With the only thing holding him back dealt with, Prince Cloud abandoned the
royal palace.
Marquis Koupe was harboring both Cloud and his mother, but thankfully they
hadn't been found out or pursued. Not that it really mattered. If anyone came
sniffing around for them it'd be trivial enough to wipe them out or use [Gate] to
escape.
The sudden disappearance of the second prince kicked up a massive stir
amongst the royals. I used my little spies to listen in on the state of affairs.
"What do you mean Erya's been taken from Gallia?! You mean to say that
Prince Cloud stole her away?! What about the soldiers, were they napping?!"
"A-Ah well... The carrier pigeon message s-said that everyone was suddenly
immobilized. They couldn't do anything!" Prime Minister Wardack smacked his
fist against his desk as the messenger recounted his story. The shivering man
quickly bowed his head and scampered out of the room.
"Didn't I tell you, Prince Zabune? It would've been far wiser to... remove that
boy from the picture."
"C-Cloud, you bastard child! How dare you rebel against your masters..." The
idiot prince didn't seem too invested in his anger, but Queen Dacia spoke up in
hysteria.
Hiding in the shade of a curtain was a little mouse. The cute little thing was
my perfect spy cam.
Through magic, I was able to synchronize my sense of sight and hearing with
the mouse's, allowing me to peek in on what was going on.
"If Prince Cloud and Marquis Koupe were to join forces, it could cause us
legitimate trouble... For the time being we should focus on having His Majesty
the King relinquish the throne to Prince Zabune. After that, we'll have Cloud
detained and imprisoned. The specific charge is irrelevant, so long as we take
him in."
"But what of the war with Palouf, Wardack?"
"...Unfortunately, we must postpone it. What's important now is preventing
the seeds of revolution from taking hold."
"Tch... I was looking forward to tasting the Palouf princess, too... Well, I don't
mind. There'll be plenty of time for that once I'm the king of Lihnea." Zabune
smiled, probably at the prospect of ascending to the throne, then merrily
skipped out of the room.
Hm... What to do. It might be better to wait and let the idiot prince become
king, then public opinion wouldn't be so harsh if we deposed him instead...
No, we can't do that. The longer we wait, the more victims there'll be... I
decided on my next course of action.
"The most worrying part of this is Erya's abduction. If word of it reaches that
foolish king's ears, well... It would be better to have him relinquish the throne
to Zabune before that happens." Huh? Wardack's changed his tone... He
dropped all pleasantries toward the king, and isn't calling Zabune by his formal
title either... Are these his true colors, then? Still, he's with Queen Dacia... Is he
fine talking like this near her because she's his cousin?
"After all that's happened, we do need to have the boy ascend. Still, we
require the king's approval to put sanctions on Marquis Koupe... Curses! Still, he
likely has no idea that Erya was taken away from us, yet... So long as we can
keep him in the dark, we should be fine. Even if you have to use force, ensure
the king declares Koupe an enemy. Even if he disagrees, so long as he still thinks
we have Erya, he'll obey."
Hey, wait a sec... Wasn't Erya taken as a hostage to keep Cloud under their
thumb? Does this mean that the king's effectively been a hostage this entire
time, too? If he cared about Erya that much, it basically means he's been turned
into a yes-man with the threat of her death... Still, this is a good opportunity for
me... I'm gonna catch these guys right in the act. I used [Gate] to send my
smartphone to the mouse, and then it began to record.
"If Erya and Cloud return to the king's side, it would cause a problem for us.
We must block the royal palace off at once. No one enters, no one leaves. First
order of business is having the king relinquish his throne to Zabune in front of
the nobles."
"And what will become of the king once he hands it over?"
"He will be disposed of. I wouldn't normally want to do it so quickly, but this
Cloud business means we could have malcontents or an uprising soon. We need
to ensure that the throne is incontestable."
Well, that just about does it. They're totally conspiring to assassinate the king
right here. What's more, Queen Dacia's just as guilty as Wardack! This evidence
should help prevent Prince Cloud from being viewed as a suspicious rebel. Now
there's actually proof and cause to rise up.
"After that, we'll have Cloud killed in some circumstances or other... We
cannot allow anyone with the royal bloodline to live."
Huh? What was that? That doesn't add up... Even if Cloud and the king died,
Zabune would still be... Oh. Oh no. No... don't tell me... Th-That would explain
why Zabune was always treated so much better than... Cloud...
"Our family will finally lay claim to the royal throne. None will stand in our
path."
"Yes, after all these wasted years, our son will rise as king..."
"Ahaha! It's the birth of a whole new royal line, I'm so excited..." The two
people giggled together, crooked grins painted on their faces.
"Our family will finally lay claim to the royal throne. None will stand in our
path."
"Yes, after all these wasted years, our son will rise as king..."
"Ahaha! It's the birth of a whole new royal line, I'm so excited..."
The video playback ended. I looked around the room. Everyone was sitting
there in stunned silence.
"Then... Prince Zabune is the son of Wardack and Queen Dacia?! Doesn't that
make this a coup? An attempt to wrest control of the royal family?" Marquis
Koupe stood up from his chair, fists clenched. He sounded furious. I could
hardly blame him. It was as he said, an attempt to usurp the throne. If I were in
his position, I couldn't possibly remain calm. Wardack had maintained the ruse
about Zabune's birthright for over thirty years. He took control of the political
climate of the country, then threatened the king. Through this, he took over as
prime minister ten years ago, and his rot had only grown deeper.
The fact was that Wardack had likely engineered Koupe's removal as prime
minister, just as he'd engineered everything else.
"It was surprising... Still, the proof is in the pudding."
"I-I agree, I do. Cloud-dono and that miserable whelp do not share any
physical features, they do not. They do not even share a single parent. They are
not brothers at all, they are not."
Elze and Yae spoke up reasonably. It was true that there was really no
resemblance between Cloud and Zabune, but Zabune definitely had the wicked
eyes of both Wardack and Dacia.
There's something in the animal kingdom known as a "brood parasite." Some
bird species, like cuckoos, lay their eggs in the nests of entirely different birds.
