Chapter 471
(Kyle Calendar Year 516:
Age 23)
The Unextinguished
Flame
Around the time Takuhir had finished his
tour of the northern and eastern frontiers of the Kingdom of Kyle and
was finally taking a breather in Kusanagi, in a corner of the royal
capital of the former Kingdom of Cain far away, there were those
secretly gathered and conspiring.
The room where they gathered was furnished with
luxurious fixtures, as if to show off their wealth and power, and the
lavishness of its construction surpassed even that of the VIP rooms in the
royal palace. However, considering the current dire straits of those gathered,
it only appeared hollow...
「I simply
cannot accept this recent turn of events! Even though we went through the
trouble of assisting them, why did the Republic of Laconia not make a
move despite such an excellent opportunity? Have you heard anything in your
capacity as liaisons?」
「Exactly!
The King and Queen were both absent, and only an old general was left within
the country. How do you explain this blunder of letting such a perfect
opportunity slip away right before our eyes!」
Responding to the first man's remark, the
second man who raised his voice slammed the sake cup he was holding onto the
table along with his welling anger. However, the remaining two men gave them an
indifferent glance and then brought their own cups to their lips, purposefully
saying nothing.
「That
remaining old general is the problem. He has deep trust from the soldiers, and
the commanders he has nurtured over many years are also excellent. To think he
would devise such a bold strategy... even we did not expect it.」
As the third man remarked, the soldiers of the
former Kingdom of Ville worshipped General Golpa more than their
King, and in terms of popularity among the troops, the general far surpassed
the King.
It was also known among the soldiers that upon
their defeat, this old general had offered his own head as a condition for
surrender, asking for lenient treatment for his soldiers in return. In
contrast, the King of Ville had abandoned the soldiers fighting on the
front lines and was the first to flee. Even after being disgracefully captured,
he never spared a thought for the soldiers who followed him to the end.
As a result, despite the King of Ville
still being alive, opinions in the Kingdom of Ville coalesced under Golpa,
and they moved favorably toward unifying the three nations.
Golpa, as the Great General holding military authority second only to the
King in the newly unified nation, had this time decided on a bold deployment of
forces.
First, the Istoria front, where the
country had split and two factions were fighting, had its troops withdrawn from
the border under a declaration of defenselessness. Therefore, to prepare for
any contingencies, he deployed a mobile force of 5,000 cavalry at key points, appointed
excellent subordinates as commanders, and withdrew all other soldiers from the
border.
Second, the border guards who originally needed
to be deployed in all four directions were also completely withdrawn, save for
a portion, and moved to the Kingdom of Cain side. All of these soldiers
were allocated to the border with the Republic of Laconia, which had
begun showing disturbing movements.
Third, of the remaining domestic forces, the
infantry were assigned to defend the three former royal capitals, and Golpa
himself led the cavalry into the Kingdom of Cain, personally taking
command of the border defense against the Republic of Laconia at the
front lines.
「That is
not all. This time, the movements of the Imperial Army were also faster
than expected; they amassed a force of 8,000 near the border with the Republic
of Laconia, after all. Combined with the old general's army, it becomes a
large army of nearly 20,000, and furthermore, the Demon Territory Dukedom
followed suit and dispatched an army. With this, even the Republic would be
unable to make a move.」
As pointed out by the exceptionally young man
who spoke last, this was because Count Dulul and Count Carmine,
acting on the intentions of Emperor Grato who was staying in the Principality
of Fairart, had gathered near the border leading their own troops and
armies from various places, laying down an overt state of high alert.
Moreover, General Golpa closely
coordinated with the commanders of the Demon Territory Dukedom and the Imperial
Army, planning so that if the border was ever invaded, the Empire and the Demon
Territory Dukedom would coordinate and deal with it. With that, even the Republic
of Laconia had no opening to make any unnecessary moves.
「Furthermore,
it seems the movements of the domestic merchants are also slower than expected.
I would say the merchants not being in step is conversely a blunder on the part
of you two?」
「「......」」
At this point, the two men who had thus far
criticized their comrades were forced into silence. Originally, their role was
to maneuver secretly within the country and hinder the remaining forces.
「It is
because of our previous failure in cornering the market, and the 『bidding』 system
introduced recently! If that little girl hadn't done something so
unnecessary...」
The newly enthroned Queen Alicia had
already given up on the major merchants within the former Kingdom of Cain,
who opposed her under various pretexts, and she had shifted the main domestic
procurement to merchants outside their influence, or newly entered merchants
from the Empire or the Demon Territory Dukedom.
In addition to that, having committed a blunder
in cornering food supplies during the marriage of the King and Queen held early
in the New Year, they lost a vast sum of money and credibility, and their
influence over other merchants had also declined.
Furthermore, perhaps exasperated by the 『bidding
system』 newly introduced by the Queen recently, some merchants who were their
subordinates changed flags and began to actively participate in the bidding.
The reason for their decision was that they believed if they clung to the old
regime any longer and participated in the rebellion against the new kingdom,
they themselves would fall into ruin.
They, who once controlled the Kingdom of
Cain from the shadows and boasted immense influence over the other two
nations as well, had now fallen so far as to be considered a 『sinking
ship』 even by their fellow merchants.
That is precisely why they were impatient.
