Chapter 90.2: Vol12 C3 Beginning the Counterattack Part 2

Part 2

A group of people forged through the night towards a prison camp.

They had decided to adopt the Sorcerer King's suggestion of attacking the prison camp by the shore which was as far from their base as possible. It would be easier to hide their tracks by the sea, and given the distance, they would be able to buy some time before the enemy verified the location of the Liberation Army after the attack.

However, there was a problem.

If it was too far, the chances of being spotted by enemy scouts was very high.

Therefore, they decided to attack the furthest prison camp within their travel range.

Neia asked a question of the Sorcerer King, who was riding a horse beside her.

"Your Majesty, we will be making our approach on horseback until we reach the village. Are your preparations complete?

"Ah, but of course. However... I did not hear much about the operation details. What sort of tactics will they use? I do look forward to it."

"You look forward to it?"

"Kuku, I'll be able to see some of the Holy Kingdom's tactics at work. What abilities will they use to break down the camp gates? Or will they fly over the walls and infiltrate through the air? I doubt they will be so unwilling to let me see that... The thought that they might have an ability I have not encountered excites me."

The Sorcerer King will surely be disappointed, Neia thought uneasily.

The Holy Kingdom's basic siege tactic was to launch a two-pronged attack with angels from the air and infantry from the ground. They would probably do the same thing this time round. Or rather, they did not have the manpower to do anything else.

Neia looked at Remedios.

Practically all of the Liberation Army's fighting power was now advancing.

The Captain raised her lance, from which the Holy Kingdom's flag fluttered in the wind.

"Let's go!"

"Ohhh!"

The Captain spurred her horse, which began to move, and the paladins followed behind her. They were still some distance from the village, so they could not go at a full gallop, but a trot.

"The paladins are carrying freshly-cut logs; are they battering rams?"

"Yes. Our Liberation Army only has paladins and priests. Nobody is skilled at opening doors or other infiltration skills. Therefore, all we can do is mount a frontal assault. Our Captain is a skilled swordswoman, but for breaking down gates, tools like that would be faster."

"So they're not using magic, but seek to physically break it down with a battering ram? Aren't they going to use ladders or the like? Can the magic of paladins carry them over walls?"

There were several broad types of spells, like arcane, divine, and spiritual. The magic that the paladins used fell into the "other" category, and they typically cast spells in the form of blessings. Dark knights, who were fallen paladins, also used blessing spells.

From what Neia had seen and heard, there were no spells which let them make ladders.

"I apologize, but I have never heard of such magic before."

"Neither have I. That said, I have heard that there are some paladin spells which allow them to fly, although those are of quite a high tier."

"Is that so? You even know about paladin spells..."

Truly, he was the Sorcerer King. He possessed great knowledge even about spells he could not cast.

"That's because the enemy might use them. It took a lot of effort to memorize every spell there was. Since I was not talented, I had to make up for it with hard work. The more you know, the closer you are to victory, although that was what a friend told me, hm."

She could not believe what he said about having no talent. However, there was something more important that she had to say.

"Your Majesty, if you have any strategies to recommend, I will relay them to our Captain."

It was quite likely that someone as capable as the Sorcerer King had already come up with a more effective plan than what the Liberation Army had. That was why he was acting this way.

"Eh? No, no, I shouldn't. Ah, well— about that. Liberating this prison camp is not my job, but yours. Attacking these prison camps is the first step in finding a better way to do things. They need to realize that themselves, which is why it must be done this way."

The Sorcerer King was right. Or rather, everything he said was right.

However, just for today, Neia wanted to borrow the Sorcerer King's strength. That was because their war was fought to save the suffering masses, and she wanted to choose a path which was faster and which could save more people.

"I fully agree that what Your Majesty said is correct. However, I pray you will still lend us a hand."

She immediately knew she was being very rude. However, Neia still bowed her head and pleaded with the Sorcerer King anyway,

The Sorcerer King looked forward for a while before speaking again.

"Umu... Neia Baraja. Don't make me repeat myself so many times. Failure is the mother of success. The consequences of not relying on me and instead thinking for yourself, even if they should end up being failure, should not be feared, but embraced. This is because they are the failures necessary for success."

The Sorcerer King's words stabbed at Neia's heart. She could not keep asking the Sorcerer King to help. The Sorcerer King was saying that the consequences of planning on their own were a necessary sacrifice for the recovery of their nation.

