Chapter 20
Contacting the Northern Region from The Center was incredibly easy.
But contacting The Center from the Northern Region strictly required a report.
And Estella, known as the Staff-wielder of the North, was no exception.
[I need to go to The Center immediately.]
Everything happening right now was irrational.
Would things have been different if she had known even a little sooner that they were building a wall?
She belatedly understood why they had kept unreasonably pushing her to the Front Line.
[Because if I had known about the wall, I would have moved long ago.]
Building a wall facing The Center when it wouldn’t even be enough to build one on the Front Line?
The mere attempt to build it was more than enough to earn the Mark of Treason.
She never dreamed they would spout such nonsense about actually laying down a wall and closing off the borders.
[The Grand Duke isn’t even a King to begin with, so how can he close the borders?]
Just declaring independence without any agreement with the Imperial Center? That was simply treason.
How long did they think they could hide this fact?
At first, she tried to use a carrier pigeon, but judged it would be too easily discovered.
[It’s better to just move quickly.]
Estella decided to head to The Center herself.
Because Teleport was difficult due to the Northern Region’s unique environment making it hard to gather mana.
She aimed to borrow a horse and head for The Center via the shortest route.
The moment she took her first step toward The Center.
“Sir Estella, where are you going in such a hurry?”
“…Black Mane?”
“I asked where you are going.”
She faced an obstacle right from the start.
“Why are you here? Shouldn’t you be guarding the Front Line?”
“It is thanks to His Highness the Grand Duke’s teachings that the Front Line can always change fluidly.”
“Is it right to maintain the expression “Front Line” even knowing that I am heading to The Center?”
They had masked their presence so well.
By the time Estella noticed the knights were there, she had already been surrounded.
[Just what is going on.]
Her hair, which seemed to hold the moonlight, trembled.
It was an unimaginable scenario.
It was laughable to even call it carelessness.
Who would have thought she would be surrounded by knights in a place she believed to be the Headquarters?
“We do not know the details. We merely received orders to safely escort Sir Estella back to the mansion.”
“Crazy! Is Freon out of his mind? Do you think that makes sense?”
“I will say it again, we do not know much. Could you please come this way for now?”
They had even prepared so thoroughly.
Starting with tools that prevented Magic power from gathering properly.
She could see they were equipped with various gear, including Magic Suppression Chains.
“…It’s treason.”
As soon as she saw that, the word she had desperately wanted to avoid spitting out burst from Estella’s lips.
“Your actions right now are clearly treason. Do you know that? Are you doing this knowingly?”
“We do not know.”
“His Highness the Grand Duke has always had many complaints about The Center. He asked why we should listen to the words of cowards who never see any blood.”
“Because that is the Northern Region’s role! The Northern Region guards the Front Line, and The Center guards the Empire. Do you not know this difference?”
“In that case, wouldn’t it be better for the Northern Region to just handle everything - the Front Line and the Northern Region alike?”
It was an absurd statement.
If that were the case, there should have been a premise that the Northern Region could be entirely self-sufficient from the start.
The Northern Region was constantly receiving aid from The Center.
Due to an environment where crops struggled to grow, there were difficulties with the food supply.
The Center always took care of this, making efforts so that no one would starve to death.
But how on earth were they supposed to be self-sufficient now?
Take as much as they could from The Center and then wipe their mouths clean? Would The Center just sit back and watch that happen?
While Estella’s mind grew complicated.
The Black Mane Knights slowly closed the distance with Estella.
“The current center is too soft. To build a strong nation, someone strong, resolute, and cold-headed must stand at the top.”
“…And that is the Northern Grand Duke?”
“Haha, is there really a need to answer further?”
The Black Mane Knights judged the Mage before them to be a caught fish.
If a Wizard couldn’t use Magic, it meant they were just an ordinary person.
So what on earth could she do?
The moment that thought continued.
Bang!
Suddenly, a powerful shockwave erupted along with a massive cloud of smoke.
“Ugh!”
“Gah!”
It pushed all the Black Mane Knights away in an instant.
Because those who walked the path of Magic always prepared, prepared, and prepared again.
The Self-Defense Measures she had packed just in case had shined.
[Now!]
Estella ran.
With a sense of duty that she absolutely had to inform The Center of this news, having captured clear evidence of treason.
Vowing to definitely deliver this news to The Center.
“Damn it! Report this first!”
“Chase her while reporting! She won’t get far anyway!”
“How far can a Wizard even run!”
With the knights trailing behind her, exuding mana with terrifying momentum as they gave chase.
She ran and ran, and how many days had she run like that?
Due to her physical limits, her speed gradually decreased, and her mana also began to hit rock bottom.
A distance where a momentary mistake could immediately result in getting caught by the scruff of the neck.
“You held out for a long time, a really long time. Running for four days.”
“To think you’d break through half of the Northern Region while using all sorts of ridiculous tricks.”
In that desperate situation.
“Huff, huff, huff.”
Thud.
Estella met someone she had never expected.
Golden Hair and Red Eyes and Red Eyes possessed only by the Imperial Family of the Bellos Empire.
“H-His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?”
The number one cause of the Empire’s recent rapid changes.
