Volume 3 - CH 9.2

「Master, what's the matter?」

She called out to me, worried about my condition as I had stopped moving with Elle in my arms.

「Oh, no, it's nothing. I was just thinking about something else.」

When I regained consciousness, I decided to hug her. Her slender body was like a child's, and if I put a little more pressure on it, she would break. If you are aiming for a higher level as a magician, you should train your body a little more. It might not be able to withstand the repercussions of strategic-class magic.

「Master, if you don't hurry up, those women might wake up, you know?」

Haha, there's no need to be so hasty, right? I just want to hold you like this for a little while longer.」

「Geez, just a little longer, okay?」

She let out a sigh of dismay at my words, but hugged me back with a happy face.

Looking at her face up close like this, I could see that she was a beautiful girl who was second to none, even among the beautiful women of the mansion. In public, she always has a clear demeanor, but when she's alone with me like this, her emotions change rapidly. I'm honestly glad that she has forgiven me that much.

But I'm sorry for her, but I'm not in a situation where I can grant her request. I hugged her and moved my hand so that she couldn't see it, and invoked the Fifth Type of Telephatic Magic, the <Magic SealSigil>, against her.

「!」

As soon as she realized that I had used the magic, she jumped backward, and pushed me away. But it was too late. By activating it on contact, the <Magic SealSigil> had easily broken through her magic resistance and succeeded in completely blocking her ability to activate the magic.

「Well then, now that you've been sealed, what are you going to do now?」

「Master, what the hell is wrong with you? That's a bit much for a joke, isn't it?」

「Oh, I may not have told you this, but I've set some of my magics to automatically activate in case of unforeseen circumstances. Now, thanks to the activation of the <AwakenedAwake> that was planted to counteract brainwashing magic, this is how I was able to get out from under the influence of the <MesmerizingCharm>.」

「Ah, perhaps ...... Master has such a hobby? Fufu, okay. What should I do after this? I'm the one being hunted down, right?」

「You'd better face the reality, you know?」

She couldn't believe that I had regained consciousness. Because of this, our conversation is not quite on the same page, but that's not a problem because I've told her most of what I want to say.

She was in shock, and she was full of gaps, so I unleashed a <Paralyze> to sealed her movement. She is now under a magic seal, and her magic resistance is lower than that of a normal person, so she can't use any magic she wants.

「It's very serious. Am I supposed to scream? Oh, should I resist?」

「Elle, you made a mistake in your last attempt. You overestimated the power of your magic by taking on a superior opponent. No matter how trivial that mistake was, it was enough to make the difference between victory and defeat.」

「I don't know what you're talking about. Shall we continue sooner than that? You can tear off my clothes, but please make sure I have a change of clothes.」

She refuses to listen to a word I say. I used Spell Cancelation to test it out, but it had no effect. She seemed to be unable to face the reality of the reversal so quickly. This was no longer something that could be treated with magic. I can't cure a crazy mind. It's a shame that she's become like this, because she used to be excellent.

「What's the matter, Master? You can attack me all you want now.　I'm confident in my performance, so you can count on me.」

I approached her as she fell to the ground, her legs losing strength, and placed the tip of the dagger I had just saved in her heart. She seemed to think it was just a game, and looked at me curiously, unfazed.

「Um, Master ......, That would kill me, wouldn't it?」

「Is there a problem?」

「Ah, I see. You're going to revive me later, right? You even use <Resurrection>, that's serious. But it's okay. No matter what kind of hobby Master has, I'll accept everything.」

「No, of course, I'm going to kill you. I won't use <Resurrection> either」

「Ahaha, you're joking, right? I still can't use <Immortality>, so if you don't heal me, I'll just die, you know?」

I swung my sword right beside her to make her understand the situation, which she did not understand at all. The blade made a shallow cut on her cheek and made a high metallic sound as it hit the ground, and blood flowed from her wound immediately after.

「Ma-Master ......? What's wrong with you? Do you hate me now?」

「No, I'm not. You've been the only one wrong from the beginning, Elle」

「Is there something that's upsetting you? Maybe it's because I didn't listen to the Master earlier and made you cum too many times?」

「Elle, your spirit is broken, and it can never be healed.」

「It's not broken. I've been in love with Master ever since you confessed your love to me. And didn't you just tell me that you love me, too?」

「Yes, I love you. As an apprentice, though.」

「Eh?」

Looking at Elle, who had completely stopped moving, I lowered my sword and sat down beside her. She looked at me as if she was looking at something unbelievable, but I didn't care and continued talking.

