Chapter 78 — Strategy

Chapter 78: Strategy.

Hiding out of eyesight, I start to make my way outside. According to the knight, the evil god is apparently two days away. Assuming they’re most likely keeping pace with the monsters the succubus is bringing along, that amount of distance should take me a single day on horseback.

In any case, I need to secure a means of transport first. Let’s borrow a horse from somewhere. I’ve never ridden one before, but if it’s just riding, I’m sure I can manage somehow.

「Whoops…!」

As I’m walking through the mansion and mulling it over, a knight passes right by in the hallway in front of me.

…It’s not like I can’t come up with a suitable excuse if I’m spotted, but I want to avoid trouble as much as possible. And I’m on the first floor now, so maybe it’ll be harder to spot me if I leave the mansion.

-I open a window and go outside. And I come out in the garden. Relying on the light escaping from the windows, I walk towards the mansion’s gate.

「Can’t see at all this late at night, huh… well, I think I can manage to get out, at least…」

On the way, I feel the sensation of something hitting my head. From the feel of it, it was probably a drop of water or something. I wonder if it’s going to start raining? …As long as it’s not bird crap.

「…Sheesh, what now…」

I touch my head.

…It’s kinda sticky. What is this?

To determine the origin, I look up.

-There’s a dragon head there.

「Whooaaah!?」

…I completely forgot. Oh yeah, Ruruka’s Earth Dragon was here in the courtyard. And it’s late at night, so since it was huddled next to the trees, I didn’t notice it at all.

「Guru…」

The dragon looks at me and growls. Man… seeing it again like this, this dragon is scary after all. It’s huge, it has fangs and claws, and it can emit that breath.

I really can’t understand Ruruka’s sensibilities, calling this cute. I wonder if her “cuuute!” was referring to herself or something? It did seem like she really adores this thing, though.

「Listen, don’t move, okay? I’m a little busy right now. I don’t have time to worry about you.」

It looks scary, but dragons can supposedly understand human speech. I hold my hand straight out, conveying a ‘stop’ intent, while slowly backing away.

-That instant.

The dragon tries to bite my outstretched hand.

「Hey, wai…!!」

I panic and fall right down on my ass. The dragon’s face steadily comes nearer.

Now the dragon is close enough that I can feel its breath hitting my face. Ah, this is hopeless. Before I fight the evil god, I’ll be killed by Ruruka’s pet. Just how meticulously is she caring for it? The dragon’s faintly minty breath brushes along my cheek.

And then- it licks me. After that, the dragon starts to rock its head a little, trying to nuzzle against my roughed-up face.

「…Nn…?」

Well this is different.

…It’s kinda like it’s super attached to me. Why is that?

…By some chance, I wonder if the dragon remembers that I ordered Yuel to save it? If that’s the case, it’s got a rather strong sense of duty. Even though that was quite a while ago. If Yuel-san herself came, I wonder how it would express its affection?

…That’s it. I was searching for a horse, but maybe I don’t need to look any further. And this thing is way faster than a horse.

「…Hey, I’d kinda like you to give me a ride somewhere… would you do that for me?」

I query the dragon. When I do, the dragon makes a little growl in affirmation.

Strong winds are hitting my face. Thanks to the saddle that Ruruka attached, the dragon is an unexpectedly comfy ride. So much so that I only need to hold on with one hand.

If I let Yuel ride it next time, she’ll probably be thrilled.

With me riding on the dragon’s back, we fly dozens of meters in the sky for just under half a day. Finally, I spot a black cluster in the direction of the royal capital.

Most likely, that’s the succubus’ monster army.

…Unlike the ones around Merhatz, there are some considerably strong-looking monsters mixed in. And the evil god who uses large-scale magic should also be in there somewhere.

「This is close enough.」

The dragon lowers its altitude and I get off. When I do, the dragon flies off as if running away. I know why it’s running away. I can’t really blame the dragon for it either.

Just like that, I head towards the horde of monsters, walking slowly. Most likely, they already noticed my presence from far off.

