The Princess of War

by Hyougetsu

  Chapter 4

  With the founding of the Meraldian Commonwealth, I was saddled with yet another two titles and all of the troublesome duties that came with them. Still, the alliance brought with it a measure of stability. The disparate viceroys all agreed to sit on the council and work together as a united nation. Naturally, the demon army agreed to join as well. And I was chosen as the demon army’s representative on the council. It was a heavy responsibility.

  That being said, for the moment, I was able to enjoy a short respite in Ryunheit. If I ever have to run around the country to drum up support again, I hope by that time we have railroads at least. I spread open a map, contemplating what our next move should be.

  “Oh?”

  This map depicted the entirety of Meraldia’s southern region. However, there shouldn’t have been any accurate large-scale maps in any of the cities. It was possible the Senate had a few, but most of Meraldia’s cities only had maps that covered their immediate surroundings. And for strategic reasons, most viceroys were reluctant to show those maps to their peers.

  As a result, the distances between cities were known only in vague terms like “Three days eastward by foot” or “A full day’s ride on a fast horse.” No one even knew if the trade routes between cities were optimized to be as short as possible. They were just the routes people had been using since antiquity. Yet this map, while perhaps not measured with perfect accuracy, was quite comprehensive. It even estimated the distance between cities.

  Meraldia was bordered on the north by a tall mountain range colloquially referred to as the Northern Peaks, and on the south by the great body of water known as the Sea of Solitude. Supposedly there were other continents beyond the mountain range and far south past the sea. However, Meraldia had almost no contact with either. The Northern Peaks were impassable in winter, and to cross them in summer still required gear and mountaineering skills, so people rarely made the trek. On the other hand, the Sea of Solitude had many more viable sea lanes that ran east to west than those that ran north to south, so ships rarely undertook the journey.

  To the west, Meraldia was bordered by the Demon Forest—called such because it was where most demons lived—and to the east it was bordered by the Windswept Dunes, a vast desert. Neither was easily traversed. The seventeen cities that lay in the region known as Meraldia were relatively isolated from the rest of the continent. And of those seventeen, eight were now allied with the demon army. At any rate, this map outlined a few new trade routes which looked to be shorter than the ones currently in use.

  “Huh, Zaria’s closer than I thought it’d be.”

  I hadn’t realized it before, but the current road to Zaria detoured more than necessary. The map also showed a more direct route to Beluza as well. This should come in handy.

  The question was though, who made this map?

  “Oh, hello there, Veight. I see you’ve stumbled upon my masterpiece.”

  Master floated into my room.

  “Master, you made this map?”

  She nodded.

  “With the help of the dragonkin engineers, yes. Did you not say before you wished to have an accurate map of the region?”

  “I mean, yeah, but...”

  I didn’t think the Demon Lord herself would go out of her way to make one.

  “Is that why you were wandering all over the continent, Master?”

  I gave Master a pointed look over the map and she awkwardly averted her gaze.

  “But you see, I have the power to fly. It would be a waste not to make use of it to map the land’s geography, would it not?”

  “You’re not wrong, but...”

  I guess even if her motivations weren’t the most noble, she was still a great help. While I was glad our new Demon Lord was enthusiastic about helping out, I wished she wouldn’t leave all the cumbersome menial tasks to me while went traipsing off.

  “Oh, by the way, you organized the council the way you did just because you didn’t want to have to deal with it, didn’t you?”

  Master once again averted her gaze. Master had authorized the council to make their own decisions, and all she had to do was ratify their motions. Moreover, it was my job to explain the council’s motions to her, so her only contact with them was through me. On top of that, I served on the council as her representative. Meaning I was the one actually doing all the work. This isn’t right.

  “I feel like you should be exercising your authority as Demon Lord more, Master.”

  “The previous Demon Lord said that our nation should aim to eventually become a ‘constitutional monarchy...’ from what I understand, in such a system the monarch does not govern.”

  You don’t actually get what a constitutional monarchy is, do you? Master was extremely perceptive when it came to science and magic, but her understanding of people and social systems was sadly lacking. No offense, but it might be better if we leave governing to the viceroys instead of Master. While it was too early to convince people to adopt a constitution, we were at least at a point where a legislative council and a monarch could coexist in a governing system.

  Since she wasn’t doing her actual job, I figured I should keep Master busy with other work.

  “Whenever you have time, Master, could you make around twelve thousand skeleton soldiers for me?”

  “T-Twelve thousand!?”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll send Melaine’s vampire necromancers over to help.”

  “What do you plan to do with such a massive force?”

  Of the southern cities, Bernheinen, Thuvan, Zaria, and Veira all bordered the Senate’s Federation. Looking at the map had reminded me of just how close they were to Federation territory.

  “I want to dispatch three thousand undead to each of these four cities.”

  “Why three thousand specifically?”

  “The Meraldian Federation can field at most a few thousand soldiers right now. They only sent two thousand against Zaria, meaning at most they could round up five, maybe six thousand.”

