"Why, Madam Maria?!" I exclaimed.
"Sire!" cautioned Hakuya from beside me. But I was in no state of mind
to listen to him.
"I'm sorry... It's already been decided," Maria said apologetically.
Despite the melancholy look on her face, it wasn't going to change how
unacceptable this was.
"You're getting ahead of yourself; I thought we had an understanding
here. While it's possible our country can deal with it in our current state, the
same cannot be said for the Empire. This was something that we were only
able to do because Friedonia, the Republic, and the Archipelago Kingdom
moved on it in lockstep."
"Yes...I thought so too. But there's immense pressure on me from below
to do something because of Sir Fuuga's accomplishments."
"Even so, why does it have to be now?" I said, clutching my head.
This was giving me a serious headache.
"Why do you have to abolish slavery so suddenly?"
During our broadcast meeting here, Maria had told me she was going to
abolish slavery in the Empire.
Now, just so I'm not misunderstood, I agreed with her that the buying
and selling of people was a terrible custom. It was something that had to be
wiped out for human history to move forward. I was in the process of taking
steps towards abolishing it in my own country. But if we just did it all of a
sudden, it would cause societal upheaval.
"Slaves are the downtrodden in society. Even if you abolish slavery and
the slaves all go free tomorrow, they'll have nothing they own. They'll
struggle to maintain any sort of lifestyle. If they don't have knowledge and
skills, they won't be able to find new jobs. The men will have to sell
themselves as cheap labor, and the women...in some cases, they may also
have to sell their bodies."
"I suppose so..." Maria nodded in understanding.
"That's why—prior to formally abolishing the system—our country has
been working to make it something that exists in name only. We made the
slavers into public servants managed by the state, protecting the slaves from
having their rights ignored or being used until they could no longer work.
At the same time, we promoted academia through Ginger's Vocational
School and set up learning centers where anyone could study for free. These
will let the slaves be hired under more favorable conditions."
Maria looked at me as she intently listened to my words.
"We've had a shortage of personnel since we changed the way we
evaluate performance. Many houses wanted to acquire capable slaves even
if it meant paying them wages, and now that's becoming the norm. Thanks
to Ginger and the others' teaching and hard work, even if people find
themselves reduced to slavery for a time, we're building a system that will
help them to crawl back up with enough hard work. Although, that doesn't
apply to penal slaves."
"That's all wonderful. We've been emulating your policies here in the
Empire too," Maria said with a smile. I didn't understand.
"Abolition in everything but name... Even if they're still called slaves,
you have to work towards a society where slaves are not used cruelly. If you
suddenly declare the system abolished, there will be those who push back.
That is why you instead change society without them noticing. Ensure the
rights of slaves, make it so they can own property. And then when they're
no longer abused, you change the name for them, and suddenly there are no
slaves who aren't also criminals."
Essentially: leave the word "slave" as is, but raise their status to the
same level as a part-timer or contract employee. The priority was to protect
the slaves' lives and safety.
If only the name is changed and not the reality, it's no different from if
the system were still in place. The fact is that even after the American Civil
War ended, inequalities like black people not having the right to vote meant
that the conditions which resulted in discrimination continued for a long
time after that. Though, even in my time, I wouldn't say things had been
completely fixed...
It's like trying to stamp out discriminatory language. Even if you declare
a word offensive and ban its use, then ban the next word that takes its
place...all you're doing is piling up words people can't use.
I recall hearing that some of what Yoshitsune said at the Battle of Ichino-Tani in the Tale of the Heike is considered discriminatory, and in some
editions, it's censored. That made me think that what needed to be clamped
down on wasn't words, but the people and society that use them abusively.
I looked at Maria's reflection through the simple broadcast receiver.
"Was that not the Empire's understanding of the situation too?"
"Of course. That was our intention," Maria said, her expression
somewhat exhausted. "However, there are people who've been shaken up
by Sir Fuuga's rapid advance, and their demands of me have only escalated
as well."
"Because of Fuuga?" I asked.
"Are you aware? These days, they call him the Liberator."
"The Liberator? Because he's liberating the Demon Lord's Domain?"
"It goes beyond that. It seems he's been freeing people from slavery as
well. That's likely to increase the number of residents in the territories he
liberates. He's made freemen of the slaves who belonged to nations that
opposed him inside the Union of Eastern Nations, or those who fled there
from other countries due to harsh living situations."
