Chapter 49: The Princess and the Grim Reaper
"What? The princess wants to meet me? What a joke."
"Unfortunately, it's no joke, 'Grim Reaper.'"
The next day, Shuu and Iris returned to the tavern and couldn't believe their ears. Why would someone like them, an assassin, wish to meet with the princess? It made no sense.
"She's a princess, after all. What is she thinking?"
"She doesn't think at all. That foolish princess."
Shuu sighed at Iris's response, which sounded like she was simply dismissing the matter. In other words, they were being asked to meet with that foolish princess. Shuu was convinced that it would only lead to trouble.
"I thought we were just coming to collect the payment today."
"But now, we have additional troublesome work."
"But it might be a good opportunity."
"You're right."
Though Shuu was reluctant, he found the proposition not entirely undesirable.
"Well, I guess we'll go. Are you coming, Iris?"
"Of course, if Shuu-san is going, then I'll go too."
"...You two are daring."
Master sent a look of exasperation their way.
***
Four days later, Shuu and Iris were led to the royal castle. After receiving the permit to enter the castle, they discussed when to make their visit. Of course, all of this was arranged through intermediaries, so Shuu and Iris had been waiting patiently.
Finally, they received the pass from Master and arrived at their destination.
"This is the room."
The servant led them to stand in front of a grandly decorated door.
"Before you enter, I must warn you. The person inside this room is of very high status. Please be on your best behavior."
The servant pleaded with them, so Shuu and Iris nodded in agreement. They were both wearing hoods to conceal their faces, so they must have looked suspicious to anyone seeing them. Hence, the strict warning.
"Very well."
The servant knocked on the door to announce their arrival.
"Guests have arrived."
After a few seconds, the door opened from the inside. Another servant, who opened the door, was taken aback at the sight of Shuu and Iris but quickly regained composure.
"Please enter."
Upon the invitation, Shuu stepped inside, and Iris clung to his left arm, entering the room together. The moment they entered, a strong fragrance of flowers filled the air, making Iris cough slightly.
While Iris didn't dislike the scent of flowers, this concentration was far from pleasant.
They could feel the host's poor taste immediately.
The interior design of the room caused them to feel even stronger distaste. There were gaudy decorations on the lighting fixtures, tacky paintings hung in a vulgar manner, and numerous vases of flowers that appeared expensive. It was just terrible. Surely, it couldn't have been prepared by the servants serving the royal family. It must be Princess Luschana's taste.
(So, the foolish woman sprawled on the sofa must be Luschana?)
First, Shuu confirmed the person in the room. There was a man who appeared to be a noble, two magic-wearing guards accompanying the princess, two servants, and six individuals dressed in the uniform of the Imperial Army. They probably considered the possibility that the "Grim Reaper" was an assassin.
But their guards were utterly pointless.
"By the way... who's the woman sitting in front of the princess?"
"If she's sitting in this space, she must be someone of a similar status."
"Meaning, Luschana's sister... Wyllis, right?"
"Probably."
They exchanged a quiet conversation, unheard by others. It was reasonable to assume she was Wyllis, considering she sat close to the arrogant Luschana.
And that assumption turned out to be correct.
"You've come. Are you the 'Grim Reaper'? I've heard the 'Grim Reaper' is a man. I am the First Princess, Luschana Mina Lichtahl. This is my younger sister, Wyllis."
"I am Wyllis Lyura Lichtahl. You are the 'Grim Reaper,' I presume? Your name is quite peculiar."
"Never mind Wyllis, but it's an honor to meet me, isn't it? How about bowing down as a sign of respect?"
Just listening to her made them irritated.
That was Shuu and Iris's impression.
"Oh, you can't see my face if you bow, can you? Well, I'll allow you to stand as you are. Be grateful for my generosity and revere me."
"Impressive as always, Your Highness. You are so kind."
"Hehe, it's only natural."
Everyone in the room collectively thought, "What?"
Unfortunately, Luschana genuinely believed what she was saying. She thought of herself as the most beautiful and noble person in the world. She even considered the 'Grim Reaper' to be beneath her and believed her nobility made her untouchable.
Such folly.
"Iris."
"Yes."
"It's troublesome. Let's finish this quickly."
Since Shuu began to find the situation irritating, he decided to end it swiftly.
Subtly, he extended his hand towards Luschana and Wyllis and made a crushing motion.
"That's enough. Death."
In that instant, Luschana and Wyllis died. Their life force was drained as magical energy until it reached zero, resulting in their deaths. It happened so naturally and anticlimactically that even the nobleman, the servants, the guards, and the Imperial Army officers were all left dumbfounded.
In the silence that enveloped the room, Shuu spoke.
"Mission accomplished."
Upon hearing those words, the nobleman, Count Aulie, finally regained his senses.
"You fool! Our request was to reclaim the treasury's wealth from the so-called Revolutionary army! What have you done! What did you do to Princess Luschana and Princess Wyllis?"
"I killed them."
"What...?"
The Marquis Aulie was struck dumb, and in response, the princesses' guards and soldiers of the Imperial Army, Ricardo Empaldo, moved to kill Shu and Iris.
However, before those eight could deploy their magic armor, Shu's spellcasting speed was faster.
By means of death magic, both their magical power and life were taken, and soon all eight of them were dead.
