would abdicate his position. All that was left now was for me to take the papacy and annex Eyland.

The people would no doubt welcome me with open arms. After all, everyone was fed up with the Eylish royal family after they had been idiotic enough to implement a scorched-earth policy.

…But I mustn’t rush things.

I was a saint. I had to make it look as if those around me were nominating me for the papacy, and only then would I unwillingly become pope and reluctantly annex Eyland. Farune would have an important role to play. Once everyone saw that I was the only one who could restrain that terrifying country, they would have no choice but me.

This was all according to Lord Mars’s plan. It was all a scheme enabling Farune to slowly take over Eyland. My trifling aspirations were nothing compared to that man’s colossal ambition.

Now, on to the next preparations. I really have so much I need to get done.

🍖🍖🍖

COUNT Wolf awoke to the sight of an unfamiliar ceiling.

“Where am I?”

He unconsciously placed his hand on his chest. The wound from Ogma’s sword was gone.

“Was that a dream? No…it can’t have been…but where am I?”

He looked at his surroundings, and saw that he was lying in bed inside what seemed to be a private home. It was furnished somewhat crudely for the noble count, but he had a great deal of experience sleeping on the front, so he didn’t really mind.

He gently made sure that he could move his upper body, then got out of the bed and stood up.

It doesn’t seem that I’m in Gardon. Did Farune take me prisoner? But there’s no one guarding me. And I’m not bound, either. What the hell…?

His consciousness was still somewhat hazy, but he decided to go outside before he did anything else. He turned his gaze toward the door, which slowly opened as if on cue.

“Good. You’re awake.”

The speaker was a beautiful woman, close in age to the count’s daughter. Her expression was brimming with affection, and he could tell that she had been truly concerned about him.

“And you are?” the count asked.

“My name is Maria,” she replied.

The name instantly snapped Count Wolf out of his stupor. “Maria?! So you’re the saint who sided with Farune!” He was about to fly into a rage, but she quietly corrected him.

“Lord Wolf, I most certainly did not take Farune’s side.”

“What are you talking about?! You healed Farune’s warriors on the battlefield!”

“What would you suggest I should have done? Should I simply have stood by and observed the war? Farune is incredibly powerful. The course of battle would not have been affected whether I healed them or not.” Maria lowered her eyes sorrowfully.

“You’re wrong! If you hadn’t worked a divine miracle on those brutes—”

“Lord Mars would simply have gone to the front lines himself. He possesses strength that rivals that of an entire army. I saw his power in the arena, so I know. He would have absolutely crushed the Eylish army. Also, Third Princess Cassandra is waiting back in Farune. She’s the Swordmaster called the Red Demon. No one can beat Farune.”

“You mean to say that Cassandra is the Red Demon Swordmaster?! I heard rumors, but are they true?” Count Wolf was old enough to know about Cassandra’s rampage through central Ares; he had heard countless tales of her exploits. He knew very well that there was no denying her strength.

“Yes. I believe she’s Lord Mars’s teacher, and even he can’t hold a candle to her. The coalition army never had a…” Here, Maria paused, somewhat dramatically. “Actually, perhaps it’s a stroke of good fortune that the war ended before Lady Cassandra came to the front lines. After all, she is merciless, and demonically strong, just as her nickname suggests. Who can say how many coalition soldiers would have fallen to her sword?”

Count Wolf grunted, speechless. Cassandra had destroyed a country on her own. Maria was certainly right that there was no telling how many casualties there might’ve been had someone like her appeared on the battlefield.

“But despite all that, I still hoped that you would survive, Count Wolf,” Maria said pleadingly, her hands clasped as if in prayer.

“Me? Why?”

“You are someone who can become the pillar of Eyland,” Maria explained. “You fought long for your country, and you love and are loved by the people. There is suffering in store for Eyland. But if you’re there, Count Wolf, the people will no doubt feel at ease.”

Count Wolf furrowed his eyebrows and shut his eyes tightly. “No, I swore my loyalty to the king of Eyland. If he dies, I intend to die along with him. That is the code of those of us who are knights.”

“Do you think you could possibly concede on that point?” Maria ventured. “Much blood may be spilled if Farune rules this land directly. But if you accept Farunian control and become the new ruler under Farune, you may be able to avoid that bloodshed!”

“Me? No, I took up arms against Farune,” the count said, baffled. “I couldn’t serve in such a role now…”

“I’ll ask King Mars,” Maria said, undeterred. “Farune mainly governs other countries indirectly. He should be searching for someone to rule Eyland, and he’ll surely welcome you as a worthy candidate. Of course, I’ll also do what little I can to help!”

Maria stared into Count Wolf’s eyes. He looked back at her. Her unclouded gaze expressed a pure desire to achieve her goal. He could sense an intense willpower there.

The count let out a deep sigh. “Very well. Certainly, someone must take on the role of fall guy for the sake of the people of Eyland. I’ll resign myself to the humiliation.”

“Thank you very much! Now, let’s—”

“Wait. You’re the one who’s most fit to be ruler, Saint Maria. I’m from an older generation, and I’m not suited to lead. I’ll accept your proposal if it’s the other way around. You rule, and I’ll support you,” Count Wolf said with a grin. “I can’t compromise any further.”

Maria’s expression was confused. “But I’m a commoner, and my status…”

“That’s no matter,” Count Wolf insisted. “It’s a new age, so I’ll support you. Take heed, Lady Maria. The time has come for you to stand on the stage of history.”

The two continued their conversation for a while longer, and in the end, Maria reluctantly accepted the position of ruler.

🍖🍖🍖

PHEW, exactly as I expected.

The honorable soldier Count Wolf would never be willing to accept the position of ruler. That would have been clear to a five-year-old child.

The new Eyland I was to rule would have far too few capable people. Soldiers were especially lacking in number. If I asked Lord Mars, I could definitely get him to deploy some of the Hundred, but it was also essential for me to have my own underlings for when I really needed them. In that sense, Count Wolf was the perfect pick. He could be both a punching bag and a protector for the country. Healing him had really been worth it.

I’ll have him spend the rest of his life working for me.

VII: Mauve’s Leadership Shake-Up

THE pope of the Theocracy of Mauve was relieved. He had made the correct decision. There was no country in existence that could beat those monsters. The king of Eyland, the king of Vulcan, and even the illustrious Master Matou were nothing other than foolish for having been unable to comprehend that. They never should have opposed Farune.

No detailed information had reached the pope as to Master Matou’s fate, but it was rumored that he was dead. The pope had no idea how Farune had taken down the legendary Great Sage, but it was Farune, so they had no doubt used some sort of unscrupulous trick.

Meanwhile, the king of Vulcan had been ambushed, and an entire forest had been set ablaze. The pope had also heard that the king of Eyland and his family had been captured by his own subjects while on the run to the west, and had died after being forced to eat monster meat.

What a horrible way to go.

As far as the pope was aware, the king of Eyland and his family were now, ironically enough, the first recorded deaths as a result of monster meat.

After breathing a long sigh, the pope sat deeper in his chair and clasped his hands together in a show of gratitude to God for his good health. He no longer had any desire whatsoever to oppose Farune. Instead, he was firmly of the mind to let them do as they pleased—for the time being.

In the long annals of history, there were any number of countries that had boasted temporary periods of prosperity. However, it had never lasted. The pope believed that Farune would doubtless tread the same path. There were limits to rule by force, and a time would eventually come when they were defeated by another power.

Mauve, on the other hand, was eternal. The pope’s teachings had always held sway over the hearts of the people. In other words, the Theocracy of Mauve was eternal as well. Now was merely a time to endure. Eventually, the age of the Church would come again. Maybe not in his time, but under the next pope, or perhaps the one after that. The pope resolved in his heart to take on the role of protecting the interests of the faith as much as he could, and passing on the Theocracy of Mauve to his successor.

Just then, the sounds of a commotion coming from outside interrupted the pope’s hard-won resolve. It was ominous: there were quarrelling voices, encroaching footsteps, and the dull sounds of struggle. One of the pope’s entourage hurriedly entered the room.

“Are the Farunians back?” the pope asked before his subordinate could say anything. If anyone from Farune had come, he was ready and willing to obey whatever they asked of him.

“No, Your Holiness,” said the pope’s subordinate. “The former deputy captain of the Holy Knights, Caim, is here with the Holy Knights in tow. They’re currently forcing their way in, demanding that you show yourself. They’re not listening to anything we tell them!”

“Caim, you say?”

The pope had heard that the Holy Knights had thrown in their lot with Eyland, so he was surprised that any were still alive. He had appointed Caim to his position, so naturally, he knew him. The knight was a naive, somewhat inflexible man, but he was a devout follower of church teaching, and his loyalty toward the Theocracy should have been genuine. His one flaw was that in recent years, he had begun to worship Maria.

I imagine he’s going to demand that I make Maria into a saint, the pope thought. A calm smile spread across his face.

“Very well, bring him to me. I’ll hear him out.”

“Are you sure?” The pope’s subordinate looked uneasy.

“I don’t mind. I know what he wants.”

The pope no longer had any objections to making Maria a saint. He had heard that she had established deep connections with Farune. If that was true, he thought, then designating her a saint was one way he could win the king of Farune’s favor.

After a short time, Caim entered the pope’s room along with three Holy Knights. The pope had been expecting to speak to Caim alone, so he frowned at the discourteousness of bringing others with him, but in a show of magnanimity, he didn’t mention it.

“Thank you for graciously allowing us to meet with you, Your Holiness,” Caim said. He and the other knights all placed their hands to their chests and gave their thanks. This was all according to etiquette, but the pope couldn’t shake the feeling that they were looking down on him.

“It’s no matter.” Still, the pope adopted a placid attitude, showing no irritation on the surface. After all, Caim was undoubtedly one of Maria’s sympathizers, and it was possible that Farune was behind him. “I know what you want to ask. You want me to make Maria a saint, right?”

The knights smirked unpleasantly.

“Your Holiness isn’t the pope for nothing, to already know our demand. Did you receive a revelation from God, perhaps?” Caim asked.

“Who do you think you’re talking to, Caim?” the pope said, letting his anger at Caim’s insolent manner of speaking show. “Have you forgotten your manners in the time since I last saw you? Mauve bestows no grace upon such people.”

“It’s a surprise to hear someone such as you speak of Mauve’s grace, Your Holiness,” Caim said, completely unfazed.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” the pope asked, after pausing for a moment.

“I know all about it. You were pulling the strings behind the anti-Farune coalition.”

“What are you talking about? Ridiculous.” The pope scoffed.

If anything, he had been dragged into that mess.

The coalition had formed when the kings of Eyland and Vulcan had sensed a crisis, and Master Matou had agreed with them. In an attempt to keep Farune in line, they had pressed the pope to enact the three new religious doctrines. Even then, the pope had attempted to maintain his neutrality. Internally, he was enraged at the three leaders for mixing him up in all this nonsense.

“Ridiculous?” Caim shot back. “Then why did you hand Lady Maria over to Farune?”

“Hmph. That was because of you good-for-nothing Holy Knights. If you’d been more reliable, I wouldn’t have had to cave to Farune’s demands,” the pope said with a derision that only aggravated Caim’s hostility.

“Back then, Farune demanded that you deploy a bishop,” Caim recounted. “Nothing more. There was no need for you to choose Lady Maria for the position. Because she wasn’t a bishop. You were the one who went out of your way to promote her to acting bishop and send her to Farune!”

“King Mars chose Maria,” the pope rebutted. “I simply obeyed his request. You know that, don’t you?” He was feeling somewhat fed up. Caim was rehashing the same old issues that had been debated since before the Holy Knights had left the Theocracy.

“We sensed something was off back then, too,” Caim said. “We wondered, ‘Why Lady Maria?’ But it’s entirely clear now. It was all part of your plan. Lady Maria was in your way, so by foisting her onto Farune and letting them kill her, you would gain a pretext for war. The deal had two advantages for Your Holiness.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” the pope said, exasperated. He was actually telling the truth, too. What Caim was saying was such a stretch it was almost impressive.

“To think that you’re trying to play dumb, even now. How disappointing.” Caim looked at the pope with eyes devoid of sympathy, then drew his sword. “I’ll be taking the liberty of apprehending you all.”

“Are you serious?! What’s the meaning of this?! Mauve will never forgive this blasphemy!” The pope scooted backward in his chair, its legs making an unpleasant noise as they scraped against the floor.

“We don’t need forgiveness!” Caim shouted. “Even a child could tell you’ve never been able to hear His voice! Your abandoning Him is the real treachery here. Now is the time for us to redeem this country with our own hands! And under Mauve’s teachings!” As Caim declared his intent, a group of knights rushed into the building behind him. The purge of the Theocracy of Mauve’s upper leadership had begun.

The story about the pope manipulating the coalition army behind the scenes was nothing more than a fabrication Maria had planted in Caim’s head. However, it was true that church leadership was corrupt. For devout believers like Caim, who knew the inner workings of the organization, the pope and his lackeys had been long-term potential enemies. Caim had always wanted to do something about them—so in part, this affair was a good pretext for overthrowing the rotten hierarchy.

Having lost Eyland, his backer, the pope had no way to resist the Theocracy’s one military force, the Holy Knights, when they turned against him. Under Caim’s leadership, the Holy Knights gained control over the Theocracy of Mauve and formed a provisional council. They recognized Maria as a saint, and at the same time designated her the pope’s successor.

