"… How, did you know?"
"No, well, the professor here…"
"I can tell that you're a girl from things like the shape of your hands, your bone structure, and the way you walk, you know. Just touch a little and one can tell that your body is soft, too. I can sense a female's unique pheromone as well."
The professor said that with a smug face, but you know that's not something a normal person can tell right? Especially the last part. Are you a pervert? Wait, you are a pervert.
"Are you perhaps a body double for the second imperial prince?"
"No. I am, without question, the second imperial prince, Listin La Trihalan. Well, my real name is Lystis Le Trihalan, though." (Note: why would you do this to me)
Which means, is she pretending to be a male outside the country? Why do something like that…
The two maids seem to be aware of it from the start. Well, I suppose that's natural. There's a need for several exclusive helpers assigned if she doesn't want her secrets to be leaked. Ah, so that's why the professor told me to bring them along, huh?
"The only ones who know that I'm a girl are my father, His Majesty the Emperor, and my mother and elder brother. Besides them, there's also Sir Zerorick who acted as my teacher, and his wife, the Royal Doctor Mar, and these two maids before you, Lala and Lili." (Note: please stop I have a family)
Teacher? Was he perhaps the elderly knight that was staring at me earlier?
When I tried confirming that, it was indeed the case. While the commander-in-chief of this invasion was the second imperial prince on paper, the actual authority seems to have been with that Sir Zerorick. This was apparently the first real battle she had experienced.
"… And what happens now?"
I turned to look at the professor.
"Nothing? Imperial prince or imperial princess, there's no change to the fact that she's still a child of the emperor."
"I wonder about that."
Prince Listin, or rather Princess Lystis cut into the professor's reply. What do you mean by that?
"Leaving my father aside, the Senate probably won't take that same outlook. They only think of the royal family as disposable pawns, after all."
What is that. I did hear that they're basically in control of the empire, but isn't that too cruel?
"Wait, then…"
"At worst, they'll treat me as having been killed, and the invasion would resume without a hitch."
I held my head at the reply. This is a bit too far outside of my expectations…
It's totally plausible for slogans like "Revenge war for the second imperial prince!" or "Don't forgive those Primula bastards!" to jump out if that's the case…
"So that means there's not much meaning to us in kidnapping you, is there…"
"While unfortunate, the possibility is high. Or more like, it's going to get worse. If it really develops that way, there would be no stopping the war anymore."
Aahh, what even is that… I can't imagine what the Primula Kingdom group would say to me. What if I get labelled [Can't be counted on] by them with this…
Looking at me who's troubled, the professor smiled with a *niyari* as if she finds it amusing.
"What now, Touya-kun? As expected, is it time to annihilate the entire God-Empire army?"
"As if I'll do that. Sigh, even though I did this precisely to ensure that no deaths would appear on both sides…"
"… You kidnapped me just for that? Are you seriously trying to stop this war?"
The second imperial prince… Wait, no, is it first imperial princess? Anyway, she asked me that while I'm still holding my head.
"Not trying. I will stop this war. It might have indeed been a rough method, and one that inconvenienced you greatly, but I figured that it was the simplest way at the time. Do you not think of wars as something stupid?"
"Father also said something like that… However, the war with Primula was still pushed through by the idiots in the senate. Not even the emperor can ignore the senate. The God-Empire's Emperor is only a decoration, in the end."
Lystis spoke in self-derision as if speaking about herself. Hm, seems like the emperor is a rather decent person.
Still, can the God-Empire Senate really hold that much power? It feels a lot different compared to the senates I know of such as the one in ancient Rome. I don't know if it's an issue of it being a different world, or if it's considered normal in the empire, but for now I've understood that it's a gathering of good-for-nothings.
The God-Empire's senate consists of around 50 people, led by the Senate Chairman. The senate members are elected from nobles, and are lifelong positions on top of being hereditary.
It started out as an advisory board-kind of thing for the emperor, but slowly gained power that exceeded even their liege, and now holds the real authority over the entire empire.
