Volume 2 - CH 9.1

The next day, the mansion was busy with preparations for the banquet until the evening, but before the sun went down, everything was ready and all we had to do was wait for the guests to arrive.

I was supposed to be Olympia's secretary and bodyguard this time. I'm wearing a pair of sunglasses I made just in case anyone knows who I am, and I'm using a fake name.

As the sun went down and darkness enveloped the outside, the carriages of the party participants arrived one after another. The reason why there were not many fancy carriages was because this banquet was supposed to be a private affair. With the information network of the nobles, the other nobles would know that it was a meeting of the Gran family faction, but they would not be able to grasp what was going on inside.

Olympia was welcoming each of them in the entrance hall. I waited nearby, observing the nobles to see how well they were guarded, but none of them looked very strong. Even the Duke's guards, who looked the strongest, didn't look as intimidating as Adriana's.

All the nobles who come here choose humans as their guards. Naturally, they are human supremacists, so hiring people from different races as their guards is out of the question. However, if you actually want to hire an elf as a guard, it's better to hire an elf than a human. They are more capable than humans, and their personalities are more disciplined, and they try to keep the promises they make.

When I looked at Olympia, I saw that she was chatting with a nobleman. The man glances at me from time to time, perhaps because my sunglasses are unusual.

「Olympia-dono, your bodyguard seems to be wearing something strange on his face?」

「He said to be a magic tool to compensate for his eyesight.」

「Houh, there is such a magic tool? Where did he get it? I'd like to have one myself if I could.」

「Unfortunately, he refused to tell me where he get from, saying that it might interfere with the escort mission. ......」

「Hmm, that can't be helped. Let me know when you get a chance to get your hands on that thing.」

I checked the list, and the guy talking to Olympia right now is the Marquis Kensit. He must have been famous as a collector of magic tools, so he must be interested in these sunglasses. Unfortunately, they don't have the vision correction effect that Olympia is talking about.

The Marquis was urged by the butler to go to the hall, the venue of the event. After that, some more nobles came, and finally Duke Stark came, and all the nobles invited this time gathered in this mansion.

※

They were enjoying eating and chatting in the hall until the entertainment of the banquet began. From the outside, they all seemed to be getting along well, but underneath the surface, they were engaged in ugly conflicts of interest or trying to reverse the power relationship.

If you listen to them, you can see that they are looking for an opportunity to take advantage of you, even if it seems like a friendly conversation. Nobles are nothing but people who are honest to their own desires.

Seeing that everyone had finished eating, Olympia stepped forward. The news that Cyrus had fallen ill had already spread throughout the nobility, and no one had any doubts about her stepping forward in his place.

「Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your patience. Thank you very much for coming to the dinner party of our Gran family tonight. I hope that this occasion will strengthen our unity so that our faction can continue to develop further.」

After that, Olympia continued with her lengthy preamble, and I was already getting tired of it.

As I was admiring how they could listen to such a boring story, an old man stepped forward from among the nobles. He was quite old, but his mood and demeanor did not show his age at all. He is the Duke Stark.

「Olympia-dono, I think that's enough. Even though Cyrus-dono has fallen ill, the fact that you summoned us, as a substitute, means that you have something to say that is worthy of us.」

「That is correct, Duke Stark. I have summoned all of you here today because I have important information about our faction, and I have a proposal.」

「Hou? You're quite confident, aren't you? Then let's hear what that information you provided for us」

「Very well. Bring those people over here.」

She grabbed one of the maids who was nearby and sent her to get one of the main attractions of the party. Shortly after, the maid brought the person in. The moment they saw the person who came in, the whole hall stopped moving. It was the Duke Evarts, a Dark Elf nobleman with silver hair and brown skin, the most famous of them all.

He walked in with a cloth chewed over his mouth to prevent him from speaking and a chain connected to his collar pulled. His eyes were filled with hatred for the nobles in the hall, but a maid tugged on the chain and dragged him halfway to the front.

