The central citadel of the Free City of Okafu.
Excluding the self-proclaimed demon king Morio's personal guards, people were rarely allowed inside its walls, but once one took a step inside, they were surrounded in a solemn atmosphere, completely opposite from the mood of the city below, thick with the sordid air of thriving mercenaries and scoundrels.
Hiroto the Paradox was invited into a room known as the "command room." A self-proclaimed demon king consultation, one that would greatly affect the grand plan that had consumed his life.
"Save the formalities."
Though only of average size, the mustached man had a brawny build, like a tiger.
He wore stiff khaki-colored clothes, reminiscent of the military uniforms in the Beyond. These weren't clothes from the Beyond themselves, of course, but they must've been tailored to reproduce the same look.
Many visitors were attached to their original clothes from the Beyond—and fancied the otherworldly apparel. For all of them, that alone was their link to their original world.
"So we finally get to meet, eh? Hiroto the Paradox."
On the other hand, Hiroto was small. More than his stature however, his outward features were that of a child.
His face, too, made him appear to be in his early teens, but his grizzled hair gave him a strangely mature air. It was this outward appearance that earned him his other moniker, the Gray-Haired Child.
Looking over his guest, sizing him up, Morio the Sentinel cut off the end of a new cigar.
Hiroto always had proper posture. Though, this perfection was solely to present himself to those he was negotiating with.
Lightly crossing his hands over his knee, he leaned forward slightly as he spoke.
"I'm honored that you'd regard me so highly. I've long looked forward to the day I'd get the chance to meet with you, Mr. Morio Ariyama."
"I said to skip the formalities. You've been taking care of us for a long time, but you don't really think that I don't know where Kazuki the Black Tone got her guns from, do you? If it wasn't for this latest information at hand, I wouldn't have met you during a time like this in the first place."
"..."
Hiroto recalled what Kazuki looked like when he'd first met her. An old visitor companion of his. When he offered her help back in the ravine, he spoke with completely honest intentions.
Someone who far surpassed any of Hiroto's estimations killed her not far from where he sat. If things went as he originally planned, then Kazuki would've surely been here with him for these negotiations.
"Of course not. However, surely you know better than most that's how things work in the arms business. If there's a demand, I sell weapons. If there's demand from both opposing sides, all the better for me."
"Logical reasoning and personal feelings are a different story. My soldiers were killed by her guerilla attacks. Wasn't just about the numbers, either. All of them were part of the Free City's family."
"Fair enough—"
Hiroto detected a slight shift in Morio's expression and searched for an opening to cut in.
A dissatisfied, yet slightly mournful, grimace.
Soldiers were family. A military man who worked his way up to where he was now. The man who built this mercenary city from the ground up after being banished here from the Beyond. Morio appeared to esteem dignity and justice, but the truth was much different.
"I admit that, without our supply of logistics and guns, Miss Kazuki Mizumura might have indeed given up on her conquest of Okafu. The people who dispatched her would've likely gone with a different approach, instead."
"Aureatia. I know that much. Those bastards've finally decided we're getting in their way."
"Now that you've crushed Miss Kazuki Mizumura, the Free City of Okafu has become their greatest threat. Next time, the Aureatian army is sure to get involved, I would say."
"…Doesn't sit right with me. Kazuki cut down our best soldiers. We go at it with our current military strength, Okafu will lose. I need reinforcements to prevent that. And those reinforcements are going to come from your army. No matter how things fall, it'll probably all be according to your plans, won't it?"
Bringing his hands together on top of the desk, Morio scowled at Hiroto. The conversation was flowing in a promising direction.
If he was completely refusing Hiroto, he wouldn't feel like the idea "didn't sit right with him" at all. The words signaled friction between his emotions and his logic. Morio was far from an emotionless man, but he was still clearheaded enough to weigh the two ideas against each other.
"I am always acting in service of my own profits, of course. I even used the Free City of Okafu itself for said profit. But the personal profits I'm speaking of also include profits for my allies. If you permit me to offer my assistance, I'll ensure you don't suffer any more losses."
"And that means what, specifically?"
"It's your turn to be the seller here. I will hire the entirety of the Free City of Okafu."
"...You can't be serious."
