After all, many medieval nobles were scum who indulged in rape, kidnapping, and unrestrained atrocities. He could not control things elsewhere, but he practically regarded the entire kingdom as his own, so of course he could not allow such people to run rampant.
He already controlled the kingdom anyway. Legally speaking, he was the law. There was nothing wrong with that. At least in this era, if you controlled a kingdom, you were the law itself. A king casually ordering executions was perfectly normal, even commonplace. He personally just preferred order and management.
As a result, in an age where the moral standards of the upper class were generally low, his own moral baseline ended up looking unexpectedly high by comparison, which meant there were quite a few people he could make use of.
Additionally, if a noble had a cooperative attitude, even if they needed to be controlled, he would not destroy their frontal lobe. Basic obedience magic would be enough. After all, once under obedience magic, it was normally very difficult to break free anyway.
The one-blow surgery that left people dazed and damaged the brain did not actually harm the eyes or affect bodily functions, making it extremely suitable to pair with obedience magic.
This made Aura praise the surgery he proposed endlessly. If not for Ash's restrictions, she would probably have wanted to try it on the entire kingdom.
And now, looking at Aura, who was happily swinging her legs on his lap as if she had found a new toy, Ash simply reached out, pressed a hand to her head, shook his head, and sighed lightly.
"I always wanted to be a good person. Don't keep calling me a bad guy. How about you just go play on your own, honestly?"
"Too boring. What's fun about any of this?"
"You're a demon, and you're complaining that life is boring. Is that really okay?"
"What's wrong with that?"
"Alright then, how about this... later we'll go take a look at the battlefield. There should be quite a few scheduled targets. It's about time to reap the harvest."
Feeling that if he did not find something for her to do, this willful girl would keep pestering him, Ash could only casually pick a time-consuming plan he had often used in the past.
Hearing this, Aura could not help curling her lips in a sneer, "You said harvesting at first, now you say reaping. If you dress it up nicely, what's the difference?"
"If you say it nicely, at least you feel more like a good person."
"You really are... that's just hypocrisy, right? Just like those nobles. Honestly, it's pretty disgusting," Aura showed her disdain without any attempt to hide it.
"Say whatever you want," Being looked down on by Aura was irritating, but he could not be bothered to argue with such a crude person.
In reality, it was not the Oisast Kingdom that was starting wars. It was the surrounding countries that were still fighting each other for various reasons.
They had no obligation to intervene in wars, but that did not stop them from gaining some benefits from them.
They did not even need to kill anyone. By quietly lurking at the edge of the battlefield and selecting suitable targets, Aura could remotely use her twice-optimized obedience magic to quickly make appropriate targets submit.
Of course, they were not killing people or anything like that. They truly did not interfere at all, choosing only those who were on their last breath, about to die.
If it was just light injuries or ordinary serious wounds, Aura could not even be bothered to look, because Ash had taught her that humans grew stronger the more they fought. That meant humans on the battlefield were at their strongest right at the moment before death.
And the subordinates she wanted to recruit were naturally chosen at their strongest moments.
After all, the state of death did not affect her magic at all. As long as the soul was still lingering at death's door, she could control it. Even someone who had just died a short while ago was fine. A severed head was no problem. Limbs broken off could be reattached with magic.
Thus, under Ash's guidance, even the crude and arrogant Aura stopped rushing for quick results and learned to wait a little. As for the time wasted during that wait, it hardly mattered. They had plenty of time.
Some might have already passed their peak, but what they pursued was overall strength.
Although such behavior still sounded a bit like desecrating the dead, if it was for becoming a force that would maintain world peace in the future, it did not seem completely unacceptable. Well, that was just a grand-sounding justification.
Necessary evil had to be done by someone. Without sufficient military deterrence, there would only be more bloodshed. When it came time to truly act, which path was more appropriate? Desecrating the dying, or lacking armed strength and allowing endless armed conflicts to cause even more deaths?
To be honest, he did not know, and he did not plan to think about it too much.
At the same time, now that heads were no longer being cut off, he also made promises to those carefully selected dying soldiers. When he truly took control of the world, he would, with the help of obedience magic, allow them to maintain bodily functions long enough to return home.
———
Urged along constantly by Aura, Ash carried a document case while being dragged toward a carriage prepared in the royal castle.
But they had barely sat down in the carriage, before it had even started moving, and Aura had only just taken her seat opposite him, when a small figure suddenly dropped down from the second floor of the castle.
Carrying a faint fragrance, the figure entered the carriage in an instant and sat down on his lap.
There was no need to look closely. Feeling the alluring softness on his legs and that all-too-familiar scent, Ash knew who it was. There was only one person who would do something like this. Linie.
