I realized my mistake after I picked up Christine and started running. Why did I hold her with my left hand on her back and my right hand on her legs? If my right hand was on her back, I could have reached forward…
The Klinshberbach North Gate was littered with the corpses of warriors, making it easy to imagine how intense the battle had been. I was sure there had been Giants at the North Gate, but not even their remains were visible; it was swarming with knights and Orcs.
The scene was the same even after we passed the North Gate and entered the city. I couldn’t find anyone alive. It was less of a deserted city and more of a city of corpses.
It was customary to give even enemies a proper burial after a battle, but perhaps they simply hadn’t gotten around to it yet. Normally, bodies wouldn’t be left unattended due to the risk of secondary damage like disease…
“…It smells awful.”
I shouldn’t have said that. Whether it was the heat or their usual hygiene standards, it was already starting to smell. Rufina would have happily turned any usable Orc corpses into undead.
“We need to hurry to the castle.”
I readjusted Christine in my arms, this time placing my right hand on her back, and ran. There were Orc corpses and ingredients for “pork stew” scattered throughout the city, but the smell ruined any appetite.
“Ah…!”
I didn’t have an appetite, but I did have… other urges. It was harder to run with three points of contact, but I could carry Christine securely while maintaining stable speed. I sped ahead with Godspeed.
“…Somewhere… for just the two of us…”
The first person I finally found was a knight from Harm, who was busy collecting bodies near the castle. He looked at me strangely when I spoke and told me where the White Lily Corps were, but he didn’t know how to address me, their Commander-in-Chief.
It’s true that I was carrying a beautiful woman, and my hand was resting on her chest. Christine had also been kissing me the whole time we spoke, which might have made it difficult for him to talk, but I still wished for a little more respect in his gaze.
We took our time making our way to the southern part of the city, where the Keibeck Kingdom had clashed with the Demon Army, and then hurried.
“What the hell have you been doing until now?!”
It felt like ages since I’d heard that voice. What have I been doing? Well, what else would I be doing with Christine besides… that. Of course, it was also to stop Christine’s support magic.
“Welcome back. Collecting the bodies? You have my thanks. …By the way, where is everyone else?”
“Damn it! Unlike you, I’ve been working! Sophia is treating the injured, Rufina is making undead, and Orietta is busy with prosthetics!”
“So Priscilla and Alana are working here… Christine, please release Alana now.”
Poor Alana had dashed towards me when she spotted me, which was good, but her embrace was sharp, like a bullet. She clutched her chest in front of me and collapsed in pain.
“C-Captain… Are you okay? Christine-nee-san seems fine.”
I’m sorry, Alana. I want to embrace you, but I have Christine with me now. Even so, I’ve been performing CPR at Godspeed while talking to Priscilla.
“I’m glad everyone is safe. I don’t worry too much, though.”
“That’s not true… Rose is dead…”
What?! Rose, who had a physique and muscles comparable to or even exceeding Priscilla’s, and whose swordsmanship I recognized as unparalleled, is dead?!
Rose, who, despite her build, was so girlish that she’d say “I’m embarrassed to be seen” if we tried to have normal intercourse… Impossible!
“Don’t you dare kill me off yourself, Priscilla! I, Rose, would never die so easily!”
“Oh, it’s the undead making an appearance. Get your face fixed, Rose!”
When I turned around, Rose stood there, half her face wrapped in bandages, along with members of the White Rose Brigade. Rhys, Nora, and two new members.
“Didn’t the White Rose Brigade have about five members? Where’s Nicole?”
“Don’t worry, she’s been sent to the infirmary. We’re short on mages, and Nicole can do some healing.”
I see… At least they seem to be safe for now. Alana is energetic, and Priscilla is even more so. What about the White Lily Corps? My Annihilation Brigade? The Demon Lord’s head?
“C-Can you please let Christine down for now? Your hand around her neck feels like it’s tightening…”
I didn’t want to let her down either. I wanted to enjoy the soft sensation against my palm for a while longer, but it was probably time I acted like a hero and got into trouble. And where was Queen Anneliese?
“The White Lily Corps didn’t have any fatalities, but many can’t return to the battlefield. The Brigade suffered six hundred deaths. Many others are severely injured.”
Six hundred?! Six hundred dead out of two thousand?! That’s a massive loss! And this happened with Priscilla present…
“Tsk!”
There was no mistaking the audible clicking of her tongue. As Christine stepped down, she whispered in my ear with a gentle voice, “…I wish they had all been annihilated,” and then licked my ear.
“S-So then… What happened to the Demon Lord? Is his head being examined?”
“…”
“…”
What? Did I misread the room? Their lack of laughter or retort confused me. …Alana. Please don’t make a joke about my embrace right now. It really hurts.
“…What’s wrong?”
“…He’s not here. The Demon Lord wasn’t here.”
A shocking confession… To be continued next week…
No, it won’t be. The story will continue. You won’t get a commercial break after hearing something like this.
“Why… The Demon Lord should be here. He conquered Klinshberbach, so it’s natural he’d come here!!”
“Don’t yell at me. He’s just not here. Even though I was the first to reach Klinshberbach, we couldn’t find him. He wasn’t in the castle.”
“What about prisoners? You must have captured some. They should know.”
“…There are no prisoners. None at all. They fought to the death. Even when thirty of us surrounded a single Goblin, they wouldn’t surrender and fought until they died. The Demons…”
Priscilla lowered her gaze. It was unbelievable that even Goblins, who fought by sheer numbers, would fight to the death even when isolated.
“Captain, what kind of beings are these demons? Some of them exploded or transformed at the end, and this face… a demon did this to me. They were too strong…”
I had never considered it before. They had horns, magic, were cruel, their chests were out, their abdomens were in, their skin was cold, but when I got inside… Alma Rosenberg, who tried so hard that I *wanted* to warm her up. …Please be dead. For my peace.
“…I don’t know. Were there any female demons?”
“There were, weren’t there? I don’t remember that far.”
Alright! I can foresee a bright and peaceful future. But if the Demon Lord isn’t here, does that mean the war will continue? The main force of the Demon Army was annihilated by the Magic Cannon in Runbergzach, and those who remained in Klinshberbach were also wiped out.
Even if the Demon Lord tries something, he won’t have any soldiers to command. We can push them back and recapture the northernmost point of Lauenstein. Although the damage is considerable, we should reorganize the troops and pursue them.
“Captain, what happened to your left hand?”
A perfect timing to change the subject. My prosthetic left hand is still broken and I haven’t done anything about it. Even if I wanted to remove it, it’s fused with my skin in some places, and tearing it off forcefully would be painful.
“I broke it trying too hard. Orietta…”
“Let’s go see Orietta-nee-san quickly!”
My words went unheard. Alana, pulling on my broken prosthetic, started running towards the castle.
“P-Please, everyone else continue your work. Christine, you can rest. I’ll return to the Brigade after I visit Her Majesty the Queen later.”
By the time I arrived at Orietta’s, my prosthetic hand had already been removed.
