The Princess of War

by Hyougetsu

  After mumbling like that for a few minutes, Kite suddenly shouted, “Lord Ryukaitos!?”

  Oho, so the mastermind is a man called Ryukaitos? I’ll keep that in mind. Kite looked worriedly up at me and wiped a bead of sweat off his brow.

  “I-I saw this knife’s history. A member of the Senate was undoubtedly involved, but... this simply cannot be!”

  “If you’re a mage, then you know it’s impossible to fabricate the past. What you saw is all true. Isn’t the epoch mage motto ‘The past may be unclear, but it never lies.’?”

  Kite nervously responded, “Wait, why do you know that? Just who are you!?”

  Finally thought to ask, huh? Now was my chance to introduce myself. I flashed Kite a reassuring smile and said, “My name is Veight. I am Viceroy Shatina’s guardian and a member of the Meraldian Commonwealth Council. I also happen to be the Demon Lord’s Vice-Commander.”

  Since this guy seemed like the doubting type, I transformed to prove it to him. When he saw me turn into a werewolf, Kite paled.

  “Y-You’re... Lord Veight!?”

  The knife fell from his fingers and clattered to the floor.

  * * * *

  —Investigator Kite’s Inner Turmoil—

  This can’t be. This has to be a nightmare. The legendary werewolf, the scourge of the north, is standing before me. He’s the one person I didn’t want to run into. I can’t believe this. As an epoch mage, my primary duties are reconstructing the past. Which in turn means I often handle sensitive information for the Senate. Naturally, I’ve also learned what secrets not to poke my nose into. I know what happens to overly inquisitive epoch mages.

  Unfortunately, my willful ignorance has backfired on me. I originally thought Viceroy Shatina’s tutor was a calm, rational, and quiet man. I assumed he was just an aide, and failed to realize what kind of monster he was. It wasn’t until he grinned and transformed that I realized my folly.

  If he was just some random werewolf, that wouldn’t be too bad. But no, this is the black-furred lord of Ryunheit. The one they call the Demon Lord’s spokesman, the most dangerous demon of them all. I’m a fool. An absolute fool. This evil demon no doubt enjoyed hearing me spill secrets I shouldn’t have.

  The Senate’s plan to turn the demon army and the southern viceroys against each other has failed spectacularly. To be honest, I always thought such a simple-minded plan couldn’t ever work, and I wanted no part of it. But orders are orders. As a loyal servant of the Senate, I had no choice but to obey. But now the demons know everything about our plan. I’m a complete moron. Almost as much of a moron as my superiors.

  I’m going to be killed, aren’t I? This monster supposedly caught stones thrown by a catapult in midair. There’s no way I can escape someone like him. My epoch magic was able to see what was going on around the knife up until the moment its owner died. He’d challenged Veight to a fight, and the next moment his head had gone flying. He hadn’t even realized he’d been killed. A plain, untrained human like me won’t even last a second.

  Dammit, why does this always happen? Why do I always get betrayed by my choices? No matter how hard I try, no matter how much effort I put in, I never get rewarded for it. I kept my head down, let those Senate windbags belittle me, and worked hard at my job. But in the end, I was just used by those morons for years. And now I’ve failed in my mission and am about to be killed. Why is this happening to me?

  The werewolf in front of me’s baring his fangs, his jet-black fur looking like it was cut straight out of hell’s own sky. His massive pool of mana is swirling around him. So this the King of Werewolves, the Sable Lord. His mere presence is so terrifying I’m getting dizzy. He single-handedly slaughtered an army of 400, defeated another numbering 2,000, and even killed the Hero. He’s death incarnate. Now that I’ve seen him up close, I’m even willing to believe the rumors that he destroyed Thuvan’s walls with a single punch.