Morio was at a loss for words. He had known that the Gray-Haired Child had amassed a tremendous amount of capital, but…
"You intend to buy an entire country? And what sort of benefit does Okafu gain from agreeing to this?"
"There isn't a future for the private military-contracting business in this world going forward. With the New Principality of Lithia's fall into the defeat of the Old Kingdoms' loyalists, the demand for the mercenary trade itself disappeared. Essentially, I will be taking over that demand for the time being. If I had to give the specific merits for you, then…it'd be finishing your war with Aureatia without losing a single soldier. I'll explain the concrete details at a later date, but I've already devised a way to advantageously proceed with the Aureatia postwar negotiations. If I may speak even further into the future… I can provide a battlefield that befits your soldiers."
"…A battlefield?"
"Yes. Conflict is the lifeblood of the mercenaries of Okafu. You yourself built up such a city to provide a place where they can belong, am I wrong? I promise they will have their battlefield."
The interest in providing a battlefield that Hiroto included at the end was a benefit for Morio the individual.
More than dignity and justice, he was a commander who treasured his family.
There was some truth to that.
However, he truly wasn't scared of them dying in combat. He sought to ensure his family lived out their lives as soldiers. Choosing the words guerilla
attacks to criticize Kazuki's fighting described his thoughts on the matter.
"Even I know what sort of situation this country's currently being placed in. Hiroto the Paradox... A fixer of your caliber must be able to get some large- scale strategy going, I suppose. Besides, if you publicize that information, we're both going to be annihilated… That being said, I can't easily trust you, either. You get that, right?"
"...Yes."
"We've dealt with each for a long time, but ultimately, I haven't seen your own power for myself. You were the first to develop guns in this world. You have some connections to technology that's fifty years ahead of its time here, and you've established business relations with any and every power—that's it. With that money, is there any army you could hire that'd outclass the one here in Okafu? What can you even do if you're going to avoid losing a single soldier up against a huge army like Aureatia's? I want proof. That you can be relied on. That you're up to the task of having our backs."
"…Fair enough. I suppose the day's come to show what sort of power I hold
—and what I've accomplished."
Hiroto shifted his eyes to the citadel window. From the tiny window, installed only to allow for sniper fire from within, it was possible to look down over the mercenaries coming and going on the city streets below.
Around half the residents here were mercenaries. Such was the city Morio created.
"Mr. Morio Ariyama. To you, your true power doesn't lie in the mercenaries gathered in town, does it? Your personal troops, though, were handpicked and taught in the latest military training that you've learned in the Beyond. You've never once showed off their strength to the world, so they must be your true trump card, yes?"
"…Obviously, I'm going to be the one training my own soldiers. What of it?" "These mercenaries…including those personal soldiers of yours. I'll gain
control of all of them, by myself."
"I wondered about this earlier, but… Are you mad?"
Visitors, having strayed beyond proper natural law and rules, weren't guaranteed to have the same amount of fighting strength their outward appearance would suggest. For example, as it was with Kazuki the Black Tone, there were even some who lightly handled multiple rifles with slender arms, and others who moved faster than the eye could see.
This Hiroto the Paradox was unmistakably not one of these types of visitors.
His movements and mannerisms made his skills apparent. Not only his obvious physical ability, but the way he showed his unguarded moments, and when he tried to conceal them, too, made it clear that all of it was inferior to the average person.
Supposing Morio did intend to kill him, he would've been able to snap off his neck at any moment during their conversation.
"I won't bring any harm to your soldiers, of course. I wouldn't want anything to happen to my would-be allies, after all. I won't use blades or guns. How do those conditions sound?"
"…I don't need to turn a mere game of tag into some big deal, thanks. I'm not trying to surround and kill you, for one, and I can't let my soldiers' lives get thrown out of order. If you're truly serious, I'll just tell my soldiers, should you get discovered, to simply capture you unharmed. Allow me to add that to your conditions."
"I couldn't ask for anything better. In that case, by the end of the day." Assuming Hiroto the Paradox had prepared some ruse to control all of
Okafu's forces, practically speaking, it would be impossible for him to make it a reality.
A number of bodyguards would be glued to him at all times, just as when he was brought to the control room the first time. To make sure he was immediately apprehended the first moment he looked ready to strike.
