Trolley Dilemma
A thousand years had passed, yet the royal palace of the capital still stood firm in its place. Repeated reconstructions had altered the materials, forms, and appearances of the buildings, but the fundamental framework remained unchanged.
"…."
As dawn began to break, I walked through the kingdom with Tina and Alfred at my side. The chill of the early morning air brushed against me as I passed through places still vivid in my memory, and a strange wave of nostalgia washed over me.
I passed the lodging where I had once stayed a thousand years ago, then the garden where Varius had proposed to me, until at last the vast plaza where I had fought them all came into view.
"Ha."
A dry laugh escaped me. The plaza looked utterly unchanged—and utterly peaceful, as though it had long since forgotten what had happened here a thousand years ago.
With every step I took across that square, the memories of that day returned in sharp, vivid detail. The moment I had so leisurely overwhelmed them all. The moment I had faltered at the sight of Lilianel taken hostage. The moment chains had finally bound my entire body and sealed me away. The moment I realized I had been stabbed in the back.
"…."
I stopped at the very spot where the Saintess's silver chains had wound around me, where Lilianel had struck me across the face. A small statue stood there now.
It depicted a magnificent sword driven upside down through a skull. At its base, a single line of elegant script had been carved:
In commemoration of the First Hero sealing away the calamity of mankind.
"…."
A monument celebrating my sealing. It was rather ironic that, for all its commemorative purpose, it bore not a single name of those responsible.
My own name being omitted I could understand—I had been recorded as an unprecedented calamity. But why had Varius's name been erased from history as well? Why was even this monument, raised to honor his deeds, silent on the matter of who he was?
Normally, the first Hero would only grow more celebrated with the passage of time, his legacy carefully preserved so that none would forget. So what, exactly, had happened among those left behind after I was sealed a thousand years ago?
…Those were the things I would have to uncover from now on.
"…."
First things first—I launched a basic attack and shattered the unpleasant monument. I had no need for a statue that blindly celebrated the day of my sealing without knowing a thing about the truth of what had actually happened.
A heavy crash rang out.
The statue, which some skilled artisan had clearly labored over, returned at once to its primordial form: a heap of broken stone.
"Ugh…!"
At the dull impact and the cloud of dust that rose from it, the kingdom's true power—the head of the Ten Council, Mijael—who had been following me at a distance, flinched hard.
"Ah…."
Having reduced the statue to rubble, I slowly turned my head toward her. The moment her eyes met my crimson gaze, Mijael hastily looked away. I could see cold sweat beading on her forehead.
I approached her. Looking her up and down with a frigid stare, I spoke.
"…I believe I gave you three hours."
I had issued a stern warning to her and the other nobles of the Ten Council: find Lilianel's whereabouts within three hours.
"So how many hours has it been now?"
"S-six hours have passed…."
Mijael answered. Her bowed body trembled like a phone set to vibrate. I brought my lips close to her ear and whispered softly.
"…Twice the time has gone by. Naturally, you've found her, yes?"
"…."
"Or do you want to die?"
"U-uaaah…."
At my icy warning, Mijael let out a whimper. Then she slammed her forehead against the ground and prostrated herself before me once more. A voice close to a scream rang out across the plaza.
"I-I'm so sorryyyyy!! Everyone is doing everything they possibly can—please, just a little more time, just a little more!!"
"Hmm…."
I looked down at her coldly. If people competent enough to have managed the kingdom's entire internal affairs still couldn't find her, then Lilianel must have gone into hiding in earnest.
"Hey."
Imagining Lilianel's foxlike face, I frowned. At the displeasure in my voice, Mijael slowly raised her head.
I told her:
"…Gather them all."
The throne of the audience chamber, where a king would normally sit in majesty and look down upon all present. At the moment, it was occupied by me—someone as far from royalty as one could get—legs crossed with insolent ease.
Tina and Alfred stood guard at either side of me, while skeletal knights in luxurious armor lined both walls of the chamber in place of the royal guard.
"I-I've gathered them all…."
Mijael bowed her head as she spoke, having assembled the entire Ten Council at my command. With Lilianel fled and one of them already dead by my hand, eight people stood before me in total.
I swept a cold gaze over them and spoke. The audience chamber was so vast that my voice echoed as though we were inside a cave.
"Good. Now talk."
"T-talk about what, exactly…?"
"Whatever you've found out. Report it."
"Y-yes, understood…."
Mijael lowered her head again. Then, after steadying herself, she began to report what they had learned regarding Lilianel's location.
"We judged that the Prime Minister, having anticipated the attack on the capital, would have fled to another city within the kingdom. All of us have mobilized every connection we have to track her down, but the situation has proven… difficult."
"…Why?"
"The lords of the other cities have been extremely uncooperative. Some territories have already severed their Teleportation Hubs and cut off carrier-pigeon communications. Others have openly declared hostility."
"Hostility, is it…."
"…It seems these people had already arranged in advance to cooperate with Prime Minister Lilianel no matter what happened."
"Hmm…."
What kind of figure was Lilianel in this kingdom, that even after watching Elmaile and the capital fall, they would still rally behind her and try to stand against me?
Did they believe they had some hidden trump card I didn't know about—some reason to think they could win?
Or was it simply that their noble human pride couldn't bear bowing their heads to a vampire?
"…Of course, a very small number of lords did express a willingness to cooperate actively, on the condition that their territories' safety be guaranteed. Unfortunately, they were of little help."
"…."
Even the ones quick enough to read the room had proven useless. A hollow laugh was all I could manage. I asked Mijael:
"…What exactly are the ones siding with Lilianel counting on? No amount of gold is worth more than a life."
