episode_0111

“Lord, lord… … !”

Next to me, Jinor said something in a shocked voice.

Yuuri spoke coldly without even turning his head in his direction.

“What are you doing? Didn’t you hear me? I will do as you wish, so release the anima.”

The Shinigami who heard those words was similar to when he first came here and opened his mouth.

Without any change in expression… … He answered in a very dry tone.

“Okay. I am glad that you are a person I can communicate with. I will make sure to convey Yuuri’s will to my lord. Then.”

After Serpina’s side slowly walked out.

Jinor, who was astonished, and several armed officers who had not fully grasped the situation yet, turned their heads to look around.

‘What the hell now… … ‘What happened?’

rather.

If you would rather hand over the territory, then yes. I could understand up to that point.

Looking at it calmly, handing over an entire castle was an overpayment.

Anima Ingram is a great general. However, she was never the same as white rice.

He is deeply loyal, is a founding contributor to Yuuri, the monarch, and is very trusted by her. He is the kind of person who can have each other’s backs without any doubt in these difficult times.

Although the territory was a waste, considering that the current state of the country is such that it is difficult to maintain three castles, well, whether it is Rachline or Zellstrom, the foundation for a comeback is laid.

That was Jinor’s judgment.

However.

Handing over the messenger is a different matter.

This is not just because the Shinigami is Swen, an outstanding general who appears to be quite intelligent and talented.

Swen was, at least in Jinor’s opinion, a much more valuable general than Anima. No matter how he is evaluated in this country, that opinion will not change.

However, that was not the definitive reason why the messenger should not be handed over.

Even if he was an unsightly general who didn’t do anything special, likely wouldn’t do anything special in the future, and felt uneasy about being entrusted with a proper role, he shouldn’t have been passed over.

In this world, no matter how difficult times may be, is there a warlord who would hand over those who are loyal to him to an enemy country?

This was not just a problem related to basic human mindset.

I had no intention of denying the existence of such values as pity, humanity, sympathy, etc., but Jinor was a person who wanted to take advantage of such things and was not a faithful person who applied them as a basis for action.

Rather than saying, ‘No matter how incompetent it is to sell, it’s a pity,’ it would be correct to say that such an action should never be done considering the impact it would have on the generals.

Even if it was the other way around – handing over the Anima to save Swen was something that should never have happened to Jinor.

It should have been impossible to hand over a nameless general other than Swen for the sake of Anima.

At least a monarch.

If he is the monarch of a country and not the leader of a bandit group, then he should be.

“Master. I understand that you may have been a little shaken for a moment. However, you must withdraw the message right now. Quickly catch the Reaper.”

“… … .”

Jinor spoke in an urgent tone, leaving behind Yuuri, who did not respond.

“What are you doing? Why don’t we quickly bring Serpina’s envoy back here?!”

“Yeah, but… … .”

“Hurry up! I will take responsibility.”

Even though Jinor says that out loud, Yuuri doesn’t do anything to stop him.

She herself would know. What does what she does now mean?

And, at that time.

“There is no need for that!”

From beyond, a woman’s voice was heard.

It was Epinel Rosencross, the de facto second-in-command of the Atious Army.

“General Epinel!”

“Prince Jinor, please forgive my rudeness. Because the current situation is very complicated.”

She slowly approached and spoke to Jinor.

“The clever Serpina said that if she did not accept this offer, she would immediately have Anima executed.”

“… … ?”

Hearing a story I had never heard before, I glanced at Yuuri.

She too was blinking as if she was slightly surprised.

That was all I could notice. That Epinel is lying now.

“Secretary, am I not speaking to you now? Please focus on my story.”

Epinel turned Jinor’s gaze back to herself.

“It seemed like Swen had a grudge against Serpina. It seems like they are currently holding him captive as a reaper. So, this is a scare. No matter what we say, we will never get Swen back.”

“In that case, there is no need for her to make such an offer, right?”

“What could be the reason? It’s probably just a test.”

“A test?”

” This is a question from the perspective of a powerful country to us, a weak country. Isn’t it something to gauge whether you will listen to me or not? Because that’s Serpina’s way. There is nothing we can gain by fighting here.”

therefore.

Swen has already been caught, and in a situation where he is in danger of death-

Why are we doing this test just to see how our military performs?

To do that, you give up territory and money to ask these questions?

If the other person had been Lin Brans, who had a paranoid personality and a strange level of shadyness, he might have believed that.

Because she was actually a person who often did irrational things that were somewhat incomprehensible.

That’s something Jinor himself had heard when he was young: that Orlando Brands’ only daughter was not someone worth trusting and following.

However, Serpina is different.

No matter how much of a tyrant or witch she is, she is not called an overlord for nothing.

The reason why so many generals who served the royal family followed her was not for no reason, but because she showed and proved her skills.