"He's doing something unreasonable again..."
I got what he was aiming for, at least. They're like the tondenhei settler
colonists...no, more like Cao Cao's Qingzhou Army of Yellow Turbans, I
guess? He was taking in people who had no place in society and using them
to bolster the strength of his nation. The Great Tiger Kingdom wanted
people to rebuild the lands they'd liberated, and they were ready to take just
about anybody. If Fuuga freed them from slavery and gave them someplace
to live, they'd be loyal to him. It was an effective strategy.
"The strength of the Great Tiger Kingdom begins here," he could say.
There were drawbacks too, of course. The most obvious being a decay in
public order. There also would likely be friction between the old and new
settlers. Accepting everyone meant risking that some of the people would
be ruffians and criminals. That would be fine so long as Fuuga, with his
overwhelming military might and charisma, was still alive and well. Those
villains would be vanquished by his elite cavalry, forcing them to lay low.
But when Fuuga's time had passed, they might prove a source of turmoil
for the Great Tiger Kingdom. Not that Fuuga was one to care about that.
"The people who come after me can worry about what comes then." I
could imagine him saying that with an undaunted smile.
"Recently," Maria began as I was lost in thought, "the people have been
talking in the northern lands of the Empire. They say, 'Sir Fuuga is freeing
slaves, but what is Maria, the one they call a saint, doing?' and 'She's a
saint, so she should lead the way on liberating the slaves.'"
"That's not fair..." The people were being unreasonable. "Even if the
Great Tiger Kingdom frees the slaves and gives them abandoned houses
and fields, they don't have the wealth to support this. The newly freed
slaves will simply be impoverished."
While true, compared to the oppression they'd faced, the slaves would
still probably be grateful for that. But if you compared the situation of their
freed slaves with our slaves who had been freed in all but name, there was
no way they were more affluent. But hold up... Isn't something off with this
whole conversation?
"I've never heard Fuuga called a liberator of slaves here in our country,"
I confided.
If that kind of talk was going around, the Black Cats would have
reported it. The fact that they hadn't meant...
"Is someone spreading that rumor inside the Empire?"
After a brief pause, Maria nodded. "Yes...I believe so. People from Sir
Fuuga's camp are likely doing it intentionally."
"Huh?!" I gasped. Propaganda! That can only mean...
"It must be his advisor, Sir Hashim," Maria noted. "He wants me to rush
into abolishing slavery to breed chaos in the Empire."
"If you know that, then—"
"But I see this as an opportunity," Maria said, cutting me off.
"An opportunity? You don't mean..." As my eyes widened with surprise,
Maria pressed a finger to her lips.
I knew what this meant and fell quiet. Beside me, Hakuya had a dubious
look on his face, but I was going to ignore him for now.
I scrutinized Maria's expression as I asked, "You...really plan to do
this?"
"Hee hee, your voice has lost its composure, you know?"
"Answer me, Maria Euphoria!" I pushed the question, my tone serious.
Maria silently nodded, and said, "Yes."
"So that's how it is, huh..."
I pressed a hand against my forehead. Her resolve seemed firm.
"You've made up your mind... All right, then."
"Thank you. And I'll be counting on you, Sir Souma."
With that, Maria terminated the broadcast. Hakuya immediately
approached me.
"What was that about at the end?"
"Something personal... For now, it seems Fuuga has set his sights on the
Empire."
"That it does. The two countries are bound to collide eventually,"
Hakuya said, and I scratched my head.
"We're going to have to talk about the future. Call Excel to the capital
for me."
"As you wish."
◇ ◇ ◇
Some days later, an announcement was made inside the Empire
abolishing the institution of slavery and liberating all of their slaves.
Because progress—even if it was less than in the Kingdom—had
already been made towards abolishing the system in everything but name,
there was no great effect on people who weren't slave owners or the slaves
themselves. In fact, they were happy not to be called slaves anymore.
However, the people who used those slaves worried that their own lifestyles
might be in jeopardy.
The groundwork had already been laid for the protection of slaves'
rights to ensure they weren't worked to the point of infirmity or death.
Normally, this would only have been a change of terminology, nothing
more, but that was where Hashim's agents began spreading their
propaganda. Rumors spread that Maria was putting the lifestyles of the
slaves first, neglecting those of the propertied class. That meant that the
higher up you went in society, the more resistance you found against Maria.
