Chapter 84: Three Countries' Meeting
Heinz visited the dormitory of the academy, which is owned exclusively by the Luine Kingdom, with his fiancé, Princess Rosa Linde, and Manami.
On the way to the conference room, Heinz felt a sense of restlessness in the dormitory and wondered why. When he asked the maid about it, he did not get an answer. Thinking that there was a possibility that the maid did not really know, he arrived at the conference room without pursuing the matter in depth.
Princess Milianea of the Izrim Magic Kingdom, Hyde, and Lang had arrived at the conference room earlier.
"Have you heard anything?"
"No, I haven't been told anything."
From this answer, it can be seen that Princess Milianea also feels a disturbing atmosphere.
"What about Prince Albert?"
"The maid who guided me said that he would be late."
"I see."
Thinking that the conversation would not begin until Prince Albert arrived, Heinz and the others decided to sit down in front of Princess Milianea and the others and wait.
However, almost without waiting, the door of the conference room was knocked, and Prince Albert and Hank entered the room.
"I'm sorry for being late. I have made the people of the Izrim Magic Kingdom wait for a long time."
"No. we just got here too early."
"Still, I apologize for leaving you unattended."
"Rather than an apology, I'd like you to tell me what happened."
"Yeah, of course, I'll explain."
"Your Royal Highness?"
Hank was surprised by Prince Albert's words and called out.
"No problem. For better or worse, that's what I infer from the situation."
"That's true, but..."
"It’s my decision. Now, as I say, I'm late, but we'll get started right away."
Prince Albert sat down while announcing the start of the meeting. The central seat is between Princess Milianea and Heinz. It is a position as a facilitator rather than a superior.
"Let me introduce you first. Hank Holding, who accompanied my sister. He has the most information on our side. I've heard all the information myself, but I'll let you sit in at least for now."
"Then from me. Manami Hasegawa. As you can tell from her name, she's a hero."
"A hero in this place?"
"She was relatively close to Ren Takashiro in Class C. She was also a friend of Kazuki Harumoto. I think she knows what Ren Takashiro thinks and what his personality is like."
Manami almost reacted to Heinz's words, but she looked down without saying anything. She is ashamed of being told to understand Ren.
"I see. That might be valuable."
It was impossible for him not to have noticed Manami's reaction, but then, from the mouth of Crown Prince Albert, these words came out. Ren has extremely little contact with people. He thinks that if she knows him, even a little, it will mean something.
"Then, this is Hyde Spencer. He's a candidate for a royal guard knight. But the one who has information about Ren is Lang Millet next to him."
"Ah. Are you a candidate for the future Prime Minister of the Nord Federation?"
"Did you hear about this?"
"No, I heard it later from my subordinate. He also told me that she was the person who would have the most information about Ren Takashiro."
"That's right. So, where do we start?"
"Let's start with us. We don't want to leave you guys thinking we have no information."
Prince Albert declared that he would start with his own country before it turned into a fuss. Otherwise, the story will not progress. The purpose of this meeting is not to have a dispute among the three countries.
"Yes, that's right. I'd like to know first if it's worth it to give you our information."
"So I'll tell you, but first, let's talk about what is happening right now."
Even though he said that, Prince Albert didn't start talking right away. After a short pause, he opens his mouth.
"What I'm going to talk about from now on is a guess based on the situation, and I haven't been able to confirm the facts."
Prince Albert begins with a cautious preface. However, his next words were shocking.
"Our people attacked Ren Takashiro."
"Ha!?" "What!?"
"It's just a guess. But at the moment, I haven't been able to contact ten knights and five mages. Among them, Ryan Kelly and Rod Mayhim, who were both Hank's aides, are included."
"Does that mean they were repulsed?"
Fifteen knights and mages are missing. Moreover, since it is a speculation, it means that no one who knows the circumstances has returned.
"That's what we should assume."
"What makes you think they attacked?"
"Armors have been taken out. It seems that they left fully armed. And the only other person they would attack is Ren Takashiro."
"...If it's true, it's too rash."
"Yeah, I agree. It was a foolish act."
Ren is from the Nord Federation. Even before he signed the contract, he belonged to the church country. The act of attacking a person from another country in a third country is the fault of the attacker, no matter what reason is given.
"But why did you talk about it?"
"There is no proof. If our home country finds out and accuses me of this, I'll just say I don't know and will play dumb."
"I see. But what about Ren Takashiro?"
If Ren, who was attacked, sued, it would be undeniable. Of course, there has to be evidence, and there definitely has to be.
"It seems that he has no intention of making it public now. I sent a messenger to visit him, but he refused saying he was busy preparing to leave."
"That's a postponement."
This is just a judgment at this point. They don't know what Ren will do in the future.
