She Who Became Immortal

I, Euphemia Grimwood, am neither a military strategist nor a battlefield commander. Of course, I am not an admiral or a producer either.

Thus, when it comes to estimating the number of people in a formation at a glance, I am utterly clueless. The total number of troops from the combined forces of Blitz and Leopold was taken at face value from what Volte, Biante, and Kairine had mentioned.

Similarly, I had no way of determining the number of beastmen led by King Brandon. I suspected there were a lot, but the exact number was revealed by my friend, the youthful and well-endowed lioness.

"The total is about eight hundred. Euphemia Grimwood, with your forces combined, it will amount to roughly a thousand. With two thousand human troops and a thousand beastmen, if we confront them head-on, victory is assured."

Indeed, that was reassuring.

However, that didn't mean our safety was guaranteed.

Because—

"Those humans understand it best. If we fought head-on in a conventional manner, we would definitely lose. Therefore, there’s no chance they’ll engage us with a direct confrontation."

As I spoke, we proceeded to accommodate the additional eight hundred into the fortress. The area enclosed by the fortress's outer walls was roughly the size of a local school's sports ground, making it a bit cramped, but it was still feasible to house a total of a thousand.

Of course, the time required to get everyone in would also mean more time to get them out, but that was unavoidable.

As Lex had whispered to me, King Brandon's army had brought provisions from the Spade territory. These included flour, cured meats, salt and various seasonings, vegetable oil, and even some fruit wines.

These supplies were handed over to the food management team, led by the bull beastman Meralva. Since we were short on personnel, we also allocated some of Brandon's troops to help with food distribution.

Lex wanted a meal, so we served her first along with Brandon and the others, and then moved seamlessly into a strategy meeting.

By the way, the "Healing Saint" Mizetta was also present, but she looked exceedingly uncomfortable. Especially with King Brandon sitting next to her unintentionally, her discomfort was only amplified. However, I made no special effort to ease her situation.

“So, what do you think the humans will do?” Lex asked, tilting her head while dipping bread into her meat soup.

“The one in charge right now is not the Second Prince but Leopold Illyrius, who brought reinforcements. Before the reinforcements arrived, they were attacking us normally. It was only after their arrival that they began negotiating.”

“So they would prefer to negotiate then?”

“There are several conditions, of course.”

Unlike when Victor Illyrius was struggling before the reinforcements arrived, there’s no need for 'negotiation' with an opponent we can defeat in direct combat. Currently, negotiating might help minimize our losses. It’s a matter of cost-benefit.

“Is she...?”

Lex’s gaze, devoid of emotion, shifted to Mizetta.

Realizing that we hadn’t shared the initial situation, I prompted the chatty nine-tailed fox. Junos and Volte had too few words to explain, while Kairine’s were too many, but Lex would manage to digest the information on her own.

As expected, Kairine explained in great detail.

While continuing her meal, Lex listened to the explanation.

“I see, the 'Healing Saint,' huh? Does that human executive, Leopold, value her that much?”

“Yes, he seems to hold her in high regard—but I doubt he considers her indispensable. For instance, I don’t think he would go so far as to sacrifice the entire army just to retrieve the 'Healing Saint.'”

“Then is it possible that they might abandon the saint and focus on annihilating us instead?”

“It’s possible, but unlikely,” I said.

“Why is that?”

“Because they wouldn’t gain anything by defeating us. Even if you had killed the lord of Spade territory, you still accepted my sincere persuasion, didn’t you?”

“Sincere persuasion…?”

Lex tilted her head, puzzled. The awkwardly cute gesture of the youthful and curvaceous lioness prompted me to tilt my head as well.

“In the end, you gained nothing from destroying Spade territory. Even if you took the castle, there weren’t enough resources to occupy it or take Spade territory.”

However, with the resources from the Tiant territory—more precisely, the Golt Armed Trading Company and the Blitz Second Prince—they could occupy part of the beastmen's domain.

