Chapter 5: Runan Ruined
I was going to have to wait until the Gebel Kingdom’s expeditionary force arrived in the capital of South Runan, and that was assuming that Heina even did as I was planning.
In the meanwhile, Valdesca was the bigger issue for me, but I chose to take an optimistic view of the situation. I could take this chance to lay the groundwork for recruiting him later, and if it didn’t work out, then I just had to beat him again when he went back to Naruya. Whether his amnesia was genuine or not, I had no idea what his intentions were, but I chose not to care. Because regardless of what they were, the mana circle protecting him meant that I couldn’t kill him right now anyway.
Locking him up wasn’t ideal, though. I didn’t want anyone to see me doing something that lame. Even if this was just my pride making me take a less practical decision. I also didn’t want to eliminate the possibility of recruiting him later. If he was unkillable, then it was best to just leave him be for now. Losing his memory wouldn’t change his personality, so this was a prime opportunity to learn what kind of man Valdesca was. If that made me genuinely eager to recruit him, then maybe I’d start working on a scheme to actually do it.
I’ll do whatever I have to do to recruit him.
Setting that aside for the moment, I called for Gram and Celly. Gram was a scholar, and of Runanese origin, so I definitely meant to hire him. Gram and Celly came to my lodging house. Celly was fidgeting awkwardly.
“Come in. Sorry for making you stay in the camp for so long.”
“Don’t be sorry. Thanks to you, I was able to meet with Lord Erheet, and the young man was able to discover who he was, so I’m happy with how things have turned out. But while the young man can decide for himself what to do, I don’t think that us staying in your camp any longer can lead to anything good, so I would like to leave...”
Celly arched an eyebrow at what Gram said. She wasn’t happy about it.
“I’m not ready to go, dad... That guy hasn’t fully recovered yet.”
Hm? It seemed she was quite fond of Valdesca. Is it a one-sided thing? Or am I totally off base here? Well, that’s not important right now.
“Where do you plan to go, and what will you do?”
The father and daughter looked at one another. They had no plans, apparently. With there being a war in progress, he’d struggle to find work as a scholar, so that should have been obvious.
“We’re always looking for people with a wealth of academic experience. So, I was thinking... I’ve heard that your research focused on improving the people’s quality of life, starting with agriculture. Would you be interested in continuing it?”
“Do you really mean that?”
A scholar to the core, his eyes sparkled at the mention of research. Scholars put their whole lives into their chosen field of inquiry, after all.
“Oh! In that case...will you be able to fund us?” Celly chimed in.
“Of course. I’ll see that you receive the best treatment possible. We need researchers in your father’s field.”
“In the Eintorian Domain, right?” Gram checked.
“Right.”
Yeah, it was still called the Eintorian Domain. I needed to make it a country soon. This was getting inconvenient.
“Dad! Dad! This is an amazing chance! We’d have a hard enough time just making a living elsewhere, and you’ll also be able to do your research! I’ll do everything I can to help too! Oh, but if we’re taking this offer, we don’t need to leave here right away anymore, right?”
“Yeah. You can come back to Eintorian together with us.”
Hearing this, Celly nodded and began working to persuade Gram. Obviously, he was already pretty enthused by the prospect, so it looked like I was going to have little trouble recruiting him.
The issue was Valdesca.
＊
The commander-in-chief of the Royal Gebelian Army, Ruteca Mikal, arrived in South Runan together with a force of fifty thousand men. Ruteca was Duke Plenett’s right-hand man. Known for his incredible caution, the duke had placed him in charge of carrying out the plan. Ronan welcomed Ruteca eagerly, because if he hadn’t come with the Royal Gebelian Army, then Ronan would have had to go to that upstart Erhin for help. He didn’t like the idea of that.
Much as he meant to go on using Erhin, he needed an insurance policy, so he’d use each of them to do half the job. In Ronan’s mind, this was the best way to handle it.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Your Majesty. Congratulations on the founding of South Runan.”
“There’s nothing to celebrate about it. We’re in the worst situation imaginable. But with your help, I am sure we will both be able to take part of Runan’s lands. Isn’t it wonderful to have such a mutually beneficial arrangement?”
“Yes. That is why the Gebel Kingdom agreed to send troops.”
King Gebel was a very practical man, and he’d intended to send troops from the very beginning. He’d initially thought that even if he went out of his way to help South Runan, he had more to lose than to gain, but Duke Plenett was able to convince him otherwise. If he was able to get his hands on the lands of South Runan for free, then it would be pure idiocy to pass up the chance.
“I see. All right! I’ll prepare a banquet! Hey, you, we’re throwing a massive party for the reinforcements!”
Ronan began enthusiastically barking orders. Ruteca immediately scowled. The kingdom of South Runan was founded after they had narrowly escaped with their lives, so they needed to be sparing with their supplies right now. This behavior showed a lack of understanding of that, and yet, as it was his men who were being treated to a banquet, he had no need to refuse it.
It was another nation’s supplies being depleted, after all.
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” replied Ruteca.
If nothing happened in the capital of South Runan, then the Gebel Kingdom would use the excuse of an invasion from their north to withdraw their forces. If the rebellion broke out, then they would chase out any soldiers who witnessed it, and shut down the capital after spreading rumors. With the leaders of South Runan purged, it would be easy to gain hold of the territory.
All they had to do now was wait.
“I am grateful that you’d feed my men so well. But we can never know when Naruya will attack, or from where. You requested reinforcements because Naruya has deployed its troops forward, didn’t you? That being the case, we must decline this banquet. Wouldn’t you agree that it’s a warrior’s duty to prepare for such a conflict with a sober head?”
Having said all of that, Ruteca forbade his men from drinking alcohol.
＊
Heina stood atop the gates, looking out toward the Eintorian camp being built on the west side of the South Runanese capital. “His Majesty requested that Count Erhin come inside the palace?”
“Yes. It’s getting late today, so he says they will enter the palace tomorrow.”
Heina nodded at what her second-in-command told her, and then turned and went to visit Ronan. He met her with his retainers in tow. The same as always.
“Well done, Heina.”
“I only did what I ought to.”
“You’ve been on a roll lately, Heina. Coming to welcome me, and getting reinforcements from the Gebel Kingdom. I always knew you were intelligent. It’s why I appointed you as advisor in the first place. You’ve made mistakes in the past, but if you keep on like this, I expect there will continue to be important work for you.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Heina said with a bow of her head. An important post in a state with no future would do her little good. It was irrelevant anyway. As Heina was about to rise, he continued.
“Yes, keep working as you have been. Without repeating the folly of your father. That alone will let you restore your house to glory. Do I make myself clear?”
Ronan was the last person who should have been saying that. He was the man responsible for her father’s death.
He’d let him die so miserably. If all he’d done was murder him, she wouldn’t have complained. But Ronan had pushed the responsibility for his own failures onto her father, and driven him to suicide. The result was that Ronan came out unscathed, while her family had been treated like garbage.