「I, personally, am willing to help you after you betrayed me. You will have to pay for it, but I believe I was partly responsible for it. However, even if I forgive you, it will not change the fact that you betrayed the kingdom by helping the Demon Empire to kill Leshiana and the people in the fortress. You are already a traitor .」

「You're wrong. I was only trying to help Master, remember? Because the women who seduced Master are all to blame, aren't they? If they hadn't done that, I wouldn't have attacked the fortress either.」

「It makes no difference. The soldiers of the fortress were wiped out and Leshiana lost many elves. There is no place for you in this kingdom. And I can't risk hiding you for the sake of the people in the mansion.」

「So why don't we leave the kingdom together? We can live together in a faraway land, far from the kingdom.」

「I'm sorry, but I've already married Sophie, and Tia and Natalia will eventually become my wives. I won't choose you even if I have to abandon them.」

The moment she heard the names of Sophie and the others, her expression changed to one of anger and she began to violently lash out.

「Why don't you just leave those people alone!」

「I don't belong to you. If I had to choose between you and them, I would naturally choose them.」

「No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!」

「It's a pity that you betrayed me. I'll keep the next apprentice within my sight.」

「No, no, no, no, no, no, no!」

I don't know if my words are falling on deaf ears, but she keeps saying the same thing. I had expected her to have a little more mental strength, but seeing her now, I was disappointed. Maybe I should have been a little more considerate, but it was inevitable that this would happen.

I grabbed my sword and stood up, applying some body-enhancement magics. At the very least, I'll kill her without pain. The sword itself glowed faintly under the influence of the strengthening magic I had applied to it. She seemed to understand what I was trying to do, and was shaking her head frantically, her face contorted in fear.

「Now then, if you have a will, I'll listen to it. What do you have in mind?」

「Master, I will never do this again! I will be devoted to Master for the rest of my life, so please ......」

「I guess you're late to notice it. It's all too late.」

「! Wh-Why don't you choose me!? I love you more than anyone!」

「...... Is that your last will?」

「Those women!? If they were disappeared, would you have looked at me!?」

「Fumu, I don't know. One thing I can tell you is that if it weren't for Sophie and Tia, I might not have picked you up in that place.」

「!! I adore you, Master! Please run away with me instead of serving a kingdom that doesn't understand even a single bit of Master's greatness by being obliging to those women! I can show you exactly how great Master's magic skills are!」

「Elle, you have certainly been a good apprentice. You may not have followed my advice, but no one has ever listened to my teachings as intently as you have. But that's all over now.」

「I don't want to, Master!」

I swung my sword down on her neck, watching as her almost immobile body still struggled to scream. The sword, wielded at more than the speed of sound, sliced through her neck in a single swing, killing her. A few moments later, a large amount of blood spurted out from the cut neck, turning the area red.

When I picked up her bloodied head, I saw that her expression was not very peaceful. Perhaps it was only natural since she had said something like that just before her death.

「I'm sorry. Just think of it as fate and give up.」

After letting Elle close her eyes, I reconnected her neck and used the recovery magic to remove the cut marks. At the very least, her body should look good.

After all, was said and done, I decided to leave the devastation in the room for the time being and go wake up the sleeping people in the mansion.

※

After Elle's body was confirmed dead by Margarete, I made a grave for her and put her in it, since all the facts about her being connected to the Demon Empire were to be kept secret. Since I couldn't disclose the cause of death to anyone other than those involved, I kept it mostly to my own family. I felt guilty when I saw that Fairis and others who were close to her were crying and grieving.

Sometime later, I received news from Frontier County that the Emperor and other nobles from the Northern Alliance had been sent to the royal capital. I heard that he had been unusually quiet because of the defeat of Orvan and the others, but when he was brought to the royal capital, he looked disappointed when he saw that the royal capital was completely undamaged.

If the royal capital was empty after concentrating troops on the front line, the forces that Demon Empire sent to the fortress could have been enough to bring the royal capital down. And yet, the state of the kingdom, which was completely intact except for the fortress, must have been enough to destroy what little hope they had left.

The executions of the emperor and the nobles took place immediately. Until they were transported to the place of execution, they went around the capital to expose their miserable appearance to the kingdom people, and then they went up to the execution table one by one in full view of the public, and the executioner chopped off their heads with an axe.

Among the nobles being executed one after another were the magicians in Leshiana. After their bodies were collected by me, they were brought back to life by <Resurrection>, tortured to spit out all the information, then privately executed by the relatives and colleagues of the slain soldiers, and died a miserable death.

When the emperor's head was finally chopped off, the humans who had been watching cheered and rejoiced that the war was over. Some of them were grieving the loss of their families, but the whole capital was as noisy as a festival that day.

Afterward, we were called to the castle. I guess it was because we had accomplished everything we were summoned to do, which was to defeat the Demon Empire. In the usual audience room, while being watched by the surrounding nobles, the king gave words of thanks to each of the heroes.

