Chapter 296
(Kyle Calendar Year 514: Age 21)
A New Year, A New History (The Newcomers)
Translator : PolterGlast
The unexpected awards ceremony ended, and we returned to Teigoon
in high spirits. It was a return after spending a busy time in the Royal
Capital, with appointment ceremonies for those who newly became nobles or were
promoted in peerage, the investiture ceremony for the Commander and Alexis,
receiving reward money, and so on.
Honestly, everything was so far beyond the norm that
conversely, it didn't feel real. Even after returning to Teigoon,
banquets continued for three days and three nights with triumphal return
ceremonies and victory celebrations, and in the blink of an eye, we welcomed a
new year, an unknown dawn of a year I hadn't experienced even in the previous
history.
And we are holding a banquet to welcome the new year here in
Teigoon. Those who would newly become key figures of the Westlights
Demon Territory Dukedom, guests, major merchants, representatives of the
territory's residents, and representatives of immigrants were also invited
here, making it an unprecedentedly grand event.
And in this place, it was announced that I was appointed as Demon
Territory Duke, treated as a Duke of the Kyle Kingdom, and
furthermore, would become the Archduke
of the Westlights Dukedom; the joy of the participants had reached its
climax.
"Even so, we finally accomplished it. You, Takuhir-sama, who thinks of family, territory residents,
and companions more than anyone else, who struggled alone since childhood and
made desperate efforts, have won the new future you envisioned."
"Yeah, Anne, you supported me by my side from
the very beginning, since childhood when I had no allies yet. Truly, thank
you."
"Indeed. Thinking about it now, the Solis family
has been facing a continuous series of crises and hardships that could have
tilted its foundation. Against those, you, Takuhir-sama,
desperately took measures to overcome those crises. I am a truly fortunate
person to not only be your wife, but to be able to think and spend time
together with you."
"I always ended up pushing difficult roles onto you,
didn't I, Miseri? Truly, thank you. Well, I think I'll cause you trouble
from here on too, but at least you won't struggle with budgeting anymore,
maybe?"
"I am honored to be able to participate in this
gathering where so many lives saved by you, Takuhir-sama, and so many people have come together to celebrate.
Originally, due to the epidemic, many of the people gathered here might have
lost their lives. That's precisely why I think everyone worked desperately hard
in the recent battle."
"Rosa, thank you. Rosa is the leading
figure who saved many lives from that epidemic. In this battle too, truly thank
you for saving many lives regardless of friend or foe."
"I also wish to express my gratitude to you once again,
Takuhir-sama.. You have always
extended a hand to the poor suffering from poverty, and those with nowhere to
go who couldn't see a future. It is entirely thanks to Takuhir-sama that they can participate in this place. On behalf of
everyone, I thank you again."
"No, no, starting with Claire, everyone from the
orphanage and those who were refugees are now important forces supporting us. You, Claire, were always at the
forefront guiding them. Again, truly thank you."
"In that sense, I too, when I had lost my home and
fallen into ruin, was rescued from the darkness by you, Takuhir-sama, and Chris-sama.
Takuhir-sama's territory, where there
is no unjust discrimination or contempt, where anyone can live with their head
held high and grasp opportunities, is our pride."
"Thank you for saying that. But you yourself, Yoltia, saved many people, including me, right? That time when you
first saved this city from danger, I am still grateful for that courage even
now. Truly thank you."
Hmm? Come to think of it, them... In the previous history,
when I was right about to be executed, the people who saw me off are now my
wives, huh.
I wonder if this is also some kind of fate? Ah, but Rosa alone is walking her own unique
path, though...
I wonder if there are any new flags from here on?
Come to think of it, Yuka is... ah, by Marquis Gorman's
side now. As expected, her mother, the daughter of former Count Goyoku,
isn't present here perhaps out of consideration, but the Marquis is accompanied
by his daughter and son who were gloriously restored as nobles this time.
After my opening greeting, I prompted her to be with them at
least during the chatting time.
"May I intrude on this precious flower garden?"
Saying so and joining the circle was Viscount Weiss.
The Commander, who is a demon in training and combat, is extremely smart in
such seats and his demeanor is soft like a different person.
"Even so, in terms of splendor alone, this banquet
surpasses when His Majesty the King and Her Highness Clarice came."
"Indeed. As the Commander says, the support of the
anxiety they harbored for many years is gone, and everyone seems to be enjoying
it from the bottom of their hearts. Well, there are people whose eyes are round
with surprise, though..."
Yes, invited to this banquet for the first time, I noticed
several groups standing petrified with faces as if not only the splendor but
all common sense until now had been overturned.
It was as if looking at the time when the first 10
companions were employed as Mages and invited to the Solis
family's New Year's banquet for the first time.
