Chapter 200: 200

–Aegir POV–

In the still-oppressive heat of the midday, the rhythmic sound of stomping steel boots continue endlessly .

I am seated on Schwartz, watching as a gathering of soldiers pass by in front of me .

Irijina and Celia, who are standing at attention on either side of me, remain motionless .

「Everyone, halt! Face to the right, riiiiiiight!!」

The legs of the soldiers stop in place, there was a remarkably loud metallic clang and the battle lines turn all at once .

Without delay, horns sound out while gongs and drums thump repeatedly .

The soldiers raise their swords and spears in time with the steady beat .

This wasn’t the wild cheering done to psyche oneself up before a battle, it was a more orderly…… and ceremonial act .

「Salute to Hardlett-sama!」

The soldiers face me and collectively salute .

I reply by raising my sword, making sure not to show them how troublesome I think this whole thing is .

「Turn right!」

The soldiers turn once again and resume their march with their swords and spears held high .

Their organized marching really makes me admire how well trained they are, but this parade has absolutely no military significance .

「That Leopolt, he’s skipping out . 」

「It can’t be helped . This is just a ceremonial service, after all…… without Leopolt-san, it would hinder military practice . 」

Even the cute Celia is taking his side .

The wounds in my stomach and side caused by those rusty weapons are shallow, but they hurt, and more importantly I’m forbidden by the doctor to drink any alcohol .

This must be what they call adding insult to injury .

Oh yeah, Kroll also had the doctor look at him, I don’t know what for though .

「A ceremony for the repose of souls, huh…… do we really need something like this?」

Myla answers that mix of sighing and complaining .

「The residents near Rafen, especially those living outside the city walls, are worried and asking for it . ……you can’t blame them . Several hundred corpses suddenly rose from the dead after all . 」

「We defeated the main culprit so it should be fine though . 」

This incident is different from the regular spawning of zombies .

That Lich used some way to revive the dead and manipulate them, but we defeated that thing so we shouldn’t have anything to worry about now .

With that guy defeated, all the zombies are currently back in their motionless state as just corpses .

「Even so, their worries won’t disappear . Isn’t it better if we hold a festival like this to ease their minds?」

The ceremony being held right at this moment is for that purpose and also for the large amount of soldiers who have died recently . The gallant marching and music is to disperse the evil spirits and guide the souls to the otherworld…… or so I’m told .

I don’t have any particular problems with the ceremony itself .

I don’t mind the cost associated with the ceremony either .

「My complaint is why I have to stand in the middle of this stupid heat . 」

Schwartz neighs to express his discontent as well .

In the first place, you’re the one who’s all black and making me unnecessarily hot . Why don’t you take my feelings into consideration and turn white?

Not to mention, this guy was having fun with a woman just recently .

Whenever he has a chance, he’s lining up his favorite mare and that woman, who he made fall and is currently in charge of his breeding, and indulging himself .

That woman’s hole is darkened and her outer lips are all stretched out, so much so that they can be seen hanging loosely even when she stands…… her pussy has been stretched until it’s gaping in order to accommodate Schwartz’s size .

With the way her genitals are right now, she can’t be satisfied with a human partner anymore…… although she’s madly in love with Schwartz, so maybe it’s not really a problem .

「What a spoiled bastard, I’ll pluck the hair on your back . 」

Schwartz turns his head in my direction as if telling me to stop .

「Please stop with this unproductive discussion . With Lord Hardlett here, citizens and soldiers alike feel more secure . I believe it’s an important job as a feudal lord . 」

Now that I look, the soldiers are surrounding the outer perimeter of the cemetery, watching over the citizens as they march and play their instruments .

It’s true, the people do look a little more relieved with the army in front of them .

「It’s about time for the loud accompaniment . 」

I guess I’ll go along with it, now bring on whatever is next .

「Ah, just do whatever preparations you need…………」

「Tristan, please do what I asked more seriously . 」

Myla glares at Tristan, who gives out orders in a deflated tone .

「Cannon squad……fire . 」

The citizens raise a tiny scream when they hear the thundering sounds .

White smoke spews out from the aligned cannons .

「Woah, you’re gonna fire off the cannons in a place like this!?」

It’s dangerous, plus the barrel of the cannons will explode right away .