「What do you think? Duke Evarts here has succumbed to our faction and made us swear to inform on their faction from now on. It is a natural consequence of a Dark Elf trying to challenge our faction, but don't you think this is enough to make a move?」

「...... This surprised me. Cyrus-dono was a man of great wisdom, but you seem to have a talent that goes beyond that. So, what more do you want us to do?」

「Thank you for the compliment. And I'm sure, Stark-dono, you'll soon know the answer to that question.」

The nobles looked at Olympia as if they were looking at something incredible. She replied to the Duke's words with a relaxed attitude, unconcerned about such gazes.

「Now, ladies and gentlemen, this is the information I wanted to give you this time. I believe that this will help the forces of the "meritocracy" to lose their momentum. So I would like to make a proposal to you, but before that, please accept this first.」

With Olympia's words, the doors to the Great Hall opened again and the same number of Dark Elves as the invited guests entered. They were the Dark Elves that I had brought back here from the mansion in the royal capital. They were all naked, and wore only bangles with brainwashing and force-sealing magics.

「It is a small gift from me. They're not a virgin, but I have already trained them in one way or another, so please use them as you wish.」

Many of the invited guests smirked and grinned at Olympia's words, and looked at the Dark Elf who had come to them with a rapt gaze. It was obvious at a glance that they were thinking of sexual things, but Olympia didn't lose the slightest bit of her attitude at such a sight.

There were some people who just didn't like her surprise. It was some of the big-name nobles, led by Duke Stark. For them, slaves of this level can be bought at any price.

「Do you think you've gotten pleased us with something like this? You should have prepared a more rare and valuable slave anyway.」

「No, Duke. The sideshow hasn't started yet. This is more of a participation prize.」

「What?」

Duke Stark gave a quizzical look at Olympia's words, but he sat back down deeply in his seat, as if he was ready to hear the rest of the story. After seeing this, she began to speak again with an acting gesture.

「Ladies and gentlemen, I'm sure you are all aware of the fact that this poor Evarts-dono dotes on his wife and his two daughters. Now that this man is here, what is going on with the rest of his family?」

「No way. ......」

「Right, here's the answer.」

Olympia gave the signal again, and another maid brought Melvina, Celia, and Claire. They, too, were naked and wearing only collars, just like the Dark Elves earlier.

The three of them were huddled together as if to hide themselves from the gaze of the nobles, but their embarrassment stimulated the nobles' curiosity. The Duke Stark was not expecting this, and his eyes widened as he stared at the three of them.

「Tonight's entertainment is the public spanking of Melvina, the Marquise Evarts, and his two daughters, Celia and Claire. You can sleep with the owner of one of the five most beautiful women in the Demon Empire in front of her husband. This is also a punishment for the Marquis, who is love his wife.」

「No, I see. If you can hold a woman like this, there is no one who will complain. I understand why you have been acting the way you have been. I had no idea you had such a hidden gem in your possession.」

「I'm glad you understand. Now, originally, I would like to give this right to all of you, but unfortunately, they only have three bodies in total. Therefore, I would like to offer this right to you in exchange for a certain condition.」

At Olympia's words, the nobles began to buzz. They were half anxious about what kind of conditions they would be offered, and half hopeful that they would be able to hold the beautiful mother and child. Duke Stark seemed to be unable to make up his mind right away, snarling and looking at Olympia and the three of them in turn.

The guests looked at her for a while, and when they had grown impatient with her refusal to speak, she began to speak again, adding an exaggerated gesture.

「I will now tell you the conditions. Our Gran family is recognized as the pinnacle of the faction, and everyone who belongs to our faction must obey the orders of the Gran family. That is the condition for embracing them.」

As soon as they heard the conditions, the nobles began to buzz even louder than before, but it was within their expectations. The Gran Family are Duke, and are near the center of the human supremacist noble faction, but the Duke Stark and the Marquis Kensit have the same level of position. In other words, Olympia is tantamount to asking them to come under House Gran.