"Well…."
Mijael answered hesitantly.
"I-I believe it's because the 'Hero' remains at the Prime Minister's side."
"The Hero…?"
"Yes. He has always resolved every crisis facing the kingdom so cleanly that people call him the 'Wings of Hope.' They seem to believe he'll somehow handle this as well."
"Hmm…."
"Judging by the fact that the hostile lords have even shut down the Teleportation Hubs installed in their territories, it appears they intend to eliminate every possible avenue of approach to their lands and simply hold out until the Prime Minister and the Hero somehow turn things around."
"…."
So they were going to dig in and endure, no matter what—placing all their faith in that single Hero, a descendant of Varius.
"Also, if they cooperate with us and the Hero then goes on to win, they would be branded as irredeemable traitors. That seems to be making them even more cautious."
"…."
I furrowed my brow at Mijael's words.
Well, it was a situation that occurred often enough even in real-world wars. People who sided with the enemy, certain of their victory, only to find their own side miraculously triumphing—and themselves branded as traitors.
Yes, I couldn't say I failed to understand their choice.
"…Fine."
But how many people would cling to that choice with the destruction of their territory—with death itself—staring them in the face?
I rose from the throne and addressed Mijael.
"Draw up a list of the territories cooperating with Lilianel and the ones that have declared hostility against us, and hand it over."
"Pardon? Y-yes, u-understood…."
"…And deliver this message to every one of those lords."
I smiled, my eyes flaring with light. To a third party, the expression must have looked thoroughly chilling.
"Starting now, I'm going to destroy your territories one by one, in order."
A sharp edge entered my voice. At that brutal warning, Mijael flinched hard.
"D-destroy them, you say?"
"That's right. I'll reduce them to ruins so thoroughly that Elmaile and the capital will look gentle by comparison."
"…U-understood."
"However—any territory that voluntarily reveals Lilianel's location, that one alone I will spare."
If I simply destroyed every territory, I would eventually be left with only the one where Lilianel was hiding—but that would take far too long.
So I was giving them an additional option.
…Tell me where Lilianel is, and your territory alone will be left intact.
It would be an agonizing choice for the lords. They would have to weigh their loyalty to Lilianel against the safety of their people.
Could they really hold out on faith in the Hero alone while the territories under them fell one after another? Would they endure that psychological pressure?
If I slowly crushed the nearest territories and tightened the noose around their throats, the glares and resentment of their own people would eventually force someone to talk.
Perhaps even the lord sheltering Lilianel would volunteer to hand her over.
The Hero's symbolic power and the faith placed in him?
Loyalty toward Lilianel?
…In the end, nothing could overcome the terror of death standing right before one's eyes.
"So—among the territories that sided with Lilianel, which one is closest to the capital?"
I asked Mijael. She searched her memory carefully before answering.
"N-north of the capital, a day and a half's travel away—a territory called Rieli. It has fewer than ten thousand residents. A very small territory that survives on tourism."
"Rieli…?"
My eyes widened.
What on earth was the lord of such a tiny territory counting on, to decide on resistance? Major cities had fallen without a fight. He had to know his own city would be swept away without being able to do a thing.
"…The lord of Rieli, Chris Evergrit, and his people are individuals of extremely strong justice and conviction. Their territory nearly fell to a monster invasion once before, so their hatred of monsters is also very intense."
"…."
"Furthermore, his second daughter—a girl named Judith Evergrit—recently joined the Hero's party. Whether he likes it or not, Chris has no choice but to stand with the Hero and the Prime Minister for his daughter's sake."
"The Hero's party…!"
So the territory had produced a companion of the Hero.
For a place that small to have sent someone into the Hero's party, she was probably held up as the pride of the entire territory.
They already harbored a fierce hatred of monsters, and now the lord's own daughter had become a companion of the Hero.
…Turning coat on the Hero and Lilianel like a common opportunist would be difficult with that many eyes watching.
"…Will you be deploying an army?"
Mijael asked, her body trembling with tension. I shook my head with a smile.
"An army…? You said the territory has ten thousand people?"
It was closer to a large village than a proper territory. With the Teleportation Hub already cut off, spending a day and a half racing there myself just to wipe out one tiny place—or sending a vast skeleton army against opponents who weren't even numerous—was inefficient either way.
…Instead, I called to Tina, who stood behind me.
"…Tina?"
"Yes, Master."
At my summons, she stepped forward. I issued a single order to my loyal undead servant.
"Go turn that territory called 'Rieli' into an appropriate wasteland. Ah—and bring the lord back alive."
As long as the lord was the father of a Hero's companion, taking him hostage would make it that much easier to draw out either the Hero or his companions. He seemed like a useful hostage to keep around.
And for handling all of that, Tina alone was more than enough.
"Leave it to me."
Hearing my words, Tina lifted the hem of her maid uniform and bowed her head with perfect courtesy.
…Meanwhile, the expression on Mijael's face as she watched us had frozen solid.
"Y-you're sending just one person…?"
"Hmm…? Just one? 'Just'? That's a funny thing to say."
I snorted at Mijael's unnecessary concern.
In this era of across-the-board power decline, sending Tina to destroy a single village wasn't "just" anything—it was extravagance.
I was doing them the courtesy of sending an opponent far beyond their level. If anything, they ought to be grateful.
"Don't look so shocked. Next time, you'll get to watch a major city fall to a single undead."
"A m-major city…?"
Mijael's face went deathly pale.
She couldn't begin to guess what I meant by that—not yet.
But if no one came forward to reveal Lilianel's location, then from here on out, only greater deaths awaited them.
The choice was theirs alone.