Side: Mist
"Ohh, so this is the royal capital of the Jilva Empire."
"How is it? Impressive, isn't it? And you people said you intended to oppose a nation like this. Even now, it's not too late. If I put in a good word for you, I'm sure they could appoint you as generals."
"Are you an idiot? What are you even saying after you literally couldn't lay a single finger or foot on us? Do you want to get beaten up again? —Kaya."
"...Leave it to me."
"I was joking!!"
We had returned to the royal capital of the Jilva Empire, accompanied by the top commanders of the mercenary band led by Yuki.
"Onee-sama, instead of making a fuss about that, we need to think about how to explain the annihilation of our army to His Majesty."
That's right.
Even if we handed Yuki and the others over and claimed we'd been defeated by a mercenary band, no one would believe us.
Moreover, actually trying to turn Yuki and his group over was a completely impossible task.... We had learned that painfully well during our time as prisoners.
At first, we thought we had regained our power when our magic swords were returned to us, but we quickly realized that such strength was trivial—whether we had it or not—against Yuki's mercenary band.
"Y-You're right. But in this state, we can't even give a proper explanation. Hey, Yuki, could you provide us with a collection of Orc heads like you did for Marley? It would really help us out."
I think Onee-sama's idea is actually quite clever.
If we claim we encountered and fought a massive horde of orcs, it would provide a decent excuse for why our army was nearly wiped out...
"Eh? How exactly am I supposed to gather a bunch of orc heads inside the royal capital now?"
"That's..."
"Besides, we're already in the capital. Isn't it a bit late for that?"
""......""
Both Onee-sama and I fell completely silent.
We had been so swept up in the excitement of being released from captivity that we hadn't given a single thought to what would happen once we actually got back.
To be honest, we didn't even know how to begin explaining the situation.
After all, we had traveled from that village all the way to the outskirts of the royal capital in a vehicle called a Marauder in just three days. Normally, even on a fast horse, that distance would take a full week.
We had instructed the surviving soldiers to head back to the town of Feil ahead of us after they were released... but we never could have imagined that we would end up reaching the royal capital first...
Thanks to that, we were forced to report directly to the King immediately without even having a chance to send an advance report or read the atmosphere of the court first.
As things stood, we had absolutely zero evidence, so nothing we said would be believed. Even if the court did believe us, this would be branded a catastrophic failure, and our magic swords and territory would be stripped away.
We could live without the magic swords, but our home territory had finally begun to recover economically after nearly facing ruin because of our military expenses.
If our lands were confiscated now, all our hard work would be completely wasted.
"So the option of just giving a fake report is completely off the table, then."
"...Of course it is. It might sound hypocritical coming from me since I investigated Marley, but there are countless individuals who desperately want to become the new wielders of the magic swords, as well as plenty of people who are deeply jealous of our past achievements."
"In other words, turning in a poorly made lie would just tighten the noose around your own necks."
"...Yes. If it were a small enough matter that we could safely cover it up, that would be one thing, but..."
There was simply no way to hide the fact that an army of 5,000 soldiers had been reduced to 1,000.
We were strictly required by law to return all weapons and supplies. The weapons were specially manufactured and stamped with the nation's crest, making them the direct property of the King to be maintained and tracked.
As for the rations, any leftovers were naturally supposed to be returned to the state treasury to be stored for future wars, natural disasters, or other emergencies. Losing one or two items, or even ten or twenty, could be smoothed over somehow, but a loss on the scale of thousands of units was completely impossible to hide.
"Hmm. So, what kind of punishment do you two think you'll receive?"
"...The fact that this wasn't a simple rout makes it especially painful..."
"...We ignored orders and launched a full-scale search operation. We were defeated not by orcs, but by roughly fifteen hundred mercenaries and demi-humans. Our forces were reduced to one-fifth of their original strength. And nearly all supplies were lost. Considering all that..."
"If we're lucky, we'll be demoted and have our lands confiscated. If we're unlucky, we'll be executed."
