"Five hundred children?!"
Lily was in genuine shock, her soft, red lips gaping wide open.
Of course, she recovered fast.
"If all you wanted was a big family, you shouldn't have sent me recruiting," she said with a smirk. "Let's lock ourselves up in your bedchamber, and make five hundred more."
"You're not funny," Konrad shot her down, groaning. "Please tell me you found something."
He was so exhausted that even the kinky promise did nothing to his brain.
Any other time, he would've acted like a hormonal teenager around her, but now?
The demoness shrugged, looking offended, watching all the former slaves settle in.
"I found a few promising men, but not everyone wanted to join," she claimed. "They're content with the lands you gave them. Said they prefer the open spaces to these crowded cities."
"Crowded?" Konrad forced a laugh. "Hah, I wish."
Space, they had plenty in Halaima—but nothing else.
It didn't take long to refurbish some old ruins and set up the orphanage. But even the thought of the future logistics involved made his head spin. He had five hundred extra mouths to feed.
When he greenlit the raid on that slaver, he hoped for warriors, more workers, not—this.
Now he couldn't abandon them, no matter the struggle and the costs.
He had to be a responsible ruler, a noble to lead by example.
And with so many of the younglings requiring special care—
Getting the nurses was one thing. This world didn't even have the foundations to treat these kids' trauma. No social workers or psychologists, not that he could afford them, anyway.
"You worry too much," Lily said, bumping into his shoulder.
"Or don't worry enough," Konrad muttered, watching Eyna champion another task. "And it's only half the story. Maple—"
"I heard," the ginger smirked. "Now you know why I knocked her out for a week."
Feeding her sleeping drugs made a lot of sense now.
"On the bright side," Lily added. "Slay her, and you'll be the strongest noble around. Could even dethrone the king, and—"
"Not doing that," Konrad shot her down again. "My hands are already full with this duchy."
The ginger pouted, her cuteness lifting his spirits somewhat.
He was desperate for her company—and some good news.
"Well, I got ya twelve fighters who fit the bill," Lily offered. "Good at stealth and can stand their ground in a melee. If you wanted archers, I could've brought five times more, though."
"Twelve?" he repeated, deflating. "I got twenty champions from the nobles, too, but—"
"Hey, the hundred men's only the highest cap," she said with a shrug. "If we show up with a dozen that can mop the floor with whatever the dukes throw at us, that still works."
She grinned ear to ear, but Konrad couldn't share her enthusiasm.
"We're talking about the best of the best," he reminded her. "Soldiers who trained and fought together for years. I have a hodgepodge of men, and the rules even handicap their strengths."
This whole tournament thing felt like a trap to humiliate him.
And since it was the king's wish, he couldn't say no.
"Yeah, no magic sucks," Lily nodded along, but then smirked again. "But if all else fails, I can transform myself into a man. I bet Maple can, too—"
"Please don't," Konrad shivered at the thought.
Imagining his beautiful haremettes as brute men fighting on the battlefield—
Then confronting him in the bed—
He shook his head, trying to clear his mind.
"I don't want to cheat my way through every single challenge I encounter," he said. "There must be a legitimate way to navigate this world. Or you think the king only wants me to fail?"
"I don't deal in philosophy," the little ginger said with a fake yawn, already losing interest.
Not helpful at all.
But Konrad had to realize, even if she was only away for a few days, he missed her a lot.
He already knew that he couldn't do anything without Eyna.
Each of his girls excelled at something. Well, some of them were only good as a bad example.
But without Lily by his side, nothing was the same.
In another life, he would've wanted nothing more than spending time with her, and—
Ah. Already done that.
He threw away everything for a few months of happiness with her.
Then he spent the rest of his life suffering the consequences.
He shook his head, trying to focus on the here and the now.
"Your warriors?" he asked. "Where are they? Let's assemble the company and test their skills."
Lily smirked, showing him the way, and whether she read his mind until now, she showed no signs of it. If nothing else, she had the decency to pretend she didn't do it, unlike Maple.
But he sent the dragon into hiding for now. She caused enough trouble as is.
Within an hour, he had all his personal guard lined up in front of the temple.
Forty men and Welf from the Blood Moon tribe, and two dozen champions that the nobles promised. Even with the fresh recruits and some militiamen, they were still two dozen short.
And they didn't seem like an elite force at all.
"I'm wondering what Vargas would say," he muttered as he inspected them.
Not even a hint of cohesion.
The tribesmen all grouped up, while the champions watched them with obvious distrust.
Their gears—while a mismatch—were at least of high quality, thanks to Welf and the adamantite he made. The nobles didn't send him ragged men, either.
It was a question of prestige for them, after all, so they armed them the best way they could.
But that didn't make them an effective fighting force.
And to be fair, Konrad had no idea what in this world would.
"Let's warm up and see what you can do in mock duels," he barked, playing the commander.
Not that he was questioning their individual skills.
But his idea was to break the ice and have them see what their comrades can do.
Their different backgrounds, cultures, and doctrines made everything ten times more difficult.
But in one-on-one fights, they should have been all equal.
As the men prepared their weapons and armor, he took note of all the small details.
Their stances, the way they measured each other, the choice of weaponry—
And it gave him nothing to work with.
He sent away Vargas too soon, but the old schemer refused to help him anyway.
Konrad sighed. Leadership came in many different flavors.
And commanding an army was another skill he soon had to learn.
"By the end of this week, we'll march on the salt mine," he announced before the first bout started. "No backup, no healers, no magic. Not even fire or smoke or ranged weapons."
This raised a few eyebrows.
The Blood Moon warriors already knew what to expect, but the others seemed confused.
"A swarm of goblins against this group. Melee and your smarts alone. You'll have to work together if you want to survive." It was his way of trying to motivate them.
Did it work? Looking at their faces, it was too early to tell.
"So pay attention in these duels and get a grip on what each of you is capable of," Konrad demanded. "In five days, your life will depend on it. Let's get the training started."