The Confession Attack (4)
News that a war had broken out spread rapidly across the continent.
"The western regions have always had their share of small skirmishes, but..."
"This is the first time I’ve seen a war of this scale. They say all the troops have been funneled into that area."
"The intent is painfully obvious, starting with the deployment of troops along the border."
"It’s not just a light standoff, either. They are moving at a national level."
"What goods were we trading with the kingdoms of Chiruen and Maserin?"
"I shall compile the list."
"Do it quickly. If we mess this up, prices will skyrocket."
In this situation, the ones who suddenly found themselves in a desperate plight were the nations bordering the kingdoms of Maserin and Chiruen. Once a war begins, there is no telling when it will end, and everything is bound to change. To mitigate the fallout, everyone was scrambling as if their very feet were on fire.
"What is the current status of the war?"
"There haven't been any major clashes yet; they are maintaining a standoff, merely exchanging magic."
"But is it really because of that rumor? The one about the Second Prince of the Empire’s confession..."
A single rumor that most people had simply laughed off in the streets. Who could have known that it would truly become the spark for war?
"I knew Crown Princess Mirne was popular, but I had no idea it was to this extent."
The story that the Empire’s Second Prince had confessed and had yet to receive an answer spread across the continent. Almost simultaneously, a massive number of messenger birds visited the Maserin Kingdom. Because stories of love crossing borders are inherently stimulating and sweet, people were intensely curious about how this tale would end. However, the focus of that interest was never war.
A war sparked by love? And it wasn't even just any love.
"A war to hear the answer to a confession... or to be precise, was it just a demand to possess her?"
"You are correct. Based on the movements identified so far, once it became known that Crown Princess Mirne was receiving countless proposals, the Chiruen Kingdom decided to just go all-in and started the war."
"A war for that reason... ha."
"They even used the excuse that she was 'toying with people's hearts.' The core justification is 'the crime of toying with the heart of a royal.'"
"...."
The departments in charge of diplomacy and intelligence in each country were beyond having a headache; they were feeling the strain in their very necks. Of course, if one were to ask, "Can that be a justification for war?" the answer would be yes. But that didn't mean actually waging a war was a different matter entirely. However, not every country was racking its brains like this. The ones with the most urgent problems were the neighboring countries where the war had spread, while those further away simply watched the fire from across the river.
And among them, the one undoubtedly preparing to watch the spectacle with the most amusement was—
"Excuse me, but I’m not sure how I should address you..."
"You can comfortably call me 'Staff No. 1' or Teo. Your Excellency the Chancellor, please, speak informally to me."
"Haha, how could I speak informally so easily? Teo... aren't you also the closest aide to His Highness?"
"You recognize me! But still, I would like you to think of me comfortably!"
"Haha, of course, that is comfortable. There is no need for close aides to be stiff with each other, is there? So, Teo, you may call me... no, call me Chancellor comfortably. Or you can call me by my name. I am Ruben Argal."
"I am Teo Zain! I look forward to working with you! Chancellor!"
It was the Bellos Empire. Following the Crown Prince's orders, they were planning to secretly assist the Chiruen Kingdom from the shadows, and they were currently discussing how to "cook" this war to their advantage.
"You said that civilian casualties must never occur. That is the part His Highness the Crown Prince emphasized repeatedly."
"That is correct. We will assist only the military... The first method that came to mind is to secretly infiltrate the 'Staves' to facilitate the flow of mana and amplify the power of their magic."
"That’s not bad. I don't know much about magic, but if we do that, the Chiruen Kingdom's magic will be more powerful... It will provide an advantage in the standoff."
"Actually, I think means other than magic are quite limited. His Highness the Crown Prince has also forbidden direct armed conflict."
"Hmm, Teo's words also have merit. After all... the knights honestly have too many restrictions."
How to help? How much appropriate seasoning should be sprinkled on this war? The Empire's leadership engaged in endless discussions about this, and the problem that arose in the process was the deployment of the knights. Since they were providing secret support, it would be good to whittle down the Maserin Kingdom's forces, so they wanted to disguise the knights and send them in, but the overwhelming power of the Bellos Empire acted very poorly in this situation.
"To think that our Empire's power being too strong would be a problem."
"As the Grand General said, the Empire's knights are too strong. And because they are strong, their aura is distinct; the moment they reveal their power, they will be discovered."
"It cannot be helped."
