Birth of a Demon City

by Hyougetsu

  Before the city-states in the region had coalesced into a single nation, they had often fought with each other. For this reason, when Meraldia had been formed, it had been decided that only the senate had authority over the troops stationed in each city. Without the senate’s permission, no large-scale orders could be given. The Meraldia Commonwealth was comprised of seventeen city-states of varying sizes. It lay due east of the Great Forest that the demons had made their home, so conflicts between them and the demons were common. In fact, at the start of the current war, the Demon Lord’s army had had its hands full dealing with the subjugation army Meraldia had dispatched.

  Regardless, I could understand that Airia was dealing with a rather complicated situation. Just to make sure, I confirmed I had the facts straight.

  “So what you’re saying is, even if they have agreed to surrender, you don’t have the authority to force them to cooperate with us?”

  “Precisely. All I can do is implore that they acquiesce.”

  As far as I could tell, Airia wasn’t lying. It turned out, humans gave off a peculiar odor when they lied. One that a werewolf’s sensitive nose could easily pick out.

  “That’s definitely a problem.”

  I folded my arms and lapsed into thought. There’s only 200 soldiers left, but I need them to maintain public order. If the city’s garrison refuses to cooperate with us, then I’ll have to ask my werewolves to patrol the streets instead. But there’s not nearly enough of them, and they’re not suited to this kind of work. Plus, if my men are busy keeping the peace, I’ll only have my canine unit to fight the army Meraldia’s undoubtedly gonna send to recapture the city. There’s no way I’ll be able to win with just them.

  “Hmm...”

  A normal demon would have attempted to threaten the soldiers, or kill half of them to make an example out of anyone who resisted, but that wasn’t my style. Rule through fear inevitably invited revolt. And maintaining just the right amount of fear so that people obeyed you, but not enough that they felt compelled to fight back, was far too much effort. The risk of pushing your populace over the edge was always present, too. Besides, as a former human, I wanted to avoid killing humans outside of the battlefield.

  Seeing my troubled expression, Airia timidly asked, “You’re not going to make an example out of the soldiers?”

  “Do you want me to?” I said with a wry smile, and Airia firmly shook her head.

  “No, not at all. I simply thought you would turn to force to resolve this issue.”

  “Forcibly imposing your will on others works for demons, but not for humans.”

  I could understand the soldiers’ concerns. If they chose to side with us, they would be tried as traitors if Meraldia successfully retook the city. After thinking about it for a while, I decided it would be better to give up on obtaining the soldiers’ cooperation.

  “I can see why it would be a difficult choice for them. In that case, as long as they’re willing to disarm, I won’t ask for anything more. Please let them know that.”

  “Understood...and thank you for being merciful.”

  Airia breathed a sigh of relief upon learning that I wouldn’t do anything horrific to the soldiers. Her business concluded, she turned to leave. When she reached the door, she hesitated for a few seconds, before ultimately turning back to face me.

  “Umm...”

  “What seems to be the matter?”

  At my urging, Airia gathered her resolve and opened her mouth. “If all you want is to maintain order, you could ask the merchants guild to patrol the streets instead.”

  “The guild?”

  “The various branch offices of the guild have always helped patrol the city and maintain the fire brigades. Too much crime would negatively impact business, so they have an incentive to keep the city safe.”

  I see, so they’re basically like a neighborhood watch. I’d lived in a large city in my previous life, and I had been raised in a werewolf community in my current, so such a possibility hadn’t even occurred to me.

  Airia continued without waiting for my reply, “This city’s guild falls within my jurisdiction. They might not make for as effective patrols as armed guards would, but it wouldn’t hurt to ask I imagine.”

  I mulled her suggestion over. Her proposal was certainly beneficial for me, but it didn’t serve her interests in any way. In fact, it would make her indebted to the merchants guild. I needed to know why she was doing this before accepting.

  “Why would you go so far to help me?”

  Her response wasn’t one I was expecting.

  “Because I’m grateful to you, Sir Veight.”

  “You...are?”

  The last thing I had expected was for her to be thanking her conquerors. Airia’s expression softened and she continued, “During the battle, you and your men didn’t attack anyone other than the soldiers. Even though with your strength, you could have easily started slaughtering the citizens.”

  “I suppose that’s true.”

  I could have, but there really wouldn’t have been any point to it. Nor was it really a reason to be thanking me. However, it seemed Airia thought differently. She bowed her head and said, “I hope you will continue showing such mercy to the people of my city. If cooperating with you will help ensure that, then I will offer up everything I can.”

  So if it’s to protect her city, she’s willing to negotiate with the demon army, huh? Even if Ryunheit did get retaken by Meraldia’s forces, they wouldn’t be able to try the citizens as traitors, since they had been acting under the viceroy’s orders. It seemed this cross-dressing woman was no mere coward, nor a simple pushover. She let herself get flustered a little too easily, but she was otherwise a hardened realist who was well-suited to her post. Now that I knew where she was coming from, there was no reason to not to accept her aid.