…If I’m attacked here, one strike and I’m out. I retrieve a certain something from my item box. After that, I wave it around exaggeratedly, making it highly visible.

-As I do, from within the mass of monsters, I notice one of them fly up into the sky and come towards me.

Most likely, it’s the succubus. Once she gets within several meters of me, she calls out.

「So you really came alone. Not to mention, a white flag? …You don’t feel like fighting?」

…That’s right, what I’m holding in my hand is an improvised white flag. Emphasizing my lack of fighting spirit, I shorten the distance between myself and the succubus.

「Yeah, I don’t feel like fighting you guys one bit.」

「What… don’t tell me you were driven out? Since Evil God-sama took the royal capital hostage? …We were only expecting something like that to cause some internal discord for a while, though.」

「No, it’s not like I was kicked out. I read the records concerning the war with the evil god, and I concluded that there was absolutely no chance of winning even with the knights fighting. I came here to become an apostle of the evil god. Also, while we’re at it, I want to create that harem you mentioned before. I wanna build the greatest harem, and pick the most beautiful women from all around the world.」

The succubus shows no particular sign of attacking. She likely already knows that I myself have no fighting ability. Perhaps curious about my reason for coming here alone, she’s maintaining a steady distance a few meters ahead of me as she converses with me. There’s no sign of large-scale attack magic flying this way, either.

…Does that mean the first phase of my strategy has broken through? If he had launched large-scale attack magic the moment he detected my presence, it would have ended with me unable to do a thing.

I was confident that I wouldn’t be attacked, though. I estimated that there was a 60-70% chance that it would be fine.

「I-Is that so. Well, Evil God-sama’s resurrection isn’t complete, either. For the sake of achieving Evil God-sama’s supremacy, you could prove useful from now on. I’ll go consult with Evil God-sama. Wait a while.」

The succubus makes a bit of a disgusted face at my words and says that. After that, she flies off towards the horde of monsters.

…Man, it’s just as I suspected, huh? The evil god’s resurrection is apparently incomplete.

I figured that was probably the case, though. For the evil god to use large-scale destruction magic, naturally he must have an enormous enough mana capacity to use large-scale magic. In order to revive said evil god, it shouldn’t have been possible to find a priest anywhere who would serve as an adequate vessel. Thinking about how to truly revive the evil god completely, about the only way would be to use me as the vessel.

「Could that possibly be the evil god?」

Even while the succubus was talking to me, the swarm of monsters continued marching this way. I try straining my eyes, and I notice a small humanoid silhouette riding on top of a giant troll. A black-clothed, black-haired… man. The succubus is buzzing around that man, seemingly discussing something with him.

I wonder if that man is the evil god? He looks human-like from this far off, though.

The succubus keeps gesticulating; it seems like she’s trying to convince him of something. Most likely, persuading him that he should want to make me their ally or something.

Knowing the succubus, I figured she would be receptive towards me joining their camp. For the evil god faction, even if they destroy this country, the world is still packed with other nations of mankind. Though he may be the evil god, if his resurrection is incomplete, a massive alliance between the nations of mankind could end up giving him a hard fight.

-And that’s where I come in.

My ability has extremely high affinity with the succubus, and she can control me freely. Plus she’s already aware of my heartfelt desire to create a harem, so she should want to win me over as an ally by all means.

That’s right, succubus, persuade him. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that my strategy depends entirely on you.

-A few minutes pass like that, then the succubus comes near me once again.

「Evil God-sama has agreed to make you an apostle. I’ll take you over to him.」

As the succubus talks, her eyes glow red. Then she mutters with a sneer.

「Well of course. It’s not like he believed you.

…You’ll join us, but deprived of your reason.」

「Guh…」

…Looks like tricking her won’t be so simple. Like the last time, I stagger up to the succubus.

「Huhu…」

Seeing that, the succubus lets out a laugh. She must be delighted that I’m giving such a fitting reaction to her ability. I’m about the only one who’d succumb directly to this ability, after all.

