NOTICE: Many of the novels have been removed because they might cause violations, which we were not aware of earlier.
(254)
Helena looked at me with regretful eyes.
“Valencian, I wish you could have witnessed the victory of my soldiers, but that is too bad. You may go out first.”
The priest shook his head after hearing her words.
“I would like Her Highness the Archduchess Helena to join us.”
"me too?"
“It’s also intertwined with the Republic of Langso.”
“That’s a very happy, no. momentous thing.”
Helena let out a gasp, and anxious glances passed through the barracks.
Rudy guarded the surroundings, Sereraji cast an absorbing barrier, and Tentia sent out several officers and Marcus' assistants.
The priest nodded as if he was grateful, then slowly opened his mouth.
“The home base of the intruders active in the Kingdom of Doroisen was the Republic of Langso.”
Sir Tentia blinked as if hearing nonsense, and Helena frowned.
“What does that mean? Those two can’t possibly live under the same sky.”
Even I, who had returned, had a hard time understanding it right away.
The Republic of Langso and the Republic of China have been consistently calling for equality for all people and republicanism since mankind gained independence from other races a thousand years ago.
On the other hand, Doroisen was a country with a stronger centralization than our Soletaras, and a culture that revered swordsmen and heroes was deeply rooted.
“I’ve often heard stories of the two fighting, of them expelling or executing each other’s merchants and messengers, but this is the first time I’ve heard of them plotting together.”
The priest nodded.
“Yes, Your Majesty. In fact, it is not easy for countries that are close to each other to get along well.”
"yes."
“But there is no country that is easier to become close to than one that is close to you. This is something we learned through bishops from each country while conducting this research. Although the two countries officially deny each other, they do not block or interfere with trade. In fact, the tariffs between the two countries are also quite low.”
When I stopped being a red-light district scoundrel and started being the Emperor's scoundrel before my return, both countries were evil invaders, dens of encroachers that deserved to be burned.
I didn't know there was such a relationship.
Of course, if you've heard this far, you probably have an idea.
“I see. Is this the beginning of a hostile coexistence between the two countries’ leaders?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. As expected from Your Holiness, you are quick to understand.”
The priest nodded with a strange expression.
Hmm, I guess Mateos thought I'd understand this stuff quickly.
In conclusion, it was right, so I can't say anything.
At that moment, I heard a cough and turned around to see that Lord Tentia, Sister Sereraji, and I had the same expression on our faces as if we didn't understand anything.
“Hey, sister?”
The blank expressions of the knights and wizards who knew ten when taught one were precious, so I secretly sighed at the fact that I could not draw their appearances in portrait form.
Sereraji glanced at Sir Tentia, then poked me in the ribs with a look of hurt pride.
“Valen. What do you mean by hostile coexistence?”
* * *
I wondered how much I should say so that even a wizard who was ignorant of the ways of this world could understand.
“Langsowa is a republic. Do you know what a republic is?”
Sereraji answered in a rare, uncertain tone.
“We elect members of the National Assembly through elections, and those members of the National Assembly then elect the Prime Minister. … … Isn’t that it? Anyway, I know that it is a country where the term-limited king is decided through elections, not bloodlines.”
I skipped over the difference between a president and a king.
“Yeah. That’s roughly right. The important thing is that the people who were elected are the ones who rule the country. So it’s important to please the people who have the right to vote, right?”
“I don’t think so. Then they’ll pick you again next time.”
“That’s right. But the neighboring Doroysen is a centralized kingdom. So the people with voting rights are afraid of Doroysen. They don’t know when they’ll invade, conquer us, and take away our voting rights. Then what do the people who run for elections say?”
This time, it was not Sereraji but Lord Tentia who answered.
“We must build up our strength to face their threats, we must attack them and defeat them, that is what I would say.”
I clapped my hands.
“That’s right. Sir. But will they really go to war just because they were chosen like that? If they do it wrong, we’ll all perish together. Also, if their sons and daughters are dragged to the battlefield and die, their approval ratings will drop.”
