Chapter 59
Chapter 59
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: Politician, Diplomat, Knight
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“City of Steel. Shield of Civilization. Ah... Even after so many years have passed, the scenery of this city remains the same as ever.”
The royal capital of the Dane Kingdom, Altbert. Or Bert of the Hills. It was a city perched atop a massive hill, just as the name suggested.
In the Dane Kingdom, where most of the land consisted of mountainous regions, the vast granary plains of the Altbert region were like a treasure to the royal family.
-Shwaaa...
Every time the wind blew, the barley fields rippled like a carpet. The dense forests and deep mountains they had seen before felt like a dream; under the spring sun, Altbert shone brilliantly.
Sturdy, ash-gray walls lined the city's outskirts, and a deep moat with blue river water wound through, extending toward the plains beyond.
“It's... so beautiful.”
Kirhas Hearttaker murmured blankly from atop her horse. Having crossed deserts and wastelands, the only major civilized cities she had seen were slave markets and Infermur.
Moving leisurely along the cleanly paved imperial road, Prince Helrga shrugged his shoulders proudly.
“The cities of the Fairn royal family are flashy but lack substance. The cities of our royal house are modest like this, built on practicality.”
-Practicality? You mean the Nineteen Articles, right?
Feizashi Wildcast sneered at Prince Helrga's words.
The Dane Kingdom was a nation where most of the territory was mountainous, lacking usable mineral resources except for iron and a few silver mines, and maritime trade had been extremely limited until the recovery of Infermur.
In such circumstances, the resources sustaining the nation were two: powerful land forces and exorbitant tax rates.
Abel remained silent for a while, lost in memories. While Kirhas marveled, Helrga took pride, and Abel reminisced, Fernandez walked without a word.
He gazed at the approaching walls, recalling the day he first met Prince Helrga.
*
“Come on, Sir Fernandez. Let's hear it.”
-Creak.
Helrga laughed cheerfully as he sat in the chair. His radiant platinum blond hair shone like a chandelier under the lantern light, illuminating the surroundings.
Unfazed by the worn, dusty inn chair, he grabbed the beer mug on the table. He looked less like a prince and more like a young, spirited knight.
“Among the threats facing our nation, what war is greater than the Fifty Years' War?”
Helrga's eyes gleamed like a lion's. His emerald eyes sparkled as if eyeing prey. Fernandez knew people with such eyes. The eyes of those called heroes.
Eyes of those who overcame countless hardships, shunned no adversity, threw themselves into trials, and ultimately seized glory.
Eyes that ignited courage in people's hearts like wildfire and served as beacons of hope in the darkness.
‘Why?’
In his past life, the young knight king who led the Dane Kingdom. The father of the hero king Vicente... How could a man of this caliber fail to ascend the throne? The Dane royal lineage went straight from Helrga III to Vicente II.
-Helrga the king did live an unusually long time.
‘Did he really live that long?’
Helrga III had reigned for what seemed like an immortal's tenure. Had he truly 'lived' that long? The information about Necropolis tangled in Fernandez's mind, revealing a small clue. It was still just a hypothesis, but...
-That assumption is probably correct.
‘Helrga the king was a puppet of Necropolis, and this prince was sacrificed in the process of unearthing the Buried Church... Assuming that, the picture looks pretty, doesn't it?’
-Let's test it out.
As Fernandez silently stared at the prince's face, Baimier frowned.
“You fool, have you forgotten how to speak?”
“No, it's fine, Sir Baimier. Meeting the prince isn't an everyday occurrence.”
Had he frozen upon meeting royalty? Young knights would all react that way... Disappointment settled in Prince Helrga's eyes. At that moment, Fernandez broke his silence.
“I was at the Church of Beitasser.”
“Yes. I heard later that you were dragged there for an inquisition. What did you do in the meantime?”
“I proved my purity and served as a templar knight.”
-Thud.
Fernandez pulled a certificate from the Church of Beitasser from his bosom and placed it on the table. Baimier and Helrga didn't bother unfolding it. A public document placed like that wouldn't be fake. They didn't think him capable of such a clumsy ploy.
