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Chapter 238 ~ Queen Enri

A noble crusade. A righteous campaign meant to punish traitorous rebels who dared harm and take the life of a noble, who had led and protected them from their own foolishness and barbaric ways of living. 

That was what Barbro thought of the expeditions he was currently leading. 

He breathed in the scent of smoke, waving over from a burning village that belonged to a noble who was not part of the Royal faction. The same noble also had no connection to Eight Fingers, and so had no value to the Prince. 

Allowing his soldiers a little plunder for gold and women was an extra honey on the cake, allowing him to keep their morales high and their loyalty to him even more. 

He drew himself up with a smug expression. Everything was all going according to his genius plan. He could simply write a short letter home announcing that he had caught some traitors that had killed a lord’s son and that the village had attempted to hide them. 

Two birds with one stone. And there were more birds for him to hunt and turn into glorious achievements that would further embellish his throne and crown once he took it. 

“Is my tent ready?”

He asked one of his officers. The tall, broad-shouldered prince easily towering over the armored man as he looked down at him. 

“Yes sir. And… so is Lakyus…”

The smaller man said with a passive voice and blank eyes. 

“Good.”

Barbro nodded and went to his tent. 

A slender blonde cowered at the far corner of the tent. She was a little bit better fed comparatively, but she was no more grateful than before as she shark even more when the crown prince entered. 

He stared down at her as she groveled like a dog with her belly up and fingers folded into her palms like a dog’s paw. Her eyes looking up to him filled with fear as tears began to escape her eyes. 

“It’s feeding time. Now, beg for your supper, Lakyus.”

He said with a smirk, and accentuated the name. 

The girl was dressed in a close approximation of the adventurer’s expensive clothing and amore, though much, much cheaper. Mere red wool clothing with the cheapest red and gold dyes. A barely similar caricature to the real thing, but the significance of it as a symbol was no less in the eyes of the smirking prince. 

“P-Please! Please let me eat, sir!”

Tuare whimpered and held still when his massive foot went down to her throat, very little but still enough to inflict fear of it snapping her neck like a twig. 

“Then hadn’t you better apologize? I’m sorry I was disrespectful to the future king of Re-Estize! I’m sorry I was acting like a bitch!”

Tuare could not have known anything about what the prince was saying, but she still screamed her apologies for the sins she did not commit. 

She begged as he called her “Lakyus” and spat down into her face, the noise of his grunts accompanied by roaring fires of the ruined village and crashing noises of broken homes into the ash-covered ground. 

When Prince Barbro finally released his hold on his plaything, he felt sated and satisfied. 

He first thought of expediting this campaign so he could return home and show the entire kingdom of his achievements. But now, he thought otherwise. This enjoyment… he preferred if it would last a bit longer. Perhaps another day or two, to completely erase this place. 

‘Yes… to teach those nobles and peasants. Cross me or murder, and everything you ever were will cease to exist.’

It would be a time well spent, he thought. 

Such display of ruling with an iron fist would intimidate the more weak willed opposition, and increase the likelihood of him ascending the throne. While the more cautious ones would be even more cautious to move in fear of the swift retaliation and thorough counter he would exact on them. 

‘This is how a king should rule. With an iron fist to those who opposed the crown, and milk and honey to those supporting it.’

He praised himself one more time, and did not let his disappointment and frustration towards his father’s rule thus far be voiced. After all, he was aged and was no longer powerful enough to rule the kingdom. 

He would bring about a new age to the kingdom. 

His chest puffed at the thought of bringing the age of prosperity to his Kingdom and raising it to great heights, and looked at the curled up little ball of pale flesh that was trying to look anywhere but in his direction. 

He felt his member hardening until the confines of his pants made him no longer comfortable, and stepped into her view until she couldn’t avoid it again. 

Then, he unleashed his pent up frustrations and anger at “Lakyus” and used her holes as he reveled in the future of his kingdom. 

