Chapter 132
Disciple
「...Huh?」
「Umm... why did it turn out like
this?」
「Well, it's a long story...」
Lirica-san looked around her surroundings
and approached me, looking a little hesitant to speak. And in a small voice,
「If possible, I would like to discuss
the details somewhere without others present.」
「Mhm, understood. I wanted to get
along with you demons too, so I'll make time later. Things will probably get
busy from here on out, so is it alright if it's a bit later?」
「Yes, we intend to stay in this
country for a few days as well, so...」
「Alright... Alicia, I know
it's sudden, but do you have a moment? Let's prepare what's necessary for the
accession to the throne, and get the abdication and enthronement ceremonies out
of the way. So people don't complain about various things later.」
「Umm, to perform a formal
enthronement, I believe the bestowing of the crown by the Pope of the Holy
Church is necessary...」
「Hmm, I see. The legitimacy of rule
through the Holy Church, huh...」
In
countries with a medieval level of civilization, it's not uncommon for kings to
seek the basis of their rule over the country from God. The divine right of
kings might be good for asserting the legitimacy of rule... but the Holy
Church in this country is completely pitch-black, you know. Do we really need the endorsement
of the guys who tried to assassinate Miku? ...Yeah, I thought about it a
bit, but we definitely don't need it.
「Let's do it without involving the Holy
Church. Even if it's informal, I think there's meaning in the fact that a
proper abdication took place, even if it's informal.」
「Y-Yes, understood.」
「Ah, also, I'm going to go run a
quick errand. If it goes well, I think it'll add some prestige to Alicia,
so look forward to it and wait... Miku, I leave cleaning up this place
to you.」
「You ask the impossible... You owe me
one, okay?」
Returning
a nod to Miku, who gave a playful wink as she said that, I activated Jaunt.
After confirming there was no one around, I used the Home Gift
and opened the door—. The place I arrived at was the Imperial Castle Novark
of the Holy Elmore Empire. The person I came to see was, of course, the
emperor of this country, Emilia.
「Oh, Masaru, you came to see
me!」
「Yeah, I have a bit of business
today.」
With
me speaking casually to her, Emilia's side has also become able to speak
much more frankly compared to before. You could even call it an equal
friendship. That's why bringing such politically important matters into our
relationship feels a bit tactless... but at the very least, right now, she's
the only person I can rely on in this regard.
「A serious talk? I don't mind at all,
let me hear it.」
「Yeah, actually...」
And
so, I decided to tell her the reason I had been working hard moving around
recently: the story about the meeting between the Grust Royal Family and
the demons, including the flow of events from the setup to the results.
「I see, a meeting with demons...」
「Yeah, sorry for keeping quiet about
it.」
「No, inter-species issues are
delicate, after all. It's only natural that you kept it a secret.」
「Come to think of it, I've never
asked, but are there demons in the Empire too?」
「There are. I have even spoken
directly with a few... well, most of them were just scum who didn't even try to
hide that they looked down on us. A demon capable of dialogue is, honestly,
quite rare.」
「I kinda had a feeling that was the
case, but it really is so, huh...」
「Of course, there are gentle ones
among the demons as well, but we rarely state that publicly. The Anti-Demon
Lord Alliance is strongly tied to the interests and positions of various
countries. The reality is that we cannot afford actions that might create a
rift in it.」
Just
as I had imagined, cases like Lirica and Priola, who are
intelligent and seek dialogue with us, seem to be extremely rare. To begin
with, demons all have high LVs, possess a high aptitude for magic, and
have built up their own unique civilization. Because of that, they seem to
consider humans as nothing more than fodder for their own experience points,
treating us like monsters. We also treated demons as the vanguard of the Demon
Lord, and since we've apparently been fighting for a long time, it might be
natural that our mutual impressions of each other are bad.
「If it's an equal dialogue, you
should be able to hear various kinds of information from the Grust side
as well.」
「Ah, about that, for some reason, the
flow of things makes it seem like I'm going to become their master.」
「Just what kind of flow leads to
something like that!?」
「Well, I don't really know what's
going on myself...」
I
put the answer on hold for now, but bowing their heads to me, someone they
hardly even know, means there must be some considerable circumstances behind
it. What I can think of is, as expected, a factional dispute within the Demon
Lord's army... or something like that. I don't know what kind of
circumstances they are dealing with. However, seeing their attitude of taking
the initiative to open their hearts, I thought they were worthy of trust.
That's why I'm sure I'll end up accepting their request after hearing
everything.
「Masaru is kind, isn't he...」
「I'm not just kind, you know. I
turned Izel II into a hedgehog with Light Arrows.」
「That is also a form of kindness.
Being able to get angry for someone else's sake is a kind of talent, I believe.
Since I learned the art of controlling my own emotions and became unable to do
such things, I feel that way even more.」
「Emilia...」
Seeing
her make a slightly sorrowful face, I found myself at a loss for words. Kings are lonely creatures... Such a
line I read in a story or something a while ago suddenly crossed my mind.
Living as a king in this world must surely mean bearing an immense burden of
responsibility. Precisely because it's something I can't even begin to imagine,
I didn't know what to say.
「Hehe, don't make such a face. It's
fine for you to just be your usual self, carelessly and happily eating sweets.」
「What's that supposed to mean... but,
if that's all it takes, it's easy to understand and helps me out.」
And
so, I decided to graciously accept her goodwill, and had some light snacks
while we talked. I think this is her kind of gentleness, but if I said that,
she would probably deny it, so I'll keep quiet. After lightly filling my
stomach and feeling satisfied, I realized I still hadn't accomplished my
original purpose for coming here today. When I put on a serious face, she also
erased her earlier smiling expression and smoothly assumed the serious
expression of an Empress.
「So, what do you want me to do?」
「I was wondering if you could become Alicia's
backer.」 「Ah,
very well.」
That's
right, the reason I came here was to have her support Alicia's accession to the
throne from the sidelines. The Holy Church, which tried to kill Miku
and, according to her, is a parasite deeply rooted in the country. I want to
assert the legitimacy of the royal succession without using them, but to do
that, something is still needed to assert the royal authority. Militarily, I
can act as a backer, but as expected, something authoritative, rather than just
purely material power, is also necessary for rule and governance. The Holy Elmore
Empire, a neighboring country and the leader of the Anti-Demon Lord
Alliance—an endorsement of the royal succession by its Empress, Emilia. This should serve
as a stronger card than anything else.
「Anyway, once preparations are
complete, I plan to bring you to the Kingdom, Emilia.」
「In that case, five minutes from now
is fine. Should we head there by carriage?」
「...No, I'll take you there using
magic. However, since there are a lot of trade secrets involved, I'll just have
to ask you to wear a blindfold.」
「Asking the Empress of the Holy Elmore Empire to
wear a blindfold... It's making my head spin.」
Since
I can't show her my Home, I'll just have to ask her to bear with it.
Between taking in the Heroes and everything else, I've ended up owing
her quite a lot. At what timing should I pay her back...? When I thought that,
the figure of Lirica-san floated into my mind. ...It's just a guess, but
some kind of problem is occurring on the demons' side right now. Therefore, our
human countries, which share borders and fight with them, will inevitably be
affected by it as well.
(Paying back this debt... might not
be that far off in the future.)
Thinking like that, I headed to the Grust Kingdom with Emilia... and Alicia's enthronement was safely recognized. There was no one in the Grust Kingdom who could state their opposition to her face after she gained official recognition from Emilia, and she ascended the throne as the new monarch of the Grust Kingdom, Alicia I...
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