Chapter 27 - The Backwater King’s Insight
The Backwater King’s Insight
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Dusky90
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: The Backwater King’s Insight
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Ragnasis.
And what it meant was… a world war!
It foretold that after an age of turmoil, when the entire continent is caught in the whirlpool of conflict, a new world would emerge.
"Ragnasis… Ragnasis…"
Wazir murmured the word again.
His expression had turned so rigid and fearsome that no one could easily bring themselves to speak to him.
"To dare speak such a thing… if Ragnasis were to unfold… do you understand what fate would await this world?"
"Since I’ve never experienced it, I can’t know everything."
…is what he said, but Otto had indirectly experienced Ragnasis before.
He had gone through it countless times while playing the game [Territory War].
At this point in time, it wasn’t an overstatement to say that no one understood Ragnasis better than Otto.
"On this continent, there won’t be a single day without war. Bodies will stack like mountains, and their blood will become an ocean."
"You little…!"
"The civilians’ losses will also exceed imagination. At least in the hundreds of millions. Thirty percent of the continent’s population. If it’s severe, up to fifty percent will die off. And in the end, a new era will open. It will become a world led by the one who becomes the final victor of the world war."
"On what basis do you spread such a ridiculous conspiracy theory?"
"I’d be a bit hurt if you call it a conspiracy theory."
Otto took a sip of the wine before him to moisten his throat, then continued speaking.
"Soon, when the Arad Empire collapses, the great powers will take the lead and a war will break out, won’t it?"
"....!"
"And that war will soon spread across the entire continent. With the existing order collapsing and control disappearing, do you think the world will stay peaceful?"
"If you want me to accept it, you’ll need far more solid evidence."
"I can give you all the evidence you want. It’s just that…"
What followed were convincing explanations from Otto about why a world war was inevitable.
And every one of those claims was true.
Since the scenario of the game [Territory War] was built that way, a world war was inevitable.
‘Th-This brat…?!’
The more Wazir listened to Otto’s words, the more he became convinced.
In truth, the scenario Otto laid out happened to be the very worst-case scenario Wazir had been considering.
Being well informed about the continent’s affairs, Wazir had already sensed that a world war might indeed erupt.
"And across the sea, the northern Tundria Continent too…"
"Hold on."
Wazir interrupted Otto and ordered a maid to bring him more strong whiskey.
"It’s a cheap liquor that doesn’t suit my palate at all, but for now, it’s drinkable."
"Is my story worth listening to now?"
"Continue."
"I can go on as much as you like."
Thus, Otto and Wazir’s discussion went on for three hours straight.
As a result.
"You… what on earth are you?"
Wazir stared at Otto with a look of utter disbelief and asked.
"What kind of man are you to possess such insight?"
"Me? I’m just the king of a backwater countryside kingdom. As you can see."
Otto spread his arms grandly and gave a casual shrug.
"If I put it in slightly dramatic terms… I’m just someone getting ready for the world war that’s on its way. That’s all."
At that moment.
*Beeep!*
A notification window appeared in front of Otto’s eyes.
[Notification: You have successfully recruited 'Wazir von Vasily'!]
* * *
‘Heheh! To think someone with such frightening insight existed in this rural backwater!’
Wazir was utterly taken in by Otto’s so-called conspiracy theory that wasn’t exactly a conspiracy.
Otto’s explanations were so convincing and plausible that they drew him in completely.
And since they weren’t so different from the thoughts Wazir already had, he found himself agreeing with much of it.
"You told Camille. That there is no future here. Then let me ask His Highness the Archduke. Does this land look like it has no future to you?"
Wazir couldn’t bring himself to answer.
‘If someone with this kind of frightening insight is its monarch… how could the future of this land possibly be bleak?’
Otto spoke to Wazir again.
"This land is like a clean canvas. A pure, untouched sheet. And it’s the only place where preparations for the coming world war can truly begin."