Heina bit her lip. It was all she could do to hold back the venomous words rising inside of her. Why had she ever tried to rebuild her house working for a man like this? Don’t defy His Highness, Heina. He’s the path to restoring our house. She cursed herself for having resolved to follow her father’s will.
The position of duke, and the overwhelming power it granted Ronan had been frightening to her, of course. But while she was envious of Erhin’s abilities, which allowed him to easily transcend that power, he had also shown her that Ronan wasn’t such a big deal.
“I understand...Your Majesty.”
It’s the last time I’ll be calling him that. I have to hold my tongue for now. Because I need to command the troops from my domain.
Gritting her teeth, she left the palace. “Father, our house will meet their end as traitors. But I fully intend to drag the hated Ronan down with us,” Heina said as she looked at the palace.
The sun was setting, and the curtain of night would soon fall over the land. She had to get things started before Erhin reached the palace. It all had to be over before morning.
“Maybe you should rethink who you ought to be taking revenge on?”
Heina suddenly thought back to what Erhin had said to her. Back then, her desire for vengeance had still been directed at him.
South Runan will be ruined, and so will my house.
If she hadn’t been in the depths of despair, her hatred would likely still have been toward Erhin, the subject of her envy. Although she had only found the resolve to take revenge now that there was nothing left for her, Heina mistakenly believed her desire for it was genuine. But whether it was or it wasn’t, Heina called up her retainers, resolved to witness the moment of Ronan’s ruin.
“I’m sorry to have made you all wait so long. Your parents were killed by Ronan, just as my father was. Just for being members of our house. I cannot apologize enough to all of you.”
“No, Your Excellency. We’re just honored to be able to join you in your revenge.”
When Heina was plotting this out in the capital, she had let all of her retainers who held no enmity toward Ronan go. The ones still with her resented him as much as she did.
“When is the changing of the guard?”
“Two hours from now.”
“That will work out perfectly. We’ll force our way into the palace then. I intend to make this insurrection a big one. As big as I possibly can.”
“We’re with you, ma’am.”
“We’ll set fire to the palace as soon as we’re inside. Don’t forget to prepare oil for that.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
＊
“Commander! Commander!”
As Ruteca was sitting in his room inside the large barracks he’d had constructed in his camp outside the walls, his retainer rushed in shouting.
“Has something finally happened?”
“Yes, it seems like it. There’s a fire in the palace. The Berhin Domain Army rose in revolt, and the battle is still raging inside!”
“So it was true, then. To think she’d do this to avenge her house. I can see why it’s important for her, but still.”
“What will we do?”
“Wait for the fighting to spread from the palace to the gates before we go in. Let word of the insurrection spread outside the walls first.”
“Understood.”
“But get our troops moving now. Once the fighting spreads to the gates, we’ll intervene immediately and seal off all the gates of the capital. We will be entering strictly in the name of putting down the rebellion. Then, after swiftly storming the palace, slay the king. There’s no need to spend time on the soldiers, although, obviously, anyone who witnesses what we do inside the castle must be eliminated. When the deed is done, we seal off the palace too. Leave the Runanese regular forces fighting outside to do what they will.”
Whatever happens inside the palace, it was the doing of the rebellion, and we were too late to stop it. Or that’s the story, at least.
Whatever ended up happening in the battle between the palace and the gates was none of Ruteca’s concern. The Gebel Kingdom only needed word to spread that they had sealed off the palace after going inside to save the king, but it was already too late. They would then remain in the fractured territories of South Runan under the pretense of bringing stability.
The plan was perfect. But well, as the expression went, “The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry,” and all that. Execution was key.
＊
There was shouting and screaming as the palace fell into utter disarray. Death and murder unfolded around every corner. The defenders inside were confused by the surprise attack. However, the Berhin Domain Army’s numbers were incredibly small. They held the initial advantage as the flames first rose, and the chaos broke out, but they soon started to be pushed back.
“What are you doing, Heina?” Ronan demanded, surrounded by his retainers and soldiers, and she came for his life with only a few retainers of her own. “Did you think you could take my life with so few men? Even after I cautioned you repeatedly. Don’t be like your father. To think this is the path you’d choose. It’s pathetic. That’s what it is.”
“You’re pathetic. You and your greed, Duke Ronan. My father died a miserable death because of you... Isn’t it only natural I would do this in response?” Heina said as she glared at Ronan.
“Bah hah hah hah! Maybe save those words for after you’ve done something! What do you think you’ve even accomplished here?” Ronan laughed mockingly at Heina.
Heina just laughed back at him, which in turn only made him laugh all the louder. “Ah hah hah hah! Hah hah hah hah hah! Duke Ronan, you have no right to be called king! This is the end for you!”
As Heina laughed, there were screams from outside the hall where Ronan and Heina were facing off. Screams that were gradually drawing closer. Heina absolutely cackled. It wasn’t long before the Royal Gebelian Army appeared from behind her. Leading them was Ruteca, clad in a set of armor that, while not particularly aesthetic, was practical in its design.
The soldiers of South Runan fell before him.
“Wh-What’s happening?! Count Ruteca, what is the meaning of this?!” one of Ronan’s retainers demanded. “If you’ve come to put down the rebellion, the men you just slew weren’t part of it! If you’ll just kill Heina, then—”
The retainer’s head flew as Ruteca attacked him.
“Wh-What are you doing?!” Ronan shouted at Ruteca in shock, but the man did not answer him.
Ruteca continued swinging his blade without mercy, forcing Ronan’s retainers to fight him, but they were no match.
Ruteca was one of the top five commanders in the Gebel Kingdom.
Ronan’s retainers couldn’t possibly stand against such a man. He was on a completely different level from the retainers of the Berhin Domain.
Ronan’s retainers fell in an instant. He was the only one left standing. The other soldiers nearby were all subdued by Ruteca’s men. Heina was still there too, of course. The only ones left were Ronan, Heina, and Ruteca and his Gebelian soldiers.
“You curs! What is the meaning of this?! How dare the Gebel Kingdom do this. Aren’t you afraid of being denounced?!”
“They won’t be, Duke Ronan,” Heina said, taking great pleasure in emphasizing the word duke. “The House of Berhin will take all of the blame. I could never have killed you otherwise.”
“Wh-What...?” Ronan began backing away as he finally grasped the situation. “You sold out the nation for your revenge?! You and that garbage house of yours...?!”
“Sold out the nation? What legitimacy does a country like this have? It was only founded on your say-so. I might not have been able to have pulled this off in Runan, but... You were never fit to be a king, Your Highness.”
Heina shook her head.
“You’ve said enough, Heina. I respect your desire for vengeance. Allow me to give you the opportunity to carry it out. I’m afraid I can’t let you live once you’ve finished, however.”
