Though they were on even terms, why was it I felt more of an affinity with Roroa?
It was probably because, unlike Julius, Roroa understood the importance of family.
"I want to ask one more thing," I said. "The other day, there was rioting in the
north of the country that was put down by Julius, right? Was that something you
instigated, too?"
"I'd never do that!" Here, Roroa was indignant for the first time. "In fact, I
arranged for the revolts to all happen at the same time to prevent a situation just
like that! It'd get my brother tied up so he couldn't suppress the people! I'd've never
allowed an uprisin' that was sure to meet a horrible fate like that!"
Despite her vehemence, her voice was full of sorrow. It didn't seem like she was
lying.
"Well, was the revolt in the north a natural occurrence, then?" I asked.
"That ain't it, either," she said, shaking her head. "Look at the geography. What's
near the north where the riots broke out? Wasn't there some people actin' shifty up
there?"
"Ah...! The Orthodox Papal State of Lunaria!"
Amidonia bordered the Orthodox Papal State of Lunaria in the north. What was
more, the Orthodox Papal State of Lunaria had gathered its forces along the border
in the name of defending their coreligionists.
Roroa nodded with a frustrated look on her face. "There ain't no borders when it
comes to religion. As close to the Orthodox Papal State as that region is, there're a lot
of followers of Lunarian Orthodoxy. The Orthodox Papal State probably stirred up
the believers there, tellin' them it was a direct order from the pope, or somethin' like
that. I'm sure they planned on sendin' in troops to protect those believers."
"But the north is hardly fertile land," I said. "I mean, it's bad enough that they
were rioting over it. Was there any reason the Orthodox Papal State would want it?"
"It ain't the land they want," she said. "It's the people. Believers. If they're zealous
believers, no matter how hard the lives they lead, they'll never break away from the
center of the faith. The troubles and hardships they face are all trials bestowed on
them by their god, they'd say. That's why that country doesn't have to think about
the daily lives of its people. So long as they're performin' the right rituals, they'll
support them. That's why that country wants all the believers they can get."
"That's problematic..." I murmured. "And, hold on, Roroa, it sounds like you're not
so fond of Lunarian Orthodoxy."
"I don't give one whit about Lunarian Orthodoxy itself," she shot back. "What I
hate is the people who use religion to politically enrich themselves, then do radical
things and hurt people around them who don't have anythin' to do with it."
"Yeah," I said. "On that point, I can agree with you."
It seemed that mixing politics and religion was trouble, no matter what world
you lived in. Normally, religion was something that existed to soothe the hearts of
people, but some people used it as a justification and excuse for their actions.
Interpretations of doctrine changed with those in power at the time, and those who
didn't adhere to their doctrine would be branded as heretics and punished in the
name of their god. Honestly, there was nothing worse than that.
"If it were an option, I'd go the rest of my life without ever having anything to do
with them," I said.
"Too bad it's not," Roroa said bluntly. "That country's sure to try and make
contact with you."
"Why? I'm not religious at all, you know?" I said.
"Because that country hates the Star Dragon Mountain Range and the Gran Chaos
Empire, that's why."
"I can sort of see why they'd hate the Star Dragon Mountain Range, but why the
Empire?" I asked, surprised.
The Star Dragon Mountain Range was essentially a nation for the sentient
dragons.
The faith which worshiped Mother Dragon who lived there was one of the two
largest faiths on this continent, tied only with Lunarian Orthodoxy. (Though I didn't
know what kind of faith was practiced in the Demon Lord's Domain.) So I could
understand the Orthodox Papal State hating the Star Dragon Mountain Range, which
was the center of Mother Dragon worship. But why would they hate the Gran Chaos
Empire, too?
"You know how Empress Maria of the Empire is called a saint, right?" Roroa said.
"That's just somethin' the common people saved by her policies started callin' her on
their own; but in Lunarian Orthodoxy, the pope is the only one who can recognize
someone as a saint. In fact, there's a woman in Lunarian Orthodoxy who's called a
saint. That's why the Orthodox Papal State of Lunaria sees Madam Maria as an
unforgivable villain who's misrepresentin' herself as one."
