Chapter 131 - Episode 19: Slaves Listen Well with Just One Bullet, Don't They?
Gokigenyou! It is I, Violia Nico Fortesia!
I am currently printing flyers.
"...Why am I being made to help with this?"
"Onii-sama and Giovan are busy maintaining the mountain, and I didn't want to leave this to a werewolf recovering from illness or a drug addict with trembling hands."
"Haa... honestly, you should just hire slaves or something."
"Is it not fine? I do not dislike doing this kind of meticulous work."
"Well, I don't dislike it either, but..."
While grumbling, Keeb prints flyers with a woodblock next to me as I do the same.
...The content written on the flyers is 'Revolutionary Army Recruitment!' We have been quietly scattering these in large cities and the Royal Capital.
The date and time: one month from now, at night. The location: inside the mountains along the highway connecting the Royal Capital and Elsemarin. ...Ah, that mountain is the same one where I used to be a bandit. It is quite moving to be active there again.
There are two reasons for scattering these flyers.
One is purely to assemble the Revolutionary Army.
...We have a fair amount of armaments here. The cannons that Onii-sama had made in secret are being brought in one after another from the port of Elsemarin. It is easy to import them quietly using a Spatial Bag. Yes.
However, we need people to operate those cannons. With just us, we can only use six cannons simultaneously... That would be a waste of good artillery.
Assembling a fighting force is intended to increase our strength while simultaneously chipping away at the Royal Family's forces.
In particular, I believe the Royal Family wants to secure the strong warriors who participated in the Martial Arts Tournament as their own military power. But if we take them first... the Royal Family will be left fretting because the strength they expected didn't materialize! That simply sounds entertaining!
And as for the second reason... the objective is to 'lure out the enemy.'
If we are distributing flyers for Revolutionary Army recruitment here, naturally, someone from the Royal Family will notice. ...Of course, we are distributing them in a way that makes them somewhat difficult for the Royal Family to find, but they will eventually catch their eye. I would hate to think they are so incompetent that they couldn't find even a single flyer.
And even if the members of the Royal Family think the recruitment notice is a trap, they shouldn't be able to completely ignore it.
Will they send a spy, or will they come to suppress us with soldiers...
Well, nine times out of ten, I expect the Royal Family's soldiers or a private corps of some random noble will come. For example, Chris Bay Clarino.
Thus, we are currently preparing for the 'Revolutionary Army Recruitment Meeting.'
Printing flyers and quietly scattering them.
Maintaining the mountain that will serve as the venue.
Assuming that the enemy will flow into the venue, we are also making defensive preparations. Ohohohoho.
"Saki-sama, gokigenyou!"
"Ah, Young Lady. You've come at a good time. I've got some good stock in."
Now then, having finished printing the flyers, I have come to see Saki-sama, who is acting as a slave trader.
She carried out the procurement exactly as we discussed beforehand. The result is... these rugged men crammed into the cages before my eyes!
"As requested, I've gathered guys who look like they can fight and those with good builds. You said you'd overlook a rough temperament, right?"
"Yes. Being high-spirited is not a bad thing. Besides, since they can gain their freedom, I believe they will accept my deal. I have no intention of offering bad conditions that would provoke rebellion. ...If there is a fool who understands neither the quality of the conditions nor his own place, I can simply kill him then."
"Heh, no doubt about that."
In response to the conversation between Saki-sama and me, a slight tremor of fear could be seen within the cages. A good trend. Feel free to be as terrified as you like. And then, you should just obediently listen to what I say.
"There are thirty. How much are you paying?"
"How about one blue?" (T/N: Referring to a blue gold coin.)
"I knew it, but you're generous. Alright, sold."
I handed over one blue gold coin to Saki-sama on the spot and received a bundle of keys for the Slave Collars in exchange.
After firmly signing the documents, I am now officially the master of these thirty slaves.
Immediately, I let the slaves out of the cages and clapped my hands.
"Line up."
More than twenty followed my words immediately. The remaining ten or so are glaring at me defiantly, but...
I pulled out the gun I had tucked away and fired.
Bang! The sound of the gunpowder exploding echoed, and a hole was gouged into the plaster wall.
...At this, the slaves fell silent. Only the sound of Saki-sama letting out a whistle echoed.
"Line up. ...I will not say it a third time."
Now, this time all the slaves lined up properly. I am glad they are all slaves who listen obediently! Ohohohoho!
After giving the slaves some explanation, I put them into the Spatial Bag one by one from behind.
Now, next I must transport them.
I have started using dragons as my primary means of transportation.
The dragons are already a year old. Their flight has become stable, and they are now large enough that I can no longer call them 'little ones.'
"Chesta. I'm borrowing one."
"Hm? Ah, going to the mountain? Sure. Take whichever one you like."