Having said this, Ruteca stepped back, indicating he meant to kill Heina once she killed Ronan. If the leader of the rebellion survived, it would ruin the Gebel Kingdom’s justification for their actions. When the Royal Gebelian Army arrived, Ronan was already dead, so they disposed of Heina, who had killed him. That was how the story had to go.
Obviously, Ruteca could have taken care of both Ronan and Heina himself, but he held Heina in high regard, and so he gave her the chance to settle things.
“I already threw away my own life when I sent the slave traders after Count Erhin. Heh heh heh! Accept your fate, Duke Ronan.”
Ronan turned his back to her to run away. Heina had lacked the Martial to overcome his retainers, but she had a better Martial score than Ronan. She’d have no trouble avenging her father. Witnessing one last act of cowardice from the ugly Ronan, Heina bit her lip.
“This is the man my father so feared? What was holding our house back all this time...?” she muttered with a tone of self-mockery as she closed in, then buried her blade in Ronan’s back.
“N-Nghhh! You bitch... You’ll pay...for this...”
Despite his cursing, Ronan’s body slumped to the palace floor all the same, never to rise again. The duke was no more. Heina looked down at him, then closed her eyes. It was a bitter life, and she’d spent all of it thinking about her house. What a pathetic ending.
But she had lived a life that deserved an ending like this, so she wasn’t dissatisfied. Where did she go wrong? Was it when she saw her father’s will? Heina shook her head and then knelt down. Ruteca approached her with slow, deliberate steps.
“Have you any last words?”
“If I did, I wouldn’t have planned something like this.”
Ruteca raised his sword high to strike.
“That can’t be right,” came a voice from behind them.
“Huh?” Heina’s eyes widened with surprise.
Ruteca turned to look, sword still raised.
A man stood there, with the corpses of Gebelian soldiers who’d died without so much as a sound lying behind him.
“Who are you? Are you with the House of Berhin?”
Ruteca demanded I identify myself, but I didn’t intend to. What good would revealing my identity now do me? And to a man who’d soon be dead. He had been planning to kill Heina, and then manipulate events here to the advantage of the Royal Gebelian Army. I didn’t plan on letting him live. The soldiers still outside in his camp could be pardoned, but the ones who’d entered the palace all had to die.
I summoned Daitoren.
Ruteca Mikal
Age: 36
Martial: 91
Intelligence: 65
Command: 80
The Gebel Kingdom had sent someone fairly capable. They must have understood how important this was for them. But even if he was capable, this commander needed to die. Daitoren slammed into Ruteca’s head. He had a Martial of 91. It was a score high enough that Ronan’s retainers couldn’t even block his attacks, but he was powerless before Daitoren.
Clang!
The sound of sword striking sword rang in my ears. I’d already beheaded Ruteca by mashing the Attack command. His head sailed through the air, then rolled across the floor to rest beside Ronan’s body.
“Erhin! What is the meaning of this?”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t tell me you came to kill me yourself,” she said with a chuckle, still kneeling. “Well... In the end, I’m just an incompetent woman who was used by you... It’s almost humorous that I ever tried to make you suffer, isn’t it?”
“Why are you mocking yourself like that?”
I shook my head. I wasn’t here for the reason she thought I was.
“I don’t know what you’re even talking about.”
“Huh?”
“I came here under King Ronan’s orders to support South Runan. But when I arrived, I found the Royal Army under attack by the Royal Gebelian. I simply came here to deal with the treacherous Gebelians who journeyed here under the guise of reinforcements, and then murdered the king,” I explained as I walked toward Heina. “The Royal Gebelian Army spread slanderous rumors about the House of Berhin instigating a revolt, entered the castle to kill the king, and then tried to gain hold of South Runan while laying all the blame on you. Or am I wrong?”
“Wh-What...are you saying?!” Heina looked at me, blinking in utter bewilderment.
“You don’t understand? A woman with your intelligence?”
“No, I do... I do understand.”
“Of course you do. Because I only told you the truth. You were the first to step up to stop the Gebelians, and this is what happened. So become my vassal. If you have any interest in restoring your house, that is.”
“...”
The Gebel Kingdom had come to seize South Runan.
People could raise a fuss about there being a rebellion, but that was just a minor detail. Ultimately, the truth was the same. It didn’t change the story all that much. It was a fact that they had come with the intention of betraying South Runan. Even if someone made accusations about a clandestine agreement, there was no proof of it, and they would only be confessing that their own hands were dirty too.
In all likelihood, they would try to claim that Ruteca acted alone.
“It’s okay for me to live...?” Heina asked hesitantly.
“Live on,” I told her. “Live your own life. I’ll forget everything that happened in the past.”
The Royal Gebelian Army are going to run amok now that Ruteca’s gone. The war’s just started. Because I can’t let them have South Runan.
Even if I chose to give up on the land and go home after this, I needed to bring back the people with me, if nothing else. That meant I had to drive off the Gebelians first. The underhanded Gebelians who’d come to steal South Runan under the guise of providing reinforcements.
“Your house’s name can only live on if you do, Heina.”
“Heh heh heh... Bah hah hah hah! I truly...truly am no match for you... I would have never dreamed you’d make an offer to me like this. Hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah!”
Heina rose to her feet after a good, hearty laugh. Then she knelt down again in front of me.
“I have no pride left to wound... I’ll follow you from now on!”
＊
My next concern was the Gebel Kingdom. I tried asking Valdesca how he’d go about conquering them.
“Hmm... So, what do you think?”
“About striking down the Gebel Kingdom, which entered South Runan under the pretense of an alliance, you mean?”
“Right. If I were to do it, what would be the best way to quickly defeat the Royal Gebelian Army?”
It was a direct question, but Valdesca simply stared into space for a while before shaking his head.
“I don’t know about that kind of military strategy.”
“That can’t be right. You were an incredible strategist before you lost your memory.”
My comment brought an even greater look of confusion to Valdesca’s face.
“What is the situation? I should be able to tell you anything that comes to mind, at least.”
“It’s simple. Before we arrive, the Gebel Kingdom will try to seize South Runan. Is there any way to prevent that?”
“Well, let me see. If there is, I don’t know it. But if they are going to try and get their hands on the territory, then isn’t that fine? That will demonstrate to the world that they were coveting the lands of South Runan.”
“Well, you do have a point there.”
I knew it.
He’d just been speaking off the cuff, and yet this man accurately cleft to the heart of the issue.
“I think it would be faster if you were to find an effective way of retaking the capital from them afterward.”
“Okay, anything that comes to mind?”
“I think you should deceive the enemy. For instance, you can surround the city, but there is no need to attack. Once you have them surrounded, you use their psychology to control them. I think a war like this can be won in two days.”
“A psychological battle, huh? Is this the kind of thing you’re talking about?” I went on to explain what I was thinking.
