Episode(25): Maria's Thoughts(2)
SOVEREIGN OF DEATH~(25)
She also noticed at the time that he was wearing a fake wig. Maybe it was due to him fighting but his wig was unbalance even if just a tad slightly.
For Maria who saw countless nobles who were obviously going bald wear wigs every day, it was almost a natural instinct to spot such a detailed thing.
She wondered in her heart what he really looked like and a faint blush spread over her face. Maria's thoughts trailed off for a moment and the lipstick marked a straight line across her cheek. The maid panicked and hurried went to help Maria.
Maria blushed slightly.
'What am I doing!? Get a grip, you're a princess!!!'
She felt ashamed of herself and thanked the maid before refusing her help. Maria let out a sigh before calming the thoughts in her mind.
She thought about several things. Where was the future of the empire? Was having this many heroes a blessing or a curse? And would the hero sent to the dungeon even survive?
Should he actually survive that place, he will definitely be a powerful person when he returned.
If even the previous hero couldn't clear the dungeon, it went to say how strong one would become by clearing this dungeon.
'If he does return he will hold a grudge towards the Floren empire'
They were to blame so she had nothing to say in regards to this. Rather, for some reason she felt a slight hint of relief thinking that he would survive.
'But it's not possible'
Maria shook her head silently. If the mightiest hero couldn't make it out alive then a lone new hero would definitely face his death there as well.
Thinking about the previous hero she couldn't help but lament that humanity lost a great person.
Maxwell Leonhart, the descendant of the mighty King Leonhart who gained the power of light magic and challenged the demons on the Frontline.
His power was undeniable, it was like he was blessed vessel of the gods in every aspect of his being and even as a child Maria felt excited hearing his tales fighting against demons!
It was when she was studying to become a princess that a dungeon outbreak had occurred.
Monsters and demons spewed out of the dungeon filling the world like a plague. The worst of it was the miasma that was thicker than even the demon plains covered the world in a curtain of darkness giving birth to all sorts of illnesses and deaths.
At that time, the hero received an oracle from his patron god to mobilize with the other heroes and subjugate the dungeon.
It was then that Leonhart, the otherworld sage who had been summoned at the time and the saint along with the other heroes entered the dungeon intending to create a miracle. However ever since then, the world never saw them again.
[It's been ten years since...]
Maria muttered softly. The maid heard her soft voice and in curiosity asked.
[Maria-sama?]
Realizing she was thinking aloud, Maria shook her head with a small smile.
[It's nothing. I was just recalling an old memory of something is all]
Maria wondered in her heart whether these heroes from another world could be as strong as or even more powerful than the hero Leonhard. Maybe, just maybe they could bring a change.
However she shook her head.
She was thinking too much. Leonhart was one in a million and the only remaining bloodline of the Leonhart family that was still living on the continent. It was doubtful whether you could find another Leonhart out of a hundred million people.
The fact that they were summoned here by the Goddess meant they had a chance to defeat the demon king. As for venturing in to unknown territory of the dungeon of death?
'Let's not put all our hopes into one basket.'
She thought with a solemn expression.
She soon stopped thinking and finished preparing herself for the day.
[Have the servants prepare my breakfast and afterwards I have an appointment with the prime minister's daughter to discuss official matters of the state...]
Maria paused in thought before continuing a moment later.
[After that I'm free so prepare the training grounds and make sure nobody visits when I go]
Maria wanted to train without any interruptions. It would be hard to focus on her training when people kept bothering her and showing up unannounced.
[Yes Maria-sama]
The maid nodded with a bow. She then smiled and spoke curiously to the princess.
[You have been visiting the training ground frequently recently though...did something good happen?]
Maria raised an eyebrow.
[What do you mean?]
Did something good have to happen for her to train? She didn't think anything was wrong so she asked her maid curiously.
The maid saw the obvious confusion on Maria's face and chuckled slightly.
[Normally you would hate swinging a sword and would complain that it's not required for a woman to wield swords. You would normally complain of how boorish and unrefined it is for a woman in this day and age to learn swordsmanship and the normal impression is that you fancy magic more]
Having worked here for more than a decade, the head maid naturally knew Maria's personality and her likes and dislikes. She knew that Maria didn't like to exert much effort and she especially didn't like to sweat.
Even when she had matured into a young lady Maria still threw a tantrum every time sword training was scheduled.
[However now you have the smile of a child just learning the simplicities of magic whenever you swing a sword these days]
'Is that really how it looked?'
Maria was stunned because she never knew she acted in such a childish way. A blush covered her face in scarlet.
