I extended countless vines, encircling the Corporal.
I hoisted three great axes with my vines to exert pressure, locking onto my target with the Man-eater Flowers.
"Drop... your weapons... and... surrender."
It was a final ultimatum.
I didn't want to hurt humans.
If at all possible, I didn't want to fight people anymore.
I just hoped he would comply quietly.
The Corporal dropped his bow as if conceding defeat.
He slowly raised both hands above his head.
Was he surrendering?
Thank goodness.
The problem was solved.
Now then, what should I do next?
I couldn't exactly let him go back to the army.
Even if I begged him to forget my existence before sending him back, I couldn't imagine him actually keeping his word.
He would no doubt dutifully report to his superiors and return to this forest at the head of a Subjugation Squad.
In that case, should I just turn them into my nutrition?
Truthfully, that was the easiest and most certain method, but I didn't have the courage for that yet.
Since I had gone through the trouble of capturing three of them unscathed, I had to restrain them and keep them alive.
I wondered how one was supposed to keep three human men.
I wouldn't know, having never done such a thing before.
It would be a shock even if I did have experience, though.
Soldiers as pets, then?
They’d make for talking dolls I wouldn’t tire of, so that was a plus.
You see, I was terribly bored.
So, would you please become my conversation partners to help cure my social anxiety?
To think the day would come when I, a Saint once lauded by the entire nation, would be supporting three grown men...
The sense of immorality was overwhelming.
That I, a Saint, would end up keeping three men by my side.
I wondered if it was just my imagination that my heart was pounding involuntarily, as if I were doing something I shouldn't.
But please, don't misunderstand.
If you only look at the words, it might seem like I'm doing something very wicked, but it's not like I have any illicit plans. This is strictly for the sake of monitoring them.
Or rather, I had no other purpose.
I was just going to keep them alive while they were restrained.
Please, don't misunderstand that part.
I wondered how I should keep them here. I didn't think they would become attached to me now, not after we had been so hostile.
They would surely try to escape or fight back.
What should I do to prevent that?
Right—how about I give them some Nectar as a sign of reconciliation?
The nectar-crazed boy had been delighted by it, so surely these soldiers would be too.
If they grew fond of the Nectar, I could make them promise not to attack me in exchange. After all, if they killed me, they wouldn't be able to drink the Nectar anymore, so they wouldn't be able to lay a finger on me.
Once they couldn't get enough of the Nectar, they’d probably forget all about escaping. Even the nectar-crazed boy said he didn't want to go home.
If I gave them Nectar and made them my friends, I wouldn't need to take care of them like pets.
It would be best if they stayed of their own accord.
Yes, I’ll give them Nectar.
If I do that, everything will be resolved peacefully.
Everyone can be happy.
First, Corporal, it's your turn.
Oh, please don't make a face like you've lost all hope.
It's okay, I'm going to give you some delicious Nectar.
So cheer up!
I bit into a vine, smearing a generous amount of Nectar over it.
If I let them lick my Nectar, we would surely get along.
Now, would you please become my friends?
If you do, I won't have to feel lonely ever again.
I brought the vine before the Corporal.
Suddenly, a mysterious, loud splashing sound echoed from afar.
Deep in the forest, water was geysering into the sky like a fountain.
It looked like a slender geyser, but the water level was far too high for that.
It was so tall it could be seen from anywhere in the forest—dozens of stories high.
It was far too unnatural for a natural phenomenon.
The Corporal muttered softly, "Has it been found?"
The moment I turned my gaze back to him, a knife flew from the depths of the thicket.
It likely came from one of the soldiers who had escaped earlier.
The knife didn't reach me, thudding into the ground just ahead.
Close, but you might want to train your shoulders a bit more before throwing next time.
However, that seemed to be enough for the soldiers.
In the brief moment I was distracted by the knife, the Corporal had moved.
He reached behind his back, grabbing every arrow he had left.
With a swift motion, he lined them up horizontally and thrust them into the ground.
Then, as the Corporal chanted something, a Flame Wall flared up in front of him.
He had used Fire Magic with the arrows as a medium.