That's when an incident occurred.
An independence movement began in two of the Empire's vassal states
—north of the Star Dragon Mountain Range on the continent of Landia.
The eastern one was the small Kingdom of Meltonia, bordering the
Nothung Dragon Knight Kingdom. The western one was the Frakt Federal
Republic, henceforth referred to as the Frakt Federation. These two states
had secured their continued existence by submitting to the Empire early on.
In the case of the Frakt Federation, it was a region that once housed
many small- and medium-sized states, like the former Union of Eastern
Nations. But they chose to unite into one country to confront Imperial
expansion back before the appearance of the Demon Lord's Domain. Their
bonds were stronger than those of the Union, and the constituent nations
were dismantled to be ruled as states, each of which sent a representative to
the republic's senate. However, when the senate determined they could no
longer resist the Empire, they chose to submit in order to nominally
preserve their nation.
As for the Kingdom of Meltonia, they were vassalized by the Empire
before the Frakt Federation. They were smaller and less powerful than the
Dragon Knight Kingdom or Frakt Federation. When they opposed the
massive Empire, it was clear they were going to be reduced to cinders. For
the Empire's part, they had just fought a bitter war with the Dragon Knight
Kingdom that ended in a stalemate, and they wanted a buffer state. That
was why they allowed the Kingdom of Meltonia to continue existing. Even
now, the Meltonian royal family ruled over the country.
When these two countries first became Imperial vassals, there was
friction between them. However, thanks to the high degree of autonomy
afforded to them during the time of the former emperor—Maria's weakwilled and inactive father—and under Maria's own peaceful reign, they
only rarely push back on things these days. In fact, because they were
protected by the Empire after the appearance of the Demon Lord's Domain,
relations between the three states were actually good.
However, the past few years had changed that.
The expansion of Fuuga Haan's forces had made it so that the Frakt
Federation and the Kingdom of Meltonia no longer bordered the Demon
Lord's Domain. This freed them from the worry of the demon waves, and in
turn, put them beside the newly established Great Tiger Kingdom instead.
If the monsters were at their gates because of the demon waves, they
could count on the Empire to send forces to protect them. But would that
hold true if the enemy were the Great Tiger Kingdom? Would the Empire
save them like before? The two countries began to have doubts.
It was certainly true that the Empire would not acknowledge the
acquisition of territory by force. But their decisions were inevitably slower
when it involved the other nations of mankind. This was shown by their
inability to prevent the Principality of Amidonia from attacking the
Elfrieden Kingdom. Furthermore, if the Empire and the Great Tiger
Kingdom were to collide, these countries caught between them might be
turned into a battlefield. This led to a debate among their people over which
side to support.
Recently, there had also been an active independence movement. This
was brought about by two disasters that occurred at roughly the same time.
—One night at the end of the 6th month, 1552nd year, Continental
Calendar — A bar in the north of the Empire—
Rattle, rattle, rattle.
"Hm...?"
A drunk arched an eyebrow, and the guy sitting across from him cocked
his head to the side.
"Huh? What's wrong?"
"Uh, I thought I felt something shaking..."
"Shaking? Oh, hey, you're right."
Rattle, rattle... Rumble!!!
""Whoa!""
The tremors grew larger as the shaking of the earth became audible. The
tavern shook back and forth. Tables moved around, and the tableware fell
and shattered to pieces. The quake went on for a long time and showed no
sign of ending.
The shaking of the building grew worse, and cracks formed in the
earthen walls.
"The tavern's not gonna make it! Get outside!"
"Y-Yeah!"
The drunken customers scrambled outside just in time to watch one part
of the city walls crumbling. Looking around, they saw houses with their
roofs caved in and reddish smoke rising in the distance.
In every direction, they could hear people screaming.
"This is horrible..."
"Yeah..."
The two drunks' legs were quaking as they felt themselves sober up.
—The same time — A town near the Frakt-Meltonia border—
"Hey, look! The mountain!"
"It's spitting fire..."
"The lava flow could come here! We need to hurry and run!"
The people watched as their mountain erupted. The rocky formation
served as the border between the Frakt Federation and the Kingdom of
Meltonia. Consequently, debris and volcanic ash from this eruption fell
equally on both nations. Its damage to agriculture was especially heavy,
forcing the governments in both countries to request aid from their masters
in the Empire.
