Chapter 2 – Aim for a Comeback in Elancia!
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―One week later―
We continued to stay in the town where we had hidden ourselves from our pursuers. Currently Malida was lying next to me in bed, a broad smile on her lips.
While doing the preliminary groundwork, I had been serving as Malida’s sex partner at night over the last few days, resulting in her skin’s gloss now almost shining like a lamp.
At some point I went a bit too far with my effort and could have strained my back, but my fifteen-years-old young body after reincarnating seemed to be capable of enduring a lot more exertion. As I worked hard at screwing my wife at night, my position in the mercenary band as strategist was somehow accepted because I was their boss’s favorite.
Currently they’re obeying me thanks to Malida’s authority, but if I don’t exhibit my prowess as a strategist, her subordinates will soon become unhappy with my preferential treatment. The world, where I’m living my second life as 『Albert』 is dominated by 『Power』, unlike modern Japan. It’s a world where 『Power』 is needed to enforce the rules and laws decided by the government among the people. Basically, it’s a world where you can do anything as long as you have 『Power』.
Those possessing financial, political, military, and any other 『Power』 make all the rules. That is the implicit regulation of Worthrune.
“Malida-sama, Albert-sama, I think it is about time to get out of bed.”
Lichere had gotten out of bed first and dressed herself. Now she was calling out to Malida and me who were squirming around inside the bed.
“Lichere, I want to have one more battle with Albert. I hate to stop when losing. I want to win against Albert.”
“Excuse me, but I do not feel like you or I currently have any chance to win against Albert-sama…”
It sounds like both beauties are planning to have one more round of sex with me.
I have Lichere, my trusted subordinate, continue to manage our intelligence agency while also having added the new task of being Malida’s personal court lady. She’s serving Malida as a lover and since I’m sharing lovers with my wife, both of them take care of my carnal desires. At the moment, I succeed in satisfying both during our nightly activities.
“You two are trying a bit too hard, so…let’s leave it at this for now. Malida-sama, I will get up now. Lichere, please get everything ready.”
“Nooo! I’m going to have one more match with you!”
“Nope. Lichere, please take the bed sheet away from her and get her dressed.”
“As you wish.”
Lichere stripped the sheet hiding Malida’s body. At once the two drooping tits of the naked beauty leaped into my eyes.
Mmh, that’s one fine set of breasts. My wife is today as cute as always.
“I won’t show my naked body to any man other than you, Albert. Be honest, you’re getting horny, aren’t you? How about one more go?”
Malida basically prefers women, but she actively encourages me to sleep with her lovers rather than feeling jealous. It seems like she doesn’t get jealous even if people, who she likes, have sex with each other. Thanks to that character of hers, I can also enjoy Lichere’s body together with Malida.
My wife really rocks!
Let’s keep it a secret that I pumped my fist in celebration while shouting that in my mind.
“Malida-sama, if we are going to do that now, your share tonight will disappear. Are you okay with that?”
“That’d be a problem! No choice then. Lichere, please take care of my dress! As your wife, I’m going to take care of your dressing, so wait for a moment, Albert.”
The naked beauty apparently gave up on having another round and had Lichere dress her. Once Malida’s outfit had been fixed, She began to work on dressing me together with Lichere.
“You’re the only one for whom I’ve gone this far, Albert. Lichere, is it okay like this?”
“You got it backwards. I think this way would be correct.”
After I took Malida’s virginity, she stated that she wants to take care of me personally. You cannot say that she has talent in that area by any standard, but her going at it with all her effort is adorable in and of itself.
“Still, I gotta say you’re one perverted guy. Even while taking you on with two women, we fail to conquer you. I want to make you say 『I give up』.”
“That is impossible. Albert-sama has studied knowledge about sex of all ages and places in the Temple of Wisdom. In addition, his body also seems to be unexpectedly durable for his age. As far as my memory goes, you have been challenging Albert-sama continuously, just to utterly lose every time, haven’t you?”
“That might be true, but I feel like Albert made you cum a lot more than me, Lichere.”
“I am very grateful to have my cute wife and her pretty court lady take care of my dressing. Nnhn! But, this is no topic to talk about while the sun is still out.”
As they were dressing me up, the two were chatting about our fun last night while smiling, but I decided to change the topic after clearing my throat.
“We are all dressed now, so it is about time that we ought to have breakfast.”
“Okay, if you say so, Albert, it cannot be helped. I guess we’ll grab breakfast then.”
“Breakfast preparations have already been finished in the dining room downstairs. I will go ahead and head downstairs.”
Hearing me clearing my throat, Lichere opened the door and went downstairs.
◆
After getting ready, Malida and I went downstairs to the bar’s dining room to eat breakfast. The town Malida and her mercenaries used as a hideout was a desolate place located far off the main roads.
At this point, the mercenary band had already used its overwhelming military force to make the town’s mayor submit and informed him that they’d spare the residents, if the town provided them with food, drinks, and shelter.
The mayor assigned the town’s biggest bar/inn as their refuge, resulting in the mercenary band moving in.
Because Alexa had few demihumans living in the country, the oni stood out. Guards were constantly stationed at the entrance of the occupied town, handling the watch in shifts. All of them were prepared to run away at full speed, if a scout unit of Alexa should show up.