Those birds would then unknowingly raise the cuckoos as their own, absolving
the real parents of responsibility. This situation kind of made me think about
that.
I looked over at Prince Cloud, who was shaking slightly in his seat. The prince
interlocked his fingers, resting his elbows on his knees. Then, he suddenly spoke
up.
"My broth— That is, Zabune... is indeed not related to me, then. I no longer
have reason to hesitate. For the sake of my mother, for the sake of my father...
for the sake of my country that has been so monstrously bastardized and
scorned, I will fight. I will oppose the traitors who are attempting to usurp my
nation."
"Well spoken, Prince Cloud! You are the true heir, after all. That pathetic
family will never take what is yours by birthright!" Marquis Koupe was right. We
were on the side of justice. We'd saved Queen Erya, whose life was being used
as a bargaining chip to keep the king compliant. The opponent had no more
trump cards to use. All we had to do was force the truth from their mouths. But
first, I decided to do a little conclusive investigation.
I used [Invisible], slipped back to nab a hair from both Wardack and Zabune,
and then took it back to Flora at the alchemy lab. She ran a DNA test, and we
determined that they definitely were father and son. Thus, we had conclusive
evidence that Zabune was not the king's progeny. They were not connected at
all.
I had to do it, just to be certain. It was for my peace of mind.
"Fufufu... I'll be sure to run the test again when your children are born, you
know?"
"...What's that supposed to mean?" Why was she bringing up children all of a
sudden...? I didn't really think that I'd have to worry about being the father or
not, though.
I started to understand why the shogun prevented males from accessing the
inner palace during the Edo period...
"You're gonna have a lotta kids, you know? The doctor said you would, you
know?"
"Doctor Babylon said that...? Don't tell me she was looking that far ahead..."
Was she using that damn future-peeking artifact again? Just how far was she
looking? Guess I'll have kids after I turn eighteen, huh...? Am I really gonna give
in to desire that easily?!
Lemme think... It'll be another year and a half... Ah, wait. There's nine months
for pregnancy, so... The earliest this could happen will be around two years from
now... Oh, but in this world a year isn't three hundred and sixty-five days... It's
actually a good bit longer than a year on Earth. So with that in mind, I might
have some more time.
"There'll be nine brides, each bearing children for you, you know? You'll be a
great monarch with many heirs."
What?! Nine kids or more... That sounds like it might be a hassle... Wait just a
second. Nine? Did she say nine?
"What exactly do you mean by nine?! I don't remember anything about nine!"
"Now now, don't worry, you know?"
I'm seriously gonna have that many wives...? What kind of future is that?! WW-Wait, hold on though... Elze, Yumina, Linze, Yae, and Lu... Equal five. If I
tentatively add Sue to that, that's still only six. Does that mean there are still
three more girls remaining? What's gonna lead to that?
"...Did you tell anyone this?"
"I didn't, you know?"
"Don't tell anyone. You could cause unnecessary damage." Damage to me,
that is... What the hell are you doing, future me?
"Oho. Then I'll accept your proposal, you know? I'm happy to be one of your
potential wives."
"What? No. Shut up! Didn't you already tell me you can't have kids?"
"If we combine the research laboratory and the alchemy lab's facilities, it
should be possible to create a clone of you, Master. That'd be like us having a
baby, you know?"
"Absolutely not!" I didn't feel comfortable having a perfect clone "son"
running around. After warning Flora not to babble pointlessly, I headed back to
Marquis Koupe.
I told Elze and the others the report I'd gotten. With that, there was no doubt
Zabune was a fake heir. We had no more reason to hesitate.
"Then I've got one final thing to do, alright?"
"Are you going somewhere, Touya-dono?" Yae cocked her head to the side.
Of course, I'd already decided my destination.
"I'm going to the first victim of all of this. He deserves the truth." As I spoke, I
opened up my [Gate].
◇ ◇ ◇
Two days later, all of Lihnea's nobility were gathered in the royal palace. To
an outsider it would seem like a regular king's summon, but in truth, Wardack
had called them all there.
My party, myself, Koupe, and Cloud had all made our way into the palace. We
hid ourselves with [Invisible] and stood a bit away from the gathered
noblemen.
Wardack smiled broadly as he addressed them all.
Queen Dacia stood smiling by the side of the throne, and Prince Zabune stood
a little bit down from the throne. He had this irritating grin on his face, though.
Just as the murmurs in the room reached fever pitch, a loud trumpet blew.
"Presenting His Majesty the King." The nobles all hushed at the messenger's
words, bowing their heads. The king of Lihnea strolled into the room. The man
was easily in his fifties. He stood tall, and honestly reminded me a little bit of
Prince Cloud, but his face gave off a far less reliable vibe.
He wore a white robe accentuated by a deep red mantle on his shoulders. The
man definitely gave off the presence of a king. He sat himself down on his
throne.
"I will get right to the point, dear subjects. I have called you to voice my
intentions of abdication. I will soon relinquish the throne." The king of Lihnea
spoke loudly and clearly, causing the nobles to begin chattering amongst
themselves. Only three people in the room were unsurprised. Naturally, those
three were Wardack, Dacia, and Zabune. The three of them gave a subtle
knowing glance to one another, sick smiles plastered to their faces.
"Now, to all of you gathered here, allow me to formally announce the next
king of Lihnea. I am transferring all obligations, power, and duty to my son. I am
formally resigning. The heir to my throne is, of course, none other than the first
prince..." All eyes fell on Zabune. The bowl-cut idiot prince smiled gleefully as
the expectations of the upper classes washed over him. But... it was not to go as
he expected.
"...Cloud. I will be abdicating the throne to First Prince Cloud Zeph Lihnea."
The nobles all let out astonished voices. However, the most shocked and
terrified voices belonged to the malicious trio.
It was at that moment that I shoved Prince Cloud in the back, deactivating the
[Invisible] spell.
Marquis Koupe followed after him, almost as though he were the young
man's escort. I kept myself and the others invisible, however. We were
outsiders, so it was best to just observe.
