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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“Then why all of a sudden?”
“…Because my leg is healed.”
“What does your leg have to do with sexual relations?”
“…The reason I avoided relationships with men was because I was afraid of pregnancy.”
Kayla said with a somewhat bitter expression.
“I have someone I need to take revenge on.”
“Revenge?”
She slowly revealed a story she had never told me before.
“The fall of the family I belonged to was due to internal traitors.”
“I mentioned that there was someone who coveted me in the past, right? That person is also one of the traitors.”
“…I see.”
“Yes. Those who betrayed me, my comrades, and the family… If I ever meet them someday…”
“Didn’t you say you would stay by my side forever?”
“That’s right. Don’t worry. That oath takes precedence over my revenge. However, when the opportunity for revenge comes, you probably won’t stop me, Master.”
“Why do you think so?”
“Because you are a Warlock.”
“The traitors defected to the Holy Empire. As you continue to grow, you may become enemies with them, even if you can’t be allies.”
Kayla said with a small laugh.
“You are more remarkable than I thought, Master. You easily did what even a high-ranking priest couldn’t do, despite not being particularly strong. The same goes for the specter. Your skills are definitely not at the 5th Class level.”
Although she didn’t know the exact level of my abilities, she said she could guess that much.
It seemed she knew a bit about black magic.
‘Well, if she was active in the underworld…’
There was a high possibility that she had met Warlocks.
“And yet, you created a specter. Of course, the things we obtained from that cave were special, but it would have been impossible if your abilities were lacking, Master. It’s just a guess, but you probably haven’t been practicing black magic for very long.”
“…You’re right.”
Based on the second round, her words were correct.
“Nevertheless, you consistently showed exceptional feats. Perhaps you will become a high-ranking Warlock, no, reach an even higher level. If you reach such a position, friction with the Holy Empire will be unavoidable.”
She said that if she followed me, the opportunity for revenge would naturally come.
She had a higher opinion of me than I did of myself.
“So I don’t need to prioritize revenge at all.”
“…What does that have to do with sexual relations?”
“Do you know? When a woman gives birth, her pelvis deforms.”
“If my pelvis had deformed while my leg was injured, I probably would have never been able to fix my leg.”
Even if it was fixed, she said she wouldn’t have been able to regain her past skills.
However, now her leg was healed.
No, it had become even stronger than that.
The performance of her right leg would easily surpass the past, and on top of that, she had even gained a mana heart.
So there was no need to be afraid anymore.
“Of course, I will use contraception. I wouldn’t mind having your child, Master, but you probably wouldn’t want that either.”
That’s true.
At a point where I hadn’t become strong enough, a child would be a big weakness.
There was a high possibility of an unfortunate future approaching not only for me but also for Kayla and the child.
The birth of a child is a blessing, but if you can’t take responsibility, you shouldn’t have one.
That’s what I thought.
“Just think of it as me having peace of mind thanks to the recovery of my leg. And… above all, I like you, Master. That’s why I seduced you first.”
She guessed that, given what she had said and my personality, I would never approach her first, so she made the first move.
“…Is that so?”
I gave a wry smile at Kayla’s confident words.
“But even though the slave seal is gone, how long are you going to keep calling me Master?”
During our relationship, I confirmed that her magic engraving had disappeared.
She was no longer a slave.
“It’s more comfortable this way. Now, I can’t really feel a big difference between Master and Lord. In fact, from the middle, I think I called you Master more from the position of a knight than a slave. Well, I’m no longer a knight now.”
“…Do as you like.”
I had gotten used to it anyway.
It felt strange to change it now.
‘Anyway, for the time being, I have to call you that for the sake of disguise.’
“Oh my, look at the time… I’ll prepare breakfast today… Kyaak.”
Was it because I had heard her true feelings?
I couldn’t resist seeing her get up.
Because of last night’s relationship, we were both wearing nothing, so there was nothing in the way.
Kayla didn’t refuse either, so by the time we got out of bed, the sun was high in the sky.
“Ah, it’s late. We won’t be able to do much today either.”
“You didn’t like it?”
“That’s not it, but…”
After rolling around together since morning and having a late lunch, it had become quite late.
So today’s real combat training was also expected to be lacking in quantity.
“It can’t be helped. It’s because I’ve fallen for you, Master. It seems you quite liked my body last night.”
I didn’t particularly deny it.
Although she said it was her first time, she learned quickly, and her efforts were very cute.
‘She’s also attractive.’
Above all, it was more satisfying because it wasn’t a night spent with someone just to satisfy physical desires, but with someone whose heart also matched.
When I said that, Kayla laughed lightly, saying she felt the same way.
Exchanging light jokes, I watched her real combat training just like yesterday.
To be precise, it felt like I was watching from behind in case of any situation.
Still, in the meantime, the specter went out to do energy drains, and above all, it was evident that Kayla’s rehabilitation was successful, so it didn’t feel like a loss at all.
While doing her own rehabilitation, Kayla also oversaw Athena’s training from time to time, and I checked the basement during that time.
‘The backdoor is… complete.’
If we dug a little further, we would be at the inside of the secret passage.
I occasionally checked the interior, but since we couldn’t make a hole yet, I only created a situation where we could make one right before breaking through.
‘Even so, the gem remains…’
Honestly, I thought it would have shattered long ago, but it seemed to be a gem beyond imagination.
They must have given it to me to sell at a high price…
‘They wouldn’t have known it would be used like this.’
Right after completing the backdoor, I began the work of expanding the basement.
Although the lord was controlling the food, it didn’t matter to me and my companions who went hunting directly, so I secretly started storing the smoked meat from the outside residence in the basement.