Leopold didn’t want that. His political position likely differed; he didn’t want a powerful Blitz prince too much.

“It seems like quite a troublesome situation,” Lex said.

“If we’re talking about cost-benefit, those Golt Armed Trading Company folks must have been involved, right?”

King Brandon, who had joined the conversation, seemed to have finished his meal. Mizetta next to him hadn’t made much progress, but that was understandable.

“That’s correct. I facilitated things, arranged for one human corpse and thirty armors. The corpse was thrown into Spade Castle by your subordinate, the Great Eagle beastman. It was just recently, but it feels nostalgic.”

Kairine said without a hint of remorse.

Brandon showed no sign of displeasure towards the nine-tailed fox and continued smoothly.

“Then they must have assumed they’d gain something beyond the 'Stone' you provided. That Blitz fellow thought he could manage us if his father wasn’t around.”

“Such underestimation,” Brandon concluded, though his mood remained unruffled.

Not showing unwarranted pride in this situation was one of the virtues of the current beast king.

“Leopold came to keep Blitz in check,” Junos murmured softly but said no more.

This seemed to be the crux of our current predicament.

“Conflicts need a resolution, right?” Lex finally finished her soup, sighed, and turned to me. Her gaze was neither warm nor cold but unfeeling yet sincere.

But it’s not emotionless.

Rather, she was a person true to her feelings.

“Euphemia Grimwood, given this intricate situation, how do you propose we resolve this war?”

Without much thought, I answered.

“It’s simple. We need to achieve our objectives.”

 

The fort was already bustling with energy, and when eight hundred more were added, it was as if a festival had erupted.

While we wouldn't quite run out of food, the cooks led by beastwomen were working with a fervor that made the atmosphere lively and spirited. They sang, celebrated, and—though we didn't have enough alcohol to serve everyone—there was plenty of merrymaking.

In a corner of the kitchen, Carozza was curled up like a fetus, apparently exhausted from using magic to conjure water and fire continuously. Next to her, Astra, the lizard beastman, was sitting like a guardian knight. They'd only just met while scouting for the fort's location, but it seemed they had hit it off quite well.

Lex was intrigued by Grimoire-style cooking. After the meeting, she moved to the kitchen to observe others at work. It wouldn’t be long before proper cuisine spread across the beastmen's domain.

Beast King Brandon had taken center stage at the feast, mingling with everyone. He exchanged light-hearted jests with his own kin and conversed with the Grimoire personnel.

As for Mizetta, she was returned to the room where she always rested after meals, with Junos keeping close watch over her. For some reason, Junos seemed to harbor a dislike for Mizetta, but Mizetta appeared to trust Junos to a certain degree. The dynamic between them was rather unclear.

Mizetta, once a mere village girl, had been discovered by a count’s family, betrothed to Eckhart, and probably had no knowledge of my existence as his former fiancee. I’d wager Mizetta had no responsibility for the execution order against me.

Thus, I harbored no ill feelings towards Mizetta personally. However, Junos seemed to feel differently. Regardless, as long as personal grievances don’t hinder actions or decisions, individuals are free to feel however they like.

 

As night fell, I wandered through the fort, exchanging a few words, waving, and offering my cute smile to various people before making my way to the top of the outer wall.

Standing atop the seven-meter-high wall, the clamor within the fort became a distant echo, almost like the muffled noise of a neighbor's barbecue party, creating a slight sense of isolation. It was a peculiar mental effect—though I had distanced myself from the noise, it still reached me.

The night sky was clear, with countless stars cutting bright holes in the darkness. This world's unpolluted night always felt as though stars might begin to fall at any moment. The moonlight was so bright that it bathed the grasslands below in a ghostly blue hue.

I couldn’t see the human army for now. They had likely retreated to the edge of the forest and set up camp there. We had scouts on the hills, so we should be informed if there’s any movement.

"Not joining the feast?"

