Chapter 253: To the Capital (5)

To be perfectly honest, I didn’t want to ride them.

It wasn’t just that I didn’t want to ride them; I wanted to kill these disgusting monstrosities right then and there. Looking beside me, Sylvia wore a bewildered expression. Sophia was pretending not to notice, turning her head away, while Isabel, startled, hid behind Elena.

Elena tried to act composed, but her hand, tightly gripping her skirt hem, betrayed a sliver of the terror she felt. Taffy poked his head out from the attic window, tilted it, and asked me,

“Evan. Intruder?”

“Oh my, Taffy. These guys, you see. They’re friends. Friends. Friends I called.”

“….Friends?”

Before I could respond, Milia jumped in with an answer. I nodded, finding it awkward to deny her, and Taffy nonchalantly dropped from the window. The sound of the hatch closing echoed, and the monsters were sniffing the air, searching for prey. Milia lightly tapped the head of one of the monsters and said,

“What do you think? A pathetic white horse… isn’t that a bit too uncool? If you’re the strongest demon ruling the Demon Realm, shouldn’t you be riding something like this?”

Were big, burly guys more fitting steeds for the Demon Realm’s aesthetic? Elena, Isabel, Sophia, and Sylvia were all staring at me. Milia, too, looked at me with eyes full of anticipation. Milia said,

“I put quite a bit of effort into modifying these guys, thinking about how cool it would be for Evan to ride them towards the capital. What do you think, Evan? Isn’t it cool?”

No one said a word. I wished someone would tell Milia, ‘Get rid of those disgusting old men,’ but we were too nice to make such a cold and harsh statement. There was no one here bad enough to take the lead with Milia, who was sparkling with belief that I would genuinely like them.

I looked around again. The women who met my eyes were all sending me pleading looks, as if asking me to speak up. The longer I delayed, the more painfully Milia’s question hit me.

“Evan, perhaps you don’t like them?”

“Huh? Oh, no. I like them. They’re good. Huh? Really good. As expected, demons like us should ride monsters that are fair-skinned and plump like these, rather than white horses, to maintain our dignity.”

“Right?”

Milia burst into a wide smile. Her smiling face was as cheerful as a child receiving a birthday present. Isabel and Elena both sighed deeply at the thought of having to ride those things, their faces turning pale, but they didn’t overtly protest. I glanced at them and said to Milia,

“But… their mobility seems a bit lacking. As you know, we need to enter the capital as quickly as possible now, right? Being this huge makes it too easy to attract attention, and their bodies seem large and slow. I like them, but maybe riding horses…”

“Oh my, don’t worry about that! Evan. I’ve prepared everything. When I said ‘modified,’ did you really think I just made them bigger?”

She said that and snapped her fingers. The moment she snapped her fingers, the monsters’ eyes widened, they lifted their heads, and began to roar.

“Uooohhhhhh!”

“Kkuoohhhhhh!”

A strong roar that shook the entire village blew in the wind. Their disgusting stench and flesh that swayed like waves made the mood foul.

And then, as if a waterfall made of flesh was flowing down, arms began to sprout from between their violently trembling bodies. Like boils popping out, the arms, which sprang up by squeezing flesh from their sides, soon began to grow to a size similar to other arms, forming complete shapes.

“Ta-da!”

Milia pointed at the monsters, which had a total of 4 or 5 pairs of limbs, and said.

“Sh, shit!”

“With multiple legs, they can exert tremendous mobility! Furthermore, their stamina is so strong that just a little bit of our magic infusion will allow them to travel all the way to the capital!”

There was no justification.

I had to prove somehow that these guys were worse than white horses, but there was no reason to object. They had better mobility than horses, were larger, sturdier, and had good stamina. If they were fast, they could stop the hero slaughtering civilians more quickly. If they had good stamina, they could run through the night and reach the capital in one go.

Were we in a position to be picky about our mounts right now? Besides, if we brought these giant bodies before the hero, it was clear the hero would pour all their strength into these monsters they’d never seen before. Excluding their appearance, in every other aspect, these guys were more suitable for the capital invasion.

It might be a little sorry for those who expected a hero arriving on a white horse.

Sylvia, having already given up, said this.

“They’re cool! They might definitely be okay… maybe!”

“R, right… Yes. They might be okay.”

Isabel looked resigned. Elena held Isabel’s hand tightly, and Sophia said.

“Milia-nim is the best!”

“…They’re cool.”

