The night after enjoying the camp with everyone, I came alone to Ulberick-san’s place.
「Yo… How have things been lately?」
I asked as I landed on the bell tower.
「Hmm… Thanks to Demon King-sama, troops are gathering in the royal capital. Because of that, my territory has also sent out soldiers.」
「Ah… Sorry about that…」
「No no! Because of it, we’ve been able to slip our agents in very smoothly!」
「Really?」
「Yes. Nowadays, information about their supplies, weapons purchases, everything is leaking like crazy.」
「For real…」
「Yes, it’s been a huge help!」
So he’s even pulled in the anti-war faction… I wonder how many that amounts to…
「Ahaha! That face, you’re worried about the castle’s military strength, aren’t you? Roughly twelve thousand in total, and about seven thousand of them are anti-war.」
「Huh?」
Seven thousand? Seriously?
「It’s surprising, right? After Demon King-sama’s attack, most of the pro-war faction got cold feet, so the only ones who can properly send out troops are the anti-war side.」
「I see…」
「And on top of that, stories about Demon King-sama have grown fins, tail fin, pectoral fin, dorsal fin, the works.」
「No way…」
I don’t even want to know how exaggerated the rumors have gotten…
「Well, at the very least, people say you wiped out ten thousand soldiers in a single strike, and that the dead are revived through evil sorcery and turned into undead.」
「Ehh…」
「They also say you’ve inherited ancient magic, and that if someone is killed by the Demon King, they won’t even get an afterlife.」
「I’m not that much of a monster!?」
「So in the end, they’re just panicking on their own, fortifying their own territories, and they barely have any troops left to spare for the royal capital.」
「Does the current king really have that little support?」
When I asked, Ulberick-san thought for a moment.
「Well… it’s true he doesn’t have much popular support. But that king is very good with words. During the previous coup, he skillfully stirred up the opportunistic nobles who wanted to sit on the fence and suck up the benefits, and managed to drive out the former king.」
「Heh… So because of the rumors about me this time, all those fence-sitters switched to our side?」
「Exactly. Especially the ones from territories that aren’t called 【Special Zones】.」
「【Special Zones】?」
I tilted my head at the unfamiliar term.
「Um… Do you know what a casino is?」
「Ah, so that’s what you mean.」
「Exactly. The 【Special Zones】 are regions specially permitted to produce things like casinos, luxury tobacco, high-end liquor, and other such exclusive goods. To be honest, they’re one of the main causes of poverty in this world.」
「Ahh… I did make a killing at the casino back then…」
「Demon King-sama, you’ve already been there…? Wait, come to think of it, there was a rumor that their star attraction was a Jewel Beast (Carbuncle)…」
「Ah, yes. The girl I brought along the other day, Selene, she’s that one.」
「I see. As expected of you.」
「As expected of me for what? What do you mean ‘as expected’…?」
「Nooo, what a lecher…」
「Hey, it was almost entirely a series of coincidences!」
「A coincidence that gathered you so many wives? That’s just suspicious.」
「What can I do? It just… happens…」
「You sound like a little kid right now…」
「Stop that! I was almost starting to agree with you!」
「Ahaha, sorry, sorry.」
After that, I received various other pieces of information from the still-laughing Ulberick-san.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
The day after finishing my secret meeting with Ulberick-san and returning, I finished breakfast and was now discussing future plans with Noctarl-san.
「So in short, the enemy’s forces number roughly five thousand. The seven thousand from the anti-war faction might be able to hold them back, but still…」
「Even so, we can’t exactly sit back and send no troops of our own, right? And if we want to make those fence-sitters commit for sure, numbers matter most.」
「True… When the numbers are too low, there’s not much we can do…」
「Well, if Yuuki-dono blew up an entire mountain, they’d probably switch sides on the spot.」
「Ahaha… If they flip that easily, we wouldn’t have any trouble at all.」
「No, that was a joke… Wait, can you actually do that?」
「W-Well… I’d need some preparation, but… gouging one out should be possible?」
「I see… Then let’s go with about eight thousand troops, and Yuuki-dono blows up a mountain to scare them senseless.」
「Understood. In that case, I’ll head out to scout the mountain.」
「Yeah, I’m counting on you. I’ll contact the various lords. Conveniently, something interesting has just been completed too.」
With a grin, Noctarl-san pulled out something that looked like a small stone statue. The inside was covered with cloth, so I couldn’t see what it was.
「Take a look. This is the 【Holy Sword’s Saintess】 statue.」
What he proudly showed me was a colored figurine, and it was unmistakably Amilia.
「Wait, aren’t these statues already being mass-produced?」
「They are, but this time it’s officially supervised by Amilia-san… by the Saintess herself! Her signature is even included as a bonus! And for the lords who fought from start to finish, we’re planning a tea party with the Saintess!」
「This is straight-up bonus-item marketing!」
「Bonus-item marketing… sure, let’s call it that. By the way, you, as the Holy Knight, are invited to the tea party too. A tea party with two heroes who saved the kingdom? That’s something that normally would never happen.」
Noctarl-san puffed out his chest proudly. No, no, when we introduce ourselves, won’t they have zero reason to trust us!?
「Hold on! How are you going to explain this to the nobles!? There’s no guarantee they’ll believe we’re the real deal!」
At that, Noctarl-san took out two portrait scrolls.
「Actually, Yuuki-dono, your appearance has already been passed down through the ages. And the Saintess’s appearance has also been preserved like this.」
「It’s really… how did this…」
「These were discovered in the storehouse of a certain noble family. The main branch of that house has long since fallen, but a branch family carefully kept them safe.」
「I see…」
「Yes. That noble was said to have been saved, his life by the Saintess, and his honor by the Holy Knight, from being killed by minions of the evil god known as the Demon King. From then on, he devoted the rest of his life to good deeds, even to the point that it nearly ruined his house.」
The moment I heard those words, I understood exactly who that old man was.
「So… he really did reform in the end.」
「And because the people loved him, many branch families were born from his line.」
「I had no idea…」
「You look like you recognize him. If it’s not too much trouble, would you visit him after this battle is over?」
Noctarl-san gave a gentle smile.
「Understood. I’ll make time somehow and go with Amilia.」
「Thank you.」
I looked again at the worn, tattered portraits. Amilia had a halo shining behind her, and I was depicted in a god-like pose.
The faces were so eerily accurate that it actually made me feel a little embarrassed.
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