Goshujin-sama to Yuku Isekai Survival!

Chapter 199 – Like A Cart-Horse

The work to seize control of the castle itself proceeded swiftly. This was due to the fact that Melty gave out crisp instructions, and Ellen followed up on those instructions, using not only the Liberation Army but also the people in the castle to carry them out. The fact that the soldiers of the Liberation Army were feared was probably a major factor. After all, they had crushed the outnumbered forces of the Holy Kingdom’s regular army without casualties. To the people of Merinesburg, the current Liberation Army must be seen as a powerful army of thousands strong.

The first step was disarmament at the royal castle in Merinesburg. As for the castle’s security, the riflemen and elite soldiers of the Liberation Army would take care of it, so there was no need for the Holy Kingdom’s forces to be involved. Since it would be a problem if they were to rebel at any opportunity, weapons such as swords, spears, bows and arrows, and even armor and gauntlets were thoroughly confiscated.

The next items confiscated were goods and food. Among the confiscated goods were money, jewelry, precious metals, and bills. Artwork and furnishings were also thrown into my inventory, leaving only the bare essentials. This is not to confiscate everything but to use my inventory to check the breakdown in detail. I will give the breakdown verbally, write out the list, and return it to the treasury tomorrow.

The same goes for food. The food reserves in the castle are emergency rations in case of siege or famine, so it would not be a good idea to leave them empty. If I keep them, there is no need to worry about them being stolen or deteriorating, but if I do that, I will be held as a warehouse keeper, so I plan to return them to the warehouse after writing out the list as well.

The reason why I am doing this is because it is risky to trust the documents from the Holy Kingdom side. In any case, the Liberation Army needs to examine everything at once for security reasons, so we are talking about doing it all at once. If we discover any discrepancies, we will be able to smoke out those who are sloppy in their management.

“So much to do…! There are so many things to do, hey…!”

Once the supplies have been stored in the castle, we must now go around Merinesburg to the various guard stations, military camps, quarters, armories, pantries, and other places to collect the government’s supplies, excluding civilian stocks as well. I had to make sure that the right supplies were in the right place at the right time and in the right quantity.

Naturally, I would use my inventory to do this. It is convenient to get an accurate number right away. After all, things are things. The number of swords, spears, and arrows alone is considerable, and when it comes to stockpiles of food, the mixed bag of defective items is still a cute little thing. There were even cases where the numbers didn’t quite add up or where the contents of a sack of wheat stowed away in the back of a warehouse were just gravel. Too much sloppy management…!

Whenever such a situation was discovered, Melty would smile a really nice smile. It’s a very amusing smile. Scary! Whoever is in charge, apologize! Apologize now! Hurry up! It’s not too late, you know!

After we finished storing the supplies with a shiver inside, it was time to construct a facility to house the prisoners of war. Most of the soldiers of the Holy Kingdom army who had engaged in the battle were dead, so the number of POWs was not so large, but many of the wounded were badly injured and needed clean beds and continuous medical care.

It is more of a hospital than a POW camp. Yeah. Well, it’s a bit of a high-security hospital.

This was to be built by provoking the land of a mansion in Merinesburg that was no longer occupied. It was apparently the residence of an influential man who fled from Merinesburg when the Liberation Army closed in on Erichburg.

The remaining furniture was thrown into my inventory, and the mansion was destroyed with a mithril tool to make it into a resource. The fences that the mansion was originally equipped with were high and sturdy, so we decided to use them as they were and completed the project by building watchtowers at key points. Since the water source was scarce, a water tower was built in the center of the POW camp using an unlimited water source.

Oh, numerous residents witnessed me smash the mansion with shiny pickaxes and shovels, level the ground, and in the blink of an eye, create magnificent tofu― cough, cough… magnificent POW camp. Honestly, there’s no way to hide it… The grounds are huge, after all. It was also difficult to evacuate the entire surrounding area.

As soon as it was completed, we asked Harpy of the bomb squad to fly in and bring the POWs to us.

Uh, so what’s next…? Damn, that’s a lot of work!

☆★☆

“I’m so tired.”

