Chapter 185 ~ Humanity
<span style="font-weight:400">“Mmm~ Hubby, hold me closer~ I’m so tired today~ I’ve been working the entire day~”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Really? Didn’t you just hang out with the maids the whole day?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Geez~ You don’t need to mind the details~! Just hold me!”<span style="font-weight:400">
<span style="font-weight:400">“Alright alright.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Yuuji wrapped his arms around Aika’s waist tighter, bringing her closer to him, as they cuddled underneath the cover on their bed.
<span style="font-weight:400">Both of them were no longer dressed in their whole gear, and were now dressed casually infortable nightwear. Aika, specifically, was adorned in a thin negligee that truly didn’t hide any part of her body. It was a piece of clothing meant to entuate her sinful body and seduce her beloved, not as a nightwear.
<span style="font-weight:400">Most of her clothing in her inventory were all simr in nature to the one she was wearing right now… Apart from a few dresses that also revealed a lot of skin, her casual clothes were all meant to be worn in bed with Yuuji.
<span style="font-weight:400">Arge mirror, around 1 meter in height, with an oval-shaped bronze and jet-ck frame covering its sides and edges floated at the feet of their bed.
<span style="font-weight:400">As of now, it showed nothing. Its surface was opaque.
<span style="font-weight:400">With this magic item that Yuuji had brought from the throne room, they would be watching Lelouch and Momonga in action as they saved Carne Vige.
<span style="font-weight:400">They would be starting any moment now. And in the meantime, Aika told Yuuji about the events that happened with the maids.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Oh, so it’s a sess?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Uhn~! I turned Cixous today, and it was a sess~! I wanted to turn the Pleiades and the other maids too… But there’s a one day cooldown for the spell, so I couldn’t. Also I don’t want to rece their original race. So, I n to have Momonga-san see their stats with his Geass first to see if my spell added the subus race or reced itpletely!”
<span style="font-weight:400">While the subus race had plenty of benefits, it also had its drawbacks.
<span style="font-weight:400">For one, as a race which focused on magic, it was physically weaker than a Werewolf, a Duhan, an Automaton, a Predator Slime, and an Arachnoid, and barely on par with a Doppelganger.
<span style="font-weight:400">Each of these races had their own strengths as well, and having different races would also offer more versatility in battle. Thus, recing all of them with the subus race would prove to be more detrimental to their safety.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I see. That’s a good idea. When will you have him look?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“I’ll try to have him look after he finished saving Carne Vige if possible. After all, we’ll be going to E-Rantel after this, so I’d like to confirm it as soon as possible.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Mm. It might be a good idea to have Lupu gain the subus race first before we have her apany us. With her natural friendliness and the subus’s charm, she’ll be able to help us mingle easier with the other adventurers.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Uhn~! I’m sure she’ll be able to befriend the girls in Blue Rose easily~”
<span style="font-weight:400">While Lupu had a brutal and cunning personality, she was capable of showing an extremely sociable and friendly behavior towards others. In fact, she had be close friends with Enri in the anime.
<span style="font-weight:400">As long as they could control her sadistic tendencies, she would be the perfect person that would help them get along with people as adventurers.
<span style="font-weight:400">Considering her cheerful and fearless personality, Yuuji could easily imagine her befriend Gagaran, the massive, muscr, hammer-wielding member of the Blue Rose.
<span style="font-weight:400">And if they could befriend the Blue Rose, their influence within the Kingdom would also increase, making it easier for them to gain the trust and favorability of its citizens.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Mm. I agree.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Just then, Yuuji received a message from Lelouch, telling him that they’ve arrived in Carne.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Ah, it seems like they’ve begun.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Really~? Let’s watch!”
<span style="font-weight:400">Yuuji activated the Mirror of Remote Viewing as he imagined the outskirts of the Vige he had seen from the anime. And soon, the opaque surface of the mirror began to ripple and they could finally see the scenery near Carne.
<span style="font-weight:400">On the dirty, blood-stained ground, a beautiful young girl, most likely in her mid-teens, with a lightly fair skin, blonde hair, and brown eyes was holding a smaller young girl with reddish brown hair and brown eyes in a protective embrace.
<span style="font-weight:400">Before the two was a giant figure d in pure ck and gold robes and a deep crimson-red mask with an expression resembling tears or anger, and a shorter, more slender figure in a familiar tight dark purple suit with a cape, and a spiky ck and indigo mask covering their face.
<span style="font-weight:400">And behind them, the bloodied gores in iron armor of what had been “knights” of the Theocracy disguised as the Empire’s knights were strewn about on the blood-soaked earth.
<span style="font-weight:400">Momonga seemed to be talking to the two girls, cast a few spells that created a barrier around them, and tossed two “Horn of the Goblin General” to the girls.