「No need to worry . The amount of gunpowder was reduced and cannonballs weren’t loaded . The noise may shock the citizens, but it should also act as a display of strength . 」

Exactly like Myla said, the gathered residents of the city may have been in shock and bewilderment at what the strange sounds were, but eventually scattered cheers began to rise .

The shooting may be for encouraging them .

「Aegir-sama, now is the time for you to address everyone . 」

Celia remains indomitable and sticks close to Myla .

No choice, I’ll get this over with .

I raise my Dual Crater in the air and call out to the soldiers and citizens .

The sword was already beautiful on its own, but becomes like a shiny jewel as it deflects the sun’s rays .

「Hear me, everyone! There was in fact a strange incident with zombies just the other day . The cause of that mess was an evil spirit who made a nest in the old mausoleum…… however, I have quickly dispatched the threat so there is no need to worry . Even if there are any problems in the future, the army will be mobilized to eliminate them . Therefore, rest assured . 」

That’s the best I can do, I’ll probably make things worse by talking too much .

「If the feudal lord-sama says so, then……」

「You heard that loud sound just now, didn’t you? It’ll blow away any zombies . 」

「Seems like the feudal lord-sama defeated the main cause too . 」

「According to the rumors, that ghost was beaten down with his dick . 」

「That’s not it, I heard that the ghost got skewered by his dick . 」

「If it’s the feudal lord-sama, that might be possible . I hear that it gets as long as his height if he gets serious . 」

The soldiers and citizens face me and cheer, with everyone seemingly satisfied with my explanation .

I’m glad they understand, although I’m not sure what the latter part was about . Was Celia the one who spread those rumors?

「It was Leopolt-san and Adolph who said to spread those rumors so that the people would feel reassured! Myla-san also agreed with them! But using a dick…… I have no words . 」

「Just when there haven’t been many weird rumors floating around recently . 」

What kind of pervert would use a dick to exterminate a ghost?

I simply squeezed it tight and slammed it into the ground .

「That’s plenty strange in itself though . 」

I pinch Celia’s cheeks lightly to make her obedient .

「Hgah, hgah…… please stop! Ah, you’re even stroking my butt!」

I shift my gaze and look past the showy ceremony to find the engineering corps moving around in a corner of the cemetery .

「What are they building over there?」

「Adolph-san told you, didn’t he? It’s an incinerator…… apparently . Those who are suspected to be turned into undead or infected with some sort of plague will be cremated before they’re buried . 」

So the corpses will be thrown in the fire .

「Normally, the citizens would say that it’s quite sad to see bodies burned like that, but now they’re rather receptive . Far from thinking it’s a bad idea, they’re helping out free of charge . 」

It’s certainly the case that the corpses won’t turn into zombies or skeletons if you burn them .

During wartimes, we also gather the large number of bodies and burn them so they don’t become undead .

So it also helps prevent spreading of diseases too, huh .

「I don’t know whether to call it clever or wicked to use the citizens’ fear of undead like that . 」

But maybe you have to think this way if you want to be a domestic affairs official .

「Let’s see, that should be the end of everything related to the public . So, how did it go?」

After seeing the ceremony to the end, we returned to the mansion’s office .

This talk isn’t something to be done in front of the soldiers or citizens after all .

All the ceremonies held until now were for the sake of reassuring the people and not for any other particular reason .

The more important issue at hand is that basement underneath the mausoleum…… or more specifically, the investigation of the place where the source of our problem, the Lich, came from .

I wanted to participate as well, but I was stopped on the basis of my injuries .

Celia’s face tenses up angrily .

She’s cute, though I think she’ll get upset if I rub her ass now .

「10 members were chosen from the escort unit to investigate . They found several skeletons but eliminated them without trouble . There were no injuries…… my mistake, Christoph fell over and was knocked unconscious . 」

「No injuries, huh . I’m sure mere skeletons won’t be able to defeat the heavily armed escort squad . So, what else did they find?」

「There was one coffin found with chains wrapped around it . They tried opening it to look inside, but it appeared to be more of a mould than a coffin . Lead was used to harden the interior of the stone coffin…… so they couldn’t tell if there were bones or anything else inside . 」

「……I see . 」

Binding the dead from the outside and pouring lead inside isn’t normal at all .

That coffin may have been suppressing the main culprit .

In any case, I’m sure I split that guy in half and extinguished him with my Dual Crater .