It was just like fireworks.
He used the row of arrows to create a wall of fire.
A diversion.
This is bad!
I couldn't see the Corporal anymore.
I immediately dispersed Paralysis Powder into the surrounding area.
By the time the fire died down, the Corporal was already disappearing into the dense thicket.
He had both subordinates slung over his shoulders.
The Paralysis Powder hadn't made it in time.
Damn it.
He’d escaped, and he’d taken the incapacitated subordinates with him.
My vines could no longer reach that far.
If it was going to end like this, I should have just forced them to inhale the Paralysis Powder without a word instead of trying to play friend. I’d lost my cool because I was lonely—what a blunder.
However, since he no longer had his bow or arrows, he shouldn't be able to launch any more attacks.
He had three incapacitated men to deal with, so what would he do?
As I watched, the Corporal and his remaining men quietly withdrew from the area.
It seemed they wouldn't attack again.
What should I do?
They got away.
At this rate, a Subjugation Squad might be formed later.
Since I had defeated three soldiers, they probably saw me as a completely evil monster.
Even though I say I "defeated" them, I only put them to sleep and paralyzed them.
They shouldn't even be injured.
I didn't use poisonous pollen or poisonous Briars.
Even though I fought with such care not to kill them, this was the result?
If I had fought seriously from the start, I might have prevented their escape.
But I didn't want to harm people.
What should I have done?
I don't want to be killed just because I let those soldiers go.
When I thought about it that way, maybe I really shouldn't have held back.
Perhaps I need to become a bit more cold-hearted.
I wonder if I, a Former Saint, am even capable of that...
By the way, why did those soldiers come to this forest anyway?
They seemed to have come from the village.
They appeared to be looking for someone, but who would be out in a forest like this?
Come to think of it, the Minotaur from the Demon King's Army also mentioned he had work further ahead. He was carrying a poorly drawn picture of an old woman, Paralysis Potion, and Sleeping Potion.
There was a high possibility the Minotaurs had come this far to catch someone too.
The Demon King's Army and the Kingdom's Army were both looking for someone.
Was the target the same person, or were they different?
I couldn't know anything more through speculation alone.
While I was wondering about the objectives of both armies, I suddenly felt a strange sensation.
It felt as if my whole body was growing hot.
As if I had sensed the presence of something terrifying, my body suddenly tensed up.
What was it? I felt like something had abruptly changed.
Hmm, it really was getting hot, wasn't it?
I’d noticed it during the battle, but it seemed the Corporal's Fire Magic wasn't the only cause.
The temperature was rising rapidly.
The sun looked more dazzling than usual.
And look, the sun felt awfully close for some reason.
Usually, there’s only one sun, yet today of all days, there were two.
What’s more, one of them was drifting closer.
This world was only supposed to have one sun.
I guess such things happen.
How mysterious.
────Wait, two suns?
And what do you mean, it's moving?
When I looked closely, there was no doubt that one was the sun I knew well.
However, the other one was different.
A massive orb of light was approaching from the distance.
Just as it got close enough for its outline to become clear, the mass fired an intense beam of light.
It’s blinding!
The world turned pure white, and I could see nothing.
When I finally opened my eyes, the light had vanished.
Where on earth did it go?
Besides, I felt like I’d seen that ball of light somewhere before.
It felt a lot like "that thing" from last summer.
The UFO that appeared right before the drought began.
I’m talking about that mysterious object that appeared during the summer I started my job as the Rain-making Shrine Maiden.
I felt like that Unidentified Flying Object had been glowing intensely too, just like the thing I just saw.
As if it were burning.
The climate had also changed in an instant.
It was just like summer.
In fact, it was an intense, extreme heat, as if a drought were imminent.
The exact same thing from back then was happening all over again.
The Summer-calling Unidentified Flying Object.
To think that my joke about it before performing the rain-making ceremony was actually the truth...
And then, I would come to regret it.
A UFO is only fine as long as it remains "unidentified."
Because once you learn the truth of its nature, you’ll want to look away, wishing you had never known.
Thank you for reading.
Next time: The Migrant Corporal's Remittance Package.