Chapter 108 — Contact (5)
Chapter 108 — Contact (5)
"That was why the Count rebelled when he heard His Majesty's command to protect the weaker kin... the soldiers. The reason he was most passionate about war was because he was seeking a way to become stronger himself."
Neither the Chancellor nor the Grand Duke interrupted Roan, who was listening intently to the Grand Duke's words.
"I heard he captured and experimented on humans, particularly human mages. I wondered whether treating them so cruelly was truly necessary... but perhaps a mage's perspective is different. In any case."
The Lord of the West Blood Territory smiled softly, meeting Roan's eyes.
"He possesses an aspect of obsessing over things to the point of ruthlessness, but he is just as curious."
"You are saying to use his curiosity."
"Yes. I believe he would eagerly pursue the story of such a crystal, which sounds like something out of an old legend. Your Majesty."
"Won't he try to use the crystal research results to strengthen his own power?"
Aranya asked worriedly.
However, the one who answered was the Lord of the East Yellow Territory.
"There is a saying that he improved the facilities in Dos precisely because he wanted to actively bring in exotic things."
The Lord of the East Yellow Territory spoke carefully.
"Personally, I believe he is a man driven more by curiosity than by selfish desire."
"Is that your assessment from the battlefield?"
"...It is not a positive one. But yes, that is correct, Chancellor."
The Lord of the West Blood Territory, who had waited for Aranya and the Grand Duke to finish speaking, finally added.
"As everyone knows, I am a man who thinks the ranking of power and authority is fleeting. I only accepted the position of Great Lord because the Former Emperor practically forced it upon me."
The Grand Duke readily admitted his own shortcomings.
"Even in my view, the Count of the North White Territory is a person far removed from politics. Such intelligent people act according to their own desires rather than political reasons."
The keen insight in the Centaur's deep eyes was born of experience.
"His direction of desire differs from that of most people. With the right bait, you should be able to handle him comfortably. Your Majesty."
Roan organized his thoughts.
The Lord of the North White Territory was an exceptional mage.
Naturally, he was intelligent and possessed great knowledge.
He was more than qualified to research the crystals.
Weakness: Obsessed with power, reckless in pursuit of it.
Strength: That blind aspect could also be called 'curiosity'.
Ambiguous point.
If his curiosity was used as bait, there was also a possibility he could be lured by someone else.
"What does the Chancellor think?"
"On the contrary, I believe I would be reassured if the research were entrusted to the Great Lord, the Count of the Dark Pit."
Aranya replied calmly.
"Why is that?"
"How many people are there who could offer the Great Lord something tempting enough to sway him? As the Grand Duke said, he has no faction."
"I see."
The fact that I could discover a mythical crystal,
and that it could be used to improve the land of Evirgio.
These were facts currently kept confidential because their future implications were difficult to gauge.
In other words, there would be no problem as long as this information did not leak to the humans.
Because influencing the Hero was, for now, a matter confined to the human world.
"So you mean it is safer because no one needs to watch others?"
"Yes. I believe we can trust him because he is not one who must worry about his position among the strong, like a minor lord or an administrator."
Unlike the emperor of human society, who played politics by seizing each other's weaknesses,
the Demon Emperor rose to the top through military force alone.
Therefore, the Great Lords could actually become more reliable allies than anyone else.
Because if worst came to worst, I could resolve it with force.
For the Count, a Great Lord, it would be more advantageous to monopolize that information and either engage in a power struggle with me to utilize the research results for himself, as Aranya said,
or to secure the priority to apply them to his own territory.
Besides, I had recently acquired 'Insight'.
If he tried to betray me, I was confident I would notice faster than anyone else.
"Do you think there is no possibility that someone else might stimulate his curiosity and extract his information?"
This was Roan's final question to everyone.
One in a thousand, one in ten thousand.
What was the possibility that he would be led by a human hero,
seek something more stimulating, and sell information about me?
