Return (2)
The envoy’s march back to the Ulsro Kingdom was brisk—almost surprisingly so.
Everyone was eager to return home. In any case, there were not many nobles in the delegation; most of those who had come were functionaries or knights. An old continental saying held that the fewer nobles a march contained, the faster it moved, and their progress was a perfect example of that. They ran and ran almost in a straight line, and every time the delegation approached the Ventorino Kingdom, it was able to reach Ulsro’s border far more quickly than before.
But after that, their pace dropped sharply again.
Even so, no one complained.
Every lordship along the road to the capital had treated them to lavish banquets and plenty to see, and they themselves could feel the reason for the slowdown. The road simply wasn’t the same as the one they had taken toward Ventorino.
“So what’s the nobles’ reaction like?”
“Honestly, most of them are uneasy.”
“Hmm. So that’s how it is.”
At Mercedes’s answer, Valdes gave a small nod.
The First Princess had deliberately moved the envoy’s route around as they headed for the capital for a simple reason: she wanted to check the condition of the local nobles, and the mood of the people as well.
It had been quite some time since the demon attack on the conference hall where the two kingdoms had held their talks. In Ventorino, they had decided they could no longer afford to hide that fact, and had instead publicized it aggressively, turning Valdes and the captain of the guard into heroes. That news had been more than enough to spread all the way to the Ulsro Kingdom.
The response there had been different from Ventorino’s.
Unlike the Ventorino people, who burned with fighting spirit and rage at having been attacked, the people of Ulsro were afraid. They weren’t so much afraid of the demons as they were of war—and the damage it would bring with it.
Mercedes was touring the lordships that had suffered the worst during the previous war so she could confirm that for herself and soothe their fears.
“If war does happen, I intend to keep the damage to a minimum, but still, we should be careful.”
“Right. The people do matter.”
No matter how thoroughly Valdes had taken control of both royal families, and no matter how many schemes he continued to weave against the nobles, it was impossible to conquer the continent peacefully, laughing all the way.
Setting aside hatred of the demons, clashes of interest among the ruling class were unavoidable. If some people betrayed humanity for profit, then there were also those who could never be brought to the same table precisely because of profit. So long as Valdes refused to stop, war was inevitable.
Mercedes, who understood that perfectly well, rarely wore such a bitter expression.
Feeling guilty and oddly uneasy over that, Valdes turned his head and shifted the topic to Mari.
“How is Jurina doing?”
“Jurina? She’s quiet these days, but… honestly, I don’t really know what she’s thinking.”
“Hmm.”
She really had been unusually quiet.
Not just in her behavior, but in how little she spoke. It wasn’t that she had a hard time getting along with others; rather, the thought that one of Valdes’s subordinates might be anywhere around her had made her excessively cautious.
And because she moved so carefully, the people who tried to approach her became intimidated in turn. A beastkin—a rare race in Ulsro, a former guard from a neighboring kingdom, and a striking beauty who seemed approachable and easy to befriend. If she wanted to, she could have become popular in an instant, but because of what had happened with Valdes, Jurina showed a completely different face from before.
“That shouldn’t be the only reason. …Well, I suppose it can’t be helped.”
She had basically infiltrated enemy territory.
For Jurina, it was a situation in which she could not tell friend from foe. It was only natural that she would become extremely cautious and careful. Mari was making it sound as though she should be cautious too, which only made it worse.
“So what are you going to do about Jurina, older brother?”
“Let’s see…”
At Mari’s question, Valdes stroked his chin and thought for a moment.
He had considered leaving her alone for a while. After all, there was nothing Jurina could do, and every one of her movements was already under his watch. Mari, Ethylene, Grette, Elsa, and others besides them—there were even more women he didn’t touch directly, but whose goodwill he exploited to keep an eye on her.
“I’m thinking of letting her be for a while. There isn’t much to do while we wait anyway.”
“Huh? Why not?”
Since he hadn’t explained the plans that came after this, Mari only tilted her head in confusion.
Mercedes was the same.
“Aren’t we just moving on to the next target? There’s still the Empire, the Union Republic, the 3rd Alliance, and the Holy Kingdom. And besides….”
“There are those new heroes, too.”
“Yes, exactly.”
At the word heroes, Valdes smiled with a meaningful glint in his eyes.
“So maybe…?”
Mari made a doubtful face. She had known Valdes for less than three months, but after sleeping with him, she had learned a great many things. That tiny smile alone was enough for her to read him.
“That’s right. Our next target is the new heroes.”
“So you’re going after the most troublesome ones first.”
“Exactly. We’ve already dealt with everything faster than planned, so I’ve got more time than I expected. There’s still about a year and nine months left before preparations for war. I can afford to take it a little easy.”
“But aren’t the heroes in the Holy Kingdom? How are you going to get to them?”
“Simple. I’ll join the hero party.”
“!!”
At that, both princesses looked stunned.
Only then did they realize what Valdes was aiming for. And why he intended to wait for several months.
“Oh, I remember now. I think I read in a book that when a hero is first summoned, it’s customary for the party to travel the continent, build experience, and request support from each nation.”
“I became a hero in an emergency, so I didn’t do that, but still. I don’t know how strong the summoned heroes are, but they’ll spend at least three months training at the papal see. They’ll also study the continent and everything else about it. And then, when the time comes….”
“The Church will officially proclaim the heroes’ existence and recruit party members.”
“You’re planning to participate then.”
Valdes answered with a small laugh.
With his ability, it would be stranger if he failed the selection. And if his public reputation seemed a little lacking, he could simply say he had grown stronger over the past three months. He had Serena as a master, after all, and the public image of being a genius swordsman.
“He’s got more than enough justification, too. He can just reuse the same excuse he used for the martial tournament.”
“And there was also the attack on the conference hall.”
