Volume 6 Release
Commemorative Special Episode
Battle Towards the
Liberation of the National Territory ③ - Princess Alicia's Battle
Right
after Takuhir and the others led the majority of the army and advanced
towards the Vile Kingdom, there were forces within the Royal Capital of
the Cain Kingdom that began to maneuver, seeing this as an opportunity.
Of course, those spearheading it were the major merchants of the Cain
Kingdom whose schemes were severely rejected the previous night, and they
had not yet given up on their wicked plots. Such as they were, they did not
know that a successor of even higher rank than the 『successor
to the throne』 they hoisted as a portable shrine
to manipulate as they pleased was alive, and had already concluded discussions
about the future with Takuhir and the others. And then... the seeds of
calamity they sowed began to spread across the Royal Capital.
「The invaders from Istoria
have left, but this time it seems the Demon Territory Dukedom has barged
in borrowing the authority of the Empire.」
「It seems the Demon Territory
Dukedom Army intends to snatch the wealth the invaders stole from us, and
rule the Royal Capital as new plunderers this time.」
「I hear they chained the Prince-denka of the Cain Kingdom who
protested the unjust rule in prison, stole his right to succeed the throne, and
are proceeding with the rule of the kingdom.」
Simultaneously
with the departure of Takuhir and the others, such rumors ran through
the Royal Capital of the Cain Kingdom. Of course, this was before the
territory resident relief measures devised by Takuhir and the others
were announced, and it also caused headaches for the remaining parties involved
who learned of these rumors. At such a time, Princess Alicia visited the
Royal Palace again, and requested a meeting with Sean, who was entrusted
with domestic affairs.
「Sean-sama, thank you for permitting this
sudden meeting. And first of all, I must apologize. I too am heartbroken by the
fact that heartless rumors are spreading against everyone who are the
benefactors of this country.」
「No... please, call me Sean. I
am nothing more than a mere official entrusted with the reconstruction of this
Royal Capital by Archduke-heika.
Please do not worry yourself, Alicia-denka.
Even so, you are well informed.」
At
those words, Princess Alicia bowed once and raised her face. There was
the face of a Princess endowed with an indescribable dignity, floating a smile.
「Thank you. However, I am one saved
by Archduke-heika. Sean-sama is Heika's proxy; to me,
that is the same as Heika. I too am aware of the rude incident last
night. The source of the rumors is also probably their retaliation...」
「I see, how should we move against
that?」
「If it is alright with you, could you
leave this matter to me? This is an evil practice the Cain Kingdom has
nurtured for many years, a remote cause that ruined this country, and something
unnecessary for the new ruler. Although it will disparage my deceased father
and others, I believe it is my duty as a surviving royal to draw the curtain on
this.」
Saying
so, she took on a resolute expression full of resolve, unsuited for an elegant,
innocent young girl. By that intensity, even Sean was unconsciously
taken aback... After that, the two held several meetings and began preparations
for 『that time』.
※
During
the morning of that day, a notification was issued that an 『important announcement』 would be made, deliberately not in
the hall of the Royal Palace, but in a corner of a plaza in the commercial
district of the Royal Capital. Correspondingly, people with various
speculations gathered in the plaza, and some of them waited for the time of the
announcement sharpening the claws of malice. Of course, the majority of the
gathered people were territory residents who took the rumors seriously, and it
goes without saying that they were on the verge of exploding due to their
circumstances where even tomorrow's living was uncertain. And... Sean
appeared before the waiting crowd and stood on a balcony overlooking the plaza.
「People of the Cain Kingdom, I
wish to convey anew words entrusted by our lord, Takuhir-heika, the Archduke of the Westlights
Demon Territory Dukedom. The tyrannical invaders have already been struck
down and destroyed, and peace has visited you. From here on out, please
overcome your sorrow and move forward looking ahead towards reconstruction.」
The
eyes of the crowd toward Sean's words were cold. There were even those
among them who raised voices similar to booing.
「From here on, the Cain Kingdom
will walk the path of reconstruction. The divided three countries will welcome
a new King after being unified; The three countries, having pooled their
strength, will likely develop into a wealthy and powerful country, no different
from the strong country of ancient times. In response to that, we intend to
spare no helping hand.」
When
Sean spoke this far, those who self-proclaimed to be representatives of
the territory residents began to raise their voices in various places.
「Then return the assets those guys
stole from us immediately!」
「In the end, it doesn't change the
fact that the Dukedom is ruling us, does it!」
「What is an invader saying! Even
though you chained the Prince-denka
who was supposed to succeed the throne in prison!」
Voices
hurling abuse could be heard here and there, but Sean continued without
minding. Because this too was anticipated beforehand.
