Chapter 100: A Plea for Defection
As planned, it was a day spent entirely in the Dungeon from morning till night, a hunting spree.
And today was the day of my appointment with my adjutant, Kai.
I wondered if he was waiting properly and headed to the place where Yuri and I had dropped him off during the day, but Ignat was the one there.
He was alone, at least, but I kept some distance and asked him what he was up to.
“Kai was supposed to come alone, wasn’t he?”
“My apologies. I just had to thank you… My wife hugged me for the first time in years.”
I don’t give a damn about that!
Don’t you dare get near Yuri!
I was glaring at him with those thoughts, but looking closely, his face resembled a clay figurine.
It clearly looked like he’d cried so much his face had swollen up.
He’s become quite unsightly, in a good way.
I took Yuri and slowly approached Ignat.
This is Ignat. Remember him well, I told her.
“So… do you intend to honor the contract we made?”
“Of course!! I’ll stake my all to protect it! I genuinely, with all my heart, want to defect to your side!”
Oh, ooh. He’s pretty energetic.
Well, I guess that’s natural since his beloved wife got better.
And, as expected, this doesn’t seem like a lie.
There’s no point in making a face like a clay figurine for an act.
Well, given the circumstances, I’m still not ready to let my guard down, though.
“I-I see,” I said, feeling overwhelmed, as he took out the Magic Tool I had lent him and some documents from his breast pocket and offered them to me.
When I took them, the total military strength and training levels of each Town were summarized numerically.
It was written out in great detail.
Wait a minute… this guy, he even brought the Empire’s treasured Magic Circles?
Huh…? Seriously? Is it really okay for me to take these?
No, wait. First, I need to verify this. Yep, stay calm, stay calm.
“For now, this is all I know. I’ve noted down the places confirmed to be deploying, but there are still some uncertain areas.”
“So, does that mean even if Lestall takes Lease, war won’t break out immediately?”
We’ll have various preparations on our side too, so having some leeway would be appreciated.
Or rather, if there isn’t any, we’ll have to hurry.
“Well, I wonder… It takes two weeks to gather troops, so it can’t be sooner than that, but since the Emperor is eager, they probably won’t drag their feet for too long.”
He says a reasonable timeframe would be one to two months from now.
“Are you… going to be deployed?”
“No, I won’t be. But I’ll probably be ordered to go eventually. I’m incredibly anxious about whether I can keep my wife hidden then…”
From what I heard, the Emperor told him to hand over his wife to take responsibility for the defeat, so he made it seem like she had died.
“Why don’t you just seek asylum after all? That country… it doesn’t suit you, does it?”
He cries that much just because his wife’s illness got better…
He should just flee to Lestall or somewhere.
And I’d be overjoyed to have one less enemy.
“Yes, that’s true. Would Belfast accept me?”
“No way! You’re handsome, so absolutely not!”
While I was making an ‘X’ with my fingers and giving him a firm ‘no,’ Yuri, for some reason, was casting Healing Magic on Ignat’s face.
—?!
Why?!
No way, can he charm her even in his clay figurine state?
No, no, that’s ridiculous…
This isn’t the time to be thinking about that. Why did I let her get close to him?!
“Yuri, it’s dangerous! Get away from him!” I tried to pull her away from behind with a full nelson, but she resisted.
“I told you to trust me! Rui, you’re far more wonderful!”
“Yeah, but it might hit you gradually later, right?!”
“Rui!!?”
Ugh…
“Sorry… I’m just scared of losing you…”
“It’s alright! You’re going to make me your bride, aren’t you?”
When I hugged Yuri, who kissed me with a bright red face, my anxieties somehow blew away.
My muddled thoughts started to become clear.
“I-If you really want it, I can consider it. I don’t want to fight you guys anymore either…”
“Thank you. Me too. I’ve decided I’d rather die in a rebellion than point my sword at you.”
Ignat flashed a dazzling, radiant smile.
Damn it, he’s making that handsome face again…
But well, he created a situation where Yuri kissed me, so I’ll forgive him.
Yeah, thanks. I’ll be grateful, just for now.
“So, when’s the next time?”
“I can’t just disappear so soon. If Kai is alright, then any time is fine.”
“Hmm… Then let’s make it ten days from now. The war is still a ways off, and we won’t know about your wife’s condition after that unless we give it some time, right?”
Ignat bowed his head saying “Thank you,” and I replied with a wave, saying “See ya.” Then, the two of us headed towards Mildrad while verifying the magic.
For now, I’ll report while the General is here. If I let him see Yuri’s face, he’ll probably be relieved.
With that in mind, we ended up having a discussion in the drawing-room.
It was the five of us: me, Yuri, the General, Pops, and Roosevelt-san.
For the time being, I gave a general explanation, stated that while verification would be necessary, I believed the information was highly accurate, and presented the documents.
Then, Pops called someone to bring documents and cross-referenced it with the information received from Lestall.
