Chapter 284: The Tin Knight and the City of Hubris (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 284: The Tin Knight and the City of Hubris (4)
Subjugating the red mist was easier than you expected.
The opponent possessed outstanding physical abilities, but to put it another way, that was all it had.
If you had to describe it, it felt like a fighter who normally used a wide variety of skills was suddenly charging at you with their skills sealed, relying only on hand-to-hand combat.
As your sword sliced through the enemy's neck, its body collapsed and dispersed into the surroundings.
Having anticipated this, you quickly stepped back to avoid the mist.
The mist pursued you again, and you continued to evade it.
Then, the mist spread throughout the entire space and began to slowly encroach upon you.
This was something you couldn't avoid, as it was impossible not to come into contact with the air itself.
Well, if you applied Shield Bash in just the right way, you could probably create a temporary vacuum, but maintaining it would be difficult.
Deciding to just accept it as a kind of field effect, you chose the 'Now is not the time' option from the two pasts unfolding before you.
Honestly, if it were just a matter of personal preference, you would have chosen 'Let’s overturn everything right now!', but that option felt strongly distorted by the red mist.
“—No. If we condemn the heavens without clear evidence, the world will only try to silence us and erase our existence. Before we rashly raise our voices, we must first secure concrete proof and build a foundation so that people are ready to accept it.”
At Sophia's words, the members of the Hubris school, though disappointed, followed her lead.
Although some objected, Sophia persuaded them through lengthy debates rather than simply crushing their dissent with her authority.
To you, it was a truly curious sight.
The debates you were familiar with were usually won by those with the loudest voices, armed with an 'I'm right and you're wrong!' mentality. Or, when both sides adopted that same mindset, they would often devolve into verbal abuse, sarcasm, and even physical brawls.
Sophia's eloquence was certainly a factor, but it also seemed that the city's culture itself considered such behavior shameful.
And so, time began to flow once more.
Perhaps because they chose rational, gradual change over radical reform, the Hubris school began to gain acceptance among the people without significant resistance.
Of course, not everyone trusted their words, but the number of people who thought, ‘I suppose that way of thinking is possible,’ or ‘I see what they’re trying to say,’ had grown.
However, the passage of time was not entirely in Sophia's favor.
The first misfortune was the death of the elderly priest, who had been Sophia’s staunchest supporter and mentor. He had finally reached the end of his natural lifespan.
It was customary for priests on the surface to return to the Kingdom of Heaven after completing their term, but the elderly priest had broken with this tradition, choosing to remain.
Before he passed, he left Sophia with these words.
“Sophia. Originally, the reason I took you as a conversation partner was to teach you.”
“Your words were arrogant, but the holy power you held within you was immense. When we first met, you were but a child, so I thought it was mere youthful impudence. Thus, I intended to teach you 'correctly' and guide you to devote yourself to the Kingdom of Heaven.”
“I told everyone I would treat you as an equal, but inwardly, I was looking down on you more than anyone. I was right, and you were wrong. That's how I saw it.”
“Isn't it laughable? A debate is only valuable when one acknowledges they could be wrong, judges the rightness or wrongness of the other's words, and accepts them. I, who never even considered that I could be wrong from the start, was a fool who hadn't even mastered the very basics.”
“But as I continued to speak with you, I too began to harbor doubts, little by little.”
“God, the Kingdom of Heaven, the policies of the Kingdom of Heaven. I began to think that what I had taken for granted was not so certain after all. And that I had never deeply contemplated it before.”
“Because in the Kingdom of Heaven, that was the 'right' thing to do. Do not doubt, do not judge with your own subjectivity, for the will of God is so great that a mere human cannot possibly fathom it. Just believe and follow.”
“Whether those words are right or wrong, I can no longer tell. But, a thought occurred to me. Regardless of whether those words are right or wrong… if someone were to exploit them to deceive people, there could be nothing more terrifying.”
“Don't you agree? If doubting, questioning, and even complaining are all considered blasphemy... if all those acts are defined as the vice of 'arrogance'... when someone speaks falsehoods in the name of God, who would dare stop them? Who in this world could confidently declare that it is wrong?”
“Sophia. My most brilliant student, and the teacher who taught me. My friend who showed me the joy of conversation, and the daughter who let me see the joy of growth. I beg you, please be careful. And remember this: the Kingdom of Heaven is far more powerful than you think, and they are also insidious.”
In his final moments, the priest referred to the Kingdom of Heaven as ‘they,’ not ‘we.’
Until the very end, he worried for Sophia’s future.
Another misfortune was that Sophia’s country, Doria, went to war.
In truth, war itself was not a particularly rare occurrence.
The nation of Doria was, by its very nature, a place where the threat of war with foreign powers was an ever-present reality.
After all, from the perspective of nations ruled by kings and nobles, there was no place more irksome than Doria.
Noble blood, by its very existence, was meant to be revered and to guarantee the legitimacy of rule, but Doria rejected this fundamental premise.
It was fortunate that when Doria was just establishing itself and growing in stature, the entire continent was in chaos following the collapse of the old kingdom. Had that not been the case, it would surely have been crushed by other powers before it could even properly lay its foundations as a nation.
But while past wars had generally been defensive, with Doria repelling foreign invasions, this one was different: Doria had launched the preemptive strike.
The official pretext was the murder of Doria’s scholars by the enemy king, but the real reason was to seize the enemy nation’s rich granaries and lucrative trade routes.
