The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

---

Chapter 590: I Ate Everything. (2)

Ghislaine said with a reluctant expression.

“Well, that’s true… Yeah, go ahead…”

Yulien gave his order and Alfoy approached the white horse.

Alfoy was envious of that magnificent horse. Someone like him, a great mage, should ride such a steed.

Swoosh!

As Alfoy drew near, the white horse showed its fierce gaze again. It was as if it was seething with rage, questioning how someone like him dared to approach.

The people also wore expressions that said, ‘Of course.’ There was no way Alfoy could tame such a magnificent horse.

Alfoy swallowed hard and stood before the white horse, opening his mouth.

“I am! The man who defeated the gods!”

Swoosh?

“So, obviously, I can be called the greatest man in the world!”

Swoosh?

“You’re the best horse, right? So wouldn’t it be only fitting for the best man, like me, to ride you?”

Swoosh?

“Only I have defeated the gods!”

The white horse merely blinked, while Alfoy continued to boast incessantly about how amazing he was.

The people laughed and jeered, holding their bellies.

“Hahaha!”

“Another ridiculous show-off!”

“Hey, can a horse even understand that?”

What on earth was this guy trying to boast about while milking it for all it was worth?

Putting everything aside, I had to admit that his lack of self-awareness and overwhelming confidence were quite impressive.

Regardless of what others thought, Alfoy energetically appealed himself to the white horse.

He truly believed he was the best man who had defeated the gods!

Swoosh…

But the white horse’s reaction was strange.

The fiery hostility had vanished. The horse’s eyes looked a bit misty.

The horse could understand.

The man in front of it was truly just a pitiful creature. Having shared the battlefield with the absolute powerhouse Aiden, it recognized this more than anyone.

Yet that arrogant bravado and gaze were reminiscent of its former master.

It meant that this was a person who lived with the confidence of believing himself to be the best.

Swoosh…

The white horse slowly approached Alfoy and rubbed its face against his chest. It sensed the aura of its previous master from this stranger.

It wasn’t submitting to Alfoy. It was an expression filled with nostalgia and welcome.

Soon, the white horse bent its knees and allowed Alfoy to mount.

The laughter faded, and the onlookers were left agape.

“Why, why would that horse…?”

“Is that horse insane or something?”

“This doesn’t make sense!”

Even the knights and superhumans who tried to mount failed. Only Yulien had succeeded, yet Alfoy had managed to do it!

Moreover, it wasn’t like he had tamed it like Yulien. The horse had warmly nuzzled its head against him.

What about its gaze? It was dripping with sweetness and almost nostalgic.

Alfoy looked proudly down from atop the horse. The horse lifted its head in the same way.

Both horse and man were excessively arrogant.

Alfoy shouted arrogantly.

“See? This horse knows how great I am, the man who defeated the gods! From now on, this horse is mine!”

Neigh!

The white horse answered Alfoy with a long whinny.

Alfoy stroked the horse’s neck and continued.

“Oh, you’re beautiful. Of course, the best horse should be with the best man. From now on, your name will be Koko.”

He had lost the Koko he once raised after it escaped from the breeding grounds. It was likely devoured by someone.

Cain and Galbarik were likely culprits.

Alfoy gave the horse a name heavy with memories.

Neigh!

Whether the name pleased it or not, the horse answered Alfoy’s words.

Everyone fell silent, all eyes on Ghislaine.

“……”

Ghislaine crossed her arms, blinking her eyes. Could it be that Alfoy would actually tame that remarkable horse?

Especially a horse that belonged to the formidable Aiden.

‘Come to think of it… that guy’s personality is quite similar to Aiden’s.’

His arrogance was on par with boasting. In other respects, his narcissism and insane sense of honor were remarkably alike.

So, it made sense for that arrogant horse to take a liking to Alfoy.

Regardless, a promise is a promise. Now that Alfoy had mounted the horse, he had a right to it.

“Um, well… we’re two. What should we do? Do we have to duel or something?”

Upon hearing that, Alfoy’s face went pale. If it turned into a duel, Yulien could just scratch a finger and take his head.

So he spoke hurriedly.

“Why duel! Koko should choose!”

Alfoy was confident. For some reason, Koko seemed to really like him right now.

Everyone looked at Yulien.

Yulien shook his head and said.

“That’s fine, I’m not really interested in horses.”

Either way, any horse he rode would become the top-class steed. He didn’t want to take what someone else desired.

Thanks to Yulien’s concession, the white horse truly became Alfoy’s.

With just a blink, Ghislaine spoke to everyone.

“Uh… thanks to Yulien’s concession, Koko is now… Alfoy’s.”

“Woohooo!”

Neigh!

Alfoy raised his hand in victory and cheered. Koko also neighed happily.