Valdesca had another answer for me. “That is a viable option too, but I think a trap like this would be better.”
“Aha, and after I do that, I can use it one more time.”
Yes. This is the perfect strategy.
With our opinions aligned, once this affair was settled, it would give birth to an even larger strategy.
“I see. Yes, I think you’re right,” Valdesca said with a big nod.
He was every bit as capable as I’d thought. It’d be a real headache if he went back to being an enemy.
Should I just try to find some way to kill him? No. If I can bring someone like him over to my side, it will be even more satisfying than beating the game.
I couldn’t resist that kind of challenge. Even if, after he regained his memories, it ended up like the time Cao Cao recruited Guan Yu. At least Cao Cao survived because of it. Guan Yu was the one who spared him when he fled, defeated, at the Battle of Red Cliffs. I simply thought it would be a shame to let him go. There was no fault in that.
＊
Without their commander-in-chief, the Royal Gebelian Army ran around willy-nilly before ultimately deciding to occupy South Runan. Their leader’s last command had been to quickly occupy the capital, after all. If they had made another decision at this point, such as withdrawing to the Gebel Kingdom, that might have served to show that they never had any designs on South Runan, though.
Ultimately, Ruteca’s last command tripped them up.
The soldiers of Eintorian were enraged by the Gebelians’ treachery.
The Eintorian Army’s Morale is now 100.
That anger showed up in their morale. With the addition of Valdesca’s strategy, we were able to take South Runan in less than a day. With that done, the foolish Gebelians who had lost their commander began to withdraw.
“Woooooo!”
Eintorian morale was sky-high, and the people of South Runan who had been suppressed by the Gebelians welcomed us with whoops and cheers. To them, I was the one who had come to their aid, and then avenged the wrongs done to them. Thanks to that, their Opinion of me had risen to 99. This was a successful conquest of the South Runan region.
Obviously, I had no intention of leaving my troops here, in a territory wedged between Naruya and Gebel, which was sure to be destroyed. I planned to take the surviving South Runanese soldiers and people back with me to my own domain.
That was one of my goals accomplished. Now there was another truly important one that it would help me with: Erheet.
This was the branching point that would decide if he became my retainer.
＊
“Your Highness... So it turned out like this in the end, after all.”
Erheet buried Ronan with his own hands, and knelt before the grave, reminiscing. This was the man he had sworn to serve all his life. And yet, he had learned the man had a number of flaws. When Erheet heard that Ronan fled the capital while he was risking his life fighting at the checkpoint, that had been the decisive betrayal for Erheet.
Yet still he had shown no visible outrage.
Now that the master who he’d had such mixed feelings about had passed away, Erheet could only shake his head.
“Your Excellency, Duke Ronan had already abandoned the House of Demacine. And twice at that,” said one of Erheet’s retainers who couldn’t bear to see him like this.
“That’s fine. He was still my master,” Erheet answered the man with a sharp look.
After that, his retainers had to remain silent until he stood up once more. Then, after standing there for some time, Erheet looked around at the South Runanese scenery.
“It’s good to see the people seem to be all right.”
“Yes, it is. Thank goodness.”
“Because these people have a new lord who will embrace them.”
“Your Excellency?”
Erheet’s retainers looked at one another as they tried to parse this odd comment. But Erheet said no more. In reality, he was torn over what to do. Runan was truly finished now. As such, he thought that, as a Runanese commander, he was done too. His life as a military leader was over, and it was time for him to retire. His own lands had fallen into Naruya’s hands. He had nothing left, but wasn’t sure he could live on as an ordinary person.
“If I’m going to retire...then there’s no need for all of you to come with me. So... If you can, I want you to be of assistance to Count Eintorian.”
“Come again?”
“Your Excellency! What are you saying so suddenly?!”
His bombshell statement made their eyes widen with shock.
＊
“Where have you been, Lord Erheet?”
“I hear you were looking for me.”
“Yes. I didn’t know where you’d gone, so I asked people to look for you.”
“I went to say my goodbyes to His Highness,” Erheet said with a deep sigh. “I don’t entirely know how to feel about it. Would you let me have a cup of tea?”
“Of course.”
I invited Erheet to sit at the table. His pallor wasn’t looking so good. His face was a mess of emotions. He must have had a lot of worries on his mind. Now, so did I, of course, but that was because I needed to persuade the man.
“To tell you the truth,” Erheet began in a grave tone after taking a sip of tea. “I have to ask, do you plan to become a king now, like I’ve long suspected? I always knew you were too great to remain a mere count. You have the power to control public opinion, and in my opinion, that qualifies you as a ruler.”
“Well...” I trailed off, not sure how to respond to a question that was so on the mark, but I couldn’t dodge it now.
If I go hiding things from someone I’m truly trying to win to my side, then I’ll never be able to act openly.
“Yes, I do. The fall of Runan was a shame, but I am also a descendant of the Eintorians. I plan to restore the Ancient Kingdom, which has long been the wish of my clan, Your Excellency.”
“The Ancient Kingdom, huh? Yes, that’s right. You were a descendant of those Eintorians.”
“And...there’s one other thing I need to tell you.” I couldn’t tell him I deliberately let Runan fall. But I at least wanted to be open about the matter with Ronan.
“Another thing? What is it?”
“I never liked Duke Ronan. And that dislike only grew after the matter of the slaves. In truth...I didn’t have any heartfelt desire to save him.”
I was forthright in telling him that I used this incident to manipulate public opinion. In light of Erheet’s own connection with Ronan, if I didn’t tell him about the conspiracy, we could never have a proper relationship between us.
“Ah... So that’s what was going on.”
“However, I never meant for the people of South Runan to come to harm. That is the truth.”
“I know that. Since you’ve been honest with me, let me do you the same courtesy. I am planning to retire. I suspect my life as a warrior ended together with the nation of Runan.”
“Huh? I hope it’s not because of what I just told you.”
“No, it’s unrelated. Runan has fallen to ruin now, and having been at your side, I know as well as anyone that it couldn’t have been saved. Knowing what things were like between you and Duke Ronan, I can fully understand your dislike of him. So it’s nothing to do with that. I also know you are incredibly capable. I’m sure you’ll do a fine job of protecting the people of Runan... Seeing the way you exempted your people from taxes, I was deeply impressed.”
Okay, so why retire, then? I definitely couldn’t let him do that. Do you have any idea how much effort I’ve put into recruiting you?
“Are you fully resolved to retire?”
“It’s my intention to, yes. I have no lands of my own, so I’m no longer a noble, but I think I’ll become a simple man of the countryside.”
No, that’s out of the question. Where can you find a man who belongs on the battlefield as much as him, who must be there to shine to his fullest? The man is a true warrior, not a gamer like me, who’s just in it for his own benefit.
“Your Excellency.”