Sereraji, Tentia, and Helena all gasped.
“So you’re saying that you’re not really going to fight, but you’re just going to keep talking about fighting?”
“What kind of cowards are there?”
“Why don’t you do that heart-pounding thing?”
The last sentence was off-topic, but that's what happened.
I said with a shrug.
“It’s common for people to vent their internal discontent by cursing each other. Right now, the church says that the royal family is immoral whenever there’s a drought, and the royal family says that it’s because of evil invaders when there’s a drought… … Let’s pretend we didn’t hear that.”
It was not something a member of the royal family should say in front of a priest.
Sereraji, Tentia, and Helena nodded their heads while laughing.
“Anyway, when you don’t actually fight, but you curse at each other and receive support from anxious subjects, that’s called hostile coexistence.”
I finished my speech like that, and the priest was about to open his mouth again, but Sir Tentia looked at me and raised her hand slightly.
“Then why did Doroisen choose coexistence? Those swordsmen revere the battlefield.”
The Sword Expert's voice was as heavy as the sky, and the priest frowned and averted his eyes.
I answered with a bitter smile.
“Even Ensis was not a king who could avoid war. But what about the crown prince? To keep his position, he needs the support of his knights and subjects. But actually starting a war is impossible.”
“If we’re not careful, we could lose everything.”
“So they just curse. Well. Even if you say they’re cowards, as the Kyung said, it wouldn’t be completely wrong.”
“Well, I understand, but I can’t convince you.”
——————
faqwiki.xyz
Join our Discord for new chapter updates!
https://discord.com/invite/xr7SxG5T6V
——————
A bright smile appeared on the dignified face of Lord Tentia, and only then was the poor priest able to continue speaking.
* * *
“It is as Your Majesty said just now. The two countries have been criticizing and slandering each other for a long time, and have only engaged in small-scale local wars. However, even if it is a local war, the lives of nearby cities have been devastated, and in the process, the number of evaders has increased rapidly.”
“I see.”
This is why I try to avoid hard-line measures like large-scale wars or meteor strikes.
Our royal nobility cannot tolerate those who choose to live in poverty because life is difficult, but at the same time, we have a responsibility to make life not difficult.
“The increase in lower-level eroders likely led to an increase in higher-level eroders, and eroders gathered from all over the continent, naturally forming large erosion cults.”
“Then that’s-.”
“Yes. They are the ones who attempted to reclaim the relics from the Alzenversa Monastery, the ones who gave the Central Greenskin Horde its old power, and the ones who led the Sword King Ensis of Doroisen to the path of erosion.”
Lord Tentia, who had fought alongside them in defeating the Greenskin Horde, frowned, and Sereraji clicked her tongue.
The priest took a scroll out of his bosom.
“Here is the list of sponsors and the list of those who have been killed.”
At first glance, it looked like it was over a meter long.
“We are still trying to figure out their organizational structure, but it seems like there is a system made up of laypeople, priests, bishops, and archbishops.”
His voice gradually grew colder.
“The highest ranking invader within Doroisen was a court noble of Doroisen, and was of the rank of bishop. We moved to capture him alive, but he resisted so much that we killed him. In the process, 25 paladins, 13 warrior priests, and 677 purifiers lost their lives.”
It seemed as if he was trembling.
“There was no archbishop in Doroisen.”
I recalled how the rebellious prince Justinian had repeatedly gone into exile before his return.
“It’s hard to maintain a huge secret organization in a small country.”
Small countries had limitations in logistics, manpower, and resources.
This was also the reason why the Jahan Alliance could not ultimately conquer the world.
A huge secret organization had to be in a country of similar level to itself.
“I can’t think of anyone else but Langso. Since it’s a country with intense factional strife and party strife, it would be easy to survive by sticking to the political world. It’s the perfect place to be a base.”
