She Who Became Immortal

Standing atop the outer wall and looking down upon the enemy forces, I, Euphemia Grimwood, struggled to contain my urge to exclaim, "Humans are like trash!" Although I fought to maintain composure, a smirk broke through uncontrollably.

The Blitz Army—technically, a mixed force of the Tiant Domain's knight corps and the Golt Armed Trading Company—numbered around six hundred when Kairine conducted the reconnaissance.

Since then, we had engaged in three skirmishes, reducing their numbers by roughly one hundred and fifty. The most significant blow was delivered by the kitsune, Serena, who orchestrated a massacre of sixty enemy soldiers defending their supply lines. Additionally, the efforts of the boar beastman, Zonda Pauga, and the lion princess, Lapis Kruger, along with the command of Volte Klaus, former vice-captain of the Tiant Domain's knight corps, contributed to the steady reduction of their forces. Remarkably, we had suffered no casualties.

The situation seemed almost too perfect. We had anticipated some losses.

Had we been prepared? — That's a bit difficult to answer.

At any rate, the Blitz Army's numbers now ranged between four hundred fifty and five hundred. On the hill, a large contingent of knights clad in black armor had assembled, with several different knight factions grouped together, planting their banners near the mass of black armor.

The black-clad knights belonged to the Black Iron Knights of Marquis Illyrius' domain.

They had brought Leopold’s famed blade, which had not been used in the Demon War of Escard, specifically to this place. The knights not dressed in black were likely nobles loyal to the Marquis of Illyrius, offering their forces in support.

With the addition of the Black Iron Knights, the total enemy force amounted to approximately two thousand.

From above, the sight was indeed awe-inspiring, making me want to utter the line, “So this is the grand spectacle of it all. It seems negotitation is on the table...”

“...Negotiation? Did you say negotiation? With a force like this, there’s no room for negotiations...”

Mizetta murmured with a look of despair.

Indeed, it seemed that we were about to be surrounded by an enemy force more than ten times our size. Under ordinary circumstances, negotiating would be unnecessary.

However, this situation was different.

“If they intended to strike us directly, they wouldn’t have positioned their troops so openly. They’d encircle the fortress and rely on their numbers to scale the walls with siege ladders. By arraying their forces so prominently, they not only display their strength but also signal their intention not to assault us immediately.”

If they were going to attack, they would have done so by now.

Thus, we were prepared with catapults and ballistae, but had yet to fire a single shot.

“If we wait a bit longer, a few of their soldiers should come forward from their lines to the front of the fortress. With such a numerical advantage, they likely believe that we would rather avoid conflict.”

Moreover, it wasn’t in their interest to push us to fight with full determination. Although victory seemed certain, Zonda and Lapis’s ferocious attacks, along with the missile fire from our catapults and ballistae, would inevitably cause some damage.

“And... don’t you see? The reinforcements in black aren’t Blitz’s forces. If you’ve been working with Leopold, you should know that.”

“What? Oh, those are the Black Iron Knights…?"

“I told you. Blitz and Leopold are on different sides of the political landscape. Their interests don’t align. Therefore, Leopold has prepared enough forces not just to deal with the beastmen of the fortress but also to silence Blitz’s camp.”

“To rescue me...?”

“That's part of it.”

But it wasn’t just that. After all, Blitz’s army had launched attacks twice even though the 'Saint of Healing' was abducted. They couldn’t complain if hostages were killed.

Leopold, of all people, wouldn’t ignore the possibility of the saint’s death.

“To end a conflict, what do you think is necessary?”

“Tolerance, I suppose?”

Mizetta answered the question I had posed suddenly, without much thought. Perhaps she had lived long enough under that notion.

She had once been a village girl, until she was discovered by the Muller family.

“A lovely sentiment, but if that were true, executions of criminals would be done out of tolerance. Burning impostors claiming to be nobles would be seen as an act of kindness. That’s not the case. Such things won’t resolve a conflict.”

My response was a bit harsh, and seeing Mizetta’s awkward expression made me regret my words.

With a sigh, I quickly provided the answer.

“It’s a matter of finding a compromise or an acceptable solution. To end a conflict, you need to find a resolution somewhere. Conflicts require effort to start, and you can’t end them smoothly without expending that effort.”

“...A resolution.”

“Look, there are some coming forward from the enemy lines.”

One knight in black armor, likely from Blitz’s side—the Golt Armed Trading Company—along with another in noble attire who didn’t look like a knight, stepped out of their camp.

The three of them descended the hill, climbed up again, and stopped at a short distance from the fortress, calling out loudly.

“That’s Victor, isn’t it? A negotiator?”

“Victor?”

“Yes, Lord Leopold’s nephew. He’s the one who guided me, and handled negotiations with nobles. I followed his instructions and used healing magic as directed.”

