Annoying Fellow

The land of the Heinkel Kingdom in the Midwest.

It was a bright day, without a single cloud in the sky.

Nevertheless, the Heinkel Kingdom was dyed a deep gray, as though dark clouds hung thickly over it.

Though it was midsummer, when life should have been flourishing, the moss clinging to the walls had withered and died, falling helplessly to the ground, and not a single weed could be seen.

Not even a rat pup, let alone a single ant, wandered about.

The only sound lingering through the streets was the eerie sound of the wind.

It was dead.

“This place was once called the Land of Peace.”

At the highest point of Heinkel Castle, the person looking down over the kingdom was King Sigmund Heinkel.

“But apparently, it wasn’t meant in a good way. They say it was a nickname coined sarcastically because the king loved peace so dearly.”

“But did you know something?”

King Heinkel asked, stealing a glance behind him.

A man stood there, watching him silently.

“Even that sort of sarcasm was good. I thought that if I could hear things like that and still not fight, then that would be for the best.”

Then he said with a hollow laugh,

“But it was meaningless. I never realized how illusory peacefully resolving things was…… I never knew everything…… was this meaningless.”

King Heinkel quietly walked before the man and knelt at his feet.

“Allow me to offer my greetings once more. Thank you for helping enlighten this ignorant and foolish king and his people.”

The man was Gokma, a demon with snow-white skin.

“There is no need to thank me. Everything was created according to your will. It was possible because you wished to change yourself.”

“Having the will to change is not enough to make it happen. I stand here because the great Godwin’s attendant helped me without reservation.”

King Heinkel held out his hand.

A black book appeared in it.

Gokma ran his hand over the cover of the book and murmured,

“Gamigin’s Legion is extremely tricky magic.”

Gamigin, the demon of immortality and dominion.

The archdemon who boasted the greatest size among demons and watched over everything by making his own body his domain.

Even that archdemon had made it his ideal, yet Legion was magic he repeatedly failed to create.

“All lives under heaven are equal, and because they are equal, anyone can replace anyone else…….”

Gokma clenched his fist in the air.

“A monarch is one who reigns by holding the lives of all in his grasp, and those who follow him shall possess power befitting him.”

What he recited was the sentence written on the book’s first page, as well as words that explained everything about the magic.

Gokma looked down at King Heinkel and said,

“You, who hold every life in the Heinkel Kingdom in your grasp, can now wield the power of a Sixth-Circle mage.”

“I still can’t believe it. That I, who was nothing more than an incompetent king, can now be called an archmage…….”

King Heinkel shed tears, overcome with emotion.

Seeing this, Gokma said,

“It seems you’ll have to postpone letting those emotions out.”

He gestured toward the window with his chin.

“Your friend has come to see you.”

King Heinkel turned his gaze out the window at his words.

Just as he said, a great army could be seen advancing from the direction of the Duchy of Yurei.

“Ferry…….”

King Heinkel called his name, his voice laden with anguish.

Though they had spent decades together, their inability to understand each other to this extent made him feel like the protagonist of a tragic tale.

“They are your people too, so if they understand you, you could reach the Seventh Circle.”

Gokma said this.

“The Seventh Circle…… That would put me on a level similar to the president of the Mage Association. Could I surpass him?”

“What would stop you? Your magic is difficult for a mere human to break. Even those dragons you fear so much won’t dare meddle with you easily.”

“No one can meddle with me…….”

The days when he had done nothing but sigh whenever he heard of provocations from neighboring countries flashed before his eyes like a reel of film.

He looked back over his life and turned it over in his mind once more.

No one could touch him.

It was an ideal he had thought forever beyond his reach.

Yet now it rested on his shoulders.

Everything looked different now that he had power.

He believed he had become the true king he had never been able to become.

“I will prepare to take the field.”

King Heinkel said as he rose from his seat.

“Are you going out there yourself?”

“I must.”

King Heinkel stared at one man among the countless troops advancing.

His vision, which should have reduced them to dots, was so vivid that he could even see the spots on Ferry Yurei’s face.

He knew he had become a monster beyond the bounds of humanity.

“My friend is trying to go down the wrong path. What good would it do if I did not personally guide him?”

He wanted to show Yurei what that meant, too.

