And so Old Man Konrad was finally on his way to salvation. Not the one that'd ease his back pains—he left Stella with Maou—but the one who would fix his remaining headaches.
The sweet, smart, and beautiful Eyna Blackriver.
This situation needed her amazing diplomatic sense more than anything.
His discomfort could wait.
Because Konrad might have defeated the Demon Lord and sorted out all the logistics, but—
That was all he could do.
He alone couldn't handle a challenge this size.
Konrad, who always sought control over his own life and tried to do everything by himself—
Had to admit defeat.
Especially since his first and second wives were out.
They were hunting for Lucifer's other puppets and didn't return the next day. And once he took that time to visit the secondary camp, he couldn't wait for them any longer.
The situation there was much more dire than he had expected.
Maou didn't have the infinite food stockpiles Konrad had thought he would.
To feed his warriors and keep them in the best possible shape, he had to make some sacrifices.
He'd let the rest starve.
Not to death, of course. As it turned out, he wasn't a heartless conqueror after all. But when Konrad found the emaciated non-combatants in the secondary camp—
He couldn't stand by and watch.
It was exactly like when he first met the Black River tribe.
Unprepared, weak, and pretentious he might have been, but he had to step in then, and he had done it now as well. So all the more reason Eyna lived rent-free in his mind.
He almost even forgot about her tentative kiss from earlier.
Almost. But as the former chieftess of the Black Rivers, she'd want to help these poor folks, too.
Too bad he left her behind. She had no place on the battlefield, and that plan to take on Maou was suicidal enough without risking her life, too. But now, he had to go to her instead.
With all the women, children, and the elderly.
Konrad had to set out and cross the Halaima Pass with them.
And since he was already going, he brought every craftsman who volunteered to disarm, too.
That alone had pushed his convoy to over a hundred thousand, double the population of his duchy until now. No more labor shortages in Halaima, for sure.
But the other half?
That was the actually problematic one.
Those men were warriors by choice. Bandits. Hunters. Demanding they put down their bows was akin to taking the object of worship away from a religious group.
He couldn't do that.
And couldn't allow a deadly force that size to enter Kasserlane, either.
If the nobles thought the tribes were problematic before—
Forget about banditry and diplomatic tension. An army of a hundred thousand could have overthrown his duchy or even the king. Invade the neighboring dukes or countries to the north.
That was way too much.
How did the Green Mage keep them all under control?
Did he even try? Or let them do whatever?
Konrad knew this was above his pay grade. Were he to push them into his military service—
Two thousand men. No. Let's say five thousand, tops. But that was all he needed or could handle; no way he'd feed or pay wages for twenty times as much.
And, as he expected, the other dukes would not stand for it, either.
By the time his unarmed convoy crossed the pass, a standing army waited on the other side.
Ten thousand men flying at least three different flags.
A ducal coalition, with most of them from Aset.
Of fucking course.
If only Lord Schwertburg didn't stir the pot once—
"Where the hell were they when the kingdom was under siege?!" Konrad grumbled, leaning out of his carriage. Was it already too late for Eyna to sort out the delicate diplomatic stuff?
"Trouble?" Yuki-san asked, blinking at the knight's parade ahead.
Yeah. It sure was. And he had to protect her as well.
But before he answered, Welf and Kade rode back towards him, with a familiar face following.
Okay, there was still some hope, then.
"We'll see," he ended up saying as he got out to meet them. "But don't worry. I'll keep you safe."
He didn't try to be macho, but it was more than enough if he alone had to worry about everything. And since Vargas was riding towards him, flanked by a tall knight—
This could still all be a misunderstanding.
Please, let it be a stupid misunderstanding.
"Lord Halstadt," his old benefactor greeted him, but would not dismount. Already a bad sign. And this mood? "We heard rumors that you've defeated the nomads, but this—"
He waved towards the convoy behind him, snaking all the way back into the mountains.
Of all the unarmed, starved people, he was hurrying to bring to safety.
"No, I have defeated the Demon Lord," he corrected, crossing his arms. "And became the new overlord of all these men. They have surrendered to me and are peaceful. I guarantee that."
That's when the knight behind the Captain raised his visor.
And it wasn't any ordinary knight. It was the towering, shit-stirring Lord Schwertburg of Aset.
Because of course. Sigh.
"I have trusted you with my only daughter, Halstadt," he boomed. Not that Konrad had ever heard anything about this trust he spoke of. "And now you put her in such a grave danger?!"
Huh?
"What danger, My Lord?" he asked, trying to shrink behind his own towering guards.
No matter how powerful he had gotten.
That seven-foot-tall pure menace of a duke would never stop being scary.
"These savages are only good for rape and pillage, and you bring 'em to her court," Schwertburg accused. His enormous horse threw its hooves to give weight to those words. "I won't allow this."
For being such a terrifying man, was he scared of—
"These are women and children," Konrad pointed out. "What are you even talking about?"
My Lord. He should have added My Lord. Damn it.
But this doting daddy was pissing him off. If only Gabrielle weren't unconscious—
And to cause such a diplomatic incident because he couldn't get his fill?!
"Then please explain it to me, oh Great Conqueror Konrad. What about those carts full of weapons and armor?" the duke demanded. "And what of the armed guards?"
What? Oh.
He could have explained that those were his spoils, or that they were Nimrod's elite force.
But the duke didn't seem to be in the mood for actually listening to him.
"I'm disappointed in you, Konrad von Halstadt," he announced. "You, who'd stand up even to the king to defend your duchy. Now you bring savages here while keeping my daughter away—"
"I did no such thing," Konrad protested, but it fell on deaf ears.
The duke of Aset turned, waving to Vargas, and the Captain's eyes widened.
"A-are you sure, My Lord?" he asked, and it couldn't mean anything good.
"Do it. Let our knights sort this out," Schwertburg demanded, and Konrad went pale.
Captain Vargas did, too, but he still raised his hand to give the signal, apologetic as he looked.
"Sorry, kid. Nothing personal."
And a moment later, the charge of a thousand knights rattled even the ground below their feet.