"What...? Cloud, you little...!" Prince Cloud completely ignored Zabune's
flustered words, making his way over to the king. Once he reached the foot of
the throne, he got down on one knee and bowed respectfully.
"Thank you, Father. I humbly accept the responsibility. I will do you proud as
king, I promise you that."
"Aye, my son. I trust you."
"Wait just a goddamn minute! What the hell is happening here?!" Prince
Zabune couldn't stop himself from yelling. The surrounding nobles became
restless due to the sudden declaration, but calmed again as Wardack stepped
out toward the throne.
"Your... Majesty! Pardon my rudeness, but... going by the very laws of this
nation, the successor must be the first prince. Even you cannot shatter such
tradition, surely..."
"Yes, you're quite right. That's why Prince Cloud is ascending, instead of
Zabune. I said I was abdicating to First Prince Cloud, did I not?"
"You—! But... Don't be foolish! The first prince is Zabune, not Cloud! Enough
of this farce!" Queen Dacia completely lost her composure, yelling at the king.
The king began to laugh after hearing her speak, and soon enough his bellowing
laughter rang out all through the throne room. It didn't take long for Dacia to
become unnerved by the king's odd behavior.
"Farce, Dacia? Farce? How dare you." King Schlaf of Lihnea rose from his
throne with the eyes of a hawk. They were trained right on his wife. The
complacent, weak-looking king was completely gone. All I saw in him was fury
unbound.
"Now... my dear gathered nobles, please listen. There is a nation nestled
between Belfast and Regulus. It is a recent one. A Duchy. The Duchy of Brunhild.
It is presided over by a grand duke. This man defeated a Black Dragon that
terrorized Mismede. This man is a Silver adventurer. On top of that, he
prevented a dangerous coup in the Regulus Empire, saving many lives. The man
who saved that country has come to save us too."
"Grand Duke, please step forward." Prince Cloud called us up, so I deactivated
the cloaking spell. Elze and Yae were to my left and right respectively, while a
full-sized Kohaku strolled leisurely in front.
"Grand Duke Touya, would you kindly show all of the people here just what it
is you showed me?"
"...Are you sure?"
"I am, boy. Even if it makes me look like a miserable old man who was
deceived for three decades... it is a truth that must be revealed." The king of
Lihnea laughed in a self-deprecating manner.
"Very well, then." I took out my smartphone and used it to project a video
into the air. It was quite a large display, clearly visible to everyone in the room.
"And what will become of the king once he hands it over?"
"He will be disposed of. I wouldn't normally want to do it so quickly, but this
Cloud business means..."
"W-Wait, that...!" Wardack and Dacia both began sweating bullets the
moment they realized what they were seeing. They were fools... They should
never have spoken of assassinating the king so brazenly.
"Yes, after all these wasted years, our son will rise as king..."
"Ahaha! It's the birth of a whole new royal line, I'm so excited..."
"S-Stop! Stop this at once!" Wardack lunged at me furiously, only to find
himself held down by Kohaku's forceful mass. The gathered nobles began
murmuring amongst themselves again.
"This is a recording of what happened during a private meeting between
Wardack and Dacia. It's a Null spell of my own design. I watched the whole
thing through the eyes of my familiar."
"Th-This is preposterous! Your Majesty, surely there's a mistake here..."
Wardack sputtered and was clearly wracking his brain for an excuse. And the
king might have believed him, had he been a loyal and honest man. However,
Wardack was nothing but cruel. He used threats and deceit. The king had no
reason to believe his lies.
"A mistake? Hm... The only mistake was buying into your story. I must've
seemed quite the fool in your eyes, eh? Your son was treated as the first prince.
I had nothing I could do to prevent that, for I was ignorant. Did you find it funny,
Prime Minister?" Wardack piped down as the king's words battered him. His
eyes darted around the room as torrents of sweat ran down his brow. He had
nothing more to add.
In the end, Wardack's power was just a stolen version of the king's power.
With the loss of Erya, they intended to swap out the puppet king for Zabune.
And now all of that was over, in mere minutes. He was crushed.
"Now that my dear Erya is safe... I've no reason to be merciful. Wardack, you
are stripped of your position. I was a fool. I let my worry for Erya's health take
over my mind. I should have cared for my country, but you took advantage of
my feelings to usurp power from me. I am filled with naught but regret, but I
cannot change the past. It may be true that I was a worthless king, but that is
true tenfold for you, you bastard. You are a worthless prime minister."
"Father..." The king looked at the ground in shame as his son quietly stared
over at him. Queen Dacia simply fell to her knees in stunned shock.
This whole situation began because of her infidelity. As miserable as she
looked, I had no sympathy for her. This woman had no conscience. She was
more than willing to betray her husband, continually deceive him, and then
have him killed. As I thought about such things, the idiot spoke up.
"What's with this nonsense?! I am the first prince! I am the next king! That
stupid little whelp can't take my rightful position! Wardack and Mother planned
your death, I had nothing to do with it! It wasn't me! It's not fair!"
"...You're a stupid bratty man, and there's no redeeming you." I could do
nothing but sigh at Zabune's antics. All he was doing was distancing himself
from the accused. Selfish. That was all he was. Not two minutes had gone by
and he was immediately trying to save himself. He was an idiot beyond
compare.
"Stupid?! How dare you! What are you? You're nothing! You're a grand duke,
big deal! Your country is nothing, you hear me?! Don't get all high and mighty
with me just because you get to stick it in Ortlinde's daughter!"
"[Gravity]."
"Ghaugh!!!" My weight-alteration magic made the idiot prince slump to the
ground. Ah wait, he was no longer a prince. Just an idiot, then. The idiot was so
pressed against the floor that he looked like a piece of roadkill.
Once the shock wore off, he began yelling even louder. He really didn't
understand his position. Prince Cloud came over and spoke to me with a sigh.
"Your Highness, please disable that spell."
"Huh? But..."
"Please." I did as Prince Cloud asked of me. Zabune leaped to his feet and
threw a courteous little smile in Cloud's direction.
