“Right... So... Nobody can enter this room right now, or hear what we’re saying. That’s why I need to ask you this... Are you... Not an heir after all? Are you actually... An heiress?” The young man... Or rather, the girl in front of me stopped in her tracks. It confirmed my suspicions. Just as Doctor Babylon had told me... She wasn’t a guy!
◇ ◇ ◇
“...How did you know?”
“It wasn’t really me, it was the doc here...”
“The shape of your hands and your facial structure are a dead giveaway that you’re a girl. Not to mention your body was softer to the touch. Plus I have an excellent ability to sniff out the lewd pheromones emanating from your special spots!” Doctor Babylon... Proudly stated something completely weird and abnormal. She was a degenerate. A goddamn off-the-wall degenerate.
Hilde cast an uneasy glance toward Babylon and then began speaking to Listin.
“Tell me... Are you perhaps a body double for the real heir, then?”
“No. I am the second heir to the holy throne... Listin La Triharan. Though... My real name is Listis Le Triharan.” I wondered why she was projecting the image of being male to other nations. That was odd.
Her two maids seemed to be aware of it, which made sense enough. If she didn’t want the word getting out, she’d need attendants willing to guard the secret. That was probably why Doctor Babylon asked me to bring them along.
“My father, my mother, and my elder brother are the only others who know I’m a girl... Ah, and Sir Zerorick, my teacher. His wife is also aware... She’s named Marr and is the royal physician. Ah, and these two maids are named Lala and Lili.” Her teacher? Guess that Zerorick guy might be the older guy who was yelling earlier. I tried asking her that, and she confirmed it. While the second heir was formally recognized as the commander behind the invasion, the actual logistics were left to Sir Zerorick. This was Listis’ first battle.
“So... What now?” I looked toward the others with a shrug. I thought we were kidnapping a dude, but it was a girl the whole time. I wondered if it would be right to tell the Primulan government.
“I guess nothing changes? Doesn’t matter if she’s a guy or a girl, right? She’s still royalty... So we can still use her as a hostage, right?”
“I’m not so sure...” Listis suddenly cut in on what Elze was saying. I wondered what she meant by that. “The senate probably won’t care, even if my father protests. They think of us as mere figureheads, after all. We’re disposable when it comes down to it.” That sounded bad. I remembered Elluka said something about the senate earlier. “So then...”
“I think in a worst case scenario, they’ll just announce that I’m already dead without even trying to negotiate. Then they’ll just continue the invasion as scheduled.”
I sighed in frustration. I couldn’t have expected that kind of outcome.
I realized that they could easily spin it as some kind of holy crusade of vengeance for the death of the people’s beloved royalty.
“Mmm... Then... That means there was no point in capturing you, Listis-dono, was there not?”
“I’m afraid that might actually be the case. Or rather, it might have just made things worse. If people start thinking you took me and killed me, it’ll only rile up the troops more.” Ah crap... This is bad... If that happens the Primulans are gonna be pissed at me... They’ll totally brand me as an idiot who can’t be counted on.
Doctor Babylon looked over at me with a fiendish grin on her face.
“Well then, Touya. What now? Gonna crush the army yourself?”
“You know I can’t just do that... Damn it... The only reason I did this was to prevent any further casualties.”
“You really kidnapped me for that purpose? You really wanted to put an end to this conflict?” The second heir turned toward me with a hint of wonder in her eyes.
“It’s not that I want. It’s that I will. It’s true that I should’ve thought about the method a little better... But I thought it would be a lot simpler. This whole war is foolish.”
“My father said something similar... But those monsters in the senate still went ahead with their plans. Not even the holy emperor can ignore their decrees, after all... He’s just a figurehead for them.” Listis spoke in a way that seemed as though she was beating herself up. It sounded like the holy emperor was a reasonable guy.
But I was surprised that the senate had that level of actual control. It was a far cry from the Roman senate I’d read about in history books. I wondered if it was just because it was something in another world, or maybe it had developed differently due to social norms being different... Either way, I understood that this particular senate seemed to be corrupted as all hell.
Apparently, there were about fifty members of the senate, with the senate chairman as the head. The senate was entirely made up of nobility, and it was considered a lifelong position that would be passed on to their children.
It started out as a simple board of advisors until they began to experience a slow creep of power. Eventually, they held authority that exceeded the holy emperor’s.
They apparently ignored the pleas of the people and did as they wanted. If anyone ever rose up to try and change their ways, they’d simply crush the voice before it got too loud.
“The current chairman is a man named Morlock Lapitos. He’s very old, he’s actually close to seventy... But that doesn’t stop him from being a force that scares even the other senate members.”
“He even scares the holy emperor, though?”
“Officially, the senate is in place to advise my father. That means he cannot propose policies without running them by the senate. That’s how they control him. They veto anything that could threaten their authority.”
That made sense to me. Groups like that often prioritized themselves over everyone else, even the war they were currently facing was the result of them ignoring the holy emperor.
“But hold on... Can I just ask... Why are you pretending to be a guy?”
