The Fourteenth Research - The Final Lord (3)
On the planet Sinear, there are at least fifteen hundred distinct species. Yet only about a hundred of them are capable of meaningful communication with humans.
'If we limit the list to major races capable of forming power blocs, it shrinks to twelve. These twelve races have repeated cycles of alliance and war ever since the primordial era.'
Dwarves and dragons, as members of the Twelve Races, had spent thousands of years accumulating grudges. Both sides coveted precious treasures, and their territories overlapped.
“...This is not a refusal to shoulder my master’s debt in his stead. It simply means repayment must be postponed because I am preparing a major military expedition.”
Belladia, who had studied this history, greeted the Finance King Dagren with perfect courtesy. The Finance King was a rotund dwarf who looked as though walking alone was already a struggle, yet inside that plump frame lay schemes that could ruin countless lives and the ruthless competence to turn those schemes into mountains of wealth.
“A major expedition, you say?”
“Indeed. We are preparing to march on the Great Mountain Range.”
“Hmm...”
At the border between the central and eastern regions stood an exceptionally tall and treacherous mountain range. Humans called it the Great Mountain Range; the dwarves called it the Mountains of Madness and feared it, for they knew what lurked beneath its roots.
“Such a campaign would be impossible with mere human skill.”
“Yet the mountain orcs have already invaded our lands. Is it not natural that we should retaliate?”
Belladia deliberately slipped off her ring, letting her killing intent bleed into the open. The Finance King mistook the murderous light in the queen’s jewel-like eyes for hatred toward the orcs. After all, mountain orcs waged war with appalling cruelty.
“Besides, our kingdom has an old grudge to settle. The previous king, Machasi III, was captured by them and turned into stew...”
With that, the Finance King became certain that Belladia harbored a burning thirst for vengeance against the mountain orcs. Otherwise there would be no explaining why a queen who listened even to the complaints of lowly serfs would display such ferocious bloodlust.
'Queen Belladia is a lioness.'
Fierce and savage toward external foes, yet merciful and generous to those who followed her. Add in her exceptional military talent, and she shared every hallmark of the great conquerors who had left lasting legacies.
'A debtor like this is an asset with high future value. Better to put a leash on her and collect steady returns than sell her off for a one-time profit.'
The Finance King had accurately gauged Belladia’s economic worth. He never dreamed she was a powerful warlock, yet...
“Might I invest in this expedition?”
Having recognized the queen’s value as an asset, the Finance King now treated her with deference. The savage warrior who once fought wearing a bear mask had undergone a complete attitude reversal.
“What manner of investment do you propose?”
“Pardon my bluntness, but Esil’s army alone cannot overcome the mountain orcs. Their strongholds sit atop precipitous peaks and stretch deep underground where humans can barely function.”
Unconcealable worry flickered across Belladia’s face. It was a problem she had already considered, but she had hidden her true feelings so as not to show weakness before a foreign monarch—or so the Finance King believed.
“Above all, the Great Mountain Range is the domain ruled by the Black Tyrant Karvenalore. The mountain orcs pay her tribute in exchange for protection from outside threats. To overcome such danger, you will need the help of specialists.”
And so the Finance King produced a contract.
“Sign here, and the problem is solved.”
“What exactly does the contract say? From childhood I devoted myself solely to martial training and never learned Elvish.”
Belladia’s claim of ignorance regarding Elvish made her seem like a stereotypical central knight—exactly what one would expect from the successor of the muscle-headed Iron Lord Harrington.
'Just as I thought—all brawn, no brain.'
Her seemingly ignorant appearance actually increased the Finance King’s trust. He was now convinced he could collar the lioness and keep her as a obedient pet.
“...I will consider it.”
“I understand your reluctance to use territory as collateral. Still, I hope you will accept this as sincere advice from an old man. After all, if Your Majesty does not win, the kingdom itself will cease to exist. Therefore...”
Belladia has been strengthened!
Lv20 Queen → Lv25 Queen
Belladia has acquired the ‘Cunning Manipulator’ trait!!
