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Vol 04 Chapter 121: Midnight

 

「What’s the plan, General Kuryuu?」

「A frontal assault. We divide them.」

Kuryuu answered Mari’s question. Mari shrugged her shoulders.

「You’re as predictable as ever. Well, I’ve heard that the Rosais army always tries to encircle the enemy. It might be better to stick with what we know rather than try an unfamiliar tactic. But the enemy will definitely have countermeasures. They won’t make the same mistakes again—they’re not that incompetent.」

Mari looked out over the war elephants. They had sixty of them now, including those sent as reinforcements from Gallia.

If they won this battle, King Domorgal’s Country would become a puppet state of the Rozel Kingdom, and the power of King Rosais’ Country would decline significantly. For the Rozel Kingdom to dominate the Adernian Peninsula, this battle was a decisive one.

「We know their tactics. It will be an encirclement, right? I will use the elephants to protect our sides from their cavalry. The issue is how to counter that weapon, the blast javelin. I have some ideas to counter it though.」

「That’s good to hear.」

(If the enemy wants a fight, I will happily give them one…)

Kuryuu smiled. Then he looked up at Mari.

「Maroon-dono, could you ask Aldo Domorgal to lend us Alice-dono?」

「That’s fine. He does anything I ask.」

Mari smirked wickedly. She was a femme fatale who toyed with the hearts of innocent young men. Her nickname as a witch was well deserved.

「Well then, let’s let the soldiers rest until the Rosais army arrives.」

◇

「Almus…」

「Hmm? Tetra, what is it?」

At night, Tetra visited my tent. Usually, Tetra stays with the other magicians.

Given the unique circumstances of the battlefield, it’s safer for women to stick together.

「…」

Tetra hugged me and wrapped her hands around my back. She looked up at me with moist eyes.

I pressed my lips against Tetra’s.

「What’s the rush?」

「You haven’t done it in a while, aren’t you pent up?」

Tetra’s white hand crept towards my lower body. My lower half twitched.

「You’re a naughty girl, aren’t you the pent-up one? If you want it… you know what to say, right?」

As I teased her, Tetra blushed and stammered out her words.

「…Yes, I’m a naughty girl. So I want Almus—」

「Hey, Tetra. What do you think about women who go behind others’ backs? Aren’t they the worst?」

Julia, who had entered the tent around when Tetra had said 「You haven’t done it in a while, aren’t you pent up?」said while glaring at her from behind.

Tetra turned around, saw Julia, and then looked back up at me with a flushed face.

「Please. I want Almus—」

「Listen when someone is talking to you!!」

Julia grabbed Tetra’s body and forcefully pulled her away from me.

Tetra pursed her lips in protest.

「I was at a good point.」

「Be quiet!! Before coming here, didn’t we agree to notify each other when we wanted to do this?!」

「There was an urgent matter.」

「Oh really? What kind of matter?」

Standing boldly, Tetra looked directly into Julia’s eyes and declared.

「I had a dream where Almus was having sex with another man. I thought it urgent to act…」

「How can you make such a poor excuse so boldly?」

Julia sighed as if in disbelief.

What kind of dream is that… I wonder, who was the other man she was dreaming me with? Ron, Roswald, Gram maybe? Or perhaps Bartolo or Mutzio… Could it have been Alexios?

At that point, I shook off the strange thought.

「Well, fine then.」

Julia said and strode toward me. She cupped my cheeks with both hands and pressed her lips to mine.

Julia’s tongue entered my mouth. Our tongues intricately intertwined, mixing saliva.

「Who’s the better kisser, Tetra or me?」

「Julia, I guess?」

「See? I’m going first then!」

Julia clung tightly to me. I ran my tongue along Julia’s neck.

Her fingers slowly traced down my chest, gradually descending lower.

「Hehe, you are getting so ha—ahh!!」

Julia moaned as Tetra grabbed her chest firmly. Julia’s ample bosom was squeezed, eliciting a tantalizing moan from her lips.

「Stop it!!」

「Then let go. Almus is mine.」

Tetra kneaded Julia’s breast and nibbled her ear in an attempt to pull her away.

Not to be outdone, Julia leaned into Tetra, grabbing and squeezing Tetra’s bowl-shaped chest. A gasp escaped Tetra’s lips.

「Let go, Tetra. I am Almus’ official wife. I have the right to be the first one!」

「No, ah, wait, I was the first woman Almus married. I am the first. Step aside, eternal loser.」

Neither of them would give in; it was a fierce battle.

What a splendid sight.

Let’s leave them for a while. Let’s see who wins…

The two continued wrestling on the rug. Both were drenched in sweat, their faces flushed.

The redness of their faces wasn’t just from the physical exertion.

Their clothes were disheveled, creating a very erotic scene.

More than the glimpses of cleavage and glimpses of their lower bodies, my gaze was drawn to their exposed shoulders and thighs.

I’m more perverted than I thought…

「Almus is mine!」

「No, he’s mine!」

Well, I can’t hold back anymore; it’s time to intervene.

「I can’t just ignore that now, can I?」

I leaned over them, reaching out and grasping both of their breasts at the same time.

Their moans overlapped.

「The premise of your argument is incorrect. I don’t belong to either of you, you both belong to me. Understood?」

「Yes,」

「…Yes.」

The two blushed. I lightly pecked their lips and then flashed a mischievous smile.

「Tonight, I’ll thoroughly reeducate you both.」

◇

「Wow, impressive, my king! With this kind of vigor, the next prince or princess will be born in no time. The future of the Rosais Family is secure!!」

Bartolo greeted me with applause as I exited the tent.