It seems they've been ignoring the empire's people and doing as they pleased for quite a while. And whenever people who tried to change that appeared, they would use various means to crush them, apparently.
"Their leader is the senate chairman, Morroc Lapitos. He's an old man approaching his seventies, but he is still feared even within the senate and no one can go against him."
"Even the emperor?"
"On paper, the senate is an organization that advices the emperor. As such, the emperor cannot push forward policies without passing them through the senate first. Do you think the senate would let things that could threaten its position through that easily?"
Well, of course they wouldn't. Organizations such as this are often lax on their own members. The war this time is another case where they ignored the emperor this way, I suppose.
"That reminds me, why are you pretending to be a man anyway?"
"If I were to be raised as an imperial princess, I'd probably have long been married off to a grandson of those geezers in the senate or something along that line. Even thinking about it now makes my spine cold."
Taking in the bloodline of the royalties in that country to strengthen their own powers is a oft- used move no matter what era, or what world we're in, I guess.
Furthermore, it sounds like her brother, the Crown Prince, has already been ensnared. His fiancée has been set up to be the daughter of the current senate chairman.
Seems like the crown prince is truly against this marriage. Apparently, the other side is far older than him, and also has a pretty twisted personality. That's just the worst…
I'm glad my fiancées are all so kind to me. There are times when they feel scary, though… (Note: around 70% of that is your own fault. Get over it.)
I can understand why His Majesty the Emperor and the Queen would want to make their daughter the second imperial prince. A bitter strategy taken to protect their cute daughter, no doubt. The crown prince would find it hard to reject engagement offers due to his duty to leave a heir, but his younger brother shouldn't have that same difficulty. Well, that obviously doesn't mean they don't care what happens to the crown prince.
Whatever the case, I get that the senate is the bad guy here. Also, it seems that while they had forcibly pushed for this war with Primula, their own clans aren't participating in it at all.
"So, if I do something about that old man who's the senate chairman, and the emperor manages to regain his authority, the war can be stopped…"
"Tha-that's exactly it! If Senate Chairman Morroc loses his standing, the rest of the senators would turn into nothing but a disorderly mob. His Majesty the Emperor would be able to immediately order the retreat of the army! The war with Primula would be avoided, you know!?"
Lystis reacted to my muttering and started speaking to me in a loud voice. Eh, I understand how you feel, but that's some pretty obvious intentions there, you know. I did think she's the type who can't conceal her emotions, but she's way too easy to see through…
Still, in this case it would be better for me to ride along, I guess? I can make connections with the Trihalan God-Empire this way, too.
I thought about it while calculating the merits in my head.
"Here's the deal then. I do something about that senate chairman, and you give an advice to the emperor to stop the war. Is that possible?"
While looking at Lystis, I spoke of my thoughts to her.
Hearing that, while swallowing her saliva, she gave a clear reply to me.
"… If you really can do that, I swear on this life that I will stop the war between the two countries. I ask of you who is a magic user. Please save the God-Empire, no, both the God- Empire and Primula."
Alright. Now that it's come to this, I'll need collaborators. I can't very well just bring Lystis out of here when there's the matter with the Primula Kingdom. I guess it's that elderly knight who was the princess' teacher, then. Sir Zerorick, was it?
When I checked his location on the map, he seems to be still in that tent from before. Let's go in, get the man, and get out with a snap, shall we? (Note: I did a double-take when I read this.)
…I've considerably gotten used to the kidnapping mindset, havn't I. my thought processes are like that of a criminal's. It's nothing I can boast about…
"[Gate]."
When I transferred to the tent from earlier, there was several knights as well as the target, Sir Zerorick, inside.
Seems like they were having some kind of conference while surrounding the desk in the center. Perhaps with regards to the imperial prince who was taken away?
"Wha-!?"
"Y-You're the guy from earlier!?"
I slipped through the knights who were looking at me with their eyes wide and moved behind Sir Zerorick in an instant. When I stuck the barrel of Brunhild against his back, Sir Zerorick slowly dropped the sabre that he was holding, and raised both hands above his head.