<span style="font-weight:400">Then, they both walked towards the vige as the girls looked at their backs in confused shock and awe, still trying to process the tragedies and events that had just happened…
<span style="font-weight:400">“Oh~ So they’ve saved Enri and her little sister already, huh?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Her luscious lips curled into a smile and her eyes narrowed with a pair of crescent moons as Aika looked at the receding figure of the golden-haired girl in the mirror. Her eyes shine with a luster of unpredictable schemes.
<span style="font-weight:400">Then, they continued to watch as the Dark Knight Momonga had summoned ughter all the “knights” that had been wreaking havoc in the vige.
<span style="font-weight:400">They did not bring them under their control with Lelouch’s geass since one, there was no need for him to reveal his abilities to the vigers here, and two, there was no information they could get from these grunts that they wouldn’t get from the Sunlit Scripture that wouldeter on.
<span style="font-weight:400">It would only increase the amount of mouths they’d had to feed back in the interrogation chamber in Nazarick.
<span style="font-weight:400">The chaos caused by the “knights” quickly died down as every single knight was cut down by the hulking undead in knightly armor.
<span style="font-weight:400">And the rest of the events that happened followed the course of events in the anime, with the vige head thanking Momonga and Lelouch and inviting them to their home.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Hm… Hey, Yuuji.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yeah?”<span style="font-weight:400">
<span style="font-weight:400">
<span style="font-weight:400">“I… don’t feel anything when I watch those soldiers die from the death knight. I don’t even feel nauseous.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“...”
<span style="font-weight:400">This wasn’t the first time Aika and Yuuji hade face to face with the death of another human. They’ve experienced war and death during their time in Tatsuya’s world, and Yuuji had also experienced war in Lelouch’s world.
<span style="font-weight:400">But in those worlds, their enemies died from guns. While it was a bloody battle, it wasn’t as gory as the scene of death they’ve just witnessed.
<span style="font-weight:400">Seeing a human body cut in half and gore strewn about on the bloodied dirt in mass… regr people their age would’ve received immense trauma.
<span style="font-weight:400">But Yuuji and Aika did not feel any pity or shock…
<span style="font-weight:400">The carnage and death they’ve witnessed gave them the same feeling as crushing an ant with their fingers or pping an annoying mosquito against the wall.
<span style="font-weight:400">And that realization caused a sense of fear to grow within her heart. The fear of losing her “humanity” and conscience over human life.
<span style="font-weight:400">She did not know if it was due to the race and ss she had received from the Group Chat, or if she had gotten used to death before she knew it from the “memories” she received for the missions and simply realized it upon witnessing the gruesome deaths.
<span style="font-weight:400">But the fact remains…
<span style="font-weight:400">“I get it… I stopped feeling it too.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Yuuji pulled her closer and stroked her head, trying his best to soothe his beloved.
<span style="font-weight:400">“It protects us from the mental damage we would’ve suffered from witnessing deaths… And I think, it’s better to have it than not with all these missions from the group chat. But… I don’t want to be used to it.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Used to it…?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Mm… I don’t want to be used to human death.”
<span style="font-weight:400">He pulled his gaze away from the mirror showing Momonga and Lelouch conversing with the Vige head and his wife, and turned to Aika, gazing at her beautiful, sparkling eyes filled with fear and unease.
<span style="font-weight:400">“The reason why we do these missions is to be stronger… Strong enough to protect those important to us. But if we lose our humanity… If we lose our love for those we do all of this for, then what’s the point?”
<span style="font-weight:400">He smiled, and ced a soft, gentle kiss on her forehead.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Sometimes, killing our enemies would be inevitable to protect those we love. But, I don’t n on going on a killing spree.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Uhn… I know. That’s why you made the n to conquer Re-Estize and the Empire by controlling their economy, right?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Mm. That’s right.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“But I’m still scared… What if I got used to it…? What if… I came to love it? I have a job ss called the “Empress of Evil” you know…?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Yuuji held Aika’s trembling hand and ced her head on his chest.
<span style="font-weight:400">“The fact that you’re afraid means that you’ll be fine… As long as you hold on to this fear, this humanity, then I know that you won’t go down that road. And if you forget…”
<span style="font-weight:400">Yuuji lifted her face up to him and kissed her on her trembling lips.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I’ll be here to remind you.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Hubby…”
<span style="font-weight:400">Tears fell down the corner of her eyes, and Aika wrapped her arms around her beloved. Her body, still trembling as she sobbed into his chest.
<span style="font-weight:400">“There there…”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Thank you hubby… you’re the best…”<span style="font-weight:400">
<span style="font-weight:400">“You’re wee… You can always rely on me. And I will, of course, rely on you if I forget myself too.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Uhn… I will…”
<span style="font-weight:400">--------------------------------X--------------------------------
<span style="font-weight:400">Gazef, the renowned warrior-captain of the Re-Estize Kingdom, had arrived in Carne Vige along with his band of warriors and met with Momonga and Lelouch.
