by Dojyomaru
In that moment, his shoulders shuddered, and he looked away.
It was like the reaction of a child who’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t. Did she have some dirt on him?
That concerned me a little, but it didn’t seem particularly important from the way Excel was talking, so I was probably fine to ignore it.
I asked Castor a question. “Castor. You heard what Excel said. Can I leave the navy under your command?”
“Y-Yes, sir! If that is your order, I will do my utmost to follow it.” Castor bowed his head.
I nodded, then gave the order. “Castor. Take control of the navy in place of Excel and prepare against the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago Union. However, limit operations to the seizure of vessels engaged in illegal fishing and do everything within your power to avoid a situation that may result in armed conflict. We can’t enter a serious state of war with another country when we have so many troops sent up north after all.”
“Yes, sir! As you command!”
“Also...” I walked down the stairs to whisper in Castor’s ear, “Don’t you dare use the Hiryuu. I don’t want other countries learning it exists yet.”
Construction on the island-type pseudo-carrier Hiryuu which could be loaded with wyvern cavalry was more or less complete. It had been decided that a second ship, Souryuu, and a third ship, Unryuu (both named by yours truly of course), were going to be built, but we wanted the first one done before that. Even though it could be put into operation, we couldn’t use our trump card on a fishing dispute and have other countries find out about it. Using wyverns to patrol the sea would make it a lot easier though.
Maybe Castor understood all of that, because he nodded.
“Understood,” he whispered back. “I will only use traditional ships to clamp down on them.”
“I’m counting on you,” I whispered. “Oh, and...”
From there we discussed some other things, then I went back to my position from before.
“Now then, Castor, I will be counting on you.”
When I declared that, Castor said, “Yes, sir,” and prostrated himself.
Now preparations were made for the west, north(west), and east of the country. That only left the south.
“Lastly, regarding our preparations against the Republic of Turgis...”
“Hold on, Bro!” Kuu stood up and cut me off.
“Y-Young Master! You mustn’t interrupt Sir Souma when he’s speaking!” Leporina, who was beside him, hurriedly pulled on his sleeve.
However, Kuu paid no heed to her, and looked me in the eye as he kept talking. “My old man...the head of the republic, Gouran Taisei...swore an oath of friendship with you, didn’t he? Do you think he’s going to betray you and invade?”
Another murmur ran through the crowd. That young man had suddenly shown disrespect to the king, and, at the same time, had revealed himself to be the son of the republic’s head of state. Many of those gathered here hadn’t known Kuu’s identity.
To quiet them, I answered in a way that showed no concern for Kuu’s disrespect. “I trust Sir Gouran. However, it’s the job of a king to prepare for unexpected outcomes. Besides, it’s not just Sir Gouran; there’s also a council of elders made up of chiefs from each race, right? I don’t think you can say that none of those races will attempt to invade us without Sir Gouran’s knowledge.”
I tried using logic with him, but Kuu wasn’t satisfied.
“My old man will take care of anyone like that on his side. Gouran Taisei isn’t a man who easily betrays his friends!”
“But still...”
“Ookyakya, are you that worried? How about taking me with the reinforcements as a visiting general?” Kuu pointed at himself with a jab of his thumb.
...Come again?
“How did this become about taking you with me?” I asked.
“As a hostage, you know, a hostage. Keep me somewhere I can be executed immediately, and I’m sure my old man’ll keep the hawks in line out of fear for losing his darling heir.” Kuu said that with a laugh, as if it was no big deal.
I wonder why... I was starting to get a bit of a headache.
“Do...you have any idea what you’re saying?” I asked carefully.
“You bet I do, Bro. I mean, I’m thinking it’s a good chance for me, you know? I came to this country to broaden my horizons. There aren’t many chances for a guy from the southernmost country on this continent to visit the border of the Demon Lord’s Domain up north after all!”
“It’s not that I don’t understand why you’d want to, but...”
It was because there were so few opportunities that I’d refused Liscia’s suggestion of, “Can’t you leave it to your retainers?” as a way to lead the reinforcements myself. However, was it all right for me to bring the boy I was entrusted with by another country to a place I knew would be dangerous?
I was hesitant and looked to Hakuya.
Hakuya shrugged his shoulders in exasperation and answered me briefly. “...Yes, I think that should be fine.”
He must have decided that what Kuu was saying made sense at least. Was there no helping it?
From the look in his eyes, Kuu was probably going to come with me even if I refused.
I sighed. “...Fine. I will allow you to accompany me as a visiting general. I will not make any special deployments against the Republic of Turgis at present. However, if there is any movement, I will leave it to Excel’s judgment.”
“Ookya! Thanks, Bro.”
“But make sure you report this to Sir Gouran, would you? Also, I’ll allow you to act as a visiting general, but by no means are you to act recklessly. I know how brave you are, but cordial relations between the kingdom and republic rest on your shoulders. You absolutely must respect my orders. Understood?”
“Yeah, I get it! I swear I won’t do anything reckless!” Kuu responded with spunk.
Was he serious though? I was probably going to have to ask Leporina to keep a tight rein on him later... Good grief.
Well, there was that dispute at the end there, but with this, most of the deployments were decided.
I ended by addressing the assembly. “Now then, I’ll be counting on all of you.”
“““Yes, sir!”””
In response to my words, the assembly all prostrated themselves in unison.
I went to leave the audience chamber with Aisha, Roroa, and Hakuya, the same as the way I had come. As I passed by Kagetora, who was hiding behind a pillar, I whispered an order to him.
“Probe the situation in the Union of Eastern Nations. Also, send Inugami to me later.”
“By your will.”
After that short exchange, Kagetora vanished from the audience chamber before we could leave ourselves.
