Ch.300Following NPC. (3)

In all things, there exists an order. If someone were to ask whether Jack’s group came to the Empire and the Chancellor of Neti raided a city because the Empire declared war, both the group and the Chancellor would immediately answer NO.

Especially in the Chancellor’s case, while the declaration of war helped justify her attack on the Empire, she had originally intended to limit the battlefield to border regions where civilians wouldn’t be harmed, demonstrating her power to the Imperial army and crushing their morale. She never planned to obliterate the Helgot Duchy.

So why did she end up destroying the Helgot Duchy? The reason was obviously…

“You stupid assistant bitch!!!”

“Kyahung!!”

“Y-Your Highness?!!”

Because her precious sla—assistant came to the Empire on her own, and she needed to capture her again. In the process, she identified territories where her assistant might be hiding. The territories were unified under the Helgot Duchy, which posed the greatest threat, so the Chancellor chose to incapacitate that domain.

The outcome of battle? She would win alone anyway.

Defensive warfare? Ponia had already agreed to handle it.

Material support? That was Aigram’s job, not her concern.

For her, the most important thing was “protecting her Academy’s students and people.” Having already failed to keep her oath to the Spirit King once, resulting in the deaths of students, she wouldn’t expose to danger the group that had stopped her and allowed her to make a new oath while the situation could still be salvaged. Or so she claimed.

“D-don’t hit my head!! I, I’m just currently…!!”

“What kind of Blue Light Princess are you!! You stupid girl!!”

“Kyaang?!!”

“C-Chancellor, please stop…!!”

“This girl!! Watching over our lord…!!!”

“…This girl?”

*Chills*

“Heep!!!”

“Hey, hey!! If you’re going to protect me, protect me all the way!! Let me finish my senten—?! Kyahung!!?!!”

Ragni had impulsively headed to the Empire on her own, and because of that, her beloved disciple Ira and her companions were now in the Empire as well. Of course, they hadn’t informed the Chancellor about this, but Neti was the Chancellor’s domain, and reports of their disappearance would have reached her after a month. So the Chancellor was furious at the blue-haired, red-eyed, attractive not-princess assistant who had just received three knocks on the head and was now teary-eyed before her, as well as at the temporary secretary.

“H-how did you even know where I was?!”

“If you’re asking because you don’t know, then you deserved more knocks.”

“Of course! S-since I said I was in the Helgot Duchy, you naturally figured I’d be in the Hurk Viscounty where there was significant movement, right?!!”

“Hmph! I also benefited from the rumors you’ve been spreading so grandly! ‘The Blue Light Princess raised the imperial flag to stop a meaningless war and protect the people’s lives.’ You’ve really done it in a magnificent way, haven’t you?!!”

“Enough with the knocks!! It really hur—!! Kyahung?!!”

The princess who had overwhelmed even that monster-like high priestess with her bare hands was now receiving consecutive knocks on the head from the red-haired Archmage, the Chancellor of Neti, who had flown in at dawn. Unable to defend herself, she was on the verge of tears. This was a bewildering situation for both Dolph and Mac, who had proudly declared he would protect her. Above all…

[C-Chancellor?! How are you here?!! Mac! Don’t touch her!! The Chancellor isn’t an enemy…?! Kyaaat!!!]

Before receiving the knocks, Mac, unaware of the relationship between the Chancellor and Ragni, had drawn his sword upon seeing the Chancellor’s sudden raid, thinking she was an “enemy of the Empire,” but stopped at Ragni’s command. Of course, he tried to draw his sword again due to the continued verbal and physical abuse, but was halted by the Chancellor’s tremendous presence and…

“Uwuu… I said I’m sorry. Please stop hitting my head…”

“Tch! I can’t tell you to put the spilled dung back into your anus. I’ll let it go at this for now.”

“Hiing…”

…by Ragni’s weak and cute demeanor, which she had never shown before. That sight made it clear that the Imperial Princess and the Chancellor of Neti must be close.

“So, what are you planning to do? You told me before that you had no intention of returning to the royal family, but have you changed your mind?”

“…O-of course not.”

*Glare!!*

“Of course not, ma’am?!”

The Chancellor, who normally wouldn’t care if Ragni spoke informally, now showed her displeasure by using magic to create a chair far more luxurious than the princess’s and sat with her legs crossed. It was clear to anyone that she was saying through her actions: I outrank you here.

“Then, are you really using your royal title to stop the war? Do you know what condition the Empire’s people are in when you say that?”

“…I do. Of course I do.”

Ragni’s original four-stage plan involved putting the revolutionary group and its leader, a man named William, at the forefront to spark revolutionary winds throughout the Empire. This would have caused the Helgot Duchy, which wouldn’t have been crushed otherwise, and other pro-war domains to mobilize against the revolutionaries. Meanwhile, Ragni herself planned to move her troops under the pretext of dealing with the revolutionaries and plunder the empty territories like a burglar. That was her plan, but…

“Revolutionary Princess. Blue Light Princess. Princess of Treason. Red-Eyed Revolutionary Princess. Princess who killed the High Priestess. Princess who made a pact with demons for her people. Which one of these was your intended title for stopping the war? I can feel your overflowing greed.”

“Uuugh!! N-none of those are right! They all spread on their own!!”

Setting aside William, the leader of the revolutionary group, now even the revolutionaries themselves were beginning to be perceived as troops under “Princess Ragni Bluemoon Ottoman.” Moreover, William, who should have been refuting this directly…

[Isn’t this good? The revolution needs justification, doesn’t it?]