“The elves dominating the northeastern seas have ceased resistance, and Franzrit of Serpents Isle remains silent. Your Highness, in that situation, what do you think is the kingdom's most pressing issue?”
“Securing Infermur and the tariff clauses of the Eastern Triangle Trade?”
“It's a declaration of war from the Fairn royal family.”
Fernandez knew the northern barbarians would launch an offensive soon. Within ten years, without fail. But that was a memory from his past life, with no other way to prove it.
In such a situation, the only way to convince realists was information from an authoritative institution they hadn't encountered.
“The Church of Beitasser estimated it would take the Fairn royal family three months from the outbreak to completely resolve the Walker incident. To suppress internal discontent and prove the solidity of royal authority, aggressive diplomatic tactics will be necessary. The Church of Beitasser anticipates a declaration of war from the Fairn royal family.”
Prince Helrga's eyes changed. He was clearly conflicted. War was an opportunity for royalty.
If limited to inland forces, the strengths of Fairn and Dane were evenly matched. Considering Fairn's lack of time to rebuild naval power due to the Walker incident...
But Baimier was a seasoned knight. He cautiously tapped the table to draw attention.
“Isn't that the core issue? Even if we and Fairn start a war, it would be a local conflict. How could that grow larger than the Fifty Years' War?”
“If the Eastern Kingdom Alliance collapses, the Fifty Years' War will end in the Empire's defeat. The current Fifty Years' War is little more than a proxy war against the Sultanate and the Western Nomad blood alliance. Do you think they'll be satisfied with that once the barrier of the Empire is gone?”
“Speculation. Who would easily undertake a great expedition through the wasteland? Even if Kirzat's Al'Hashr is a mad warmonger, projecting forces all the way to this distant east isn't easy.”
Baimier's eyes sharpened. The Round Table Council was no mere gathering of knights. Each member was a seasoned politician, diplomat, and lord. Convincing them was exceedingly difficult.
Fernandez slowly steepled his fingers on the table.
“After the elves of Infermur vanished, is Franzrit's silence a coincidence?”
“What?”
Convincing them was difficult. If combining what they knew. But Fernandez had reached the realm of mastery in information warfare and deception.
“Why do you think Franzrit's warships haven't been sighted since that day? Why aren't they raiding the coasts now that there's no force at sea to check them?”
“...Stop beating around the bush.”
Baimier feigned a frown. But his eyes trembled. For a moment, he felt intimidated by the young man's gloomy gaze. It was like the eyes of a shrewd politician in his eighties.
“The Empire loses the Fifty Years' War, and its dominance over the northern continent wanes.”
Fernandez spoke like a prophet.
“Freed from the elven king's checks, Franzrit breaks out of the northeast and seizes complete naval dominance over the entire northern coastline.”
“They lack the forces to invade inland. What could those half-breeds do inland?”
Baimier asserted, shaking off fear. The inn's kerosene flickered, casting shadows on the table. To him, it looked like a continent map being engulfed in shadow.
“If the Eastern Kingdom Alliance crumbles in war and the eastern continent is engulfed in turmoil. Franzrit can then acquire forces to project inland. Those who hate continental civilized cities more than anyone. There are those whose goals align with Franzrit.”
“...The northern barbarians...!”
Helrga let out a stifled groan. He stared at Fernandez with eyes filled with shock. The young man before him was no longer a novice knight.
“If they use the bat bastards' warships as transport, yes. It's possible. But, but aren't all of Sir Fernandez's words mere assumptions?”
Baimier now spoke almost desperately. Hoping Fernandez's words were mere delusions. Fernandez sensed these two were fully convinced.
They just needed the final nail.
“That's the judgment of the Church of Beitasser.”
“Then why doesn't the church act directly?”
“If that's the reason I entered this country hiding my name, do you need another explanation for why they don't intervene directly?”
The church's direct involvement in civilized society's politics was an implicit taboo.
