by Hyougetsu
Uhh, let me think. I sifted through my memories, then pointed out the one thing that stood out to me.
“You have an awful lot of nobles.”
“I expected you’d notice. That’s correct.”
The only place that had that many nobles back on Earth during the medieval era was Poland. Eleora’s tone grew frustrated as she continued her explanation, as though she were venting.
“Because of how cold the climate in Rolmund is, the majority of our territory isn’t suitable for agriculture. Despite that, eighty percent of the population is forced to support the privileged twenty percent.”
Didn’t you just say the nobles are 10% of the population? In that case, wouldn’t 20% be a miscalculation?
“The other ten percent are the clergy.”
I see now. That certainly did seem like an imbalanced system. However, now I understood why Rolmund wanted Meraldia so badly. They needed slaves to maintain their system. Serfs who would obediently grow food for the ruling classes.
“You can’t reduce the number of nobles there are?”
“As I said before, most of these noble titles have a history longer than that of the empire itself. If we strip nobles who’ve done nothing wrong of their titles, the empire will crumble.”
Yeah, that does make things difficult. Eleora looked at my expression and smiled sadly.
“An emperor must possess absolute wealth and absolute authority. They need to be capable of doling out punishments that strike terror in the hearts of dissidents while simultaneously showering their loyal supporters with lavish rewards. However, our empire is out of land to gift nobles with.”
“So you decided to cross over the mountains and take Meraldia’s land by force.”
I understood Eleora’s situation now, but that didn’t mean I could just give Meraldia’s land up. I looked at the city of Ryunheit through the window and replied, “Not only is Meraldia’s land fertile, but we also have few nobles. Even members of a viceroy’s family tend to have other occupations.”
“Precisely.”
Take for example the Aindorf family which Airia was from. All the members of her family were merchants. The same was true for the families of all the other cities’ viceroys. They were all lawyers, bureaucrats, or the like. Only the Senate had been filled with what could be classified as nobles.
However, that wasn’t the case in Rolmund. When Rolmund had been split in three, the different factions had handed out peerage like candy in an attempt to bring powerful families over to their side. Eleora sighed.
“Things were better at least when the empire was first founded. West Rolmund, which won the power struggle, wiped out families who refused to submit. As a result, it took possession of vast swathes of land it could then redistribute to its own followers.”
Wait, did you just casually mention a literal genocide?
“Wiped out, you say?”
“In order to uproot any seeds of rebellion, any recalcitrant family was annihilated down to the last woman and child. Furthermore, all of their serfs were slaughtered. There’s a saying in Rolmund that goes ‘The reaper comes for all equally.’”
“Not even demons are that brutal.”
“I’m inclined to believe that. Even the noble families who surrendered to West Rolmund were stripped of their nobility and reduced to serfs. On top of that, the cultures and religions of the other two factions were systematically eradicated. In some ways, submission was an even worse fate than death.”
It was true that if you half-assed a purge it would come back to bite you in the ass later. So, in that respect, West Rolmund’s decision had been rational. But if you ask me, methods like that are barbaric. Man, the sun’s barely risen, and I’m already depressed. But thinking about it, this meant that Eleora’s methods had been surprisingly peaceful.
“But you didn’t harm the families of any of the Senate members.”
“I chose not to because I feared the citizenry would hate me if I did. It was a political decision, nothing more.”
Was that really all? That right there smells like a lie. You’re a nicer person than you let on, huh?
I ruminated over Rolmund’s current situation. At present, the empire was a closed nation whose options were limited. The reason for that was simple. The empire had taken the carrot and stick policy too far. Because past emperors had rewarded all of their allies with nobility, there were too many nobles. But it was too late to reduce the number of nobles. There was also no land left to give to current nobles.
The empire produced barely enough food because most of its citizens were serfs. But if you turned that around, it meant that they were only surviving because they’d implemented a system of pseudo-slavery. The only lasting solution to Rolmund’s problem was to improve its agricultural technology, but even then, there wasn’t much you could do that far north. Even if I succeeded in putting Eleora on the throne, Rolmund would collapse under its own weight before long.
After carefully considering all of my options, I quietly muttered, “From what you’ve just told me, it’s clear the empire is at its limits. In which case, it might be better to destroy it before it destroys itself.”
Eleora flashed me the same dangerous smile she had when I first met her.
“I concur. For a long time now, I’ve believed that to be the best solution.”
This princess was way too dangerous. I needed to make sure she wasn’t planning anything rash.
“However, if we are to do it, we’ll leave mountains of corpses and foster countless grudges. Are you prepared to walk the path of carnage, Eleora?”
“Who the hell do you think I am?”
An awkward girl who’s bad at socializing. Seeing my expression, Eleora smiled ruefully.
“Is it just me, or are you worried for me and the citizens of Rolmund, Sir Veight?”
“I told you before, I am a merciful leader.”
“So you did.” Eleora nodded, then asked, “Incidentally, do you remember the story of Cold Micha that I told you before?”
I don’t think I could forget that one even if I wanted to. I had nightmares after you told it to me. But why was she bringing that up now? Trying to look as calm as possible, I nodded.