"If the people just started calling her that on their own, I don't see how that's any
fault of Madam Maria's," I said.
"They don't care about that," she shrugged. "In a theocracy, what the people look
for more than anythin' is charismatic leadership. If they recognized a saint who
appeared naturally, it'd impact their credibility. That's why, now that Elfrieden's
grown bigger by absorbin' Amidonia, the Orthodox Papal State won't be leavin' you
alone. Somewhere, somehow, they'll try to make contact. Could be they'll offer you
some made up title like 'Holy King' and try to drag you into their conflict with the
Empire."
Urgh... That sounded both possible, and undesirable.
Because my secret alliance with the Empire was just that, a secret, other
countries couldn't find out about it. Actually, it would be a problem if they did find
out about it, so the intelligence branches in both of our countries were working hard
to conceal it. That meant I couldn't openly admit to being allies with them.
The church offering those in power religious positions in order to make their
own influence unshakable was something that had been seen in Earth's history.
They might try to turn us into the Holy Elfrieden Kingdom and have us lead the
charge against the Empire for them.
That said, I wanted to avoid conflict with the Orthodox Papal State as much as
possible. The troublesome thing about religion was that even if you crushed the
center and their leaders, the believers would still be left behind. When believers
were oppressed, it formed stronger bonds between them, and when their leaders
were killed, they only became more revered as martyrs. Worse yet, the vast majority
of believers were ordinary people, unconnected to any scheming inside the
organization. If I tried to eliminate all of those believers, it would make me the
primary culprit of a genocide.
The Orthodox Papal State of Lunaria... They were a truly troublesome group to
deal with, one I would rather not cooperate with or oppose.
While I was starting to feel fed up with all my unpleasant imaginings, Roroa
clapped her hands, as if to signal it was time for a change of mood. "Now, that's
enough about the Orthodox Papal State for now! What you ought to be decidin' on
first is your marriage with me."
Roroa looked straight at me with those beady little eyes of hers.
"Mr. Souma... Do ya want me? Or don't ya?"
"Urkh..."
I was at a loss for words. If she asked it that way, there could only be one answer.
"...I want you," I said.
Desperately, at that. There was no room for doubting it. After all, the benefits of
taking her as my wife were too great.
First of all, a marriage to Roroa would help emphasize the legitimacy of my rule
over the annexed Amidonia. Roroa was loved by the people of the principality. If
they saw her happily married in the kingdom, the people of the principality would
feel less worried about being incorporated into the kingdom.
On top of that, her talents were appealing. The ahead-of-the-curve economic
sense that had allowed her to come up with the idea of using commercials as a
source of revenue, and the network of merchants she had built up on her own, were
incredible. It was also good that she seemed likely to know any underhanded tricks
that the nobles might use that Hakuya and I tended to miss. She was just the kind of
person I had been wanting.
Besides... I liked the way Roroa thought. It was that mercantile spirit, you could
say. While she had a realistic view that "the world's all about money," she still had a
sense of honor and empathy. While it had never been allowed to bear fruit thanks to
Gaius and his lot, she had been trying to use the money she earned for the sake of
the people. For the sake of the people she cared about, she had been ready to
confront even her own brother.
On top of that, she was cute, so I had no reason not to want her as a queen.
If there was one problem... it was how Liscia would feel about that. She was a
princess from a country that they had been enemies with for many long years. Was
she going to be able to accept her as a queen, essentially someone in the same
position as her?
"What do you think, Liscia?" I asked.
"If you've decided you need her, then it's fine." Liscia gave her assent without
seeming all that troubled.
Was it all right for her to give me the okay for it that easily?
While I showed my surprise, Liscia just shrugged her shoulders. "I can see for
myself that this girl has talent. I think it's worth taking her as a queen. If you'll just
take proper care of the issue of succession, I have nothing more to say on the
matter."
