by Dojyomaru
“Even so, there’s no telling how long that will last,” Colbert protested.
“Bwahaha! There’s no need for concern. The Georg Carmine will be launching the rebellion. That young pup of a king will have no easy time subjugating him, I’m sure. Civil wars drag on for a long time. It will be the same even if Georg wins. If a traitor rises to the top, there’s no way the country will stand united!”
Colbert bit his lip in frustration. Is that the reason His Highness is acting so boldly?!
Because it was Georg Carmine, one of the three dukes, and the one who was famous for being a fierce general, who was raising the flag of rebellion against Souma, that was likely pushing Gaius to act.
The truth was, there was no guarantee that an opportunity like this would ever come along again. Gaius was already 50 years old, by no means a young man. He didn’t want to let this ideal chance pass by while he was still fit to stand at the head of an army and give orders.
However... It’s too optimistic to think that way! Colbert thought stubbornly.
“Please, listen to me, Your Highness!” he burst out. “If you invade Elfrieden, our country will be exposed to criticism from all of the other countries! We’ve signed the Empire’s Declaration of Mankind’s Common Front Against the Demon Race!”
“...The Mankind Declaration, is it?” Here, for the first time, Gaius had a strained look.
Led by the Gran Chaos Empire, the Declaration of Mankind’s Common Front Against the Demon Race (also known as the Mankind Declaration) referred to a declaration and resultant international treaty backed by the largest, most powerful empire on the continent. It stated that, in light of the expansion of the Demon Lord’s Domain, all conflicts between mankind were to cease. And, in order to prevent the monsters and demons from advancing any further south, all of mankind were to work as one and cooperate.
The essentials of the Mankind Declaration were given in these three articles:
First, the acquisition of territory by force between the nations of mankind would be deemed inadmissible.
Second, the right of all peoples to equality and self-determination would be respected.
Third, countries that were distant from the Demon Lord’s Domain would provide support to those nations which were adjacent to it and were acting as a defensive wall.
The second of these had been adopted to protect minority races in each country. Given that the acquisition of territory by force was inadmissible, some countries might have otherwise expelled or oppressed their minority races to try to seize their wealth for themselves. It was an extra provision that had been added in caution against that.
Furthermore, though not explicitly outlined in the text, if any country violated these three articles, the Empire, as leader of the pact, would intervene militarily.
To put it simply, this Mankind Declaration was a security treaty in which countries gave up the right to invade other nations in exchange for protection from the Empire.
Colbert pleaded: “If we invade Elfrieden, we may be inviting an intervention by the Empire! Sire, I beg of you, please, reconsider!”
“You cur!” Gaius brought his hand to the hilt of the sword hanging at his hip.
Just as everyone present was sure the man was about to be slain, someone slipped between Gaius and Colbert.
“Sir Colbert, there should be no worry of that.”
The one who had interposed himself between the two of them was the crown prince, Julius Amidonia. His cold eyes, which betrayed no emotion, were fixed on Colbert. “That is because Elfrieden has not signed the Mankind Declaration.”
“Julius... sir,” Colbert said, “that’s a specious argument! We would be taking protection under the Mankind Declaration, while at the same time attacking a country that has not yet ratified it. If we do that, it would be like kicking mud in the face of the Empire!”
“However, in diplomacy, only the treaties that have been signed are important,” Julius said coldly. “This has all been brought about by the stubborn foolishness of Elfrieden in not supporting the sublime ideals of the Empire. Surely the Empire can find no fault with us for it.”
“But...”
“Enough!” Gaius withdrew his hand from his sword’s hilt, turning to address the gathered commanders. “I hereby dismiss Colbert from his position as Minister of Finance.”
“Sire!” Colbert cried.
“Colbert, I am placing you under house arrest for the time being,” the king snapped. “You are to watch from the sidelines. Watch as we reclaim the land of our forefathers.”
With those words, Gaius led his commanders out of the audience hall without sparing so much as another glance at Colbert. Colbert stayed there for a time, biting his lip, but eventually he punched the carpet in anger, rising to his feet and confronting Julius, who had remained behind.
“Julius! Is this really... really the only path?!” he shouted.
Colbert spoke more freely, unlike when he had stood before Gaius. Partially because they were around the same age, despite their positions as crown prince and vassal, Julius and Colbert were close enough to be called friends.
In a cold tone, Julius said to Colbert, “He’s right that it’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance. In addition to Georg Carmine, there are many nobles who have secret ties to our country. If we coordinate with them, we should be able to slice off some land in the south for ourselves.”
“But, if we lose, it could mean the death of our country,” Colbert said.
“However, on the other hand, if we miss this chance, we may never be able to regain our territory. If, as you’ve said, the new king is working to enrich his country, doesn’t that mean the gap will only widen if we let this chance slip by?”
It was clear that Julius looked at the situation through calmer, more rational eyes than Gaius. Even so, his decision remained unchanged.
“It is the long-held wish of the Princely House of Amidonia to reclaim the lands we have lost and to exact our revenge,” Julius continued. “No, it’s not only the Princely House: the soldiers and the people hold that wish, as well.”
