The Western Legion of the Demon King's Army (5)

The sun had just dipped below the horizon. On the first floor of the fortress tower, a single small candle flickered in the kitchen. The stone walls were dyed in its warm, reddish glow, casting the slender shadow of a woman against them.

"Mmm~~~!"

The owner of the shadow was bouncing up and down in sheer excitement, causing her silhouette to wiggle and dance rapidly along the wall. It was Kaira, the Harpy Queen.

She was currently tasting the potato dish sent by the Head Mod.

The salty yet smooth, rich flavor of the butter. The melt-in-your-mouth texture of the potato. The entire culinary experience was dazzlingly beautiful.

She proceeded to devour the wedge fries and french fries as well.

"Ppi- hup!"

She barely managed to suppress the unique harpy cry that slipped out whenever she was in a good mood.

"No, I shouldn't just sit here. I need to bring the others and show them that potatoes are safe..."

Kaira dashed out of the kitchen in a flurry. And then...

"...That harpy is the Legion Commander?"

"Seems like it. She looks exactly like her portrait. What on earth is she eating to look so radiant?"

"*Sniff, sniff, sniff...* This smell that's been bothering me, did it come from here?"

From the pitch-black shadows, five sturdy men slid out.

A special task force of the Human-Elf-Dwarf Alliance had gathered in the West. Their commander was Count Felid of the Ared Empire.

Dammit!

He was the epitome of an incompetent, arrogant noble who relied solely on his family background to lord over others. The only reason such a cancerous existence had managed to secure a spot in the Alliance General Staff was simple.

His family, the House of Felid, was a founding pillar of the current Ared Empire.

Because no one could touch him, his various atrocities were swept under the rug, and even his treatment of the Hero as a mere servant was tolerated.

The sickly Emperor had retired to the background, and the Crown Prince lacked the political power to keep Felid in check.

But then...

"From this day forth, We shall resume the administration of state affairs."

The Emperor returned. And for some reason, he became pathologically obsessed with the Head Mod and the Gallery.

Count Felid had tried to bow low and go with the flow, but...

"Your Majesty, in truth, I previously submitted a report out of concern that the Imperial Army would suffer severe damage in the East."

"Is that so? Then why did the report from the Gallery Surveillance Director fail to reach the Crown Prince ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and the Hero?"

"I merely submitted the report to my direct superior, Count Felid."

"Count Felid."

"Y-Yes, Your Majesty!"

"I ask you. Did you lose the report from the Surveillance Bureau?"

"N-No, Your Majesty! I never received it."

"Hmm..."

One of them was lying. Normally, the Emperor would have sided with the high-ranking Count Felid. But this involved the Head Mod and the Gallery.

"Indeed, it is best to make things clear. Summon the court mages."

They were tied to chairs and subjected to truth spells repeatedly until...

"...I, I burned it!"

"Tsk, a filthy traitor in our midst."

The Count couldn't hold out and confessed to his crime with his own mouth.

"Considering the loyalty the Felid family has shown to the Imperial Throne, We shall not take your head."

"T-Thank you, Your Majesty!"

"But We have no desire to look upon your face any longer. Men, exile Count Felid from the Imperial Capital immediately!"

As he was dragged out, Count Felid saw the face of the Gallery Surveillance Director, who had turned his head slightly to send him a sneering, despicable smirk.

I will get my revenge, absolutely!

After being demoted, he waited for an opportunity to present itself.

"This is it!"

He volunteered for the Western invasion to distract the enemy. With his substantial military experience, he was appointed commander immediately.

The core of the mission was to draw the main Demon King's army to the West with a small detachment. But that felt like begging the enemy for attention.

"If the enemy doesn't bite, it's over."

So he changed the plan entirely to occupy the fortress, create a sense of crisis, and pressure the front line.

Using his connections with the Elves and Dwarves to secure reinforcements, and spending his own fortune to supply the army, he marched West with grand ambitions.

"Why! Why won't they surrender?!"

He couldn't understand the Demon King's army inside the fortress. They weren't surrendering, trying to escape, or even attempting aerial resupply.

"Didn't you say there was barely any food left in the fortress?!"