Well, considering the combat strength they exhibited during the raid on the temple, they could easily win even if they had to fight a scouting unit. But, the scouts’ disappearance would be found out quickly, drawing reinforcements to the town. Because they’d become outnumbered in such a case, I had repeatedly asked them to run away without putting up a fight.
“Oh, it looks like Malida-sama and Albert-dono have come down. It seems like you enjoyed yourself quite a bit yesterday. With Lichere-chan in the mix, the squeaking and banging was so intense that it made me quite jealous.”
A male oni at the height of his age grinned broadly at us when he saw us descending the stairs.
“Ah, you heard us? I’m really sorry. Malida-sama didn’t want to let go of me. Oh right, Lichere is quite aggressive at night, you know?”
“Albert-sama! I told you to keep that a secret, didn’t I!?”
When I answered the man while playing the fool, the male oni hanging out in the bar all burst into laughter.
“That answer is typical of you, Albert-dono. If an ordinary, weak-bodied man gave me such an answer, I’d immediately butcher him, but you’re the first guy to have tamed our little princess, who’s known as war goddess, without losing your head. That has earned you my respect as a fellow man!” The male oni, who addressed me before, smiled while giving me a thumbs-up.
Malida is the daughter of the Erwin family and a milk sibling of His Majesty the Demon King, but she doesn’t seem to be a sheltered noble lady. Rather, she grew up on the battlefield, always surrounded by this old man and a group of dirty middle-aged retainers.
According to the stories I heard when we took a rest in bed, she was an oni warrior said to use swords as large as herself as toys while intimidating her playmates into crying.
A wild child who grew up drenched in blood while dashing across battlefields and sleeping outdoors; that is Malida.
It seems like His Majesty the Demon King has been doting on her very much. Of course, while seeing her as a mischievous little sister. Not as a woman.
“You lot, are you making fun of me? I mean, Albert is definitely a pervert, but unlike us, he also has a sharp mind.”
“Yeah, yeah, thanks for the treat. For our princess, who appears in bedtime stories to scare children as 『Bloody Oni』, to have fallen head over heels for a man makes me wonder whether heaven and earth are going to be switched over tomorrow.”
The male oni from before guffawed loudly, luring the other guys in the bar to also laugh out loudly. But, there was no scorn to be found in their laughter. The retainers of the Erwin family seemed to be pleased when hearing the romantic stories of the girl they’ve accompanied since her early childhood.
Malida was apparently loved by her retainers.
The firm unity of the Erwin Mercenary Band had spread in society as rumor about an abnormality. Even so, it’s probably a unity forged by them being attracted to Malida’s human-like charms.
“Oh right! I’ve heard that our princess will be able to return to the Erwin family, if your plan succeeds. Is that really true?”
“Yes, I have formed this plan based on the condition of Malida-sama’s return home.”
“What do you plan to do, if it doesn’t work out?” The oni’s eyes became sharp, changing from a relaxed, cheerful look into one full of pressure and coercion.
“It will simply mean that I lose my head.”
“So you’ve made up your resolve, eh?”
Because Malida alone trusts me at present, I won’t be deemed worthy to occupy the position of strategist if I don’t produce any results.
“Albert is my cherished strategist and husband! I won’t allow you to bully him!”
Hearing the man’s words, Malida stepped in front of me, blocking the path between me and her retainers. Watching that, the men started to chuckle.
“I’ve just got one more question. Do you regret having become our princess’s husband?”
“Not at all. I think I’m somewhat weak and spindly for marrying into an oni family as her husband, seeing how oni are natural warriors, but I’d be very grateful if everyone could accept me.”
“What, you guys are against Albert entering my family as my husband!?”
Seeing Malida pull a flustered expression, the oni resisted to burst into laughter and suddenly fetched some cups filled with wine.
“I see, we were allowed to see Albert-dono’s resolve! In that case, we must prepare a banquet to celebrate the vow of husband and wife. Everyone, grab your wine and let’s celebrate Albert-dono having become a blood relative after getting engaged to our princess! Yaaay!”
“””Yeaaah! Let’s celebrate the birth of a new blood relative with lots of wine! Yaaahooo!!”””
Malida’s muscle-headed warriors, who had gathered in the bar room, roared loudly while raising their cups.
These guys are way too hot blooded and meatheaded. It’s oppressive for me, who used to be a liberal arts guy during my student life in modern Japan, but with things being like this, I felt that I’d be able to get them to accept me unexpectedly easily, which made me happy instead.
“You guys, don’t be so mean! You keep making fun of me!!”
“Malida-sama, are you alright with not handing a wine cup to Albert-sama? I will do it then.”
I spotted Lichere quietly holding out a cup to Malida.
“No, no, handing the cup to Albert is my duty!”
Malida leaned her body close to me as I sat at the counter, and poured some wine for me. Today she was wearing a hot outfit with lots of exposure and although that was basically a daily occurrence, I still found myself hard pressed where to put my eyes.
Malida is a wild woman with overflowing sex appeal, but she seems to regard me, who rather uses his brains than brawns, as fresh and trustworthy after having grown up among muscle-headed warriors.
