Chapter 47 — Where People Gather, There Is Always… (2)
Chapter 47 — Where People Gather, There Is Always… (2)
Three months had already passed since he began working with the Small Council.
The season was the short summer, followed by an even shorter autumn.
In the spri-summ-au-autu-winter cycle of Evirgio, this was the most bountiful and precious autumn.
And the Small Council was equally bountiful with work.
"Your Majesty. You have arrived."
Aranya and Shwikviena's faces were noticeably more haggard than they had been yesterday.
He felt a little sorry, but if you had a lot of power and a lot of privileges, you had to have a lot of work.
Me?
I was risking my life to rehabilitate a trash Demon King, so wasn't I fine?
He was literally working with his life on the line.
"First, this is the projected report on the supply lines and distribution methods."
By now, thrusting a report at him without preamble or small talk had become the everyday routine of the Small Council with the Emperor.
"The food supply will begin from three points: the capital Basel, the northern port of Volga in the North White Territory, and the border city of Hazak in the South Black Territory."
The supply lines starting from the three cities would stretch out to the nearest fronts.
If Erenier failed to capture the Merde army's grain warehouses, these supply lines would have to be reorganized.
But there was no doubt in the eyes of the Small Council.
"Next is regarding the supply of winter provisions Your Majesty spoke of."
Minoreus took over from Liron.
"There is not ample preparation time, but we will have it ready before the 'Deep Winter.'"
During the period called winter, from October to March of the next year, the coldest stretch was referred to as the 'Deep Winter.' To put it another way, the T.O.P.
For two months, from mid-December to mid-February, everyone stopped their activities and holed up inside their homes.
The reason? They didn't want to freeze to death.
The war also nearly ground to a halt during that period.
Demons were more resistant to weather changes than humans.
The border was also a warmer place than the inland regions of Evirgio where the capital was located.
But the demons, whose winter preparations were poorer than the humans', had never been able to properly enjoy the advantages of winter.
"However, Your Majesty..."
At the end of Liron and Minoreus's supply report, Aranya added a worried remark.
Roan looked at her serious expression.
"It is questionable whether the lords will accept it."
"Hm."
At Roan's gesture as if telling her to explain further, Aranya tried to choose her words carefully.
She had to dare to bring up to the Emperor the matter of being mindful of the lords. In the past, she wouldn't have dreamed of saying such a thing.
"The front lines are far from the capital, Your Majesty.
We have had the opportunity to accept change at Your Majesty's side, but the lords and their vassals have only received orders handed down. Therefore, it may take them time to understand Your Majesty's deeper intentions."
"Do you mean it will be too sudden?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
There was a relatable aspect to it.
Whether it had been hundreds of years or thousands of years, they were told to stop eating humans, which they had always eaten, and suddenly humans, who were nothing more than meat, were roaming around the capital making money. And they were humans from the enemy nation they were fighting.
On top of that, if the Emperor suddenly tried to take control of the supplies, which were originally the domain of the lords, there was bound to be discontent.
But fundamentally, this was an army.
If you're told to do it, you do it?
"Prime Minister."
The prime minister's eyes widened.
The overwhelming pressure felt in the Emperor's words was something she hadn't experienced in a long time.
Combined with the strange power she had experienced in front of the city hall before, the Emperor's words were delivered to her as if piercing directly into her mind.
"To whom does everything in this nation belong?"
She answered as if entranced.
"It belongs to Your Majesty."
"What does a lord do?"
"They are ones who manage it on Your Majesty's behalf."
"Then, who could possibly voice discontent when I reorganize everything currently on the front lines?"
Not only Aranya, but even the three nobles watching the exchange kept their mouths firmly shut.
"You speak rightly, Your Majesty."
In Roan's voice, Aranya caught a very faint glimpse of the former Demon King.
The Iron-Blooded Emperor. He killed anything he didn't like. The epithet was given because he seemed like a being with cold, metallic blood flowing through him.
For a while now, her lord had transformed into a gentle and considerate person.
So she had briefly forgotten.
