Chapter 58 is out!
Anyway, here"s the chapter, I hope you"ll enjoy it!
Chapter 58
After fulfilling their mission, Kurats and Hans left Macbarn and once again set foot in Lapland.
【"Hahaha! We"ve accomplished out task wonderfully thanks to you, sir Mathers!"】
Hans put on a fake laugh while sneakily peeking at Kurats" face. Ever since the day Kurats had carried the rock from the Betswana mountains, Hans had become very docile. He now felt deep fear and respect towards Kurats.
All men are born with a desire, be it hidden or not, to solve all their troubles through raw strength. Even in a world of magic like this one, that fact still held true. Despite being a meathead, Kurats could be said to be the ideal image of a man in that sense. But the respect Hans felt was nothing compared to how terrified he was of ever facing Kurats" anger. This had made him become servile and lose all sense of haughtiness. Kurats was both surprised and irritated by this behavior, but Bernst was in high spirits.
『That"s right! Fear me! Respect me! Tremble before the equal of the G.o.ds, the magic king!』
It seemed like Bernst had been bottling up stress without realizing it from Kurats" refusal to ever do anything he said. And all that stress was now coming out as excitement. But perhaps these feelings were proof that Bernst was ever so slightly being influenced by Kurats" emotions.
【"Hmm…? What"s that…?"】
Kurats noticed something familiar flying towards him at a very fast pace. This was the ma.s.sive griffon that had fought alongside him in Berglund. Naturally, Frigga was also there, riding on the beast"s back while cheerfully waving her hand, with a big smile on her face.
【"My lor-… Sir Mathers, I"m glad to see you"re well…!"】
After landing, Frigga almost clung to Kurats by reflex, but she barely managed to control herself. Her master had ordered her to be mindful of her behavior in public. While she thought that was regrettable, she had no other choice but to abide by his commands.
【"The mission was a success, everything went smoothly."】 【"Yes, I"ve heard from the messengers. My brother is already organizing the dispatch of the troops with the other nations. And it"s all thanks to you."】
While acting casual, Frigga tightly grasped Kurats" hand. The touch of his large hand made her recall that fateful, enchanting night. (―― Aaah, please torment me again!) Frigga started blushing from these thoughts, prompting Hans and the surrounding people to look at her with warm eyes. Hans would usually be actively trying to get the princess" attention at this point, but right now, he was very subdued. Far from being overconfident or pompous, he was actually seeing Kurats as a lord that he could potentially serve under. The fact that he had witnessed Kurats" strength for himself made him admire him all the more.
【"W-well then, sir Mathers, if it"s alright with you… would you be willing to ride on Sh.e.l.lac"s back with me and accompany me to the castle ahead of here?"】
As Frigga looked up at Kurats, it looked as if she was waging an invisible tail behind her.
(T-this is too much…!)
This dog-like attribute was a powerful trait that tickled a man right in his self-esteem, it was something that neither Cornelia nor Lunaria possessed.
【"I-if it"s fine with you, please hang on to my waist."】 【"Y-yeah."】
Not paying attention to the eyes of Sh.e.l.lac, who seemed to be saying "Huh? Why would you come with us?", Kurats clung to Frigga"s thin waist from behind. After barely stopping herself from pa.s.sing out from the warmth of the embrace, Frigga shouted at her Griffon.
【"Go, Sh.e.l.lac! Fly!"】
Sh.e.l.lac half-heartedly obeyed and powerfully flapped his wings.
The beast steadily rose above ground until Hans and the people around him started looking like specks of dust. Once Sh.e.l.lac flew high enough, Frigga"s face turned red from shyness before she leaned her head on Kurats" chest.
【"I felt so lonely without you, my lord…"】
She rubbed her cheek on his chest like a puppy acting spoiled with its master.
【"Glad to see you"re doing well, your highness."】 【"Why are you calling me your highness?! Please call me "dog" like last time!"】 (WHAT THE h.e.l.l?! Bernst, you madman, what did you do?!) 『Didn"t I tell you that I disciplined her? If I didn"t take over your body that day, she"d have probably a.s.saulted you and taken your virginity away.』 (What are you talking about? This is the first time I"m hearing of this.)
All that Kurats knew was that when he woke up after that evening, Frigga was acting all sweet for some reason.
『I didn"t know what yous sister would do if that happened, so I had to personally discipline her to put her in her place.』 (What did you do exactly?! But still, I guess I have to thank you, you saved me there!) 【"My lord? Did I do something to displease you?"】
Looking at the apparent uneasiness on Frigga"s small head, Kurats hugged her closely from behind.
【"Ah!"】
Frigga"s face became even more red than before, it almost looked like there was steam coming out of her head.