「The wealth we recaptured is not
everything that was stolen. I understand everyone's circumstances, but I want
you to understand that we cannot return it exactly as everyone requests. We
will entrust everything to the new King, and the future of this country...」
「That's a deception, isn't it!」
「Are you planning to deceive us!」
「In the end, you're no different from
thieves!」
「Give it back! We can't even manage
tomorrow's living!」
「I heard it, the story of the Demon
King indiscriminately killing enemy soldiers without mercy on the battlefield!」
「The Demon King has left, so you
underling, get out right now!」
Sean's words were drowned out midway by
the voices of the clamoring populace. Of course, the voice of a single person
could not possibly match the voices of protest raised by hundreds of the
populace. The fact that the soldiers under Sean's command remaining in
the Royal Capital were few, and that Sean himself was nothing more than
a proxy, was also one of the factors that made them raise their voices without
reserve even further.
「「「「Get out! And return what you stole!」」」」
When
this grand chorus enveloped the plaza, a single young girl appeared beside Sean.
「Calm down! Who are you speaking to?
You are raising your words of protest to the wrong person.」
She
didn't shout loudly. They were words spoken calmly and indifferently, but her
crystal-clear voice echoed throughout the entire plaza. This was a secret
measure Takuhir had left for Sean as 『reinforcements』: amplification by a Sound Mage, but the people had
no way of knowing that. To begin with, receiving the incident with the
merchants, Takuhir was worried about what would happen after he left.
Therefore, he had bestowed three measures upon Sean.
·
Regarding relief measures, do not
deal with the major merchants who are nothing but a harmful effect of the past,
but speak directly to the populace.
·
To counter the volume of their voices
(human wave tactics), entrust him with one of the Sound Mages who
accompanied the army.
·
Arrange to obtain cooperation from
Princess Alicia for restoring public order in the Royal Capital and
suppressing the populace. These measures were showing their effects.
「Princess-sama?」
「No way... she was alive?」
「Truly, Alicia-denka?」
「She was alive! Long live the
Princess!」
The
people who saw her figure and heard her voice began to raise their voices one
by one. Among the crowd, there were not a few who fought alongside her and had
been anxious about her safety after the Royal Capital fell.
「First, there are two things I must
convey to everyone, and I must apologize as someone representing the royal
family. To begin with, the origin started with the Cain Kingdom running
on its own greed, invading another country, and then being defeated. The
suffering we experienced until the other day, in truth, as perpetrators, we
were inflicting upon the people of another country!」
「「「「「Such a...」」」」」
To
the Princess speaking with an expression of distress, the populace gasped in
astonishment. The populace had not been informed much about the fact that their
own country had dispatched soldiers for an invasion.
「Of course, this is a crime borne by
the royal family, not everyone, and I plan to make amends for it from here on.
But...」
Here
Princess Alicia looked forward and surveyed the populace. Then, pausing
for a beat, she began to speak slowly.
「Archduke-heika of the Westlights Demon Territory Dukedom and the
soldiers are risking their lives fighting to save our country—we who carried
out an invasion and lost the war—and to liberate us, who were an enemy country,
from the invaders. If we do not express gratitude for this, wouldn't we lose
something important as human beings?」
「But, in the end, they are plundering
our wealth, are they not! With this, they are invaders, not a liberation army!」
「「「「That's right!」」」」
When
one man said so, voices agreeing with the man who raised that voice erupted.
However, Princess Alicia looked straight at them, puffed out her chest,
and argued back resolutely.
「That is incorrect! Archduke-heika also said this: 『We will not requisition any of the recaptured wealth, so I
want it used for the reconstruction of the country and to protect the lives of
the people』. Knowing those words, I could not
help but state the truth upon hearing everyone's words.」
「But what was stolen won't be
returned, will it! Then they are no different from the Istoria bastards!」
「「「「In the end, those guys are
plunderers too!」」」」
「I do not know what you are pointing
to or whose words you received to say such things, but to begin with, our lives
were saved. Do you grudge wealth more than your lives? Without even words of
gratitude to the lifesavers, do you say such rude things?」
「......」
At
those words, this time another man raised his voice.
「If they return all the wealth, we'll
give them all the thanks they want! We can't even manage tomorrow's living!」
「Are you not misunderstanding the
order? Those words just now, could you have said the same to the invaders? Sean-sama, who is here, was trying to speak
about relieving everyone upon receiving Archduke-heika's intent. Do you obstruct that and merely assert your own
desires?」
「......」
In
place of the man at a loss for a reply, yet a new man raised his voice.
「But what about the imprisoned
royalty? They put the person who tried to recover the wealth and reconstruct
the former kingdom in prison! Didn't they abolish the legitimate successor to
the throne and merely install someone who obeys their will?」
Receiving
those words, Princess Alicia floated a fearless smile.
「Whose words are you speaking on
behalf of? I do not know where you heard that story, but do you not realize the
premise itself is mistaken?」
Here
Sean interjected. To supplement Princess Alicia's words.