"Good boy, Cloud! You know well enough that I'm the only one out of us with
the right stuff to be the new king. I'll forgive your transgressions, don't wor—"
"Silence." Prince Cloud quietly spoke to Zabune. He was shaking. Zabune's
chattering ground to a halt, and a single bead of sweat ran down his face.
Slowly, Cloud raised a fist into the air.
"...Hey now, what are you doing there? You really want to hit me? I'll never
forgive you. Brothers shouldn't fight each other, understand?"
"You. Are. Not. My. Brother." With a ferocity I never expected to see in him,
Cloud brought his closed fist down upon Zabune's face. The impacted party flew
backward, did a little flip, and landed in a crumpled heap on the ground. Well,
that takes care of that.
"Z-Zabune!" Dacia ran over to her son. The idiot was bleeding profusely from
his nose. The king of Lihnea simply watched all of this unfold. With cold eyes
trained on Dacia, his lips parted.
"Even a pig like you loves her own son, hm? I empathize. My own son is dear
to me, after all. I think I understand how you managed to treat Cloud so poorly.
I wasn't upset in the least watching Zabune fall down." Wardack and Dacia
managed Zabune's education, so the king was actively prevented from
participating in his life for the most part.
They met a few times in a year, and the king only really knew Zabune through
rumors of his bad deeds. Wardack even prevented the king from telling Zabune
off. Thus, the king of Lihnea never fostered any paternal affection toward
Zabune.
The sad truth was that if the king was allowed to raise Zabune properly, he
might have raised him with love in his heart. Then, his eyes would not have
been so cold, even if he had learned Zabune was another man's child.
"Gah!" Wardack wriggled from his confines and attempted to leave the room,
but I wasn't about to let that happen.
"[Gravity]."
"Ghaaaah!!!" The bulldog-faced man fell where he stood. Amusingly, he
reacted in much the same way as Zabune did. That was to be expected, since
they were father and son.
"We've searched your manor. Very gaudy, isn't it? Certainly extravagant for a
man serving his country. Bribery, embezzling... smuggling, blackmail... Lucrative
business, eh? Ah don't worry, the king has all the evidence."
"And we're aware of all the nobles who worked under you. They will not
escape our grasp, either." Marquis Koupe looked over at the crowd of
noblemen. Some of them looked panicked, while others just looked at the
people around them in surprise.
"I truly am a pathetic man. This... is all my fault. You supped upon my
weakness, doing whatever you like due to my inability to act. Truly, the people
would be better off with Cloud as king than I... Yet even that act may seem like
I'm simply shifting responsibility."
"Father, don't be foolish. There'll be times I need guidance in the days ahead.
Do not hesitate to guide my hand when I make a wrong turn."
"C-Cloud... I'm so sorry..." The king took his son's hands in his, tears welling
up in his eyes. It was a touching sight. Finally, after years in the shadows, Prince
Cloud could finally join his father in the light.
"Enough of this! Don't you fuck with me! This is my country! Guards, kill
them! Cut them down! I'll give you money, status, anything!!!" Zabune started
babbling like a madman. He looked like one too, since blood was still streaming
down his nose. I wonder if "them" also included the king... Naturally, nobody
obeyed him, so all that remained of his order was a faint echo that miserably
petered out.
"I almost feel bad for him now, I do."
"Seriously... When you raise kids, you need to make sure they're raised right...
or they'll turn into, well... this." I agreed with the two of them. If this guy was
my son, well... Just the thought disgusted me.
"Enough of this disgusting display, boy. You are neither a prince, nor are you
my son. Who would listen to you now? No... it's time you sat down, for once.
Sat down and reflected on your heinous behavior." Zabune's teeth came
together in a dull grind, and his face turned a furious red. That heinous behavior
came up when we were looking into Wardack's crimes...
We'd learned about all the women he'd toyed with, all the peasants he'd
killed for entertainment's sake, and all the many people he'd had kidnapped
and enslaved... Not to mention the people he had raped in front of their
parents. It seemed he especially enjoyed hearing their parents beg for mercy.
This man, who had done all manner of wicked things, had no regrets. He
never sat down and reflected on himself, so he simply didn't care. Even when
faced with the evidence, he'd be the type to just double-down on the fact that
he was right and everyone else was wrong.
At the end of the day, Zabune was beyond a spoiled brat. I didn't think he
needed to be shown any mercy.
"Your Majesty... What do you plan to do with the three traitors?"
"As far as charges go, they'll all be put to death. It's the only logical thing to
do in order to save face. Word will eventually get out of what happened, so we
must deal with the perpetrators swiftly." The queen's affair and deception, the
fake prince... the prime minister who held all the real national power. It would
go without saying that this would reflect poorly on him to outsiders. Still, it
seemed as though he'd already accepted it, so at least he was prepared to
mitigate damage.
"E-Execution?! Have you gone mad! Don't you dare!" Zabune was still
wriggling around like a worm, screaming like a banshee. Honestly, I was getting
pretty sick of him. I wished he'd just shut up.
"How dare he? How dare you? Aren't you long overdue a punishment, you
miserable little whelp? You're no prince. You're nothing more than a common
criminal. Nobody is coming to save you. Nobody is coming to protect or
represent you. Accept it and be a man for once."
"Shut up! Shutupshutupshutup!!! You piece of shit! I'll kill you! You better
remember me, understand?! Remember this face! Your country, your women,
I'll fuck them both to pieces!"
"...Excuse me?" What the hell did you just say?
Slowly, I pulled Brunhild from its holster. Then, I took aim at Zabune's right leg
and fired. The live ammunition penetrated his flesh, making blood bubble up
around the point of impact.
"Gyaaaaaaaah!!!" Zabune crumpled in a pathetic, writhing heap, clutching at
the wound. His voice was beyond disgusting. I wanted him quiet.
"Wh-What did you...?!"
"...You'll do what to those I hold dear? You vow to do what to my home? Do
you really think I'd let you live, you monologuing little shit? After you dare
threaten everything I care about?" I shot out another round, firing at his left leg.