Indeed, it was as His Majesty said.

But with the power of the Sorcerer King, they might be able to save more lives.

Would sacrificing them for the sake of self-reliance be justice?

What was justice, anyway?

Was saving more lives justice? Or—

Her thoughts went around in circles, and she could not find an answer.

"Now then, let us look forward to their skills."

Right now, Neia was simply praying that the many sacrifices they would make would not be wasted.

The group advanced towards the prison camp in a straight line.

The terrain around the village was uneven, but there were watchtowers. If they made a direct approach, they would definitely be spotted. However, it was also a fact that this was the only way they could attack.

Soon, they spotted the village.

There seemed to be sentries on the watchtower above the gate. They banged on the alarm bells, and a commotion arose from within the village.

Neia narrowed her eyes, and stared at the watchtower.

The demihumans there looked like bipedal goats, wearing chain shirts and carrying large spears.

If Neia recalled them correctly, those demihumans were known as Bafolk.

They were a demihuman species who lived in mountainous regions, and their legs were every bit as capable as a mountain goat, making them fearsome warriors who could scale even city walls if they had so much as the slightest bump or depression on their surface. In addition, their fur tangled on slashing swords and steadily blunted their edges, so after killing one, it was important to clear the fur off the blade, or so her father had taught her.

The Bafolk's spears were long enough that they could stab people passing underneath from above.

She mused that things would be troublesome if they immediately strengthened their defense. However, they did not seem that well drilled, given how they were running around wildly and giving their side a lot of time to prepare.

The priests dismounted, and immediately summoned angels.

The paladins also dismounted, and raised their shields. This was probably to protect the people carrying the battering rams from attacks.

However, not all the paladins were like that. About ten or so people remained mounted and began circling around the village.

"Miss Baraja, I trust dispersing some troops around the area is meant to intercept any demihumans from the camp who are trying to flee with intelligence about this battle? If anyone gets away, then even if you win the battle, you will lose in the long run."

"That, that's it! It's just as you say!"

He had seen through the paladins' tactics with such ease. The only thing Neia could say about him was that he was amazing.

Still, that raised a question. Where had the Sorcerer King learned such tactics from?

A being with a demihuman's tough skin would not wear armor on top of it. With sharp claws, one would not need swords. Humans wore armor and carried swords because of their fragile bodies.

If there was no need to rely on one's wits, then tactics would naturally be unnecessary too. Why did the overwhelmingly powerful Sorcerer King know of siege tactics?

"Your Majesty, may I know where you acquired such knowledge?"

"Hm? By knowledge you mean— ah! My predictions just now? Umu.Those tactics were taught to me by one of the friends I mentioned before. After that, I tested them out in live combat. Well, I learned a lot of things, but I didn't expect them to be put to practical use here."

"...Since he was Your Majesty's friend, surely he must have been very strong too?"

"Oh yes. Well, his strength was not in melee or magic, but in another field. In that sense, I have not yet attained his level of strength yet."

Huhu, the Sorcerer King laughed happily. It was the kind of laugh one had when reminiscing about the past.

Right now, he seemed just like a human being.

Could it be that the Sorcerer King was once human...?

Perhaps he had transformed himself into one of the undead with the power of magic, but that would be a perplexing matter. That should not have been possible. To Neia's knowledge, the undead were naturally occurring things. However—

The world is large, after all.

Neia's journey with the ambassadorial delegation had let her realise how tiny the world she once knew had been.

Across the ocean, beyond the mountain, and in the depths of the forests — there ought to be something out there. The sages who could scoff at Neia's problems and tell her the answers ought to be out there too.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Ah, my, my apologies."

"No, I am not blaming you. I was a little worried when I saw you spacing out on horseback... the battle is about to begin, and I understand if you're uneasy."

"Th-Thank you very much, Your Majesty."

Just then, Remedios planted her banner in the ground and drew her holy sword.

"Everyone! The first battle to save this land from Jaldabaoth is about to begin! Justice shall triumph!"

There was a heated response of "Justice shall triumph!" to Remedios's shout. Once they gathered, they began their charge.

"So it's begun. Miss Baraja, would it not be better to move up if you wish to fight?"

