■ Grace Period □
It was two days after I returned to the fortress that I heard the news from the spies planted in the city that the Lord of Hamburg had been found dead.
Of course, it was natural that the ruler of a city suddenly decided to go out for training in the morning, leading his soldiers, and then all communication was cut off. The next day, a search party was formed, and following the traces left by the soldiers in the snowfield, they discovered a devastated valley and about 100 corpses buried in the snow.
Although I didn’t particularly intend to mutilate the bodies during the battle, there would be only a few neatly killed corpses.
Most of them probably died from having a limb torn off by the wind or being electrocuted by lightning.
Only ten of the intact corpses were those I remembered killing at the end.
As for the Lord, bringing his head as evidence seemed a bit too much, so instead, I took a diamond ring worth dozens of carats, which seemed to be the family’s emblem, as a trophy.
By now, they must have realized the fact and been in an uproar.
Even to my untrained eye, it looked like a very expensive item.
Well, it’s none of my business.
[[#]]”Hee-hee-hee♪”
Thanks to me successfully completing a solo mission and returning, Dorothea had been in a good mood for the past few days.
After all, the achievements of a subordinate are also the achievements of the superior.
Having been in office for almost a year without any significant achievements, it was only natural that she was in a good mood after finally accomplishing something big.
Moreover, the achievement was conquering a fortress that no one had been able to capture for 100 years and assassinating the current Lord of Hamburg, which was enough to make her shoulders rise with pride.
While creating necessary items for the fortress through alchemy, I was suddenly summoned to the office and asked Dorothea, who was humming a tune,
“Why did you call me?”
Dorothea then looked up from the documents and asked me,
“Do you have any rewards you desire?”
“Desired rewards?”
“No, you’ve made a great contribution this time. So, if there’s anything I can do within my power, I thought I’d do it for you.”
“Oh, that’s what you meant.”
Only then did I understand what Dorothea was talking about and awkwardly scratched the back of my head.
It wasn’t like I had done it expecting a reward.
“If you want, I can give you money or items. I’ll let Eva know.”
I didn’t have anything in mind, so I was going to ask for it later, but then I remembered something.
“Maybe some erotic books… no, never mind. Cancel that.”
Asking for erotic books as a reward seemed like a crazy idea, not to mention it wasn’t cost-effective.
I regretted not getting them when I was in Hamburg, but I was too tired to think about it then.
But since I couldn’t take back what I had said, Dorothea made a strange expression at the mention of erotic books.
“Do you have a pile of them? I’ve been a bit busy lately, but if you had told me, I could have lent you some.”
“No, it’s not like that. There’s a reason.”
Although I hadn’t done it this week, I wasn’t so desperate that I would bring it up first.
To avoid misunderstanding, I told Dorothea about Camilla.
In short, I needed educational materials for her sex education.
Dorothea then tilted her head as if she had heard something strange.
“Do you really need to study for that? You can just learn through practice.”
It was a valid point, but unfortunately, Camilla, the exclusive maid assigned by the Demon King, wasn’t the type to understand such common sense.
“Anyway, so I’ll keep the wish ticket for now. I still have about a week before I return to the Demon King’s Castle. I’ll think about it slowly.”
After brushing it off like that, I was about to leave Dorothea’s office when I suddenly remembered the ring in my pocket.
“Oh, I forgot to give this to you.”
“What?”
“Well, I killed the Lord of Hamburg and took this as a trophy, but I forgot to report it.”
As I said that, I took out the diamond ring from my robe’s pocket and handed it over.
The ring, made from ore mined from the Vulcan Mountains, symbolized eternity and solidity, and the large diamond was almost like the emblem of the Hamburg Count family, the shield of the kingdom.
Dorothea, knowing this, looked at the diamond ring I handed over with curiosity, then suddenly realized something and her face changed.
“Wait, this doesn’t mean what I think it means, does it?”
“No, don’t worry.”
Did she think I was proposing indirectly?
When I laughed as if it was ridiculous, Dorothea made an awkward expression and said, “If not, then whatever,” but still showed strong interest in the diamond ring.