  It might be strange to say this, but I’m actually in awe. If he’s this imposing, it’s little wonder he’s won every fight. He’s a godlike tyrant, an invincible destroyer. And he’s smiling. Smiling at me. That smile’s telling me he can kill me whenever he wants, and there’s nothing I can do about it. Fine, laugh all you want at me. I’m just a failure who deserves no better anyway. A chump who hates the Senate, but can’t stop working for them. But there’s one thing I can’t stand. I don’t want to die as a fool, as some pawn of the Senate. If I’m going to die here, I’m dying on my own terms. Fuck the Senate.

  * * * *

  It was only when Kite paled and fell silent that I realized I might have overdone it a little. Look, I know werewolves are scary, but surely you could tell from our earlier conversation that I’m not going to hurt you? I mean, I know the Senate views werewolves differently than the viceroys do, but I’m just sitting here despite the fact that you guys clearly hate me. If I was gonna attack, I would have. However, Kite just glared at me and shouted, “If you’re going to kill me, then get it over with! Stop grinning at me, you monster!”

  It seemed I’d made him mad.

  “Not like killing a small fry like me will achieve anything! I’m just a lowly dog of the Senate!”

  What the heck’s he on about? For some reason, he seemed to think I was going to kill him. Normally I would have hurried to correct the misunderstanding, but he was spilling a lot of useful intel, so I decided to let him finish his tirade first. It might have been mean of me, but I needed information badly.

  “A lowly dog of the Senate, you say?”

  “That’s right! I’m a worthless mutt who willingly put on their collar for the meager scraps they see fit to give me!”

  Kite’s job seemed to be stressing him out quite a bit. Though I sympathized with his plight, I hardened my heart and continued acting the part of the merciless werewolf warlord.

  “Hahaha! So you’re just an obedient little puppy, is that it!?”

  “Shut up! I’m tired of doing their bidding!”

  “I thought dogs were supposed to be loyal? Must be some awful masters you have if you hate them that much.”

  “Oh, they’re awful alright! But us mages have to bow down to them if we want to survive! Even though they’re a bunch of conniving, backstabbing bastards!”

  That reminds me, Lacy said she learned magic at a Senate-sponsored academy, didn’t she? I’m pretty sure she also mentioned that unless you graduate from there, no one in the north will trust your abilities as a mage, so it’s impossible to find work without attending. Because of how high the tuition is, most people who attend need to take out loans to pay for it. Then once they’re in debt, they have to work for the Senate to pay them off. It was a predatory system, but it made sure the Senate had control of most of the skilled mages in the north. How crafty.

  Since I wanted more information out of Kite, I decided to rile him up a little.

  “You sure talk big for a mere errand boy. For all your complaints, you’re still nothing more than the Senate’s messenger.”

  “Yeah, so what!? No matter how hard I try, no matter how many results I bring in, I’ll never be a Senator! I’m too much of a commoner! The best I can ever hope to reach is chief of the magic department!”

  I’d heard Senate positions tended to be inherited, and Kite’s ramblings proved it.

  “So even though you have no hope of advancement, you continue to cling to the Senate. But despite doing so of your own free will, you complain about your choice. Pathetic.”

  “Screw you! If it wasn’t for my loans, I would have quit this shitty job years ago...” Kite trailed off. “Dammit!”

  Quitting a government post took a lot of resolve for humans. Unlike us demons who lived on the spur of the moment, they were always fretting about the future. And while government posts had their fair share of problems, they were secure jobs. It seemed Kite’s anger had petered out, so I decided to change tack.

  “If you lack the resolve to abandon your post, then you shouldn’t badmouth your employer so. T
hey’re the ones who pay you, you know.”

  “What of it!? Those bastards at the top treat us like replaceable pawns! And there’s always more chumps willing to sign up!”

  My words worked him up again, and this time Kite didn’t stop.

  “They’ll send us wherever, even if it’s a battlefield, or enemy territory! They don’t give a shit whether we live or die! And even the tasks they assign us are all pointless and inefficient! We’re risking our lives for nothing!” Kite slammed his palms down onto the table and hung his head. “Goddammit, at least give me work that matters... I just want to be treated like a human being...”