The Grand General, Akam Bellos, crossed his arms and showed a regretful expression.
"The moment they reveal their power, flames will rise... Anyone could see that it belongs to Bellos, couldn't they?"
"That is correct. Therefore, deploying knights is impossible."
Sol Bellos. The power of the sun swallowed by the great prophet was not permitted only to the royal family. Because fire is inherently something that grows and strengthens the more it is shared, the Empire's knights could all use the power of the sun, even if the names of their techniques differed. The various powers derived from Sol Bellos inherited the strength of the original, so the moment they revealed their power, they displayed an overwhelming presence that could never be hidden.
"Because only the Bellos Empire handles mana and aura like flames."
A sense of pride bloomed at the corners of the Grand General's mouth as he muttered that.
"Still, it makes no sense for the knights to not move at all, so we should at least do enough to ensure the Staves are escorted and that they aren't ambushed while transporting supplies."
"So that was the method. As expected of the Grand General."
"Haha, Teo, you don't have to speak so sweetly to me. Aren't we all close aides, as you said?"
"...!!! It is an honor!!!"
"You didn't seem to say it was an honor to me, the Chancellor. Perhaps it is because I have retired from active duty..."
"Ah, that’s not it..."
"Haha, I’m joking. It reminds me of my grandson."
The heartwarming conversation lasted only a moment.
"Then, have we decided that the Staves will handle magic support and the knights will handle supply escort?"
"That seems to be the range within which we can help as much as possible without being discovered."
"Hmm, I see. Let us proceed that way."
Everyone stopped the idle talk, quickly reached a conclusion, and ended the meeting. Everything for the Empire. With those words, the first Chiruen Kingdom support meeting came to an end.
***
At the time the support meeting was being held.
"I wonder how Mirne will come out."
"Your Highness! This humble one predicts that she is preparing a very terrifying and evil plan!"
"...The Maserin Kingdom side?"
"Yes!"
"Can I know the basis for that?"
"It is my intuition! Woo-hang!"
I was talking in the bedroom with Arveda. It wasn't for any particular purpose, but since I had made a plan to watch how the Maserin Kingdom would move for the time being, there was nothing to do right now but watch the "fire from across the river."
'But of course, Maserin would win the war even without anything special happening.'
It wasn't just the Empire that had supported the Maserin Kingdom in the past. From the Holy Kingdom to the Magic Tower, they must have been pouring resources into the Maserin Kingdom diligently. That alone would be enough to easily defeat a kingdom with a name one had never heard of before.
"I wish a few hidden trump cards of the Maserin Kingdom would come out."
"That is correct!"
Rolling around. Arveda rolled around on the bed, appropriately agreeing with my words.
"Come to think of it, the movements of the black mages have decreased significantly since the Maserin Kingdom and the Chiruen Kingdom started running wild."
Then she spat out a very sharp remark.
"Ah."
Even I, who was listening, was taken aback.
'She's right.'
I realized that no stories related to black mages had been coming up in recent reports, and I could immediately guess the reason.
'The protagonist is moving the world view, so it makes no sense for sub-stories to pop up on their own where the protagonist isn't present.'
The core of a novel is developing the story around the protagonist. In that sense, the contents related to black mages were currently on pause because Mirne couldn't pay attention to them right now.
"I want to dig out more black mages by taking advantage of this time."
Is there a need to wait until they transform? I felt that now was the perfect time to dig into the black mages.
'Anyway, I can't provide much support to the Chiruen Kingdom, so I have time on my hands. So if I dig up the black mages and find out about the Demon King and the demons...'
Just as my head was spinning like that—
"...Your Highness, I feel strange."
"Hmm?"
"Something... I feel dizzy... and someone is calling me."
"...?"
Suddenly, Arveda jumped up from the bed and turned her head toward the window. And at the same time, a system message appeared.
The dragon calls to the half whose hidden name has been revealed.
Arveda's Covenant is moving.
As soon as I saw that, I realized it.
"How absurd."
What Mirne is trying to use in the war.
"Is it right to treat another country's precious dragon princess like this?"
"Y, Your Highness?"
Is she trying to use Arveda in the war? By using her true name?
"Ha."
That won't happen. I'll sprinkle some red pepper powder properly. But first.
"I, I... I feel like I'm going to be moved somewhere suddenly."
I have to ruin the first plan.
"It's okay, don't worry, I'm here."
Arveda won't be handed over.