Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: The War Hero Decides to Defect (3)
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This continent of Europa, true to its medieval fantasy nature, was home to truly diverse races.
From humans on down, there were elves, beastmen, dwarves, orcs, vampires, fairies, and all sorts of other races, each forming their own tribes or kingdoms and living their lives.
And amid all that, the Empire ignited a war.
The non-humans, who had long been at odds with one another, began resisting the Empire, and the Empire absorbed those non-humans who had been persecuted by the mainstream races before the war, pitting them against their own kind.
For instance, they recruited dark elves—elves who had been ostracized as fallen—and had beastmen merfolk raid the coasts.
To conquer the continent, the Empire spared no means or methods, while each nation did everything in its power to survive against such an adversary.
And in the course of that struggle for survival, I lent aid to countries across the land.
The fact that I was in the Grates Kingdom wasn't just because I'd been born here—there was no restriction or curse tying my Grand Master power to this place, forcing me to stay.
I could go anywhere I pleased.
So this came down to a matter of choice.
For an excuse, I could just say something vague like, "I'll tour the nations post-armistice and investigate the Empire's vile schemes." The real question was where to go.
"The Elf Kingdom with the World Tree would be the best place to start, right?"
First up: the Elf Kingdom.
Thank goodness—this world's elves weren't the muscle-bound archer stereotypes crammed with meat, or nature-worshipping recluses shunning human civilization, or twisted revolutionaries sporting red headbands and shouting slogans.
They were the quintessential forest folk, the archetypal elves.
Not the Western-style faces overflowing with that aesthetic either, but a land brimming with stunning beauties full of Eastern elven charm.
"Master, didn't you used to dislike elves?"
"Me?"
"Yes. Elves don't reach adulthood until age two hundred, after all."
True to their classic fantasy roots, elves lived around a thousand years.
With lifespans about ten times that of humans, any comparison of human and elven lives had to account for that 1:10 ratio.
But.
"A three-hundred-seventy-year-old elf is a different story."
We couldn't judge humans and elves on the same scale.
"Especially the Forest Guardians riding unicorns."
"Master..."
"You know what the Empire did to the elves they captured during the war, Robert. It wasn't by chance that so many of the Empire's soldiers attacking the Elf Kingdom were men."
To males, elves were an object of considerable longing.
It was a touchy subject not to be mentioned lightly, but the Empire's atrocities against elves couldn't be summed up as mere dark fantasy fodder.
They were on the brutal end even compared to the stuff you'd see in hitomi, and there might still be elves held as slaves in the Empire's black markets.
Post-armistice talks had included negotiations on freeing captured slaves, but even the Elf Queen had seemed reluctant to call back those who'd become slaves in the Empire.
There were complicated issues within elven society, but one thing was clear: if I went to the Elf Kingdom, they'd welcome me with open arms.
Even among elves, some believed "Grand Masters are different," so I could enjoy making half-elves with them to my heart's content.
Not that I'd start right away, of course.
"The problem is, the Elf Kingdom isn't ideal for the entire Wilhelm household to settle in..."
"You plan to take all of us with you?"
"Of course. Leaving you all behind in this kingdom would lead to predictable trouble."
No matter where we defected, the kingdom would turn on the Wilhelm household's retainers and give them hell.
Even if the royal family's blunder was the root cause.
If we were defecting anyway, everyone in the Wilhelm Mansion should move together.
"In that case... how about a fallen kingdom?"
"A fallen kingdom?"
"Yes. It's an autonomous territory now, but there are those who wish to rebuild the kingdom destroyed by the Empire. We could find royal bloodlines aplenty if we looked."
"No thanks."
Robert's suggestion was solid, but it rested on one premise.
"I'm retired. I've slaved away all this time to live off my pension and enjoy my freedom. Rebuilding a fallen kingdom? I'd be working till the day I die."
Me, throwing myself into reviving a nation?
And I was just a guy good with a sword—not some political genius who could make a country great again.
"Robert, if I keep working, you'll be working till you die too. You okay with that?"