…was instead spreading it widely among the people and even seeking Ragni’s counsel. Now, it was impossible to maintain the image of the revolutionary group at the forefront with Ragni operating from the shadows.

“Uwuu, this isn’t what I wanted… what I planned…”

“Hmph! It’s your own fault for acting without saying anything!! Anyway, how much do you know now?”

“About what?”

As if indicating that the scolding time was over, the Chancellor changed the subject, and seeing Ragni’s puzzled expression, she sighed deeply before speaking.

“About the current situation in the Empire. The already chaotic state has become even more confused with you and me taking action. Moreover, the fact that the Church and demons have joined hands was information even the pro-war faction didn’t know. No, to be precise, even the demons themselves didn’t know exactly.”

“…Information even demons don’t know? Wait, the Church has completely joined hands with demons? Ah, t-the High Priestess I faced did mention absorbing a demon. Are you saying the entire Church has been in cahoots with demons?”

“Yes, that’s what the slave girl I brought to chase you said. Additionally, she mentioned that the presence of two demons comparable to the Seven Deadly Sins has disappeared from this country recently. One of them might be the demon you killed.”

The slave the Chancellor mentioned—Ragni immediately realized who she was referring to. No way, did this middle-aged Chancellor decide to enslave the high-ranking demon she captured? But, two demons? The priestess I faced was only using the power of the Sin of Envy…

“Tsk! According to the slave, she sensed power equivalent to the Seven Deadly Sins in the Muller domain. And in that domain…”

The Chancellor explained that Grace Muller had submitted a leave of absence from the Academy and returned to her domain, and…

“I-Ira is in the Empire?!! No!! What were Rey and Gor doing…!!!”

“Stupid assistant! It’s your fault!!! I heard reports that she was jumping up and down, crying and making a fuss in the middle of Neti city, saying she wanted to see you, and then my disciple got into a fight with that blonde woman!! My beloved disciple has such crazy talent!!”

The Chancellor answered with an expression that made it unclear whether she wanted to be angry or proud, and Ragni muttered to herself, “T-to see me…”

To think that Ira came to this dangerous land because of me, and even encountered one of the Seven Deadly Sins. She was safe only because Gor and Rey were with her, but she and her friends, as well as the entire group, could have been in real danger.

“…Ugh.”

“Tch! If you’re going to make that face, you shouldn’t have moved in the first place! Fine. It seems you know less than I do, and since you’ve stirred things up this far, the Empire will have no choice but to act more passively from now on. You should go to the Muller domain, join your companions, and return to Neti.”

“W-wait! I…!!”

“You said you would renounce your position as royalty. You shouldn’t be involved in this matter any further. You understand that, don’t you?”

“Ugh!”

Whether the Empire wins or loses, any royalty or church members involved with demons will be subject to punishment by humanity. Even if she claimed ignorance, Ragni Bluemoon Ottoman, as a member of the royal family who allowed the current situation, would bear the same responsibility. Knowing this, she was at a loss for words, and the Chancellor continued quietly.

“I know you intended to operate from the shadows rather than taking the spotlight. You calculated that this would allow you to conclude everything cleanly by saying ‘there was never any princess.’ But look at the situation now. No one would believe that you weren’t involved. Am I wrong?”

“…That’s.”

“Moreover, even if we split the Empire in half with you as the axis, mountains of problems would remain. According to the latest intelligence, more than half of the Imperial army has already headed to Ponia. I found out about this too late.”

“What?! W-wait!! They’ve only been conscripting for a few months, how could they have gone to Ponia already! That’s impossible…!!”

“That’s also the power of demons. The slave mentioned that the Demon of Greed would be summoned to this country.”

So it was finally summoned. And it devoured and moved the troops. After explaining this, the Chancellor scratched her head vigorously and stood up, as if to say the conversation was over.

“You should go back. There’s no point in shaking the Empire any further.”

“…No. I…”

“I’ll take care of your disposition. I’ll transform into your appearance and die by the pro-war faction’s blade. That will ignite the seeds of revolution you’ve sown and burn down the current Empire.”

“……”

The anti-war princess who became a symbol of revolution dies by the pro-war faction’s blade. This would take the form of the murder of a royal who represented the people’s voice, creating an unstoppable flame of public outrage. It would certainly become a force that would change the current Empire. But…

“No.”

“Don’t be stubbo—”

“Absolutely not!”

*Thump!*

Ragni stood up from her chair and glared into the Chancellor’s eyes.

At first, she had only thought of using the people’s support to increase her skill abilities. But now…

[Thank you, Crown Princess!]

[Please help us!!]

[We support you!!]

[Hurrah!! Long live the Princess!!!]

“They told me they would entrust their future to me. So they are my people. I don’t want to betray the trust they’ve given me.”

She had always known about her future punishment, and now she knew about the crisis facing her companions. But that couldn’t be an excuse to betray the people’s trust. Ragni truly believed this as she looked at the Chancellor, and…

“…You people really…”

*Rumble!!!*

“Kuk?!!”

Blue magical power shook the entire building and began to press down on Ragni as if to swallow her. The Chancellor noticed her resolve, but nevertheless…

“I’m sorry, but this time I don’t think I’m wrong. After sleeping for about a week, you’ll find yourself in Neti.”

The Chancellor responded to Ragni’s sincere gaze and answer with a violent storm of magical power.