Ch.285Waiting NPCs. (4)

This happened three days after Ira’s group finished their battle with the priests.

“I am the Chancellor who rules Neiti, the Land of Knowledge. Neiti Naika.”

The clear sky trembles with someone’s voice.

“Huh, what’s happening?”

“What was that sound just now…”

“Naika? Neiti Naika?! Could it be the leader of Neiti who declared war against the Empire?!!”

For people who had been living their daily lives thinking that the Empire, as the hegemonic power of the continent, would never be defeated—even as the Empire declared war and people were conscripted—it was literally a natural disaster.

“To the war faction. To the Helgot territory, Duke Helgot, and his vassals, I will say this only once. Drop your weapons and raise white flags immediately. You have 30 minutes. If you do not accept this…”

-Rumble rumble rumble…!!!

The clear, high autumn sky suddenly begins to darken. And in the darkened sky appears a giant figure—an upper body too enormous to be called human, with red hair and purple eyes—pointing a staff as large as the lord’s castle toward the territory.

“Bang.”

-BOOM!!!!

“””KYAAAH?!!!”””

Violence that seems impossible to believe came from such a casually uttered word destroys one section of the walls protecting their territory. The Empire’s citizens, who thought they would live another peaceful day, were forcibly made to realize that their land had become a battlefield, and chaos began to spread through their shattered daily lives.

“Next is the Duke. That castle where you live. And if I see even one puppet trying to escape from your castle, I won’t wait 30 minutes before turning this entire territory into a flat plain. There’s still a month left until the war deadline set by the declaration, so this is a cowardly surprise attack? Don’t think that way. You started this war first. And it was a surprise attack.”

One-sided violence, one-sided threats, and announcements rather than dialogue. The spark of war that the Empire had first lit begins to burn within the Empire itself.

“W-we cannot comply with such demands!! That figure in the sky is just an illusion spell!! A single magician like that…!!!”

“Don’t talk nonsense!!! I’ve received reports that it would take four days to create such an illusion even if we mobilized all the magicians in our territory!! Moreover, with the troops that have been conscripted, we have less than 40% of our forces here…!!!”

“Furthermore, there were reports that maintaining such a spell would be difficult even for five minutes. Can’t you see that the illusion remains clear even after 20 minutes have passed? Finally, this monster activated such powerful magic instantly without being detected by anyone. If we really try to fight, the result would be…”

“What nonsense are you talking about?! Are you saying we should betray the Empire and surrender without even fighting?!”

“Why don’t you understand that it won’t be a fight but a one-sided massacre?! Haven’t I told you that many in our magic division have already lost their will to fight after seeing that woman’s attack spell?!!”

“Our knights can fight!! Your Grace!! Give the order!! We will defeat that shameless enemy leader right here…!!!”

“You senile fool!!! You’ve seen the enemy’s magical power and abilities firsthand and still want to deploy the knights?! Will you take responsibility for their meaningless deaths?! Do we have any knights who can cut through castle walls with a single sword strike?!!!”

“I-instead of fighting like this! What about sending a diplomatic letter?! S-surely other neighboring countries would not approve of such a cowardly surprise attack…”

The Helgot Duchy possessed land and troops incomparable to the Muller territory, as well as many subjects. Naturally, many vassals were present, and Naika’s surprise attack threw them into complete confusion. And the lord of the territory, Duke Helgot…

“…Use the knights as bait. And order the magic division to prepare with all their might to track and intercept that woman.”

Even if he died here, his eldest son who had gone to the battlefield representing the family could inherit the duke’s title. Squeezing out courage and patriotism, he declared his intention to fight her, thinking that if he could kill or severely damage Neiti Naika, one of the enemy leaders, the Empire’s chances of winning would increase.

“Blame your foolish leader.”

That day, Duke Helgot, his vassals, knights, and magic division—not a single one survived as they sank beneath the dark sky created by Naika’s magical power. Their forced attacks never reached her.

*

“W-wow! Chancellor, why did you do this? A direct surprise attack, and on Helgot territory so close to the capital? The knights and magic division completely annihilated. Everyone killed except those who surrendered by dropping their weapons? Wow. I had my suspicions, but when you fought with us, you were holding back quite a bit out of consideration for the city, weren’t you?”

“Have you fought with her before?”

“Yes. I slapped her face once and punched her in the solar plexus.”

“…Excuse me?”

My bodyguard—though that’s just a title, and he’s really just a former assassin named Dolph who takes care of me—looked at me with an expression that seemed to ask, “Why would you do such a crazy thing?”

Come on, she was in the wrong back then. She even admitted it was her karma.

“Your Highness has become quite dependable without my knowing.”

“The me you knew was probably just a crazy woman trained by the imperial family, so why are you talking as if you’ve known me for a long time?”