<span style="font-weight:400">Momonga mused as he observed the famous band of warriors on horses and their wargear.
<span style="font-weight:400">The knights from before had breasttes bearing the sigils of the Baharuth Empire, and they were heavily equipped uniformly. While these men were wearing armors as well, their gear varied from man to man.
<span style="font-weight:400">Some wore leather armor, while some did not have their te armor on, exposing the chainmail underneath.
<span style="font-weight:400">Some wore helmets, while some went bareheaded. The only thing they had inmon was the fact that they all showed their faces. All of them had swords of simr make, but apart from that, they also carried bows, javelins, maces, and other back up weapons.
<span style="font-weight:400">Instead of an army, they looked like hardened veterans of the battlefield. Or to put it in a less polite way, they appeared like a ragtag bunch of sellswords.
<span style="font-weight:400">The riders of around 20 men entered the square and came face to face with Momonga and Lelouch.
<span style="font-weight:400">The leader, Gazef, observed the two of them keenly from horseback. And once he had affirmed that none of them were going to move, he jumped down from the saddle and addressed the Vige Chief.
<span style="font-weight:400">“—I am the Warrior-Captain of the Re-Estize Kingdom, Gazef Stronoff. By order of the King, I have been visiting each of the frontier viges to exterminate knights from enemy countries who have been making trouble here.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Gasps of shock and awe quickly spread across the vige as the warrior captain introduced himself.
<span style="font-weight:400">But Gazef did not mind the murmurs and turned towards the towering figure d in a luxurious robe of pure ck and gold. From his outfit alone, he could already tell that he was a magic caster. And an extremely powerful and rich one.
<span style="font-weight:400">“You must be the chief of this vige. Can you tell me who is the person beside you?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Momonga interrupted the old vige chief who was about to answer, before nodded to Gazef and introducing himself.
<span style="font-weight:400">“There is no need for that. Pleased to meet you, Warrior-Captain-dono, of the Kingdom. My name is… Ainz Ooal Gown. and I’m a magic caster. This vige was attacked by knights, and so I stepped in to rescue them.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Momonga and Gazef continued their conversation, before soon relocating into the Vige Chief’s humble abode.
<span style="font-weight:400">And as the sun set, and the world was slowly swallowed in by darkness… They noticed figures outside surrounding the vige from within the darkened house.
<span style="font-weight:400">They were slowly advancing on the vige. They appeared unarmed and were not wearing heavy armor. But that didn’t mean they were harmless.
<span style="font-weight:400">Magic casters preferred lighter gear, and judging by their appearance, they indeed fit Gazef’s image of a magic caster.
<span style="font-weight:400">However, the humans weren’t the ones alerting him. It was the winged monsters floating beside them which confirmed their vocations and his worry.
<span style="font-weight:400">Angels.
<span style="font-weight:400">Gazef knew enough about them to know that they were troublesome foes. Of course, that depended on the type of angel. Not all angels were difficult to defeat.
<span style="font-weight:400">However, the angels this time around, with shining breasttes and ming swords, they were the type that was unknown to him.
<span style="font-weight:400">Of course, Ainz knew what they were.
<span style="font-weight:400">Archangel mes. They were low-leveled angel summons armed with magical me swords. Truly trash mobs by his standards, not worthy of even bing hindering mobs during a dungeon run. But in this new world’s standards, their numbers and the fact that they could be infinitely summoned as long as their summoners had enough mana made them worthy adversaries.
<span style="font-weight:400">Understanding the gravity of the situation, Gazef did try to recruit Momonga and Lelouch as adventurers, and even conscripted them under the name of his king.
<span style="font-weight:400">But they both refused. However, they did swear to protect the vige in his stead.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Thank you very much, Gown-dono. Now I have nothing more to worry about. All I need to do now is charge boldly ahead.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“...Before that, please take this with you.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Ainz took out an item and handed it to the smiling Gazef. It was a small, strangely carved statuette. There did not seem to be anything special about it. However—
<span style="font-weight:400">“If it is a gift from your good self, I will dly ept it. Then, Gown-dono. Time grows short, but I must now leave.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“...Will you not wait until nightfall before setting out?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“The opposition should have spells like [Darkvision] and the like, so night fighting is not to our advantage, but I cannot imagine they will be hampered by it. Also… we also need to let you see how we stand or fall.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“I see. As expected of the Kingdom’s Warrior-Captain, your keen insight is truly worthy of praise. Then, I wish you all the best, Warrior-Captain-dono.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“And I wish you a safe journey home, Gown-dono.”