Chapter 59
While Crown Prince Bellon was marveling at the dragons that had appeared in the garden behind the Imperial Palace.
“…To stop the war, we’ll need to talk first.”
“Your Highness the Crown Princess! What do you mean, talk! Are you saying you’ll go to the enemy camp?”
“It seems there’s a misunderstanding, so we need to clear it up.”
Mirne calmly commanded the battle and adjusted the direction of this war.
Right now, it was still a Demonstration War involving an exchange of Magic, but there was no telling when they would clash.
The moment they clashed, casualties would result, so that absolutely had to be avoided.
[If it can be resolved through conversation, then resolving it through conversation is the right thing to do.]
Bubble, bubble.
Rumble.
Mirne briefly turned her gaze to the Spirits protecting her body.
For some reason, she felt she had to keep doing this.
She was perfectly fine without a single wound, yet she felt anxious unless she kept the Spirits wrapped around her body.
It was as if she had been severely injured and hastily recovered.
[What on earth is this feeling?]
Even when she was taking a walk and reached a certain part of the garden.
- Aaaagh!
A sudden wave of pain washed over her, making her scream.
The sensation of being hacked to pieces by something.
[Just what exactly happened?]
Mirne was certain the System was involved in this situation.
The cause that was trying to force the development to flow according to the Original Story, and her own perk.
[ I am acting for your sake. ]
[I know, I know.]
Mirne read the System Message, muttered inwardly, and focused on the present once again.
[Five years from now, no, is it four years soon?]
Once that time passes, the covenants will naturally break.
If things flowed As per the Original Story, there was no way the Empire could possibly keep all the covenants.
[When that time comes, all the Executioners will naturally come over to my side.]
The Empire wouldn’t be able to resolve a single covenant.
Even if they did, the result would be similar.
[First I need to end the war, then secure the World Tree and a Noble Title…]
When on earth would this ridiculous Confession War end?
Mirne furrowed her brow and reiterated the decision she had made earlier.
“I will just meet them quickly and resolve it. That is the only way for both sides to suffer the least amount of damage.”
“Your Highness…!”
She had so much to do, so why were there suddenly so many interruptions?
Mirne simply couldn’t understand it.
+++++
There was no need to worry about a residence for the dragons.
“We have our own nests. We have gathered in one place like this to celebrate the birth of the Dragon Princess. Once the celebration is over, we will return to our original nests.”
This was because as soon as they congratulated Arveda on regaining her true name, they showed signs of leaving immediately.
“And when will you return?”
“When the Dragon Princess calls us. Since the Dragon Princess has been recognized for her nobility by regaining her name, we will answer her call.”
So I thought they would never come back.
The answer that followed was quite unexpected.
“I still don’t quite understand. Regaining a name holds that much meaning? Enough for this many dragons to gather in an instant?”
“Dragons have no central figure. It’s to the point where one has to be forcefully created to bind us together.”
“And that’s Arveda?”
“Correct. Dragons are fundamentally uninterested in each other. But if that continues, the Race will eventually walk the path of extinction. Only through interaction can a Race continue to see the future.”
To think that if Arveda called, the dragons currently filling the Imperial Palace garden would appear once again.
[So, metaphorically speaking, Arveda is a nuclear button.]
It went beyond simply being able to borrow the power of Arveda, who had awakened as a true dragon.
It was the absurd advantage of being able to borrow the power of the dragon Race itself.
[It makes sense why there’s no separate Covenant Resolution Reward.]
Like when I fulfilled Luminix’s covenant.
I thought the System Message would give me something, and I wondered why there was nothing this time.
[When I can gain the favor of the Dragon Princess whom the dragons follow like this… what other reward do I need?]
Arveda’s Covenant Resolution Reward was Arveda herself.
Being able to make her an Ally would inherently lead to a massive Power Increase.
“Arveda, we will always be waiting for your call, so summon us at your leisure.”
“Unghi! I will do so! Because This Humble Woman is a Princess!”
“And Crown Prince, Arveda is now undeniably the Dragon Princess… I would appreciate it if you didn’t treat her too much like a subordinate.”
I nodded at the words of the dragon who seemed to be the leader of the group, the one who had been conversing with me this whole time.
“She’s already playing well in my bed as it is.”
“…That was unnecessary meddling. I apologize. This is the first time our side has experienced the birth of a Dragon Princess, so please understand that we can’t help but be cautious.”
“Right, I understand.”
Metaphorically speaking, wouldn’t it feel like suddenly getting a cute granddaughter?
So it was natural for them to have all sorts of worries, and I wasn’t offended in the slightest.
Besides.
“This is a small token of our sincerity, in hopes that you will treat our Dragon Princess even better in the future - though it seems you are already treating her well now…”
Rumble, rumble.
The dragons had each poured out a massive pile of obviously precious items from their nests into the garden.
