Chapter 50: A Step That Will Go Down in History

After blowing away the slit-eyed knight who was still ranting about something with an explosion spell, Master terrified the conscious knights so much they trembled—and broke their spirits completely.

Once things quieted down, the attackers were to be taken into custody and brought back to the village.

It seemed the beastkin combat unit had been accompanying Riara-san, and we were told they were now restraining and escorting over a hundred enemies.

The sudden spike in population density was simply too much, so for now, Riara-san and Master started constructing an ice prison, made by hardening snow and soil. Everyone except for what seemed to be the three leaders was confined there. Let’s hope they don’t freeze to death.

Some time later, in the chief’s house were Riara-san, the representative of the beastkin men, Master and me. Also present: the problematic young man, the rabbit-eared woman, and the tiger-eared woman who had been accompanying them as a refugee.

After regaining consciousness, the slit-eyed one initially had no idea who anyone was. But once he realized the truth, he was so shocked he went quiet. The ringlet curls sat obediently—perhaps out of fear. The slit-eyes had been physically forced into silence, to the point of barely resembling his original form. And then...

"Why are you here? Get out."

"You have no authority to make decisions here. Sit down and behave!"

That ever-sassy little girl—still as insolent as ever. She really needs to learn her place!

"Both of you, quiet down a bit."

Wait a minute, Master, why am I lumped in with her? She’s clearly the one in the wrong here.

"She’s the one who should shut up!"

"Silence that elf!"

As I continued to protest, Master sighed in exasperation and leaned in to whisper into my ear.

"If you don’t shut up, I’ll skin you and eat you right here."

“—!!”

I quickly clamped my hands over my mouth and stepped back. For some reason, the little girl also turned pale and started trembling, muttering, "He’s insane… He’s actually serious. Like, legit serious."

"Now that the noisy ones have quieted down, let’s begin," Riara-san said with a weary expression as she clapped her hands lightly, turning her gaze to the tense young man.

"Will you tell us your story?"

“……”

The young man frowned. The rabbit ears and tiger ears looked on anxiously.

"…Yes."

And with that, he solemnly began his tale.

---

It all began when he started to receive training as a future king. Alongside that, he began to question the treatment of demi-humans—people who looked just like humans, yet were cruelly treated as slaves.

Most of the kingdom’s nobility embraced a human supremacist ideology. They had no qualms about treating slaves and demi-humans as mere property.

But to him, these people—different in form but possessing the same hearts—could only be seen as fellow humans.

One day, when he expressed this to his father, the king, the man gravely agreed and told him: “If you believe it’s wrong, then change the kingdom as its king.” As it turned out, the previous king had once held similar doubts, and it was the influence of someone who had spoken to him that changed his views.

But even as king, one cannot reshape a nation as they please. Trying to keep the backlash from the nobles at bay, he devised a compromise—granting demi-humans protection for their lives and rights, but only under the condition that they be "owned" as property. That became the basis of the current slavery system.

Though the situation remained one where demi-humans were treated as animals, he quietly began gathering allies to pave the way toward recognizing them as citizens. But the nobles, sensing the danger in the crown prince’s ideals, began to push his younger brother into the spotlight.

The younger brother, already inclined toward indulgence and hedonism, was easily tempted by the nobles, who promised him a world where he could fulfill all his desires. He readily joined them. The two of them—his father and his brother—began secretly poisoning him in small doses, claiming he had fallen ill.

The ones who noticed were the beastkin handmaidens who worked as slaves in the royal castle—namely, the rabbit-eared and tiger-eared women present here.

They had been moved by his words and actions, as he’d once told them, “Someday, I want to create a kingdom where you and your children can live in peace.” They told him the truth—but by then, it was already too late to save the king.

Soon after, frustrated by the slow results of poisoning, the younger brother resorted to brute force.

Just before the old king’s death, he led a personal unit to ambush his older brother. But the knights and handmaids loyal to the older prince helped him escape. Since then, he had been hiding in a demi-human settlement with them, lying in wait for the right time to rise.

Having finished his long story, the young man sat upright in silence.

"I’m deeply sorry for the trouble we’ve caused everyone because of us."

Clenching his teeth and bowing his head, tears streamed down from his tightly shut eyes—no doubt thinking of all the people who had died for his sake.

