The post-battle dealings went smoothly, since they made the losing Freiyan army clean up the battlefield. They were holding a meeting in a tent with the representatives of both sides: from Althos, Al and Sharon participated, while Freiya was represented by Gatou and Airi. Ranbolg couldn’t make it to the meeting due to the injuries he’d suffered on the battlefield.
“This might sound strange coming from me, but are you certain you don’t want to take any prisoners? I don’t believe the prince has given up on Althos yet; he’ll probably invade again once he recovers from his injuries.” As an ex-mercenary and battle-hardened veteran, Gatou didn’t hold any resentment toward the winning party and went into the post-battle dealings immediately. He even expressed his worries for Althos, which made Al appreciate dealing with such a level-headed representative instead of Ranbolg.
“Don’t worry. Our Diva will make sure they don’t hold any grudges against Althos. She will persuade them not to invade us again.”
Gatou’s worries were not baseless, but Al has expected as much. A certain Diva was giving a speech to the enemy soldiers a bit further away from their tent, wearing an enchanting smile.
“Oh, I see.” Gatou kept his calm throughout the meeting, but his face twitched slightly when the topic shifted to Cecilia. It seemed like she had deeply traumatized the veteran mercenary.
“More importantly, as you know, we torched your rations. I’m sure that’d make your march back home difficult, and I’d rather if you didn’t pillage the villages on your way back, so I’d like to offer you some of our rations. Not for free, of course.”
Al wanted to repay his kindness.
“Don’t worry. We hid some rations along the way, just in case.”
Befitting of a veteran like him, Gatou had a perfect plan in place.
“Hey, Al. Ask him about that.” Sharon, who was acting as Al’s bodyguard, tugged his sleeve to get his attention and looked at him pleadingly. Al nodded and turned back to Gatou.
“One last thing, Gatou. I have a favor to ask.”
“The victor writes the rules. Give us your orders!” he answered with a wry smile under the tense pressure.
“All right then, I guess this is an order. When you give your report, could you please tell them that all the Lost Children died in battle?”
Sharon had told Al earlier that the leader of the Lost Children, Airi, harbored a strong resentment for Ranbolg.
“Hmm... I don’t mind, but is that really necessary? They could simply seek asylum in Althos.”
“No! If that bastard learns they ran away or changed sides, he’ll go mad! He’ll dig up any of Airi’s living relatives he can find, and brutally, mercilessly murder them!” Sharon answered.
“Okay. I’ll put that in my official report, but I can’t take responsibility for the others.”
Al had expected that as well.
“Don’t worry. Cecilia’s, umm... suggestions are really effective.”
“Don’t you mean ‘brainwashing’? Well, not like it really matters. If we dig too deep, she might...” A chill ran down Gatou’s spine as he remembered something. It made Al wonder what had happened between them.
“Either way, I’m counting on you. In return, I won’t reveal your position as a spy for the Empire.”
“Wha—!? Ah, crap... How’d you find out?”
Al had thought he would get a bigger rise out of Gatou, but seeing the man almost shrug it off, he decided not to go in-depth with his answer.
“Call it my sixth sense.”
Al was acting cool, but in reality, Brusch had managed to dig up information on Gatou. They figured it’d be better if the Empire kept themselves occupied with Freiya instead of waging war on them, so they decided to keep it a secret.
“Oi, so now that we’re officially dead, ’re we all gonna be livin’ in Althos? This mean I can finally live wit’ Sharon!?” Airi, who was silently standing behind Gatou, excitedly leaned in to join the conversation.
“Yeah. Also, you’re not slaves anymore. You’re citizens of Althos now.”
Tears welled up in her eyes.
“Bless yer heart! Bless yer heart, Al!” Airi rushed toward him.
Wait... are we really doing this now?
He braced for impact, but she casually ran past him.
“Sharonnnnnn!”
“Kyah!”
She jumped at Sharon and tightly wrapped her arms around the dumbfounded girl.
“Sharon! We’ll be together forever! I ain’t lettin’ ya go! I ain’t!”
“H-Hey, Airi. Stop, that hurts.”
Airi slid one of her hands up Sharon’s stomach, all the way to her chest.
“Hey, where do you think you’re touching me!?”
“Why not, why not! Ain’t this what friends do?”
Sharon seemed to have a soft spot for Airi, and instead of lashing out, she only looked at her with a troubled expression. That changed when Airi tried to flip her top.
“Stoooop!”
Wham!
She karate-chopped the top of Airi’s head.
“Aww, sorry...”
With teary eyes, she got off of Sharon and apologized to her, but Sharon gave her no pardon.
“Groping is banned, understood!?”
“Whyyy? Ain’t that what defines me!?”
Sharon shot a pitiful but stern look at Airi before bashfully averting her gaze.
“You can see me whenever you want now, so just calm down.”
Blood rushed to her face.
“Sharon... A’right! I’ll only grope ya five times a week! We c’n meet whenever, after all!”
“Isn’t that a bit too much!?”
Sharon sulked and looked away from her, but it was clear to any onlookers that she was happy.
✦ ✦ ✦
After confirming that the Freiyan army had begun their retreat, Al and his troops also made their way home. The march back was slow, as everyone was exhausted. By the time they reached the castle, the sun was sinking below the horizon.
Al was getting dizzy from the toll on his body, but he forged on. He had to so he could finally take a nice, relaxing bath. The rest of his army was also driven by similar desires, but as they reached the castle, they realized that something was off.
“Wait, has that always been your flag?”
Sharon shed some light on the issue.
“Oh my, that is Distania’s flag? What an ill-mannered prank!”
“Oh yeah. Luna must be playing a prank.”
Al quickly reached this conclusion, but that was not the end of the strange happenings. The castle gates that were usually open were now closed tight. A girl stood in front of them. It was Luna’s sister, Saaya.
“Guards! I know Luna is cute and friendly, but this is taking the joke too far! You too, Saaya! Use your head! Don’t always listen to your big sister!”
He got no response from Saaya or the castle guards.
“Ahaha! This is not a joke.”
Instead, a girl wearing a jet black dress appeared atop the castle walls to answer Al’s demands. It was Luna. Something else caught Al’s attention: she had an almost completely naked Lilicia on a leash, obediently following her on all fours.