"Then I shall have you fly today."
When I borrowed a dragon from Chesta, who has completely become the dragon caretaker, the dragon was incredibly terrified of me. Yes. These children still seem to hold a sense of awe toward me... Well, they listen obediently, so I have no complaints...
"By the way, Chesta. Is the training of the dragons going well?"
"Eh? Well... probably?"
"...That is worrying."
"Well, they're smart, so it'll be fine. Probably."
...This time, I am treating the dragons as one of our weapons. I want to hide the existence of the cannons until the last possible moment, and the dragons have grown large enough to be counted as a fighting force.
Right now, they are practicing exhaling breath all at once at Chesta's signal. A dragon's breath is very convenient for finishing off a large number of humans in one go.
In particular, if one were to set up a base in the mountains, the paths to reach that base are often limited. If I have the dragons lie in ambush on those paths and unleash their breath all at once... Ugh, just thinking about it makes me feel entranced...
Now then, I borrowed one dragon that was in training and took flight toward the mountain.
...Since I escaped from the Martial Arts Tournament venue on a dragon, I can no longer let the dragons stand out. It would be unbearable if people started saying 'Where a dragon flies, a Fortesia is there.'
Therefore, out of necessity, I fly at night. I fly in the night. A dragon with black scales blends sufficiently into the darkness of the night, so as long as I am not flying directly over the Royal Capital, it is not a problem.
The place I arrived at was the mountain. It is the mountain where I used to run my bandit business, but...
"Oh, Doran. Are your wounds already healed?"
"Yeah. Healed."
"It would be terrible if the wounds reopened, you know?"
"If I don't exercise at all, my body gets dull."
"Ah, it's fine, it's fine, Young Lady. For this guy, hunting bandits seems to be nothing more than light exercise."
There, Doran was tying up some bandits. They were bandits I didn't recognize. Apparently, they were bandits who moved in after I took the bandits from here to Elsemarin.
"The cleanup around here is finished. After this, it seems Contraus is going to build a mansion as he pleases."
"He seems to be building a fairly decent one. I just received a list of things he wants to use for the interior."
"Oh, how lovely."
While giving a bandit a little poke with my toe, I looked at Giovan's list... Well, as expected of Onii-sama, I could see that the interior was planned to be 'minimalist yet elegant.'
In the list, while there were items like a fine mahogany writing bureau and chairs upholstered with fabric featuring a vine pattern, there were also crude items noted, such as candlesticks made simply by hammering iron plates, or wooden boxes to be used as chairs and desks.
Since it is a Revolutionary Army mansion in the mountains, it wouldn't be tasteful to decorate it too gaudily. As expected of Onii-sama. He understands well.
"By the way, that's the mansion your brother is building over there."
Looking in the direction Giovan pointed, I saw Onii-sama making full use of wood and earth magic to build a magnificent mansion. ...Well, as usual, it was 'slow magic,' but yes, in another two weeks, it will be a splendid mansion.
"Now, Doran. I will handle these bandits. I shall take them to Saki-sama's place to have them made into slaves, so you should go and rest now."
"But Contraus is..."
"Onii-sama can work for dozens of hours alone without a care, you know? If you try to keep up with him, you will die."
Yes, yes, I said, pushing Doran and entrusting him to Giovan while I let out the slaves I brought and headed toward Onii-sama!
"Onii-sama!"
"Violia! Those slaves are... ah, you obtained them already?"
"Yes! They are quite good slaves!"
The slaves, this time, lined up beautifully before a gun could even be pointed at them! How well-behaved!
Yes, I have told them, 'If you work properly as the Revolutionary Army, I shall release you from your slave status,' so if they value their lives, they will surely obey properly.
"Then that is perfect. The mansion is almost finished. After that, we just have to wait for the time! Since we have the manpower, let us start making the roads immediately!"
"And there you have it. You all! Listen well to what Onii-sama says and work diligently!"
After handing the slaves over to Onii-sama, he immediately took them and went to open up a mountain path.
...The mountain path we are about to create will be the road for the many people who come aspiring to join the Revolutionary Army.
Furthermore, I decided to create another separate path that 'looks unused but is relatively easy to traverse.' Surely the Royal Family's agents will climb the mountain from there, so after that, if I just station the dragons there, they will burn everything for me!
...And so, I was busy with preparations all over the place.
Scattering flyers in Elsemarin and the Royal Capital, and building the Revolutionary Army mansion in the mountains.
Or buying up slaves at the slave market and training them as padding for the Revolutionary Army's numbers. Or using them as labor.
While working like that... finally, they came.
"Um... is this the meeting place for the Revolutionary Army?"
Adventurer-like people who came a week before the meeting with flyers in hand!
...With this, it has been proven that people will gather!
Finally, the Revolutionary Army has begun to move!