Chapter 28
At the time the Crown Prince was happily enjoying the banquet.
“How can we abandon our home so easily!”
Following the Chieftain’s orders, the Agil Tribe began preparations to abandon the place they had lived in all this time and head to the Northern Region of the Empire.
“Do you hate changing our home that much?”
Of course, not everyone was convinced.
Naturally, there was bound to be some noise about it.
“Because it is the Chieftain’s word, I will not say I refuse. But it is hard to believe.”
The idea of abandoning their lifelong home and entering under the Empire according to the 'orders' given by the Crown Prince of the Empire was put forth.
The promise that they could even be granted a Noble Title depending on their military merits, and that they would live a better life than now was also made.
The Warriors of the Agil Tribe could not believe that story at face value.
“From what I heard, we will be deployed to the Front Line and have to fight to maintain the Northern Front.”
“That is correct.”
“I think the opinion that it won’t be much different from our current lives is somewhat true… but whether the Crown Prince will truly protect us safely under the Shadow of the Empire… it is incredibly difficult to trust.”
The Chieftain of the Agil Tribe listened to the Warrior’s words and nodded.
“I understand.”
Honestly, it was a story that was hard for him to easily believe as well.
He was told that we, who were called Barbarians, would become Northerners and maintain the front lines.
He couldn’t erase the thought from his mind that they would be used as consumables and thrown away.
However,
“But we have no choice.”
Even so, refusing the Crown Prince’s offer - which wasn’t really an offer - was out of the question.
“The Crown Prince gave us a choice. Will we become enemies, or will we become allies?”
If they became allies, at the very least, they wouldn’t lose their lives at the hands of the Crown Prince.
That much, at least, could be trusted.
Because.
“If we become enemies…”
The corpse of the Great Demonic Beast right in front of their eyes was telling them what would happen if they didn’t abandon their home.
The Great Demonic Beast, Bigfoot.
It was a long-time enemy of the Agil Tribe and one of the Calamities of the North.
It had a size that easily exceeded 30 feet and ignorantly massive feet.
Countless Warriors had been crushed to death under those massive feet.
How many attempts had the Agil Tribe made to hunt this Bigfoot?
Every time, they were always the ones taking one-sided damage.
“To show trust… the martial prowess to go and hunt a Great Demonic Beast.”
That Monster-like Great Demonic Beast was now a cold corpse, lying right in the middle of the Agil Tribe’s home.
Bigfoot’s feet were missing, perhaps taken to show proof of trust to other tribes.
But even without them, the fact that the Monster before their eyes was Bigfoot remained unchanged.
“…Everyone will die because he knows that even if he kills us, who belong nowhere, there will be no repercussions.”
“…”
He pictured the entire Tribe gathering to stand against the Empire.
Were the scattered tribes gathering with one mind to turn against the Empire?
“No, there wouldn”t even be a need to involve the Empire.'
The Chieftain of the Agil Tribe saw a future where the Crown Prince drew his sword.
The future of the tribes who couldn’t trust the Crown Prince and chose death over coming under his shadow.
When countless tribes exuded the greatest morale of their lives and tried to break through the Northern Front. - If you dislike the Shadow of the Empire, I will show you the Sun of the Empire.
A form of death is unimaginable in the Northern Region. - Save me! Save me! - My body, my body is too hot! - Ah, aaaaaah…
He could see the tribespeople dying from burning agony.
“To live, we must go under his shadow. And the sooner we do, the better.”
The Chieftain of the Agil Tribe looked at the tribespeople packing their belongings.
Please, let the other tribes realize this fact quickly and migrate under his shadow.
The Chieftain prayed and prayed for that.
+++++
There were two main reasons why I made a Marriage Proposal to Mireune.
One was to find the Male Leads of 'Jupeobae' who were hiding who knows where.
“Because I can”t figure out just how many men she’s leading on.'
You can only make a more accurate judgment when you can clearly specify who the enemy is.
That was why I wanted to find the guys who had fallen head over heels for Mireune.
And the method for that was a public engagement.
Since a Minor Kingdom wouldn’t dare refuse a Marriage Proposal from the Empire,
I wanted to use this to more clearly find the men in Mireune’s stable of admirers.
The ones glaring at me when the Crown Prince of the Empire made a public engagement.
They were definitely the men in Mireune’s stable of admirers.
