Genjitsushugisha no Oukokukaizouki - Volume 19 - Chapter 5.2

In a land far north of Parnam, on a hill overlooking Haan Great Tiger Castle, Juna was interviewing Maria in front of the enemy capital.

“Maria, how is the deployment of the troops going?” Juna asked.

“Everything is ready to go. At my command, soldiers from the four nations of the Maritime Alliance will launch a coordinated assault on Haan Great Tiger Castle. If I do not receive word from His Majesty within the hour, I am confident we will capture the castle.” Maria gazed straight ahead as she spoke. The slight hint of anger in her eyes did not suit her demeanor.

Juna and Maria had been observing the fighting near Parnam until just before their broadcast. They had witnessed Souma fall to one knee, bleeding, after being struck by Fuuga. It was clear how they must have felt, watching from this distant location and being unable to go to their wounded husband’s side.

Juna suppressed her anger as she turned to face the jewel. “If the war continues, that city will be reduced to ashes. We urge the leaders of the Great Tiger Empire to make a wise decision.”

With those words, Juna terminated the broadcast. Although it might have seemed brief given the circumstances, they knew they couldn’t let the broadcast continue for too long since it was projected on Excel’s supermassive sphere of water.

“Whew...” Juna let out a big sigh of relief and turned to speak to Maria, who had just done the same. “That was exhausting, but you did well, Maria.”

“Juna... Yes, it was nerve-racking. I’ve been on broadcast many times before as empress, but never in a military uniform.”

“Really? I think you project a dignified aura in it.”

Although it was an earnest compliment, Maria smiled wryly and shook her head. “I’ve always left military matters to Jeanne and the generals, so this is actually my first battle. Yet despite that, I’ve been made commander of the detached force, even if only in name. It makes me worry whether that’s appropriate.”

“No! It’s fine...”

“It’s not a problem at all! You’ve done a great job as commander!” An energetic voice came from behind them.

They turned to see a muscular warrior of the snow monkey race approaching. It was Gouran Taisei, the former head of the Republic and Kuu’s father. He had a stony, apelike face and cut a heroic figure in his armor. If Kuu was Sun Wukong, then his father was the Monkey King.

“It is only thanks to your virtues that this motley crew of soldiers from the Kingdom of Friedonia, Euphoria Kingdom, Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago Kingdom, and even a small contingent from the Republic can work together,” he said “They all remember how you united humanity to resist the Demon Lord’s Domain. The Saint of the Empire is worthy of being a commander.”

“N-No! You give me too much credit!” Maria exclaimed, waving her arms frantically to deny the compliment. “I may be the one carrying the flag, but you are the one giving the actual commands, Sir Gouran. Your extensive experience in land battles has been what has allowed us to advance this far.”

As Maria pointed out, while her responsibility was to keep the troops united, it was Gouran’s to provide the military commands and lead the efforts to capture cities and fortresses along the way.

When the current head of the Republic, Kuu, had learned about the detached force from Souma, he’d said, “Ookyakya! I can only loan you a few hundred of our soldiers, but my old man has plenty of time on his hands, so you can borrow him. That’ll suit him better than holding down the fort and watching the kids, so really run him ragged for me.”

In the extreme cold of the Republic of Turgis, they had never developed a navy or air force, which meant that all their conflicts were fought on land. As a result, they possessed unparalleled expertise in land battles, primarily using infantry. If the enemy deployed their air force, the Republic’s forces would have to retreat, but they exhibited unmatched strength in the absence of a significant aerial presence.

Having ruled a nation like that for so long, Gouran had become an expert in land warfare. With him commanding the army from Maria’s side, they had quickly scattered the garrisoned troops as they advanced towards Haan Great Tiger Castle.

Juna nodded in agreement with Maria. “She’s right, you know. In our original plan, I was supposed to take command instead of Maria, but...the Marines’ training primarily focuses on landing operations. In a land battle, I might be caught off guard. It’s incredibly reassuring to have you with us, Sir Gouran.”

