She Who Became Immortal

Let's rewind time a bit.

It was the day the outer walls of the fortress were completed.

 

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"This is Euphemia Fortress, huh! It looks so boring!" Lapis Kruger, the Lion Princess, laughed unabashedly as she looked up at the finished outer walls. Her attitude conveyed no ulterior motive.

She simply found the unadorned 'walls' uninteresting, and that's why she said so. There was no condescension or mockery in her tone.

"I ignored all decorations. Originally, I wanted to disguise the outer walls by stacking stones on the outside, but let's leave it at this for now."

"We'll place large bows on top of those 'walls' and shoot away."

The outer walls of the fortress were vaguely hexagonal. They could have been perfectly square, but this shape seemed more convenient for rushing from one point to another.

The area enclosed by these 'outer walls' was roughly equivalent to a public middle school and its grounds. Inside were dormitories, a dining hall, warehouses for supplies, stables for horses and cattle, but to be frank, there was nothing within the fortress that really needed protecting.

What the fortress was supposed to defend was our lives.

If they were to construct proper 'outer walls,' they would probably connect tower-like sections with the wall parts. However, this time it was reinforced concrete with steel frames, where the tower-like parts were supported by specially crafted Dwarven magic steel frames. So the completed 'walls' truly looked like nothing more than walls.

You could liken it to an apartment building without windows.

"We'll also use catapults. Anyway, these are defensive facilities. As for offense, we'll weaken the enemy with our counterattacks before deploying our forces. Probably, with Grimoire' strength, we can crush the human knights."

Even in battles organized by Escard, specifically planned to counter magical beings, the human side had suffered considerable losses. To expect the knights of the Tiant Territory to face a mixed army of demons and beastmen with their current forces would be absurd.

"By the way, Euphemia. I've decided to serve under you."

It was said with the same casualness one might comment that the new product at the nearby convenience store wasn't very tasty. It was so casually said that I almost missed it.

Lapis looked at my face, smiled slightly amused, and continued.

"I thought about it a lot, but I didn't really want to become like Father. Even though my elder brother became the Beast King when he returned to the capital, I don't want to become like him either. I think I understand now why that female lioness told me to go see you."

"Why is that?"

I half-seriously thought that maybe that petite, busty Lex found dealing with Lapis too troublesome…

"I wish I could be like you, Euphemia. But I can't be like you. Even if I was told to build such a fortress in just fifty days, it would be impossible for me. It would be impossible for Father too. Probably impossible even for that hairless."

"You must have been preparing long before those fifty days. Even if I were given such a short time, there are things that would still be impossible."

"Father's subordinates—"

Ignoring my words, Lapis continued.

"—probably hated it. They might have bowed to Father's power and followed, but it wasn't fun for them. I hated that. It felt like more and more boring things were piling up."

So, it turned into a fight.

I almost got killed and had to run away.

The daughter of the Beast King smiled sadly, just a little.

"Euphemia Grimwood. Being with you is fun. Even if I gather a bunch of folks under me, it wouldn't be the same. Besides, I had fun too. Carrying loads with Zonda, helping out with some bizarre construction I didn't quite understand, eating with everyone, laughing with the girls from the Taurus tribe, sparring with Maya..."

Yet, I didn't provide a place for fun.

I never dictated who should be like this or like that. Each decides who they want to be.

By chance, I've ended up with, invited, absorbed, or followed most, letting them do as they please. Somehow, everyone listens to me, but that doesn't mean I want to dominate. Quite the opposite, really; I'd rather not.

"I want to be here. That's what I thought. Because I wanted to be where you are. So, I'll stand beneath you. Let me join your company."

With a smile as radiant as a sunflower blooming in the sunlight.

It was the kind of smile that a child playing in the park would offer to another child, saying, "Let's play together."

 

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And now.

"Hahaha! What's this! Amazing, Euphemia! You haven't even fought and the enemies are getting slaughtered! This is outrageous!"

Lapis Kruger hurried into the fortress and dashed up onto the outer wall, laughing uproariously.

Below, knights pinned to the ground by the ballista bolts mounted on the upper tier of the outer wall. Some managed to deflect them with swords, but most of those hit were likely fatally wounded.