VII: In Mauve

“OH, what should I do?” Maria said with exaggerated grief. “I never thought the pope would end up imprisoned.”

We were in another tent, and had just received a report that said Caim had taken control of the Theocracy of Mauve. Maria was speaking in front of a row of my high-ranking subordinates.

She was playing way too dumb. I knew perfectly well she had instigated Caim’s actions. But still, now that he had revolted, I had no choice but to get on board to a certain extent—thanks to something Maria had lovingly whispered into my ear the night before.

“What do you think about using this opportunity to attack and kill the Holy Knights, then to dispose of the pope and the clergy while making it look like the Holy Knights did it?” she’d said. “If you do, it’ll reinforce my legitimacy, and no one who knows the truth will be left alive. Isn’t it perfect?”

How heartless can this woman get? I had wondered. She was fully willing to erase anyone, even the people who had helped her out. I would have felt awfully sorry for the Holy Knights, and I didn’t have anything against the pope, either, so I wanted to resolve things as peacefully as possible.

“Don’t you all think we ought to rescue His Holiness?” Maria urged, trying to carry her plan forward.

How terrifying.

“Actually, the Holy Knights are probably right,” I said. “It’s only natural to think that the pope was the one secretly pulling the strings behind everything. Otherwise, it’s hard to imagine Eyland, Vulcan, and Kiel all joining together.” While mentally apologizing to the pope, I decided to push all the blame onto him. If I didn’t, this vicious woman wouldn’t hesitate to snuff out both him and the Holy Knights.

Warren nodded. “Your Majesty is quite right,” he said. “The Church of Mauve has considerable authority. It’s entirely plausible that they were the ones who were able to bring together the coalition.” The others largely agreed with me as well.

Chrom, who was the only one who knew about the connection between Maria and Caim, gazed at me with respect.

He probably thinks I planned this out. Listen, I didn’t. It was all Maria.

“Well, minor territories like the Theocracy won’t matter much to us either way,” Ogma said, then he pointed to the royal capital. “Our issue is right in front of us—Gardon. What should we do? Should we assault the city already?” He had no interest in anything but fighting.

The Eylish army hadn’t made any movements whatsoever since the battle where Count Wolf and Count Broome had sortied while the king of Eyland fled. With their king and the Three Counts gone, they probably no longer had anyone who could unify everyone. That being said, their army was still larger than ours. Also, Farune was best at fighting in the open. It didn’t seem like we’d be able to fight at an advantage in a siege, and besides, I never wanted to take over Eyland in the first place.

“For now, let’s head to the Theocracy and install Maria in the papacy,” I said. “Eyland has many followers of Mauve. If Maria issues a decree in her capacity as pope, Eyland won’t be able to ignore her. There’s no need to force an attack right now.”

I decided to put off everything I didn’t want to do. The Theocracy was close to Gardon, which made sense given that they had once been part of the same country. I would make Maria the pope, as she wished, and leave the rest up to her. As for me, I wanted to go back to Farune as soon as possible.

And so, I decided to head to the Theocracy of Mauve with Maria, Chrom, and the Black Knights in tow. I didn’t take the Hundred because I had learned my lesson last time: nothing good ever came from bringing them with me.

🍖🍖🍖

“WE’VE been waiting for you, Lady Maria!”

When we arrived in the Theocracy of Mauve, Caim and the Holy Knights greeted Maria with beaming smiles. They didn’t even look at me. The people of the Theocracy gave Maria a warm welcome too, even as they tried to avoid eye contact with me and the Black Knights.

Maria, however, wore a sorrowful expression. “Lord Caim, why have you captured His Holiness? I never wanted this to happen…”

Wow, she has some nerve to say something like that, when she’s the one who plotted the whole thing. Are there any limits to how shameless people can be?

“Please, forgive us,” Caim said passionately, tears in his eyes. “We knew you didn’t want this. But we had no other choice! This was the only way to return the Theocracy of Mauve to its rightful state! Whatever you may charge us with, we don’t mind!”

Shut up, Caim, for your own sake. She’s quite capable of convicting all of you, you know. I looked at Caim, but he was still avoiding eye contact. Even though I’m the only one here with your best interests at heart…

“Lord Caim, I cannot become pope,” Maria said with a forlorn smile. “I don’t even know whether I’m fit to be a saint… But before anything else, please release everyone you’ve arrested. We can talk it all over together.”

Geez, her looks really are the only good thing about her. Everything that comes out of her mouth is devious sweet talk. All she really wants is to become pope as soon as possible!

“Very well,” Caim said. “We shall do as you say.” Then he headed to where, presumably, the pope and his subordinates were being held. It was an imposing building next to a church, the same place where I’d had my meeting with the pope the last time.

Maria said they’d talk it all over together, but what are they going to talk about? With the way things are headed, is the pope going to be reinstated or something? Not that I’d really mind if he were.

The pope was shut inside the room where we’d first met. It had been a while, and the white-bearded old man was looking gaunt. Besides him, the only other people in the room were me, Maria, and Caim. The pope didn’t look to have undergone any harsh treatment, but it seemed that being handled like a criminal, despite how superior he’d acted in the past, had been a shock to him.

“Oh, Lord Mars…have you saved me?” he said in a weak voice. He remained seated in his chair.

“No, this was Maria’s decision,” I replied.

“…Maria?” He looked at her with sunken eyes.

Maria knelt, then met the pope’s gaze. “Yes, Your Holiness,” she said. “When I learned that Lord Caim had arrested you, I asked Lord Mars to come here. I’ve heard that Lord Caim overreached because he was worried about the Theocracy of Mauve. Would it be possible to let bygones be bygones, and start over from the beginning? After all, doesn’t the church owe its existence to the Knights, while the Knights owe their existence to the church?”

Everything she says really does sound a lot better than it is…

The pope sighed deeply. He didn’t seem all that eager. “You say that, but ultimately, won’t I just end up becoming King Mars’s puppet?”

Huh? What about me? Out of nowhere, I had become the topic of conversation, and everyone turned to look at me. Caim looked irritated, but Maria gazed at me with enthusiasm. What do you want me to say?

“Farune has no desire to involve itself in the Church of Mauve,” I said. I wished they wouldn’t bring me into this. Honestly, I couldn’t have cared less about the church. But the pope slowly shook his head.

“Such lip service isn’t very reassuring. Ultimately, the powerful will try to use everything, including religion, for their own ends,” he began. “The king of Eyland and the king of Vulcan did exactly that this time around. They imposed their own affairs onto the faith and tried to exploit it. But God’s true doctrine is nothing like that. By now, even I have been thoroughly tainted by worldly matters, but I originally started on this path after receiving deep inspiration from Mauve’s teachings. Though I planned to walk a more honest path, as I rose through the ranks, I came to accept corruption.” He paused before continuing. “I should have rejected all interference, no matter who or what country was doing it, and devoted myself to revealing the teachings of God to all. All of this is the result of my lack of virtue, my lack of strength.”

Did this old geezer attain enlightenment while he was locked up or something? I wondered. He was suddenly talking sense. If only he’d been like this from the start, then none of these stressful things would have happened.

“But heed my words, king of Farune,” the pope continued. “Governance and God’s teachings are separate things. You cannot change people’s hearts with force. If you wish to kill me, then so be it. God will neither take pity on me, nor be angered. However, that aside, heaven never turns a blind eye to evil. You will be judged eventually.” He stared intently at me, an uncanny resolve in his eyes.

Uh, actually, I never wanted to kill you. The self-proclaimed saint next to me is the one who’s trying to do that. As I was hesitating over what to say to get the pope to understand, Maria spoke.

“Your Holiness,” she said, “you are mistaken. King Mars isn’t trying to take over the Church of Mauve. He is trying to join the church.”

Excuse me?

IX: A New Pope

ME, join the church? What is this woman even saying? I don’t recall ever being religious.

Even I couldn’t play along with Maria to that extent, so I shot her a glare. She looked back at me, and we locked eyes.

“Lord Mars is joining the church? Is such a thing really possible?” the pope said, a look of suspicion on his face.

Caim broke into a wide smile. “To think that you were even giving the Demon King your guidance! Lady Maria, you’re incredible!”

Demon King?! Say that again, I dare you.

Even I had my dignity as king. I had never cared about religion. If God really existed, I’d want him to let me eat something that actually tasted good, and immediately. I’ve never felt God’s blessing, so why the hell would I believe in the Church of Mauve?

With that thought in mind, I opened my mouth to speak. The moment I did, Maria placed both hands on my shoulders.

Then, she whispered in a quiet voice only I could hear: “I’m pregnant.”

WHAT?!

Without meaning to, I squatted down and stared at the area around Maria’s stomach. She hadn’t grown any larger yet. I instinctively tried to touch her with my hand, but stopped before I made contact. When I actually thought about it, it hadn’t even been that long since that night. It wasn’t like me to be so shaken.

“Why, King Mars is kneeling to Maria and offering a prayer?!” the pope exclaimed, stunned. He’d mistook my crouching and almost touching Maria’s stomach as a gesture of prayer.

“The Demon King has bowed down before the saint!” Caim was also shouting with joy.

“Actually, I’m no—” I raised my face and tried to protest, but Maria shoved my head down. She was quite strong, and it was no wonder—she ate monster meat by choice, after all.

With her hands still on my head, Maria spoke solemnly. “King Mars, do you accept God’s child?”

God’s child? Does she mean her child? Is she suddenly saying that she’s God? What a shameless person!

No matter how wicked the mother may have been, however, her child was innocent. I couldn’t neglect my own child, like I’d been neglected myself in childhood. I had to at least accept them.

“Yes, I do…”

“God’s child…” the pope said. “In other words, he’ll exert himself in the service of the saint! I never expected King Mars to have transformed into such a devout believer in Mauve!” He had stood up, in a daze. As for Caim, he was actually shedding tears.

Huh? God’s child is Maria? Not her child?

There was no way I could take back what I’d said and admit that I thought God’s child had meant my own child. It would have been totally impossible to say either that I thought my own child was the child of God, or that Maria and I were having a baby at all. I was wondering what to do, my face still downturned, when the pope began to speak as though he had made up his mind.

“All right. It seems I was mistaken. You spread Mauve’s teachings to the hell on earth that is Farune, an achievement equivalent to a miracle. You’ve done a great service.”

Just what kind of place do these people think Farune is?

Naturally, my mental complaint didn’t reach the pope, and he continued. “Maria, you are fit to lead the church. In my capacity as pope of the Church of Mauve, I hereby recognize you as a saint.”

While it was all according to plan, it really would have been best if he’d stopped before saying that. I was starting to feel sorry for all the past saints who had built the history of the church. But in the next moment, the pope announced something even worse:

“And, I designate you as my successor, the next pope.”

Maria knelt and positioned herself in prayer while the pope solemnly held out his hand above her head.

“I humbly accept,” Maria replied.

How…how did this happen?

🍖🍖🍖

I chuckled to myself.

All I had to do was take advantage of Lord Mars, and the papacy is officially mine. And yes, it’s true—doing it this way has made my authority even greater.

I had been surprised when Lord Mars had decided not to dispose of the pope and Lord Caim, but it had turned out he had been testing me. He was sending me the message that if I wanted to become pope, I had to show him that I could at least manipulate people at their level. I was going to be a saint, the pope, and a queen, so I had to demonstrate my capacity for each of those roles. I could not afford to take the easy way out. That was why Lord Mars had guided me to make good use of both the pope and Lord Caim.

I had always had the support of the people. Now that I also had a seal of approval from the former pope and the backing of the Holy Knights, my control over the Theocracy of Mauve was as good as perfect. All I had left to do was make Eyland mine. And that country’s most prominent leaders, the king and the Three Counts, were already gone; it was only a matter of time before the rest came crawling to me for help. After all, I’d always had supporters in Eyland.

About the only issue left now is giving birth, right?

To fake a virgin birth, I would have to surround myself with people who could keep a secret.

Why don’t I ask Lord Mars to call Annie from Farune? I’ll have to get Karen and the others as bodyguards. We had gotten quite close while propagating monster meat consumption.

But still, I was amazed by how many reliable people I had gathered around me. And all thanks to Lord Mars. By a stroke of good fortune, I had been able to meet a truly wonderful person. Now, I only had to use our bloodline to rule this country for the rest of time.

Having been designated the next pope, Maria lowered her head and smiled wickedly to herself.

🍖🍖🍖

THE news about Maria officially becoming a saint and assuming the papacy spread like wildfire throughout the surrounding countries, and it made a large impact. The story about Mars kneeling down to Maria circulated at the same time, so the general opinion was that a powerful new pope had emerged. The greatest response came from Eyland, which remained under siege in the capital city of Gardon.

“Should we seek Her Holiness’s mediation?” argued the nobles who called for peace with Farune. They weren’t the only ones; most of the citizenry tired of their protracted life under siege.

“Maria is on Farune’s side. It’ll end with conditions unfavorable to us,” the nobility in favor of resisting Farune retorted. They had always simultaneously looked down on Farune and seen the country as a threat. This had long been the mainstream faction in Eyland, but after the loss of the king and the Three Counts, it lacked its former influence. The faction still hadn’t given up resisting, but its members were well aware that Eyland was in a state of crisis.