"No, my duty is to accompany you, Your Majesty. Abandoning Your Majesty to fight—"

Is something I cannot do, Neia shook her head.

"Hm, mm, is that so? Then, then let's talk about something else... You haven't lent that weapon to anyone else, have you?"

"Not even once! This is a weapon I borrowed from Your Majesty! I would not dare allow anyone other than myself to touch it!"

"Ah... really now. Umu, I suppose. I thank you."

His tone sounded a little depressed, but there was no way to divine his intentions from it.

Have I done something to offend His Majesty? ...I'm not too sure what's going on, but perhaps I should apologize?

While Neia was waffling, the Sorcerer King changed the topic.

"Ah — this is a rare opportunity. I looked around our surroundings, but I did not discover any demihumans hiding with invisibility magic. Perhaps we should move forward a little to observe the battlefield conditions. I doubt there'll be any problems with leaving the priests here... What do you think?"

"Understood."

It would be very disrespectful to tell the Sorcerer King — who possessed might which far exceeded her own — that moving to the front would be dangerous.

As the sound of bells rang through the prison camp, she stayed close to the Sorcerer King as he moved up. That was when the fighting began.

The angels attacked the watchtowers on top of the gate, and the Bafolk there met them with their spears.

The archer towers launched arrows. They were not aiming at the angels, but at Remedios as she led the charge. It was only natural to aim for her, given that she was not carrying a shield and there was no chance of hitting friendlies.

However, her strength was far removed from the others.

She easily cut down all the arrows coming at her with her sword, maintaining her speed as she ran.

As if to counterattack, several angels rushed the archer tower. Shortly after that, three Bafolk corpses fell from the tower.

This was when the paladins reached the gate and began pounding on it with the battering ram.

The log doors began to shake, and there was a faint sound of cracking from inside, along with the cries of the paladins going, "One more time!"

The gate shook again, more violently than before.

And then the battering ram struck again.

One of the logs making up the gate bent heavily, and they could hear the paladins' cries of triumph even from here. While the gap was not yet big enough to let people in, they ought to be able to break the gate down completely after several more tries.

Several angels flew past the gate. Neia could not see what they were doing from here, but they were probably trying to hold off the Bafolk defenders.

"—Get back, all of you!"

All eyes went to the source of that shout.

It came from a watchtower above the gate. The angels should have taken that place. Yet, a single Bafolk appeared there. However, the problem lay in what the Bafolk was carrying.

"Get back!" the Bafolk shouted again.

The Bafolk was holding a girl, aged around six or seven, and he had a sharp blade to her throat.

"If you don't back off, I'll kill this human!"

The girl was dressed in filthy clothing — her face looked dirty too — and her body shook from side to side. Was she still alive? They could not detect any signs of life from her. It seemed to speak for how everyone inside the camp had been treated.

"You're despicable!" one of the paladins shouted.

"Hurry up and back off! Look!"

There was a commotion among the paladins. What had happened? Even Neia could not see what was happening at this range and at night. However, it was different for the Sorcerer King.

"...The child's throat seems to be bleeding."

"Could it be!?"

"It was just a nick; she is not dead yet. Otherwise her value as a hostage would—"

"—Everyone, fall back!"

The paladins obeyed Remedios's command and moved back.

Although the priests in the rear had a hard time grasping the situation, they still understood what was going on, and they pulled the angels back. At the same time, the priests ran up to Neia and the Sorcerer King. They had probably come closer to see what was going on.

"Further! Go further back!"

After the Bafolk said so, the paladins began retreating slowly.

They could see the Bafolk hurriedly swapping positions atop the watchtower. They swapped the people who had been wounded in the earlier battle with the angels for fresh fighters.

"This is bad."

"Yes, very bad."

Neia slowly raised the bow she had been lent. The Bafolk seemed to be using the girl as a shield. Therefore she had a very small space in which to aim for. Killing it in one hit would be very difficult.

Even so, if she did not do it, who would?

I wish I'd practiced my bow skills more, Neia thought as she drew an arrow from her quiver.

Just then, the Sorcerer King swiftly held out a hand, as if to block her shot.

"I don't intend to insult you, but you should stop. There's no longer any point to it."

Just as she was about to ask what he meant, the Sorcerer King walked over to where the paladins were gathered.

There was an argument raging there about how to save the girl.