"That is what the scouts reported, Your Excellency."

"Then why! Why are they perfectly fine even after being besieged for over a week?!"

There was no desperate counterattack to break the siege. Did they choose to starve to death inside?

"Has the luggage scheduled for today arrived?"

"Y-Yes, Your Excellency. It just arrived this morning..."

"Then go fetch my magic artifact immediately!"

Count Felid unpacked his personal luggage and took out the magic artifact: the All-Seeing Telescope.

He extended the three-tier luxury telescope and peered through it.

"H-How on earth?"

Instead of starving, the refugees were receiving substantial meals.

And when they pressed something, crates of food rained down from the sky. It was a preposterous scene, and it was displayed with crystal clarity.

Count Felid despaired.

They were never besieged in the first place!

His mind, which only worked quickly in times like this, went into overdrive.

Rather, it's the Alliance forces that are tied down at this fortress.

More troops and equipment were deployed than planned. This means I've weakened the Alliance forces on the central front.

Forget a triumphant return, I might end up on the guillotine.

Realizing he would bear the responsibility for this failure, Count Felid barked:

"Scout Captain!"

"Yes, Your Excellency!"

"Select a small group of veteran soldiers to form a scouting party to scale the fortress cliffs."

"...Pardon?"

The scout captain asked, looking utterly bewildered, wondering if he had misheard.

Count Felid shrieked irritably,

"Immediately! Bring me! The veteran soldiers!"

"U-Understood!"

The five soldiers selected on the spot were highly disgruntled. They had just been about to eat their rations—which had been reduced to a fraction of their original size due to the worsening supply situation—when they were dragged away.

"Succeed in this mission, and I shall reward you handsomely."

A commander who couldn't even feed them properly was sending them to their deaths while talking about rewards. It was pathetic.

"Your attitude is insolent. Are you so unwilling to go?"

"To be honest, yes."

"What?"

Since they were mercenaries under contract, they didn't blindly follow orders like regular imperial soldiers.

"Wasn't our role supposed to be minor scouting? Infiltrating the enemy camp after sunset is a breach of contract."

The Count glared. He didn't have enough gold to pay them extra, so...

Sring.

He decided to resolve it with force. He was the head of the Felid family, famous for swordsmanship. He was an Expert-level swordsman.

"Gasp—"

He closed the distance instantly and pointed his sword at the mercenary's chin.

"Do you still intend to disobey?"

"...Isn't it the same whether we die here or there?"

"Indeed. I can kill you here and visit your families myself. If I offer compensation to your families, the guild will gladly hand over their details."

"!"

The mercenaries' eyes shook at the threat to their families.

"So, will you die here?"

Forced by the Count, they had no choice but to climb the cliff.

Their mission: scout the enemy camp and set fire to the food storehouse.

They managed to scale the cliff and infiltrate the fortress. And as soon as they entered...

Gulp.

They were completely captivated by the food filling the kitchen.

"W-What on earth is this?"

"*Chomp, chew, mmm.* It's warm, soft, and delicious."

"Dammit, we're only getting watery soup twice a day. How are these besieged demons eating such delicious food?"

As they shoved the potato dishes into their mouths like starving beasts, they made a fatal mistake.

"Let's just take the whole plate and show— *kki-ppyat?!*"

"!"

They were so distracted by eating that they didn't hear footsteps. They tried to draw their swords and charge the harpy, but their hands were covered in butter and grease, and they were too tense.

Whirrrrr!

Kaira spun her body like a drill and charged into the kitchen, instantly subduing all of them.

"W-What kind of strength is..."

"How dare you, how dare you...!"

Kaira was furious.

"How dare you touch the food Head Mod gifted me, *ppiiiiii-!!!*"

She exploded at the humans who stole her potatoes. As the representative of the harpies, she was not to be trifled with.

"Aaaargh!"

"Crazy! Why is she so strong?!"

"Kuaaaagh!"

The intruders were thoroughly thrashed and taken prisoner.

"Huh? Why?"

"...How long have I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠been scratching?"

"...Really?"

I stopped. I had been in a daze, repeating the motion, but I lowered my hand after hearing the Operator's words.

"I mean, seriously."

I couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of it all.