"But I couldn’t afford to die. If I were captured, the lives of those who helped me… those who died for me… would’ve been in vain!"

Depending on how you look at it, that’s a very arrogant way of thinking. Riara-san stared at the young man with a mask-like expression of chilling indifference.

"If we’d made a single misstep this time, everyone in this village could’ve died. Are you, a defeated man, really worth that much? Worth trading all of our lives for?"

At her cold words, the two women who served him turned to glare at Riara-san in protest. But the young man met her gaze directly, as if he'd made up his mind.

"No, I’m not. That’s exactly why I couldn’t afford to die. If I died here, I truly would’ve been a worthless man."

"How very royal of you. And what of those who were dragged into this without knowing anything and lost their families and friends? Do you expect their forgiveness?"

"I don’t expect it, nor do I intend to ask for it. Even if history brands me a great sinner, I’ve decided to see this through."

It was quite a harsh interrogation. Even so, the young man never looked away from Riara-san. He must have known that no excuse or bravado would be enough—he couldn't back down here.

"……Very well. Then try. If you succeed, it might at least bring them some small comfort."

Rather than expressing agreement, Riara-san seemed more like someone who had finished verifying something. The tension in the air dissipated, and someone let out a quiet breath.

"Now then, you over there—knight. Your mission this time was to assassinate this man. So the country knows where he is, correct?"

"…Yes, that's right. By royal command, the three of us led a special unit to swiftly eliminate him."

"I’d considered the possibility of an elf being present… but I never expected to find her in the same place in reality."

Coincidences are terrifying things, aren’t they… Still, the fact that their location is now known is problematic. Killing them all would only confirm that there’s something here, which would no doubt prompt the country to send in a full-scale army next time.

Master and Riara-san might be able to handle a military force somehow, but the rest of us certainly can’t. We only have three people on our side with cheat-level power.

And since each person only has one body, if we’re attacked from multiple directions at once, we won’t be able to handle it.

"Hmm… What do you think we should do, Shuuya?"

"I think it’s the perfect opportunity. Let’s go ahead and formally declare the founding of our nation."

"Oh?"

Master replied without the slightest hesitation or strain.

Here’s the plan Master laid out: First, they would announce the founding of a new nation and simultaneously accept the crown prince’s asylum. By supporting him, they would gain political clout. Then, they’d boldly claim the other kingdom’s throne, having him serve as the king of Forlitz and use that status as a foundation to support this new country.

In today’s world, what matters most is backing—in the form of power. If someone just randomly calls themselves a nation, they’ll be dismissed as a joke. But if the king of an established country publicly acknowledges them as a nation, other countries will be forced to take them seriously.

"That’s why you’re going to live and return—as witnesses."

Thinking that way, killing these captured enemies now might actually create all sorts of complications. The opinions of those still undecided about siding with the crown prince also matter. If we want him to govern properly in the future, we should avoid doing anything that could leave a bad impression.

"How naïve… Letting your enemies live?"

That said, there is still the risk of being underestimated—like with the ringlet curls girl, who scoffed through her nose.

"Oh? Then shall we fight again?"

Master unleashed a wave of pressure. Ringlet Curls faltered for a moment, then glanced at the former pretty boy beside her, now trembling pathetically beyond recognition. She paled slightly and gave a small shake of her head.

He must’ve been the strongest among them—once. But now? Seeing him like this, no wonder her will to fight had vanished.

"That is…"

"Honestly, no matter how many of you come at us, it won’t be a problem."

Master said it flatly. Even Ringlet Curls, who had been defeated by someone of similar power—Kasai-san—hung her head in shame.

Come to think of it, we’d already moved things along without asking the actual people involved. How do they feel about it?

"Now that we’re here—Your Highness, are you okay with going along with Master’s plan?"

"Ah—yes, I was surprised, but… That Strom over there is one of the kingdom’s most powerful knights. Having someone who can defeat her so decisively on our side… well, I’d be a fool to pass that up."

He’d clearly been left behind in the whirlwind of events, but the way he answered smoothly showed he had no objections. Though to be fair, from the look on Master’s face, I doubt he was ever going to be given a veto in the first place. That said, he still seemed kind of mad about being dragged into it all.