【"…How do I say this…. I"m sorry I left you by yourself for so long."】 【"I-it"s okay! I"m not worthy of bothering my master with such matters… B-but…I"m glad that you were concerned about me, even if just a little bit…."】 (I can"t get enough of this cute girl…)『That other princess" mind is already in the right place, but you"ll have to think of counter-measures against your sister.』
Lunaria wouldn"t complain as long as she had a good place in the hierarchy among the girls. The problem was Cornelia. If she lost control over herself, would Kurats be able to survive?
【"Ooooh, I see how it is, you went for a third girl right after confessing to me? I"ll teach you to make light of me!"】
Kurats could already hear Cornelia say that. He felt a cold sensation around the region between his legs, which was soon followed by a cold sweat.
(Can"t I just pretend nothing happened?) 『Yeah, that"s not gonna work.』 【"Haaaah…"】
As he brushed the hair of Frigga, who was clinging to him like a cat, Kurats was becoming more and more worried about the calamities that could be waiting for him in the near future.
【"My lord… I want you to hurt me more…"】 【"Frigga… It might a long time, but we"re going to fix you up, okay? OKAY?"】
Siegfried greeted Kurats, who came in with Frigga, with a big smile on his face.
【"Sir Mathers! I have no word to express my grat.i.tude for everything you"ve done! Not only Macbarn and Elsrid, but even Mountbatten has joined our alliance!"】
The alliance formed between the four northern countries was large enough for them to compete against the major powers of the continent. They had even gotten in touch with one of the big five, the Katarael kingdom, and it was said that, in Jormungand, the faction that thoroughly opposed Asgard was rapidly gaining influence.
(Looks like Rosberg and the others are hard at work.)
Kurats smiled to himself. The truth was that Lapland, by itself, was ten times weaker than any of the big five. After losing twice against such a small country, Asgard started to look like it wasn"t such a big deal after all. It was only natural that Lunaria"s faction was able to make a come back within the kingdom"s internal conflict for power. The marquis of Strasbourg, Albert, was probably in a terrible mood by now.
(Serves him right.)
Kurats silently laughed.
【"Just one more battle. If we gain victory in one more battle, Asgard will probably give up on occupying our country. The potential gains would no longer be worth the risks and losses."】
Asgard had naturally more than enough forces remaining. If Lapland tried its hand at attrition warfare, then the kingdom would undoubtedly be defeated, even with the support of the northern alliance. However, if Asgard managed to occupy Lapland without being able to gain back the funds lost in doing so, their power as a whole would be weakened. And if a powerful country like Jormungand aimed for that opportunity, that would spell a major crisis for the empire. Although he was very ambitious, Asgard"s emperor, Heimdall, was probably not incompetent enough to let that happen.
【"There are already 10.000 men coming here from Macbarn. Their fire mages will be a valuable force. Elsrid and Mountbatten will probably send 5000 men each, so in total, our numbers should reach about 35.000 men."】
The reorganized forces of Lapland, excluding those who were in charge of maintaining public order, barely reached 15.000 men. This was the result of their crushing defeat at the start of the war. Meanwhile, the numbers on Asgard"s side had gone past 50.000 after Cabernard"s squadron was joined by Brigitte"s ranger squadron. That being the case, Lapland was still facing the exact same predicament as before. However…
【"I"m sorry I have to depend on you again, but I believe your power is a comparable to that of an army, sir Mathers. Our alliance may have been built in a hurry, but with you by our side, we"ll have our chances of winning!"】
Kurats had been able to protect all of Berglund with just the help of Frigga. It was only because of his presence that Elsrid and Macbarn had accepted to join the alliance despite their disadvantage in numbers. Although he was ashamed to say it, Siegfried had no other choice but to rely fully on Kurats.
『Hahahaha… Just as planned!』
Bernst proudly sang his own praises with a wicked smile on his face.
(You planned something?) 『Let"s just say that I prepared a stage that would be appropriate for a magic king such as myself.』
Within the newly formed northern military alliance, which was as powerful as some of the big five, no country had as much influence as Lapland. What would happen if the alliance defeated Asgard and started supporting Lunaria? And if, with that support, Lunaria managed to become Jormungand"s successor, how would Kurats be treated for all his contributions? Not to mention that Lapland would have a debt for life towards Kurats, as he would be considered their savior. In that scenario, there should be very few people left on the continent who could restrain or control Kurats in any way. Then, with Cornelia, Lunaria and Frigga as his women, he would vanquish Asgard, and reign as the supreme king of this continent.
Long ago, before he became the magic king, there was a time when Bernst"s power alone was not enough for him to single handedly impose his rule on the world. He was powerless back then, but for some reason, he missed those days.
『What"s the matter with me? I was such a weakling back then, what am I getting nostalgic for…』
Bernst had been forced to pick the most roundabout and bothersome way to reach his goals due to Kurats" weakness. But he secretly enjoyed that.
『Good grief, this meathead is a living headache.』