Priestly magic could freeze the enemy in their tracks. Many people approved of that, but spells had an effective range. Could they get into that range? Would the hostage be killed? All these questions and more flew back and forth, but there was no sign that an answer had been reached.

Just then, the Sorcerer King and Neia arrived.

"How long are you going to twiddle your thumbs about this? The situation looks bad."

After he spoke, the others turned to look at the Sorcerer King as one.

"Of course we know that—"

"—Captain... please calm down. The enemy is over there."

Remedios was at the end of her tether, and Gustavo spoke to her.

"No, Captain Custodio. You know nothing. Since the enemy knows that hostages are effective, they'll show that this is not a threat, and they'll use her as an ex—"

As though waiting for those words, the girl hostage's head was hacked off. They could see her bright red blood spurting even from here. The Bafolk let go of the girl's body, and it crumpled weakly to the ground.

Everyone was silent.

Their minds refused to accept what had just happened.

Remedios was the first to recover, and as she shouted, Neia came to her senses as well

"You bastard! How dare you kill the hostage!? Even after we obeyed your demands!"

"Hmph!" The Bafolk dragged a boy in front of him this time. "That's why I've got another one, see? Now back off!"

"You shameless scumbag!"

"Hmph. You really are an idiot, aren't you? Perhaps you'll understand after I bring another over?"

Remedios's clenched fist trembled mightily. Then, as though to vent her feelings, she ordered:

"Everyone, fall back!"

"Also, gather up the people on horses around the sides! Move it!"

She could hear the sound of grinding teeth from Remedios. It was loud enough that one might think she was crushing her teeth.

"Vice-Captain. Order them to gather here."

"B-But—"

"If you don't do it, the child will die. Move!"

"Everyone fall back!"

"A very bad move. You've shown the enemy that hostages are effective and given them so much time to prepare. If the enemy does something to break your will to fight again, won't that cause even more damage?"

A red-faced Remedios glared at the Sorcerer King like she was looking at the enemy.

"If this goes on, your surprise attack will be pointless. Also, I can hear the sounds of something moving over there. If they set up barricades, breaking them down will take more time, and things will be more troublesome—"

"—Shut up!" Remedios interrupted the Sorcerer King.

"Who's got an idea? A way to solve this without anyone dying!?"

Nobody said anything.

Of course nobody had such a convenient solution. For instance, if they had someone adept at infiltration skills, this situation might not have arisen. However, there was nobody like that around.

Even Remedios should have understood this. If her animal-like instincts analyzed the battle situation and told her there was no way, then such a method did not exist.

Even so, why did she refuse to admit it?

Why was she hung up on not letting a single person die?

The Sorcerer King's words flashed through her mind — was this not one of those necessary sacrifices which he mentioned? There was no way to come out of this without losing a single person unless one had an overwhelming advantage in strength or a great deal of luck.

"Captain Custodio,"

Neia's voice sounded abnormally loud.

"Right now, can we not finish the fight with only a few casualties?"

Remedios's furious gaze shifted to Neia.

The powerful emotions boiling off that mighty warrior's body made her own body tremble, but Neia was sure that she was right.

"There's no justice in that!" Remedios shouted.

Justice? That justice—

The surrounding paladins remained silent. It would seem nobody was prepared to say anything. Neia felt like she was surrounded by enemies and she unconsciously backed off, and then she felt someone's hand supporting her from behind.

Looking back, she saw the Sorcerer King, as she had expected.

"—I support Miss Baraja's opinion."

He had affirmed her in a quiet voice. But to Neia, it was like a hundred-million strong ovation.

"Shut up!"

Remedios barked again. However, this was not something she should be saying to a king from another country who had come all this way to save her. There were actions which were acceptable, and actions which were unacceptable.

Anger welled up in Neia's heart.

"What you need right now is to change the situation, not sit around and butt heads in frustration... Ah, it can't be helped. I shall turn things around, then."

After muttering to himself, the Sorcerer King turned away from them — towards the gate — and began walking. Due to his sudden movement, nobody managed to call out to him before the Bafolk shouted a warning.

"You there, in the mask! I told you to back off, didn't I?"

"I will not back down! What do you think a single human life means to me!?"

"W-What!?"

"Our aim is to kill every single one of the Bafolk here! It doesn't matter what happens to the humans! 「Widen Magic — Fireball」!"

