“Fate’s Mischief” is described as “Author’s Convenience”

The day after the invasion of “Decisive Drolette”, René returned to the capital.

“Huh? ‘Decisive Droette’? The Adventurers’ Guild had issued a notice that the city was off-limits for the time being. …Oh, but they don’t care about that kind of thing.”

When Alastair reported on the attack during her absence, René looked up to the sky.

She salvaged information about the main adventurers in the country from Iris’s memory while she was possessing her.

The second strongest party in the country was the ” Decisive Droette”. It was the kind of party that the aristocratic bourbons of the Holy Kingdom would have thrown together for fun.

The leader of the group, Erminio, was a misbehaving adventurer whose behavior was unpredictable and reckless, and who behaved with a “what are the government officials and the guild going to do?” He had not committed any criminal acts, so he had not been banned, but he had been warned by the Adventurers’ Guild on three occasions. It would not be surprising if he had ignored the guild’s notice and stormed into the royal capital.
 

Looking over the city walls, she noticed that one of the red rose flags had been set ablaze. The decision had been made to kill them all.

“It was a mistake. Maybe I should have left at least as many undead over here as the city walls could support.”

Since René wanted to have enough magic power for now, the undead left in the capital were only the elite few that could be maintained by Liches’s magic power. The rest were stored in the castle in a material state.

“I am sorry. The undead that were destroyed with «Consecration» are beyond repair.”

” You don’t have to apologize, Alastair. It’s enough that you managed to retrieve “Convict on Death Row”. Well, I wasn’t here to help. But may I ask you to count the loot? …≪Inventory≫”

When René used her magic, a large number of corpses appeared like a magic trick from the empty void and made a mountain of them in the square in front of the castle gate.

The corpses of knights and farmers, stabbed, slashed, and burned by magic, piled up with anguished expressions on their faces.

“I am pleased to see that the punishment of Earl Gaylor has gone well.”

Alastair nodded respectfully.

René had just gone to Count Gaylor’s territory on the northwestern edge of Ciel-Terra and crushed its capital.

Count Gaylor was one of the men who had descended upon Hilbert during the coup d’etat.

The spoils of war were these corpses.

Storage-type magic could be used to store and carry large quantities of items that would normally be impossible to carry around in subspace. Although large living creatures could not be stored (even an ant would be out depending on its size), corpses would not be affected. The high-level «Inventory» could easily carry 100s of corpses.

However, while using it, magic power would be consumed continuously. Although there was enough room in terms of magic power, the output of magic was reduced while using the «Inventory», and the cursed red blade of the Dullahan form, which was René’s greatest weapon, became numb.

In addition, if she had to maintain a large number of undead, she would not even be able to fly back, so she did not leave many undead behind in the royal capital.

“I brought this much back with me, but if I deduct the amount destroyed by “Decisive Drolette”, I’d say I’m left with a net zero. And what we lose in quality, we make up for in numbers… If I had been here, we would have won with less damage. It’s only a short walk back, so I’d still want to be ready to come if something happens.”

“There is no reason to be so serious. In the end, the princess cannot be bothered …”

“It can’t be helped… But I still think we need to consider drastic measures.”

René pondered.

Securing and commanding troops. Securing and defending bases. Intelligence gathering. Procurement of supplies…

There were so many things to do, but there was no way she could do it all by herself.

If René could destroy a country or the world by herself, that would be fine, but she knew that the ingenuity, skill, and solidarity of the human race could not be underestimated. In order to counter them, René also needed to lead a certain force.

At the moment, the most worrisome situation was the appearance of the Noacurio army in the eastern part of Ciel-Terra.

Hilbert had requested reinforcements from Noacurio before the fall of the royal capital. The advance airborne cavalry was defeated in the Battle of the Royal Capital, but the main ground force, the ground troops, also entered the country a few days later in a messy manner.

Using Hilbert’s request as their banner, they intended to keep the army in place and under their influence on the pretext of protecting the civilian population.

And perhaps it would be difficult for René to clash head-on with Noacurio’s army now. Without a good solution in mind, she was just going around killing targets far away from the Noacurio army.