‘Originally, I could have just bought and put it in.’
I never expected that my actions would result in the blockade of the territory, so it couldn’t be helped.
It was impossible to predict, and it was a situation where it was normal not to predict it.
Around the time when Kayla was getting used to the sensation of her new leg, I received a summons from the lord.
‘Tsk. Is it a war mobilization?’
There was a high possibility of him summoning me under the pretext of an emergency.
‘We can’t win. We need to lose in a slightly even manner.’
If possible, I wanted Mutre to remain in the territory until the monster wave occurred.
It wouldn’t be a big deal if we failed, but it would be very regrettable.
‘We’ve become closer than I imagined.’
Mutre’s situation was worse than I expected, so we had become much closer than I anticipated.
Honestly, if I persuaded him just a little, he would come over, so it would be very disappointing to lose him here.
The merchant union would handle all the information manipulation, coping with the situation, and the aftermath.
However, the reason the lord summoned me was not to issue a request for participating in the war.
“So, you’re saying you summoned me to confirm whether humans can eat monsters?”
It seemed the food situation in the territory was quite bad.
“It depends on the monster. There are some that are completely inedible, some that can be eaten if measures are taken, and some that can be eaten with just simple processing like roasting.”
“What about the ones that can be obtained around the territory?”
“Hmm, goblins require some measures. Eating them as is will cause stomach pain. However, in the current situation, it won’t be easy to obtain detoxifying herbs.”
They grew naturally in the Monster Forest, but they were more easily found in other regions than here.
“The quantity will probably be insufficient. Orcs can be eaten as is, but…”
“…We can’t clash with the orcs with our current forces. As you may have heard from rumors, we are preparing for a battle.”
In a situation where we had to fight the orc tribe, not just defend but also attack, we would have to endure great damage.
Even if we didn’t die, injuries would be a given.
“Hmm… Then what about Giant Ants, Your Excellency?”
Giant Ants.
Giant ant monsters.
“The Giant Ants around here aren’t very strong. The number might be a burden, but conversely, that number is needed now. It varies depending on the scale, but if we can exterminate at least one, at most two nests, we won’t have to worry about food for a while. They can be eaten as is.”
As long as you avoided the acid sac. If there were parts that got acid on them, you could just cut them off.
“Hmm… Giant Ants. Aren’t they also highly dangerous?”
“That’s true. Hunting individual ants isn’t difficult if you just target their weak points, but the problem is that we can’t estimate their numbers.”
Like ants, they form a colony of at least hundreds, up to thousands.
If we encounter them outside, it’s not a big deal, but it’s a different story if we raid their nest.
Even decent orcs avoid messing with them because the inside of the nest is their territory, and as I said before, we don’t know how many of them are inside unless we go in and fight.
In the worst scenario, we might fight until we’re exhausted and die without knowing the end.
‘Moreover, in some regions, they can be monstrously strong.’
Especially in mining areas where ants have settled for a long time, their bodies are sometimes literally made of metal.
Giant Ants are known for eating all sorts of things, including metals and gems.
Therefore, there are records of discovering a group of Giant Ants made of gems.
By the way, it is said that an entire order of knights was annihilated by them.
Precious metals, especially gems, were imbued with mana, and when Giant Ants that had eaten them started using mana, aura and magic couldn’t exert their power properly, so unless one was a fairly strong individual, it wasn’t easy to defeat them.
Fortunately, there were no such ones around here, so they were just at the level of low-grade monsters.
Still, the fact that their scale was unknown remained the same.
The lord thought for a while and said to me,
“Is there no other solution besides Giant Ants…?”
Hunting beasts was another option, but looking at the situation, it couldn’t keep up with the speed.
It wasn’t just one or two, but over a thousand humans needed something to eat.
“I want to request something from you.”
“I want to request the extermination of one Giant Ant nest, or two if one is insufficient.”
“I know it’s not an easy request. But the situation in the territory is not very good right now. We also have to fight those vicious bandits. However, Sir Rankbink hasn’t fully recovered yet. If we wait for that, we might lose before we even fight. That’s why you’re the only one I can ask.”
Given the situation, the lord showed a lower attitude than I imagined.
“The reward won’t be lacking.”
‘Well, do you even have anything to give?’
Honestly, I didn’t really need a reward.
I was planning to slowly consume this territory.
‘Refusal… Well, the territory can’t collapse one-sidedly like this.’
My interests were also at stake.
‘Well, I expected this.’
However, I first expressed difficulty.
“…The risk is too high.”
“I know. That’s why I’m begging like this, aren’t I?”
“I thought I would be mobilized for the war.”
“This is also a war.”
‘He never intended to exclude me from the beginning.’
I knew that, but seeing him not denying it as if it was nothing, I couldn’t help but be dumbfounded inwardly.
He had definitely said that I would be exempt from conscription and such for the next few years.
However, I continued as if it was nothing.
“If I participate in this task, I will have a hard time participating in the battle. It’s unlikely that I’ll be in good shape.”
“It’s regrettable, but it can’t be helped. Still, it’s better than losing without even being able to fight.”
“Can’t we get help from the mercenaries?”
“You alone are already a big loss, so I can’t spare them too.”
In other words, he was going to leave all the risk solely to me.
If he provided some mercenaries to me here to secure food, it would definitely lead to failure, he seemed to have calculated.
‘The forces on the merchant union’s side can’t be weak, after all.’
They were a group of merchants who had been active in a large territory. There was no way they would be easy to deal with.
If I failed, the people of the territory would probably starve.
An ant nest wasn’t much of a threat to me and my companions now.
However, they had no idea about my true strength.
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