The Sorcerer King extended his hand with a shout, and the fireball that flew forth blew away the Bafolk and the boy he was holding.

The enormous burst of flame also consumed the watchtower.

Everyone on top had been slain by that attack. The Bafolk and his hostage fell onto the Sorcerer King's side of the wall.

"「Maximize Magic — Shockwave」"

The spell which followed blasted away the half-ruined gates. In addition, it scattered the Bafolk who were erecting barricades behind it, blowing a huge hole into their defenses.

"Come, you paladins! Attack! Kill the Bafolk inside to the very last man!"

As though awakened by his voice, Remedios came to and replied:

"You son of a bitch—!"

"—Captain!"

"Grrrrgh! —Charge!"

The paladins moved forward in response to Remedios's words. Or rather, it might be more accurate to say that they had abandoned all attempts at thinking and fully subordinated themselves to her orders.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Gustavo left those words behind and moved on. After that, there the paladins and priests — the more sensible ones, at least — directed grateful looks at him. Remedios was the only one who was staring at the Sorcerer King with open displeasure.

The Sorcerer King addressed Neia in a quiet voice.

"—Miss Baraja. Did you think I would save the boy with a spell beyond your imagination?"

Indeed, the thought had crossed her mind. However, the Sorcerer King must have had some reason for his actions.

"Ah, yes, I did. It is as you say."

"Hm, perhaps that might be so."

The Sorcerer King nodded, and Neia listened in silence.

"Indeed, I could have done so. By using the various spells I have learned, saving a single boy would be a trivial task. However, I could not do that. That was because I could not allow the Bafolk to see me rescue a boy."

Doubt crossed Neia's face for the first time, and the Sorcerer King gently explained to her.

"If I allowed them to know that hostages were effective against us, the prisoners inside would be used as meat-shields to block our attacks in battle.The paladins would be at a loss, and they might end up being wounded or killed. Due to our dire lack of manpower, even one fewer paladin would constitute a great disadvantage... at least, according to Lanchester's laws.

(TL Note: Lanchester's laws are mathematical formulae designed to calculate the relative strength over time of a predator and prey pair. They're usually used for military modelling. In this case, even one loss can lead to more losses over time.)

The Sorcerer King walked to the gate, and Neia hurried after him.

"On the other hand, once they know the hostages are useless, they will simply become hindrances to the Bafolk. Now, when they are being attacked and the enemy is about to come through the walls, do you think they have the time to leisurely kill off their prisoners? Murdering people who can't resist ought to be a very low priority then."

"It is as you say."

"Indeed. Rather than waste time killing people, they would prepare to stop the enemy incursion instead. Therefore, it was necessary to use a method that would clearly illustrate the pointlessness of taking hostages."

He was right,

If Remedios had her way, they might end up being unable to save anyone in the end.

The Sorcerer King slowly lifted up the body of the boy by his feet.

"Your Majesty, let me—"

"—This is a job for me."

Neia accompanied the Sorcerer King as he carried the boy to the place where Remedios had planted her banner.

The Sorcerer King laid the boy on the ground. Neia wetted a cloth with water from a waterskin, and wiped away the grime on the boy's face.

His cheeks, his wrists and his thighs were all shockingly thin.

It clearly illustrated the harsh conditions under which they lived.

"Those Bafolk bastards..."

"Perhaps this should not be said, but do allow me to say it anyway. I am the king of the Sorcerous Kingdom, and not the king of the people who reside in this country. Thus, I can calmly make this decision. I would choose to save a thousand people's lives over a single life. But if this boy alone were a citizen of my nation, I would prioritize saving him instead. If you cannot accept that—"

"—No, thank you very much. I can understand how you feel... Your Majesty is just."

"...Hm? What do you mean?"

"My apologies. Ah, maybe it should be, Your Majesty is righteous?"

What on earth am I saying? she could not help but wonder.

While she felt that this left him with nothing to reply with, the merciful and compassionate Sorcerer King still answered her.

"...Eh? Ah, no, I do not feel that I am just. And frankly speaking, justice ought to be determined by others. The motives for everything I do are very simple. Well, I have thought of spreading my reputation too..."

Neia recalled the matter of the statues.

Does wanting to spread his reputation mean the Sorcerer King is a show-off after all?

