Side: Yuki
"For the time being, I'd like to say we should let you take half the weapons and half the food, but you can only take what you can physically carry on your persons. Otherwise, it won't look like an escape; it'll look like we actively aided you."
"...yeah."
The Princess regained consciousness shortly after the duel, but her spirit is understandably completely deflated.
"Make absolutely sure your people don't try anything funny against us on the way out. Same goes for the villagers. If you start a ruckus, we'll be forced to put you down in self-defense."
"I... understand."
"Sigh... At this rate, we won't get anywhere. Jessica, with the food they can carry, can they make it to the city?"
"...Yes. It should be sufficient. While they might experience some minor deprivation, no one will starve to death."
I let Jessica, who is standing directly behind me, assess the logistics.
Having a local really is convenient... Ah, of course, Ria was standing nearby too. After all, there was no guarantee Jessica wouldn't suddenly pull a "Treachery within the castle walls!" and attack me. Not that I think she could actually inflict a single scratch on us, though.
"...Sorry, Jessica."
The princess muttered the words bitterly.
"No, Princess. Originally, we should all have been beheaded, or the women turned into playthings. If my life alone can ensure everyone's safety, I have no complaints."
"...If only I hadn't lost..."
"Your sentiments bring me great joy, Princess. However, if we break our word now, it wouldn't be the least bit strange if they systematically slaughtered every last one of us. Please remain calm. I shall be perfectly fine. I will simply use this body of mine to completely seduce Yuki, wrap him around my finger, and bring him back to your side as a loyal subordinate."
Eh, what's that? Scary.
It was a joke, but honestly, that probably was the path least likely to result in conflict between our groups. While there's technically a non-zero chance she could try it on Mobu or Steve, I hold the absolute peak authority behind the scenes here. A single word from me can fundamentally shift our entire operational policy.
"...Is that so? Ah, then I shall look forward to that day! Stay safe, Jessica. And if by some chance you end up bearing his child, make sure you don't treat the little one harshly, okay?"
"Of course, Princess. A child bears absolutely zero sin."
Why are we already assuming there'll be children?
Then again, looking at standard geopolitical logic, if you have a high-value female prisoner, forcing her to bear a child so she develops an emotional attachment to the territory is the most reliable way to secure her compliance. In a sense, becoming my woman would guarantee her a highly stable, comfortable position despite being a prisoner of war.
Not that I have any intention of doing that, mind you. My hands are completely full with my current household. Even though nearly half of my wives are currently pregnant—which means my nighttime roster has dropped a bit—I'm still putting in work every single day.
"Let's get one thing straight: I have absolutely no intention of treating Jessica like that. Though, if your empire decides to march back here and attack us, her standard of living might plummet significantly. You'd better come up with an airtight excuse to persuade the Jilva Empire when you get back."
"From a purely strategic standpoint, our military would also highly prefer to avoid clashing with your mercenary band ever again."
"But look, is there a chance you'll face summary execution for failing this subjugation mission?"
"I won't say the probability is zero, but it is highly improbable."
"Yes, it is practically impossible," Jessica agrees.
"Why is that? This was an official subjugation order from the higher-ups, wasn't it? Usually, failing a mission comes with a matching punishment. Or do you intend to report that you successfully wiped out the target?"
"Yes. The Princess intends to report a successful subjugation. Or rather, we intend to claim that the target of subjugation didn't even exist in the first place."
"Ah... so you'll claim the demi-humans had already abandoned the village and fled before you arrived? Or that the soldiers who escaped initially were completely lying?"
"Precisely. The former option. We will report that they had already scattered."
"What about the surviving noble? He's going to blab everything to anyone who will listen."
"You need not worry about him. In the first place, it was that incompetent noble's reckless, unauthorized actions that forced our military to mobilize. If we declare his testimony to be a complete fabrication, he will have no choice but to keep his mouth shut. Furthermore, we will claim that during our search of the area, a minor Orc outbreak occurred. Conveniently enough, we've already slain one Orc out here, so I will report that the noble perished during that specific engagement."
"By structuring the report that way, it accounts for the casualties my unit sustained while framing the operation as a successful Orc suppression, ensuring our record remains favorable. Even if the noble's remaining faction claims I am fabricating the truth, no one will believe them over an elite general. Besides, he is scheduled to 'escape' along with us tonight. He has absolutely no reason to intentionally tie his own noose."
Hmm, I see. So the whole reason they killed that lone Orc earlier was to secure a physical war trophy for their report. I'm incredibly glad I set our lowest-tier summon circle to spawn a freshly minted recruit, assuming they were just engaging in standard combat drills. My high-tier Orcs possess a raw combat capability that ranks right alongside Steve's elite squads, after all.
"However, is your side going to be completely fine?" the Princess asks. "If we execute this escape tonight, won't the demi-humans immediately suspect that you conspired with us? That you cut a deal behind their backs?"
"If things get too suspicious, our best option would be to just flee the area alongside you."
"Ah, I suppose that's true."
