(Vol.7 Light Novel) That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime

Chapter 2: Roles to Uphold

Shuna and Soei were the first to return to town the morning after Diablo's report.

"I have returned safely!" Shuna proclaimed, rubbing her cheeks. She had apparently exhausted her magical force in battle, requiring several hours of recuperation before she could cast Spatial Motion. I could just use Dominate Space to pop myself over to where I wanted, but Shuna's relative lack of magicule storage meant she could only tap so much magic per day. Souei could've used Shadow Motion himself, but he waited, thinking it gauche to return first despite being Shuna's guard. Even now, several of his replications were patrolling Clayman's main base—I guess nothing too dicey was happening right now.

"And where's Hakuro?"

"I asked him to clean things up for me," Shuna replied with a smile as Soei averted his eyes. So they threw all that work on him, huh? Hakuro, unable to use Spatial Motion, didn't have much recourse if they left him alone. But I dunno, he always saw Shuna as kind of a beloved granddaughter anyway. Maybe he didn't mind that treatment too much.

Currently, he was working with Geld to investigate Clayman's castle, divvy up the war spoils, and command the prisoner-handling process. I gave him an internal word of thanks for handling all that boring follow-up for me. It must be a ton of work, but an amateur like me couldn't offer much help. I think I'll just keep mum unless asked.

Benimaru and the others made it home by that evening.

"Huh? What's our chief general doing back here?" I asked.

"Hee-hee... With the war over, there is no reason for me to stay there forever. So I gave my command over to my talented officers, and we left the scene."

He seemed remarkably invigorated. I guess this means Benimaru let the Three Lycanthropeers handle the rest. I could see the anguished faces of Alvis and his cohorts in my mind.

Those two, Benimaru and Shuna—guess they really are siblings, huh? They just pulled the exact same trick on their subordinates. I wish they would learn a little responsibility from someone like me—

Understood. I believe this to be the result of following your example, Master.

I didn't ask you to "believe" anything! Besides, you know that has to be wrong. Did something go haywire in the circuits between morphing from the Great Sage to Raphael?

Negative. Such a phenomenon has not been detected.

Oh, sure. Deny it. I bet that part of its logic got extensively upgraded. Better let it slide—it's not an argument I'd ever win anyway.

I decided to turn my attention back to Benimaru. "So is Gabiru still at the battlefield?"

"He is, yes. He has kindled a friendship with one Middray, a priest in the service of Lady Milim, and they are tackling the post-battle cleanup together."

"Ah. So Geld's in Clayman's castle, and Gabiru is outside?"

Even Gabiru's lending a hand, huh? Between him and Geld, it was a relief to see all these people handling the practical side of warfare for me. I could really rely on 'em. War, after all, didn't end after you won it. Things got even hairier afterward, especially given how we captured nearly all of Clayman's forces alive. There were untold numbers of prisoners, on the field and in the castle, most of them capable of labor. We guaranteed them all their lives, so we'd have to step up and take care of them. At least they were magic-born, not human, so you didn't have to worry that much about upkeep—although even they would get grumpy if you didn't feed them.

Whether someone held a grudge against you after losing a battle or not, the victor was responsible for what happened afterward. Transporting all the POWs from the site at once was a major job. I didn't want them revolting when our eyes weren't on them, so we'd need guards on patrol at all times. Disarming a magic-born didn't neutralize them much as a threat, either. This world had magic and skills. Thinking about it, no wonder the take-no-prisoners approach was preferred up to now, huh?