Nevertheless, Morio understood he wasn't the type of man to wordlessly pummel a negotiating partner he had come to proposition. Supposing that did happen, though, Hiroto had no hopes of winning.
That's why he hadn't said "you" to the person in front of him, but used a distant "them," instead. A roundabout phrasing to suggest that Morio and his troops, bodyguard detail included, were unconcerned parties in his gamble.
It was as if he was convincing them that it wouldn't even get to the point where Hiroto would reveal himself openly and confront Morio's soldiers…or try to challenge them with an ambush. With this, in order to match the conditions Hiroto first presented, Morio's side would try to capture Hiroto unarmed instead.
Thus, he was able to make his preparations.
He exited into the hallway and opened his bag. Seeing one of the bodyguards slightly tense up, Hiroto smiled.
"It's not a weapon. Would you like to give it another search?" "..."
It wasn't a weapon, of course. Judging solely from its appearance, it appeared
to be a type of radzio.
However, he was also lying. For in Hiroto's hands, it changed into a weapon more powerful than any other.
He inquired of the bodyguard directly behind him, as if making simple small talk.
"…Now, then. I can take that path over there to get to the observation tower, yes?"
"What are you planning on doing there?"
"Hee-hee. Do I look like I'm going to snipe anyone right now?" "…No. Not at all."
Hiroto moved through the citadel, making for the roof of the observation tower. The bodyguards followed after him, keeping their distance without losing him.
With his poor physical stamina, Hiroto had some trouble getting up all the way to the top of the stairs after completing the long walk to the observation tower.
"Phew, that was tough. You all go up and down these stairs every day?" "…You're the first person I've seen to run out of breath just from climbing
some stairs, Master Hiroto."
The guard smiled sarcastically. He was probably appalled at the sight. "I'm quite ashamed."
As his appearance suggested, he was a powerless man equipped only with his big talk. Anyone would look down and make little of Hiroto—
Until he stood up on top of the observation deck, looking down over the ground, and began.
"…Ahem. Aaaah. Ah-aaaah."
Grabbing his throat, he tested his vocal cords. Then he readied the instrument he brought with him.
When Hiroto the Paradox was transported to this world, more than any gun or car, this tool was the item he wanted most of all.
The machine had a very simple construction. Over a base of a tanned wyvern wing membrane, a coil wrapped in gold wire linked together. Inside was a magnet, which produced electromotive force through vocal vibrations. That current passed to an amplifier circuit made from radzio crystal, the input being connected to an output with an exact reverse construction. This would vibrate the wing membrane and spit the sound back out through the funnel-shaped mouth.
The item was called a megaphone. "People of the Free City of Okafu!"
His amplified voice boomed across the whole city.
Everyone was startled by the words coming down from the heavens, with some readying their weapons as they focused on the man standing on top of the observation tower.
"I am sure my face and name are well-known to you all! I am the visitor that Master Morio commanded you to capture, Hiroto the Paradox! Allow me to greet you all once again! Thank you for listening!"
By getting out ahead and revealing his identity to them all, he stalled the several soldiers who turned and promptly fixed their aim at the suspicious individual. Morio had ordered them all to capture Hiroto the Paradox without harming him.
On the other hand, this also made the guards watching over his every move unable to act, as well.
While the machine he used surprised the people below, Hiroto clearly wasn't making any sort of offensive movement. Visitors couldn't use Word Arts, either. It was almost physically impossible for him to attack any of the far-off mercenaries below.
"First, there is something I'd like to make clear. I imagine it was evident with your orders, but I'd like to be sure. I have promised Morio that I would win out against all of you. That was the condition on forming an alliance between myself and the Free City of Okafu! Now. I did make such a boasting claim, but... Did any of you really think you'd lose to someone like me? An obvious weakling, bereft of any skill? Let me begin here. For starters… By 'winning,' I'm talking about achieving my goals. With that in mind, what does 'losing' then usually mean?
He was lying. Morio had simply asked to show him proof of his powers and hadn't given any definitive promise based on such a display. Viewed from another perspective, it was a statement that could be distorted in many different ways depending on the interpretation. There was enough latitude to convince even Morio himself of such an interpretation.