  Excluding militia, anyway. However, militia wouldn’t count for much. They lacked skill and stamina, making them ineffective for use in offensive campaigns or sieges.

  I pointed to square that represented Bernheinen, around which I’d placed thirty small coins. Each represented a hundred soldiers.

  “In order to repel a sieging army of six thousand, you need at least two thousand troops defending. However, skeletons aren’t as easy to maneuver as people, so I’d like to up that number to three thousand per city.”

  “It would take me four months to summon such a vast number of undead. Would twenty-five hundred per city not suffice?”

  “Hmm...”

  I removed five coins from the square. Tactically it’d still be enough, but since skeletons didn’t cost any upkeep, I’d prefer to have as many as possible.

  “How about you create two thousand per city for now, then add the final thousand to each city when time permits?”

  Master sighed in response.

  “Would a truly loyal vice-commander work his master so hard?”

  “Would a truly considerate Demon Lord push all of her diplomatic duties onto her vice-commander?”

  Master and I exchanged glances and grinned.

  “Well, if you insist. I suppose we did swear to protect Friedensrichter’s dream.”

  “Exactly. So get to it.”

  Airia arrived a few minutes later, and the three of us decided to take a short break and catch up on recent events.

  “By the way, Councilor Airia, what do you know about the Fetid Wastes?”

  I pointed to a stretch of land that separated the northern half of Meraldia from the southern. According to what Master had seen during her survey expedition, the wastes were
no wasteland, but rather a stretch of fertile plains and lush woods. Airia’s expression clouded over.

  “The Fetid Wastes is formally known as the Wasteland of Harmony. It is a stretch of land the Senate set aside to prevent a civil war.”

  Apparently, the area was officially referred to as a wasteland to deter people from considering moving there to start farms or communities. And according to Airia, it functioned as a sort of demilitarized zone.

  “But now that the south has declared independence, the first to conquer the area will be able to claim possession of it.”

  “I see. Well, I don’t know how the north is going to move, but...”

  The demon army had no interest in invading the north, at least not now. Because of how vicious the second regiment had been during their invasion, the residents of the north despised us. Trying to occupy their cities would just make our lives miserable. And if the occupied residents waged a guerilla warfare campaign against us we wouldn’t be able to hold them. That being said, there was a possibility the north would want to invade us.

  “Alright, how about this? We set up a forward base on the wastes to keep an eye on things. We can say it’s only there to protect our trade interests or something. From there we can start building a few small-scale fortresses and station a standing army there. The fortresses will also be able to serve as relay points for our scouts.”

  “Let us bring the motion up at the next council meeting and see what the other viceroys say. It will take a great deal of money and personnel to implement such a plan, after all.”

  Airia was right that it would cost a lot to build and maintain fortresses, but if we stayed holed up in our cities we wouldn’t be able to gather intel.

  The north hadn’t made a move in recent weeks so we’d had a brief respite, but there was still plenty that needed to be done, and the number of tasks only continued to grow. Not only was I busy mediating between members of the council, but I also had to deal with Ryunheit’s internal problems.

  “Hey guys, what’s with the delicious smell coming out of the barracks?”

  I popped my head into the barracks’ Beluza’s raiding party had been assigned to and saw a bunch of guys with mohawks cooking in aprons. Their captain, Grizz, was tenderizing a slab of meat with his massive cudgel. He looked up from his work and said, “Isn’t it obvious? We’re cooking.”

  “I thought you guys were soldiers.”

  The men all replied simultaneously, “Well, we wanna eat Beluzan food!”

  “I miss seafood!”

  “Surely yer not gonna begrudge us this, right, boss!?”

  Why’re you all yelling? I understood their frustration though. There wasn’t much seafood to be had in Ryunheit. After all, it was hard to get fresh fish in a landlocked city. The Beluzan troops had improvised by taking local meat and cooking it in the Beluzan fashion. That was all well and good.

  “Why the hell have you guys converted your barracks into a food stall, though?”

  They’d turned a section of their barracks into an (unauthorized) open-air restaurant, and most surprisingly of all, Ryunheit’s residents seemed to be loving it.

  Grizz smiled.

  “Can’t help it, boss. Everyone loves our cooking!”

  “That’s just how awesome our sauces are, boss!”

  “We were able to get tomatoes growing here so we thought we may as well do something with all the extra we grew!”

  “Spices too!”

  “Oi, you lot! I want tomato-glazed chicken breast for four! It’s for the Lafore trading company in the old district, and we need it as soon as possible!”

  “You got it, customer!”

  That really doesn’t answer my question. And stop taking orders in the middle of our conversation. I couldn’t believe they’d even opened a delivery service. It bothered me that they were doing as they pleased, but seeing as they seemed to have integrated themselves so well into the city, I didn’t see any real reason to shut down their side business.

  “Well, whatever. Can I get a roast duck set for three?”

  “We’ve got an order from the boss! Snap to it, you louts!”