The war ended in Doria’s victory, and they acquired immense wealth, food supplies, and the rights to vast territories.
The victorious general, who had initiated the war and now grasped victory, spoke amidst the overwhelming cheers of the citizens.
“This victory is not mine, but Doria’s, and it is yours! It is because you supported and cheered for me that we were able to greet this glorious day! This is but a small token of my sincerity to you all!”
At his gesture, soldiers began distributing portions of gold, silver, and other treasures to the citizens.
The citizens erupted in even greater praise and cheers.
Then, as a dozen or so people were dragged out bound in ropes, the cheering reached a crescendo.
“Behold, everyone! These are the royals of the Kingdom of Ev, who fought against us! The King of Ev, lost in the absurd delusion of immortality, exploited the entire nation to achieve it! Farmers were robbed of the grain they produced with their blood and sweat, merchants had to continuously pour money into his broken-pot-like treasury, and all the people had to endure lives like a daily punishment!”
“The people of Ev suffered endlessly, while the foolish king and his kin sucked their lifeblood to lead lives of plenty and indolence! Without any effort! They exploited countless people simply for the reason of being born royal! This is the ugliness of those who call themselves kings, and it is proof that we, who fight against them, are righteous! If we had lost this war, the royals of Ev would have surely tried to enslave us as well!”
“But they have been defeated, and now they kneel before you! Now, answer me, everyone! What punishment should we mete out to them?”
It was a question, but at the same time, it was not.
His preceding words had all but dictated the answer, making it tantamount to coercion.
And the citizens willingly played their part in his scheme.
“Kill them!” “Kill them!” “Kill them!”
“To the wicked oppressors, a death more cruel than any other!”
The citizens of Doria had never been fond of monarchies to begin with.
The monarchies may have had no choice but to keep Doria in check for the sake of their own stability, but that was their problem; those on the receiving end of the hostility were hardly going to be pleased about it.
Being told that the captives were the kin of a wicked tyrant, they felt no hesitation. Condemning villains was a gratifying act.
As if with one voice, they cried out for the death of the Ev royals, who trembled in terror.
Just as the victorious general grinned, about to order the execution—
“—Then they must, of course, be punished according to the law.”
From the heart of that madness, a woman stepped forward, her face perfectly composed.
At Sophia’s appearance, the victorious general—no, Sophia’s older brother—scowled deeply.
But it was only for a moment. He quickly gauged the bewildered mood of the citizens, then adopted a deceptively skeptical tone as he addressed Sophia.
“Representative Sophia. Are you saying you would defend these royals? These people who have committed countless sins? The enemies of Doria?”
“Yes, I am.”
Her brother’s eyebrow twitched again.
He had intended to press the attack if she showed any sign of being flustered or hesitant, but her frank admission left him momentarily speechless. It didn't last long, however.
“To a woman who knows nothing of battle, who has never set foot on a battlefield, this act might seem cruel. I can understand your sympathy for them. However, because of the foolish war they started, the citizens of Doria shed a great deal of blood. The price for that blood must be paid in full, and we must not allow personal pity to jeopardize our great cause. To do so would be an insult to our fallen.”
His words were laden with multiple meanings.
First, he devalued Sophia’s words, framing them as the opinion of an ignorant woman with no experience of war. At the same time, he created a deliberate opening for her to attack.
The opening was the justification for the war. Strictly speaking, the other side had not initiated this conflict.
But this was a deliberate flaw in his argument.
People are reluctant to admit their own ugliness. If Sophia were to debate the righteousness of the war, she would risk turning the majority of citizens who had supported it against her.
“No, that’s not what this is about. I’m pointing out that if we simply kill these royals here without due process, Doria itself will be ruined.”
And with that, Sophia deftly sidestepped her brother’s trap and captured the crowd’s attention with a different topic.
“There are many monarchies on this continent, are there not? How do you think they will react when they hear that the Kingdom of Ev has fallen and its entire royal family has been brutally murdered?”
“They will be terrified of us and cease their pathetic provocations and attempts to keep us in check!”
“No. They will join hands and conspire to destroy us. When monarchies fight amongst themselves, they almost never annihilate the opposing royal family. This would set a precedent that to fight Doria is to face the complete eradication of one’s line.”
“That is merely your speculation, Representative.”
“As is your statement, General.”
As the two argued in the middle of the square, the citizens, who had initially been caught up in the excitement and calling for the royals’ execution, now began to exchange opinions among themselves with confused expressions.
Some agreed with her brother, while others sided with Sophia.
And amidst that confusion, Sophia whispered to her brother in a low voice, inaudible to the others.
“I know you wish to gain more military accolades and power through successive wars, but that is a poisoned apple.”
“You…!”
Her brother’s expression shifted through various shades. Shame, humiliation, and rage at having his true intentions exposed.
Though he ground his teeth, he no longer pushed for the execution. After a heated debate among the people, the fate of the Ev royals was decided: ‘They shall be punished according to their individual crimes.’
You checked for any sign from the red mist, but it didn't stir.
It remained still despite having a perfect opportunity to intervene, suggesting that rather than attacking repeatedly with half-measures, it intended to wait until you were sufficiently weakened before striking all at once.
You paid it no mind. Even if that were its plan, you were confident you could crush it.
Suddenly, your gaze fell upon the captured royals.
The young girl you had once seen in a vision was watching Sophia, her eyes gleaming.