Chapter 94: Why is This Person My Aide…?
Finally letting out a breath as things settled down, I returned to the mansion to find Belfast soldiers lined up, awaiting my return.
“We apologize for the wait! All fifty-seven of us have just arrived!
It is the greatest honor to be able to serve as Your Highness’s hands and feet!
Please feel free to command us at any time!”
“Thank you for your hard work on the long journey.
For now, please take tomorrow and the day after as holidays to rest and recover your strength.”
To those who replied they could work immediately, I had them enter the mansion, suggesting we discuss future plans over a meal for the time being.
Since there were quite a few people, I decided on simple steaks.
It’s dinosaur meat, so even if you cut corners, it’s delicious, and thus well-received.
And so, while eating together, I directed my gaze towards an elderly soldier.
Why is this person here, I wondered.
“Um, I heard it was fifty high-ranking soldiers…?”
“It is a gesture of consideration from His Majesty. This town is a very troublesome place.
I was assigned so that if things become too mentally taxing for you, you can hand them over to me without hesitation at any time.
From the beginning, I heard this was a short-term appointment to allow Your Highness to broaden your experience.”
The one who said so and bowed his head was Genzou-san, the Imperial Guard Captain.
He’s one of the strongest people in our ranks. No matter how you look at it, he’s someone who should be protecting Pops up close.
“I see. This place is indeed terrible… I was dumbfounded at first.”
When I showed my agreement, Yuri exclaimed, “Please listen!” and began to rapidly explain everything that had happened so far to Genzou-san.
“I see. However, please rest assured.
From now on, any who cross such lines will be dealt with by my own hand.”
“Eh, is that alright? They’re ordinary citizens who haven’t committed crimes, though…?”
He shook his head at my words.
“‘Whether their heads will be cut off depends on the severity, but it is only natural for those who damage the prestige of Royalty to be punished,’ he said.”
Yuri, too, snorted, “There’s no need to stop them anymore, you know!”
I see. No matter how kind Belfast is to its people, if someone openly shows hostility and directly insults a prince who has identified himself, this is what happens, huh.
However, I asked the two of them to observe the situation a little longer.
Because I was preparing to instill fear and ensure compliance with the law before handing things over to my successor, and further tightening felt too hasty.
I told Genzou-san, who showed interest in those words, about the threats I’ve been making these past few days.
“Wha-… Unacceptable! For Prince Rui to bear such disgrace!!”
Genzou-san clutched his head at the fact I had declared I would return Mildrad’s evil deeds in kind.
“Ah, yeah. Was it bad to do that while bearing the name of Belfast?
I’m sorry, I’ll be more careful next time.”
Now that he mentioned it, I realized.
The actions of a prince would resonate with other countries. Naturally, it would tarnish Belfast’s name as well.
“No… However, the abolition of the Slavery System should be carried out without waiting to see.
There is no problem in subjugating residents who show significant hostility as rebels.”
He continued, saying that due to the abolition of the Slavery System, if the residents rioted, it would be perceived as such and not be considered a problem.
I see. As expected of Pops’ right-hand man.
Wait, if this guy takes charge, am I even needed?
“However, aside from that, your skill is admirable.
I never dreamed that things would have progressed this far just while we were traveling.”
Genzou-san praised me for crushing not only the escaped and rampaging prisoners but also the merchant guilds and the Dark Guild in this short period, and the soldiers followed suit with voices of admiration.
While thanking them for their praise, I also had them check the merchant guild’s documents to see if there were any mistakes in my actions of punishing the Sinners.
All those who were executed were individuals we fought and crushed, so there’s no issue with that alone, but it’s necessary as a criterion for future judgments.
I asked with that in mind, but I received criticism from the opposite direction.
“You are too lenient with Sinners.
It might be acceptable for merchants whose crimes were deemed minor, but it is not permissible to let Sinners who directly defied the state live.”
Ah, those Dark Guild guys, huh.
“My investigation showed they were in charge of clerical work, which matched the merchant guild’s documents, but should they still be killed?”
“Yes. They are entities that threaten the nation.
Those who joined knowing it was an assassination or bandit organization receive the death penalty under Belfast’s law.”
Genzou-san continued nonchalantly, “We shall take care of that.”
Following that, the conversation shifted to the prisoners, and I explained the operational status of the mines.
Figuring I might as well have him check that too, I asked, “Is it alright?”
“Of course, it’s no problem. However, has that issue also been mostly resolved?
It seems this will be a much easier job than anticipated.”
“No, you shouldn’t underestimate this town.
It’s so terrible that even the gentle Yuri is at a level where she’d lash out, you know?”
“Exactly! There’s a limit to how awful things can be!”
I patted the pouting Yuri to calm her down.
“I have infiltrated it several times in the past, so I can roughly imagine.
However, Lady Yurisia, I never thought you would endure His Highness being insulted.”
“Rui stopped me! He said their stupidity might rub off, so don’t bother…”
Hey! She was finally calming down!
She’s pouting again…
Thinking, ‘Well, if it’s come to this,’ I petted her all over, saying ‘There, there, there,’ like Yuri does with Fuu, but instead, I angered her, and she retorted, “Don’t treat me like a fool!”
I shot Genzou-san a reproachful look, as if to say, ‘What are you going to do about this?’
“Lady Yurisia, have you forgotten?
It is precisely because he is alive that you should be smiling at him.”
Hm? What is he talking about?
Ah, is it about when they thought I was dead?
Come to think of it, he was with Pops and the others back then.
