CH 164

Side: Yuki

「For now, I’d like to go with about half the weapons and half the food, but only as much as I can carry. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be an escape, but it would be suspected as a handout」

「…Okay」

The princess noticed immediately afterward, but it seems that she wasn’t as energetic as before.

「No matter what happens, don’t mess with us. Even the villagers. If such a thing should happen, we’ll have to fight back」

「I… understand」

「Haa, we are not getting anywhere like this. Jessica, have you brought enough food for her to last the entire trip to the city?」

「…Yes. It’s probably no a problem. It will be somewhat lacking, but she won’t starve」

I let Jessica, who’s behind me, assess the situation.

What can I say, she’s sure convenient to have. As local people, of course.

Of course, Ria is also here. There’s no guarantee they won’t say something like, ‘You’re in the palace, Jessica!!’. (TN: It is a phrase from the Edo period, in which no matter the reason, if you drew a sword in the palace, you would be killed.)

Well, I don’t think they will do something to harm her.

「…Forgive me, Jessica」

After Jessica speaks, the princess says such words in frustration.

「No, princess, under normal circumstances we would all be beheaded, or all the women would be used as playthings. As long as I’m the only one staying and everyone is safe, I have no complaints」

「…If only I didn’t lose」

「I’m happy you feel that way. However, if you go back on your word, this time you would be killed. So please, keep your composure. I’ll be fine, I’ll use this body to ensnare Yuki and bring him in front of the princess as your subordinate」

Eh? What’s that? So scary.

It’s a joke of course, but this is the best way to avoid antagonizing us.

There’s no shortage of possibilities with Mauve and Steve, but I’m the one with the most power behind the scenes.

Indeed, a word from me can change everything.

「I… see. Yes, I’m looking forward to that day!!! Take care of yourself. If you do have a kid, don’t be hard on him, okay?」

「Of course. That child is not guilty of anything」

Are they assuming that she would have a kid?

No, if you’re a prisoner and a woman, the best measure to prevent someone from escaping would be to make born a child full of love.

So, in some way, you can ensure your safety despite being a prisoner. Of course, only if she becomes my girl.

Of course, I don’t intend to do that. I’ve got my hands full right now, and even though my wives are nearly half pregnant and I have fewer nighttime partners, I still do it every day.

「For the time being, I’m not going to treat Jessica like that. Well, if you come to attack us, she may be treated worse. You’re going to have to come up with a good excuse to convince the Zilba Empire」

「I don’t want to fight with you and your mercenaries, either」

「However, isn’t there a chance that you, the princess will be executed for this failure?」

「Althought the possibility is not zero, it’s almost impossible」

「Indeed. It’s impossible」

「Why is that? You came here to subjugate them with orders you got from above, right? I’m sure there’s a fair amount of punishment for failure. Or are you going to report that you completed your orders?」

「Yes, the princess will report that she completed her orders. Or rather, she will say that there were no targets to be defeated in the first place」

「Ah, I see. She’ll say something like, the demi-humans escaped, or that the escaped soldiers are lying?」

「That’s right. The former. That they escaped before she could do anything」

「What do you plan to do with those noble survivors? They are going to say a lot of things, aren’t I right?」

「You don’t have to worry about that. In the first place, the nobility forced us to move without consulting others, so even if what we say is a lie, they would have no choice but to shut up. If she has to go further, she will just say that there were a few orcs during the battle, or rather, I killed one orc, and report that I died in the battle」

「That way, it would explain how my army was damaged, but the fact that we defeated the orcs wouldn’t make it a disadvantage. If a noble told that I was lying, nobody would believe him. In fact, I was planning on escaping at the end and I won’t dig my own grave purposely」

Fumu fumu, all of that just because of one orc?

It’s a good thing that I called the weakest summons I could to test the waters.

After all my orcs are on par with Steve’s unit.

