Episode 72: Witnesses

　It didn’t even take Siegfried ten minutes to drive his fist into every single knight and soldier from Gregor’s army.

“Take these guys away.”

　With that order, Siegfried had his subordinates begin escorting Gregor’s forces.

　Suddenly, a voice called out from behind him.

“U-Um… Count Kreving…”

　Siegfried turned around. Standing there was an elderly man in his later years… the village chief.

“Thank you so much for saving us this time…!”

　The village chief bent at the waist, bowing deeply. The surrounding villagers followed suit, expressing their gratitude one after another.

　However, Siegfried’s response was indifferent.

“Saved you? What are you misunderstanding here?”

“Eh…?”

“I merely dealt with the ‘villains’ that were Gregor and his subordinates. I didn’t save any of you.”

　Siegfried let out a short sigh.

“—Or do I look like some idle fool with time to spare on rescuing you?”

“N-No, not at all…! It’s just that you did help us, that’s a fact…”

　As the village chief stammered in confusion, the other villagers chimed in.

“Y-Yeah! If Count Kreving hadn’t shown up, my daughter might’ve been dragged off by those bastards!”

“Our food stores were already down to the bare minimum we need to survive. Getting them back for us… we’re really, truly grateful!”

　The villagers seemed overwhelmed with emotion.

　But Siegfried replied with a sardonic smile.

“—How naive.”

　Under that icy gaze, the village chief and the others swallowed hard.

“To all of you, am I ‘justice’ just because I defeated the ‘evil’ that plagued you? Do you really think something so convenient would happen? —Why not consider that an even greater evil has arrived instead?”

“Wh-What…!”

　A cold sweat ran down the villagers’ backs.

　They instinctively understood. This man was a true evil, one that Gregor couldn’t even compare to.

　And… that evil quietly issued an order to his subordinates.

“Leon. —Distribute food to this village from our army’s supplies. Oh, and if they’re short on medicine, give them some of that too.”

“Eh…?”

　The unexpected command left the villagers speechless.

　As they stood there in stunned silence, the village chief cautiously spoke up.

“C-Count Kreving. Um… d-did I hear correctly that you’re giving us food right now…?”

“—That’s right. Do you have a problem with that?”

“N-No! Not at all! It’s just… is it really okay for us to accept the food? Food must be precious for your army too…”

“I’m not an incompetent fool like Gregor. We have plenty of provisions.”

　Along the way here, Siegfried had stopped at various villages and towns, purchasing large quantities of food.

　Arrangements had been made for them to be delivered to him in sequence.

“Besides— this year, our country as a whole has had a bountiful harvest.”

　Indeed, even in this village, the crops had grown well.

　But because it was close to the front lines, they’d been forced to contribute to the eastern army—and on top of that, Gregor’s requisitions had piled on.

　If not for that, this village never would have faced such a food shortage.

“Despite the abundance of food within the country, being driven to the point where requisitions were necessary… that speaks volumes about Gregor’s incompetence.”

　He could have arranged for food to be sent from his own territory or negotiated with merchants to buy supplies—securing provisions wouldn’t have been difficult. But Gregor neglected that.

　And the method he chose instead—requisitions.

　Sure, requisitions meant getting food for free.

　It preserved the harvest from his own lands and saved the money that would go to merchants.

　If you only thought about short-term gains, it might seem like a profitable choice.

　But excessive requisitions exhaust the villages. As a result, productivity drops, eventually leading to famine.

　And above all—repeating such acts would drag Gregor’s reputation through the mud.

　Eventually, even merchants would start avoiding him.

　In the long run, it was nothing more than Gregor tightening the noose around his own neck.

“I-I see… I understand now why you’re not short on food, Count Kreving. B-But… why are you being so kind to us…?”

　Earlier, Siegfried had implied that he himself was evil.

　The village chief couldn’t reconcile that attitude with Siegfried’s orders.

“Witnesses.”

“W-Witnesses…?”

“Yes. Gregor’s subordinates will face a court-martial soon. At that time, the people of this village might be called as witnesses. But what if you’d all starved to death by then? No one could take the stand, and that would mean losing one opportunity for these soldiers to shine as villains.”

　Siegfried stated it all matter-of-factly.

“When evil is judged and lets out screams of despair—having those oppressed by evil present makes the evil shine even brighter. That’s why you all need to stay healthy. The food and medicine I’m providing are for that purpose. …It’s all to make the evil gleam. You get it, right?”

“Y-Yes…”

　Honestly, the village chief didn’t understand a word of what Siegfried meant.

　But overwhelmed by the strange persuasiveness Siegfried exuded, he found himself nodding anyway.

“Until the day you stand on the witness stand—stay healthy. If anyone else shows up trying to requisition from this village again, let me know. I’ll be with the eastern army for a while. I’ll rush right over and crush them.”

“U-Understood…!”

　The village chief bowed deeply once more.

　When he lifted his head, Siegfried had already turned away.

　—He didn’t voice any words of thanks.

　He already knew this man didn’t want such things.

　So instead, the village chief murmured in his heart.

(No matter what you might say… all of us in this village are truly grateful from the bottom of our hearts, Count Kreving…)