In order to meet her expectations, I want to let Malida succeed in Elancia no matter what it takes. Of course, I also plan to mooch a good life off her as part of her career in the empire. Carrying out the current plan is of utmost priority for that sake.
“I shall muster all my resourcefulness so as to meet your expectations, Malida-sama.”
“I’m counting on you, my dear husband. Or should I rather call you master? By the way, you can call me any way you want, Albert.”
With me feeling embarrassed, happy, and good at the same time due to Malida’s bashful, attractive smile, my brain almost overheated then and there. As I thought, my wife might be the cutest woman in this world.
“I-I’m okay with Malida-sama. I would be happy if you could keep calling me Albert just as before.”
“I-I see. If that’s what you want…”
With her face blushing furiously as she was clinging to my arm, Malida was so damn adorable.
“At once they drift off into their little world of happiness. I could faint out of embarrassment by just watching this!”
The oni men, who had been filling their wine on big plates and drinking it as if taking a shower, became teary-eyed when they saw Malida and my relationship. They’re warriors with the slightly troublesome mindset of muscleheads, but you won’t find anyone as reliable as them as allies.
Many smaller and bigger problems stand in the way of Malida’s return back home, but if I consider those as challenges to live a fulfilled life with my wife, I can do my best.
“Malida-sama, please leave everything related to guiding you to success in life to me.”
“Okay, that’s fine with me. I can’t do much more than swinging my sword anyway.”
Malida made a pretty obvious muscle-brain statement there, but I think it’s better to be fully untrusted with things, including the freedom to handle stuff like I want, than being constantly interrupted by someone flaunting their half-assed knowledge.
“Albert-sama, please have a bite of this here, too.”
I put the fruit, which Lichere had peeled for me, into my mouth and washed it down with the wine Malida had poured for me.
Using my previous life’s knowledge and the knowledge I obtained in this world, I’ll support Malida’s family as her strategist and make a career in Elancia. If possible, I’d like to have a peaceful death, surrounded by pretty women and many of my children, so I cannot spare any effort to reach that goal. I’ll show people how I’m going to survive this dangerous, turbulent otherworld while cherishing my life.
I put the cup, which had been refilled, to my mouth and let the wine stream into my body.
◆
Maaan, my waist feels all shaky and weak. Malida and Lichere are going at it way too hard.
When the party to celebrate our engagement was at full swing, they took me to another room where we fucked like rabbits. The stamina of Malida, as an oni, is amazing, and because Lichere, who had joined Malida and me in bed, was quite aggressive too, I ended up spending all of last night without sleep again.
I’m still young, so I can somehow handle it, but pulling all-nighters every day is a bit taxing. This means I might require nutrients very soon.
While stretching my stiff body, I went out on the veranda and took a deep breath of the cool air which was moist thanks to the morning mist blanketing the land.
I’ve been making all sort of moves for the sake of allowing 『Bloody Oni』 Malida to make a comeback in Elancia, but the messenger, who was supposed to arrive yesterday, still hasn’t shown up. That messenger had been sent by Malida’s brother-in-law, Stephan-dono, who was ruling over the margraviate at the border with Alexa.
For the sake of getting him to act as intermediary for Malida’s return, we had him pass on a letter and some souvenirs, but the negotiations with His Majesty the Demon King might have turned out tougher than expected.
My plans of making a career in the empire won’t go anywhere unless Malida gets the demon king’s permission to come back after being reinstated as baroness, her former noble rank. Despite Malida being the demon king’s milk sibling, she did beat her high-ranking noble fiancé half-dead. So I do anticipate that we will need to bring several heads of Alexa’s nobles with border territories for Malida to make a comeback in Elancia.
Elancia is the only nation in Worthrune where demihumans form the ruling class. They’re surrounded by human nations which constantly wage war against the empire. Alexa, our current location, is one of those belligerent states.
Because of that, skirmishes constantly occur in the border area between both countries. And each time such skirmishes occur, the lords of the border territories change their allegiances to the dominant country, depending on the circumstances, so many of them are being treated as parasites by both countries.
Some of those lords are so crooked that they use the chaos brought about by the battles to massively loot and hunt for people to enslave in order to fill their own pockets. Occasionally stories of such vile noble lords reached my ears through the intelligence network I built while I was studying at the Temple of Wisdom.
This time I’ve selected three of those vile border lords. I’m planning to present their heads alongside their castle to the demon king as gift for the comeback. When it comes to the scummy lords at the border, neither of the country will resent us for crushing them. Rather, the citizens of both countries will likely thank us instead.
If the demon king approves of Malida’s return on those conditions, the rest will depend on her skill…
Well, the Erwin Mercenary Band makes children cry with just their name being mentioned and since they’re skilled enough to easily wipe out the templars of the Temple of Wisdom, the likes of serf soldiers won’t stand a chance.
I have already been briefed on the details of the mercenary band by Malida. Many of the members are veteran retainers and all of them are experts at warfare. They’re a bunch of abnormally loyal folks who followed Malida after she lost her peerage and got exiled. Malida mentioned that each and every single of them is a match for a thousand.
She herself is a natural-born fighter, too. However, she’s very cute when we share a bed.