  Kite’s words reminded me of my life before I was reincarnated. I was in a very similar situation. In fact, I remembered muttering the exact same things Kite was the night before I died. What happened after that, though? I can’t remember. Without any recollection of how I’d died, I’d found myself in this world.

  Now, I was facing someone going through the same hell I had. I guess even in this world, people have the same troubles. It makes sense though, these guys are just as human. While the finer details might be a little different, human society was the same in every world. In fact, I might have been fortunate to have been reborn as a werewolf instead.

  I definitely sympathized with Kite’s plight. Unfortunately, I was a member of the demon army, and he an employee of the Senate. We were enemies. Even if I sympathized with him, I couldn’t lend him a helping hand. I had my responsibilities as vice-commander to consider. That being said, if helping him also served my interests, then there would be no conflict of interest. And I’d just come up with the perfect scheme.

  In the most villainous voice I could muster, I said, “Do you despise the Senate?”

  “Of course I do... I hate this life they’ve reduced me to... Every night I go to sleep dreading the next morning...”

  Are you me? Sleeping meant waking up to another day of work. But staying up just made the next day even harder. Alright, this evil werewolf will help make sure you never have another depressing morning again.

  “Then will you help me destroy them?”

  Kite looked up at me in shock.

  “Wh-What? You’re not going to kill me?”

  I grinned wickedly.

  “What merit is there in killing you? Now stop asking foolish questions and answer me.”

  Still transformed, I bore down on Kite. He backed up a few steps, but the wall prevented him from retreating any further. I leaned down and asked again, “Tell me. Do you want to help me destroy them?”

  Kite’s face was pale. He was clearly conflicted. However, that’s exactly what I was hoping for. If he was someone who’d turn traitor without a second thought, then I wouldn’t be able to trust him either. Still, I think one more push should do the trick.

  “You’re supposed to be the Senate’s loyal dog. I’m sure you realize how cowardly a betrayal it would be to turn to your enemy and bite the hand that feeds you.”

  My provocative words helped Kite make up his mind.

  “Yeah... Yeah, you’re right.”

  He smiled viciously. Of all the expressions I’d seen from him thus far, I liked this one the most. Sweat dripping down his forehead, Kite nodded.

  “But I’ll do it. I’ll betray them all.”

  “Know that you’re making a deal with the devil here. If you become my spy, I’ll work you to the bone. Are you prepared?”

  Kite’s smile grew bigger.

  “Oh yes. I’ll give you my life if I have to. But in return, lend me your strength. Help me break free from this worthless existence.”

  I smelled no falsehood from his sweat. Alright, I’ve got myself a spy. Though he seemed a little mentally unstable, he’d definitely be a great help. I returned to my human form and declared, “Very well. As you wish, I’ll destroy the Senate. So tell me everything you know. And once the Senate is no more...”

  Kite stiffened up nervously.

  “You’ll... kill me?”

  Why would I do that? I shook my head and tried to smile as reassuringly as possible.

  “We’ll go out for dinner. My treat. There’s a restaurant that’s opened in Ryunheit recently that serves Beluzan cuisine. It’s a rather strange restaurant, but the food’s delicious.”

  Kite looked at me blankly for a few seconds, then collapsed onto the ground and started sobbing.

  “Oi, what’s wrong?”

  “It’s... nothing... D-Don’t worry about it...”

  Kite rubbed his eyes with his sleeve, but the tears didn’t stop. This guy’s emotions are all kinda extreme. He must have been holding in a lot of stress if the relief of quitting brought him to tears. I wonder who asked such an emotional man to be a diplomat. Well, I guess I can ask him since he’s on our side now.

  Thanks to Kite, I was able to learn a lot more detailed information on the Senate.

  “Wow, those guys really are awful...”

  According to him, the first mission he’d been tasked with was recovering the sword of Sir Volsaav, who’d died in battle. And while he was at it, scope out the current state of Zaria. Meraldian custom dictated that warriors who died in single combat be afforded the highest honors. Which was why the Senate had thought there would be a good chance I’d return the sword to honor him.