“That’s no matter, so long as it doesn’t end with us all dead. We’re not in any position to ask for anything more. But Lady Maria is a saint, and a merciful woman. She won’t rule entirely in favor of Farune.”

“So anything is fine, as long as we aren’t killed?! Our noble pride may be stripped away from us. Surely you’ve heard of His Majesty’s final moments. We, too, may be forced to eat monster meat. We’ll lose our dignity as humans!”

“Nothing of the sort will happen. We haven’t heard anything about people in the Theocracy of Mauve being forced to eat monster meat, and the new doctrines themselves haven’t been repealed. Lady Maria is remaining neutral.”

“Then why did she aid Farune on the battlefield?!”

“Because His Majesty, Vulcan, and Kiel formed an anti-Farune coalition army to rescue her. But she’d gone to Farune out of her own volition, and there she devotedly served as an acting bishop for the Church of Mauve. The creation of the coalition army was done in blatant disregard of her wishes. It was inevitable that she would side with Farune after that.”

“Is Maria… Is the saint truly neutral?”

“That can be answered simply by contacting her. If the conditions for her mediation are too unfavorable for us, we can simply act as if we never even asked.”

Following this discussion, Eyland sent an envoy to the Theocracy of Mauve, asking that the new pope mediate in their war with Farune. Maria gladly accepted the request, and proposed an unconditional ceasefire to both parties. With no desire to fight, Mars agreed, and the Eylish side came to an accord as well. Finally, the war was reaching its end.

As a result of this, Maria’s popularity in Eyland increased and, unsurprisingly, voices calling for her to govern the country began to emerge.

X: The Melancholy of Sheila

WHILE Mars and the others were fighting in Eyland, Sheila was in Vulcan leading a rebel army in a conflict against the pro-king faction. The rebel army—which was mainly just the Vulcan branch of the Hundred, led by Sheila’s younger brother Hart—was small in size, while nearly all of the prominent Vulcanian nobles had sided with the king. Although the rebels had seized the capital of Thracia, they were surrounded by the crown’s forces and being forced into a defensive struggle. They were only managing to hold their position because their nominal leader, Sheila, had joined the fighting herself despite being pregnant.

As it happened, the situation hadn’t been this dire in the beginning. Many nobles had stood off to the side and waited to see how things would play out, and there had been a contingent that may have even sided with the rebel army, depending on the rebels’ claims and the result of the war in Eyland.

Frau had completely changed that. She had burned a forest to the ground, and with it a twenty-thousand-strong army led by the king of Vulcan en route from Eyland. Those who had somehow managed to make it through the flames had been torn to pieces by the Warwolves of Farune’s monster army. In the end, there had been very few survivors, and they had broadcasted the news of Farune’s brutality far and wide. They had told everyone they could what had happened, insisting that Farune was the world’s great evil and that it must be defeated.

In other countries, this might have caused some to side with the rebels out of fear of Frau’s brutality, but Vulcan was a nation that prized valor. Burning with a righteous fury, nearly all of the nobility had united behind the throne.

“This isn’t easy,” Sheila said to herself. She was in a room in the royal castle, agonizing over the situation.

If anything, it had been going too well at first, but that had taken a turn after they had seized Thracia. It wasn’t necessarily all Frau’s fault. Had the army of twenty thousand returned from Eyland, Sheila’s force of three thousand never would have been able to stand up to them. The members of the Vulcan branch of the Hundred were certainly strong, thanks to their implementation of the Hundred’s teachings. However, they weren’t at the level of Farune’s Hundred. They hardly ever lost in a one-on-one fight, but things got uncertain when they were faced with two opponents at the same time. And, many of them had never been knights or soldiers, so they had little military experience and weren’t used to fighting as a cohesive unit. They would have lost immediately if the king’s army had returned. In that sense, Sheila was deeply grateful for Frau’s reinforcements. However, there had been too many casualties. Yes, they were enemies, but killing more than nine-tenths of them was just unimaginable. For better or worse, Frau had done the unthinkable.

On top of that, while there were twenty thousand deceased soldiers, they had several times as many family members, all people unlikely ever to forgive Farune.

This was the cause of the Farunians’ current predicament. Winning wasn’t everything—people had feelings to think about. Even in Thracia, which was under Farune’s control, many were hostile. The rebel army had ended up being unable to gain the support of even the branch families of the Seven Celestial Swords.

I’ll have to scold Lady Frau for this, Sheila thought, making up her mind.

It was something Sheila had been considering for some time now. While her husband, Mars, was a powerful warrior, he rarely ever wielded that power. If anything, he was more of a clever planner, and he had used his long-ranging foresight to expand Farune’s influence. He was widely considered to value strength above all else, but Sheila had begun to suspect that this was a clever manipulation of his public image on his part.

Now, as for the origin of Farune’s evil reputation, Frau held much of the responsibility. Needless to say, Sheila had met Frau many times. The queen was expressionless like a doll, and it was hard to tell what she was thinking, but everyone who had known her for a long time all said the same thing: she was bad news. As her appearance suggested, she was deficient in human emotion, and she just took things too far. When Mars had ascended to the throne, she was the one who had killed the most people in the opposition army, and she had also dealt the greatest damage to the enemy army in the clash with Dorssen at the Battle of Brix. Sheila had heard that she had caused quite a few casualties in the Magedom of Kiel, too, by sending in monsters as part of her invasion of the country. And now, here in Vulcan as well…

Frau was the true darkness of Farune. Perhaps she was playing an unpleasant role of her own volition—for her husband, Mars. It saddened Sheila if the woman was sacrificing herself for the sake of the one she loved.

Sheila could somehow sense that Mars himself probably loved Frau the most out of his wives. If he hadn’t been king, he never would have married anyone else besides her. It made Sheila feel both jealous, and envious. This was why she wanted Frau to take better care of herself. Perhaps it was in Mars’s nature to be kind to women. In any case, he couldn’t bring himself to be assertive with any of his wives, including Sheila. And the other princess consorts also tended to be reserved with Frau, in particular. Even the audacious Cassandra was no exception.

That’s exactly why I have to say something.

The world didn’t only revolve around strength. Farune ought to have paid greater attention to how it was perceived. And as a matter of fact, Farune was a pretty good country. There was low inequality due to Gamarath’s constitutional government, taxes were kept to a minimum, and thanks to the Hundred, there was no mandatory conscription. The economy was booming because of all the tourists the arena and the monster exhibits attracted. And, because there were so few nobles, there were no visible status distinctions. Broadcasting all of this out to the world would be a good plan.

First, though, it was necessary to tell Frau that displays of strength and terror weren’t the way to get people to follow you. Sheila would politely speak to her like she was admonishing a child, saying, “You mustn’t kill too much, and you mustn’t use dangerous magic just for fun. Everyone will be afraid of you.”

With her mind made up, Sheila immediately went to the hall she had assigned to the Mages’ Guild. She opened the doors and saw that Keely, Mika, and Noa were also there, alongside Frau.

Keely was short, with black hair and black eyes, and she looked almost like a child. She was the leading figure in monster research and the commander of the monster army; apparently she was the one who had defeated the legendary wizard Matou in the fight against Kiel. Sheila had actually met her the first time she had come to Farune, and her impression ever since then had been that Keely was a dangerous person.

Mika had been a member of the final party of adventurers that had stood in Mars’s way when he had usurped the throne. She had been quite an excellent adventurer, so Sheila, who was a former adventurer as well, had a previous acquaintance with her, but she had greatly changed since back then. She now had a blank look in her eyes and a blind worship for Frau. However, thanks to Frau’s instruction and the effects of monster meat, her mana had also risen considerably. She was said to be the strongest magic user after Frau.

Noa had been a participant in the Consort Selection Tournament, like Sheila, and she had been the only wizard who had made it into the bracket. She had long, flowing brown hair and a cute face. Unfortunately, she had been crushed by her sudden loss to Cassandra. Even worse, she had been forced to join Frau’s Mages’ Guild after that. One would have expected her to have a fairly bold personality, seeing as she had tried to use nothing but her skill at magic to become Mars’s consort, but nowadays she too was Frau’s loyal subordinate.

Now that she thought about it, Sheila realized that she had some sort of connection with every member of the Mages’ Guild’s leadership.

None of the three paid Sheila any mind when she entered the room, instead continuing their lively discussion. They were talking about the most efficient way to kill someone using magic, which made Sheila start to feel a little lightheaded. Incidentally, Frau was silently listening to the others, conveying her own beliefs with nothing but nods and shakes of her head.

“Excuse me, Lady Frau,” Sheila said, “I have something I’d like to speak with you about…”

The other three all turned their gazes on Sheila at the same time. Their eyes were empty, devoid of either goodwill or malice. It was enough to make even a hardened warrior like Sheila flinch.

After a brief moment, Frau nodded slightly, and the three other wizards silently exited the room. Sheila wasn’t so much surprised as creeped out that that was all they needed to understand each other. Then, she realized that Frau was staring at her.

Frau had lovely white hair, porcelain skin, and blue eyes like gemstones. She was beautiful, like an exquisitely crafted doll. Though she was older than Sheila, and a mother, she seemed more like an ageless maiden.

This ageless maiden tilted her head to the side in curiosity as though she were an innocent child.

Sh-She’s adorable… Sheila was entranced. She had been planning to harshly admonish Frau, but she felt herself wavering.

No, I can’t hesitate, I have to pull myself together.

Sheila slapped herself on the cheeks with both hands, then faced Frau.

🍖🍖🍖

UNLIKE the other princess consorts, Sheila was no-nonsense. To me, she was a bit uninteresting.

When she came into the room, she had a stern look on her face, and she seemed like she had something she wanted to say. She was probably about to complain about the way we fought.

How annoying, I thought.

I had fun using magic. And Farune was glad to win fights. So, everyone was happy.

Despite that, people complained. I had no clue why. I was only testing some new spells and killing a few too many people, or using mind magic to break people every so often. That was all. Adults didn’t understand anything.

If it had been anyone else, I would have used magic to get rid of them, but Sheila was one of Mars’s consorts, so I couldn’t do that.

But I hate lectures. This is so annoying.

I decided I would drive her off using the negotiation skills I had learned from watching Maria. That saint always put on a cute act, and she was really good at tricking people. I was cute too, so I should have been able to do the same thing. Sheila was a serious person, so she would probably be taken in by my cuteness.

I’m looking forward to this.

X: Sheila and Frau

“LADY Frau, I’ve come here today because there is something I would like to ask of you,” Sheila said resolutely, tensing up the muscles in her face. Her severe expression hinted at her determination to finally lay down the law with Frau.

Frau’s face, in contrast, was devoid of all emotion, but in such a way that seemed to Sheila like that of a pure and innocent young girl. She only looked at Sheila, her head tilted in confusion.

Gah, this isn’t easy…

Sheila already felt her resolve cracking. However, she came from the lineage of the Twin Blades, and she was a swordswoman who had gained the title of S-rank adventurer in her own right. She quickly regained her focus.

“First, I must thank you again for defeating the king of Vulcan,” she said. “I am also grateful that you are fighting the enemy armies closing in on Thracia.”

Just as Sheila said, Frau had been constantly battling the armies of the pro-king faction that had surrounded the capital city. It might have seemed like a simple task because of Frau’s immense magical strength, but Vulcan had always put more effort into swordsmanship than other countries. They were unsuited to battling with magic themselves, so they had developed an exhaustive list of countermeasures against wizards.

Vulcan’s few wizards specialized in magic barriers, and the country’s knights used shields and armor with a resistance to magic. Knights and soldiers alike were taught that wizards were their hated enemy, and to always attack them first. They were so strong that wizards from the surrounding region feared the country, calling it “Magicslayer Vulcan.” Frau’s Mages’ Guild had only been able to defeat the king’s army because they had targeted his wizards first on a narrow forest road, and had subsequently burned them to death not with magic, but with the forest fire that their spells had started. Of course, Frau herself had killed the king directly to test Matou’s specialty dark magic…

Regardless, it all meant that even Frau’s Mages’ Guild struggled when facing Vulcan’s armies head-on. Their current strategy was to drive away approaching enemy armies with hit-and-run magic attacks while using the monster army to distract them. Even so, there were some incredible archers among Vulcan’s knights who sniped wizards from afar as they flew through the sky, and many had been injured in such a manner. The popularity of archery in Vulcan was no doubt due to the fact that the country couldn’t rely on magic for long-range attacks.

Of course, Sheila and her people were also fighting day in and day out, so it wasn’t like the Mages’ Guild were the only ones shouldering the burden, but it was still true that they were going through a lot of trouble on Sheila’s behalf. That was why she had begun by expressing her gratitude to Frau; Sheila’s manners gave a sense of her noble upbringing.

Sheila was about to move on to the main issue, but before she could put her words together, Frau lowered her face and spoke in a faint voice.

“It has been really hard…”

She sounded like a tender young girl being forced to perform heavy labor. Frau was a taciturn person, so when she uttered any words at all, they carried a great deal of weight.

Wait, could I be the one at fault here? Sheila thought, confused. She wondered: what if she and everyone else were in the wrong for forcing this sweet, quiet girl to fight? What had she been about to say to someone so hard-working and dedicated? Then, she vigorously shook her head.