"I plan to serve you for life, Master."
"I appreciate the words, but you wouldn't want your workload tripling from now."
"How could I not follow when you think of us so kindly? I'm grateful."
No one in the Wilhelm Mansion wanted more work piled on.
"Robert, suppose we publicly announce our defection—which nation do you think would most aggressively try to recruit us?"
"The Empire, of course."
"...Exclude the Empire."
"Then the Beastman Kingdom—no, the Allied Tribal Nations."
Setting aside tangled politics, I privately called the beastman tribal confederation the "Furry Nation."
Even before the war with the Empire, the Furry Nation had tried pulling me into their tribes, and that wouldn't have changed.
They were also the nation most able to provide exactly what I wanted.
Beastmen had mating seasons, and luckily, I had the means to satisfy them anytime.
The catch.
"The beastmen girls would absolutely want kids, right?"
"Yes."
"No chance of just some casual fling between man and woman?"
"To them, the 'one-night stand' concept you occasionally mention doesn't exist."
For beastmen, any relationship was predicated absolutely on "breeding."
A nation without the concept of contraception.
Among the various countries, they were the most sexually open—but that sexuality came with the duty of "progeny and prosperity."
Not even a one-night stand existed; even a single night was for bearing children with a superior male's genes, not some emotional exchange through physical intimacy.
"What if I used contraception magic?"
"They'd immediately demand I dispel it, or refuse relations otherwise."
"Yeah, figured."
"Absolutely."
The Beastman Kingdom.
Lycans, nekomata, or whatever other beastmen—if we settled there, I'd inevitably sire heirs carrying my blood.
I could play dumb and say, "If they pop out, fine, but they're not really my kids," but that wasn't easy for a guy like me.
"Then other nations..."
"The Magic Tower offers stability over sexual perks. Human kingdoms would propose marriages anyway, and every option has its pros and cons."
"True. The Grates Kingdom was actually the best..."
"If only the royals hadn't forced that marriage talk, you'd be reviewing this right now, Master."
Robert pulled out a booklet.
Compiled via the information guild, it was filled with portraits and profiles of unmarried beauties aged twenty to twenty-five from various houses, with no other male entanglements.
"Ha. What a shame. I just want to bask in happiness as things are."
"There is another way..."
"Another way?"
"Yes. It's rather extreme, so I hesitate to suggest it, and given your temperament, Master, it might be quite troublesome."
"Out with it. What?"
"Counter-revolution."
What.
"You mean start a rebellion now?"
"Just exploring possibilities."
"...Isn't that a bit much?"
Rebellion.
"The royals screwed up big time with me, sure, but overthrowing the kingdom for that?"
"You're too kind for your own good, Master."
Robert gave me a pitying smile.
"Ruthless in judgment against enemies, but until they become foes, you consider their side and their goodness. That's why everyone sees you as a hero."
"Ahem. Not to that extent. I'm just a layabout who hated unnecessary bloodshed and dreamed of living day by day in leisure."
Running the count's household or bearing responsibility? I'd mostly left that to Robert and the staff.
"Still, you're defecting, aren't you?"
"Yeah."
Leaving was non-negotiable.
Absolutely—
"Hey, Robert."
"Yes, Master."
"How about a disappearance disguised as defection?"
As a private individual, free of political baggage.
"Would the Empire burn the armistice treaty and restart the war just because I vanished?"
"...In that case."
Robert ventured cautiously.
"How about leaking info only to the Empire?"
"Only to the Empire?"
"Yes. And you, Master..."
Robert rubbed his fingertips.
"...become a wandering swordsman roaming the continent incognito, freely claiming any lady who catches your eye."
"......"
"You'd have to set aside everything built as Lord Wilhelm—"
"Well now."
It was a great idea.
"Way better than gold-digging snakes eyeing the war hero."
Far more thrilling to connect with women whose love was purely for the man himself, not the power and wealth shining in their eyes.
"The war's over. Time for me to chase some romance."