「At this
rate, the disgruntled nobles of various countries who have been connected with
us behind the scenes will eventually turn their backs on us, you know?」
「That is
exactly why we need to change the situation, is it not? I hear they are
currently continuing a massive increase in crossbow production in the Republic
of Laconia as well. War is the power of numbers; no matter how many elites
the old man gathers, I believe they will be helpless before 40,000 bow and
arrow troops. Isn't that right, our guests?」
「That is
correct. Now is not the time to be impatient.」
The ones who responded to that voice were two
men sitting slightly apart from the place where the four of them were
conspiring. One of the men who answered was one-eyed, perhaps having received a
large wound on his face.
「Yes, we
must not carelessly rush time and repeat our mistakes. We should keep in mind
the best possible preparations for the grand undertaking.」
This time, the other man answered with a bitter
expression. Perhaps his dominant arm was injured, as he constantly had a cloth
draped from his shoulder to sling his arm.
「Due to
your achievements, the Republic of Laconia has become our watchdog. If
so, shouldn't we feed the watchdog to make it stronger, and wait for our moment
more carefully?」
「However...
to begin with, if these guys hadn't attacked and destroyed the three nations,
we should have been able to attain unchanging glory and prosperity! Do not
forget that!」
「Osten-dono, you should calm down a little. Even if
that were the case, the royal families would have likely been judged as war
criminals. As a result, the former three nations would have fallen under the
control of the Demon King or the greedy Imperial Emperor, and as a
result, it wouldn't be much different from now.」
「That's
right, it is exactly as Norden-dono says. Have you not heard that
although the former King of Ville escaped execution through a pardon, he
is still imprisoned within the Empire as a war criminal even now?」
Although they were the four major merchants who
controlled the three nations, it was undeniable that there were differences in
temperature among the four. The Westen House, which spoke first, and the
Osten House, which spoke second, were the radical faction, mainly tasked
with inciting disgruntled elements within the country. The Sarden House,
which spoke third, and the Norden House, which spoke last, were mainly
in charge of supporting the Republic of Laconia.
And there was also a slight change in those
representing each merchant house. The head who had previously controlled the Norden
House had fallen to an epidemic earlier, and he was replaced by his young
son. For this reason, he kept a somewhat clear line with the three houses that
were his allies and business rivals, and perhaps because he lacked a track
record as the head, he acted from a step back.
「I know
the Four Great Merchant Houses harbor complicated feelings towards us. But by
saving us, we now share the same fate. From here on out, let us work together
as 『mistletoe』 to raise a new 『tree』 into a great tree. Without ever extinguishing
the flames of our indignation and revenge...」
The one-eyed man spoke quietly and
indifferently, but his single eye was filled with the flames of anger, and an
extraordinary hatred could be felt from it.
The term 『mistletoe』 that the man used was an apt expression, but
the merchants had no intention of going down the same path as them from the
beginning, and to begin with, they had no intention of saving these two at all.
Although it was the Orthodox Theocracy of Istoria's
army that slaughtered the royal family and completely plundered the wealth of
the Kingdom of Cain, only these major merchants were treated
differently. Though, that was the result of the merchants throwing in a vast
amount of wealth and moving to buy the favor of the invaders...
After occupying the royal capital of the Kingdom
of Cain, the eyes of Lügner at the time were turned toward the
future control of the three nations. Therefore, he promised lenient treatment
to the merchants who voluntarily offered wealth and pledged fealty, plotting to
solidify his rule over the three nations by granting them profits as well.
The merchants weighed the Demon Territory
Dukedom, which entered the royal capital as liberators, against them,
judging which of the two countries was easier to side with.
As a result, the tide of the battle
unfortunately leaned toward the Demon Territory Dukedom side, which
showed moves to eliminate them, and they achieved an overwhelming victory.
However, in the process, the merchants secretly sent mercenaries and scouts to
confirm the course of the battle step by step.
At that time, they secretly protected the two 『ringleaders』 they
happened to rescue. They merely prepared so that they could either support
their comeback depending on the situation, or offer them up to buy the favor of
the new rulers.
Ultimately, because the unified three nations
steered in the direction most disadvantageous for them, they ended up
protecting those two and supporting their movements simply by default.
「Then I
would like to ask you two who handled the negotiations once again. When will
the Republic of Laconia make its move? When will the Orthodox
Theocracy of Istoria launch a counteroffensive to coincide with it?」
The reason the merchants ultimately protected
them was for none other than this ulterior motive. If that happens, the current
regime, which is inconvenient for them, will at the very least fall into a
predicament.
「We are
also currently sending a messenger to our homeland. We lost the four southern
counties, including Tria, but I have heard that the subjugation of the
three northern counties is finished and they are advancing further north. If
so, their eyes will turn south next, so it will not be long.」
There was a massive misconception in this
answer. The Orthodox Theocracy of Istoria had already fallen, and the
current them had absolutely no intention of advancing south to face formidable
enemies. Furthermore, when it became a Holy State, the Apostles of Darkness
were all slain by Glorious, and the 『messenger』 they
sent was also secretly buried and will never return.
The reason they unluckily misconceived the
situation was also because the response of the First Prince Glorious,
who changed his name to Harius, was extremely cautious. He only informed
the Kingdom of Kyle, with which he decided to join hands, about the
founding of the new nation and the circumstances behind it, and similar
messengers were not even sent to the Demon Territory Dukedom or the Kingdom
of Lute Ville Cain. Therefore, it was no surprise that they, lying low in a
far-off place, were unaware of the situation.
「Then we
shall continue our support for the Republic of Laconia, and leave
domestic affairs to you two. Until the day... we regain our past glory once
again.」
When the young head of the Norden House spoke in a slightly sarcastic tone, their meeting dispersed. However, no one noticed that the single eye watching those four harbored a suspicious light, and an indescribable faint smile floated upon his lips.