[Oh ho ho ho! Huge! Vic! Tory! Humph!]
[You're a noisy little girl.]
[I am desperately trying not to be out of character here.]
[Hey Mariel, meta(gaming) is NG (no good) you know.]
[Do you even have the right to say that!?]
=====
[Oh, scary, scary woman…]
While muttering how scary a woman could be, I activated stealth and walked through the royal castle. Why did the maids and patrol soldiers who heard my muttering turn pale and ran away quickly?
I feel like I'd created a new ghost story within the royal castle, but that's okay.
For now, Princess Kalnera and the maid Stella were sent to Clover via the fast tra…I mean, the teleportation gate. I put it in the meeting room of the feudal lord's mansion, where the legal development work was probably being done, as a little mischief.
The two had almost zero personal belongings. It's almost like she was suddenly taken away from her older sister's house where she was staying, and that the castle had prepared all the necessary items for her. However, it turned out the important personal items were put in the treasure box that the maid Stella had.
I was told that there were some clothes left, so I put the entire contents of the closet in my inventory. Her underwear was plain despite her flashy appearance. I'll return them later.
[Is it here?]
It's about time for the Crown Prince to finish his『after meal exercise』and be in this office, but what do you think?
I tried to detect signs from outside the room, but there were none. Was it a little early? After confirming that no one was around, I gently slipped my body into the open door.
[...Who are you?]
[Uh!?]
I was unexpectedly called out, which made me unintentionally tremble. When I timidly turned around, there was a single good-looking man with a thoughtful expression on his face. A man who was as cold as an ice blade, glared at me with a sharp gaze, and pointed a pistol at me.
The pistol was a multi-barrel pistol with four barrels bundled together, and was also decorated with beautiful gems. Did he actually put the gun into practical use? The four barrels were pointing perfectly in the middle of this body. It's the correct way since it's harder to aim for the head.
But, why didn't you detect his presence? Was there a trick in this room to deceive the presence detection? If you detected presence now, you could properly see the presence of the man in front of you.
Hmmm, so the skill wasn't omnipotent after all.
[What I'm aiming at you is a magic tool with deadly killing power. If you do something strange, you'll have a hole in your torso.]
[That's scary. By the way, are you His Highness the Crown Prince of this country?]
The good-looking guy with a multi-barreled pistol didn't change his expression, and he just stared at me without answering anything. All right, just give me an answer. No, should I introduce myself first? Before that, let's take a look at it with an appraisal eye. It's too cold if you call yourself cool and it's a different person.
=====
Name: Melqis Grow Geppel
Level: 17
Skills: Sword Mastery 2, Marksmanship 2, Water Magic 3, Wind Magic 2, Dark Magic 3, Mental Magic 3, Ancient Magic 2, Equestrian 2, Etiquette 3, Negotiation 3, Magic Eyes of Domination, Royal Charisma (Awe)
Title: Ruler, Swordsman, Dark Mage, Water Mage, Prince of Ice, Cold-Blooded, Good-looking, Brazen, Unequaled, Merciless, Innovator, Crown Prince of Goebbels Kingdom
Crime: None
=====
Yes, it's a big hit…but what the heck is this? What is the magic eye of domination? It smells dangerous, but this is it. Also, this is the first time I've seen someone with dark magic or mental magic.
And he's secretly unequaled, isn't he? You've been busy, I understand. I'm excited too, yes.
[My name is Taichi Mitsuba. Do you remember this name?]
Upon hearing my name, Melqis narrowed his eyes and stared at my face. Stop it, being stared at by a man doesn't excite me. Or, are you testing the magic eye on me? Since it didn't seem to work, does it mean his POW is lower than mine?
Melqis glared at me for a while, but before long he threw the pistol on the high-end looking desk, leaned against the back of a comfortable chair and closed his eyes. Resigned–? No, that can't be.