However, it was not just the Lord of the West Blood Territory before him;
the Chancellor and the Lord of the East Yellow Territory, whose tone was palpable through their voices, politely dismissed Roan's words as a joke.
"Your Majesty, are you joking? You, who discovered the legendary crystal that no one else has ever found? It would not be easy to tempt him with something more wondrous than that."
At Aranya's lighthearted answer,
the Lord of the West Blood Territory also nodded with a smile.
"Haha. As expected, Your Majesty is ever thorough."
Seeing the subsequent reaction of the Lord of the East Yellow Territory, it seemed he also thought it was merely a joke.
It was 100 percent sincere, though...
Feeling a bit awkward, Roan concluded the meeting.
"Then, let us entrust the work to the Count. I would like to speak with the Count right away on this occasion. Is that feasible?"
The emperor's words, 'Is that feasible?' were synonymous with 'Make it feasible.'
While everyone took a brief rest,
a magic orb connected to the territory of the North White Territory was placed in the small council chamber.
The Count, who had merely offered a brief greeting to Roan at the New Year's Banquet before withdrawing, finally obtained the opportunity for a lengthy conversation with Roan.
The magic orb was set down,
and the secretary of the Lord of the West Blood Territory conferred with the secretary of the Lord of the North White Territory.
After several formalities had been exchanged,
and after waiting a short while, the sharp voice of the Lord of the North White Territory was heard, out of breath.
"Your Majesty. Haa... The Count of the North White Territory... awaits Your Majesty's words."
The Grand Duke seated before Roan stifled his breath and chuckled. But after seeing Roan's expressionless face, he soon averted his gaze.
"Catch your breath and listen."
Roan initiated the conversation.
It was said that the Count had been holed up in his laboratory for days and rushed over breathlessly, startled by the news that the emperor was contacting him.
The Chancellor explained the recent events.
The Count's first reaction upon hearing everything was,
"Are you serious?"
doubt.
"What nonsense is this!"
Faster than anyone else, the Lord of the West Blood Territory's reprimand fell.
Wait, wasn't this the man who actually recommended him...?
He was the Grand Duke, wasn't he...?
Roan stared at him with a bewildered look.
However, the Count answered in a completely undaunted voice.
"If such a power-laden object existed, I think I would hoard it and process it into a weapon solely for myself."
A statement that was far too precarious to make before the Emperor. The Grand Duke's eyes widened even more, like flaming lanterns.
A low, grinding sound was heard.
Was that the Lord of the East Yellow Territory?
No, really, these people...
Why did they recommend him if they were going to act like this...?
"Why are you trying to use it for farming?"
But Roan could not provide an immediate answer. Because he could not speak the truth:
'I hope the demons will cease their conflict with humans, so the Hero will have no reason to be curious about my face.'
The silence grew longer.
Roan could feel the Lord of the West Blood Territory fidgeting, fearing that the Count might have inadvertently gone against the Emperor's will.
After a moment of thought, what Roan finally said was a principle.
"Is it strange for an emperor to care for his people?"
But the Count's answer was also sharp.
"We are not humans, Your Majesty. For Your Majesty and for all of us demonkind, power is the means that proves the worth of our existence."
Neither Roan's words nor the Count's were wrong.
Duty and the strengthening of power.
One could not say which was more righteous.
However, the Count could not disobey the Emperor's orders anyway.
Ultimately, his goal in asking such a provocative question
was likely to grasp Roan's clear intention.
If it was something he found interesting, it would be even more appealing.
"Count. Means and ends are different."
Thus, having understood the Count's intent, the Emperor's explanation was composed. He had to unfold his words to make the Count feel attracted, to feel stimulated.
"Power may be the means that proves the value of us demonkind's lives. But it is not our end."
Though unseen,
Roan leisurely shook his head.
"The same is true of my life. I must fulfill the duties of the Emperor. Military force is, of course, a good means for carrying out the post of Emperor. It also serves as the minimum qualification. But my reason for being is not that."
Perhaps if he had the assistance of 'Appeal' and 'Charisma',
persuading the Lord of the North White Territory would have been easier.
