Thousands of zombie corpses were piled up like a white mountain range.
Soon after, one zombie crawled out from the corpse pile.
[Kii…… Giik…….]
A soldier zombie crawled forward, dripping green bodily fluids.
At that moment—
Crunch!
A massive greatsword slammed down onto the zombie.
Then, Jeanne sheathed Ganjiang Moya and spoke.
“That was the last one, Master.”
“Okay, good work.”
I looked around.
The surroundings were dyed pure white.
Zombie corpses were piled densely everywhere the eye could see.
Beyond them, the traces of a desperate battle were visible.
Broken barricades. Traces of explosions.
Castle walls smeared with oil and blood. Thousands of arrows embedded in the ground, and more.
Jeanne approached me and said,
“If Master had been even slightly late in intervening…… they would not have been able to hold out.”
“Yeah, that was really close to disaster.”
A sigh of relief escaped naturally.
Who would have thought a zombie legion would attack while I was out buying cooking ingredients?
I had nearly watched all my hard work go up in smoke in an instant.
At that moment.
Screeech—Thud!
The tightly closed gates of the citadel began to open.
Soldiers started walking out one by one from the opened gateway.
Limping soldiers, blood-soaked soldiers, pale-faced soldiers, hollow-eyed soldiers.
Even those struggling to move came out supported by their comrades.
No one spoke a word.
The soldiers merely looked around, unable to believe their eyes.
Then, our eyes met theirs.
“Oh right, I almost forgot about this.”
I lifted the long pole I had been carrying on my shoulder.
Black towels and clothes tied around the end of the pole.
Flutter flutter—
They waved like a black flag.
……In the Ravianglily Kingdom, the white flag proves ‘sworn enemies who will fight until one side is annihilated,’ while the black flag proves ‘allies who would not hesitate to die for each other.’
The Ravianglily etiquette Jeanne had told me about.
That was why I had properly prepared a black flag this time.
Sure enough, the soldiers’ eyes were far more friendly than last time.
Effect confirmed.
Of course, it wasn’t just the black flag that achieved this.
Music and food.
Over a full week, I had steadily built up the soldiers’ favorability.
If things had gone according to plan, the citadel gates would have opened by themselves within a few days.
A way to enter the enemy’s impregnable fortress without shedding a single drop of blood.
Turn the enemy into allies.
The so-called ‘cultural victory.’
Mr. Kim Gu, are you watching?
At that moment, a soldier who still looked like a fresh recruit started walking over unsteadily.
One step. Another step. And another.
Thud. Thud thud.
With every step, the soldier’s expression brightened little by little.
“This…… this…….”
Soon, he shouted with a bright smile.
“We won! We survived aaaah—!”
Then the other soldiers burst into cheers.
“It’s a miracle…… This is a miracle!”
“Waaaaah! We won!”
“Hurray! Hurray! Long live forever~!”
Soldiers hugged each other.
Soldiers laughed heartily.
Some soldiers collapsed as their legs gave out.
Others sighed in relief while looking up at the sky.
Then.
“Stand at attention!”
A sharp voice rang out from inside the gate.
The soldiers jumped and straightened up.
Soon after, the guard captain walked out with her blue bob hair fluttering.
Thud thud thud thud—
Her steps were perfectly disciplined, without a single flaw.
The guard captain stood tall before the soldiers.
Then,
“Hecate Citadel Guard Unit, salute!”
Snap!
The guard captain gave a crisp salute.
The soldiers all saluted in unison.
The guard captain and soldiers stared at us with solemn expressions.
Who would have thought the day would come when I received salutes from over a hundred soldiers.
However.
***
“?”
No matter how long I waited, the salute did not end.
The guard captain and soldiers remained frozen in position, not moving an inch.
Ah. Is this what I think it is……
I returned a brief salute like I used to do back when I was a discharged soldier.
Only then did the guard captain and soldiers lower their hands.
“We apologize on behalf of Hecate Citadel! Please forgive the rudeness we have committed! We have gravely offended you by failing to recognize an honored guest!”
The guard captain bowed so deeply her body almost folded in half.
I waved my hands.
“Oh, no. We had some fault on our side too. We were waving the black flag around without understanding its meaning.”
“Even so, when we were in trouble, you helped without the slightest hesitation. I feel too ashamed to even lift my head.”
“Since the misunderstanding is cleared, it’s fine. Let’s call it even. In return, please don’t shoot any more arrows. It hurts when they hit.”
The guard captain’s shoulders twitched.
She closed her eyes and trembled as if holding something back.
After a moment, the guard captain continued with a firm expression.
“Thank you once again for your generous treatment, Benefactor.”
Benefactor?
The title was quite cringeworthy.
Well, whatever.
Soon, the guard captain placed her fist against her left chest.
“Allow me a late introduction! I am Sen Hyal, Guard Captain of Hecate Citadel!”
“Sen……. Hyal…….”
Jeanne flinched as she stared at the guard captain.
The guard captain was also staring intently at Jeanne.
Then Jeanne spoke.
“Are you…… a person from the Sen family?”
“Yes, Your Highness the Princess.”
Princess.
At that single word, the entire area stirred.
“Did the guard captain just say……”
“She said princess…… definitely.”