"A-Ahgh!!! S-Stop, p-pleahss...! I-I'm sohrry! D-Don't kill me...! I-I don't wanna
dieee!!!"
"...Those innocents you tortured didn't want to die. You laughed at them. You
took pleasure in their suffering. Why shouldn't I do the same to you?" I
stomped Zabune's arm with my foot, holding it in place beneath my shoe. After
that, I brought Brunhild's muzzle to the palm of his right hand. Then, I pulled
the trigger.
A beastly, animalistic roar of pain forced its way past his lips. Either due to
fear of death, or just plain torment, the miserable animal in human clothing
known as Zabune... passed out.
I quickly used restorative magic to patch up the wounds I'd made. I never
intended to kill him, after all. He pissed me off, so I just wanted him to hurt.
There was nothing more to it. Punishing Zabune wasn't my burden to bear.
It went without saying that the bastard was going right to hell, but the people
whose lives he had ruined wouldn't be satisfied if he was given such a quick
death. What happened to him now depended on Prince... er, King Cloud's
judgment.
"...Sorry. Think I went a little overboard." I apologized to Cloud's father.
"No, this can simply be considered another form of atonement. Though I did
declare the death penalty, what happens to him is in Cloud's hands. I have
abdicated the throne, after all."
"Guards, take them to the dungeon!" At their new king's command, the royal
guards came in and apprehended the villainous trio. Funny, given that they
completely blanked Cloud the other day.
"Are you okay, Touya?"
"...Yeah, I just got a little upset." The moment he said he'd do things involving
my duchy, Elze, and the others... I lost composure. It wasn't like he'd be capable
of doing anything, but just the thought made my blood boil.
It was similar to when those bratty knights picked a fight with me back in
Belfast. I didn't really seem to mind when it came to me, but I couldn't keep my
cool when the people I cared about were slandered. It wasn't my intention to
have such a short fuse. I definitely needed to learn a little more self-control...
As I pondered such things, I watched Wardack, Dacia, and Zabune get dragged
off to the dungeons, kicking and screaming all the while.
Right after succeeding the throne, Prince, or rather, King Cloud, began to
make his mass reforms.
His first course of action was reinstating Marquis Koupe as prime minister.
After that, he had the authorities go through all evidence of Wardack's
embezzling and bribery. The evidence was then used to arrest the merchant
houses that had conspired with the wicked man.
He also made sure to purge the royal capital of noble families that had
supported Wardack's campaign of terror.
Furthermore, he reduced taxation on the general public. And on top of that,
he used the ill-gotten gains that Wardack had stockpiled and redistributed them
to the people, creating several public works projects to improve quality of life in
Lihnea.
The mansion that Zabune called home was also raided, and a dungeon was
discovered in the basement. Several enslaved people were living there, all
collared. I promptly removed their bindings with my magic, freeing the abused
innocents there.
Wardack had been abusing his position for over ten years. It seemed he'd
focused all national budget and resources into strengthening the military. His
goal all along was clearly war.
By declaring war on Palouf and reuniting the island of Palnea under a single
banner, Wardack would have gone down in history as an amazing man who had
accomplished the impossible.
Because of the military focus, the people suffered greatly and domestic issues
weren't addressed. Whether or not Lihnea would've even been able to win the
war was another matter entirely, though.
All in all, Lihnea's national power was at an all-time low as a result. I hoped
that they'd be able to avoid conflict with the Palouf Kingdom, but given that the
north had suffered a poor harvest and a few other issues, it didn't seem like
either side was in a condition to fight. They'd likely continue their relative peace
for the foreseeable future.
"Still, I wonder if I'll be able to build friendly relations with the Palouf
Kingdom. It may be difficult to heal old wounds, but I think it would be
worthwhile."
"Yeah... Oh, what's the former king been up to?"
"Father has been spending every waking moment with Mother. He's basically
doting on her in every way he can. I think he's trying to atone for not being
there for her during Wardack's treachery." King Cloud was sitting in Brunhild's
conference room, chatting with me.
After the incident, I ended up investigating how the country had received the
news, and was pleasantly surprised to find that the people felt pity toward the
king for Wardack and Dacia's deception. They regarded him as an unfortunate
man who had been treated cruelly and misled. The king's image seemed to be
well-preserved, and the hatred of the people was more focused on Zabune,
Dacia, and Wardack.
Zabune's hedonistic behavior was also well-known by the people in the castle
town, and apparently popular opinion in the country was that Lihnea would
meet its end under the reign of King Zabune. When it was revealed that he was
an impostor prince, and would be duly punished by the law, the citizens were
positively exalted. The hatred for that idiot clearly ran deep.
"So, what happened to those three in the end? Death penalty?"
"No, actually... They were given a much harsher fate. Their victims wouldn't
be able to rest in peace if I'd let them off with something as final as death."
"...Th-Then what did you do?"
"The slave collars that Zabune had with him, well... I repurposed them. The
three of them were fitted as slaves, and sold to a merchant from Sandora.
They're likely laboring under a harsh master by now." That's... hardcore.
Apparently Sandora had some pretty heavy excavation going on, and the
operation was manned almost entirely by slaves from all over the place. From
what I understood, most of those slaves were heinous criminals, forced to work
from the crack of dawn until late at night. It was basically like a prisoner's life,
an inescapable hell.
"Zabune never lifted a finger in his life, so I imagine it's especially bad for him.
Still, this was a necessary punishment. If he died without tasting a fraction of
what he inflicted on others, the deceased could never be satisfied." I guess it's a
matter of perspective... whether that's cruel or generous. On the one hand, it's
hellish labor, but on the other... they're still alive. It would ultimately come down
to personal philosophy.
They were criminals, so it was fair that they experience a portion of the
suffering they'd given others. I had no sympathy for them.
"Touya my boy, shall we begin?"
"Oh, right. Sorry, I was thinking a bit." The king of Belfast cleared his throat
and stood from his chair. Looking over the other world leaders gathered in my
conference room, he went over the day's agenda.