“If I were raised as a woman, my father knew that the senate would have forced me to marry one of their children to solidify their political positions. Just thinking about it disgusts me... Originally they planned on saying I was stillborn, but Sir Zerorick volunteered to take me under his wing and train me as a man.” It seemed like no matter what world I was in, people were trying to gain political power at any cost...
Apparently, her elder brother had already been made a victim of this. He’d been forced to get engaged to the chairman’s daughter.
Apparently, he was completely opposed to the arrangement, because his prospective partner was a lot older than him, and had a hideous personality. I felt terrible for him.
I was glad that all of my fiancées were so kind to me, even if they could get... Scary at times.
“Were you thinking something strange just now?”
“Not at all!”
I answered the very perceptive Elze with a straight face. I wondered when she got so good at figuring me out. Either way, I could understand why the holy emperor and his wife decided to do what they did. I’d also go to any length to protect a precious daughter.
While the crown heir, her older brother, wouldn’t be able to reject proposals due to mounting pressures, it would be easier for a secondary heir to reject those things. That didn’t mean they didn’t care about their firstborn, of course, but their hands were clearly tied.
After all, they hadn’t been able to stop him from getting engaged. It was probably a ploy to usurp the throne, anyway. If anything they’d be fine not to marry off the second son, because they’d want his bloodline to die with him.
Ultimately I had gotten the picture. The senate was crooked. They’d gone to all the trouble of orchestrating this war, and then didn’t even have any of their families participate.
“So you’re saying the best way to end the war would be to do something about that old man and granting the holy emperor’s authority back...”
“Y-Yes, that’s right! If Chairman Morlock loses his grip, the other senators would be thrown into utter disarray! Father would be able to call back the army, and the Primula invasion would be completely stopped! That’s a great idea!” Listis suddenly started yelling and flailing her arms around. I understood her feelings, but she definitely wasn’t good at masking her intent. I could see through the fact that she really wanted me to solve the mess.
I decided that I might as well do it, though. That way I’d be able to make some solid connections with the holy empire.
I quickly worked out the pros and cons in my head.
“Alright, how’s this then... I take care of the chairman, and you tell your father that the war needs to end. Alright?” I looked straight into Listis’ eyes and voiced my suggestion.
She looked shaken for a moment and audibly gulped. Then she began to speak.
“...If you can do it, then I swear upon my very life that I will end this war. Please, mage... Please save Triharan... No, save both Triharan and Primula.” I looked over to Elze and the others, and they gave me silent nods.
It was decided. That meant I needed people to help me pull it off. I couldn’t exactly take Listis with me due to the political situation and the agreement I’d made with Primula, so I decided that my best bet would be with that older knight. That Sir Zerorick guy would probably be trustworthy. I checked my map and verified that he was still inside the tent I’d kidnapped the Listis from.
Alright. I should be able to warp in, grab him, and warp out. Easy!
I was not ignorant of how much like a real kidnapper I sounded at that point. My thoughts were borderline criminal... I was kind of scared by how easily I’d accepted it, it wasn’t something I was meant to be proud of!
I decided going alone would be the best course of action this time.
“[Teleport].” I whizzed off to the tent from before and was immediately spotted by several knights. Among them was Sir Zerorick.
They were having some kind of discussion around the central table, probably about figuring out who the criminal was.
“Wh-?!”
“Y-You bastard, it’s you!” I dashed through the crowd of knights until I was behind Sir Zerorick. I whipped out Brunhild and pointed the weapon into his back, causing him to sheathe the saber he was holding. He then put his hands up.
“The situation has changed, so he’s coming with me too. I’ll return him along with the heir, so please don’t worry about it. See ya.” I said what I wanted before warping me and the new hostage back to the room in Primula castle. I was in and out in under a minute.
“Sir Zero!”
“Oh... Miss!” I let their heartfelt reunion play out for a couple of minutes before briefing Sir Zerorick on the situation. I didn’t want him to try attacking me with his sword, so I wanted to clear up the misunderstanding immediately.
After Listis explained the situation, Zerorick went quiet for a while. He folded his arms and closed his eyes.
After a while, he opened his eyes and looked right at me.
“Touya, was it? So I understand you’re a mage... Given what I just experienced, I can’t exactly refute that. But tell me, what will you do with the chairman? Kill him?”
“No way. Even if someone’s wretched, I don’t kill. It’s not my place to judge him for the foul things he’s done, anyway.”
“Then what?”
“Hmm... Oh, here’s an idea. We could send him and his entire household to an uninhabited island that has no hopes of ever seeing a boat. Or, oh! How about I curse him so he can’t speak unless he shoves his fingers right up his nose or something.” Everyone except Doctor Babylon drew back from me and gave me a funny look. Was it something I said?
I had spells that could suck out people’s will to live, spells that could induce sickness, fear, or confusion. Those were just some of the effects of my ancient Dark spells. I was completely equipped with the ability to nullify an opponent without killing them. Hell, I could even rewrite the chairman’s memories through [Hypnosis] if I really wanted to.
I also had the option of asking the Triharan holy emperor for what he wanted.
I imagined that just searching the chairman’s house would end up producing enough evidence of corruption to put him away for life.