She pouted with a troubled expression, saying, “Even if you suddenly tell me that…”
Since she fell silent, I asked about how things were going elsewhere, wanting to hear news from outside.
“Yes. Others have also accepted surrender one after another, and all of Mildrad has agreed to submit to Belfast. Superficially, of course, but—”
Currently, they are in the investigation stage to determine if there is genuine intent to submit everywhere, and they are apparently struggling particularly in the central region, the former Royal Capital.
However, conversely, there were also places that had been properly managed by decent Lords, and it seems there are towns where they decided to have the Lord surrender along with their territory and continue to entrust it to them.
Even so, they apparently have them under surveillance, just in case.
“Fortunately, thanks to Your Highness, Belfast’s military strength continues to grow.
Right now, the Belfast forces alone probably number close to four thousand.”
“Eh… Does that mean it’s increased by nearly two thousand since then?”
When I asked back, he nodded with a slightly bitter expression.
Apparently, upon hearing reports of victory, the nobles Yunon-san and the others had approached have returned.
It seems a flood of others trying to ride the bandwagon also rushed in.
“That’s delightful. We can push the troublesome parts onto them.”
“Hahaha, His Majesty Royce said the same thing.”
His demeanor changed completely at my words, and he laughed happily.
“So, what about Lestall and the Empire’s movements?”
I’ve heard that Lestall is in the preparation stage, at least.
And that the Empire hasn’t made any overt moves yet either.
However, thinking they might have approached central Mildrad, I asked if there was any new information, but he showed a solemn face and said, “Regarding that, I have a request.”
It was for aerial reconnaissance.
He asked me to do a quick sweep, focusing on the Imperial Capital, to see if there were any marching soldiers.
“That much is fine.
We’re planning to observe things here for a while longer, so all that’s left is maintaining public order.”
Well, precisely because there’s strong interest now in how far we’ll go with maintaining that public order, we have to do it thoroughly.
If I, the Lord, get involved and run around every day, we’d likely be underestimated for lacking military strength or gather hate, so there’s nothing good in that; thus, I’m relying on the soldiers.
However, I also re-emphasized that while my remaining private soldiers are competent and will do anything if asked, there are only about twenty of them, and they are completely overwhelmed.
“Please leave that to us.
The soldiers I brought can operate individually, so there should be no problem.”
It seems he brought veteran high-ranking soldiers with good judgment.
He says that because their skill level is superior, they don’t need to operate in groups.
They said they would start patrols tomorrow.
They could have rested a bit first, though.
If that’s the case, I guess I’ll work too, I thought, and after guiding them to the barracks, Yuri and I set off on a journey through the sky.
Inside the airplane-like vehicle made with Maso, I opened a map and we discussed.
As I was confirming that beyond these mountains was the Marquis Ignat Territory, and further beyond that was the Imperial Capital, Yuri’s interest veered in an unwelcome direction.
“Speaking of Ignat, that’s an enemy we fought in the war, right?”
“W-Was that so…? Well, details like that don’t really matter, do they?”
I tried to brush it off and get to the main topic of observing troop movements, but she looked at me with a sad gaze and asked, “Rui, are you keeping secrets from me?”
“N-No! Well, um, it’s that…”
“It’s fine… It just means you don’t trust me…”
Grk… True, it’s something I could say if I really trusted her…
Figuring it would be bad not to tell her at this point, I honestly confessed that I hadn’t wanted her to get interested because the territory belonged to a guy so damn handsome I didn’t want her to meet him.
“Did you think I was such an easy woman…?”
She gave me a look of such utter exasperation and disillusionment, the likes of which I felt I’d never seen before, making me flinch. But, convinced she had to understand my feelings, I tried to explain.
“No, no, that’s not it! Think about it the other way around!
If there was a woman whose looks were so captivating she seemed like she could forcibly make ninety-nine out of a hundred men fall for her, would you want me to meet her?”
My heart pounded as I stared at Yuri, wondering what I’d do if she said something like, “I wouldn’t particularly mind.”
“I certainly wouldn’t like that… I understand that part, but please trust me a little more.
Because for me, no one but Rui will do anymore.”
Oh, ooh!?
Somehow, the mood was great. Unlike by the sea, we’re in the sky, so there wouldn’t be any interruptions.
I pulled Yuri, who was gazing at me with her tear-filled eyes, closer and tried to press our lips together.
“!? Rui! Look over there!”
…Not again, I thought, but as I shifted my gaze, I indeed saw the Imperial Army on the march.
Their destination: the Imperial Capital. Their numbers, a very rough estimate, were around five thousand.
That’s far too many to be sending for Monster subjugation.
Nine times out of ten, these were soldiers for war.
“Tch, damn them for interrupting… Should I just charge in and crush them?!”
“Oh, honestly… No more dangerous things, okay!”
Then, Yuri, her face bright red, gave me a quick, pecking kiss before pulling away.
“Alright, my irritation has completely vanished! Let’s head back and report immediately!”
“Honestly!”
Grinning from ear to ear, thinking our business here was done, I turned us around to head back, only to be met with her smirking, reproachful gaze.
Savoring that blissful atmosphere, we returned to Leben. When I reported our findings to Genzou-san, he said urgent preparations were needed and asked me to go inform Pops as well.
Apparently, Pops is currently in the former Royal Capital of Mildrad.
He told me, “You can leave things here to me and go deal with the Empire,” so, while discussing with Yuri about also heading to Belfast to check on various things, I set off to report to Pops, who was at Mildrad Castle.