Editing Ochitekita Ryuuou to Horobiyuku Majo no Kuni: Volume 3 Chapter 4

==Chapter 4: The Greatest War Trophy==

=== Part 1 ===

Naga, Harrigan, and Vita held a great number of tactical meetings during their preparatory work. Vita would frequently visit the fort of Harrigan & Co. while giving instructions to her daughters. However, since she was always being carried through Eliushune’s positioned mantle, Vita’s migration from one place to another wasn’t a big hassle. It didn’t seem to require either too much time or effort. Harrigan assigned a single room in the residential building for Vita and Eliushune’s personal use. Therefore, both the witches could use it as they wished.

“I’ll kill you if you dare to peek inside the room, got it?”

Naga received such a threat from Vita.

“Like I would?!”

Naga retorted as he didn’t plan to do so from the beginning.
For instance, knowing that the room would shine with a light every time Vita and Eliushune arrived, wouldn’t he wonder whether or not their arrival was successful?

=== Part 2 ===

A single room assigned by Harrigan.

It was just about the time when Eliushune materialized herself from a mantle spread on the wooden floored room. The mantle began to coil around Eliushune as she was putting out her hands from the seams of it. Eiushune’s body that stuck out from the gaps was naked. Or at least, it looked like her bottom had no clothes on. Then, beneath her feet, the similarly nude Vita was crawling out. Unlike Eliushune, she was, without doubt, completely naked. No matter how one judged it, Vita looked like barely 10 years old, flat-chested girl from head to toe. After being told she was much older than Harrigan, one could only be filled with awe.

“Eliu, you rascal. Your magic is convenient, but at the same time, it’s not. That’s because I’ve got to get naked every time we teleport using that mantle.”

While expressing her complaint, the totally naked Vita moved her upper body in every direction, trying to recover its lost sensations.

“Please don’t complain, Mother. Since I was able to reduce the excess of inconvenience so as to make up for it, shouldn’t it be fine? To begin with, there’s no magic that’s invincible or almighty in this world, right?”

“Hmm, that’s something I know even without you telling me, you rascal.”

Walking on the wooden floor while pressing her feet repeatedly against it, the completely nude Vita opened the lid of a chest placed in one corner of the room and took out prearranged clothes from inside.

Holding a set of them, she pushed them out to Eliushune.
[[File:Naga03 Illus-05.jpg|200px|thumbnail|right]]
“Hey, put them on me.”

“Yes, right away.”

As soon as Eliushune drew near, she helped Vita dress.
The prearranged pair of clothes were identical to those she normally wore. They covered little skin and had small notches that created a fluttering pattern. However, Vita’s headgear, which she had put on last, was a bit different from her usual one.

“No matter how powerful our magic is, it’s neither invincible nor almighty. That’s the main reason why we, the witches, have a hard time during battles.”

“That’s true. Once the humans charge at us with their wave tactics, it’s next to impossible for us to win against their armies.”

“Still, if we can capitalize on each individual’s magic and put them together, there’s a winning chance for us even against large human forces. I’ve always thought that way, and surprisingly, my belief was proven during the previous battle at the Schwein River. That’s why I took an interest in the Dragon King. It may be possible that that man’s presence will bring together the long since scattered witches.”

Eliushune, who finished changing Vita’s clothes, looked up at her mother.

“Is that…. so?”

“It can’t be said for certain, but it’s definitely hard for the witches to stand at the summit as they are, and even more for a human. However, he is neither a witch nor a human. He’s the rumored Dragon King who fell from another world. If that’s true, perhaps those highly proud witches would also acknowledge him as someone who stands above them? Actually, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Harrigan & the rest are already under that guy’s command.”

“Indeed, it seems to be so. That being the case, could it be that Mother feels inclined to fight alongside the Dragon King as the supreme commander against the humans?”

Saying that, Eliushune began to move her hands again.

“It may be that I’m also curious about fighting humans, but the fact that that guy’s presence could muster the famous witch clans is what really caught my interest. Provided the witches band together and work as one, taking on an army of 1000 or 2000 people will become easy enough. Even so, that alone is one of the biggest hurdles.”

“Exactly. It’s said it has already been more than several hundred years since the country of the witches collapsed. Throughout that time, nobody has managed to reunite the witches, right?”

“Perhaps, that Dragon King will become the key to our breakthrough. What’s more—”

While getting dressed, Vita smiled with satisfaction.

“Right now, he’s acting together with Harrigan’s clan, but it should be fine even if we strip them of the Dragon King and tempt him to join us. Assuming that happens, wouldn’t it be possible for him to become our King at the time the new world is established?”

“Wow, Mother, those are indeed words worthy of a scoundrel, aren’t they?”

Vita threw a glance at Eliushune.

“Ah, no, whether Mother becomes a scoundrel or a cowardly person, we are prepared to follow you til the end, so you don’t have to worry.”

“Being followed til the end by a simpleton like you is what I’m most anxious about, you see.”

“T…That’s mean.”

Eliushune warped her face tremendously.

“Well then, this much should do.”

'Still' – Vita, who finished changing her clothes, said so while looking frequently at her daughter.

“That man, what is the Dragon King going to say once he finds out we are naked under your mantle?”

“Eh? Ah, I, I wonder about that. Perhaps, he will insist that we show him the inside of the mantle.”

“Moreover, he might insist on teleporting with us upon learning about us becoming naked.”

“Aghh, it would be a disgusting offer, wouldn’t it? Still, it looks to be something that man is be capable of, I guess.”

*Fu* – Vita slightly laughed

“When that happens, teleport together with the Dragon King and show him the might of your power.”

Eliushune warped her face and recoiled in aversion.

“Eeeeeeh? Things like taking along a naked man, I won’t agree to that. Wouldn’t I show him my naked body before even being able to show him my magic?”

“You too will be able to see him naked, so there should be mutual gains for both sides. No, since the two of you will cuddle to each other when teleporting, rather than just seeing each other, you will also be able to feel each other’s skin. Aren’t you glad?”

“Not at all!”

“Kukuu. Well, I was just kidding, you see. Then, shall we go? The Dragon King-dono is probably waiting for us.”

=== Part 3 ===

“Achooo”

“What’s the matter, Naga? Did you catch a cold?”

“No… can you really say it’s due to chills? Somehow, I’ve got an incredibly bad feeling about something, but….”

Naga looked around the room, but nevertheless, there was nothing particularly distinctive.
Because a meeting regarding the assessment of their forces was about to begin, almost everyone involved had gathered.

“Vita and Elysione are still absent, right?”

As soon as Naga muttered, Harrigan responded.

“It appears they have just recently arrived here, so they should probably show up soon.”

Following her words, Vita and Elysione appeared shortly thereafter inside the room where everyone had gathered.
Naga was a bit worried about other witches directing their rude gazes at the two of them, but it wasn’t the right time for prying into that matter.

Once Naga waited for Vita and Elysione to reach their seats, he began the meeting.

“Excellent. Since everyone has gathered, let’s start the assessment.”

=== Part 4 ===

“Well then, I think we are finally close to deciding on everyone’s deployments today.”

Saying so, Naga looked around to the faces of all the present witches.

The ones who were present on Harrigan’s side were Harrigan herself, Ais, Lela, Kay, Nonoeru, and Yuuki.

Whereas Vita’s side included herself, Eliushune, and three witches named Lily, Dora, and Samplotte. However, unlike the first two, the other three had run through the forest instead of moving through the mantle.

The witch whose name was Samplotte didn’t reach Eliushune’s height, but she was also tall and strongly built. On the other hand, the one called Lily had a physique no different from a child, and her face also left an impression of her being innocent. One more person, named Dora, had womanly features appearing throughout her large body, which gave her a bewitching aura.
Combining all of them, the 10 witches, together with Naga, sat on folding chairs while forming a circle. Naga pushed out a map lying on the floor in front of everyone. It was a map of the Schwein River area that had become the battlefield during their last battle.

“A single troop from Cassandra Kingdom’s army has been assigned to watch over the place near the crossing of the river. According to Raibaha, they are a company under his direct command that consists of 100 soldiers. There doesn’t seem to be any major change among them since their captain was kidnapped by the witches, I guess. Perhaps, their vice-captain picked up the leadership of the company. Even though their captain is missing, there’s no sign of them receiving reinforcements.”

As he said so, Naga put a wry smile on his face.

“It looks like Cassandra Kingdom doesn’t care about its captain’s fate, and continues to maintain the status quo…… right? After all, this troop is just disposable. Despite that, it will be troublesome to have them stationed at the riverbank.”

Using his index finger, Naga specified a point on the map.

“First, we should consider what to do with this troop, but…”

“Since there’s only a hundred of them, how about we take a detour?”

Vita asked.

“True. It should be fine for us to cross even without having to face them directly.”

Saying that, Samplotte expressed her opinion.

“I think so too, but Naga, isn’t it just you who sees them as a problem?”

Once Harrigan stated her consent, Naga nodded in agreement.

“If possible, I’d like to have this troop escape.”

“I see, I see. So Dragon King wants to make sure that this troop doesn’t flank us when we are in the middle of capturing Fort Ein, right?”

“That’s what I mean. I don’t want to kill them due to my fundamental policy, so it should do as long as we cripple them as a troop by making them run away. Even if some of them were to return, they wouldn’t dare to threaten our back upon seeing the witches capturing the fort.”

“I see. That’s indeed a kind of story one would imagine seeing. Still, aren’t you pretty used to wars?”

'Indeed, it may appear so' – Naga nodded in agreement as soon as Vita asked him with a face filled with admiration.

“That’s because my thoughts will naturally gush out whenever it comes to things like this. However, since I’ve no memories, I can’t tell exactly what kind of experience I had back then, you see.”