And the other reason was that it’s better to keep your enemies closer.
As a result, Mireune would receive numerous forms of support from neighboring kingdoms and make the Maselin Kingdom stronger.
I couldn’t just sit back and watch that happen, nor could I unilaterally tell other countries to stop their aid.
So I came to the conclusion that it would be ideal to just put her inside the Empire’s fence.
In reality.
“If you think about it, the Male Leads of Jupeobae aren”t supporting the Maselin Kingdom, they’re supporting Mireune.'
From the moment Mireune was brought into the Empire, the story of Jupeobae was bound to be greatly shaken.
“Or… could they turn against the Empire because Mireune became someone else”s?'
The problem was not knowing which direction it would take.
So the first reason, rather than the second, was the core of why I pulled out the public engagement card.
But honestly, even as I did it, I wondered if it would actually work.
Originally, the goal was to pressure Mireune while in a normal state.
But since I was currently covered in blood, I thought no one would step forward.
However,
“Stares are pouring in.”
The ones who had been quiet up until the engagement remark reacted the moment I forcefully grabbed Mireune.
Fwoosh.
I could feel them staring at me while suppressing their auras as much as possible.
“The Saint definitely fell for her, as expected.”
Not just the Saint, but I could feel the Princes of kingdoms that had some decent standing glaring at me in their own ways.
They were killing their auras as much as possible, wearing expressions that said they were forcing themselves to hold back because of the situation.
'Interesting.'
Even if I couldn’t drag Mireune into the Empire right away.
At the very least, from now on, whenever she manages her fishery, my existence would be engraved in the minds of the men around her.
I had caused enough of a mess.
I had seen enough entertainment.
Just as I was thinking that.
“Release her at once!”
A reckless fool suddenly shouting loudly pierced my ears.
“Found one.”
And as soon as I heard that voice, the words “found one” automatically came out of my mouth.
Aside from the two main reasons for making a public Marriage Proposal,
the third reason that I hadn’t included was because I wondered, “Is this really possible?”
'It’s closer to a hypothesis than a reason, though.'
I was extremely curious about “how the world would protect Mireune” if her safety was threatened.
So I deliberately created a situation for someone to intervene.
Even objectively speaking, the frail Mireune naturally couldn’t withstand my pressure.
If I forcefully pulled her up the moment she was about to collapse, she would still collapse.
“Who will intrude, I wonder.”
I wondered if someone would really show such reckless courage in this situation.
“How dare you ruin the Empire’s banquet.”
“I-I’m not the one who ruined it! You, the Crown Prince…!”
“You, the Crown Prince?”
To think someone like that actually existed.
Of course, it was still at the level of a hypothesis.
But thanks to the guy who just flared up, it could be seen that it was worth continuing to verify.
“Crown Princess Mireune was about to collapse, so I merely supported her… Not only do you arbitrarily interpret my intentions, but you also raise your mana in the banquet hall… and speak down to me.”
Currently, the Empire is creaking heavily internally.
Naturally, the other kingdoms couldn’t help but know this.
But the reason they all attended the Empire’s banquet invitation despite that.
That was probably because they wanted to see the Empire’s actual condition with their own eyes and Judge for themselves.
In such a situation, a guy who raised a banner of revolt as if he had been waiting for it appeared.
“There’s no way you didn’t know what it means to raise mana in a banquet hall…”
“…”
Continuing to pressure him here wouldn’t look good.
It would be ridiculous for the Crown Prince of the Empire to nitpick every single fault of a monkey like this.
Therefore,
“What does everyone think of this situation?”
I passed the judgment of this situation to everyone else.
And they acted as if they had been waiting for my words.
“Crown Prince of the Sendra Kingdom! I never imagined you would show such disgraceful behavior!”
“Not only did you arbitrarily distort His Royal Highness the Crown Prince’s intentions, but you also raised mana…!”
“I can’t even imagine how you plan to compensate for this!”
“You ruined the entire mood of the banquet! Just what were you thinking!”
The Minor Kingdoms hastily poured out words and began to pressure the Crown Prince of the Sendra Kingdom.
“…Crown Princess Mireune, are you alright?”
“Y-Yes… I was just momentarily startled because His Royal Highness the Crown Prince’s support was unexpected… I am truly fine. Rather, I am only grateful that he supported me.”
