This Castle Is Mine Now #1
"Aaaaaaagh!"
This Baron was the type of guy who thought he could lure in angels, capture a saintess, and seize power for himself. But now that the angel he summoned had not only hooked up with the saintess but was also talking about taking over his barony, he must be feeling like he’s losing his damn mind.
It’s enough to break anyone’s spirit.
"Vanessa. Restrain him."
"Va, Vanessa?!"
He was shocked again at the mention of Vanessa.
"Long time no see, Baron."
As Vanessa approached, flipping up the visor of her helmet, the Baron wore an expression of utter disbelief.
"You! Weren't you reported dead during the search!!"
"Well, things happened. You were my former employer, so I don't intend to treat you roughly. Provided you don't resist."
"Yo, you are a knight! How dare you point a blade at me!"
"Quiet. Opening your mouth won't do you any good. Sharan. Can you restrain him?"
"There's no dirt floor here, so it's hard to use my powers, aegi. Shaa."
"Ah. Is that a drawback...? I didn't know that."
Anyway, time for restraints.
"Everyone! Surround the Baron! We are taking him into custody! Lea! Lady Lea, come over and oversee this!"
"Sure, I'll do that."
The Baron had discarded his weapons as we demanded, but if he tried to cause a scene, someone might get hurt. We had to neutralize him thoroughly.
"What a pathetic sight. To dare point a blade at the Saintess. The time has come for you to pay the price."
"Ugh...!"
Lea, too, had many grievances against the Baron.
And so.
"Keruk!"
"Keruuuuk!"
The goblins leveled their spears, and under Lea's supervision, Vanessa stripped the Baron of his armor, confiscated his hidden weapons, and bound him. With this, the Baron was completely neutralized.
"Don't think things will go the way you want! You witch!"
It seemed the Baron truly believed the saintess was a witch.
"And even these monster-like soldiers...! They might be covered in armor, but everyone knows they are a demon army!"
Oh, ho. He even noticed that much.
"Hehehe, Baron Pikel. So, what are you going to do about it?"
"You wretch!"
"For me, swallowing this barony is a truly simple task."
"Shut up!"
"Well, don't worry too much. You are already in a state where you 'officially' support and cooperate with us."
"I have never expressed such an opinion!"
The Baron shouted, but.
"Hehehe, Baron Pikel. It was over for you the moment you were captured by us. It doesn't matter what you say. From now on, we decide what your opinions are."
"You wicked bastards!"
He could only hang his head at my words.
I have no intention of negotiating with a Baron. Showing leniency is for fools. Once I’ve decided to swallow something up, I must use it thoroughly.
"Vanessa. Cover his mouth and eyes. We'll lock him in the dungeon in a little while."
"Understood."
"Buril! We won!"
"Ke—"
The moment Buril was about to let out a shout filled with ecstasy!
"First, clear the battlefield! We won perfectly, so we must celebrate the victory perfectly as well! Clear the corpses and clear the debris! Execute!"
"Keruk! Clearing quickly! Execute!"
"Execute, keruuuuk!"
And just like that.
We occupied the Baron's castle very smoothly.
"Culs-oppa...! Congratulations! With this, you've taken over one of the humans' castles! Hehehe! Starting with this!"
"We will build an even greater force, Carti!"
"That's it! I must immediately inform Mother the Duchess of this happy news! Long live Culs-oppa!"
I'm not so sure about telling Mom.
We locked the prisoners in the dungeon, cleared the corpses, and piled the debris from the shattered barricades in one place. We had to gather the spoils of war appropriately as well.
After finishing the cleanup, I headed to the hall I had spotted earlier.
It was a hall large enough to accommodate all my soldiers.
After gathering the soldiers there, I shouted.
"Men!"
With vigor!
"This is our perfect victory! From now on, this grand castle is ours!"
"Keryaaaaaak!"
"Grrrrrrk!"
"Gyusassasat!"
The cheers rang out!
"Hurry! I want to explore here!"
"There are so many fascinating things!"
"Hurry! We must explore!"
The excited pixies vibrated their wings with sparkling eyes, and the dark elves also looked on with shining eyes at the chandeliers hanging from the ceiling.
The next thing to feel after the thrill of victory is greed. Now is the time to enjoy the spoils.
It wasn't just the pixies.
"...Beautiful."
"Why would they hang such treasure on the ceiling?"
"It's simple. They hung it on the ceiling so everyone could see it."
"Wow. Is that so? Necree-nim. Is that it?"
"I, I don't know either."
The dark elves shared their opinions, marveling at it.
In their eyes, that chandelier must look like treasure. Well, it's understandable. To dark elves who lived in the jungle, a chandelier is indeed a treasure.
It's flashy and beautiful.
"Kyaaaak. I want to make accessories out of that."