Cunning Manipulator (Heroic Trait)
You have mastered the art of manipulating others. Yet the most lethal advantage is this: you can conceal the fact that you are a lethal person. Your enemies will move exactly as you desire, believing the shadow you showed them is the real you...
Effects:
Scheme Power +300%
Immediate activation of schemes is now possible.
Instinctive analysis of schemes is now possible.
The Finance King believed he had ensnared the naïve maiden queen, yet without realizing it he had already become tangled in the intricate spider web Belladia had spun.
“A wise decision, Your Majesty!”
“I expect the war funds to be delivered in full.”
“I shall also send seasoned dragon hunters.”
Kill the orcs!
Collar the queen!
Slay the dragon as well!
This was the legendary scheme of the Finance King!
“I, Belladia the First, descendant of the Iron Lord Harrington and the Conqueror Zaherion, swear upon the honor of my ancestors to repay the Golden Bank’s assistance as follows. First, half of all spoils obtained during this expedition shall be surrendered. Second, half of all tax revenue shall be paid first toward debt repayment. Third, until the debt is fully cleared, the minting rights of the Esil Kingdom shall be transferred to the Golden Bank. Fourth...”
However.
This time his greed had simply been too great.
The same greed that had driven countless investors to ruin.
“Hmm...”
“What are you observing, Master?”
The golden Aldanes inquired as she watched her master peer into the crystal orb. She was a girl who always paid close attention to anything that smelled of profit.
“I was checking the water temperature of the Golden River. The Golden Bank’s investors may be moneylenders without blood or tears, but I hope the road that leads them back to their ancestors is at least warm.”
Sigh.
Too bad.
Such a shame...
＊＊＊
Once the war funds arrived, Belladia swiftly organized the mountain orc subjugation force. With ample money, recruiting troops was no longer difficult.
“Her Majesty the Queen watches over us!”
“Let us embark on a holy war to purge the heathens!”
“Even the laborers receive two silver coins per week on this campaign!”
“Turn every last filthy orc into stew!”
The recruiters lured rural youths with all sorts of slogans, but the one that set their hearts ablaze most fiercely was hatred for the orcs. The queen’s attention and generous pay came second.
“This is surprising.”
Fully armed, Belladia expressed genuine astonishment at the crowds of young men who had gathered like clouds at the recruitment station. Her gaze lingered noticeably longer on the muscular, handsome ones.
“Revenge matters more to them than my attention or money?”
“To sensible people you are merely an object of worship, not a realistically attainable romantic partner.”
Many people admire top stars. Very few realistically expect to marry one. The way the citizens of the kingdom looked at Belladia was much the same.
“Hmm. That makes sense.”
A king in Medieval Land had to fulfill the roles of both president and top celebrity at once. At least that was true in the central region where the culture of chivalry prevailed.
“Yet revenge is more important than even their wages?”
“The human craving for revenge is primal. You must engrave this truth in your heart and never create enemies lightly. If you do make an enemy, reconcile quickly. If reconciliation is impossible, annihilate them without hesitation.”
Medieval Land contained countless customs that a modern sensibility could not comprehend, yet all of them ultimately stemmed from one single principle.
Do not become enemies.
If you become enemies, reconcile.
“That is why, even in wartime, kings and nobles are not killed recklessly, and once a fortress falls and the three days of pillage end, the residents are left unharmed.”
However.
There were always those who ignored every custom.
“Fools who believe power is everything. The ever-arrogant dragon race. The mountain orcs who claim cannibalism as tradition. The gold dwarves who operate slave auction houses.”
Belladia pondered what they had in common. The first point was that they were all overwhelmingly powerful factions—strong enough to ignore everyone else’s opinions.
“On the surface they appear fine.”
“Yet instinctively you feel uneasy, don’t you?”
“Yes. I can’t explain the reason clearly, but my intuition tells me their ends will not be beautiful.”
At Belladia’s reply the other disciples showed interest as well. The Golden Prince in particular listened with great attention to any mention of dragons.
“You saw correctly.”
“Hmm.”
“Even if they fall into misfortune, they will receive no sympathy from others. On the contrary, they will be mocked.”
