44 Episode 44 "Hegemony, Welcoming Intruders"




 "In a certain house in the territory of the Grand Duke of Kittle...



"Sylvia, your youngest sister, has made an alliance with a man from the frontier?
"Yes. Princess Lannes.

 The drawing room.
 In the parlor of the manor, the second daughter of the Kittor Patriarch, Renesmee, was drinking tea and listening to the reports of her men.

"The frontier. I thought there was no one to rely on in that land.
"I have information from a swordsman named Dimus who was under Princess Sylvia's command. It seems that he has been dismissed from the service of the youngest princess and wishes to join the service of Master Llanes.

 An old man with white hair stood in front of Princess Llanes.
 He wore a long robe and held a white wooden staff in his hand.

"So, Grandpa. Did the Dimms say anything else?
"That a powerful king has risen in the frontier.
"Ah!

 Princess Llanes spewed out her tea.

I'm not sure what to make of it. Did the stupid subhumans mistake it for a king?
I don't think so, sir.
I beg your pardon?
I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm sure it's a good idea. I'm not sure what to make of it.
"Hmm. ......

 Princess Llanes picks up a cookie and nods her head.
 She had the same golden hair as the rest of her sisters, which she brushed loosely and rested on her cheeks.
 She wears a crimson robe. It is sleeveless and has a slit at the waist for ease of movement.

The "Grand Patriarch of Kittle" is a distinguished family that has always produced viziers, generals, and ministers in the country of "Arisia.
Even now, when the authority of Arisia has wavered and the world has become turbulent, the fame of the House of Kittle has not changed. Many people come to serve in the government because of his name.

 The three sisters of the Kitoru family, who were raised by their father, are always trying to recruit people. They are also trained in martial arts.
 They are proud to be the successors of their great father.

 So, I can understand if Sylvia, the youngest sister, took the subhuman king under her command.
 But going to see him himself is unexpected. Is the king of the subhumans worth that much to you ......?

"Dimus wants you to give him an army. He wants to get rid of the subhuman king while he can so that he won't be an obstacle in the future.
"Someone who will be an ally to Sylvia? How dare you think so much?

 "How dare you?" laughed Llanes Kittle.

How many men does the Dimus want?
"Twenty.
"I see. That's about as many as I can move without Sylvia noticing. All right. Give them to me.
Are you sure?
You'll have to pay for the men. Make sure they don't know who we are. I want two supervisors. But no assassinations. Take away his ability to fight and use him as a hostage. I'm curious to see what the king of the subhumans is like.
The Dimms seem to have a grudge against the Sub King. ...... Will they obey our orders?
If he doesn't, that's his crime.

 If not, it's his crime." With that, Lanes-Kittle yawned.

"We don't have time for frontiers anyway. My father is on his way to the capital. My father is on his way to the capital. We cannot spare our forces for such a trivial matter. I see.








 A few days later. Midnight. Near Hazama Village...



"....... The frontier is deserted. If you move at night, it's easy to hide and get close.

 said the swordsman Dimus.
 Dressed all in black, he ran out from behind a tree and quickly got down.
 He looks around. There is no sign of anyone.
 From here on out, there are fields surrounding the village of Hazama. Dims, the swordsman, looks bitterly at the wooden fence that surrounds the field.

...... Looks like there's no one here. Good. All of you, follow me.

 Dimms waved his hand.
 As if on cue, a dozen men emerge from the forest. They are all dressed in black, like Dimms, and have daggers in their hands.
 They have ropes and claws ready to climb over the walls. They have one goal. To infiltrate Hazama Village and neutralize the King of the Frontier if possible. If that's not possible, they will return with as much information as they can get. That's it.



All right. Don't touch that wooden fence. It's enchanted.
...... magic?
Yeah. I thought it was just a fence and slashed at it and got into a lot of trouble. Well, if you don't touch it, it's nothing.
Lord Dimms.
What is it?
What kind of magic is in those stone walls?

 One of the men pointed to a field.
 One of the men pointed to a field where crops were growing, and here and there, piled up with stones, stood a fence.