This pink-haired, twin-tailed demon girl had a pair of small horns. Her pink face, petite figure, and expressionless demeanor, combined with her delicate features, made her look like a meticulously crafted doll, still in a shorty form.
She was holding a book. Even while sitting on his lap, she remained completely focused on reading. Her slender, beautiful feet were wrapped in black stockings that somehow existed even in this era, tempting like pieces of fine chocolate.
Even though Linie still looked like a shorty, in reality her appearance had basically stopped changing by her teens. After that, she remained in this shorty form forever, just like Aura, who also barely changed.
'Does this count as a legal loli or something else? But considering demonkind, maybe it can not even be called legal. No, wait... demonkind has no laws to begin with.'
Caught in a mental storm, Ash did not know what to feel about this shorty he had watched grow up. With a bit of trouble in his heart, he stroked her hair and shook his head.
"You really are... sigh. I told you not to suddenly sit on my lap, didn't I? You've grown up already."
"Is that so? But Ash-sama is actually pretty happy, right?", Linie, sitting sideways on his lap, tilted her head like a cute little bird, and he...
"Well... it's fine," He did not bother hiding it. Stroking Linie's hair, he sighed emotionally.
"After all, Fern only took a few years to grow up and enter her rebellious phase. Normally she would not let me hold her."
"That human is disobedient now? Should I kill her?", Linie, who had already lowered her head back to her book, suddenly raised it expressionlessly, her eyes filled with terrifying murderous intent.
Wearing a light, fluttering dress and black little leather shoes, she looked like a gentle, fragile literary girl. Anyone who did not know better would probably think she was a soft, cute, wife-material kuudere shorty. But at this moment... her frightening gaze completely exposed the truth hidden beneath that soft exterior.
This was all the result of Aura's education, turning Linie into an overly protective, ruthless combat-oriented type. The reason she was reading now was simply because Ash wanted her to train in some refinement.
Facing this expressionless shorty radiating blatant killing intent, he could not help but let out a long sigh and press her head down.
"You're a girl. Don't think about fighting and killing all day. I had you read because I wanted you to be a bit more gentle, to develop toward politics and become a good child. How did you... this is all your fault!"
Halfway through, he viciously glared at Aura across from him, who pretended nothing was happening, looking around and deliberately avoiding eye contact.
Aura was unusually well-behaved, not retorting shamelessly as usual. That was entirely because earlier Ash had pinned her on his lap and spanked her until her butt was swollen, finally making her restrain herself a bit in this regard.
But bringing up old matters now was meaningless. He only glared once before giving up on complaining further.
As the carriage left the city, the prosperity of the royal capital gradually came into view.
After so many years of development, the capital of the Oisast Kingdom had almost become the second most developed megacity in the world.
On the streets, stone-paved roads shimmered faintly under the sunlight. Towering buildings stood shoulder to shoulder on both sides, shops arranged in neat rows.
Children played and chased each other freely. Couples carrying infants strolled leisurely. It was a scene of peace and tranquility. Closer to the center of the streets, carriages, residents, and tourists flowed endlessly.
The market was even more bustling. Vendors shouted to attract customers, buyers haggled loudly, creating a lively scene. Fresh vegetables and fruits, live fish and meat, fragrant wines, and all kinds of daily necessities could be found here. There were also performers from afar entertaining the crowds with juggling, singing, and dancing.
Everything carried a vigorous, upward energy. It was precisely this strength and prosperity, so different from the past, that made many knights willingly pledge their loyalty.
Looking at it now, Ash felt a deep sense of accomplishment. Aura, however, looked completely uninterested. Even Linie simply sat on his lap, focused on her book.
This made him certain that when it came to sightseeing, there were hardly two people more capable of killing the mood than these two.
Bored, he simply rested his chin on Linie's head and casually took out some documents, placing them on top of her book.
"Ash-sama, I can't read like this," Linie shook her small head helplessly.
"Forget it. It's not like it helps you anyway, and you're not really reading it properly, are you?"
"Uu... sorry," Linie, who had been pretending to be serious, immediately drooped in defeat.
"I won't scold you. Just put the book on your lap. It'll be perfect to prop up my documents so I can review them."
"Yes~"
As if she had finally been granted freedom, a faint smile immediately appeared on Linie's face. Following his instructions, she placed the book on her thighs. Even as his human stand, she happily swung her legs.
Being unstudious yet so cheerful, normally one should be angry at her lack of ambition. Yet because of her looks, she was unexpectedly cute anyway. Ash swallowed back any scolding words and could only vent his frustration on the documents.
The carriage beneath them, under Ash's anti-gravity magic, moved lightly through the city streets under the escort of the knight order, quickly arriving at the camp outside the city.