I’ve been waiting for him to say something to me, but was that a foolish move? It looks like if I want to recruit capable people, I can’t be so passive about it. I mean, Liu Bei had to ask Zhuge Liang three times before he was able to recruit him. Not long after they met, he petitioned him earnestly to join him. That earnestness persuaded Zhuge Liang, and he served Liu Bei and his son for the rest of his life.
I started to think it might be too late, but I bowed my head to Erheet.
“Won’t you consider becoming a commander for Eintorian? It’s much too early for you to retire! Perhaps the thought of serving under me hurts your pride, but...as a descendant of the Ancient Kingdom, I, Erhin Eintorian, must have your power in order to bring an end to the chaos of war on this continent. There is no other commander on the same level as you, Your Excellency. The Ten Commanders of Naruya? They’re strong individually, but that’s all they are. There is only one true warrior who reigns supreme on the battlefield, and from all I’ve heard, it’s you.”
“...”
However, Erheet didn’t respond. He simply stared so hard that his gaze could have bored right through me. I went on talking. I hadn’t said everything I wanted to yet. I needed to say it all, so that even if he did retire, I wouldn’t be left with regrets.
“Won’t you please become an Eintorian retainer? I need you!”
This caused a complete turnaround. Erheet jumped to his feet and took my hand with alarming alacrity.
“Do... Do you really mean that?!”
“Of course I do...”
“I had thought you didn’t need me. That’s why I resolved to retire!”
“Huh?”
This came totally out of left field.
“What do you mean? I need you more than anyone, Lord Erheet. I was avoiding saying so out of an excess of caution. There was, um, the matter of your relationship with Duke Ronan, after all...”
Erheet immediately shook his head. “My connection to His Highness is a separate matter. I’d already lost my respect for the man. I was merely trying to behave honorably. So, essentially, you’re saying you do need me, right?”
“Of course.”
“Gah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah! This isn’t news to drink tea to! Hey, you! Fetch us some wine! Wine, I say!” Erheet seemed giddy as a child as he shouted.
I hadn’t been ready for this at all. “Your Excellency?”
“If you need me, I’m at your service. I’m saying I’ll be your retainer! I, Erheet Demacine, am going to serve Eintorian for life. I think it’s wonderful that you’re a descendant of the Ancient Kingdom! And I couldn’t ask for more in a lord than someone like you, who can protect all the people of the world!”
Was it this simple all along?
“No, I’m not doing this right. I can’t speak so informally to you anymore,” Erheet said, standing up straight as he bowed his head to me. “From now until the day I die, I serve Eintorian!”
My head started to hurt as I looked at him. I really should have gone to him with an offer sooner. From the looks of it, had Erheet just been sulking because I kept making offers to other people, but not to him?
＊
All that remained was the issue of Valdesca. Obviously, unlike Erheet, there was no way to immediately recruit him.
“You called for me?”
“There’s something I wanted to talk to you about. We’re scheduled to pull out, so I should arrange things so you can go home too.”
“Do you really mean that?”
“Yes. So, you still can’t remember anything?”
“No. Not a thing,” Valdesca said with a hint of self-mockery. He sounded frustrated.
“Your name is Frann Valdesca. You are a duke of Naruya, a genius in the use of magic circles, and my enemy. Oh, you’re also the most feared strategist on the continent too.”
“Is that right? If that’s all true...then there are two things I’m left wondering.”
I told him what he’d wanted to know, but Valdesca’s reaction was muted.
And he still wants to know more?
“What would those be?”
“If we are enemies, then why set me free?”
I agonized over that one myself, but ultimately decided to let go of him.
“It would be a different matter if we’d captured you on the battlefield, but could I really call it a victory if I took you prisoner after you walked in here of your own accord? When you get your memories back, I’m sure we’ll meet again on the battlefield, and that’s when I’ll capture you. After taking away your infuriating ability to teleport. Oh, I recognize you as a strategist, of course. I’d never have won if I hadn’t used the ruins left behind by the Ancient Kingdom. There’s really no telling how our next battle will play out. But that’s all the more reason it needs to be settled on the battlefield.”
Valdesca smiled in a self-effacing manner as he listened to my response.
“Then let me ask you the other thing.”
At some point, the smile faded, and Valdesca’s expression grew unusually serious. No longer did he have the far-off look in his eye that the young amnesiac had possessed. No, this was his face as a strategist.
“What do you think is the most important thing in war?”
＊
Had anyone ever made him taste defeat like this before?
As his retainers evacuated him, Valdesca was left like a puppet, powerless to do anything himself.
Misery dominated him, and a sense of defeat ruled over his mind. The earthquake gradually intensified as the mana circle spread. The teleporter—a tool that was packed with the essence of the Ancient Kingdom’s magic, and was the most special of all those passed down by the Valdesca family. Valdesca’s memories cut out at the point where red flames burst up from underground, rushing toward him, and his retainers activated the tool. But tools also work using mana circles, and the influence of the massive one being activated in the immediate vicinity stopped his from fully functioning.
Valdesca awoke north of Runan’s capital. When he came to, for some reason, he couldn’t remember a thing.
“Are you okay?”
“Dad, water! Go get water!”
A father and daughter found and cared for him. That was Gram and Celly. They saved his life in the middle of all the chaos of war. On top of that, Valdesca heard that he’d been out cold for quite some time. When he learned that, because of him, the father and daughter had missed their chance to evacuate, and were hiding out in the mountains, he felt awful.
“No, don’t be sorry,” Celly told him. “We were being chased by some brigands when you suddenly came falling out of the sky, and an incredible explosion killed them all! You saved us, so of course we had to take care of you until you woke up!”
“I-Is that what happened?”
“Yeah, it is. So you don’t need to be grateful,” Gram explained. “But more importantly, that effect when you fell out of the sky must have been caused by a mana circle... When you struck the ground, I saw one activate.”
Gram had also done a lot of research on mana circles. They weren’t his area of expertise, of course, and he couldn’t use them. But as part of his studies, he’d looked into the historical link between the Ancient Kingdom and mana circles.
That’s how he was able to recognize one when he saw it.
“Is that a fact?” Valdesca could only scratch his head.
“Now that you’ve awakened, I’d like to set out. A new nation called South Runan has been formed, and it’s possible that a noble acquaintance of mine has gone there, so I was thinking we’d drop by to see.”
Hearing that, Valdesca set out on a journey with Gram and Celly. His condition gradually recovered along the way, and though he kept it from the father and daughter, so too did his memory. The shock of defeat and the influence of the mana circle on his brain had kept him from fully remembering, but once he awoke it slowly came back.
It finally came back to him completely when they were in South Runan. There Valdesca saw the Eintorian flag.
“I know that flag...”
In that instant, the sense of defeat rushed in on him again, powerful as ever. However, at the same time, new feelings were born inside of him.
“I’m terribly sorry to have to ask this of you, but I’d like to go over there for a while. Would that be all right with the two of you?” Valdesca pointed at the Eintorian camp, which flew their banners.
