by Dojyomaru
Yeah, that’s another line I wanted to use. Wait, Aisha’s saying it?!
“You stand in the presence of the (provisional) 14th King of Elfrieden, His Majesty Souma!” Aisha declared.
It felt like I could hear that show’s theme music playing, but I’m sure I was imagining it.
Regardless, I gave the disappointing dark elf a light bonk on the head. “You’re too loud. We’re supposed to be incognito, remember?”
“Ah...! I-I’m sorry, sire!”
“‘Sire’...? Don’t tell me you’re the king?!” Halbert acted surprised long after he should have figured it out. He was the only one present who didn’t know by this point, so he seemed pretty slow-witted. Regardless, with him being menaced with a rapier, a claw hold, and a knife, we couldn’t have a calm discussion, so I had everyone stand down.
Fixing my gaze on the relieved Halbert, I asked him a question. “Now then, Halbert Magna, you were saying something about attacking me?”
“Th-That’s...” Halbert averted his eyes.
Oh, come on, was your determination that weak?
“Should I take that to be the will of the House of Magna as a whole?” I asked.
“Wha?! My old man’s got nothing to do with this!”
“Of course he does,” I said. “While I might be able to overlook a soldier who was just following orders, traitorous nobles must be tried under the law. They show a clear intent to rebel, after all. In those cases, the charge will be ‘treason against the state,’ you know... That’s a serious crime. At the very least, those within three degrees of consanguinity will be considered complicit in it.”
“Wha...?!” Halbert was at a loss for words. All I was doing was forcing him to face the facts, though.
“No... That’s too harsh...” Kaede tried to intervene, but I raised a hand to stop her.
“Now, let me just say, I’m not doing this because I hold a personal grudge against you,” I said. “That’s what the laws of this country dictate. Honestly, I know with long-lived races, it’s not unusual for them to have great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren around, but, even so, the range of people implicated in the crime is way too large. Personally, for a law like this which even punishes innocent young children, I’d like to reform it right away, but I have so many things to do that I just haven’t gotten around to it yet.”
He was speechless.
“Halbert Magna,” I said formally. “You were born into the House of Magna, a proper noble house. So, if you side with the Three Dukedoms, they rebel, and I win, all of your kin within three degrees of consanguinity will be executed. That’s what the law says, so there’s nothing I can do about it, right?”
It would be the law that judged him, not me. There would be no room for me to use my own discretion.
“Now, let’s consider what happens if the Three Dukedoms win,” I continued.
“Hey! Y-Yeah, that’s right! As long as we win, it’s all good!”
“In the event that happens, what will happen to her?” I placed a hand on Kaede’s shoulder.
Halbert was clearly shaken. “No, you wouldn’t dare take Kaede hostage!”
“Oh, I wouldn’t do something like that. However, she’s a member of the Forbidden Army. If the Three Dukedoms rebel, she’ll be sent to the front on ‘our side.’ In other words, she would be your enemy.” Here, I looked closely at Kaede. “By the way, what is your relationship with Halbert?”
“W-We’re childhood friends.”
“Childhood friends... I see.”
From the way they’d been talking and acting, I had seen signs of their affection for each other, but... Well, there was no reason to point it out here.
“If you’re childhood friends, you must care more for one another than you would just any other person,” I said. “And? If you join the Three Dukedoms, what do you plan to do about her?”
“What do you mean, what will I do...? About what?”
“We’re imagining that the Three Dukedoms win. In that case, I may have been struck down, and you may even have been the one to take my severed head.”
“Hah! I’d be guaranteed a promotion, then!”
“...I suppose you would,” I said. “So, what of Kaede? A cute girl like her, in the losing army. When they find out, what will the soldiers of the winning side do...? As a soldier yourself, I think you can imagine, can’t you?”
