A week of June has already passed.
I was dressed in a comfortable shirt with a holster on my pants, and I firmly slipped into the gun that Revan, with whom I was in contact, had sent me, saying he was worried.
As a great warrior, I have completed all preparations to carry out the subjugation...!
"I'm not going to fight. Don't get too excited."
Nike, reading my excited expression, immediately poured cold water on me.
“Haha, that’s not why I’m excited. Do you realize how significant this raid location is to us?”
"I know.'
Nike chuckled.
Glat, the cursed land of the western continent.
And my sixteen, the summer of June.
Yes, it is the very battlefield where I had my fateful first meeting with Nike before the regression!
'Why am I suddenly going there?'
There are complex circumstances here.
Originally, I was supposed to go on a pilgrimage to Nike and the family shrine. It is a secondary custom of a royal marriage to visit the estate where the ancestral tablets of the royal family are enshrined and pay respects.
And, as Nike happened to be about to embark on a subjugation mission. Since the pilgrimage sites were along the way, we decided to set off together without wasting any time.
Once the pilgrimage is over, I return to the palace, and Nike goes to subjugate.
However?
The Imperial Medical Bureau strongly demanded a schedule adjustment.
The Crown Princess said, "Postpone the pilgrimage!"
Why?
"Will you be okay?"
As he put me in the carriage, Nike asked worriedly
The meaning of the question "Is this okay?" is that it would be uncomfortable to embark on a journey while menstruating.
"Yes, it's fine."
Haaah.
That's right. The reason I stayed at the Imperial Palace in the first place was to confirm whether I was pregnant!
However, if I leave on a pilgrimage, I won't be able to get a checkup at the Department of Medicine on the first day of my period!
The Crown Princess came running in surprise.
“Th-this is something we already promised! Why now of all times for a pilgrimage to the cenotaphs...? Let’s go later, later!”
In fact, it wasn't just because of the Crown Princess's concerns; the damn pregnancy rumors were currently abuzz throughout the palace.
It spread as a reasonable suspicion regarding the reason for rushing the royal marriage.
Therefore, confirmation by the medical department was absolutely necessary, if only to quell the harmful rumors.
However, the Crown Prince did not yield.
“Visiting the ancestral shrine is a custom that members of the Imperial family must strictly observe. You should have done it long ago, before the royal wedding, anyway. Even the Bureau of Ceremonial Affairs is having a lot of trouble about it right now!”
As if by sheer coincidence, Nike had to leave for the northern campaign in July immediately after finishing this schedule.
Since postponing the pilgrimage schedule once would delay it indefinitely, the Imperial Court's Ordinance Department also filed a complaint.
In the end, what was the solution Nike came up with?
Taking me with him on everything from the pilgrimage to the subjugation!
"Are you glad the misunderstanding was cleared up?"
"Yes."
As always, this month's work started precisely on time, and as soon as I received my medical checkup, I set off on the pilgrimage with Nike.
The subjugation schedule was delayed while waiting for my period to start.
Thus, an inefficient route was created where subjugation had to be carried out in the middle of the pilgrimage.
“Hehe, I’m looking forward to it. Can I try catching a monster too?”
“Are you crazy? No way.”
“Hmph, if that’s the case, I’ll just wait at the first pilgrimage site. Come pick me up after the subjugation is over.”
“Are you crazy? No way.”
Is he a parrot? Nike, who said neither this nor that would work, was very resolute.
"It's safest next to me."
Having become extremely sensitive after being incapacitated by my father, he tried to keep me by his side at all costs.
"Even if it's a cursed land where monsters appear?"
“Yeah. Even if they come out, they pose no threat. All I have to do is slit the throats of those guys just standing there blankly.”
Nike said that and moved busily.
He took out a warm water bottle, a blanket, and snacks from his suitcase and armed me.
It seemed like he was conscious of my condition, as I was on my period.
“We could be incapacitated again, and since it’s our first time at this pilgrimage site, we don’t know what might be there. I can’t trust them even if they assign an escort. I feel uneasy being separated from you.”