--------------------------------X--------------------------------

Renner sat in her quarters. Across from her sat a rotund man with pale blonde hair. Her second brother, Prince Zanac. 

They shared a cup of tea. The maid that served them having been excused out of the room. Renner did not even have Climb by her side and have him guard the doors outside instead. 

“Brother. Enlighten me. What do you know about the events that took place in Carne?”

She asked, her face a mask of warmth and innocent ignorance that Zanac knew well to be false, though he could not truly pinpoint the exact reason nor did he had any proof. 

“Just what we heard through the loose mouths of nobles and what word was spread in the aftermath by adventurers and former adventurers who claimed to have seen remnants. Why?”

“... And you do not think that anything wouldn’t be born out of it?”

Renner let out a martyred sigh, almost… disappointed and bewildered at his ignorance he didn’t even know he was doing.

“...Sister?”

Prince Zanac frowned deeply, more in the lines of worry than offended. 

“Brother dear, let’s play a little game. You may consider it as simply a brother humoring his little sister. For old time’s sake. When I was very small, you used to play games with me. Right?”

“... Alright. What sort of game?”

Xanax sat back, the hairs on his arms stood on end with wariness. 

“A little game I call “What if”. You play this game by postulating a scenario playing out in a particular fashion, then work out what is most likely to happen given all the various interest involved. Let’s start simple. 

A farmer raises crops, and then his lands were raided by a monster and destroyed along with those of his whole village. Then, along comes a savior, a hero who destroys the monsters, provides enough food for the season, gave them weapons to protect themselves, and teaches them how to use it, and then is about to leave. What do you think the peasants there are likely to do?”

“Offer him lordship to keep him there. Offer him anything, everything, if he’ll keep them safe.”

“Indeed. There’s a reason they say the first King was a lucky soldier, brother.”

Renner clapped her hands together once and smiled softly. 

“Now imagine some dreadful force destroys your home, but safety is only a few days of hard walking away. Or, you could go into the wilderness, or somewhere not known to be safe. Where would you go?”

“To the safe zone, of course.”

“Right again. It is the only logical course. Now suppose you live in that safe place. You fended off raiders, saw monsters and beasts that threatened you destroyed. You almost lost everything, and you may lose it once again in the future, but there’s nowhere to go. Then, a whole lot of new labor starts showing up asking to stay with you since you survived destruction while their home didn’t. What do you do?”

Princess Renner leaned forward slightly, her eyes narrowed and sharpened ever so slightly under the guise of her warm, innocent smile. 

“A lot of labor and fear of destruction… I’d prepare. Build walls, use the extra hands to make sure we prepare for a fight. It’s… basically what we struggle to do against the Empire every year. Though we mostly fail because of the nobles.”

The prince’s round face flushed with anger as his thick fingers made a fist in his lap that he concealed from his sister.”

“Well… What if our foolish elder brother comeso across that place, full of peasants, and realized his “targets” are there. What will our stupid elder brother do?”

This was an easy question for Zanac to answer. The easiest of them all. 

“He’ll attack. Not in person because he’s a coward, but he’ll send his soldiers to take the walls and destroy them.”

“Wait… Carne… Youʼre talking about the place that Master Gown rescued…”

“Very good, brother dear. Very, very good.”

She praised him like he was a dog, but in that instant, Prince Zanac didn’t care, for he realized what direction she was going.

“Our stupid brother will attack. He holds peasants in contempt, but forgets that everybody in that place will have been survivor of at least one, probably more, terrible calamity. Perhaps, even some military veterans or retired adventurers will be there too. They’ll have nowhere to go, nothing to lose, and some may believe they can win. 

But, our stupid brother only knew how to burn, plunder, or order an attack to places where nobody fought back. He won’t understand the desire for revenge that lingers behind. That if you strike somebody in the morning, they will dream of striking back at night, and hunt you until they can kill you in the dark.”

Renner pressed. 

“Our negligent brother, drunk on power and the fantasy of assured victory, would surely give them that chance, and he will probably be killed. So now… what if our brother dies? What if… the crown prince was killed by our very own peasants?”