When I pointed that out, Halbert visibly turned pale. Most likely, he was imagining “that sort” of scene. After the conclusion of a war, it wasn’t uncommon to see the defeated ravaged by the victors. Looting, arson, rape, slaughter... The madness of war was in that it allowed these acts of barbarity to happen.
Even so, Halbert raised his voice, as if trying to shake off his doubts. “Duke Carmine’s forces are well-organized! They would never do something so indecent!”
“I don’t know what the situation is within the army, but Duke Carmine has more than just the regular forces in his duchy,” I said. “There are also those I stripped of their rights or investigated for corruption. Those nobles who’ve raised the flag of rebellion against me. They have nothing to lose. If they lose, death for both them and their family line awaits. So they’ll throw away their personal assets, hiring a large number of Zemish mercenaries.”
The mercenary state, Zem.
West of Amidonia and north of Turgis, it was a medium-sized country, founded by the mercenary commander Zem, who had used his wits to destroy the country which had hired him and then build his own nation of mercenaries in its place. They had declared themselves to be “eternally neutral,” but their primary industry was dispatching mercenaries to other countries, so what that really meant was, “If requested, we will dispatch mercenaries to any country.” Their mercenaries were ridiculously strong, so most countries recognized that it was better to have them as an ally than an enemy, and so they had formed mercenary contracts with them.
“That’s absurd! There are Zemish mercenaries under contract with the Forbidden Army, too! If they send mercenaries to the Three Dukedoms, as well, they’ll be fighting against their own!”
“Oh, that won’t happen,” I assured him. “I terminated their employment contract with the Forbidden Army a while ago.”
Now seems like a good time, so let me talk about the military system of this country.
This kingdom had a total manpower of around 100,000 troops. They were divided like so:
40,000 in the army, led by Duke Georg Carmine.
10,000 in the navy, led by Duchess Excel Walter.
1,000 in the air force, led by Duke Castor Vargas.
(However, one wyvern knight was said to be equivalent to 100 soldiers from the army.)
Of these, only the air force had a knightly title bestowed on every one of its members (it was composed entirely of units of wyvern knights, i.e. “1 wyvern + 1 or 2 knights,” so that was obvious), but more than half of the army and navy were made up of career soldiers. They trained day and night in the three duchies, and they received a salary from the three duchies.
You could say that the right to self-rule and the tax exemption on the profits from their lands, along with the many other special rights given to the three duchies, were there to support these troops.
Now, the remaining troops, numbering a little over 40,000, belonged to the Forbidden Army, but they were further divided beyond that.
There were the Royal Guard, who reported directly to the king, and the career soldiers who were attached to the Forbidden Army. Then there were the noble estates (which had less rights than the three duchies) and their personal forces on top of that. Also, due to our contract with the mercenary state, Zem, there had been a unit of mercenaries under the command of the Forbidden Army, as well, but I had already terminated their employment.
The reason that the Forbidden Army was smaller than the forces of the three duchies had to do with the concept behind this country.
This country had originally been born through many races working together. As a re
sult, a member of the race with the largest population, a human, became the king, but in order to protect the rights of the other races, the commanders of the army, navy, and air forces would be chosen from the other races.
So, if a tyrant took the throne and began oppressing the other races, the system had been set up so that the armies of the Three Dukedoms, being larger than the Forbidden Army, could remove him. Turning that around, if one of the Three Dukedoms was plotting to usurp the throne, the system was set up in a way that if even one of the armies were to side with the king, the rebellion could be put down.
In a peaceful era, this might have been a good setup. However, now the Demon Lord’s Domain had appeared, and these were troubled times with every country looking for openings to take advantage of. With this sort of divided command structure, it was possible that we might not be able to respond quickly enough to a sudden crisis. As a matter of fact, I was trying to move forward with reforms, but the Three Dukedoms were giving me the silent treatment.
Now, let’s get back to how I released the mercenaries from their employment contracts.
“Hold on, what do you mean you released the Zemish mercenaries from their contracts?!” Liscia shouted.