“Shouldn’t it be more reasonable for you not to know how to fight? Just how deeply is your world stained with war?”

Vita’s expression turned into an astonished one.

“Well, I wonder about that.”

As if mocking himself, Naga wore a smile that gave a somewhat gruesome impression.

“Certainly, it feels like the world where I used to live had endless wars, but…. well, isn’t that fine? More importantly, let’s focus on our talk.”

“That’s right. We don’t have much spare time, so we better sort things out and start making the necessary preparations. Otherwise, it won’t do, you see.”

Vita nodded.

“Then, in order to scatter the troop that guards the river here, I’d like us to form a group for long-range attacking; still….”

Naga, who pointed once more on the map, lifted up his head and looked at Ais.

“Since this will become essential for us when capturing the fort, let me ask you something, Ais. How far can you throw using cobbles?”

“Cob, bles?”

“Were they called cobbles, or maybe, pebbles? I mean those hand-sized stones.”

Ais showed an attitude of pondering for a short while.

“Right. I think it would be around 11-13.5 meters under normal circumstances, and around 270 meters with my strengthened body, but…”

Naga measured the distance with his own senses.

“…..Wha, 270 meters?! You are able to throw them that far?!”

270 meters is certainly a long distance.

“Yes, if it’s a hand-sized stone, then most likely.”

(Even if they’re just stones, it does indeed require a terrific strength to be able to throw them such a distance. I should expect no less from a human battering ram, or perhaps, a human cannon…..hm? Cannon….Gun…..)

“Is there something you want to say, Naga-san?”

“Ah?”

Raising up his head, Naga’s sight met Ais, who looked at him with a smiling face. Despite that, her eyes didn’t smile at all, which was frightening.

Naga hurriedly waved with his hands in front him.

“No. No no, there’s nothing.”

“Is that so? I guess that’s fine, but…”

“If you are able to throw that far, can I have you become the core of the long-range assault against the troop guarding on the other side of the river?”

Paying attention so as not to meet with her eyes, Naga pointed at the river on the map. Lela, who held a brush, wrote in Ais’ name near the river.

“And then…. Lela.”

“Wh-at?”

Lifting up her face, Lela directed her sight at him.

“How far can you launch those fireballs using your magic?”

“As one would expect, it will be hard for me to deal with that distan-ce. Nevertheless, Provided Yuuki carries my charms, it should be possible for them to be dropped onto the enemy’s hea-ds.”

Lela, who replied like that, shifted her gaze at Yuuki.

“I’m fine with that, but, if that happens, wouldn’t Lela’s charms burn down the enemy, were they to touch them?”

(No, you’d most likely be content with that.)

Naga wanted to retort that way, however, he refrained from doing so as it would worsen the situation.

“I’d appreciate it if you could do your best so as not to let the charms come into contact with them.”

Is where Naga stopped his comment at.

On the other hand, Yuuki puffed her cheeks in displeasure.

“Because they will be dropped from above, such a detailed stunt is next to impossible, right?”

“Since the charms are just supposed to fall and burn, it will take a while for them to descend complete-ly. The enemy soldiers should be able to avoid them in ti-me.”

Lela gave him a hand as a last resort.

“Is that so? Indeed, if that’s the case, there’s no need for us to worry much about that matter.”

Nodding at once, Naga turned around to Yuuki and lightly bowed down at her.

“Anyway, I’m relying on you, Yuuki.”

“Uh….Geez, I got it. I’ll do it properly.”

“With that, Lela and Yuuki will participate as a single gro-up.”

Lela, who cast her eyes down, added her own and Yuuki’s name on the map.

“Is, there anyone else here who can carry a long-range attack?”

As he questioned Harrigan, she crossed her arms while slightly grumbling.

“Umu. As expected, it’s indeed difficult when it comes to an attack that covers a range of as much as 270 meters.”

Following that, she looked in Vita’s direction.

“How about your side?”

“I guess you’re right. A long-range attack like that is quite a tough task, but, with Eliushune here, stabbing an enemy’s back would be simple, wouldn’t it?”

Naga moved his eyes toward Eliushune.
She was dressed in her mantle even when sitting on a folding stool. Naga became curious about what kind of attire she was wearing under that mantle of hers.

(To begin with, since the witches from Sraymeyer are supposed to wear thin clothes with lots of exposure, just like Harrigan and the rest, perhaps Eliushune has such garments as well.)

Eliushune, who was unaware of Naga’s thoughts, nodded with a serious face.

“So long as I can place my mantle in advance, it’s perfectly fine. Assuming we lay a mantle on the other side of the river under cover of night and choose the right time to fly at our own discretion, it will look as though we are suddenly ambushing the enemy.”

“Despite saying so, you can only carry one person with you each time, right?”

“True. What’s more, there’s also the problem of appearance when transporting a person, but if that part is arranged beforehand as well, it should probably be fine.” (?)

“What’s…..the meaning of that?”

'Is it okay for me to explain?' – Eliushune looked at Vita as if asking for her permission.

“It can’t be helped.”

Once she heard Vita’s reply, Eliushune made a mild cough.

“In other words, you see, I can only fly through the mantle with my body. That’s to say, I can’t fly through it if I’m wearing clothes.”

“Wha….t?”

Naga ran his eyes over Eliushune’s whole body.

“Then does it mean, you’re, not wearing anything under your mantle?”

“Yes, when it’s not winter, I’m basically nude”

“Oi oi, why didn’t you tell me such an important thing sooner?”

Naga smacked his lips slightly and repeatedly.

“Had you told me about it sooner, I would’ve come and worshipped you every time you arrived….. No, rather than that, won’t you fly into my arm…..”

*Chop!*

*Whack!*

Such sounds bursted forth as Naga’s head was hit from behind by Harrigan’s solid hair and chopped on his forehead by Ais’ karate chop at the same time.

“Awwwwwwwwwwwww!”

Holding the back of his head with his right hand and his forehead with his left hand, Naga tumbled on top of the floor.

'Haa' – Lela exhaled a sigh.

'Are you an idiot?' – Yuuki threw out such words.

Whereas, Kay cackled with her raised voice.

Vita’s side watched Naga with dumbfounded faces. Naturally, only Vita herself and Eliushune nodded in agreement with a face indicating this was a natural course of action.

“I was just joking. Don’t hit me like that while taking my jokes seriously, geez.”

Naga, who had teary eyes, said so while objecting to Harrigan and Ais.

“It didn’t look like your expression was telling us so?”

“On the contrary, it was incredibly serious?”

“You girls are….”

*snap* – While stroking the back of his head using his right hand, Naga pointed at them with his left hand’s index finger.

“Saying such an irresponsible thing, what will you do if a rumor spreads out inside Vita’s clan?!”

“Because it’s more truth than rumor, it can’t be helped?”

“Indeed, it can’t be helped.”

“Good grief. Those girls are seriously…”

Naga grabbed his head.

“Dragon King. We understand very well you’re a genuine pervert. More importantly, shouldn’t we continue this urgent strategy meeting?”

*snap* – Naga immediately snapped once more time and pointed at Vita.

“Don’t misunderstand! And by the way, it’s a misunderstanding!”

“You mean it? If it’s a misunderstanding, then good. Leaving that aside, aren’t we going to finish this talk quickly? After all, we didn’t come here to fool around.”

“Ah, sorry about that.”

Naga, who regained his composure, pressed his hand against the map and resumed their previous talk.

“Ummm, in addition to Ais who’s the part of the long-range assault group, Lela and Yuuki will join up. Other than that, we are going to capitalize on Eliushune’s ability of instant travel, send in someone to the other side of the river, and have that person take the enemy from behind. Whom should we appoint for that task….?”
“Ummm…”

Nonoeru lifted up her hand with restraint.

“What, Nonoeru?”

“If we assault the enemy from behind, won’t they get the wrong idea of being surrounded by their enemy, thus resorting to desperate actions?”

That’s right – Naga once again cast his eyes diwn on the map while slightly groaning.

“Certainly, I can’t rule out that possibility. If by any chance a part of the enemy tries to break through in that state, they might happen to rush toward Eliushune and the rest.”

As Naga was pondering, Vita intercepted.

“If it’s Eliushune, she can take on 10, 20 people with no real problem. However, were that to happen, it would result in a battle no matter what, and eventually lead to casualties among the enemy soldiers.”

“I guess you’re right. Then, is it a bad idea to attack the enemy from behind?”

“Naga-san, how about me hiding inside the river water like previously?”

Naga looked at Nonoeru with a surprised expression.

“Ah? Ahh, is that so?”

“I’ll enter the river from upstream, swim down it to the actual place, and wait on standby. Once Ais and the rest start their assault, I’ll threaten the enemy with my water magic. Firing some water spears should be enough to drive them away, I think, but…”

“I see. Using that method, even those trying to hold their ground will be scared off. That’s a good idea.”

Rather than just having his subordinates follow his orders, Naga appreciated those who could think and devise a plan on their own. That’s why, he greatly welcomed such a proposition. Naga faced Nonoeru and gave her the thumbs up.

“You came up with a great idea, Nonoeru.”

Nonoeru scratched her head while making an embarrassed grin.

“I, It isn’t a big deal, still….it’s somewhat of a deal.”

“She’s casually boasting of herself?!”

Both Kay and Yuuki bent a little backwards.
On the other hand, Naga’s expression turned a bit serious, as if being concerned by something.

“Surely, it’s a great idea, but Nonoeru, aren’t you afraid of being spotted? If you were to be discovered, they would most likely attack you.”

“As long as I’m under the river, I can make myself hardly noticeable to the outside thanks to my magic. And once Ais and the rest commence their attacks, I don’t think the enemy will even consider watching over the river.”