“The goddess’s church might dislike it, but the larger the party recruitment, the harder it becomes for them to work behind the scenes.”
“If they’re careless, they could even create some ridiculous scandal.”
“Wow… that’s a really good plan.”
Mari’s eyes sparkled.
Depending on the details, it might turn out to be truly excellent—or a clumsy scheme—but from what she’d heard so far, it sounded perfectly possible, and the odds of success seemed high.
The real issue would come after he infiltrated the party, but this was Valdes they were talking about. He had already stirred up trouble in both kingdoms. It was a little unsettling, yes, but it would have been stranger if they didn’t trust him at all.
“But if you join the hero party, we won’t be able to see you for a while.”
“Ah, that’s true…”
The two princesses’ expressions fell.
Mari couldn’t even fight, so for her it was impossible from the start. And since both of them were princesses, there was no way they could be included in a hero party to begin with. If a problem arose, it could become diplomatically complicated in an instant. The reason the goddess’s church insisted on recruiting party members on such a large scale was precisely because they couldn’t let royalty or high nobles in.
Valdes opened both arms and pulled the dejected sisters close, hugging them tightly. Then he comforted them.
“Why are you both so down? There are still a few months left.”
As he patted their backs with his arms around them, Mercedes and Mari slowly began to brighten.
“Hehe, that’s true.”
“Haah… then I guess I’d better spend that time diligently with older brother.”
“It’ll probably take another few months before you can come back to Ulsro, right?”
“You won’t be able to return right away. You usually travel around the closer territories first.”
“But at the same time… it’s an opportunity for you, older brother.”
“Yes.”
Valdes had several reasons for wanting into the hero party.
First, it would make it easy to approach the heroes—and easier to eliminate them before they grew stronger. No one knew how powerful the twin heroes summoned from another world would be. The Holy Kingdom controlled information too tightly.
But whether he knew their present strength or not, there was no doubt they would become powerful in the future. That was what a hero was. No matter how weak they might be at the moment, their potential was overwhelming. Every hero up until now had slain the Demon King within two years of being appointed.
That was why he needed to crush them before they had a chance to grow any stronger.
The second reason was tied to the hero party’s movements. They were required to tour each nation, after all. It was tradition, so that the heroes could secure proper support from the rulers of each country. The custom had been passed down from the days when magic was still too undeveloped to make long-distance communication easy.
It might seem unnecessary in this age, when people could speak from far away with magic, but it was a tradition with its uses. A hero personally visiting the capitals of the major kingdoms, stirring up the continent’s morale, and forcing the heavy-arse nobles and royals to get their heads on straight about opposing the demons—that was surprisingly effective.
…I did travel around the neighboring countries, too….
Valdes recalled the old days with a distant look.
From the Holy Kingdom to the 3rd Alliance, the Dezac Empire, the Union Republic, the Ulsro Kingdom, and finally the Ventorino Kingdom. The last two nations had already been front lines, so they hadn’t meant much. And of the first three, only one had truly offered proper support.
The 3rd Alliance had ignored the hero party with one excuse after another, while the Union Republic’s core military strength never moved.
Especially the dragons.
Although they had been elevated to the position of the Union Republic’s chief councilor, they constantly demanded treasures and more treasures. And with the dragons at the center, the councilors never stopped feuding among themselves.
It was clearly a nation and an organization created to oppose the demons, and yet they had no idea how to unify. There was a faction that didn’t care if humans died as long as their own country was protected, and another that insisted they had to follow Lord Dragon’s judgment. There were factions saying they needed to stabilize the nation, factions saying the republic should be abandoned and an empire founded with the dragons as emperor—countless, ridiculous factions appeared one after another.
At least the demi-humans who had come to the front lines separately to prove their merit, and the beastkin who had suffered so heavily from the outset that they were aggressive from the start in the war against the demons, had been a great help.
And in the end, each and every one of them… tsk. I got lost in memory without even noticing.
Frowning before he knew it, Valdes clicked his tongue.
There had been many good memories from that time, but in the end there had been far more annoying ones. Every companion he had traveled with had either died or betrayed him. There were a few who hadn’t, but they were too few in number, and there weren’t enough memories worth keeping.
Seeing that Valdes’s expression had darkened, Mari suddenly shot up a hand and called out.
“Oh, older brother!”
“...Ah, yeah. What is it?”
“I, I have somewhere I want to go!”
“Out of nowhere? Where?”
“The Great Mage’s Dungeon!”
“...There? Why?”
He looked unconvinced. It was called the Great Mage’s Dungeon with a grandiose name, but there wasn’t much there that could truly be called impressive. For one thing, the facilities themselves had all been built for the countless experiments of the Great Mage Robert.
There was absolutely nothing there that a normal person would enjoy seeing.
“You’re going there for a little while after you return to the capital anyway, aren’t you?”
“Mm… even so, no.”
“Whaaat?! Why not?”
“Because….”
Valdes started to answer, then shut his mouth. He let out a small sigh.
“What’s going to happen there… isn’t something I want you two seeing. Robert’s in that place, after all. I’d rather you didn’t know what I’m going to do to him.”
“Ah….”
Not only Mari, but Mercedes too, wore a strange expression.
At first glance it seemed as if he were keeping distance from them, but in the end Valdes was considering their feelings. No one wanted to show the person they loved the terrible things they intended to do. That was true even for a Demon Prince carrying out brutal revenge.
“I understand. Still….”
“Come back as quickly as you can from there, too.”
“...Haha. Of course.”
The three of them exchanged looks and smiled softly.
“Enough about that. Where are we headed next?”
“The House of Marquis Propylene.”
“Propylene? If so, then….”
“Yes. That’s Ethylene’s territory.”
It seemed the day had come to meet an old connection again.