“Oh, yeah, I hadn’t told you about that yet, had I?” I smiled wryly at the fact that, rather than Halbert, it was Liscia who voiced her surprise this time. “It means exactly what it sounds like. Mercenaries are useless and just eat up money, you know.”
Machiavelli had said, “Mercenaries and mixed armies are not to be trusted.” According to him, “Mercenaries are tied to you only by their own profit; if presented with greater profit, they will easily betray you. Yet even when they fight, they protect their employer only for their own benefit, and so their loyalty is not to be expected. There is no reason to hire incapable mercenaries, and yet capable ones will always use their wits to seize their employer’s position.”
In fantasy novels and RPGs, protagonists with the mercenary job often appear, but the way the mercenary business actually worked was wildly different from the image you’ll have seen there.
Basically, they were people who made their money on the battlefield. They held no loyalty to country or prince, quickly changing sides when the balance of benefits shifted.
In a losing battle, they fled immediately. Even when victorious, they would run wild. Compared to standing armies of the same size, their upkeep might cost less, but they were a negative in the long term.
“We don’t have the money to pay useless people like that,” I explained.
“Even so, the mercenary contract was also proof of our friendly relations with Zem, you realize?!” Liscia shouted.
“True, things have become tense with them since then, but you yourself said, ‘Spend always on defense, never on tribute,’ didn’t you, Liscia? Unlike the empire, they can’t afford to invade us themselves. Paying them tribute to bide our time is pointless with them.”
The country was getting back at me by dispatching mercenaries to the Three Dukedoms, though.
I looked straight at Halbert. “Those blood-thirsty mercenaries are on the side of the Three Dukedoms. Do you think they’ll leave a girl in the defeated army like Kaede alone? While Kaede is being tormented by the mercenaries, and they’re about to kill her because they’re done with her, where will you be, and what will you be doing?”
“That’s...” Halbert hesitated.
That indecisive attitude of his got me steaming mad. “Will you be lifting my head aloft in joy?! Singing songs to celebrate your victory?! Meanwhile, your childhood friend may have been made their plaything, then left dead at the side of the road!”
“Urkh...”
When I shouted at him, Halbert’s legs seemed to give out and he had to put his hands on the table for support. He had no comeback to that, and his mouth was closed tightly. Kaede watched him worriedly.
When I saw them like that... I calmed down a little. “Halbert Magna. The path you were about to choose is a dead end. If I win, you will be executed. If the Three Dukedoms win, Kaede will... Well, she may not come out of it all right. If you’re going to make the gamble of a lifetime, at least make sure the future you want is on the betting table.”
He said nothing.
“Before you do anything rash, always think back,” I told him. “Think about what is it that you wanted, what for, and for whom? Look around you, and think about it.”
“What for... And for whom...” Halbert looked around.
His eyes met with Kaede’s, who was looking at him with concern. There were no words between them, but Halbert looked like a man released from whatever had been possessing him.
...What happens from here on is for them to decide, I thought.
“Sorry, Juna. We were getting in the way of your business, weren’t we?” I asked. “We’ll be leaving now.”
Just before we left, I went to apologize for making a scene, but Juna shook her head. “No... Sire, your words carved themselves into my heart.”
After saying that, Juna seemed to hesitate for a moment. She clearly had something to say, but was unsure whether it was okay to say it.
I waited a little while, and finally Juna looked up, her face resolute. “Sire... I have something to talk to you about.”
“Hey, Souma, there was something I wanted to ask,” Liscia said.
“Hm?”
We were inside the carriage we had called to take us back to the castle when Liscia, who was sitting beside me, asked a question.
Aisha was acting as the driver, so we were alone together in the carriage.
“About what happened earlier,” she said. “You were trying to persuade Halbert, right? When you said traitors would be judged by the law, you seemed kind of serious.”
