“??????Look here, Your Lordship.”
It happened late in the night.
We were making our way through a woodland path. Farnese, who had been marching as the spearhead of our troops, steered her warhorse towards my direction. She dismounted from her horse and pushed something out towards me. It was dark, so I could not see properly. Whatever she had in her hands looked similar to rubbish or gunk.
Once I examined it a bit more carefully, I realized that it was a kitten.
“Its life has been injured.”
To be exact, a dying kitten.
Half of the kitten, the other half of which having already declined into being a corpse, was also diving into the River Styx minute by minute. I wonder what sort of terrifying beast had gotten to this little critter. Despite it being late in the night, the sight of its internal organs oozing out from between the cracks of its injuries was being shown without any mosaics.
Speaking of no mosaics.
In this world, things such as adult videos, a modern convenience that is also referred to as porn, obviously did not exist.
According to the classification of sociology, a society where porn has yet to be invented was, at most, nothing more than a society that was on the border of being referred to as primitive. Despite my looks, I am also one of the Demon Lords who represent demonkind, so is this situation not woeful? This great one has the duty of enlightening these barbarians as quickly as possible.
I had immediately gone into action.
Among the many magic tools, there was an item that recorded the scenery before it. The high-priced modity known as the Memoria Artifact was an item which had a bad past record with me as it had screwed me over on various occasions. I had utilized this. The price was disgustingly high, but who cares? The billions of perverts of the past, present, and future all bined were cheering me on, I was certain of this.
That was why I had filmed it. The several times where I had slept together with either Barbatos or Lapis. In secret, without having received any sort of prior agreement with them.
And.
‘What is this, Your Highness?’
The very first adult video in the world was discovered in less than half a month since it had been pleted.
‘Calm down, Lapis. pose yourself and listen to my explanation. Even you will end up praising this lofty invention.’
‘Interesting.’
Lapis nodded. Fortunately, there were no signs that showed that she was upset. As expected of my lover who boasted a coldness that lasted all year round.
I harbored hope. If it’s Lapis, then she would definitely appraise this item accurately for its political value.
‘However, before listening to Your Highness’ explanation, there is something this one wishes to talk about. Your Highness, this is a rather serious topic.’
‘All right. Ask me anything. Be it the influence this invention will have in the world from now on, or the impact it will have on the continent??????.’
‘Give this one at least a single reason why she should not kill Your Highness right this instant.’
She was incredibly pissed off.
I pletely ignored something like my honor or whatever and prostrated. Everything was my wrongdoing and crime. In particular, the fact that I did not receive her consent was most likely the worst part.
The artifact that contained Lapis was disposed of on the spot without debate. In the end, I had forever lost the opportunity to leave my name in the history books of mankind as the founder of adult videos······.
“Your Lordship.”
And then, Farnese called out to me who had bee lost in thought about the lack of mosaics.
“Why are you suddenly staring out into empty space with eyes that appear as if they had given up on everything in the world? Has Your Lordship’s brain perhaps bee vacant? Hurry up and heal this life.”
Heal?
The cat’s breathing was nearly at its end. At the soonest, within 30 seconds. At the latest, its life will most likely e to a plete halt in less than 3 minutes.
I had also just sent the witches out on a reconnaissance mission. Even if I were to call them back in order to make them heal this critter, there would not be enough time. As this was a fact which anyone could tell simply by looking at the kitten, Farnese surely was not unaware of this either. Despite that.
“This young lady wishes to save it.”
Farnese looked straight up at my face.
When we had entered the Crescent Alliance and carried out an opening ceremony for our newly enlisted soldiers, you were the one who had personally cut down the miserable pack of dogs which you had cherished and raised with care, so how could you be opening your heart to the death of a kitten which you have no connection with······I, did not ask her this.
Through war, you have taken the lives of others repeatedly. Just the number of mon soldiers you have slaughtered already reaches the tens of thousands, so what is your intention behind now referring to a single kitten as a life and requesting me to save it······I, did not inquire this.
Even now, the kitten’s wound is causing it to languish and suffer eternally so, if anything, the kitten would be better off if you put it out of its misery with your own two hands. What do you think about carrying that small life, putting it in your memory, and holding a funeral for it within your mind······I, did not give her this piece of advice either.
I waited.
“Your Lordship?”
Farnese tilted her head.
“Your Lordship.”
Farnese expressionlessly looked down at the kitten held in her arms and then gazed up at my face, she then repeated this motion over and over again, until eventually, an entire minute had passed. The kitten had a small head. Before long, the faint breathing of the small creature stopped. Once the breathing stopped, Farnese’s gaze also got caught there and paused.
“······.”
I slowly got down from my horse. Since I had not given the soldiers a separate military mand, they forked around the two of us and continued their march. Dirt continued to crumble underneath the feet of the soldiers.
I knelt down before Farnese’s feet.
I sat up straight.
I then lowered my head all the way to the ground.
“I am sorry.”
“······.”
“The reconnaissance mission was urgent. I had temporarily sent all of the witches out. It was my decision. I did not predict that something like this might occur.”
The soldiers passed by us and continued to advance. I could tell because of the footsteps that were shaking the dark ground around me.
Although the footsteps occasionally hesitated and tried to stop next to me at times, the footsteps had no other choice but to continue onward because of the marching of the rades behind them. From time to time, instead of footsteps, the low sound of whispering could be heard as well. I left those alone and allowed them to pass by.
“Why.”