"That said, I now feel there's no need to try so hard with that... I ended up talking about pointless things. All I desire is to live in happiness with my children. That is all there is to it, but at the same time, it is also everything to me."

She did not think the undead Sorcerer King could have children. Therefore, he probably did not mean children in the sense of carrying on his bloodline, but children in a broader sense. It felt like he regarded the citizens of his nation as his children.

He is a kind man in every sense of the word... indeed, what a wonderful world it would be if even the frailest child could live in happiness. What was he thinking when he took this boy's life...

As she looked at the profile of his face, she saw something like grief for killing a child.

"Well, that was pointless. In that case, let's drop the topic here. Miss Baraja, while I am not qualified to speak pretty words, I hope you find the justice that belongs to you."

"...May I ask one more question? If your own subordinates had been taken hostage like that, would you have done the same thing?"

"...Well, this might be grumbling on my part, but it would be troublesome in another sense."

"What exactly do you mean?"

"In the past, I asked them out of curiosity, 'What would you do if you were taken hostage to force me to negotiate?' At that time, every single one of them promptly said they would rather kill themselves than inconvenience me in any way. 'No,' I told them. 'Can't you say you'd wait for me to rescue you?' and things like that... While it pleases me to see their loyalty, this is still, how shall I put it? My subordinates are all a little too fanatical."

As he rotated his wrist, the Sorcerer King continued in a tired voice.

Just as Neia began to think, Weren't these unnecessary worries for someone in his position? Remedios appeared at the gate, carrying a bloodstained longsword, her armor similarly splattered in blood. Though she had removed her helmet, her bangs were stuck to her forehead by sweat. She looked utterly exhausted.

After saying something to Gustavo, Neia sensed that for a moment, Remedios's eyes had met hers. No, it was less that she had locked gazes with Neia, but rather, she had been looking at the Sorcerer King and Neia was in the way.

Remedios said nothing, simply going back inside with a blank look on her face.

In her place, Gustavo approached the two of them.

"Your Majesty, I wish to express my thanks. While there were some slight losses, we were able to minimize them thanks to Your Majesty's power. Normally, the Captain would be thanking you in person, but she is somewhat distraught at the moment due to the tragic condition in which we found the people, so I pray you will forgive me for taking her place."

Gustavo sneaked a peek at the boy, and then he looked back at the ground.

"It is fine. Go tend to the Captain."

"Thank you very much."

"Come to think of it, what were those tragic conditions?"

"Yes. We questioned several of the people we rescued, and they said that 'They were skinning the prisoners.' It would seem 'they' were not demihumans but demons sent by Jaldabaoth..."

While she felt that the Captain was using her emotions as an excuse for her rudeness, that did not seem to be the case.

Just as Neia was starting to feel surprised, the Sorcerer King beside her tilted his head in bafflement.

"Why the skin? Why that? Are they going to eat it? Like chicken skin?"

"No, we have no idea either... although, the demihumans did not seem to have taken part in those activities... Does Your Majesty know anything about this? Could this be for some kind of demonic ritual?"

"No, I apologize. I have no clue either. Why would Jaldabaoth do such a thing?"

The Sorcerer King's puzzlement seemed to stem from the bottom of his heart, and after that everyone looked at each other, but they still could not unravel the mystery. Even so, since it was the work of demons, they might have done so just to make the humans suffer.

"...I'll ask the priests later. Then, Your Majesty, we are now trying to figure out the demihumans' hiding places in order to clear them out, so I would like to monopolize a bit of your precious time afterwards."

After saying so, Gustavo went back inside the gate.

About ten minutes after that, they could start seeing scattered human forms through the gate.

They were the captives. Just like the boy who had been taken hostage, they were dressed in tattered, threadbare clothing that did not look like it could resist the winter chill. The paladins who should have escorted them to the door simply went back past them and vanished behind the gate. Had they done this because they had too few people to handle the prisoners, or was it because the suppression work was still ongoing, or both of them?

The prisoners had looks of delight on their faces as they rushed toward Neia.

However, they suddenly stopped in their tracks.

That was probably because they had seen the form of the Sorcerer King. And then, some people continued to approach them. Perhaps they felt that the Sorcerer King was just wearing a mask or something.

A man ran over from amidst the walking people.

