With a continuous transfer, I took all the gold, silver, and jewels in this mansion that were not being worn by people to my home in Japan.
…everything in hidden rooms and basements, the contents of safes, things buried in the ground, everything.
No, of course, this was temporary. The hurdle was too high even for me to grab the property of the Ethnol territory in this state.
That kind of guy was sure to keep the wealth he had accumulated. So I was sure he would sneak back later to retrieve all the money and gems he had saved up so far from his stash. An abandoned mansion was worthless after the documentary evidence was brought out, so there was no way someone on guard or security would be stationed there.
…and when he came back to try to take his property out, there was nothing.
Well, he would think the lord had found it and brought it back to his residence. And he was definitely going to try and get it back.
After all, it was literally all the property, including not only the property illegally accumulated over the course of two years, but also the amount that he originally owned.
The current magistrate would literally be penniless, having run away without even a drawstring bag. Even if he defected to another country in such a state, there was nothing he could do about it.
…so he would be coming, to get his money back.
That's why I didn't follow the magistrate's escape.
I, the Lightning Archpriestess, Mitsuha Yamano.
Part of the responsibility for the escort soldier's death lied with me. In case of emergency, there was a transfer, and there was also a pistol. So I underestimated the dangers of denouncing my opponents.
A loyal soldier died while the realm was suffering from a shortage of manpower.
A soldier who would have a family.
…human life.
"…Viscount Yamano?" (Earl)
The Earl was looking at me with a confused face. Was it that rare for a girl to cry?
…or maybe the rare one was a girl with a demonic face?
“This is a matter within the territory, a crime committed by the lord’s subordinates, a relative, and an act of treason, right? And the lord himself knows that fact. You don't need more evidence or witnesses, do you? All that's left is for the lord to hand over the death penalty…" (Mitsuha)
"Umm" (Earl)
"And if you try to kill the lord who has been entrusted with the territory by the country and the princess, you will be charged with death as a treason, right? Except for the case where you die on the spot…" (Mitsuha)
"Umm. The person himself and his family will be sentenced to death." (Earl)
"Even if you kill someone on the battlefield, you won't be charged with a crime…" (Mitsuha)
"No. On the contrary, you will receive a reward." (Earl)
Allright, all clear! No obstacles in front of me!
"…we'll crush them" (Mitsuha)
Sabine-chan nodded at my words.
"Look at the anger of the Yamano clan!!" (Mitsuha)
The escort soldiers who chased the magistrate have returned.
"…he escaped. I'm sorry…" (Guard)
"Well, it can't be helped. The route to escape would have been decided in advance, and he's familiar with the structure of the mansion. On top of that, he's not wearing a sword, so it's an advantage for him to escape. Besides, …” (Earl)
The lord lightly kicked the tip of the enemy soldier's corpse with his own foot. Apart from that, I didn't intend to demean the corpse, but it felt like I was confirming something.
"These boots. And the sword. …made by the Empire.” (Earl)
"Eh? By empire, you mean the Alder Empire? No. No no no no! This country and the country of Princess Gegege were torn apart by two wars of aggression, and after my air raid on the imperial capital, the forced abdication of the emperor and the struggle for succession, that empire? Why did they still have the energy to go to war with other countries? Any of those who are aiming for the throne want achievements? So stupid!!" (Mitsuha)
"…Princess Gegege? Air raid on the imperial capital? What is that…" (Earl)
Oh, you didn't know about that yet, do you? Well, let's get past that.
"No, probably not. I don't think the empire would interfere with such a poor territory now. Too little reward for the danger. So, it's probably a dogmatic act by a very small number of people… They must have thought that they would squeeze out as much as they could from the people of this territory, and finally attack the merchants and the lord's mansion, take away all of their personal property and the operating funds of the territory, and flee to another country… The current empire is in tatters. Either the soldiers of the lower nobles who gave up on the country, or the troops who were about to be held responsible for the two defeats gave up on the country… And then, the idiot who gave up on this territory and tried to scrape together all the money he could and take it away accepted the invitation…” (Earl)
"Ah~…" (Mitsuha)
Then I understand.
The reason why it was so sloppy. It wasn't like he had to hide it all the time…
Do whatever you want, live lavishly, get young women, and if you get found out, kill the lord and take everything from him, then run away.
It was originally planned to be like that, so when he found out that it was exposed, he came to kill the lord before he was captured.
Perhaps he was getting impatient because he wanted to take action quickly but the lord didn't come and yell at him for a long time...
Rather than boarding the lord's mansion, it was safer and more secure for meet at the magistrate's home.
Therefore, he chose Imperial soldiers instead of the lord's men to guard him, and that's why the guards attacked the lord on their own accord, without instructions from the governor.
They were merely guarding those they were using, and were not subordinates to the magistrate, they have a real superior elsewhere...
"I see~. That's what it is~…" (Mitsuha)
Of course, it didn't affect my behavior in any way.
Or rather, I could do it more freely and more mercilessly.
"I'm glad there weren't any soldiers in this territory on the side of the magistrate…" (Mitsuha)
"Ane-sama, even if you say something like ‘We don't have any sick children’… " (Sabine)
Have you seen my brother's "impressive commercial collection," Sabine-chan…?
Anyway, I no longer had an eye for fighting the soldiers of this territory who were just following orders from their superiors.
A traitor and a soldier from an enemy country…. No, it was not a war, so it was just a band of thieves who illegally entered the country. If so, you didn't need to worry about anything.
…no, of course, even if it was a regular war with a declaration of war, I wouldn’t hold back!
Villains had no human rights.
"I will keep the promise I made to the soldier who gave his life for the future of the Ethnol Earldom. The enemy is nothing but regular soldiers. It's just a band of thieves. So this is not war. It's just a self-defense fight for a nobleman attacked by bandits. …that’s why the land war treaty and international agreements are irrelevant." (Mitsuha)
Well, the Hague Convention only prohibits "the use of weapons, projectiles, or other substances that cause unnecessary pain", so inflicting necessary pain… weapons… If so, there should be no problem.
In the first place, this country had never ratified such a treaty, and this was not even Earth!
"Weapons Free. All Safety Lock Open. No mercy for scoundrels!" (Mitsuha)
"Roger!" (Sabine)
Sabine-chan didn't wear a hat, but raised her hand to salute.
All right, we're ready!
There was a warehouse I rented at Wolffang's base.
There were various things that cauldn't be kept in the miscellaneous goods store Mitsuha, the territory mansion, and even at home in Japan. Things that would be bad if stolen. Things that were subject to the law. …and, of course, emergency weapons and ammunition…
An emergency use was a "Naked gun" with bullets fed into the chamber so that it can be used immediately after transfer, and the safety device had been removed.
Of course, there were also those with safety devices still on.
M2 heavy machine gun, mini light machine gun, claymore (non-directional anti-personnel mine sword), portable anti-tank grenade launcher (RPG), small mortar, and more….
The range of the mortar wasn't quite right….
The one most suitable for this application was….
…alright, I choose you!!
Translation Note
[1] 修羅
Edit History
6 Oct 2023: fixed some translations, minor grammar correction, improved readability.