Everyone watched in disbelief. They didn’t want to acknowledge it, but they had no choice but to accept it.

After the white horse snatching contest (?) ended, Alfoy hurriedly rushed towards Belinda and said.

“I need a new robe!”

The red robe Alfoy had been wearing was worn out and quite tattered.

Belinda, the butler, had changed it multiple times, but with him dedicated to construction work, it deteriorated quickly.

“Okay, when we return to the territory, I’ll get you a new one.”

“Make it white! Something luxurious!”

“White? It’ll get dirty in no time! And the robe of the Tower of the Bloody Flame isn’t white, you know.”

“It’s fine! I’ll only wear it for important occasions! I just want to match Koko’s color!”

“Y-yeah…”

Belinda nodded with a half reluctant expression. Alfoy was still a notable figure in the Territory of Penris. A luxurious white robe would be an acceptable request.

Having secured the promise for a robe, Alfoy mounted Koko and shouted.

“I am now Alfoy of the white robe who defeated the gods!”

Neigh!

Alfoy and Koko shouted together. The people simply ignored it and began to retreat.

Those who failed to acquire the white horse groaned whenever they saw Alfoy, feeling a bit nauseated.

Just like with the Dragon Heart last time, that lucky mage seemed to gather all the good things for himself.

*

Upon returning to the Ruthania Kingdom, Ghislaine initiated a meeting regarding the aftermath.

The first discussion was about addressing the remaining rebels and remnants of the Salvation Society in a few small countries.

After all, the main priestly forces and army had been decimated in this war. The remnants that hadn’t been called to this war would be easy to handle.

More importantly, tracking down the missing Gathros was the priority.

“Let’s gather an army and send support troops to various places.”

They decided to reorganize the allied forces and form a few new armies. This was to exterminate the remnants. They were arranged primarily around strong individuals for a quick resolution.

Since it was not a particularly difficult war, no one opposed it. Everyone wanted to swiftly finish off the remnants and return to their respective kingdoms.

Ghislaine muttered while reading the report.

“Yulien, Gillian, Tenant, Marquis Gideon, Marquis Alferen…”

The commanders would be powerful individuals and nobles whose commanding abilities had been verified. Now, they would scatter to exterminate the remnants of the Salvation Society.

Ghislaine continued to pout her lips.

“Why is everyone trying to stop me when I say I’ll go too?”

Claude shouted in frustration.

“Ah, come on! If you, my lord, step away now, everything here will fall apart! Besides, only weaklings are left, so why would you want to go?!”

“Just to stretch? I haven’t fought in days and I’m feeling antsy.”

“That’s ridiculous. If you need pain, just do push-ups here!”

Ghislaine was the commander-in-chief of the allied forces. In a situation where handling the aftermath was urgent, he couldn’t just leave. If he did, everyone would just twiddle their thumbs waiting.

So, when Ghislaine said he would personally lead, everyone grabbed his pant legs and tried to stop him. Even the great Ghislaine couldn’t disregard everyone’s pleas.

This wasn’t a necessity but simply a desire to fight for the sake of it.

Claude, who understood this well, erupted.

“There’s a mountain of work piled up! There are more than a couple of destroyed kingdoms! We need to send support supplies everywhere! There are still rifts remaining! We have to set up magic circles to halt the expansion of the rifts! We need reconstruction too! There’s just too much to do!”

“Can’t you handle it?”

Ghislaine asked with a look of disbelief. When had he ever dealt with such tasks? Claude managed everything on his own.

She only needed to set the direction; he handled everything else.

Claude, holding his head, shouted.

“I can’t do it! Alone!”

If it were in the Ruthania Kingdom, he could handle it all by himself. He could just force it through.

But now it was a matter concerning the entire allied forces. Countless kingdoms and nobles were involved.

Figures from across the kingdoms had gathered. No matter how much authority Claude had backed by Ghislaine, it wouldn’t be easy.

“Listen, I could handle it if I wanted to. The nobles would probably listen to me out of fear of you. But won’t that cause resentment?”

“There would be, right? Human greed knows no bounds. Just like you.”

“Exactly! That’s the problem after that! Just like you!”

They couldn’t afford to provoke the Ruthania Army, so there was a high possibility of resentment among the various kingdoms, leading to conflicts.

Then disputes would arise all over the continent. Gathros was still alive, and they couldn’t leave it to chance.

Thus, Ghislaine needed to remain, mediating disputes and pushing everyone so they couldn’t act rashly even if they felt displeasure.

Ghislaine clicked her tongue with a disappointed expression. In truth, she was well aware that this wasn’t the situation to head into battle.

“Sigh, it would have been convenient if Amelia were here right now.”

