Ch.304Understanding NPCs. (1)

Looking back, since recalling my past life’s memories and escaping from Ponia, what has actually gone my way besides beating up those who harassed us? There should have been at least one thing, but the fact that I couldn’t recall anything no matter how hard I tried was enough to make me question, “Is this really how my second chance at life should be?”

“So, that’s why I got angry when you started acting up too. Understand?”

“…Yes, sir.”

While I was trying to establish some authority and create a certain mood with Ragni, this tactless bastard—Kyaru, no, Kyaph—did exactly what he shouldn’t have done during the audience, which is why I left a bruise on his face. Seriously, if he had just kept his mouth shut, I would have ignored him. You know?

“…Yes. I heard you.”

“What’s with that voice?”

“YES!! I HEARD YOU, SIR!!”

Seeing him answer with a timid voice, clearly feeling wronged about being hit, I smiled brightly at him while channeling my past life’s military drill instructor. He responded promptly, sweating nervously. Seriously, why can’t he understand things the first time?

“Now, stop doing useless things and go out there and do your job.”

“Um, well…”

“Hmm? What, you still want to stay? You haven’t been hit enough?”

“No!! That’s not it!!! I haven’t yet received instructions from Your Highness about what I should be doing!”

I turned to look at Ragni, who was still sitting in her chair, looking at Dolph and me with teary eyes. She pouted and pointed at her necklace. Ah, right, I told her to keep quiet.

“Ragni, just do what you normally do. Do you have anything for him to do?”

“Ugh…!! You’re really!!!”

When I casually gave that instruction, Ragni shouted angrily, her eyebrows nearly piercing the sky.

“Absolutely not! Imperial matters are my selfish concern!! I absolutely won’t involve the rest of our companions in this…!!”

“Want to keep your mouth shut again?”

“Urgh!!!”

When I raised the corner of my mouth and grinned, Ragni was struck speechless, widening her eyes as if she’d seen some unidentified life form she’d never encountered before. Yes, I admit that until now, I would have either ignored your wishes and taken you along regardless of whether you wanted to handle Imperial matters or not. Or I would have tried to smash everything by myself while making sure the others weren’t involved. But that won’t work anymore. I’ll explain that soon. First, let’s get rid of this guy.

“…Dolph. Go meet up with Mac outside, then have him head to Helgot Duchy while the rest go to the surrounding counties. Go to territories where many people want to join the revolution, conduct covert operations like we did here, and arrange for them to make contact with William. Our meeting point will be in Helgot Duchy, prepared in the back alley slums as usual.”

“Understood.”

Wait, didn’t she say she’d only been in the Empire for just over a month? I was slightly surprised by how Ragni issued orders so cleanly, as if she’d been living this way for years. She ignored my gaze, waved her hand to dismiss him outside, and then glared at me.

“Jack, my true feelings aren’t what’s important here. The Headmaster has already started moving, and we need to speed up to match her pace. The precision and safety of our operation will decrease, and we’ll have to improvise in response to changing situations. This means everyone in our group faces a higher risk of danger.”

“I suppose so. But at the rate the Headmaster is going, don’t you think the Imperial capital won’t last more than a few days? You said even that duchy led by the pro-war noble faction didn’t last a day.”

“That’s not the case. No matter how strong she is, the Imperial capital won’t fall as easily as Helgot Duchy. That place is where ‘the Imperial family resides.'”

I pondered as I looked at Ragni, who had spoken these words seriously—words that might sound like she was underestimating the Headmaster’s abilities and being overly arrogant.

‘…Hmm. Could it be that wasn’t something Ragni set up during her time as Queen? That thing.’

“Do you understand? The reason the Empire controls the most fertile and largest land with the largest population in this continent isn’t, ironically, because they were good at attacking and invading. This country…”

“I know. For 500 years, they’ve never lost to foreign attacks, repelled them all, and absorbed all the defeated countries. And the reason is the Imperial capital. The ancient relic in the basement of the Imperial Palace, right?”

“…Huh?”

In the game, the Queen had said that she, not the previous incompetent Emperor, had set it up for constant activation, and that with her unequal contract with Greed and that relic, the Empire would never fall ‘until she died’—she had said this very confidently. Hmm, is this where reality differs from the game? As I tilted my head, recalling my past life’s memories, Ragni looked at me with an uncharacteristically surprised expression, even breaking into a cold sweat. Huh? Why?

“H-how do you know about that?! The story of the relic is a secret inscription passed down only to our Imperial family…!!”

“Oh, that.”

So she was surprised that I knew something I shouldn’t know? Thinking that Ragni, who is always so intelligent that she rarely shows surprise, looks cute when surprised, I smiled brightly. This made her blink her eyes in even greater confusion. Oh, how adorable.

“‘Future you’ told me about it. Quite confidently, in fact.”

“…What?”

I had planned to tell everyone once we were all together, but I’m getting tired of hiding it. And for what’s to come, I think it’s fine for her, the smartest among us, to know first.

“Actually, I’ve been reincarnated. And in my past life’s memories, I have memories of you, Ray, and Ira.”

“Eh?”

As she became flustered again, her unique red eyes trembling, I slowly approached her, took her hand, and began my story.

If you intend to follow the path of the Queen, I will stake everything I have to stop you. I kept that small determination properly hidden deep in my throat.

*

Ragni Bluemoon, Queen of the Ottoman Empire. In the game, she was portrayed as someone who killed the Emperor of the Empire and usurped the throne. And yet, despite this, she was described as quite popular among the Empire’s people.