"There's been some change to the situation, so I'll be taking this person as well. I'll return him together with the second imperial prince without fail in the future, so please do not worry. Well then, pardon me."
I said what I wanted, then returned together with Sir Zerorick to the room that Lystis and the maids were staying in within the Primula royal castle. It took less than a minute for the whole thing to finish.
"Jii!" (Note: a shortened form of ojii-san, usually used as an affectionate way to refer to someone old that you know.)
"Ohh, Your Highness!"
While leaving the touching reunion between lord and servant for later, Sir Zerorick is briefed on the situation by Lystis. If the misunderstanding is not resolved quickly, I'm a bit scared he would try stabbing at me with that sabre in his hand, after all…
(Note: Mmm… I checked the raws, and the previous part does clearly state that Zerorick had released his hand from the sabre before raising them up. Either author mistake, or he had a second sabre which wasn't mentioned.)
Sir Zerorick was listening to Lystis with a mystified expression, but after she finished, he crossed his arms and sank into thought.
Before long, he opened his eyes, and turned a sharp look towards me.
"Touya-dono, was it. I understand now that you're a magic user. I can't not trust that, given what I've just experienced myself. Still, how would you remove the senate chairman from the God-Empire? Kill him?"
"No way. No matter how much of a villain he is, I don't feel like killing people. It's not my job to judge him for his crimes."
"Then how?"
"Let's see. How about sending him and his entire clan out on a (forced) vacation to some uninhabited island that no ships would sail close to, or having him contract a weird disease where he can't talk unless he sticks his fingers up his nose, or something like that?"
Everyone besides the professor drew back from me a little. And this was me being considerate for him since I heard he's an old man, you know… (Note: this guy is a masterpiece. 10/10)
"Lifeforce absorption", "Afflict Sickness", "Bestow Fear", "Induce Confusion", these are but some of the effects that ancient darkness-attribute magic can achieve. This is more than enough to render an opponent harmless without taking his life. I can even rewrite memories with [Hypnosis], too.
Hmm, asking the Trihalan Emperor what to do is an option as well, I suppose.
For someone like the senate chairman in question, a simple search of his house would probably turn up incriminating evidences by the cartloads, I'd assume.
"Still, it's best to be cautious. Since he's the senate chairman, the guard around him is strict. He has several guard golems around him constantly. And recently, I hear that he managed to recruit a strong guardian knight that uses unbelievable techniques."
A guard that uses unbelievable techniques? Is he a magic user like me, perhaps? Or maybe a ninjutsu user like Tsubaki-san and the others?
In any case, he's saying that it might not go that smoothly, huh. Still, no matter the opponent, if I enclose him in [Prison] he shouldn't be able to do anything.
"Well, leave matters regarding those guards and what-not to me. I want Sir Zerorick to explain things to His Majesty the Trihalan Emperor."
"… Are you telling me to betray my country?"
"If you don't want to, I won't force you. In that case, however, things will move forward with my judgment only; don't complain to me afterwards even if it turns into something troublesome, ok?"
I'm not gonna care if you came to me afterwards and said stuff like "This should've been done like that" or "That could've been handled by us", you know? There's the possibility that, when I beat up some guy who comes to interfere, he turns out to be the son of Sir Zerorick, or something like that, so I'd like them to think about this carefully.
"Jii, please lend him your strength. In any case, we cannot leave the current senate alone, can we? If it's his magic, then possibly…"
"… If Your Highness says so. This old body shall bet his life and do everything that he can, for the sake of stopping the war with Primula as well."
Sir Zerorick kneeled before Lystis and lowered his head.
Nonono, you don't have to bet your life, okay.
For now, I extracted the memories regarding the senate chairman from Sir Zerorick using [Recall], and searched for him using the map.
There he is. The capital of Trihalan God-Empire, within the senate building, huh.
This distance is ok for [Teleport]. It's about as far from here as the distance between Brunhild and the Belfast capital, so it shouldn't go off-course.
