CH 182

Chapter 182 – Urgent Talk

“You wanted to see me-nodesu?”

As I drifted my gaze around the room, trying to get in touch with Lime and the others, Poizo, perhaps sensing this, sprang up from the wall. Dripping.

“Is Poizo in charge of the escort today?”

“Yes. We take turns for a day.”

Green Slime seeping out of the wall takes on a human form. Though it is a humanoid, it is not constituted from the mid-thigh down.

“I need to get in touch with Sylphy and the others as soon as possible. Can you do it?”

“I can do it-nodesu. But isn’t it dangerous here-nodesu?”

Poizo then turned her gaze to the door of the office. Certainly, it would be a bad idea for Poizo to be seen just by opening one door. It would be possible to relay the message even if she was not visible, but in any case, there is nothing good about having an unrelated person see us communicating with Sylphy and the others.

“Shall we use the back room?”

“The back room. Oh, that door.”

I turn my gaze to the door on the far wall of the space where the reception set is located. I wondered what kind of room it was, but it was a room for secret talks. I see.

“Shall we go then?”

“Oh. You too, Poizo.”

“Yes-nanodesu.”

We headed for the back room door together. Ellen stood first and unlocked the door with a key of some luxurious construction. That’s a mysterious level of security.

Ellen opened the door for us, and we went in first.

“Hmm?”

The room appeared to be a bedroom. The window was small and was attached to a high wall, so it seemed dim even though it was daytime. The walls seemed to be thick. The most conspicuous feature of the room was the large bed. It was truly a king-size bed. And what’s this smell…? It’s a subtle aroma that seems to permeate the room.

“Hey, Ellen.”

The sound of the door being locked sounded exceptionally loud. In the dimly lit room, Ellen’s crimson eyes sparkled bewitchingly.

“H-hey?”

Ellen walked toward me at a brisk pace, emitting an unusual presence. Ellen walks right in front of me and pushes me away.

“…Why didn’t you fall down?”

“No, I’m not so bean sprouted as to be pushed down by Ellen’s slender arms, no matter how much you try to push me down.”

Not to mention that I am now also wearing Wyvern leather armor. Wyvern leather is supple, strong, and shock absorbent. I was also prepared for the push, which is why I could withstand it.

“I thought that was the part where you were supposed to be pushed.”

“No, no, no, no. What are you going to do if you push me away?”

“I was just teasing you.”

“Don’t do it. I mean, it’s the other way around. Why do girls in this world try to push me down? Isn’t something funny? Isn’t it usually the guy who pushes you down?”

“Is that the way things are back home? Then, by all means.”

“No, don’t by all means me. This is not the time for this.”

I poke Ellen hard on her forehead, with her back to the bed and her arms outstretched, and make her sit on the bed. If the situation weren’t what it is, I would have jumped on it, but I really don’t have time for that right now.

“What a coward.”

“Hey.

“Coward.”

“You can’t provoke me. There is an order to things… or something. I have much more experience in that area than you. If you provoke me too much, that’s already a terrible thing, so it’s better for you if you don’t do that.”

“…Mmm.”

Ellen’s cheeks puffed out. She was already looking dissatisfied.

“I think it’s not nice to insinuate a relationship with another woman at a time like this. You pu**y eater.”

“Saint-sama… your language is dirty.”

“That’s so rude of me.”

Where did you learn those words! There really is something off about Ellen. I wonder if she is receiving not only oracles but also suspicious radio waves.

“Are you done-nodesu? If you want, I can leave you alone for an hour or two, you know-nodesu?”

“You don’t have to be so considerate.”

“Now I can also give Kosuke a nice little medication that will blow his rationale out of the water-nodesu.”

“That’s interesting. But I still want my first time to be gentle.”

“It’s difficult-nodesu. It’s hard to do because he’s already a full-blooded beast himself. If you want, I can prescribe the same thing for you-nodesu.”