Through the conversation between the Saint of the Romper Holy Nation and Mireune, the Crown Prince of the Sendra Kingdom was perfectly cornered.
“I don”t know if he was forcefully dragged out by the worldview or if the 21st Century Modern Person Mireune’s silver tongue is just that amazing.'
It wasn’t something I could confirm right away, so I decided to move on for now.
“Ah, aah…”
The Crown Prince of the Sendra Kingdom confirmed that everyone had become his enemy and suddenly began to tremble.
But it was too late.
“I-I was wrong…”
“You committed such an act knowing it was wrong?!”
“It’s laughable that you only realized your fault this late! Just how great is the Sendra Kingdom! To think you can arbitrarily interpret the Empire’s intentions!”
“It’s a good thing His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is gracious; otherwise, I would have judged you myself!”
The Royalty of each Kingdom, who already thought they were looking in the same direction as the Empire.
Were pressuring the Crown Prince of the Sendra Kingdom with one mind and one will.
'I’ll just watch appropriately, then say I’ll accept a sincere apology.'
The Empire’s National Treasury was completely empty.
A perfect pushover to fill the National Treasury had just appeared.
“To conclude.”
What should I call Mireune’s current position relative to me?
“Should I say money pops out from her surroundings when I hit her?”
She felt like a money tree.
+++++
Even though there was a rude interruption in the middle, the Empire’s banquet continued without being suspended.
In a way, it was obvious.
Because it was nonsense for a mere Crown Prince of a Kingdom to stop the Empire’s banquet.
“But really… why did the Crown Prince make a Marriage Proposal to me?”
Around the time the banquet continued like that.
Mireune briefly took refuge on the balcony.
'It’s a relief there was an interruption in the middle, otherwise I almost had to make my stance on the engagement clear.'
He might have been someone who showed reckless courage to others, but to Mireune, it was a moment no different from salvation.
Because if she had answered the Crown Prince there, countless relationships would have been twisted.
“Phew.”
She was letting out a sigh of relief.
“Why are you hiding here, Crown Princess Mireune?”
Saint Valerian approached.
“Hiding? I just… sometimes you need some outside air, that’s all.”
“Haha, it’s not because you felt burdened by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince’s offer?”
“…Who wouldn’t feel burdened? It’s none other than the Crown Prince of the Empire.”
“Are you tempted?”
“What do you think?”
“Answering a question with a question is a bad habit.”
“It’s just me acting spoiled towards you, Saint Valerian.”
“…I like the sound of that.”
The two chatted about trivial things for a while.
After some time passed, they confirmed that no one was coming near.
“Originally, this was something we should have exchanged via letters, but since we happen to be meeting, it’s better to say it here.”
“What is it about?”
“…Crown Princess Mireune, I want you to become the Saintess.”
Saint Valerian carefully brought up the topic.
'It’s here.'
Mireune realized that she had finally entered the main story.
This was a part that could be seen as quite an important branching point right now.
“But to talk about this just here…?”
Even if it was a balcony with just the two of them, she wondered if it was too careless.
“It is fine. I have used Divine Power to ensure no one can hear this conversation.”
“Ah, I see.”
One was feeling relieved at the Saint’s following words.
“A Saintess… How could I accept such an undeserved position?”
She began the build-up to progress the main story in earnest.
And at the same time.
“Jealousy is a truly interesting emotion. It makes people do things they originally wouldn’t do.”
The Crown Prince had slipped out of the banquet hall under the excuse of washing off the blood.
He was listening to the conversation between Mireune and the Saint alongside the Mystic Executioner.
Originally, there would have been no need for the Saint to discuss such an important matter on a balcony.
But due to the Crown Prince’s engagement remark, his desire to draw more of Mireune’s attention must have taken precedence.
That was why he brought up the topic of the Saintess - to divert Mireune’s gaze with a subject stronger than a marriage talk.
“Mireune… is she going to become a Saintess in the end too?”
Honestly, it was a somewhat expected development.
Because monopolizing opportunities was a basic qualification of a Protagonist.
However, there was one thing that even the Crown Prince, Bellon, hadn’t expected.
That was.
[ Holy Kingdom, Villainess present. ]
“What?”
It was a message from the 'Villainess’s Ring' stating that a Villainess existed in the Holy Kingdom.