The Crown Prince, Bellon Bellos.
And perhaps it was because her tension suddenly snapped the moment she confirmed it.
[A-Ah, no. M-My consciousness is…]
Thump.
Estella’s vision faded to black just like that.
++++++
Crawl, crawl.
Crawl, crawl.
The reason turtles are slow on land isn’t because they’re lazy, but because of their physical structure.
First of all, they weigh a lot due to their heavy shells.
And when their legs come out, they naturally bend due to the shell on their belly.
In Human terms, it could be seen as crawling around on one’s knees.
And since they moved by slowly pushing off the Ground in that state to begin with.
They had no choice but to be slow.
“Seeing it like this, humans can definitely be designed like turtles too.”
“Thanks to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, I am glad to be able to know what a turtle feels like like this.”
“Have you never seen a turtle?”
“I have, but I often forget due to certain circumstances.”
“How about I let you raise a turtle in your Palace, and even attach a Servant to manage it.”
“…If you do so, it would be an unsurpassed honor.”
Pavan and I were looking at the turtles crawling before our eyes.
No.
“Kuaaaagh! My arms! My legs!”
“W-Who on earth are you… to do s-such a thing…!”
“Do you think you can walk around alive and well after daring to harm the Northern Region’s Black Mane Knights!”
“You will definitely be punished! Are you not afraid of divine retribution!”
“Do you know what will happen if we die like this! Return us to our original forms at once!”
We were looking at the Black Mane Knights.
Perhaps because it was an area with a lot of piled-up snow, were there many restrictions on their movements?
Even while fiercely talking back, their escape speed was far too slow.
“Turtles must really have a hard time living in winter.”
“I think so too.”
There were a total of ten knights who had become turtles.
They all seemed confident in their skills.
And the momentum with which they imbued mana into their swords was actually of a very high level, but.
[Pavan, what on earth? Why is she so strong too.]
As soon as Pavan moved, everything ended cleanly.
When she grabbed her greatsword with one hand and swung it, the knees of the ten knights floated up into the sky.
Every time she swung her mace and spear, the knights' arms launched in all directions like firecrackers.
If Arveda felt specialized in Magic, Pavan felt specialized in Close-Quarters Combat.
Seeing that figure that looked like a One-Man Army, the thought that I needed to beat up the Second Prince more grew stronger.
[Just what was he thinking, suggesting to send these guys.]
They even said they made an Oath with the Empire.
Then if they were dispatched, and if they didn’t return to the Empire.
Did that mean the Empire would be destroyed because it failed to keep the Oath?
I definitely need to beat him up time and time again.
Muttering like that inwardly.
“If it’s the Black Mane Knights, as far as I know, they are one of the Grand Duke’s limbs.”
“That’s right! We are his limbs! So return us to normal at once!”
“Pavan, one of the turtles talks too much.”
Stab! Smack!
“Gurgle-gurgle-gurgle…”
“Your Highness, I have made a teapot.”
“Turtles and teapots, I see.”
I shifted my gaze to the Villainess collapsed on the snowfield.
[A Villainess being chased by the Northern Grand Duke’s knights.]
Was she being chased because she committed a capital offense, or was she doing this because she had her reasons?
Normally I would have asked right away, but I couldn’t because she had fainted.
Of course, that didn’t mean I couldn’t get any information at all.
“…We intended to lock Estella in the Front Line, following His Highness the Grand Duke’s orders.”
“The reason?”
“Because she tried to contact The Center.”
“Why did you try to stop her from making contact?”
“Because the Northern Region… dreams of independence.”
“Aha.”
Because the turtle that survived until the end finally spat out the whole truth.
Unfortunately, the rest had all become teapots.
“…Then, are you going to spare me?”
“As a reward, I won’t let you die as a teapot.”
“…!!!”
As soon as it heard those words, the turtle suddenly started crawling wildly across the Ground.
Seeing it even scooping up and eating dirt while moving roughly,
It was clearly attempting to become a Wizard in this short time.
[But eating it for one day won’t do it.]
To not know this, how truly pitiful.
But looking later, they were all eating dirt.
To even aim for a counterattack while crawling.
True to bastards preparing for independence, they certainly seemed to try various things.
“But do people usually declare independence without even their parents knowing?”
“…”
At my words, Pavan kept her mouth shut tight.
A silence lingered, as if she clearly knew what this meant.
“U-Ugh…”
With good timing, the Villainess regained consciousness.
Because there was so much to ask.
I skipped all the complicated stuff.
And immediately struck the main point to her, who was just now coming to her senses.
“Is the Northern Region preparing a rebellion?”
The Villainess that such a Northern Region was chasing to lock up.
Normally, asking her name would come first, but there was something more important.
“…Yes.”
“Is that so.”
The Northern Region is dreaming of rebellion.
It was a story close to 99%, but with the Villainess’s definite answer just now, it became 100%.
[But then why is she a Villainess? She’s not a Villainess.]
The reason the Northern Region tried to stop the Villainess from moving to The Center.
That was precisely because the Northern Independence Plan would be exposed.
How could a woman trying to convey such a fact be judged as a Villainess?
