Ch.271Operation-Setting NPC. (2)

“Wow, what an incredibly loyal daughter and friend to the Empire!!!”

What on earth is this?

“Grace! Take Ira and go upstairs!! This is not something you should be hearing!!”

“Father. If our family were nobles of the capital, I would already have made my debut in society at this age. I’m no longer a child!”

“That’s right! Absolutely!! Hahah!! Your second daughter is truly knowledgeable and overflowing with noble responsibility!!”

What am I even witnessing right now?

“Grace…!!!”

“So, what do you think, High Priest? Since I didn’t hear your introduction and don’t know your name, I’ll ask directly. Are Ira and I suitable talents for the imperial conscription?”

“Yes! Of course!! You are both extremely, extremely excellent talents!! If you two were to come to the battlefield, the Empire’s victory would surely be guaranteed!!!”

Even the prospective saints artificially cultivated in the Holy Theocracy that I’ve seen before couldn’t match what I’m witnessing now.

“I’ll go if I can be with Grace. Is that okay?”

“Yes!! I, High Priest of the Holy Theocracy, Billion Helm, pledge in my name…! No, in the name of the deity I believe in and worship, I will guide you both to the same battlefield!!!”

The red-haired girl who tightly held the hand of her noble friend, Ira was her name? Is she truly human? No, more importantly…

“Grace!! Miss Ira!! What are you talking about?!! I have no intention of permitting your deployment…!!!”

“Grace!!! What are you doing?! I came down because I thought I heard your voices when I shouldn’t have, and what?! Conscription?! No!! As your sister, I absolutely cannot allow this!!”

“Miss Ira?! No, where has Miss Ray Sol gone?! You’re both still too young! As your mother, I absolutely cannot permit the conscription of you two!!”

“…Haha, how noisy. It seems the second daughter and her friend have already made up their minds. Would the outsiders please step aside?”

The brown-haired second daughter is no joke either. Certainly, she possesses superior-grade magic power equivalent to about 200 ordinary commoners we’ve gathered. But…

-Tap! Tap!!

“W-what is the meaning of this!! Do you know where you are…!!!”

“Where else but on the imperial land preparing for the holy war guided by our deity? Baron, I, High Priest Billion Helm, forbid any further objections or statements. Now, you two. Come this way.”

With just a nod of my head as a signal, the surrounding clergy move at a speed invisible to the eyes of lowly, weak humans, thrusting their staffs forward to keep them in check. Haha, to think that in such a remote village I would find such a top-grade specimen. No, a being perfectly suited as a “divine sacrifice”!!

“Please lower your weapons aimed at my father, mother, and sister. We will neither run nor hide.”

“That’s right. If you don’t lower your weapons, we won’t follow you willingly.”

“…My mistake. Baron, your daughter and her friend show a level of character that rivals even the saints of our theocracy. So please, don’t cause any more friction.”

-Tap!

“Won’t follow willingly.” As soon as those words fell, I immediately pulled the priests back. That one must not be lost here, nor should we confront her. She must not be harmed before we properly get her into our grasp.

“Grace, Miss Ira!!”

“Father, Mother, Sister. Please trust us. We’re old enough now to take responsibility for ourselves.”

“That’s right! Trust us!!”

After saying that, the two girls approached us with unhurried steps. Haha, hahahaha. Yes, this radiance, this magical power. This is surely equivalent to a thousand people! No!!!

‘Enough magical power to summon all the remaining Seven Deadly Sins, no, even more than enough to summon them all!!’

I had visited this mansion expecting the second daughter who had returned with fairly strong magical power and a contract with a mid-level spirit. But to think there would be such a pleasant miscalculation. This red-haired girl is undoubtedly a sacrifice bestowed by the deity for the prosperity of our Holy Theocracy!!!

[Skill: Magic Sight]

[You can visually perceive the total amount of magic power in others.]

High Priest Billion Helm of the Holy Theocracy is a skill holder. Unlike others who learn magic and sense magical power, he can see with his own eyes the amount of magic power others possess, or their inherent talent. To his eyes, Ira appeared as the ultimate sacrifice, containing enough magical power to envelop this entire mansion and more.

“Now, a carriage is prepared outside. Thinking I would be escorting noble children, I prepared the finest carriage. I guarantee your journey will be comfortable.”

I bow and flatter the two girls as much as possible, ignoring the grumbling nobles behind me as we head outside the mansion.

“There’s only one carriage?”

“…Pardon?”

“I only want to ride with Grace. I don’t want to ride with you, mister.”

“Ah…”

I was slightly taken aback by the two girls’ expressions of genuine disgust at the fact that there was only one carriage, more so than their earlier heated argument. I thought they were nobles from a rural town without money or pride, but it seems they have the vanity of central imperial nobles.

“Ah, ahahah! Don’t worry. You two precious ones will take the carriage, and I will naturally lead on horseback. There’s no way a dark-skinned man like me would ride together with two unmarried young ladies, right?”