"Those words… do you mean you intend to recruit me?"
"I would like to."
Otto grinned.
"Isn’t it a pretty appealing position?"
"What exactly is appealing about it?"
"You’ve served major powers before, but you’ve never taken a tiny countryside kingdom and lifted it up from nothing, right?"
"Hmm!"
"What if the humble little kingdom you personally rebuild were to someday unite the whole continent and spearhead a new age? How would that make you feel?"
Wazir’s heart started pounding.
*Thump-thump!*
It was as though he had stepped back into the vigor of his youth.
Like those days in his youth when he studied politics, administration, and diplomacy and held great ambitions….
"How is it? Would you try working with me? I’ll make sure you won’t regret your choice."
"Very well."
Wazir accepted Otto’s offer.
"But I have one condition."
"Please, go ahead."
"You must never disappoint me. If you ever do…"
"Then you’re free to walk away without a second thought."
Otto felt completely assured.
Why?
Because Wazir would never have a reason to be disappointed in him!
* * *
"The war that’s coming will require us to focus on technological advancement."
"That means… the war that will break out from now on will be different from the wars until now?"
"Exactly."
"Oh-ho?"
"Once new weapons, new forms of magic, and powerful figures who’ve grown drastically stronger begin to appear, the strategies and tactics of warfare will change entirely."
"Go on."
Otto and Wazir talked back and forth deep into the night.
Otto held an impressive depth of knowledge about the game [Territory War].
And in the game, Wazir stood as the foremost intellect among all scholars.
So when these two met, their discussion rolled on endlessly, one topic flowing into another without pause.
"Zzzzz… ZzzzzzzZz…!"
Meanwhile, the head maid Olive, who had gotten utterly drunk since early evening, was fast asleep with her face on the table, drooling everywhere.
"…A soldier just follows orders."
Spooner, ever the rigid and duty-bound soldier, couldn’t stand complicated talk, so he quietly excused himself and returned to his room.
And as for Camille…
‘To think His Highness possessed such knowledge and insight….’
Camille was stunned when Otto finally showed his true colors.
Until now, he’d assumed Otto had simply snapped a little and then somehow turned over a new leaf, but that clearly wasn’t the truth.
‘Could it be that he was acting like a scoundrel on purpose?’
He even began to suspect that, for some hidden reason—though there really wasn’t one—Otto might have deliberately ruled tyrannically while concealing his real self.
A person can change, but there’s a limit, at this point, it was believable that an entirely different person had taken his place.
But in the end, it didn’t matter.
‘My lord… maybe our difficult days are truly over now.’
Camille smiled as the memory of the previous lord, Orix, came to mind.
With Otto’s transformation, it felt as if a massive upheaval was about to sweep through this land that had once been devoid of dreams or hope.
* * *
With the arrival of the three heroes, the Kingdom of Lota began undergoing rapid change.
"This place is a total disaster! Not a single competent man in sight! Not one! The finances are a wreck, the administration is chaos! How on earth have you dimwits been doing your jobs until now! You fools!"
As soon as Wazir began running state affairs, he transformed into a terrifying demon king and started pecking mercilessly at the administrative officials.
"Mm! Fine weather for a run today! Good! From this moment on, all of you will run until you throw up! Move!"
Spooner kicked off the brutal training regimen he devised, determined to forge the soldiers of the Kingdom of Lota into living weapons.
"Yessiiiiiiir!!!"
"Hiiee?!"
"How long do you plan on lazing around?! Get up this instant! Riiiiiight now!"
As Head maid, Olive began fixing every one of Otto’s trash-like daily habits one by one.
And soon, the Kingdom of Lota began to stir with new energy.
A rural village so shabby it was embarrassing to even call it a kingdom had begun to take proper shape.
But as the kingdom grew livelier, Otto only became more frail.
As January 1st approached, the curse [Utterly pathetic man] worsened, and his body began to deteriorate severely.