Therefore, by brazenly asserting it as such in front of a large number of people, he was making them believe it was already an established fact. That if Hiroto won, their cooperative alliance was a done deal.
"For example, since I am sure most of you are soldiers, you probably think that the clear loss of all your liberty, as in, one's death itself, is the most
universal form a defeat can take. However, when it comes to the idea of a 'struggle to survive,' what should be a direct expression of a fight between life- and-death, an individual's death isn't synonymous with defeat. Interesting, isn't it?"
He continued to speak while incorporating grandiose gesticulation. He was holding their attention.
In order to wear down the will to use violence among these people who made violence their trade, he needed to give them a story to focus on.
"There exists no living creatures that can best a dragon, however, the minian races have clearly claimed victory over dragons in the struggle for survival. A peerless individual is not guaranteed to be the final victor. I saw much the same in my past world of the Beyond."
The audience still scorned Hiroto. He was a curious target, purposefully exposing himself in a location easily shot at by bows and arrows before suddenly launching into a strange speech. He was fine with that.
The most important factor of all was to ensure they couldn't remain apathetic. Therein lay the meaning behind establishing himself as a target to all the inhabitants through Morio's commands.
"Let me tell you about myself. I've sojourned in the Free City of Okafu for three days. During my time, both as one who knows the Beyond and as one who knows minian society, I admired the splendor here. In this town, there is no discrimination between races! In the Beyond, one is limited to feuding with your fellow minia, yet here both minia and monstrous races live together, fight together as brothers-in-arms, and use the same money to trade! Even with such bustling activity, this city is host to a natural system of discipline!"
Hiroto was fully aware. Okafu's atmosphere was assuredly not born from any tepid ideals of equality. Theirs was simply the natural outcome of their liberalism and economic activities.
Ogres and lycans were generally warriors that far outstripped the physical and mental abilities of minia. If they were only employed as mercenaries in wartime, there wouldn't be any of the dangers from training a standing army of minian-eating soldiers. This was a point where the Free City of Okafu differed from the New Principality of Lithia, who tried to utilize a wyvern army as their own domestic air force.
There was a high demand for the monstrous race mercenaries that Okafu commanded, and by traveling from battlefield to battlefield, they were easily able to supply themselves with their "food." As a result, the monstrous races in
Okafu weren't driven out like in other minian cities. That was simply the extent of it.
However, Hiroto used that fact. If he lauded the group they all belonged to, people would be naturally uplifted and release the caution in their hearts. Anyone with a mind of their own was always starved for pride.
"Now then, I ask those who have seen Aureatia to think about them for a moment. How was it in Aureatia? Not only do they not accept the monstrous races themselves, could you say that the warriors wounded in the campaign against the Demon King were properly compensated in the end? Would you say their long-held minia supremacy—their aristocratic reverence—is a natural method of governance, worthy of a world where anyone can communicate their will to another via Word Arts? Neft the Nirvana, from the First Party, was a lycan. Yet after returning from his battle against the True Demon King with his sanity intact, a triumphant achievement to be sure, he was forced to live in exile in the Gokashae Sand Sea. When the people of Aureatia tell tales of the First Party, does the name of Lumelly the Poisoned Ground ever get mentioned? Though not a minia, she should still be remembered as a grand champion, one that none should be ashamed to recognize!"
He paused. He wasn't unleashing a continuous rapid-fire stream of words,
but guiding his audience's subconscious along a particular track.
The soldiers themselves all understood their current situation, where worsening relations with Aureatia had put Okafu in a precarious state. He would use that enmity. While he himself remained their target, he would guide the focus of their hostility toward Aureatia.
"…Yes, it goes without saying, I am a minia myself. Am I even qualified to expound on a prosperous coexistence among all races? I am sure some among you harbor such questions. Let me tell you about myself… I said I would do just that mere moments ago. 'Who is this child anyway?' 'What's he going on about after popping up out of nowhere?' 'Did this buffoon mistake that roof for a church confessional, and hasn't he realized it yet?'"
He confirmed there was sparse stifled laughter escaping from the audience. Now that he had turned their hostility toward a different target, he returned their attention back to himself.