Eight of those who voluntarily surrendered on the Northern
Front, formerly called the 12 Apostles in the Istoria Imperial Kingdom,
and those accompanying them, were dumbfounded, not understanding the excessive
gorgeousness and their first 'without formalities' event.
In the final phase of the Northern Front, of the 11 Apostles
who accepted Aura's persuasion, 3 returned to the Imperial Kingdom
along with the payment of reparations, and in the end, 8 people decided to
migrate here.
There was a reason why 6 of them were women.
According to what I heard from Aura, the dignity of
the 4 Holy Mages was defiled by the former Imperial King, and behind
the scenes, they had been made the playthings of those in power within the
church on a daily basis.
For better or worse, only Archbishop Castro protected
and backed them, but he is no longer here. If so, they only have a harsh future
again. Then, reuniting with the lively Aura who was completely different
from before, their hearts swayed greatly.
In the end, all 4 Holy Mages, a female Sound Mage
and Water Mage, and 2 male Wind Mages made the decision to
migrate. After the awards ceremony, Frontier Duke Hamish arranged for
the families of those wishing to migrate to be summoned, on the condition of
returning the remaining 3, excluding the missing Dark Mage.
The Commander, noticing my gaze as I was thinking about such
things, also floated a smile.
"Hahaha, they will get used to it soon. Aura, Carleen,
and Lilia are going to talk to them. I look forward to training the
outstanding talents of the Imperial Kingdom from now on."
"Hahaha... be gentle with them. But with this, our Longbowmen will total 5,000, becoming
quite a formidable force."
Yes, Frontier Duke Hamish mediated those who
surrendered and wished to migrate as new residents of the Demon Territory
Dukedom. In Aegis and Ishtar, former Imperial Kingdom
longbowmen and their families have migrated, and the reception system
is in place, so the burden on them is also small.
As a result, the migration of as many as 3,000 longbowmen
and 1,000 infantry was decided, and the vast majority of them are currently
with Frontier Duke Hamish waiting for their families. And 15
representatives among them arrived in Teigoon early and joined the
reception preparation unit.
"Indeed. Although relations with the Empire have
stabilized on the surface, we are in a state of exposing a soft belly in their
land. Their participation will be a great power for us."
"Because we were outsmarted by the deep forethought of
the Fox of the Empire, Lord Sieghart, after all."
Yes, regarding the bilateral negotiations with the Empire
and the borders exchanged there, I learned an important fact. It's a bit late
for that, though...
After copying the map showing the newly determined border
lines received by the Minister of Foreign Affairs from the Empire (Sieghart)
in the Royal Capital and bringing it back to Teigoon, I viewed the map
and consulted with Masrur, the soldier-settlers, and the members of the
Imperial Immigrant Liaison Council.
There, I learned the fact that regarding the former
territories such as Margrave Goth, Marquis Bradley, Count Mainz, they had been
altered conveniently for the Imperial side.
'Are you Date Masamune!'
I even muttered unintentionally when I learned that fact. I remembered such an
episode in a historical novel I (Nishida) liked, where during
Hideyoshi's pacification of Oshu, when inevitably having to return newly
acquired territory, he made a slight trick and shrewdly incorporated Soma
District by falsely claiming it as old territory.
I couldn't
help but mutter when I learned of that fact. I was reminded of an episode from
my (Nishida's) favorite historical
novel, where during Hideyoshi's Oshu
Shioki (reorganization of the north), when Date Masamune was forced to inevitably return
his newly acquired territory, he set a little trap and shrewdly incorporated
Soma District, falsely claiming it was his former territory.
"Indeed, one can never let their guard down around that
man. And we have not yet won against him even once. That resourcefulness is to
be feared..."
"Yeah, we must continue to be involved with him more
deeply from now on too. Countermeasures... give me a headache."
"The Demon Territory Knights will also strive to
further strengthen our military power."
While we were talking about such things, a certain place
suddenly became lively. Well... I kind of expected it, though.
"Boss! It's a rare banquet. Booze
is good, but let us greets the Goddesses as well."
"That's right, even if you're an Apostle of booze, hogging our Apostles is no good."
"Hahaha, Glenn, Geese, Alan, Reim, weren't you guys supposed to be
hanging around the newly joined Apostles?"
"We went to greet them. But the ones we revere most
endlessly are Lady Marianne and Lady Lanatoria, our two
Goddesses. We won't yield this!"
"I mean, Glenn! You're already a Baronet too,
right? Setting aside Marianne who is of equal rank, Lanatoria is
a Knight, so isn't it weird for you to use
'-sama'? "
"Hahaha, Boss, you don't get it. It's a grateful
'without formalities' event right now, right? Peerage doesn't matter. And even
without formalities, a Goddess is a Goddess."
Those exchanging light banter with Raphael are his
drinking companions ever since they became prisoners when I first fought the Imperial
Kingdom, and they continue to worship Marianne and Lanatoria
who saved their lives.