"Dragging in an old man who’s already retired, sitting him down here, and now you’re trying to head to the afterlife first? What an insolent brat!"
"Please be patient, Your Highness."
Camille stepped in to restrain the furious Wazir.
"They say geniuses die young, is that what’s happening to that brat?"
"No, not at all. He’s like this because he’s under a curse."
"A curse…?"
"There are circumstances. It’s something that will be resolved soon, so you don’t need to worry."
"Is that so? Hm… if that’s the case…"
Otto’s condition was so bad that even Wazir found himself worried.
His legs gave out so often he could barely walk, he suffered a heart attack at least once a day, and with poor blood circulation his skin was pale and his lips were bluish.
To anyone’s eyes, he looked exactly like someone in the final stages of a terminal illness….
"How do you feel? Are you all right?"
Camille asked Otto, who sat in his wheelchair staring out the window.
"Look at that tree."
Otto pointed to the big tree outside the window as he spoke.
"It barely has any leaves left."
"It’s winter, so isn’t that natural?"
"When all those leaves fall… I’ll die too, right?"
"...What?"
Camille scrunched his face, as if thinking Otto was spouting nonsense.
"Just like those leaves that were born in spring, lived through summer, and then fell… I too…"
*Fwoooosh!*
Suddenly, a strong wind blew, and the leaves that had been barely clinging to the tree all fluttered down at once.
"...."
Otto, having just made that dramatic remark, was left speechless in sheer disbelief.
"Is it really telling me to die…?"
At that moment.
"Khk!"
Otto clutched his chest in pain as a sudden heart attack struck him.
"Your Highness!"
Camille quickly lowered Otto to the floor and was just about to start CPR.
"Who told you you could just drop dead on your own!"
Olive came barreling in like a raging freight train and pounced on Otto.
Then she slammed her pot-lid-sized palm onto Otto’s chest and started performing CPR.
"Keheuk!"
"Stay with us! Come on!"
"Guooooh!"
"I won’t let you die!"
"Kh… kkeoek… m-my ribs… my ribs are brea— guh!"
"Don’t stop breathing! Breathe!"
Then Olive brought her lips to Otto’s for artificial respiration.
"H-Hiiieek?!"
Otto tried everything he could to dodge Olive’s attempt at mouth-to-mouth, but it was pointless.
The heart attack had disrupted the oxygen supply to his brain, and he soon lost consciousness.
"…See? This is what happens when you say unnecessary things."
Camille looked at Otto, who was receiving artificial respiration from Olive, let out a deep sigh, and shook his head.
That mouth.
It’s always Otto's mouth that causes trouble.
"Maybe it’s actually a good thing he lost consciousness…"
Muttering that to himself, Camille left Otto in Olive’s care and walked away.
* * *
Time went by, and soon January 1st was just three days away.
With a sense of urgency, Camille went to find Otto.
Because Otto had claimed he would die on January 1st, Camille came out of concern.
Yet Otto didn’t seem worried at all about the death looming ahead.
"What… exactly are you doing right now?"
Camille asked Otto.
"Can’t you tell? I’m getting my makeup done."
Otto was seated before a mirror, with Olive applying makeup on him.
"Why are you suddenly putting on makeup? Is this really the time to be getting all dressed up? You’re practically about to die!"
Under normal circumstances, Camille would have shrugged it off, trusting that Otto always had some plan.
But seeing a man in poor health — a man who was supposed to die in three days — sitting there getting his makeup done as if preparing for an outing, it was impossible not to feel frustrated.
"Don’t tell me… you’re getting ready for when you go into the coffin?"
"No? This is all part of my plan, you know?"
"How does putting on makeup count as part of a plan?"
"It is."
"What exactly are you trying to do?"
"A honey trap."
"…What?"
"With the concept of a frail, beautiful boy."
Camille gave up trying to understand.
He had absolutely no idea what kind of devious plan Otto was cooking up.