114. Guidance (3)
114. Guidance (3)
- 1 -
"Wait a moment. You didn't say you would kill them, did you?"
The Doppelganger glared at the being who dared to interrupt the conversation between itself and the great Dungeon Lord.
A human.
'A contract candidate, perhaps, but for a lowly human to obstruct this conversation...'
To it, this situation was akin to a talking pet interrupting a conversation between master and attendant, tearing at the master's hem and running off with it.
The animal might be one the master cherished, but the master was one who could distinguish the importance of an attendant versus a pet.
So here, it was the attendant, itself, who should discipline...
"Enough."
Kwak!
That thought was halted by Libertas's touch, as she casually caught the silver blade created at its fingertips.
"What is this behavior, Zain?"
- Hhk...!
The head, which lacked all five holes that should be on a face, bowed sharply.
The worry that its blade might have injured her vanished upon seeing her unblemished hand, but the very act of daring to point a blade at her was an immense rudeness.
As evidence, the knight standing beside the Dungeon Lady already had a hand on the hilt at her waist.
- Forgive me! That insect interrupted the conversation!
"Whether she is an insect, a slave, or a handmaiden, that is for me to decide, Zain."
Upon hearing those words, Zain realized one thing.
To this Dungeon Lord, demons and humans were beings of equal standing.
That meant she could regard them all equally as insects, or equally as intelligent beings.
It bowed its head even deeper.
- Your words are correct! Please punish your subordinate's rudeness!
"It is fine. I am not so heartless as to cast you out over a single mistake."
Libertas's eyes curved gently as she concluded with, 'But be careful.'
Her face was still harmless, and her smile was still serene.
But if you looked closely at her eyes, they were inorganic, cold, and sharp, just like a blade.
'I made a mistake...!!'
Zain remained bowing in that state for a long while, unmoving.
"So if you truly do not want those people to die, then at least show me the capability to achieve that. Which is something still impossible for you at present."
"... Yes. I understand, Lady."
"Good... You were still like that, weren't you? Zain. Rise."
- Yes, my Lady!
Only after Libertas finished speaking with Amelia did she separately tell it to 'rise'.
'Whether human or demon... those who cross her will see hundreds or tens of thousands swept away with a glance...'
Having considerable experience, it knew just how dangerous those with such an impartial perspective could become.
And so, having witnessed the hidden side of the Dungeon Lord who had seemed only gentle, it was stricken with even deeper terror.
"Feed on this one."
- Thank you for your mercy!
After sending Amelia out, Libertas pointed to one of the successors she had indicated earlier, and Zain began its 'meal' alongside Libertas's summoned creatures.
Chureureuk!
Kwadeuk! Ppajik!
Sucking out a person's insides and entering to replace the being. A meal of substitution.
Thus executing the mimicry as ordered, Zain thought to itself at the same time.
'Still, I was lucky...'
For she, who was terrifying yet capable of concealing that aspect, was precisely one of those who could become the most glorious monarch for monsters and demons to serve.
Just like those demon lords or the archdukes of the Demon World.
- 2 -
The takeover of Solemio's heads and spines was nearly complete.
Even as things stood now, it would be possible to maintain Solemio in a state where I could call it 'mine' for the time being... perhaps for a few months.
However, that was no different from turning a blind eye to the problems that would arise in the future.
'The current state is akin to having transplanted an external organ into a human body.'
If Solemio were left in this state, problems were bound to occur.
Whether the disguised administrators and knights hiding among the people were discovered as monsters.
Or whether, after being discovered, they arbitrarily caused greater problems to conceal the 'secret'.
Or whether the residents became alarmed at newly arriving monsters.
Immune rejection responses against the new brains, so to speak.
'Therefore, I must administer an immunosuppressant for it.'
The administration of the suppressant could cause severe side effects to the original owner of the organ, but this was a necessary procedure.
Could I not kill the transplanted brain and spine just to avoid those side effects?
"A mercenary corps composed of monsters...?"
"That is right."
"That's... no, you said it because it's possible, I suppose."
One of those suppressants was precisely this.
I would have a mercenary corps, formed from the subordinates of the queens cooperating with me and some of the monsters I ruled, operate in this area.
This was meant to achieve two objectives.
'One is to make humans familiar with the existence of monsters.'
For this, I planned to deploy monsters with appearances as 'close to human' as possible first.
Like Orcs or Myrmekians.
'And the other is to make the queens acknowledge my achievements.'
The more they heard, through the deployed mercenaries, that my dominion was being established, the more the queens would lose any reason to oppose me.
They would support me now that I had Solemio in my grasp, but this continuous feedback would help constantly suppress any resentment.
"But, there is no place to use these mercenaries...?"
"There are the monster hunts in the vicinity. And once enough time has passed and the people have grown accustomed to the existence of these mercenaries, mix them with humans and assign them to external dispatch missions."
"The monsters that appear in the vicinity, you say... wait. Could it be...?"
Realizing something, Amelia stared at me as if glaring, and I simply nodded.
"Yes. I will send them to you."
There were many monsters I could send to Solemio.
Now that my dominion over this Solemio was complete, the nearby territory was almost fully in my hands.
A domain completely closed in a circle.
'Which also means that the need for wild monsters living near my dungeon will soon disappear.'
