Chapter 131: Walking a Tightrope (5)
Chapter 131: Walking a Tightrope (5)
This war was not merely fought for the emperor's personal greed, an inability to give up on a war of conquest. It was now becoming a noble war for future generations.
People felt a sense of elation when participating in something sublime and monumental. Why else would anyone become obsessed with religion and sacrifice their own life? The justification of 'nobility' held that kind of power.
- So I ask all of humanity watching now. What must we do! Should we sell our future for immediate peace based on the words of those unbelievable demons? Or should we turn the overflowing national power of the Empire, now at its peak, toward them and seize our future!
A boiling voice that made one forget that this all began as the Empire's ruthless war of conquest.
As if in response, a voice from somewhere outside shouted, 'We must seize our future!'
This was why speeches were terrifying. With text, you could read and re-read, chewing over the content to calmly find logical loopholes. But with a speech, which stirred emotions and paralyzed reason, a moment of emotional intoxication caused the content to whoosh past before you could digest it, making it hard to notice the holes or contradictions. Because of that, everyone ended up reacting as if they were hypnotized.
'And besides, once the atmosphere is swept up like this, even those who have kept their wits about them can't recklessly point out the logical fallacies...'
From the Demon King's standpoint, this had to be interrupted. Wasn't everyone rallying together as one instead of creating the intended internal strife?
Just as it seemed this war of words might end with the emperor's side winning the atmosphere, the sound of applause rang out.
- Clap. Clap. Clap.
Everyone's gaze shifted to the side of the Imperial screen, to the screen of the Demon Realm. There, the Demon King was clapping, the corners of his mouth smoothly turned up.
A light voice followed, like cold water thrown on a heated atmosphere.
- Commendable. That was a truly commendable speech.
- .......
- But you see. No matter how nicely you package it, the conclusion is that, isn't it?
Out of the blue, but I felt like I finally knew why the Demon King allowed the emperor to interfere with the video magic.
- The Empire won't give up on continental conquest.
Because it was entertaining.
Despite the constant war of nerves, he finally had the chance to face the opponent he'd never seen face-to-face and verbally duke it out. Of course he must have gladly guided it that way.
"......."
"......."
The heated atmosphere cooled down.
The emperor's attempt to counter with logic was a mistake from the start. He should have just confronted him directly like the Demon King did...
The Demon King was right. It had been transformed into something plausible, but in the end, if you tore off the packaging, the core was roughly 'We can't give up on continental conquest, so let's fight.' Since the initial speech from the Demon Realm said they would retreat peacefully if the Empire stopped its war of conquest, and the Empire responded with war, it was only natural to tie it together like this.
'Is the fight over...?'
The emperor's defeat.
The effects of the propaganda might linger, but now that the Demon King had personally torn the wrapping paper apart, re-wrapping it with any words would be less effective than before. Turning this mood around immediately would be difficult, too.
It was a precarious situation, teetering on the edge. With almost all humans glaring at him, the emperor chose to...
- By that logic, isn't the Demon Realm's argument essentially the same? That you'll keep the Empire in check, bide your time, and then occupy the human world.
Grab his opponent by the scruff and drag him down together.
To use another analogy, instead of deflecting or dodging an incoming fist, he completely abandoned defense and threw a punch of his own.
A vicious determination not to die alone!
At the unexpected remark, the Demon King covered his mouth, bowed his head deeply, and his shoulders shook. The laugh that leaked out, barely audible at first, gradually grew louder until it boomed through the magic.
- Ha, hahaha! Hahahahaha!! Entertaining, truly!
- .......
- How many years has it been since I last laughed like this! I admit it. You're the best, Emperor! If it were before I met that brat, I might have coveted you!
I seemed to be seeing a lot of firsts today.
The Demon King, laughing out loud. He always wore that mask-like smile, but I'd never seen him laugh so broadly.
...But why did I feel a chill...?
* * *
"A chill...."
"...Your Lordship."
"A chill...."
"Marquis!"
"Uh, huh? What?"
I hurriedly broke from my reverie and raised my head. My eyes met Dan's, who had approached at some point and was peering at me with worried eyes.
......You're too close. It's a bit much, so could you back up a little?
"Are you alright? You kept muttering that you felt a chill."
"Ah... I'm fine."
"Are you really alright?"
"Yeah."
"Then please hurry up with the paperwork."
"On second thought, I don't think I'm fine."
"If you lie, your hand... no, not that. It became a habit."
Excuse me?
"I won't believe you even if you lie."
"......You, are you still... gambling at the trading company?"
"What a terrifying thing to say. My trading company has been completely transparent from the beginning. We have never, ever engaged in things like pretending to be a trading company to open a gambling house and take a cut, or hiring players to swindle marks, and we never will."
"......That was a very detailed explanation...."
It's better for my mental health not to dig any deeper.
I watched as Dan returned to his seat as if nothing had happened and looked over the documents again. Then something suddenly caught my eye, and I narrowed my eyes.
"Those documents, seeing as they don't look like mine...."
"Ah, I brought them because I had to handle some trade company-related documents... Damned Lowpel Trading Company! Again!"
Scrunch. The document crumpled.
If it was the Lowpel Trading Company, I knew they were the ones who had this area in a stranglehold before the Den Trading Company came along. It was also the reason the Viscount Rowfel's family could avoid being disrespected in the Empire.
It seemed like they were rivals with the Den Trading Company now....
"Did they pick a fight or something?"
"They went and signed an exclusive contract for something we had our eyes on to distribute!"
"Naturally, the checks are intense.... At this level, it must have been even harder to enter that field. How did you manage?"