The man panted heavily, and then knelt down beside the boy which Ainz had laid at Neia's feet. No, it would be more accurate to say he had collapsed there.

The man caressed the boy's cheek, and after seeing for himself that the boy was dead, he burst into mournful tears.

Clearly, he was the boy's father.

Neia bit her lip.

As the father cried his son's name while he wept, the Sorcerer King calmly said:

"I was the one who killed that boy."

Neia looked at the Sorcerer King in surprise. Was now the time to say this sort of thing?

However, surely the wise Sorcerer King would not have suddenly said so for no reason.

"Why, why did you kill him!?"

The fires of hatred burned in the father's eyes. Faced with that—

The Sorcerer King replied with a mocking laugh.

"To save you, of course."

"What, what did you say!?"

For just a moment, the father's eyes filled with fear. That was because he realized that the Sorcerer King's face was not artificial. Then, his eyes roved to the sides in search of help, and they settled on Neia.

However, before Neia could say something, the Sorcerer King spoke first.

"Then may I ask you something? Why did you not protect your son? Your son was brought before me as a hostage."

"I protected him! But he was snatched away! Those bastards were stronger than me, so I couldn't do anything!"

The Sorcerer King laughed again.

"Then let me ask you — why are you still alive?"

The father did not know how to answer, and froze up.

"I am asking you why you did not die to protect your child. It is said that not all lives are equally important. You should have been the one who valued that child's life the most of all. So why did you not struggle wildly to protect him to your last breath?"

The other people were peeking at the situation here from a distance.

They must have felt unease, fear, and anger at the Sorcerer King who had taken the boy's life.

"What, what are you saying..."

"You are the one who failed to protect him. Do not push the blame onto others. You, who were weak, are at fault. Also, you seem to be mistaken about something... you do realize that I am much more powerful than the Bafolk you claim to be stronger than you, no? ...Although I can forgive some insults because I pity you for the loss of your child, I will slay you if they get out of hand."

The Sorcerer King reached out a bony index finger and rested it on the father's face.

"That, that's because you're strong — that's why you can say that! Not everyone can be as powerful as you!"

"Well said. I can say this precisely because I am powerful. Then, it is precisely because you are weak that being taken from is your lot in life, no? The strong preying on the weak is a very natural sequence of events."

The Sorcerer King turned his eyes to the people around him.

"Have you not also experienced suffering because the Bafolk are strong?"

"Are you saying the strong can do what they want!?"

"Exactly. The strong do what they will, and the weak suffer what they must. This is the way of the world. The same rule applies to me. In the face of a more powerful opponent, I would have no recourse but to suffer. That is why I seek strength."

Neia understood why the Sorcerer King sought Jaldabaoth's maids.

His Majesty must be seeking strength because he wants to protect his nation, to protect the children of his country. So strength is the most important thing after all...

"Well, originally, the weak like yourselves should have been defended by the Holy Kingdom, those who should have been strong... I really do pity you. If you were under my protection — under the protection of my country, the Sorcerous Kingdom, something like this could not possibly happen. That is because I would have used all my strength to protect the people and strike down the Bafolk."

Everyone around them was silent.

The Sorcerer King's arguments were cold and heartless, but at the same time they expressed the truth of the world.

If they could not oppose his words with reason, would they choose to protest with their emotions? However, their fear of the Sorcerer King stopped them from doing so.

"You, isn't he one of the undead? What are the undead doing in a place like this?"

The father could not say anything to the Sorcerer King because he feared the latter, and so he directed his wrath at Neia instead.

However, before Neia could answer, the Sorcerer King stole a march on her, as expected.

"To help your country, of course. And the fact is, you were all rescued by the undead of which you speak. If you are unhappy with that, why not save this nation by yourselves?"

As he heard that, the father questioned Neia with his eyes. However, she could say nothing.

That was because it was the truth.

If the people of this country were enough to defeat Jaldabaoth, the Sorcerer King would not be here.

The man hugged the boy's corpse in fear, and then he turned and ran. The people to which the man ran had frightened looks on their faces as well.

Neia heard the Sorcerer King say something, but she did not know if he was addressing the fleeing man or himself.

"Even I would be oppressed if I were weak. Therefore one cannot forget to seek strength. I need to engrave into my heart the fact that beings of comparable power to myself most definitely do exist."