“...Because he still hadn’t acted against me, yet. If he still does after this, I’m not going to show any mercy.”
“In the end, you’re still a nice guy, huh?” she said.
“Be kind to your allies, severe with your enemies,” I said. “That’s the kind of king people want to support. It’s not like I’m being severe because I enjoy it. The fewer enemies we have, the better.”
“Just like I thought... You’re a nice guy.” Liscia rested her head on my shoulder.
◇ ◇ ◇
—The next day.
When I was in the governmental affairs office getting some paperwork done, Hakuya came in. Then, “The head of the House of Magna, Sir Glaive Magna, has brought his son, Sir Halbert Magna, and Forbidden Army Mage Kaede Foxia, and is requesting an audience with you,” he reported to me.
...Sounds like there’s still another dispute to solve, I thought.
When I arrived in the audience chamber accompanied by Liscia and my bodyguard Aisha, there were already three people there kneeling. In front of the other two with his head lowered was a middle-aged man with salt and pepper hair. In his armor, he truly looked like a warrior who had seen many battles. Behind him were Kaede Foxia and Halbert Magna, who I had met the day before. That being the case, I deduced that this man in front of them with his head lowered must be Halbert’s father, Glaive.
“Raise your heads, all three of you,” I said.
““Yes, sir.””
When Halbert and Kaede raised their heads, I found myself transfixed by the sight of Halbert’s face. I mean, he had the marks to show he’d been punched several times. His cheeks were swollen, and he had two black eyes. Those hadn’t been there when I’d seen him yesterday, so it must have happened after we’d parted.
“Halbert... You’re looking even more handsome than last time I saw you,” I commented.
“Urgh... Yes, sir!” A look of frustration crossed his face for a moment, but he didn’t fight back the way he had yesterday.
I wonder what happened to him after we parted yesterday.
I spoke to Glaive, whose head was still bowed. “Glaive Magna, raise your head.”
“I humbly, humbly, beg you, show mercy for my son’s recent misconduct
!” That was the lamentful response that came back. He was pressing his forehead against the floor. It was hard to tell since he had one knee up, but he was doing what we’d probably call a dogeza in Japan.
“By misconduct, do you mean what happened yesterday?” I asked.
“Yes, sir! I heard the details from Madam Kaede. While he may have been off-duty, he insulted you, sire, and what’s more, boasted that he would join the rebellious Three Dukedoms, which is utterly outrageous! ...However, my son is yet immature. He said those things because of his underdeveloped brain. Your anger is entirely justified, sire, but, please, let the blame fall on me for failing to educate him properly!”
Um... That was a little long winded, but what he’s saying is “I’ll take the punishment, so please spare my son’s life,” I guess? I’m not even angry, though.
“Yesterday’s events happened when I was there in secret,” I said. “I don’t intend to make a big deal out of it. From what I see here, he’s already been punished appropriately.”
“Sire, you are too kind.” Glaive apologized profusely, prostrating himself before me.
Halbert and Kaede hurriedly bowed their heads once more.
Finally, Glaive lifted his face. “Now then, sire. I realize this is incredibly rude, but I have come to tell you something.”
“What?”
“Well... It is something best not heard by many people...”
A secret, huh? I had Liscia, Aisha, Hakuya, Glaive, Halbert, and Kaede remain, then dismissed everyone else, including the guards. Aisha seemed out of place, but so long as she was here, if it turned out he was using the promise of secret information as a guise to assassinate me, I had someone to deal with that.
“I’ve cleared the room,” I said. “So, what is it you needed to tell me?”
“Yes, about that...” Glaive began to talk at a relaxed pace.
When we heard what it was he had to say, Halbert’s eyes went wide, Kaede looked down, gripping her fists tightly, Hakuya closed his eyes in silence, while Aisha looked around bewildered by everyone else’s reactions...
Liscia, meanwhile, had gone stiff and expressionless, not saying a word. There were tears streaming down her face.