89. The Empire's Ministers
89. The Empire's Ministers
"I hereby call this State Council Meeting to order."
A dark room into which not a single ray of sunlight entered.
In a chamber tinged with a faint musty odor, dour-looking men read over their reports.
Now that those who could decide the fate of an entire nation were gathered in one place.
Matters capable of determining the lives of thousands would be debated here.
"The reason I have summoned you here today is a drama called Magical Mari."
... The subject was rather questionable, but it was being discussed nonetheless.
One might question whether a magical girl belonged on the agenda of a State Council Meeting, but Mari's impact was not something that could be ignored, so there was no helping it.
A few days ago, the Emperor had breathed a sigh of relief at the news that the magical girl drama that had tormented him for the past year had finally concluded.
One might wonder whether a mere drama could cause enough trouble to steal sleep from the head of a nation, but it could.
There was the time Allen nearly ruined the plan the Puppet Duchess had laid out,
the time Dina and Riv plunged the entire Empire into mourning and gave the Emperor a headache,
and the time Allen suddenly snapped, crossed the border, and left a senator's daughter half-paralyzed.
It seemed like Allen was the problem rather than the drama, but since Allen was usually quiet as long as his own work wasn't involved, the two were practically synonymous.
In any case, Allen had tormented the Emperor for the past year, and a few days ago, when the drama that could be called the trigger for his rampages had concluded, the Emperor too had rejoiced.
But that joy was short-lived; unwelcome news had arrived at the Emperor's office.
"I never imagined that the Puppet Duchess briefly letting Allen off his leash to draw the cultists' attention would come back to us on this scale."
It had begun with that brief moment when the Puppet Duchess had mobilized a suspicious group to separate Allen and Nikolai.
In that brief span of time, Allen had released a new poison into the world.
The name of that poison was Dihex.
The concept itself—loading spells like bullets and firing them using gems as a medium—was astonishing.
The problem was that afterward, all manner of experimental magical tools had begun flooding the world.
Initially they took the form of firearms loaded with offensive magic, but six months on, they had become things that no longer even retained the shape of a gun.
"According to a recent report, if enough materials are available, Dihex may allow someone with no aptitude as a knight to take a knight's place."
At the Emperor's words, concern settled upon the faces of the military faction.
The birth of a weapon that could replace knights.
In one sense, it could be welcomed as a strengthening of military power, but in another sense, it meant that the forms of warfare they had studied up until now had become meaningless.
Moreover, it meant someone whose aptitude matched this weapon could suddenly rise like a supernova.
Charles had already provided an immediate example: after learning John-style Combat, he had risen as a candidate for commander of a neighboring kingdom's knight order. No one took the possibility lightly.
Amid the grave atmosphere, the Minister of Finance cautiously requested the floor.
"Speak."
"I had previously heard in a report that Dihex could only store the user's own magic. I was told it would only amount to an already-strong individual becoming somewhat stronger. Have I been mistaken?"
In response to the Minister of Finance's question, the Chief of Counterintelligence answered on behalf of the military.
"According to intelligence received two days ago, a report has come in that the Tower of Destruction has created a weapon capable of storing magic produced by another person. This intelligence was delivered to the military first, and was scheduled to be forwarded to the Ministry of Finance today as well."
"I am a layman in that field and thus unfamiliar; could you explain in detail what that intelligence implies?"
"It means we have entered an era where, given sufficient materials and mana, a child who was sucking on a pacifier could kill a knight."
"...Good heavens."
The Minister of Finance removed his glasses, set them down, and covered his eyes.
The tasks he would now have to carry out automatically lined themselves up in his mind.
First, budget planning before the military adopted the weapon as standard-issue.
Budget restructuring for weapons research and security enhancement.
Budget planning for establishing regulations to prevent the citizenry from using this weapon.
And various other sundries.
To borrow Allen's expression, overtime was inevitable.
Naturally, when a new era opened, the Ministry of Justice, which moved in lockstep with the Ministry of Finance, also became his overtime mate.
No, one could safely assume that every human in this conference room was now confirmed for overtime.
Thud!
The Guardian Duke, seated with the military faction, slammed his forehead onto the desk.
One might ask what sort of behavior this was in a solemn council chamber, but he figured he would at least catch less abuse if he put on this performance here, so he went ahead and did it.
The Emperor looked pityingly at his old friend, who was suffering in his later years because of a single son, and pulled him upright.
"Get up."
"I am too ashamed to raise my head."
"If you do not get up, I truly will hold you accountable."
"I will take responsibility and strip off my uniform."
"There is no need for that. Let me see... there was that unresolved territorial dispute negotiation from last time... you may take responsibility for that by handling it exclusively."
"On reflection, I do not believe there is any reason I must take responsibility."
Leon felt he finally understood where Allen had inherited his personality.
As Leon observed the two middle-aged men, who might be a vision of his own future, the meeting returned to its original topic.
"Accordingly, today's meeting topic is the Empire's policy direction regarding this Dihex."
The meeting proceeded, beginning with a statement from the Ministry of Finance.
*
The chaotic meeting entered a brief lull.
Because an additional report that had come into the Counterintelligence Department contained an analysis that to create a Dihex powerful enough for a child to kill a knight would require materials roughly equivalent to dragon hide.
It remained unchanged that an era had come in which a single squad of soldiers could handle a knight on the battlefield, but it was at least fortunate that this was not yet an era requiring one to watch out for children sucking on pacifiers in daily life.
As tension eased, the meeting was briefly suspended.
