Ankoku Kishi Monogatari ~Yuusha wo Taosu Tameni Maou ni Shoukansaremashita~

Chapter 173: Analysis of War Potential And Blood Relative

◆Dark Knight; Kuroki

「E-Eh?!」

My mind went blank for a moment. The words that Rena had just dropped on me were too much to process. Kouki… my son? How could that be?

「What are you doubting now, Kuroki? Kouki is really your son. Have you already forgotten how you impregnated me back then?」

Rena's voice was sharp, tinged with annoyance as she held Kouki in her arms.

I briefly recalled the passionate night we shared—perhaps the most intense of my life. But calling that moment enough to conceive Kouki seemed… over the top. I looked at Kouki, still peacefully asleep in Rena's embrace.

For some reason, I felt a strange connection to him. When I first laid eyes on him, I thought it was just my imagination, but now… After hearing Rena’s shocking revelation, I realized the connection was real. That black flame sleeping within Kouki was unmistakable proof. Rena had told the truth. And the growth rate of divine beings was vastly different from us Earthlings.

In short… Kouki was truly my son.

「If you're still in doubt, ask that girl. She should know about this.」

「No, it's not that I'm doubting you… I'm just… really surprised. This is all coming out of nowhere.」

Rena’s angry expression softened into a satisfied smile.

「Well, no wonder you're surprised. I told that girl to keep quiet about it, but blood really is thicker than water. I never expected Kouki would find you before I introduced him to you.」

Rena seemed genuinely happy.

「Have you already told Kouki that I'm his father?」

The question slipped out before I could stop it, my curiosity getting the better of me. Kouki didn’t seem to know his father’s identity, after all.

「Nope, he doesn’t know about you. Oh, and just to be clear, you’d better keep the fact that Kouki is our child a secret for now. If this information gets out, things will get messy. And definitely don’t tell Kouki. Also, don’t you dare take him to Nargol. I’ll have a hard time seeing him if you do.」

Rena’s warning was clear and firm. She’d be furious if I brought Kouki to Nargol.

「Well, I don’t plan on kidnapping him, you know.」

「You can’t make him follow you willingly as well, Kuroki. I never told him about you. I’d be in trouble if Kouki learned that the father he’s always yearned for is you and decided to go to Nargol on his own. I’ll tell him eventually, but let’s keep this under wraps for now. Do you agree, Kuroki?」

「Y-Yes, ma’am…」

I had no choice but to agree. Honestly, I was still reeling from the shock.

Rena brushed Kouki’s head tenderly, as though she were savoring the moment.

「Kouki will become the hero of the human realm. And then, I’ll appoint him as my knight. That’s why you have to teach him properly, Daddy.」

The word "Daddy" struck me like a thunderclap. I had no idea how to respond.

Kouki remained asleep, blissfully unaware of the storm brewing around him. He was so peaceful, his small form nestled comfortably in Rena's arms.

「Well, I guess I should get going. I still have business to finish with those elves.」

Rena stood up, ready to leave. Tess and the others looked on, their faces filled with dread. They had just learned a secret that should never have been exposed. What would Rena do to them? I couldn’t even bring myself to imagine it.

As I pondered the situation, I caught myself admiring Rena’s figure again. She truly had an amazing physique.

I—of all people—was the one who had impregnated someone as beautiful as her. The thought alone was enough to make me… ahem, feel a certain way.

But, well, I shouldn’t think too much about it. At this rate, I might end up unable to get up from the bench for… reasons.

「Ah, right.」

Rena turned back to me, a mischievous glint in her eye.

「If you wish for it, I’m willing to give birth to your child again, Kuroki.」

Her whisper sent a shiver down my spine.

「Eh? Uhm, Rena…」

「Fufufu. See you later, Kuroki.」

With that, she left, her impish smile lingering in my thoughts as I was left utterly immobilized by my… biological reaction.

◆Black Haired Sage; Chiyuki

We were gathered in a room within the Amber Palace. The Silver Witch was with us, ready to assist.

Nier, the valkyrie, stood nearby, along with the elven queen and her aide.

「Thank you for agreeing to help us, Chiyuki.」

Nier expressed her gratitude. We had agreed to assist the elves in defending their forest.

「It can’t be helped. We promised the Greenmen we would help them.」

Rino-chan nodded in agreement. We’d made a promise to the Greenmen to protect the forest from those destroying it. That’s why we were helping the elves.

「Yep. We’re also trying to bring Kouki back with us, so we're almost fulfilling our goal. Helping the elves is just a bonus.」

Nao chimed in, her tone light. Nier had already made arrangements for Kouki to be returned to us. Since it was a promise from an angel, we knew it couldn't be a lie.

Still, something about Nier bothered me. She seemed to know more about Kouki than she was letting on. She was clearly hiding something, but what?

「By the way, what’s the situation on the enemy’s war potential? Do we have any intel?」

I asked Nier, trying to keep my focus on the task at hand.

「We… have no idea. In fact, there’s no important information yet…」

「What? Really?」

「Yes, Chiyuki. We know that the Serpent Prince is involved, but the number of evil gods joining the fight seems minimal. However, their forces have been steadily growing for some reason. Sorry to ask for your help despite not having concrete intel.」

Nier’s voice held an apologetic tone.