“To that military camp? Isn’t that dangerous?”
Valdesca mentally scoffed at the question.
If this was a sign from Heaven, then he wanted to meet that man. To see him in a context other than on the battlefield. Thus began Valdesca’s life in the military camp. It was a hard act to keep up, but eventually he realized that all he needed to do was pretend he was lost in thought. Looking like he was in a haze came naturally to him when he was agonizing over something, so it was an easy act to pull off.
As he did, Erhin asked Valdesca about strategy. Valdesca hesitated somewhat. He felt as though, perhaps, the man had seen through his amnesiac act. But what did it matter at this point? He also felt a desire to speak with the man about strategy. What kind of superb stratagems would he employ? How well could he make use of his manpower?
Valdesca couldn’t help but be curious about the insight that had always been not just one, but two steps ahead of him. It was the entire reason he’d gone to such efforts to infiltrate the camp, wasn’t it? Debating strategy with Erhin even became something close to enjoyable. It gave each the chance to point out shortcomings in the other’s thinking. With Valdesca and Erhin working together, of course the Royal Gebelian Army was hopelessly routed.
It was a good time.
But all good things had to come to an end eventually. As he sensed the time to go home nearing, Erhin called for him. The man revealed him for who he was, and suggested he go home. Internally, Valdesca smiled. It was a smile of recognition. And the more he recognized Erhin’s abilities, the greater his desire was to beat him.
Although being able to keep up the amnesia act as he left would have been far better for Valdesca in the long term, there were things he wanted to ask even if that meant his lies were revealed. There was just one thing that had been on his mind this whole time: Valdesca had visited the Eintorian Domain while Erhin was away rescuing Rozern. Having ultimately given up on moving his forces, he actually went to Rozern instead.
He had been intensely curious about exactly what Erhin was trying to do. Of course, he thought the strategy employed was incredible, but that wasn’t it. That wasn’t what bothered him. He understood it. Although, he didn’t know if he could have done the same.
There were some parts he absolutely didn’t get, though, and those bothered Valdesca to no end.
“What do you think is the most important thing in war?”
“The opinion of the people, obviously.”
Erhin answered Valdesca’s question without a moment’s hesitation. But that answer wasn’t what he truly wanted to know. It was merely a lead-in to his actual question.
“Then could you explain to me what you were doing in Rozern?”
Those words laid Valdesca’s deception bare. They revealed he had all of his memory intact. But the question was more important than that. Besides, Erhin was the one who’d opened this serious discussion between them.
“What part of it do you want to know about?”
What composure. The question had revealed he was being deceived, and yet this man remained calm, focusing solely on the question at hand.
“Why did you bury the people of Rozern who were massacred by Brijit inside the cities? No matter how awful the stench of their rotting corpses was, you could simply have had your soldiers rest outside the walls. Was there any need to give your exhausted men such a command? The dead were even foreigners to you.”
Even as he pursued the Brijitians, each time he came across another of their massacres, this man had ordered his soldiers to bury the dead. It was something Rozern could have done themselves once the war was over. Yet Erhin carried on doing it, and Valdesca couldn’t comprehend why.
“A country without a people is of no use at all. In short, that means that a country is its people. The same can be said of uniting this continent. It’s only possible if the people will come along with me. If they won’t, then even if I emerge victorious, things will crumble in no time.”
Still, his doubts were not dispelled. Valdesca tried asking another question. “What does that have to do with the people of vanquished nations? They are not your people, so why do their opinions matter? I would think a true king is one who looks after his own country’s troops.”
“Well, in general, you’re probably right. However, my actions weren’t for the people of our country who died.”
“Huh?”
Valdesca’s brow furrowed as he failed to understand. Whenever he couldn’t understand something, he rammed his head into a solid object. But he couldn’t do it now, and that only frustrated him more.
“The people inside the cities were all dead, but there was no time for them to have exterminated all of the outlying villages. Those people were out in the mountains, hiding. When the war ended, they would come back out again. If we didn’t bury the corpses, those people were going to see something terrible. There’s a world of difference between hearing there was a massacre and seeing it for yourself. If the people saw, they would all think, ‘Rozern is a garbage nation that couldn’t protect us.’”
“Given you were in foreign land, isn’t it fine for that sort of turmoil to happen? Especially if they are going to think it was Runan that prevented them from feeling that way.”
“That all depends on the circumstances. I didn’t need to improve their opinion of the Runan Kingdom. No, not of the Runan Kingdom.”
Huh? In that instant, Valdesca felt as though he’d been struck by lightning.
“The survivors of Rozern would go on living in that land. Because Rozern itself was not destroyed. There’s no need for people who will go on living to carry such a deep emotional scar. The things they’d feel seeing the bodies scattered around aren’t conducive to the country’s development. As someone who talks of uniting the continent, shouldn’t I always be considering how to make Rozern’s people my own?”
What they’d feel when they saw the bodies?
“And the reason I am letting you go, despite your memories fully returning, is that, someday, you might join me. If you and I work together, there’s no way we could ever lose, right?”
Valdesca was momentarily speechless. It was like he’d suddenly been punched. This was the second time in this conversation that he felt like he’d been smashed in the back of the head. The entire core of this conversation had never been about the people, or anything like that. Erhin had been using the conversation to extract the questions Valdesca wanted to ask. It made Valdesca want to laugh and to cry at the same time.
He had the boldness it took to try and poach the Frann Valdesca? In spite of Naruya being intact, and their king still being alive and well? Yet, surprisingly, a seed of curiosity was budding in Valdesca. He could try to suppress it all he wanted, but it was no use. The king he served, or this man? Who would be the true hegemon? That was the question that inspired the powerful curiosity welling up inside him.
There had been many rulers in history who cared for the people. But would that bring about the unification of the continent?
Valdesca didn’t think so.
There were times when mercy could be the greatest weakness. If the argument was about unifying the continent, that is. This man, however, was the opposite. The Erhin Eintorian he’d seen was not simply a lord who cared for the people. He was a person who manipulated them from the shadows, bending them to his will. In short, he was a man who controlled public opinion. That had been visible in the strategy he employed against the Gebel Kingdom here too. It was what made him horrifying, and yet it was also what made him great.
“I already have a master, one who I also believe is fit to be a sovereign. I definitely want to settle things with you. Even if I have already lost three times.”
In the First Runan War, in the massive defeat at the Eintorian Domain, and lastly...in this conversation. Yes, Valdesca felt this conversation had also been a defeat for him. As such, he had now lost three times. After all of that, he wanted to win at least once, all the more because his opponent was so strong.
＊
I had gained some things, and lost others. Well, no, Valdesca was never mine to begin with, so maybe “lost” isn’t the right word. He couldn’t be mine right now. It hurt to let him go, but this was all laying the groundwork for my later moves, so I just had to hope it had some small effect. Setting aside the bitter feelings, I hired Heina and Erheet, and brought them back to Brinhill along with the soldiers and people of South Runan.