In this situation, this was all I could say in the end.

*******

Preparations to go to the capital proceeded smoothly. Seeing the monsters tied up next to the mansion, the villagers briefly moved to report us to the temple, but we were able to resolve the misunderstanding through polite persuasion and conversation. This was because the temple, having received a large donation from us, declared that these monsters were not demons but ‘magical creatures,’ and we also received notarization from Ernrich Lumia certifying that we were not bad people.

The people looked at the monsters with uncertain faces, but once the word came out that they weren’t, they seemed unlikely to question further or report them. Taffy, who had been sleeping at the crucial moment, seemed not to understand that we were riding these monsters to the capital, but we didn’t have time to explain it to him. We had to pat the heads of the beasts, already stamping their feet impatiently to go to the capital, divide into groups, and mount them one by one.

Even after mounting, Isabel, perhaps still feeling reluctant, frowned and examined documents. Elena carefully hugged Isabel’s back and said.

“M-Madam. Please forgive my rudeness. I-I dislike high places…”

“It’s okay, Elena. I’m scared right now too.”

“Oh my, it’s okay. I’ll hold you with magic, so there’s no chance you’ll fall.”

Despite Milia’s words, the two still looked uneasy. I also stroked the wrinkled head of the monster I was riding. Even if they didn’t report us right now, those people could go to other villages and report us. We couldn’t afford to be complacent just because we controlled public opinion once; we had to depart as quickly as possible.

I once again enjoyed the feel of the monster’s wrinkles, like those of a widower, and checked if everyone else had mounted. Camouflage magic circles to hide our appearance were laid out on each monster, and Taffy snugly attached the hatch onto the monster’s back, preparing for a comfortable journey.

Petunia Titi had her hands tightly wrapped around my waist, inhaling my scent. She seemed to enjoy the fact that she was traveling close to me more than the fact that we were going to the capital. How good would the sensation of having sex with Petunia Titi within the ruined castle walls be? Her soft body never tired me, even when embraced daily.

Sylvia and Sophia held hands tightly as they mounted the monsters, and Milia was still trying to reassure the trembling Isabel.

“Think of them as puppies. Puppies.”

“There are no puppies like these…”

I said to Milia, who was teasing Isabel.

“Milia. You haven’t forgotten our plan, have you?”

“Yes. Everything is ready.”

Since we were riding conspicuous creatures anyway, the plan was to move as spectacularly as possible. Instead, we planned to use camouflage magic to hide the fact that we were riding them, making the monsters the sole targets. While the soldiers and the hero unleashed concentrated fire on the monsters, we planned to teleport to different locations using Milia’s magic.

Isabel, Elena, Sylvia, and Sophia would part ways with us at the capital’s main gate, join Lumia’s group, evacuate civilians while the monsters drew attention, and incite the soldiers spread throughout the capital to our side. According to the data provided by the Francia family, the soldiers’ internal dissatisfaction was immense, so this part seemed achievable even with just Lumia.

And then, Taffy, Petunia, Milia, and I would charge at the hero. The plan was to subdue the hero, who would have wasted their strength defeating the monsters, and for me to ascend the throne.

Reviewing the plan again, it was perfect. The only variable in this plan was Lilith. Since meeting Taffy that day, Lilith hadn’t interfered with my actions in any way. What on earth does she want to do? Why is she just watching as things have come to this?

A person must always prepare for the worst-case scenario. At the last moment, Lilith could suddenly hypnotize me. In that state of depleted stamina, I could be brainwashed by that demon and commit irreversible acts.

Leaving behind the unsolvable anxiety, I grabbed the monster’s reins.

Isabel said.

“They say the Francia family entourage is waiting in the village before the capital. They’re even preparing a welcoming party…”

I patted the monster’s head and said.

“Let’s trample them all.”

And when I smiled at Isabel, she also said with a pleased expression.

“Okay.”

“Wow, it’s amazing that this is a magical creature.”

And passing villagers gathered, looking at the monsters and throwing in their comments. The people seemed accustomed to the monsters’ strangeness now, laughing heartily and debating their appearances.

“Yeah, right? How did they make such creatures?”

“Hey, look at this! Doesn’t this guy resemble that fellow who used to farm grapes? With those thick lips on his face.”

“Huh? You’re right? He looks somewhat similar to my father, who they say is at the mansion…”

I shouted, slapping the monster’s side.

“L-Let’s go!”

The grand journey thus began.