“...The peasants, who have nothing to lose, will rebel. The noble faction will also see it as a weakness in the royal faction and rebel. And with the annual war coming up, with the Empire’s at least forty-thousand knights on our gates or perhaps more if he thinks he can start gobbling up territories, we’ll be surrounded on all sides…”

Xanax responded with mute horror. His hands now trembling as cold sweat drip down his back. 

“Exactly. You’d be the crown prince, but only that of a ruined kingdom. So, in this case, what do you do, dear brother?”

“Stop our foolish brother before he destroys us. Nip this rebellion in the bud before he can even spark it. Thank you, sister. I will get going right away.”

Prince Zanac’s face paled as white as death before he even rose from his chair. His tea sat, forgotten and abandoned, on the little round intimate table he shared with his sibling, then he rushed from the room.

Alone once again, the golden princess stood up, went to her end table, and flipped open a book. 

There, a message scroll sat between the pages, waiting to be sued. She removed it and waited while the blue flames engulfed the floating scroll. 

“Lord Demiurge. It is done.”

There was no answer. She waited a few more moments, and finally realized that his answer was silence.

But that was fine. It doesn’t matter. Nothing matters. Only Climb. 

--------------------------------X--------------------------------

Enri stood before the entire village. Her body was adorned in light armor, a circlet, bracers, and greeves. 

Her greeves were enchanted to grant her greater speed and agility. Her bracers granted her the ability to deflect missiles automatically thrice a day. Her circlet granted her enhanced vision, greater than even Lukrut’s Martial arts, while worn. 

While her light armor gave her resistance against slashing, piercing, and bludgeoning weapons targeting the body.

And hidden beneath her shirt, she wore a necklace enchanted to grant her the ability to cast “Cure Wounds” up to thrice a day. Though, considering her mana pool, she would only be able to use it once, at most. 

All these were just a few of the many gifts Lord Gown and Lord Zero had granted them. Just the ones adorned by Enri would’ve been considered rare and precious treasures by Re-Estize and Baharuth. But Nfirea, who stood by her side, was adorned in similar protective gears as well. 

While the Swords of Darkness, who stood behind them, were all adorned and equipped with gears of the same quality. 

It was something they, even as Silver-ranked adventurers never would’ve imagined they would wear. But now, they’re adorned in what could very well be treasures on par with the royal treasures the warrior captain adorn in great wars. 

”When Master Gown visited us, we needed saving! Now we have to save ourselves! Weʼve worked hard, trained hard, done things weʼd never done before! Now Master Gown has given us the chance to prove we are worth his time! We know someone is coming for us to avenge the death of a worthless lord! We didnʼt do anything… and still weʼre going to die for it! Iʼm done with that! Done with all of that!” 

Enriʼs fury boiled over and gave voice to the outrage of a lifetime. A fiery blaze alight within her eyes, the same blaze that had been ignited in the eyes of all those before her. 

”I reject the Kingdom! If their lords seek to destroy us, then damn them! We’ll be our own lords! Take up armor, take up swords! And letʼs get ready to fight! This is our home! This is our land! And theyʼll never take from us ever again!” 

Enri bellowed like an outraged banshee, and the call began to rise up.

”Carne! Carne! Carne!”

The cries shook the ground and the air, filled with fervor, before it began to transform little by little. 

”Emmott! Emmott! Emmott!”

And from some unknown throat another call began that took hold and would not let go.

”Hail to Queen Enri Emmott of the Kingdom of Carne!”

Enri blinked in dismay when the call went up. Her heart raced like it was trying to outpace her pulse. The scale of what just happened was far beyond her expectation, but caught in the moment and unable to think of what else to do, she gave her orders.

”Arm yourselves! Everyone! Arm yourselves! We have to prepare and we havenʼt a moment to spare!” 