The mercenaries number a hundred. That’s all the military force Malida has available.
As I was stretching my body on the veranda, I spotted the messenger, which I had eagerly awaited, coming back.
“Now then, it looks like things are going to get busy.”
I woke up Malida and Lichere, who had gone to sleep just a little while ago, and went downstairs after getting ready.
◆
As soon as we entered the dining hall, the other oni had already assembled. I accepted a letter from the messenger and scanned its content.
Originally, the boss of the mercenaries, Malida, should read it, but because she passed it to me without even opening it, I read it.
『Okay. I understood what you people want to say. When I told His Majesty the Demon King that Malida talked about finishing off at least three of those tiny, pesky border nobles as an apology for the previous incident, he gave his approval. Of course that also includes Malida’s return into the ranks of nobility』
That’s probably how you can summarize the letter from her brother-in-law.
Since I frantically studied the languages of this world at the temple and orphanage after reincarnating, I’ve become able to read and write them without a problem. And because I put in a lot of effort while aiming to become a bureaucrat, my writing was pretty clean and beautiful.
But well, my path as bureaucrat ended up being a dud thanks to a messed-up royal and the rotten kingdom. It’s probably weird to say that I’m doing this because of that as well, but it’s resulted in me living as a strategist for the sake of my darling wife.
I feel like this in itself isn’t a bad life. After all, I can enjoy a great night live and it seems possible for me to surround myself with plenty of beauties as I got my wife’s approval.
Because of that, my hips won’t get any time to rest…anyway, let’s leave the dirty talk at that for now.
Since we managed to secure the demon king’s approval, we should subjugate the border lords next. Once I finished reading the letter, Malida looked my way.
“So what does it say?”
“The negotiations with His Majesty the Demon King have succeeded. Next we’re going to kill the three lords of Sura, Zaysan, and Benia, all territories located in the border zone between Elancia and Alexa. Their heads and territories will allow Malida-sama to make her comeback in Elancia.”
The lords, which would become the sacrifices for Malida’s return home, were the parents of Orgus’s goons, who had blocked my path of success in Alexa. Although rotten, it’s the country where I spent fifteen years after getting reincarnated. I’ll take the liberty to rid that place of the trash that’s leeching off influential people. After creating a chance for the country to reform itself into a slightly more decent nation, I’ll head over to Elancia.
“Got it. Guys, get ready for battle!”
Her subordinates had drunk masses of wine during last night’s party, but as soon as Malida ordered them to get ready for battle, all of them got in gear and formed lines within a few minutes.
The mercenaries were already in combat mode as they stood there in ranks. Although we were talking about battle here, not one of them complained in any way or showed any fear.
“I hear the lords of Sura, Zaysan, and Benia regularly use their position as border lords to hunt for people and pillage the surrounding areas under the cover of the war between the kingdom and empire. Of course, they also levy heavy taxation within their territories as a bonus. Besides, they’ll immediately change their allegiance as soon as an army of either country approaches their fiefs.”
Malida had been mobilized as head of the Erwin family to fight in the border skirmishes before she was exiled, so she apparently possessed some knowledge about the circumstances of those lords.
“That’s correct. And because of it, His Majesty the Demon King can’t defeat those lords while leading an army against them. If he did, the other border lords would all swarm to the enemy side. However, right now Malida-sama is nothing more than the boss of an unaffiliated mercenary band. If the lords’ armies are destroyed after getting attacked by an unaffiliated mercenary band, no one should be able to complain even if the imperial army occupies the vacant castles. That means His Majesty has judged that he will be able to get the other nobles’ consent, if he reinstates Malida-sama after she brought him the three heads and territories as presents.”
“Yep, if it’s the border lords, they pose no threat to our mercenary band. If I’m allowed to return to my homeland for something like this, it’ll be a walk in the park! We’ll set out at once!”
“It’s a wonderful plan. As expected of you, Albert-dono. You lazy bums, it looks like our princess has a good chance of returning to Elancia. Let’s hurry up and butcher those trashy lords!”
“”””YEAHH!!!””””
The retainers had been silently listening to my words with serious expressions, but once they heard that Malida would begin the subjugation of the border lords, they all roared battle cries in fervent enthusiasm.
Going by their looks, I’m pretty sure that they’re simply happy to be allowed to fight. You lot… This is why muscleheads…
As soon as Malida ordered it, the mercenaries immediately began to prepare their departure from the town. One hour later we started our march towards the target fiefs in the border zone.
◆
After walking for around two days we reached Benia, our first target. We had completely moved out of our base of operations inside Alexa, so our troops were carrying all our stuff.
Unfortunately, I haven’t been blessed with talent in horse-riding and thus I was jolted around on the tray of a wagon together with Lichere.
“It looks like we’ve arrived. Now then, please allow me to witness the power of Malida-sama and the Erwin Mercenary Band from here on out. According to our advance reconnaissance, the lord of Benia is present in the fief and the security measures are lax. If you get the head of the lord in one swoop, they probably won’t be able to mount an orderly resistance.”
“Alright, leave it to me. I, 『Bloody Oni』 Malida, can easily destroy a small, rural castle or two!”
Hey, hey, Malida-san, this is supposed to be a precious present for His Majesty the Demon King, so it’d be bad if you destroy it!