Nike, who had made me fat by wrapping me in several layers of blankets, said proudly.
“So let’s stay together so I can protect you. After all, thanks to Ratan, there is no place safer than the extermination zone.”
Belzer's army is on its way to the expedition site, nearing arrival.
Once again, Ratan was being dragged away by several horses while trapped inside a cage.
He sees a yellow head leading the army in the distance.
His name is Ryan Belzer.
My master... no, no!
It's crazy?!
He is the blood relative of that arrogant pink-haired girl.
Today is Ryan's memorial day.
At the same time, it is also the day to put an end to the miserable life of slavery that has been exploited by inferior humans.
Ratan recalled half a year ago.
This happened when they came to subdue the western part of this place, just like today.
It was a boring subjugation as usual.
The demon beasts crawled up to the surface whenever the cycle of the earth's energy weakening returned, and when the waiting Ratan roared, they immediately submitted and froze.
The human soldiers had become accustomed to such extermination, so they yawned as they cut down the monsters that stood there blankly waiting for death.
Ratan also joined the extermination merely out of inertia. He trampled on his own kind, crushed them to death, and quickly took their lives.
He found it in the meantime.
The small demonic hand was trembling while lying flat on the ground.
What, what is this!
He could recognize it instinctively because it was of the same kind.
It's an intelligent being, isn't it?!
To think that my fellow race has intelligence!
I’ve wandered the surface world for hundreds of years, but have never met anyone!
A good idea immediately came to Ratan's mind.
In order to be extremely cautious, Ratan first checked the consciousness of Merchen inside his body.
[Ahem, hey. Are you awake? If you can hear me, could you move your arm a little?]
Aha, no reaction!
There were times when Merchen would regain consciousness while in his demonic state, but fortunately, that wasn't the case now.
Ratan swallowed hard, pretended to eliminate his intelligent fellow, held him in his grasp, and quietly surveyed his surroundings.
And little by little, little by little.
He distanced himself.
After all, as long as his two protruding horns were within sight, humans didn't keep an eye on him.
[Hey! You have a brain, don't you? Can you hear the sound I'm sending?]
He tried sending a telepathic message to a demon beast, something he had never attempted before because there was no other intelligent being of the same kind.
The fellow clan member flinched in surprise and answered.
- Yes...
[Fine, hahahaha! I am glad! A low-ranking demon beast like you cannot use telepathy, so answer my questions quietly from now on. Understand?]
- Yeah.
[I am not actually on the side of humans. I am not killing you because I want to. I am merely pretending to obey for some reason.]
- Is, is that so?
[Therefore, I intend to attempt an escape. Will you die here, or will you help me?]
- ?! Of course I'll help!
[Good! Here, take this.]
Ratan lightly broke one of his left claws and handed it to his fellow monster.
[If you have this...]
Ratan returned in this way, having sown the seeds of a great plan to be implemented when he returned to subjugate this place again half a year later.
The plan was as follows.
Monsters that will appear much sooner and in greater numbers than scheduled.
The human soldiers will be flustered, but as always, they will only trust Ratan.
But guess what?
Suddenly, the monsters go berserk, ignoring Ratan's orders...!
The human soldiers, having become complacent due to the easy suppression so far, will be helplessly annihilated.
If things go well up to this point, you've successfully escaped!
Ratan took into account the possibility that the monsters might be defeated, and he also prepared a contingency plan so that he could easily pull himself out.
[I’m going to tell you to stop pretending to be on the humans’ side, but absolutely do not listen! Understood?]
He planned to frame it as if he were not at fault and the monsters had gone mad, running wild among themselves.
A grand escape plan I've been waiting half a year for!
It was definitely a day he had been looking forward to so much...
'Hmm.'
For some reason, this intelligent creature felt a void in a corner of its heart.
Why is that?
“...I didn’t want to hurt you anymore.”
It is because if the operation succeeds, he will no longer be able to see his master.
No, I'm not!
That's crazy!
Did you get brainwashed or something?
