"I curse you, human." A beastman growled as blood flowed out of his lips.
Next, the space around his body crumbled, and he was crushed into a mess of flesh and blood.
"This was the last, huh." Headmistress Evelyn stretched out her body and let out a long sigh. Around her, the remains of several beastmen lay dead, cut into pieces, or torn to bots.
It was the result of her hunt for the beastmen that had infiltrated the empire.
In total, she had faced twenty teams of beastmen, and she had killed every one of them.
Besides the team with three Irregulars in it, none of the other beastmen had been able to offer any kind of resistance.
"I guess it's time to go back. A shame the battle there already finished. I would have liked to participate too." Evelyn spoke to herself as her black hair moved with the wind. She then waved her hand, distorting the space around her as she got ready to teleport back to Claus and the others.
But just at that moment, she felt a relatively powerful fluctuation of mana nearby.
"… Did a rat escape?" Evelyn raised an eye in surprise and looked in the direction of the fluctuation of mana.
The mana belonged to a robed figure. Evelyn could not see her features clearly, but she noticed that the figure was female, and judging by her tattered robe, she seemed like she had gone through a very rough situation recently.
Evelyn observed the figure carefully, but then, she narrowed her eyes.
"You… You are not a beastman. Who are you?" Evelyn asked warily.
The robed figure shook softly before falling to her knees.
"Please. I need to see His Highness Claus. Something bad has happened."
…
The first battle against the Beastmen Alliance was very cruel. The number of casualties suffered by both sides was in the tens of thousands. The smell of blood could be felt from kilometers away.
This was definitively the cruelest war in thousands of years. And it was just the start.
Fortunately, this first battle could be considered as our victory.
The casualties on the beastmen's side were twice as high as ours. Moreover, the beastmen lost a lot of high-level combatants, but none of my girls died.
No matter how you looked at it, it seemed like an overwhelming victory for us.
But this overwhelming victory only improved our situation slightly.
Even after killing over thirty Irregulars in the previous battle, Emilia's side still had seven times more Irregulars than us.
Furthermore, I was not sure how many tricks she was still hiding. I did not dare to underestimate her.
Of course, it's not as though I think I will lose.
Quite the opposite, I have not shown my greatest trump card yet.
It is my joker for this showdown against Emilia. A card whose power is enough to turn the situation around even if the worst happens.
Plus, unlike the fake Irregulars that Emilia created, my girls still have a lot of potential unearthed.
Even now, they are still growing. And the battle they just fought will make them grow even more.
"Rest for a while, I will prepare a place where you can digest your gains of this battle," I said to the girls as long as they returned from the battle.
The girls nodded. In the next instant, some of them collapsed on the nearby couches and chairs due to their fatigue, and others simply decided to lie down on the floor.
Even my beloved maid, Daisy, who normally behaves as an exemplary maid, was sprawled on a table while groaning due to her tiredness.
I chuckled softly seeing that and started to work.
My girls worked hard, so I decided to put a bit of effort too. I could not help them directly in battle, but there was a lot that I could do.
Around one hour later, a pocket dimension where time runs ten times faster was ready. But unlike the previous pocket dimension, I added a lot of things to this one.
A hot spring (I teleported a hot spring from the real world and put it in the pocket dimension), several comfy coaches, and a kitchen I could use to prepare nice food for my girls among other things.
I'm sure it will help them to relax after the previous battle, and it will be useful to help them to digest their gains from the previous battle.
Once I was done with the pocket dimension, I went to tell the girls about it. But just then, I found that one of them was on the roof of the base.
Rose.
I sighed and moved through space, appearing beside her silently.
The hero noticed my presence and looked at me before smiling. However, I noticed that her smile seemed a bit forced and… sad.
It was not hard to understand the reason behind that. Looking ahead of us, I could see the reason.
Thousands of dead bodies lying on the ground where the battle happened. Some of them burnt into ashes, some of them cut into pieces, and some of them torn asunder.
Currently, people from both sides were carrying the bodies of their comrades away. Meanwhile, the cries of pain and agony from the injured could be heard faintly, together with the sobs coming from the people that lost someone important in the previous battle.
Such a sight was reflexed in Rose's pupils. All the suffering and destruction caused by this war fell in her eyes, making this benevolent hero bit her lips.
She knew the reason why this war started. Tens of thousands of people had died today, just because they were involved in the game between Emilia and us.
"… This is wrong," Rose said with a downcast expression. "They should have not died."
"Rose…"
"They had nothing to do with this. All these people died unjustly, just because Emilia wanted to test us… How many more are going to die for this stupid war?"
I sighed and sat beside her. Then, I pulled her towards me, letting her head rest on my chest.
"Do you think we are responsible for this?" I asked.
"… That is… Well, a bit… I can't help but think that this is in part our fault… A-Am I wrong?"
"Rose, did you want this to happen?"
"Of course not!"
"And do you think you could have done anything to stop this war from happening?"
Rose fell silent and bit her lips.
"That is the answer," I said while stroking her hair softly. "You didn't want this to happen, and you could do nothing to stop this from happening. So, it's not your fault."
"But… all these people that died…"
"If you want to do something for them. Then end this war as soon as possible. That will be enough."
"End the war, huh." Rose looked at her hands with a dazed expression. But soon, her eyes became firm.
"I understand. Thank you, Claus. I will do my best."
I kissed Rose's cheek and hugged her softly. "I know. You are amazing after all."
Rose blushed softly and rested her body against mine.
"… By the way, about Emilia… Do you plan to accept her?"
I was startled before smiling wryly. This girl sure is perceptive.
Well, I never planned to hide it since the start.
"I owe her a lot. If I can, I want to make her happy."
"… I don't like her. These people died due to her." Rose said with a cold look, but when she saw my wry smile, her expression softened. "However, I will respect your choice."
"Thank you. I love you." I said and kissed the hero's nose, making her ears turn red.
Just at that moment, we felt a fluctuation of space beside us. Rose and I immediately turned around, only to see Headmistress Evelyn appear suddenly.
But to our surprise, she was not alone.
"Boy, someone wants to see you," Evelyn said and looked at the robed figure behind her.
In the next second, the robed figure kneeled in front of me and took off her hood, revealing a grey-skinned woman with yellow eyes and a desperate expression on her face.
"Aru'Dana, servant of Her Highness E'Athar Deora, Second Princess of the Daemon Empire, is here with a message for His Highness Claus."
My expression immediately became serious.
"Do speak."
"Her Highness is in danger.. She hopes that your highness, her lover, can go to help her."