Malida was riding a pitch-black horse next to our wagon as she brandished her greatsword, the prided, favorite weapon of hers.
“Malida-sama, I should have told you that the three castles are presents for His Majesty the Demon King. Do you think His Majesty will be delighted if he receives three ruined castles?”
“Ugh, he won’t. So, would it be better to skip on slaughtering the residents, too?”
Okay, this girl was clearly stinking of muscle-headed, pure violence. It looks like our mindsets are quite different since Malida’s values have been cultivated on the battlefield.
“If you slaughter them, the frightened lords in the vicinity would flood this place, trying to crush the Erwin Mercenary Band. As long as you take down the lord and his underlings, the enemy will naturally break apart. Or rather, allow me to tell you this: The next time you mention massacres or slaughtering, you will spend the night alone!”
“I’d hate that. For me, who’s been enjoying our nightly activities, that would be like being beaten half-dead. But, okay. I get it. I won’t slaughter them no matter what. Is there anything else I need to pay attention to?”
With the ban on sex apparently doing the trick, Malida proactively asked for other points of importance.
Since I got the chance anyway, I’ll inform Malida, the highest-ranking person here, so as to have the surrounding meathead warriors abide by it as well.
“Okay, then listen. There are three important points: First, don’t kill any residents who don’t resist. Second, don’t loot the treasures as you please, but gather all of it instead so that we can divide it properly. Third, don’t violate any women. Please use your sword to cut down anyone not following those rules, Malida-sama. No matter how loyal a retainer they might be.”
“That’s way too harsh. Looting and rape are part of――”
“I think it’ll be hard for you to return to Elancia, if you cannot obey this.”
“That’d be a problem! But Albert, it’s impossible for me to make my men obey what you told me just now.”
Malida said that it’d be impossible for her to make them obey my warnings while looking troubled. However, if I accept Malida’s opinion here, my position as strategist will become an empty husk. Having them abide by the points I raised here by all costs is something I must achieve as a strategist to reliably secure Malida’s comeback.
“Then allow me to explain to you why you should make them obey those three points. The residents of the town will become subjects of the empire after the lord has been killed. If you kill the innocent, loot their assets, and rape their women, you’ll buy their resentment unnecessarily which will make ruling this land harder in turn. What will His Majesty think if you present him with such a land?”
“He might believe that I’ve pushed something troublesome on him.”
“Yes, it is as you say. His Majesty might revoke your reinstatement after having land that’s hard to rule pushed on him.
“N-No way! Nii-sama would never do anything like that!”
“Even if you might be milk siblings, there’s a limit to everything. In reality, he’s banished you from the empire!”
“Argh! T-That’s true! How high is the probability of nii-sama going back on his promise if we don’t obey those three points!? Tell me!”
“Around nine out of ten, I’d say.”
I exaggerated the number quite a bit in order to definitely persuade Malida. Hearing those figures, Malida started to tremble violently and then, while gasping hard, declared to her men, “You guys! I shall cut down anyone who doesn’t obey the three points mentioned by Albert just now! Abide by them at any cost! Got it!?”
“””A-As you command!”””
The easy part of an organization run by folks solely relying on brawns is that the idea of a command hierarchy has been driven into its members. If a superior tells them to do something, those below will only answer, 『Okay』, 『As you command』, 『Yes』, or 『At your will』. Of course I won’t say that it’s the same for all of such organizations.
The muscle-heads, who are abnormally loyal to Malida, should surmise the will of Malida, the leader of their pack, and obediently obey the three points brought up by me like loyal dogs.
If some of them do evil despite that, I’ll unfortunately have no choice but to have them eliminated. If you loosen the strictness of rules, it impacts an organization or army very negatively.
This is what my experience tells me after having been nurtured by watching the internal affairs of companies as management consultant in my previous life and reading various books on military science after reincarnating. If possible, I’d prefer to not kill any of my precious allies, but I’m well aware that this world isn’t so kind as to allow such wishful thinking.
If you don’t kill when it’s necessary, it’s possible that your own life will be over in the next moment.
“Alright. I will watch your efforts. Please make the Erwin Mercenary Band’s accomplishments known far and wide.”
“Let’s show him our strength as Erwin Mercenary Band to the fullest!”
“””Yeeaaah!”””
The expressions on the faces of the meatheaded mercenaries changed into those of warriors. Warriors who felt the delight of supremacy through fighting.
Back then I still wasn’t aware of their true might.
△ △ △
※ Malida’s Point of View ※
As we approached the castle, the enemy spotted our flags, immediately closed the front gate, and got ready to hole up in the castle. I rode up to the gate on my horse and called out to a soldier atop the wall.
“I’m the leader of the Erwin Mercenary Band, Malida! I shall make this castle my own !”
“There’s no way that we’d hand our castle to a group of thugs and bandits like you, is there!? Leave this place if you don’t want to die!”
“How noisy you are. The only ones allowed to tell me their opinion are Albert and Nii-sama!”
In order to shut up the annoying guard captain, I got off my horse, picked up a stone from the ground, and threw it at his face.
“C-Captain! You gotta be kiddin! His head is completely gone!?”