"Then it’s settled. Go back and tell your king this: Prince Arakis will be taking that throne."

So his name’s Arakis, huh… That was the first time I heard it. With a solemn nod from Ringlet Curls, the conversation came to an end.

Later, I learned the beastkin had already been told quite a bit. During earlier training with Master and Kasai-san, they were informed of the plan to create a place where they could live peacefully. They were also told that it might lead to conflict with those who would oppose that goal, and that they’d be needed as allies in that fight.

Because of that, they were already somewhat prepared. No one voiced opposition this time. If anything, the people who’d suffered under that damned king saw this as a rare chance for righteous vengeance—so much so that they started exuding a terrifying dark aura. Honestly, it was scary.

Anyway, I quickly returned home to escape the bloodthirsty mood and asked Yuria to fix my hair. It had been getting in the way lately, so I had her cut it off cleanly. It was a relief… and yet, somehow, I felt a little sad about it.

---

The next day, we brought the freezing knights—on the verge of death from hypothermia—out of the forest. We loaded them into carriages in turn, had whoever could still move take the reins, and sent them limping back to their country.

"Sigh… Looks like this is going to turn into a war. Honestly, I’d rather not have to fight you again."

In front of one of the wagons, Ringlet Curls gave a wry smile. Her restraints had already been removed. She’d never seemed particularly prejudiced to begin with, and apparently hadn’t been keen on the mission either. In fact, now that we’d won, she was already trying to curry favor with Arakis-san to promote her family back home. Some knight she is—how underhanded.

By the way, Slit-Eyes had all his winter gear and heating tools stolen by his freezing subordinates. He was rolled up like a caterpillar and dumped in the baggage hold. …I’m starting to wonder if even his allies hate him.

"The next time we meet on the battlefield… that’ll be the end for you… I’ll tear you apart, piece by piece…"

And over here, the little loser girl—with a comical face, complete with a fake mustache drawn around her mouth, eyebrows twice their normal thickness, and the words “Dumb Lolicon King” scrawled across her forehead—was yapping away like a noisy little dog.

Master’s custom-made magical pen was used, so the markings absolutely won’t disappear until she returns to the castle and the idiot king gets a good look.

"Hmph! Try saying that again after you’ve defeated Master!"

I said with a smug grin, looking down at her tiny, ridiculous body while Master held me in his arms. Honestly, what a pathetic sight. Master’s strength is my strength! If she wants to beat me, she’ll have to take down Master first.

"You’re relying on his strength way too much…"

"I paid for it, okay!!"

After all, the bill for punishment, debt, and borrowing-the-tiger’s-authority fees was settled last night. Of course I’ll be smug about it.

With tears of frustration forming at the corners of her eyes, the loser girl climbed into the carriage—and right before leaving, she turned back and shouted,

"You pervy elf!! Stupid stupid stupid!!"

"Look, Master! That’s what a loser looks like! Yapping away like a little dog—so cute!"

---

◇◆ADVENTURE　RESULT◆◇
【EXP】
BATTLE TOTAL 40 << New Record!!
MAX Combo 40 << New Record!!
◆【Sora Lv.88】+40
◆【Lulu Lv.36】
◆【Yuria Lv.35】
◇―
＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝
Sora Lv.88 [887] → Lv.92 [927] <<Level Up!!
Lulu Lv.36 [366]
Yuria Lv.35 [351]
【RECORD】
[MAX COMBO] >> 40
[MAX BATTLE] >> 40

【PARTY-1 (Main)】
[Shuuya][Lv95] HP2100/2100 MP3460/3460 [Normal]
[Sora][Lv92] HP12/63 MP1253/1253 [Despair]
[Lulu][Lv36] HP320/835 MP40/40 [Under Treatment]
[Yuria][Lv34] HP1840/1840 MP89/89 [Normal]
[Fere][Lv30] HP282/282 MP1030/1030 [Normal]

【PARTY-2 (Sub)】
[Makoto][Lv66] HP3450/3450 MP150/150 [Normal]
[Chris][Lv13] HP200/200 MP20/20 [Normal]

＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

【Comment】
"Well then. Now that it’s over… let’s continue your punishment."
""