Toppling the Empire (6)
"Hey, take a look at this!"
"Wh-why is there so much food?"
Northern front, Repeldown.
It had once been part of Eisenberg territory, but now it belonged to the Empire.
The Empire's knights and soldiers couldn't hide their awe at the sight of Repeldown's fortress.
"Hmm, what's this?"
"Looks like barrier formulas. Probably a device protecting the entire fortress."
At the fortress's highest point, the walls were densely inscribed with magical formulas. Layer upon layer of magic circles resembled a single work of art.
Wolfram Duke, tasked with overseeing the newly subjugated north, spoke flatly.
"Activate it. I need to check its performance."
"That's..."
5th-circle chief mage Karrin bit his lip slightly.
"It's from a realm far beyond us..."
"Call a higher mage, then?"
"Even a grand mage couldn't handle it."
This much, at least, Karrin could say.
"It's magic from an incomprehensibly superior level. No one in the Empire could analyze it."
The barrier formulas encircling the fortress were high-dimensional magic far beyond Karrin's comprehension. It wasn't just a matter of lower skill level. He'd never seen or even heard of magic like this.
...Does that mean the Liannen Kingdom has achieved magical advancement incomparable to ours?
"Hmm. I see. Then we'll demand mages in the next tribute."
"Pardon? I thought the tribute was settled with the northern lands."
"What nonsense is that?"
Wolfram Duke clasped his hands behind his back and opened the window.
"Tribute is something you send every year-end, naturally."
"Didn't we make a pact?"
"Fine, change the word. We'll ask for gifts instead."
It was mere wordplay. But when the speaker wielded overwhelming power, it changed everything.
Infuriating and unjust as it was, they had no choice but to comply. The Empire excelled at exploiting that.
"Still, to see such achievements from a tiny kingdom like this... impressive."
Wolfram stroked his white goatee, running his hand along the wall. Fine architecture. This fortress wouldn't crumble easily.
"Experience fighting the demonkin, perhaps. In that case—their commander is incompetent."
"Why is that?"
As Karrin looked puzzled, Wolfram stood by the window again and said,
"A competent commander wouldn't give the enemy a chance to gain experience. They should've defended the north at any cost."
Wolfram agreed that the Liannen Kingdom might one day surpass the Empire. A typical military man, he knew well what battlefield experience meant to soldiers. Even one taste of combat changed their very aura.
And that experience grew steeper against stronger foes. Demonkin made ideal opponents.
Wolfram had long wished to hone his forces against demonkin.
"But the Liannen Kingdom traded its future for immediate gain. How could they not be incompetent?"
He sneered at the Liannen Kingdom.
"Our great Empire will grow even mightier by slaying demonkin. If a puny kingdom strengthened itself through war with them, what more need I say of us?"
"Indeed. As expected of Duke Wolfram—your vision far exceeds mine."
Karrin bowed in admiration.
Then Wolfram, peering out the window, spotted something. Karrin noticed it too.
In the barren frontline, a white-haired girl strode boldly into the fortress.
"What's that?"
"Probably a Liannen Kingdom citizen who hasn't heard the territory's changed hands."
Information traveled poorly in remote borders. Just as he assumed she was unaware the north had fallen to the Empire—
"Kill her."
Wolfram pointed at the white-haired girl with a impassive face.
It took Karrin a moment to process.
"...Pardon?"
"An intruder trespassing on the great Empire's territory."
Karrin could only panic. The girl was close enough to identify with the naked eye—and she looked so young. Ordering the death of such a child... any human would hesitate.
"What are you doing? Kill her already."
"B-but—"
Wolfram's gaze turned icy.
"Planning to defy orders?"
"N-no, sir! I just thought... it might cause political issues."
Wolfram chuckled.
"I wanted to see your magic skills anyway."
"...Won't it still be a political problem?"
"Wandering around here? She's a commoner. You think any kingdom would turn against the Empire over some worthless peasant?"
As Wolfram moved to repeat the order, he furrowed his brow.
Where'd she go?
The girl who had stood on the pristine snowfield was gone. Only cold flurries swirled in her place.
"Strange."
A clear, crystalline voice came from beside them.
Wolfram and Karrin froze, unable to twitch a finger.
"No humans this weak should be here."
Karrin slowly turned his head.
"...And no humans this ugly either. Not from Liannen, then?"
"Who are you?"
To Wolfram's question, Freya tilted her head curiously.
"A demon."
"A d-demonkin here? Why?"
"I declared war. Demonkin are learning manners, you see."
"...Declared war? Never heard of it."
"Oh."
Freya nodded as if realizing something.
"Declarations of war have to reach the enemy, huh. Noted for next time."
"Karrin! Stall! I'll fetch the knights!"
Wolfram barked urgently, heading for the door.
Karrin tried to cast a spell at the order—but lost all will to fight upon seeing the girl.
She was juggling Duke Wolfram's severed head like a toy, tossing it into the air.
"H-heh...?"
Karrin's legs gave out, and he collapsed.
Tears welled in his eyes as his body shuddered violently.
"A-aaaah!"
He scrambled away on all fours.
Freya cocked her head, intrigued, and followed the crawling human.
"Why run?"
"A-aaah."
Urine soaked the floor.