“I have to hurt you. I have to make you obey... but I can’t. I just can’t do it...”
The fortunate thing is that Master will not be at the scene of the upcoming massacre.
No, I'm not!
That's crazy!
It's actually better to have it!
Although they had been obeying humans because they didn't know when or where Vania might pop out, Ratan had a hunch deep down.
Vania has rarely been to the subjugation zone.
So, it will probably be the same this time.
So, if he succeeds in escaping today, he probably won't even be able to say goodbye to his master.
He felt a little disappointed.
I said no~~!!!
That's crazy!
Ratan tore at his inexplicably confused head and roared inwardly.
Ryan was surprised.
As soon as he arrived at the subjugation site, a rabbit popped out of the barracks.
"No... Vania."
"It’s been a long time, brother. You managed to make it all the way here."
Is it a hallucination? Ryan rubbed his eyes in doubt.
“But that’s as far as it goes. Because I, Vania of the Magic Gun, am the opponent.”
Vania smirked and took Revan's gun from the holster on her thigh.
She spun it stylishly once and aimed precisely at Ryan's head.
Ryan's heart sank for a moment.
Vania, who shouldn't be here.
Sudden attack stance.
What is this? This is...
Stop messing around.
Just then, Nike came out of the barracks, pressed down on Vania's head to scold her, and gestured to Ryan with her chin.
I was really scared.
“Ahahaha!”
Vania put the gun back in her pocket, smiled brightly, and hugged Ryan.
"Long time no see!"
“Haa, ha. You bastard! Do you want to die?!”
"Surprised?"
“No! Your Highness, what is this? Why is it here?”
Ryan asked Nike.
“It’s a long story. Let’s take our time. First, let me unpack...”
At that time.
Thump, thump, thump.
The sound of heavy footsteps.
Ratan, having come out of the pen to stand in the line, was walking towards them.
Then it stopped.
After finding Vania in Ryan's arms.
Their eyes met, and a moment of silence.
Soon, Ratan's resounding scream echoed across the silent battlefield.
- Why, why, why are you here!!!!!
I was dressed in a comfortable shirt with a holster on my pants, and I firmly slipped into the gun that Revan, with whom I was in contact, had sent me, saying he was worried.
As a great warrior, I have completed all preparations to carry out the subjugation...!
"I'm not going to fight. Don't get too excited."
Nike, reading my excited expression, immediately poured cold water on me.
“Haha, that’s not why I’m excited. Do you realize how significant this raid location is to us?”
"I know.'
Nike chuckled.
Glat, the cursed land of the western continent.
And my sixteen, the summer of June.
Yes, it is the very battlefield where I had my fateful first meeting with Nike before the regression!
'Why am I suddenly going there?'
There are complex circumstances here.
Originally, I was supposed to go on a pilgrimage to Nike and the family shrine. It is a secondary custom of a royal marriage to visit the estate where the ancestral tablets of the royal family are enshrined and pay respects.
And, as Nike happened to be about to embark on a subjugation mission. Since the pilgrimage sites were along the way, we decided to set off together without wasting any time.
Once the pilgrimage is over, I return to the palace, and Nike goes to subjugate.
However?
The Imperial Medical Bureau strongly demanded a schedule adjustment.
The Crown Princess said, "Postpone the pilgrimage!"
Why?
"Will you be okay?"
As he put me in the carriage, Nike asked worriedly
The meaning of the question "Is this okay?" is that it would be uncomfortable to embark on a journey while menstruating.
"Yes, it's fine."
Haaah.
That's right. The reason I stayed at the Imperial Palace in the first place was to confirm whether I was pregnant!
However, if I leave on a pilgrimage, I won't be able to get a checkup at the Department of Medicine on the first day of my period!
The Crown Princess came running in surprise.
“Th-this is something we already promised! Why now of all times for a pilgrimage to the cenotaphs...? Let’s go later, later!”
In fact, it wasn't just because of the Crown Princess's concerns; the damn pregnancy rumors were currently abuzz throughout the palace.
It spread as a reasonable suspicion regarding the reason for rushing the royal marriage.