"Allow me to introduce myself again. I imagine that there was some among you who have heard the name Hiroto the Paradox while bargaining for a musket. Do you know where those things you carry in your hands day in, day out, are made? Aureatia? The ruined Nagan Labyrinth City? Or the Hakeena
Microregion perhaps?"
He gestured to one of the guards to come over and stood him in front of his audience. Originally meant to keep Hiroto in check, he was unable to resist Hiroto's skill with words and the attention from the audience. Hiroto gave him a new role, separate from his close observation of Hiroto's movements, right on the spot.
Directing the guard with a simple wave, he had him hold up the musket in his hands. It would be vital to show that it was not Hiroto himself, but someone the mercenaries considered one of their own, who held up the musket—and instill that idea in their state of mind.
"None of those places, in fact. The guns I make are not produced here on this continent. Then they're from the Beyond, you ask? That, too, is not the answer. Yes, now then, here I shall introduce myself to you all! I am Hiroto the Paradox! Over sixty-nine long years, I have created another world, a third world! A world unbeknownst to you all!"
A wave of amazement and disbelief was rippling through the audience.
From the beginning, there had been preparations in place for this series of events Hiroto had incited. Allies who had already infiltrated Okafu stirred the audience with their own cheering and, with their regulated and trained attention, guided everyone's focus on to Hiroto.
"At the edge of the world! Beyond the sea! I have created a country of goblins! Look for yourselves and see; they are my compatriots!"
His words the signal, a concealed group advanced forward. With their faces covered up by their cloaks, they resembled short leprechauns. A group of goblins he had slip into the city while he was bargaining with Morio. Hiroto's preparations had begun before he had been invited that day, before venturing into the city for negotiations.
Signs of confusion and caution rose up among the crowd. An obvious reaction to see a group of goblins, thought to be already extinct, right before their eyes. Nevertheless, it had been necessary to burn some type of definitive proof into them. A degree of fluctuation between anxiety and excitement was what truly allowed for his words to impress themselves in the minds of his audience.
It was a risky method, to be sure. He needed to bring the situation under his control faster than their dormant feelings of hostility toward these goblins could make their return.
"People of Okafu! Can you believe me?! That it's possible to continue across
the oceans where krakens dwell, to the end of the world! That there is already someone who has discovered such a water route?! That goblins, reviled as lower and base, have a civilization capable of producing such high-quality firearms! That they are now in fact synonymous with the word guns itself! That they could create a nation, form a society...and are able to coexist with a minia like myself! Of course you can! You are bearing witness to such a society right before your very eyes!"
Clenching his fist, he looked fiercely down over the crowd. Hiroto the Paradox was serious.
It would never be possible to make others believe his words if he didn't firmly believe in them himself.
"I'm sure you all know! That it's possible for the monstrous and the minian to coexist! That the monstrous races have power that is far more outstanding than the minian races believe! More than anything else, all of you, even those in Aureatia, have placed your lives in the hands of goblin-made weapons and have survived by doing so! You must've seen plenty of proof with your own eyes! Let me say once more! This Free City of Okafu, it is a wonderful city!"
Hiroto could hear the sound of someone climbing the tower steps... Morio the Sentinel had come to put an end to his speech.
Even if Morio had an inkling of the purpose behind the speech, Hiroto had chosen this specific observation tower, far removed from the command room, to ensure Morio couldn't quickly stop him. Despite this, the man's intuition and speed were beyond Hiroto's original prognosis. He likely had left the command room immediately after the speech began.
He even came personally instead of leaving things up to his men. This man won't be the type to be won over with simple smooth talk.
He needed to make several revisions to the staging he had prepared around his speech. Hiroto continued to speak.
"Now, however, Aureatia threatens this land! This system of shared prosperity that Lord Morio built is on the verge of being lost! But because of that, now is when I wish to help you all! For my profit? That's right! For my own self-protection! Indeed! I am no upright and pure man, and I do not intend to wax on about ideals and peace! Nevertheless, I can promise you results! I promise that, just as I saved the goblins previously driven from these lands, I will save each and every one of you! The Hiroto the Paradox you see before you, and this large goblin army, will be your allies from here on out! Just as I've promised Lord Morio, I will lend you all my strength!"