"Please raise your hand if you disapprove of the Lihnea Kingdom joining the
western alliance." Not a single representative objected. Belfast, Refreese,
Mismede, Regulus, and Ramissh were all in favor. Obviously I didn't object,
either.
"Then we're all in agreement. Let us welcome Lihnea to our fold." Cloud, the
freshly-crowned king of Lihnea, bowed his head. Everyone gathered around and
applauded. His formal induction into the alliance would mean the other
members would be able to support him properly. Though obviously nobody
expected anyone to go out of their way to support Lihnea.
"Well then... today's agenda is formally closed, so..."
"We should see about deepening our bonds as rulers, aye!"
"Hoho, I won't lose this time!"
This again?! Pssh... it's bad enough once a month, but I wonder if they called
the meeting early just to play instead of dealing with the Lihnea situation...
Well, maybe it'll be fun.
I made my way out of the conference room with the beastking of Mismede
and the king of Belfast.
"Touya, lad. Are they at the stadium?"
"...Yeah, but it took a while. Please warn me in advance next time..." I stared
at the two and let out a small sigh.
"There's a match between Mismede and Belfast today, you know? You should
come too, young king."
"Hm? A match? You mean fencing or something along those lines?"
"It's a baseball match! Never heard of it? Don't worry, I'll teach you all about
it!" The emperors of Regulus and Refreese both descended on King Cloud like
vultures. The pope followed quickly behind them... but I wondered if that was
out of concern for Cloud or the game.
When the hell did they even have time to arrange a game? It's kind of
annoying that I had to transport all the players here on short notice... What am
I, a goddamn bus?! I was a little miffed, but it was no big deal.
I told the royal knights, and they all seemed pretty eager about it. I wondered
if the ones with free time on their hands had already gone to the stadium.
Hm... a baseball match... Wonder if I should whip up some popcorn. Caramel
popcorn sounds good right about now... I can probably make a ton at once if I
use magic, too. Popcorn'll make everyone hungry, so I should probably see
about getting some beer coolers, t— Hold on... this is getting pretty businessminded...
As I thought about such things on my way to the kitchen, I suddenly heard the
pitter-patter of little feet running steadily in my direction. Wait a minute... that
noise... "Touuuuyyyyaaaaaa!!!"
"Gwaugh!" As if from nowhere, I was struck with a ferocious side-tackle. OOw! That really goddamn hurts.
"Father told me everything, Touya! You beat him... You beat up that wicked
old prince just for my sake! Ah, you're amazing, Touya! Truly astounding! You're
husband material, Touya! I just knew it!"
I had collapsed. The next thing I knew, Sue was cuddling my head. Well...
Cloud was the one that beat him up.
"W-Well, I mean... I definitely wouldn't let an idiot prince like him have you,
but I'm not so sure about being husband material..."
"F-Father said you'd approved of me already... A-Am I truly that worthless to
you?"
Guh... Please don't start tearing up like that. If you go on like that, you might
end up being one of the nine brides Babylon saw...
Five brides was daunting enough, that was for sure. Though it was true
everyone had approved, somehow... Guh... It's more of a burden than anything!
Sue was definitely cute. She was bursting with energy, and her face was...
well, more than pretty enough, to be fair. She was a little bit of an airhead at
times, but not in an intolerable way. I was certain that she'd be a great beauty
once she finished growing up.
Right now, I can't view you as anything other than a little sister, Sue... But I
mean... I feel like I could end up seeing you like I see the others, given time. No,
not could... I probably will. The same thing happened with Yumina, anyway.
"Hic..." Crap! I gotta say something or she'll start crying!
"...Th-Then... just like the others... I won't marry you before I turn eighteen. Is
that acceptable?"
"Y-Yes... I don't mind at all. Thank you so much, Touya!" Sue's tiny arms
pulled my head into a warm embrace. ...Well whatever, at least she's happy.
I clambered back up and took Sue to the kitchen to make some popcorn. In
the end, the popcorn and beer ended up being a huge success. I prepared
salted popcorn and caramel corn. The former ended up being the best seller
initially, but over time the caramel flavor became more popular. I learned that
popcorn was a common snack in this world, but caramel flavoring was
something new. I was surprised, since it wasn't like sugar was uncommon here
or anything. Felt a little weird, but I rolled with it.
In the beer's case, I prepared wooden cups, and offered a one-third discount
to anyone that brought their own cups. I decided not to use paper or plastic
cups because it could've caused a surge in litter. Wooden cups were better allaround because you could take them home and reuse them, so there was no
waste. Everyone won that way.
It actually went so well that I considered making hamburgers or hotdogs for
the next time.
Just as such thoughts were running through my head, Olba appeared as if
from nowhere, popcorn in hand and grin plastered on his face. The man's
trading senses were insanely on-point.
He was a proper merchant, and he always sold well, so I had no reason to
mistrust him. He wasn't formally employed by Mismede either, meaning he
could do as he pleased.
I wanted to go and see the match itself before negotiating trade, however. I
went up to the transparent VIP booth high up in the stands. The leaders of
Lihnea, Regulus, Refreese, and Ramissh were already there, chowing down on
popcorn no less.
The commander-level knights from every nation were also present,
presumably for bodyguard duties. Gaspar, the one-eyed knight from Regulus,
was wielding the flaming spear he'd won in the bingo match a while back.
Though I'd set it so magic was nullified within the VIP box, so the spear was just
a regular spear.
"How's the game?"
"Ah, Grand Duke! It's very interesting... I hope that one day, when my country
is in a better state, that we might have a national team as well." Prince, er, King
Cloud's eyes glimmered with excitation and hope.
"I wonder who'll win..."
"I bet that Mismede will win since they are up 3-2 in the bottom of the 7th
inning. Beastmen have exceptional physical prowess, after all. For them, what
would normally be a triple would turn in to an in-the-park home run."
"Don't underestimate Belfast, my friend. They have that pitcher who is an ace
with curveballs. Once he's on the field, Mismede won't be able to score again."