“Hey, stop it, you idiot. Stop joking around.”

I force myself to stop the horrible conversation. If I don’t do something, Ellen and my chastity will be violated by the diabolical poison slime.

“It can’t be helped-nodesu. But it would be a pity to make her wait too long, wouldn’t it?”

“I know. I’m restraining myself on that, so guess what?”

“I understand-nodesu. Then please wait a moment while I link up the communication.”

With that, Poizo began to drift her gaze in the air. Suddenly, my eyes meet Ellen, who is sitting on her bed.

“What is it…”

“Are you restraining yourself?”

“…That’s right. There’s a position, you know. Right?”

“…Yes, I know. I have a feeling we’ll be resolving that issue soon, though.”

“I don’t know if it will work out that way. As far as I’m concerned, that’s fine.”

Suddenly a familiar voice came from Poizo. It was definitely Sylphy’s voice.

“You don’t mind?”

“No problem. One or two more people won’t matter. If there were ten more, Kosuke wouldn’t be able to handle them, so I’d urge him to be more careful.”

“Please stop; you’ll kill me.”

“It’s not easy being the master of a harem, is it?”

“So you’re literally all by yourself. Now, it’s fun to keep talking about these things, but let’s get down to business, shall we?”

Sylphy urged me to talk. Yes, it’s not a story with much time to spare. Let’s talk quickly.

“Oh, I was able to hand over the scriptures without any problem for the time being, but I received urgent news from Ellen’s boss. It seems that the Holy Kingdom has sent an army of 20,000 troops toward the Merinard Kingdom to mop up the Liberation Army.”

“Twenty thousand… same as twenty years ago. Probably accompanied by a troop of tiger mages.”

“Twenty years ago… It seems like a lot can change in 20 years.”

Twenty years is the equivalent of one or even two generations in the human lifespan. The Holy Kingdom has been in a fierce struggle with the Empire, and it is possible that it has made more powerful strides militarily than it did 20 years ago.

“I am not too familiar with military affairs, but I hear that the Holy Kingdom’s mage units are still playing a trump card on the battlefield. Also, the Holy Knights are the ones to watch out for above all else.”

“Holy Knights… you mean the knights made up of magic users?”

“Yes. It is a group of knights with combat abilities unmatched by ordinary soldiers and knights. Their swords can cut enemy soldiers in half with their armor, and they can cut down enemy mages with no regard for their enemies’ magical attacks.”

“…I hear they’re a group that’s been making headway for a few years or so.”

Sylphy’s voice, which I heard via Poizo, was somewhat dark and blended with a dark atmosphere. I tilted my head inwardly, not understanding why.

“Yes. The first time I heard of it, it was a small group of elite people, but now they are expanding their scale greatly. I am sure they are participating in this expedition.”

“Those holy knights are probably from noble or holy clergy families.”

“…? Yes, it seems so. So what?”

“There are few Elves left in Merinard today. Other subhumans have been reduced in number to a greater or lesser extent over the past twenty years, but there are hardly any Elves left. And in the roughly 20 years since Merinard was defeated, the number of people with magical powers has increased in the Holy Kingdoms. Now that I’ve said all this, I don’t need to say much more, do I?”

“Is that… such a thing?”

Ellen seemed shocked by Sylphy’s words. I was not so shocked because I had heard Sylphy hint at such a thing beforehand. But for Ellen, it seemed to be a shocking story.

“I can’t say for sure because I didn’t actually see it with my own eyes. But I can’t say that there is no connection at all. We have to fight against them… Well, that’s fine. It’s not something we can do anything about now. It’s about how we move forward, isn’t it?”

“Right, so here’s what I’m thinking…”

I told Sylphy about the tactics I had just thought up against the Holy Kingdom Army. In short, a high-speed maneuver force would be organized separately from the regular force, and the high-speed maneuver force would use its maneuverability to ignore key points along the way and occupy Merinesburg, the Holy Kingdom’s main stronghold within the Merinard Kingdom.