Freya was suddenly in front of him, staring with her pale pupils.
"Sp-spare me. Please, please!"
Only then did Freya understand Karrin's emotion. He was fleeing to survive.
And with that, disappointment settled in.
"You... won't fight?"
Fight...?
Karrin blankly looked up. As a mage, he could see it: the overwhelming mana of the being before him. Just gazing at it made his stomach churn—
"Bleurgh!"
Karrin vomited.
Startled as something spewed from the human's mouth, Freya stepped back.
Seizing the gap, Karrin fled down the stairs like a madman.
Freya sighed softly and muttered,
"I spared him because he seemed the strongest."
"S-save me! Is no one there? Protect me! PROTECT ME, I SAY!"
Freya's disappointment deepened.
This wasn't what she'd hoped for.
"I've seen a farmer before."
Back then, hunger had driven her to a human village. Among demonkin, Freya was quite the news hound, but hunger was hunger.
That's when she spotted a farmer.
"Even knowing I was a mighty demon, he didn't flee."
The farmer gripped his hoe like a weapon, aiming it at Freya. His arms trembled wildly, his eyes brimming with terror. The hoe bore traces of recent fieldwork—his callused fingers told of a harsh life.
He knew. A mere dirt-digging hoe couldn't fell demonkin, let alone monsters.
Yet the farmer never dropped it. Instead, he bellowed,
—"Begone, fiend!"
Terror. But transcending it: worry for his village. The willingness to sacrifice his life for others—
It satisfied Freya, who needed just a meal.
"That emotion was delicious."
Recalling the rare good taste, Freya smiled faintly.
"So I spared him. He treated me to a fine feast."
But her smile faded at the sight of Karrin crawling down the stairs.
"You, though... even killing you wouldn't taste as good as that farmer's hoe-tip."
Freya slowly reached toward Karrin.
"Still, you never know."
Crunch!
Freya clenched her fist.
With a gruesome sound, Karrin's body burst apart.
**
"The Empire has subjugated the Liannen Kingdom! Without spilling a drop of blood!"
The Empire was enduring hard times. Noble merchant guilds, once booming from war profiteering, still reveled in luxury, but commoners were crushed by taxes and soaring prices.
Nobles had hiked taxes under pretext of domain wars; ruined farmlands crawled with debt collectors instead of tenant farmers. The capital and noble lands remained opulent, but frontiers and villages knew hunger and plague as daily life.
Yet the Empire was the mightiest nation in human history. It had swallowed half the continent, plainly dominating the world. Imperials endured their hardships with that pride.
"The Empire is truly great!"
In such times, a rumor that some kingdom might surpass them scarred Imperial hearts deeply. Reclaiming northern territory was like rain after drought.
The policy of demanding tribute from Liannen reflected that sentiment.
But the Empire's joy didn't last.
"Demonkin invasion?"
"Y-yes, sire. The northern territory has already fallen. Duke Wolfram perished; Duke Damian is holding as regent, but reports say it'll fall soon..."
The demonkin incursion struck the Empire like a bolt from the blue.
Even a passing baron's daughter could see they needed recovery. The treasury was empty; nobles had lost troops in endless domain skirmishes.
"To lose even that scrap of land! We shouldn't have trusted Duke Wolfram!"
"Your Majesty! Grant me full command! With your glorious legions, I'll annihilate the northern demonkin!"
Nobles pounded tables loudly, but sweated coldly inside.
Who was Duke Wolfram? The iron-blooded duke who ruled the Empire's north. If even he fell, the demonkin were stronger than expected.
"Who will fill Duke Wolfram's vacancy?"
At the emperor's words, nobles slyly averted eyes. Vast lands were fine in theory, but the north offered nobles no profit worth claiming.
"Ahem, Duke Wolfram was just careless. The demonkin aren't that strong."
"Right. Even that puny kingdom half our size held them off for years."
"The northern nobles and Your Majesty's brave forces should suffice. Our house will sit this out."
"Ours too."
No one here sensed the Empire's doom. They just hoped to weather the crisis unscathed.
The emperor felt the same.
Losing troops here means no check on the nobles. I need forces from them somehow.
"Your Majesty, I have a fine idea!"
One noble offered a solution.
"Wasn't the north originally Liannen Kingdom's? They sat idle while demonkin invaded right next door—they bear some responsibility."
"Continue."
"Why not order Liannen Kingdom to repel the demonkin?"
"Hmm."
The emperor stroked his chin thoughtfully. Not a bad plan. Even if nobles repelled them after coaxing, he'd have to reward them. The Empire teetered on a knife-edge between nobles and throne. Granting more power to nobles was unwise.
Better to demand from Liannen with fair compensation.
"Swiftly request troops from Liannen Kingdom. Refusal means the emperor's wrath."
Meanwhile, in the Liannen Kingdom royal court.
The kingdom's key figures watched Sisilia's shoddy play with deadpan stares.
"This is the most likely scenario."
It depicted the Empire's situation. Amusingly, Queen Lydia's intuition whispered it was close to reality.
Sisilia ripped off her fake beard—from her Christmas event Santa Sisilia package—and said,
"When the Empire's envoy arrives requesting reinforcements, Your Majesty need only say one thing."
Sisilia tilted her head cutely.
"Why should I?"