Are they to keep out animals?
"I don't know what subhumans think. I don't know what subhumans think, but it's a precaution. Don't touch it. If you don't touch it, it won't matter.
"Yes, sir." "Yes, sir." "No problem." "Let's go." "Be careful.

 While exchanging words, Dimus and the others began to enter the field.
 They were surrounded by darkness, with only starlight to guide them.
 There seemed to be guards on the walls, but they could not be seen in this darkness. All you have to do is climb the wall on the side with the fewest guards and enter the village. Even if you can't neutralize them, you can at least set the village on fire.

...... You will be punished for humiliating me. King of the subhumans.

 Dimus gritted his teeth - and then laughed.
 But what a fool the subhumans are. Even though they were trying to prevent animals from destroying their crops, they still blocked their view with this stone wall.
 The stone wall in the field creates a shadow underneath it.
 If you choose to go through it, you can easily reach the wall.

The subhumans must be mere barbarians if they can't understand this. I guess so. Everyone.
That's right." "I agree with you." "It's not even worth talking about." "That's right." "Hey.

 In the darkness, I hear my men reply.
 A group of black-clad men. I can only tell by their voices how many of them are following me. Some of them don't answer, but we can't let that bother us. Anyway, we must go on.

"...... The night is short. Let's go as fast as we can.
I understand, I understand, I'll do my best, hey, hey, hey.

 And so the dims begin to move forward.

 We've already covered a third of the field.
 This is an important mission. We must proceed with caution.

"...... We must not fail.

 I've already been dismissed by Princess Sylvia. It's my good fortune to have been found by Princess Llanes.
 It's the luckiest thing I've ever done. I don't know if I'll get another chance. I must complete my mission.

 Well.

 Dimus raises his arms. That's the signal to assemble. He looks up at the top of the wall, but there's no sign of the guards. They must have moved to the other wall. It's time to start running.

"Here we go." "Hey!" "Hey! "Hey, hey, hey, hey!

Idiot. Who's shouting? Listen, be careful here...

 Dimms the Swordsman turns around.

"............ What?

 Behind him, none of his men were there.


 Around and around. Thud.


 A heavy sound echoed in the darkness.
 It was like a shadow puppet in motion.

 The stone wall that Dimms and the others had walked past.
 It was stepping briskly, spinning, tumbling, and rising repeatedly.

────? Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!
"Hey!" "Hey!" "Hey!" "Hey, hey, hey! "Hey!

 In the darkness, the Stone Fence shouted.
 Dimus' men collapsed at his feet and went limp.

"Huh.
"Hey! "Hey! "Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!
"Don't... don't come. Don't come. What are you doing surrounding me? No, no, no. Don't come! Get away from me! ────!



"Hey!
"Heyyy!
"Hey, hey, hey!

『『『『 hey hey hey hey hey! 』』』』
"Giiyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

 In the middle of the night, the village was filled with the screams of the swordsman Dimus.






 The next day...




The next day... "The High Lord's messenger has captured an intruder!
What? I've never heard of a messenger that automatically protects the village!
That's my brother Shoma!
How dare he try to sneak into a village guarded by ...... our king, the High King of the Deformed. ......

 The village has been in turmoil since this morning.
 I got the report of the intruder as soon as I woke up.
 Lysette told me about it when she came to bring me breakfast.

All the intruders have been neutralized by the fence.
They were just trying to avoid animals. ......

 The "reinforced stone fence" that Yukino helped me experiment with turned out to be surprisingly useful, so I placed them around the village as well.
 Thanks to the wards, the demons are gone, but the wild animals are still coming. Don't let them ruin your crops.
 It was supposed to be a scarecrow, but I didn't expect it to catch intruders. .......

"That's my brother's demon. You're very good!

 Lysette is looking at me with a twinkle in her eye.

"Avoiding animals by day. "Animal repellent by day. He's good enough to wait outside the field when you're working. Even the wizards in the capital can't make a wizard like that.
...... Is that so?
That's right!

