Capturing and interrogating the soldiers marching through the Forest of Deep Magic revealed several facts.
One was that Ruby—a summoner with quite a reputation in the underworld—was taking part in this war. From what I gathered, he didn't seem like the type to move for mere pocket change or petty authority. In that case, his target was likely Felice. He was probably after the spirit in her possession.
Granted, the spirit Felice held was hardly known to the general public. But if the intel from the information broker Mujina was accurate, Felice was contracted to one of the Spirit Kings. Come to think of it, that appeared to be the very reason she left the Holy Amelia Kingdom in the first place, so there was almost certainly no mistake.
If I knew about it, there was nothing strange about a summoner like Ruby knowing as well.
Judging him to be of use, I set a trap, exploiting the fool to gauge the true nature of Felice and the Wind Cats.
Specifically, I turned the entire area around the Wind Cats' cave into Girimehkala's curse boundary and simply lured Ruby's group inside.
Thus, the comical clown played his part in a performance tailored entirely to my tastes.
Ruby had done such a fine job that I considered using him as a test subject for several new torture techniques, but Ifrit, the self-proclaimed maggot, casually incinerated him. Well, I couldn't care less.
And so, following Girimehkala's utterly embarrassing theatrics, I walked down the improvised path of swords right up to them.
Incidentally, Anna, Faf, and Mew were holding down the fort within Girimehkala's curse boundary. Naturally, there was no way Faf and Mew would sit still, so I had them exploring the forest inside the boundary alongside Anna. No one could enter this curse boundary without Girimehkala's consent anyway. As long as they stayed here, they were safe.
"It won't do if the leading lady stays asleep."
I glanced over at Girimehkala.
"Ha!"
Girimehkala nodded deeply and clapped his hands together.
"Mnyuh... Huh?"
Her eyes snapped open, looking around in bewilderment. She appeared to be a girl of about fourteen or fifteen, with a bundle of blonde hair tied off to the side. This was Felice Loto Amelia. To think she was supposed to be a thirty-year-old princess—there was a limit to looking youthful. Apparently, this too was courtesy of an absurd Gift called Itako.
"I am Kai Heinemann. Rosemary Loto Amelia's provisional Royal Guard. I've come to make a deal with you."
Once they learned my identity, an air of relief washed over the group.
"A-Are you truly... Kai Heinemann?"
A tall, slender, white-haired elderly gentleman with a well-groomed beard asked hesitantly.
This was Lucas Gisedore. The former commander of the Holy King Mage Knights, and father to the strongest hunter, Isaac Gizdoor.
"Yes, I'm Kai Heinemann. Forgive me, but I took the liberty of testing you all just now. The only one who passed was you, Lucas Gisedore. The rest were utter failures."
"You claim we failed?!"
As Felice shot to her feet in a fury, Girimehkala's subordinates glared at her with murderous intensity, drawing a faint shriek from the child-shaped evil spirit.
"That's right. The path you chose was the absolute worst. You intended to sacrifice your own life—your mana—to make that evil spirit fight for you, didn't you?"
Given the sheer malice radiating from the evil spirit, she must have been fully aware it would cost her life.
"E-Evil spirit? This is the Earth Spirit King, Titan!"
"This thing is a Spirit King, huh?"
Under my gaze, the evil spirit Titan twitched convulsively, trembling from head to toe. There was not a shred of defiance left in him.
Honestly, a supposed Earth Spirit King groveling on the ground, shivering before a human like me? Even the self-proclaimed Spirit King Ifrit (currently a self-proclaimed maggot), weak as he was, had more backbone when he stood against me. It had to be a dreadful nuisance for the true Spirit Kings of the world to have their name bandied about by such a vile, cowardly piece of trash.
"J-Just what in the world are you...? I can make no sense of this anymore."
Looking between the terrified Titan and me, she asked in utter confusion.
"Let's get back on topic. We have no use for sore losers who abandon their duties and responsibilities while under Rose's banner. So, I've decided to give you an assignment. First, to the members of the Wind Cats. There are about nine hundred of Count Ketzer's territorial troops in the surrounding area. Drive them back with your own hands! Naturally, without relying on Felice or Lord Lucas."
"T-That's impossible!"
A black-haired girl cried out, and a chorus of denial rose from the other residents.
What was the point of shooting themselves down with such enthusiasm? Their defeatist mindset was truly ingrained to the bone.
"Kai Heinemann! These people have virtually no combat experience! Expecting them to fight an army of nine hundred is impossible!"
Felice pointed a finger at me, and I let out a long sigh.
"If you refuse, we will wash our hands of you. Since that evil spirit over there won't lift a finger, you'll simply be trampled by the territorial soldiers."