“Indeed, there’s no significant difference. I can see why you’d say we can trust what’s been lightly verified. But don’t swallow it whole, okay? The enemy has his family in enemy territory. Precisely because he’s a man of character, there might be situations where he’s forced to betray.”
“That’s right, Your Highness. In the first place, trying to trust the enemy is abnormal. And yet, going into enemy territory is far too dangerous, you know?”
The discussion proceeded even as Pops and Roosevelt-san cautioned me.
By the way, the General was playing around with Yuri. No, he was being berated by Yuri. About Kyouko-chan’s matter.
Looking closely, she was pinching his side with enough force to twist it off. That looked painful.
“…Yeah. He’s the type to do anything to protect his wife’s life. I understand that those fangs can turn on either side depending on the situation.”
“Then that’s fine,” Pops nodded, looking satisfied.
“But this is quite early. Isn’t it a bit sooner than the shortest time Duke Fastall predicted?”
“P-Predictions are just predictions! Ugh! As long as it generally falls within the range, it’s more than enough, right…”
The General retorted to Roosevelt-san while Yuri was pinching his side.
“Randolph, start making arrangements to depart soon. You don’t need to touch any more administrative work. Roosevelt, same for you. Throw any documents not essential for the advance to someone else.”
“Yes, sir!” “Yes, sir!”
Meanwhile, I asked Pops what I should be doing.
“Rui, you’re working too much. How are you managing all that paperwork? Are you getting enough sleep?”
“Eh, I’ve never done any paperwork, though… Is it necessary?”
“No, no, no! Of course there is! At the very least, managing finances like tax revenue is essential, you know?”
He explained, showing his irritation, that there’s also repairing outer walls and Forts, looking after the soldiers, handling petitions from the populace, checking for corruption, dealing with suspicious individuals if they appear, and on top of that, reports from information-gathering units and progress reports for long-standing plans all come in, making it a huge task.
For Pops, who as a leader was forced to do a ton of administrative work in his youth to learn everything, it seems to be a particularly detestable job.
For now, I replied, “Well then, it’s a job I’d hate too, I’m sure.”
…Come to think of it, I just said myself that accounting is essential at the mine.
But, you know, how am I supposed to manage that when I don’t even know the process of where and how to collect taxes or where to receive documents from?
I clearly stated that I couldn’t do it because I didn’t understand any of those aspects at all.
“I see… So your affiliated merchant company was crushed and left as is. If Genzou were here, I think he’d be handling it, but you should inform him and have him teach you, just in case.”
The conversation shifted to our Town, so I took the opportunity to show him the gold, silver, and copper I had brought.
“This is what we got from the mine. The ones who buy it are the countries that mint gold coins, right?”
“Ah, that’s right. Metals used for coinage require an application if you want to use them for other purposes. If you send it our way, we’ll buy it.”
Pops looked at the gold and grinned. He’s probably happy because it will become national treasure.
“By the way, our weekly personnel expenses were about fifty Large Gold Coins. About how much can we get for the buyout?”
“Fifty Large Gold Coins in a week? You, how many people are you hiring…?”
I got an exasperated look, but I prefaced it by saying that those freed from slavery needed to have money first, then told him the salary amount and the number of people.
“I see. Judging by the amount, I thought perhaps it luckily wasn’t taken during the riots, but so that’s what it is.”
“As expected of Your Highness. Both the reason and the amount are sound.”
“It’s alright, Your Highness. I just calculated it; even after deducting taxes, you’ll have a surplus of about ten Large Gold Coins.”
Oh, as expected of Roosevelt-san. He provides the information I want to hear right away.
“Once operations stabilize, the quantity will likely increase, so it’s a relief for now. We also have the money collected from merchants.”
“That’s good, isn’t it? It seems even the public sentiment in Leben has stabilized. Over here, the roots of the problem are deep, and it’s tough.”
The General made a bitter face while scratching his head.
It’s true, they say that the more power is concentrated, the easier it is for corruption to set in.
Just when I was thinking, “I sympathize with your plight,” Yuri was snapping at the General.
“Rui worked hard to change things while being cursed at every day by the very people he saved! Please try doing it like Rui before you say anything, Father!”
“No, the reason I used that method was because I was going to hand it off to someone else right away. It’s not a method someone who’s going to rule for a long time should use.”
It seems like the prosperity of a country that uses a reign of terror as its usual tactic doesn’t last long.
As I was thinking that, Pops and the others were sending smirking glances my way.
“Seems like you did things quite flamboyantly. A detailed report came from Genzou too.”
“That was hilarious. I almost wish you’d do it here too.”
“Nah, doing that now would be pretty bad, wouldn’t it?”
“Saying you’ll welcome them as citizens and then going ‘Actually, from now on, you’re all slaves’ would be bad,” I replied to Pops’s group with a wry smile, and they laughed, saying, “Well, that’s true.”