“So you’re going to be all right? Then, let it be.”

Naga pointed at a single point of the Schwein River on the map.

“I guess, Nonoeru will be stationed here.”

Lela wrote in Nonoeru’s name on the map.

“In case the enemy doesn’t escape, it should be totally fine to pull a trick by showing them how numerous we are, but…”

Saying that, Naga turned his eyes in Harrigan and Vita’s direction.

“That much should probably do.”

“Umu, I see no problem.”

“If they do, we will just stick to our plan. What’s left to do are small and detailed matters, such as the deployment of the witches and things that we need to prepare.”

Like that, Naga and the witches concluded the preparatory meeting and tied up the last details of their strategy for capturing Fort Ein.

=== Part 5 ===

The next day, both the Haindora and Sraymeyer clans advanced with their preparations.

And then, 10 days later.
The day for capturing the fort had finally arrived.
Ais, Kay, Naga, and Raibaha approached near the right riverbank.
Even though the chance for the enemy to launch their arrows was slim, Kay, who took charge of protecting the others, was prepared for that instance.
Since Raibaha wore a mantle and covered his face with a cloth, the enemy soldiers would perhaps not recognize him. The reason why Raibaha went to the frontline was due to him wanting to make sure of his troop's condition.

“Going to the frontline carries a risk, you know.”

Naga stopped at this single warning, but nevertheless, Raibaha doggedly opposed.

“No, you are going there as well, aren’t you? If so, it shouldn’t be that dangerous.”

“That’s because there are witches who will protect me. Still, in your case, they might not have enough hands, you see.”

“Well, when that comes, I’ll somehow manage it by myself.”

“If you’re fine with that, then I shall bring you with me. I do understand your feelings of wanting to see your subordinates safe.”

Like that, Naga brought Raibaha with him after exchanging such a conversation. Raibaha’s sense of responsibility strengthened Naga’s belief about being able to place his trust in Raibaha.

A little distance behind Naga and Ais, there were Lela, Harrigan, and Vita waiting. Just now, Yuuki who received Lela’s charms soared into the sky on her board. Noticing a witch drawing near, the enemy troop that was guarding on the other side of the river started to make an uproar.

Naga, Ais, Kay and Raibaha, who were carrying baskets on their back put them down on the ground. The inside of the baskets were overflowing with cobble.
A part of the troop, which noticed the quickest, climbed up the embankment and began shooting arrows. Nonetheless, due to a great distance separating both sides, the arrows would eventually land quite far in front of Naga and the rest. Naga, who deemed they couldn’t be threatened by the enemy’s arrows, ordered his side to attack.

“Excellent, do it, Ais!”

Holding a cobble in her right hand, Ais raised her left leg overhead and bent her right arm. Adding to her raised left leg, Ais’ right arm swung sharply forward together with her body.

Gohyuuu. – The cobble continued to fly with a sound tearing through the air.
Leaving a small gap, the cobble splashed on the surface near the opposite shore. Ais, who finished the throw, regained her posture and measured the landing distance.

“Hm, I think just a little more.”

Muttering that, she grabbed another cobble

Byufuuu.

Again, the sound of tearing the air reverberated.
This time, a single cloud of dust appeared on the slope of the embankment.

“Ohhhh, Ais, that was a splendid throw.”

Soon after Naga raised an astonished voice, Kay clapped her hands.

“The enemy, they look surprised, surprised!”

“Ais, continue your throws just like that. If possible, aim for spots which are less crowded by soldiers.”

“Yes, I got it, but, it’s not possible for me to aim without hitting any soldier, you know?”

“It can’t be helped, right? Raibaha too, would probably not wish for that to happen.”

Ais took a short glimpse at Raibaha’s direction.

“It should be enough as long you’re considerate.”

Hearing his reply, Ais felt relieved and picked up another cobble.

“Then, I shall continue.”

The cobbles continued to cut through the air with no intervals.

Paa, Paa, Paa – clouds of dust rose up here and there.

Even from this great distance, one could understand that the soldiers began to panic. Since the cobble flew and sunk with a terrific power into the slope’s surface, it was guaranteed that the soldiers would consider them a life-threatening danger if they hit.

Should they fight back? Perhaps, with their arrows not reaching their target, would it be better for them to escape? The soldiers loitered around, being unable to reach a conclusion. At that time, Yuuki, who took a detour, drew near with her air board above their heads. Noticing her charms being scattered by Yuuki, Lela began to cast a chant. Following that, the charms began to flare up at once in the air. Yuuki left the scene at full speed.
Looking up at a bunch of flames floating down from the sky, the soldiers began to scream loudly. Meanwhile, clouds of dust continued to appear on the slope’s surface. Just when the enemy soldiers broke up in confusion, a large wave built up on the surface of the river. Its height exceeded more than 3 meters. Despite its size being unusual, what was strange about the wave was that it elevated on the spot, instead of battering the shore. The large wave looked as though it was the neck of a water dragon that emerged from the water. As the neck started to move left and right in as if searching for its prey, the enemy soldiers were no longer able to endure. They threw away their bows and dodged each other while aiming for the opposite side of the embankment. Immediately after that, the top of the embankment became clear of any soldiers.

“Ais, just to make sure, I’d like you to make the cobble reach a bit further, near the other side of the embankment.”

Naga, Ais, Kay and Raibaha who were carrying the baskets on their backs covered a distance of more than 54 meters, after which they put down their baskets again. Once more, Ais began to throw the cobbles. No clouds of dust could be seen as the bank intercepted their view, however, it was certain the cobble reached beyond the bank. Provided there were still some soldiers left, they would probably not wish to stay there any longer.

As the four of them continued to progress, the group that waited behind them moved too. With his doubt of any possible arrow attacks being cleared away, Naga summoned Selena and made her check the other side of the shore using her magic- Heaven’s Eye.

“It’s safe. At least, there’s no sign of enemy soldiers near the left bank.”

"Excellent!" – Naga clapped his hands after hearing her response.

“It’s just how I imagined. With this, a part of the guarding troop will run back to Fort Ein and inform their comrades about an attack coming from the witches. Ais, you can stop throwing cobbles now.”

Being called out by Naga, Ais released the cobble in her hand and took a deep breath.

“As one would expect, even throwing constantly with all of your strength will make you a bit exhausted, won’t it?”

(Firing cobbles in rapid succession at more than 270 meters, you call that a bit?)

“Is something wrong?”

“No, I just wanted to say ‘good work’.”

“I’m glad I was able to fulfill my duty.”

Ais made a pleasant smile.
Just then, Yuuki returned on her air board.

“Yuuki!”

“What?”

“We’re going to cross the river. We can confirm the situation using Selena’s Heaven’s Eye, but just to be on the safe side, can you go ahead and check the opposite bank for us?”

“Well, if I’m told to do something, then I’ll do it.”

Once she stated so while hovering a little over a meter above the ground, Naga suddenly bowed down.

“I beg you, please do it.”

“Whaaa?!”

Yuuki, who bent backwards, nearly fell off from her board.

“You’re gross, so stop it! Speaking of which, don’t surprise people like that! What will you do if someone falls off because of that?!”

“No, no matter how you look at it, I can’t think of anyone dying from that height. To begin with, I only lowered my back and made a kind request. To think you would be startled by something like this, just what’s wrong?”

“I’m saying that such an attitude, doesn’t suit you.”

Saying that over her shoulder, Yuuki rose up and left on her board.
Naga, who smiled wryly, called out to Ais, Kay, and Selena.

“Let’s move to the other side.”

Naga and company progressed to the right bank while paying attention to their surroundings. Immediately after, Harrigan and the others followed.
A group consisting of Naga and more than 10 witches linked up with Nonoeru, who was waiting inside the river, and quickly proceeded to the left bank on the other side. Nobody from the witches had received a single scratch, and no fallen soldiers were found. One could say that Naga’s plan of capturing the fort without yielding any casualty was going smoothly.

=== Part 7 ===

The capture of Fort Ein was within sight.

During that time, the soldiers who escaped back to the fort relayed the information about their patrol troop being scattered by the witches and about the enemy’s probable attempt of crossing over the river. Upon learning about that, the guards of Fort Ein partially fell into panic, however, not even Naga could have foreseen that far. Despite saying so, Selena was able to confirm some of the guards located at a watchtower becoming restless.

(Looks like we won’t have to seize all the enemy soldiers. Even apprehending half of them should probably be enough to make the rest run away on their own.)

Is what Naga thought.

Just as he predicted, they managed to clear out the north side of the fort.
In order to inform his other companions about this part being clear, as well as to show off to their enemy, Naga and the rest hoisted a blatant flag that was prepared beforehand. The flag had a pattern drawn on it that was once used for the united kingdom of the witches. With the flag depicting the forces of the witches being supposedly visible, there’s no doubt about their enemy considering that as a deployment of the witches.

(The strategy this time is especially difficult, isn’t it? Still, the wind is already blowing in our favor. I see no other option than to attack the fort and take it down just as we planned. Yet if a problem arises, will we be able to seize the fort without producing any sacrifice? I guess this is what worries me the most.)

Naga and the rest of the witches took their posts and waited for the right chance.

=== Part 8 ===

Ais launched her attack of cobble throwing, whereas Yuuki carried Lela’s charms on her air board atop Fort Ein. As they were attracting the guards’ attention, Kay, who used that momentum to solidify her body, ran up to the fort’s walls while wearing a mantle and holding a shield for protecting against arrows. The reason why Kay held the shield even though she could reach the place without getting harmed was so as to keep the arrows away from Eliushune, who would be defenseless while she was coming out of the mantle. Nevertheless, it was a needless worry as the enemy soldiers came off the fort’s watchtower without trying to shoot down the running Kay, and escaped inside. There was also a chance that most of those soldiers left the fort behind.