"Well, it certainly is outrageous. They charged in without any plan. That swordsman's strikes were unexpectedly powerful, though... in terms of sheer force, maybe on par with Randal."

Junos muttered with a slight furrow of his brow.

Indeed, the swordsman among the enemies, with his blonde hair, had delivered a 'sword strike' that seemed almost as devastating as Randal's 'claw,' which once destroyed the walls of Spade. Yet, it hadn't breached the fortress's outer walls, and the gate appeared almost unscathed.

"Hey, Euphemia! Look at this shovel you gave me! It's amazing! A digging tool turned into a weapon!"

Laughing heartily, Zonda Pauga arrived just behind Lapis.

I didn't make it, so credit should go to the production team led by Raft, but that discussion could wait.

"Hey, look at that. The one who deflected the arrows with his sword first. He's probably the captain. Since it's better not to reveal ourselves to their troops yet, Zonda and Lapis, sorry to bother you, but could you retrieve him promptly?"

"Hmm? Oh, that guy. The one who was yelling loudly when we first met."

While they discussed this and that, orcs pulled back the ballista strings and minotaurs aimed and fired.

Bang! A gunshot-like sound.

In the next moment, someone below was shot dead.

The knights who lost their captain were clearly bewildered. Some magicians were casting spells towards the gate, but it was entirely futile. Naturally, it was made of magic steel, far tougher than the wall itself.

However, this required a pulley mechanism for opening.

It was too heavy to open for regular folks.

"That blonde swordsman... Seems like he's withdrawing. He's different from the other knights. A mercenary, perhaps? Well, whatever. And just in case, keep an eye on their archers."

Come to think of it, there was one who fired arrows with a power similar to firing an anti-material rifle. The sniping had much higher firepower than the ballistas, but it seemed ill-suited to breach the walls.

Magic steel bone, magic steel tendon concrete seems to have a high resistance to magic. And in this world, achieving high firepower naturally relies on magic.

Perhaps using cannons fired with gunpowder would breach the outer walls.

Cannons, gunpowder, not exactly mainstream in this world though.

"Oh right, Lapis did introduce properly. Then tell them to retreat. If they withdraw, you can tell them we'll cease our attack."

To be frank, slaughtering them all would just make disposing of the bodies a hassle.

"Good. I admit I chuckled a bit, but it's not that amusing anymore. Euphemia, should we take a few prisoners?"

"No, just their captain will do. It was surprisingly messy, but now we can anticipate the enemy's aim."

First, the Tiant Knights charged at the beastmen.

And just as quickly, they retreated. It could be described as a complete rout.

As Lapis explained, this would mean the Tiant territory had 'damaged the king's property'. Though this situation was going according to our plans, once it became so straightforward, it was worth considering whether it might align with someone else's.

"Hmm...? Oh well. Zonda, follow me. Don't shoot us with those ballistas!"

Saying that, Lapis leapt down from the top of the outer wall.

Following her, a two-and-a-half meter tall boar beastman did the same.

The height would be about seven meters.

Lioness landed gracefully and dashed straight towards the enemy captain. The boar landed with a somewhat joking impact, swinging a shovel and scattering nearby knights as if by accident.

Soon, Lapis raised her voice and advised the knights to retreat.

It could be called a result of the slaughter, but when Lapis raised her voice, there was a charisma that somehow made one listen, as if it was inevitable.

That Lion Princess wanting to be under me... I have mixed feelings about that.

"What are you going to do with the captain?"

Stopping the shooters, Junos asked me with a somewhat amused tone.

"Well, if we've caught him, we'll hear what he has to say."

It's hard to imagine that a commander who launched such a terrifyingly foolish charge is a decent person, but still, I want to know the enemy's situation.

"Junos, we were fortunate not to engage in melee combat. We've only shown them the fortress and ballistas. Use Kairine for reconnaissance. There's probably a strategist among the enemy. For them, the Tiant Knights are expendable."

"...What's this strategist aiming for?"

"Probably something similar to Lex Asuka."

Watching the knights of Tiant retreat with wounded and some left behind dead bodies, I muttered the name of the lioness who sought evolution.

Honestly, why do strategists always want to involve others?

It's not like I have any right to say that, given how much I've involved others... But still, if I had to say, I've never wanted to involve others.

 

Well, probably.