With my magic eyes, I could see that a magical barrier had been deployed to protect Melqis from the chair he was sitting on. Apparently, that gorgeous chair seems to be a magic tool that has the function of deploying a defensive barrier. I see.
[What did you come here for? Nothing will end if you assassinate me.]
[I don't know about that. But well, it's true, if you die unnaturally or go missing at this time, I might be suspected.]
[Hmm, then what are you going to do?]
[What to do…..]
I folded my arms and pondered over Melqis's words.
This dialogue was an important key to whether or not many casualties could be prevented. Don't make a wrong choice. After thinking a little, I opened my mouth.
[I think a man's jealousy is unseemly.]
[Okay, you are on death row.]
It seems that you made a mistake in your choices. I thought it would be better to say this kind of thing straight rather than roundabout.
[Well, wait brother, sometimes you need to calm down.]
[Who is your brother!]
A vein popped on his forehead as Melqis threw his fist down on the armrest of the chair. Dear customer, you'll have to buy the item you damaged in our shop.
[No, seriously, I want to know your true intentions. You have so little to gain and so much to lose.]
Even if we were to actually dispatch troops, if rumors spread that the reason for the dispatch was a scramble for a woman between the Crown Prince and me, morale would be destroyed. Moreover, if it were to attack the Sea of Trees, intense exhaustion would be inevitable. There was no way to maintain morale while being attacked by a large number of powerful monsters day and night. They probably wouldn't be able to secure a military base either.
It would be tragic to have an army that could not maintain logistics and lost morale.
[If you're relying on the 'thing' you threw on your desk, you should stop. The environment in the Sea of Trees isn't that weak that anyone could break through with something like that. Even if there were tens of thousands of them.]
In a plain with little cover, and with monsters only coming from the front, a gun would be a strong weapon. If you formed a formation and fired all at once, the firepower must be astonishing.
However, guns also had similar weaknesses to other ranged weapons such as the bow and crossbow. It's difficult to take advantage of their characteristics in dense forests such as the Sea of Trees, where there were many obstacles. It would be a different story if they could jump from tree to tree and shoot accurately like our cute little Elf Melchina or like the Arachneans who specialized in forest warfare.
It's better not to fight elves and Arachneans in the forest. Seriously. In the end, I ran into a powerful technique of mowing down the trees around me. Best power play.
[I can't see your intentions either. What do you want to do? What do you want to do by persuading me?]
[I don't want to make things troublesome. By the way, if there is a war, it would be such a one-sided massacre, I'd find it hard to sleep. Even soldiers have families, spouses, lovers, siblings.]
[First of all, correct that silly tone. Also, don't call me bro. It's creepy.]
Melqis said that with a genuinely disgusted look on his face and sat down in his chair lazily.
[You must be the one who set fire to the butts of the Nobles near the border. Even incompetent pigs will become desperate if their interests are threatened.]
It's a concession. Was the interest of the Nobles near the border a traffic tax for caravans or a trade interest? In other words, the story that I'm building a road through the Great Sea of Trees had spread to the traders at least, and it's been passed on to the Nobles of the Kingdom of Geppels through them. If it's passed down to the Nobles of the Geppels Kingdom, I think it's safe to assume that it's also passed down to the Nobles of the Kingdoms of Micronia and Karendil.
[Hmm…but isn't it like someone else's problem?]
[Because they're the ones who are so desperate. I'm just allowing them to use my name and giving them what they want. They'll fight you on their own and I'll benefit from it without hurting my pocket. We can obtain combat data of weapons. In addition, we can reduce the power of the local Nobles, so we can kill three birds with one stone.]
Melqis spoke with a cruel smile.
[Even if that's the case, it's because of a women's scramble—]
[The cause of the war was that you have damaged the honor and national interests of our country, killed our soldiers, hid the centaurs who were hostile to you, and tried to become King with the monsters in the Devil's Nest. We will carry out a sacred battle to destroy you, the Demon King, with wisdom.]
Melqis speaks sonorously, covering my words. With a cruel smile.