[…Could it be because she’s a Villainess from the Protagonist’s perspective?]
From Mirne’s perspective, the Northern Region needs to quietly gain independence and help the Maselin Kingdom.
Since she’s trying to interfere with that, does she naturally become a Villainess when looking at the novel’s flow?
[Because she’s in a position opposing the Protagonist?]
Hah.
The conclusion came quickly.
The Villainess Ring, this wasn’t actually a Villainess Ring.
[It finds Characters in a position hostile to the Protagonist… So it’s like my Ally Navigation.]
As expected, it wasn’t given as a reward for lowering the Chance of Annihilation for nothing.
Feeling the true effect of the Villainess Ring.
“Your name?”
“I am called Estella Neave.”
“What is your reason for capturing evidence of treason and trying to report it to The Center?”
“Because I know it is a grave sin. The Northern Region is clearly in the wrong right now.”
I looked at the Villainess before my eyes, no.
While conversing with Estella, I could roughly understand how the Northern Region was operating.
[He really acted like a King.]
But a King who kept receiving support from a rich pushover.
And if you asked if the Northern Region was poor because of that, that wasn’t the case either.
Because the profits gained from hunting Demonic Beasts and the value of the Rare Resources found only in the Northern Region were immense.
And yet they kept leeching off The Center’s resources without any thought of repaying them.
“They even conducted diplomacy separately?”
“Thinking of the Northern Region and the Empire as completely separate entities… they were already proceeding like that with the Maselin Kingdom as well.”
“Hah.”
I told him to be the Northern Grand Duke, but he was living as the Northern Commander.
This wasn’t something that would end simply by destroying his mana center like with the Eastern Region.
A sin that crossed the line.
“Pirande.”
Kieeeeeeek!
I immediately called my carrier pigeon.
Feathers that seemed to burn red, an appearance that made you wonder, 'Isn’t this a real phoenix?'
And my carrier pigeon, Pirande, who was incredibly violent to everyone except his Master.
“Inform the Imperial Palace that we need to do a major cleanup.”
I tied the letter to Pirande’s ankle and sent him flying into the sky.
A simple rule: if there’s a lot to clean up, you just need to call a lot of people.
It was time to put that into practice now.
+++++
Kieeeeeeek!
Pirande liked the Crown Prince because he was handsome.
His perfect appearance and the fire energy similar to his own.
He wanted to be by his side every day, but lately, they had been apart a lot.
And that was extremely displeasing.
He just wanted to play and eat next to his Master for the rest of his life.
Why on earth were there so many things getting in the way?
While Pirande was flying with those thoughts.
Coo.
He saw a carrier pigeon flying in a similar direction to him.
A white bird.
It was a bird he had seen once in his Master’s room before.
The bird that had arrogantly invaded his Master’s room and left a feather behind while he was sleeping.
Kieeeeeeek!
Pirande couldn’t hold back.
When he was already in a bad mood, it dared to wander around right in front of his eyes?
Die.
Snatch!
Pirande instantly tore the white bird’s neck with his talons.
And headed straight for the Imperial Palace to show off his spoils.
Kieeeeek!
The thought of boasting to his Master later was a bonus.
+++++
“I hope it arrives safely at the Romper Church.”
Mana transfer could be detected, and using a person involved too many variables.
In this situation, the best means to deliver news was a carrier pigeon.
The Northern Grand Duke thought of his carrier pigeon flying toward the Romper Holy Nation.
And calmly checked the current situation of the Northern Region.
“The moment we declare independence, we will activate the wall and secure the Northern Region’s Border.”
The possibility of clashing with the Central Forces? There didn’t seem to be a high chance.
Calculations also showed that the Empire didn’t have many Troops that could move quickly right now anyway.
Furthermore.
“It’s questionable whether the weak Crown Prince would even be able to push back strongly if I declare independence.”
Because he was soft by nature, there was also the thought that he might just give up if independence was declared.
The current Empire was incredibly weak.
Through strong decisions, they needed to become wealthier and more powerful than they were now.
To the point where they could quickly swallow up a distant Minor Nation.
[The Empire has no such ambition. If it were me, if it were me, through such ambition, Mirne…]
Still, starting this alone was burdensome.
So he had no choice but to borrow the power of the Romper Church, no.
The Holy Kingdom’s power, just a little.
Not a lot, just a little.
Because variables had to be minimized as much as possible.
“Things are proceeding well.”
Right when he was feeling satisfied with the smoothly progressing Northern Independence.
“Your Highness the Grand Duke! The knights chasing Estella have all been found dead!”
“What?!”
Unimaginable news pierced his ears.
They all died? Then does that mean they lost Estella?
That Estella could shake off all the knights and arrive at The Center?
[Did someone intervene? It would be absolutely impossible with her power alone.]
Who on earth?
The Northern Grand Duke panicked for a moment but soon put his mind at ease.
Even if Estella had escaped the Northern Region and gone to The Center anyway.
The plan wouldn’t change.
“The timing has merely been moved up.”
A major cleanup to completely drive out The Center’s influence.
“We will prepare starting right now.”
It was now time to move without hesitation.