Occupation of the Domain Capital (1)
Alicetia and a hundred guards were riding a bus, advancing into the Empire.
“Alright, I’ve finished improving the storage card.”
“I’ve successfully made a magic tool version of the new spell, Stealth. Now we can travel in peace. But… the bus driving is pretty rough, you know?”
“My feet don’t reach the accelerator, so I can’t sit properly!”
The bus wobbled wildly as it moved forward. It didn’t tip over only because it was built that way and had a magic tool controlling its balance.
“Then just extend the accelerator and brake pedals.”
“That’s it! Oh, how brilliant of me to notice!”
“Right? I am a genius.”
“Some might say a natural disaster. Especially from the Empire’s point of view.”
To the Empire—about to experience the nightmare of “kicking the corpse”—she would indeed be a natural disaster. Although, it was a disaster the Emperor himself had invited.
After traveling for a while, as the sun began to set, one of the knights called out to one of Alicetia’s clones, who was tinkering with a suspicious-looking magic tool in the swaying bus.
“Princess, we should start preparing to make camp soon. Once it gets dark, we won’t be able to see the surroundings.”
“Camping… I hate sleeping outdoors. Let’s just sleep inside the Treasury”
The bus, which had veered slightly off the main road into open grasslands, stopped near a small grove.
The clones found a good spot under a tree.
“Mr. Coote, dig here.”
“Woof.”
Coote and Alicetia were no longer bound by a contract—Coote had unilaterally severed it to avoid being controlled by the Demon King through Alicetia. However, that didn’t mean he denied her as his master. Even freed from her control, Coote still followed her orders.
Helios, meanwhile, was wrapped head-to-toe in bandages, groaning on a chair. “The beast… the beast…” he muttered. No one knew what had happened to him, but since he hadn’t severed his contract, he was still under Alicetia’s control.
Coote cheerfully dug the hole, and into the completed pit, Alicetia summoned the gate to her Treasury—something a clone had snatched from the main body. Apparently, the vault couldn’t distinguish between the two, so it was easily taken.
“It’s safe to sleep inside here. There’s even a bath.”
“… Convenient indeed.”
The knights suddenly wanted this Treasury very badly.
In military campaigns, one couldn’t just bathe at will. Sleeping arrangements often had to be made while preparing for attacks from enemies or monsters. Even more shocking was when they were told they wouldn’t need sentries, as the monsters running alongside the bus would keep watch.
“Alright, let’s give our guards some jerky as a reward.”
“Woof!”
The monster wagged its tail happily, ate half the jerky, and trotted outside with the rest in its mouth—probably to nibble on throughout the night for entertainment.
Once everyone entered the vault, the gate shrank. The vault couldn’t be closed while living beings were inside, but its size could be adjusted. The door became so small that no person—or most creatures—could pass through, and one of the monsters lay down across it, blocking any light from escaping.
“Whoa!”
The knights couldn’t hide their amazement.
Inside the Treasury, the temperature was constant, and the lighting was perfect. No walls were visible to the naked eye, and the space was vast—Alicetia had confirmed it was larger than Hokkaido.
Currently, it contained an industrial city’s worth of factories in operation.
Mai and Kazuhito sighed as if to say we knew this already, while Takuto laughed, thinking she’s done it again. Alicetia’s production capacity—capable of supporting an entire nation—was unmatched on the continent.
The factories mainly produced parts for magic tools and golems, but no airships or the like. Everything made here was for her personal use.
In wartime, however, all non-urgent production had been halted in favor of manufacturing weapons and golems.
Still, that was only part of the vault’s true purpose. The real treasure was its inheritance of Iris’s cutting-edge Earth technology. Its purpose was to recreate such technology to protect the people of the kingdom from every disaster. Pharmaceutical technology could reduce deaths from disease. Weaponry could defend against threats from the central continent or monsters. All of it was kept secret until practical application, and now, all production power was being poured into the war.
The knights and Takuto saw the truth: weapons and golems were being mass-produced, and countless golems awaited deployment inside the vault.
“Haha… this is insane.”
One knight chuckled in disbelief. He didn’t understand the factories’ original purpose, but he grasped that Alicetia could produce a nation’s worth of military force indefinitely, as long as she had the materials.
In most countries, military power was determined by population, economy, and production capacity. No matter how skilled the tactics, the weight of numbers was inescapable. Even Arland, in this war with the Empire, avoided head-on battles and relied solely on ambushes and irregular warfare because the numbers were simply too different.