  “Thank you. I promise to repay this debt someday. So I would like you to use your authority to mobilize the merchants guild.”

  “Understood.”

  Airia smiled in relief. It was a rather beautiful smile.

  Thanks to Airia’s assistance, I was able to solve all of my most pressing issues and get a good night’s sleep. I did post a watch, just in case, but the city remained quiet through the night. By the next morning, life in Ryunheit had already returned to a relative degree of normalcy.

  “Last night, we caught some thieves who were hoping to go unnoticed during the confusion of the occupation.”

  One of my werewolves came to report that to me first thing this morning. He was looking at me with something akin to hero worship. My standoff with the Garney brothers yesterday must have left an impression.

  “What should we do about them, sir? Execute them as a warning to others?”

  Had he been in his wolf form, I don’t doubt that his tail would be wagging back and forth right now. He looked just like a puppy begging its master to play with him. However, execution was a little extreme. I shook my head.

  “We’re soldiers, not police.”

  “Po-lice?”

  He tilted his head in confusion, so I explained it in simpler terms.

  “Basically, let the humans in charge of keeping order handle it. They’ll be punished according to the laws of the city. Speaking of which, what do Ryunheit’s laws say the punishment for stealing is?”

  I turned to the human secretary sitting next to me, and she hastened to reply.

  “In the case of theft or property damage, reimbursement equal to the value of the stolen or destroyed goods must be paid. In the event that reimbursement cannot be made, the criminal is sentenced to forced labor until they have repaid twice the value of the lost goods.”

  “There you go. Send them to work in the fields until they’ve paid off their debts.”

  “Why farm work?”

  “Because we’ve got two hundred fifty-six new permanent residents here, and they need to be fed.”

  Naturally, I was referring to us. I could get by requisitioning supplies from t
he citizens, but if I kept doing it for too long they’d begin to resent us. Nothing nurtures a grudge like an empty stomach. As the day progressed, plenty of other people showed up with minor issues that needed resolving.

  “The merchants who ended up trapped here because of the fighting are requesting that we let them leave the city so they can resume their journeys.”

  “According to the canine unit, the sewer system that runs beneath the castle walls is in dire need of repair.”

  “The Garney brothers are asking for more food.”

  I was stuck taking care of one problem after another.

  “Tell them that no one is allowed out of the city at present. As for their goods, buy all of their stock at a premium and tell them to stay at an inn for now,” I replied at once.

  The problem is, how am I going to pay for all that... I guess I have no choice but to ask Airia. I just keep putting myself further in her debt.

  “It’ll be dangerous if we leave the sewage system alone, so tell the canine unit to start repairs immediately. Make sure you post guards around the area as well, it’s possible enemies might try and sneak in through there.”

  Unfortunately, the 200 strong canine unit wasn’t large enough to handle this project on their own. Since they worked in shifts, only 60 of them were active at any point in time. Finding manpower to assist them wouldn’t be easy though.

  “And as for the Garney brothers, give them more work and tell them to buy extra food with the money they earn. If they wanna eat, they better make themselves useful.”

  It was almost noon, and I hadn’t even had breakfast yet. Now was probably a good time to take a break and get some food. I rose to my feet and stretched my limbs.

  “Phew...”

  “Good work.” A cute, childish voice answered me. Surprised, I turned around to see a young girl sporting a pointed hat and a cape. I instantly dropped to one knee and bowed.

  “I am gladdened by your return, Commander Gomoviroa.”

  “How many times must I tell you, call me Gomo.”

  Commander of the Demon Lord’s third regiment, Gomoviroa the Great Sage, puffed out her cheeks unhappily. She looked just like a child. However, this child-like girl was the strongest mage in the Demon Lord’s army, and though she was human, she was one of the Demon Lord’s closest aides. She also happened to be my magic teacher.

  “I could never. At least allow me to call you Master.”

  “Why must you insist on being so stubborn?” Gomoviroa sighed, but in the next second her annoyance vanished and she smiled. “No matter. You did well, capturing Ryunheit as swiftly as you did.”

  “It was all thanks to you, Master. By the way...”

  If my master had arrived, that would mean her personal squad of elites should be here as well. I was banking on them to help with managing the city. Gomoviroa’s smile grew wider as I trailed off.

  “I see my Bone Spears are in high demand. Fear not, I have sent my two thousand men to rendezvous with the canine squad.”

  “One step ahead as always, I see.”

  My master’s specialty was necromancy. The skeleton warriors she raised were all skilled warriors who moved with precision. If we had her 2,000 Bone Spears, we would be able to hold out against human armies several times larger. Not only that, since they were undead they didn’t require food or rest. My master heaved another sigh.

  “I certainly hope you aren’t thinking something like ‘Undead soldiers don’t need food, so I won’t have to worry about upkeep if I have them.’”

  “Uhh, well...”

  “Have you no consideration for the amount of effort it takes to create them? Each and every one of my soldiers is crafted with love and care.”

  “Says the woman who makes hundreds every day.”

  “Did you say something?”

  “Oh no, not at all.”