–I still need to get some gear for my friends.

René thought again what she had previously considered.

She needed a strategy.

She needed arms and legs to help her.

It was wishful thinking, but she could not help wishing that Alastair had been here during the Revenant era.

In the battle to attack and capture the capital, René only presented a plan and a direction. It was Alastair who worked out the details of the strategy and created the flexible branching charts according to the situation.

Alastair, who was transformed into a ghoul after the battle, retained most of his knowledge, but he had lost most of his memory of the events …, in other words, his “connotations” based on his accumulated experience.

Udanosuke inherited his swordsmanship honed in actual combat, but it seemed that his memories related to direct combat skills were the only exception to the rule. Since even a skeleton without a brain inherited the skills it had before it was created, it seemed to have memories based on some element other than its living body.

The ghoulized Alastair was still competent because he was smart and had sufficient knowledge as an administrator, but the Alastair who was a brilliant commander and military strategist was no longer there.

He could at least consult with René about what should be done from now on, but it would be impossible for him to give precise advice as a skilled politician.

“Anyway, we will launch the attack on the Marquis Edfeldt’s territory as planned. As a provisional measure to secure human resources, we will bring in ghouls if there are any who seem to be competent. We also need to replenish our forces. I want to secure as many knights as possible. I wonder if there are any competent courtiers who were involved in the national politics somewhere. If we could get them into Revenants, they could give us some useful advice, even if only for a few days.”

” I am sorry. If I had been the person I used to be, I would have been able to tell you what you needed to know…”

“Don’t apologize. You have to think about your power ups. It’s a hard strategy…”

René paused in thought as she poked her cheekbones in the air.

The worst-case scenario, she thought, was to give up everything and go into a period of training, hiding in the darkness and only strengthening herself by feeding on souls. The strategy would be to thoroughly raise her level and then begin to ravage everything.

But that would be a last resort. If she took too much time, the targets of her vengeance would die peacefully in their beds.

To prevent that from happening, she was thinking of fighting while she could.

＊ ＊ ＊

The next day, a rain of paper fell on Terra Kaine, Marquis Edfeldt’s capital.

The papers were scattered by zombie pterodactyls soaring in the sky, and they were written with René’s signature: “Give up your lord and the lives of the people in the city will be spared”.

It was accompanied by a pictogram and a free material-like illustration made by René for the citizens who could not read.

The town was in an uproar.

It was reported that the fall of the capital was a given, and that several cities had been attacked since then.

Some people packed their belongings and fled to the east. There were those who offered white roses in temples and prayed.

There were also a few who, in a moment of bloodlust, stormed into the castle with the intention of offering up their lord, and these were immediately captured.

＊ ＊ ＊

Three days after the rain of leaflets fell on Terra Kaine, at the lord’s castle.

In a very shiny parlor, Marks Arnold Edfeldt, aka Marquis Edfeldt, was facing several adventurers.

Marks was in his fifties. He was a large man. He may have once had the body of a warrior, but now his girth was a bit unattractive. His balding hair was dark brown, and the survivors had been trimmed short.

“Let me introduce you to the “Decisive Drolette”! They are the best of the best, Marquis!”

One of the adventurers extended his hand and introduced the rest of the adventurers with a “Ta-da!”

She … or he, with his bouncy, energetic voice, which could be described as more alto than tenor, had sunset-colored eyes that shimmered and moved, and porcelain-white skin. His long, honey-colored hair was tied up in two sections with an exaggeratedly large, crimson ribbon.

He was Tracy, a girlish middle-aged man with a dazzling figure.

He presented the five members of the “Decisive Drolette”.

They were five people. All five, including Erminio, who had invaded the royal capital and lost his life, were present. The revival of Erminio had succeeded. It was thanks to the “Coffin of the Brave”, which prevented a decrease in the success rate of resuscitation over time, and the “Flying Carpet” that carried it.

The fall of the capital by the “Rose Princess of Hellrage” had made the lords …, especially those who had supported Hilbert, tremble with fear. They were rallying adventurers and mercenaries to protect themselves.

