New Movements
Naturally, information about the political change in the Izrim Magic Kingdom and the subsequent invasion of the Lemberg Empire reached the Luine Kingdom.
For the Luine Kingdom, however, the realization of this fact came too late to be called a blunder. The Izrim Magic Kingdom had planned for this to happen, and it was a blunder for the Luine Kingdom to have been so easily outmaneuvered.
"So what's the situation?"
A meeting to share the details of the information. The Crown Prince Albert, the king, asked the messenger who had brought the information to him.
"The current Elected King of the Izrim Magic Kingdom is Mei Katsuragi. This has been officially approved by the Elected Court."
"...Are they exploiting the foolish system?"
The one who excels in magic becomes king. This is a ridiculous system that is unthinkable for the Luine Kingdom, which is a hereditary system. Moreover, if the hero becomes the Elected King by using it this time, the feeling of contempt will become even stronger.
"There are opposition forces in the country, but it seems that the Elected King's throne, which has the support of the Elected Court, cannot be overthrown so easily."
"...But if the support of the Elected Court were to disappear."
The relationship between Mei and the Elected Court is only linked by interest. If the interests of the two parties were to come into conflict, the relationship would quickly collapse.
"But for the time being, I doubt there will be any cracks."
"Why?"
"They have a common enemy. Until that is defeated, it will be difficult for us to maneuver them."
"...Is it the rebel group?"
"Yes"
"Is there any chance either one of them will be able to connect with the other?"
Mei is to eliminate the influence of the Elected Court. And the Elected Court to get rid of Mei. Such a composition is possible if they can make them think that there is an advantage on their side. This would result in prolonging the turmoil in the Izrim Magic Kingdom. So King Albert thought.
"I think it's unlikely."
But the messenger denies that possibility. The messenger has information that he has not yet conveyed to King Albert.
"Why is it so?"
"Because the one who leads the rebellion is the daughter of the deceased Elected King, Milianea."
"What?"
Here, Millianea's name came out. King Albert is upset by that fact.
"After the invasion of the Lemberg Empire by the Izrim Magic Kingdom, Empress Milianea returned to her homeland."
"Why didn't you say that first!?"
"Eh!? Ah, I'm sorry!"
The messenger doesn't know why King Albert yells at him. But he was reprimanded by his own king. He has no choice but to apologize.
"...Why did she return to her home country?"
The reason why he yelled at the messenger. Ashamed of it, King Albert calmed himself.
"I haven’t figured out the reason yet. However, the situation in the Lemberg Empire is quite severe."
"...That's right. Should I ask about the situation in the Lemberg Empire first? Please explain."
He thought he was calm, but he wasn't. If you are the king, your priority should be to know the situation of the country, not Milianea personally.
"It seems that Elected King Mei ordered an invasion of the Lemberg Empire immediately after taking the throne."
"...That's right. Even if she became the Elected King, it's meaningless if she remains the hero of the Lemberg Empire."
"Yes. But the passage of time is a little strange, so it is possible that she moved her troops before she became the Elected King."
"How can she move the Izrim Magic Kingdom's army before she becomes the Elected King?"
"By ordering the hero of the Izrim Magic Kingdom to――"
"Wait a second. Who is the hero, Elected King Mei, ordered?"
"Jin Takamiya. The hero of the Izrim Magic Kingdom."
"I see, I see. With Mei Katsuragi becoming the Elected King, Jin Takamiya will also be released. If the formal procedure is followed, there will be no hindrance."
The whole picture of the heroes' plan, though still vague, came to light. If that is the case, the Luine Kingdom cannot remain uninvolved. He doesn't think it's that irrelevant to begin with.
"Jin Takamiya pretended to ask for help and headed for the Lemberg Empire. Then, in an audience with the emperor, he seized the opportunity and took the emperor hostage."
"Wait. Jin Takamiya took Emperor Lemberg hostage?"
"Yes. This information is accurate."
"...Was my analysis wrong?"