[Ah… I see. I think I understand now why Ir-san was slightly vague about the definition of a Demon King. This is how a Demon King is born.]
I don't know what to say… I think the best way to describe it is to give up.
No matter how hard I try, I will be called a Demon King. Especially when people are convinced that the actual boundary that divides the『Hero』and the『Demon King』is just between "I can't do it no matter what" and "Fuck it, let's just do it".
Of course I'm the latter. It's tiresome to bother going around correcting things, so if you want to say it, you can say it as you like. If you attack me, I will show no mercy, and if you are friendly with me, I will do the same. Simple and easy.
[Well, that would be fine. If that's what you want, why don't we take a similar attitude? Either way, I don't think I can persuade you. I prefer harsh methods. By the way, Your Highness the Crown Prince? Is it okay if I take your statement just now as a declaration of war against me?]
[… I guess so.]
[Are you really sure?]
[Do I need to repeat myself]
Yes, I received your declaration.
OK, then I'll prepare myself. Peaceful times are over.
[Is that so? Thank you. By the way… Which do you think is stronger, the defensive power of the chair you're sitting on or a dragon's skull?]
[What――!?]
Ignoring Melqis who showed a dubious expression at my question, I took a step forward and collected the luxurious office desk together with the multi-barreled pistol into my storage. The only obstacle between Melqis and me was the barrier generated from the chair. Melqis opened his eyes wide in surprised expression. Go ahead, distort that brazen face more.
I took another step. Already in front of me, Melqis was within fighting distance. Concentrating magic power in my right hand, I reached out to Melqis' neck. Melqis's mouth twisted in mockery—but the next moment, his face twisted in shock.
[Impossible!?]
My hand penetrated the barrier without any problems. The barrier glowed blue for a moment, but disappeared as if nothing had happened in the first place. Did it break due to excessive output?
Melqis tried to avoid my hand, but it was too late. Grabbing him by the neck, I lifted it up. It's difficult to adjust the force since I must not accidentally kill him in the process.
[Gah!? Huh–!? you monster…!]
[It's rude to call me a monster. I'm a respectable human being, just so you know. Even so, don't you think you're being a bit careless? You thought you could stop me with this level of barrier, eh?]
Melqis used his hands and feet to resist my strangling arm, but my body didn't waver even with level 17 resistance. But well, I don't want to get kicked, so I'll just throw it away. Be as soft and gentle as I could so as not to kill him! Well, it's basically stone, so it's hard to hold back!"
[Guah!? Damn you…]
[No, but it's a shame. I wanted to be as polite as possible and solve it through discussion. But well, there's no way you can talk to someone who doesn't feel the same way. Yeah, it can't be helped.]
[This madman…! I don't care, just do it!]
[Oh?]
Magical power began to rise throughout the room. Melqis seems to have covered his body with ice… Fumu, is it some kind of trap?
While I was thinking about such things, my field of vision was covered with a dazzling light. The sound is also amazing, it seems that my ears are going to be strange. Is this skin-burning tingling sensation, an electric shock?
As soon as the discharge ended, the heavy door opened with force, and several Knights in armor rushed in.
[Yes, thank you for your hard work.]
[What!?]
I was a little nervous, but it's just me, it's nothing. It's probably not going through my strong POW resistance, this. It's also possible that my VIT is simply too high.
I lightly kicked the leading Knight who was surprised to see me still standing, and kicked the other Knights who jumped in with me out of the room. The shining armor was dented in the shape of my shoe print, but I wonder if he's dead? Well, he doesn't have the right to complain because he was brandishing his sword at me.
[A room that blocks presence, a chair that protects you, and an electric shock trap that paralyzes the entire room. It would have been effective if I hadn't been the opponent.]
Perhaps the ice wasn't enough to block the electric shock, so he muttered while looking down at the fainted Melqis.
Well, that's fine. Now that His Highness the Crown Prince has personally declared war, let's do it without hesitation. I'll make you pay for making me your enemy.