“Yes, I agree,” a voice from behind Gouran added. It belonged to Shabon, the Nine-Headed Dragon Queen. Beside her stood her royal consort, Kishun. “We’re not accustomed to land warfare in the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago Kingdom either. It’s thanks to your command, Sir Gouran, that our soldiers have fought with the same fierce bravery they demonstrate at sea.”

“Ga ha ha! All these compliments from you lovely young ladies are making me a bit uncomfortable!” Gouran laughed it off, trying to mask his embarrassment. The smile he wore added charm to his otherwise rugged features.

Chuckling at this sight, Shabon remarked, “You remind me a little of my father.”

“Of Lord Shana? I can see it...” Kishun replied with a nod. “I’ve heard that you enjoy your liquor, Sir Gouran. I believe you would make good drinking buddies with our former head of state.”

“I would love to introduce the two of you once the war ends... Now then.” Shabon walked over to Maria and Juna. “I have seen Lady Juna in uniform before, but you also look lovely in uniform, Lady Maria.”

“Hee hee, thank you, Lady Shabon,” Juna said with a graceful smile.

“Thank you,” Maria replied, spreading her arms. “I’ve wanted to wear something like this ever since I saw how cool Liscia looked in her uniform. My sister, Jeanne, can pull off this look easily, and since our faces are similar, I imagined I wouldn’t look too odd in it. It’s a relief to hear your compliment.”

“Oh, not at all! You look so brave and lovely. I, on the other hand, am too short for such clothes. They make it seem like I’m just playing dress-up...”

Shabon was wearing her usual frilly bureaucrat outfit. It was true that whenever she donned military uniforms, she tended to look cute rather than cool.

““Well...””

As Juna and Maria searched for the right response, Shabon continued, “I understand how you feel.” She smiled wryly while clenching her hand into a fist. “That is why I aspire to be a woman who can look dignified even in frilly clothes. Yes, like Lady Excel Walter of the Kingdom of Friedonia.”

“Um, I think you should choose a different role model...” Juna warned her hesitantly.

Kishun nodded emphatically. It seemed he didn’t want to see his cute wife transform into a polished woman like Excel. Although the atmosphere had lightened a bit, Maria’s expression turned serious as she looked at Juna.

“Do you think His Majesty will be all right? He was bleeding,” Maria asked.

Silence fell over the group at her words. Despite their earlier joking, everyone felt concern for Souma’s well-being.

Juna glanced at the simple receiver as she replied, “He was able to carry on a conversation with Fuuga Haan, so...I think he’ll be fine. If it’s just a gash, the mages should be able to heal him.”

“Y-Yeah,” Maria said, letting out a sigh of relief.

“However...” Juna continued, “If anything should happen to him, I will burn this country to the ground.”

Gasps echoed around the room as everyone took in her serious tone. Normally, she would follow such a statement with a playful “tee hee, just kidding,” prompting laughter from the group. But this time, she was dead serious. Suddenly, everyone was reminded that she was Excel’s granddaughter.

Her love is powerful enough to destroy a nation... I can hardly express how incredible that is. Even Maria flinched at what she was witnessing. She loved Souma as her husband too and feared she would cry if anything happened to him. Yet, even in her sorrow, her sadness would pale in comparison to Juna’s overwhelming emotions. Just how much greater must Juna’s love have been if it could so easily transform into anger and hatred?

It wasn’t just Juna who felt this way. The frightening reality was that Liscia and Aisha likely shared similar feelings. Would reason be enough to keep Roroa and Naden in check? Yuriga would probably shudder at everyone’s reactions.

Maria glanced at the simple receiver. Souma, please be all right. For the sake of peace, she thought, genuinely worried.

◇ ◇ ◇

The scene unfolding on the massive body of water that had formed on the plains near Parnam had quickly dampened the spirits of those on the battlefield. The soldiers of the Great Tiger Empire had fought fiercely, but now they felt numb. With their capital surrounded and realizing they had suffered a counterinvasion, they began to wonder if they were fighting a “losing battle.”

Having fought for the ever-victorious Great Tiger Empire, they had never before grappled with the question of “What happens if we lose?” Fuuga’s forces might have found themselves on the back foot at times, but they had never truly faced defeat. They believed that, even in adversity, Fuuga would secure victory. That was why, despite considering the rewards and glory they might earn, they had never considered the possibility of losing.