“That’s, a big letdown, isn’t it?”

Muttering those words, Kay put down the shield and spread out the mantle she was entrusted with by Eliushune on the ground. The location of that was right at the bottom middle of the wall near the east side of the fort. Kay, who stood up, raised her shield overhead just to ensure there was no attack coming. Following that, the top of Eliushune’s head, which stuck out from a hole, began to rise gradually.

“Yuck! It really looks as though you’re welling up. Indeed, an obscene magic.”

Because Eliushune, whose face was half submerged, gazed at Kay with a glaring look, the latter averted her eyes hurriedly. Taking that opportunity, Kay looked around. As one would expect, there was not a single sign of the enemy in the surroundings.

(Should you say it’s a letdown or no response coming from the enemy? Well, still, they were done in by us previously, so perhaps, this is just bound to happen. I see, this is what Naga-san meant by saying ‘The wind is already blowing in our favor. Capturing the fort might turn out unexpectedly quick’. At first, I was only half-convinced about that, but, seeing how smoothly this plan is going, it appears that person was right.)

Kay had been taught that the result of a battle didn’t just amount to the battlefield. Depending on the winning side and losing side, further battles would be affected as well.

At the time Kay was looking aside, Eliushune continued to rise up little by little from the inside of her mantle. Finally, once the top of her head reached higher than Kay’s, she stopped ascending. In other words, Eliushune’s body fully appeared from the inside of the mantle. That being said, Vita’s appearance also emerged from the inside.

*thud* – While Kay was putting herself on guard, a shock ran through her body.

“…! So heavyy.”

Kay, who threw away her shield tried to keep the balance of her several times heavier body by putting more strength into her feet. however, being unable to stand firmly, she kneeled down on one knee. What came next were voices of screaming and anger heard from the guards, from the fort’s interior. Nevertheless, they quickly turned into sounds of groaning.

“Even though we made thorough preparations, it’s still messy like this? Still, there’s no doubt… about the soldiers inside being….. unable to move.”

In fact, it happened just like that.
As soon as Yuuki watched from above the fort, she noticed every single soldier lying on the ground. Some of them were crawling, others – lying on their belly, and yet, other ones – lying face up. One could see them struggling while trying to move their bodies, but nonetheless, far from being able to stand up, the soldiers had a hard time even crawling.
Yuuki clapped her hands and laughed without realizing it.

“Somehow, it looks like birds being trapped in birdlime.”

As far as she could see from above, there were no soldiers standing and moving.

“Well then, eat this!”

Rapidly descending down on her board, Yuuki tossed something above the heads of the soldiers who were lying in a crowd. The thing she had released spread out in the air and continued to fall on top of the soldiers.

“Uwaa, what’s this?!”

“A, a net?”

What spread out greatly from overhead was a solidly knitted net.
Crawling on all fours while desperately fighting against their weight, the soldiers could neither ward off or pass through the net. Even if they tried to crawl out from under it, the net would just wind together.

Yuuki moved to the next spot and released another net in the same manner
With the number of enemy entwined in nets increasing, the open space in the fort’s interior became buried with soldiers that were unable to move. the situation looked as though miserable fish were caught in a big haul and pulled up on land. Yuuki flew out of the fort and returned to others who were waiting outside the range of Vita’s magic. There, she picked up Nonoeru and hovered again.

“Two people riding is surely quite the load. It makes my control of wind more complicated, and thus, harder to launch the board.”

As she complained while desperately trying to operate the air board, Nonoeru, who was holding onto Yuuki’s waist, apologized.

“I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s not that bad since you’re quite light. Were it to be Ais, it would be much more troublesome. I would probably be unable to hov…..”

Kooo!

The board swayed from a shock caused by something passing next to them with a frightening power.

“Eeeekk?”

Yuuki, who somehow managed to keep the balance of the board, raised her eyes and looked around, after which, she noticed Ais’ appearance entering her view. Ais, who had just finished her throw, regained her posture.

“Wait, Ais, what are you doing?! If I get hit with a cobble, won’t my air board turn into dust and splinters?!”

Yuuki let her voice as if objecting.

“Yuuki, Nonoeru, do your best, okay?!”

With a smile on her face, she waved her left hand. However, Nonoeru couldn’t overlook another cobble in Ais’ right hand. Nonoeru who broke into a cold sweat tapped Yuuki’s back.

“Y, Yuuki, escape fas….no, let’s fly over the, fort and finish our task.”

“R, Right!”

Yuuki controlled the unsteady board and moved back above the fort.
Nonoeru, who looked down at the scene below, raised her voice in admiration.

“Uwaa, Vita-san’s magic is, amazing, isn’t it?”

The top of the ground was full of soldiers putting up resistance and struggling in vain, trying to move themselves hopelessly, despite being entwined in nets.

“Don’t just admire, quickly do what you’re supposed to! I have a hard time controlling this board with the two of us!”

“Ah, understood. I’ll do it right away.”

As Nonoeru was forming an incantation, moisture started to gather in the air. And then, rain fell constantly without having to wait long. Once the sky was filled with enough rain to soak the ground, Yuuki returned with her board and put Nonoeru down. After that, she gave a ride to one of the witches from Sraymeyer’s clan named Lily and hovered back to her previous spot.

=== Part 9 ===

Yuuki felt a bit anxious as she had no experience in transporting other witches. However, because Lily had a small physique, steering the board wasn’t as difficult as what she had initially thought. The moment they both reached their destination, Lily began to chant her incantation while clapping her hands numerous times.

“The hand whose god’s words echoes, the radiance born from the god. Prostrate, prostrate. Shine, become angry, run down. Oh furious God of thunder, pass down your judgement on this hill, pass it down on this hill. Come, come, come.”

And then,
A small flash of lightning ran down from the sky into the ground.

“Gyaaaaaaa”

Screams and shouts coming from electrocuted soldiers echoed here and there.
the flash of lighting kept running down numerous times. And each time, a scream would be raised. In addition to every soldier wearing metal armor and being soaked with rain created by Nonoeru, not a single one of them could avoid getting electrocuted. After the very last flash, not a single soldier seemed to be moving. Yuuki waved with her hand signalling to the others.
Kay, who saw that while stretching out her neck, shouted.

“Vita-san, it seems to be over!”

Shortly thereafter, Kay could suddenly sense her body becoming light again. Despite that, she had the feeling her body lost half of its weight.

“Uwaa, my body feels lighttt.”

Feeling that she was able jump over the wall, Kay leaped with all her might. Unfortunately, her body didn’t reach even 1.35 meters.

“As expected, my body returned back to its original weight, eh?”

Once she muttered so, Kay approached Eliushune and brought a mantle, the hem of which she coiled into a roll.

“Vita-san, here.”

What Kay held out toward her was a small sized, makeshift mantle for Vita who stayed inside Eliushune’s mantle to bear with for the time being.(?)

“I appreciate your efforts.”

Vita, who reached out her hands and received the mantle, creeped inside of it. At that time, Eliushune stood around with a stern expression, making it seem weird to Kay. Finally, as Vita finished putting it on, she crawled out from Eliushune’s mantle. The little witch adjusted her breathing and turned around to Eliushune.

“Well then, you can go now, Eliushune.”

“Yes, Mother!”

Eliushune placed her foot on Vita’s held out palms and made a big leap.
It looked like the petite Vita wouldn’t be able to throw her largely built daughter into the air and yet, Eliushune gently whirled up into the sky as though she had feathers and jumped over the wall.

“Wow, incredible!”

“Do you want to leap as well?”

“Is that okay with you? Aren’t you tired?”

“My power won’t be exhausted by this much.”

“Is that so? In other words, is it fine for me to harden my body just like this?”

“I don’t mind. Jump on my palms.”
[[File:Naga03 Illus-06.jpg|200px|thumbnail|right]]
“Well then, I’m going”

Kay, who was about to leap with all her might touched Vita’s palms with the back of her heels. Soon after that, she could truly feel her body rapidly losing its weight. No, rather than ‘rapidly losing’, it felt more like it had no weight at all. Moving her palms casually, Vita released Kay into the air. And her body floated high into the air.

Soaring high in the air like this, Kay wondered whether or not she was dreaming. Obviously, shortly after she passed over the wall, Kay’s body returned to its original weight just like an illusion. Vita’s magic can reduce one’s body weight, however, as soon the effect runs out, the weight will return to its previous state.

“Ooopps”

Kay adjusted her posture in a hurry and prepared for the landing.
Since she could feel her weight returning gradually, rather than spontaneously, there didn’t…. seem to be any worry about Kay crashing headfirst against the ground. Holding the ground firmly with the back of her heels, Kay absorbed the impact from the landing by folding her knees.
By the time she extended her legs, her body weight had returned completely back to normal.

“Hmm, this is….. a somewhat enjoyable magic indeed.”

Kay, who thought about that optimistically looked around her surroundings.
There were soldiers lying everywhere in lumps. Several, or perhaps, a dozen of them, were trapped inside nets while being unconscious.

“It’s most likely due to them being hit by thunderbolts.”

Kay approached one of the soldiers and peeked inside his eyes. Without having to check, it was clear both his armor and clothes were wet.

“I guess it’s because of them getting soaked that the thunderbolts were so effective. It doesn’t look like they’re going to wake up anytime soon. Despite that, it will be trouble if they wake up by chance, so shouldn’t I quickly make sure they don’t?"

Kay took stakes attached to a net in her hand and knocked them into the ground using her hardened fist.

Once she plugged them deeply into the ground on all 4 sides of the net, Kay stood up and checked its firmness by pulling.