No, no, no, that isn’t it. Lady Frau is no innocent girl. First of all, she’s older than me, and second of all, she’s the queen of Farune. She naturally has plenty of responsibilities.

Her resolve rekindled, Sheila continued: “M-My deepest apologies for making you go through something so difficult, Lady Frau. But despite that, I have a favor I’d like to ask of you. Would it be possible for you to rethink the way you fight with magic? Our opponents may be our enemies, but too many of them are dying in battle.”

Frau widened her eyes, like a little girl asking, “Oh? How’s that?”

Gah, I can’t be discouraged. Sheila slapped her cheeks again, refocusing herself.

“Um, Lady Frau,” she began again. “When a lot of people die, it creates too much resentment. Please, think about it carefully. Defeated soldiers have families too. And those families will keep living where they are, even after Farune has conquered Vulcan. Don’t you think that in the future we’ll have problems governing this land we’ve gone to so much trouble to acquire if there are too many people living here who hold grudges against Farune? Even now, many in Vulcan are opposed to us. And many of those are the families of the twenty thousand soldiers you killed. If you hadn’t killed them, Lady Frau, but had just limited yourself to injuring them, it may have reduced the number of people resisting Farune. Shouldn’t you take that into consideration?”

After she finished listening to Sheila, Frau averted her gaze forlornly, then muttered, “But I was just doing my best…” It was as though she was the put-upon heroine of a tragedy.

Why does it feel like I’m the one who’s saying something wrong?! Sheila shrank back at Frau’s touchingly pitiful behavior, but then she somehow managed to recover and continue.

“I’m well aware that you’re working hard, but it would be a great help if you were to weaken your magic somewhat. Perhaps you could use spells that are less fatal,” Sheila suggested. “You’re called the Lightning Empress, so aren’t you adept at lightning magic that can paralyze your enemies? You don’t necessarily have to use overly powerful spells, do you?”

For an instant, Frau shot Sheila a look of pure boredom. But it really was only an instant before she quickly lowered her eyes.

Hm? Sheila sensed that something was off.

“I can’t really do that very well…” Frau mumbled again. As she meekly lowered her gaze, she resembled nothing so much as a child who was being made to help out with chores for the first time.

“No, I’m sure that isn’t true,” Sheila said reassuringly. “Aren’t you the leading wizard in Ares, Lady Frau? Surely you can go easy on them, can’t you?”

Her face still downturned, Frau shook her head. “Fighting is too scary. So, I can’t.”

“Huh? But Lady Frau, I heard you have the most combat experience in Farune…”

Frau had been known as a child prodigy from a young age, and she had participated in her first battle at the age of six. Though she had mainly fought monsters, she had seen more combat than anyone else in Farune.

“I can’t believe that someone like you would be afraid of—” Sheila tried to press her, but Frau covered her face with her hands.

“I’ve always been scared,” Frau said. “I feel like if I don’t make sure I kill them, I’ll be killed myself…” Her voice was as flat and mechanical as always, but that only made her seem all the more credible.

Has she actually been pushing herself this much, and for such a long time? Sheila thought, surprised by what Frau had said. Come to think of it, there was no way that such a well-mannered girl would simply kill people because she wanted to. It made sense that her almost excessively powerful magic was an expression of her fear. Because of her talent, Frau had been forced to fight from a young age, but in fact, she was so afraid of combat she could hardly stand it.

Sheila bit her lip hard. I’m so ashamed, she thought. Even though she was relying on Frau’s help, she’d had the gall to ask her to restrain her power. I didn’t have the slightest idea that she was going through all this. I’m truly sorry. She instantly hardened her resolve, then gently placed both of her hands on Frau’s shoulders.

“I understand, Lady Frau. There’s no need for you to force yourself to fight anymore. Please, leave Vulcan to me. I am the fourth princess of Farune. I swear upon my twin blades that, even if I must do it alone, I will fight to the bitter end!”

Frau furrowed her eyebrows ever so slightly, but Sheila didn’t notice.

“Please, return to Farune, Lady Frau! I will inform Lord Mars, and ask him not to make you fight anymore. We mustn’t put someone so fragile on the battlefield.” Sheila tried to get up from her seat, but Frau pulled on her sleeve.

“It’s all right,” she said after a moment. “I can do it.” Her porcelain face looked even paler than usual. To Sheila, it seemed like she was really pushing herself.

“You don’t have to anymore!” Sheila spontaneously wrapped Frau in a tight embrace. “I’ll do everything I can, so you can live quietly in Farune’s castle with Lord Arthur!”

Sheila was often perceived as cold and unemotional, but she was actually a deeply compassionate person. She was pregnant with Mars’s child herself, after all, but she set that aside for now and resolved to fight for Frau anyway.

“Oh, were you still talking?” asked Keely.

She and the other wizards had just returned. Sheila hurriedly separated from Frau. Though she couldn’t quite place it, Frau almost looked somewhat confused.

“By the way, Lady Frau,” Keely went on, “I just spoke with Mika and Noa, and for our next strategy, let’s do exactly as you suggested and torment those impudent archers first. Even we were put off by it when you first told us about the plan, but we agree that it seems like our only option.”

“Tch.” Frau quietly clicked her tongue in irritation, as if to say, “Keep out of this!”

Sheila stilled. “Excuse me, what sort of strategy is that?” she asked, a look of suspicion on her face.

“Right, so first we’ll locate the archers’ families in Thracia, take them hostage, and use them to lure the archers out,” Keely replied. “We’ll make sure monsters and undead are lying in wait to wipe them all out in one fell swoop. It’s a truly cold-blooded strategy… Um, Lady Frau, where are you going?”

Sheila turned to see that Frau was trying to escape through the window.

XII: Sheila’s Strength

“LADY Frau, just one moment, please.”

Sheila instantly drew both of the swords on her back, then pointed the sword in her right hand at Frau. There was some distance between them, but Sheila was so swift they might as well have been standing a breath apart.

“Hrmph!”

In response, Frau fired a jolt of electricity from the tip of her finger without hesitation. Unlike her cutesy shout, her spell was a force to be reckoned with. It was like a small bolt of lightning, probably enough to electrocute a normal person to death.

“Hiyah!” However, Sheila easily mowed down the lightning bolt.

“She took out a spell with just her sword?!” Keely exclaimed. The other two wizards made noises of surprise as well. One could not simply defend against magic with a sword, to say nothing of cutting it down—that was impossible.

“You mustn’t cast spells at other people so carelessly, Lady Frau,” Sheila said. “Just as I suspected, it looks like we do need to have a talk. Well, perhaps in this situation I ought to call it disciplinary action.”

Sheila once again pointed her sword at Frau. The swordswoman’s jaw was tilted upward and her eyes were wide open. Compared to her usual calm demeanor, she was unimaginably menacing.

Frau glanced down at her palm, then raised both hands. “Hah!”

There was a flash of lightning—the strongest lightning spell Frau could cast without an incantation.

“Hmph!” Sheila shattered the lightning bolt with a powerful downward slash.

“Why is there another person who can negate magic with physical force? Scary…” Noa’s face was pale. She was probably remembering her nightmare at the Consort Selection Tournament, when Cassandra had crushed her spell in her bare hand.

“Oh, good grief, who do you think I am?” Sheila said. “I can’t believe you thought spells at this level would be enough to take care of me.”

Relaxed, she strode up to Frau. Unusually for the wizard, Frau’s forehead was visibly slick with sweat. She exchanged looks with her three subordinates.

“O fire!”

“O wind!”

“O lightning!”

Keely, Mika, and Noa—who were subject to regular training from Frau—each reflexively voiced spells to protect their master.

“That’s useless, useless, and USELESS!”

With precise slashes, Sheila used her dual swords to cut down the entire trio of contrasting spells. Then, she executed a virtuoso spin and placed the blade of one sword against Frau’s neck, forcibly interrupting her as she tried to take advantage of the confusion to cast a teleportation spell.

“How…?” Frau was unable to hide her alarm at Sheila’s unforeseen strength.

“Did you perhaps mistakenly believe I was weak, Lady Frau?” The corners of the knight’s mouth curved upward. Frau fearfully shook her head. “I was born in Vulcan, in the family of the Twin Blades, you know. I’ve been trained in how to fight against wizards since I was just a child.”

“Huh?” Mika exclaimed. “But none of the Vulcanians we’ve fought are so absurdly strong that they can cut a spell with a sword. Unlike in Farune.” She frowned with irritation. She was probably remembering when she had fought against Mars. He had used an invisible shield to block her magic, but generally speaking, warriors could never defend against spells head-on.

“Those in the same class as the Celestial Swords certainly can,” Sheila said. “It’s just that Lady Frau killed all the Celestial Swords in the pro-king faction, so you’ve never faced anyone at that level. And anyway, my genius with the sword surpasses any of theirs. Of course I can cut a simple spell with my sword.”

“Incredible…”

It was the voice of someone who was blown away by Sheila’s words: Yamato, who at some point had come to stand behind the three wizards. As always, he had tied back his long black hair, and his outfit consisted of a robe fastened around his waist by a cloth belt. In his left hand, he held a longsword in its sheath.

“Yamato! When did you get here?!” Keely exclaimed in surprise. She, Mika, and Noa hurriedly separated themselves from him.

“I was waiting outside the room the whole time, didn’t you know? One of my duties is to be Lady Sheila’s bodyguard, so I always make sure to stay close by, though I maintain some distance so as not to be a bother. Of course, Lady Sheila is quite perceptive, so I have to stay a considerable ways away.” Yamato spoke nonchalantly, but a single tear rolled down his cheek as he did. He was awestruck by Sheila’s swordsmanship.

“However, I am glad that I was able to catch this,” he went on. “I would expect nothing less of His Majesty’s princess consort. Why, to cut a spell using a sword—truly astounding! She makes it look simple, but the technique requires one to momentarily coat one’s sword in mana and cancel out the spell. It’s impossible without considerable skill. She isn’t an S-rank adventurer for nothing. Sigmund from Dorssen must be quite skilled as well. I’d like to fight him one day. Ah, but right now, I want to try cutting a spell. I’m not sure whether I can do it at my level, but I’ll never know unless I try…and look, there are three wizards right here, just when you need them. What do you think, would you like to have a bout with me? Please, allow me to test my blade on your magic.”

“Ugh, what a creep…” Noa grimaced. There wasn’t a wizard alive who wanted to have their own spells cut down for the fun of it. Fighting someone on whom magic didn’t work was nothing less than a nightmare. The three of them had no obligation to let Yamato do it as mere practice.

However, this meant that Frau’s subordinates were now trapped by Yamato. Frau no longer had anyone to help her.

“Now, Lady Frau,” Sheila said. “Yamato will keep them busy, so why don’t we have a nice long talk, just the two of us?” With an icy smile on her face, she approached Frau as she backed into a corner. The wizard sporadically fired off some spells in resistance, but Sheila cut them all down with her sword. “Naughty children need to be punished.”

“No—!”

Frau’s faint scream faded away into the halls of Vulcan’s castle.

🍖🍖🍖

“YOUR Majesty, Lady Sheila has completed her takeover of Vulcan.”

This was the news that greeted Mars after he returned to Eyland from the Theocracy of Mauve. The one who brought the report was Gyunei of the Wyvern unit, who had rushed over from Vulcan.

“Well, that’s what I expected,” Mars replied. He received the report as if it were only natural, without showing a hint of surprise.

“I see, Your Majesty believed that Vulcan would inevitably surrender because Lady Frau’s Mages’ Guild is there for support,” Warren said, nodding triumphantly. He and Farune’s other important figures were also there in the tent.

“That’s part of it, but Sheila’s also fighting over there, so I knew there was no way they could lose,” Mars said.

“Lady Sheila, sir?” Ogma said. “She may be a former S-rank adventurer, but I’ve hardly ever seen her fight. Compared to the other princesses, don’t you think she’s a bit less powerful?” He was calmly saying something that could easily have been taken as insolent.

“What are you talking about?” Mars said, exasperated. “There are hardly any S-rank adventurers, you know. S-rank isn’t just another level above A. She and Sigmund, who was also S-rank, are both monsters, no question about it. They’re strong enough to try for number one in the Hundred.”

There was a stir among his assembled subordinates. They hadn’t even considered that anyone not in the Hundred could be that strong. But on further consideration, what Mars said made complete sense: Sigmund and Sheila had been widely celebrated as the strongest adventurers, and they had gotten there without monster meat. Their talent was on an entirely different level.

“Listen, Sheila never lost until she fought Cassandra, which means she’s really skilled,” Mars continued. “Not only that, but she’s so greedy about getting stronger that she became Cassandra’s apprentice after losing. Despite how she might seem, she’d actually be a good fit for the Hundred. I’m not even sure Frau could beat her.” He shrugged his shoulders.

“Yes, sir, quite right!” Gyunei interjected. “Using her own strength, Lady Sheila placed Lady Frau’s Mages’ Guild completely under her command, and worked them to the bone…er, effectively deployed them in order to defeat the pro-king faction. There were few deaths on either side, and thanks to that, she was ultimately successful at forcing them to peacefully capitulate.”

“Incredible!” Ogma remarked.

The Farunians were unable to hide their surprise at Gyunei’s announcement. It had never even occurred to them that Sheila could have been that capable. Then, they all raised their voices in joy.