[After the Queen’s reign began, public safety improved significantly.]

[The economy began to function much better.]

[Back alleys and slums were completely closed, and punishment for criminals was strengthened, drastically reducing crime rates.]

[She found and executed all nobles and officials who embezzled taxes or knowingly neglected such actions. She filled the national treasury and redistributed all of it for the welfare of the people.]

[When neighboring countries were ravaged by demons and their followers, causing an enormous number of refugees, the Queen’s policies and quick response made illegal immigration impossible, and by completely halting the issuance of citizenship to those not born in the Empire, she prevented additional problems.]

[Above all, while the entire continent is in chaos, the Empire, unlike other countries, is ‘safe’ since she took power.]

At first glance, amid the chaos of demonic invasions across the continent, it might seem like the central superpower was maintaining peace by holding the center. But through the player’s contact with the [Revolutionary Group], it was revealed that something unsettling lurked beneath.

[…Strengthened punishment for criminals. Even the tiniest misdemeanors committed by impoverished people unable to live normal lives—they’re all captured and dragged to the basement of the Imperial Palace. And.]

None have returned alive. There’s no mention of them receiving proper trials, and only those who commit serious crimes or high-ranking nobles and officials are publicly executed before the citizens. The Empire handles all their corpses, but not a single petty criminal has ever returned alive. Although welfare has been strengthened, the benefits are limited to ‘people of working age.’

If an orphan picked up a dropped purse and used it to buy bread, the owner would report it, and the guards would come and arrest them all. If an elderly nun at a church was raising orphans without reporting them, both the children and the nun would be captured.

Moreover, if people got into a physical altercation after arguing while drinking at a tavern, and someone reported them, the military would come and arrest them, and they would never return. An old man who wasn’t registered as a woodcutter was arrested for picking up fallen branches. Of course.

[They never returned either.]

That’s why the leader of the Revolutionary Group questioned the Queen’s incomprehensible tyranny and formed an underground revolutionary group to gradually rescue those being taken to the palace. And when the story progressed to where the protagonist and player confronted the Queen, the truth was revealed.

[Ha! The Empire is me, and I am the Empire. The country exists because I exist, and why should I care what happens to this country after I’m gone?]

[Criminals. Vermin who can’t even obey the law—what’s wrong with feeding them to the demon that protects the Empire? You should be grateful that this country is being protected by the flesh of these useless pieces of trash!]

[Refugees? Are you stupid? Why should I care about trash who couldn’t even protect their own country? If they couldn’t even make an effort to protect their own homes, it’s only natural for them to die on the streets.]

[Children are the future? Puhahaha!! Are you joking? There is no future for this continent. The present is only the time I live, and the future is only until the day I die.]

[Ah. The Revolutionary Group? I know, I’m letting them do as they please. They’ll eventually become necessary firewood. Neither the feed for demons nor the magical power needed to keep the relic protecting the Imperial Palace running comes for free, you know?]

[Father was foolish. All the subjects of this Empire could have been fuel to protect him, but he couldn’t use that and died at my hands.]

[You seem to think you’ve cornered me, but do you know? If I just activate the relic, the trash outside the capital won’t be able to even set foot on the capital’s soil, let alone pass through the gates.]

The Queen had made a contract with the demon of Greed to protect the Empire while she was alive. And after her death, the demon could take the souls and bodies of all the Empire’s people.

Moreover, she, who had no interest in her soul and body after death, told Greed to eat her as well after her ‘natural death.’ And her proposal, with power equal to or slightly stronger than his, was too attractive for Greed. Rather than gambling on whether he would win or lose in a fight with her, he could wait for the short life of a mortal to end, then cleanly devour her too, and in one gulp, consume all the humans of the Empire who had been contracted without their knowledge. Only, that Greed didn’t know. What she meant by protecting the Empire was.

[Do you understand that thanks to my contract with Greed, the other Seven Deadly Sins, demons, and demon followers can’t come to this Empire~? To put it simply for you idiots, the moment I die, the Empire will collapse without being able to do anything!!]

It meant that as long as she was alive, no other demon or Seven Deadly Sin could destroy the Empire. That’s why Greed, for his own greed, either devoured or fought against other Seven Deadly Sins, demons, and their followers to prevent them from attacking the Empire.

[Kill them!! Don’t let those pieces of trash come before me!!!]

That’s why he stood in the player’s way as the Queen’s subordinate, as a mid-raid boss. And he fell.

“And when the player defeats Greed, the Queen Ragni battle begins, and your ending there is…”

“W-wait! Jack. Just stop!!”

Ragni, who had been silently listening to the game’s Queen story, suddenly interrupted me as if she couldn’t bear it anymore. Huh? Why, is it weird when I tell it? Miho was always better at this kind of thing.

“N-no! Miho? Why are you suddenly mentioning that woman’s na… no, never mind. I get the general idea. More importantly, do you hate me?”

“Huh? Suddenly?”

It was my turn to be bewildered by Ragni’s words as she looked at me as if she were perplexed and dumbfounded. No, why are you suddenly asking if I hate you? Weren’t we just having a good moment? I’m still holding your hand, you know?

“N-no. But, what you’re saying about my future self in your past life. It’s just too…”

As if choosing her words carefully, struggling to express what she wanted to say, Ragni trailed off. Looking at her lips, I saw her finally speak as if she had made a life-or-death resolution.

“…I’m such a complete bitch in that story.”

Hearing Ragni’s words, which suggested she was more troubled by her character than by my past life memories or game knowledge, I could only respond with an elongated “Ah.”