Were you eavesdropping on us? What an impolite fellow.

「By the way, are the ladies ok?」

「Tetra can barely move, her legs are shaking. Julia has fainted.」

「Could you share your secret, my king?」

「The key is in the pacing.」

I said this as I sat down on the ground. Even I was a bit tired after that.

Bartolo sat down beside me, extending a cup filled with wine.

「Please refrain from such exertions on the eve of battle. Those two are valuable assets capable of rivaling the witch Merlin.」

「I understand. I too must prepare for the battle with General Kuryuu.」

Tonight is the last night we can do this. The rest can wait until after the war.

When I return… no, let’s not go there.

「But really, your voices were incredibly loud. The guards had a hard time.」

「Their voices can get a bit too loud sometimes.」

「And so are you, my king. ‘Be quiet. Your voices are carrying outside!’」

Bartolo mimicked my voice, prompting a wry smile from me as I took a sip of my wine.

「Speaking of which, I don’t see any soldiers around.」

「I dismissed them. It must be hard on them, they haven’t embraced a woman since the start of the war. I took it upon myself to guard the area, so no one was peeking on you, my king!」

「No one except yourself.」

「That’s alright. It’s just your retainer being concerned.」

Bartolo joked about it.

Both of us looked up at the starry sky while sipping our wine. In this world, the moon is huge—actually, it’s closer, so the night sky is brighter.

Yet, it’s darker than the skies in Japan, so the stars are beautifully visible.

Silence dominated the scene.

「Hey, Bartolo.」

「Yes?」

「Between me and the Rosais Family, which would you prioritize?」

Bartolo’s eyes narrowed sharply. He set his wine on the ground and looked straight into my eyes.

「What do you mean by that?」

「Just that. Does Bartolo Pompeius serve Almus Aris Rosais, or does he serve Almus?」

「I serve Almus Aris Rosais. However, if Raymond Rosais were to declare himself king today, I would oppose it.」

「I see…」

I finished off the last of my wine.

I turned back to Bartolo.

「After this war is over…」

「Please stop! My king. I have a wife…」

「I’m being serious here, cut the jokes!!」

Who would want an old man like you?

Bartolo chuckled and refilled my cup with wine.

「Sorry about that. So, what were you saying? Are you thinking about… perhaps making Prince Ankus the crown prince?」

Bartolo’s gaze sharpened. I shook my head.

「I wouldn’t split the country in two with such a foolish move. Ankus is dear to me, but doing that would only bring him misery. Tetra might be a bit dissatisfied, but she would accept it. She was prepared for this from the beginning.」

「So what is it about then?」

「The crown prince will be Julia’s child. I will continue to respect the Rosais Family, but it’s about time to decide who holds the supremacy. Our country needs to be unified.」

「I see… that’s what it is.」

Bartolo kneeled down and bowed his head.

「My king, as long as you intend to keep Julia-sama as your official wife and make her child the crown prince, I will continue to be your sword.」

「Thank you, Bartolo Pompeius. I will not forget your loyalty.」

We smiled at each other and looked up at the stars again. Something twinkled in the night sky.

A shooting star, huh…

Wait—

No!!!

I quickly drew my sword and cut down the object flying towards our heads.

I gave Bartolo a look. He drew his sword and we stood back to back.

「It’s your fault for dismissing the guards.」

「…It’s because my king was busy having fun on the battlefield.」

We stared into the darkness. There was no sign of anything.

But there is something there. There must be.

zshh

The sound of gravel scraping caught my ears. Instantly, something flew towards my neck.

I deflected it with my sword and caught it. It was warm, unmistakably human.

A human arm.

I pulled hard on the arm, but…

「!!!」

Did it come off?

The arm dangled limply from my grip.

「Spiders can regrow their limbs, you know.」

It was a woman’s voice. I strained my eyes to make out her figure.

Dressed in black, her face and hair color were indiscernible. Only the silhouette of her bust made it clear she was a woman.

「You monster.」

Bartolo compared the disembodied left arm in my hand to the woman’s exposed left arm.

From the fact that the woman’s left arm was not wrapped in a sleeve, it was evident that it had just regrown.

「People often call me that, but humans are no match for monsters.」

At that moment, a chill ran through me. I hurriedly grabbed Bartolo’s head and pushed it down.

Something whisked over our heads.

「I see you are able to dodge my threads. You have good instincts!」

The woman closed the distance rapidly, a knife clenched in her hand.

The knife gleamed under the moonlight.

「An assassin, eh? The Rozel Kingdom really likes to use cowardly tactics!」

My sword clashed with the woman’s knife. My dragon Damascus sword sliced through the knife as if it were fruit, but the woman kept pulling out more knives from her sleeves endlessly.

「That was close!」

I jumped instinctively. Something grazed my foot, slicing off the tip of my shoe.

「You seem to have some blessing.」

「And you as well.」

「Hardly, I possess no such sacred thing. My power is much dirtier.」

Our swords and knives crossed repeatedly.

We must have continued fighting for about five minutes.

「I heard something!」

「It’s from the king’s tent!」

「Hurry!」

It seems the soldiers have finally noticed.

「Perhaps I should have targeted your wives instead. I got too greedy. Time to retreat.」

「Wait!」

I hastily tried to follow her. But I soon realized.

My path was blocked by a web of threads.

I touched the threads with my finger. Blood started to seep out.

This is going to be difficult.

For now, I need to strengthen the watch. And from now on, I will sleep with Tetra and Julia every night.