Among them, Glenn is an excellent man entrusted with
1,000 longbowmen by the General Commander Christoph, and in the awards
ceremony this time, he obtained the status of Baronet by my recommendation.
Also, the others actually obtained Knight ranks or are captains managing units
of 100 people.
"Hahaha, you got me there.
Let's surround the Goddesses and drink happily together! Hey! Halim and Zahark!
Don't you guys shrink in the corner drinking either, come over here. Because
your Goddess (Yoltia) will be in His Majesty the Archduke's flower
garden for a while longer."
"My? I am right here."
"Geh, Sister."
"There's no 'geh'. I came because it looked fun. Salim-san, Zahark-san, if you're near this person, you
don't need to hold back. After all, he's a person for whom every day is without
formalities. Now, let's drink together."
"Y-Yes, with pleasure!"
"Also Raphael, this is a 'without formalities'
non-official place. So 'His Majesty the Archduke' is a no-no, right?"
Yes, I forbade being called Archduke except in ceremonies or
official places. King and such, it sounded arrogant and I disliked it, and I
hated the sense of distance born there even more. Therefore, companions from
long ago call me 'Takuhir-sama', 'Demon
Territory Duke', or simply 'Duke'.
"Um... Aura-chan, is that allowed?"
Seeing the state of Raphael and others cheerfully
exchanging cups nearby, Shior, a former Apostle of the Imperial
Kingdom, unintentionally raised a voice of surprise.
Nobles and commoners of the Kyle Kingdom, and
moreover former Imperial Kingdom longbowmen, are drinking with their
arms around each other's shoulders. Moreover, the wife of the new lord they
should look up to, the one who will become Archduke, is joining the seat and
exchanging cups.
"Yes, Shior-san, because today is without formalities."
Shior was
surprised at Aura, who answered that calmly and laughed brightly.
"Truly... unimaginable from the common sense of the Imperial
Kingdom. A bright world where everyone is lively and having fun exists here.
Compatriots who were once prisoners are selected and even become nobles.
Such... a dream-like world..."
Shior was
astonished anew, and before she knew it, she was shedding tears. Compared to
the painful days in the Imperial Kingdom where she was enclosed like a
bird in a cage and humiliated...
And thinking that they had pointed their blades to attack
and destroy such a country, calling it a country of demons that oppresses their compatriots, she felt truly apologetic from the bottom of
her heart.
"Shior, I feel the same. As a fellow Wind Mage, I treated Aura like my
younger sister even in our homeland, but... the her I know, I think she always
had a tense face, frightened of something, and closed her shell. Seeing her now
makes me feel it even more. They respect even the enemies they were fighting
until just moments ago, save their lives, and promote those with merit. Is this
the style of this country?"
"Indeed... it seems we too must part with our past
selves who were served as Apostles."
Next to them, similar to those from the Imperial Kingdom,
there was a group frozen in surprise. They were the representatives of the
former Iron Cavalry who had been invited, mingling with the soldier-settlers
and the Empire Immigrants Liaison
Council.
They became
prisoners in the recent battle, but they were the ones who refused to return to
their homeland with the First Prince and offered to immigrate, saying things
like: 'We will not return to our homeland for the time being until we repay the
favor we received.' 'We do not wish to look up at the Third Prince's military flag
fluttering in our homeland.'
"Lord Masrur, are we... seeing a bad dream? I
heard they were originally enemies, those who once fought each other. But
aren't they like comrades-in-arms who shared hardships for many years?"
"Haha, it's natural for Lord Eisen and others to
be surprised. But this is the style of this country, no, of that person. That's
precisely why we too migrated to this country and voluntarily desired to ready
our blades against our motherland and everyone in this battle."
"Hmm... I feel like I finally understand the true
meaning of what Lord Durul talked about now. The Matsuyama system of the prisoner-of-war camp too, I could only
understand it after experiencing it myself, but is this the way this country
is..."
Yes, in the previous battle, he was an Iron Cavalry member
ordered to guard the wounded soldiers along with the Iron Cavalry shunned by Duke Harry and disarmed, and Eisen, Fellow,
Ferm, and Yaurun were their leading figures. Later, the four
decided to seek protection for the sick and wounded from Erol and offer
surrender, and Eisen acted as a messenger alone and faced negotiations.
"We must... return the favor of having our own lives
and our wounded companions saved, the favor of being welcomed warmly... from
now on. Staking our honor. Fortunately, Lord Masrur was recognized by
this country and newly became a noble. This will also become a foundation for
our hearts."
The banquet, which brought unintended stagings to newcomers
in various places, continued to be greatly swelled after that, and lasted until late that night.
The world of harmony among four races that Takuhir desired, where the people of four countries laugh together, enjoy together, and overcome hardships together, was just about to begin now.
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