“That’s Lord Mars for you, he has a reliable eye for women.”

“If they have a child together, it’ll be incredibly strong.”

“And with this, Vulcan is ours as well!”

In the midst of it all, Mars was the only one with an uncertain look on his face.

But I never actually wanted Vulcan…

XIII: Carmilla and Shirley

AFTER the anti-Farune coalition army was repulsed from near the border with Dorssen, Carmilla devoted herself to the defense of the country. She did not join the Farunian army’s invasion of Eyland. This went against Carmilla’s warlike nature, but considering Dorssen’s internal situation, it only made sense.

To put it simply, Dorssen still hadn’t fully recovered its strength. It had already been dealt a grievous blow in the war against Farune under the previous king, and after Vulcan and Eyland had taken advantage of the confusion, the king’s younger brother, Alan, had led a rebellion. The country had been falling apart. Its army had been less than half as strong as in its heyday, and while the Palace Knights Carmilla had brought from Farune were elite fighters, there weren’t nearly enough of them. Even if Carmilla had wanted to go fight, she wouldn’t have been able to.

How dull, Carmilla thought. She was sitting on the throne of Dorssen, bored. She had entrusted Gamarath’s bureaucrats with governing and the economy, so there were no problems there. She had also selected some outstanding young Dorssenians to be educated as prospective bureaucrats, which meant she was prepared for the future. As for the military, she had created a branch of the Hundred in Dorssen, and was making progress in training powerful warriors. With time, the army would be up for anything.

Still, it was all contrary to Carmilla’s basic disposition. If she had still been the Carmilla from before she had married into the Farunian royal family, she probably would have just done as she pleased after seizing power in Dorssen. She wouldn’t have cared one bit about internal administration, and would have ended up completely surrounded by sycophants.

However, Farune had changed her. By undergoing the hellish training of the Hundred and being forced to eat vile monster meat, her personality had been thoroughly scrubbed clean of anything haughty or aristocratic. She had learned the painful lesson that the things she was given couldn’t be taken for granted, and she had lost her interest in overly expensive jewelry and lavish meals. Now, she only used money to keep up royal appearances.

She had also realized that she loved her son, Leon, more than she had expected she would. She had made it her purpose in life to develop Dorssen as much as possible before handing it over to him. If it hadn’t been for him, she might have gone to Eyland alone and fought to her heart’s content.

Until recently, Carmilla had left Leon with Cassandra in Farune, but now that the situation in Dorssen had calmed down, she had gone to Farune herself to pick him up. Leon was stronger and had more powerful mana than before, perhaps because of Cassandra’s influence, which pleased Carmilla. Currently, Leon’s tutor was looking after him.

“But there’s still nothing to do,” Cassandra said, unconsciously letting her thoughts slip out. The handmaidens around her all shuddered. They had been working for her since before she had married Mars, back when she’d had a despotic personality, so they had an unconscious physical response to her announcing her boredom. Carmilla quietly chuckled at her servants’ unchanging behavior. I’ve mellowed out though, haven’t I?

As she reminisced about her changes, a direct subordinate of hers, Shirley, smoothly appeared like a shadow. Shirley was originally a master assassin, and now she was serving as one of the five Champions, the symbols of Dorssen’s military might. While Carmilla had deployed the other three Champions she had appointed—Minerva, Rhea, and Sasha—to important points along the border, she had put Shirley in charge of intelligence.

“I have a report,” Shirley whispered. She was cloaked in long, black robes, and her face was hidden under a veil. The veil concealed quite a beautiful face, but she rarely ever exposed it, even around Carmilla.

“Yes, what is it? Something fun?” Carmilla asked. She welcomed Shirley’s report—it was just right for staving off her boredom.

“The Theocracy of Mauve has officially annexed Eyland.”

“My, that was quick.” Carmilla wasn’t surprised. This was just another step in Mars’s plan.

Of course, her secretive husband never let slip to others what he was thinking, so this was only a guess on her part, but Carmilla suspected that he had been planning this course of events ever since he had welcomed Maria to Farune. Mars’s specialty was using women to rule over other countries indirectly, just as he had used Carmilla herself in Dorssen and Sheila in Vulcan. Carmilla had heard that Cassandra was from the Ronzan Empire, so even his marriage to the Swordmaster could have been laying the groundwork for the future. Maria was a saint, so he couldn’t marry her, but there was no doubt that they were in an intimate relationship. He was planning to take over even the Church of Mauve with his bloodline.

What a formidable man. He was normally kind to the point of being fickle, and he didn’t display any sort of overpowering royal presence to speak of—but that was all part of what made him so impossible to predict.

“I thought it would be several more years before she absorbed Eyland,” Carmilla said, tilting her head in puzzlement. She wasn’t all that surprised, but it did seem a bit premature.

Carmilla didn’t have any direct acquaintance with Maria, but she had heard that the woman had an honest and saintly character, so she had assumed that she wouldn’t use force, and that it would therefore take time for Eyland to be annexed.

“After her mediation established peace between Farune and Eyland, a movement in Eyland emerged to support the country’s restoration to the Theocracy of Mauve. It appears that not only the people, but even the nobility were in favor of it.”

“There have to have been some nobles who were against it. Maria was born a commoner, was she not?” The nobility had a natural aversion to obeying those of low status.

“Indeed, there does appear to have been sizable opposition. However, during a visit to Eyland, Lady Maria was attacked by a violent criminal.”

Carmilla smiled, delighted. “Oh my.”

“She was injured, and the man who was captured on the scene apparently confessed that a noble of the opposition had been behind it,” Shirley reported dispassionately.

“I see. I suppose the enraged masses started a riot and attacked the nobles of the opposition? And the opposition quickly lost power?”

“It is as you say. Rumor has it that some of the nobles in the opposition died mysterious deaths.”

“Mysterious deaths, you say?” Carmilla smiled enigmatically. Something similar had happened in Dorssen after she had seized power. In that case, the person responsible for the deaths was the woman in black standing in front of her. “You said she was injured, but Maria is a powerful priestess, so I can’t imagine that she was ever at risk. It’s too good to be true, don’t you think? I wonder who drew it up. His Majesty? Or was it my elder sister? Or maybe Gamarath…”

The bored Carmilla happily began to theorize about the truth of the affair. Of course, the elder sister she referred to was Frau. Carmilla suspected the wizard had consciously sacrificed her ethics, taking on Farune’s darkness for the sake of Mars’s conquests—and with a singular resolve to boot. Frau was why Carmilla had contented herself with the position of second princess.

“Perhaps it was Lady Maria herself,” Shirley suggested unexpectedly.

Carmilla’s mouth curved into a smile. “Maria? She isn’t a straight-laced saint?” she asked with great interest.

“I am told that ever since coming to Farune, she has been working conspicuously in the arena to gather the support of the people. She also made significant contributions to the Farunian army as a healer in the war with Eyland. There are even rumors that she actively encouraged the citizens of Eyland to eat monster meat. And if she was a true saint, she would never ascend to the papacy, let alone to Eyland’s throne.” As a member of the criminal underworld, Shirley didn’t buy the surface-level appraisal of Maria.

“Maria will be His Majesty’s princess consort—no, in her case, his mistress, perhaps?—and a simple-minded woman could never be fit for that role.” Carmilla laughed derisively.

There was no way Mars would ever choose an ordinary, respectable woman. Each of his four current wives possessed inhuman strength. He decided on the women he kept by his side only on the basis of their power, and not by their looks or other qualities. Only then did Carmilla realize that she was lucky to have been chosen to be one of them. If she hadn’t been, she may very well have been deemed an enemy and mercilessly killed.

“Making Lord Mars’s acquaintance is quite demanding,” Shirley said.

Carmilla got the feeling that the assassin was smiling beneath her veil. Come to think of it, Shirley had also participated in the Consort Selection Tournament, and she had once had an eye on the position of Mars’s wife.

“Do you still wish to become His Majesty’s consort?” Carmilla asked out of curiosity.

“No, I think I’ll refrain. I don’t think I’d survive it…”

Carmilla smiled awkwardly at Shirley’s reply.

XIV: Homecoming

WITH the long war over, I could finally go back to Farune.

Upon our return from Eyland, the Farunian army received an impressive welcome from a large throng of people.

“My king, we have been waiting for you! Please, come back to the arena soon!”

“Show us a fight as soon as you can! A king’s fight!”

“I can’t imagine a life where I could no longer watch the Hundred fight to the death!”

All the various shouts of joy mingled together. These people were truly passionate.

I might’ve messed up in educating my subjects somewhere along the line, I thought.

In the end, Maria was serving as both the pope and queen of Eyland, and the two countries became one: the Holy Kingdom of Eyland. Nevertheless, it was effectively treated as a Farunian vassal, and Gamarath deployed his bureaucrats to the country right away. Like me, Maria was the type to make others take care of things she didn’t want to bother with, so she welcomed the help with open arms.

“No matter how many bright, capable people we educate, it’s never enough,” Gamarath said with a smile, probably glad to see the spread of the system of constitutional government he had strived for.

He was also getting Nicol to send some of the bureaucrats he had educated from Cadonia, the political situation of which had stabilized lately. Gamarath was getting old, so Nicol was probably going to be his political successor. Nicol was king of Cadonia, a small nation like Farune. This made it the perfect place to test out policy. Queen Rubis was also intelligent and well-versed in politics and economics, which meant there were unlikely to be any issues.

I wish I could’ve gotten just one proper princess consort like her.

Whatever policies were successful in Cadonia would be adopted in Farune in the future, and eventually expanded to larger countries like Dorssen, Eyland, and Vulcan. In other words, Cadonia would become the political center. I had gained a great deal of territory, but perhaps Gamarath and his grandson, Nicol, would be Cadonia’s de facto controllers.

Well, not that I mind. Politics is hard.

I had been a prince, so there was a lot I had been made to study. I knew a ruler couldn’t just enact laws or raise and lower taxes as they pleased. They had to balance and coordinate all sorts of factors when they governed. With that in mind, I had no complaints. The country was flourishing under Gamarath’s administration, and the commoners were happy. The only ones whining were the nobility. Even in a worst-case scenario where Gamarath’s family usurped Farune, Nicol was my younger brother, so they would still be my blood relatives. Nicol and Rubis’s descendants would definitely be good rulers. On the other hand, my children with my consorts clearly came from a lineage that was, above all else, physically strong. Politics alone wouldn’t be enough to defeat my descendants, so perhaps it would actually be difficult for Nicol’s to take over Farune.

The teleportation magic facility in the Magedom of Kiel, the Gate, had also been connected to Farune, so it was now possible to travel instantly between the two countries. Other countries were also in the process of being linked up to the Gate, which meant that someone in Farune could now go anywhere via the Kiel highway. However, for reasons unknown to me, Frau seemed to be dragging her feet connecting Vulcan to the Gate.

Speaking of Frau, I had given her Kiel as her personal domain, as I had promised. Apparently, she was planning to keep Kiel the way it had been before, but even more permissive of controversial wizard behavior. I hoped that going forward, she would perform all her dangerous magical experiments there, without bringing me into them.

In Vulcan, the plan was to crown my child with Sheila as ruler in the future—not that I had known Sheila was pregnant until very recently.

When Yamato had returned, he had said to me, “Your Majesty’s child will become the ruler of Vulcan, just as planned.”

I had thought, What the hell is he talking about? but apparently, this had been common knowledge to everyone except me, and the plan was already proceeding smoothly. Why am I, the father, the only one who doesn’t know anything about this? Is it just me, or are my plans and other people’s plans always coming into conflict?

As for Dorssen, the country was gradually recovering its strength under Carmilla’s leadership.

Eyland, meanwhile, had always had fertile soil, but after the spread of monster meat consumption, the farmers started working more efficiently and their crop productivity increased.

Gamarath, who only cared about numbers, suddenly asked, “Shall we make the farmers eat more monster meat? Actually, should we make it legally required?”

Why do we have to build such a hellish country? I thought. Naturally, I objected, saying, “You’ll cause riots.” The farmers should thank me.

With that, things had calmed down at long last. But there was one issue: I had nothing to do.

About the only thing I did was fight in the arena every day. Speaking of which, Maria was frequently using the Gate to visit Farune, where she used her showy restoration magic in the arena to fulfill her need for public approval. She was a hit with the crowd, as usual, but lately, she had also started to say things like, “Farune ought to be inherited by the child of a popular princess consort, don’t you think?” It sounded like she was going to start a power struggle in the future, and it made me nervous.

Maybe it was worth reconsidering letting people come and go freely using the Gate.

But anyway, I really did have nothing to do. When I’d become the king of Farune, I had shirked my responsibilities by telling my subordinates that my approval was only necessary on very important matters, and that they should make their own judgments on the ground. So, matters hardly ever made their way up the chain to me.

Gamarath was pleased, saying, “I expected nothing less from you, Your Majesty! Bureaucrats have become able to judge things on the spot, and because of that, the rate of processing for official business has gone through the roof!”

Really, it had just been a pain for me to deal with it myself, that was all.

So, the king was left with nothing to do.

To be fair, this is just a return to how things were before the war with the coalition.

I had tried using the Gate to travel to Carmilla’s place in Dorssen, but she had screamed at me and said, “So this is what you connected the Gate for?!” which had made it a bit more difficult to go there.