  After finishing my lunch I headed over to the old district where another troublesome task awaited me. There was a meeting of the Commonwealth council today. According to the viceroys’ reports, each city was doing fine. Shardier had managed to win over the local nomads as allies, and a few had even begun living in the city. Of the new migrants, some had expressed an interest in joining the city garrison. As for Veira, a few northern nobles had ordered high-quality furniture from the city. But according to Forne, the order was just a front; what the nobles really wanted was to build connections with our council. It seemed each viceroy was using their unique talents to assist the Commonwealth in growing and expanding. Unfortunately, that didn’t mean the cities were all getting along.

  “Can you believe it, Veight!?”

  Beluza’s viceroy, Garsh, leaned forward and I took a hesitant step backwards.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Lotz’s fishermen have set up shop in our waters. Every time I chase them off, they just come back. I’m in my rights to sink the next fishing boat I see, aren’t I!?”

  Lotz’s viceroy, Petore, folded his arms and said, “Hmph, I’m sure it was the tide that carried them there. They weren’t trying to infringe on yer rights.”

  “Liar! They’re showing up every goddamn day!”

  “Brat, if ya think those are yer waters why don’t you draw a line to show me where that border is?”

  “If I could I wouldn’t have to deal with yer stupid fishermen!”

  How come I’m always the one that has to mediate these disputes?

  “Can’t you two just talk it out like you have before?”

  Both viceroys shook their head.

  “I’d rather have the council decide things once and for all than keep negotiating with this geezer.”

  “Now there’s something we can agree on. Course we all know the council’s gonna side with Lotz.”

  I see you’ve come prepared, old man. I glanced over at Aram, viceroy of Shardier, and he bashfully averted his gaze. Now I was sure he’d bribed the members of the council beforehand. Forne, viceroy of Veira, grinned. Shatina, viceroy of Zaria, got to her feet and opened her mouth to add her opinion as well, but Forne grabbed her by the collar and shut her up. It seemed Petore had made a deal with the viceroys of the eastern cities in order to win over their support.

  However, he hadn’t attempted to win the demon viceroys’ favor, and Firnir and Melaine were going over each other’s notes as they tried to decide what side they would take. Airia, on the other hand, was just watching me with a faint smile. It seemed she was the only one Garsh had tried to win over. As things stood, it looked like there were four guaranteed votes for Lotz, and only two guaranteed votes for Beluza. Garsh was at a disadvantage here. But it was his fishing waters that were being plundered, so I felt kind of bad for him. While I didn’t want to appear biased, I decided I’d side with Beluza this time. Especially since it seemed Petore was trying to see how far he could push things before the council actually reprimanded him. I cleared my throat and said in my most solemn voice, “If you mean to claim that borders cannot be drawn on the water, Viceroy Petore, then would Beluza’s warships not also be in their right to plunder Lotz’s fisheries?”

  I’d heard that Lotz had begun creating shellfish fisheries with the demon army’s help. While they were still in the prototype phase, I was certain they’d be a huge source of revenue before long. Hearing my words, Garsh smiled.

  “Ooh, that’s a good point! Our warships are way bigger than Lotz’s! I guess if you’re going to steal our fish, we’ll just steal yours!”

  Petore grimaced, shot me a quick glance, then sighed.

  “I see ya got the most important vote on your side. Fine. I’ll tell those uppity youngsters to stay in line.”

  Garsh gave Petore a confused look.

  “Huh
? How come you’re backing off so easily, geezer?”

  Petore shot Garsh a smile.

  “No need to look so suspicious, brat. I just realized we were in the wrong, that’s all.”

  “Oi, what’s with that smile!? You’re planning something, aren’t you!?”

  If I sided with Beluza, there was a good chance Melaine and Firnir would too. Meaning three more votes would go to Beluza. Lotz only had four, but this would give Beluza five. In other words, a majority. The council’s votes had legal authority over all members of the Commonwealth, and all votes were publicly recorded. Losing a vote he initiated would harm Petore’s reputation. Which was why he’d decided to back off and leave the matter officially undecided. What a shrewd old man.

  All of the human viceroys knew each other well, and would gladly come to each other’s aid in the event of an actual crisis. Though they had their domestic disputes, they were completely willing to cooperate militarily. However, they couldn’t forget that they were also representatives of their people. It was their responsibility to ensure that their citizens lived as peaceful and prosperous lives as possible. Which was why they were always bickering when it came to issues of economics or land rights, since those directly impacted their people’s prosperity. I can’t believe I have to babysit a bunch of humans even after being reincarnated as a werewolf.

  As always, once the formal meeting was over, the viceroys returned to being friendly with each other.

  “Alright, let’s have dinner in one of Ryunheit’s restaurants tonight!”

  I shook my head in response to Garsh’s suggestion.

  “It’s a huge security risk for all of us viceroys to eat in the city.”

  Garsh grinned.

  “Hahaha, no need to be so worried, Veight! The restaurant I’ve got in mind is the safest one there is. Since it’s run by five hundred of my best fighters!”

  Oh, I see now. He then turned to the other viceroys and added, “Don’t you all want to see what a fusion of Beluzan and Ryunheit cuisine tastes like? Dinner’s on me, friends!”