Chapter 242

Now is the Time to Strike Back!
As Takuto approached the man writhing on the ground, the man noticed him.

"You bastard, mmgh! You came to this world too?"

Metallic spikes shot out from the man’s body. Groaning, he drank a potion to heal his wounds, but it was pointless unless he removed the indescribable slime-like substance inside him.

"I don’t know who you are."

Takuto had no idea who this man was.

"Heh, falling for a woman like that... what an idiot. Do you know what that witch did?

That witch created people. Four of them. Her parents, a maid... and herself. She never had any intention of going back to you!"

As he said that, needles suddenly burst from the man's body.

"Ugaaaaah!"

"Yeah, I figured."

Iris never thought she could return to Takuto. So she planned to send a new version of herself back. She must’ve thought these hands of hers were filthy now. She had done something unforgivable. She probably could never return to her original world.

A nation wouldn’t let someone with the technology to create perfect human clones just slip away.

Takuto had suspected as much. He only learned the truth much later.

And ever since, he had always regretted it.

"But you know, that stuff didn’t matter to me. Ethics? Something vague like that means nothing compared to love. No matter what she did, I would accept her."

Takuto looked at the man coldly. Perhaps he too had gone mad after losing Iris once.

"Freak."

"This is the end."

With a swing of Takuto’s sword, the man was beheaded.

"Now then, what next?"

Takuto thought the war was finally over. But there were still some who wouldn’t let it end.

"Retribution!"

"Revenge!"

Suddenly, the Alicetia clone behind him raised her fist high into the sky. There were traces of pudding on her cheek. Now that her hunger had been satisfied, she was turning to revenge.

"Now’s the time to strike back at the Empire. Let’s squeeze them for a huge sum in reparations."

"They won’t pay. That country’s infamous for being stingy."

"Then we pillage. It’s the end times, after all."

"I made a mohawk helmet and a flamethrower. Starting today, we’ll disinfect the Empire daily."

Saying that, the Alicetia clones began tying up the frozen-in-shock Alicia.

"Why are you capturing the maid?"

"Takuto, don’t think you’ll get away with what you did. Once Alicia regains her senses, she’ll tear you apart and leave your corpse for the birds.

Until she calms down, she should be restrained."

Alicia might not be moving now due to the shock, but it was only a matter of time before she came to and tried to kill Takuto. So they were restraining her to prevent that.

Just as Alicia had been bound and wrapped up in rope, Draconia and his group arrived. The soldiers seemed to be in quite a panic, panting heavily. Well, they had sprinted at full speed alongside cavalry—no wonder. Were they really infantry?

"Explain yourselves. Why did you go out to the battlefield?"

"Because you lost, Father."

Draconia’s face twitched at the Alicetia clone’s reply. He couldn’t argue and grumbled.

"If we’d stayed holed up, the fortress would’ve been surrounded and the countryside ravaged. So we intercepted them. The real body nearly died over there, though."

"She’s safe, right!?"

Draconia dismounted his horse and staggered over to Alicetia. Gilbert, a step behind, also dismounted and headed toward her.

"She’s fine. Her pulse is just weak. She’ll die in a little while."

“"That’s a huge problem!"”

"Well, it’s not surprising after all that rampaging."

Alicetia’s body had taken fatal damage. If left alone, she’d die. The clones grinned.

"Alice, please, save her?"

"OK."

The clone approached Alicetia and pointed the barrel of an AK-style gun at her.

"Wait, wait, that’s not what we meant!"

"Just thought a mercy killing might be kinder."

"Just treat her normally..."

"......"

To the clones, the original was their mortal enemy. They had no reason to save her.

But then Gilbert’s spectacular prostration exploded onto the scene, and the clones reluctantly agreed to treat her.

Just as they grudgingly began treatment, the Arland army summoned by the Heroic Spirit Summoning returned. Leading them was Cynthiana.

Draconia was surprised but knelt before her. Though even her comrades feared her, she was a great predecessor. As king, he had to show proper respect.