The captain had to part with his head after his face met my stone. Subsequently, his body powerlessly fell off the wall.
“Being killed by a stone thrown from such a location――”
Another soldier on the wall lost his life to a stone thrown by my retainers before following his captain towards the ground.
“Hiii! Monsters! The Erwin oni are a group of monsters, just as the rumors state! I don’t wanna die!”
The guards fell into panic and escaped from the wall in order to hide themselves from my retainers stone-throwing.
“How boring. That won’t even serve as a warm up. I guess I’ll cut apart the gate for starters.”
I drew close to the gate, drew the greatsword on my back, and got my breathing in order.
“Haaah!”
I swung the sword completely through, horizontally bisecting the gate which had been reinforced with iron.
“Princess, you’ve grown weaker, haven’t you? For you to exert so much strength to cut such a lousy gate is clear proof of that.”
“Ugh, it’s because I haven’t gone on a rampage for a while now! I simply failed to adjust my strength!”
Once the gate crumbled apart under its own weight, big cracks spread towards the sides of the wall. Looks like I went too far. Even though Albert had told me to limit the damage as much as possible.
That’s really bad. I must make up for this blunder with something else.
“You guys! We’re going to charge the castle! Make sure to obey the three points mentioned by Albert! Urge them to drop their weapons first! You’re free to kill those who do not follow your warning two times!”
“””Roger.”””
“Gooo!”
“””Yeeaaah!”””
After passing through the gate, my retainers scattered throughout the castle town. The residents had heard the noise of the gate falling apart and could now be seen disappearing into their houses while screaming.
“Aren’t there any brave men around who would aim at the leader’s head!? I sincerely request a duel with anyone daring to do so!”
Using my loud voice which I had forged on the battlefield, I drew the attention of the enemy guards towards me.
“Don’t fucking look down on us! You’re just a frail wench!”
“It’s great to see you so eager! But, you won’t be much of an opponent for me with your abilities.”
I broke the spear thrust at me by a guard with my hand, and stabbed his chest with the spearhead.
“As expected, I won’t find any strong fighters in a remote place like this, huh…?”
“As long as you can defeat their boss, the rest of them should run away afterwards! Take her down in a group!”
No sooner than me stabbing the cocky soldier to death, a guard captain, who had been defending the area in front of the lord’s residence, appeared in front of me with his men in tow.
I think they roughly amounted to 30. All of them seemed quite weak since they were farmers who had been recruited as conscripts.
“You can come at me all at once,” I beckoned the enemy soldiers so as to provoke them.
The guards got angry, readied their respective weapons and charged at me, so I unleashed one quick side sweep with my greatsword. In the next instant, the torso and lower body halves of the guards around me dropped to the ground, disconnected from each other.
“Hyaaah! A-A monster! W-We’ll be al――”
I lopped off the captain’s head while he tried to run after he had lost strength in his legs and fallen on his backside.
“So tedious! This is truly boring! I won’t get any exercise like this!”
“Princess, it looks like the castle has been completely suppressed. The only ones left are the lord and his family who are hiding out in their residence.”
Standing next to me, my retainer informed me about the elimination of all guards who had resisted.
“I see. None of our men went amok or something like that, right?”
“Yes, just as you order, Princess, they haven’t touched the residents or property. The non-resistant guards have been restrained and gathered on the town square.”
“Okay, that’s good. Let Albert deal with the prisoners. I’ll head over to give this whole event the finishing touch.”
“Yes, Princess!”
After watching my retainer leaving, I kicked the gate of the lord’s residence open and charged inside with the rest of my forces.
“I’m Malida! I shall make this castle my own! Surrender if you wish to keep your lives!”
The guards inside the residence dropped their weapons when they saw the door having been smashed open, and sat down with both hands raised.
“Where’s the lord of this castle! Lead me to him! Consider your lives forfeit if you hide him!”
I thrust my bloody sword at the guards, who had surrendered, and had them guide me to a building where the lord appeared to have cooped up himself. Once one of my guides pointed at a door, I cut it apart, just to find a fat guy, several women, and two young men inside.
“I-I will surrender! Please spare my life! Please! If it’s money you want, I will pay you generously!” The fat man begged for his life while groveling in front of me.
The instant he clung to my leg, a chill ran through my body and I reflexively punched him.
“Guueeeh!”
“I have this conditional reflex to punch any bald fatsos! Forgive me! Also, I’m going to take your head! Tie up the others!”
I severed the unconscious lord’s head and the retainers, who had accompanied me, arrested those believed to be the lord’s family.
“Alright, this wraps up the occupation! You lot, raise your voices!”
“””YEEAAH!!”””
My retainers throatily roared in victory after we had finished our job and gathered in the lord’s residence.
△ △ △
※ Albert’s Point of View ※
As I stood on the square where the prisoners were laying on the ground with their hands and feet bound by ropes, deep war cries could be heard from the mansion in the norther part of the town. I guessed that the meatheaded warriors under Malida’s command had taken the head of the corrupt lord.
“So it’s over, huh?”
“It sounds like it. Malida-sama followed up on her words, just as you would expect.”
“Now then, from here on out it will be my turn, I guess.”
“I have been looking forward to your great exploits, Albert-sama.”