The Silver Witch suddenly laughed sarcastically.

「Hah! What a load of crap. This situation is happening because those male Gods from Elios refuse to send the hero as reinforcement.」

Her words hit the mark, leaving Nier speechless.

「Yeah, there’s no reason to hide it… The Goddesses want to play damsel in distress, but…」

Nier then explained. The male Gods knew that the Goddesses only wanted to be saved by Reiji. I couldn’t help but sigh. It seemed like the Gods of Elios were more bored than I had imagined.

It’s not like there was nothing they could do—they were simply choosing to do nothing.

「Are you sure about this?」

Shirone asked, concern on her face.

This was worrying. How would we handle it?

「If our information is correct, we should be fine. We’ll handle the smaller enemies, and you can step in if something unexpected happens.」

「Got it. But can you tell us more about our forces and the enemy’s?」

Nier nodded. She called for the elven queen, who ordered her aide to activate the projector. The image that appeared was of a man in white attire—Alphos, the God of song and art, and leader of the Holy Knight Order.

The Silver Witch let out a small, approving noise. Alphos was strong, no doubt. Even though he was the God of song and art, his prowess in combat was undeniable.

「The first major force in the heavenly army is the Holy Knight Order, led by Alphos-sama.」

Nier pointed to the angelic figures surrounding Alphos, all clad in gleaming white armor. The Holy Knights were an elite group, handpicked by the God King. They were primarily angels, though a few former humans had joined their ranks. They were the elite of the elite.

「Next, we have the Holy Warrior Force, led by Thors-sama.」

The image shifted to show a man in magnificent armor—Thors, the handsome God of warriors. Behind him stood a group of armed warriors, many of whom were former humans. Unlike the Holy Knights, the Holy Warriors seemed more… relaxed. Some even appeared to be more interested in women than in combat.

They were chosen by the Gods, but their lack of heavy armor made them seem underprepared for battle.

「And lastly, we have us—the Valkyries.」

The next image was of a group of female angels, all armed and battle-ready. One of them was familiar.

「Eh? Where’s your lord, Rena-sama?」

I noticed Rena was missing from the group.

「Rena-sama isn’t here. She must have come up with a different plan. She decided to take different measures on her own.」

Nier explained, but I could tell she wasn’t thrilled with the situation.

「I see. Who will command this force then?」

Nier's face darkened upon hearing Rino's innocent question.

Hearing that, we all exchanged looks between us.

「What's the matter?」

「The truth is, we have yet to decide our commander. For the time being, we have Amazona-sama, who acts as an aide to Rena-sama, but…」

Nier seemed to be about to say something.

Amazona was the Goddess of Battle just like Rena.

And just like her father who didn't wear any armor, she was famous for fighting in her underwear.

Could it be that there was a problem with her?

「Well, we have our own circumstances. You don't have to worry about them. Now onto our ground force, they are supposed to be centered around the Elven Knights (Fairy Knights) and Dwarven Warriors. But, since I don't know the ground force’s situation in detail, would you be able to explain to us, Queen Tatania?」

「Yes, the Arseidia army will deal with the enemy's ground force. Our powerful Elven Knights will definitely crush our enemies.」

Nier tilted her head in puzzlement upon hearing Tatania's remark.

「What about the Dwarven Warriors? We told you to cooperate with them, right?」

「Indeed. They will bring their army of golems and Dwarven Warriors with them.」

The elven queen added the dwarves at the very end of the list, as if she had forgotten about them.

It seems they were really unwilling to cooperate with the dwarves.

「Good enough I think. So, what about the enemy force?」

「Our enemies are composed of the forces of the Serpent Prince and his kin. There are also the army of goblins and orcs as their reinforcement. Queen Tatania, please proceed to the next picture so we can discuss our enemy’s war potential.」

After Nier said so, the picture of our enemy war potential was projected.

The snake with the giant leg was Mushusshu.

A brown-skinned man was riding on top of it. That man was the Serpent Prince, Dahark. He and his army were the culprits behind the destruction of the forest. The trees had withered due to their poison.

We had to do something about them.

The next picture projected the orc army along with the goblin army.

「Wait a second! What is that?!」

Shirone suddenly raised a question.

The figures of humans were mixed among the goblin army. The humans were tied up with rope and walked along with the goblin army.

「These are humans who got enslaved by goblins. It seems they were forced to participate in this battle as soldiers.」

Goblins had also developed a slave culture, it wasn't just limited to the same race, they also enslaved other races.

Naturally, the human race was included.

「Can we at least… save them?」

「Yup, let's try to save them at least.」

Nao agreed with Rino immediately.

「It might be a tough order. I mean, we simply have no leeway to do that…」

The elven queen replied with a grim face.

「Then leave those goblins to us. Is that okay with you, Nier?」

「No problem, Chiyuki. But, we still can't gauge the enemy's war potential properly. Some Gigates (earthen giants) and kins of the reaper might come too. That's why be very careful.」

「Understood.」

I nodded while replying to her.

It was only a matter of time before our enemy launched their attack.

We should get ready for a battle.

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