76 – Towards a new stage
The first thing we decided to do was return home. What shocked me and left me at a loss of words was due to the sudden shout of joy.
The place we landed was crowded by people, and it was understandable that the people were waiting for our return. And since we returned, they must normally assume everything went according to plan. The whole ordeal took almost an entire day, so they thought Lotte was just really op.
People who were unrelated even came in front of the castle and waited for our arrival just to hear the report of their victory as a sign of their appreciation.
Hundreds, or even more; the image of the people gathered was breathtaking.
They could be even described as a ‘sea of people’. No matter where we look, they would meet the gazes of the people on the ground.
At first, Lotte was also bewildered by this surprise, but soon recovered from the shock, and quickly raised her fist upwards.
“We are the victors!”
“Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh!"
The intensity of their shout made my ears hurt. For some reason, they even began to stomp on the ground in rhythm as the shout of joy continued to grow to the point that I wanted to leave the place as soon as possible.
But Lotte being bathed by this wasn’t frowning in displeasure, she was actually expressing a wonderful, glad-looking expression.
The shout of joy temporarily stopped when she raised her hands.
“Everyone! I’m quite pleased by our victory that I’ve decided to arrange a feast for tomorrow! There, we will gladly feast upon the fruits of our victory!”
My ears once again popped. Today we will have to rest, and would arrange the grand celebration tomorrow. It's the best decision. Bolerius is dead. The people don't need to know that Galvados is alive. It would only cause panic and the shock might even make the people revolt or something.
I was actually quite worn out for today. So me and the others entered the castle while receiving the shout of joy behind us. Rumia and Magnus were waiting for us. We will need to go through everything that happened, but I am too tired to do it now. There’s something else I want to check…
-------
In tower B, in one of the rooms of the Maou’s castle, there were two girls facing each other, talking about the contents they heard lately inside the castle.
The first person was Amano Miyuki, one of the heroes summoned to this world. She was a refined individual and was also known in her school as an idol.
And her partner was also among the heroes, Akayama Kaga. She’s an amiable girl who speaks in Kansai dialect whose character is just like a bundle of curiosity. Very cat like.
“Do you think it’s true?”
They were resolved for the consequences of their deeds, but the Lotte did not take their lives. And instead, she held them imprisoned inside her castle.
That said, their imprisonment felt more like they were in a house arrest as they were guaranteed food, clothing and shelter while being tasked to work under someone’s supervision.
“That the human king is under the influence of The Old One…?”
The reason why their facial expressions were rather dark was due to their naivety. Even Miyuki, who sensed things were too good to be true, didn’t voice out her opinion.
“…I hope the others are safe..”
“…same here.”
“I know that, but we should do something, if we leave them as it is, those people would really fall into something and they won’t go back .”
“Kaga-san…”
When Kaga wiped the tears on her eyes, she turned her gaze to Miyuki. Miyuki’s gaze remained at the window, looking outside where there’s a clear sky shown.
“I believe we should stop dreaming, and do the right thing for once… we were deceived, but it’s not too late to, is it?”
“…hmm..?”
“Say Miyuki-chi, I heard this from Rumia-san a while ago…”
“What was it?”
“We have free rights to do anything while on house arrest.”
“I see.”
“But she said there is a way we can lend them our assistance. A way the demons would trust us…”
She heard from Rumia that she couldn’t bring herself to confine them any longer with such a situation brought up. So she told them if they were willing to work for the country, they would be given rights to go out. Equal rights, but there was a catch…
It’s certainly true that they were heroes who had invaded this country, so it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that they couldn’t do much inside the castle.
So if their intentions were aligned with the nation, and will therefore accept and lend their assistance for the country, or better, for the world, Lotte would allow them to go out.
“The condition is…”
“To become my slaves.” (Yufine)
The two girls were startled. It was natural. Inside their room, Yufine suddenly called out to them. What’s more, she didn’t use the door to come on.
“I didn’t mean to startle you too. But I caught your conversation. And yeah. In case you didn’t know I have a unique ability. I can make someone my slave. If you two were bind to me, there would be no issues. That means you will become my women.”
“Your… women…?”
They didn’t understand the ulterior reason for that sentence. It’s true, as Yufine looked at her former classmates with the eyes of a cat ready to devour a mouse.
“I won’t treat you badly. And at your levels, you will be probably be placed under someone else for training. As you are, I can’t use you two. You had plenty of time to think about what you want to do with your lives from here on. Did you reach a conclusion?”
“I at least, have.” (Miyuki)
“And?” (Yufine)
“I will become your slave and I will enter the army.” (Miyuki)
“The army? Wait, Miyuki-chi. Rumia-san didn’t mention we had to join the army, right?”
Then, Miyuki shakes her head and raised her index finger.
“That’s too naive Kaga-san. If you enter the army, there’s a high probability you can enter the front where the battle occurs, you know?”
“That’s true…”
“Rumia-san said that it’s highly possible that this country would be involved in war. We would have much better success meeting our classmates again that way and turning them straight.” (Miyuki)
“Ah!?”
That was the entire point. Rather than moving covertly by the two of them, those who belong to an army of a big country will receive the latest national reports, and possibly news about the other heroes.
“B-but will that even work?” (Kaga)
“It will, if you girls work hard enough. I’ll ask Rumia to personally train you, but other than that, you’re the ones that have to put your bones to work.” (Yufine)
“Mhm. It’s also possible, ‘cuz we might be sent out to many places of the world, we might even die before we can do our objective. But, it’s certainly better than moving with just the two of us. And besides…”
Miyuki smiles a little.
“I don’t hate the people in here. How do I say it, it’s more warm in here compared to Victorias.”
“I agree with that. And the Present Maou right now is a good person.”
“Ahaha! I agree. Even though she’s the leader of this nation, she comes in here and invites us to eat tea cakes with her. So different from a certain King we know of.”
“And the way she talks was that of an ordinary girl.”
“Yeah, that’s why we shouldn’t give up. We should fight and achieve our objective. We won’t succumb to our defeat. And… no matter what you look or call yourself, Shin, you’re still the Shin I know. So I’ll always feel safe at your side.”
Miyuki’s words made Yufine blush, but she quickly turned around to cover her face. Miyuki then turned around once more towards Kaga.
“Let’s become stronger, Kaga. Together!”
“Yes!”
“Yufine, please… enslave us!”
“I thought you would never ask, fufu.”
The bonds of the two people have deepened further. However, they have not known yet. That the enslaving process will also be followed by a long and “wet” night.