I noticed the fox woman sitting on a small outcrop of the wall. Her six white tails sparkled in the moonlight.

"The meeting is over. I’ve said what needed to be said. I don’t have to serve food to Brandon and the others personally. And—"

I paused, looking up at the starry sky, down at the moonlit plain, and then glancing at the distant noise of the fort before shrugging slightly.

"—sometimes, a bit of quiet isn’t so bad. After all, I’ll be facing those who will be a real nuisance soon enough."

Marquis Leopold Illyrius. Prince Blitz Orse Louisse II. They weren’t the kind of people one could have pleasant conversations with.

"Indeed. Yet, this is the path you’ve chosen."

Serena, said with a wry smile, patting the ledge beside her. It was an invitation to sit.

It wasn’t a bad idea. I walked over and sat next to Serena, who deftly used one of her tails to lift me gently and place me beside her.

Her tail was soft and pleasant to the touch. It had even served as a pillow during our carriage journeys, which I had come to quite enjoy. Perhaps Kirina had used a similar one as well.

"I'll say I was chosen. I’ll repeat it as many times as needed, but I didn’t particularly want to face them. It would have been fine if they just left me alone."

"You’re not contemplating revenge, then?"

"That’s already been dealt with."

I had explode the head of Count Muller, Eckhart’s father.

I didn’t harbor any desire to exact vengeance on everyone who had betrayed me. In truth, I didn’t even particularly wish to kill Count Muller.

"But you’re still vexed, aren’t you?"

"Because they keep involving themselves, starting with underhanded schemes and no dialogue. It’s not a manner of dealing with others."

"You mentioned something similar in Spade territory. That there was too little mutual understanding."

"I don’t believe in the naive notion that understanding each other would eliminate conflict. In fact, it only spreads the seeds of discord. Non-interference and non-involvement prevent conflict more effectively."

"Lex Asuka foresaw that the Beast King’s domain would become dangerous. That if this situation persisted, a day would come when we would be forced to submit to the human forces."

"Human desires are boundless."

To reach the heavens, break through the moon, or even farther, faster, and more—

Perhaps that’s the nature of humans. An inherent trait of the human collective.

"You are human too."

Serena’s voice was as gentle as a breeze.

I couldn’t deny that.

Even if memories from another world mixed in, or if I gained an immortal body, Euphemia Grimwood’s humanity remained unchanged.

"You killed sixty."

I replied in a non-accusatory tone, as if stating a fact.

"With your magical arts, you completely disrupted the enemy's forces. Jade and the others reported killing many during that chaos."

"Randall was a king, wasn’t he? It wasn’t something I intended, but it turned out to be quite easy. If I wanted to, I could have taken down two hundred."

The former Beast King Randall had driven away the fox people out of personal hatred. He might not have consciously thought it through, but instinctively, he must have sensed danger from their magical abilities. While someone like Randall could neutralize such magic, most people weren’t as powerful.

It seemed Serena had the potential to enchant or confuse even two hundred individuals into fighting among themselves.

She hadn’t fully realized this ability.

"I’ve decided to walk this path with you. Kirina likely made up her mind much sooner. But... I’m afraid."

Serena’s fox ears drooped, and her downcast profile looked like a lost child.

Kairine, who was aware of her own issues, refrained from making friends.

Serena, who became aware, was thus filled with anxiety.

"Good grief."

'These bunch are pain in the ass..'

I sighed theatrically, disentangled the white tail wrapped around my waist, and stood up. Taking two steps forward, I positioned myself in front of Serena.

Her eyes, on the verge of tears, locked onto me.

"Listen carefully, since I rarely say this. Serena. Fox Spirit Serena. I love you, and I love you all. Stay by my side. We will always be ‘us’. We’ll crush any sparks that come our way and laugh."

Serena’s arms tightened around my waist, and she held on with a firm grip.

For a while, I pretended not to hear her sobs.

...I’m sure Kairine is watching from somewhere, I thought.