“That’s not what I meant. It’s just that you seem different from the helpless girl who was clinging to the gray-haired man’s back when I first saw you.”

Well, that’s true. It’s been almost three years since then. The only humans who don’t develop in some way over such a long time are dead ones.

I walk with Dolph, discussing the recent information in the Imperial newspaper. The paper contains stories about Ira’s friend Grace’s hometown, the Muller County, openly rebelling against the imperial family; a cult summoning a demon; and Neiti’s Chancellor launching a cowardly surprise attack that devastated an entire territory. Hmm, looking at this, the Empire’s information system doesn’t seem completely broken. But more importantly, Muller territory… I hoped they wouldn’t get involved since it’s Ira’s friend’s territory, but it’s too late now.

“That’s the tavern. Should I go make contact first?”

“No, let’s go together. If problems arise, it would be faster for me to handle them than for you to be alone.”

“…Though I’m not entirely convinced, I can’t argue with that logic.”

It’s been about a month since I started operating in the Empire. Dolph has come to trust and follow me quite well. At the very least, he has enough ability not to interfere with what I do, and since he’s quite intelligent, I’m making the most of him. And…

“Over here.”

A man sitting at the far end of the tavern with another person raises his hand slightly, calling to us. Dolph and I approach him immediately, and he pulls out an empty chair beside him, attempting to escort me. He is…

“Mac. Is this the right person?”

“Yes, he’s an executive of the local branch. Everyone in this tavern is one of us, so you can speak freely. Of course, I’ve checked for any surveillance, and there are no problems so far.”

A spy with an imperial knight background whom I caught in a tavern when I was trying to make contact—Mac. Somehow, he’s been obediently following me since the day I defeated him, and since I started operating in earnest in the Empire, he’s been taking care of things without me having to use my [Skill] to command him. Of course, I don’t completely trust him and have ordered him to commit suicide if he thinks of betraying me, but it’s a bit creepy that there’s no sign of such intentions.

“…Who’s that woman?”

“Hello? I heard you’re an executive of this territory’s ‘Revolutionary Group,’ so I, the shadowy mastermind, have personally graced you with my presence. Should I tell you my name too?”

I remove the hood I’ve been wearing and smile slightly at the person sitting across from me, who flinches in surprise. Heh, did he recognize who I am? I guess executives do recognize me.

“So the rumors were true. Blue hair with red eyes. They say men who talk with you become entranced by your beauty and end up crawling at your feet…”

“Pfft. You don’t need to beat around the bush. You’ve figured out who I am, right? Honestly, it’s easier for you too. So I’d appreciate it if you’d just treat me as I am.”

“…The Imperial Princess known as the Blue Wisdom is staging a coup against the Emperor. It was hard to believe such a story, but it’s true?”

“That’s right. It’s true. The fact that you were able to ‘easily take over this territory in the name of the Revolutionary Group’ was also thanks to my actions.”

“…Was it really you who crushed Baron Huruk’s eyes and ears?”

He recognizes who I am, but that makes it harder for him to trust me. Seeing the hooded man with such a voice and gaze, I wiggled my finger at Mac, and Dolph let out a light sigh. Mac understood the meaning and immediately ran to the counter of the tavern.

“Saying I crushed everything would be wrong. I’m just using his eyes, ears, and limbs without his knowledge. The people here, where do you think they came from?”

“…What do you mean?”

“Here it is.”

What Mac brought back in a hurry was beer mugs. Mugs of beer that normally couldn’t be downed in one shot were placed in front of me and the revolutionary executive, and I picked mine up and immediately held it out to him.

“Have a drink. And if you can drink better than me, I’ll serve under you. How about it?”

“…You’re trying to win me over with a drinking contest?”

“Ahaha! That’s not my intention. I’m just saying that if you ‘clash with me once,’ you’ll know everything you’re curious about.”

I clink my mug against his still-raised one and tilt my head provocatively. The man sighs as if in disbelief but picks up his mug.

“I didn’t come here to socialize with a princess raised in the Empire’s safe cage, experiencing commoners’ alcohol.”

“Oh my, but you’re being kind enough to go along with it. So, shall we ‘compete’?”

“…If I win, you’ll have to hand over all the imperial information you know.”

“If I win, you just need to listen to what I have to say. So, cheers?”

Today too, the princess’s chess pieces increased in the tavern.

[Skill: Qualities of an Emperor.]

[Effect of Qualities of an Emperor: Turn a defeated enemy into your subordinate. The affected target becomes ‘subjugated’ to you regardless of their will. (You can give three absolute commands to the subjugated target.)]

[Skill: One Who Stands Above.]

[Effect of One Who Stands Above: One born to stand above cannot be less capable than those below. Steal the stats of humans subjugated to you. (Takes 50 percent of the subjugated target’s stats.) [Current number of targets: 692.]]