“That’s...”
That’s because you’ve shown them no other option! Colbert wanted to say that, but... he couldn’t. To do so would be to overstep his bounds as a vassal.
As Colbert cast his eyes downwards, at a loss for words, Julius placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Please, just stay quiet for now, Colbert. I rate your abilities quite highly. For my own sake, as the one who will someday rule this land, I would rather not lose you to Father’s short temper.”
“Julius...”
Colbert looked at him with clinging eyes, but Julius didn’t return the emotion.
Some hours later, as the dejected Colbert dragged his feet through the corridors of the princely castle, a young girl with an adorable face poked her head out from behind one of the marble pillars.
“Hey there, Mr. Colbert. What are you lookin’ so glum for?”
“Princess?! Um, that’s, well...”
The one who had stepped out from behind the pillar was Roroa Amidonia, the first princess of this country. Colbert panicked a little as he realized he’d let Roroa see him feeling down.
Roroa had had a good sense for economics from a young age and, as she’d grown up, she’d come to hang around with the owners of large businesses and the bureaucrats of the Finance Ministry increasingly often. For Colbert, who was Minister of Finance, Roroa was a compatriot who understood the ins and out of the economy. She was also something akin to a needy little sister.
“Lookin’ at that face... you tried to talk some sense into my old man for me, didn’t ya?” Roroa asked apologetically, looking at the bruises on Colbert’s face.
“Huh? Ah, no... These are, uh...”
“No need to hide it,” she said. “Sorry about my idiot father. Good grief... If he’s pushin’ away vassals who’re tryin’ to give him solid advice, he’s leadin’ this country straight down the road to ruin. Honestly, what is
he thinkin’?”
While saying things others would have been too terrified to, Roroa made a big show of how angry she was. Colbert was satisfied just to see Roroa looking like that on his behalf.
“Thank you, princess,” he said. “I’ll be fine.”
“You will? Well then, get yourself ready.”
“Huh...? Get myself ready for what?”
Unable to keep up with this sudden turn in the conversation, Colbert blinked repeatedly.
Roroa waved her hand at him with a laugh. “The old man just gave ya all the free time in the world, so you’ve got nothin’ to do, right? Well, maybe you can help me out with what I’m doin’, then. I’ve already talked to all the bureaucrats who seemed amenable to it, but I could still use more people to help, after all.”
“Huh? Um, princess? Just what are you planning to do?”
“That’s obvious,” she said. “We’re all gonna disappear together. Sebastian’s movin’ forward with the plans, but for now I think we’ll go stay with Uncle Herman in Nelva.”
“Huh? Whaaaaaa?!” he exclaimed.
Roroa grabbed him by the sleeve and walked off quickly, dragging Colbert behind her.
Some days later, at the same time as Gaius VIII and Julius departed from Van, there was an incident where Princess Roroa and a number of bureaucrats vanished.
It was an incident that ought to have caused a big stir, but it was craftily covered up by Roroa, and neither Gaius or Julius ever noticed it.
◇ ◇ ◇
It was the Royal Capital Parnam, late September, the 1,546th year of the Continental Calendar, in the royal palace of the Elfrieden Kingdom, Parnam Castle.
In the governmental affairs office, I was listening to reports from Poncho and Tomoe.
First, I heard from Poncho.
Until just the other day, his title had been Minister of State for the Food Crisis, but with that issue now resolved, I had made him the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry. In addition to agriculture, forestry, and management of military provisions, I also had him overseeing the construction of terraced rice fields and other projects that would establish new crops in this country.
By the way, the reason he was not also in charge of fisheries was that this country did not manage fishing rights. The various fishermen’s guilds each had their own zones, to a degree, but all that the country did was receive taxes from the guilds in exchange for protecting their rights.
Eventually, I wanted to set up something for that, but it would likely have to wait until I had the navy under my control. In order for the country to guarantee the rights of fishermen, we were going to need something like a Maritime Safety Agency. If we tried to force obligations onto the fishermen without any protections, they wouldn’t obediently go along with that.
It looks like I’d gotten off-topic, huh?
I asked Poncho a question. “How are things going with the supplies (military provisions and cavalry horse fodder) that I asked you about?”
“All right. Somehow I managed to procure them, but...” Poncho sounded awfully non-committal, especially considering he was saying he’d managed to get the supplies ready.
“Is something the matter?” I asked.
“No... I was just worried whether these numbers were correct,” Poncho said, wiping the sweat from his brow. “The supply totals you requested could easily support the Forbidden Army for over a month, you see... It wasn’t easy to gather them, so if the numbers were in error, it will mean we’ve taken massive losses, yes.”
Ah, that made sense. When he looked at the numbers I could currently mobilize from the Forbidden Army, he worried that the amount of supplies was too high. There were only around 10,000 men, after all.
“It’s not a problem,” I said. “We do actually need all those supplies. In fact, you could even say that this massive stock of supplies is what will decide whether we win or lose.”
“I-It is?” he stammered. “...It’s a good thing that we had such an abundant harvest this year. If you had asked me last year or before that, I wouldn’t have been able to gather this quantity.”