=====
[No, stop it, stop it! Put it down! Shut it down!]
The cornered prey threw down its weapon, held out its hands and desperately begged for its life. His gaze was fixed on the object I was playing with on the palm of my hand, and he didn't mind the sweat dripping in his eyes.
[Hou, do you want me to stop? Don't you want to eat this guy? Hmm?]
[Oh, I have a lover! Others have families too! Besides, there are not only soldiers here, but also maids who don't even have the strength to fight! Somehow I missed it――]
[But I refuse. It's your fault for taking refuge here. What!]
Pointing at the companions and maids around me, I threw the wooden barrel I was toying with at the man who desperately pleaded with me. The barrel shattered as it collided with the man's gorgeous armor, and the chaos that had been sealed inside overflowed.
The murky juice, the fish that had fermented so much that it had become nothing but bones, and the odor that went beyond the word "strong" could even make you feel pain. The juice splattered all over the room due to the forceful slamming, pouring down on furniture such as carpets and sofas that looked really expensive.
A merciless blow that did not distinguish between combatants, non-combatants, men and women of all ages. It rained equally on an elegant uncle, a beautiful lady, a simple-looking maid, and a simple-looking servant.
[Gyaah!? Uboe!? Kahyuu――]
[Kyaaaa! Ugh, it stinks…]
[Gahhhh…..]
Yeah, it's "that" again. I'm sorry. I don't even want to apologize and ask for forgiveness. It's only the second time. When you saw this surströmming attack, I'm sure you thought, "Here we go again." In this savage world, slaughtering all your enemies according to that style would be a loss. It's just that you can actually do it.
You might think why it's a surströmming every time, but in reality, these stink bullets are effective as non-lethal weapons. Even in the original world, it was considered more effective than rubber bullets and tear gas as the latest weapon for suppressing riots.
It's the same as poison gas, indiscriminate and widespread damage, but it's just a smell, so it's more forgivable. It stinks to the point of fainting, it's hard to get rid of the smell, and depending on the situation, one might suffocate to death from vomit, but it's (probably) better than slaughtering them all.
By the way, Melqis, who I dragged around, woke up once a while ago, but when I BUKKAKE'd him from the head with a storm of surströmming, he immediately calmed down. Now he's sleeping with a calm expression. His eyes turned up to mostly showing the white part though! HAHAHA!
[Hey, where's the King?]
[Th-There's no way I'll tell that to someone like you!]
Leaving the room of the castle that has turned into a hell of screaming, I get involved with a truly arrogant old man who I want to meet. Don't call it father hunting. This was an information gathering activity.
[Hmm? Do you want a direct hit of this?]
[Go straight here, turn left in the large hallway, and go straight to reach the audience room!]
[Good luck. Then you should receive your reward.]
[Wait, stop… Gubaaaaaaa!?]
I let the old man in expensive clothes get directly hit by another barrel of stink. I didn't condone his deed on selling off his master, but as a reward for being useful to me, I gave him the stink bomb as a present.
Oh, why am I okay, you ask? It's because I'm wearing a necklace with powerful purification and deodorant properties. Nonetheless, even if I used a moderately powerful magic core equivalent to four shots of the prototype magic cannon, the effective time would be only about two hours.
That much output was necessary to nullify the stench of Surströmming. Moreover, it is disposable. The stink was quite literally a weapon in its own right.
I left the fainted old man and continued walking while dragging Melqis for a few minutes. Along the way, I threatened Nobles and maids to get information about the King's whereabouts.
However, the wide corridor leading to the hall was lined with soldiers.
Heavy armored knights were in front of them, behind them were spearmen, mages with their staff, and crossbow wielding archers. It is a total war stance.
In that case, we must do our best here as well. I took out a barrel full of Surströmming from my inventory and put it next to me. It's big enough for one person.
[Everyone, throw away your weapons and open the way! Otherwise, I'll immerse the Crown Prince in this large barrel!]