But even without the skills' power, Roan's words sufficiently captivated the Lord of the North White Territory and the other listeners.
"And the reason we demonkind have an Emperor, an apex, is that our kindred in the past wished to survive."
At some point, demonkind had imitated humans to run a nation and wage wars,
but the purpose for which the once ragtag demons had gathered in the first place was none other than survival.
And strength was simply the easiest communication tool for demonkind to understand.
"The Emperor is the apex that allows us to focus on the single goal of demonkind's survival. He built a nation and made all demonkind advance toward that purpose. I am merely a tool for that greater goal."
From Roan's perspective, the demons seemed to have become buried in strength as time passed.
Ultimately, the reason the demons had established an emperor in the beginning was not to be suppressed by someone strong,
but because they wanted that person to lead them and establish a goal.
But currently, the demons mistakenly viewed the imperial throne as a symbol of strong power, a medal for the strong.
They had established a nation by imitating humans,
but it was based on the demonkind's characteristic logic of strength.
Therefore, their leader, the Emperor—I—was a powerhouse who received awe through pure military might alone.
They cared nothing for political power or other abilities.
Humans or forest elves would not have done this.
In the end, the current demon nation had simply become an armed group lacking discipline.
And Roan felt he knew the fundamental reason why this had happened.
"The purpose set for demonkind until now was hostility toward humans."
It was because the environment did not allow them to live without taking from humans and forest elves.
"That was likely because the first Emperor thought that hostility toward humans was synonymous with the survival of demonkind."
That was precisely
the meaning of the Demon King.
To kill humans and take what was theirs.
"But I believe there is no need for that. We do not need to depend on humans for our lives."
"...Pardon? Your Majesty?"
"...Depend... you say?"
The voices of the Chancellor and the Count, who had been listening silently, were heard through the magic orb.
Aranya was soon startled by her own actions.
"Y-Your Majesty. I apologize. Please continue."
But the Count was ruminating over Roan's words.
"Those are surprising words. Are you saying that we demonkind are merely depending on humans?"
"Can you say it is not? We plunder their food, and plunder their technology and systems. When food was scarce, we even ate them instead."
"Do you not think they are being taken from by us because they are inferior?"
Roan lightly shrugged his shoulders.
"They are not livestock we raise. They are more akin to wild animals. Gathering, plundering, hunting. Whatever the word, its meaning is that my life depends on something I did not produce myself. In other words, it is a matter of relying on the lives of others for my survival."
Faced with this shocking perspective, the Lord of the West Blood Territory simply looked at Roan, blinking quietly.
Roan faced him in return.
"My predecessors tried to suppress humans with power. In the end, they did not succeed. Therefore, I intend to present a new goal."
A warm energy swirled throughout Roan's body.
The manifestation of 'Will'.
Even though skills could not be transmitted through a magic tool, the resolute intent contained in his power was sufficiently conveyed to the nobles through the magic orb.
"We demonkind must become self-sufficient."
The Grand Duke nodded fervently.
He was directly listening to Roan's statement made under the influence of his skills 'Will', 'Charisma', and 'Appeal'.
The Grand Duke was captivated by Roan's words.
With faith in the Emperor's words and the hope born from it, the Grand Duke's eyes were sparkling with something close to madness.
"No matter how powerful I alone become, I cannot dominate all humans. But if that power can be used for our territory."
The Demon King smiled gently.
"We can gain independence from humans."
"With only our own strength..."
The Grand Duke of the East Yellow Territory murmured lowly.
To him, whose territory was mostly desert, it might have sounded like a story from the far distant future.
But at least, Roan's words
seemed to be more than enough to definitively win over the Count.
"Ahahaha! Your Majesty! Your Majesty, you are a far more interesting person than this unworthy one ever thought! Please wait just a moment!"
After a few seconds of silence, a tearing voice rang out.
"My Lord!? Where have you gone?!"
It was the scream of the Lord of the North White Territory's secretary.