“Hm, I think it’s okay. Even if some of these soldiers wake up and struggle, they shouldn’t be able to come out.”

Moving from net to net, she continued to fix them with stakes.
While she was doing so, the other witches also crossed over the fort’s walls one after another and began to go around its interior in small groups.

=== Part 10 ===

“Thanks for your hard work, Kay.”

Kay turned around at Ais’ praise.
Today, because their plan was to embark on Fort Ein, Ais put on leather armor on top of her thin garments as it had a lower effect on her magic than metal armor. Even if it was true, the leather armor merely covered the minimum number of places, revealing as much of her skin as usual.

'Will that really increase her protection?' – The first time Naga saw that armor, he wanted to retort unintentionally that way.

(Back in my world, people would supposedly go to the battlefield…. fully armored. Certainly, this feels off somehow. Well, it’s probably still better than wearing nothing, so…)

But considering that matter again, Naga restrained himself from retorting.

“Ais, you did a great job too, right?!”

“It appears that the remaining soldiers have already made off from the fort, doesn’t it? The exploration of this building isn’t over yet, but at least, I can’t spot any of them still moving.”

“How about Harri-nee and Naga-san?”

“We’ve just opened the gate, so they should be here soon, together with Raibaha as well.”

“You mean it? Speaking of which,”

Kay looked frequently at Ais’ body.

“Ais, don’t tell me you also got over the wall thanks to Vita-san’s magic?”

Ais tilted her head while smiling cheerfully.

“Ara? Kay-chan, what do you mean by ‘don’t tell me’? I’m trying to figure out your ‘don’t tell me’, but, you don’t mean to say something like ‘No matter how strong Vita-san’s magic is, don’t tell me that someone as massive as Ais could fly through the air’, right?”

Kay realized her dull gaffe, however, it was too late to take it back. With her knees becoming wobbly, Kay shook her head energetically from side to side.

“O, o, o, o, o, o, obviously not. Not even for a moment did that idea cross my mind.”

“…Is that so? Then, what’s the meaning behind the ‘don’t tell me’ just now?”

Wrapping her right fist with her left palm, Ais inserted more power into her left hand while making a grin. *knuckle knuckle* – the joints in her right hand’s fingers generated a loud sound like that.

“I, still need to put in more stakes, so let’s talk some other time, okay….?”

Kay ran away from the place just like a startled hare.
As Ais stared at Kay’s distancing back, Naga’s voice reached Ais from her back.

“Yo Ais, good work.”

Once she turned around, there were Naga and Harrigan standing there. Naga had his armor on while Harrigan used the same, small leather armor similar to Ais’. Behind them, Raibaha, who wore a mantle with his face covered with cloth, stood. It wasn’t clearly visible due to the mantle, but, his hands were supposedly tied up. Originally, there should’ve probably been no need for worry as one couldn’t feel the slightest intention of escaping coming from Raibaha.

“Naga-san, and Ane-sama too, thank you for your hard work.”

Soon after she replied like that, Harrigan nodded as if being content.

“It looks like we nicely managed to capture the fort.”

“Right I wouldn’t have thought it would be this easy. As expected of Naga-san’s splendid tactics.”

“It wasn’t that much. That’s because the flow of this battle was already decided. Conversely, the enemy was prepared to flee from the very beginning, so I didn’t consider this plan to be that difficult.”

(Being, able to read the flow of a battle is a feat that, we witches, cannot recreate. However, in this man’s case, pulling it off this lightly is something of a big deal.)

Harrigan greatly admired Naga inside her heart.
Not being aware of Harrigan’s thoughts, Naga ran his eyes over Ais’ whole body.

“More importantly, Ais, to think you would also be able to leap into the air thanks to Vita’s….”

Ais suddenly stomped against the floor and pushed out her right hand with unnoticeable speed.

“magi-gubooabaah?!”

Her fist sunk into Naga’s armor. Despite him wearing it, a large impact hit his stomach. As soon as Ais calmly withdrew her right hand, Naga fell down with a thud to both his knees. His lower back bent so much that his forehead almost touched the surface of the floor. While holding his stomach, Naga slightly groaned and said.

“W…What are you doing out of sudd…en”

“I have no idea.”

Ais puffed her cheeks in discontent and walked away at a brisk pace.

“O, Oi, Dragon King, are you alright?”

Raibaha called out to him in a concerned tone, but Naga lifted up his right hand to calm him down.

“Yea… I’ll manage it somehow……”

Harrigan exhaled a big sigh.

“Naga, shouldn’t you be a bit more considerate toward girls?”

“No, that was just a little…. joke, but well.”

“That’s why, I’m telling you that the other party might interpret it like this if you intend to make jokes.”

“Y, You mean it? Got it. I shall be more careful from now on.”

Holding his stomach, Naga grit his teeth and stood up.

“Still, that girl, Ais, to think she would hit me this seriously.”

The moment he complained, Harrigan looked at him pitifully.

“Perhaps not. Were she to get serious, she would’ve probably made a hole in both your armor and stomach, or maybe, pulverize all the bones in your body”

“No… way. For real?”

Naga thought he should be more careful from now on.

“Let’s leave that matter aside. We’ve brought down the fort, so starting from today, it’s our property. Should we walk around and check out its interior?”

'I guess you’re right' – Naga took an extensive view and nodded down in agreement, but,

“…….no, before doing so, we should first remove the armaments from the apprehended soldiers. I’ll have the scouting group to check the building, whereas the rest of the members will progress with the removal of the armaments.”

“And more precisely, how should we do it?”

“Firstly, we will gather everyone in a single spot and remove nets from them one by one. We’re going to take away the armaments from those who regain their consciousness before doing the same with unconscious ones. All the stuff will be carried and put in the open space before the gate. By the time we are done, those who have become aware of the situation will try to escape on their own. As for the unconscious people, we will wake them up and tell them it’s okay to flee. They will most likely do the same.”

Harrigan furrowed her eyebrows and asked to confirm something.

“About the unconscious soldiers, shouldn’t it be better to place them in front of the gate?”

“True, it might be faster for their informed comrades to call out to them. With that, the soldiers should actually learn they were spared and released by the witches. Okay then, Harrigan, won’t you call others?”

“Understood. Lela!”

Nodding deeply, Harrigan ordered Lela, who had tagged along with them, to raise a smoke signal. Following that, a green-colored smoke arose from burned charms, after which the witches appeared in succession.

=== Part 11 ===

Naga and Harrigan gave quick instructions to the gathered witches from Harrigan’s clan. Soon after, the clan of Sraymeyer joined in, after their leader arrived at Naga’s spot, and helped with the removal of the enemy’s armaments. Several of the soldiers had already run away after regaining consciousness. On the other hand, the still unconscious ones were transported to the open space before the fort’s gate using a cart brought from a warehouse. The one to pull it was obviously Ais, but, Naga decided to go through a bit of a trouble so as to motivate her. Finally, being able to soothe Ais’ anger and encourage her to pull the cart, Naga thought.

(Yes, being considerate is a serious matter. Especially, toward girls.)

Such was his strengthened belief.

=== Part 12 ===

The time for commencement of the operation took place in the morning; nonetheless, the sun was already heading west. It was still too early for dusk, and shadows of watchtowers and other buildings inside the fort were still of considerable length, however, it was quite dark. A big and a small half-moon resurfaced on a blue sky, close to the ground, while shining with a dim light. Naga’s voice echoed through the open space located before the gate, at the north side of the fort.

“Oh, are you guys awake? Once you regain your mobility it’s okay for you to escape.”

At his voice, some of the awakened soldiers pointed their nervous sights at Naga, and then, looked around with a frightened expression. A dozen of the witches were surrounding them with the intention of guarding. The soldiers trembled with fear as they felt they were caught by the witches.

“Oi, what’s the matter? I’m telling you it’s fine to escape. Speaking of which, it will be meddlesome if you don’t leave quickly.”

For some reason, an armored man was ordering them from atop a footstool in a self-important manner.

(Why is there a man among the witches?)

(Who’s that guy?)

The soldiers looked at each other’s faces with strange expressions while whispering together.

“You don’t feel like running away? Then, shall you become slaves of the witches? Or perhaps, you would prefer to be sliced off here?”

The strange looking man pulled out his strange looking sword. At its sight, the soldiers came back to their senses and remembered their fear.

“Uwaaaaaaa!”

One of them stood up abruptly and ran off in a tumbling manner.
Following him, the rest of the soldiers who had regained their consciousness did the same one after another. As this kept repeating, the number of the enemy reduced to half. In the end, those remaining asleep would be woken up against their will by tapping and shaking, and set free as if being shooed away. Only 20 people consisting of officers and vice-officers were left in the open space. Some of them who'd been selected from the rest had their hands and legs bound together. Classifying them as commanding officers was an easy task since Raibaha was present. In front of the remaining people, Naga got on the footstool and raised his voice. He sheathed his sword back into his scabbard, put down its tip on the footstool, and placed his hands together on the sword’s pommel.

“How about this, you scoundrels. You have probably learned of the witches’ strength, right? Now that you’re apprehended like this, it’s fine to say your lives are in hands of the witches.”

'Eeek?!' – Some of the soldiers raised a shriek and turned stiff.

“But, fret not. We won’t be taking your lives!”

At Naga’s loud and remarkable voice, the soldiers who tensed their bodies sighed with relief.

“Instead, we’re going to set you free!”

Naga, who cut off his words here, looked out over their faces.
Once he confirmed all the soldiers were holding their breath while concentrating their gazes on him, Naga once again raised his voice loudly.

