I approached the banshees after defeating all the men, but they all huddled closer together and backed up farther against the shore.
“Don’t worry. I’m not your enemy.”
Unfortunately, it seemed my reassurance had little effect.
“In their eyes, you are just another human. I cannot blame them for their mistrust.”
“Oh, I see... Yeah, neither can I.”
“You mustn’t linger beyond the border for too long. Instead of pleading your case here, you had best just drag them back to the city by force first.”
“Got it.” That idea hadn’t come to me at all. Just like always, it was best to trust Lardon when it came to matters outside my expertise.
I cast a constraint magic spell called Bind. Naturally, they all tried to struggle against it, but to no avail.
I gave them a quick word of reassurance—though it no doubt had little effect—as I lifted them all up with flight magic. Together, we took to the skies and followed the main road back through the Redline, all the way until we reached the city outskirts.
“Master!” Reina called out. She was right there to welcome me back, along with Sheila’s clone and the first banshee I met.
Once we landed, I undid my spell and set the banshees free. The first banshee approached the rest of her kind, whereas Sheila’s clone and Reina rushed over to me—almost like an exchange.
“Welcome back, Master,” Reina greeted.
“Oh my. Did you have a bout, perhaps?” Sheila’s clone asked.
“Yeah. The humans had them cornered, so I took them down and got the banshees out of there.”
“Did you reveal your identity?”
“Huh? Not really... Why?” Was this relevant to the matter somehow?
“Hmm... I suppose it was evident either way, but it helps that you didn’t introduce yourself.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, we certainly wouldn’t want them to claim that the Monster King trespassed their territory and laid hands on their people.”
“Oh, right... Lardon said something like that too.” I was starting to get the picture here, but at the same time, a bit of anger welled up in me. “But this all started because they were attacking the banshees!”
“Even so,” Sheila’s clone responded breezily. She looked caught between exasperation and amusement. “Monster hunting is legal; the Monster King trespassing is not. Such are the rules made and set by humans.”
“Really...?”
“These rules are effective for two reasons: power and precedent. By the latter, I refer to traditions and norms.” Sheila’s clone chuckled at my bewildered expression. “There’s no need to think too hard on it.”
“Huh? Why not?”
“I did mention power as another reason, yes? You could stand firm and claim that you couldn’t overlook the injustice against the monsters. Whatever comes of it would hardly be a problem for you.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes... Hardly.”
“Hmm...” Then I guess I could just leave it at that. This was outside of my expertise anyway, and I was sure I could take Sheila’s clone—an actual noble—at her word.
“Pardon me, Master...” Reina spoke up. “Might I suggest accepting the banshees as your citizens and turning them into your familiars?”
“Oh... With Familia?”
“Yes. With them as your citizens, your rescue operation would become more justifiable.” Reina cast Sheila’s clone a glance, seeking her opinion.
“A brilliant idea,” Sheila’s clone affirmed.
“Really?” I asked.
“Indeed. It makes a lot of sense. Not to mention, it would serve as a good weapon—not for you, but for this lady who’s tasked with diplomacy.”
“I see. Then let’s do it.” I agreed in a heartbeat. There was no reason to refuse if it would make Reina’s job easier.
Reina bowed, her upper body practically parallel to the ground. “Thank you very much, Master.”
She immediately went to fetch the banshees. After some time back together with their friend—the one who’d fled to our city—the banshees no longer looked afraid.
“I have a proposal,” I told them. “Do you want to become my familiars? It’ll put you under this city’s protection and apparently help Reina out a lot.”
Lardon burst into laughter. “You are truly hopeless at negotiations and persuasion.”
Usually, she just chuckles... Is it that funny?
Before I could ask, though, the banshees responded to my question...but not with words. They just began groaning and keening unintelligibly.
“Er... Is there something wrong with their throats?”
“No. That is simply how banshees speak,” Reina answered.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Ah, right. Come to think of it, many monsters couldn’t speak in human tongues before Familia.” I hadn’t contracted any new races recently, so it completely slipped my mind. “Can they understand me, though?”
“They can.”
“All right.” I turned to the banshees again. “You guys can just nod or shake your heads in response. Will you become my familiars?”
The banshees all nodded without hesitation.
“Great.”
I mustered my mana and cast Familia on the banshees. They accepted the spell without any resistance, their figures slowly morphing. From old ladies in tattered robes, they now looked more like elves—but there was one very noticeable difference.
“Their skin... It’s so dark.”
These newly evolved banshees had pure white hair and dark skin—the complete opposite of the elves. They had evolved into dark elves.