My lord—

At the town of Beesk, we met the Maxim army that had attacked.

Just like last time, we lined up Neetka and Gradyk in rows, pouring rock and arrow into them without sparing a single one.

The enemy soldiers never even reached our range. They fell, one after another, like dominoes.

After one, two, three failed charges, the Maxim troops retreated like a tide.

In their place, a man on a golden horse appeared.

“Here he comes.”

Maxim.

The king of the samurai Aris, leader of the Locust.

He charged alone, riding his golden steed.

We fired Neetka and Gradyk at him, just in case.

A coordinated barrage—more than last time—but Maxim didn’t even flinch. He kept coming.

“Guess it’s hopeless. Though I expected as much.”

A quick glance behind. There, the four slaves stood at attention.

“Let’s go.”

““““Yes.””””

Four voices, perfectly in sync.

Touching the gem set in the sword, they drew in the four slaves at once.

True Eternal Slave.

He turned toward Maxim, met him head-on.

“Akito!”

“Maxim!”

A clash as they passed each other. Shockwaves exploded.

The blade of ice flame deflected Maxim’s two swords.

“A new power?”

“The power I gathered just to defeat you.”

“Fun. Try it!”

Grinning, Maxim charged again, as promised.

Using Yuria’s ability, absorbed through the slave sword, he sensed and predicted the attack.

A split-second opening, just before the strike landed.

He slipped in.

In the instant of collision, a horizontal slash split Maxim’s flank.

Burned—then frozen.

“What the hell?”

Maxim’s face, frozen mid-rein, was wide with shock.

Damage far greater than before.

Last time, even with power, he couldn’t land a hit. Focus on foresight meant attacks just… didn’t connect.

But now? Different. I’d absorbed every slave. Now I had foresight and firepower both.

That was what crushed Maxim.

“Haaahhh!”

Maxim charged again, wild.

(Damn it!)

A voice rang out. Then—his movement snapped to a halt.

Less than a second. Barely a twitch.

Still, enough.

I swung the slave sword. Maxim leapt desperately from his horse.

The blade, just missing him, split the beast clean in two.

Maxim’s face hardened—utterly outmatched.

I extended the sword sideways.

Signal.

From deep within the town of Beesque, the dragon roared, furious.

Two armies emerged from afar.

One side was the women led by Meya; the other, the warriors of Kazan.

And from the town of Beisk, a long-range bombardment was launched by Neetka.

Flanked by artillery cover, a pincer attack from both sides.

The plan unfolds exactly as intended—crushing Maxim when he’s on the ropes.

Maxim’s face twisted even further at the sight.

You're actually going to do it.

We can still make it. Let’s stop. Let’s take each other’s hands and share this world—

"Ugh, so annoying!"

Maxim shot down my proposal.

She mounts the horse one of her subordinates has brought in place of the previous one.

"Playthings don’t interest me. Limited resources—take what you need by force. That’s the truth."

...You're starting from the wrong premise.

“That’s just idle talk.”

How do you believe?

"Ugh, so annoying!"

Maxim repeated the same words, yanking on the horse’s reins as he twisted his body.

Riding away on the two-legged horse as swiftly as they arrived.

Wounded, yet no sign of weakness in their stride.

Dodged Neitka’s artillery, rejoined the troops, turned the tide from a losing position, and led the soldiers to safety.

☆

“That’s the full extent of the damage.”

In the lord’s manor, the office.

I pressed a hand to my forehead after hearing Yuria’s report.

The fight against Maxim.

No major material losses, but we lost lives.

Most of them fell when Maxim retreated—reminding me once again just how strong that bastard really is.

“Maxim’s forces are down to well under a thousand.”

“Not quite.”

“Huh?”

“No matter how much you thin them out, it won’t mean much. As long as we don’t kill Maxim, he’ll keep breeding like locusts, stealing troops and supplies from elsewhere to rebuild.”

“Can’t do much without taking down Maxim, huh?”

“That’s right.”

…“Master and me, together.”

It’s surprising to be lumped in like that, but in terms of being the linchpin of power, we’re certainly alike.

Just not together in the way you think.

Me and my slave, that’s the combo.

Even if everything we’ve built gets torn down, as long as we’ve got slaves, we can rebuild anytime.

Love them, drain their magic—endless supply.

Of course, I don’t plan to get destroyed.

“So, Maxim?”

“Yeah.”

No choice, really.

☆

Nighttime office.

Inside the magic circle, materials gathered by the slaves are placed.

The materials merge with the sigil, becoming a single pill.

First time making this item—now possible with Platinum Cards.

Grade of ingredients isn’t much different from the universal remedy, but the magic required per pill is a steep 100,000.

What exactly is that, my lord?

Risha had asked.

She knows the effect—still, she’s the one who’ll try it.

I questioned four slaves.

Let me do it.

"I'll do it!"

"Leave the tasting to me."

"Leave it all to Rirya!"

All four spoke up at once.

Everyone said they’d do it, then looked at each other.

She never says it out loud—pushing others aside to claim herself—but her eyes scream it.

She wanted to do it herself.

I saw four of them.

Considering the nature of this medicine, Risha would be the most suitable.

Then, Risha, you drink it and see.

Yes!

Risha nodded, her face split wide with a smile, and took the medicine.

The other three stared at Risha with expressions so envious it was almost painful.

Under everyone's gaze, Risha drank the medicine.

After a while, changes began to take hold in her body.

The elegant, adult-like elven form of the Eternal Slave shrank before their eyes—within five seconds, she was a child.

Her dress hung loose, barely clinging to her body.

“D-d-don’t tell me… what’s going on…?”

Risha’s voice had shrunk too—childlike, high-pitched.

“You’re drinking the rejuvenation potion. It literally renews the body of whoever drinks it… but damn, it went further than expected.”

She stared at Risha, eyes narrowed.

They hadn’t known how much she’d age-reverse—so they’d let her test it. Of the four, Risha had seemed the most mature in appearance, yet now she looked like a kindergarten child. Even her speech had changed—soft, hesitant, childish.

A bit too much rejuvenation, sure. But that was the point. Perfect for disguise.

That was the plan: use this form to infiltrate Maxim’s army and bring him down.

Can't stop until we take down Maxim. But charging head-on? Too much risk.

So the plan was stealth assassination. Disguise—rejuvenation—was the way in.

I pulled out DORECA, then another identical magic circle.

“Mira, Yuria, Rirya. Gather that same thing again.”

“Yes!”

“Got it.”

“I’ll handle it, mistress.”

The three vanished from the office.

Master’s orders. Slaves obey gladly.

Left with just me and Risha.

“Um… Master…”

“What?”

“Will I… stay like this… forever?”

“No. From what I saw in the tutorial, it should revert in about a night.”

“Phew…”

She looked genuinely relieved.

With her child form, she was ridiculously cute.

“Risha.”

“Yes? What is it?”

I beckoned. She stepped closer.

I reached out to the tiny child-sized Risha and ran my hand over her head.

Same feeling as when she was a child.

“Hwa…?”