"Liscia... um... Thanks."
"Do make sure you take proper care of us, too, though, okay?" Liscia said.
"Of course," I said immediately.
She really was... such a great girl. I was so grateful... truly grateful... to have Liscia
as my fiancée.
While we were having a touching moment, Roroa butted in. "Uhh, sorry to bother
you while you two're off in your own li'l world, but you don't need to be worryin'
about that stuff any. I don't give one whit about the princely throne of Amidonia."
"You don't?" I asked, startled.
"Yeah. In exchange, though, I've got a favor to ask, Darlin'."
Darling, seriously...? I thought. Well, whatever.
Almost like a pleading child, working up all the charm she could muster, she
looked at me with upturned eyes. "Y'see, I want my own company."
"A company?" I asked.
"That's right. Listen, Darlin', I wanna see how the money I make with my own
skill changes this country. Your policies show foresight, but y'don't always have
fundin' for them, now do ya? They can be high risk, and I'm sure you'll have a hard
time usin' the national treasury for things that may end up bein' pointless."
"That's... Well, yeah."
Now that I had expanded my power as king, when it came to projects like the
road network expansion, or the construction of the new city, those where it was easy
to demonstrate their practical value, I could get them funded relatively easily.
However, if there wasn't an immediate effect to show, or the enterprise looked
meaningless at first glance, it was hard to allocate funds to them.
Specialized research funds, for instance. Even if a specialist knew second place
wasn't good enough, it wasn't something they could explain to a non-specialist and
have them understand.
"So, this's what I'm thinkin'," said Roroa. "When you've got a policy you want to
implement, Darlin', but you can't fund it, you come to me. I'll back you up usin' the
money I've made with my own company."
"That sounds very reassuring, but... are you sure?" I asked. "If a queen is seen
acting like a merchant, I don't think the people will respect your authority."
"I'll be runnin' it behind the scenes, so that's no worry," she said. "I know! For the
public face of the company, I'll put the owner of a place I frequent in Van, Sebastian
of The Silver Deer, in charge."
Sebastian of The Silver Deer... Wait! Ahh! That was the place I'd gone to with Juna
and Tomoe! I'd thought he ought to be a butler with that name, so I remembered
him.
So, the regular customer he'd said was "like an adorable little tanuki" had been
Roroa, then? If I recalled, Sebastian had been a nice, middle-aged guy who seemed
like a capable merchant, so he could probably serve as the representative of a
company.
"Wait, hold on, you and Sebastian were connected?" I burst out. "Were you trying
to investigate me?"
"Well, yeah, I wanted to know what the man I was plannin' on marryin' was like,
didn't I?"
"You don't overlook a thing, do you?" I said. "When you take it that far, I have to
be impressed."
She really was a little tanuki. Childish, but cunning. I felt like she had tricked me
good.
"Um... As the one who's going to be in charge of the treasury, may I say one
thing?" Colbert interjected, looking troubled.
"What is it?" I asked.
"If you have that kind of money, I'd prefer you put it in the treasury."
...Yeah. I knew how Colbert felt. The kingdom had been going through all sorts of
austerity measures until recently, after all.
Roroa and I spoke up in unison. ""But, I refuse.""
"Why are you two suddenly in sync?!"
"It's fine," Roroa said confidently. "I'll be earnin' the money on my own, anyway."
"And with the extra budget, I can carry out internal policies more freely," I said.
"But, sire..."
"Now, now, we won't be spendin' it wastefully like my old man did," Roroa said,
waving her hand. "Consider it a division of roles. I earn money. You tighten our belts,
Mr. Colbert. It's all good that way."
"If you spend too recklessly, I will do everything within my power to stop you,
you hear?" But Colbert reluctantly backed down.
He would be keeping a sharp eye on Roroa and me from now on to make sure we
weren't spending money recklessly. I was glad. It was important to have people on
staff who could earn money, like Roroa, but people like Colbert who could save
money where precious, too.