A little while after the battle had ended, the various treasures were piled up on the square and those related to the lord, who had become prisoners, were lined up while tied with ropes to each other. On top of that, the residents of the town had gathered around the square with frightened looks after having been told to leave their houses by the Erwin Mercenary Band.
“Everything is ready. Okay, Malida-sama, could I have you make the declaration I told you earlier?”
“But, no matter how you look at this…isn’t this going too far?”
“Hoh, I don’t mind announcing that 『Bloody Oni』 Malida-sama has flinched away, but in that case your comeback in Elancia will become a distant dream.”
“I-I got it. I’ll say it. Watch me!”
Malida trudged with heavy steps up to the pedestal for public speeches. Standing atop, she announced solemnly, “The subjugation of the lord by the Erwin Mercenary Band happened out of a moral obligation, a feeling of rightful anger for hoarding misappropriated funds, and revenge for the misconduct and injustice committed against the fief’s population. The lord’s family and their closest supporters will be sold off as slaves. We plan to fairly distribute the valuables over here to the residents as a reward. Moreover, from this day onward, this territory has fallen under the direct control of the Elancia Empire, belonging to His Majesty the Demon King. I was told to tell all of you that this extraordinary reward was decided to be paid out by His Majesty.”
The residents stirred upon hearing Malida’s declaration which carried far and wide thanks to her loud and clear voice. Not only had their corrupt lord, who tormented them for such a long time, finally been taken down, but they were even told that they’d be given the riches he had hoarded.
At that point, I decided to further incite them so as to push the hearts of the residents towards supporting the empire.”
“Hurrah, Elancia Empire! Hurrah, His Majesty the Demon King!” I yelled.
In response to my words, the residents began to chant 『Hurrah, Elancia Empire! Hurrah, His Majesty the Demon King!』. In addition to having been released from their oppressor, the residents understood that they were even provided charity and thus they instantly changed into becoming a pro-Empire faction.
With things settled like this, the later reign would be easy. As long as the empire didn’t go too hard on the taxes, the fief’s population would selfishly compare the new rulers to the previous cruelties and immediately recognize their new masters as superior.
If the mercenary band had proceeded with the initially planned raping and looting after slaughtering many of the people in this territory, this wouldn’t have come to pass. It’d have devastated the fiefs and incurred the hate of the population. Consequently it’d have led to a degradation of the public order, which would have resulted in unnecessary expenses in turn, only adding further burden to the demon king at the point of presenting him the three castles.
Moreover, this time’s method also allowed us to wrap up things without investing any of our own funds into it. Or rather, we had actually stowed away a part of the riches currently piled up on the square on our wagon in advance.
Even if their loyalty might be high, the meatheaded warriors won’t be able to make a living if they don’t get any pay, so we deducted the share we deemed necessary ahead of time and distributed the rest to the residents.
As far as the residents were concerned, they should be plenty grateful for just being able to get back some of their possessions they had already given up on.
My fundamental policy was to publicly make a loss while making a profit behind the scenes. Well, in this case, I haven’t even incurred any losses though.
Still, I must admit I’ve underestimated the power of Malida’s mercenary band. I thought the rumors about them might have been exaggerated, but they’re genuine, meatheaded cheat warriors. Especially when it comes to Malida, the rumors about her have been vast underestimations. Cutting down a castle gate with a greatsword is the feat of a monster. I almost fell on my backside out of surprise and fear when I watched her pull this stunt off from my position in the rear.
Anyway, soon after the lords of Sura and Zaysan also became sacrifices of the muscle-brains, resulting in the liberation of their fiefs just like Benia. With this, the three corrupt border lords had turned into silent heads.
One week after taking the three castles, the imperial army finally arrived and occupied them. The commander leading the occupying forces seemed to be Malida’s brother-in-law, Stephan von Valeria. Soon after, he appeared in front of us who were camping out in the town of Benia.
Stephan was a Nine-Tail, possessing nine tails (as the name suggested) and light brown ears with his hair having the same color. Particularly his narrow eyes and the broad forehead stood out as characteristic features.
Unlike the extreme muscle-head Malida, his features gave one the impression of him being smart and sociable. And because I had read a bit about the physiognomy of Nine-Tails in the temple, I don’t think I’m overly wrong with my assessment of his character.
Given that it interested me, I also checked his abilities.
- Name: Stephan von Valeria
- Age: 28
- Sex: Male
- Race: Nine-Tail
- Valor: 65
- Leadership: 88
- Intelligence: 85
- Domestic Affairs: 77
- Charm: 69
- Status: Margrave of Elancia Empire
He’s your typical all-rounder, huh…? He’s Malida’s brother-in-law, so it seems wise to get along with him early on.
I finished checking Stephan’s ability limits through my power.
“Malida, as always you’re a little rascal whenever you step on a battlefield. But, Laia was very happy when she heard about your return to the empire. Even so, a muscle-brain like you would have never come up with such a method, right? The writing in the letter was very clean and beautiful, too. Did you pick up some wiseman along the road?”
Stephan’s eyes fell on me who was standing next to Malida.
“Brother, this guy here is my husband. He’s called Albert. He’s a great guy, isn’t he?”