Many kingdoms had fallen. Countless territories and treasures without masters had emerged. In a sense, this had resulted in significant spoils.

While the Ruthania Army was the main force, it still required cooperation and sacrifice from many kingdoms. Now, distributing this was the most crucial task.

If Amelia were around, she would have calculated the contributions very coldly and made distributions.

‘Or perhaps she would have secretly killed off anyone who posed a problem one by one to take the largest share?’

Chuckling, Ghislaine inquired about Amelia’s situation.

Then Claude, rummaging through a report, spoke.

“Speaking of which, we received a contact. They’re asking to send support supplies as promised. The migration work will also start soon.”

“They must have succeeded.”

“Yes. They eradicated the rebels and the Salvation Society in the Norvagen Kingdom and seized the territory. They are about to hold a coronation ceremony officially.”

“What about the damages?”

“They said there were almost none. They lured the superhuman priests… trapped them and beat them to death. They also exterminated the surrounding remnants while occupying the kingdom. All in all, quite impressive. They managed to capture a kingdom.”

“Yeah, they possess that level of ability. Send the support supplies as promised, and help with the migration of the territory residents. Thanks to Amelia, the remnants have been addressed to a considerable extent.”

Amelia set forth from Ruthania, as promised, and seized the fallen kingdom.

Now she was to return all her territories remaining in Ruthania and prepare to move the residents and treasures who wished to follow her.

As Amelia stabilized the new kingdom, Ghislaine would support her with the necessary items, thereby finally fulfilling their promise.

Besides that, the part about sending support supplies to kingdoms in bad situations got settled quickly. The remaining issue was how to distribute the spoils.

Ghislaine consulted with Claude to draft a rough plan.

“The Seiron Kingdom will be taken by Ruthania. No objections?”

It was a kingdom seized using the excuse of rebellion. Nobody showed any dissent regarding that.

But it wouldn’t end there.

Even if there were land in fine condition, if it was adjacent to Ruthania, they would take a portion of it.

“I have worked hard and provided substantial support, so I should take this much.”

The kingdoms adjacent to Ruthania were in an uproar. They had fought together, yet now they were saying they’d take their land!

Wasn’t this completely insane!

“Hey, you crazy… no, isn’t that going too far?”

“How can you take land from an allied nation! This is creative violence!”

“We cannot accept this!”

Ruthania was powerful. If they fought, they would surely lose. But they couldn’t simply accept losing their fine land without protest.

Nobles from those kingdoms vehemently opposed it. Some even showed determination to risk their lives.

Ghislaine nodded as if she expected the backlash, several times over.

“Instead, we’ll give you a larger land.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“There are fallen kingdoms near the kingdoms I called out, correct? How about distributing even larger portions of the land I take?”

“Uh… oh… um…”

The nobles looking at the map swallowed hard. The territories marked by Ghislaine had significantly larger land than what they were being taken from.

Naturally, it was better. It was also nicely distributed.

A noble cleared his throat and asked.

“Ahem, it’s not a bad suggestion, but… if we take distant lands from the Ruthania Kingdom, wouldn’t it lack equity…?”

Ghislaine responded as if that part was no issue.

“Please take more from the surrounding kingdoms. And the kingdoms that are given land can take from different lands. That way, everyone can share. Nobody wants land from far away, right?”

Everyone nodded.

They could take distant lands, but eventually, several generations later, they would live like strangers.

Due to the lack of monarchy and administrative power, it would end up becoming almost an independent kingdom. They would have only the justification but would find it hard to reclaim if they lost it elsewhere.

Ghislaine proposed to rearrange parts of each kingdom’s territory in that way. Since everyone’s land would grow, there wasn’t much opposition.

Though the borders would be redrawn and the administrative process would be a bit complex, it was something that had to be dealt with regardless of which territories were absorbed.

“Alright, let’s proceed like this. What has been decided now is merely a rough guideline, so let’s adjust the details.”

Though they had broadly reorganized, it wasn’t detailed. The kingdoms adjacent to one another held meetings to lay claim to even a bit more land.

“No, we fought a bit harder!”

“We provided more supplies, you know?”

“This territory here should definitely come to us! It’s much closer to us!”

Ghislaine just stood back, grinning as she watched, only stepping in to mediate if the fighting got too heated.

‘After all, I’ve eaten everything I could.’

Ghislaine had already precisely defined the borders and declared so.

Having devoured the lands of the surrounding kingdoms, Ruthania had obtained an astounding amount of territory. In the end, it had consumed the most land among the allied forces.

It was already a powerful state, but now it had nearly doubled in size.

However, everyone also benefited, and since Ruthania was the strongest, they couldn’t harbor resentment.

Just as the aftermath was nearing its end.

Ghislaine once again began to dream.