Ch.871An Offer You Can’t Refuse

Thus, under the leadership of Lacy and Adamante, the human rights screening process began.

It was a brutal operation accompanied by screams, flames, and holy light.

“AAAAARGH!”

“Failed.”

Adamante, who had cast the Light of Judgment, kicked aside the corpse of a warrior who had been sliced to ribbons by the beam of light, now nothing more than a bloody mess.

“AAAAGH! You devil-like bastards!”

“That’s a failure.”

A warrior screamed in agony as not just his hand but his entire arm burned with excruciating pain.

As Lacy calmly announced the failure, Joshua, who had been waiting beside her, struck off the warrior’s head. The movement was mechanical, like a machine cutting off a chicken’s head.

“GYAAAAH-! Just! Just kill me outright! Just kill me already!”

The corpses piled up rapidly.

This was an operation to weed out sinners using the Light of Judgment and holy fire. The karma accumulated by these warriors was far too deep and dark for them to pass such a harsh test.

“Rather than suffer this, I’d rather…!”

Perhaps the scene, which had become no different from an execution, was too terrifying? Some warriors suddenly stood up and resisted. Their faces looked like cornered rats.

“Rather what? What are you going to do?”

But all that would accomplish was adding another piece of meat to the pile of corpses.

If they wanted to kick away the chance to survive, there was no reason to show them mercy.

After all, if released, they would just go back to living as bandits.

—-

There were some who passed the test.

“Aaagh…! My hand, my hand…!”

A young man whose skin had completely burned off the back of his hand from the holy fire. Seeing him, Lacy smiled and nodded.

“This level is enough to pass. Congratulations on becoming a citizen of Hestella.”

He had passed. Though he hadn’t escaped burning entirely, for someone who had touched holy fire, that level of burn indicated he was just an ordinary person with nothing particularly condemnable.

Even that much placed him in the top 5% of Ka’har in terms of character.

“KYAAAA! I’m dying! I’m dy… huh? What? This is… bearable?”

“Pass.”

Adamante also produced numerous successful candidates.

Was it the difference between fire and light, or perhaps the difference in standards between Elpinel and Astraea? There were far more who passed on Adamante’s side. Almost one and a half times as many.

That madman who had burned even petty criminals at the stake while shouting Astraea’s divine name should have seen this.

The goddess Astraea whom he so devoutly worshipped was apparently a far more merciful deity than her followers.

—-

As a result of the screening process, six-tenths of the warriors met their deaths.

It was better than expected. Honestly, I thought nine-tenths would die, but surprisingly, four-tenths survived.

I suppose I had been looking at these warriors with too much prejudice. I should reflect on that. There were this many people worthy of living after all.

“Congratulations. You have proven yourselves worthy of becoming citizens of Hestella, the kingdom I have established. Unlike those sinners lying over there.”

I addressed them in the eastern tongue.

As the Queen of Hestella, to inform them of the fate that awaited them.

“Hestella is different from Aishan. The weak are not despised, those who do not fight are not scorned, and you can live an abundant life without stealing from others.”

The refugees who had been trembling in fear raised their heads to look at me. I listed the advantages of Hestella to them.

From a warrior’s perspective, these might not seem like advantages, but for women and children, it might be different.

Those who don’t fight with swords tend to prefer peace over war.

For warriors, war is an opportunity for glory and plunder, but for non-warriors, war is nothing but a terrible threat that might cost them their husbands and sons.

Probably.

“As the Queen… the Khan of Hestella, I have only one requirement for my people: stay away from evil and love goodness.”

Actually, there were a few more, but broadly speaking, that was enough. The rest could be taught gradually through education.

“As long as you follow this, I promise to protect your lives and property against any external threat.”

Guaranteeing absolute safety as long as they stayed away from evil and followed good.

That was the only benefit I could offer to the refugees who chose to become citizens of Hestella.

“Do you understand? I, Haschal Median Aishan-Gioro, the one you call Abha Gisaka, make this promise!”