"Thank you for saving our country once again."

"......"

Cynthiana nodded silently, then grabbed a man by the head and tossed him to Draconia.

As the man rolled before him, Draconia tilted his head.

"Father, I believe that’s the Crown Prince of the Empire."

Gilbert said, and one of Cynthiana’s subordinates presented the Imperial Emperor’s flag.

Apparently, the heroic spirits led by Cynthiana had launched a surprise attack on the Empire’s main camp and captured the Crown Prince. However, the Emperor had fled at astonishing speed. His self-preservation instincts were clearly unmatched. But capturing the Crown Prince drew cheers from the kingdom’s soldiers.

Satisfied, the heroic spirits watched this and gradually began to fade.

"Lady Cynthiana!"

One of the knights shouted. His grandfather had once been saved by her.

Cynthiana shook her head. She was already content. The kingdom had been saved. That was enough for her to let go. She believed the children of this generation could walk forward without them now.

Gramps appeared in front of Gilbert and knelt.

"Gramps, you’ve helped me so much. I never repaid you... and now you’re leaving me behind like this."

Gilbert spoke sadly. Gramps looked satisfied. He had died, but his lord still lived. That made his death worthwhile.

Gramps stood, gave a butler’s bow, and vanished.

"I’ll be sure to tell Madame Smith that you fought nobly. The rest of you, too. We will live in a way worthy of your devotion. Your deaths will not be in vain. So rest easy."

The remaining heroic spirits quietly raised their weapons high into the sky. The cry of victory seemed to echo in everyone’s hearts.

And then—they vanished.

"By the way, why were the dead even here?"

Gilbert asked the clone.

"Because they were summoned with Heroic Spirit Summoning. And for the record, they weren’t forced. They were just asked if they’d lend us their strength. That’s why, once they’re satisfied, they disappear on their own. And now, they’ve completely ascended."

Those summoned through Heroic Spirit Summoning who resolve their lingering regrets can never be summoned again. In order to be called forth, a strong will must leave a part of the soul behind in this world. And that means they still have regrets. Once those are resolved, they simply vanish.

The Arlandian soldiers likely remained not for revenge, but out of concern for the future of the children who would follow in their footsteps. And just like that, they vanished. The Kingdom’s army held a moment of silent prayer for them.

The day after treatment began, Alicetia's emergency care was completed.

"Well, she’s alive for now, but she won’t be able to use magic anymore. Her mana circuits are completely destroyed. Tearing a hole through dimensions... she’s out of her mind."

Although Alicetia's treatment was finished, she was told that with her mana circuits completely ruined, she wouldn’t be able to use magic again. Draconia and Gilbert looked devastated.

"Also, if left untreated, her mana will run rampant and she’ll die. The power of the Spirit King’s Seal hasn’t stopped absorbing mana, after all."

Alicetia’s mana is simply astonishing, and still continues to grow. This is due to the mark of the Spirit King in her eyes absorbing ambient mana. If Alicetia is a balloon, then the seal is a pump. It keeps injecting mana into her. Once it exceeds the limit, it’ll burst.

Meanwhile, Alicia is currently surrounded by other clones, being persuaded. Upon waking up, Alicia was a full-blown berserker.

For now, she’s calm, due to the persuasion (or rather, threats) from the clones inside the treasury. However, her eyes still look ready to kill Takuto at any moment.

Incidentally, the persuasion was: "If you lay a hand on Takuto, we’ll stop treating the real body." Since Alicia knows the clones are hostile toward the original body, she was chilled to the bone by the threat that they would actually stop the treatment.

"What do we do..."

"This is terrible! My Alice—my precious Alice!"

"She’s not your property, Big Brother. Her mana circuits can be repaired, so that’s not the issue… but we’re heading off to destroy the Empire. We’ll be taking her with us."

"Of course not!"

Draconia was furious. Naturally—Alicetia had become the most critical figure in the Kingdom.