He was someone who, upon learning someone had touched what was his, would simply set out to kill the target.
It was just that, even in the past, he hadn't cared about others, so he often simply left them alone as long as they weren't in plain sight.
And then, as if he had read Aranya's thoughts, Roan spoke gently.
"Prime Minister. I also agree that strength is one of our demonkind's important values. First of all, I myself am the being who best proves that value."
Under the soothing effect of Appeal, Aranya's body, which had been tense as if frozen, calmed down a little.
"However, you all must be feeling it recently as well.
Just because one is weak does not mean they are useless. Are you not witnessing up close what the human prisoners, who were at the very bottom, are capable of?"
"That is... true."
"I fully agree with that statement. To a surprising degree."
Aranya's slow agreement and Liron's interjection.
Liron had recently taken on a human assistant in his lab to manage medicinal ingredients.
A human apothecary, rare even among humans, had happened to be among the prisoners, and he had come to handle materials in Liron's magic research lab. His employer, Liron, was greatly satisfied.
"The lords must also be striving to earn merit in their own ways. I understand the past conventions of war as well. But ultimately, what they lead are my armies."
Minoreus seemed moved, nodding his head vigorously.
"Those who live and die by the lords' orders are my people. I am not simply trying to fix things to suit my own tastes. I want to save my people."
The thought carried by Appeal resonated in their hearts.
"That is what an army is. A single strong individual is not as good as a hundred weak individuals united together—that is the true power of a proper group, and such trust is one of the most important things in war.
How can those who are anxious that their comrades behind them will steal their supplies exert their full strength and win a battle?"
The four members of the Small Council were each lost in thought.
As high-ranking nobles, they were also lords who governed their own separate territories.
Their soldiers were also currently on the front lines.
"The number of the strong is limited. The majority of battles are fought by ordinary citizens. In the end, the victory of one knight or one lord is not the victory of the battle."
Lords were the most overwhelmingly powerful beings in the regions they ruled.
The four members of the Small Council were also powerful individuals, so they had not known the wars nor the lives of the weak.
That was why the Emperor's words were strange.
If they were ordinary humans, they might have felt shame, but instead, they were once again reflecting on this ingenious and efficient personnel management.
In a world where it was natural for the weak to die, looking after them was a cumbersome task.
But precisely because of that, it seemed it might bring about unexpected changes and results.
"If we save the weak and unite them into one, we will be able to end this war more quickly."
He had no intention of capturing the capital as well.
That would make us an undeniable enemy of humanity.
He planned to pressure them heavily, then request a ceasefire.
They had to see that he was stronger for them to even consider the ceasefire request. Because if some guy weaker than me got beaten up and then said, "Hey, let's stop fighting!" there was no way it would work.
Having power was an important thing.
And to give power to combat soldiers, the most crucial things were solid food and proper, warm clothing. Not handing out decades-old canteens and the like.
Supply is the best.
Unity was a problem for the lords to worry about after that.
It wasn't exactly because I came from a supply background myself.
"In that sense."
The four nobles, who had been lost in their own thoughts, all simultaneously looked toward the Emperor's mouth.
"From now on, the survival rate will be reported."
"...Not the number killed?"
Minoreus, who had barely swallowed a 'Pardon?', asked.
The thing that had surprised him most when reading the war situation reports was the fact that the survival rate of the battles wasn't written down.
Even when you sell goods at a convenience store, you at least note the sold stock and the remaining stock. To not even count how many soldiers came back alive. No wonder they had no idea how many were dying.
Those who weren't even counted as a number.
That was the position of the common people in the world of demonkind.
It was hard to believe, but the lords on the field only roughly estimated by eye, and there was no culture of comparing the numbers that returned to previous figures.
As the war had become a protracted stalemate and fierce battles or contact had faded, that atmosphere had only worsened.
"The ratio of those who survived will also be reported together."
"Is the number of enemies killed not the very measure of bravery? A number of survivors...."
Minoreus trailed off, looking utterly unable to comprehend. But Roan was firm.