「But, are you okay with that? Wouldn’t be the demi-human suspicious of you if we escape? Or did you talk with them?」

「Then I’ll have all of you escape together」

「Ah, you’re right」

「There’s a precedent of soldiers being released from their side. Moreover, they have been complaining about our results, so we have been working with the villagers to keep an eye on the prisoners. That’s why, when you run away, you can even shout that the demi-humans were careless and let you go. That way our stance will not worsen. In fact, I’ll let you escape when I’ll leave all the surveillance to the demi-humans, so everything is OKAY」

「I see. So that way your stance won’t get worse, huh?」

「Now it’s up to you, the princess to escape. I don’t mind if you hurt the demi-humans a little」

「I understand」

After that exchange, we split up.

Now it only remains to wait for the results.

「A person from the human race has escaped!!」

One villager raises his voice.

「What the hell were you doing!!」

「I’m sorry, I took my eyes of a little and in that gap!!」

「Gather everyone!!」

「It’s impossible! There are more people escaping than there are in the village. There’s nothing we can do about it!!」

At night, at the scheduled time, such a commotion can be heard over here.

Now, it’s time to show ourselves.

「What’s going on?」

My other wives and Mauve and the others pretend not to know, and they look as if they have learned about the commotion for the first time.

「So you all were the one who let escape that woman’s army!!? Do something about it!」

「Huh? Can you capture 2500 people in the dark? Or rather, gather everyone in the village and prepare for defense immediately!! There’s a good chance they’re going to attack us!!」

「Guu, it’s exactly as you said, I’ll gather everyone in the village!!」

After saying that, one of the guards starts running.

「Now, everything is going as expected. As public stance, we’ll be in an emergency state, and stay holed up. After some time, we will go to talk to the village chief」

「I understand」

「Okeyー. I can’t wait to see the looks on their faces」

「Fufufu… I wonder what kind of face will they show when they are apologizing?」

Riel and Kaya are frankly black-hearted, but as for Tori, she replies expressionless, so it’s scary.

「Now, do you want to explain to me what just happened?」

Two hours later, in the dark, we were summoned to the elder’s house.

「I’m sure you already know, but… every soldier of the Zilba Empire that you have captured… has escaped… with the exception of this woman」

「What’s the cause? I believe it was when I left the security to you all, am I right?」

「A young man who was working as a guard… was killing time with his sword when they made fun of his swinging so he was handed a wooden sword and was challenged to a duel, and ended knocked down, and that’s the cause」

Hey hey, that’s not security at all.

Well, I suppose it’s natural given that they are villagers…

「Besides, their numbers outnumber ours so instead of chasing them, they were trying hard to protect themselves from being attacked-ja」

「It’s the same for us… Now, how do you plan to fix this? Now without the bargaining chip slip, they’re going to come back in even greater numbers, I’m not right? It would be even harder for us to escape now. Rather, wouldn’t be the entire area wiped out from demi-humans?」

Alright, I can’t wait to see what her response will be.

If you want to run away, you’ll do it on your own, and if we see each other later, we’ll use this mistake in our favor.

If you’re asking for help, you will no longer be our equal. You failed many times. You’ll be only accepted in the form of being under our orders. Depending on the situation.

「We lost our future after this failure… That’s why we will follow your people, as our leaders, so please, let the demi-humans survive. I implore you. Won’t you please help us?」

So in the end, you choose to come under our leadership?

I wonder if this will make negotiations easier with the demi-humans?

The disadvantages are many, but I’m sure it will work somehow.

Originally, I was the one who made the first move, and as long as they don’t get in my way, I’ll take care of them.

「I understand what you want. Then you’ll have to work hard? In other words, if you don’t want to be under our control and follow our orders, get the hell out of this village. I want this to be the last time for you all to be standing in our way」

I say that and look around.

All the demi-humans get my gaze, some of them flinch, but they don’t run away.

「I’m not going to make unreasonable demands, such as you offering women to us. But if you don’t want to die, you’re going to have to follow my instructions. First of all, build a defensive wall so that it’s okay even if the enemy who escaped turn back and come to attack us. Except for the women and children who work on the farm, all the rest will join us? What’s your response!!」

「「「Yes!!」」」

At least their reply is good.

Now, what will happen from now on?