That was as far as he got. The wooden tower door opened, and Morio appeared.
Matching up perfectly with his calculations, timed at the exact moment Hiroto brought up his name.
"Drop the megaphone."
Morio ordered, still just as calm and levelheaded. Smoke wafted up from his cigar.
Hiroto couldn't surpass Morio with violence. If he thought to do so, Morio could've slit Hiroto's throat with a knife on the spot. Hiroto took his mouth away from the megaphone and came up beside Morio.
"Yes, I understand. It's a bit heavy, so could you take it for me?"
Morio didn't let down his guard for a moment, but when he reached to take the loudspeaker—Hiroto forcefully grabbed his outstretched hand. Without a moment's pause, he shouted into the loudspeaker.
"Here now, I pledge my fellowship to you, Free City of Okafu!" It was a trap to draw out Morio's handshake.
A cheer erupted from the audience. This time, it wasn't from the goblins he had previously hid among the crowd, but a cheer rising as a natural result of his speech. The thunderous applause continued.
Morio loathsomely glared at Hiroto. Hiroto, too, stared hard into the eyes in front of him with a solemn look of his own.
"You little…!"
"It is exactly as I first said. I absolutely won't let you suffer any losses."
If Morio felt like it, he could have killed Hiroto at any moment. Now though, it was too late.
Even the self-proclaimed demon king Morio—in fact, precisely because he was a self-proclaimed demon king—was a statesman whose position stood entirely on his people's trust in him, and he couldn't ignore their disposition no matter what he may have wished to do.
Taking a deep breath, Hiroto once again called out to the audience.
"People of the Free City of Okafu! I have made a promise to Lord Morio! That with my victory, my army, my weapons, and I will be your strength! I pledge to you civilization and progress beyond what has ever come before it! What say you? Allow Hiroto the Paradox to bring you victory! I assure you that it absolutely does not signify your defeat!"
Lowering his loudspeaker at long last, he shouted with his unamplified voice.
It was all his own staging.
At this point, his voice would travel clearly to the ears of the audience, their attention now completely focused on the man.
"So that I and, more importantly, you all can claim victory! So Lord Morio can claim victory! I, Hiroto the Paradox, ask you all! Please, let me win for you!"
The applause reverberated. It was more reserved than when Morio had made his appearance, but it clearly gave affirmation to Hiroto's words.
Hiroto bowed deeply and turned to face Morio, unable to do anything but watch the situation unfold from behind him.
"…So this is what you were after, huh?"
"That's right. And just like I said, I was able to overcome everyone here." "So whether I trust you or not, now I'm forced to join forces with you,
then… Well, I don't have any choice. I don't particularly want to let myself get hung up with foolish pride, either."
The self-proclaimed demon king Morio. Hiro's judgments about what sort of man he was turning out to be right after all.
During the fight that lay waiting on the horizon, the man's popularity was sure to become an indispensable boon.
"Well then, advantageous postwar negotiations, without any of my soldiers getting hurt. Must have some plan to turn things in your favor, then."
"Of course. I'm going to make use of the Old Kingdoms' loyalists in Toghie City, while they're staring down Aureatia's northern army."
"You can't be planning on allying with them, are you? With the Particle Storm crushed, those guys aren't going last much longer."
"No."
Hiroto's smiling face never faltered. He was always overflowing with confidence. If he didn't, he wouldn't be able to subdue the populace.
"Zigita Zogi."
Hiroto snapped his fingers. A small shadow jumped down from atop the rooftop's entrance.
"A goblin? Having them slip into the city is one thing, but they've gotten into my citadel, too?"
"It is an honor to make your acquaintance, Master Morio."
Even a veteran warrior of Morio's caliber wasn't able to sense this goblin's presence nearby.
"Introductions are in order. This here is Zigita Zogi the Thousandth. He is my most reliable adviser… The arrangements have been made, then?"
"But of course. At this stage, we're just waiting for them to make their move."
Zigita Zogi flashed an audacious smile.
Hiroto the Paradox was a man without an ounce of brute strength to his name. However, he could still fight.
He faced Morio and gently brought his hands together. "We can annihilate them whenever we'd like."