"I know. But if it is postponed, I will just play dumb with it. What bothers me is that in the capital, where all the countries are gathered, I will be blamed for the attack with the dead bodies of my men laid out in front of me."
"They will call it the arrogance of a great power."
"It is a country where arrogance is only tolerated."
There are few countries that can complain to the Luine Kingdom from the front. The only ones that can complain about it are the Lemberg Empire and the Izrim Magic Kingdom, which are present here.
"......Well, that's all right. The problem is the fact that Ren Takashiro fought off every last one of those assailants."
"Yeah, that's right. Even though they are fools, their abilities are among the best among young people. I'm surprised that not one of them escaped."
It's not just a repulsion. It was annihilation. Prince Albert cannot believe that no one was able to escape.
"Ren and Shizuru, the rest are children."
Ren can't do it alone. Heinz tries to list the members who may have participated in the interception.
"No, there must have been others, and the information we have here is related to them, and in a way, this incident confirms it."
"Related?"
"The information our country has obtained is the title that Ren Takashiro has."
"What did you say!?"
Heinz was surprised that the Luine Kingdom obtained information that he wanted to know but had no way of knowing.
"Don't be so surprised. It was actually not that difficult."
"However, the only people who knew were the four who were there. Even if you include the one who approached them later on, there are still five people."
"There was another person who knew, a man from the Mercenary."
"...I understand. The guild leader leaked the information registered on Ren's guild card. That's why it mattered so much."
The information on both the status board and the guild card is almost identical. Ren's status board was not updated for some reason, but the guild card is. Because the information is updated each time a request is fulfilled.
"Good guess. That's right."
"So, can you tell us what his title is?"
Princess Milianea urged him with a slightly irritated look.
"An impatient one, huh?"
"I just don't want to waste time. The conversation hasn't even reached the climax yet."
"I see. Well, I'll tell you. Ren Takashiro has many titles. [The One who Acts], [Beloved by Spirits], [Sword Saint's Disciple], [Thunder Emperor's Disciple], [Silver Wolf], [Magical Beast Tamer], [The one favored by Magical Beast], [The Night Princess's Fiancé] and [The one who received the divine protection of the moon]. That's all."
"...What is that?"
While everyone was dumbfounded, Heinz squeezed out his voice and spoke.
"The number is the same, but the quality is clearly different from other heroes. It's a title in the truest sense."
"When he was summoned, he has only [The One who Calls] as I recall."
"That changed to [The One who Acts] and other titles were added after that. Interesting, isn't it? If you follow the titles, you'll see who he's met."
"You call that interesting? It's ridiculous, isn't it?"
"Ah, yes. A contract with a spirit is as expected. But being loved doesn't seem like a normal contract."
"Companionship."
Manami whispered.
"Manami, what do you mean?"
"Ren said he had a companion. Maybe that's the spirit."
And Manami knows who that spirit is. Luna was the spirit.
"That's how strong the connection is. What's next?"
"I understand the Magical Beast. There was a puppy we used to call Ron-kun."
One day, Ren suddenly brought Ron. Manami is convinced that Ron is a magical beast. She remembers that Ron's movements during the training were so different from those of an ordinary dog.
"So it wasn't a puppy, but a magical beast. But what about the sword saint and Thunder Emperor's disciple? By Thunder Emperor, do you mean that Thunder Emperor?"
"I don't know."
As for the two masters, Manami does not know about them. She has no knowledge about the Thunder Emperor.
"There is information about it. It's wild information, but if you accept it, it makes a lot of sense. Ren Takashiro's occupation is as a necromancer. And the tomb of the Thunder Emperor and the sword saint, who is the leader of the Knights of the church was called about 200 years ago, is of course here."
The Luine Kingdom was investigating the two masters. Rudolf, who holds the title of the Thunder Emperor, is famous. If he tries to connect the dead with Ren, you'll get there right away.
"Are you saying he has become a disciple of the spirit of someone who died a long time ago?"
"That's right."
"Nonsense. How can a spirit teach him to use a sword?"
"Ren can talk to spirits."
Manami muttered quietly again.
"He knows more information than I thought."
In addition, Prince Albert obediently leaked words of admiration. Manami backs up his speculation, which even he himself was skeptical about. Nothing could be more gratifying.
"Since he was in our original world. I heard his parents were creeped out by it."
"If he can talk, he can learn. In other words, he learned swordsmanship from a man called the sword saint, and magic from that legendary Thunder Emperor. He can use spirit magic, tame magical beasts, who is the Night Princess? What is the blessing of the moon? As you can imagine, I'm starting to lose my shit."
"The one we haven't been able to identify yet is that woman. The woman with the same hair as Ren's is the Night Princess? What is the Night Princess?"
No one can answer Heinz's question. Even Lang, who had a vague idea of what he was talking about, did not want to say anything.