“The reason why you scoundrels are caught is the result of you trying to attack and dispossess the witches of their land. You could say you reaped what you sowed, but, the witches are merciful this time, and therefore, your foolish act shall be ignored. Got it? You bastards are saved thanks to the benevolent and compassionate witches! You better engrave that in your hearts! And then, once you have learned your lesson, don’t you ever dare to fight them again!”

They watched Naga with a doubtful, or rather, a strange expression. Nevertheless, many of them nodded enthusiastically.

“I’m going to release you at once. Does anyone have any questions?”

He observed them once more with his composed attitude. And then, a single soldier timidly lifted his hand.

“I allow you to speak. So, what do you want?”

As soon as Naga pointed the tip of his scabbard toward that person, the man straightened up with fear. However, he quickly pulled himself together and asked.

“Y…..You seem to be affiliated with the witches, but, just who on earth are you?”

Naga directed his cold gaze at the soldier who asked. Because of that, the man felt his body going numb and becoming sweaty.

“You’re asking me who I am? That’s a good question. I’m, well, I wonder about that, you see.”

At his vague reply, the man darted his eyes about, still, Naga carried on.

“I don’t exactly know who I am, but for now, I’m being referred to as this by the witches:”

Leaving a break in his speech, he continued.

“Naga [written as Dragon King]”

The soldiers exchanged looks with each other and buzzed noisily.

“I don’t care if you want to inquire who I am, but more importantly, shouldn’t you focus on how to return safely? Since we won’t give you back the confiscated weapons, you better be careful on your way back to your city so as not to encounter wild animals or bandits.”

Hearing Naga’s words, all of them came back to their senses.

“I will repeat it just once, but, make sure you remember this generous treatment as you won’t be forgiven the next time you’re caught. If that happens, you will probably have your stomach split open, your blood poured out, or your internal organs eaten while you are still alive. Got it!?”

“Eeek?!…”

“Understoodddd!”

The soldiers prostrated themselves with a pale face; nonetheless, Harrigan and the witches from her clan looked dissatisfied.

Drawing out his sword, Naga came near to the enemy. Once he stood next to them who trembled with fear, Naga cut off ropes binding their limbs.
Having finished doing so, he pointed the tip of his sword toward the gate.

“Hey, you can go now.”

Despite him telling them, nobody moved with their body.
'Is he going to slash me from behind the moment I try to escape?' – is what they doubted.

“What’s wrong, aren’t you going to run away? If you bastards don’t want to, then perhaps we should work you to death as slaves of the witches….”

“Uwaaaaaa!”

A single person screamed loudly while dashing out. The remaining soldiers understood that as a sign and dashed off one after another.
Naga shouted behind their backs.

“If you return back safely, you may tell your families about how humane the witches are!”

However, it wasn’t clear whether or not his words reached their ears, as they all went at full speed toward the gate without looking behind, just like startled hares.

=== Part 13 ===

By the time the soldiers disappeared, Naga called together Harrigan and Vita.

“It’s regarding what we intend to do from now on, but……. speaking of which, even though we managed to capture the fort, why do you look this displeased?”

“I wonder if it’s not due to your way of speaking, Naga. With what you had said before, didn’t you give them the wrong impression about us?”

Harrigan gazed at him.
Her abundant, bluish black hair that wriggled in the air looked fearsome.

“Good grief. It’s not nice to speak about us in a way that makes us look like beasts sucking humans’ blood and eating their live flesh, you know?”

Vita was in bad mood as well.
Even if the witches got angry, their appearance shouldn’t have been enough for Naga to be as afraid as he was towards Harrigan right now. Nevertheless, having already learned how frightening their magic is, he hurriedly shook his hands in front of them.

“No no, I just told the soldiers a lie so as to make them feel scared. Look, don’t people say ‘the end justifies the means’?”

“…….Do they?”

Naga suddenly lost his self-confidence as both Harrigan and Vita looked at him with doubtful eyes.

“Eh? Umm yes…I believe this is what people used to say, but…”

“Is this a part of your lost memories?”

“It looks to be so, I guess. Sometimes, these sorts of proverbs will jump into my mind.”

Because he made a bit of a miserable face, neither Harrigan nor Vita felt inclined to press him any further. With that, Naga was released from a difficult situation.

“Then, what are you going to do now, Naga?”

Naga who sighed with relief inside his heart first looked at both of them.

“We will survey the exterior. Selena will check the nearby surroundings, whereas, Yuuki will explore the main road. After all, I want to confirm whether or not all the soldiers managed to run away, or if some of them are still left hiding.”

“Umu, I’ll take care of the preparations.”

Harrigan replied.

“And after that, we should inspect the interior, especially, what’s inside the warehouse.”

“Fumu. Then, shall we entrust Ais with that task?”

Saying so, she turned around toward Ais.

“Yes, leave it to me”

“Is there anything else we need to do?”

“That’s right. There’s a chance that the Cassandra Kingdom will try to retrieve this place. About that, we better strengthen this fort’s defenses. Still, I don’t think it will happen any time soon, so we don’t have to worry for today.”

“Naga, what are the chances for their army to come and strike at us?”

It felt as though some tension showed through in Harrigan’s questioning voice. Since Harrigan gave off that impression, it wasn’t impossible for the witches around here to display anxiety and tension on their faces.

“Adding up their defeat at the Schwein River, today as well, they were quickly deprived of their fort, you see. Is their commanding officer(General?) willing to carry out another battle? More importantly, will their soldiers feel inclined to fight? Considering those facts, I don’t think they will quickly decide on recapturing this fort, you see.”

After hearing his answer, some of the witches felt relieved. Naga, who looked at them with a side glance, gave a warning.

“However, we can’t rest assured. There are probably other enemies besides the Cassandra Kingdom, right?”

"Fumu, indeed that’s true." – Vita nodded in agreement.

“With them losing a majority of their war potential, it can also mean…. that other countries will move with ease.”

“Sooner or later, I’d like to hear more about other sides’ military strength in comparison with this one here.”

“Umu, that’s fine.”

“We can tell you anytime.”

“Well, enough of that. We have yet to do the most important thing for today.”

“Oh? There’s still something left?”

“Oi oi, Harrigan, don’t tell me you’ve already forgotten. We are victorious, we’ve captured Fort Ein without sustaining any damage. In that case, there’s one thing we ought to do.”

Harrigan and Vita looked at each other while wondering what it could be.
The witches around them also tilted their heads at Naga’s words.

“Good grief, you surely are slow, aren’t you?”

Naga, who shook his head, drew out his sword and raised it high.

“When it comes to this, we ought to shout our victory and hold a banquet!”

“Ohh, you mean that?”

“I see. Certainly, we can’t omit this part.”

Both Naga and Vita nodded in agreement, and the other witches expressed their approval as they became radiant, clapped their hands, and stamped with their feet

=== Part 14 ===

(Oh my, indeed, this person is a big fish. As expected of someone who’s referred to as the Dragon King.)

While the witches were filled with enthusiasm, Raibaha watched Naga with deep admiration on his face.

(Just as he said, they managed to capture the fort without producing any casualty on the side of the guards. Surely, he was neither boasting or making a random speech as a temporary measure.)

Being able to see lots of familiar faces escaping safely, Raibaha felt a great relief and admiration. He was amazed and deeply astonished at Naga’s actual leadership ability.

(Perhaps, this person is really capable of creating a world where both humans and the witches can live together. If such a world comes true, there may no longer be any harsh and miserable wars, I guess.)

The face of his young daughter resurfaced in his mind.

(That’s right. I wonder if we could save more pitiful children like her.)

Raibaha, began to think he wanted to see a world like that.
Therefore, he also started to think if there was anything he could do.

=== Part 15 ===

The witches began to make merry, but as soon as Naga left some words to Harrigan, he took Raibaha and moved together with him to a separate room.
One could say it was his method of being considerate so as not to spoil the fun of the witches and let them feel at home when there were no men around.

"Sorry for this." – Having sensed his intention, Harrigan lowered her head.
Naga smiled and lifted his right hand.

“Don’t fret. This won’t be our last victory banquet. Rather, there will be plenty more occasions like this one, you see.”

“I’ll bring you some alcohol and appetizers.”

“Oh, please do so.”

Saying this, both Naga and Raibaha left to a smaller room and prepared to drink in silence.

=== Part 16 ===

“Why, didn’t you run away?”

Naga threw such a question at Raibaha while holding his wine cup filled with grape wine inside. However, since a moment ago, he would just limit himself to just tasting it. Naga restrained himself to this way of drinking, not due to him disliking the taste, but because of him being aware he was weak towards alcohol. On the other hand, Raibaha emptied his metal wine cup many times, as if being good at drinking.

“No, asking me why is…”

Putting down the wine cup on the floor, Raibaha looked at Naga with a slightly red-face.

“I’m your prisoner. Wouldn’t you kill me, were I to run away at my own convenience?”

“Back then, you probably saw me releasing all the captives, right? I planned to let you go too, but well. Had you slipped into the crowd with your friends and escaped, I would have neither chased you nor have any complaint, although the witches might have said something, but…”

“Is that so? So I could just run away? I didn’t consider that far.”

In Raibaha’s tone no remorse or disappointment was felt, which was a bit unexpected for Naga.

“What’s wrong? It feels as though you couldn’t care less about that.”

“Ah, well, perhaps you could say that. Anyway, I no longer have a family left.”

“You mean it? Then, what are your plans from now on? If you remain like this, you will end up as a slave of the witches. I’ve got the feeling that neither you nor the witches would wish for something as unpleasant as that. As expected, maybe I should seize the opportunity and release you.”

As Naga said that, Raibaha directed a serious look at him.

“Hey, Dragon King.”

“What? Why are you being formal?”

“I wonder if you can make me into your subordinate.”

At his words, Naga opened his eyes slightly wide.