[Kuh, cowardly!]
[This request is for a dialogue with the King. If this request is not accepted… I will throw this large barrel into this castle and the food storage in the capital!]
[ [ [ [Are you a demon!?] ] ] ]
You can say whatever you want. I don't care if you call me cowardly or call me a demon.
In the end, the other side broke when Melqis was immersed in the barrel up to his knees. Melqis woke up when I started picking him up, but as he was in the middle of the odor rising from the barrel, he quickly sank again. This was the deciding factor.
As I dragged Melqis along the path that had been cleared by ferocious soldiers, I felt a slight headwind. When I think about it, there are many mages waiting behind the king-like old man sitting on the throne, and it seems that those mages are continuing to blow a breeze with wind magic. Most likely trying to keep the smell out.
[I am the King of my Geppel Kingdom, Leonard Grow Geppel. I can't forgive you for the violence you have done this time… but I understand, and will listen to you. So, stop setting up that barrel.]
[Very well. A very wise decision. Do you need an explanation as to who I am?]
[You! Disrespectful to the King of a country! Kneel down!]
[Ha?]
[Stop! Deniderus, step back. This person is trying to open up the Great Sea of Trees, gaining recognition from the Kingdom of Karendil and the Kingdom of Miscronia, and establish a country. So to speak, he is the lord of one country and one castle. There's no reason to kneel before me.]
There was an old man who was yelling and screaming, so I used all my magic to intimidate him and the king intervened. Oh, isn't this a King who understands a lot?
[Then, what is the purpose of this ruckus? Tell me.]
[I don't want war. I just got mad and did it. I haven't regretted it. I thought I'd give you a little idea of what it's like to be at war with me. I just lost my temper. I'm not going to reflect on what I did.]
[…I see, so you came here to stop the conflict. But if you rampage in the castle, that all falls apart doesn't it? If you cannot be talked with, don't you think we'd have to decide that we must defeat you?]
I see, he seems to be a very intelligent person. Moreover, my pretense was also completely shot. Don't underestimate me.
However, the basic premise was wrong in the first place. Totally off the mark. I waved my fingers and smiled.
[First of all, please understand. I'm not here to protect myself. I'm here to protect you from yourself. I'm here to protect you. Do you understand what I mean?]
In response to my words, the people in the audience, starting with King Leonard, all seemed confused. 'What the hell is this guy talking about?' Was written on their faces.
[Babies playing with knives, children running blindly along the path of carriages, youths who go on adventures without knowing their abilities, adults telling lies for good stories. What would you say to an old man who tries to force himself without thinking about his age? Stop doing such dangerous things. In other words, that's what I came to tell you. Please stop doing such dangerous things.]
It seems that there was no one in this audience who could not understand the true meaning of my words after being told this far. Some appear red and angry, while others appear pale and fearful.
In the midst of that, King Leonard stared at my face without even changing his complexion. They may be trying to measure my strength.
[It's quite big. To protect us from ourselves. I see. In other words, you want to say that our country is an insignificant existence for you, and it's easy to trample on it, right?]
[Yes, would you like a proof? If you wish, I will slaughter everyone in this audience room except for His Majesty and His Highness the Crown Prince. Including those soldiers in the back and those who are peeping.]
After saying that with a playful attitude and bowing, the audience fell silent.
The people who seemed to be the King's aides, who were talking about the mess, were stiffened with a startled expression, as if they didn't think that the spear would be directed at them.
King Leonard and I glared at each other――it was King Leonard who gave in first.
[Let's stop, if you are that Taichi Mitsuba, there is no one who can resist you in this place. There are important people who play the central role of our country here, so there are not many people who can take their place.]
[I see, you're smart. I'm glad that I can save you a lot of time and effort. Then let's move on.]
[Yes. Your request was to stop the conflict. I would like to do so myself, but if I surrender and cry like a woman, my Kingdom will lose its authority, so it's quite difficult.]