  Either way, his mission had been to get back the sword and to gather as much information about Zaria as he could. However, the mission had been a trap meant to get him killed.

  The sword Volsaav had used was a family heirloom of Krauhen’s viceroy. The Senate had gone through great trouble to convince Krauhen to let them borrow it, and they would be in hot water if they couldn’t return it. So they’d panicked, and sent Kite over to get it back no matter the cost.

  But some of the Senators had actually found the current situation fortuitous. The ones who’d argued against borrowing Krauhen’s sword saw this as an opportunity to increase their influence. Those Senators had told Kite, “It doesn’t matter if you get the sword back or not, but gather as much information as you can about Zaria’s situation.” This was just conjecture, but it seemed to me that those Senators were the part of the faction that had been against assassinating the viceroy.

  There was also a third faction within the Senate. This faction wanted to dispatch another coalition army and destroy the demon army once and for all. And they were the ones who’d convinced the others to send Kite to negotiate instead of a trained diplomat. Their goal had been to get the negotiations to fall apart. As far as they were concerned, the return of a single sword wasn’t worth owing the Southern Commonwealth a debt. Furthermore, if I’d killed their messenger, they would have been able to showcase that incident as proof of my brutality and drum up popular support to raise another army.

  So in the end, the plan had looked something like “Negotiate for the return of Volsaav’s sword and investigate the state of affairs in Zaria, but make sure not to send an actual diplomat to do so.” While that seemed like a rather odd plan, it was the one the Senate officially passed. I could see why the people working for the Senate had little respect for it.

  Negotiations with enemy powers required charisma, knowledge, and extensive diplomatic training. But since the Senate had decided not to use a diplomat, they couldn’t send anyone meeting those criteria. So instead, they’d decided to send someone specializing in investigation. Magic required knowledge and intelligence to master, so the Senators had figured a mage would be the next best choice to send as their negotiator. Of the investigative mages working for the Senate, Kite had possessed the least number of connections, so he’d drawn the short straw. It hadn’t helped that he was the most accomplished epoch mage of the bunch.

  While a lot of those conclusions had been guesswork, the information Kite gave me, combined with the information coming in from religious pilgrims, seemed to support my hypotheses.

  “I never knew the Senate was such a disorganized group,” I said sardonically to Kite as he sipped some tea. He flopped ont
o the table and groaned, “Tell me about it. They only manage to survive because they have so much money and authority.”

  The system Meraldia’s ancestors had come up with was built on solid foundations, so all their descendants needed to do was put in the bare minimum effort to keep the system running and their rule was secure. Of course, their laxness had caused the south no end of grief.

  The state of the Senate wasn’t the only interesting information Kite gave me. Because things like the internet and television didn’t exist in this world, the Senate could control the flow of information quite well. So long as they put their official seal on any proclamation, people believed it regardless of whether it was true or not. The Senate could obfuscate the truth and spread lies with ease. And they seemed to be spreading all sorts of propaganda about how horrible the demon army was.

  For example, this was how they’d rendered the incident with Lacy: “The crafty, vicious, Black Werewolf King Veight kidnapped the Holy Priestess Mildine and subjected her to unspeakable atrocities. As a result, the poor priestess went mad and committed suicide.”

  From the looks of it, I was the main focus of the Senate’s smear campaign. Though the nickname “Black Werewolf King” did sound rather cool. It’d be nice if I could make that my official title. After Kite finished telling me that story he asked hesitantly, “Miss Lacy is alright, isn’t she?”

  “Of course she is. She’s alive and well, and currently studying under the Demon Lord Gomoviroa. She spends her days absorbed in her research. Her illusion magic has grown to a formidable level.”

  “I wish I could do that...” Kite sighed, then added, “Though that woman always did get on my nerves a little.”

  She did?

  “At any rate, Kite, how much of your investigation have you reported back to the Senate?”

  “All I’ve told them is that Zaria’s garrison seems to be keeping a close eye on the city, and that I haven’t been able to do much investigating. Mostly I’ve just corroborated the report the army gave the Senate a while back.”