Politics Is for the Weak

"Haah... This is giving me a headache."

"You said it."

A day had passed since Ian's victory at the Canyon battle.

The Crown Prince of the Espada Kingdom, Rowen, and his adjutant stared at the documents piled on the office desk with pained expressions.

Among the countless papers awaiting approval, one particularly rough parchment caught the eye. Written on it in neat, tidy script was the following:

"...Haah."

Rowen read the letter through once more, then set the parchment down with a sigh.

"...This is clearly a request to hand over your position, Your Highness, to Prince Ian."

At his adjutant's words, Rowen pinched the bridge of his nose and spoke.

"Yes. Though they didn't say it outright, the Commoners' Council has been steadily hinting at similar opinions. I suspect the local nobles have been heavily influencing them."

The Espada Kingdom was currently in a transitional period, moving from a feudal system to a centralized one.

In the past, the kingdom had no choice but to rely on the private armies and conscripts commanded by local nobles to wage war.

But now, the situation was vastly different.

Roxanna, who was under the royal family's command, had become a Sword Master a year ago.

And the weapons Ian had recently created were proving to be extraordinarily effective.

The need to rely on local nobles for military power was steadily decreasing.

It was precisely for this reason that the local nobles were feeling a sense of crisis.

Of course, information about Ian's weapons was strictly blocked, so they couldn't know the exact details.

But they would have sensed, more keenly than anyone, that their position was gradually shrinking.

"So they're pulling this trick using the Commoners' Council. Using public sentiment as their justification."

They knew that if they mobilized public opinion like this, the royal family couldn't simply ignore it.

"What's the best way to scatter the power concentrating in the center back to the peripheries? To make the brothers fight over the next throne. If we start competing for power, the royal family's strength will naturally be divided, and their own position will widen again."

"...It seems the local nobles don't know the two of you very well."

At his adjutant's words, Rowen chuckled and continued.

"Yes... Ian doesn't have much desire for power anyway. Even I am ready to hand over my position to him whenever he wants. Ian is a capable guy, after all."

"But then..."

"Yes. Even if I did hand it over, it would be after the war ends. Changing the power structure during wartime is an act that plunges the entire nation into chaos. Besides..."

Just as he was about to continue.

— Bang.

"Your Highness! Urgent news from the front!"

A messenger burst through the office door with a hurried cry.

His face was flushed with excitement.

In his hand, he held a report stamped with red wax.

Rowen rose from his seat, quickly took the report the messenger handed him, and read it on the spot.

As he read through the document, a deep smile spread across Rowen's lips.

"That Ian did it."

"Your Highness. Could it be a report of victory?"

When his adjutant asked in a hopeful voice, Rowen nodded.

"Yes. Ian's forces have won a great victory. They defeated the enemy commander, Margrave Kraus, and it's said that thousands of Imperial soldiers have surrendered."

"Ohh...! As expected of His Highness Ian!"

'Perfect timing.'

With this victory, the front lines would be able to hold firm for a while.

That meant, now that the immediate fire was out, there was no longer any need for Ian to remain tied down at the front.

'After all, the Empire's Masters and Great Mages can't move. ...Though it's not just the Empire; the entire continent is in a similar situation.'

Having organized his thoughts, Rowen spoke.

"Even with Ian's previous achievements alone, they tried to use the Commoners' Council to check me. Now that he's won another great victory in this battle, they'll have no better justification to put forward."

"Then... won't the local nobles become even more blatant in using His Highness Ian to stir up factions?"

"That's why I'm going to strike first before they can make their move."

Rowen returned to his seat and gave an order to his adjutant.

"Summon Ian to the capital."

"But he must be extremely busy with post-battle arrangements."

"The front lines will stabilize for a while, so there's no immediate major threat. First, tell him to return to the capital once things there are somewhat settled. I'll send capable administrative personnel to handle the remaining work, so Ian won't have to worry about leaving his post. And there's one person lazing around the palace doing nothing."

"...You mean His Highness the Second Prince. Understood."

"Politics... Politics, huh."

After reading the letter from my brother Rowen in the capital, I fell into thought.

'I have been drawing a lot of attention lately.'

I had guessed as much from Mila's reaction the other day.

Making high-quality household goods available to commoners, retaking the Karon Territory, and now news of this victory against the Imperial army had apparently had spread...

'I really don't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠want to be king.'

I'm already swamped with work as it is. If I became king, I'd be even busier.

Having watched Rowen bury himself in mountains of paperwork until dawn every day, I couldn't even fathom it.

'And seeing Father's hair loss, or Brother's thinning hair...'

I absolutely did not want to be king.

Hair loss can't be cured even with healing magic, after all.

And yet, those local noble bastards are trying to use me by mobilizing the Commoners' Council...

'How infuriating.'

"Master? Is something the matter?"

At Elisa's question, I stopped my thoughts and answered.

"Rowen hyung called me back to the capital because of political issues. And it seems Kael hyung has been assigned to manage this place."

"...Is that true?"

"Yeah."

Her doubtful reaction was only natural.

My second brother.

That is, the Second Prince of the Espada Kingdom, Kael, is capable but incredibly lazy.

He's probably not coming voluntarily this time either. He'll likely be tied up or knocked unconscious and dragged here...

Anyway, just thinking about being freed from this paperwork hell soon brought a smile to my face.

'But that's only after Kael hyung arrives.'

I need to sort out the problems as much as possible before he gets here ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so I can return to the capital with peace of mind.

"Haah... Time to work. The most urgent issue right now is the prisoner problem, right?"

"Yes. The temporary prisoner camps are currently full."

'That makes sense.'

With thousands of people suddenly appearing overnight, food supplies were dwindling, and the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠guards watching them were having a hard time, worried about a possible riot.

"Hmm. I can't exactly bind all several thousand of them with the Oath of Mana..."

After thinking for a moment, a good idea came to me, and I spoke.

"You know that large-scale arsenal plan we've been working on. The construction speed has been slow because we don't have enough manpower from just the territory's residents, right?"

"Yes, that's correct. Are you thinking of putting the prisoners ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to work on the construction sites?"

"Yeah. Let's provide the prisoners with room and board and put them to work on construction or farming. Even if we assign a few more guards, it'll be much better. That way, we can solve both the prisoner housing problem and the labor shortage. It's almost harvest season too. And if they reform, we can consider releasing them."

"I'll see to it immediately."

Elisa nodded at my instruction and quickly began jotting down notes.

"Next is an inventory of the supplies consumed in battle."

The new document she handed me detailed the consumption of general supplies and the ammunition used for the weapons I had developed during the battle.

"As expected, the ammunition consumption is quite high. And as for horses..."

I had considered using horses in the Canyon battle as well.

But most of the horses owned by Count Kelrn were either dead or had run away.

And the horses we currently had were not trained to be desensitized to the sound of gunfire.

Forcibly deploying such horses into actual combat carried a high risk of backfiring.

'And in this Canyon battle, not having horses was actually better.'

Fighting on the chaotic piles of rubble made fighting without horses more advantageous.

Organizing my future plans in my head, I quickly signed off on the remaining documents.

"Lastly, about the local nobles... It seems they want to drag me into politics."

"Yes. It appears to be an attempt to divide you and His Highness Rowen."

"I don't like that."

'No need to play along with their tune.'

Politics is, after all, something the weak do.

"Time to break them."