He failed to grasp Jin's personality. It's a thing of the past, and it hasn't affected his country so far, but King Albert was concerned about it. If it was Ren, it would be fine, but he doesn't think he made a mistake in his analysis of Jin's personality.
"He may remain a hero."
Hank Holdings answered King Albert's question. Hank also succeeds his father as prime minister.
"You think he has been subjugated?"
"Possibly. But if Mei Katsuragi is that ruthless, it would mean that our analysis was wrong."
Making her companions obey her with subordination magic. Mei is not considered such a person in the Luine Kingdom. The analysis was wrong for both Jin and Mei.
"...That's right. This is good for now. Continue on."
"Ha. It was the knights led by Yuya Kisaragi who cooperated with Jin Takamiya. It was the army of the former Saint Miriam Kingdom."
"…Have you obtained any further information?"
Yuya's betrayal. This is a big problem for the Luine Kingdom. Why was it possible? He would really like to know that information.
"Honestly, not much. A hero shouldn't be able to act like betraying our country. So how could the knights and soldiers, uh, got rid of?"
The emissary avoided the gruesome word slaughter. He did not want the meeting to become emotional.
"He did not directly harm them, did he?"
"Even so, isn't the hero obligated to protect his country's army?"
It's an act of betrayal to just sit back and watch his country's knights being slaughtered. There is no way he can do that.
"……What do you think?"
King Albert asked Prime Minister Holdings for his opinion. He's not the only one. He wanted everyone present to think about it. The matter is so important that they must find out the truth at all costs.
"...Wasn't he simply restrained?"
Accepting to be restrained in advance and actually being immobilized. If that is the case, even if the Knights of his own country are slaughtered, he can't do anything.
"Rejecting it... can it be that restrictive?
"If he knew what they were doing, I think he would resist."
If he knew what they intended to massacre, he would move to prevent it at that point. That is what Prime Minister Holdings thinks. That means, on the contrary, that if he doesn't know, he will accept the restraints.
"Yes, that's right. And even if he is informed of it later, that man..."
"He will convince himself. Probably, this was the idea of the Elected King Mei, who is well aware of such a character of his. It seems our analysis was wrong after all."
"The pacifism of the heroes is just talk after all."
This judgment is wrong.
The idea of those heroes who had never known war, who had never killed anyone, was quite naive to the people of this world. But that was before they knew about war.
It was not a mistake in the analysis. The way of thinking of the heroes who were in the Church was different from the way they think today.
"Please continue on."
They should blank the slate once and for all regarding the information about the heroes and their ideas. Making only that decision, Prime Minister Holdings told the messenger to continue his report.
"Ha. The emperor and his sister, Princess Rosa Linde, were taken hostage, and the Empire was unable to resist and they took control of the castle. At that time, it seems that only Empress Milianea was able to escape."
"I see... then?"
At the mention of Milianea's name, King Albert's heart inevitably wavered.
"With the castle taken over, the Izrim Magic Kingdom army began to invade within a few days. With the royal family taken hostage, they were unable to resist, and this also resulted in them being allowed to break through the border easily."
"…Allowing the invasion doesn’t mean the lives of the hostages will be saved. If that is the case, they should fight without regard for the hostages."
This is not a criticism of the Lemberg Empire's response. In the unlikely event that a similar situation occurs in their own country, he is saying that they should abandon him.
"...After that, the Izrim Magic Kingdom not only pushed hard, but also began to cut down the nobility. Many nobles responded to the situation, and the day when the Lemberg Empire was annexed to the Izrim Magic Kingdom was not too far away."
"...Two great powers have become one. This is a threat."
"Originally, we were planning to fight against two countries. It doesn't matter."
Prime Minister Holdings denies King Albert's words. When the king is bullish, he is cautious, and when he is bearish, he does the opposite. That is his role.
"But now the Nord Empire has more time... what is the Nord Empire doing?"
"They should be proceeding with the complete annexation of the former Saint Miriam Kingdom territory."
"Is that a sure thing?"
Is the Nord Empire just taking this opportunity to improve its national power? Normally, it does. But Ren, the emperor of the Nord Empire, is not normal.
