I Favor the Villainess

The outbound journey was teleported, but the return journey ran by horse all the way.

In order to keep pace with the monsters' march, if Claire disappears along the way, the demons may change course.

Claire, who was supposed to be used to riding horses, also had a little pain in her ass from the boulder.

Perhaps it was due to a period of isolation from horseback riding in civilian life.

Me?

Don't ask.

General Sasha welcomed Claire and herself back to Fort 5 with healing magic.

"I heard you. Looks like it was a huge success."

General Sasha is not a samurai and very expressive man, but he has nevertheless praised us for our work by further narrowing his thin eyes.

"Thanks to the troops you lent me. He kept us safe on the way back."

"Of course. You are His Majesty Dorothea... no, not now. His Majesty Philline gave it to me. It shouldn't even happen."

"I'm sorry."

General Sasha went on.

"It appears that the forces of the monsters have safely made their way to this fortress. We're going into a retreat."

"Yeah."

"Claire and Ray, please return to the Imperial Capital first. I'll bring someone who can use the telereport."

General Sasha said, "Good job.

"... General. May I trouble you a little bit more with my unit?

Claire said such a thing.

General Sasha looked suspicious.

"I don't care... why?

"I have a bad feeling about this. It's just an abstract hunch, so I can't explain it very well."

"Hmm...?

In Claire's words, General Sasha stroked his chin and thought a little.

"No, sometimes that kind of sixth sense is important in battle. Above all, if the Revolutionary Maiden can join the retreat line, there's no such thing as gratitude."

"So....?

"Yes, please accompany me for a while"

Thank you very much.

Claire and General Sasha shook hands.

"I'm sorry I made up my mind, Ray."

"I don't mind that, but... is that a bad feeling?"

"Yes. Something's wrong with the absence of Aristotle and the fact that the monsters were too easy to provoke."

It seems that Claire feels that things are going too well.

"Aren't you worried?

"Then that's fine. Just in case."

That's what Claire said with a faint smile.

Claire and I were then to accompany you to the withdrawal line at Fort 5, but we did little.

Though Claire and I are good wizards, they are people who have nothing to do with group warfare or martial arts.

Even if they call it a retreat, they don't know what to do.

We stood by as instructed by General Sasha and were asked to join the fight if necessary.

Preparations for the retreat were advanced, so it didn't take long to actually abandon the fort.

Claire and I, together with General Sasha, are halfway to the Imperial Capital in the middle of a retreating army.

"It appears that an army of demons has entered Fort 5!

Soldiers with far-sighted magic made a report.

Finally.

"All right, when the Demons are in full effect, signal them to activate Inferno!

General Sasha ordered his men to continue their surveillance while continuing their march.

The twisting time flows.

And a few minutes later,

"You've reached the rear end of the Demon Army and are in range of effects!

The surveillance soldier shouted.

"All right, Inferno, activate!

General Sasha put magic into the magic equipment in his palm.

This is like a kind of authentication machine, and it seems to be a boot key to avoid triggering Inferno by accident.

The magic instrument emitted a red light.

……

A few minutes have passed.

But nothing happens.

"Well, what do you mean!?

Philline explained Inferno to us in advance.

It is said to be a magical instrument that activates the elements of fire and soil in the ground vein and causes a pseudo-eruption.

If it had been activated correctly, I should have felt a more dramatic change.

"Watch!"

"Yes, Inferno... it won't start!!

The surveillance soldier screamed with grief.

"But again!

General Sasha once again cast magic on the magic equipment.

The activation key appears to be working fine.

However, Inferno does not trigger.

"Hmm... You can look at it many times. The human form of despair."

The voice was heard from above.

"... Aristotle"

"Greetings Claire-François. How do you feel about the resurrection plan ending up empty-handed?

With bat-like feathers and a flockcoat, the demons said joyfully.

"Are you saying it was you...?

Yeah, sure.

That said, Alist gave me something big.

I thought it was an attack, but it wasn't.

"And... Your Highness!!

It was a human body.

The trauma has a major stab wound to the chest.

Judging from General Sasha's words, it appears to belong to a prince who was supposed to have been on a field trip.

"Humans are ugly... so ugly..."

"You! What have you done to His Highness!?

General Sasha draws out his sword and slashes it against an Aristotle above.

It's a tremendous leap.

Alist also stretched his claws to fight back.

"Nothing serious. I just wanted to let you know the activation key for the Inferno magic tool."

"Don't be stupid! Your Highness can't be so sweet!

Twice or three times in the air, General Sasha denied Alist's words.

"Of course, that would be normal. But there are people here who are good at getting into the gaps in the human mind."

"Ah! It's Saras!

As you can see, Claire François.

Alist affirmed Claire's words.

"I've known the Empire's secret weapons for a long time, and I've been looking for them around here too. But I can't find anything. So we decided to get closer to the people we knew."

The opponent is said to be the prince.

"He was too stubborn to tell me... It was hard to catch the suggestion of Saras-Lilium. But something unexpected happened to him the other day."

"What are you talking about?

General Sasha's onslaught continued, but with plenty of time to try him.

"It's the throne's turn."

――

Oh, that's right.

"I bet he didn't think Dorothea-Ner would give up so easily, but I didn't expect Philline-Ner to take it. His disappointment is heartbreaking."

"Bullshit!"

"No, no, it's true. The heartbroken man finally yielded to Saras' suggestion. Thanks to this, we were able to change Inferno's activation key."

Kukuku, Aristo laughs low.

That's why I won't tell you.

This is what happens when Dorothea does not properly root out when she gives up.

Dorothea may be close to being the best of the best as an individual, but he is very neglectful of people's subtlety.

You're too strong to understand the weakness of people's minds.

"Well, I don't know about humans. I hope I threw up the activation cord, but when I tried to extract more information, I stuck my fingernails in my chest. Mental manipulation didn't seem to be taking place completely."

Aristotle doesn't understand.

Perhaps, the prince refused to be a demonic puppet at the end.

Though I was touched by the weakness of my heart, overcoming it is also the strength of my heart.

Aristotle, who seemed uninterested in such a thing, declared to us that he would land slowly on the ground.

"That's why the Tiger's Magic Weapon was disabled. It's ravaging time from here."