Influence
Daisyares Marie Kain, the king of the Kain Kingdom, was in a foul mood.
Joren Tamer.
The Joren who had first come to her had been a remarkably dignified and reliable knight.
The one she had seen after that was so altered she had wondered whether some botched training had been done on him.
What a frivolous, reckless, thoughtless man.
For reasons she herself did not quite understand, she had wanted to punch him, and before she knew it she had used the back of her blade to crack him on the crown of the head under the pretense of their oath.
Insufferable wretch.
No one had ever refused a proposal from her, the sovereign standing at the summit of the continent’s hegemonies.
The captain of the royal guard might not hold a lofty title, but his authority and prestige were on par with most noble ranks. To refuse that and shame her before everyone?
So the reason she disliked him was clear enough.
And yet why does that bastard’s face keep drifting through my mind?
That part, however, she did not understand at all. Which only made her more irritated.
“Tell me. Has Joren Tamer left Kainea yet?”
“Not yet, Your Majesty.”
Of course not. Barely a day had passed. The road to the far western border was long; even preparing what he needed would take several more days.
She was about to ask what he was doing now, then stopped herself.
Why am I thinking about a man like that?
Her temper flared hot.
She had work enough in front of her, with backlog after backlog of state affairs waiting for her gaze, when a report came at just the right moment.
“Your Majesty. Border Count Joren Tamer is requesting an audience.”
“Show him in.”
Daisy was puzzled. Why had that man returned?
Did he come to beg me to retract the command?
That might well be the case. Sending him away with that ridiculous title of Border Count had, in truth, been little different from exile. Since he had been granted a fief full of fiends instead of treasure, he must be sweating blood by now.
Let us see you beg.
The more he bowed his head and the more earnestly he pleaded, the more willing she would be to show mercy.
Even so, she had no intention of offering him the post of captain of the royal guard again.
“Your Majesty. I, your humble Border Count Joren Tamer, come before the great king of Kain.”
Seeing him again, she found that within half a day he had changed once more. Of course, his appearance had not changed.
So this one really did become strange after his resurrection... and now he has gone back to normal?
Unlike the flippant fool from earlier, he cut a rather imposing figure on one knee.
If it was a side effect of the resurrection, then perhaps she could afford him some leniency.
“Well. What business brings you to the throne room, Border Count?”
As she expected, he had come to ask that his appointment as Border Count be withdrawn and that he be sent back to headquarters.
Secretly, she had hoped he would beg to serve as captain of the royal guard, but...
“Your Majesty, I humbly request a few attendants.”
That answer was neither what she had expected nor what she had hoped for.
“Attendants? Have I not already entrusted you with the disposition of your subordinates?”
Daisy asked the question, masking her disappointment.
“If I recall correctly, Your Majesty once said that the members of the Purple Flag Company would not fear death if it was your order. Was there no one willing to accompany you? I heard your popularity among them was quite deep.”
Inside, she sneered. So much for their supposed loyalty and unity.
Still, she supposed few would willingly follow him out to that backwater.
“All of them are the loyal soldiers of Your Majesty, so the entire company has agreed to follow me.”
“What?”
The young queen’s brow twitched.
“Then why ask for attendants? If you need them, hire mercenaries, magicians, or pages as you see fit.”
Joren’s answer was beyond her expectations.
“I intend to take some of the imprisoned criminals with me to the territory in exchange for pardons.”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“What exactly are you thinking, Company Commander?”
“Would you at least call me lord now? I haven’t even reached the territory yet. And if possible, speak a little more gently.”
“What in the world are you thinking, my lord?”
“Well... no, that’s my fault.”
Even while walking out of the royal palace, Lilian could not make sense of it no matter how hard she tried.
“To bring prisoners to your new domain...”
It was incomprehensible.
“Her Majesty gave permission, didn’t she? You heard her say I could do as I pleased from outside. So I’m doing as I please.”
“...Do those words honestly sound to you like permission to do as you please?”
It was true that they were short on manpower, but prisoners? The Joren she knew was a knight who prized honor. She could not imagine him relying on the hands of filthy criminals.
“I’m grateful that you and the company members are willing to come with me, but I need more capable people.”
She bit her lip hard.
“Are you saying... that I alone am not enough? No, that we are not enough?!”
She shot the lord a sharp look.
“No. What’s lacking is me.”
But Joren met that gaze without a trace of agitation.
“What?”
“As you know, I was born a commoner knight. Being the lord of a territory is hardly fitting for me. If I were a hereditary knight, I might have had the chance to watch a lord close at hand and learn from him, but all I have done from childhood until now is swing a sword.”
Lilian’s expression softened a little.
By any measure, she had more shortcomings than he did, and yet he was laying the blame on himself like this.
“But... you have led our company well enough until now.”
“There is a difference as vast as that between a lizard and a dragon between charging across a battlefield as a soldier and ruling a territory. Besides...”
Joren’s warm gaze settled on her.
“The reason our company has done so well is not because I led well, but because the company members followed me well. Especially because you supported me so thoroughly. Without you, many things would have been difficult. Thank you.”
Lilian’s hardened heart melted at once.
The old Joren had been discipline itself, a commander through and through. He was a man who embodied fairness and initiative with his whole body. He earned admiration by leading the charge and withdrawing last of all, but he was not one to offer affectionate words.
Of course, that was precisely what she had respected about him.