Even when common sense suggested they couldn’t defeat an opponent, these soldiers had faced them with the confidence that they would ultimately prevail. But now, having come this far, they were confronting an opponent that made them doubt their ability to win. For the first time, the fear of defeat lingered at the back of their minds. Only the elite fighters of the old guard could continue to throw themselves into the fight without hesitation. The vast majority of the army, who had joined Fuuga after he united the Union of Eastern Nations, now hesitated.

At this point, it could be said that the battle had been decided. The Great Tiger Empire would struggle to maintain its fighting posture. If they continued to fight, they would eventually run out of steam; however, if they forced a retreat, they would suffer a punishing blow as the Kingdom’s forces chased them down.

Souma now held the power of life and death over the forces of the Great Tiger Empire, and Fuuga, who had just failed to take Souma’s head, understood that better than anyone.

“I’ve lost, huh?” he muttered.

With Halbert and Ludwin holding him down, Fuuga let go of his Zanganto, which fell to the ground with a clatter. The expressions on his captors’ faces shifted to surprise. Fuuga was offering so little resistance that they began to worry that if they pressed down with too much force, they might accidentally crush him.

“Sir Ludwin! Take his weapon!” Halbert shouted.

“Ah! Right.” Ludwin quickly picked up the Zanganto that Fuuga had dropped.

Fuuga found their caution amusing. “You’re as careful as your master...”

“There’s no such thing as being too cautious with a great man like you,” Souma replied.

Fuuga roared with laughter at Souma’s comment. “Don’t worry, Souma, you’ve won. I’m not going to throw a tantrum... I saw my dream through to the end. Now take my head and display it if that’s what you want.” There was a hint of loneliness in Fuuga’s voice.

Having risen to his feet with Liscia’s help, Souma looked down at Fuuga. The scene clearly illustrated who was the winner and who was the loser.

Just as Souma opened his mouth to speak...

“Souma!”

...Yuriga rushed in from the back of the main camp.

◇ ◇ ◇

Yuriga rushed over and stood in front of Fuuga. “Brother...”

“Hey, Yuriga. Looks like I lost,” Fuuga said casually, despite his circumstances.

“Looks like it... I mean, you’re missing a wing now,” Yuriga replied, her expression serious. A tense atmosphere settled between them.

Yuriga’s expression was pained as she glanced from Souma, who was covered in blood and supported by Liscia, to Fuuga, who had lost a wing. Nevertheless, she managed to rein in her emotions.

“I had a feeling this would happen... That’s why I told you not to fight Souma,” she said.

“You’ve got it backwards,” Fuuga replied. “Even if I knew this would happen, stopping wasn’t an option.”

“Even if this is how your dream ends?”

“If I fall after doing everything I could, I’ll have no regrets. I’m satisfied.”

“Honestly... You’re so selfish.” Yuriga looked directly at Fuuga. “Do you remember what I said to you that day?”

“Hmm? Which day?”

“The day you ordered me to marry Souma, brother,” Yuriga glared at Fuuga. “I warned you then... ‘I can’t say for certain that you won’t end up dragged before Sir Souma bound in ropes someday.’ I told you that I would work for the Kingdom of Friedonia and make Souma love me. That way, when the time came, I could beg for your life.”

Oh, right... I vaguely remember Yuriga saying something like that. Fuuga wasn’t bound in ropes, but being pressed against the ground with one wing cut off was still pretty close to the scene Yuriga had envisioned. It had been a vague premonition, but if she had predicted the outcome that early on, then...Yuriga was one hell of a girl.

Yuriga turned her back to Fuuga and faced me. Then she said, “I will now do what I promised that day...”

“Hey, cut it out,” Fuuga urged, trying to intervene, but Yuriga didn’t listen. She knelt down before me, clasped her hands together in front of her chest, and bowed her head.