“If it’s that princess…… no way…….”
“The royal family of Ravianglily? That person……?”
The soldiers looked at Jeanne with confused expressions.
Regardless, Jeanne could not take her eyes off the guard captain.
Her gaze was mixed with joy, sorrow, and longing.
Eventually, the guard captain spoke first.
“May I ask if you know about our family?”
“I had a warrior who roamed the battlefields with me…… and my only close friend. It was a man from the Sen family named Sen Hybaren.”
Hearing that name brought back memories.
Jeanne’s vice-captain, Sen Hybaren.
The unfortunate female knight who was toyed with by the Seven Traitors and fell to become the Skeleton Queen.
She had finally found peace at Jeanne’s hand in the Lethe Tower.
To meet a distant relative of Hybaren here inside the magic spear.
That’s what they mean when they say you never know what lies ahead in life.
Then, Guard Captain Hyal spoke.
“Princess, if I may dare ask a question…… Did you and the Benefactor come from outside the Demon Realm?”
It seemed the people of the citadel referred to the magic spear as the Demon Realm.
Jeanne and I nodded our heads.
Joy bloomed on the guard captain’s face.
“So the world outside the Demon Realm truly exists! We had been so worried that the outside world might have been destroyed.”
The guard captain continued in an excited voice.
“Does the Princess’s arrival mean…… we can finally return to our hometown, the Ravianglily Kingdom?”
……No.
Jeanne shook her head sorrowfully.
“The Ravianglily Kingdom has been destroyed.”
The guard captain and soldiers blinked silently.
Jeanne continued.
“The royal palace has vanished without a trace, the territory has been contaminated by darkness, and the people have had their souls stolen and now wander as undead soldiers.”
“S-such a thing…….”
“The last remaining duty of this ruined kingdom’s princess is to tear apart the root of all evil—the Seven Traitors who sold the Ravianglily Kingdom to the demons—piece by piece.”
Jeanne looked at the guard captain and soldiers.
“I swear this. I will find a way for all of you to escape this place, no matter what it takes.”
The guard captain and soldiers bowed their heads reverently.
Just as a solemn atmosphere settled,
Shweeeeeeeeek—
Something fell with a fierce piercing sound.
Boom!
A thick cloud of dust rose up.
Then, a giant shadow walked out through the dust.
Three horn-like protrusions rising high like a trident.
Four arms made of blades and shields.
A body covered in thick, solid exoskeleton.
A white cordyceps crown covering the back of its head.
It was the General Zombie.
[Scouting has been completed, my lord…… All zombie entities in the vicinity have been eliminated…….]
I had ordered it to check if any zombies remained near the citadel.
Gasps sounded from everywhere.
“Zo-zombie!?”
“Weapons! Everyone grab your weapons!”
“Captain! Take shelter inside the citadel! Hurry!”
Just before the soldiers fell into panic,
I shouted loudly.
“Whoa— whoa— Calm down! Our kid doesn’t bite—!”
“?”
The guard captain and soldiers stared blankly.
I gave the General Zombie’s shoulder a hard slap.
“Hey, what are you doing? Didn’t you hear the order?”
[……Obeying my lord’s command.]
The General Zombie pulled something out from the armor plating on its back.
It was a black flag.
Holding four black flags, one in each hand.
Since the General Zombie was so huge, the flags looked adorably small.
Then, the General Zombie began waving the black flags.
[I do not bite…… I do not scratch…… Humans are my friends…….]
“Uh huh, louder.”
[I do not attack……! I do not threaten……! I like puppies and kittens…….!]
“Good boy.”
The General Zombie waved the four black flags from side to side.
Only then did the soldiers finally lower their guard.
Though they still kept a few steps back.
Can’t be helped.
These people had suffered under zombies for hundreds of years.
Seeing one would naturally bring up disgust and anger.
But that lasted only a moment.
The soldiers swarmed around us.
“Thank you so much, Benefactor!”
“We’re really sorry for shooting arrows at you earlier!”
“That was truly inexcusable. Oh dear…… You weren’t hurt anywhere, right?”
“Thanks to you, I can see my bear-like wife and rabbit-like kids again! Thank you!”
The words of gratitude poured out endlessly.
Then, a few soldiers cleared their throats.
“Um…….”
“Benefactor. That is……”
“If it’s not too much trouble…….”
The hesitant soldiers.
Soon, a new recruit raised his hand high.
“May I ask the Benefactor a question—?!”
“Okay. What is it?”
The recruit glanced at the other soldiers.
Then, in a small voice, he said.
“Could we…… have some more fried chicken……?”
The air turned ice cold.
As expected.
“What kind of rude nonsense are you saying to the Benefactor right now! Get back inside the citadel immediately!”
The guard captain’s sharp rebuke rang out.
The soldiers ran back to the citadel in a panic.
The guard captain bowed at ninety degrees and apologized.
“I’m truly sorry for the rudeness, Benefactor.”
“It’s fine. Honestly, fried chicken is hard to resist. I’ll make some more later.”
“Ah…… Then…….”
“?”
The guard captain looked around to check if any soldiers were nearby.
She cleared her throat.
Then, with slightly flushed cheeks, she asked.
“……What are the next lyrics to Amolapati?”