"I'll investigate immediately... No, do you want me to investigate?"
Reaching out for espionage on the Nord Empire is dangerous. Prime Minister Holdings knows that. Of course, King Albert too.
"...What is Baat, the demon doing?"
King Albert thought that it might be possible to investigate if it was a demon. At least he did counterintelligence.
"He left our country, saying that he would not be needed for a while."
"Can you call him back? No, there is no need to call him. Can you ask him to investigate the movements of the Nord Empire?"
"Understood. I'll make a request."
"...Is it possible that the Nord Empire is involved in this matter?"
The heroes and Ren. He thought the two wouldn't work together. But King Albert doubts whether this is really the case.
"It is not likely, is it? No, now that we know that we were wrong in our analysis of the heroes, I cannot say that with confidence."
"Why did you think it wasn't?"
"…The goal of the Nord emperor is to kill the heroes. If this is the case, I don't think he is the kind of person who would do anything to distort that goal."
"I see……"
He thought Prime Minister Holdings had a point. Ren's forbearance is not something that can be easily measured. But he is certain that he is not a man who would bend his purpose.
"Um, about that..."
Here, the messenger raised his voice with a sense of trepidation.
"What's wrong?"
"At least the Nord Empire was involved in Empress Milianea's escape from the Lemberg Empire."
"What did you say!?"
There was the fact that the Nord Empire was involved. Even King Albert, who doubted it, was surprised by this information.
"It seems that there was a civil official named Lang in the Izrim Magic Kingdom, who used to be Empress Milianea's personal attendant."
"Ah, I remember. The Nord emperor said that he would prepare the seat of prime minister... no way?"
"I don’t know if she will become prime minister, but there is information that a person named Lang Millet decided to serve the Nord Empire and helped Empress Milianea escape."
"...Too detailed. How did you get that information?"
Information about the Nord Empire is not so easy to obtain. King Albert thinks that it is the same even outside the empire.
"Since it's Empress Milianea's own words, I think it's true."
"...Do you know where Empress Milianea is?"
Even though he knows he shouldn't make it a priority, the question just comes out of his mouth. Even more so when he thinks he might know where Milianea is.
"In the southern part of the Izrim Magic Kingdom. I just don't know if that's still the case."
"……Reason?"
"There aren’t that many resistance forces and they don’t have the strength to resist the Elected King head-on. I think the correct expression is that they are on the run...... in order to continue resisting somehow."
"Are they being cornered to that extent......"
King Albert's expression darkens. Fortunately, she escaped from the Lemberg Empire. However, it turned out that Milianea's crisis had not gone away.
"What will our country do?"
Prime Minister Holdings asked King Albert about their country's plan.
"That's... our country's first task is to restore our national strength, which has been damaged by the civil war."
Now is not the time to go outside. As the King of Luine, Albert answered correctly.
"Is that all?"
"……What do you mean?"
"Unify the feelings of the subjects. I think it is necessary."
"That's right. To prevent a civil war from happening again, we have to unite the country so that it doesn't happen. We should be implementing measures for that."
Many of the causes of rebellion are discrimination against ethnic minorities and conquered peoples, as well as the severe disparity between rich and poor created by such discrimination. King Albert is doing his best to solve such problems.
He does not tolerate discrimination against the subjects of the Luine Kingdom because of where they came from. This is an issue that must be resolved in order to achieve continental domination in the future.
"The measures we are taking are certainly bearing fruit. But what about the fact that the hearts of our subjects will not be united until the results are fully realized? We can only achieve success if we first unite our hearts and minds."
"I understand your impatience, but we must take our time here."
"Measures. There are good measures with regard to bringing hearts and minds together. Making Evil."
"...What are you thinking?"
He understands what Prime Minister Holdings is saying. It is one thing to eliminate conflict among the people within by creating enemies outside. But it is often used to distract the public from the problems within. There is no way that Prime Minister Holdings would advise such a small measure.
"The Luine Kingdom is the country that will become the continent's champion. Can that country overlook a continent-wide problem such as a rebellion by the heroes?"