“Are you serious?”

“Uh, no, how should I put it…. I’m not even sure myself about that.”

Was Raibaha, who replied, mocking himself or hiding his embarrassment? Perhaps, he was filled with something else? Somehow, a smile with mixed feelings appeared on his face. Naga talked to such a Raibaha in a nice and cold manner.

“Becoming my subordinate would mean, at the same time, being on the side of the witches, i.e., becoming an ally of your god’s enemy. In other words, you too will be considered as one and fight against humans as ‘God’s enemy’. Are you okay with that?”

“To begin with, I wasn’t much of a fanatical believer. What’s more…..”

Raibaha reached out his hand toward the cup and brought it near his mouth, after which, he drank up the remaining wine in one go.

*Sigh* – Once he exhaled and put the cup back down, Raibaha carried on as he made eye contact with Naga.

“I don’t plan on becoming a subordinate of the witches, but you. That is to say, Dragon King’s underling.”

“That would probably be the same. After all, I’ve befriended the witches, which makes me an enemy of humans. As expected, by becoming my underling, and therefore, an ally of the witches, you would turn humanity into your enemy?”

At Naga’s remark, Raibaha shook his head from side to side composedly.

“No, it’s certainly not the same. At least, this is what I believe.”

A shade of confusion appeared on Naga’s face for the first time.

“……What do you mean?”

“Simply serving Dragon King doesn’t make me a subordinate of the witches. Even if I’m to work for them, in the end, it’s Dragon King who’s giving them orders. Now that I think about that, don’t I sound like I'm making an excuse to myself?”

"Haha" – Hearing his words, Naga laughed.

“That’s indeed an unexpected quibble coming from you.”

“I don’t particularly mind, so it’s fine. Didn’t you say before that the end justifies the means?”

“Yeah, I think that’s what I said.”

“What’s more, there’s no reason for me to tell you a lie. Since my youth, I’ve been constantly serving in the army, so I’ve gained a mass of experience. Back then, I used to fight with the witches, but the majority of my battles were against other human soldiers.”

*Chuckle* – Raibaha chuckled under his nose.

“Humans have been killing each other in the name of God. Regardless of whether they were humans or the witches, I-, we, would continue to swing with swords, shoot arrows, kill our enemy, and die from their hands. There would be no time for us to ponder on things like who was our enemy or what was right in what we did. Just as being told, we would pick up our weapons and fight for survival. That’s it. If you order me to pick up a weapon and fight your enemy, then it’s no different from what I’ve been doing until now.”

As soon as he paused after speaking loudly in one breath, Raibaha scratched his head as if feeling a bit shy.

“…..Guess I’ve made another excuse to myself.”

“You mean it?” – Naga, who replied, fixed his gaze upon Raibaha.

Was it due to him being unable to endure the pressure coming from Naga’s sight? Raibaha extended his hand and poured more red liquid into his cup.
The moment he brought the cup near to his mouth, Naga uttered with dignity.

“Fine, got it. I shall make you into my underling.”

Raibaha’s face rose up energetically and looked as though brimming with expectations.

“For real?!”

“I’m not lying, but, let me ask you once again.”

Standing up while having a grave expression, Naga looked down at Raibaha and said:
[[File:Naga03 Illus-07.jpg|200px|thumbnail|right]]
“By becoming my underling you agree to fight against the humans til my vision of the new world is fulfilled. Perhaps, there will be another battle waiting after the previous one. You’re telling me you can continue to swing your sword at humans, right? And endure slanders such as being labeled as ‘god’s enemy’, right?”

“Y, Yes.”

“I’m going to tell you this, but, it’s not like I’ll always resort to this type of kindhearted fighting style, you see? This time, I only saved all of your comrades because I deemed it would serve a purpose in the future. On the other hand, if I consider killing them all to be more convenient, then I may not hold back, you know?”

At Naga’s sharp glint in his eyes and intimidating air overflowing from his body, Raibaha felt an unintentional urge to move back while he was sitting. Nevertheless, he somehow endured that and strained his voice.

“Y….Yes, I don’t care about that.”

The fighting spirit dwelling inside of Naga suddenly disappeared.

“Understood. I’ll make you into my subordinate, therefore, work your fingers to the bone for my sake.”

After that, Naga gave a broad smile.

“That’s because I properly reward those who serve me.”

Naga was pleased. He hadn’t thought he would be able to make a subordinate this quick. He, who possessed an eye for anticipating the future, had a premonition that his subordinates would become a breakthrough for realizing his plan. Raibaha faced toward the smiling Naga and bowed down instinctively.

“I, I’m looking forward to working with you.”

“If that’s settled, we shall let the witches know about you becoming my underling. Follow me.”

Being in a good mood and in high spirits, Naga took Raibaha along with him and left the room.

=== Part 17 ===

“Oi, Harrigan, there’s something I’d like to discuss with….”

Once Naga and Raibaha stepped inside a large room where the merrymaking of the witches had been held, most of the witches were drunk and dancing while being naked.

“Eh?”

“Ah….”

As soon as the witches noticed Naga and Raibaha, they ceased their dancing and singing, and a strange, or rather, ominous silence dominated in the room.

“Umm, we will be back later.”

“I, I guess it’s much better that way.”

Naga and Raibaha turned right with stiff faces as they planned to leave at a quick pace. Despite that, The moment they stepped out with one foot, their bodies turned instantly heavy, making them stumble.

“Uooooh?”

Raibaha and Naga recovered back their weight immediately after falling on their knees. They both tried to stand up hurriedly and break up, however, they couldn’t make it in time as the witches were already surrounding them.

“You have some guts to peek at us and think you can get away with that, don’t you, Naga?”

Harrigan, whose hair went around in circles, was nude.

“Geez, Naga-san, as expected, it should’ve been better to gouge out your eyes, right?”

Ais, who pushed out her hands, was naked as well.

“I think gouging out their eyes is too clement for them. It would be better for us if we cut off both their legs and arms so that they can’t peek again.”

The air surrounding Yuuki jumbled together and her 2 bundles of long hair fluttered. Obviously, she too was naked.

“I shall burn the-m. So that not a single trace of them remain-s.”

Lela, who held a charm in her hand, was nude as well.

“How about punching? Punching them to death? Until all their bones are completely broken? Haaaaa!”

Putting up her fist, which released its metallic gloss, Kay too was nude. Not just her fist but also her whole body – including her nipples as well – was radiating with a metallic luster. Should one describe that as strange or perhaps uncanny? Either way, it was a mysterious view.

“I think drowning them to death will be the most painful method.”

While expanding and contracting lumps of red liquid in the air – most likely grape wine – Nonoeru approached in a staggering manner. She too was naked.

“Kukuku, so you wanted to see me naked that badly, Dragon King? If so, you should have come and made a request like a real man in front of me. To think you would peek on me sneakily like that, it’s indeed a disgrace even for someone known as the Dragon King.”

Placing her hand on her waist and bending her chest backward, Vita laughed while being naked like the rest. Originally, if a girl was to bend backward, there would be clear unevenness protruding, however, in Vita’s case, none could be found. The other witches, who looked much the same as the previous ones, or perhaps less, surrounded Naga and Raibaha in a multitude – although it wasn’t such a great number – while looking at them with an ominous light dwelling inside their eyes.

“Oi, you girls, come back to your senses! To begin with, I wasn’t the one to peek. It was you who showed me your appearance!”

Despite Naga criticizing and objecting, no truth nor justice would reach someone who was drunk.

“He’s making excuses, isn’t he?”

“He’s evading, right?”

“He’s trying to deceive us, right?”

“He’s turning on us, isn’t he?”

While shouting one by one, the witches rushed at Naga and Raibaha.
The two of them tried to stand up, but nevertheless, they would quickly tumble back.

“Forget about what you saw here!”

“Forget it completely!”

“If you can’t do that, then die!”

The witches approached en masse and kicked the rolling Naga and Raibaha using their feet. For the time being, they both covered their heads with their hands, trying to protect themselves from a swarm of dispatched kicks. Thanks to that, they were able to keep their heads safe, however, the witches didn’t spare other parts of their body.

Naga somehow tried to stop them by looking up, but,

(Huh? T, This angle is?!)

“Wai, girls, this angle is no good! It’s no good awaawaaw!”

“Errrk! I’m going to be killed. Even though I went through the trouble of becoming the Dragon King’s subordinate, I’m going to be killed from being kiiicked.”

“Eh?”

At Raibaha’s shriek, Harrigan ceased to move.

“Oi, everyone, wait.”

Harrigan, who calmed down the other witches, directed her question at Raibaha.

“You, what just did you say just now?”

“N, No, that’s why I’m saying I’ve become the Dragon King’s subordinate….”

Curling up on the floor and holding his head in his hands, Raibaha, who resisted the kicks, looked with a glimpse at Harrigan after which he hurriedly turned away his sight.

“What’s the meaning of that, Naga?”

“That’s why I’m telling you I have to let you know about that!”

Naga released his hands from his head and lifted his eyes toward the witches who were surrounding him.

“Speaking of which, I think I mentioned about this angle being honestly no good but, are you fine with that?”

Naga averted his eyes similarly to Raibaha.

“…..Hmm?”

Harrigan, who looked down at them both, shifted her eyes a bit at her own body. She was nude. Completely nude. So nude it was terrific. In case of Raibaha, it wasn’t half as bad, as he held down his head and averted his eyes, however, Naga was laying on the floor face up. Certainly, it was an angle which couldn’t be more dangerous.

“Whatttttt?!”

Rather than coming back to their senses, the witches who realized the situation they were put in forgot about their shame, and instead, were besides themselves with rage.

“Die Die Die!”

“Erase all the memory of what you saw and die!”