Even Arland’s fiercely determined soldiers couldn’t overcome the crushing difference in numbers—yet Alicetia’s production power could overturn that reality.
Arland had always valued high productivity, seeking ways to achieve results with fewer people. That had allowed the kingdom to barely hold off the Empire’s threat for generations.
But if war killed too many soldiers, Arland would struggle to replace them. The Empire, on the other hand, wouldn’t even care about casualties from minor skirmishes. That gap was nearly impossible to bridge—especially as Arland’s population, though growing, was still far smaller than the Empire’s.
Alicetia, however, could create an army that didn’t need to eat, rest, or fear death—so long as resources were available. Militarily, this overturned the fundamental common sense of every nation.
And that was on top of her already being the richest person in the kingdom, holding vast amounts of influence.
“There aren’t enough rooms, so you’ll have to sleep in tents for now. Also, I can’t make the vault dark, so I’ll hand out eye masks. It’s a bit noisy, but we’ll build temporary barracks in a few days, so bear with it until then.”
“No soldier will complain about that on the battlefield.”
The tents had simple beds, there was a bath, and hot meals were served—completely unlike the knights’ idea of war.
Normally, camp meals were barely improved from hard bread and bland soup, with slightly better food only at well-supplied fortresses. That alone could bring some soldiers to tears.
The reason for the current abundance was that Alicetia couldn’t cook, so preserved foods weren’t prioritized—but once canned goods were produced, the situation would improve further. Steering her interest in that direction was Gilbert’s responsibility.
That night, they ate, bathed, and slept. There was an unexpected abundance of meat—thanks to the large stockpile of food for monsters. The knights felt the beasts’ eyes on them while they ate, but not knowing why, they simply patted them on the head.
About six days after setting out, the clones held regular meetings to decide their next targets—but they themselves weren’t sure exactly where they were.
“If we just attack every city in front of us, we’ll get to the Domain Capital eventually, right?”
“Yeah. They say all roads lead to Rome, so if we just wander around the Empire, we’ll reach the Domain Capital sooner or later. Easy.”
Military common sense like invasion routes and supply lines was completely discarded. During these “war councils,” the driving was handed over to Takuto and Kazuhito—because even with the driver’s seat adjusted to her size, Alicetia’s clone had such poor driving skills that she kept driving dangerously.
"Princess, there’s a carriage stopped up ahead. Probably a merchant."
"Which means there’s a village or town nearby. Let’s capture him."
The merchant was resting in the shade while letting his horse drink water.
He had been a merchant for about ten years, but still had no shop of his own, working instead as a traveling peddler. He was on his way to sell goods in a nearby city.
Suddenly, royal soldiers appeared in front of him. The bus carrying a concealment magic tool made no sound and couldn’t be seen with the naked eye. It was as if the soldiers had just materialized out of nowhere, disembarking and surrounding him so he couldn’t escape.
"Uh… Sir Knight, did I do something wrong?"
Judging from their equipment, the peddler assumed they were regular army and knelt like in a dogeza as he spoke. He mistook the Arland soldiers for Imperial soldiers. This was because they were near the border on the side opposite from Arland. While Arland had a bad reputation that even he knew of, he didn’t know what their equipment looked like. They weren’t flying any flags, and in his mind, any well-equipped force would be the Imperial army.
"We’re requisitioning your carriage. And your supplies."
"P-Please, have mercy! Without those, I can’t make a living!"
The peddler clung to the knight’s leg in tears. He had just bought the carriage and horse, so it wasn’t about attachment—but he had little money left after buying them.
"While we’re at it, hand over your city entry pass too."
"H-Hold on, you’re not the Imperial army?!"
If they were Imperial soldiers, they wouldn’t need to take his entry pass to enter the city. Which meant these men weren’t Imperial forces.
"Don’t be stupid. We are the Arland army."
"Eek!"
The moment he heard "Arland army," the merchant screamed and scrambled backward on all fours. In the Empire, Arland was called the Demon Nation and feared by many commoners.
"Don’t scare him too much."
"My apologies."
A young voice came from behind the knight, who then bowed and stepped aside.
"Old man, you understand the situation, right?"
The clone crouched down and spoke, looking the merchant in the eyes.
He didn’t know who she was, but he could tell she was someone of high status.
"Please, I beg you. If you take this from me, I can’t survive!"
"Then I’ll pay you. Alicia."
"How about this?"
Alicia brought a pouch of gold coins from the Treasury. When the merchant peeked inside, he let out a cry of surprise.