As such, I had plenty of time on my hands when I received an interesting report: the countries in western Ares had jointly signed and proclaimed an official ban on eating monster meat. Unlike eastern Ares, which was occupied by large countries like Dorssen, Eyland, and Vulcan, the west was a jumble of many small countries like Farune. International relations had traditionally been poor, and they were constantly fighting. Now, for some reason, these countries had united to ban monster meat. This was unusual, and I thought it was a wonderful policy. It meant that if I went to a western country I would absolutely be able to eat a proper meal. A place like that sounded like heaven to me.

Of course, the Hundred’s reaction was to scoff. Ogma said, “They must’ve been intimidated by the effectiveness of Your Majesty’s Eyland Purification Project. What a bunch of cowards.”

No, you guys are the abnormal ones, and they’re right, I thought.

This was perfect timing, so I planned to make my way out west. I had no use for Eyland, which had been contaminated by monster meat, or Vulcan, which had been usurped by a branch of the Hundred. And it wasn’t like anything would change if I was gone, anyway.

This time, I made sure to bring some money, and I arranged for an outfit to disguise myself. It would be a wizard’s robe, complete with a hood. I could cast some basic spells, so it wasn’t going to be too much of an issue if I claimed to be a wizard—a long time ago, I had used fire magic to cook Killer Rabbit meat, after all. I would be able to hide my face, and no one would ever expect the king of Farune to disguise himself as a wizard. It was the perfect plan.

I was hoping to make my stay a long one, so I discussed it with Gamarath in advance. Come to think of it, it had always been unrealistic to try to fulfil my goal in just a day or two. I had to take my time. So, I said, “I’m going to the western nations on reconnaissance in disguise. Prepare wizard’s equipment for me.”

Gamarath replied with something like, “Aha, you’ve only just conquered the east, and you’re already setting your sights on the west. Nothing less from the conqueror king of Ares! I, Gamarath, am thoroughly impressed!” His eyes were wet with tears, but it was a convenient misunderstanding, for once, so I let it stand.

All I want is to eat an ordinary meal.

And so, Gamarath got a wizard’s robe and staff ready for me. The staff was awfully hefty; it was apparently made of a special type of metal, and was impossible to break. To me, it clearly looked like it had been designed for bludgeoning.

“Can this really cast spells?” I asked.

“What? You were actually planning on using magic?” Gamarath replied.

The Farunian royal family comes from the hero’s lineage, so he has to know that I can also use magic. How did he forget? He’s making it seem like I’ve done everything using nothing but brute force…

Actually, now that I think about it, it’s been almost ten years since the last time I used magic.

XV: To the West

I decided to head west on a Wyvern. I had considered going from Eyland via the Gate, but I was wary of Maria spotting me. That would have been a problem.

So far, I had only told Gamarath about my planned trip. If I told anyone else, I knew they would blow things even more out of proportion than he had, and could very well have ended up starting an invasion of the western nations. Telling someone as ambitious as Maria was out of the question. Though Frau would find out about it on her own via the Contract Seal.

So, I mounted Aer the Wyvern and headed for a spot near the highway that linked Eyland with the west. From there, I would pretend to be an adventurer and travel west on foot. To be honest, I was incredibly excited. I had long aspired to be something other than a prince, to make my living with just my own strength like an adventurer or a mercenary.

Though, I get the feeling I haven’t quite lived the life of a typical royal, either…

Aer and I set down in an inconspicuous spot in a forest far from the highway.

“You can go,” I said to the Wyvern, and like usual, it left with incredible speed. This was going to be farewell for a while, so I wished it had acted a bit more reluctant to see me go.

And with that, I’m a free man. I can eat as much normal food as I want!

I put on my robe and grabbed my staff. Now, I looked like a wizard. Then I swapped my gravity armlet out for a new one. Frau had made it, and it multiplied my weight by ten. I wore it because if my body was heavier, it would slow down my movements, which might make me seem more like a wizard. The change of clothes was a real change of pace for me, and I headed to the highway with a spring in my step…actually, with heavy steps.

It was quite a distance to the highway; maybe I had been too cautious when deciding how far away to land. I could easily have run there if I went as fast as I could, but there was no way to tell if anyone was watching, so I held myself back. I was a wizard now, so I had to go slow. Using a flight spell would have been another option, but needless to say, I couldn’t cast such a high-level spell. I only knew basic magic. In any case, compared to the Forest of Beasts, this forest was no sweat. There were few monsters, and they all seemed weak. I was basically just going for a stroll.

Ahh, normal forests sure are a breeze, I thought. But then, as I walked, I started to hear noises coming from up ahead—a monster roaring and people shouting. They were probably in the middle of a fight.

I was a bit curious, so I tried going closer, and I saw a thin man with a sword and a large man with an axe locked in fierce combat with a Bloodbear. Behind the men, there was a woman who looked to be a priestess, feverishly chanting prayers.

To put it simply, Bloodbears were huge, savage bears. They weren’t that strong, but surprisingly enough, the three people were struggling against it.

Sheesh, they’re pathetic! It’s been a while since I’ve seen anyone this weak.

Come to think of it, there wasn’t much of a difference between them and the original members of the Hundred when I’d first met them, but nowadays someone like Ogma would be able to annihilate a Bloodbear in an instant.

As I wondered what to do, the man with the axe sustained a blow from the Bloodbear’s right claw and went down. The man with the sword stood up to the monster, protecting the priestess, but no matter how you looked at it, there was no way he was going to win.

Hmm, this might be a good chance for me to try out a spell for the first time in a while.

After all, I had more than a decade-long gap in my magic experience. I had been wanting to test magic out somewhere. Plus, the three fighters looked like adventurers—if they were in my debt, maybe they would act as references for me at the Adventurers’ Guild later.

I made a few calculations in my head, then recited a fire spell. It was nothing powerful, and in fact, I’d used it to light cooking fires as a child. All I needed was to divert the Bloodbear’s attention. It was a basic spell, so after a short incantation, I extended my right hand to the monster before decisively reciting the final line:

“O fire.”

When I finished, a massive flame sprang from my palm and swallowed up the Bloodbear. The monster’s scream resounded through the forest.

“Huh?!” I exclaimed. This wasn’t what I’d imagined. This was more like a mid-level spell. I hadn’t just distracted the monster; I had fatally burned it.

The man with the sword swiftly plunged his weapon deep into the Bloodbear’s chest, finishing it off. Then, finally noticing my presence, he turned to me and said, “Thanks! You really helped us out there!”

I hadn’t just helped them—I had basically defeated the Bloodbear myself. But my original plan had, in fact, been to merely help them, so I smiled kindly.

“Oh, I just happened to notice you guys fighting,” I said. “Am I butting in?” I had always wanted to say something humble like that.

“No, you seriously saved us. One of us got hit, and things were getting pretty dicey.” He pointed at the man with the axe, who was being healed by the priestess. He didn’t seem to be dead. “By the way, that was an awesome flame spell. At least mid-level. What’s a master wizard like you doing out here all alone?” the man asked curiously.

There was no way I could say that actually, it had been a low-level fire spell. My mana had probably greatly increased due to the effects of monster meat.

“I was in the Magedom of Kiel,” I said. “But then we were invaded by Farune. Right now I’m fleeing to the western countries.”

It was a backstory I’d rehearsed in advance. As a matter of fact, there were many wizards who had fled from Kiel. They probably had nothing but worries now that Frau was their leader. I deeply empathized with their desire to run. It was what I would have done in their place.

“That’s gotta be rough,” the man said, shrugging his shoulders. “Those Farunians are nuts—and Lightning Empress Frau’s the worst of the bunch. She’s completely heartless and a huge sadist, the kind who chops off people’s heads and reattaches them to other people’s bodies, like they’re nothing but toys. The king of Farune must be some sort of perverted bastard who can’t be satisfied with regular women to make that witch his queen. You made the right choice by running away.”

…Umm, that perverted bastard you’re talking about is me.

Predictably, this was the first time I’d ever been so insulted by anyone. What hurt most was that I couldn’t deny at least some of it. I almost buckled at the knees in spite of myself, but I managed to stay standing thanks to my staff.

“Y-Yeah, those people sure are kinda crazy,” I said.

Why should I have to agree with his insults? The depths of my sadness were unfathomable.

“But this makes things easy,” the man said. “How about it? Do you want to join our party? It may not look like it, but we’re C-rank adventurers. We might not be as strong as you, but we’ve got some experience. And traveling by yourself can be lonely, right? I don’t think it’s a bad deal.”

Adventurers were divided into ranks, with the highest being A and the lowest being E. There was also an S-rank above A, but that was basically a label for monsters who didn’t fit into the regular rankings, and it wasn’t an official rank. C-rank was right in the middle—normal, in other words.

Being mediocre sounds nice. It’s the perfect rank for disguising myself.

“Thanks for the offer. I was thinking about making a living as an adventurer. I’d like to join, if you’ll have me.” I extended my right hand, and the man took it in a firm handshake.

This C-class party was called “Daybreak.” They introduced themselves: the thin man with the sword was Kylan, the large man with the axe was Darion, and the priestess was Belinda.

Kylan, a blond-haired, blue-eyed swordsman, said that he had a reputation for speed. He was quite talkative, and when he spoke, he had the tendency to inflate his own importance.

Darion had brown hair and brown eyes. As the rest of his appearance suggested, he was a warrior, and physical strength was his forte. In sharp contrast with Kylan, Darion was a taciturn man. I got the impression that he was honest and straightforward.

Belinda was an unpretentious redhead with freckles and a gentle personality, very much like that of a stereotypical priestess.

I almost introduced myself as Mars, before correcting myself and saying that my name was Marcus—I figured it would be easier to respond to a similar name.

“By the way, why were you guys fighting Bloodbears here in a forest so far from the main road?” I asked. “Are you lost, like me? Or did you have a request to fulfill as adventurers?”

They exchanged looks.

“Actually, no, neither of those,” Kylan said, seeming faintly embarrassed. “To tell you the truth…we wanted monster meat.”

“Why would you want that?” I asked instantly. Typically, there was no demand for monster meat. It was poisonous, so it was inedible on its own, and it wasn’t an ingredient in anything else either. Farune wasn’t the norm; it was an aberration.

“To eat it, of course!” Kylan said with a thumbs up and a smile.

Excuse me?

XIV: Daybreak

“TO eat it? Monster meat is poisonous, you know,” I said. Naturally, I wasn’t going to reveal that I myself was eating that same poisonous meat every day.

“Oh, you might not know because you came straight here from Kiel, but the Farunians spread the monster meat diet to Eyland,” Kylan said. “That’s how we know how to eat it.”

I didn’t need his methodical explanation—I knew it all too well, because everyone had gotten it into their heads that I was the one who had ordered the spread of monster meat consumption.

“I heard about that,” I said, “but that’s no reason to eat it yourself, is it?”

“Actually, the stuff really works. They say the farmers in southern Eyland who were the first ones forced to eat it immediately got more toned. In other words…it makes you stronger. There’s actually a bit of a monster meat craze among adventurers now.”

A craze? Seriously?

“Of course, not everyone is doing it,” Kylan continued. “We actually already are, but it really is awful, and it’s almost killed us before. It really isn’t meant for human consumption.”

I knew that firsthand. Maybe I even knew it best of anyone in the world.

“But it’s also an opportunity. To be honest, our party’s never going to get past C-rank on our own. But if we eat monster meat, we might make it to B. Basically, we’re betting on that possibility.”

Darion and Belinda nodded their agreement.

Are they serious? They started eating that awful stuff just because they wanted to get a bit stronger?

“So you guys were about to have a pleasant lunch of Bloodbear steak?” I said, and it came out sounding sarcastic, unintentionally. The party I’d just joined was eating monster meat—this was no laughing matter.

“Well, I guess that’s right,” Kylan said somewhat apologetically. “Why don’t you join us, Marcus? It might be rough starting with Bloodbear meat all of a sudden, but we have some Morat jerky we keep preserved. Try a bite. If you slowly acclimate your body to it, you’ll be able to eat Bloodbear in no time.” Kylan was smiling affably.

Who the hell would want that? And anyway, my body is more than acclimated enough already, thank you.

“Actually…I already have some food on me,” I said. “So I think I’ll pass.”

It wasn’t a lie. I was, in fact, carrying a large quantity of provisions that Gamarath had prepared for me beforehand. However, it was all monster jerky. The one difference between it and what the adventurers were offering me was that mine came from a powerful monster that only I (or Cassandra) could eat. In an expression of unwanted kindness, Gamarath had said, “The meat Your Majesty eats isn’t easy to come by, so I took the liberty of getting some for you myself,” and forced me to take it with me. Actually, most of what I was carrying with me was that monster jerky. I had been considering dumping it somewhere, but it was valuable, so it felt wasteful to get rid of it.

“Um…what sort of food do you have, Marcus?” Belinda asked, her eyes suddenly shining.

Why is she so interested in my food?

“It’s nothing special,” I said. “Don’t worry about it.” I absolutely couldn’t show them meat from an even stronger monster.

“Actually, Marcus, can we see it?” Darion pleaded. “Lately, we’ve been eating nothing but monster meat. I’m starving for some regular food, so if you have any, I’d really like some.”

Huh? If you’re craving normal food, just don’t eat monster meat.