* * *

Valdrova Castle, Ferda’s office.

-As you know well, Regent, I’ll explain it once more.

A lilting voice came from the crystal ball.

Princess Olivia of the Arken Empire got straight to the point.

-The long-suspected fact that the Heinkel Kingdom had joined hands with demons has been officially announced.

It began with the news that Duke Yurei’s army had attacked the capital of the Heinkel Kingdom.

It was a blatant act of insubordination and rebellion.

But as the circumstances surrounding the rebellion were thoroughly investigated, an astonishing fact came to light.

The Heinkel Kingdom had indeed been occupied by demons.

“Haven’t you been going on about that all along?”

-An official announcement carries weight, doesn’t it? Until then, we only thought of it as the ravings of an apocalyptic prophet babbling about the end of the world. Besides, without a proper understanding of the situation, it could sound like incoherent nonsense.

Ferda gave a small nod at her words.

How could anyone make sense of and report the utterly insane chain of events in which Duke Yurei, tortured as a high traitor, had escaped the Empire and immediately gone to attack his own liege kingdom, Heinkel?

It was such an abrupt action that it was difficult even to believe the Empire had brainwashed Duke Yurei.

-This time, Ureas and Valdemar Golt revealed the truth themselves. So there is no longer any room for controversy.

“What is the situation in the surrounding countries?”

Olivia let out a laugh.

-They must be terribly perplexed. Until just a few days ago, they were only scheming about how to nibble away at the Heinkel Kingdom’s land and wealth, and now they are on the verge of an all-out war, aren’t they? With the most fearsome beings they thought had been wiped out long ago, no less.

Nothing as vicious as demons had ever existed, past or present.

Even if they won, it was a situation in which victory would still be a loss.

-Moreover, the outcome of Duke Yurei’s battle this time was disastrous. The soldiers led by Duke Yurei numbered over ten thousand, while his opponent was only one person, King Heinkel. And yet the entire army of ten thousand was annihilated.

“You mean the king fought them alone?”

-We are still rechecking whether that part is true. Even if it is, it is difficult to confirm it as fact.

Ferda knew what sort of image King Heinkel had once projected.

‘King Heinkel was a man who wanted to resolve everything peacefully.’

Duke Yurei had said so.

He only wanted to avoid unnecessary conflict and for many people to live together amicably.

Yet a king who pursues peace without power is always bound to be looked down upon.

King Heinkel and his underlings had been insignificant figures.

Now that man possessed the power to wipe out an army of ten thousand all by himself.

If a king allied with demons possessed that much power, what about everyone else?

No one would dare act rashly.

“This is something the White House might intervene in.”

Blankaros, who had declared absolute neutrality for the sake of peace on the continent.

Now that demons had emerged into the open, it seemed only natural that he should act.

-Lord Blankaros tried to convene the council, but it seems the Empire preempted him.

“What do you mean, they preempted him?”

-They blocked the convening. They said that the Empire would handle anything threatening the safety of this continent.

Ferda frowned.

“You mean they took that at face value?”

-That is also the purpose of the Grand Council. They intended to discuss whether this matter could be resolved by humans alone, or whether intervention was necessary. But if the Empire said it could be settled by humans, there was nothing left to discuss.

They had nearly let demons wipe out half the continent, and they had still made such a judgment?

It was impossible to tell whether they should be called complacent or trusting of humanity.

-And the Empire wasn’t the only one to make such a request.

“The Hudret Kingdom?”

-That’s right.

Like the Empire, the Hudret Kingdom was also quietly revealing its desire for expansion.

Having occupied the duke’s castle without bloodshed, they were at the height of their morale.

They intended to ride that momentum and extend their territory all the way to the Heinkel Kingdom.

“They’re frantic to seize territory even at a time like this.”

-Isn’t that what nobles are? A breed that cares about filling its own belly even as people are dying…… They even busy themselves slandering a man who has taken as much responsibility as Duke Yurei, don’t they?

“What kind of slander?

-Ureas was trying to whip people into a frenzy by claiming that Duke Yurei’s attack on the Heinkel Kingdom was a false flag carried out by demons.

“They certainly are greedy.”

-Want to hear an even more astonishing fact? It was Grand Duke Golt who stopped him.

