Chapter 29: The Demon Tribe’s Regulars
Inside the cafeteria of the Demon Tribe Nation’s military, Decker and Cornell were once again sitting across from each other.
“The war between Admos and Weimar seems to have turned into quite a quagmire,” Decker said, poking at the leftover vegetables on his plate with a fork.
Cornell, sitting opposite him, looked at Decker with a bitter expression.
“…Tch. How can you be so big with such a picky diet?”
“Huh?! That’s what you react to!? Besides, it’s just my body type; there’s nothing I can do about it!”
“…Hmph, whatever. So, are we talking about the war between the Human Tribes?”
“Oh, you’re getting back on track… Yeah, Weimar, those guys were just fighting us not long ago, and now they’re immediately declaring war on their neighboring country. They’re a bunch of battle maniacs.”
At Decker’s words, Cornell crossed his arms and began to ponder, “Hmm…”
“What’s wrong?”
“…Well, I get that morale was high towards the end of the recent conflict due to that false accusation incident. But Weimar wasn’t originally such a warlike nation.”
“Is that so?”
Cornell felt a flash of irritation, wondering if Decker was unaware of the situation in the countries bordering the Demon Tribe. However, he held back his anger, knowing it wouldn’t help the conversation.
“That’s right. When our country was in turmoil with internal politics and the change of the monarch, it should have been a perfect opportunity for Weimar to invade us. But they didn’t. It might have been a result of mutual deterrence with Admos… but originally, they were a nation with a strong sense of exclusive defense, so I don’t think they would initiate an attack…”
“Ah, I see. When you put it that way, it does sound strange.”
“Right? But I’ve heard that this war was started by Weimar against Admos. It’s way too different from the information we had about Weimar beforehand. Something feels off.”
As Cornell spoke, both of them began to ponder, “Hmm…”
Just then, their superior, Yarman, appeared.
“What’s going on? Are you two discussing something again?”
Yarman said this as he took a seat at their table.
“Oh, Yarman-sama, good work today!”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“Ah. So? What are you two troubled about this time?”
“Well, um…”
Cornell explained the discussion he had just been having with Decker.
After listening to their conversation, Yarman crossed his arms and began to ponder as well, “Hmm…”
“Now that you mention it, it is a strange story. We were just thinking that it was fine for two countries bordering ours to fight it out while we could sit back and watch.”
“I thought the same.”
“Me too. But when Decker mentioned that Weimar is a nation of battle maniacs, it raised some questions. Was Weimar really that aggressive?”
“Indeed, in my memory, Weimar was a nation focused on exclusive defense. They hardly ever initiated invasion wars.”
“Except against us… right?”
“Ah. For the Human Tribes, subjugating the Demon Tribe is not just a goal; it’s an obsession. However, Weimar should never have declared war on a Human Tribe nation.”
Yarman said this and then began to think again, crossing his arms.
“…Perhaps we should investigate this once more.”
Previously, when they had looked into Weimar’s unnatural movements, unexpected truths had come to light.
This time, too, there might be new facts to uncover.
With that thought, Yarman decided to send an intelligence team to Weimar.
And then, a few days later…
“I have the investigation results.”
Yarman called Decker and Cornell into his office.
“The fact that you called us here means… it’s quite confidential information, isn’t it?”
At Decker’s words, Yarman nodded slightly.
“While the truth is uncertain, there are matters that we cannot ignore. Until we have confirmation, this information cannot be shared outside.”
At Yarman’s words, both of them gulped.
“So, what is it?”
Cornell asked, steeling himself, and Yarman lowered his gaze to the report with a serious expression.
“…It seems that Weimar has come under the military command of Kenta Maya.”
““Huh!?””
Both of them exclaimed in unison at Yarman’s report.
“He has subjugated a Human Tribe nation!? What does that mean!?”
“I don’t know.”
“…He is being targeted by the Human Tribe. It might have become bothersome, so he subjugated them to bring them under his control…”
“…That might be the case, but we have no proof.”
Yarman almost nodded at Cornell’s opinion, but since it was merely a rumor-level report, he refrained from fully agreeing.
However, Decker was convinced that Cornell’s words were true.
“Indeed, his power is said to surpass even that of the former monarch, who was the strongest in history. He could easily subjugate a Human Tribe nation.”
“…The former monarch.”
When Cornell corrected Decker’s words, Decker grimaced and clicked his tongue.
“Tch! I can’t accept a woman as a king! The former monarch is the former monarch!”
Hearing this, Cornell let out a deep sigh.
“Ugh… It’s because of people like you that Meileen-sama was ousted from the throne and went missing. It’s lamentable.”
“What!? Are you saying I’m wrong!?”
“Yes! You’re wrong! During the post-war chaos, someone as wise as Meileen-sama was the most suitable ruler! Sure, the current monarch is strong! But it took over a year to stabilize the chaotic internal politics! And he just dumped everything on his subordinates! Do you have any idea how many bureaucrats resigned because of that!?”
“I don’t care about that!”
“Both of you, enough already!!”
Yarman shouted to stop the escalating argument between the two.
“Decker. Regardless of your feelings, Meileen-sama was once crowned as queen. Don’t make dismissive remarks just because you don’t like it.”
“…I apologize.”
“And you, Cornell. Your previous statement was disrespectful to the current monarch.”
“…That wasn’t my intention… I just meant that Meileen-sama was better suited for internal politics… The current monarch excels in battle.”
Yarman let out a small sigh at Cornell’s words.
“Ugh… I understand that. I’m just saying not to say such things out loud.”
“…I apologize.”
“For now, I’ll keep this matter to myself. From now on, refrain from making such statements.”
““Yes.”
“That’s enough. You may leave. Oh, and don’t tell anyone about what we discussed earlier, alright? It’s really just a rumor-level matter.”
““Yes.”
Decker and Cornell replied and then left Yarman’s office.
As he saw them off, Yarman quietly muttered to himself, reflecting on the content of their argument.
“It would have been best if the two siblings could have worked together…”
Yarman said this and looked out the window.
“…I wonder if Meileen-sama is safe?”
He had received reports that when Meileen was ousted from the throne, she left the Royal Castle almost in a state of undress.
It was hard to believe that a sheltered princess raised in the Royal Castle could survive in such a condition in the streets.
However, if by any chance she was still alive…
“She would likely become a source of turmoil again…”
Yarman earnestly wished that such a future would not come to pass.