"Are you asking me to send out an army?"
"Yes. However, it is not possible to start an all-out war at once. So, first of all, I think it would be sufficient to send out a force just to show our country's intentions."
"That role. By all means, please leave it to our Black Iron Knights."
Quincy Hutton, the leader of the Black Iron Knights, came forward. He is a general who participated in the northern invasion together with Yuya.
"General Quincy? We can't afford to make the same mistakes we made during the battle with the Northern Alliance.
"I would like the opportunity to clear that."
"Very well. Then the Black Iron Knights――"
"Wait!"
King Albert stopped Prime Minister Holdings, who was about to order the Black Iron Knights to go into battle.
"Is there something wrong?"
"Don't make a farce of this. You are sending the knights to rescue Empress Milianea, aren't you?"
"Of course. By doing so, our country will have a just cause to liberate the Izrim Magic Kingdom, and even to recapture the Lemberg Empire. Am I wrong?"
"That's……"
Prime Minister Holdings' explanation is a lie, and he's just trying to save Empress Milianea for his own sake. How could he possibly say that?
"We must not ignore the foolishness of the heroes. The Luine Kingdom will be the champion to give peace to the continent and peace and tranquility to the people living there. We must be prepared to take some risks."
"Hank. I will not sacrifice my subjects for this."
"I said this. All the people on the continent will eventually become our subjects. If we do not save them, how can we be called a champion?"
Prime Minister Holdings appeals that he will do justice as a champion. He is so thorough that even King Albert begins to think that he is serious about what he is saying.
"...For the sake of justice. Is that really true?"
"We are not aiming to conquer the continent for our own personal gain. Showing this now will surely help us in the near future."
It contains an obvious lie. King Albert aside, his retainers are trying to conquer the continent for their own personal gain.
However, their self-interest is not that they want to gain power or live a luxurious life, but that they want to make their revered King Albert the champion.
"Understood. I will permit the dispatch of troops, but never overdo it. Understood?"
"Ha! I will save Empress Milianea at the cost of my life!"
"...I told you not to overdo it."
At the last minute, General Quincy, not Prime Minister Holdings, made a mistake. In this case, not only Prime Minister Holdings, but also other vassals know the feelings of King Albert.
◇◇◇
The Royal Army of Luine is sent to the Izrim Magic Kingdom. This information was conveyed to Ren of the Nord Empire with tremendous speed. The Nord Empire's intelligence network has not weakened even though the vampires suffered many casualties in the previous battle. On the contrary, the actual information transmission network has been improved in various ways, and the speed of transmission is even better than before.
"Dispatching an army... King Luine is also more humane than one might think."
Ren thought that there was less than a 50-50 chance that the Luine Kingdom would go to war against the Izrim Magic Kingdom. King Albert is a man who kills his personal feelings and puts the public first. He would not allow it.
"It seems his subjects were more proactive."
"Out of concern for the king's feelings? That's interesting. Besides, it means the King was pushed aside."
"Although they are master and servant, they are also like best friends. I thought that's the case."
King Albert and Prime Minister Holdings, as well as the other senior retainers, have had the same aspirations since childhood and have worked hard together. There is a part that goes beyond just a master-servant relationship.
"I see... I'll keep that in mind."
"What are you going to do?"
"...Luine's Royal army is excellent. No further help is needed."
"Understood. Then?"
"That's right. Strengthen the northern part. We will move soon."
"I will leave immediately."
The man from the intelligence department immediately left for his next job. The intelligence department is busy. There was no time to relax.
"......Well, it's a race here, too. I don't intend to lose, but I don't think I can win it all...... Well, let's do our best."
Ren moved on to new activities. He could afford to do so. The Nord Empire had been burdened with domestic and military affairs, as well as intrigues of all kinds, and the burden had fallen on Ren alone. But a new talent had joined him.
The new Prime Minister, Lang Millet. Although she denies at all costs that she is on par with Ren in terms of intelligence analysis, she is at least talented enough to be Ren's successor.
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