“Hmm. The diplomatic nephew.”

It was rather surprising to see Leopold using his own kin for this. However, given that it's Leopold, his choice must be a competent one. It seemed he was constrained by the presence of a high-ranking second prince in this instance.

“...But is it really possible to negotiate? Even if they agree to hand me over in exchange for certain conditions, there's no guarantee for your safety, Lady Euphemia. There's also doubt about whether they will honor their promises. It would just be empty words.”

After all, if they had the numbers, they could easily break any promise.

Such was Mizetta’s skepticism.

And realistically, she was right.

Currently, the conditions for negotiation were not ideal.

However—this was only a matter of time.

The fortress gate opened, and in response to the three enemies outside, three of us emerged from the fortress: the Lion Princess Lapis Kruger, the nine-tailed fox Kairine, and the traitor knight Volte Klaus.

The noble in question, presumably Victor, began conversing with Volte and the others. They kept their distance, speaking loudly to communicate, but their voices did not carry all the way up to us on the outer wall.

“...What are they saying?” Mizetta asked anxiously.

I returned her worried gaze with a confident smirk and puffed out my chest.

It had been fourteen days since we had abducted her.

We had achieved quite a lot during this time.

“Lady Euphemia! We’ve received preliminary news!”

Katarina rushed up from the other side of the outer wall, delivering the report.

“Everything is set now. Let’s descend,” I said, starting to walk. Mizetta followed hesitantly, her expression a mix of worry and anxiety.

By the way, Junos had remained silent all this time, standing close to Mizetta and observing our expressions with a wry smile. I wasn’t sure of his feelings, but it almost felt like he was seeing through us.

But that was fine.

Whether it was my inner thoughts or my intentions, he could speculate as he pleased.

 

---

Beyond the open gate, a distant hill came into view.

On that hill, a force of two thousand soldiers was gathered. Even from over five hundred meters away, the buzz of the crowd was palpable.

And much closer than the enemy army, three figures stood out.

Among them were Lapis, Kairine, and Volte, returning to the gate.

“What did they say on their side?” I asked Volte.

The 'traitor' knight nodded without changing his expression, glanced momentarily beyond the gate, and then spoke.

“They’re prepared to negotiate. They said they’re willing to halt hostilities depending on the terms. They also mentioned that if negotiations fail, they would take the fortress by force. It seems they were quite displeased. Although Regalo was the one who incapacitated them, it appears that taking the 'Saint of Healing' as a hostage left a poor impression of me.”

Kairine, who seemed overly amused, was best ignored for now.

“So Victor, the one not dressed as a knight, is the negotiator, but who are the other two?”

“One is a high-ranking member of the Golt Armed Trading Company. His demeanor and expression were inscrutable, but he is clearly skilled. He is likely someone who communicates directly with Blitz. The other claims to be the vice-commandant of the Black Iron Knights. As expected from a marquis’ knights, they are a different breed compared to the rural knights of Tiant.”

Volte, who had recently served as vice-captain of that very rural knight corps, remained unreadable.

Perhaps he simply didn’t have any strong feelings about it. Regardless of the opponent, Volte’s loyalty to me remained unshaken, and thus his internal state remained steadfast.

“What does Lapis think?” I asked the Lion Princess, who displayed no particular emotion.

Lapis responded succinctly.

“Think? They’re just messengers. In the end, we need to negotiate with the ones who sent them.”

“Well, that’s true.”

As expected from someone who seemed to live by intuition alone. While Lapis was not devoid of thought, she relied more on gut feelings rather than reason.

In most cases, her intuition proved correct. After all, she didn’t waste her instincts on trivial matters, which made her actions quite straightforward.

“The demands are as follows. The ‘Saint of Healing’ must be surrendered. In return, they’re prepared to halt the invasion and consider further terms for future negotiations. They’re willing to set up a meeting for that—hmm, humans really do have high expectations!”

“That sounds about right.”

They would spare us if we complied, which they would see as a significant concession.

After all, they could annihilate us if they chose to.

Leopold’s intention was likely not to achieve a total annihilation at the cost of the ‘Saint of Healing’—at least that seemed to be the case.

Blitz’s side, on the other hand, probably aimed to crush us and take over the fortress, positioning themselves at the center of the ensuing chaos. The fortress’s resilience and our resistance exceeded their expectations, prompting them to reconsider their approach. Leopold’s intervention came swiftly—perhaps.

In that case, we needed to use the current situation to find a resolution before Blitz’s side could devise their next move.

“Junos, keep the ‘Saint of Healing’ firmly as a hostage and follow me. Kairine and Volte, come along. Lapis, head south and meet them.”

It was time for some enjoyable conversation.

Though we lacked tea, sweets, chairs, and tables, we would make do.

I chose to ignore Mizetta’s tearful expression for now, focusing on the task at hand.