“Your Majesty. I am not only your wife, but also a friend to your little sister, and the younger sister of Fuuga Haan. If you hold even a shred of love or pity for me, I implore you to spare my brother’s life. I would offer my body and my life to you in exchange for his safety, to be used as you wish. Please, I beg you, show mercy to my foolish brother.”

Yuriga was on her knees, pleading for Fuuga’s life. However, her words were far from weak. She spoke boldly, as if the weight of her plea was directed solely at him and not the others present. It was a performance of desperation, yet it carried an underlying intention to inflict emotional pain.

“You’re forcing your sister to beg for your life,” her actions said, confronting Fuuga with a symbol of his defeat. The pain etched on his face was even greater than when his wing had been torn off. There was something more humiliating in being compelled to accept defeat by someone else rather than admitting it himself.

“You’re merciless, Yuriga...” I whispered, and she turned her head away peevishly.

“We need to take this chance to shatter my brother’s heart into pieces, so he doesn’t pursue any more of his strange ambitions. I refuse to be jerked around by him any longer.”

“Hee hee. You know, I really do like you, Yuriga,” Liscia said, her smile a mix of approval and irony.

I supposed the rest was up to me. I gritted my teeth against the pain from my wound as I tapped Yuriga on the shoulder, urging her to stand so I could take her place in front of Fuuga.

“How does it feel to have your little sister begging for your life, Fuuga?”

“It sucks. Makes me sick at myself.”

“Yeah, I’ll bet.”

“I’d rather you just lopped my head off here.”

“Yeah, well, that would actually cause more trouble for us.” I must’ve looked like I’d just bitten into something unpleasant. “There’s a part of me that struggles to forgive you for starting this war. So much blood has been shed, and my teacher, as well as a relative of one of my wives, are dead.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“But if I kill you here, that makes us the victors.”

In a manga I once read in my old world, there had been a line about how the one standing taller than his opponent when the fight ended was the true winner...or something like that. By that logic, since I was still on my feet—albeit with Liscia’s help—I was the victor. But...I couldn’t accept victory.

“The victor must also bear the burdens carried by the defeated. If he ignores them and crushes the fallen, it ignites a cycle of resistance and retribution. If I kill you, I may emerge the winner, but I would also have to shoulder the immense weight of the Great Tiger Empire. I want no part of that.”

The Great Tiger Empire was three times the size of my country, held together solely by Fuuga’s charisma. It would fall apart as soon as he was gone. The seeds of discord had already been sown by his aggressive expansion policy. If we were the ones to strike him down, there would surely be factions calling for revenge against the Kingdom of Friedonia.

With bloodthirsty individuals like them around, the Great Tiger Empire would descend into civil war, plunging us back into the troubled times reminiscent of when the Demon Lord’s Domain was expanding. Such strife would breed even more conflict, creating new waves of refugees that would overwhelm the southern nations. The only way to prevent this was to spare Fuuga and allow him to maintain control. Even if he eventually lost power, as long as we were not the ones to strike him down, the impact of any ensuing succession war on the south would be minimized. I explained all of this to Fuuga.

“From this point on, people’s attention will shift north. With the allure of conquering the continent gone, it will be impossible for you to incite them to invade the south again. Although...thanks to Yuriga’s ‘poison,’ I suspect you’ll want to head north yourself.”

“Tch...” Fuuga clicked his tongue in distaste. Yet, his lack of denial was a clear admission that I was right.

I told him sternly, “You can no longer compete with the Maritime Alliance for supremacy. Therefore, instead of killing you, it’s better to let you live and help facilitate as smooth a transition as possible for the Great Tiger Empire. You must take responsibility for everything you did on your path to power.”

“How do you plan on ending this battle?” he asked.

“With reconciliation. In practical terms, it will be a loss for the Great Tiger Empire. Your forces will completely withdraw from my country and the other nations of the Maritime Alliance, but the land taken by our detached force will remain under our control. This will leave the impression that you couldn’t defeat the Maritime Alliance.”

“You’ve taken my homeland, huh? Yeah, that’s going to make it look like we lost.”

“Since we won’t be the victors, we can’t demand reparations. Consider it your payment for all the trouble you caused.”