Therefore, confirmation by the medical department was absolutely necessary, if only to quell the harmful rumors.
However, the Crown Prince did not yield.
“Visiting the ancestral shrine is a custom that members of the Imperial family must strictly observe. You should have done it long ago, before the royal wedding, anyway. Even the Bureau of Ceremonial Affairs is having a lot of trouble about it right now!”
As if by sheer coincidence, Nike had to leave for the northern campaign in July immediately after finishing this schedule.
Since postponing the pilgrimage schedule once would delay it indefinitely, the Imperial Court's Ordinance Department also filed a complaint.
In the end, what was the solution Nike came up with?
Taking me with him on everything from the pilgrimage to the subjugation!
"Are you glad the misunderstanding was cleared up?"
"Yes."
As always, this month's work started precisely on time, and as soon as I received my medical checkup, I set off on the pilgrimage with Nike.
The subjugation schedule was delayed while waiting for my period to start.
Thus, an inefficient route was created where subjugation had to be carried out in the middle of the pilgrimage.
“Hehe, I’m looking forward to it. Can I try catching a monster too?”
“Are you crazy? No way.”
“Hmph, if that’s the case, I’ll just wait at the first pilgrimage site. Come pick me up after the subjugation is over.”
“Are you crazy? No way.”
Is he a parrot? Nike, who said neither this nor that would work, was very resolute.
"It's safest next to me."
Having become extremely sensitive after being incapacitated by my father, he tried to keep me by his side at all costs.
"Even if it's a cursed land where monsters appear?"
“Yeah. Even if they come out, they pose no threat. All I have to do is slit the throats of those guys just standing there blankly.”
Nike said that and moved busily.
He took out a warm water bottle, a blanket, and snacks from his suitcase and armed me.
It seemed like he was conscious of my condition, as I was on my period.
“We could be incapacitated again, and since it’s our first time at this pilgrimage site, we don’t know what might be there. I can’t trust them even if they assign an escort. I feel uneasy being separated from you.”
Nike, who had made me fat by wrapping me in several layers of blankets, said proudly.
“So let’s stay together so I can protect you. After all, thanks to Ratan, there is no place safer than the extermination zone.”
***
Belzer's army is on its way to the expedition site, nearing arrival.
Once again, Ratan was being dragged away by several horses while trapped inside a cage.
He sees a yellow head leading the army in the distance.
His name is Ryan Belzer.
My master... no, no!
It's crazy?!
He is the blood relative of that arrogant pink-haired girl.
Today is Ryan's memorial day.
At the same time, it is also the day to put an end to the miserable life of slavery that has been exploited by inferior humans.
Ratan recalled half a year ago.
This happened when they came to subdue the western part of this place, just like today.
***
It was a boring subjugation as usual.
The demon beasts crawled up to the surface whenever the cycle of the earth's energy weakening returned, and when the waiting Ratan roared, they immediately submitted and froze.
The human soldiers had become accustomed to such extermination, so they yawned as they cut down the monsters that stood there blankly waiting for death.
Ratan also joined the extermination merely out of inertia. He trampled on his own kind, crushed them to death, and quickly took their lives.
He found it in the meantime.
The small demonic hand was trembling while lying flat on the ground.
What, what is this!
He could recognize it instinctively because it was of the same kind.
It's an intelligent being, isn't it?!
To think that my fellow race has intelligence!
I’ve wandered the surface world for hundreds of years, but have never met anyone!
A good idea immediately came to Ratan's mind.
In order to be extremely cautious, Ratan first checked the consciousness of Merchen inside his body.
[Ahem, hey. Are you awake? If you can hear me, could you move your arm a little?]
Aha, no reaction!
There were times when Merchen would regain consciousness while in his demonic state, but fortunately, that wasn't the case now.
Ratan swallowed hard, pretended to eliminate his intelligent fellow, held him in his grasp, and quietly surveyed his surroundings.
And little by little, little by little.
He distanced himself.
After all, as long as his two protruding horns were within sight, humans didn't keep an eye on him.