"In other words, that man's hidden power is far beyond our imagination, and we allowed a man with such power to become the king of that Nord Federation country. It was a complete blunder."
Even if they don't know the other two, they know enough to know Ren's threat. Princess Milianea is somewhat thrown by the situation. She remembered that she had failed to take advantage of Lang's advice and that Ren had criticized her for it.
"So tell me about his off-board abilities."
"Why is that?"
"If he's a hero, his personal combat power is important. But he's trying to become a king. If he becomes a king, he'll need other abilities than his personal prowess."
"...Right. We will provide that. Lang, explain."
"Yes. First of all, please be aware that what I am about to tell you has no proof and will probably be difficult to back up with any further evidence."
Like Prince Albert, Lang started with a preface.
"I don't mind"
"Yes, I don't care either."
"Let me explain. Ren-dono’s greatest ability is his ability to collect information and analyze it. And I believe it is in the ability to plan strategies based on that."
"You say frightening things. Are you saying that he already has the skills of a prime minister?"
"No, it's an ability as a king."
Lang replied without hesitation. Lang's evaluation of Ren is not at the level of the prime minister.
"...I see, you were the prime minister."
"That's irrelevant now. I'll continue. That ability was demonstrated during an escort mission from an attack by the Anti-Hero Alliance. All he had to do was obtain information about the attack from somewhere, analyze it, and prevent the attack. In the end, he was able to grasp a considerable part of the overall structure of the Anti-Hero Alliance."
"The overall structure of the Anti-Hero Alliance? That information hasn't reached our country."
"That's right. Ren-dono hasn't told the church or the guild about it."
"...How do you know he was aware of it?"
Information that has not been passed down to the church or the guild. The Izrim Magic Kingdom has obtained it. Even though it was late, Prince Albert realized the ability to gather information of the Izrim Magic Kingdom, or rather Lang, toward Ren.
"Since the monastery collapsed, Ren-dono has been in contact with the remnants of the Anti-Hero Alliance."
"How do you know this?"
"I am speculating on this. I base my guess on the subsequent events in the church and the way the church has conducted itself since then."
"...No way?"
"I believe it was a usurpation by the Anti-Hero Alliance that existed within the Church. Ah, His Eminence the Pope is a decoration. It seems not so now, but immediately after the usurpation, the real power was in the hands of those who were thought to be the Anti-Hero Alliance."
Information held only by the Izrim Magic Kingdom. It was revealed here. It is of little importance now, and it was the result of a decision to prioritize the cooperation of the three kingdoms over it.
"Ren Takashiro has the real power of the church?"
"No, it's not. He was probably involved in the planning process. I haven't seen any interference with the church since then. Not at all, but very little."
"Is that it?"
The change in the bidding process at the ceremony for the selection of heroes. In hindsight, they know that it was intended to expose the fraud of the guild leader. Even if that was not the only reason, there is no doubt that there was some intention.
"But why would Ren Takashiro do such a thing?"
"...I don't have the answer to that. All I know is that Kazuki-dono's death triggered a change in his behavior."
"That name again? Who is that Kazuki?"
"I think you know more about that than I do, Manami-dono."
"Then, can you tell us?"
Prince Albert's gaze turns to Manami. While avoiding his stern gaze, Manami slowly began to speak.
"I think Kazuki is Ren’s only companion, someone who understands him."
"What do you mean by [someone who understands]?"
"The one thing they have in common is that they both hated to live. They both hated the world."
"A dark similarity. How did you come to think that?"
"I can't talk about it. I don't even want to think about Kazuki."
Manami doesn't feel like talking about what happened to Kazuki. It's not something she can talk about lightly.
"I see... Well, I knew that she was an important person. That woman was, I believe..."
"She was killed by a classmate while protecting children during an incident at the monastery. Ren hates not only the world but us too."
"My feelings are getting heavy. If that's what triggered it..."
"Revenge. What Ren is trying to do is revenge."
"But what does that have to do with the church and being king?"
"He's going to kill us and that's it. Ren is not that kind. If Ren is going to get revenge...... it's going to be against this world."
"…………"
As expected, even Crown Prince Albert could not immediately open his mouth to Manami's outlandish explanation. He can clearly imagine world domination in his mind. But what does revenge against the world mean? He could only imagine a bloody scene.
"In other words, our country is also an enemy. To fight a country, you need a country. That's why he's trying to become king."
Perhaps it is a difference in the mentality of men and women, but Princess Milianea is always the first to recover in such situations.
"Is it possible? In the event of a war, he has to become a king in the true sense, not just in name. I don't think he can become a true king in the current situation, and in that Nord Federation country."
Heinz has denied Princess Milianea's ideas, or rather Ren's methods.
"I'm sorry. I only know the Nord Federation as the country that triggered the last great war. What does that Nord Federation mean?"
"I don't know that much about it myself."