"So, first I would neutralize the guard golems and other escorts, then capture Senate Chairman Morroc before bringing him before the emperor and wait for his decision. That's good with you?"
"No problems. As long as everything goes well, that is."
Ororo, are you doubting me perhaps? Well, can't be helped. I didn't show them my fighting strength, after all.
From looking at the map, Morroc seems to be moving. Instead of fighting in a narrow room, it's probably better to wait for him to move to a wider space before starting.
I'll transfer over and attack them when they reach the open space in the center of the building… I feel like a bandit. Man, that dropped my motivation… Fu.
The escorts are five golems and three knights, huh. As mentioned, a tight security.
"Once we transfer over, Sir Zerorick, please stand back. Things might get complicated if you move in."
"… That's a request I'm unwilling to follow, but I'll accept this time."
Confirming the nod from Sir Zerorick and the fact that Senate Chairman Morroc had arrived in the open space mentioned, I activated [Teleport].
We transferred to the front of the senate chairman in an instant, upon which Sir Zerorick promptly retreated to the shadow of a nearby pillar.
One of the knights who saw us appear shouted out.
"! Intruders! Protect the chairman!"
Following that, two among the five guard golems jumped out before the senate chairman, and stood in front of me.
They have well-proportioned bodies with good balance, and something like a visor is lowered over their faces. There's some kind of firearms-looking thing equipped on their wrists. Are these the so-called [Soldat]?
There's one among the five, situated in the back, with a horn sticking out of its head and standing out from its peers. That's the command tower for the Soldats, the [Sargent], I suppose.
"Fire!"
On the knight's order, although it's not as fast as machineguns, bullets with decent speed rushed out of the arms of the Soldats rapidly. That's dangerous, you know, what if it hits someone?
"[Shield]."
I deployed a magical barrier and repelled all the bullets that came towards me.
"[Come forth lightning, white lotus spears, Thunder Spear]."
(Note: I think there were Thunder Javelin in the WN before, but not sure about this. If there was an identical spell translated before, and my wording is incorrect, please let me know.)
I aimed at the Sargent and scored a direct hit with lightning magic.
When the Sargent, taken out in one hit, collapsed to the ground, the other four golems also stopped moving entirely. I see, it's exactly as Dr. Elka said, huh? That's both a strength and a weakness for the Soldats.
"Ku! Ei, Vice! Get him!"
"… Understood."
When the senate chairman raised his voice from behind, a single knight moved in front of me. I can't see his face behind the helmet he's wearing, but his movements have no waste in them. Seems to be a capable person. Is this guy the rumored guardian knight?
Suddenly, he disappeared from my sight in an instant. What!?
I immediately lowered my body following the presence I suddenly sensed at my back. The guardian knight's sword passed right through where my head had been a moment ago. When did he get behind me!?
Standing up, I converted Brunhild to its blade form and began receiving the sword strikes from the knight before me. Oioi, isn't he at least as good as Yae…
To think he is this good… I'm honestly shocked. However, I'll not pull any punches.
"[Slip]." (Note: been a while, eh?)
"!"
I wielded Brunhild which had been turned into stun mode towards the knight who lost his footing due to eating the slip magic. Sorry but, I'll have you be incapacitated for a while.
Still, even while falling, the knight barely managed to avoid the strike by twisting his body. Brunhild's blade only caught the edge of his helmet, and that went flying off his face.
In retaliation, while spinning half a circle in the air, his foot flied towards the side of my head. I dodged that narrowly, and took my distance with a backstep. What physical ability. As expected, I'll have to… Use… [Prison]…
"Oi oi… Why are you in this kind of place…"
The knight stood up while making a stance with his sword, and continued staring at me. His face, which became visible when his helmet flown away earlier, is one that I know of well.
Although he no longer has the light-footed and somewhat mysterious atmosphere he had before, I can't mistake that face.
"Ende…"
He did not react to my words at all. Just what in the world is going on here…