They could exert influence up to coordination and advice, but in this era with the Holy Pantheon of Good Gods sealed, antagonizing the royal houses holding real power was burdensome even for the church.
Thus, their minimal interventions in civilized society took the form of dispatching anonymous agents like this.
Unlike Prince Helrga, who hadn't realized it yet, Baimier looked at Fernandez with a subtle expression.
‘A diplomat from the Beitasser Church.’
If dispatched to prevent war between two kingdoms, they wouldn't send someone ordinary.
They would send someone from Dane nobility with outstanding personal prowess and considerable political acumen.
Someone like this young man. Baimier's gaze shifted from looking at his dead friend's bastard son to viewing him as a seasoned foreign politician.
Prince Helrga took a sip of his lukewarm beer and cautiously broached the topic.
“But the greatest obstacle isn't the Fairn royal family's will for peace. Sir Fernandez.”
“It must be His Majesty Helrga III's intentions.”
“Yes. And Father probably...”
“He desires war.”
Fernandez spoke as if he grasped every detail.
“And isn't the reason Your Highness is out like this under cover of night also due to His Majesty?”
“...How much does the Beitasser Church know?”
“That it's not simply due to His Majesty's advanced age clouding his judgment.”
Cold sweat trickled down Helrga and Baimier's spines. If these words leaked out now, they could serve as evidence tantamount to treason.
But the situation they feared wasn't that.
“And from my personal investigation, the Buried Church has extended its tentacles to His Majesty.”
“Damn it. Baimier!”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
-Shing!
Baimier swiftly drew his sword and dashed outside. If anyone had overheard this conversation, all their preparations thus far would be for naught!
Helrga felt the young man sitting quietly before him suddenly swell enormously. He was overwhelmed by this youth.
A naive young knight frozen by meeting royalty? No, that's not it.
This young man... no, this knight. He was merely testing him. As if eager to gauge the measure of his vessel.
Helrga suppressed his goosebumps and looked at Fernandez.
“Fortunately, I can assist Your Highness.”
Fernandez whispered like a devil.
*
Baimier silently watched Fernandez riding beside him. He was too different from expectations to simply rejoice that his dead friend's son had grown up.
‘A simple, honest, talented young knight would have sufficed. Lucas. Damn it. Wasn't the son luck too much?’
Among his peers, how many possessed both that insight and prowess? Baimier shook his head, recalling the list of royal knights in his mind.
Among noble-born youths, the most outstanding was Prince Helrga. Even that prince likely surpassed the youth only in raw strength.
‘Is this punishment for not watching over your son? Lucas.’
Lucas's younger brother, Baron Daniel Cerned, was a political and persuasive noble. After Lucas's death, he swiftly took control of Cerned Barony and gained recognition.
He was regent externally, but few nobles opposed his inheritance.
Baimier himself was too busy to concern himself with Cerned backwater. His best was becoming Fernandez's guardian after he came of age.
Yet on the day Fernandez came of age, he killed his uncle and cousin and was dragged to the Inquisition.
What could he have done in such a situation? Baimier quietly closed his eyes.
Altbert's gate was approaching. Someone was galloping toward them on horseback. Radiant platinum blond hair fluttered in the wind.
“Your Highness, the princess is coming.”
“Ah... damn it. Pretend you don't know me.”
Helrga scowled and pulled his hood low. The woman, now close, smiled softly and reined in her horse.
“Brother, out for a stroll?”
“...Moria. How did you know I was coming?”
At Helrga's sharp tone, Moria smiled brightly and stroked her horse's neck.
“I was always on the ramparts, worried about you, brother.”
“Surveillance was sufficient within the palace. Moria. I'm tired. Next time...”
“Don't be like that. Introduce your companions.”
Moria's emerald eyes fixed on Fernandez's face. Fernandez met her gaze and smiled.
‘Now the puzzle is complete.’
-Things are getting interesting.
Feizashi chuckled. The mana in his mystic vision conveyed information to Fernandez. About the mana enveloping the city—
‘To think they've even ensnared the princess.’
And the traces of black magic entwined in Moria's eyes.