「When Alicia-denka visited Archduke-heika, she expressed gratitude for
liberating the homeland, and simultaneously requested merciful behavior towards
the populace in exchange for bearing the crimes of the royal family as
invaders.」
This
time Sean's words were also amplified by magic, and resounded loudly
even to the gathered crowd. Therefore, the objections welling up in various
places were also crushed by the volume of the voice.
「However, the imprisoned insolent
fool pushed aside Alicia-denka,
who holds the fifth rank of succession to the throne, and demanded the throne
with a status holding only the thirteenth rank of succession. Furthermore, he
attempted to make all the recaptured wealth his own. Who is the legitimate
successor to the throne, who thought of the people first, and who is the
disrespectful fool who ran on personal greed and self-interest; is it not a
clear story?」
「As one of the royalty, I must expose
the shame of the royal family. To begin with, our country rushed to invade as a
result of collusion between the royal family seeking to gain profit and the
merchants. Even the royal family could not ignore the intentions of the major
merchants; this country was distorted to that extent.」
「「「That is incorrect!」」」
Those
who received the intentions of the pointed-out merchants began clamoring all at
once, but Princess Alicia continued her words without minding.
「This country was distorted to the
extent that even the King could not ignore the intentions of the major
merchants. It is obvious even looking at the fact that right now they are using
groundless rumors and personnel to disparage Archduke-heika, our benefactor.」
When
she said so, the populace looked at those who had been taking the initiative to
raise loud voices up until now. Unlike a little while ago, with gazes holding
suspicion...
「The merchants objected to Archduke-sama's policy to distribute funds to
support everyone so that you can manage your living for the time being,
asserted that they themselves would keep the recaptured wealth, and came saying
that rather than 『distributing』
it for relief, they themselves would 『lend』
it. Everyone can understand this difference, right?」
「That's completely different from the
story we heard!」
「Being distributed and being lent are
completely different.」
「Those guys... prioritizing business
even at a time like this.」
「Please understand that malicious
rumors were spread by them in order to restrain their actions running on
personal greed and self-interest, and to obstruct Archduke-heika's measures to prioritize the
lives of the people.」
「So that was it?」
「Were we being deceived?」
「I thought it was a strange story to
begin with.」
The
people began raising their voices in agreement with the Princess's words one by
one, but new instructions flew secretly to those who had been arguing back
until now.
「Who is everyone's ally; please do
not forget that. Please do not forget the feeling of gratitude for the favors
received. Please do not be manipulated by malicious rumors colored with wicked
words.」
「Tyrannical!」
「The Princess sold out the country!」
「That exactly is malicious, abusive
language!」
「The Princess has lost her sanity!」
「All the guys agreeing are traitors
who sold out the homeland!」
The
men responding to the instructions began raising their voices all at once in
various places and condemning. However... even against that, Princess Alicia
did not waver, and cast a gaze of pity upon the men.
「Are you saying that on someone's
instructions? You are probably driven into a situation where you have no choice
but to say so. But, is that really okay? The ones who protected your families
and loved ones, was it the invaders from Istoria? Or was it the person
who extended a helping hand despite being hostile?」
「That's right! Alicia-denka fought with us until the very
end! She's not a coward like the other royals who abandoned us and fled, or
those who just kept hiding.」
「Denka didn't abandon us until the very
end. Everyone, think carefully about whose words are correct!」
「I'll believe Denka's words; I
haven't lost what's important as a human being, after all.」
Such
voices gradually spread, beginning to overwhelm the arguing men.
「Everyone, thank you for your
courageous words. I express my gratitude anew. And, what we can do best at the
current point, Sean-sama will
convey that to you. Please, believe in us and cooperate in reconstruction and
the building of a new country. As a successor to the throne, I promise to
invest the royal family's treasures and use them to support reconstruction and
the people's lives.」
「Gratitude to Alicia-denka!」
「Long live Denka!」
「To the new Queen-heika!」
「We believe in Denka!」
While the populace responded with loud cheers, the support measures presented by Sean afterwards were also favorably received by the territory residents. Having cooled down, they were able to properly understand that those were the 『best possible measures』. From this day on, the Royal Capital of the Cain Kingdom united as one, the four major merchants who had been spreading disturbing rumors and inciting the populace, those who ruled the Cain Kingdom from the shadows, lost credibility and fell from power, and all the major trading companies that followed their stance lost the means to rebel and lay low. Here, the evil practice that dominated the Cain Kingdom was abolished, and the soil to accept the new governance was prepared. And at a later date, they would welcome the new King of the unified three countries, but by that time, the cooperation system of the Cain Kingdom headed by Princess Alicia was prepared. It goes without saying that supported by Sean, the soldiers of the Cain Kingdom, and the active roles of civil officials who were fed up with the old evils, the subsequent unification was carried out without delay.
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