“I’d advise caution. He’s the chairman, so his entourage of guards is befitting his position. He has several powerful Gollems around him at all times. And it’s rumored that he recently managed to hire a personal knight who can use unprecedented abilities.”
He has someone like that? I wonder if he’s a spellcaster like me. Or maybe it’s something similar to Tsubaki’s ninjutsu. Either way, I guess it might not be as easy as I want it to be. But so long as I put my enemy in a [Prison] it should be okay.
“You can leave those Gollems to us, you can.”
“Of course, they won’t be a problem for us!”
“That’s right! I’ll crush them all!” My fiancées were excited to fight. But I didn’t really want them to overdo it... To be honest the three of them were capable of one-shotting dragons at this point.
“We’ll handle the guards and stuff, then. Sir Zerorick, can you explain the situation to the holy emperor?”
“...You wish for me to act as a turncoat within my own nation?”
“If you don’t want to, I won’t force you... But I’m going to do what I want regardless, so don’t complain if you don’t help and I end up beating up someone you know.” I didn’t want him coming up to me and whining that I kicked the crap out of his son or something if I ended up getting charged by random knights. I wanted him to inform the holy emperor so things would be a bit easier.
“Sir Zero, please lend him your aid. If we use his magic, we could maybe even end this wretched senate once and for all...”
“...If the young miss wills it, then I will move these old bones for the sake of ending this foolish war.” Sir Zerorick knelt down and bowed to Listis.
... I’m not asking you to lay down your life, man.
I used [Recall] on Zerorick to get general information about the country and identify the chairman. Then I searched for him using my phone.
I found him pretty easily. He was in the holy empire’s capital, in the senate building itself.
The distance was within my [Teleport] range. It was approximately as far away as Belfast was from Brunhild, so I was confident I could precisely land there.
“Okay. So first up we’ll take out the Gollems and that bodyguard of his, then we’ll capture Chairman Morlock and bring him to the holy emperor. After that, we’ll see what he decides. Sound good?”
“Sounds good. If such a plan works, that is.” I laughed internally a little at her doubt, but I wasn’t surprised. I hadn’t shown either of them my combat capabilities, after all.
According to the map, Chairman Morlock was on the move. I decided to bide my time a bit and fight when he was in an open space, since fighting in a corridor was a bit of a pain.
Heh... Just gotta wait for the target to move to the center of the main hall, then I’ll attack him.
...I’m thinking like a criminal again. Auugh... I’m not a bandit! I’m an honorable grand duke... I am!
He had three knights and five Gollems escorting him. Security was about as tight as I’d expected.
“Sir Zerorick, you should leave the moment we get over there. If you move in and help, things could get complicated.”
“...If I must.” I activated [Teleport] the moment I confirmed with Zerorick that he was in the middle of a large, open room.
We appeared within the room in a matter of moments. In the sudden confusion, Sir Zerorick retreated and hid behind a nearby column.
One of the knights escorting the chairman saw us and yelled out.
“Intruders! Defend the chairman!” Two of the five Gollems answered the call by moving themselves between me and the target.
They were tall and well-proportioned Gollems that looked suitable for combat, and the
y had knight-like visors down over where their eyes would be. They also had gun-like attachments on their wrists. It seemed like these were the Soldat models I’d heard so much about. One of the five, furthest at the back, looked distinct from the others. It had a horned helmet. That meant it was probably the Sergent, the commander for the Soldat platoon.
“Fire!” The knight yelled out a command, and the two Gollems raised their arms to fire a hail of bullets at me from their wrist-mounted guns. The pace wasn’t as rapid as a machine gun, but it was still pretty fast.
“Not so fast!” Elze jumped in front of me, deflecting all the bullets with her gauntlets. I wasn’t exactly in a position to say anything, but her abilities seemed absurd...
She had closed the gap between her and one of the Gollems in a matter of seconds, smashing her fist into it and reducing it to a broken pile of scrap metal. She did the same for the second Gollem in just as timely a fashion.
“Do not forget about us, do not!”
“That’s right!” Yae and Hilde leaped into action, approaching two of the escort knights and attacking them each. In the blink of an eye, both of the men fell to the ground alongside their armor. They were completely unharmed, but were clearly traumatized by what had just happened.
Their blades were made out of Phrasium, and they could use their inner magic to decide whether or not to slice through the things they were striking. The level of precision that it took to only cut the men’s armor off was frankly inhuman... Even I found it absurd.
I felt a little emasculated only watching them do all kinds of amazing things, so I decided to pick up the slack a little as well.
“Come forth, Lightning! Pure Sparking Javelin: [Thunder Spear]!” I scored a direct hit with my Lightning magic on the Sergent unit in the back.
It was completely immobilized as a result, deactivating the remaining Soldats. It was exactly as Elluka had told me. Soldats seemed strong, but that was a pretty crucial weakness.
“Heeey, I wanted to crush them!”
“Ah, sorry.” Elze grumbled a bit at me, but I wanted to verify the Sergent’s functions.
In Another World With My Smartphone: Volume 14 Page 17