I don't think any nobleman would be able to accept such a condition. The bigger the nobleman is, the more they prioritizes their position and interests. They will never make a decision to abandon their position even if they are shown a partner they will never be able to have again.

Some of the lesser nobles do not care about such fences, but to insist on embracing them here would be an act of indirect betrayal of the other great nobles. For their own protection, they can't come forward.

As a result, no one came forward to embrace Melvina and the others, and in an awkward atmosphere, the Duke Stark stood up, quietly seething with anger.

「What I'm going to say is. ...... Don't get carried away just because you got a little credit, little girl.」

「So you think Duke Stark can't accept the terms I've offered?」

「I tolerated you because you was acting on behalf of Duke Gran, but I couldn't help it if you made such a fool of me. Let's give you a little roast.」

With Duke Stark's words, the guards he had brought with him had somehow gotten behind Olympia and were bringing out their knives on her. The thrust was timed to kill, and no ordinary man would have been able to avoid or prevent it. A smirk of mockery appeared on the face of the guy who thought it was a perfect decision.

However, the tip of the blade that was about to be thrust into her neck was flicked away with a high-pitched sound just before it was about to hit her. Naturally, the timing of the kill shot was missed, leaving a huge gap for the guards, but I wasn't about to miss it. I immediately activated my counterattack <Fear> and knocked the guard into a coma. Duke Stark was extremely upset by this result.

「Is it a joke in Duke Stark's own way to send out assassins out of spite just because you hasn't been able to take any credit for it? It's not funny, to be frank.」

「Kkhhh, why was that attack prevented ......?」

「My guards were one step ahead of you. So let's return the favor from here.」

Olympia gave me a signal, I nodded to her and walked up to Duke Stark. He was weeping uncontrollably for his age, and was trying desperately to escape by slipping off his chair as if he had lost his back.

「D-Don't you dare come here! Do you think it's okay for a lowly person like you to approach me!?　I'm the head of the Stark family, which has been serving the country since the founding of our Demon Empire in the reign of the first emperor. ......」

「Shut up. I don't like long conversations.」

「Wh-What are you ...... Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Stoooop iiiiiiit!」

I walked up to the Duke, who was not even begging for his life, and activated a less powerful <Fear>. If it was a normal power, he would have fainted immediately, but because of the weakened power, the trauma and psychological pain hit him to the extent that he could barely faint.

After about a minute of this, he finally reached his limit and fainted, foaming at the mouth. He seemed to be piss himself as well, and I hurriedly pushed him away before he could get to his feet.

Olympia looked at him with satisfaction, and then looked around at the other nobles with the same expression on her face.

「Ladies and gentlemen, it seems that Duke Stark has not accepted my terms. I'm very sorry to hear that, but will the rest of you be able to accept my terms as well as Duke Stark's?」

Instead, she glared at the guests with the gaze of a bird of prey hunting for its prey. The Marquis　Kensit stepped forward, as if he could no longer stand the atmosphere as if he was judging his next prey.

「P-Please calm down, Olympia-dono. I don't consider the conditions you just mentioned to be that bad. However, I feel that those conditions are too much of a concession on our part, or perhaps a little unequal. ......」

「So you're saying that unless I make a concession, you can't accept the terms I just gave you?」

「No, no, no, no, no, I'm not saying that! I'm willing to accept those conditions. That's what I want you to understand first. ......」

From his point of view, he may not like the idea of being taken advantage of by a little girl the age of his own child, but he doesn't know what Olympia will do to him if he goes against her now. The other nobles seemed to agree, nodding their heads in agreement with the Marquis Kensit's words.

「In other words, I'd like to say that I'm very much in favor of putting the Gran family at the top, and that it would be easier to get everyone else's approval if we got a little benefit from it as well.」

「I see. If you agree to the conditions, we will certainly give you preferential treatment as well.」

「Ohhh, I think you get the idea.」

As Olympia showed her understanding, the nobles' expressions showed relief. The Marquis Kensit, for example, must have been feeling more nervous than anyone else because he was standing in the line of fire.