"Your words are also correct. I am not denying it. But only if they survive can they promise the next battle. I want living soldiers."
Roan nodded as if resolving himself.
"Was war not intended for survival?"
Someone's sigh of 'Ah...' could be heard.
It was a sigh of realization.
"An experienced soldier is a valuable resource in itself. They hold a different value from powerful knights, one by one. Veteran soldiers can save more allies.
There will be rewards for units or individuals with high survival rates, and accordingly, there will naturally be a distribution of Rewards According to Merit once the war is over."
Aranya felt both a headache and astonishment at the Emperor's unexpected idea.
He was focusing on the living, not the dead.
It was a truly fresh concept.
But alongside that, she could also see the lords' backlash as clearly as fire.
They already harbored discontent with the young Emperor. Their influence and military power were strong, but the Emperor was a far superior power.
Because of that, they had been governing Evirgio while moderately staying out of the Emperor's sight.
There were only a few people stronger than them, and one of them was a madman. How uncomfortable that must be.
If they could just get rid of that one madman, life would be easy, but they lacked the ability to do so.
So to speak, it was a precarious balance.
But now the Emperor was breaking that balance.
'It will be tremendously efficient, but I worry whether those stubborn old men will actually listen.'
Aranya was a deeply loyal central official who had even served the previous king. Since she didn't directly rule a territory, her affection for the Demon King took precedence over her territory, but that didn't mean she couldn't understand the hearts of the other lords.
'It will be much too sudden.'
But they couldn't slow down the change.
As His Majesty said, the people would be dying during that time. The very people His Majesty considered so important.
It was difficult to fully understand why he was suddenly caring about the weak, but considering the recent human affairs and His Majesty's saying that 'a united 100 is better,' there was a comprehensible aspect to it.
In the end, Aranya gave a bitter smile.
It had been a long while.
"I can only marvel each time at the wisdom felt in Your Majesty's words. I have understood your words. I shall refine the details regarding the order with the knight commander and ensure it is delivered to the front lines."
"Hm."
"However."
Roan's eyes narrowed, and Shwikviena unconsciously clasped her hands together.
A condition on His Majesty's words?!
But Aranya believed that the current His Majesty would not blame her for her suggestion.
"I believe that suddenly measuring it by actual results might be startling for the lords. Unlike us, who can directly hear Your Majesty's commands and understand them, they cannot.
No matter how much it is an army, there will be a great difference in execution and results between fully understanding the lord's intentions and not doing so."
Attentive Hearing told him that Aranya was sincerely pondering how to efficiently convey Roan's thoughts to the lords.
And so, Roan nodded.
Words imbued with skills couldn't be delivered to the lords. Most of them were on the front lines. Naturally, it would be different from how the Small Council accepted things.
"That is a valid point."
"Therefore, what if you were to first convey Your Majesty's order, and grant a grace period until the coming of the 'Deep Winter'? However, I will have the troops under my command on the front lines follow Your Majesty's orders."
"Oh."
It was Liron who let out the admiration.
"I shall also follow the Prime Minister's words."
Minoreus expressed his agreement with Aranya.
"If the Prime Minister's troops and mine act first and set an example, I think it might reduce the other lords' reluctance to follow suit."
Minoreus's troops included the Central Knight Order. They were among the finest elite forces of Evirgio.
If they started calculating survival rates first, this method might not be dismissed as being solely for 'the weak.'
Soon, the finance minister and the correction officer joined in, and the idea Roan proposed became something all members of the Small Council would test and implement.
"Understood. Then...."
Roan suddenly shut his mouth.
A moment later, the head butler's voice was heard.
"Your Majesty."
"Enter."
The head butler's face was pale.
"Additional human prisoners have been brought up."
"Oh?"
"The ones you instructed to be treated as guests."
The rescue party and the Saintess!
Roan reflexively shot to his feet.
Already? In just four days?!
Roan looked at Minoreus with a proud face, then asked.
"Understood. But, what is it?"
"They are causing a disturbance."
Roan's face went blank as ice.