The strongest creatures are dragons. They possess invincible bodies and soar through the open sky. They also boast high intellect and immense magical power.
However.
They possess zero sociality.
Because they are a race that lives alone from the very beginning.
Dragon Lore Acquired!
Experience +10
Lore Point +1
90/100 until Level 37
Lore Points: 11
“That is why the dragons yielded hegemony to the elves and have today lost most of their power, driven into the wilderness. They rarely cooperate even with their own parents and children, and no other race offers them sympathy when dragonkin are hunted.”
Dragonkin trample other races, calling them insects. Therefore other races must either tremble in fear and submit, or stake everything on resistance.
“In less civilized eras many chose submission, but in today’s developed world far more choose to fight back.”
At that moment the Golden Prince posed a question.
“Does even an absolute powerhouse need sympathy?”
“Is an absolute powerhouse absolute from the very beginning?”
“...”
“If there existed a being that remained absolute from birth until the moment it died of old age, it would need no one’s sympathy. But the world we live in is a place where even the gods lose their absoluteness before the passage of time.”
Hiss!
A small, adorable silver snake slithered into the tent where class was underway. Belladia greeted it in the language of beasts, but the other disciples instinctively sensed the creature’s overwhelming power and shrank back. Even the Golden Prince.
“The priests of the sun god claim that the celestial emperor is such an absolute being… yet any intellectual who has studied history and philosophy must firmly reject such sophistry.”
In any case.
“The point of today’s lesson is that those who ignored custom while they were strong will receive no sympathy whatsoever once they become weak.”
And the fate of the weak who receive no sympathy is utterly miserable.
The Last Dragon Lord
The specimen has broken its mental egg!
Research Clues 4/10
Experience +10
Lore Point +1
Level has increased!
0/100 until Level 38
Lore Points: 12
After concluding the lesson, she draped the silver snake across her arm and left the tent. The disciples needed time to become acquainted with one another.
“...Master.”
The one who stopped her was the Golden Prince. His attitude was completely different from his usual arrogance.
“Did you just call me Master?”
“...”
“How surprising. The sun must be rising in the west.”
It had been over a year since he had taken the Golden Prince under his wing, yet their relationship had always remained icy. Every time the prince tried to prove himself superior to his fellow disciples, Tellorian had ruthlessly crushed him—by assigning him only menial labor or mentally dominating him to humiliate him.
“Only now do I understand the true meaning of Master’s teachings. I am sincerely grateful for the grace you have shown in helping me shed the arrogance of the dragon race.”
Tellorian’s lips curved into a faint smile. He was simply proud that his disciple had followed the lesson exactly as intended.
“As expected of dragonkin—your learning speed is impressive.”
“It would have been impossible without you, Master.”
“Still, my lessons alone could not have produced such rapid realization… Was there a catalyst?”
The Golden Prince glanced at the silver snake resting on Tellorian’s shoulder. Seeing the proud look in her eyes, it seemed she had provided the final teaching.
“I see.”
“...”
“It is fortunate you realized it before you grew any older.”
“Is it?”
“As dragonkin age, you grow stronger—but your obstinacy hardens as well. Living alone and isolated in the world like that… you gradually fade away.”
He turned to leave.
“From tomorrow, attend the regular classes as well.”
“Thank you!”
“I shall call you by the name your parents gave you. However, even if you are someone who will one day leave, while you remain beneath my wing you are an equal disciple. That is all.”
＊＊＊
Two days later.
At the kingdom army’s staging ground for the upcoming expedition.
“I greet Your Majesty, the beautiful queen.”
“You have traveled a long way. Thank you for your effort.”
With royal knights standing in formation, heavily armed legion soldiers marched in. The legionaries displayed the empire’s might with the same strict discipline as elves.
“Quintus of the Lucius family, son of Decius, I shall now hear the message you bring from the imperial citizens and the senate.”
Yet the ones truly overwhelmed were the imperial delegates. The pitiful Quintus of the Lucius family was instantly conquered the moment he saw the barbarian queen’s smile.