「Now, ladies and gentlemen, let me remind you once again that you must never disobey the orders of the Gran family. Can you accept this, please?」

The invited guests hurriedly nodded their agreement to Olympia's reconfirmation. The number of people who defied her was smaller than expected. They must have decided that they would only be attacked by me if they defied her here, but this is also within the scope of the plan. I don't think there will be any problem with the number of people who follow.

「Thank you very much. Now, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to keep my promise to you as well. Please use this beautiful mother and daughters as much as you like.」

Olympia then indicated Melvina and the others with her hand. Immediately, the nobles forgot their earlier fears and approached the girls with their noses stretched sloppily. As a result, they were separated from the guards they had brought with them and left unprotected.

In the meantime, I unleashed the <Fear> on the guards, causing them to fall into a coma, and at the same time, I released the bracelets on the Dark Elves. The Dark Elves, who had been quietly following the nobles, took off their bracelets and put them on the nobles. No one was able to respond to this surprise attack, and we were able to brainwash the nobles without any effort. I was glad to have succeeded in my plan, which I had launched at random without much time to spare.

I approached Melvina and the others, who seemed unsure of what had happened, and hugged them on the shoulder to reassure them. Olympia looked at me enviously for a moment, but I pretended not to notice.

「I'll let the nobles here contribute to the victory of the kingdom. But I'm not too familiar with the situation in the Demon Empire. Olympia, please take care of the detailed instructions on your end.」

「Very well.」

I'll arrange a meeting with the king, and for now, I'll dispose of the fallen guards and clean up after the nobles.

※

At the request of Celia and Claire, who had made me feel a little uncomfortable with the events of the day, I had to sleep in their embrace for the night.

The next day, the nobles left before the sun rose, and the maids were now hurriedly cleaning up. We decided to have the nobles bring the Dark Elves back since they could use them as liaisons.

As for Duke Stark, he was suffering from a mental breakdown due to extreme trauma, so I had no choice but to extract the trauma of yesterday's events using <Memory Extraction>, and then put on a brainwashing bracelet like everyone else.

「Master, I'm thinking of sending a secret messenger to the kingdom.」

「Ah, in that case, I'll take you with me when I return to the kingdom. If you can spare a couple of days, what do you say?」

「I'd love that. I'll go finish the rest of my work. Please wait a moment.」

It looks like she's coming with me. Well, I suppose it's only natural, since I can ignore the whole weeks-long travel schedule if I take her to the kingdom in transfer. She finished her work before noon, so I transferred with her to my residence.

When we got back to the kingdom, Tia was just cleaning my room. She noticed me, but didn't approach me, wary of the unseen Olympia next to me.

「Welcome back, Master. By the way, who in the world is this woman?」

「This is Olympia, the acting head of the Duke Gran, a noble family of the Demon Empire. She's currently in charge of the dukedom on behalf of the Duke Gran, who has fallen ill. The reason I brought her here this time is to make a secret pact with the kingdom.」

「...... Is this a guide to informal relations? Is this the plan master was talking about?」

「That's about it. In the meantime, lunch is not ready yet, so please prepare the meal.」

「Certainly, please wait a moment, sir.」

As I watched her leave the room, Olympia looked at me with a puzzled expression. I wondered if there was something bothering her.

「Yard-sama, that person seems to be a maid, but she seemed to be a good terms with you for that. Could it be that she was a concubine or something and was already become Yard-sama handmaiden?」

「Not a concubine, but something similar.」

I couldn't be bothered to explain, so I just said something appropriate and ended the conversation. I took her to the dining room, where I found Sophie and Natalia. They were chatting in friendly manner, but when they saw me, they both smiled.

However, when they noticed Olympia next to me, Sophie tilted her head slightly with a curious expression, and Natalia instantly approached me with a grimace on her face.

