The Hero King, Reincarnate to Master the Art of War

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“However, some also believe that this is the perfect chance to strike Charalia, as the battle against Prisma surely must have taken a huge toll on their military prowess. Honestly, the opinions are divided.”

“I see…”

"More importantly, where are the people who were brought along with the princess…?! We need to hurry, or it will be too late!"

“…Not every day do we have the opportunity to talk like this. I do wish to answer your questions, but you might not like what you hear.”

"I won't regret it! Just tell us quickly!"

“Then let me start from the conclusion. …You’ve already met them somewhere in here. There is no longer the need to fret about the time, it’s already too late. After all, you just met them right before you met me.”

Über’s words were somewhat cryptic.

"What…?! Too late…?!"

Affirmed Über, his smile was still as gentle.

"W-, What do you mean…?!"

“Would you please elaborate?!”

Leone and Liselotte also seemed bewildered. If the people were handed over to the Highland, they might be made to work as slaves or, if suitable, turned into Hyrule Menaces. Killing them outright would seem pointless. And yet, Über said Inglis and the others had already met those people, which meant—

“…You mean the guards on the bridge are them?”

“Eh? But they’re Highland soldiers, Glis.”

“Yeah… However, if Mr. Über is sure that we have met them here in Illuminus, then there are no other people other than the soldiers.”

“W-, well, Inglis has a point…”

“However, I have yet to understand why it is too late for us to save them?”

“…Miss Vilma said that they are pseudo-life forms, right? Maybe the materials to create those pseudo-life forms are those people taken from the surface.”

“““WHAAAT?!!”””

Rafinha and the others raised their voices in shock. Meanwhile, Über nodded in satisfaction and even gave a few claps.

“Wow. Thank you for being so perceptive. I’d hate to be the bad guy for bearing nothing but bad news.”

"…What exactly are they?"

"They are artificial humans called Mana Coats. They possess only the faintest self-awareness and are used as soldiers by the Highland, as you saw."

"…When Inglis said they are made from humans, what does that mean, specifically?"

"The humans handed over here… are put into a furnace filled with a liquid called Mana Essence fluid. They dissolve within seconds, becoming part of that fluid… or so I’ve heard. I haven't seen the furnace myself."

"No…!! then…"

"Everyone was turned into that magic essence fluid…?!"

“That’s what you meant by Too Late…?!!”

"And the soldiers created from processing that Mana Essence fluid are… those soldiers you saw earlier. The process is swift — truly terrifying technology."

“…It must be. After all, it didn’t take long for us to escort Mais and return here, but it’s already too late by then.”

If those are Mana Coats, then by the name of it, High Mana Coats must be bodies made of high-purity Mana Essence fluid. Just how many lives were sacrificed just to create a single High Mana Coat? Inglis had no idea, but it was quite ruthless to think.

"The convenient thing about Mana Coats is that once their purpose is fulfilled, they can be returned to Mana Essence fluid. If they were living slave soldiers, they would get hungry and sick, requiring supplies as such. Mana Coat soldiers do not. Truly, they are dream soldiers. The Illuminus airships have reservoirs of Mana Essence fluid, from which soldiers are generated as needed. Absolutely nothing goes to waste."

"No way…! How can you say that so calmly?! Being made to fight and work as a slave is a much better fate! At least then, you’d still be yourself, living in your own body…! Being turned into Mana Essence fluid means you're already dead…!"

Rafinha raised her voice in protest, and Über looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"Why are you telling me this? The ones doing it are the Highlanders of Illuminus."

"…! Ugh…"

With that response, Rafinha fell silent, looking down. Indeed, Über had a point.

“I was utterly dumbfounded by how carefree you girls seemed when I first saw all of you. How could you smile so easily in this terrifying place? Even I still tremble every time I speak with the Highland knights, fearing that it might be my turn to be shoved into and turned into Mana Essence fluid next. Then again, I suppose you didn’t know it.”

"You’re… right. We were ignorant. Maybe receiving the Special Grade Rune made me go over my head…”

“It’s not just you, Leone. I am the same…”

Leone and Liselotte also looked down, their expressions stern.

"You seem to know a lot, considering that the Highland child that we met told us Illuminus don't use slaves since it’s wrong.”

Even Vilma seemed unaware of the technical details of the Mana Coats. Perhaps she chose not to speak out of discomfort, but she likely had some understanding of its nature. She knew they were dealing with human lives, after all.

It's likely that Mais and the general populace of Highland were unaware of these practices, considering the adults were teaching Mais otherwise.

"Well, yes. Our firm has been on good terms with Illuminus since the previous generation… so I've had opportunities to hear various things."

It seemed he had connections with high-ranking officials like First Professor Vilkin. The information he had, unknown to the general populace, must have come from the upper echelons.

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