"Does this make any sense?"

There's a saying about a blind cow catching a mouse by stepping backward, but I never expected to see it happen like this.

Those soldiers climbed a sheer cliff. If they had assassinated Kaira or burned the storehouse, it would have been a disaster.

But...

"Are butter-roasted baby potatoes some kind of flypaper? How could they get caught because they couldn't resist that?"

It was a pathetic end. Caught eating potatoes in the enemy's kitchen.

But they served as perfect proof to convince the refugees who insisted potatoes were evil. Kaira's video showed the process:

— Those are humans, so they have high poison resistance! We shouldn't eat them!

— Then am I a poison-resistant harpy too, ppi-?

— T-That is...

— This is a potato dish sent by none other than Head Mod. Anyone want to try, ppi-?

— I-I will try it!

Fortunately, some wedge potatoes and butter-roasted baby potatoes remained untouched. Kaira distributed them.

The reaction was explosive.

I sent simple recipes, sugar, salt, butter, etc.

The potential conflict over potatoes inside the fortress was resolved.

At that moment, outside the fortress, in the Alliance camp.

"Is that true?"

"Yes. And some soldiers are spreading the news from the Gallery around the camp, causing morale to plummet."

Thud!

Count Felid slammed his gauntlet onto the table.

"Dammit!!!"

The supplies he bought with his own money were stolen or burned by a mysterious mage in the rear. Inside the besieged fortress, the enemy was holding out comfortably with abundant food. His subordinates began to distrust him.

"We heard about the internal situation."

"We cannot let so many archers and equipment sit idle."

The Elves and Dwarves notified him they would ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be leaving soon.

"Ha!"

Count Felid had lost everything.

The culprit...

"Cheerful Gallery... Head Mod...!"

Only now did he painfully realize why the Emperor was so obsessed with the Gallery and Juttak.

Lifting the siege and retreating, Count Felid screamed in rage:

"Head Mod!!! You bitch, I'll make you pay for this!!!"

A few days later, the siege was lifted. The In-Eld Alliance retreated, and the refugees returned home.

No need to supply massive amounts of food anymore.

"From now on, I'll only release the surplus."

I put up a limited amount of cheap crops and flour at cost price for those who still needed it, and spent the rest of the points on chocolates and potato dishes that the gallery users were so curious about.

The gallery's atmosphere was great. The human trolls (buntang) are being cleaned up, and Ancient Demon God and Reina are checking for trolls, so point farming is smooth.

So, what am I doing now?

"Making kimchi fried rice."

"Yeah, suddenly craved it. It's really delicious."

The Point ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Shop has everything. I prepped the ingredients and fried them in the pan.

"It would be perfect with a fried egg on top... Ah, right! I have that."

The 'Harpy Egg' kept in the corner of the fridge. It's unfertilized, so she didn't give it to me to put in an incubator.

"It's bound to taste good."

I greased the pan and cracked it open.

"The color is amazing."

The yolk was vibrant, healthier than yellow but lighter than orange, and very plump.

I placed it on top of the kimchi fried rice.

"Sure."

I sent some to the Operator and ate.

"This is really good."

"Right?"

Eating with my right hand, browsing the gallery with my left, I saw a post about the war. It triggered a forgotten memory.

"Oh, by the way, Operator. Can you tell me about the start of the Great Human-Demon War I asked about last time?"

No answer. Probably busy eating.

I waited 1, 3, 5, 10 minutes.

"Operator?"

Still no answer.

The Operator had been summoned by her superiors. She had to leave the kimchi fried rice behind and run to the Director's office.

*Knock, knock, knock.*

"Director, this is Eleanor Freesent."

"Come in."

"Excuse me."

With a trembling heart, she stood before the Director.

"It has been quite a while since we met face-to-face after your demotion, Miss Freesent. Hasn't it?"

"...Yes, sir."

"Your performance lately has been excellent. I see you've had a change of heart?"

"......"

"No? Well, that is fine. Ah, the reason I called you..."

The bald Director pressed a button on the corner of his desk.

"There is an important matter we need to discuss."

An awkward silence.

And then...

*Knock, knock, knock.*

A second knock came from outside the door.