Chapter 327: 327
–Third Person POV–
Magrado General Governorate . Governor General’s Office .
The Governor General of Magrado, Griff Zilgray, is listening to his subordinate’s report .
「The execution of those insurgents is finished . Unfortunately we couldn’t get any useful information, but we made it public that they were the remnants of former Magrado . 」
Zilgray throws his pen uninterestedly on the desk .
His expression wasn’t exactly one of dissatisfaction .
「Hmph, it must be Hardlett’s cheap revenge, though there is no proof . 」
Not too long ago, the General Governorate received a tip that a plan to assassinate Zilgray was ongoing .
「I expected Hardlett to respond but this is just pathetic . 」
Zilgray was prepared for some form of retaliation after his own assassination plan failed, but he swiftly dealt with it, successfully arresting all the suspicious people before anything could be done .
Being the Governor General of such an unfriendly region, he had a high ability to maintain public order .
After that, a harsh interrogation was conducted until half of the suspects ended up dying, however Zilgray could not find any proof linking the individuals to Hardlett . None of them knew anything .
「Our plan was one step short of killing Hardlett, while his shoddy attempt was foiled before preparations were even made . As expected, he’s just a musclehead who knows how to fight and this is all he can muster . 」
「That’s exactly right, our failure was because the assassins were incompetent . Your Excellency’s plan was perfect . 」
The subordinate gives praise without a moment’s delay and is met with a satisfied nod from Zilgray .
「Either way, we have to think about the next plan . If we remove that troublesome man, then――」
At that moment, noisy footsteps can be heard in the corridor, which makes Zilgray rest his elbow on the desk and lower his eyebrows in annoyance .
「Your Excellency, it’s terrible!」
「You’re too loud . I told you to stay calm when you move . 」
It didn’t take long for Zilgray’s tone to raise after he received the report .
「There was a raid on the warehouse in Patena!? What’s the damage!?」
「15 guards and 4 dock workers died――」
「I don’t care about that! What happened to the cargo bound for the capital!?」
Zilgray grabs the subordinate’s collar .
「Well, the attackers scattered the cargo all over the city, making it impossible to recover…… half a year’s worth of construction funds for the central nobles have…… it’s all been lost . 」
The subordinate turns his eyes away as he finishes his report .
「How dare he…… how dare he, how dareーーー!」
Zilgray flies into a rage, wiping away all the documents, writing instruments, and the cup off his desk .
「That Hardlett, he’s done it now! I’ll kill him! I’ll definitely kill him!!」
Zilgray slams his desk furiously, then eventually calms down .
「Your Excellency……?」
The subordinate inquires anxiously .
「Kill him…… kill that unpleasant womanizer this instant!!」
「With all due respect, the next assassination plan is still in the preparation stage . Defences have heightened since the last attack so taking him out isn’t that easy…… besides, acting carelessly may create more chances to screw up and if the Kingdom’s information officers catch our tail, it may mean a loss for Your Excellency . 」
「Then aim for his women! The royal palace won’t butt in for some lover as long as we avoid the legal wife!」
「U-understood!」
Thus the fight below the surface continues .
–Aegir POV–
Rafen .
「…… damn Zilgray, he crossed the line he shouldn’t cross . 」
I pass the letter to Leopolt .
I didn’t expect to hear about the operation’s success from somebody besides Celia and company .
The letter was written by Rebecca the Kingdom’s lead information officer, telling me “Governor General Zilgray seems to be indignant after learning about Patena burning down and may take extreme measures . Be especially careful with your lovers and loved ones”, to give me advance warning .
There was more written in the letter, though it was of less importance to me at this point .
I don’t care if he wants to kill me, but targeting the women? What a disgusting guy .
「In the latter half of the letter, it says “it’s fine to continue doing things under the table, but aggravating the situation any more would warrant intervention” . 」
Once Leopolt finishes reading the letter, he sets it on fire and turns it into ash .
It’s not a letter which should be left lying around .
Myla didn’t read the letter so she glared at Leopolt when he did that, but he remained composed .
「As we discussed previously, we will strengthen the security on the mansion and also increase the number of guards . 」
That isn’t good enough for me . Defending and waiting for the enemy’s approach doesn’t fit my personality .
If I was being targeted, I wouldn’t mind embracing women while waiting for the opponent to make a move, but when my women are in danger, I end up being worried and unable to sleep at night .
「I have an idea . 」
I whisper my plan to Leopolt .
「That would be getting our priorities backwards . I’d like if you used your head more . 」
I know it’s a reckless plan, still there are other ways to tell me .
I grab Myla, who was trying to listen in, and pull her cheeks .
They’re smooth and all, but it feels like they’re lacking in elasticity compared to Celia .
「What are you doing!?」
The way she only protests verbally is the same as Celia . I’ll keep doing it .
「…… however I do understand that you want to settle things in one fell swoop . Let me make some amendments and I’ll come back with a new plan . 」
With that, Leopolt leaves the room .
「Hn? Did he accept my plan?」
「My cheeks are going to stretch~」
Now that I think about it, Leopolt doesn’t exactly ignore the things I say .
Even though he makes snide remarks and does things I don’t tell him to do, he still follows my instructions .
「Looking at it that way, he’s quite the loyal retainer . He can be really irritating at times though……」
「Hau…… haauu . 」
Regardless, I have to get ready now .
Later .