“Finally,” I muttered and looked at the priest.
And he nodded and said.
“As a member of the royal family, I express my deep gratitude for the devotion of the church.”
The priest looked as if he was seeing a ghost.
I continued speaking with a grin.
“From now on, leave it to me. I will show you the end of the internal strife.”
Helena looked excited.
“It was good that we had a mock battle. I didn’t know it would become a real battle so quickly. Valencian. Thank you.”
The priest couldn't say anything and just stuttered and handed over the documents one by one.
* * *
The mock battle ended successfully, and Helena reviewed the mock battle with her officers while preparing for the actual battle.
I left the maintenance of the mechanical armor to Marcus' assistants and headed to the palace.
“I request an audience in the name of Valencianus. It is an urgent matter.”
At the power of the great lord, the count and the high-ranking officials, who had been waiting in line since morning for an audience, split to the left and right.
"your majesty."
“You? Did the mock battle go well? You came at a good time.”
Jaylilith was just standing up from among the piles of papers.
His once leisurely, languid eyes were filled with fatigue.
“I was planning to stop here for today. Would you like to have dinner together and go for a walk?”
I reported it with a guilty feeling.
The bishop of Doroissen, the hostile coexistence of Lancelot and Doroissen, the resulting increase in encroachers, the confirmation of the existence of the religious order, and even the archbishop in Lancelot.
“So, the work is urgent.”
As I finished speaking, a strange light appeared in Jaylilith's eyes.
“Hmm.”
Before he knew it, there was no trace of fatigue in those golden eyes, and only the sharpness of a superhuman at its peak remained.
“Let’s have dinner together and go for a walk.”
“Yes, yes? Where to-.”
“If you’re going to drop a meteor, don’t you have to check the coordinates at least once? I’ll kill all those Republicans while I’m at it. They’ll be happy inside because they’ll be able to enjoy the equality they’ve been calling for.”
Her red lips curled up sadistically, her haughty voice rang out coolly and majestically as if entering a huge stone dome, and before she knew it, the hem of her black dress had rolled up and taken the shape of a dragon's wings.
“Please fix it!”
I grabbed her ankle and bowed my head as if I was going to hang on, but Jaylilith shook her head.
“Why would you waste time and money on something that can be done in one go? Don’t compromise with those who can fight and win.”
“There are many innocent civilians among them.”
“That is not for you to say, you piece of shit.”
I couldn't help but pause.
“If you send me as a special envoy… … I will separate the Republic of Langso and the invaders from each other within a year through political maneuvering.”
“If we let Jim go, we could be giving the Encroachers a nightmare within a month.”
“There is a possibility that even innocent citizens will be turned into corrosives.”
Jaylilith laughed brightly.
That smile was eerie and beautiful, like a broken jewel.
“If a meteorite hits, there won’t be a problem. There won’t be anyone left who can become an eroder. Look at this. It’s a magic that Jim recently developed. It creates a huge dome of force field right after a meteorite hits, and it confines the shock wave. Inside, the heat and pressure will surge and crush everything.”
Oh my goodness.
I winked desperately at the officials who were eavesdropping on the conversation at the door.
But I was the only one on the continent who had the courage to say 'no' to the Holy Emperor, Jaylilith.
I just blurted out whatever came to my mind.
“Your Majesty! Then leave the army to me. I will invade Langsowa.”
“No, why is it okay for you to go to war but not for me to fight?”
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty. Please reign, not rule.”
“A single meteorite could cleanly sort things out.”
“It’s not organized!”
Just then someone ran into the office.
I turned around and secretly thanked the brave man who had come into the room where the Holy Emperor and the Grand Duke of Mann were raising their voices.
“You came at a good time… Duke of Signine?”
Neatly tied brown hair, sky blue eyes, and a wicked smile hidden behind a stubborn hawk-like expression.
She cried out in desperation as she became the loser of the West.
“Langso and the Republic Army have crossed the border.”