kscans

Chapter 48 - Peaceful Days of Ruin

"Chuuu~"

"Hwah…"

My meal is delicious again today. I thought becoming a Vampire meant my diet would be limited to just blood, but to my surprise, I learned that blood has all sorts of different flavors. Adolnel's blood is especially the best. Now that I know this taste, I don't think I can drink any other blood… just kidding. I'll drink other blood too. A good cut of meat is wonderful, but I want to eat fish and vegetables too.

"Thank you for the meal."

"Y-you're welcome…"

Did I drink a little too much? Adolnel is looking a bit woozy.

"Are you okay?"

"Y-yes. I was just so happy to become a part of you, Sister, that I got a little carried away."

That's a pretty advanced way of enjoying it. Well, to each their own, I guess.

"The reconstruction after the last battle has really come along, hasn't it?"

I sat on the roof of the mansion and looked down at the town below.

"Yes, we also implemented a large-scale urban development plan along with the reconstruction, so it's even more prosperous than before. The population has also grown quite a bit, with many non-humans."

That's right. After that battle, many different races came to gather under my banner. Many of them were races hostile to humans, or those who, while not hostile, lived with the potential danger of being attacked on a whim by humans. They came seeking help.

Fortunately, we were in need of living residents, so we welcomed their arrival. As usual, I had them meet with Adolnel. Some showed a strong aversion to her being human, but when she lifted her bangs and showed them her eyes, they all accepted her surprisingly easily. It seems the Cursed Violet Eyes that caused her to be ostracized are well-known as a reason for persecution among humans.

And so, while the development of our territory expanded, the situation with the humans also changed.

"Rebellion against the royal family has begun-chu!"

Solfi reported that the nobles had finally begun their rebellion against the royal family—a shifting of blame, really.

"The nobles are blaming the royal family for their defeat in the battle against you, Master-chama, and have nominated a noble with royal blood who had renounced their status as the next king-chu!"

"There are several candidates for the new king from the relatives of a few great noble families. It seems each candidate is receiving aid from other countries behind the scenes."

"So they want to turn the new king into a puppet and make this country a vassal state?"

"It probably won't be that blatant. But if the country manages to unite, they will likely seek to strengthen relations by marrying off a daughter of one of their own nobles to the new king."

Everyone's so calculating.

"Therefore, let's take this opportunity to conquer the territories of the nobles who are preoccupied with their civil war."

Oh, look, there's a calculating one right here.

"We need to inflict devastating damage in a short amount of time so they can't call for help through messengers or magical communication. Bird Undead and Poisonous Snake Undead will be useful, and for large cities, Rat Undead can be sent through the sewers."

Wow, a major city being destroyed by virus-infected small animals sounds like something straight out of a disaster movie.

To put it simply, it was a disaster. The citizens of a major city were attacked by Animal Undead, and the resulting victim-undead overwhelmed the city guard and the remaining knightly order with sheer numbers. Furthermore, Animal Undead that snuck into the castle attacked the people inside, and the knights who desperately fled back to make a last stand were greeted by their former colleagues, resulting in an absolutely brutal combo that wiped them out.

I thought conquering the Church would take time with the Dark Elves and Orcs because of its Holy Magic barrier, but they just chained together the siege rams from the knights' barracks and charged from outside the barrier. They destroyed most of the Church, and the priests who fled in a panic were met by a waiting force, ending the battle in an instant.

"We've acquired the territory of the nearest great noble. Your domain has grown even larger, Sister."

By repeating this process, we eventually succeeded in taking over the entire country.

"Ufufu, congratulations, Sister! You are now the queen of this country in both name and reality!"

""""Congratulations, our savior!""""

W-wow… I somehow ended up conquering a country.

"Uhm, thank you. By the way, what happened to the king?"

"He was killed by the rebelling nobles. And those nobles were, in turn, killed by an Orc warrior. Please give him your praise and a reward."

"A reward? What should I give him?"

"The inventory of the knightly order's armory listed a large battle axe. How about giving him that?"

"Oh, something like that is fine?"

Not territory or money, huh.

"Giving an Orc territory or money would be more than they could handle, so a simple weapon would be better. When we asked what they wanted, they said weapons and food."

Ah, so you've already done the research.

"Yes, I understand. Then please pick out a good weapon for him. And please arrange rewards for anyone else who distinguished themselves."

"Leave it to me. I will have them ready for the Founding Ceremony."

"Okay… wait, what?"

I feel like she just said something strange…

"Founding… Ceremony?"