“C’mon, guys, giving up already?” Kylan chided his partners. “Didn’t we all swear we wouldn’t eat regular meals until we made it to B-rank?”

So it’s him…he’s the culprit. He’s one of those people who sets overly ambitious goals and then forces others to go along with them, like Ogma. Nothing they say is technically wrong, so nobody can really disagree with them, and everyone gets dragged into their schemes.

“Yeah, but I occasionally miss ordinary food,” Belinda said, looking forlorn.

“I bet even the Hundred don’t eat that poison every day. If they did, they’d either have a few screws loose, or they’d just totally be giving up on their humanity,” Darion said. His discontent must have reached a breaking point, because he was starting to put words to his actual suspicions.

Sorry, but they do eat it every day. And yes, they do have a few screws loose.

“Think about it from the opposite angle,” Kylan said, spreading his arms wide as he tried to persuade the other two. “If the Hundred aren’t eating it daily, that’s an opportunity. If we eat it every day, we can close the gap. We can get closer to those monsters! Also, other adventurers might be trying out monster meat, but maybe not for every meal. That’s exactly why we have to keep eating it. This is a competition! We need to dig deep!”

Whoa, he sure is devoted to improving himself more than necessary. And the fact that he’s not even wrong about how it works makes it all the more unpleasant to hear.

Setting aside the part about other adventurers, not only were the members of the Hundred eating monster meat for every meal, but those meals were also part of a system to increase the potency of the meat at the proper times. These three adventurers would never catch up to them.

“Marcus,” Kylan suddenly said to me.

“What is it?”

“You’re a member of Daybreak now too, so eat monster meat with us. And can you throw away the food you have with you? Knowing it’s there will weaken the group’s resolve.”

I’m fine with throwing it away, but it’s monster jerky. I’d better not let them see it.

“I’ll throw it away later. It’s not like I’ve even decided to join yet.”

Why, oh why did I have to run into a party that eats monster meat?

“That’s not fair, Marcus!” Darion protested vehemently. “Don’t try to back out of this the second you learn you have to eat monster meat!”

He must have been starving for some ordinary food. I could empathize with him so much it was painful. After all, I was starving the most out of anyone.

“Exactly, Marcus!” Belinda said. “We’re party members now! We’re all in the same boat! I feel like I’m going to give in just knowing you have regular food with you. So, can you just throw that stuff away here?” She grabbed my bag so forcefully I felt as if I’d be killed if I didn’t hand it over, and the bulging bag’s contents spilled out onto the ground—the deep purple, highly toxic jerky. It was immediately clear to everyone that it was monster meat.

Darion and Belinda were speechless. Kylan picked up a piece of jerky and looked at me.

“What is this?” he asked.

I only paused for a second. “To tell you the truth,” I replied, “I’ve been eating monster meat too, probably for a bit longer than you guys have.” I refrained from revealing that “a bit” meant “more than ten years.”

“Why, Marcus? Why for so long?” Kylan asked curiously.

“Farune invaded my home. I need to get stronger to take revenge, no matter what it takes. So, I started eating the monster meat they’re always eating over there. It was like selling my soul to the devil. But if I don’t do it, I’ll never be able to fight on an equal level with them, will I?” I explained. It was quite the smooth excuse, if I do say so myself, especially given that it was totally off the top of my head.

“Then why didn’t you want to eat monster meat with us?” Darion asked somewhat awkwardly.

“The meat I’m eating is stronger than yours. So, I’m sorry, but I can’t eat what you’re eating. I have to always aim higher, so I can’t eat weaker meat.”

Why am I saying so many things I don’t mean?

“It’s nothing to worry about.” Belinda clasped my right hand in both of hers. “I’m sorry, I had no idea you were going through that. I just lost my composure, and I’m ashamed.”

“You know, Marcus, it’s too bad we can’t eat the same meat, but I knew it—we’re comrades. We’ve been comrades since even before we met. That is…I know our souls are connected!” Kylan said this embarrassing remark without batting an eye.

Our souls are connected? What’s that supposed to mean? We only just met each other, so there’s no way that’s true.

However, the three adventurers had me fenced in, and it didn’t seem like I would be able to escape without incident.

Why? Why did I have to join another group of people eating monster meat? Did I do something terrible in my past life?

XVII: Adventurer

IN the end, I went with the flow and became a member of Daybreak. My three new companions cooked and ate the Bloodbear’s meat, then started throwing up and writhing around with digestive distress. It must’ve been a bit premature for them to try a monster that strong.

Those reckless idiots.

As I watched this hellish scene unfold, I nibbled on my jerky. I had hoped dried monster meat might not be completely disgusting, but as usual, it just tasted poisonous. If anything, the awful flavor was even more concentrated somehow.

Life isn’t easy.

I waited until the others seemed to calm down, then I asked, “So, where are you guys planning on going?” They’d said they were going west, but I couldn’t remember them mentioning any specific location.

“Oh, yeah…” Kylan shook his head, trying to recover the feeling in his mouth. “Torino.”

Torino was the westernmost country on the continent, a maritime nation that bordered the ocean. It was known for its thriving commerce.

“Why Torino? That’s about as far away as you can get,” I said. I didn’t really care where we went, but I did want to know what my party’s specific goal was, if they had one.

“That’s exactly why…” Belinda replied. She had been casting antidote spells nonstop during the entire meal, so she was even more exhausted than she had been during the fight. “It’s because wherever Farune goes, adventurers lose their jobs. The Hundred exterminate monsters without even being asked to, because they’re after their meat. Sure, there are other jobs adventurers can do besides killing monsters, but not many. That’s why we want to get as far away from Farune as possible. Like animals being driven out of their habitat.” She smiled awkwardly.

It was a bit sad. Sure, ordinary citizens were delighted, but that happiness came at the cost of others’ unhappiness.

Well, whatever, I thought. My goal was to eat an ordinary meal—with delicious meat in it, if possible. Once I fulfilled that, Daybreak and I would be going our separate ways. In all likelihood, our time together would be short.

🍖🍖🍖

A few days had passed since I had become a member of Daybreak, and there were still absolutely no indications that I would ever be able to eat an ordinary meal. My party members monitored each other, making sure none of them ate anything besides monster meat. It looked like I was stuck eating the jerky Gamarath had made me bring.

However, the journey itself was fun. We took on requests, defeated monsters, made money, then headed for the next town. This sort of carefree life wasn’t half bad.

Also, my power as a wizard wasn’t anything to scoff at. I could only use basic spells, but thanks to my mana, which had gotten to be quite powerful without me even knowing it, every spell had the strength of mid-level magic. I got fresh enjoyment out of defeating monsters with magic instead of with a sword, and a part of me was actually considering just committing to becoming a wizard.

We had finally arrived at a large city in the country of Rayuth, which served as a gateway to the western nations. The place didn’t feel very different from the countries of the east.

“You can register as a wizard at the Adventurers’ Guild here,” Kylan said. Then he brought me to the Guild.

The Adventurers’ Guild was in a solid, imposing stone building. There were large stone pillars on either side of the entrance, and the Guild’s coat of arms, a crossed sword and shield, was carved above the door. It was a bit intimidating, which made me reluctant to enter, but the others walked through the door like it was the entrance to their own home.

“Hey, I want to register him as a new adventurer. Is that all right?” Kylan said after greeting the cute receptionist in an overly familiar manner.

The receptionist looked at me, then smiled brightly.

“Of course. Judging from your clothes, I’d say you’re a wizard. Do I have that right?”

“Yeah, you do,” I replied. I was still somewhat nervous. Did they have a test I had to pass, or something?

“Do you have any past experience?”

“I was a magic researcher in the Magedom of Kiel. I can use most basic spells.”

“Oh, from the Magedom of Kiel?” A sympathetic expression appeared on the receptionist’s face. Maybe there were quite a few other new registrants with a similar background. “If that’s the case, we may be able to register you at a high rank from the start.”

“You can do that?”

“Well, there’s no point in making strong people start at a low rank.”

It seemed to be a more flexible organization than I had expected.

“All right, I’ll call the examiner, okay?” the receptionist continued. “He’s a bit strict, but please do your best.” She got up from her seat, soon returning with a bald man who wore an eyepatch over his left eye. He really looked the part of adventurer examiner.

“You the rookie?” the examiner asked, carefully looking me up and down. He was being quite rude to someone he’d only just met, but maybe that was how things were in this crowd.

“Yes,” I replied.

“You came from Kiel, after it was defeated by Farune?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Hmph, the place was probably destroyed because it was full of spineless guys like you.”

He had an awfully disdainful attitude, but it wasn’t like I could just say, “Actually, I was the one who destroyed it,” so I was at a loss as to how to reply.

“What, nothing to say to me? You weak bastard. Tell me, do you think a wimp like you is fit to be an adventurer, huh? Don’t screw with me! Go ahead, hit me! I don’t care whether you’re a swordsman or a wizard, if you don’t have any fighting spirit in this line of work you’ll die. I’ll stand still for you, so give me your best shot!” The examiner jabbed me in the chest with his finger, then tauntingly turned his cheek to me.

Huh? I’m supposed to hit him? I don’t really get it, but do I have to go through a rite of passage like this to become an adventurer?

With no other choice, I balled my right hand up into a fist, then lightly swung it like I was crushing a bug. My punch landed cleanly on the examiner’s cheek with a dull whomp. And then—he went flying, made an incredible spin in midair, and rotated several times before crashing to the floor.

The room instantly fell silent. After a moment, the receptionist hurriedly rushed over to the examiner and began to look him over.

“Are you all right?!”

Hm…did I overdo it? Maybe I can’t control my strength because I’ve only fought people in the Hundred for so long. But still, isn’t he too weak to have a job like this? You’d hope an examiner would be tougher.

Belinda also went up to the man and began to offer up a prayer to cast a recovery spell. He was shrouded in a faint, miraculous light, and he slowly opened his eyes. Then, he pointed at me.

“Was he going to register as a boxer or something? Either way…it’d be nice if I’d had some time to prepare myself, you know…”

“No, I’m a wizard,” I said.

The examiner was silent for a moment. “You’re joking, right?” Then he suddenly got up and placed both hands on my shoulders. “With that arm of yours, you’ve got a shot at becoming world champion. Open your eyes! You’re suited to strength, not magic!”

But that’s hardly any different from what I was back in Farune.

“Actually, well…I’d like to be a wizard, please…”

“No way! You’d just be wasting your talent.”

Now this is a dilemma. I was standing out more than necessary. Everyone around me was whispering, and my party looked surprised, too. I have to stand firm and make it so I can be a wizard somehow.

“Actually, I have more talent as a wizard, so…”

“I doubt it, but if you insist, I’ll test your magic too. Come with me, alone. The contents of the examination are secret.” After saying that, the examiner headed to a door in the back.

I turned to look at Kylan, wondering if I should really go with the examiner.

“As a rule, the adventurer aptitude test is kept secret,” Kylan said. “I’m surprised you have talent in something other than magic, but we already know you’re skilled as a wizard, too. Good luck, Marcus.” He gave me a thumbs-up.

Y’know, this is kinda nice. It really feels like we’re friends.

I gave him a thumbs-up back, then I followed after the examiner.

I wonder what the adventurer aptitude test is like?

XVIII: The Ranking Test

HE’S got it all wrong, I thought.

It had been ten years since I’d become an examiner after an injury had caused me to retire from my career as an adventurer. I’d seen countless rookies in my time. People who wanted to become adventurers were by and large ambitious and arrogant. By purposefully provoking them to gauge their reactions, I always saw through to their real natures. It was my own personal method.

Naturally, I tested Marcus, the latest of the rookies, in the same way. But when I disparaged him, he only looked awkward, rather than readily showing me his true self. So, I provoked him even more, ordering him to hit me. I’d heard he was registering as a wizard, so I underestimated him, thinking that whatever he could throw at me would be no big deal.

It turned out Marcus was hiding some killer fangs. He knocked me out in a single blow. I’d never seen a rookie this strong in all my years of being an examiner.

I knew it—this was someone exceptional. The reason he hadn’t gotten angry when I’d provoked him was probably because he had confidence in his strength. But what I sensed in him wasn’t a talent for wizardry; my instincts were telling me that he should work as a boxer, a job that meant using your own body as your weapon, or at least some sort of warrior.

This sort of thing was rare, but it did happen. Sometimes people didn’t know their own talents, and one of the duties of an examiner was to guide them. I had to make Marcus into a splendid fighter. I had to harden my heart and close off his path to being a wizard.

The large courtyard of the Guild’s building served as a training facility for adventurers, and in that courtyard there was a conspicuously massive boulder. It was there to humble cocky adventurers. If I was dealing with a swordsman, I’d challenge him to cut the boulder with his sword, and if he was a wizard I’d tell him to destroy it with a spell. I always said that any first-rate adventurer could do it without breaking a sweat.

As it happened, though, not one person had ever cracked the boulder. Really, it made sense—the boulder had always been there because no one could crack it. Even the Guild didn’t want it there, because it was in the way, but at least it had a purpose: to admonish adventurers for their unearned pride and put them back on the right track.

I showed the boulder to Marcus.

He just offhandedly remarked, “It sure is big,” and stared at it absentmindedly.

Others would have shown more caution, but he had an attitude like he was king of an entire country. Nothing could shake that bastard.