  While my master was an accomplished mage, she wasn’t a very skilled strategist. So it wasn’t surprising that she didn’t understand my hardships.

  “If food is your concern, could you not just requisition supplies from the citizenry? Even humans do it to each other.”

  “I’d rather not, if I could help it. I don’t want the people to resent us.”

  “You are certainly asking for a lot, wanting the people you conquered not to resent you,” she said with a chuckle. Though my master was human, her thought processes were just like a demon’s. If she felt like it, she could obliterate the viceroy’s manor with a snap of her fingers. In fact, she could turn the entire city to ash in less than a day without a second thought. It was hard to say whether she was really even human anymore.

  That being said, she still remembered what it was like to be human, and she was part of the more moderate faction within the Demon Lord’s camp.

  “Though I suppose it was because of your considerate personality that I took you on as my disciple in the first place. I would never teach my secrets to one who thirsts for blood.”

  “Glad to hear it.”

  I still clearly remember the conversation we had the first day I met her.

  “You wish to become a magician? Why would a werewolf turn to magic?”

  “I’m...not really that strong. But I want to be!”

  “For what purpose?”

  “I want to protect everyone in the village. Also... I kinda want the other kids to respect me more.”

  “You’re one honest kid... Very well, I suppose we can at least find out whether or not you have the aptitude to use magic.”

  “Really!? Thank you so much!”

  “But know that if you lack the talent, you will have no choice but to... Are you even listening to me?”

  Gomoviroa smiled wryly at me; she must have been thinking back to the same conversation.

  “I knew it was theoretically possible for werewolves to possess the necessary talent, but I never thought you would come so far. A shame you have no affinity for necromancy whatsoever.”

  “Well, I am a werewolf.”

  I was most skilled in body strengthening magic, mostly because I could only use magic that affected living creatures directly. If I were to explain it in RPG terms, I was basically a support buffer class. And though I’d originally taken it up as just a hobby, I’d become somewhat proficient in healing magic as well. Thanks to my magical abilities, I’d become one of the strongest werewolves around. And since werewolves were one of the stronger demon races, in terms of overall rankings, I was pretty high up there. My career had ended up stalling at mere vice-commander, though...

  “By the way, Master, what are you doing here? I thought you were staying in the castle?”

  When I’d talked to her at the Demon Lord’s castle, she had said she would remain there. The second and third regiments had planned on invading multiple cities simultaneously, and so the commanders had planned to remain behind with the reserves and dispatch them as the situation developed.

  Still smiling, Gomoviroa said, “I stayed behind to support the army most in need of assistance. It seems to me that would be yours, would it not? All of my other disciples were provided with ample soldiers, so they have no need of my help.”

  “I-I guess that’s true.”

  So we really did spread our forces too thin. Still, under my command we’d managed to capture our assigned city. I puffed my chest out proudly.

  “Though, I did manage to capture my city with the smallest squad out of everyone. With zero casualties, too. Pretty impressive, wouldn’t you say?”

  “I will admit you did well in utilizing your werewolves’ unique traits to their maximum, but I also have no doubt you spent the night cowering in fear of a revolt.”

  “How did you know?”

  “I know your personality in and out, boy.”

  With a smile, she floated into the air and alighted on my shoulder.

  “Is there anyone you can delegate leadership to?”

  “Ah, yes. I’ve already put Fahn in charge of the unit at the castle gates, so that’
s one burden off my shoulders. Did you meet her on your way in?”

  “Ah, that girl you fancy.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “I know your tastes in and out, too.” She grinned mischievously. “Teasing aside, I would like to borrow you for a moment. We need to report to the Demon Lord.”

  “You want me to go too?”

  I found it strange that the Demon Lord would want to listen to a report from a mere vice-commander. Normally, it was the commander’s job to send reports to him. However, Gomoviroa shook her head and said, “The Demon Lord expressed that he wished to hear the particulars from the general who led the operation. Stop asking questions and follow me.”

  My master chanted a spell in a singsong voice. A second later, my vision grew blurry and the space around me warped.

  ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊

  —Gomoviroa’s Memoir, Page 160—

  My beloved disciples have grown up splendidly. They have risen to prominent ranks in the Demon Lord’s army, and all lead a squad of soldiers. My werewolf disciple, Veight, has made much progress as well. As far as I am aware, he is the only werewolf mage in history. That makes his growth all the more spectacular. Though I must admit, he is quite a peculiar child. One would have to be peculiar to aspire to be a mage as a werewolf, but that’s not the only thing odd about him. It’s true his talents lie in strengthening magic, but even so, his understanding of a person’s body is phenomenal.

  Take, for example, detoxification. It is known that concentrating one’s magic in the right side of their stomach when attempting to expunge poisons is the most effective method. The prevailing theories as to why are either that toxins gather in that area of the body, or that somewhere near there lies an organ that assists with detoxification. When I’d first taken Veight on as my apprentice, he’d already known that. Once I’d taught him the basics of detoxification magic, he seemed to understand instantly why his right flank was the correct place to concentrate his mana. To be honest, it shocked even me.