The carriage compartment was directly removed by the knights and replaced with a controlled magical beast kept in the outer camp. The beast grabbed the carriage, and under the guidance of flying beast riders, they headed toward the nearest battlefield.
But during this flight, they passed by the neighboring empire's largest eastern border city.
———
[The Fortress City of Weise]
At this moment, the once-prosperous fortress city had become completely golden, shining brilliantly as it was entirely turned to gold. Even the forest around the city, larger than the city itself, was now a dazzling expanse of gold.
This made Ash recall the last time he had come near here. Or rather, what happened before the city was turned to gold. And a bit earlier than that... was exactly when he had spanked Aura.
.
.
.
About forty years earlier.
Seeing Linie's change, Ash, who had wanted to raise a "small accountant", a well-behaved, cute child, but had accidentally raised a cold-blooded killer instead, felt heartbroken to the extreme, to the point he nearly beat his chest in regret.
"What is that expression? How is this my fault?", Facing his increasingly dangerous look, Aura deliberately raised her eyebrows and twisted her lips, shamelessly striking back first.
"Wasn't I doing it all for your sake? And weren't the teachers basically chosen according to your requirements? How was I supposed to know that the one specially hired by the king was secretly helping him groom mistresses? And didn't I still work hard to train this child into something useful?"
"Is that all you have to say?", Ash was so angry he laughed.
Completely unaware of the danger, Aura crossed her arms, lifted her chin, and spoke righteously.
"Of course not. But you should properly thank me anyway. I made sure that child focuses on listening to you. She listens to you even more than to me now."
"Thank you very much. But Aura, what do I need an executioner for?"
"Who knows? Having one more can't hurt, right?"
"Is that so? Hey, Aura, do you know?", Ash stepped forward and gently stroked her horn.
Aura brushed his hand away in disgust and rolled her eyes, "Don't touch me randomly. I'm not your pet. So? What do you want to say?"
"Nothing much. Just... when a younger sister is not taught, it's the older brother's fault. You turning out like this, I bear great responsibility."
"I don't really understand, but it sounds like... you've finally realized how much you've wronged Lady Aura all this time?", Aura tilted her head in confusion. In no time, an expectant smile appeared on her face.
This unlearned girl made him smile too, "That's right. I owe you far too much education."
"Education?"
"In other words, loving punishment."
"Pun—wait a second? You're not planning to—UWAA!"
Sensing danger, alarm bells rang in Aura's head and she instinctively stepped back.
But as a mage at nearly zero distance from a warrior, she had almost no chance.
She barely had time to let out a cry before feeling the world spin. When she came to her senses, she was already pinned over Ash's lap.
"Ash, you're not going to do something irrational—OW!", She stubbornly tried to maintain her usual attitude, but before she could finish her sentence, Ash slapped her butt once, sending a jolt straight from her hips to her brain.
Her whole body tensed instinctively. The intense sense of shame made her clench her teeth as she stared in disbelief.
"You actually hit me?"
"Of course. Why would I hold back with you?"
"Uwa! You bastard! That really hurts!"
"Who told you to screw me over behind my back? Today I'm fixing your bad habits properly and putting you on the path of righteousness!"
"It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! I will definitely! Definitely not let this go—"
"Whether you let it go or not, today I'm not letting you go!"
Along with crisp slapping sounds, Aura's wails and various threats echoed throughout the room for a short while.
Unfortunately, until nightfall, Ash did not allow her to heal. He made her treat a pillow as his substitute, biting and venting her anger on it nonstop on the bed.
After that day, the surprisingly grudges-holding Aura did not speak to him for a full year. Only after Ash was forced to take the initiative and say some nice things to reconcile did she reluctantly forgive him.
And exactly one year and one month after that spanking, when Ash took Aura and Linie to a nearby battlefield to collect useful corpses, they happened to pass by that fortress city, Weise.
.
.
.
Perhaps because she had sulked for a year without speaking to Ash and had been holding it in for too long.
On the way to the battlefield, Aura was unusually lively. And when they passed by the fortress city of Weise, she suddenly remembered something.
"Speaking of which, Ash..."
"What?"
"I remember Macht is in Weise right now?"
"Macht... ah, Macht of the Golden Land? That guy is mixed in with humans?"
He might not remember others, but the strongest of the Seven Sages of Destruction left a deep impression on him.
His surprised expression made Aura cover her mouth and laugh mockingly.
"You handle government affairs every day and didn't notice? Macht is serving humans now."
"Really? What exactly is going on?", Even though she looked as punchable as ever, Ash did not act this time, instead urging her to explain.
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