“Wait, wait-wait, wait a minute. Seriously, wait a bit. Aw, heh, heheheh.”
He was laughing like a servile minion. The kingly attitude he had demonstrated when he had faced them at the plaza was nowhere to be seen.
“I’m sorry if I said the wrong thing. No, I apologize. Really. It was my fault. Really.”
“Hm…”
“Then, then, how, about it? I, I, this one feels, this one can be useful to you. Hehe. Ah, how stupid I was to make an enemy of the great undead king. Therefore, if you would give me a chance to make up for that mistake, I would.. hehe, you won’t regret it!”
Buser got on both knees and clasped his hands as he begging for mercy.
What a pathetic pose that was. Yet Neia did not think that way at all. No, she had already accepted that this was the proper action an enemy ought to be taking when faced with the true form of the Sorcerer King. At the same time, she vividly recalled the words of that Naga they had met in the Sorcerous Kingdom: “A wise man would immediately throw himself at his feet and beg for mercy.”
In that case, the fate of those who did not kneel right away was—
“I see… well, I like those who understand they were wrong and work hard to correct their mistakes.”
“That, that means!”
Buser’s face lit up with joy. However, that joy was snatched away in an instant.
“—However, if I let you become one of my subordinates — Pestonya and Nigredo would not be happy. Also, be at ease. I will not do anything wasteful like only using the skull. I’ll make full use of every part of you.”
Now die, the Sorcerer King said as he erected a slender fingerbone.
“Aiiiieee! No, no, nooooo! I don’t want to die!! Wait!! I’m begging you!!! Please, I’m begging you!!! I, I still, I still have some value!!!! — I’m useful enough to make you happy!!!! Really!!!!! Believe me!!!!!”
“All things which live must die. The difference is in how soon or late they meet their fate.”
“No!!!!! Don’t look at me that way!!!!! Don’t, don’t kill me!!!!!”
Buser rose to his feet, then turned around and ran.
Neia stared, dumbfounded at how fast a living creature could run when its demise was at hand.
However, the Sorcerer King’s spell was faster still.
“How boring. — 「Death」.”
Nothing happened. There was no big explosion, no cataract of roaring lightning.
Buser simply fell to his knees and keeled over.
That was all.
“Well, it’s a shame about the information… well, that’s how it is. Do you object, Ms. Baraja?”
“Eh, no, not at all, Your Majesty’s decisions are flawless.”
“Really? Well then… go find the paladins. Tell them I’ve taken care of the demihumans’ leader. Although… this is kind of bad…”
Part 4
Both retaking the city and freeing its citizens were trivial before the power of the Sorcerer King.
The attacking paladins and militiamen were virtually unhurt, and while some of the imprisoned residents had lost their lives in the chaos, it was a shockingly small amount.
This outcome was only possible due to the Sorcerer King’s presence, to the point where some people thought, If only we had handed everything to him from the start, we might not have needed to lose anyone.
Everyone was smiling as Neia and the Sorcerer King walked down the street, whether they were rejoicing over being freed or shedding tears over a bowl of hot soup.
Although they had been told that their freedom was thanks to the Sorcerer King’s aid, once they saw the Sorcerer King moving around in person, the residents’ eyes were filled with shock, confusion and aversion, but that could not be helped either.
Of course, whether Neia could accept this state of affairs was a different matter entirely. While she wanted to do something in case the Sorcerer King was displeased, it would seem the man himself did not seem to mind. That being the case, it would be very rude of Neia to do something on her own.
Neia addressed the back of the Sorcerer King, who was walking in front of her.
“Your Majesty, where are you going now?”
The Sorcerer King was looking at his palm, and he did not look back at Neia.
“Umu. I’m heading for this big building in the center of town. If that’s an enemy base, I’ll need to investigate it as soon as possible. The paladins are all tied up with tasks like freeing the captured residents, distributing food, treating the wounded, imprisoning the captured demihumans, and other things.”
Neia nodded slightly.
“That building is quite large. If the paladins judged it to be a base, shouldn’t they have already investigated it?”
While the Sorcerer King was the one who had conquered the city, the minor assorted tasks after that had been given to the citizen-soldiers and the paladins to complete. In that case, surely they would have inspected the building that was the Sorcerer King’s objective.
The Sorcerer King stopped walking for a moment and then looked intently at Neia. Then he shrugged and continued walking.
“Ah, umu. Actually, I posted my subordinates outside to make sure the paladins did not draw near. So I doubt they’ve checked it yet.”
“Eh? Then what you said earlier—”
“—Ms. Baraja. I have told you many things until now, but it would be best if you considered matters on your own from time to time. For instance, the reason why we are the ones who are going to investigate the building.”
“Ah! Yes, Your Majesty!”
The Sorcerer King looked at his palm again. Within it was an item once worn by that demihuman — the late Buser. The Sorcerer King was appraising the item as he walked, using the power of magic to carefully examine it.
From what the Sorcerer King said, the sword was called Sand Shooter, the armor was known as Turtle Shell, the shield was named Lancer’s Merit, the horn coverings were called Charge Without Hesitation, the rings were Ring of Second Eye and Ring of Running, while the cape was called the Mantle of Protection.
There also seemed to be other magic items like the necklace and such. Although he said none of them possessed any impressive enchantments, the Sorcerer King still seemed quite happy about them.
Neia shifted her eyes from the Sorcerer King’s back to the ground, and then she did as the Sorcerer King said, which was to ponder the reason why the Sorcerer King had to personally investigate that building. However, she did not reach any answer which made her think, That’s it!
However, if she asked the Sorcerer King for the answer because of that, surely he would be speechless. The thought of the Sorcerer King she so respected thinking of her as useless and casting her aside was terrifying.
While she desperately tried to find the answer, the aforementioned building had already appeared before her eyes.
Two undead beings — High Wraiths — stood at the entrance to the building.
As the Sorcerer King approached, they stepped aside to allow the Sorcerer King and Neia to pass.
“This… seems to be the residence of the city’s former lord.”
Neia was not too sure which noble had ruled this city. However, given the size of the city, he must have been more than a baron, but less than a count.
“Yes. Not even the undead have entered this place. We are the first to do so. Be careful. There might be more demihumans who have not yet been subdued.”
“Eh!? Your Majesty! Then—”
She hesitated over whether she should say “You should stop,” but the other Neia in her quietly said that it ought to be fine if it were the Sorcerer King.