Chapter 156

At present, the children of the Yuri Empire have been instructed to prioritize the extermination of the demons of the Holy Land of Nimun and the Duchy of Selsia over the domestic ones.

In the cities and villages of the country and the trade routes that connect them, skeletal soldiers―――skeleton knights generated in large numbers by【Army of the Dead】, the Ultimate Skill exercised by Raquel of <Kuroyuri>, have been deployed.

Demons that have been resurrected in the country are considered targets for an attack as soon as they get close to the skeletal soldiers that have been placed in cities, villages, and trade routes, and they are promptly eradicated. So, even if we don’t hurry to exterminate them, they are safe enough within the country.

So, it is in the best interest of the nation to eliminate the obstacles to trade between nations as soon as possible by first prioritizing the extermination of demons that have resurfaced in other countries.

In fact, it would be better if the skeletal soldiers could be deployed in allied and subordinate countries as well―――but the population of skeletal soldiers is not enough to go that far.

So Yuri is secretly thinking (I wish the Volmisian Empire would attack the Duchy of Selsia). This is because it is natural for a sovereign nation to protect its subordinate nations, so Yuri can participate in the war without hesitation.

Yuri’s【Star Fall Meteor・Strike】and Raquel’s【Army of the Dead】are ready to be used again. So if other countries attacked, it would simply be a good event for the Yuri Empire to increase its stockpile of skeleton soldiers.

The two countries are equally divided in sending the children of the Yuri Empire to the Holy Land of Nimun and the Principality of Selsia, but basically, the Holy Land of Nimun completes the extermination much faster.

This is because the land of the Holy Land is smaller than that of the Principality, and because more than half of the land is desert, few things obstruct the view, and it is easier to detect demons.

―――Today is the first day of the autumn moon, the day when the ‘extermination’ of the Holy Land of Nimun was declared complete. Yuri had come to the orphanage in the center of the Divine City of Yuritania without doing any work since morning.

A man was already waiting for her in front of the orphanage, as she had notified him in advance. Yuri bowed lightly to the man whose face he remembered.

“Good day, High Priest Conrad. I’m sorry that I had to ask you to do so many things.”

“Good morning, Your Majesty. It’s not unreasonable, and it’s beneficial to the children we support here, so I must thank you.”

High Priest Conrad was originally the man in charge of the cathedral in Dellane, the capital of the Duchy of Selsia. He is also the person that Yuri pulled from the duchy’s cathedral when Pope Altorius once issued an ‘excommunication’ against the Duchy of Selsia.

When the city of Ulysses is completed, High Priest Conrad will be in charge of the cathedral there, and until then, he was temporarily entrusted with the management of the orphanage in Yuritania. The high priest Conrad felt that the work of the orphanage director was worthwhile after experiencing it, and now he has requested that he be allowed to work here for the rest of his life.

So, the cathedral in Ulysses and the cathedral in Dellane, where he was originally located, are now under the care of another high priest sent by Pope Altorius.

“I’m glad you said that… I would like to set up a【Transfer Gate】first, where should I build it?”

“Yes, we’ve vacated one of the rooms used as a warehouse, and we’d like to install it there. I’d like to show you around.”

“Thank you.”

With High Priest Conrad leading the way, Yuri entered the orphanage.

This orphanage was set up by Yuri when he kidnapped a large number of slaves from the city of Dellane, the official capital, to support those who were underage―――especially those who were under 30 years old.

The construction was done by the children of <Kikyou>, of course. The building is so solid that it doesn’t look like it was made on the spur of the moment, which is the work of <Kikyou>.

Yuri was led to a private room at the back of the first floor of the orphanage.

The room was rather small and dimly lit. There was a window, but it was blocked by a tree that stood near the building, and it seemed that very little sunlight could reach this room.

Surely it would be wiser to use this room as a storage room than to house the children.

“Is this room okay? It’s not a very nice room…”

“Yeah, no problem.”

There is no need for comfort in the room where the【Transfer Gate】will be installed. If there is a room that is not suitable for habitation, it would be preferable.

“I’ll go and get the older children.”

“All right, it’ll take about ten minutes, so come back around then.”

“Yes.”

After High Priest Conrad left the room, Yuri immediately began to install the【Transfer Gate】.

It’s not difficult to set up the【Transfer Gate】, but it does take some time because you have to draw the magic circle neatly on the floorboard.

It was a good thing for Yuri that High Priest Conrad had left the room because she didn’t want to be seen working on all fours.

After spending exactly ten minutes, Yuri set up the【Transfer Gate】.

Since the other magic circle was already in place, Yuri could see that the connection was established immediately and that it was ready to be used as a【Transfer Gate】.

As Yuri stood up and adjusted her messy hair, a knock sounded.

The timing was just right.

“Come in.”

“Excuse me, Your Majesty.”

As soon as he entered the room, the high priest Conrad immediately bowed to Yuri.

On his back were the figures of eight girls in all.

“Wow…! It’s really Your Majesty Yuri!”

“Yes, I’m Yuri. How do you do?”

Yuri smiled at the girl who raised her voice happily.

It’s no exaggeration to say that Yuri’s face is already well known to all the people because of her daily [Broadcast], and each of the eight girls looked at Yuri with a happy expression on their faces, as if they were watching a celebrity.

“We’ve brought in children who are at least 25 years old.”

“I see, so they’re ‘older’ here.”

As a rule, orphanages are run to provide support for children under the age of thirty who have no parents. So when a child in an orphanage reaches the age of 30, he or she must leave after being given a home and some money to live on by the government.

So here, if you’re over 25, you’re old enough to be treated as ‘older’.

However―――25 years old in this world is equivalent to about 12 years old in Yuri’s sense, having lived in Japan for many years.

They are still quite young, though… It’s not like I’m asking them to do anything difficult, so I guess there’s no problem.

“…? Why does it look like it’s all girls?”

“Yes. Boys like to challenge the “Labyrinth”, and all of them have already earned some money. We decided that girls would be more convenient this time.”

“Oh, I see…”

For a moment, Yuri thought that the high priest of Conrad had brought a select group of girls to entertain the womanizer Yuri. But it seems that I was mistaken.

“It’s okay if that’s the case. However, we don’t intend to limit it to women, so please be aware of that.”

“I understand. If there is a boy who does not actively use the labyrinth in the future, I will entrust him with this role as well.”

“That’s fine then. ―――If any boys don’t want to use the labyrinth in the future, let them take over the role.”

When Yuri asked, the eight girls answered with full of energy.

“We’re going to take care of the chickens!”

“We collect the eggs!”

“We feed and water them!”

“―――Yes, very well. You seem to be getting the gist of it.”

Yuri smiled and nodded to the girls.

That’s all I need to know.

“So, from today on, you will be taking care of the chickens.”