"Besides, we already have a historical precedent where the villagers allowed enemy soldiers to slip right through their fingers. Furthermore, because that young idiot dared to insult our spoils of war earlier, we've structured our current prisoner watch to include the village guards. So, when you initiate the breakout tonight, just make sure to scream something about the demi-humans letting their guard down. That completely shields our position from suspicion. In fact, we'll intentionally hand over the primary watch shift to the villagers right before you move, so you're completely clear for takeoff."
"Brilliant. If you structure the shifts like that, your tactical positioning remains completely unimpeachable."
"After that, whether you succeed in escaping depends on your own efforts. You can even knock around a few demi-humans if necessary."
"Understood."
After that exchange, we parted ways.
What happened next?
Well...
Just watch.
* * *
"The humans have escaped—!!"
A frantic roar rips through the night from one of the village lookouts.
"What on earth were you doing!?"
"Forgive me! I only took my eyes off them for a single fraction of a second—!"
"Rally everyone immediately!"
"It's no use! The sheer number of humans vastly exceeds our entire population, we can't possibly contain them—!"
Right on schedule, the planned chaotic racket echoes all the way to our quarters in the dead of night. Well, I suppose it's time for us to make our grand appearance on stage.
"What's going on?"
I ask with complete, unadulterated insincerity.
My wives and Mobu's group play along flawlessly, adopting completely blank, startled expressions as if they were learning about the incident for the very first time.
"You people! That woman's army escaped! Can't you do something?"
"Huh? In this darkness? Capture twenty-five hundred people? More importantly, gather the villagers and prepare defensive positions immediately! There's a high probability they might turn back and launch a counterattack!"
"Guh... you're right! I'll gather everyone!"
With that, the guard who had rushed over to alert us dashes away at full speed.
"Well, everything's proceeding according to plan. Officially, our mercenary band will adopt a high-alert defensive posture and bunker down right here. Once a decent amount of time passes, let's head over to the Elder's place to demand an explanation."
"""Understood."""
"Okay. I can't wait to see the looks on their faces."
"...Fufufu. I wonder what expression they'll wear when they apologize?"
Riel and Kaya are frankly black-hearted, but Tori just nods with an expressionless face, which makes her infinitely more terrifying.
* * *
"Now then, would you care to explain exactly what happened here?"
Two hours later, deep within the shadows of the night, we were summoned directly to the Elder's private residence.
"...As you are likely already aware, the Jilva Empire soldiers you captured have all escaped, except for that woman currently in your custody."
"What's the cause? It was during the time you were in charge of guarding them, right?"
"...One of our young guards was passing the time by practicing his sword swings. The imperial prisoners began openly mocking his form, provoking him into handing over a wooden training sword to settle the matter in a duel. The guard was instantly incapacitated, and they used that opening to escape."
Oi oi. Talk about an absolute failure of basic security protocols.
Though, given that they're just civilian villagers, I suppose this level of incompetence is to be expected.
"After that, they vastly outnumbered us. Rather than pursue them, we were forced to focus on defending ourselves from a counterattack."
"We were in the same situation. So then... how do you intend to take responsibility for this? Not only have you let our bargaining chips escape, but now the enemy will return with even greater numbers. Escaping just became much harder for us. In fact, won't all the demi-humans in this region be exterminated?"
Now then.
I am highly anticipating what kind of response they will offer.
If they choose to flee, we can simply operate independently moving forward, and the next time our paths cross, we can use this massive operational failure as absolute leverage over them.
If they choose to beg for our continued protection, they can completely forget about maintaining an "equal partnership". Their failures are simply too frequent and too severe. Given the tactical reality of the situation, the only terms we will accept is their complete submission under our banner.
"...With this blunder, our people no longer have a path of retreat. That is precisely why... we wish to submit to your command. Please lead us, and ensure the survival of our race. I beg of you. Please, lend us your strength and save our people."
Ah, so they chose to integrate completely under our umbrella. From a long-term perspective, having this specific tribe under our direct control will make future negotiations with other demi-human factions across the continent significantly smoother.
Granted, it brings a massive mountain of extra administrative headaches along with it, but we'll just have to manage that as it comes. Since we were technically the ones who triggered this entire geopolitical mess by wiping out the advance unit in the first place, I'll take care of them as long as they don't become a detriment to our primary goals.
"I hear your terms. In that case, you had better prepare yourselves to work incredibly hard under our flag. Let's make one thing abundantly clear right now: anyone who harbors any resentment toward our directives or opposes being integrated under our umbrella is free to pack their things and leave this village immediately. I want this to be the absolute last time our operations are hindered by your internal baggage."
I state my terms firmly, scanning my gaze across the entire room.
Meeting my eyes, several of the gathered demi-humans visibly flinch in intimidation, but not a single one attempts to stand up or flee the premises.
"I have absolutely no intention of making absurd tyrannical demands, like forcing you to hand over your women. However, if you have a genuine desire to stay alive, you will follow my explicit instructions without a single complaint. First order of business: we will immediately construct a massive defensive fortification wall around the perimeter to ensure we can hold the line if the fleeing army decides to pivot and launch a sudden assault. Every single able-bodied person—excluding the women and children assigned to active agricultural duties—will report for construction duty. Understood!?"
""""YES, SIR—!""""
Well, at the very least, their vocal enthusiasm is magnificent.
Now then... let's see how this plays out.