By first capturing Merinesburg, which is an important base for commanding the Holy Kingdom’s forces within the Merinard Kingdom, the command structure of the Holy Kingdom’s forces within the Merinard Kingdom will be destroyed so that they cannot coordinate with each other. The Holy Kingdom forces within the Kingdom of Merinard may attempt to retake Merinesburg, but if I repair the walls of Merinesburg and devote myself to an interceptive battle, Merinesburg will not fall in the first place. We can stay holed up and bombard the Holy Kingdom’s army surrounding Merinesburg with the Harpy Air Force for a long time.

And if there is a move to recapture Merinesburg, it will make it easier for the regular forces to capture key positions along the way. After all, that’s how much force will be dispersed. The main force would just have to trample down the key points that have been thinned out.

“In order to carry out this plan, Ellen’s cooperation will be indispensable.”

“There is not much I can do. I think I can only do so much as surrender early.”

“That’s fine. We’ll take care of the mainstream ones. That will ultimately protect you and Kosuke, so leave no stone unturned.”

“…I understand. However, we will not tolerate any unprovoked acts against innocent people. Please keep that in mind.”

“Of course. We do not intend to persecute people simply because they are human. The Merinard Kingdom was originally formed hand in hand between humans and subhumans.”

“…I would like to see as few sacrifices made as possible. That’s all.”

I don’t know how to describe the incompatibility between these two, or the tense atmosphere that comes with it. Well, it may be inevitable when one is a former princess whose hometown was taken away from her, and the other is the saint of the country that took that hometown away from her.

“I have to admit that it pains me to bring Ellen into the mix. Should we just go ahead and kidnap her and use Ellen as a shield to force them to surrender?”

“That would be a bad idea. There would be a tremendous backlash from the Adol believers if we kidnapped a saint.”

“So it’s not good?”

“Not good.”

“I wouldn’t mind being kidnapped. If I don’t, I’ll be burned at the stake by apostates who call themselves the mainstream.”

“It’s possible that eventually, that will be necessary, but that’s not now. I want Eleonora to take control of the people of Merinesburg. What I’m more concerned about is how long it will take for those 20,000 men to arrive.”

“It certainly is. It’s easier to schedule things if you know the time limit.”

“I don’t think we have that much time, considering that my boss sent the messenger after being informed that there are only five days to go to Merinesburg. Perhaps they are already close to the border between the Merinard Kingdom and the Holy Kingdom.”

“If they did reach the border between the Merinard Kingdom and the Holy Kingdom, how long would it take them to get to Merinesburg from there?”

“The march of 20,000 people will not be very fast. If they can advance half a day on foot in a day, it will be good enough. But that is in enemy territory. In the Holy Kingdom, there would be no need to worry about supplies, and even after entering the Merinard Kingdom, they would not have as much trouble getting supplies as they would in hostile territory. It takes about ten days on foot from Merinesburg to the border. Two weeks at the most, if there is room to spare. Let’s send Harpy out on a reconnaissance mission with a golem communicator.”

“I think that would be a good idea. Just make sure to take the utmost precautions for safety, okay?”

“Of course. I will order them to put their own lives above all else. Kosuke will come back, right?”

“Yeah. I have to go back and get things ready. I’ll leave as early as today.”

“I understand. Be careful on your way back. We’ll discuss the details when you get back here.”

“Yeah. Anything from Ellen?”

Ellen shook her head when I asked her that.

“Nothing in particular. Then I’ll be back tomorrow at the latest.”

“I understand. I’ll be waiting for you.”

“…The communication was cut off-nodesu.”

Poizo, who had been acting as a relay until now, shuddered as she said so.

Well, I’ve got a lot to think about… There’s so much to do and think about that I’m afraid I will lose my head. First of all, I think I need to do something about the saint lady who is looking gloomy in front of me.