With their numbers added to our own, the population grew again. We now totaled two million and twenty thousand people, with a total manpower of eighty-two thousand. I hadn’t drafted people yet, so there was still room in my recruitment cap for more. Although there was room to raise my manpower just a little more, I didn’t act on it immediately because developing the farmland was a slightly higher priority. More active farmland led directly to more provisions and more funding for the nation. The Opinion score of the newly arrived South Runanese people was actually higher than the average value across all of my territories. That in turn raised the overall Opinion to 88.
With the fall of South Runan, there was nothing left to fetter my founding of a nation. I was now within sight of casting off this ambiguous position as an amalgamation of different domains and forming them into a single nation.
“Serena.”
“Yes, Lord Erhin!”
I summoned Serena before doing so. I wanted to learn my retainers’ views. I couldn’t imagine any of them would oppose it, but if anyone had a different opinion, then that was something I ought to know about. She had only just joined me as a vassal, and had not been entrusted with any post yet. For that very reason, she could ask questions without it affecting anyone’s interests. Either way, everyone was going to be a member of the nobility soon, but there was still some lingering discomfort. Her high Charisma would help get positive answers out of people.
“I have something to ask of you.”
“Sure! Whatever it is, I will give my life for it!”
“Uh, you don’t need to give your life...”
Serena pressed her hands together with a beaming smile. I actually backed away a little seeing how gung ho she was.
＊
I needed to ask those who became my retainers first. Since all of them were going to become nobles of the newly founded nation anyway, I thought Serena would be the fairest judge. First, she met with Hadin. After hearing from him that of course I should become a king, Serena moved on to Bente. When he was alone with her, Bente couldn’t even look Serena in the eye. His gaze wandered. His face reddened. Bente was uncharacteristically unsure what to do.
“It’s the first time we’ve talked alone, isn’t it?”
“Yes? Yes, yes!”
Bente answered three times, then scratched his head, his fingers naturally digging into the back of his scalp. His eyes were still focused on the table, not Serena’s face. Charmed by her beauty, Bente only stole furtive glances at her face. He’d lost his wits too much to look at her directly. There was no distrust there. He was purely overwhelmed.
“I’ve called you in here to ask one question.”
Serena cut to the chase.
“Huh, what is it? I’ll answer all the questions you want. Hah hah hah!”
“What do you think of Lord Erhin becoming a king? Are you prepared to serve him as if he were Heaven itself? A king and the will of Heaven are one and the same, after all.”
Bente just blinked at this question. He fidgeted around as he was suddenly hit with a topic of such grand scale, but his answer was already set. It wasn’t long before Bente opened his mouth.
“I know I’m a moron. But there’s one thing that never changes. Ever since His Excellency saw something in me, and gave me an important position, he’d be the only one I’d ever serve. Even if he goes from being an Excellency to being a Highness or a Majesty, that will always stay the same!”
“Is that right?”
Bente nodded firmly. Serena smiled. Then she thought for a moment. Erhin had told her she didn’t have to put on fake smiles anymore. But no, this smile now, it wasn’t fake. He really was like the protagonist of the stories her father had told her.
After parting with Bente, Serena’s next meeting was with Yusen. He was the most important person she knew of, and had many accomplishments. He was also someone she respected.
“I’m sorry to come calling so suddenly.”
“Don’t be... But more importantly, my condolences on what happened in Luaranz.”
Serena could sense those words weren’t just for show. He genuinely felt sorry for her. Grateful for his concern, she hurriedly shook her head. “Thank you. But I’ve already forgotten it. I’ll be fine.”
“Really?”
“I’m here to discuss something more important with you today. I believe that Lord Erhin should become a king... What are your thoughts, Lord Yusen?”
“That would be the natural flow of things. His Excellency once said he would make our country the best. And that he’d make those who came with them the best too. After hearing that, I’ve followed him all this way. In accordance with his will, I’ve striven to be my best, and to make the men who serve under me their best too.”
“Did he say something like that?”
Yusen smiled and nodded. Then, briefly, he added, “So there’s only one answer for me.”
“And for me,” chimed in Gibun, who was with him too.
Serena smiled again. Yes, she really was happy. Erhin had told her not to put on a false smile, but it had never been necessary since coming to Eintorian. The smiles welled up naturally from her own heart. Unlike the fake life she’d led in Luaranz, there was a reason for her glee. Just as he had inspired respect in her, so too had he earned the respect of his subordinates. Her idol was everyone’s idol.
Next, Serena went to see Jint. No, she was looking for him, but turned to head back. In her mind, Jint wasn’t the sort of man who needed to hear any more words. Still, in order to carry out her mission, she decided it was better to meet with Mirinae instead.
“Serena!” Mirinae exclaimed and rushed over to her.
“Sorry to drop in on you so suddenly, Mirinae. You must be busy, right?”
Mirinae had a number of books open as she agonized over some problem.
“Not at all. Come over—whoa!”
A mound of books collapsed, scattering all over. There was no place left to stand.
“Heh heh, sorry... Looks like over here’s not going to work. Let’s head over there instead.”
Scratching her head awkwardly, Mirinae took Serena by the hand and led her outside. There was a bench out there.
“So, what is it?”
“What do you think of Lord Erhin becoming a king?” Serena cut straight to the chase.
“Uh...?” Mirinae cocked her head slightly. “I don’t know about that kind of thing, Serena. But if Lord Erhin told Jint to die, he’d die. Hee hee!” Though Mirinae chuckled as she said that, there was a sincerity in her eyes. Serena concluded that she need ask no more.
Next, she visited Fihatori.
“I’ve been thinking about it for some time. I was considering when to bring the idea to him, but with South Runan having been destroyed, I think now is the time.”
“Is that right?”
He’d already been planning it out.
“Our forces are prepared, and His Excellency was meant to be a king. If he isn’t fit to be one, then who else on the continent can claim to be?”
Fihatori had been thinking about this from the time that he left Ronan’s camp to come and swear loyalty to Erhin. What’s more, because Erhin was a lineal descendant of the ancient Eintorians, his restoration of the Ancient Kingdom had major legitimacy.
That was a vast difference from Ronan, who’d never had any such justification for founding his own nation.
“Oh, and...”
Fihatori went on expounding on the theories of statecraft. He was just so serious about it all that, this time, Serena couldn’t crack a smile at it.
He’d go on all night if she let him. Excusing herself, she escaped, and next, she went to see Erheet.
“Hah hah hah hah hah hah hah! It’s a matter of course that he will. Don’t ask pointless questions. I already knew he would when I swore my loyalty to him.”
“I-I see.”