The body shouldn’t be important anymore .

「There was also this book, or rather a diary . From what I can see, it seems to be extremely old and is falling apart here and there…… and it contains many hard to understand expressions that we don’t use today, so we can’t glean any information from it . 」

The diary which Celia carefully takes out of from the cloth it was wrapped in looked to be ancient and damaged to the point where any mishandling would cause it to crumble .

「It was left on top of the aforementioned coffin . I don’t think it’s anything important . 」

「I wonder about that . 」

The book might make things clear about the life that person had when alive .

I heard that a Lich is when a powerful magic caster turns into a ghost after death .

Questions like what kind of person was that magic user, how did that person live and how did that person die and even the reason of why that person turned into an apparition may be obtained from that book .

「But that’s probably meaningless too . 」

I take a sip of tea and rest my elbow on the desk .

That guy’s already finished as a person .

The moment the individual died, it was no longer a human . A Lich is just another monster, nothing more than the dregs of life .

There is no point even if we dig up any more of his life .

The dead just returned to being dead and turned into dust .

I unusually put up a front and look far in the distance out the window .

（Yaaay, yaaaay, today’s snack is my favorite pumpkin pie~）

Casie is lightly floating this way .

「……there are some people who enjoy life even after they die after all, maybe I’ll take a quick peek . 」

「What are you talking about? Unfortunately, I don’t understand anything in there either……」

If Celia can’t read it, then most people probably can’t .

Which leaves me with only that person .

He should be back now that the clean-up of the ceremony is done .

「Haa…… you want me to read this worn out thing……?」

「Right, it’s not like I’m asking you to transcribe the entire thing . It’s fine as long you can get some meaning from it . 」

「Well it’s still a book, this unnecessarily old diary…… I’m sure whatever is written won’t even be that interesting, but if you’re asking me to do the work I’m paid for, then……」

「Stop mumbling and read it already!」

Tristan gives the irritated Celia a sidelong glance before carefully flipping open the book .

Every time he flipped a page, the book tears a little and pages start falling out, although I don’t mind because I won’t be reading this thing a second time .

With every page, Tristan reads out the contents in an unmotivated tone .

Celia gets annoyed at the way he translates, but now we have a rough understanding of everything .

”A long, long time ago, a certain man lived in the small city we call Rafen .

The man was an extremely skilled magic user and he was quite well-known, with his name not only widespread amongst the residents, but also known by the feudal lord and nearby nobles .

He could wield a wide array of spells ranging from wind magic to lightning and water magic and he was extolled as a matchless magic user .

However, the man wasn’t satisfied .

The man was a magic user who mastered a variety of magic but he only ended up as a skilled magic user for each type of magic .

He learned everything from fire magic to bewitching magic, although he never became a caster of legends .

Believing in his own ability, the man continued searching for a magic which suited him the best .

Until finally, the man found it .

And that was magic to control the dead . ”

It was supposed to read like a diary, but this is how Tristan explains the contents .

「User of the dead…… was it?」

「The wind magic and lightning magic were powerful too, no?」

Alice can only use fire magic, but she probably has more power in her attacks than the Lich .

In other words, that guy was a Jack of all trades and master of none, able to do everything neither exceptionally nor poorly .

I guess I can understand a little bit of how sad he felt when he was praised as a skilled magic user .

「But to use the dead of all things……」

Magic isn’t exactly forbidden in Goldonia or any other country .

There is also the fact that not enough people exist who can use magic that requires laws to be made specifically for them in the first place, but people who are capable of small feats can be street performers while the more powerful and skilled users can use magic to help them become village chiefs or even a feudal lord .

There are cases like Alice’s where it caused discord with others, but in her situation, the relationship with her father was the problem .

「But still, a magic related to the dead……」

「It’s unheard of . 」

Never hearing of something doesn’t necessarily mean it doesn’t exist .

Common sense dictates that anything which uses another person’s corpse and manipulates it is taboo .

It just isn’t logical, it gives off the same unpleasant physiological feeling as a human eating another human’s flesh .

「Continue reading on . 」

I have a pretty good picture already though .

”The man was delighted .

It was because he felt the infinite possibilities with this magic unlike any others .

The number of dead he could control quickly rose from 5 to 10, then 10 to 20 .

In order to master the magic to control the dead, the man devoted everything to learning the intricacies .