[ The National Treasury temporarily enters an 'Abundant' state. ]
[ The “Magic Stone Train”, the National Project the Empire is currently putting the most effort into, is affected by the 'Abundant' state. ]
[ The efficiency of all aspects related to the “Magic Stone Train” significantly increases, and a Cost Reduction Effect is also applied. ]
With this, how could I possibly be offended?
[Now this is a reward.]
Far from being offended, I had to forcefully hold down the corners of my mouth that were threatening to soar.
“Right, Arveda’s honorifics were already awkward enough as it was.”
“Uhang! This Humble Woman is now, ahem! A Princess! So I am somewhat on the same level! As His Royal Highness the Crown Prince! I am!”
“You’re still using honorifics, though.”
“Gradually, gradually… I will reduce them! Unghi… Then I will say this clearly while I have the chance! This Humble Woman! Will now unconditionally claim His Royal Highness the Crown Prince’s bed! I will!”
Meanwhile, Arveda seemed genuinely thrilled, jumping up and down with her arms wide open as she poured out her words.
It seemed she had been quite worried that some bad variable might occur during the process of fulfilling the covenant.
But with only good results pouring in, her energy had clearly skyrocketed.
-In the end, even doing this… is it not enough?
-Even if the covenants are resolved to the end, the Time of Ruin for the Empire does not change.
-There is exactly one reason for that.
-The Empire is…
And while watching that scene, the Crown Prince’s Memory suddenly played back.
[Why does it cut off right at such an uninteresting part?]
I had resolved the covenants one by one, and now the Remaining Covenants were three.
I thought that if I steadily resolved the covenants like this, the Chance of Annihilation would be completely erased.
But the Crown Prince’s Memory that suddenly followed was saying that the covenants weren’t everything.
The Empire is - just what on earth were the words that followed, for him to speak in such a hollow voice?
[The easiest thing to think of is that in connection with the Black Mages… the Empire becomes a Demon Lair.]
The Demon King descends upon the Empire, turning it into a wasteland.
And the Saintess, Mirne, takes care of it neatly. That kind of story.
It was something I could predict to some extent.
“Then we will be taking our leave now.”
“You all can come visit the Empire whenever you’re bored, so feel free to drop by. Even if Arveda doesn’t explicitly call for you.”
“I didn’t realize the Crown Prince’s consideration ran this deep. Thank you.”
In the meantime, the dragons vanished in the blink of an eye, just as quickly as they had appeared.
And with that, the situation concluded.
“Your Highness! This Humble Woman will head to the bed first, then!”
“Right, go ahead.”
Pitter-patter.
Arveda headed to my Private Quarters with a beaming smile.
The rest of the personnel also confirmed that nothing was wrong and scattered one by one.
And as for me.
[The problem is that things are working out too well.]
I was wary of the situation flowing too smoothly.
It was true that I was currently screwing Mirne over through the Confession Attack Operation.
But the ones flocking to the bait right now were all just small fry.
[In the Romance Genre, these small fry are really just meant to be passing Characters, or simply used to induce jealousy.]
The real deal hadn’t appeared yet.
Were there even any Characters left who could be considered the real deal? That was also a question.
[The Northern Grand Duke is dead, and the Grand Duke of the East… lost his power. The Northern Great Warrior is under me, and the Genius Wizard Teo is the same.]
The Saint was also dead, so he was out.
In terms of numbers, five Male Leads were either dead or co-opted to the opposing side.
With things like this, I couldn’t help but wonder, “Is this really a Romance Fantasy?”
The core of a Romance Fantasy wasn’t the Protagonist handling everything alone.
That would just make it a simple fantasy novel.
Something was supposed to happen through romantic relationships.
Considering the current situation, it seemed absolutely impossible for anything romantic to occur.
The only thing I could think of right now was the awakening of the Former Grand Duke of the East, Kailen Marin.
[Even if he awakens, he has absolutely no Faction left, so what on earth is he supposed to do?]
Holding onto that question.
[I should take a rest for now, and then focus on what I need to do right away.]
Just as I was carrying out a Public Opinion Operation so that the surrounding kingdoms could also participate in the Confession Attack.
[ Because the number of Male Leads is rapidly decreasing, the Story Order will be slightly altered. ]
“Hmm?”
A System Message suddenly appeared before my eyes.
[ An Elf who guarded the World Tree, a Beastfolk striving for the prosperity of their Clan, and a Prince possessing the Mystic Power of the distant Eastern Continent are scheduled to appear in the world. ]
“Hah.”
It gave me a heads-up that the real big catches were about to appear.
For now, the Eastern Continent Prince seemed unlikely to appear immediately.
The fish I needed to pay attention to right away were presumed to be the Elf and the Beastfolk.
[Right, if Mirne just handled everything by herself, it would just be a Female Protagonist Fantasy.]
Hurry up and appear, so I can fleece you dry.