Side: Yuki
"So, how are you two feeling physically?"
I had currently paid a visit to the magic sword wielding sisters. I came to decide how we'll handle things going forward.
Honestly, even if this led to war with the Jilva Empire, it wouldn't really matter. The army the sisters brought has been nearly annihilated. Even if they sent back false reports, a large-scale investigation team would arrive sooner or later. No matter what lie they told, there was no hiding the fact that most of the army had been wiped out.
Even I couldn't bring the dead back to life. Luna might be capable of it, but considering she hadn't done anything of the sort in this world, she probably had no intention of doing so. If people could be revived freely, that would create a whole different set of problems.
In short, it's only a matter of time before the Jilva Empire learns about us.
This time I had personally taken action, but even if I had left everything to Steve and the others, the outcome would have been the same.
"...What happened to the soldiers?"
While I was lost in thought, Olima—I mean Olive—finally opened her mouth.
It wasn't an answer to my opening inquiry, but a direct counter-question.
"You already know what happened to them, don't you?"
Almost all of them were blown to pieces. The few survivors are badly injured.
Oh, and as usual, the soldiers are feeding themselves with the supplies we seized from them. There's no need or obligation for Weed's wallet to open up for them.
They attacked us first. There's no reason for us to take any losses.
"...After you captured us, you ordered your subordinates to treat the wounded. Are there any survivors?"
This time, her younger sister, Mist (not Pikmin), spoke up.
"Haa... First, answer my questions. You two should be fully aware that you don't have the right to choose here."
"You used such underhanded tactics!!"
"Onee-sama, please calm down."
Well, there it is.
So, I'm still being branded a coward, huh?
"You seem energetic enough. But calling me underhanded is a bit rich. What part of it was cowardly? Or rather, you're the ones who said you would definitely win, right? You gathered nearly five times our fighting strength and still lost. So who exactly is the coward here?"
"That is called military strategy!"
"Then what I did was strategy too. Who in their right mind would fight head-on when total annihilation is obvious?"
Though honestly, even if we had fought head-on, I doubt anyone on the Weed side would have been killed.
The demi-humans would likely have suffered casualties, though.
"Kuh..."
"Well, no matter what you say, the situation won't change."
"Then what exactly did you come here for?"
Mist glared at me.
"To introduce myself properly. At the time, you two were too busy talking over everyone. But I crushed you before I could introduce myself. I figured now we could have a normal conversation."
"...My name is Olive Melt."
"...I am her younger sister, Mist Melt."
The two reluctantly introduce themselves.
I already knew their names, of course.
"I'm... let's see, the leader of this Mercenary Group. My name is Yuki."
"...Do you understand what you've done? By doing this, you have definitely made the Jilva Empire your enemy."
"So? We intercepted because you attacked. This is the result. If the Jilva Empire comes again, we'll just annihilate them again. They'll probably bring a stupid number of soldiers again, so they'll be easy to target."
"...Can that attack be used more than once?"
Mist stared straight at me as she asked.
She was probing for information, trying to figure out how victory might still be possible.
Good good. That was the proper human response. Never giving up and looking for a way forward.
Civilization may be behind here, but this girl Mist seems to have that kind of spirit. This is the root of what can overcome even the strong, the geniuses, and the cheaters.
Or rather, people call others 'strong', 'genius', 'cheat', but you rarely hear someone call themselves that. Well, as a joke, people might say 'Maybe I'm a genius?'.
Anyway, I should answer her question.
"I can use it as many times as I want. And I can make it even stronger. By the way, the maximum range is about five kilometers, so if a large army comes, I can just draw them in and go 'boom' all at once."
""......""
The sisters were both rendered speechless by my statement.
They probably thought that attack was some sort of ultimate trump card, usable only once.
In reality, while it wasn't unlimited, we could flatten this entire region if we wanted... assuming the budget allowed for it.