However after coughing lightly and thinking back, Maria realized that it was the truth. She never liked swordsmanship and thought it was only for self-defense so why should she have to work so hard for a minor skill.
She also didn't like the fact that she always got covered in dirt when she practiced the sword so she rather, no she didn't like it at all. It was tedious in her mind.
But after witnessing the prowess of Nagisa that day, Maria felt a spark ignite in her chest and she couldn't help but want to wield her sword from that moment onward.
She smiled brightly no longer embarrassed by the matter.
[Something good…Fufu...well I guess your close enough. Now no more chit-chat. Unless you want a pay cut. Get to work, shall you]
[Yes Maria-sama]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Afternoon.
After going through everything on her schedule and a long break training her swordsmanship, Maria got back to doing official duties as quickly as possible. She was supposed to do this earlier but the desire to wield her sword was too strong and thus she put it off until now.
Seated in the large office, Maria sat around a huge table holding several documents in her hand while listening to report from her assistant and friend, Karian.
After a while of listening, Maria leaned back in the chair and thought for a moment before she spoke her thoughts.
[If I follow the report correctly, then it says that several villages were destroyed during the gargoyle demon incident is that right?]
Maria read the report again thoroughly before she continued.
[luckily the heroes managed to settle the issue before any major problems could arise. Larger death ratios would make the common citizens outside the capital worried and if that happens then even if we send people to protect the fields then there will still be no one to care for the crops and harvest them when its time]
If the death ratio went up then no matter how confident they made it sound the citizens in villages and without the capitals protection would immediately abandoned home and that would leave the empire in a huge bind when it came to food resources.
'Its good that the heroes managed to save the people of the village….but the problem starts after this'
Maria frowned.
[Even though they were saved, all the fields and crops were demolished during the battle which could take years to re-cultivate and the villagers are asking for compensation, they say "Without our crops we can't live nor make money so how are we supposed to survive?".]
Karian, the teenage girl standing before the princess's desk respectfully said without much expression. However her anger and helplessness could be heard by how cold her tone was.
Maria frowned even more as she thought about the current problem.
Seeing that the princess was still thinking with a frown, Karen offered her own take.
[The village claims to want reparation for losing their crops which is their only stream of revenue.
I think it's dangerous to leave such rebellious buds to grow and it might be necessary to nip it while we can….
What is your take, Princess Maria?]
Maria thought about her words while analyzing the contents of the report again.
While it was indeed true that their fields and homes that they had painstakingly built up were destroyed. But when you flipped the coin they would have died if not for the heroes' intervention would they not?
So what were they dissatisfied about?
Certainly, looking at it from a certain perspective a gargoyle was merely a scout monster that searched ahead for the demon kings army. However a gargoyle wasn't just a peaceful rabbit that would stay put wherever it went.
Gargoyles are naturally bloodthirsty creatures that ravaged any land they settled down in and the village would have long been massacred if not for the heroes.
[I... can surely understand the dissatisfaction, the actions of the heroes' were too hasty.
Had we given time to properly allocate training the heroes before assigning them to duties things might have gone differently]
Maria pressed her finger to her temples while feeling the oncoming headache. She read the papers all while trying to come up with a way to solve the crisis before her in a mild manner.
[I do want to complain at their lack of appreciation for saving them...this time however, it was completely the kingdoms fault.
Why did they send the heroes who just begun to learn about their powers and not only just shortly settled in this world?]
Her pink lips parted and she released a short sigh of frustration. The heroes hadn't even finished training and still they were dispatched to fight? What dog brain allowed this expedition? What made her even more exhausted was the following report.
[….If I'm reading the report correctly then the villagers really have a lot of reasons to be angry]
One hero intentionally destroyed the villagers homes saying it was to lure the demon out in the open even though they already knew the location of the demon.
Another kept on striking weird poses while firing magic all over the place and willfully burning the fields and forest. And all the hero said was, 'The flames burn without regard for will or reason!'.
The more Maria read the more she felt like the people they summoned were all brain dead. It was just this morning that she worried about their physical needs but it looked like she needed to address their mental health even more.
'Not to mention they treated the cattle and crops as fodder not even halting or altering the trajectory of their attacks'
Everything from houses to the forest, fields, cattle were just 'obstructing' things to destroy.
What made her almost want to explode was the next line on the report.
[Hm?]
Confusion flashed through her eyes but the next moment Maria was nearly angered to death.
Veins popped on her forehead and the corners of her lips twitched violently.
'What the hell is the hero doing!???'