The two emperors discussed their opinions on the situation. Belfast needed one
more run somehow. While they chatted, Ramissh's pope sat quietly, chomping
her popcorn noisily.
"Ah, Lord Touya..."
"Hey, no need to be so formal, remember?"
"I-I know, but... I can't simply refer to God's messenger as a common man,
but that aside... This 'caramel,' I think you called it? Would it be possible to
make it in my country too?"
"Of course. It's pretty simple, actually. I'll put the recipe down on paper for
you, so just give it to your cook. I made some regular caramel candy in the
kitchen a while ago, too. Wanna try some?" I pulled several sheets of the candy
out of [Storage] and handed them over. Her Holiness popped a little piece into
her mouth, chewed it a little, and adopted an amazed face.
"It's amazing...! Ah, I know children will just love this. I'd love to have this
included in our orphanage care packages..."
"Oh, that's great. I'll put down the recipe for this one as well. It's good to hear
it'll go to needy ki—" At that moment, I felt a gaze upon me from behind. Three
gazes, to be exact. Three greedy people...
I gave the caramel over to the emperors and Cloud, as well. They popped it
into their mouths at once, and chewed on it happily. I also handed out bits of
the candy to all the men on guard duty... Though, that was only because I could
feel their gazes forming on me, too.
The match carried on until the ninth inning, three to two all the while. Belfast
was at bat, with one out. They had a runner on first base. If they could manage
a home run, they could easily make it a comeback win.
Suddenly, some commotion stirred outside the VIP box. The guards were
briefly on edge, but they quickly calmed down upon realizing who it was. Laim,
my butler, charged up to see us. That he'd come all this way was rare in itself.
What was even rarer was the fact that he was running.
"Something going on?"
"S-Sir... the Gate Mirror... from Belfast...!" His breathing was haggard, so he'd
clearly ran to the stadium full-sprint. He passed me a piece of parchment, and I
hastily opened it up. What I saw shook me to the core.
"This... Oh no!" I tried to use a [Gate] to reach the Belfast bench immediately,
but in my haste I forgot that I'd nullified magic in the box. Rushing out into the
regular stands, I tried again and moved there immediately.
Standing just like a team manager, side-to-side with his brother, was His
Majesty the King of Belfast. He was intensely focused on the game, but quickly
snapped out in surprise when he saw me appear out of nowhere.
"Whoa, Touya? Is something going on? You here to fix the game?"
"N-No, not that! L-Labor, Your Majesty!! Labor!"
"Huh? Labor? You mean like, work?"
No, damn it! While His Majesty the King didn't understand what I was talking
about, Duke Ortlinde clearly understood right away.
"Y-Your wife is in labor, is what I'm trying to say, Your Majesty! A message just
came through from Belfast! Your child's coming!"
"Oh, I see. WAIT. WHAT?!" Talk about a slow reaction! I was thinking the baby
would be due soon, but this timing is bad!
I sent the flustered king through a [Gate] to Belfast, then told the duke to
carry on with the game. The game would end as I expected after two more outs,
but that wasn't important.
Since the queen was already deep into labor, we weren't allowed inside the
room. I could understand why I was forbidden, but ended up being pretty
surprised that the king couldn't go in as well. Keeping the husband out was
something I just found confusing. I wondered if it was a royal custom or
superstition or something. Either way, it's not like my presence would help
anything.
For the time being, we waited in the room next to the next room. We stayed
so far out of consideration for the queen's voice, but now and then her screams
would travel through both rooms and reach our ears...
The king started pacing back and forth, so I briefly left him behind and opened
up a [Gate] to call over Yumina and the others. It was the birth of her younger
sibling, after all.
Yumina immediately went through to see the queen, as did the rest of my
wives-to-be, so really it was just me and the king again after all that.
I couldn't do anything to help, so I left Kohaku behind in case of an
emergency, then briefly returned to Brunhild.
As it turned out, Mismede won the match three to two. I sent back each
player and world leader to their respective countries. I was really anxious about
the birth, so I decided to return to Belfast right away. I promised I'd send a
letter through the Gate Mirror when the child was born.
I went back with Duke Ortlinde and Sue, only to find the king still pacing back
and forth.
"It sure takes a while, huh...?"
"Actually, Yumina was born fairly quickly. It's a case-by-case sort of thing, I
think." Not even an hour had passed, but it felt like an eternity. Every time we
heard a pained groan from the queen, I frowned. We men were powerless to
prevent her suffering. It was honestly a little disheartening.
I wasn't so sure I'd be able to endure hearing that if it was the birth of my
own child.
Wait, hold on... If what Doctor Babylon said is true, then does that mean I'll
have to experience this kind of anxiety at least nine times?!
"I can't believe it..." His Majesty the King paced back and forth with little
rhyme or reason. I followed him with my eyes, wondering if I'd be in his position
before long.
I was wondering how long childbirth lasted on average, but before I could
search it on my smartphone, I heard a baby crying from nearby.
With a start, His Majesty charged out of the room. I hastily followed after him.
Still, as it was before, the king was still not permitted access to the birthing
room. We waited for someone to come out and tell us the news. After a while,
Linze peeked her head out.
"The child has been born. It's a healthy baby boy. Both the mother and child
are well."
"Wh-What?! A baby boy?! And they're both okay?!" His Majesty merrily
walked over to the door. Duke Ortlinde and I thought it wouldn't be appropriate
to go and see the queen immediately after childbirth, so we waited outside.
"A little boy... that makes him a prince. That means you'll no longer be in the
running to become king of Belfast, Touya... What a shame."
"Come on now, don't worry about that at a time like this." Joking or not, what
the duke said actually made me relieved. With the prince's birth, everything
was settled.
After a while the door opened up, and out came the king holding a precious
little baby bundled up in white cloth.
"He's here! The heir to Belfast's throne!"
"Congratulations, big brother!"
"Congratulations." The newborn child was wrinkly, kind of like a monkey. He
was teeny, that was for sure. Looked fragile enough to break at a single firm
touch. Yumina jokingly called me big brother because the little guy was basically
my younger brother-in-law. It was kind of weird to consider.