“If you’re so set on being a wizard, then show me you can destroy this boulder with magic. If you can’t, then you have no talent.”

It pained me a bit to lie to him, but I was doing it because I cared about his future.

“Destroy this boulder, with magic?” Marcus tilted his head quizzically, but he didn’t seem too troubled.

There’s no way he can really do it, right?

“All right, I’ll try,” he said.

Without any particular enthusiasm, Marcus began to recite a spell. It was a short incantation, but when he raised his hand, flames that looked like they’d come straight from the pits of hell materialized and engulfed the boulder.

I gulped. Is he planning on melting it with fire? Normally, the strategy is to try using some sort of explosion spell.

Indifferent to my worries, the fierce flames gradually abated. The boulder was…completely intact. It was smoldering a bit, but otherwise unscathed.

“Hmph, it looks like you aren’t cut out to be a wizard after all,” I said, feigning indifference as I wiped cold sweat off my forehead.

“Really? That’s not good.”

But despite what Marcus said, he didn’t seem flustered. He spent a moment thinking, then readied his metal staff.

“All right, can I try out another spell?”

🍖🍖🍖

THE examiner brought me to a large boulder. According to him, if I couldn’t destroy it with magic, I wouldn’t be able to be a wizard adventurer. That made sense; Frau would have easily shattered a boulder like that into a million pieces.

However, there was one issue: I didn’t know any explosion magic, and I couldn’t think of any other spells that could destroy boulders, either. I tried using a fire spell, but as I feared, it didn’t work.

“Hmph, it looks like you aren’t cut out to be a wizard after all,” the examiner said flatly. Clearly, he’d been doing this for long enough that he could easily tell what I was or wasn’t suited for.

Well, I already knew that.

But if I registered as a warrior or something, my secret could slip out somehow, so I wanted to stay a wizard.

“All right, can I try out another spell?” I asked. I decided to pull a bit of a fast one.

I chanted a wind spell, and as I did so, I raised my staff in both hands like a sword. I would be using Sonic Blade. It would have been impossible with a regular wizard’s staff, but I figured it would work with a metal staff as solid as the one I had. The technique required a certain degree of mana, so it was basically a spell, if you thought about it. This would be no issue…I hoped.

I swung the staff as hard as I could just as I completed the spell’s incantation. A crescent-shaped blade of wind appeared—though unlike when I used a sword, it was slightly deformed—and slammed right into the boulder.

There was a cracking sound, and the top part of the boulder, which had been cut at something of a diagonal angle, slid off. The shock of it made the ground rumble.

Yep, perfect. This should be acceptable.

I turned to the examiner, who for some reason looked dumbfounded.

Did I do something wrong? Did he figure out that I used Sonic Blade?

“…A-rank,” the examiner groaned under his breath.

“Huh?”

“You’re an A-rank wizard. No doubt about it…”

No, no, no, I’ll stand out if my rank is that high.

“Sorry, but I think something like C-rank would be better,” I said. He probably wasn’t allowed to raise my rank, but lowering it should have been fine.

“What the hell are you talking about?” The examiner’s right eye widened, and he drew closer. “A-rank is the peak of adventuring. Everyone and their mother works as hard as they can to reach it. If you’re going to turn it down, then why become an adventurer in the first place?”

I couldn’t say I was doing it to get myself a decent meal.

“No, but any adventurer can break that boulder, surely?” I argued. “I mean, giving me A-rank just for that?”

“That was a lie,” the examiner admitted candidly. “You’re the first one who’s ever broken it. Just shut up, and follow me.”

He grabbed my arm, and we went back inside the building. Then, he led me to a luxurious room on the third floor where he stood me across from a bearded, white-haired, solidly built old man who was sitting in a chair.

“Guildmaster, this is the promising rookie, Marcus,” the examiner said to the old man. “I can give him my recommendation. He’s an A-rank wizard.”

“A-rank, out of nowhere? Is this some kind of joke? Rookies start at E or D, or maybe C if they’re lucky. I can make minor exceptions, but this is unacceptable.” The guildmaster glared at the examiner. He had an imposing presence.

“He cut the trial boulder in half—with wind magic. The boulder that no adventurer has ever been able to scratch, even A-rankers. If he isn’t A-rank, then what is he? Are you going to make him C-rank, and send him out to exterminate Bloodbears? Don’t you think that’d be a huge mistake?” The examiner stood his ground.

“That boulder?” The guildmaster pondered for a moment, then spoke to me. “What do you think?”

I had nothing to say. I just didn’t want to be A-rank.

“I think it’s a bit premature,” I said. “There are adventurers here who have tirelessly devoted themselves to the Guild, and I’d feel bad if they were passed over so I could be A-rank. More importantly, I don’t have enough experience as an adventurer. If anything, I should start from D…no, E-rank.”

“I see.”

The guildmaster seemed to understand my point.

But then he continued. “You passed, Marcus. I approve of your registration as an A-rank wizard.”

“Excuse me?”

“Nice job, Marcus.” The examiner clapped me on the back. “This was the final test, to see whether you had the integrity to be an A-rank adventurer. No matter how skilled someone may be, no one with an ego is fit for A-rank. It requires the proper attitude. And you displayed that attitude magnificently. I won’t let anyone complain about you going forward.”

What about me? I have a few complaints.

“Your modesty is splendid, Marcus,” the guildmaster said. “That heart of yours is exactly what makes you worthy of an A ranking. In that regard, I have a gift for you: your epithet.”

My what?

“Being given an epithet from the guildmaster is a rare honor! Well done!” The eyepatched examiner slapped me on the back and rejoiced as if he were the one receiving the honor.

“You’ll henceforth be known as ‘Breezy,’ like a freshly blowing wind. There’s no more suitable name for a rookie wind wizard.”

You’ve gotta be kidding me.

XIX: A-Rank

I didn’t really get how it had happened, but I had somehow been tricked by the examiner and I was now an A-rank wizard. Kylan, Darion, and Belinda were all C-rank, so the disparity between us made things a bit awkward. Actually, I could have used it as an opportunity to leave Daybreak, but they weren’t bad people, and after journeying together I had begun to feel a sense of fellowship with them. More than anything else, they needed me.

But if I stick with them, I’ll only be able to eat monster meat…

Troubled by my dilemma, I returned to where my party members were waiting.

“How’d it go, Marcus?” Kylan asked, looking at me expectantly. “I was half expecting that with how strong you are, you might be able to make it to C-rank in one go.”

There was no way I could say I had not only surpassed C-rank, but B as well, and made it to A.

“Yeah, I think I did all right,” I said. For the time being, I decided to smile and dodge the question. Just then, the receptionist called out to me.

“Oh, Marcus! Congratulations! You’re the first rookie adventurer ever to start at A-rank! I’d like to give you your rank certificate, so please, come this way.”

…Can you not?

“A-rank?!”

My three companions weren’t the only ones who were surprised; all the assembled adventurers started murmuring.

“That’s gotta be a mistake! Or nepotism!” one adventurer said.

“Anyone, no matter how strong they are, starts at C-rank at most,” said another. “And he’s A-rank…? Hey, what kind of trick did you pull?!”

The adventurers pressed me for answers, and I didn’t know how to respond. I had tried to refuse it. If they had any complaints, they should direct them to the examiner and the guildmaster.

“Marcus wouldn’t do that!” Kylan said. He and the other two stood in front of me to defend me.

“Shut up, you C-rank nobody! If he’s really A-rank, there’s no way he’d be in a party with you!”

It was basically the truth, but he was being awfully harsh. Didn’t he have a shred of human decency?

“Hngh!” Kylan grunted. The derisive adventurer had struck a nerve. My three party members grimaced, and were easily pushed aside.

Hey, can you stick up for your friend a bit more?

“Hey you, Marcus, right? How’d you cheat on the test?!” a swordsman shouted. His unkempt facial hair made him look more like a bandit than an adventurer. “Why don’t you show us your face!” He lunged at me and roughly grabbed the collar of my robe.

This is bad. If he takes off my hood, my face will be exposed. I reflexively moved my arm, hitting the swordsman on his bearded chin with the staff I was holding. There was a thunk, and he crumpled to the floor.

“He took out a B-rank swordsman in a single blow!”

“Damn, he’s strong!”

“No way, is he actually A-rank?”

“But I thought he was a wizard?”

The bearded man was apparently quite a strong swordsman.

“Who cares! Surround him and beat him to a pulp!”

All the adventurers closest to me attacked at the same time. Are these people adventurers, or a gang?

It wasn’t going to hurt much if guys like that managed to land a hit on me, but I didn’t want to expose my face in public if I didn’t have to. I was a wizard, though, so I had to fight back using magic; otherwise my story would be inconsistent.

After a moment of frantic thought, I arrived at my conclusion: I would hit my attackers with my staff, but act like it was wind magic. Wind was invisible, so I knew I’d get away with it. If I swung my staff while chanting spells, that would be a good cover.

“O wind!” I made a horizontal sweep with my staff, and as I did so, I made its inscription shine with light and recited an incantation for a wind spell.

“Gah!”

With one swing of my unnecessarily solid metal staff, I sent four adventurers flying. The staff was shining, which would probably make it look like magic.

“O gust!” I used my staff, without even looking around, to uppercut a man who had circled behind me.

“O gale!” I spun my entire body, flooring two people who were trying to flank me from either side.

In this manner, I swung my staff to repulse the adventurers one after the other, though I got the feeling that I had forgotten to keep reciting wind spells about midway through. Thankfully, it wasn’t like anyone was paying that much attention.

Still, this staff is really easy to use for bludgeoning. There’s no way this is a real wizard’s staff, right?

“My nose, my noooose!”

“My arm’s broken!”

“Oww, it hurts!”

“What’s with that staff?! I’d rather be cut by a sword!”

The remaining adventurers surrounding me took a single look at the ones bleeding and writhing around on the floor, and they all backed down. It almost looked like I was the bad guy, but I was only acting in self-defense.

“It looks like he’s A-rank, all right.”

“Yeah, only a swordsman who’s been through his fair share of fights could make a merciless attack like that.”

“Gah, using force to make us submit…this staff-wielding warrior isn’t half bad.”

…Guys, I’m a wizard, okay?

Incredibly, the adventurers still hadn’t calmed down. They were surrounding me again and waiting for a chance to strike. Do I have to knock them all out after all?

I steeled my resolve and took a single step forward. The brick floor made an audible crack.

“Wh-What intensity! The floor just cracked!”

“So this is the aura of a rookie who made A-rank…”

The adventurers backed up.

Actually, that’s just because of the ten-times-gravity armlet. Whoops, normally I take it off when I go inside buildings, but I forgot to this time. Maybe the brick was already deteriorating. Are they gonna make me pay for it?

But then, someone spoke.

“How about it? Do you all see Marcus’s strength now?”

I didn’t know where he’d been until that moment, but the eyepatched examiner made an energetic reappearance.

“In times like this, it’s easier to show it with force than with words,” he said, winking at me.

Hey, hurry up and intervene! Whose fault do you think this is?

“He’s also received an epithet from the guildmaster: Breezy,” the examiner proudly announced. “Now, does anyone still have any complaints?”

Judging from how he spoke, it was clear that getting an epithet from the guildmaster was quite prestigious. But, someone quickly complained.

“But Breezy isn’t quite right, don’t you think?”

Everyone looked at me with sympathy.

Still, the fact that I had gotten an epithet from the guildmaster at all did seem to have an effect, and the adventurers didn’t protest my ranking any further. Regardless, being made A-rank out of nowhere felt so awkward I couldn’t stand it, so I decided to leave the Guild building right away. Kylan, Darion, and Belinda came with me. No other adventurers wanted a wizard in their party who had swung his staff around the Guild and injured several people.

“Hey, Marcus, are you really okay staying with us?” Kylan asked me apprehensively after we exited. He seemed to care about the disparity between A- and C-rank after all.

“Getting A-rank was basically a fluke. The guildmaster just liked my humble attitude, that’s all,” I replied. From my perspective, there was hardly any difference between the two ranks. I had only wanted the lower rank as camouflage, so as not to stand out too much.

“I knew it, our souls really are connected!” Kylan smiled happily.

Uh, I have no memory of our souls connecting.

“That’s Breezy for you,” Darion said, clapping me on the back.

…Would you mind not calling me by that cheesy nickname?

🍖🍖🍖

“ACTUALLY, Marcus, while you were taking the examination, we accepted a request,” Kylan said apologetically.

It was nighttime, and we were staying in a room in one of the city’s inns. I didn’t have any issue with what Kylan was telling me; it was normal for adventurers to take on requests at the Adventurers’ Guild.

“Really, you did? What sort of request?” I asked.

“A bit of information gathering. We’re headed to Torino, right? It’s a simple mission, and we can just get all the information we need on the way there.”

“Information on what?”

“The Hundred,” Darion said, a somewhat nervous look on his face.

“The Hundred’s contamination has spread to the western nations too,” Belinda explained. “It sounds like they hid their existence until recently, but lately they’ve become more active. Though that part hasn’t been made public yet. Anyway, that’s why we’re going to gather information on them in various countries. With the situation the way it is, we won’t be the only ones doing this either.”

Contamination? Is the Hundred being treated like it’s some sort of illness? Maybe a mental illness…