It was enough that, even after giving up his horse, carriage, and cargo, the change alone would let him live idly for a while.
"You were attacked by monsters here and ran away. Your carriage and goods were taken by them. Got it?"
"Y-Yes. I was just unlucky enough to have my cargo stolen by monsters."
Seeing such a generous payment, the merchant smiled instantly. He could at least tell the money wasn’t counterfeit.
And if he said he’d been attacked by monsters and fled with only his life, no one would suspect him. Even if they used his stolen entry pass, claiming it had been taken during a monster attack would be a reasonable excuse. In this world, such events were commonplace.
From the information they got from the merchant, the Arland army learned there was a medium-sized trading city nearby, and they headed there.
"Alright, next!"
"Yes."
In the carriage rode Takuto, Kazuhito, and an Alicetia clone.
"A peddler, huh. What’s your cargo?"
"Dried meat and crops. Here’s my entry pass."
"Hmm, yes, it’s dried meat and crops. That helps."
The soldier inspected the goods and confirmed they were indeed dried meat and things like wheat.
"Did something happen?"
Takuto asked to gather information.
"As you know, we’re mounting a large-scale offensive against Arland. Our food reserves are low. Well, it’s nothing you need to worry about. You may pass."
Without arousing suspicion, Takuto’s group entered the city.
"Pathetic security, lol."
The clone mocked the lax security with a blank expression.
"Well, they probably don’t have many soldiers left and are swamped."
Most likely, soldiers from here had been sent to join the offensive against Arland. The gate guard numbers were low, so while it took some time to enter the city, the inspection itself was sloppy.
When they reached the plaza, the clone began chanting.
A magic circle appeared around her, startling the townspeople.
"What’s going on?!"
"Summon Royal Soldiers."
The summoning magic [Summon] calls a person with the corresponding talisman to a designated spot via teleportation. Alicetia had created it under the assumption that, if this world were a game, such a spell should be possible. It was an application of teleportation magic and relatively easy to make. It could be blocked with existing teleportation interference within barriers, but there was no such interference here.
A hundred knights and Alicia appeared on the spot. And Coote. Helios, having broken the weapon he was given (at this point no one knew Coote had shot him down), was lying in the bus groaning and untreated.
Coote let out a howl, causing many residents to collapse in fear and guards to drop their weapons. As an absolute powerhouse, his howl crushed their will to fight. But this was a summoning howl—magic circles formed around Coote, and the Woofers Squad he had brought along were summoned.
"As of this moment, I, Alicetia von Arland, First Princess of the Kingdom of Arland, declare this land occupied!"
At the same time, the Treasury opened, and identical-faced clones appeared leading Golem Soldiers, raising the Viceroy banner. Even if a city could repel enemies from the outside, once they had advanced this far inside, nothing could be done.
Hearing the name Arland, the townspeople wore expressions of despair. They could imagine what it meant for this supposedly safe place to fall under Arland’s control.
"By the way, Alicia, where is this place?"
"… Near the border opposite from Arland. We’ve crossed the Empire, Princess."
The clone, still unaware of where they were, asked Alicia, who replied with an exasperated look. Naturally, there would be no defensive preparations here.
"As expected of me. I’ve just created a new chapter in the history of warfare."
"Indeed. No one would expect an initial move of crossing the Empire and attacking the border opposite Arland. Future historians will be tearing their hair out."
Alicia imagined future historians baffled over this tactic. In reality, they had simply gone straight ahead—well, "straight" according to the princess, though they’d meandered quite a lot and, by sheer luck, avoided sighting any towns or villages until they arrived here. There was no strategy or tactics involved.
"Half will capture the city guard. Of the rest, half will seize the gates. The remainder will come with us to secure the lord’s manor. Use the Golem Soldiers to avoid injuries. I won’t be mad if you use them as shields and break them."
"Understood!"
The knights, leading the golems, dashed off.
"Alright, Takuto, let’s go."
The clone took Takuto’s hand, making Alicia tense up slightly. She scooped up the clone holding Takuto’s hand.
"Let’s go, Princess."
"?…"
The clone tilted her head in confusion. Other clones, holding AK-like weapons, sprinted toward the lord’s manor.
"Gan Ning, first to the fight!"
"Hey, not fair! I wanted to be Gan Ning!"
As they argued over who would arrive first, the clones ran ahead, with Alicia and the others hurrying after them—not knowing exactly where they might be headed.
Takuto glanced briefly at his palm, then broke into a run.
What do you think about this chapter?