I heard Farnese’s voice after a very long pause.
“Why are you apologizing, Your Lordship?”
“Due to my decision, you were unable to save a life.”
“It is a coincidence. Is there responsibility in a place where there are no intentions? How can an apology be spoken in a place with no responsibility? Sending witches on a reconnaissance mission is an everyday occurrence in military affairs. On the other hand, trying to save the life of a small critter is not related to military affairs at all. As Your Lordship’s general, this young lady is a personage who carries out the military affairs of a general. Rather than Your Lordship, would it not be appropriate for Your Lordship to reprimand this young lady for being unfaithful to her military duties?”
“I would have admonished you if you had requested that of me as a general. However, did you not e to me merely as a child with hope?”
“······.”
“Currently, the witches are unable to utilize their familiars too much. This is also an order that I had given to them the other day. Because they do not have enough familiars to use as scouts, the witches have to personally fly up into the night sky. I am sorry.”
I could vaguely hear the sound of a war song ing from the line further ahead of ours.
Uhu uhu······ like that, the soldiers attempted to alleviate their struggles from marching throughout the night by singing. Since our forces were making their way out of the woodland path, the singing easily mixed together with the sound of the wind that flowed through the forest. Woosh······ uhu rya······. The song which mixed together the sounds of the wind and forest sounded more like the disconsolate cries of a feathered creature or a wild beast than the sound of a person.
“Why does Your Lordship have to apologize?”
“Because I am your lord.”
Farnese spoke.
“And is it because Your Lordship considers this young lady to be your daughter?”
“And because I have taken you in as my adopted daughter.”
“This young lady understands.”
Farnese laid something down beside my head. It was the kitten’s dead body. The internal organs which the kitten could not pletely let out while it was dying were finally all released once the kitten had died. Like so, because the distinction between the inside and the outside was gone, the kitten was now going to return to the soil.
“This young lady wishes to forgive Your Lordship.”
Farnese sat up straight with my head held in her hands. As she stretched her knees and stood up, she lifted up my body as well. Farnese stroked my cheek.
“So this young lady shall forgive you. Father.”
“······.”
I was forgiven.
I gazed down at the life that had ended and spoke.
“Child, are you not going to create a grave and give it a burial?”
“What are you talking about, Your Lordship? What a weird thing to say.”
Farnese pointed towards the kitten’s dead body, the soil which the dead body was placed on.
“Did this young lady not bury it in this world just now?”
The child was smiling brightly.
I stayed silent for a moment while I stood before Farnese who now knew how to smile well.
When I looked around, the soldiers were marching.
Similar to a bunch of will-o’-the-wisps heading towards the afterlife, tens of thousands of soldiers were illuminating the night sky with the torches held in their hands. The radiant torches connected with one another and further intensified the illumination. The shadows shone by the torches easily hummed war songs.
It was a barbaric scene. Many of the goblins snickered while they moved their bodies around. Whenever the wolf people at the front of the formation raised their maws and howled, the wolf people behind them would follow suit, causing the military march to be lengthily connected by howls. The shadows danced and howled on the roadside.
Night Parade of One Hundred Demons. These words automatically came to my head.
(TL note: Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, also known as Hyakki Yagyou)
Farnese spoke.
“I see that demons have quite the amount of nocturnal habits since they are not growing weary during a night march.”
“Even if nocturnal habits are a part of their physiology, does that make a march any easier? They are most likely joyous because they are returning home. The soldiers who leave on an expedition always wele the order to go home the most.”
“Surely. If that is the case, then that would mean that the soldiers without a home would be less joyous.”
“That is so. We have a long way to go. Let us go quickly.”
We remounted our horses and grabbed onto their reigns.
If one were to turn around, then you would no longer be able to see the outline of your home.
Empire Calendar: Year 1506, Month 4, Day 11
Polles, Bruno Plains, Army of the Crusaders
Our army led our soldiers and approached the enemy encampment. It was quiet. The enemy troops that should have e out to oppose us were nowhere to be seen, but instead, only a dreary atmosphere loomed over the camp.
“······.”
“······.”
Since the nobles were strangers to this sort of bleakness, they did not utter a single word even as they scoured the enemy base while on horseback. Even though this was the very enemy base which they wanted to crush and destroy so much, now that they were actually here, there was nothing to crush or destroy. One of the nobles simply pointed at the lofty tower of human bones that was located in the center of the enemy camp once they noticed it.
“What exactly is that supposed to be? How bizarre.”
“That is a tower which the enemy general, Farnese, had collected and piled up.”
I answered. The enemy general was not considered as a noble since she had been sold as a slave and had murdered her own biological father. Perhaps she was not even considered as human.
“They all appear like skulls in my eyes.”
“Be grateful that your eye sockets are healthy. That is a tower made solely from the skulls of humans.”
“······.”
“I heard that the enemy general has a hobby of beheading humans, skinning their heads, and making them a part of her eternal collection if they are to her liking.”
We brought our horses close to the tower of skulls. The sky was low since the fog had yet to recede, so the tower was tearing into the center of the low sky.
The nobles murmured. Their voices were filled with fear.
“Was the enemy general not a youngster who was clearly either 17 or 18 years old?”
“A 17-year-old girl with beautiful blonde hair. With her charming beauty, she would have received a lot of adoration if she were to have gone to social circles.”
The nobles went silent.
“Is there a problem, noblemen?”
The ones who could not stay silent vomited at the feet of the tower of skulls.
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