“Yeah,” I said. “Though this is the fruit of everyone’s hard work. Of course, that means it’s thanks to you, too, Poncho.”
“Y-You are too kind, yes!” Poncho, humbled by the sudden praise, stood up so straight, it looked he might bend over backwards.
I gave a wry laugh at his behavior, then shifted my gaze to Tomoe. “How have things been on your end, Tomoe?” I asked.
“R-Right. I think I have another five rhinosauruses that will help us.”
Because Tomoe was gifted with the ability to understand animals and monsters, I had sent her to “recruit” some of the giant lizards, rhinosauruses, that we used during our mission to provide relief to the God-Protected Forest.
Their ability to haul cargo, as I had seen during the road construction, was truly amazing. I wanted to increase the number of them held by the Forbidden Army, but because they were living creatures, it took quite some time to train a rhinosaurus. Still, if we tried to deploy them without substantial training, if the worst were to happen and they went berserk, their bodies were huge. They could do a lot of damage.
That made this a job for Tomoe, who could understand the languages of all living creatures. Tomoe could listen to requests from the rhinosauruses.
Mind you, it seemed rhinosauruses weren’t all that smart (maybe on the same level as stegosauruses, which they say had brains the size of a chicken egg?), so their requests usually amounted to “tasty food” and “a place to breed safely.”
In order to accomplish that, I had ended up creating a rhinosaurus preserve in the kingdom, but it was a small price to pay for a long-distance, high-speed means of shipping, roughly equivalent to a train, that would be loyal and require no training.
“M-Madam Tomoe’s ability truly is incredible, yes,” Poncho said.
“It sure is,” I agreed. “I’m glad I was able to take her under my protection before she fell into the hands of some other country.”
“Y-You’re flattering me.” Tomoe turned a bright red and looked down in embarrassment.
The doors to the governmental affairs office opened, and Liscia walked in. “Souma...”
There’s something troubled in her expression, I thought. ...I’m a little worried.
“...Poncho, Tomoe,” I said. “Could I ask you to leave us alone for a moment?”
“Y-Yes, you can, yes.”
“O-Okay, Big Brother...”
With a bow, they headed out of the governmental affairs office, leaving me and Liscia alone in the room.
We were both silent for a moment, but then I rose from my seat and moved over to the bed in the corner. Then, sitting down on the bed, I motioned for Liscia to come over to my side.
Liscia sat down next to me, like I’d asked. Sitting on my own bed, a beautiful girl at my side, this should have been a lovely situation, but the atmosphere was heavy and oppressive.
“...You came because you needed to talk about something, right?” I asked Liscia, unable to bear the silence any longer.
Liscia seemed to resolve herself and began to speak, the words coming out slowly. “In the castle town... there are rumors that you’re raising an army against the three dukes.”
I said nothing.
“They say a clash with Duke Carmine is inevitable.” Liscia turned to face me. Her eyes were quivering with uncertainty.
...I could hardly blame her. For Liscia, I was her king and fiancé, while General Georg Carmine had been her superior during her time in the army, and she respected him. If the two of us came into conflict, Liscia would feel like she was being crushed from both sides. In order to avoid that, I knew she had sent a number of letters to Georg, who was secluding himself in his own territory, asking that he meet with me.
“Is... Is there nothing else you can do?” she stammered.
When she asked me that with those quivering eyes, I wanted to say something, but...
>
Unable to find the words, I could only nod in silence.
Seeing my reaction, Liscia murmured, “Right... Of course...”
With just those words, she faced forward and her shoulders slumped.
It was frustrating. Having to take this route, even though I knew it would hurt Liscia. This had gone far enough that neither Georg or I could back down. In that case... At the very least...
“...Liscia.”
“...What?”
“I want you to tell me about Georg Carmine,” I said.
“?!”
Liscia raised her face and looked at me.
“...Why now, when it’s this late?”
“I want to know what kind of person the man I’m going to fight is,” I said. “Now that I think about it, I’ve never met the guy, after all.”
Liscia was silent for a moment. She seemed a little bewildered, but in time, she began to talk.
“Duke Carmine... Georg Carmine is a warrior of unprecedented ability. He’s a burly lion-headed beastman, and while he has no small amount of personal ability in combat, they say it’s when you put him in charge of an army that he shows his true value. He is a great general, able to handle himself in a field of battle, or as the attacker or defender in a siege. When he led the vanguard during a retreating battle under the man who was king before my father, I hear that he managed to take the head of the enemy commander, even in that losing battle.”
“That’s pretty amazing, huh...” I said.
You’re doing well if you can just keep ally losses to a minimum during a retreat, but to go and deal a blow to the enemy, as well—that was like something a famous general from the Warring States Period would have done. It reminded me of the young Shingen Takeda, who had run ahead of his father Nobutora’s retreating army to seize a castle in a surprise attack.
“You’re darn right it’s amazing,” she said. “Not only did he have the leadership to keep up the morale of a defeated army, but it was also a feat he couldn’t have pulled off without the perception to locate a spot where they could meet the enemy efficiently.”