「Count Werner, this battle against the Demon Empire was truly a great feat. I heard that you also did a wonderful job. I hope you will continue to serve the kingdom with your wisdom and magical talent.」

「As you wish」

To be honest, now that I've finally been released from my mission, I want to prioritize my own affairs from now on. Of course, I couldn't make such a statement in such a situation, so I made sure to read the air. While the surrounding nobles applauded, the other heroes also looked happy.

Not only Alec and Fairis but also Sagami, who seemed to have some regrets about his original world, seemed to be burying his bones in this world. I had already decided that I didn't need to return to my original world, but I can't help but understand Sagami's feelings.

When I think that my role as a hero is finally over, I am reminded of the events that have occurred since I arrived here. When I first came here, I had never imagined this would happen, but now I missed the enthusiasm I had when I first arrived.

The territory of the Demon Empire was divided into two parts: the land where rare ores and specialties could be extracted was placed under the direct control of the king, and the rest of the land was given to the existing nobles and newly appointed nobles.

Although the Gran family's territory from the time of the Demon Empire had been cut, they had newly joined the nobility of the kingdom as counts, and Olympia's younger brother had become the head of the family. And she herself is still working as a maid in my mansion, having left the Gran family as declared.

Melvina and her children lost all their noble status after the execution of the Marquis Evartz, the head of the family, and like Olympia, they are working at the mansion as maids.

All four of them used to be nobles, so I was worried about their ability to do hard work like maids, but they seem to have adjusted to the mansion faster than I expected.

Alec and Sagami got married to noblemen's daughters after a while, and both of them are working for the Royal Army. Like me, they've left the management of the estate to their deputies. Fairis is still working at the church as usual. I heard that the Inquisition invited her several times, but she refused all of them, saying that she was not good at rough things. And now that Elle is gone, Fairis still comes to the mansion frequently.

I'm still staying in the mansion in the royal capital, leaving the management of the territory given to me by the king to others and continuing to live a self-defeating life with Sophie and the others. I have plenty of savings from the taxes from the estate and the profits from the sale of the magic stones, so I haven't been in trouble with money so far.

The way I spend my days doing experiments reminded me of the old days when I was stuck in a laboratory, but the difference is that I can do my favorite research.

It's not good for the world if I don't do any work at all, so I train the castle's magicians a few times a month, but they're not all as smart as Elle, so it takes a lot of effort to teach them.

In the meantime, I've decided to take on a new apprentice. Today is the memorable first day.

「I heard that a new disciple is coming today. What kind of person is them?」

It was a beautiful day, so Sophie invited me to have tea in the garden, and she asked me that. Natalia, who was drinking tea with me, and Tia and Olympia, who were preparing the tea, also seemed to be interested and were listening to our conversation while they were preparing.

「In a word, a dumb one.」

「What's that? Is it safe to take such a person as your disciple?」

「You'll find out when you meet them.」

「I see, I'm looking forward to it.

While we were talking about such trivial matters, I saw a person running towards me. It was long past the appointed time, so she must have come from her room in a hurry. Everyone's eyes widened in astonishment at the sight of her, probably because they had some idea of the approaching figure.

「I'm sorry, I'm late!」

「Don't worry about that. Say hello to everyone.」

「Okaay! Nice to meet you! My name is Mel, and I'll be Master's apprentice starting today!」

She's small in stature, with a young face, silver hair that's a little quirky, and as usual, she's wearing revealing clothes. When they saw her greeting them like that with a face that really looked just like Elle's, everyone stared at my face at once.

「Hey, Yard! I thought Elle was dead. ......」

「Elle is dead. This one ...... is, well, a look-alike. Even her magic looks exactly the same.」

「What are you talking about, Master?」

「No, it's none of your business. More importantly, Mel, you'll have to work hard as my apprentice from now on.」

「Yes, sir!」

I leave everyone who seems to want to say something alone and tell Tia to prepare a cup of tea for her.

In fact, after I defeated Elle, I took out only her brain and saved it. Thanks to the fact that I showed Margarete her body after her brain was removed, she accepted Elle's death without any doubts. I then applied the <Perfect Resurrection> to Elle's brain and healed her body again.

I also erased all memories of her time as Elmaire. From her daily life to her knowledge of magic, the parts that don't affect her personality much are still there, but none of her memories are left. In other words, the girl here is a completely different person from Elle.

For some reason, people seemed to think that I would let go of Elle easily, but there was no way I would just throw away someone as talented as her. She'll have to continue to work hard for my experiments.

I decided to enjoy the taste of the tea that Tia had brewed for me while watching my apprentice cheerfully greeting the people who didn't know what to look like.