I would have to cede some coastal cities to the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago Kingdom for their assistance, but I probably couldn’t calm the people of the Kingdom without something to show for this. We could present ourselves as having merely repelled the invaders, which would make it easier to placate our population than it would be for the Great Tiger Empire, who had lost much and gained nothing.

Fuuga let out a listless laugh. “I’ve always lived an all-or-nothing lifestyle, but being left with nothing but a vast country that’s lost its ambition... That’s even harsher than losing everything. You want me to remain emperor of a nation that no longer holds any appeal for me, right?”

“That’s your responsibility.”

“Even if I survive here, all that awaits me is a boring life in a country with no passion... I can’t take that!”

“Whoa?!”

Fuuga threw Ludwin off of him.

He still had that much strength left?! My mind froze for a moment in sheer surprise. Liscia drew her rapier, and Halbert readied his spear. But Fuuga calmly picked up Ludwin’s fallen sword and pressed the blade to his own neck.

“If I end my life right here, do you think I could push all of that onto you guys?”

“Stop it, brother!” Yuriga cried out desperately, fearing he might actually do it.

In reality, Fuuga wasn’t desperate. He showed no signs of agitation. If anything, his expression was calm.

“My dream ended when I was defeated by a formidable opponent after a hard-fought battle... That’s the kind of ending I want for it. It’s a cleaner end to the story of a great man than if I went on living, right? Although, I feel a little bad making you all pick up after me.”

“Brother! You can’t!”

“Screw you! Don’t try to take the easy way out after everything you did!”

Yuriga and I shouted, but his resolve remained unshaken.

“Sorry, Yuriga, Souma.”

Just as Fuuga was about to draw the blade across his own throat, Liscia shouted, “Madam Mutsumi is pregnant!”

Everyone froze for a moment at the unexpected news, but Liscia continued speaking.

“The baby is yours, of course! I was just fighting her a little while ago, but Madam Mutsumi had morning sickness and couldn’t carry on! Nobody else knew, so she might not have told you yet, right?!”

Madam Mutsumi is pregnant with Fuuga’s child? And she kept it a secret from him? I can’t believe she fought Liscia in that condition... I was overwhelmed by this surge of new information. Wait, so what now? If anything happens to Madam Mutsumi, we would quickly find ourselves unable to resolve this war! My mind was racing, and I felt as if I were struggling to keep afloat.

“Sorry, Souma,” Liscia said apologetically. “I know it wasn’t what I should have done as a commander, but I chose to let Madam Mutsumi go. I think she’s back in the Great Tiger Empire’s main camp by now.”

“Uh, well... I don’t think that was the wrong call,” I replied hesitantly.

If Liscia had captured Madam Mutsumi and she had taken her own life—or worse, if Liscia had killed her—that would have sparked a wave of resentment and turned this war into a quagmire. Thank goodness it was Liscia who had encountered her.

A stunned expression crossed Liscia’s face as she shouted, “Are you going to give up on everything without even seeing your child’s face?! You call yourself a ‘father’ doing that?!”

Those words carried an indescribable weight coming from a mother of two—powerful enough to overshadow all of Fuuga’s charisma.

“...”

Clatter. Fuuga dropped the sword he’d been holding and cast his eyes up to the heavens.

“Me...a father? Was I...a person, all along...?”

The words slipped from his lips, and I felt I could understand his turmoil. Just as I had once allowed my identity as king to define me, Fuuga had been playing the part of a great man all this time. Unlike me, he was not the type to hesitate or question his role, which had allowed him to charge forward blindly as a great man.

Now, after coming this far, he had suddenly learned he was a father. He was forced to confront his true self—the man Fuuga Haan, not just the role he played. The Fuuga Haan who had a wife and a child. The responsibilities he had cast aside in his pursuit of greatness were no longer easy to ignore once he became a father. This was why Madam Mutsumi had kept her pregnancy a secret from him.

A single tear rolled down his cheek as he gazed up to the heavens.

“I’m defeated.”

“Fuuga...”

“Brother...”

As Yuriga and I hesitantly called out to him, he turned to us with a peaceful expression and slowly spoke, “Right now, my era just ended.”