「Welcome back, Yard-sama. Is she your guest over there?」

「I know it's been a few days, but I missed you. So, did you get the girl again?」

They spoke to me in the kingdom language, but Olympia couldn't understand a word they said, so she looked at me with a wry smile. I put the <Translator> on Olympia, and she was a little surprised to hear the kingdom language converted into her language.

「It's nice to meet you, I'm Olympia Lia Gran Daro, daughter of Duke Gran, a noble of the Demon Empire. I'm currently serving as the acting head of the family in place of my father who has fallen ill. Please make my acquaintance.」

「Yard, why did you bring a nobleman from an enemy country here? Did you fall for some kind of trap?」

「No, if anything, I caught her.」

「You're as quick as ever. I wonder if you'll ever get over your flirtatious nature.」

Natalia ignored Olympia and teasing me. Not only did I use her as a pawn, but I actually had my hands on her, so there was no excuse. I thought that if I told her about Melvina and the others, she would be even angrier, but I let her words go unheard.

Sophie, on the other hand, was talking to her in the same manner as usual, even though the nobles of the Demon Empire were right in front of her. I guess she is the type of person who keeps her personal feelings and political discussions separate.

「Well, you are a senior nobleman, aren't you? I'm Count Werner's wife there, and I'm the first princess of the kingdom, Sophia Le Henrient Werner. This is the first time I've spoken to a person from the Demon Empire, so please forgive me if I behave rudely.」

「I thought you were a noble person, but you are Her Highness, aren't you? I apologize for my rudeness.」

Olympia is kneeling down and giving a bow in the style of the Demon Empire, and Sophie is talking to her in a rather casual manner. The two of them are not much different in terms of rank, but Sophie is better than her in a way. It's hard to say since they come from different countries, but judging from their attitudes, it's probably right to treat them as such.

「I was going to ask you myself, but if Her Highness is here, it will be easier. As a matter of fact, I was about to send a secret messenger to His Majesty the King of this country, but I was wondering if Her Highness could intercede for me.」

「Let' see ......」

「It seems that there is a reason for this, but let's talk about it after dinner. Now that the Yard is back, I'd like to talk to the Yard without any formalities first. I'm sure Sophie feels the same way.」

「Uh, well, ......」

「I see, well, let's have dinner first. We can talk about business later.」

Natalia gave me a helping hand, and I gratefully agreed to end the conversation once and for all. A little while later, the maids started bringing in the food one after another, so we all took our seats and had lunch. In the meantime, I heard a lot about the mansion while I was gone, but I was relieved to hear that there were no problems of any kind.

「Speaking of which, did Yard-sama and Olympia-sama meet at the fort?」

「Yes, that's right. When the fort was brought down, I was prepared to die, but Yard-sama warmth saved me, and I'm very grateful to him.」

「I see, but why did you choose to join the side of the Kingdom? I don't want to say too much, but even though you have lost the fort, the kingdom is still not in a dominant position. I can't think of any advantage to joining our side.」

「The current Emperor is based on a meritocracy regardless of race, but my family has always been a human family, and has always rejected other races, so we don't have a good relationship with the Emperor. If we want to maintain the status quo and lose power, it would be better for us to turn to the side of the Kingdom, so that we can still have hope.」

「Hmm, a family that has been eliminating other races for generations doesn't sound very flexible.」

「Natalia-san, it's rude of you to say such a thing.」

「Yes, you're absolutely right. Thank you, Your Royal Highness, for your concern.」

Natalia is not really interested in the conversation itself, or she is unapologetically rude, and Sophie is not really following up, but Olympia is socially grateful for their words. The scary thing is that there is absolutely no malice on the part of anyone in this place, and the atmosphere is very friendly.

When the meal was over in such an atmosphere, Olympia left the dining room with Sophie to discuss the details. I thought about following her, but since I hadn't been to the mansion in a while, I decided to take a bath first, so I left Natalia and headed for the bath.