“You mean that horrid fairy tale?”
“You don’t have to sound so displeased. That story teaches important lessons about the harshness of winter, the importance of preparing for emergencies, and the value of self-sacrifice, as well as the resolve needed to sacrifice others.”
I figured as much, but couldn’t you at least make the ending a happier one?
“Until now, I’ve believed the choices of the characters in Cold Micha were the correct ones. Because I was unaware that there were other choices and other values. But now that’s changed. I’ve seen so much here that flies in the face of what I learned growing up. Sir Veight, if you were in Micha’s place, what would you do?”
I agonized over that question for a few minutes, but then realized I’d had an answer all along.
“Werewolves live in packs, and we have an ironclad rule to never abandon one of our own. If there wasn’t enough food, we’d share what we have and search for more. Surely if we all worked together, we’d be able to scrape by. That way all of us would be able to greet the spring together.”
I was terrible at these trolley problem questions, so I’d rather pick one of the answers not provided by the script. Who the hell would want to go along with a crappy question like that?
Eleora nodded in understanding.
“I see... I suppose for werewolves, that might just be possible.” Eleora looked me in the eyes and said resolutely, “O merciful Black Werewolf King, I would like to ask your assistance in putting an end to the sad tale of Cold Micha once and for all. I’m sure that will be beneficial to Meraldia as well, so please cooperate with me.”
Eleora wasn’t asking for something as simple as usurping the throne. No, she wanted me to help her transform the Rolmund Empire. But if we did that, it
would take decades for Rolmund’s political situation to stabilize. It might even take a century. However, it was also true that a stable Rolmund would be beneficial to Meraldia, so my answer was obvious.
“I can help you put an end to this tale, but once it’s over you will be on your own. So long as you are prepared to carry this burden, I shall aid you.”
My responsibilities lay with Meraldia; once the revolution succeeded, I would need to return. Which meant Eleora would be left to deal with the clean-up on her own. I needed to be sure she was okay with that. Eleora smiled faintly.
“I see. You really are as merciful as you claim.”
“You think so?”
By all rights, I should have pledged to stay and help Rolmund, but I unfortunately had too many important duties waiting for me in Meraldia. There was only one of me, and I wasn’t all that special. I couldn’t lend my aid to the entire world at once.
Regardless, it seemed an agreement had been made. I picked up the bouquet of flowers on my desk and got to my feet. I’d made it a habit to leave flowers at the memorial every morning.
“We can discuss the details later. I’ll gather my men and yours for a meeting this afternoon. Does that work for you?”
“Yes, in that case...” Eleora nodded, then trailed off. She glanced at the bouquet in my hand and asked, “What are those flowers for?”
They were just an offering, but I felt embarrassed to admit that.
“A personal affair. You have yet to eat breakfast correct? I’ll send for some.”
“Wait, could it be that...”
“I have business I need to attend to, so please excuse me.”
I cut her off before she could inquire any further and shooed her from the room. Praying for the dead was something I preferred doing in private.
That afternoon, we hashed out the details. The plan was as follows: The Meraldian Liberation Army had already surrendered and dispersed. Meraldia’s northern cities would join our coalition, creating a Meraldian Commonwealth that spanned all of Meraldia. Rolmund, which had supported the liberation army behind the scenes, would be granted a large measure of influence over matters in Meraldia. On the surface, Meraldia would appear to be independent, when in reality it would be Rolmund’s vassal state. Or rather, that was the plan I was going to present to Rolmund’s emperor when I went there as a diplomat.
“That should be fine, right, Master?”
“I am not well-versed in matters of politics and governance, so I suppose so.”
Master took a sip of tea and sighed. The two of us were in my office.
“I must say, it’s wonderful how industrious my disciples are. It makes my job that much easier.”
“I can only negotiate so freely because you’ve unified the demons, Master. I’m sure your other disciples are thankful for what you’ve done too.”
The previous Demon Lord had been both a master warrior and politician, so he’d steadily earned respect and loyalty from those around him. He was effectively the father of the demon army. Master, on the other hand, was a master mage and a gentle soul loved by everyone. So, she was more like the mother... or rather, the aunt of the demon army. Which made me one of the many sons of the demon army. I informed Master that I’d be taking Lacy and Parker with me. Since they were part of the Gomoviroa family too, I couldn’t just borrow them without her permission. We would be gone for quite some time, so I needed to make sure their absence wouldn’t hurt Master’s ability to govern. I also needed to make sure I kept up with my training.
“Master, about that mana manipulation training you’ve been telling me to do...”
I still hadn’t mastered the last thing she’d told me to practice, so hopefully she wouldn’t mind if I kept doing the same training while I was gone. Master smiled and said, “Fear not, you have the basics down already. All that’s left for you now is to put those skills into practice.”
“Thanks for letting me keep working on this, Master.”
I needed to make sure I was an expert at this when I returned, or I’d disappoint Master. Fortunately, I would likely be facing opponents armed with Blast Canes in Rolmund. Magical weapons were the perfect things to test my mana manipulation abilities against. Bring it on, I’ll take all the bullets you’ve got.