“Grand Duke Golt?”

As Olivia had said, that was astonishing news.

Ureas was not the only one who liked war.

-He said they shouldn’t insult the spirits of the dead any further? Isn’t that hilarious? It was Grand Duke Golt’s close aides who did the torturing, yet Ureas suddenly became the only shameless, war-mongering bastard.

“It seems the grand duke’s love extends not only to the Empire, but to the entire continent as well.”

-I know, right? If he has so many things to love, I wish he would let someone like me go.

Olivia sighed as if tired.

What an extraordinarily capable old man.

He had spotted the possibility of a backlash and responded swiftly.

-Let’s move on to the situation we are facing. The Second Prince has now acquired a pretext for war. He will probably want Your Excellency the Regent to get involved.

“He’ll badger me for magitech weapons.”

-Yes.

When Ferda had explained to Ureas that he could not join the war, he had cited both his convictions and the possibility that innocent civilians might be caught up in it.

But now that it had become the demons’ stronghold, Ferda’s justification no longer held.

Ferda still did not want to join the war.

But, as Ureas had learned, throwing a tantrum would not solve anything for Ferda either.

What could he do?

-May I tell you my thoughts first?

Olivia said.

“Please do.”

-I think it would be best to produce and provide magitech weapons. Since we failed to screw over the Empire, perhaps we should instead accelerate our efforts and establish a new plan.

“What do you mean?”

-We should earn great merit through our achievements and reduce Alexander’s standing.

“You want something along the lines of Ureas being the one fit to ascend the throne……?”

-As you know, that fat bastard is working with Golt. You don’t want to just sit by and watch him cozy up to Golt, do you?

“That is true.”

-Ureas is weak at domestic affairs. So the idea is to push even harder this time, letting Ureas earn great merit in the war so he can become the next emperor. To do that, I think it would be good for him to display his power by equipping himself with the latest weapons.

It was a plausible argument.

If Olivia and Ureas were a team, Alexander was on Valdemar’s side.

If the two had to compete, it was only right to aid Olivia.

At that very moment, when Ferda was about to answer, his words caught in his throat.

He did not know why, but Ferda’s instincts were telling him something.

‘Is this really the right thing to do?’

He had tried to prevent a war, but now that one seemed likely to break out, he had to support it.

And because he could not help Alexander, he would help Ureas.

He had a foreboding feeling that something was wrong.

Before Ferda could even understand everything, he answered,

“No.”

Ferda said.

-You can’t?

“As I told you, the magitech rifles were made for the security of the Far East. I cannot provide direct support to the Imperial Army.”

-Wouldn’t that give them an excuse to bring the hammer down on the Grand Duchy of Valdrova?

“There is a way to prevent that.”

-What way?

The alternative Ferda proposed was as follows.

“Instead, I will join the war.”

-You will join the war?

Olivia thought for a moment, then nodded.

-If you take that approach…… it would be even more proactive support than simply providing weapons, so the Empire would have nothing to say about it.

“That is not all.”

Ferda also knew how to screw Alexander over this way.

“Princess, you have commanded the Tactical Infantry once before.”

-Don’t tell me……

“What if you demonstrated your command abilities before a large audience this time?”

-…….

Even the Imperial soldiers would not be able to deny what they had witnessed with their own eyes.

If that happened, Olivia—not Ureas or Alexander—would get a chance to shine, too.

Ferda thought it was a good idea and suggested it.

Yet, for some reason, no answer came.

-You really are something…… To do this to me……

Something was murmured very softly.

“Pardon?”

-I got distracted by another thought for a moment. In short, you mean I should demonstrate the abilities I showed during the extermination campaign, right?

“That’s right.”

-I understand the idea, at least. I’ll devise a more detailed plan in that direction. Ureas is an extremely proud man, so he’ll be furious if I command the army.

Olivia whispered softly as her final words.

-Enjoy the rest of your day, Regent.

The mana in the communication crystal ran out, and Ferda caught his breath.

When he looked around without thinking, he found Luri there.

Her eyes were filled with displeasure.

Ferda knew that look.

She had looked that way whenever she saw Zed and Penelope.

“I have only Her Highness Valdrova.”

“Who said anything?”

What a nuisance.