"Now is the perfect time. Retribution is necessary. The Empire got cocky because the other nations on the continent neglected to rein them in."

"Ai, the Empire’s probably suffered massive damage too. Don’t you think they’ll stay quiet for a while?"

To Takuto’s words, the clone responded, "We are Alice," and shook her head. They were no longer Iris.

"To put it simply for you, Takuto—this is like Midway in WWII. The Empire lost its trump cards. Now’s the time to crush them."

At Midway, Japan lost its precious carriers and aircraft. From there, defeat after defeat followed.

If America had grown complacent and failed to follow up then, its casualties might have mounted as well.

Just like that, the Empire had lost most of its prized field army. The Empire’s current main force was lost.

At the same time, Arland’s allied nations had begun operations to reclaim lost territories. The retreating Empire now had to face more than just Arland.

The Empire had made a mistake. They should’ve used their entire army to quickly crush Arland, preventing the other allies from acting, and then later eliminated those allies who turned against the Empire and sided with Arland.

In reality, they suffered a crushing defeat against Arland. Once word of that spreads, Arland’s allies will be emboldened, and the recovery of former territories will be a certainty. After all, only minimal defense forces remain there now.

Naturally, the Empire must defend the territories they took from Arland’s allies. They had good reason to take them in the first place.

The reason lay in the Empire’s own land situation. Once a fertile country with little monster territory, the Empire’s land began to degrade due to reckless development. On top of that, the necessary resources within their own borders had to be sourced from lands taken from Arland’s allies. If they lost those lands, the economic damage to the Empire would be immense.

If defeat in battle and the loss of territory happened simultaneously, the very foundation of the Empire would collapse. That’s why the Empire will shift focus to homeland defense. That’s what needs to be struck!

The Empire feared Alicetia. If she leads an offensive, that fear will turn to chaos. That’s what the clone explained.

"......"

Draconia fell silent. Gilbert foresaw the Empire’s future and turned pale. He could clearly see what was coming. Draconia simply didn’t want to use the joker that was Alicetia. The war was over. He just wanted her to rest now—that was his fatherly instinct.

"Even if Father and Big Brother oppose it, we are going. It’s the perfect opportunity."

"That may be, but we can’t move the army. We’ve taken huge losses ourselves."

Nearly half of Arland’s defense forces were lost. On top of that, the northern Stampede still hadn’t ended. Though it had calmed down, and a message was sent saying reinforcements weren’t needed.

Just around that time, the other clones returned.

"How did it go?"

"Thanks to someone forgetting to give prior notice and dropping the magic reactor, even the Golem Legion took damage. Including losses from the Imperial battle, we’ve got about 7,000 left unharmed."

The clone that had been on the airship was wearing a silly 'tehe-pero' mask. She didn’t seem remorseful at all.

"That’s plenty."

Despite the losses, the clone intended to make up for the lack of manpower with golem soldiers.

The soldier golems Alicetia created were average in performance. However, they were smarter than normal golems and specialized in using whatever weapons they held.

Moreover, they were still being mass-produced inside the treasury, so their numbers kept increasing.

There’s nothing more terrifying than an army that fears no casualties. In every world, death troops are a threat.

"If it gets dangerous, I’ll teleport the main body back. But she still has 'uses,' so I’m taking her."

With a thud, the clone kicked the bed where Alicetia's real body was resting. Everyone sighed.

"Oh, and I’m taking Takuto too. Having a Hero as a guard is reassuring."

"Before that, why does this man have one of our national treasures...? The only one who could’ve given it to him is Sylvia..."

There’s no way Alicetia would have handed over such a treasure. Draconia deduced that Sylvia, worried about Alicetia, must have entrusted it to Takuto.

And that act could very well be seen as a declaration to the continent that the Kingdom of Arland was the heir to the Kingdom of Avalon.

"Also, make sure Takuto has a noble title ready for when we get back."

"Do you even understand our financial situation? We can’t just hand out noble titles that easily... Wait, this has to be the Noble Council’s doing..."

