End of the War

Upon our return to the Beast Kingdom, the Beast King and his inner circle were there to meet us.

"Judging by your expression, the Mastermind is..."

"Ah, they’ve been dealt with. Ram blew them away."

"It tasted awful-baa!"

She definitely ate him. I waited for a retort, but it never came. One could say the Beast King simply didn't have the mental energy to spare for such antics.

"So, what was the identity of this Mastermind?"

"An Imperial... I think?"

I considered it carefully. The term Single Digits—the Ninth—was usually enough to identify one of the Empire's greatest powerhouses. If they could use Disguise magic, it was even more likely.

"What do you mean? You couldn't identify your opponent?"

"No, he claimed to be the Fifth Rank of the Ninth. But for a Fifth Rank, he felt far too weak."

"Perhaps he was their strategist, then."

That made sense. If his role was centered on schemes, it wouldn't be strange for his direct combat power to be inferior to the other Single Digits. However, because I had already encountered the self-proclaimed Sixth Rank and Ninth Rank, that was the first suspicion to cross my mind.

"For now, I'll lodge a formal protest with the Empire," the Beast King sighed. "Though without evidence, I doubt they’ll take it seriously."

"If you'd like, I can deliver the message myself."

Luna had already invited me to the Empire. The Beast Kingdom had lost a significant number of troops in the civil war and would likely struggle to spare an envoy. It made sense for me to handle it while I was there.

Besides, I could make the Beast King owe me.

I had already accrued a massive amount of favor by helping resolve this insurrection. With one more push, I might finally get him to agree to my request: letting me flee with my entire territory if my execution was ever ordered.

"That would be a great help," the Beast King said, his eyes gleaming. "After all, there’s nothing strange about Elu acting as envoy while her fiancé, my future son-in-law, supports her."

"Hey, we agreed the engagement was a conversation for after I gained independence, remember?"

"This incident has made me realize where I stand. I will cooperate fully with your independence, 'son-in-law.' And if that proves impossible, I shall simply welcome you into the family as my adopted heir."

The Beast King laughed. It sounded like the latter option was his true preference.

"Don't try to make me the Beast King on your own whim."

"Ah, you caught me?"

"You weren't exactly being subtle."

The Beast King looked surprised for a moment, then let out a booming laugh.

"Gahahaha! Now I want to make you King even more. Elu, don't you dare let him go!"

"Don't worry, Father. I'm holding onto him tight."

As she spoke, Elu grabbed my arm with a firm grip. She was surprisingly strong; once she had a hold of me, I couldn't pull away with raw strength alone.

Was this the side effect of relying too much on magic? I made a mental note to check my status later.

"Over here, Fee is hugging you too-no."

Perhaps imitating Elu, Fee latched onto my other side.

"I see," the Beast King mused. "A flower in each hand."

"This is only happening because you instigated them."

"It's the greatest honor a man could have, isn't it?"

To me, the scene looked more like a man being babysat by two children, but I knew better than to say that out loud. If I did, they’d both get angry. I decided to deflect the conversation toward a different target.

"Come to think of it, shouldn't Fritz find a partner soon as well?"

"M-me!?" Fritz stammered. "No, I... I can barely feed myself—"

"What about Emilina? A Dragon Slayer and a Saint seem like a perfect match, don't they?"

"E-Emilina has her own life to consider, right!?"

Fritz answered in a total panic. Seeing his reaction, I realized he might actually have feelings for her. As for Emilina... she was smiling as usual, making it impossible to tell what she was thinking.

Still, if this worked out, the Saint's surveillance on me would weaken, granting me more freedom of movement. Entrusting her to Fritz, the most reliable man in my territory, was the best possible move.

"If you need help, just say the word," I told him. "I'll provide long vacations, a house—whatever you need."

"You're getting way ahead of yourself!"

I'll have to make sure Fritz and Emilina are assigned to the same missions as much as possible from now on, I thought, already plotting the next phase of my operation.

After the meeting with the Beast King concluded, it was decided that we would depart in a few days. I took the opportunity to rest in my room and use Appraisal on myself.

Name: Yuri Lousouth Gender: Male / Age: 11 / Race: Human Occupation: Third Son of a Duke, Lord of Alf Town, Chief of All Races Level: 53 HP: 142/142 (A) MP: —/— (S) Attack: 14 (A) Defense: 9 (C) Agility: 18 (C) Magic Power: 471 (S)

【Skills】 Swordsmanship: 1 (B), Disguise: 7 (A), Appraisal: 10 (EX), Chantless Casting: 10 (S), Limit Break: 1 (EX), Imagination Magic: 10 (EX)

【Magic】 Fire: 9 (B), Water: 10 (C), Earth: 16 (A), Wind: 11 (B), Dark: 14 (S)

Apparently, 10 was the maximum value for magic and skills. Thanks to the newly acquired Limit Break, they had started to grow again, though the rate of improvement had slowed to a crawl.

But the real issue was my base stats. My build was ridiculously biased. While my other physical abilities were roughly on par with an average adult, my Magic Power was likely at the very top of the world.

Well, there are still Sages and Demon Lords out there, so maybe not the absolute top, I mused. Still, the stat growth of Yuri—the man destined to be a Mastermind and the final boss—was nothing short of terrifying.

Not that it changed my plans. No matter how strong I got, my goals remained the same.

Just then, Fee entered the room.

"You're unusually sparkly-no."

"Ah... yeah. My Magic Power increased recently, so this Light has gotten stronger too."

It was past the point where I could hide it. Appraisal had become a dormant skill I didn't want to use in public, but it was still useful when I was alone. By sacrificing the fact that my eyes now glowed, the range of my Appraisal had expanded significantly.

My brain's information processing capacity had likely increased to compensate, but for me, it wasn't exactly a welcome development.

"Sparkle-sparkle. It's very interesting-no."

I wonder if I'll eventually start firing beams from my eyes?

As that thought crossed my mind, Fee's status screen appeared before me.

Name: Fee Gender: Female / Age: 12 / Race: Beastman Occupation: Yuri's Attendant, Yuri's Concubine Level: 42 HP: 210/210 (E) MP: 14/14 (E) Attack: 12 (E) Defense: 6 (E) Agility: 41 (C) Magic Power: 3 (E)

【Skills】 Dagger: 3 (C), Stealth: 6 (B), Cooking: -2 (EX), Enemy Search: 6 (C), Assassination: 1 (C), Danger Perception: 3 (D)

【Magic】 Earth: 1 (E), Wind: 1 (D)

Fee's Level had skyrocketed. I suppose it made sense; in a party system, Experience Points are shared among all allies. Given the number of high-level enemies I’d been taking down, this was only natural.

A happy miscalculation was the growth of her Stealth-related skills. I had been asking her to handle those kinds of tasks frequently, but it also showed how much she had been focusing on monitoring my surroundings for danger.

However, for some reason, her Cooking skill had become something truly bizarre.

"...Is something wrong?" she asked.

"No. It's nothing."

I have to make sure Fee never, ever cooks again.

I made that solemn vow in the silence of my heart.