That's why, from Earth's perspective, their military tactics were hopelessly outdated. Calling them old-fashioned compared to modern warfare would be generous. Even compared to World War I, it would be insulting. Massing troops into formations simply wasn't a viable strategy anymore.
"So here's the deal. If you two sisters are willing to cooperate with something, I'll let the surviving soldiers return home with you."
Yeah. Even if we keep them as prisoners, we'll eventually run out of supplies and have to provide for them from Weed. I'd rather not do that, so it's better to send them back.
Same policy as with the Princess-san.
That buys the most time and costs the least money.
"...So there really are survivors."
"How many survived?"
"1023. Honestly, more survived than I expected."
In truth, after capturing the sisters, I had Steve and the others postpone treating the soldiers' injuries and used them for a certain experiment instead.
The result was those 1,023 survivors.
It confirmed just how powerful my recovery magic is. Until now, it had been unclear exactly how effective my healing magic was on other people, but it seems my version is on a completely different level.
Normally, even Extra Heal can't regenerate lost limbs, but mine can. That means the soldiers who lost limbs had them fully restored. Zargis and I are still investigating why such a difference exists, but I suspect it has to do with the body's own recognition of itself.
According to Luna, my abilities are just a random collection of convenient powers from this world, so there's nothing uniquely one-of-a-kind about them. Just a difference in output. Which was why I suspected it was a matter of bodily recognition.
In fact, it raised the question of whether this world's healing magic was really healing magic at all.
...Oops, not the time for that.
I was talking to the sisters.
That discussion could wait for later.
""......""
The sisters still seem to be hesitating.
"...May I ask what this 'cooperation' entails?"
"A fair question. It's nothing complicated. I want to study the magic swords, so I'd like you to cooperate with some experiments."
"What an absolutely blasphemous, sacrilegious demand!! Those are sacred treasures bestowed by the Founder!! And you want to use them for experiments?!"
"Yet you're perfectly willing to use them in battle where they could be destroyed?"
It seems Jessica was right.
Before coming here, Jessica told me about the magic swords.
Apparently, they are legendary weapons forged long ago by a person known as the Founder to fight against demi-humans.
Meaning... they're just man-made weapons. Not "legendary" artifacts.
As for the Founder himself, there's almost no information. There are various legends, but in relation to the war against the demi-humans at the time, he is treated as a hero among the people. The only descriptions that remain are things like "a wonderful person."
Nothing useful.
Researching history really was a nightmare.
I now understand how tough historical researchers have it.
"Onee-sama, please calm down... You're saying you will return the magic swords to us, correct?"
"Wait, is that true!?"
"You two are the only ones who can use them. If I don't return them, I can't conduct any experiments. Oh, and when you're released, you can take the swords with you."
Even if the details are unclear, this continent's common people know this stuff even if they can't read. If I kept something like that, it would definitely cause trouble.
Other countries besides the Jilva Empire might come looking for the magic swords too.
"If we help with the experiments, you'll really return the surviving soldiers and the magic swords and release us?"
"Yeah."
"There's no guarantee we won't run wild, you know."
The older sister, Olive, said, but even if they rampage with those weak magic swords, the worst they could do is probably just singe Steve a little.
"That's fine. You can rampage if you want. Just try not to get hurt."
"Huh?"
"You two couldn't even leave a scratch on me, so there's no way you'd be able to do anything to the others."
"Onee-sama, let's just quietly accept Yuki's proposal. As frustrating as it is, we can't beat him. If we cause trouble and have the magic sword taken away, that'll be a problem. The soldiers' lives are at stake too. Please endure this."
"...If Mist says so... Very well. We accept your proposal, Yuki."
"Great. Negotiation complete. I'll have the detailed documents brought later, so please sign them."
""Eh?""
There's no way I'd settle for just a verbal promise.
A written contract could be useful later.
Whether they realized that or not was another matter.
"The experiments will start the day after tomorrow, so until then, just relax. Don't worry, I won't do anything crazy. It's cooperation, not anything that will cost you your lives. That's also written in the documents."
Documents really are important.