During the short break, in that sacred time of replenishing energy with coffee and recharging vitality with cigarettes, when married men gathered, there was a fixed topic of conversation.
"The Empress has been strange lately."
That is, griping about their wives.
As the Emperor's "complaining about the Empress" time began, the ministers thought, here we go again, and lent ear to the Emperor's words.
The subject of this time's gossip about the Empress was Mari, also related to the meeting agenda.
"Saying that since it's a drama featuring our princess, we absolutely must watch the live broadcast—she was utterly insistent..."
At some point, the Second Empress had begun summoning the Emperor to her palace.
There was a compulsion that wasn't quite a demand: as Pia's debut work, he, as her father, had to watch it live.
Thanks to that, whenever Mari's broadcast time arrived, the Emperor had to go to the Second Empress's palace, hold her hand, and watch the live broadcast.
By the time the broadcast ended, it was evening.
And late in the evening, the Emperor, having made his way to the palace, had exactly one thing to do with the Empress.
The combo seamlessly chaining from Magical Mari into obligatory defensive battles was something even the Emperor found impossible to counter.
Meanwhile, spending time only with the Second Empress meant he could not neglect his primary wife, so he also had to make his way to that palace.
Finally, if he looked after only the First and Second Empresses, the other consorts might feel slighted, so by the time he had also visited the other palaces, it could be said he suffered through obligatory defensive battles five days out of the week.
At the Emperor's complaint that was not quite a complaint, the ministers averted their gazes.
'So what reaction do you expect from us?'
No hero in this room, at least, was bold enough to offer frank counsel regarding another man's married life—let alone that of their workplace superior.
In a situation where the subject of gossip was the mother of the nation to begin with, showing sympathy would be lese-majeste, while ignoring him would also be lese-majeste toward the Emperor.
While the ministers agonized over how to react to the Emperor's impossible conversational trap, the only person present who could invoke his family history spoke.
"Is that not Father's own fault for continuing to take consorts when there were already two Empresses?"
"Grrk..."
The hero who had come to stop his father from tormenting his subordinates, Leon, lodged a frank admonishment at his father.
It was a remark of the utmost impertinence, but because it was also fact, the Emperor had nothing particular to say.
Even the Emperor had no defense for his womanizing, which had continued after Leon was born.
Ever since he was born, Leon had watched the Emperor get his back pummeled by both Empresses every time he took a new consort as if it were a regularly scheduled event, roughly every seven to nine years.
The Emperor himself argued that the Imperial Household must always produce many successors in preparation for the worst...
Well, perhaps.
To Leon, it looked more like his father simply acted first on the principle that forgiveness was easier than permission.
His determination to take responsibility for a consort once he accepted her was at least praiseworthy, but the best choice would have been not to start in the first place.
'I must never grow up to become a man like that.'
Leon pushed aside the pointless thought that had suddenly surfaced, declared the break over, and resumed the State Council Meeting.
During the meeting, discussion regarding the Puppet Duchess also arose.
"I've heard that the Puppet Duchess cut something recently—what is that about?"
"You refer to the incident where she horizontally sliced the Elven Forest during training. If it is that, please be at ease. The severed trees have been stitched back together with thread. Moreover, the Hyphen Kingdom side owes a debt to Bon Voyage Studio, so you need not worry about it escalating into a diplomatic issue."
"Is that not precisely the problem?"
Despite Leon's answer, the Emperor could by no means view the situation positively.
The Puppet Duchess had originally been on the weaker side in terms of physical power.
Her conspiracies, schemes, and magical ability to control people were terrifying. Her own physical power had been comparatively weak, making it her sole vulnerability.
But if Leon's report was accurate, it meant the Puppet Duchess was now equipped with physical power.
To borrow Allen's expression, it meant an evasive maneuver system capable of countering interception systems had been added to a nuclear missile.
Leon, who had not considered it particularly significant before telling the Emperor, only grasped the situation after seeing the Emperor's reaction.
"...Prince. Why did you not report this sooner?"
"...It seems I have grown accustomed to Allen."
"Indeed. That is understandable."
The Emperor had experienced something similar: by the time he grew accustomed to reports that Allen was electrofishing in a pond, ordinary net fishing no longer seemed worth mentioning.
He, too, could understand his son's state.
Finally, for the sake of grasping the circumstances, he asked Leon:
"This physical power. How did she come to possess it?"
"They say Allen advised her."
Damn. It was Allen again.
The Emperor barely suppressed the curse that unconsciously surged to his lips.
Considering that Allen's puppet performance had already transformed that once-sweet princess into a tactical weapon who toyed with people, perhaps Pia's latest growth was not surprising.
"Father. I do not particularly recommend drinking during a State Council Meeting."
"Would just one glass not be permitted?"
"No."
Correction.
To the Emperor, it was apparently very surprising indeed.
Of course, when one's daughter had undergone a dark evolution into a nuclear missile equipped with evasion functionality, it was perhaps more difficult to find a father still in his right mind.
Restraining the Emperor, who was pulling wine from a subspace, Leon let out a sigh, the umpteenth one today.
After that, Leon led the rest of the meeting in place of the mentally exhausted Emperor, and it concluded without further trouble.
Once all agenda items were concluded, Leon offered words of comfort to the Emperor, who seemed to have lost his spirit.
"Please do not be too disheartened. Allen says he plans to make films at a more leisurely pace once he enters his second year, so next year should be peaceful."
"Do you actually believe that?"
The Emperor's jab, delivered without standing on ceremony, silenced Leon.