They call me Abha Gisaka? Like the Heavenly Demon from eight hundred years ago. A calamity so terrible it could even kill the sky.

If they fear me, that’s good. As Jahan said, people easily submit to fear.

And if the object of that fear declares it will protect them… in a way, isn’t that quite reassuring?

Since the power that could even kill the sky would become their shield.

“Of course, adaptation won’t be easy. To be recognized as citizens of Hestella, you must throw away the steppe way of life, ideology, and thoughts, and conform to the western way.”

Acceptance of sorcery… that is, magic and miracles.

No plundering.

No conflicts with westerners.

And many other things. There were many things they had to give up to be recognized as members of Hestella.

“So now, I ask you for the last time.”

I looked down at the refugees and declared like a stern judge with an executioner’s blade.

“Will you follow me? Or will you be abandoned here to live as slaves of another tribe? Decide! It’s your life!”

Becoming citizens versus becoming slaves.

Few madmen would choose the latter. Unless they were exceptionally rebellious.

And such rebels were mostly already dead, mixed in with the ashes of Ordos.

“If you will follow me, stand up and kneel! Kneel and pay respect to your Queen, your Khan! I will lead you to the west!”

All eighteen hundred refugees knelt on one knee.

It wasn’t a particularly large number, and most of them probably chose to follow not because they were impressed by my words, but simply because they didn’t want to die or become slaves…

But for now, this was enough.

—-

Afterwards, we marched westward with the refugees.

Unlike my companions who boarded the airship, I rode on Cascador’s back, leading at the very front of the crowd like a shepherd guiding a flock.

It was Hersella’s recommendation.

Since I had decided to become their Khan, I should lead like one, showing my back to them from the front.

It made sense. So I followed without complaint. And it seemed to have some effect. Perhaps because I was right in front of them, there was not a single person causing unnecessary disturbances.

We walked for four straight days.

It was a long march. Unlike when we flew toward Ordos, we had to move at the pace of women, children, and the elderly.

‘I boasted that I would protect them… but at this rate, I wonder if they’ll all starve to death or fall behind.’

The food problem was especially serious.

The provisions stored on the airship and what we had scraped together from the ruins of Ordos were not enough to sustain eighteen hundred refugees.

Unless I could copy fish and bread like Jesus, we would reach our limit soon, no matter how much we rationed.

And I couldn’t exactly claim that the Ka’har were herbivores and order them to graze on roadside grass.

It was a difficult situation all around. Neither Lacy, Adamante, nor any of our other companions could think of a good solution.

[Food? Just raid all the nearby tribes and take it. What’s the problem?]

That was Hersella’s suggestion. As if wondering why we were even worrying about such a trivial matter.

Honestly, it was a tempting idea, and perhaps the only solution, but… I kept it as a last resort.

It was only a few days ago that I had given a speech about how becoming citizens of Hestella meant abandoning the plundering mindset. How could I then turn around and become a plunderer myself just because food was scarce?

Of course, this would have been righteous plundering, but the refugees, whose thinking was still aligned with steppe standards, wouldn’t yet be able to distinguish between righteous and unrighteous plundering.

If they saw me raiding other tribes, they would not take my ban on plundering seriously and would treat it lightly.

That would only lengthen the period of resocialization.

So, raiding other tribes had to be kept as a last resort as much as possible.

…Of course, in about two days, there would be no other option left.

—-

And a day later.

Food came to us.

“…It’s been a while, Lord Haschal. Are you perhaps having trouble with food supplies?”

Along with an unexpected visitor.

“Mersin…?”

I murmured the name of our visitor with a voice full of suspicion.

Mersin.

A man who was originally my guard, but who had defected to Targiyan’s side after becoming convinced that I had betrayed Aishan.

“Swear in the name of the late Empress Imelia. That for the next three years, you will not touch us at all as long as we do not encroach upon the west.”

He had come to us.

“If you do that, I will provide enough military rations for all of them to reach the wall with plenty to spare. What do you say? Will you accept?”

With an offer we couldn’t refuse.