"Kyak-kyak, shall we ask the Demon King?"
"He'll definitely let us make them. Keryuk."
Of course, the lamias were the same. Is it because they're women? They seemed to like the chandelier quite a bit.
"No, but seeing everyone like that, why are they so cute?"
They must like shiny things because they're women. Good. I suppose I can spare one chandelier to distribute as spoils.
"Now, now! Rest assured! Everything in this castle is ours! Think about that later! For now, enjoy the joy of victory! My invincible Culs army! Ah! How can you be so powerful! You are truly great!"
"Keruuuuk! The Demon King is even greater!"
"Grrrrrrk!"
After praising my subordinates like that, I gave them some break time. Let's rest for a moment before moving again.
"Vanessa. Reika. I intend to take full control of the castle from now on, so please give me your opinions."
"First, we must grasp the structure. We need to decide how to act when morning comes."
"Morning, huh."
That's right.
It's still dawn.
"Hey."
"Yes, Lady Reika."
"Shouldn't we start by clearing the corpses on the castle walls?"
"That's true."
We have to clear everything before the sun rises.
"Then, clear the corpses. And we will keep the castle gates locked for the day. Lady Vanessa, do you think there will be any problems?"
"Well, for a day... it shouldn't be a major issue."
Then I should lock the gates and get things organized.
"Wow, but there's seriously so much work to do."
When attacking, I just had to attack.
But taking full control of a castle is a different dimension of a problem. From now on, I have to take over all the work that was done in this castle.
And I have to distribute those inherited tasks to my executive staff. Fortunately, there are many executives of human origin, so I'm not worried about assigning work, but the thought of receiving a medieval-style handover from the prisoners makes me dizzy already.
However, if I carry out all that work.
This castle will be entirely mine.
"Lady Vanessa. You're somewhat familiar with the servants in the castle, aren't you?"
"That is so. Most of them are currently being held as prisoners. Do you need to consult regarding the work?"
"Yes. Because from now on, I have to take over everything regarding the work from them. Go to the dungeon and bring out the necessary personnel. We will have a meeting after that."
"Well, I suppose that's how it must be."
Vanessa nodded.
"There is much to do in the castle. Understood. I will bring them immediately."
"Yes."
As I gave the order to Vanessa, the Saintess came over and said.
"For now, disguise the dark elves as soldiers and send them to guard the outer castle. There was some commotion last night, but no one will come to question the Baron. If they show a natural appearance, won't the doubts subside?"
"Ah, that certainly seems to be the case. Wow. Saintess. You are very thoughtful, aren't you?"
"To be honest, now that I've entered the castle, I feel like my mind has opened up. In the dungeon, there was no need to do this kind of work, so I didn't have to think about it, but from now on."
"The Saintess's role is very important."
At those words, the Saintess smiled.
"Hehehe, just trust this mother of yours, okay?"
"Kuh! Today, you are truly as reliable as a mother!"
"Let's start the meeting immediately. There is so much to decide."
I should.
Just thinking about it, there's a hell of a lot to do. From now on, we have to maintain this castle. We have to collect taxes, and we have to run the cafeteria as well.
And the most important thing is to completely capture the hearts of the humans in this Baron's castle.
As I was looking for a room suitable for a meeting room, Vanessa returned. With a prisoner.
"Who is that?"
"She is the head maid of the Baron's castle."
"Ah."
She's a young-looking woman. That's not important, though. If she's the head maid, isn't she almost the highest-ranking among the servants?
"What's her experience?"
"She is quite the veteran. She oversees all the servants working in the Baron's castle. Since she oversees the work, you should be able to talk to the head maid about the handover."
"I see. Understood."
—*Rip.*
I went straight in front of the head maid and untied the cloth covering her eyes and mouth.
"Ha, haa..."
"Nice to meet you. Head maid."
"Ah, ahh?"
The head maid looked up at me with a terrified face.
"I am Culs, the new owner of this castle starting today. I ask for your cooperation."
"..."
When I held out my hand, the head maid, who had been silent for a moment, quickly caught on and took my hand.
"...What kind of work should I cooperate with?"
"You just need to hand over the work that has been done in the castle to my subordinates."
"Then, the existing personnel..."
"Ah. Are you worried about that?"
Of course, I have no intention of killing them. Still, I can't just let them go. They all know about my monster army.
Honestly, the others can be covered up appropriately with armor, so it doesn't really matter, but guys like imps, kobolds, and lamias are monsters no matter how you look at them. I need to be as careful as possible about revealing my monster army.
"Well, as long as you cooperate well, there will be no harm done to you. Still, I can't release you right away. Do you understand? Head maid?"
"Yes... I understand."
"Good. Then now, the head maid can hand over the work to my subordinates."
With this, I'm a little less worried.
As expected, you have to capture managers like this properly.