Until now, they had been necessary to avoid unwanted attention on my dungeon's location, but now I could simply manipulate the Adventurer's Guild or the Mage Guild to keep them out of my territory.
In that case, it would be good to use them for other purposes, wouldn't it?
Like making the people of this fortress recognize the necessity of a new mercenary corps.
"What if people get hurt in the process?"
"That you must handle yourself. Is it not a lord's duty to protect the citizens?"
"That's just... ha. No, never mind. I understand, Lady."
"Good. You will do well."
"Yes, yes."
I stroked Amelia's head as she nodded vaguely.
Sitting with her back straight while signing documents, she glanced at me with dissatisfaction.
The anxiety hanging at the corners of her eyes was noticeable.
"You're ruining my hair. It's uncomfortable."
"Should I call for a handmaiden?"
"No... forget it."
Why is it that a woman's hair has such an intensely addictive texture?
Touching my own felt good, but touching someone else's also felt pleasant.
Especially if it was in a place like the lord's office, directed at the lord herself.
It satisfied the possessive desire even more deeply.
"Master."
"Sonia. Come in."
Turning my head, I saw Sonia entering the room, looking this way with a somewhat displeased gaze.
Just in case, I removed the hand that had been resting on Amelia's head, and her expression softened as she approached and bowed her waist.
'She really does get jealous.'
Finding this unexpected side of her amusing, I listened to what she had to say.
"The preparations you spoke of are complete, Master."
"Good. Understood. Amelia. Keep that in mind regarding the mercenaries. I will send them after making sure they obey well."
"Understood."
I tapped the head of Amelia, who nodded while only looking at the documents, and then left the office.
"Were there any particular problems?"
"No. Though introducing the soldiers took some time."
"I see."
The destination was the walls of Solemio.
Standing atop them, I saw the knights who had been calmly waiting for me in a place where soldiers should normally be keeping watch outside.
""You have come!""
The forearms revealed between the gaps of the knights' armor, as disciplined as any common soldier, were either dark brown or gray, regardless of gender.
The occasional green one was hidden, the armor fastened even tighter around it.
The little warriors who had staked their lives on me for the sake of their families were now directing gazes filled with respect and affection at me, the very cause of it all.
"You have worked hard."
""Not at all!""
"I am glad to hear it. Bear with it just a little longer. It will be over soon."
""Yes!""
Leaving the knights who answered in unison behind, I headed into the watchtower installed on the wall.
On the floor of what was originally a place where commanders positioned themselves during battle, a massive magic circle had been drawn.
Circles identical to this one would now be drawn above the six gates existing in this Solemio.
'The mages... are in position.'
The mages I spoke of were not ordinary mages, but my summoned creatures, the undead mages.
Skeleton mages of intermediate level or below could not voluntarily activate magic.
Lacking the nerves to manipulate mana, they could only activate the spells carved onto their bones.
Which meant, in turn.
'They are capable of activating a magic circle according to its set function.'
This was the reason I had placed the mages atop each wall.
To activate the magic circle and cast a certain 'barrier' inside and outside this Solemio.
A barrier so subtle that not even clerics could detect it.
"Watch carefully. Observing the activation of the magic you designed will be a great learning experience. I will crush any minor errors, so you must watch all the more closely."
"Yes, Master."
Kwak!
I summoned the apprentice skull staff that had been with me since I arrived here and drove it into the magic circle.
With that alone, it became a medium relaying my manipulation and mana input-output.
With my palm placed upon the skull of the staff standing upright, I operated my mana.
Kung...!
Along with a quiet tremor, the magic circle gleamed black.
The light was not intense but subtle, as if indicating the nature of the magic about to be activated.
Tseutseutseu...!
The mana that charged it flowed along the small magic circles drawn along the wall.
Tung - Tung - Tung -
Soon, on the other walls, the mages receiving my instructions began activating the magic circles before them in sequence.
Sarak!
Afterwards, lines of black mana slicing through the night sky connected the six magic circles created above the six command posts.
Thus, what was created was a black hexagram covering the entire sky of the city.
"I shall begin."
In that state, when I placed my hand upon the staff's skull once more,
Sarak -
"That is..."
Below the magic circle and above the city, the shape of a long finger appeared like an illusion.
A hand holding a bundle of red thread.
"「Red Thread」."
A psychological manipulation curse designed by Sonia as an assignment and created with my power.
It sent down branches across the entire city, excluding the fortress.
As the range it needed to affect was so vast, it was a magic whose scope of effect was extremely limited but whose power was amplified within that scope.
Its effect was.
"With this, the rejection towards monsters in all people within this city, and the hostility of monsters towards humans, shall decrease."
Psychological adjustment of the part corresponding to 'human connection (緣)'.
It was a magic that seeped into intelligent beings whenever they entered the castle, inscribing a single proposition into their unconscious minds.
"Though it is something we made together, Master..."
"It was made by you, Sonia."
"Ah, anyway... will that be enough?"
To her question, posed with a slightly reddened face, I nodded and answered.
"It will be enough. The effect will grow over time."
The hostility towards monsters historically accumulated by humans would be suppressed by magic and controlled by Amelia, now the lord.
And as for the monsters, in addition to the magic suppressing their instincts, my orders would prevent them from acting rashly.
This was another suppressant for this land.
- 3 -
"Master. The Baron and Baroness have disappeared."
"I see. As I suspected."
And this was the action of the final immunosuppressant.