Inside the large rocking carriage, I silently inspect my longsword .
「This is a chance to redeem myself, I will definitely do my part . 」
Myla, who is sitting beside me, is looking pretty tense as she is psyching herself up .
「It’s so fluffy . What’s in there?」
「It’s hard and grainy? It feels good for a cushion……」
Luna and Ruby seem to like Mel’s signature cushion and become more relaxed .
「Wahahaha! You won’t have any energy if you don’t eat!」
Irijina is eating some kind of meat . Everyone’s going to get angry if you spill any meat juice on the carpet .
「Listen to me . Nobody steps in front of me, this is an order . 」
「Got it!」「Yessir!」「「Okay!」」
Everyone answers in unison . My intentions were to bring the girls who can defend themselves, but I would pay too much attention to them if they step ahead of me and I won’t be able to go wild like I want .
The carriage we’re all riding right now is the largest of all the ones we own and the one which is typically used when taking Nonna and the others for an excursion . In the large interior space, one can find Nonna’s change of clothes, Carla’s hunting bow, and a variety of cushions Mel knitted with her daughters .
By the way, there is a small space up in the ceiling which became Casie’s exclusive area .
Finally, the carriage that I’m supposedly riding is accompanied by many guards and has gone ahead of us one hour earlier .
The objective is to escape the heat, going to a far away lake with the family for a change of pace .
Since we’re taking a route away from the main roads, the path is narrower, which prevents the larger carriage from going fast .
Furthermore this carriage has extremely lighter security compared to the carriage I’m supposed to be on and that has gone ahead of us .
「There’s an obstacle on the path! Stop here!!」
The carriage stops abruptly, making all of us lose our balance inside .
At the same time, I hear multiple voices, too many to be guards .
Then, it’s the familiar sound of metal―― the sound of swords .
「They stopped! Without a doubt, this is the concubines’ carriage!」
「Team A hold off the guards! Team B complete the objective, show no mercy!」
I calmly and slowly stand up .
The carriage door was opened violently .
「Concubines of Hardlett! We bear no grudges, but please di――」
As a man attempts to enter the carriage with his sword held above his head, his face meets my steel boot .
The man, dressed in a traveler’s typical getup likely in an attempt to disguise himself, gets his face totally smashed and looks more like a suspicious person at first glance .
He shouldn’t be able to move after that .
「Uooh! What the heck is―― eh?」
The man waiting near the entrance of the carriage stares wonderingly at the sword that pierced his chest .
My longsword completely ran through his heart and the man fell after taking his final breath .
I step on the two corpses as I make my way outside .
I’m fully equipped, resting the longsword on my shoulder while keeping the Dual Crater at my hip and wearing the same armor I would during wartime .
That was probably the last thing anybody would expect to come out of such a fancy-looking carriage .
「I’ve been waiting for you . Thanks for not wasting any time and coming out so soon . 」
As I make the comment, I take a huge swing with my longsword .
Everything from the chest up of the man standing roughly three meters in front of me starts sliding to the side .
「Why don’t we get started?」
The attackers seem taken aback at my fully armed appearance .
「That’s not what we were told! The concubines were supposed to be riding carriage at the back!」
「The scouts definitely said they saw women on it!」
「Isn’t that Hardlett himself!?」
When the final village was passed, Luna and Ruby looked out the carriage wearing regular clothes .
Of course now they are fully armed .
「What’s wrong? You’re supposed to be the attackers, right? Come at me . 」
I take a quick look around me .
I would say there were about 30 or so of them total, whereas there are only 4 guards on our side, although they’re fully armed and took out a good amount of the attackers .
Excluding the guys on the ground, that makes 20 of them left .
「W-we can’t pull back now! Let’s go!」
The enemies charge forward collectively after the order was given .
I was already on the move before the command left the man’s throat .
「Uwaaah, it’s the war demon!」
「Don’t falter! That title is ultimately just a rumor…… higyah!!」
I run in a straight line towards the person who shouted the orders and swing my sword .
The man couldn’t do anything and my sword traveled from the top of his head to his crotch, cleanly splitting the man’s body in half like a piece of firewood .
「Hmph . 」
How careless . Aiming for the boss is the fundamentals of battle . If you’re going to stand in front and give orders, you’ll obviously get targeted first .
Now their morale should go down .
「I’m not letting anybody escape . I have to teach everyone what happens when they try to hurt my women . 」
Unlucky for you guys, I need all of you here to die .
「G-get him!」
The pathetic order urged the attackers into action .
A man rushes forward with his sword and is met with my shield .
「Gugyh . 」
When we made contact, I heard three sounds which came with the weak groan .
The first was my shield breaking his sword, the second was his hand breaking, the third was his body getting crushed .
His bones broke so quickly that a part of his body became all flimsy and he crumpled limply to the ground .
「Hiiih!」「So the war demon is real…… damn monster!」
I’m not in the mood to talk anymore .
I silently charge at the place where I hear the voices come from and whip my sword around .
My sweep takes out one enemy’s legs, while I use the rotational force to bash another with my shield .
I trip yet another opponent, then after he falls, stick my sword in his back .
These guys are no amateurs, however they fight strangely .
They’re not used to dealing with a battle-tested soldier in armor and fight like they’re brawling in the city .
「How about this!?」「I got you now!」
Two men come at me from either side, which I dodge by twisting my body .
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