It was unknown whether there was a connection between the earthquake
in the north of the Empire and the volcanic eruption that struck the Frakt
Federation and Kingdom of Meltonia. However, one thing was certain—
Maria couldn't send support to both her own people and her vassals at the
same time.
In the coming days, Maria would summon her top bureaucrat, Lumiere.
"Let's send generous aid to the Frakt Republic and Kingdom of
Meltonia first."
Lumiere furrowed her brow. "You realize our country also suffered
major damage from an earthquake, yes?"
"Our people have the strength to endure for now. Theirs, however, do
not. The situation there will only worsen."
"But there are limits to how much we have set aside for this. If we give
the vassals too much support, reconstruction in the north will be delayed,
resulting in discontent. It could roil the country."
"I know, Lumiere," Maria said, nodding. "That's why I intend to go to
the Kingdom of Friedonia for assistance."
"Wha?! To the head of the Maritime Alliance?!"
Lumiere's eyes widened. Most Imperial retainers didn't know about the
strong connections between Maria and Souma. In fact, now that the
continent was divided into three factions, some people saw him as a threat
to Maria's position, the same as Fuuga. Lumiere was one of them.
"The Kingdom of Friedonia...giving support...to us?"
"Sir Souma, the King of Friedonia, is an understanding sort. This was a
natural disaster, so he'll likely be willing to offer support without concern
for things like national boundaries. Of course, if the same happens to them
in the future, we'll be expected to return the favor."
"But if you go to the leader of the Maritime Alliance for aid now—as
Fuuga Haan sways the hearts of the people with his liberation of the Demon
Lord's Domain—it will hurt your image! Would you please reconsider?!"
"Lumiere..." Maria looked on with sadness in her eyes. "My image
doesn't matter. Our thoughts should be on how many victims we can
provide succor to. Am I wrong?"
"Yes...that's true... But still! We take pride in serving you!" Lumiere
shouted, her eyes filled with anguish. "I may not be as devoted as General
Krahe, but I still serve you! The Saint of the Empire! Yet recently, you treat
that like it means nothing. What of... What about our pride, Your Majesty?"
Maria lowered her eyes. In a soft voice, she said, "I'm sorry, Lumiere."
"Your Majesty!"
"This is an order. Do I make myself understood?"
Lumiere didn't answer immediately. After a few seconds, she muttered,
"...Yes, ma'am."
Maria watched Lumiere go with a sigh.
Thus, Maria provided support to her two vassals while requesting
Souma's assistance inside her own country. Souma gladly accepted, and
immediately sent the King Souma, loaded with relief supplies, to an
Imperial port. Word of this spread far and wide, improving the opinion of
the Kingdom of Friedonia with the people of the Empire. At the same time,
however, it bred discontent among those retainers who could not bear to see
Maria standing in Souma's shadow.
◇ ◇ ◇
Meanwhile, Fuuga Haan's advisor, Hashim Chima, smiled coldly when
he heard this report.
"I see... So that's how Maria moved, did she?"
As soon as he'd finished listening, he gave orders to the agents he had
brought with him from the House of Chima.
"Spread rumors in the Frakt Federation and Kingdom of Meltonia at
once. 'The empress accepted relief supplies from the Kingdom of
Friedonia, then kept them for the Empire instead of distributing them to her
vassals.'"
While this was technically true, it was also a distortion of the facts. The
Empire had been so generous with their aid to their two vassals that they
had needed to go to the Kingdom of Friedonia for assistance. This was
something they should have been thanked not resented for, but the half-truth
sprinkled into the rumors incensed the two countries. It didn't help that this
came at a time when they were wavering between the Empire and the Great
Tiger Kingdom. Because of this, the voices that said they should abandon
the cruel Empire and turn to the Great Tiger Kingdom for protection grew
by the day.
Of course, the higher-ups in both nations knew about the support the
Empire had given them. Alas, the senators of the Frakt Federation went
along with public sentiment in order to avoid looking weak themselves. The
royal family of the Kingdom of Meltonia tried to mollify their people, but
Hashim's agents whipped the populace into a frenzy that could not be
contained, and the royals were forced to flee to the Empire.
They say God sends natural disasters as a sign that a country is coming
to an end. However, that's not because the natural disasters destroy the
country, but because they have deteriorated to the point they are unable to
overcome them.
The sun was setting on the Gran Chaos Empire... That much was
becoming clear.