"By the way, Touya. We'd very much like for you to become the boy's
godfather, so... can you think of a good name for him?"
"What, me?!" Strange thing to saddle me with, but I guess I can oblige... Hm...
If his older sister is named Yumina, then...
"Yamato... I think that'd be good."
"Yamato... Hm, yes. Yamato. Yamato Urnes Belfast. A strong name indeed. I
like it! Very well, the boy is Yamato. Prince Yamato." Yumina was just a string of
three basic syllables, so I figured Yamato would work just as well. It was a pretty
solid name, too. Well... if we took the battleship of the same name, then maybe
it'd be more of an ill omen, but... this is a different world, so it's best not to fret.
His Majesty the King lifted his son high, smiling all the while.
"Whoosh... Woooooh..."
"Waaah!!!" The prince started crying, which made the king freak out and run
back into the birthing room. He's definitely overreacting... It was kinda cute,
though. Is this just what people become when they have kids? Children sure are
amazing...
The prince's birth was formally announced shortly after.
The news spread through the castle town in no time at all, and people flooded
into the streets celebrating. I was allowed to fire up a bunch of fireworks to
celebrate, too. Well, technically they were being dropped down from Babylon,
but I digress. In tandem with that announcement, Yumina's engagement was
made formal knowledge as well. Her fiancee was announced as an up-andcoming grand duke. In other words, me. It didn't take long for gossip to spread
about that, either.
Apparently the story became pretty popular in the guild. Some kind of success
story about a lowly adventurer who rose up the ranks, became a monarch, and
got engaged to a beautiful princess.
Yumina's engagement wasn't the only one announced, either. In Regulus,
Princess Lucia's engagement was made public knowledge as well. I imagined
people would be chattering similarly over there too.
Thanks to the announcement, I imagined the citizens would be a lot more
confident about a solid unification between Belfast and Regulus.
The other girls didn't get formal engagement announcements, but they
weren't really torn up about it. Well, Sue was a little bit fussy.
Sue had been accepted as my fiancee, but I didn't quite have the heart to
bring her back to Brunhild with me. I imagined that Duke Ortlinde and Ellen
would get lonely.
As a compromise, I created a permanent [Gate] in her room at the Ortlinde
estate, which connected to her own bedroom in my castle. I told her she could
stop by any time.
"Ah... I'm glad the kid was born okay."
"Indeed. I was most impressed by her resolve, I was." The girls, who had been
there for the birth of Prince Yamato, sat exhausted on a couch. We were all in a
guest room that had been provided for us. Yumina and Sue weren't present,
leaving myself, Elze, Linze, Yae, and Lu. They seemed more than relaxed to be
done with it all.
"...W-We'll... eventually have children of our own, won't we...?" Linze quietly
spoke up, causing the others to turn beet red and mutter amongst themselves.
Wh-What a thing to say... Even I'm gonna turn red!
Festivals were being held in the streets that evening. The royal palace was
giving out free booze, and everyone was celebrating the prince's birth.
The Gate Mirrors I'd set up all saw activity, well-wishes from various nations
coming in en masse. The king smiled gently, which honestly kind of made me
feel nervous... I wasn't sure I was ready to be like that.
The problems in Lihnea had been dealt with, and Prince Yamato had finally
been born... It was time for a much-needed rest... or so I thought.
"Hello there, my name is Fleur. Grand Duke, thank you so much for saving
me."
"Ah... It's really no big deal..." A young woman with light-brown hair stood
before me. She seemed to be around twenty or so. She was the female slave
that I had freed from Zabune. In all honesty, I'd kind of forgotten about her.
There was a lot going on, so it wasn't really my fault. Apparently Fleur had
been living in my castle since the time I brought her back... And only now had
she been able to meet with me. Or rather, only now had I remembered she
existed.
"Zabune's been sent off to the dig site at Sandora, so you're free. If you'd like
me to take you home, just say the word."
"Ah, no... I'd like to ask if I can work here. I don't wish to return to Lihnea, and
I know my home is fine without me, so..."
Well, she was a slave over there, I guess... Even if the place is different now,
it's probably still full of bad memories.
"Uh... Sure! A friend of mine runs an inn in the castle town, would you like to
work there?"
"Yes! I'd love to!" And so, I sent Fleur to go work at the Silver Moon. Micah
accepted the offer readily, so that was lucky.
I gave her various high-quality potions made in the alchemy lab. It would be
helpful to have stuff like that at the inn, just in case people got injured over
there.
"How're customers doing? Is the inn profiting well?"
"I'd say we're definitely turning a profit, yes! Rooms are rarely empty these
days. A lot of adventurers and travelers from Belfast and Regulus pass through
here, actually. Ah, that reminds me... they often swap stories, and I heard an
interesting one recently."
"Hm? What was it?" While Brunhild's Silver Inn branch was ostensibly a hotel,
it was also an intel-gathering hotspot. Almost all the staff there were ninjas
formerly associated with the Takeda house. It was their job to observe
suspicious individuals and listen out for curious stories. They were my gossip
traps, after all.
"There's a small village to the south of the Roadmare Union. Apparently a
crystalline monster appeared there recently. It was supposedly the size of a
bear, with a body shaped like a mantis."
"...What!" It had to be a Phrase. Likely one of the weaker ones, given the size
reference given... Probably on the same level as the Cricket Phrase we'd
encountered so long ago.
"So, what became of that monster?"
"The guild in Roadmare put out a job to wipe it out, and a party formed to kill
it. But... there were massive casualties. The village was entirely annihilated, and
the party almost died." Wow, they killed it? I'm impressed... but still, that much
damage even against a weak one...
Still, I was hearing more Phrase sightings lately... They were appearing more
frequently, little by little. I wondered if the world's boundary was becoming
even more strained.
Ende hadn't shown up, which probably meant he didn't consider the weak
Phrase important enough.
"Guess I'd better hurry..." I asked Micah to deal with Fleur, then quickly
opened up a [Gate] to Babylon.