"There is no way Rose would ever permit such a thing—"
"Huh? Don't misunderstand. I am Rose's provisional Royal Guard. To begin with, I'm not her subordinate. I don't need her permission for anything."
Felice scowled in frustration, glaring at me. I let out another heavy breath.
"Listen well. I am the one who decides what is possible and what isn't. You have only two choices: join hands with me, fight, and win your rights, or suffer defeat and die a miserable death right here. I won't force you. Make your choice."
I confronted them with the two paths of their fate.
"B-But fighting on our own without Lady Felice and Lord Lucas is..."
"I'll say it again. Whether it's possible or impossible isn't the point. The only question is whether you will do it or not."
Among the residents hanging their heads in despair, the black-haired girl sprang to her feet, glaring at me with raw hatred.
"If you have monsters like this taking orders from you, you must be insanely strong, right?!"
"I won't deny it."
It was merely my own assessment, but I believed my strength ranked near the very top of this world.
"Then you could easily drive away the enemies outside!"
"I won't deny that either."
Even an incompetent man like me wouldn't lose to the second-rate bandits swarming outside this curse boundary. After all, I'd put in the training.
"Then why won't you help us?! This is—this is just cruel!"
"You seem to have the wrong idea. I have neither the duty nor the obligation to save you. I am no hopelessly soft-hearted champion or Hero out of a fairy tale. I have no reason to take out the trash outside."
I stated it flatly. With tears welling in her eyes, trembling all over, the black-haired girl glared at me, then looked away, crossed her arms, and sat down.
The residents exchanged glances, but as if resigning themselves to their fate, they offered no further arguments.
"Do not proceed as you please! I will never allow the residents to fight alone—"
Stepping up to the squawking Felice, I grabbed her by the collar, lifted her up, and locked eyes with her.
"Listen to me. I despise nothing more than cowards who disguise their surrender with pretty excuses like self-sacrifice. Even if defeat seems certain, you never throw the match. Not until the very moment you draw your last breath."
This was the conviction I had forged in the dungeon. The world was overflowing with hardships and tragedies. Only those who refused to surrender and met every challenge head-on could ever achieve their desires. Naturally, things would fail to go their way most of the time. But the moment you threw in the towel, your defeat was sealed. That was an unforgivable indolence, a cardinal sin.
Looking at the current Felice irritated me. It was like looking at my past self before the dungeon swallowed me—someone who gave up on everything at the drop of a hat, hiding behind his own powerlessness.
I dropped Felice to the ground. She landed on her rear, coughing, and tried to voice a retort, but...
"Princess, I believe Lord Kai is correct."
"Lucas, not you too—"
"Let us trust Lord Kai. We can discuss the rest after that."
Lucas cut Felice off and urged me to continue. It was a relief to have someone reasonable around.
"Felice, you are to set out immediately to rescue Akinashi."
"I am to go to the rescue?"
She furrowed her shapely brows in confusion. Well, under normal circumstances, anyone would assume the roles were reversed.
"Yeah. Akinashi is currently under attack by more than a thousand bandits. In terms of both skill and discipline, they're on a completely different level from the ones surrounding this place. The situation there is far more troublesome than here. Fighting the territorial soldiers on this side would be much easier by comparison."
"H-How... Why must everything happen all at once...?"
Leaving Felice hanging her head and biting her thumb in distress, I looked down at the evil spirit Titan behind her.
"Hey, evil spirit."
"Y-Yeth, thir!"
"Normally, I would execute an evil spirit who brings nothing but calamity on the spot. But just this once, I'll grant you a chance."
The creature wasn't entirely useless. Taming him just like Ifrit might prove entertaining.
"From this moment on, swear eternal and absolute loyalty to Felice. And together with her, see to it that you survive this trial!"
Once this was over, I would have Girimehkala thoroughly beat the rot out of his spirit, just as he did with Ifrit.
"..."
As Titan froze in silence—
"Hey, evil spirit! Those are the words of the Supreme One! Where is your answer?!"
One of the high-ranking members of the Girimehkala Faction bellowed in fury.
"Y-Yeeees!!"
Titan scrambled to his feet, shrieking in panic.
As for the skeleton, it seemed to possess at least a shred of intelligence. It was too much of a hassle to deal with, so I'd leave it to Girimehkala's discretion. He could boil it or burn it for all I cared.
Sweeping my gaze across Felice, Lucas, and the residents of the Wind Cats, I spoke.
"Now then, everyone, the grand, delightful show is about to begin. Don't worry. At worst, you'll only die. So enjoy the festivities from the bottom of your hearts."
I offered them words of encouragement that provided no comfort whatsoever.