Chapter 10. Stubbornness and Arrogance (10)
"......."
I thought for a moment, then spoke.
"You're right. If the Dwarves number in the hundreds of thousands, there is a chance they wouldn't take kindly to even 'passing through.'"
People can't help but distrust other people. And if the other side numbers in the hundreds of thousands, then no matter how hard people work, the odds are high they can't be perfectly controlled.
On top of that, there could be radicals who decide this world "suits them."
"Um, could you pretend you didn't hear what I said earlier......?"
"The proposal you're trying to make to me doesn't seem to be that sort of thing. The reason you didn't just tell me in words but made me feel it directly is probably because I—"
"Um, excuse me? Sister? I said something extremely important just now, you know?"
"......."
"Hey. Hey."
When I shut my mouth, Ria jabbed my arm with her elbow from beside me.
"Now you get it? How I feel when you suddenly toss out Prophecies or whatever?"
"......She tosses out Prophecies or whatever? Not through some kind of ritual?"
At Ria's words, the princess tilted her head and asked.
"Yes. She blurts them out as casually as if the thought had occurred to her while sweeping the yard—like wondering what's for dinner. I suppose talking to the Being Above has become completely normal for her."
No, it's not that bad. What I can normally see is just light falling onto my head, at most.
But I can't deny it here, either. Because I've already been lying.
"On a daily basis?"
The princess looked even more baffled. Fortunately, it wasn't an expression of disbelief, so I was relieved...... hmm, should I be relieved?
Thinking about it again, hadn't I been digging my own grave this whole time? I'd used being a Saintess Candidate as a convenient excuse, but even the Saintess in the original work had never been depicted like that.
No, I only picked it because that excuse worked best.
"......Anyway—"
"Ah, I see."
But thanks to that, I thought the topic of the princess's bloodline could just pass by, so I quickly opened my mouth—and the princess cleanly cut me off.
"I'll tell you about my lineage."
"No, Your Highness. I'm not a real Saintess yet, so I'm not sure it's appropriate for me to draw out information this important to your country like this......."
"You're not extracting it. I'm the one telling you."
"Is there any need to take on that kind of risk?"
"There is."
The princess answered so cleanly, almost refreshingly, cutting it off in one stroke.
"First, the reason my bloodline was mixed is simple. My father was slowly trying to blend the highest bloodline with the Gnomes. I'm a princess, and in the future I'll probably marry another noble. It won't show for about a generation, but by the time my descendants keep carrying it on and grow in number, even the most hardline nobles won't be able to bring themselves to deny it."
Hmm.......
That...... I understand.
Not growing a beard—well, maybe that could just be accepted as is. After all, the Dwarves of this country would never even imagine that royal blood carries Gnome blood.
"But isn't that humiliating for a Dwarf?"
"Yes, because it's a process of preparing so that in the distant future we can live mixed with the Gnomes. We'll have to prepare many things slowly over a very long time. But it's a worthwhile endeavor."
Whichever direction they chose, the result would be invasion and war.
A brief look at history made that obvious. Peoples driven from their own lands often went on to displace the people already living somewhere else and destroy the states that had been there before them.
However, the Gnomes and Dwarves are a case where the front lines became almost permanently fixed through long warfare. If they truly fought an all-out war, it would be mutual annihilation.
......Relocating somewhere else was just as impossible unless they abandoned the Dwarves already living here. Excavating mountains to use as settlements was an enormous undertaking, no matter how good Dwarves were with heavy machinery.
If they had been a small tribe when they first started living here, that would be one thing, but it means they can't lead hundreds of thousands of kingdom citizens and move them all.
"Other plans were of course also in progress."
Looking at my expression, the princess spoke calmly.
"But unfortunately, we too have lost a great deal of technology."
The princess looked up at the ceiling.
"We can't create spaces like this anymore. Perhaps renewed research could change that, but it would take a long time. Constructing one would take centuries as well."
"......."
"I could do it. So could my father. If that was what it took to keep the kingdom alive, we could move into some cave we happened to find, endure the cold, and dig. That is how Dwarf history began. But......"
The princess looked at me.
"How did it look to you, Saintess Candidate? Do you think the Dwarves—hundreds of thousands of commoners and hundreds of nobles—would quietly agree to that?"
I shook my head.
"Yes, so that's why everyone was preparing. By any means—whether that meant borrowing land from another civilization and clinging to it, or abandoning all the legacy of the past and seeking new land."
But all of it was too late.
Because Dwarven territory had already festered beyond the point where it could simply be ignored.
