After saying so, Gustavo went back inside the gate.
About ten minutes after that, they could start seeing scattered human forms through the gate.
They were the captives. Just like the boy who had been taken hostage, they were dressed in tattered, threadbare clothing that did not look like it could resist the winter chill. The paladins who should have escorted them to the door simply went back past them and vanished behind the gate. Had they done this because they had too few people to handle the prisoners, or was it because the suppression work was still ongoing, or both of them?
The prisoners had looks of delight on their faces as they rushed toward Neia.
However, they suddenly stopped in their tracks.
That was probably because they had seen the form of the Sorcerer King. And then, some people continued to approach them. Perhaps they felt that the Sorcerer King was just wearing a mask or something.
A man ran over from amidst the walking people.
The man panted heavily, and then knelt down beside the boy which Ainz had laid at Neia’s feet. No, it would be more accurate to say he had collapsed there.
The man caressed the boy’s cheek, and after seeing for himself that the boy was dead, he burst into mournful tears.
Clearly, he was the boy’s father.
Neia bit her lip.
As the father cried his son’s name while he wept, the Sorcerer King calmly said:
“I was the one who killed that boy.”
Neia looked at the Sorcerer King in surprise. Was now the time to say this sort of thing?
However, surely the wise Sorcerer King would not have suddenly said so for no reason.
“Why, why did you kill him!?”
The fires of hatred burned in the father’s eyes. Faced with that—
The Sorcerer King replied with a mocking laugh.
“To save you, of course.”
“What, what did you say!?”
For just a moment, the father’s eyes filled with fear. That was because he realized that the Sorcerer King’s face was not artificial. Then, his eyes roved to the sides in search of help, and they settled on Neia.
However, before Neia could say something, the Sorcerer King spoke first.
“Then may I ask you something? Why did you not protect your son? Your son was brought before me as a hostage.”
“I protected him! But he was snatched away! Those bastards were stronger than me, so I couldn’t do anything!”
The Sorcerer King laughed again.
“Then let me ask you — why are you still alive?”
The father did not know how to answer, and froze up.
“I am asking you why you did not die to protect your child. It is said that not all lives are equally important. You should have been the one who valued that child’s life the most of all. So why did you not struggle wildly to protect him to your last breath?”
The other people were peeking at the situation here from a distance.
They must have felt unease, fear, and anger at the Sorcerer King who had taken the boy’s life.
“What, what are you saying…”
“You are the one who failed to protect him. Do not push the blame onto others. You, who were weak, are at fault. Also, you seem to be mistaken about something… you do realize that I am much more powerful than the Bafolk you claim to be stronger than you, no? ...Although I can forgive some insults because I pity you for the loss of your child, I will slay you if they get out of hand.”
The Sorcerer King reached out a bony index finger and rested it on the father’s face.
“That, that’s because you’re strong — that’s why you can say that! Not everyone can be as powerful as you!”
“Well said. I can say this precisely because I am powerful. Then, it is precisely because you are weak that being taken from is your lot in life, no? The strong preying on the weak is a very natural sequence of events.”
The Sorcerer King turned his eyes to the people around him.
“Have you not also experienced suffering because the Bafolk are strong?”
“Are you saying the strong can do what they want!?”
“Exactly. The strong do what they will, and the weak suffer what they must. This is the way of the world. The same rule applies to me. In the face of a more powerful opponent, I would have no recourse but to suffer. That is why I seek strength.”
Neia understood why the Sorcerer King sought Jaldabaoth’s maids.
His Majesty must be seeking strength because he wants to protect his nation, to protect the children of his country. So strength is the most important thing after all...
“Well, originally, the weak like yourselves should have been defended by the Holy Kingdom, those who should have been strong… I really do pity you. If you were under my protection — under the protection of my country, the Sorcerous Kingdom, something like this could not possibly happen. That is because I would have used all my strength to protect the people and strike down the Bafolk.”
Everyone around them was silent.
The Sorcerer King’s arguments were cold and heartless, but at the same time they expressed the truth of the world.
If they could not oppose his words with reason, would they choose to protest with their emotions? However, their fear of the Sorcerer King stopped them from doing so.
“You, isn’t he one of the undead? What are the undead doing in a place like this?”
The father could not say anything to the Sorcerer King because he feared the latter, and so he directed his wrath at Neia instead.
However, before Neia could answer, the Sorcerer King stole a march on her, as expected.
“To help your country, of course. And the fact is, you were all rescued by the undead of which you speak. If you are unhappy with that, why not save this nation by yourselves?”
As he heard that, the father questioned Neia with his eyes. However, she could say nothing.
That was because it was the truth.
If the people of this country were enough to defeat Jaldabaoth, the Sorcerer King would not be here.
The man hugged the boy’s corpse in fear, and then he turned and ran. The people to which the man ran had frightened looks on their faces as well.
Neia heard the Sorcerer King say something, but she did not know if he was addressing the fleeing man or himself.
“Even I would be oppressed if I were weak. Therefore one cannot forget to seek strength. I need to engrave into my heart the fact that beings of comparable power to myself most definitely do exist.”
Part 3
After attacking the first prison camp and freeing the Liberation Army troops imprisoned within, they went after their next prison camp the on the next day.
They were not riding on the momentum of victory. Rather, there were several reasons why they could not do anything else. The most pressing one was because the food stocks in the prison camps were less than they had estimated.
This, in turn, was the result of the twin policies of the demihumans not feeding their captives enough, and regularly shipping food in from a small city nearby.
In addition, the demihumans who accompanied the food shipments were also responsible for inspecting the prison camps for any abnormalities.
Even if they killed all these demihumans and took all their food, the opposition would definitely conclude that something had gone wrong at the prison camps.
Of course, Jaldabaoth would learn of that as well. That being the case, it was very likely that he would dispatch a huge force which Neia and the others would not be able to defeat.