Enri shouted, and hundreds of hands began to scramble for hilts, shields, boots, and armor pieces as if these were holiday gifts being given out, and they were the children receiving them. Each and every single one of them, enchanted equipments greater than even that of the elite knights of Baharuth and even the warrior captain. 

Enri turned her eyes toward Nfirea. 

”What just happened here?” 

She asked as peasants began to put on armor and equip themselves like proper warriors.

Nfirea chuckled and put a hand on the shoulder of the woman he loved. 

”You became a Queen, I think. And if youʼll have me, Iʼd love to be the King.”

He winked at her dismayed, shocked expression, and then the understanding of the meaning behind his words began to sink in.

”Thatʼs… thatʼs not how proposals work, Enfi!” 

She blushed a deep crimson, but Nfireaʼs loving expression, his broad smile and resolve did not waver.

”Iʼve loved you for years, more than I could ever say. I donʼt know whatʼll happen next, but itʼll be dangerous, and if I do have to leave this world, I want to do so married to the woman of my dreams. Iʼll love you for my whole life, you, only you, and no other.”

”That- That is how you propose.” 

Enriʼs blush didnʼt fade, but her surprise melted into happiness and into his embrace in a passionate kiss that went on until the carts were entirely empty and the first ʼArmy of Carneʼ began to form up.

“Hah… I’d… like to continue. But there’s something I’d need to do.”

Enri reached into the pockets of her shirt beneath her light armor and took out one of the two necklaces given to her by Ainz. The remaining “Horn of the Goblin General”. 

“This is our last stand... Might as well call on for more reinforcement.”

Nfirea nodded, and Enri blew the horn. 

--------------------------------X--------------------------------

Yuuji watched the entire thing as it transpired through the Mirror of Remote Viewing. 

He sat on the couch within his room. A porcelain pot of tea, enchanted to always keep the liquid within it at the optimum temperature for tea, sat on the table before him, along with a tea cup with a half drunk golden brown liquid, still steaming lightly. 

Behind him, Yuri stood, slightly leaning towards him, as she massaged his shoulders. 

As a maid, she was naturally equipped with the knowledge of massages. In addition to being a Striker, who excelled in melee unarmed combat, Yuri excelled in massages even compared to her sisters. 

She massaged Yuuji with a devotion surpassing the devotion a maid should have for their master, for he was not only the master of her life, but of her heart as well. 

Her eyes were filled with a tenderness and deep affection as she gazed at him, and only him, ignoring what was reflected in the mirror. 

“Good. With this, we’ll have a kingdom as an ally, instead of a village.”

‘And that would be another kingdom listed as subjugated in the mission…’

With this, even if they didn’t subjugate the Theocracy, they’d have at least three kingdoms subjugated, which would complete their mission and grant them a bonus for the extra kingdom subjugated. 

“To plant our spy in the midst of the village to stir the villagers’ sentiment into creating a kingdom and lifting that village girl as their queen… Truly a brilliant move. Your foresight and wisdom never ceased to amaze me, Yuuji-sama.”

He smiled and leaned back, resting his head on her breasts, which have grown noticeable since she became a Succubus. Her transformation had turned her appearance from a stern, intelligent beauty, to a seductive, bewitching, intelligent beauty that could make men fall to their knees and beg for her favor. 

Though naturally, only one being in the entire world and universe would ever see the loving smile and gaze she was showing right now. 

“Well, they might’ve gone ahead and done it either way, but we’ll have to make sure of it. They must rise as a kingdom, so others can see how well a vassal state under Nazarick would flourish and prosper. Then, the rest would fall in line naturally.” 

Her eyes mellowed even more in adoration and admiration to the great being before her. 

“As expected of Yuuji-sama. Your wisdom and foresight is truly unparalleled.”

Yuuji simply smiled. 

“Well, now that it is settled, would you pour me another cup, Yuri?”

“With pleasure, Yuuji-sama.”

She poured him a cup, and then returned to massaging his shoulders. This time, she leaned in even more so he could rest his head on her breasts comfortably.