Tracy was a valuable 6th class Elite, even though he was a Thief, who was not suited for combat. Naturally, the Marquis had asked for him.

But as for Tracy, he didn’t want to get involved in this kind of thing. It was three days before he came to see the Marquis to refuse in person. If he was going to refuse, he thought it would be polite to meet with the Marquis and show him courtesy.

However, the conversation got complicated because the leaflets were spread while he was meeting the Marquis, of all people. Tracy, unable to refuse the Marquis’s desperate request, promised the Marquis that he would find a replacement escort for him and that he would keep him company, and he was released.

“Yes, indeed, Marquis. You have nothing to complain about. Your escort will be taken care of by this “Decisive Drolette”. I won’t be stingy about only escorting you. If that “Rose Princess of Hellrage” is coming, we’ll take her down.”

Erminio, introduced by Tracy, clenched his fists with renewed determination.

The way he contorted his thin face and bared his teeth was like a menacing serpent.

“… Those undead. I will make them regret what they did to me. I will exterminate the “Rose Princess of Hellrage” and all of her minions. And I’ll prove that the “Decisive Drolette” is better than the cowardly “Sub-Zero Crystal Spear” that’s running around on escort missions. The Adventurers’ Guild, which has unfairly kept me as a 5th class Adept, will soon wake up. Fufufu…”

Tracy watched the burning Erminio with warm eyes.

One reason why Erminio had chosen the Kingdom of Ciel-Terra as the site of his activities was that he could not freely work within or near the Holy Kingdom of Diletta because of the frequent interference of the Drolets. He also calculated that in a country of this size, he would be the ‘best adventurer in the country’.

In other words, Erminio believed that he was the best adventurer in the country, and that the “Decisive Drolette” was the best party in the country. He was eager to change his unfair reputation as the second best.

“But, master …, is there any way to defeat the “Rose Princess of Hellrage”?”

Edgar interrupted Erminio’s big talk. He probably believed that since he was only going out with them for money, he did not want to put himself in danger by going to extremes.

Erminio turned back to Edgar with a blatantly mocking look on his face.

“Listen, use your head a little. The capital is enemy territory. You never know what might happen. But if the enemy is going to jump into our hands with open arms, then there are a lot of ways we can do it. We could set a trap, or gather our allies and sack them… Yes, we can do the opposite of what they did the other day.”

“I see. As expected of master.”

‘Anyone can come up with that much, and if you can beat them with that much, you ain’t got no trouble.’… It was clear that Edgar was thinking that…, but he didn’t say it. Even the Marquis seemed to be holding back from saying something.

“I am very grateful to you. It is a great honor that you have responded to my call. I am looking forward to your work.”

“I hope, you see…, that I can betray your expectations. In the right way, of course.”

Instead of complaining, Marks shook hands with Erminio firmly.

Considering what Marks was about to do, he would want to have a connection with a powerful person in the Holy Kingdom of Diletta at all costs. Erminio, who jumped in right then and there, was an opportunity in itself for Marks. He would not want Erminio to turn the corner and leave.

Tracy’s introduction of “Decisive Drolette” was also based on that understanding of the situation.

Marks wanted a skilled escort as well as a messenger to the Holy Kingdom.

Erminio wanted a chance to fight the “Rose Princess of Hellrage”.

Tracy wanted to just push everything and run away.

It was a joke that made everyone angry.

“Umm, then… I’ll leave you to it, then, shall I? Marquis-sama.”

“Oh, thank you very much.”

Tracy was about to leave quickly, leaving the rest to the parties concerned.

And that was when Tracy put her hand on the doorknob.

Jingle, jingle, and the sound of a half-ringing bell rang out.

Everyone in the room gasped.

Tracy rushed to the window and… there was a shadow dancing in the sky.

Hippogriff and wyvern corpses flying with skeletons on their backs.

Outside the city walls, visible from the castle, were countless looming figures. It is an army of undead.

“Wait. Are they coming at this time? If you’d been an hour later, I could have gotten away?”

Tracy muttered in dismay.

“I’m too unlucky, aren’t I?”