"I will talk about that. As the crown prince, I know more about other countries than you do."
Prince Albert has offered to explain the Nord Federation himself. This is the place where they can think about it by bringing the maximum amount of information from each of them. That is what Crown Prince Albert thinks.
"Yes. Then, I would like to hear your evaluation of our country."
"Shall I tell you?"
"Stop. Lately, I've been afraid to ask about the reputation of my country."
"That's that. I'd better not mention it. Then let's talk about the Nord Federation. But where do I start? ......First of all, why is the Nord Federation called a Federation?"
"It was forced to change, right?"
Even Princess Milianea knows that it was originally the Nord Empire. But that's not what Prince Albert wants to say.
"That's true, but the Nords when they were an empire were also a collection of several states. It's the same as the Lemberg Empire before unification. The situation is even worse."
"Worse?"
"The Nords are in the northern part of the continent. Most of the land is mountainous and there is little land where people can live. However, the other lands are not completely uninhabited. There are beings who do not want to get involved with the human race."
"Demons"
"Yeah. There are many races, each of which builds settlements and cities to live in. There are very few races that recognize a human king. We call it a federation, but we don't think of it as a single country."
For demons, the tribe is the country. The humans living within the Nord are also seen as one tribe. Naturally, they have no awareness that they are a tribe.
"What about the imperial period?"
"At that time, the whole land was not subdued. But even then, the humans were powerful in their own way, so they were allowed to do so."
"You mean that is not the case now?"
"That's right. The people are the ones who start the wars. Therefore, after the war, various interventions have been made to prevent the human race from expanding its power in Nord. The easiest way to understand this is to limit the amount of trade. The land of the Nords is a dry land. Without the ability to import food, the people will have to struggle just to survive."
"That's a lie. In fact, they can't even live, can they? It's not a trade restriction, it's a population restriction."
If you put import restrictions on a country that cannot feed itself, its people will starve to death. If they know this and are imposing restrictions, then Princess Milianea is right.
"......It is a harsh thing to say. But you are right. It is the neighboring Saint Miriam Kingdom that controls the volume of trade. Saint Miriam's resentment against the Nords runs deep."
"I know that. Because the country was destroyed once, right?"
"I think they deserved it, if I may say so."
Prince Albert sees things differently because he knows more.
"Is that so?"
"Saint Miriam's coldness toward the Nord began before the Great War. The people of Saint Miriam, who have a reasonably rich land, live comfortably next to the people of Nord, who are forced to live a hard life, growing only a few agricultural products on a small amount of land under cultivation."
"A war out of jealousy?"
"I wouldn't say they deserved it, if that's the extent of it. There were many who crossed the border in search of rich lands, but Saint Miriam did not accept any of them. Many were killed, I heard. Even if there was a surplus of food in a given year, they would not send it to Nord. In the worst cases, they burned them near the border as if they were harassing them."
"...I wonder how that would work?"
Why would they want to harass people in such an insane way? Princess Milianea could not understand it at all.
"In order to survive, the Nord had no choice but to steal their land. That is the main reason for the outbreak of the war."
If the neighboring country, the Saint Miriam Kingdom, had shown kindness, the war might not have occurred. This is why Prince Albert thinks they deserve it.
"But that's not what I was taught."
"The facts were twisted by the intention of the Saint Miriam Kingdom. Saint Miriam, who has won battles in various places, and Nord, a defeated country. Naturally, consideration is given to Saint Miriam."
History can be rewritten in favor of the winner. It's not uncommon to fabricate facts and push all the blame on the loser.
"Ren Takashiro will go to that country as king. This is no way to get revenge."
"Do you think so?"
"He must be recognized as king in the true sense of the word. I can't think of a way to do this. Even if he could, it would be difficult to unify the country. He would have to make the country rich enough to fight a war. How long would it take to expand the country from there?”
"Surely, if we had that much time, things would be over."
If they start moving at the same time, the conquest of the continent by the Luine Kingdom will be finished first. The Crown Prince Albert is saying that.
"I don't know what the outcome will be, though."
There was no way that the strong-willed Princess Milianea would agree to it.
"We didn't get together to quarrel. I mean, what do you think of Ren?"
In that case, it will inevitably be Heinz to get in between.
"I'll have to wait and see. I'm not going to let him out of my sight."
"Well, that's the way it's going to be for a while."
"So you're okay with that?"
"They can only be recognized as a war partner if they can reach the point of domestic unification. For my part, I would like to see it reach that level."
"That's a bold move."
"No, when it comes down to it, I'm not going to let my guard down. But if we are going to fight, I just want them to be worth fighting for."
"That's what I call bullish."
Ren's future is too difficult, and the sense of crisis he felt at first has faded somewhat. Besides, they have forgotten. They themselves are not even at the starting line. They don't realize that Ren doesn't see them as enemies yet.
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