“Master, who are you going to have act as your counselor while I’m gone?”
The term “counselor” sounded cool but really all that happened when you were in that position was that Master came to you when she was lonely and needed someone to talk to. She chuckled and said, “Fear not. Ryucco agreed to stay here a while longer.”
“I’m surprised that misanthrope’s willing to live in a city full of humans.”
“Mmm, it seems that after conversing with humans, he’s come to understand that they’re not as horrible as he first believed.”
“That was probably when he talked to Eleora.”
The werewolf I’d tasked with tailing the princess had reported that she’d talked to Ryucco a few days back. They were both eccentric people, so they’d likely gotten along.
Together with our eccentric princess, I completed my final preparations for departure. In total, I would be taking with me 3 mages, 56 werewolves, and 61 members of the mage corps. We would be meeting up with the 12 members of the mage corps that had been left behind in Krauhen to defend the tunnel, giving me command of a grand total of 132 men. There were also a few volunteers from among the canines and the city garrison who would be accompanying us until Krauhen. Supposedly they’d be helping us with miscellaneous tasks along the way. Though, I had a sneaking suspicion the canines just wanted an excuse to travel. I let them come anyway since I felt this would be a good opportunity to showcase to the north how friendly demons could be.
“Sir Veight, how fares the werewolves’ training?”
I didn’t want to reveal all my cards to Borsche, so I gave him a roundabout answer.
“They’re nowhere near the level of skill your mage corps are at. I finally managed to get them to fire in formation, but really it’d just be faster if they transformed and beat their enemies to a pulp.”
“Surely you’re just being humble.”
No really, things would just go faster that way. I’d given the werewolves all of the mage corps’ spare equipment, and they would serve as reserve members if the mage corps needed more gunmen. The reason I’d done that was to hide the fact that they were actually using modified Blast Rifles, which they’d gotten surprisingly proficient in.
“Hey, can I use this as a club after I’ve fired it?”
“That’s a genius idea, bro!”
Why are the Garney brothers so stupid? The plan was to tell Rolmund that these were the Meraldian Commonwealth’s elite troops. In doing so, I could hopefully make it look like Eleora had succeeded so well that Meraldia’s army was willing to follow her orders. That would also imply that Eleora had a significant amount of authority within Meraldia as well as Rolmund, which would serve as a useful bargaining chip in negotiations.
Meanwhile, I’d be introducing myself as the commander of this elite force, as well as a Commonwealth councilor. Since Rolmund was unaware of the true situation, they would just assume I was a nobleman seeking to secure my position when Meraldia became a vassal state of the empire. I was also planning on hiding the fact that I was a werewolf. Parker and the other werewolves were going to be hiding their true identity as well, to avoid any trouble with the Sonnenlicht church there. For better or worse, Rolmund had long since eradicated demons from their lands, so they were no longer on the lookout for them.
“Maybe I should ask Melaine to come along and have her turn all of our political opponents into vampires.”
“Our nobles aren’t that foolish, Black Werewolf King.” Eleora shook her head. She was riding atop her old horse. “In fact, the ruler of Northern Rolmund, Archduke Vafuk, attempted that very strategy after the fall of the old republic. He was the one who invented the technique for transforming others into vampires.”<
br />
Your history sure has some amazing people in it.
“He sounds like an interesting person.”
“Unfortunately for him, the people noticed even the slightest changes in their nobles’ behavior. Before his plan had even gotten off the ground, someone spotted him sucking the blood of one of his maids.”
For such an ambitious man, he sure lacked caution. Though I supposed I’d stopped being very cautious once I’d reincarnated as a werewolf too. Instead of laughing at this guy, I should probably learn from him. Eleora looked ahead and said with a smile, “After learning his true nature, his retainers abandoned him. East and West Rolmund banded together to form a joint army to eradicate his forces. The Sonnenlicht Order also sent its own crusaders, and even Vafuk’s serfs rose up in rebellion. In the end, the vampires were eradicated.”
Figures. Rolmund’s branch of Sonnenlicht claimed all demons were evil, so the moment Vafuk’s identity was compromised, he was doomed. I’d already heard from Eleora how brutal the political battles in Rolmund were. Apparently one noble had killed his older brother and tried to impersonate him. Another had assassinated his father and tried to pin the crime on his rival. Yet another had slept with his brother’s wife and used his nephew, who was actually his son, as a political tool. I was amazed people could stoop this low, but I supposed that just meant they were that desperate. The scariest thing was that these were just the plots that had been discovered. There was no telling how many other shady things had gone on completely undetected. Thinking about it that way, it was clear the darkness inside Rolmund extended far beyond my imagination. Hopefully I wouldn’t have to stay there long.
Once everyone was ready, we gathered in front of the viceroy’s manor to inform Master and Airia of our departure. Melaine and Firnir had come to see us off as well. We got off our horses and Master said in a solemn voice, “Veight. You often toss and turn in your sleep, and you have a bad habit of not covering up properly when it gets cold. Make sure to keep yourself warm, or you’ll fall ill.”