"That would make saving and releasing you pointless. Alright then—if you continue cooperating with us from now on, I think I can keep your heads attached. What do you say?"
"Really!?"
"...What exactly is your objective?"
Onees-sama looked delighted, but I knew Yuki wasn't the type to do something like this out of mere pity.
And he'd specifically mentioned "continued cooperation"... We still hadn't been told what meaning there was in continuing to investigate those magic swords. I had a feeling we were getting dragged into something outrageous...
But there was a more immediate problem.
"...You're the one who brought it up, so let's set aside your motives. If all we have to do is cooperate, then keeping our heads is a bargain. But how exactly do you plan to save us? Do you really think you can do something like that against an entire nation?"
After all, no matter how powerful Yuki's mercenary band was, surely they couldn't stand against a country.
"Well, I'm pretty sure I can pull it off. When you have a system where a single ruler holds almost all the authority, there are plenty of ways to bypass and dismantle it. You're completely free to believe me or not, but if you stay on your current track, you're guaranteed to get thrown away anyway, right?"
"...Being thrown out would still be better. Even if our magic swords are taken, our achievements up until now are real. They can't just dismiss us entirely."
"...If we were merely exiled, that would actually be a better outcome. Even if our magic swords were taken away, the military achievements we have built up over the years are completely real. There is no way the court would just let us walk away after a failure like this."
"We would either be assassinated by the people trying to drag us down, forced into the harem of some random noble, or used as disposable frontline soldiers until we died... either way, we are looking at a dead end."
Being allowed to die as a proper soldier would actually be the preferable choice.
In the worst case, we could be treated like s*x slaves and end our lives treated like trash.
"Then all the more reason to leave it to me. You don't even have to do anything in particular."
"Eh?"
"No, how exactly do you plan to solve our problem without using our help?"
"That's a secret for now. For the time being, you two should wait about a week before presenting yourselves at the royal castle, making it look like you just arrived via a fast messenger horse. You can manage to keep out of sight for about a week, right?"
"Y-Yes, hiding for that long won't be an issue at all."
I completely failed to comprehend what he was planning.
I'd assumed he'd accompany us and openly provoke the king during our report.
At this rate, we won't even be able to enter the royal castle.
"Alright, just wait out the week then. My plan might not be a guaranteed success, so feel free to brainstorm some backup ideas of your own just in case. Alright, shall we get moving, everyone?"
"""Yes!"""
And with that, we watched Yuki's group disappear into the crowds of the capital.
* * *
Side: Yuki
"Hey, Yuki, was that really a good idea? If those two were with us, we wouldn't have needed to hire a guide to find our way around the royal castle, you know?"
Labyris spoke up from her usual spot resting on top of my head.
"Indeed. Hiring a separate guide seems like it would be troublesome."
Ria muttered beside me.
"It'll be fine. Knowing Yuki-san, he definitely has a plan in mind."
Riel declared with absolute confidence.
Wait, why is Riel the one acting so confident?
"...So, what are we going to do?"
"What are we doing, Boss? I mean, you've got me and a bunch of demi-humans with you. We're attracting a lot of attention."
Kaya and Steve asked, wanting to know our next steps.
"You're right. Leaving Steve aside, I don't really like the idea of my wives being stared at like they're anomalies. Ah, speak of the devil, looks like our volunteer guide soldier has arrived..."
The moment I shifted my gaze toward the crowd, a loud voice echoed from further down the street.
"—Get out of the way! I heard some fools are walking around here with demi-humans without even putting collars on them. Where are they!?"
Well, look at that, some arrogant-sounding guy just showed up.
Looks like we hit the jackpot.
"Well, if word gets out that those sisters are cooperating with us, it'll just complicate things for them. Even if the court eventually finds out they're working with us, it's better if that happens after we have everything completely under our control, right?"
"Ah, that's true."
Tori nodded in understanding.
"Fufu... Yuki, you're thinking of something interesting again, aren't you?"
Labyris seemed to have read my mind and was enjoying herself.
"Alright then. Shall we boldly head straight into the royal castle and request an audience with the King?"