Gilbert sighed. If this topic was being raised, it meant the Noble Council had pulled something.

"They staged a huge rebellion. I don’t really get espionage or interrogations, so I just had them all detained. I’ll leave the rest to you, big brother. Oh, and the Noble Council was dissolved by emergency decree."

Gilbert let out a cold, sly smile. Since it had been dissolved once, the Noble Council would never be allowed to return. They wouldn’t allow a wishy-washy reinstatement. Even if the former members hated Alicetia, most nobles wouldn’t dare oppose her. Even if they did, a counterpunch would come from somewhere. The terrifying part of Alicetia was that even she didn’t know where the counter would come from.

And all the rebellious nobles had their houses stripped. Titles were now in surplus.

"What’s the official reason?"

"Our rescue. If Takuto hadn’t been there, Demon King Iris definitely would’ve become a threat to Arland."

If Takuto hadn’t stopped her, the Demon King Iris would’ve destroyed the world—including Arland. Preventing that was a legitimate achievement.

To Gilbert, Takuto was an enemy. His instincts screamed not to accept this man. However, Gilbert the royal recognized that having Takuto on their side was highly beneficial.

A Hero acknowledged by the Goddess. Chosen by the highest-class Holy Sword of spirit. Difficult if added to the military, but harmless as a noble. The military would likely accept him as well, as he was someone dearly beloved by Alicetia and her savior. That’s how much Alicetia was adored by the soldiers.

Still, as an extreme sister-con, Gilbert’s instincts told him this man should be burned at the stake immediately. If he lived by instinct like Alicetia, he would’ve killed Takuto on sight.

By the way, thanks to Alicia being sworn to secrecy, Arland didn’t know about the kiss. If they did, it would be a huge problem. In this world, a kiss carries far more serious weight than on Earth.

"... Sigh. There’s no stopping you, huh? Even if I send soldiers, I can only spare a thousand. We still have remnants to clean up at home."

"We don’t need them."

The clone shook her head.

"Do you think we’ll accept that? You *will* take guards with you."

"With a thousand, our movement speed drops."

"Don’t underestimate our infantry. They can run as fast as cavalry."

"Even so, that’s still within normal limits. With cavalry-level speed, the Empire will detect us immediately. Since they have the terrain advantage, we need to go beyond conventional tactics. In other words—blitzkrieg to devastate the Empire.

We need to overwhelm them with mobility."

The Empire invasion was heavily tilted against them. That’s why mobility was critical. To Alicetia, the Empire’s mobility was outdated. And she had a secret weapon to ensure superiority.

She began explaining it, but the two men still hesitated.

"Besides, moving a thousand troops stands out. They’ll definitely send interceptors."

In the end, they agreed on taking only 100.

Still, 100 was a lot.

"Do we even have any transport?"

The clones formed a circle and began discussing. Originally, they planned to ride on Coote, but with 100 people, that wasn’t feasible. Some of the Kitties would be left behind in Arland.

"We have four Panzerschandram vehicles."

"Those are junk!"

"No, they’re not! We fixed them to go in straight lines now!"

"Still useless."

"We’ve got a Goliath."

"From Ghibli?"

"Germany."

"Why are you only reproducing joke weapons!?"

"I’ve only been making fun stuff lately. Oh—!"

"This!"

The clones discovered three vehicles—buses.

"If we modify these, they’ll do. We’ve got the magic tools we need."

Grinning widely, the clones rushed toward the buses. They had built them once and completely forgotten about them, letting them fade from memory.

And ten days later—

"As of this moment, I, Alicetia von Arland, First Princess of the Kingdom of Arland, declare the occupation of this land!"

The sub-royal flag fluttered in the plaza of a certain Imperial city. The Imperial citizens stared on in stunned silence.

"By the way, Alicia... where are we?"

"... We're near the opposite border from Arland. Princess, we've crossed the Empire."

Alicetia’s Imperial invasion had begun with the unexpected tactic of crossing the entire Empire in her first move.

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