第１７３掘：実験交渉 (Part1)
**Dig 173: Experimental Negotiation**
**Side: Yuki**
"Now then, how are you two feeling?"
I was currently visiting the Magic Sword-wielding sisters. It was time to decide how to proceed from here.
Honestly, it wouldn't be a problem even if we went to war with the Zilba Empire. The army the sisters brought had been reduced to a state bordering on total annihilation. Even if I forced them to report a lie, a large-scale investigation team would arrive sooner or later.
No matter how I made them lie, the fact that most of their army had been wiped out couldn't be erased.
Even I couldn't bring the dead back to life. Luna is suspicious, but seeing as she hasn't done anything like that in this world, I assume she has no intention to.
If people could be brought back to life, that would be a problem in its own right.
In short, it was only a matter of time before the Zilba Empire found out about us.
I was the one who pulled the trigger this time, but even if I had left it to Steve and the others, the result would have been the same. It was a hassle regardless.
"…What has become of the soldiers?"
While I was lost in thought, Olive—not Orive—finally opened her mouth. It was a question, not a reply to me.
"Don't you already know?"
Most of them were reduced to dust, and the survivors were severely injured.
Oh, and as usual, those soldiers were having to pay for their own meals. I had captured them and was distributing the supplies I’d seized. I had no obligation or reason to open Weed’s coffers for them. They were the ones who attacked, after all. There was no reason for us to take a loss.
"…After capturing us, you told your subordinates to treat the soldiers. Are there survivors?"
This time, the younger sister, Mist, spoke up.
"Hah. First, you need to answer my questions. Realize that, in more ways than one, you don't have the right to choose."
"After pulling such a cowardly stunt!!"
"Sister, please calm down."
My, so I’m still being treated as a coward.
"You seem to have plenty of energy. But I can't let 'coward' slide. What exactly was cowardly about it? Besides, you were the ones who said you were guaranteed to win, right? You gathered five times the force we had and still lost. Which one of us is the coward?"
"That is called military strategy!!"
"Then, me winning with a small force is also military strategy. Who would fight head-on when it’s obvious they’d be wiped out?"
Actually, I don't think we, the Weed group, would lose a single person even if we clashed head-on. The demi-humans, at least.
"Guh."
"Well, nothing you say is going to change the situation."
"Then, why did you come here?"
Mist was glaring at me.
"To introduce myself. Last time, you two were just rambling on, and I crushed you before I could introduce myself. I thought we could talk like normal people now."
"…I am Olive Melt."
"…I am my younger sister, Mist Melt."
Reluctantly, they both gave their introductions. I already knew their names, though.
"I am… well, let's say I'm the leader of this mercenary group, Yuki."
"…Do you realize what you've done? You have officially made an enemy of the Zilba Empire."
"And? You attacked us, so we intercepted you. That’s the result. If the Zilba Empire wants to attack, I’ll just annihilate them again. They’ll probably just bring another bunch of soldiers like idiots. They’re so easy to target, it’s laughable."
"…Is that attack something you can perform repeatedly?"
Mist stared at me intently as she asked. She was probing. Trying to figure out how to win.
Yes, yes, that’s the human spirit. Don't give up; keep searching for a way.
Their civilization might be lagging, but this girl, Mist, seems to have that quality.
That is the root of what can surpass the strong, the geniuses, and the cheaters.
Actually, "strong," "genius," and "cheat" are just things people call others; it's rare for someone to call themselves that. Well, maybe as a joke, like, "Aren't I a genius?"
Anyway, I’ll answer her question.
"I can do it as many times as I want. Even more intensely than before. By the way, the maximum range is about five kilometers, so if a large army comes, I’ll just lure them in and—*boom*—all at once."
" "..." "
The sisters were left speechless by my statement.
To them, that attack was a trump card they assumed was a one-time thing, but while it’s not infinite, I can plow this entire region if I want to. …It’s just a matter of budget.
So, from Earth’s perspective, their old-fashioned—no, that’s insulting to World War I—their ancient tactics of gathering numbers and forming ranks just won't cut it.
"So, here’s the deal. If you two sisters cooperate with me on something, I’ll let you take the surviving soldiers home."
Yeah. Even if I kept them as prisoners, we’d eventually run out of supplies, and I’d have to provide for them from Weed. I’m not interested in that, so I’ll have them go home. It’s the same policy I had with the Princess. It buys the most time and costs the least money.
"…So the soldiers are alive, after all."
"How many are left?"
"1,023. It’s a good thing more of them survived than I thought."
Actually, after capturing the sisters, I had Steve and the others use the soldiers they brought for a certain experiment before treating their injuries. The result of that was the 1,023 survivors.
It turns out my healing magic is quite something.
Until now, it was ambiguous how effective my healing magic was on people, but it seems my magic is on a different level.
Apparently, even "Extra Heal" shouldn't be able to cure the loss of limbs, but it turned out that my "Extra Heal" could. In other words, the soldiers who had lost limbs had them completely restored.
Zargis and I are currently analyzing why there’s such a difference, but I suspect it has to do with the perception of the human body.
According to Luna, my abilities are just a random collection of convenient powers from this world, so there’s no "one-of-a-kind" ability; it’s just a simple difference in output. That’s why I thought it might be related to the perception of the human body.