[Is that so? Then it can't be helped, let's start by clearing this castle with the people inside.]
I concentrated magic power on my palm and generated an explosive light bullet.
[Such tyranny is allowed? Are you saying you can do anything as long as you have power?]
[I'm surprised that you, the King, would spout such a weak argument. Isn't it ridiculous that you, who oppressed the centaurs with force, would say that?]
[I'm not talking about such a small story. If we relent to your show of force and pass your demands, we will lose the credibility of not only our country but also other countries. Especially when your country is currently just a rogue country.]
[Hahahaha, don't say anything too funny. You're the one who demanded my head in the first place against the background of power, right? I'm just doing what I'm supposed to do. Now then, I'm already tired of asking questions.]
I fired an explosive light bullet toward the ceiling of the audience room.
Immediately after that, a dazzling light and flashy explosive sound resounded, and a large hole opened in the ceiling of the luxurious audience room. Then, without a moment's delay, attack magic was fired at me all at once from the magic soldiers who were securing the rear entrance, the robe-clad man standing by the King's side, and the magic soldiers.
My whole body was filled with magic power, and I immediately pulled out my telescopic sword and intercepted only stone, clay, and ice bullets. In front of my powerful POW, most magic was resisted and has no effect. Pure magic, fire magic, and wind magic instantly dissipate, and water magic becomes just water. However, ice bullets from water magic, stone bullets from earth magic, and clay bullets are solid, so they reach my body and damage me before they completely disperse.
Well, since my VIT is high, I only feel a slight impact, and I could get away with the pain of a small poke. But I don't like pain. Not to mention that stone bullets and clay bullets stain my clothes, so I don't really want to receive them.
How many, dozens of magic shots landed on me? It went on for around ten seconds at most. Dispersed stone bullets and clay became fine powder and danced in the air, making visibility poor. Since it can't be helped, I used wind magic to drive out the dust toward the hole in the ceiling. Thanks to the anti-Surströmming necklace, my clothes were spotless. It's not what I was aiming for, but it did help.
[That was a pretty interesting sideshow. Oh let me return this to you. It's not nice to leave it at your feet.]
With a smile on my face, I grabbed Melqis by the collar and threw it at the robed figure standing by the King's side. I don't know if he hesitated whether he should avoid it or not, but the person in the robe was blown away to the back of the throne together with Melqis. They won't die, maybe.
[What's wrong, you all suddenly shut up. Oh, I see, you're afraid of swords, aren't you? All right, all right, then I'll put away my sword. Now you're not scared, are you? I can forgive you once. I have an open mind. Now, let's leave the entertainment at that and continue this discussion.]
Starting with King Leonard, everyone in the audience room, except for me, seemed to be completely speechless. There were people who stiffened with a dumbfounded expression, people who slumped down, people who kept mumbling and shaking their heads, and people who knelt down and prayed.
As expected, King Leonard couldn't hide his turmoil. Sweat was dripping down his forehead.
[…What is your purpose? What are you doing with that power?]
[Right now, it's about building a nation. A country where people have equal chances regardless of their birth, humans, beastkin, and other races can respect each other and live with compassion. In order to achieve the ideal, we must first make a country where everyone can live, so we are putting effort into improving agriculture, production, and trade.]
[If you have that much power, you can destroy and rule other countries.]
[It would be easy to just destroy it, but if you ask me if I can rule it satisfactorily, I can't help but disagree. It would be better to have other places take care of you and become a trading partner.]
I said so with my hands outstretched as I took a step forward. That alone made the air roar. I bared my teeth, lowered my voice, and continued.
[However, if you put arrows in your bow, ready your staff, cast magic, and pull out your sword, then it can't be helped. Since you'll come at us in full force, then we'll have no choice but to retaliate with full force as well. That means, for me to crush you using my power.]
[…We stepped on the dragon's tail, so that's how it is.]
King Leonard muttered with a bitter smile.