However, the man realized .

The city of Rafen was small and the cemetery was too cramped .

Even if he dug up the entire cemetery, he would not be able to retrieve a decent corpse .

At this rate, the man would not be able to challenge his own limits .

That’s why the man decided to create more dead people .

Fortunately, the man was skilled in using many different magic and there was not a single person in the city who could oppose him . ”

「And that’s how he ended up like this . 」

「……my goodness…… so something like that happened in Rafen……」

I gently hug the trembling Celia and rub her boobs too .

Judging by the age of the book, it probably happened more than several decades ago .

I’m sure there is nobody in the city who remembers him .

「What an unpleasant story . You’d want to hole yourself up in your room for three days after reading that . 」

Tristan continues reading, ignoring the comment that complained how he’s always holed up in his room anyways .

”The man attained many corpses .

Furthermore, he made magic tools to increase his own magic power and surpass the limits of his own body .

He took the hair of the dead and wove each one to create his mantle .

He bathed that mantle in the entrails and spinal fluid of the dead to allow resentment and hatred to dwell in it .

The mantle was dyed black . ”

「Uwaa…… that’s terrible . 」

「It wouldn’t turn so black even with the hair of that many people though . 」

「A-Aegir-sama! You gave that mantle to Leopolt-san, didn’t you!?」

Umu, it would go well with the black theme of my army, so he’s probably wearing it now .

「I’m sure he’ll be fine . Continue . 」

「I wonder if he’ll be alright…… if he turns into an undead……」

I don’t want to see an undead Leopolt, I’ll go check on him later .

「Everything onward is not part of the diary . ……it’s the record of the guards . 」

”The man could not see anything but his own magic .

The thing that ended that path of his was a single arrow .

The arrow drenched in plenty of poison pierced the man’s arm and he passed away after writhing in pain .

Even though the man died, the guards and the people of the village feared he would control his own corpse, so they placed his body in a heavy stone coffin, poured melted lead inside, wrapped chains around the coffin and buried the entire coffin underneath the mausoleum .

This is done just to make sure that demon doesn’t come back to life for all eternity . ”

「That’s the end . 」

「He revived anyways though . 」

I’m glad I didn’t hear any of the story and become unmotivated .

I would absolutely never come to understanding with a guy like that .

Well, now I have to go and tell Leopolt .

I leave the mansion and call out to Leopolt who is monitoring the training on the parade grounds .

「Yo…… that mantle-」

「Hauah!」

He is already splendidly wearing that mantle, which made Celia yell out in a strange voice and step back .

I guess he couldn’t just not use something which I, as his superior, gave him after all .

As a good superior, I should explain all the details to him .

「……I see . 」

After hearing the story, Leopolt excitedly, yet expressionlessly, takes off the mantle .

「If this would call upon the likes of undead creatures, it would cause unnecessary trouble . I know it’s rude, but please allow me to remove it . 」

Yeah, I don’t mind at all .

You don’t have to give it back to me though .

I don’t want it either .

Leopolt removed the article of clothing from his body and resumes the monitoring of training as if nothing happened .

As usual, he’s got no expression on his face and it was as if nothing changed .

「You’re fine even after hearing all that…… does that mean you really don’t have any emotions?」

「Who knows . 」

That night, Leopolt, who normally doesn’t bath inefficiently, took a two-hour long bath .

I also spotted him scrupulously washing his attendant Nina’s clothes .

That guy, in actual fact maybe he’s slightly curious about her?

Bedroom

「In the end, it seems Leopolt stayed in the bath forever . 」

「How vulgar . Good grief . 」

It makes me grin when I imagine Leopolt making a troubled face for once, but Myla got angry at me .

The one who always comes to my room to take care of me is Celia, but it seems like she’s busy dealing with the aftermath of the ceremony today .

「I said I would help as well…… but she was stubborn and insisted that she could do it herself, so I let her . 」

「Celia might be trying to one up you . 」

「Haa, is that how it is?」

Myla is superior when it comes to swordplay, although it can’t be helped if you consider the difference in height of Celia who is 160 cm to Myla who is 170 cm .

The difference in experience between Celia, who is still learning about leadership, and Myla, who once led an army, is also clear .

That girl may consider Myla her rival .