"As expected of a Mage-Knight. You've got quite a bit of magical power."
"Can you take down more of them at once now?"
"I've grown too, you know."
Furthermore, Shu turned to the now weakened Marquis Aulie and his servant. From the start, he intended to kill everyone in this room. He had no aversion to that notion.
"Hold on! Wait! Why would the 'Grim Reaper' kill us? I am the head of the Aulie Marquis family! I commanded you to find the wealth stolen by the Revolutionary Army Rebellion! Why?"
"Oh, I certainly received that request."
"Then?"
"But at the same time, I received a request from the Revolutionary Army Rebellion. They asked me to kill any member of the royal family. The reward increases depending on the number killed. Well, it worked out well. Thanks to you two, it seems like the reward will be higher."
"I also paid the reward! It's 100 gold coins! Why do you side with the Revolutionary Army Rebellion? Are you telling me you were just their pawn?"
Shu heard the completely off-target outburst and shrugged his shoulders.
This matter wasn't about taking sides or such complications. It was a much simpler story.
"The 'Grim Reaper' received two requests. One was to reclaim the stolen wealth from the Revolutionary Army Rebellion for 100 gold coins. The other was to assassinate a member of the royal family for an upfront payment of 200 gold coins. On top of that, they would get additional payment depending on the number of royal family members they killed. Since it's 200 gold coins per person, the upfront payment would be 600 gold coins."
Upon hearing that, Marquis Aulie realized.
In other words, he could receive six times the payment he offered. Even if he had paid only the upfront fee, it would still be doubled. Most likely, they used stolen wealth from the national treasury to make the request.
And if the client, Marquis Aulie, died, the 'Grim Reaper' would no longer need to fulfill the request. They could freely use the upfront payment of 100 gold coins.
As a result, they could gain 700 gold coins.
For the 'Grim Reaper,' it was much more profitable to side with the Revolutionary Army Rebellion.
"W-Wait! I'll pay! I'll give you a thousand gold coins! That's ten imperial gold coins! Be my hireling!"
"If you want to hire me, give me the cash right here and now."
"That's impossible! But if you go back to my mansion..."
"That's not acceptable. Death, Death."
The Marquis Aulie and his servant fell to the ground.
In this room, Iris had cast soundproof magic, so there was no need to worry about anyone outside hearing.
"Let's get out of here, Iris."
"You won't kill the prince?"
"I don't need more money than this. I already opened a bank account and deposited the coins. There's no point in having more than 700 gold coins, right?"
"That makes sense."
"Besides, it might be more profitable to keep the prince alive for the future."
"Wow, Shu-san, you're quite cunning."
"I can't have a demonic creature like me trying to fit into human emotions."
The two quietly left the room.
A few hours later, the servant who became suspicious of the complete silence went to check inside the room. When he did, he found a large number of corpses, causing a huge commotion.
◆◆◆
Several months after Princess Ruchana and Princess Wylse's deaths.
The Revolutionary Army Rebellion had grown stronger once again. Using the wealth they took from the royal castle, they rebuilt their organization and strengthened their forces.
"Lord Ray, we have completed the conquest of Heinz Village. I heard that all the villagers who were enslaved have been liberated."
"I see, this is the last one. I'm truly glad."
Rayle, who had been a long-time attendant, reported on the success of the Revolutionary Army Rebellion's operation. Under Princess Ruchana's orders, a village that was supportive of the Revolutionary Army Rebellion was attacked by the guards, and all the villagers were enslaved.
They were rescued from their life as serfs, where they were forced to toil in agriculture until their death.
In addition to the chaos caused by the deaths of the two princesses, the Revolutionary Army Rebellion's increased resources had given them greater power than before.
"Lilia, spread our achievements to the public. Also, make sure to mention the evil deeds committed by the Eldorado royal family."
"I'm already doing that. Thanks to that, more and more villages and towns are becoming supportive of the Revolutionary Army Rebellion. Most of the eastern region is on our side."
"How about other countries?"
"We've subtly spread news of our activities to the Bern Kingdom in the north and the Saladia Kingdom in the south. Their people seem to be inspired, thinking they can change their own countries."
"As planned. Now both the north and the south won't have the luxury of interfering in Eldorado."
The ones who suffered the most under the oppression of the Grand Empire were the common people of vassal nations. Especially the farmers, who had most of their harvest taken from them, couldn't even sustain their daily lives.
Some regions were even limited to growing only specific crops as part of the national policy, leading to shortages of staple foods like wheat. While it might be efficient to cultivate only one type of crop in a single location, it was an ill-advised policy that ignored the lives of the farmers. If trade routes were well established and crop exchanges were easy, such a policy might make sense. But in the current situation, it was only a detrimental move that drained the farmers.
Frustration had built up among the farmers, but at the same time, they had also become resigned to their fate.
However, when they heard about the success of the Revolutionary Army Rebellion, they began to think differently. Perhaps they could change their own country themselves. Perhaps they could grasp a better life on their own.
"Rayle, Lilia. Next, we'll aim for the largest city in the east, Illeista. We'll gather our forces there and finally succeed in the revolution."
"Yes."
"We'll get ready immediately!"
Two weeks later, the eastern region of Eldorado was under the control of the Revolutionary Army Rebellion, both in name and reality.