“Well, that’s a relief.”

“Yes! Grace, let’s get in quickly!!”

The red-haired girl immediately pulls the brown-haired girl’s hand as soon as she hears I won’t be riding with them. That’s a bit hurtful.

‘…Well, I wonder if she’ll be able to act so haughty when her magic is forcibly extracted and her overflowing talent is torn apart by demons.’

Though they look cute, they’re just young girls. There’s no reason to lust after them, so I can torture and kill them leisurely later. With such self-protective thoughts, I steal another priest’s horse and mount it, when another thought occurs to me.

Wasn’t the prime minister of this country a pedophile? Then, after extracting all her magic power, it might be good to hand her over to him. Though she’s a commoner, her appearance is top-grade.

The voices of the rural noble family continue to shout from behind, but the priests are already blocking the entrance with just their bodies, not even needing to point weapons. The eldest daughter also possesses magic power equivalent to about 20 people, but well, the disguised servants there are enough to handle her.

“Priest. We’re ready to depart.”

“Let’s go.”

“Grace!!!”

“Grace!! Miss Ira!!! Don’t go!!!”

Whether noble brats or commoners, they all sound like the same beasts when calling for their family. With that thought, we began moving with our sacrifices loaded in the carriage.

*

“…How did it go, Gor?”

[Position confirmed. It was quite a spectacle. So, what about Lady Ira?]

“Sigh. It went as we expected.”

[…It seems she went with Miss Grace.]

“We were going to send Miss Grace first, then follow immediately to rescue her. That was the plan, but you knew Ira wouldn’t listen to such talk anymore, right?”

[She seems determined to live exactly like her master, not just resembling her in personality. At this rate…]

“She’ll end up stringing along a bunch of men, just like we did with women.”

[The future is frightening. I mean the future where the master beats men to death.]

After saying that, Gor began to stare at me blankly. Sigh.

“Really, you can’t move at all?”

[This is already quite strenuous. If I relax, I feel like I’ll be ejected from the golem immediately. I’m barely surviving thanks to Lady Ira feeding me her magic power stored in magic stones.]

“Can you guide us in that condition?”

[I can at least point the way. Now, let’s start following them. Ray, please carry me quickly.]

“Sigh. You’re heavy.”

[You have no filter with women.]

“That’s because I’m a woman too.”

From the dusty guest room on the second floor, I look at the departing carriage while carrying Gor. The enemy’s levels are mostly around 100-150, was it? I’ll need to follow at a distance to avoid detection. So, I’ll start a bit later.

“Gor. Let’s clean up the trash in this house first. If Ira and I want to rest comfortably here tonight, we need to tidy up in advance.”

[…I’m worried about Lady Ira, but since the enemy has detection skills, we have no choice.]

Understanding my words immediately, Gor pointed at a maid who appeared in the corridor and said [That one is trash.], and I promptly kicked her in the stomach.

-Bwurkk!!

“Khegh?!! W-what…?!!”

“Wow. I kicked pretty hard to knock you out, but you withstood it?”

[Most of them are level 60 or higher. It’s better to hit them harder. Since you’re carrying me, you should also increase your speed accordingly.]

-Tap tap tap tap!

“W-what is happening…?!! M-Miss Ray Sol!! I heard Ira was taken for conscription, but why suddenly the maid…!!!”

The baron, who had rushed up startled by the sudden sounds of assault, shouted at me, his face turning even more pale than it already was from Grace and Ira being taken away. Hmm, it might be better to explain right away, but…

[Those two behind him are also trash.]

“Baron?”

“M-Miss Ray Sol! You might be angry that Ira was conscripted, but this behavior…!!!”

“I’ll explain everything later, so could you please step aside for a moment?”

“”?!!””

-Pat!! Puk!! Kwaduk!!

After kicking off the wall and rushing past the baron, I brutally kicked the jaws and solar plexuses of the two maids who had followed him up, then charged toward the other maids who were looking at me in shock. I knocked out all the people Gor pointed out with kicks. Wow, is it really everyone except the butler? What about the cook in the kitchen or other people?

[Not the cook or others. The knights we met this morning were normal too. The coachman was also an ordinary person.]

“I see.”

“What are you doing?!!”

“M-Miss Ray! Have you gone mad?! You didn’t even come down when Ira was taken away, and now this insane violence…!!”

I think normally when people witness such insane violence, they would run away or be frightened, but the Müller family members instead step forward as if to protect the fallen maids. Haha, they really are good people. But…

“Being just good isn’t enough to protect your family, your siblings, or your subjects.”

“W-what do you mean all of a sudden…”

“I’ll explain who these people are, and what our plan is going forward. Of course…”

I readjusted Gor who was slipping from my back, then smiled at the Müller family.

“Even if you hear it and object, we’re going to act anyway. Just consider this a notification, okay?”

Ira has already started moving, so I won’t listen to their opinions. I killed my anxiety about Ira moving ahead alone and smiled as casually as possible.