「I’m already 27 years old…… if I fall behind a girl who hasn’t even turned 20 yet, I don’t know what I’d do . 」

「That might be true, but she’s a hard worker and hates losing . She won’t be able to accept that fact so easily . 」

I sit on the bed and pour alcohol in two glasses .

The doctor only forbade me to drink in the morning, and it’s night time right now, so the situation has changed .

Myla bows once before taking a seat beside me .

「Moreover…… she may be competing with you in this area too . 」

I embrace Myla and fondle her breasts over her clothes .

「Aau…… aaau……」

Myla, who normally puts up a resistance to anything lewd, doesn’t do so this time .

Women who are my lovers have to allow their breasts to be grabbed in the bedroom…… that knowledge is as natural as breathing is .

There is no doubt that she came into my room tonight with the intention of accepting my cock .

「Uuu…… it’s never going to be as big as Nonna-san’s though . 」

「It’s wrong of you to compare with Nonna . ……you have a nice pair of breasts that tempt men . 」

Myla’s boobs are sufficiently big .

If Maria hears you calling them small, she would cry tears of blood .

Celia’s boobs have been growing at a rapid pace recently although they don’t come close to Myla’s size yet .

They both have a pair of nice and soft breasts .

「If you fondle them so much…… aahn」

I kiss her neck while rubbing her boobs and make her let out a sexy moan .

That should turn on her switch .

I push Myla down and kiss her neck like I’m sucking on it .

I gradually lower my mouth as I rip open the chest area of her shirt, licking the mounds of flesh and eventually rolling my tongue over her nipples…… .

「Please wait!」

All of a sudden, Myla pushes my face away and stands up from the bed .

She’s not going to postpone this for later is she…… especially when my dick is starting to get in the mood .

「I don’t have a problem with you coming onto me . I came here with that intent in the first place…… it’s not that, but since it’s just the two of us, I wanted to do things from the start, you know, like in the right order . 」

「Alright . Then stand over there . 」

Myla stands a little bit apart from the bed .

I follow after her and cling to her body although I don’t pull her panties down or suck on her breasts .

It might be nice to do it like two virgins .

「My lips……nnh」

I hug her from the front and press my lips against hers .

It was a kiss where no tongue was used and only our lips pushed together . It was not supposed to induce any sexual excitement, but Myla closed her eyes like she was enjoying it and her body leaned in towards me .

We repeatedly pecked at each other and the intensity of the kisses gradually increased .

First our mouths would part slightly, and then my tongue would flick at her teeth, and then my tongue would enter deeper into her mouth .

「Nnh, nnh, nnh—! Nnn!」

Everything up until now was to her liking so Myla also began to extend her tongue, tangling hers with mine almost like the two tongues were wrestling with each other .

First, I would send some of my saliva into her mouth, which she swallows, then she would send saliva into mine .

It was intense but a gentle and pleasant kiss .

「Puha」

「Nnhaa…… haa, haa」

When we pulled our mouths apart from each other, a strand of saliva formed a bridge between our lips .

Myla looked at me somewhat reluctant to stop, however it’s about time we move to the next stage .

「Will you take it off yourself? Or do you want me to take it off?」

「Could I ask you…… to strip me?」

Her cute voice makes me smile unconsciously .

The way I took her clothes off was by no means rough, as I removed her jacket carefully like any attendant would their master and do the same for the shirt worn underneath .

Because it is still summer time, only two pieces of house-clothing were rolled up before her breasts came into my sight .

Her nipples are already erect and hard .

「Oh…… fufufu, you’re already raring to go . 」

Myla’s face turns red .

The faint scent of fruit juice seems to emit from her now naked upper body .

It looks like she put on perfume .

Following that, I quietly, but with quick motions, lower her pants .

When I removed the last piece of clothing, her lower lips adorned with a beautiful layer of gold hair opened slightly .

「How pretty . 」

「P-please don’t compliment a place like that!」

I was thinking of using my mouth to start, but Myla put a hand on my head .

「Um…… it’s embarrassing if I’m the only one who’s naked . Please take your clothes off, Lord Hardlett . 」

Right, let’s get these clothes out of the way immediately .

After I pulled my shirt off to reveal my naked upper body, a hand stretches to my side .

「This wound…… was it when you defeated the Lich?」

「It was from an old blade after all . The medicine was effective so there shouldn’t be any concern of the w