“Husband? Don’t tell me…him? Although you have rejected getting married to the point of almost killing the fiancé prepared for you by His Majesty, you now took a husband? Moreover, a brat like that?”
“That’s right. He’s my husband and strategist. I won’t give him to you.”
“This young, skinny guy is your strategist? Malida, are you sure about this?”
Stephan had a sociable face, but his narrow eyes, as he stared my way, triggered a bottomless fear in me.
“Certainly, it’s as you say, he is somewhat skinny, but he’s incredible in bed. Besides, it was Albert who came up with the gifts for my comeback and prepared everything for me. By collecting the riches the lords had stashed away in their castles and turning them into rewards that His Majesty the Demon King gave to the residents, the people became very positive about falling under the direct rule of the emperor and public order has been holding up well, too. As long as your occupying forces treat the residents fairly, the territory will settle down rather quickly! It’s amazing, isn’t it!?”
Malida was full of praise for my work. Meanwhile Stephan listened to her with an expression as if he couldn’t believe a single word of it.
Well, I think it’s only natural for him to find it hard to believe. Stabilizing stolen fiefs within a week usually doesn’t happen.
“It sounds like your husband is a smart man, Malida. I’ve read the letter, but…even I wouldn’t have come up with all of this. I see. Now I can understand the looks of the population as we were traveling this way. This was an outstanding plan. I’ll inform His Majesty in full detail about your exploits, Albert. You guys may wait in this town until we get a reply from His Majesty.”
Stephan had apparently grasped the ingenuity of my plan by just looking at the people. Unlike Malida, Stephan used his brain and seemed to have enough flexibility in his thinking to accept ideas outside common sense.
But, when it comes to serving as a retainer, he seems to be a lot fussier than my cute, muscle-brained wife. Smart folks exploit their subordinates to the limit in an attempt to make life as easy as possible for themselves.
I remember having been thoroughly pushed around by such guys before I got reincarnated into this world. For this reason, I’ve decided to absolutely avoid working under these types of people.
Stuck waiting for a reply from the demon king, we were given a mansion in Benia by Stephan and awarded the part of the fortune which we had confiscated, as reward just like that.
During the time it took for Malida’s return to be approved, I sent a letter for Prince Goran to a noble of the Second Prince’s faction whom I got to know well through my company. Then I dissolved the company which we had left behind in Alexa’s capital and called all its members together.
According to a letter delivered by the demon king’s messenger, who arrived several days after I finished tying up all loose ends in Alexa, Malida had her peerage as baroness of Elancia Empire reinstated and was allowed to succeed the territory as a result of having offered the demon king the three castles and the heads of their former lords as present.
△ △ △
※ Orgus’s Point of View ※
“That repugnant piece of trash! Of all things, that fucker had to send a letter with such mocking prattling to Goran!”
Fuck it!!! He’s just a little, shitty orphan brat, and yet he’s trying to show off his own smarts!? I don’t give a flying fuck whether he’s a divine child, a genius, or whatever. A little asshole who doesn’t show the proper respect to me has no reason to exist!
I crumpled the letter, which Goran had passed on to the king as a message from the priest who had disappeared, and slammed it on the ground. Remembering how I was earlier summoned to the palace by my father, shown this letter, and questioned about its contents, immediately rekindled my fury.
The letter, which had been sent to Goran by that guy, listed in detail how I had received bribes from the Temple of Wisdom and how I had procured money for playing around from shady friends. That little fucker even had the gall to suggest that it’d be in the kingdom’s best interest to disinherit me and move Second Prince Goran up to the position of crown prince.
Thanks to all that, I now must defend myself officially in the near future.
“GAAAAAAHHH! Fuck!”
As the ball of a letter rolled across the floor, the sons of Sura, Zaysan, and Benia’s lords opened the door to my room and entered.
“Your Highness! Is the urgent summoning related to our families having been attacked?”
“Or is it about the rumors that information about our business has reached the ears of the king?”
“As for the rumors, you can somehow handle it with your authority, correct?”
Without knowing the reason why they’d been called over, the three immediately started to hurl questions at me. They’ve provided me with money for playing around, but now that things have developed like this, there’s no way that I can let them leave alive.
“Shut up! Don’t run your mouths as you please! Thanks to you guys, I’ve found myself in a dilemma! You idiots!”
“””Huh?”””
While the three became dumbfounded due to my reprimand, I rang the bell on my table. In response, fully armored knights, who had been waiting in the next room, stormed in with weapons at hand and immediately decapitated the three useless fools.
“Blame all crimes on these guys and their families so that I can evade taking responsibility. Got it!? Also, put up a bounty for Priest Albert! He might have pretended to escape to Elancia while actually hiding out in our country!”
While casting a sidelong glance at the knights who were getting rid of the three headless corpses, I informed Prime Minister Zazan, who was my guardian, of our future policy.
“Yes, as you wish, Your Highness!”
Fuck, fuck, fuck! I didn’t anticipate for my father’s trust in me to be shaken to such a degree…I must secure some achievements to offset this blunder.
I guess I won’t be able to fool around for a while… Damn it! That blasted priest!
I kicked away a nearby table and flopped down on the sofa once I suppressed my irritation.
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