As they dug out the mountain and expanded, places nearly touching the space above appeared. In some places, gaps formed entirely, and Mana leaked out steadily.
Even if they farmed outside as best they could and used snowmelt as drinking water, that amount could only feed part of Dwarven civilization. Unless they were royalty or nobility, most Dwarves probably had to live on mushrooms, livestock that could be raised inside caves, and water obtainable from the caves.
All of it was slowly rotting. And by the time they realized it, it was already too late.
Every peaceful solution took time, and the Dwarves no longer had enough time to choose one.
"......."
I looked at the princess after thinking it through. Her expression remained calm—the face of someone simply stating facts, not trying to judge or argue a position.
She was looking up at me from lower down, but she never looked small.
"......Your Highness, even so, it seems you oppose invasion."
"Did God tell you that too?"
"No, that's my own judgment. If neither of us hoped there was another way, we probably wouldn't be having this conversation. I imagine that's also why you've told me everything so honestly."
"Yes. I believe war, at least, is unacceptable. No matter how much we prepare, we would still be asking the Dwarven Kingdom to face the combined strength of two nations alone."
"That sounds like you would have done it if you could win overwhelmingly."
"If it were my father, he would have. And I—yes, that's right. I think so too. If that were the simplest way to resolve things and a way to secure a definite gain, I would raise both hands in favor. What ruler in the world wouldn't?"
Rulers generally avoided war because they expected it to do more harm than good to their own side. Then again, those who believed otherwise had been starting wars all along.
"......I'd like to know what it is you want from me."
When I spoke, the princess was silent for a moment.
And then.
"......If I were to convert."
She turned the conversation in a direction I hadn't expected.
"And if the Dwarven Kingdom were to accept your religion— Sister, would you be willing to help our kingdom?"
"......."
Ah, right.
I came here as a representative of the Church.
I smacked my forehead with my hand.
Ria let out an exasperated snort beside me, but I ignored it for now.
"That matter seems a bit complicated. First of all, I'm someone who doesn't hold any real power in the Church."
"But at the same time, you're someone who will become a symbolic figure. And in religion, sometimes that symbol is more important than power."
"Uh, well, no, that's true, but what I'm trying to say is......."
I started to speak, then stopped.
And thought for a moment.
It was very difficult to explain that I didn't believe in the concept of God, yet had no hesitation about borrowing power from the Being Above.
Ria was staring at me.
I couldn't read any emotion in that expression. As if she were deliberately holding back her feelings, she kept her mouth pressed shut in a straight line.
If it's Ria, would she oppose it?
......I'm not sure. If it were the Ria in the novel, she might step in, but the Ria I know just has a slightly different air from that character in the novel.
However, there is one thing I believe.
That if it's Ria, she'll understand my decision. That she'll believe my words.
Though it's a slightly embarrassing thing to say.
"......I don't move for that kind of profit alone."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning if it's something I can do, I'll do it."
"......."
"And in the first place, the reason I came here was to prevent your kidnapping."
I don't know exactly how things play out. In the story, the background was already after the incident had erupted.
But still.
At least if I prevent the princess's kidnapping, it won't escalate into the same kind of incident as back then.
When Mana accumulates, a Mana Orb can be made.
When that Mana Orb grows, it can become a Monstrous Beast's core.
There are beings who can command that Monstrous Beast.
......There had been a comment speculating that those who think of Gates as gifts God bestowed upon them are born that way.
I also thought that comment was plausible.
"......."
The princess quietly watched me for a while, then turned and faced the table.
Then she set out three glasses and poured liquor into two of them.
Into the remaining glass, she poured fruit water that was nearby and handed it to Ria.
Ria's face flushed as she accepted the glass.
The princess picked up the two glasses again and handed one to me.
"Even so, I can't simply accept it for free. Sometimes getting something for nothing ends up costing the most."
"......You'll have to discuss that with the people who handle the practical details."
Just thinking about that kind of thing gives me a headache.
"Now I feel like I finally understand a little what kind of person you are, Sister. Don't the people around you worry?"
Ria's gaze turned toward me.
Why?
I may look like this, but I'm a person who acts rationally and reasonably.
Naturally, I meant in whatever direction benefited me.
The three glasses clinked.
We all downed our drinks at the same time.
Come to think of it, this is the first drink I've had since coming back from the mine and meeting the princess again.
Before that, the princess had been drinking alone the whole time.
......May drink make us forget all discourtesy.
Perhaps the princess had been doing her best to observe proper courtesy in her own way.