“You’re such a softy. Refill.”

“What the hell?”

“Kosuke is kind enough to offer us a refill despite his anger.”

After the hellish tallying work, I was also exhausted from the work of returning stockpiled supplies to the warehouse in the castle, which was supposed to be done tomorrow, but I was released when the sun went down, and it got dark. Or rather, I was rescued from Melty’s clutches by Sylphy. As an introduction, she asked me to serve her family an earthly dish. Sylphy is a real angel. Melty is evil.

And now, I’m serving Sylphy’s sisters and her mother a menu full of variety, which I put out at random to rave reviews. Aquawill-san prefers sweets, while Red Jersey’s favorites are meat-based dishes, pasta, and hearty dishes. Driada-san prefers junk food such as pizza and fried chicken.

The mother, Seraphita-san, seemed to have a small appetite, and after picking up a variety of dishes, she seemed to enjoy the mead I served her.

“It’s amazing. There are so many sweets I’ve never seen before; it’s like a… dream.”

“They don’t taste bad.”

“They are very tasty.”

I don’t like the attitude of the red jersey a little, but it seems to be generally well-received. What? Do you think it’s just a little girl’s joke, and it wouldn’t bother me. I think she’s actually older than me, though.

“Kosuke-san has a lot of talent, doesn’t he?”

Driada-san smiled at me, her cheeks slightly upturned. She has a beautiful face, but it’s a little disappointing that she has pizza sauce around her mouth. But I don’t mind women who eat a lot, yeah.

“I’m not so sure myself. I’m just good at what I do.”

“I think that the ability you are born with as a marebito is also your talent. You are using it well, aren’t you?”

“Is that so? I hope so.”

Seraphita-san said so, but when it comes to whether or not I am using my abilities to the fullest? I have to ask myself that question. I don’t do much to actively aim to unlock the achievements, and I think there are many areas that I have yet to work on due to being swept away by the circumstances around me. To begin with, I have not yet fully grasped the full extent of my abilities.

“You’re surprisingly condescending, aren’t you?”

“I’m just trying to be objective. When it comes to fully utilizing my abilities, I’m not that confident. I killed a lot of people before arriving here.”

Perhaps I could have shed less blood.

That said, I don’t think what I’ve done so far has been drastically wrong. It may not have been the best, but it would have been better. For the time being, however, Sylphy’s goal of freeing her family has been achieved.

“I apologize. It’s not the kind of thing to say at a celebration, is it?”

“No. We are the ones who have to accept everything, including those things.”

“That is true. Mother is right.”

Driada-san agreed with Seraphita-san’s words.

Twenty years passed before the girls woke up. The number of subhumans who lost their lives or suffered misfortune, even if they did not die, due to the rule of the Holy Kingdom during that time is immeasurable. In addition, there were many soldiers of the Liberation Army who were killed by the Holy Kingdom in order to rescue them. They are now standing on the corpses of these people.

“What are we going to do now? We will have to make a decision.”

It is no exaggeration to say that their existence is a direct cause of the attack on the Merinard Kingdom by the Holy Kingdom. The Holy Kingdom wanted their blood, even if it meant starting a war. If the girls are released from their slumber, the Holy Kingdom may invade the Merinard Kingdom again.

If the Liberation Army regained the territory of the Merinard Kingdom, how would they treat the girls? Since Sylphy is the leader of the Liberation Army, it is unlikely that the girls will be treated lightly as their relatives, but does that mean that there is a place for them in the core of the revived Merinard Kingdom? That seems a bit subtle to me.

Of course, it is not difficult to imagine that they will be treated reasonably as Sylphy’s family, but I do not have a good idea about their political status, position, or what kind of role they will play. I don’t have a clue about the hard stuff.

“Well… I think it would be better to put all the hard talk to the side and just be happy to be reunited with family members.”

“You’re the one who started the conversation.”

“That’s rude! Eat this!”

“What’s this… Hot?”

I offered the Takoyaki to Red Jersey after saying that. I’ll tell her what’s in it after she eats it all. And I’ll give a SAN check to Red Jersey for eating that unidentifiable creature.