「How’s that, should I give you the kiss of obedience too? You’re about the only man I can tempt right now. I’m in a bit of a good mood, so it’s not like I wouldn’t do it? Once you know the taste of succubus saliva, you’ll absolutely never be able to betray me.」

Getting carried away by the mood, the succubus purses her lips with a “mmmm” and shakes her hips in midair. She must think that I can’t do a thing now that I’m being manipulated. She’s being totally careless.

「Yeah, I would love that.」

Since the succubus is inviting me, I reach my hands out towards her. There’s not even a meter between us anymore.

「Hm…? There’s blood coming from your mouth…?」

The succubus remarks when she looks at my mouth.

Looks like you noticed my abnormality. But even if you notice now, it’s too late. At this distance, I can grab you.

-I take out a certain something from my item box. It’s the one from the church, which originally belonged to the archbishop. This magic tool, the ornate one that Yuel presented to me.

I’ve been questioning it this whole time. The archbishop was trying to revive the succubus. That was in order to create his wonderful world where he can do dirty things to girls. But for that, he would naturally need some means of controlling the succubus. How exactly was the archbishop going to try to control her?

And the answer was- this collar.

At the time, I thought the succubus was going to be petrified anyway, so I wasn’t expecting to get to use this. But now, in this situation, this collar will be my strongest trump card. This is no mere monster-manipulating collar.

-It’s a highest-grade “Subordination Collar”, which can control even an apostle of the evil god at will.

「That’d be ’cause I was biting the inside of my cheek to resist, of course.」

I attach that collar to the succubus without hesitation. She was careless. Since I was easily manipulated before, I could be easily manipulated this time as well? Such negligence is fatal.

-I was biting the inside of my cheek, enduring the temptation via the pain.

「What the…!?」

…Also, I don’t intend to tell the succubus this, but on the way here, I was using Slime Jelly while riding on the dragon.

I’m currently in “sage mode”. I’m most likely the only one in human history who’s joined the Mile High Club with Slime Jelly. The dragon was moaning in utter disgust and squirming, but well, that was for the sake of humanity too. The dragon fled to the skies the instant I dismounted, but I hope it will find it in its heart to forgive me.

Although I bet Ruruka would be pissed if she found out. But Ruruka, your dragon was a comfy ride.

「This is… a collar!? Guh…!」

The succubus is surprised at having the collar suddenly put on her. And she instantly tries to take it off. I empower my voice with mana and order her.

「Do not remove the collar.」

「Wh-, My hands, my hands won’t move…!?」

The collar glows red, and the succubus’ movement stops. Success.

…But it’s kinda like a slave crest, huh. Perhaps they use a similar mechanism.

-Now then, having come this far, there’s only one thing left to do.

「Hey, succubus, that thing you told me? It left a huge impression on me, so I still remember it even now.」

「What did I…?」

「That if you and I joined hands, we could even conquer the world. You said that, succubus.

…Well then, the power of the evil god who once set out to conquer the world, and our combined power which could possibly conquer the world. Starting now, why don’t we test which one is stronger?」

The succubus’ face twitches. She quickly turns around and tries to tell the evil god something. But it’s too late.

-If I lead a massive army towards the evil god from the front, we’ll be blown up by his large-scale magic before we get close.

-Even if I lead a small unit on a surprise attack, we’ll be cut down by his overwhelming sword technique.

As far as I can tell from his description in the Bible, the evil god seemingly has no openings. But there’s a way out of this conundrum.

If I can’t lead an army to attack him from the front.

If a surprise attack with a select few will end in my demise.

-Then why don’t I lead a surprise attack with the horde that’s already surrounding the evil god?

I give the order.

「Manipulate the monsters, succubus! Strike down the evil god along with me!!」

Simultaneously, the troll suddenly goes berserk. The evil god is immediately thrown off the troll’s shoulder, falling amidst the swarm of monsters. And, at the spot where he lands, I can see the surrounding monsters vigorously begin their assault.