"Huh, huhuhu...."
An ominous smile at a glance.
"So it really is gambling...."
"I tell you again, it is not. It's just that we succeeded first in distributing the Deusa tea leaves that they always failed at, which clearly imprinted the Den Trading Company's existence onto the customers."
"......So you're the same."
"It was unavoidable to break the monopoly system. This is their fault. More importantly, Marquis, your hands have stopped."
Damn. In the end, it all comes back to paperwork.
I let out a deep sigh and moved my hands. This one approved, this one needed more time to think, so postpone it....
'What was I thinking about before Dan called me?'
Ah, right. I was recalling the war of words between the Demon King and the emperor.
What was the result of that debate again?
'It was a draw, probably.'
My mind was drifting elsewhere again.
I put down my pen entirely and rested my chin on my hand. Anticipating Dan, who was opening his mouth as if to point it out, I called him first and broached the subject to block him.
"Dan, that war of nerves between the two monarchs back then, who won?"
"Was there a winner? They traded blows one after another, and in the end, they refreshingly grabbed each other by the scruff and fell into the mud together."
"Right?"
"Yes, and they spoke very well during all that. Thanks to that, it served as an excellent textbook."
"Textbook...."
You're going to develop further from that? I'm a bit... terrified of what kind of hybrid will be born.
I deliberately turned my head away from him and sank back into thought.
Actually, curious about the Imperial citizens' reactions, I had thrown on a robe and gone outside the moment the video magic disappeared. In conclusion, you could say the emperor earned a roughly average score.
'People who supported him because his earlier arguments made quite a bit of sense, regardless of how it ended. People who disliked the emperor, saying that no matter what was said before, in the end it just meant he couldn't give up on continental conquest and would wage war against the Demon Realm. People who didn't care how the world turned, saying it's not like we can do anything about it anyway. The ratio was about 1 to 1 to 1....'
Ah, were there also people who criticized the emperor's character, pointing out that he liked the Demon King? Well, those people fall under the category of those who disliked the emperor anyway....
There were also people curious about who 'that brat' was that the Demon King mentioned when he burst out laughing, but that quickly died down.
While the majority was busy determining right and wrong, there was someone uniquely engaged in teaching someone else.
* * *
"Did you see that, Paul? That's how you talk. Especially since that was primarily aimed at inciting the masses while seemingly only a verbal duel between individuals, it makes a very good textbook to examine from multiple angles."
"That's all well and good, but why does it have to be the emperor as the textbook example...?"
"Whether you like or dislike the opponent, you still have to learn what can be learned."
The content was fairly interesting, so I must have unknowingly stopped walking.
"We'll skip over the Demon King, who used the simple tactic of blurring the main point before striking at an opening. ......Honestly, whether you call it proactiveness or not, the Demon King just didn't seem motivated."
"He definitely seemed to react mainly out of interest. Even when he spoke, it was like poking at an interesting bug...."
"Right?"
Was that so? Now that I thought about it, the emperor did do the overwhelming majority of the talking. The Demon King just quietly listened even though he could have interrupted, then tossed out a few light words.
'Though those few words were as heavy as finishing blows....'
"As you know, the best approach in a verbal duel is, of course, to perfectly defend against the opponent's attack and then counterattack. But as you know, the world doesn't work that easily, right? If defense is hard, you have to find another way. A little while ago in the video, when that demon called the 1st Legion Commander said they would retreat if the Empire gave up its continental conquest, what did the emperor, who holds the massive weakness of never being able to give it up, do?"
"......Instead of answering directly... he changed the subject. He attacked by pointing out a loophole in the opponent's remark."
An attack for the sake of evasion. And a continued attack under the guise of a counterattack.
"Right. That's why listening carefully to the opponent and finding loopholes is important. If the opponent's attack is the type you can't answer, you have to attack back."
"This could also be seen as evasion and counterattack."
"Exactly. And when the Demon King pointed out a weakness, making even evasion impossible, what did the emperor do then?"
Ah, this one's easy.
"He dragged his opponent down with him."
"Correct! Do you know why the emperor went this far? This isn't just a simple verbal duel between individuals. In a war of words held in front of a large audience, you must absolutely never lose. How many times have I told you about the importance of image? Image affects so many things. The morale of soldiers, the difficulty of inciting the public, the perception of the individual speaker, plus...."
The explanation went on and on.
I didn't know what kind of teacher he was, but he taught really well. The student was sharp too, answering well.
The breeze was gentle, and the weather was nice. I slightly tilted back the hood of my robe and looked up at the sky. It was so clear you'd never believe the Demon King's declaration of war had happened.
'Ha, yeah, that damned declaration of war.'
The war was really happening now. A war not with another kingdom, but with the Demon Realm!
Ah, I suddenly felt like I got hit with a massive chunk of stress. For some reason, my insides felt like they were burning and throbbing more and more....
"Cough."
Well, it wasn't my imagination. I definitely got hit with a massive chunk of stress.
I wiped the red liquid trickling down my chin with the back of my hand in a practiced, indifferent manner, my thoughts flat.
......My main curiosities were mostly satisfied, so I should head back now. To my mansion, where documents I'd like to throw straight into the fire at any moment were waiting.
I lowered my head without thinking, and my eyes met those of the man who had been teaching the child.
"You got it, right? Silence equals defeat. In a simple, private argument, losing might not matter, but if others are watching, even if you have to be dragged down into the mud with your opponent...."
"......?"
What, why is he looking at me and stopping his words.
......Ah, it's because I coughed up blood... no, it's because my hood was practically peeled back! He must have seen my face!