“Throw out all your brain tissue and die!”

*Dosu, kosu, doka, geshi*

A further and more harsh swarm of kicks were sent at Naga.

“Uwaa, you, wai, awwawawaww, I’ll die, I’ll seriously die!”

Twisting his body, Naga tried to escape, but, there was nowhere to run away as the witches surrounded them closely packed.

(This is bad; this is honestly bad. I’m seriously going to die from these kicks.)

Were he to oppose a drunkard who had lost any means of reasoning, Naga would most likely worsen his situation, but nonetheless, he had the feeling it was the only option for him to survive. By the time Naga resolved himself and tried to move his hand,

“Wait a moment! He’s going to die! The Dragon King is really going to die! Are you fine with killing him like that?!”

Raibaha, who shouted, covered Naga with his whole body as if trying to protect him.

“This person is your ally! The one who who’s supposed to create your world!”

“Umm…”

With that, Harrigan and the rest stopped their kicking.

“Raibaha, seems like you don’t understand what’s being talked about, do you?”

“That’s why, the Dragon King has been telling you that all the time.”

“It’s the first time I hear about what you say.”

“No, he has been telling you that countless of times for a while, you know?”

“You mean it? Then, I wonder if you can’t let us know.”

“B, Before that, could everyone please put something on? Otherwise, the talk won’t proceed.”

“A…Ah, that’s right. It’s just as you say.”

The witches who came to their senses a little pulled back their legs and turned around.

“By the way, you didn’t see it, right?”

Raibaha waved his hands with all his might and shook his head at his best after being stared by Harrigan.

“I didn’t, I didn’t.”

“If you had seen it, I thought about gouging out your eyeballs, dismembering your body after smashing all of its bones, and throwing it to wolves as a pet food, but—-”

“I didn’t see even a tiny little bit, so honestly, rest assured.”

“Then, I guess that’s fine. Still, what about you Naga?”

“No, I haven’t seen anything, so don’t worry.”

“I wonder who should be the one to say that.”

Despite her thinking that, Harrigan also thought her carelessness was partially responsible for what had happened, so she ceased any further inquiring.

“Ah… since we’ll be changing, go outside and wait.”

(Rather than changing, you should already be putting something on you!)

Naga wanted to retort that way, but he thought he would only annoy them at this late hour. Together with Raibaha, he silently went outside to the hallway and waited for them to be called in.

=== Part 18 ===

After a while of waiting,

“You can come in.”

Being called out to, Naga and Raibaha entered in once again.
Both of them could feel relieved as everyone was properly wearing their clothes.

(I’ve always thought their small clothes are as good as being naked, but, looking back at what happened, I can understand it’s far better for them to wear something.)

Naga exhaled a sigh of relief inside of him.

“Naga, come and sit here. Same goes for you, Raibaha.”

Naga and Raibaha sat down at prearranged seats near a wall after being urged by Harrigan. As they leaned against the wall, the witches also sat down while surrounding the two in a half-circle.

“Then, what’s the meaning of him becoming your subordinate?”

Harrigan asked as if being eager.
Among the other witches, there were those who looked at Naga and Raibaha curiously, those who looked strangely, others – doubtfully, and yet another – reproachfully. Besides them, witches who averted their eyes in shame were also present, however, those were a minority.

“Ah, that would be, you see—”

Naga revealed his exchange with Raibaha, as well as the whole story behind him deciding to make Raibaha into his underling.

“I knew you would later approve of the idea, but I deemed it was necessary to make the decision on the spot.”

“Hm, is that so?”

“I also had thought it would benefit you, which was the reason why I decided to do so, you see. That’s all I wanted to convey.”

“I guess you’re right. When it comes to establishing a world for both us and the humans, having allies is an indispensable thing.”

Saying that, Harrigan nodded in agreement.
Because the majority of the witches from the Haindora clan, such as Ais, Lela, Kay, and Nonoeru, agreed too, nobody seemed to particularly complain or object. Except for one person. Naturally, that person was Yuuki. She was the only one to stare blatantly and pretentiously at Naga and Raibaha with a much displeased face

“Is there something you want to say, Yuuki? If so, say it now.”

“Not really. Isn’t it fine as long as Harri-nee approves of your decision?”

Should one say that Yuuki had become more mature too? She wasn’t the same blind and stubborn person, whom she was when they first met.

(If that’s true, then great. Still, I wonder.)

Not letting anyone else learn about his thoughts, Naga,

“Is that so? Sorry about that.”

He lowered his head.
And Raibaha bowed down deeply as well.
Harrigan exchanged a somewhat warm look with Yuuki

“T, That’s why, you’re greatly mistaken if you think I’m glad of becoming that guy’s ally!”

Yuuki, who couldn’t bear that situation uttered those words with an abusive-like tone.

“Yuuki, you’re going too far with your words. Raibaha is already…”

“Ah, that’s okay, Ane-san, I don’t mind about that.”

Since Raibaha shook his head, Harrigan held her tongue, but then, she immediately looked at him with doubtful eyes.

“By the way…. you’re calling me Ane-san? Do you think I’m older than you?”

“Ah, no, I’m sorry about that, Somehow, it feels like you’re giving off a strong appeal, so….”

“W, Well, I wonder if it’s fine to consider it that way.”

Harrigan coughed at once and stated.

“If it’s Naga’s decision, then I won’t be the one to judge. We shall approve you becoming Naga’s underling.”

“Thank you, Harrigan. Speaking of which,”

Naga moved his face toward Vita, who had been silent for a while.

“How about you girls? Do you mind if this guy becomes my subordinate?”

“Well, I wonder about that.”

Raibaha stirred his muscle uncomfortably as Vita threw a glance at him.

“After all, it’s what you’ve decided. I don’t plan to look for any excuse, and the same goes for my daughters.”

“You mean it? I appreciate that.”

"However" – Saying this, Vita threw a challenging look at Naga.

“But, provided that man betrays us, we won’t have any mercy on him, you know? If that happens, I shall make him so heavy that all the bones and joints in his body get smashed and his muscles get torn.”

“Rest assured. Not even I will forgive those who plan on becoming my ally just to betray me. Absolutely not. I’ll tear this guy apart even before Vita does.”

“Then, fine. I shall acknowledge this man as Dragon King’s underling. Are you okay with that, my daughters?”

One couldn’t tell whether their answers were optimistic or pessimistic, but, they all were of the same opinion.

“Excellent. From now on, Raibaha is officially my subordinate. Since I am an ally of the witches, Raibaha too has become one. Having this guy is truly delightful! Speaking of which, Harrigan. Now that you’ve acquired your first human ally, what're your thoughts on that?”

“H…hm, that’s right.”

“If things go well like this, perhaps creating the world we wish for might be easier than what we had thought.”

Harrigan put a slightly wry smile on her face after listening to Naga’s words.

(There’s no way for it to be that simple. But, perhaps one should be more bold and optimistic when putting their life into something. Be that as it may, even if it’s just for giving my daughters more hope, should I accept his offer?)

Harrigan, who was thinking this, leaned her body forward and replied vigorously.

“True. For the sake of creating a new world, we have to rise and make more allies like Raibaha. If we increase them one by one like this, then establishing a new country of the witches isn’t that far from being realized.”

“Agreed. Well then, now that Raibaha has become my underling, let’s celebrate! Let’s celebrate a new chapter in your future! Drink, sing, get undressed, and dance!”

“Ohh, that’s right. Let’s become lively at onc…Wha? No no no, wait wait! Why are you bringing that topic back up?!”

“E, Eh? Am I wrong?”

“You are! If you want to get undressed and dance that badly, then do it together with Raibaha!”

At Harrigan’s retort, sounds of whistles and jeering came from the direction of other witches.

“No, even if I was to dance naked with this guy, I won’t enjoy it at all, you know?”

“This is what I’m trying to tell you.”

“That’s why, we will no longer undress. And even if we decide to, we’ll smash your eyes before doing so.”

“Ah, shall I smash them? I, can do it, completely.”

“Because Ais extended her hands and stepped forward, Naga fervently waved both his hands in front of him.

“No no, I won’t do that, so don’t worry. Even if you girls were to denote your intention of doing so, Raibaha and I will leave the place straight away.”

“Huh…..? That’s so boringg.”

Ais, who moved both her thumbs in the air, in a manner of squeezing something, looked very unsatisfied.

“No no, don’t say it like you’re regretting not being able to smash my eyes. More importantly, you too shouldn’t drink any more than that, right? Right, Ais?”

“What are you talking about? I’m not drinking at all?”

Ais stared at Naga.
Naga turned his sight at Harrigan as if seeking help but he was flatly refused by her.

“You should be okay as long you don’t come near Ais.”

(No, rather than that, it’s more troublesome to have her approach me while being drunk.)

Naga looked around him for help, but, nobody would lend him a hand. Rather, nobody wanted to end up like him.

“Ah… well, I think I’ll go and stay in my room silently.”

“I too will keep you company.”

In the end, not being able to participate in the banquet or watch the witches dancing and singing, the two of them ate and drank obediently inside their room.

=== Part 19 ===

Like that, Naga acquired his new subordinate, Raibaha.

In other words, he was the first ever human ally of the witches, who had been repeatedly opposing humans for 2-300 years of both their history. Nevertheless, lots of the witches were still unaware of that, or couldn’t understand it yet. On the other hand, Naga knew, as well as Raibaha himself, that Raibaha had become an existence that would become a breakthrough, or rather, a bridgehead, for establishing a new world where both the witches and humans can live together.

(The biggest spoil of this battle isn’t Fort Ein, but this man. This guy is also a tremendously big asset for the witches.)

Naga believed this to be true.

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==Translator's Notes and References==
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