[Hey! You have a brain, don't you? Can you hear the sound I'm sending?]
He tried sending a telepathic message to a demon beast, something he had never attempted before because there was no other intelligent being of the same kind.
The fellow clan member flinched in surprise and answered.
- Yes...
[Fine, hahahaha! I am glad! A low-ranking demon beast like you cannot use telepathy, so answer my questions quietly from now on. Understand?]
- Yeah.
[I am not actually on the side of humans. I am not killing you because I want to. I am merely pretending to obey for some reason.]
- Is, is that so?
[Therefore, I intend to attempt an escape. Will you die here, or will you help me?]
- ?! Of course I'll help!
[Good! Here, take this.]
Ratan lightly broke one of his left claws and handed it to his fellow monster.
[If you have this...]
Ratan returned in this way, having sown the seeds of a great plan to be implemented when he returned to subjugate this place again half a year later.
***
The plan was as follows.
Monsters that will appear much sooner and in greater numbers than scheduled.
The human soldiers will be flustered, but as always, they will only trust Ratan.
But guess what?
Suddenly, the monsters go berserk, ignoring Ratan's orders...!
The human soldiers, having become complacent due to the easy suppression so far, will be helplessly annihilated.
If things go well up to this point, you've successfully escaped!
Ratan took into account the possibility that the monsters might be defeated, and he also prepared a contingency plan so that he could easily pull himself out.
[I’m going to tell you to stop pretending to be on the humans’ side, but absolutely do not listen! Understood?]
He planned to frame it as if he were not at fault and the monsters had gone mad, running wild among themselves.
A grand escape plan I've been waiting half a year for!
It was definitely a day he had been looking forward to so much...
'Hmm.'
For some reason, this intelligent creature felt a void in a corner of its heart.
Why is that?
“...I didn’t want to hurt you anymore.”
It is because if the operation succeeds, he will no longer be able to see his master.
No, I'm not!
That's crazy!
Did you get brainwashed or something?
“I have to hurt you. I have to make you obey... but I can’t. I just can’t do it...”
The fortunate thing is that Master will not be at the scene of the upcoming massacre.
No, I'm not!
That's crazy!
It's actually better to have it!
Although they had been obeying humans because they didn't know when or where Vania might pop out, Ratan had a hunch deep down.
Vania has rarely been to the subjugation zone.
So, it will probably be the same this time.
So, if he succeeds in escaping today, he probably won't even be able to say goodbye to his master.
He felt a little disappointed.
I said no~~!!!
That's crazy!
Ratan tore at his inexplicably confused head and roared inwardly.
***
Ryan was surprised.
As soon as he arrived at the subjugation site, a rabbit popped out of the barracks.
"No... Vania."
"It’s been a long time, brother. You managed to make it all the way here."
Is it a hallucination? Ryan rubbed his eyes in doubt.
“But that’s as far as it goes. Because I, Vania of the Magic Gun, am the opponent.”
Vania smirked and took Revan's gun from the holster on her thigh.
She spun it stylishly once and aimed precisely at Ryan's head.
Ryan's heart sank for a moment.
Vania, who shouldn't be here.
Sudden attack stance.
What is this? This is...
Stop messing around.
Just then, Nike came out of the barracks, pressed down on Vania's head to scold her, and gestured to Ryan with her chin.
I was really scared.
“Ahahaha!”
Vania put the gun back in her pocket, smiled brightly, and hugged Ryan.
"Long time no see!"
“Haa, ha. You bastard! Do you want to die?!”
"Surprised?"
“No! Your Highness, what is this? Why is it here?”
Ryan asked Nike.
“It’s a long story. Let’s take our time. First, let me unpack...”
At that time.
Thump, thump, thump.
The sound of heavy footsteps.
Ratan, having come out of the pen to stand in the line, was walking towards them.
Then it stopped.
After finding Vania in Ryan's arms.
Their eyes met, and a moment of silence.
Soon, Ratan's resounding scream echoed across the silent battlefield.
- Why, why, why are you here!!!!!
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