Besides, to be honest, Leben is way worse than the Mildrad Royal Capital.
If they’re going to listen, more or less, I don’t think there’s any need to do that to the people here.
If I were to threaten anyone, it would be the former nobles of Mildrad.
“However, something His Highness used as a threat about seventy years ago actually happened, you know.”
“Ah, I heard about that from Gramps too. He told the story with a demonic look on his face, so I remember it well.”
I see.
I’d only heard a little about it in class, but it was something that actually happened to them in my great-grandfather’s time.
“Well, the south is relatively peaceful, so luckily, there are only about four troublesome towns, including this one.”
“The civil official nobles who returned to the country later must be exhausted by how little people listen to them.”
From what I hear, all the towns in southern Belfast were entrusted to families who had high contribution levels in this war, while those with low contributions were given Mildrad’s territory. Those who came later were apparently sent as aides.
Being an aide isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
It’s tough to manage, but they get to keep important positions that would have been impossible during the Belfast era, so they should be financially stable.
Over here, there’s still plenty of land to build towns, so if they get an important post and earn trust, they could even start by pioneering new land and becoming a village chief and Lord.
Well, as long as the town is stable, it’s probably easier to work under a Lord, though.
“Speaking of which, when would it be a good time for me to step down as Lord?”
“…Well, there’s no problem with you stepping down whenever, but are you just going to do the hard parts and then quit?”
Huh…? But I don’t particularly want money or power.
Well, I mean, if I can rely on Genzou-san for the paperwork, I’ll be free, so I don’t mind.
“Alright then, if it becomes necessary as a reward for the war, just say the word. I’ll hand it over anytime.”
“That would be helpful, but… well, if you inherit the throne, you’ll end up passing it on anyway.”
“Huh? I’m not inheriting it, though…? You should have a legitimate heir with Eve-san.”
Pops spat out his tea with a “Buha!”
He looked at me with an astonished gaze, as if to say, “What is this guy talking about?”
“I’m going to live happily with Yuri.
I hate the idea of a life where I’m constantly swamped with work and can’t even spend time with my family.
I want you to allow me that as a reward for my hard work in the war.”
“Well, even if you say that… we don’t have a second son yet, do we?”
Well, now that you mention it, that’s true.
But you’re both young, so it’ll be fine, right?
“I’ll ask Eve-san later.”
“Hey, you idiot, stop it!”
The moment Pops said that, the door creaked open, and when I looked, Eve-san was looking this way.
“His Highness wants a younger brother, I see. Understood,” she said and left.
Pops let out a small sigh, “Haaah,” and fixed a blaming gaze on me.
Driven by the thought that I had to change the subject, I wracked my brain for something and remembered there was one important thing.
“That’s right. Ignat says he wants to defect with his wife. What should we do?”
“””Huh?”””
“Reducing the number of Estoc-level enemies by even one is appealing, so I told him I’d think about it. What should we do?”
When I asked, they said, “No way, no way,” but they were still hesitant.
Pops and Roosevelt-san, who knew that threat, especially so.
“It is appealing. But still…” they continued to debate with themselves.
“Rui, is he really trustworthy…?”
“Well, I don’t know about that.
But for now, at least, he seems like a decent guy, personality-wise.”
The only thing I can’t forgive about him is his face.
Just as I was thinking that, Yuri whispered in my ear, “What about the magic stuff?”
It seemed I hadn’t handed over the documents since I’d taken them out during the verification.
“Ah, right, I was given this too. The effects were exactly as written.”
I placed several sheets of paper with Magic Circles drawn on them onto the platform.
I added that these were Imperial Magic Circles that Ignat had brought.
“Hah?! Would someone normally bring something like this?! Seriously…?”
“No matter how you think about it, it’s unbelievable, isn’t it? If he were found out, his entire clan would undoubtedly be massacred.”
“Indeed. Looking at the effects, these are almost certainly things that haven’t been released to the world.”
The three of them, Pops and the others, were astonished and unanimously said, “This certainly lends credibility,” but Pops continued to debate with himself, “However, at a time like this when our survival is at stake, can we really trust him? He’s an enemy Marquis… No, but this…”
“It’s no good, I can’t make a judgment. I’ll leave this matter to Rui, who’s seen him directly!
But even if you bring him, always ensure your own safety.
Keeping him by your side is absolutely out of the question. You understand that, right?”
“I know. He’s dangerous, that guy is…” I replied with a serious face, and Pops exclaimed in surprise, “What?! Isn’t he a decent guy?!”
I have to tell them… just how dangerous he is.
“No, he’s dangerous. He’s too handsome, dangerously so… I absolutely don’t want him anywhere near Yuri’s line of sight.”
“Rui!! Are you still saying that?! I am not such a fickle woman!!”
Pops, who understood what I meant from Yuri’s words, smacked me on the head, shouting, “You idiot!” and the discussion came to an end.