“Sometimes, at least say something warm to the soldiers.”
“I shall.”
Whenever she said it, Joren would awkwardly reassure the soldiers. He was the sort of man who never dismissed a subordinate’s words carelessly.
And every time, Lilian would whisper to herself:
And sometimes, say something like that to me too...
But now Joren was saying those words to her.
To say something like that to me...
For days now she had been disappointed by his strange changes after the resurrection.
Yet not all of those changes had been for the worse.
You really have changed.
Joren had become gentler, and somehow more at ease.
If the aftereffects fully heal and he returns to how he was before... will even this side of him disappear?
She shook her head.
Joren was someone she respected, not an idol. She could not choose only the parts of him she liked and stitch them together into a man of her own making.
“What’s the matter? Why are you shaking your head by yourself and muttering with such a serious face?”
“...I’d rather not hear that from my lord. Rest assured, whatever that thing called a status window is, I still can’t see it.”
It seemed like the first time she had ever tried such a silly joke.
Not broadly, but faintly, Lilian found herself smiling for the first time in a long while.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The way down to the underground prison was dim and damp.
“What do you want?”
The stern-faced prison warden blocked the path of the young noble.
The warden did not even flinch when he saw the medals on the uniform and the brooch marking a count’s rank.
“I am Border Count Joren Tamer. I’ve come to release a few prisoners.”
“...Could you repeat that? You said you’ve come to visit a few prisoners?”
“Not visit. Release.”
The dumbfounded warden stared at Ho-yeong’s calm face for several seconds.
Only two explanations came to mind. Either the spider on the wall had spun a web into his ear, or this man had gone mad.
“I’d like to pick out a few useful ones and take them with me.”
Ho-yeong said it as though he were choosing produce at a market.
Two fresh apples, please.
“Ah, and the king already gave permission. Here, this is the authorization.”
When he showed the royal seal stamped boldly on the document, the warden looked as though his soul had escaped prison without him.
“...Let the Border Count Joren Tamer release the prisoners he desires, on the condition that they serve as citizens of Tamer Territory for half of the remaining length of their sentence. However, prisoners imprisoned for rebellion or treason cannot be released. ...Where is Tamer Territory?”
“A.k.a. Auphocalypse City.”
“Ah.”
The warden nodded.
“So not pardon, then. Execution.”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
A prison guard was assigned to guide Ho-yeong around.
“What about this one, my lord!”
The guard was practically glowing with enthusiasm, as if introducing merchandise.
He was a thin man covered in scars from head to toe. He gave the guard a bored glance and then rolled over.
“What was he convicted of?”
“A vicious criminal, Jagle. He got fifteen years for dozens of theft and robbery charges.”
“Let’s see. How’s his spec?”
Jagle ☆
Combat: D 15~16 (specialty: ambushing sleeping people)
Intelligence: D 8~12
Mana: F 1~3
Charm: F 1~6
Leadership: FF -8~-1
Mental Strength: FF -3~5
Edification Level: FFF -85~-70
(He plans to go to the unexplored frontier and keep robbing people once he finishes his sentence.)
Ho-yeong grimaced.
His baseline Edification Level is minus 85... and his maximum is minus 70? On top of that, the rest of his stats are utterly worthless.
Each ability value represented a base number and a maximum number. In the system of Reign of Dice, every character rolled a hundred-sided die on each use, then added that result to the base number before applying the effect. Because the outcome could vary too wildly depending on luck, each value had an upper limit.
At those numbers... even if I edify him with my ability, he’ll probably revert to his old self in no time.
When he had addressed the company members earlier, Ho-yeong had realized something: not only monsters, but people as well could become targets of Edification. That was one of the reasons he had decided to come to the prison.
But there were far too few worthwhile candidates.
“A truly vile bastard, Count. He doesn’t seem to have a shred of remorse.”
“That’s exactly the problem.”
“Pardon?”
Ho-yeong let out a deep sigh.
“You seem to be misunderstanding something. Do you think I came here to build some kind of penal battalion?”
“Th-there’s another purpose?”
“...Hah. Of course there is!”
The guard was thrown off when Ho-yeong turned away from the solitary cell.
“You thought I was planning to take the criminals who deserve death but can’t legally be executed under kingdom law, work them to the bone, and have them collapse and die from exhaustion?”
“Wasn’t that it?”
“Wrong! If my territory’s people die, that just means less tax to collect! And if I’m going to work anyone, I’m going to work useful people, not this bottom-tier trash!”
“I-I see.”
“And you. Don’t you keep dumping the troublesome criminals you don’t want to deal with on me?”
“N-no, how could that be.”
The Border Count’s head ached. Had he been overthinking things? But then again...
Who would gladly head into that monster den? Sure, if I paid a fortune, some would follow, but the budget can’t survive that. And there’s no guarantee they wouldn’t take the money and run.
So his thoughts had turned to the prisoners in the jail: an exchange of liberty for service.
“What the hell, why is it so loud?!”
At the sharp female voice, Ho-yeong turned around and was startled. She was wearing a priest’s robe instead of a prisoner’s uniform.
“Why is a clergyman in prison? Guard, what crime is she in for?”
“Priest Rubia. Two murders. But there was only one dead person.”
“What does that mean? You said two cases, so why only one person?”
The answer he got was a masterpiece.
“She killed a person, resurrected them, then killed them again.”