 ...... That's funny.
 I just wanted to create a moving target for Yukino's magic experiments. .......

And the intruders were 21 armed men. They brought herbs that paralyze people and tools to get over the walls. I'm sure you'll be happy to know that I'm not the only one.

 That's annoying.

"What should we do? Brother Shoma.
You were Princess Sylvia's man, weren't you? Let's hand him over and have him disposed of over there. It's too much trouble.

 I just made a personal alliance with Princess Sylvia. It's unlikely that she'd suddenly send in a spy.
 If that's the case, then the princess's opponents have moved in. Or the swordsman is acting on his own.

"If it's the work of a hostile force, we can owe Princess Sylvia a favor by giving her one of their men. That'll do for now.
"Yes. I think that's a good idea.
So, can we talk to the intruder?
Yes. He's hurt pretty bad, but he's okay. Looks like the stone wall did a good job.
I wonder why they send intruders. All I care about is enriching the frontier and surviving until the end of time.

 I sighed.

It's no use. Let the intruders go back home after they've learned the hard way that messing with the frontier is bad for your health.
"So we can see what you can do!

 Lisette shouted.
 Lysette shouted.

I think it's a good idea. Some people, like this intruder, only believe in power. It's a good idea to show the power of your brother, or rather the High King of the Deformed, the Demon Dragon King Shoma, to show that he is absolutely no match for lawless intruders! I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm sure it's a good idea.
"...... I see.

 Lysette has a good point.
 I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that. She must be very confident.

So, what do you want me to do?
"Let's talk about it. I'll go get Haruka and Yukino too.

 With that, Lisette ran off.



 A few minutes later...



"Yes, yes! If you want to scare off intruders, I think it's better if you scare me into submission!
Submission?
Yes. I'll act like the High King of the Deformed is using his power to subjugate all the subhumans. If we can show that even the power of the demon tribe is no match for you, the intruders will be terrified!



 You have a point.

 Subhumans are looked down upon by humans, but they are very powerful.
 I'm not sure what to make of this.

What do you think, Yukino?
I want to see the absolute sight of the double-headed dragon once more!
...... No, I'm not talking about the technique Yukino wants to see.
I'm not sure what to make of it. I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm sure it's a good idea. I'm sure you'll be able to find something that works for you.

 You have a point!
 Yukino, shaking her body in small increments - I'm sure you're excited.
 I know that, but I can't argue with that. It's true that "Absolute Sight" is a mesmerizing technique, a show-stopper. It's the best way to scare your opponent. It's also effective in letting people know that messing with the frontier is a bad idea.

What do you think Lisette?
I agree with Haruka and Yukino. But there's one more thing you might want to add.

 Lysette put her hand on it and said.

I think it would be a good opportunity to let them know that you have no intention of invading their territory. For example, you can show him that you are drowning in ...... alcohol.

 ...... Shushoku?
 I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out.

I'm not a drinker.
I'm not a drinker, but the liquor in the middle of nowhere isn't that strong.
It's not in my constitution.
I see. ......

 Lysette, for some reason, turned red...

"So, let's have you drown in ...... 'color'.

 I'm not sure what to do, but I'd like to know what you think.

I'm not sure what to say. I think it would be good to have Lysette next to you and hold you by the shoulders like this. And then you can say something like that. It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for. ...as .......
"...... Liz, you're turning red.
"......Oh, shut up, ......hiruka......

 She can't even hold her tongue anymore.
 You must be very embarrassed. Lysette is a righteous person and is very serious.

 And you've got a point.
 If I show her that I'm sloppy with women and not interested in territorial expansion or military affairs, she'll see that I'm not worth messing with.

 But if you're just sloppy, you'll get lambasted. .......

I'll do the whole ...... thing.

 I'm going to ask Princess Sylvia's retainer to come too. Just as well.

"A tyrant who brings demons to their knees.
I'm not sure what to make of that.
I'll play all of them.

 I'll play all of them to show you how pointless it is to mess with the Demon Dragon King Xiangma.