“Anyway, you just need to write the report to be submitted to the Demon King’s Castle. If you want it, why don’t you take it? As the Commander-in-Chief, you have that much authority.”
“Really?”
Seeing that she clearly wanted it, I casually suggested, and Dorothea happily tried the diamond ring on her finger.
Then, as if there was a special magic on it, the ring’s band shrank to fit her finger size.
Even Dorothea, who didn’t seem very interested in jewelry, showed that much interest, so it must be really beautiful.
I don’t even wear bracelets because they’re cumbersome.
Anyway, with all my business done, I said I was leaving and exited Dorothea’s office.
[[#]]It had already been a month since the occupation, and the Hamburg fortress, once the shield of humans, had now taken on the colors of the Demon King’s Army.
Walking inside the fortress, demon soldiers who recognized me greeted me warmly.
Although my identity was still a secret, and I wore a dog-shaped mask, it seemed that such a distinctive feature made it easier to remember my name.
True to the demon culture that respects the strong, since I had proven my strength befitting my position, there were no cases of territoriality or disregard towards me as an outsider.
Well, if someone openly ignored me and got their head split open, it would be their own fault.
Avoiding the imps who followed me around asking to learn magic, like the Pied Piper, I dispersed them by sharing snacks from my pocket.
Although imps are persistent and vicious in battle, in normal times, they’re just mischievous kids.
After leaving the residence, I walked for about 10 more minutes before arriving at my quarters.
“I’m back.”
“Welcome back.”
As I greeted and entered the quarters, Camilla greeted me as always in her neat appearance.
I took off my coat and handed it to her, then asked,
“What’s for dinner tonight?”
“Potato stew with a side of potato omelet.”
“…Potatoes again?”
“There’s still a lot of potatoes left from the food supplies. I’ve increased the variety to use them up as much as possible.”
“I want meat and vegetables.”
“Don’t worry. Bacon is included as a side ingredient. And potatoes are technically vegetables.”
“……”
Listening to her, it wasn’t wrong, so I couldn’t argue.
After changing clothes in the room, I warmed up the frozen water with a fire spell and used it to wash my face.
I would have liked to fill a bathtub with hot water and take a bath, but I planned to do that before bed.
Heading to the kitchen for dinner, there was freshly made potato stew and a potato omelet on the table.
Although I had complained earlier, Camilla’s cooking skills were excellent, so whatever ingredients she used, it was always delicious.
Sitting across from Camilla, we said a simple prayer.
Although we believed in different gods—the Goddess of Wisdom and the Goddess of Strength—the way we prayed was the same.
After that, we started eating at our own pace.
While the clattering of dishes echoed from the kitchen, Camilla, after tasting a bite of the omelet she made, casually brought up a topic.
“Caldlasth, I have something to tell you.”
“What is it?”
“I’ve mastered the act of fellatio you mentioned last time.”
Cough! Cough!
I choked on my food at the unexpected comment at the dinner table.
As I hurriedly looked for water, Camilla handed me a cup of hot water with a blank expression and asked,
“So, if you have time, I’d like to show you the results. When would be convenient for you?”
I looked at Camilla, who was beyond shameless, with disbelief and said,
“Can we talk about that after we finish eating?”
“That… I’m sorry. I just wanted to boast as soon as possible.”
After finally stopping my cough, I took a deep breath and said,
“I understand that Camilla wants education. But I’d like you to wait a bit. The teaching materials aren’t ready yet.”
“Teaching materials, you mean?”
“Yes. I said I’d prepare them for the next session.”
“Are teaching materials really necessary?”
“Still, having them makes a big difference.”
To persuade the seemingly impatient Camilla, I held up three fingers.
“Three days, just wait three days. Then I’ll prepare proper teaching materials.”
“…I guess I have no choice.”
Seeing that, Camilla also seemed to think there was no other way and stepped back.
Feeling like I had overcome a hurdle, I sighed in relief and shoveled the remaining potato omelet into my mouth.
‘I think I’ll have to use the wish ticket for this.’
Hoping that Dorothea wouldn’t get angry at this request, I put the empty omelet plate on the table.
