Magic Caster of Destroy

The reason they could sleep without any bedding on a winter day that was cold enough to turn breath into white fog was because everyone was absolutely spent. Amidst the group that was collapsed on the ground like puppets with strings cut was one person who was walking around.

It was the general who had lost the battle, Prince Barbro.

Should he consider himself lucky that he had survived, or consider it unlucky to have encountered such a force?

The goblin army that suddenly appeared at Carne Village was strong ― no, it was overwhelming.

Barbro’s forces were smashed the moment they made contact and defeat was inevitable. His soldiers died as if they were melting away.

So who were those goblins?

Barbro wanted to know the answer.

The only thing he could think of was that those goblins had established a huge kingdom in the Great Forest of Tob. If they were marching south, it was an understandable situation. The nobles who managed to escape with him thought the same, and they had shared the exact same conclusion with him while escaping.

Meaning that he was unlucky.

Meaning that those goblins were their most elite.

Meaning that returning with information on the goblins would be a reasonable achievement in itself.

“Idiots….”

Barbro clenched his fist.

A loss was a loss, and those goblins were undoubtedly strong. Anyone who fought with them would be able to understand why Barbro had lost.

But to those who were ignorant, Barbro would be the prince who lost to goblins. He would become a laughingstock.

“Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!”

Frustration was boiling in his heart. This was why he could not go to sleep even though he was just as exhausted as his soldiers.

Every time he closed his eyes, he could hear the voices of mockery and hatred that were sure to come his way when he returned to the Kingdom.

For Barbro, the war was over. It was impossible to go to the Kattse Plains and join the battle against the Empire now.

Suddenly ― he felt a presence. Not from where the soldiers were sleeping, but from the direction they had fled.

Was it the stragglers who finally managed to catch up to them, or pursuing goblins?

In that moment, Barbro turned to look with an anxious heart, his face wrinkled in surprise. As though the figure had noticed that Barbro was watching, it waved with a light greeting.

“How ya doing~”

How did it appear in the middle of this vast open plain without being spotted? Not too far from him

―roughly twenty meters away― was an absolute beauty with a smile that matched her sincere expression. If this was in the middle of a city, he would not hesitate to ogle her, but this was in the middle of a plain. There was not even a village in sight.

The strangest thing was her attire ― that looked very similar to a maid’s clothing.

If she was armed, he would have thought she was an adventurer, but this just did not make any sense.

A monster?

The thought suddenly popped into his mind. Some monsters possessed a beautiful appearance.

Fairies were an example of that, but maid’s clothing was impossible to comprehend.

“Hello, I came over to play~. I didn’t catch you at a bad time, right?”

It was a question that was clearly looking down on him.

“Who are you?”

He asked that question while reaching for the sword on his waist.

It was a boring and unimaginative question, but he meant it. The girl’s identity was so shrouded in mystery, he could not even think of what to ask in the first place.

“They call me Lupusregina. I’m one of the maids who serve Ainz-sama.”

This mysterious woman greeted him by raising her hand again. Something about what that woman

―Lupusregina― said sunk into his heart.

“W-what.”

Barbro was so surprised, that he forgot to wake the soldiers around him.

“No, no, let’s not dwell on that… you really did go through a lot. But ya know, I think it was kinda cheating. I mean using a goblin army’s way too cowardly. Even I was surprised when I was watching that human, Enri, from behind and yelped in surprise. Who’d have expected so many goblins to come pouring out… hehehe.”

Lupusregina made a sound resembling laughter.

It was an obvious taunt, but Barbro was in no mood to put up with it.

“So what are you here for!”

He could feel someone stirring behind him as if reacting to the shout.

A taunt was a taunt, but her actions were strange if she was planning on an ambush. There was no need for her to show herself. Or was this an act to draw away his attention? To strike from behind while he was distracted.

No ― he was valuable because he was the first Prince.

Their plan was probably to negotiate with him if he was lucky, or to use him as a hostage if he was not.

But there was no way negotiations would end well for his side. He would most likely become a prisoner.

Barbro could feel the throne getting further and further away from him every second.

Although, the ones who were actually responsible were the upper echelons of the Kingdom, who had sent him to that village without informing him that goblins were there.