It means that her bloodline isn’t her only ability.

From my point of view, I only decided not to serve her because of the excessive cruelty that occurred in the process of arranging all of the brothers with my own hands, and I did not abandon her because of my inability.

She is making a proposal that has nothing to gain for her just because of the extremely emotional reason of wanting to see our military’s reaction?

If you negotiate well, you can take over one territory, but why? What’s wrong?

If you really had a grudge against Swen-

Wouldn’t it be better to just catch them and kill them without even suggesting such negotiations?

Epinel spoke in a cold tone to Jinor, who was gathering his thoughts without answering.

“Didn’t you say this often, Mr. Teacher? About how to survive as a weak country. This is just part of it. What do we have the power to choose about the unilateral actions of the powerful Serpina military? All we can do is save at least one person. If you were a teacher, you would understand, right?”

“… … .”

Although she was an excellent general, there were times when she openly revealed her old feelings like this.

There was no particular regret. If anything, I would have been grateful.

It’s easier to deal with someone who can see clearly than someone who can’t read what’s inside.

Epinel turned his head and spoke to the officers and soldiers.

“Listen! It appears that the Serpina military unilaterally imprisoned our envoy and then attempted to disturb our military morals by asking pointless questions. Right now we can only suffer, but we will definitely gain strength and take revenge on her someday. Do you understand?”

I see

Only then did I understand why she had appeared here at this time.

Yuuri’s decision is one that cannot be understood unless you are a fairly dull general.

Obviously, there was bound to be some backstory. No, it is not that bad, it is a situation where generals are required to resign one after another, and the very discipline of the country may be shaken.

So, it’s about making up situations like ‘It had to be that way’ or ‘There was no other way.’

The opponent happened to be Serpina, who had a reputation for being cruel. It is persuasive to say that a tyrant of that level would commit such a violent act.

This will be able to calm the confusion caused by this decision to a certain extent.

This is because the influence of those who contributed to founding the country was stronger than anywhere else.

If it were Yuuri’s personality, he probably wouldn’t have tried to avoid the situation by lying. He probably intended to honestly bear the consequences of his judgment.

This would have been Epinel’s idea, not Yuuri’s.

Looking at it objectively, he could not be anything other than a talented person who complemented the monarch’s shortcomings well.

‘But even if that were the case, the ramifications wouldn’t be completely gone.’

Any subject with even the slightest sense of intellect would definitely realize something strange.

Anyway, in a situation where I can no longer afford it-

Jinor thought of a fundamental question again.

So what does Serpina gain from this decision?

The idea that he is targeting Swen because of a grudge is not persuasive.

So, if you just think about the conclusion-

Serpina gave up the opportunity to gain territory with her own hands?

for what reason?

—To get Swen.

‘Is what Serpina was targeting a human named Swen himself?’

surely.

Assuming you know his true abilities – even if you were a monarch, you would want to take him over something like fiefdom.

And, the moment I remembered ‘his ability’-

Boom!

You feel like someone is hitting you in the back of the head.

‘All of this… … What if that was Swen’s intention?’

Swen had the ability to see the future.

Of course, there is no exact physical evidence, and he himself denied it.

The heart condition was perfect. All of Swen’s decisions were correct, and not long ago I saw with my own eyes that he sometimes made decisions that were impossible to make without knowing the future outcome.

The way he perceives situations and thinks.

Because it was the method of ‘a person who knows the future outcome, but does not know what it will be’.

It wasn’t Yuuri’s decision for him to become a Shinigami in the first place.

Didn’t Swen himself say ‘I will go’!

Perhaps Swen knew everything. That this is what will happen.

Did he volunteer as an envoy just to be sold?

It can never be like that.

When I think about it that way, the conclusion becomes clearer.

‘Moving to Serpina County is the most efficient future in his view… … I guess it was… … !’

I turn my head slightly and look at Yuuri, who has his mouth shut.

Even though Epinel was working hard to control the situation, it was clear that he didn’t know what to do.

Only then did Jinor feel it for the first time.

His master, Baranga Yuuri Acious, is a person who cannot take the world in his hands no matter what happens.

This is a fortunate fact in this situation.

The point was that Reika was attached to Swen.

If what Serpina was after was Swen, she wouldn’t treat Reika, a member of her group, carelessly.

With this, even if you don’t end up under Serpina, your connection with Swen will be maintained.

There will probably be a call from Reika. At that time, there will be an opportunity to inquire about Swen’s true intentions.

That’s the moment.

The point is to remain an enemy of Acious until just then.

‘I guess I’ll have to figure out a way to survive.’

The monarch who must unify the continent does not necessarily have to be Yuuri.

If she was swayed by emotions and made a foolish choice, it was a matter of just letting go of her hand.

That was the conclusion of Jinor, the so-called wise man of the continent.