Erheet was exceedingly jovial. As she had expected, no one objected. No one even showed the slightest hesitance about it. However, there was someone she wasn’t able to meet until the very end. Despite seeing everyone else, even Heina and Voltaire, one person remained: Euracia.
Eventually, the two had to run into each other, so Serena steeled herself for the encounter and started walking. The two of them both lived in the royal palace, and both in the outer palace at that. They were a stone’s throw apart from one another, and yet she was the hardest to visit. Serena steadied her breathing as she returned to the outer palace. Once there, she approached the door to Euracia’s room.
Knock, knock.
The door opened immediately.
“Oh, hello!”
As Euracia appeared before her eyes, Serena immediately bowed her head. Euracia just stared at Serena. Not only did Serena’s high Charisma score not help her out here, but it was also actively harmful. In short, her skill for making conversations go smoothly was of absolutely no help in this situation.
“Right,” Euracia responded, impassive as ever.
Each looked into the other’s eyes. Neither seemed about to look away. In that instant, Serena forgot her mission. She couldn’t look away once they’d locked eyes. Feeling as if she’d already lost that first exchange, she wasn’t about to lose this battle of wills too. For her part, Euracia kept on staring at Serena too.
Silence descended and time seemed to stand still as the two continued facing off.
“Hey, stop that!”
That’s when Erhin stepped in.
“No, I guess you’ve both already stopped.”
Incredibly, even after his appearance, the two didn’t look away. Each just kept stubbornly staring into the other’s eyes.
In the territory of the Herald Kingdom, King Cassia of Naruya had led his forces to occupy all the castles on the western half of the kingdom, and was a stone’s throw from Quabi Castle, which was on the road to the capital. Answering his summons, Frann Valdesca knelt before King Cassia.
“Your Majesty, I will gladly accept any punishment!” Valdesca prostrated himself with a look of agony on his face.
“Erhin Eintorian, was it? Was he that strong? I don’t understand it. How is it that Frann Valdesca, the greatest genius since the founding of our country, returns to me in such a miserable state?”
“There is no excuse I could possibly make for it!”
Hearing Valdesca’s response, Cassia appeared completely emotionless.
“Dying would be easy. But how would that atone for your sins? Atone for them while you live, and then die. Do I make myself understood? I hereby strip you of the rank of duke! If you die after having atoned for your sins, I’ll restore your title. You must redeem yourself not only for my sake, but for the House of Valdesca as well.”
Without a title, he was essentially no longer a noble at all. To take the title from the House of Valdesca also meant stripping all the retainers who served under them of their titles as well. But Valdesca couldn’t speak back to his king.
All he could do was grind his teeth at the words, “Live and atone for your sins.”
Yes, that was right. Even if he was going to die, it should be after he’d won once.
“Valdesca, prove your strength. If you cannot prove to me that you are a commander who will not take a defeat lying down, then at least die on the battlefield. That is what it means to be a man,” Cassia declared, his eyes a conspicuous golden color.
＊
Two days after I had sent Serena to gather everyone’s opinions on the matter, as I was patrolling the streets of Brinhill, all of my retainers converged on me. Hadin, Bente, Yusen, Gibun, Fihatori, Euracia, Serena, Jint, Mirinae, Shanes, Erheet, Voltaire, Heina, Damon, and all of their retainers were all there.
They formed a line and bowed down before me. Once they had, Fihatori spoke on the group’s behalf.
“Your Excellency, the time has come at last. Will you become king of Eintorian and lead us forward?”
Once Fihatori shouted this, the other commanders raised their voices to say the same, creating an exciting scene. It was as if they were all chanting it. Of course, this was just what I wanted to see. But still, did they have to come at me with it in the middle of town?
“Please, be our king!”
As all my retainers shouted that once again, the common people began gathering around. They were driven by curiosity at first, but as my retainers kept shouting, they joined in the chant. In no time, word spread, and even more people gathered. I glanced at Fihatori. This was probably why they’d gathered here on the street. He must have forcefully rounded everyone up.
Still, he was confident that if they called for it in a town like this, the people would join in. I was confident of it too, of course. With an Opinion of 88, the people in the game would offer you high praise.
“Your Majesty!”
The people started calling me “Your Majesty” as if I’d already ascended the throne. Obviously, I wasn’t going to let this scene drag on. Now it was time for founding a nation. It was absolutely essential to have a country of my own if I was going to unite the continent.
In short, now I was finally at the start.
With my own faction and a nation of my own, I could jump into the game. Because everything was beginning here and now.
That’s the kind of game this is.
Everything before now was a preliminary match to decide if I could participate or not. Because this was a game where you could only win by having your country fight other countries in order to unite the entire continent. Given the situation, there was no need for me to make a show of initially refusing. With everyone gathered like this, it was the perfect time to make an announcement.
Still, I was a little too embarrassed to just say, “I hereby declare the founding of a nation!” right here.
Instead, I declared, “I’ll do as you all say!” and moved along to the palace.
Brinhill became the capital. It might move somewhere else in the future, but in our current circumstances, Brinhill was the only place that was a good fit. The name of the country was also Eintorian, of course. It was the name of a country that no longer existed, but was still carved into the hearts of people everywhere. With the country’s name and capital decided, I ordered a formal assembly of the people. With all of my retainers in attendance too, of course.
The crest of Eintorian and its blue banners went up all around Brinhill. It was a color we shared in common with Runan. Because many of the new country’s people were of Runanese origin, it was the perfect symbol that we were a successor to the spirit of that nation. I looked down at the masses from atop the largest gate in the capital, above which flew an especially large banner.
I closed my eyes for a moment, then opened them once more. This was my first step toward mastery over the continent.
It all starts now!
As I appeared, a hush fell over the crowd. Their eyes all turned toward me. They were waiting for my announcement.
After some time, I got my voice under control and shouted out, “As you all know, Runan has fallen. Without a country of our own, all of the people who lived in this land may be subject to persecution by other nations. In order to live not as slaves, but as masters, I hereby proclaim the founding of a nation. I will create a country that always strives to do the best for its people. Any country that would cast you all aside deserves to no longer exist! Now that I have taken the throne, declaring the return of the Ancient Kingdom, I am going to rise up for all of you who stand here before me!”
I issued the founding declaration to an audience of two million and twenty thousand people. Obviously, not all of them were here right now. My words would be carried to people who were currently far away. My speech concluded, and there was instant applause.
“Woooooo!”
The great cheer spread backward like a wave through the crowd. Unlike in the game, when I saw a scene like this unfolding before my eyes, there was a genuine sense of excitement.
I’m really a king now. Okay, yes, it’s a game, but it’s also reality. So does that mean I’m a real king?
Having issued the declaration as the feeling that any of this was real slipped away, my words would likely spread across the continent. Some would mock me. Others would dream of revenge. There might be an immediate war over it.
Ultimately, I’m going to triumph over all of that, and beat this game.
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