Project Necro is an official initiative by Re:Library.

Now then, the real problem was Saintess Mildine.

“That’s not me… Meldine isn’t my name…”

The plain-looking Saintess mumbled while looking down.

“My real name is Rasie. I’m a mage officer working under the Senate…”

So “Mildine” was a stage name, huh.

“My family was poor, so I studied magic with a Senate scholarship. I worked for them to get the loan forgiven. That’s all…”

Okay, okay, stop sniffling already.
She clearly had her own share of struggles too.

“I get that you didn’t really have a choice. But you know what happens if people find out you guys are a fake hero, right?”
“Y-Yes…”

Mildine—no, Rasie—nodded timidly.

“That’s why the plan was for ‘Hero Lanhardt’ to conveniently die in battle before things got exposed.”
“You sure that’s okay?”
“Well, if the hero got too popular and we started looking more powerful than the Senate, the bigwigs would be in trouble.”

So the Senate was planning out their death from the start. That’s kinda terrifying.

“Ah, but it wasn’t like we were really going to die. We’d just pretend the hero died fighting the Demon King, then retire. There’d be a big morale-boosting funeral and lots of speeches.”

I see. So it’s one of those “a hero must die to become a legend” kind of deals.

As I nodded with mixed feelings, Rasie looked up at me hesitantly.

“Um…”
“What?”
“Were those three strong?”

She was talking about the three I’d killed.
If I’d known they were fake heroes, I could’ve used them somehow instead of killing them. But honestly, at that moment, I was the one in danger.
Sure, they were relying on Magic gears, but they still had the skill to use them effectively. Random foot soldiers swinging those wouldn’t have touched me.
Enemy or not, they were good warriors. That much was true.

So I told her the truth.

“If I made one wrong move, I’d be the one dead. Sure, it was mostly the gear, but even without it, those guys were first-rate warriors. I’d have liked them as subordinates.”
“I see… I’m glad.”

Rasie sighed in relief and clutched her chest.

“They were ready for that outcome from the start. But they always said, if it came to it, they wanted to die as real heroes.”

Don’t say that. I’m already drowning in guilt.

“By the way, none of them were actually named Lanhardt, right? I can’t even remember which one was supposed to be him.”
“Correct. They rotated the role, each one acting as a decoy to avoid unexpected deaths.”

They really were manufactured heroes. The Senate must’ve been pretty desperate.

Rasie spoke with quiet nostalgia.

“They were kind people. All three. It was a short time, but I really enjoyed being with them.”

That’s nice and all, but to me, they were enemies. And during that “short time,” quite a few of our people died…
I didn’t say it aloud, but I guess it showed on my face.
Rasie paled, realizing it, and bowed her head hastily.

“I-I’m sorry. I know… we were your enemies.”
“No, it’s okay. To us, they were enemies worth hating. But to you, they were dear comrades. I may be a small fry among the demons, but to you, I’m your comrades’ enemy.”

Then she looked at me curiously and tilted her head.

“Small fry?”
“Yeah. I’m just a low-level officer in the Demon King’s army. There are tons of us.”

Still looking puzzled, Rasie dug into her robes and pulled out a slip of paper.

“Um, here. It’s a wanted poster issued by the Senate.”
“Hm?”

【Werewolf King Veit】 – 70,000 silver coins

Top executive of the Demon King’s army controlling Lüenheit
Primary perpetrator of Tubarn’s fall
Powerful mage (specializing in necromancy, enhancement, destruction)
Transforms from a black-haired youth into a black werewolf
Immune to arrows
Capable of destroying castle gates
Howl causes instant death in humans
Those bitten become werewolves
No known survivors from direct engagement

“What the hell is this…?”

There’s so much wrong here I don’t even know where to begin.
Like, if “no one survives fighting me”, how does anyone know “bitten victims become werewolves”? Am I just sneaking around biting people without a fight?
As I stared at the poster with mixed feelings, Rasie hurriedly explained.

“T-That’s why we believed you were one of the top executives in the Demon King’s army. We didn’t mean any harm.”
“Nah, that’s fine. Still, I’d love to meet whoever wrote this.”

With all the gossip and wild speculation here, maybe I can convince them to add “handsome and charming” to the list, just for balance.

Rasie seemed to take that the wrong way and looked terrified.

“S-s-sorry… I’ve always been bad at reading the room…”

Yeah, I can see that. That’s probably how she ended up in this mess to begin with.

Still, I’ve got a 70,000 silver coin bounty on me, huh…? In a world where you can live on one or two coins a day, even splurging on 700 coins a year would last you a century.
Honestly, I kind of want to fake my death and collect it myself.
Also, turns out our own Ambassador Lady Aylia is wanted too.

【Traitor Governor Aylia Rütte Aindorf】 – 100,000 silver coins

Cross-dressing beauty
Former Second-Tier Noble (stripped)
Saschmaelr-style rapier master (stripped)
Maienharr-style Level 2 Court Tea Master (stripped)
Miraldia Junior Infantry Strategist (stripped)
Miraldia Broad Trade License (stripped)

Wow, she really was a nobility, with so many talents under her belt… And now with all those credentials revoked, the only thing she has going is the “cross-dressing beauty,” huh?
She must be seriously hated. Her bounty is higher than mine, and I’m the literal demon.
She might already know, but I’ll let her know later just in case.

Anyway, what to do with Rasie now?

“Do you want to go back to the Senate?”
“I do… but if I return, they’ll just execute or lynch me…”

Yeah, figures.
Guess I’ll have to take responsibility for her.

“Then how about staying in Lüenheit? With your skills, we could hire you into the Demon King’s army.”
“Th-Then… yes, please.”

And so the former fake Saintess Mildine—a.k.a. Rasie—bowed deeply and chose her new home.

Around the time the northern front began to show signs of dragging on, the people of Lüenheit started returning.
Those who had left to seek new homes failed to resettle and began trickling back.

“Listen, Mr. Veit!”

On the first floor of the lord’s hall, which doubled as the public service window, a traveler-clad citizen began ranting at me.

“Just because I’m from Lüenheit, those b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲s̲ treated me like I was with the Demon King’s army! Look at the cart outside!”

I looked where he pointed—two arrows were sticking out of it.

“They shot from the walls! Told me to get lost!”
“Aah… Yeah, that’s rough.”

Even Lüenheit’s merchants had to get by with bribes and connections. Regular folks like him probably get treated worse.
That warning shot wasn’t exactly subtle either.

“You gotta go destroy those jerks right now!”
“Whose side are you on again?”

Seems like Lüenheit immigrants weren’t very welcome elsewhere. Of the 100 or so who left, more than half returned.
Some might still be looking for new places, and others probably died on the way. So the number of people who successfully resettled was probably pretty small.
Still, those who returned brought back valuable intel from their travels. Well, with plenty of personal bias.

When the Demon King’s army returned their homes and fields, some citizens even cried and grabbed my hands.

“Thank you, thank you… If not for this place, I’d have wandered the wastelands forever… really, thank you.”
“Lüenheit will never abandon its people. You’re safe now.”

As I said that, the man nodded repeatedly through his tears.

“Thank you, Mr. Veit! Now go wipe out those b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲s̲ for good!”

And that attitude is exactly why no one wants you as an immigrant.