I dunno... I think his ninja act has gotten even more polished than before.
Now then, all that was left was to decide who would be coming with me other than the military personnel.
We moved to the governmental affairs office, then had the people we needed to discuss things with gather once again.
Inside the office with me were Aisha, Juna, Roroa, and Naden, my fiancées, as well as Hakuya, Tomoe, Hal, Kaede, Ruby, Poncho, Serina, Komain, and Colbert, for a total of fourteen people.
I had the assembled people sit at a long table where the bureaucrats usually worked, and once I had confirmed everything was ready, I began speaking.
“Now then, shall we start by reviewing the current situation?”
I then explained all the details about the dispatchment of reinforcements to the Union of Eastern Nations from the beginning. There were members here who hadn’t been in the audience chamber before after all.
That and, though I had deliberately not touched on it earlier, I explained this time that while this dispatchment was in response to a request from the Empire, it was also because of a request for reinforcements from Roroa’s brother, Julius.
I had decided that this was less of an international issue and
more of a family one, so only those people who were closest to us needed to know.
When he heard Julius had sent a request for reinforcements, Hal got a funny look on his face. “Julius?! That’s the guy we fought a war with, right?! Is it okay to trust something a guy like that—ow! What was that for, Kaede?!”
Hal looked at Kaede, who was sitting beside him, in surprise. It sounded like Kaede had either pinched him under the table or stepped on his foot.
Kaede pinched her temples, shaking her head in exasperation. “That’s Sir Julius, Hal. No matter what position he may have been in before, he is the elder brother of the third primary queen candidate Roroa, and that blood connection makes him His Majesty’s future brother-in-law. You have to show him the proper respect, you know.”
“Urkh... Sorry.” Faced with a reasonable argument, Hal bowed his head and apologized.
Roroa waved her hand. “Ohh, don’t you worry about it. It’s a matter of fact that my big brother was an enemy. If he’s tryin’ to say, ‘Save me!’ now, it feels like it’s a little late for that.”
“Princess...” Colbert sent a worried glance her way. He was the only one in this gathering who had known the Amidonia siblings from a young age, so he was aware of Roroa’s complicated feelings.
Then Roroa stood up and bowed her head to everyone else. “This time, I don’t think I can get away from accusations of givin’ preferable treatment to a family member. It’s just that, from what the stuff in my brother’s letter was sayin’, he seems to have changed from the brother I knew. I dunno what went and caused that change of heart, but...I’m thinkin’ we can engage with him more constructively than before. So, I was hopin’... I was hoping you could, please, lend him your strength.”
Roroa closed out not with her usual merchant slang, but with a politely worded request in ordinary language. That must have been her speaking as the princess of the former Principality of Amidonia.
I plopped a hand down on Roroa’s shoulder. “I understand. It’s because I agree with you that I decided to send reinforcements to the Kingdom of Lastania.”
“Darlin’...”
I had Roroa raise her head, then looked to Komain. “Besides, it seems Jirukoma is in the Kingdom of Lastania too.”
“Big Brother...” Komain whispered. Her brother was in an area facing intense fighting because of the manami, the demon wave, so she must have been worried.
“Komain,” I said. “You’re working for Poncho now, right?”
“Y-Yes! He has kindly allowed me to serve under him.”
“Poncho will oversee the transportation of provisions for the reinforcements that we’ll be sending. I want you to support him with Serina. You’ll likely be going to the Kingdom of Lastania too.”
“Ah! You would allow me to come with you?!”
I smiled at Komain’s wide-eyed reaction. “Roroa, who had an antagonistic relationship with her brother, is worried about him. You got along with your brother, so it must be even worse for you. Besides, with a martial background like yours, you won’t be a hindrance. So, there you have it, Poncho. We’ll be taking your retainers with us. Is that all right?”
Poncho nodded vigorously. “If that is what you want, then of course, yes.”
There was a hint of joy on Komain’s face as she bowed her head. “Th-Thank you so much! Your Majesty, Poncho.”
Poncho said, “I’m glad for you, yes,” putting a hand on her shoulder.
I looked to Serina, who was beside them with an impassive look on her face. “Serina, that’s how it is. Can I count on you too?”
“It would seem I have no other choice. Besides, the princess is away, and with Carla attending to her, I would be left with nothing to do. I will ask that you allow me to take care of Sir Poncho for the time being.”
“I-I’m sorry to trouble you, yes,” Poncho said apologetically.
The corners of Serina’s mouth turned up just a little. “Why, yes. I do think you should show your gratitude with action.”
Poncho nodded with sweat beading on his forehead. “I-I will make a dish you like, yes.”
“Hehe. That’s a promise.”
Serina wore a slight, satisfied smile. Poncho seemed relieved to have improved her mood. Komain was using a cloth to wipe the sweat that had beaded on Poncho’s brow.
It was hard to tell the balance of power between these three, but despite some bumps here and there, they seemed to be in tune with each another, so it was fine.
I returned to the task at hand and addressed everyone. “Well, on that note, we’ll also be having Roroa along. Colbert. I know I’m going to be causing you trouble by taking Roroa, but hold down the fort for us while we’re gone.”
“Yes, sir. This is for my princess after all. Please, leave the finances to me.”
“I’m counting on you.” I nodded. “Next, in light of the possibility that we’ll encounter demons, Tomoe will be coming with us. And considering their combat potential, Aisha and Naden will be coming along too. We’ll be acting together for the most part anyway, but I’ll be tasking Aisha and Naden to serve as bodyguards for Roroa and me. I intend to have Inugami be Tomoe’s bodyguard.”
“Big Sis Ai, Nadie, we’ll be countin’ on ya.” Roroa bobbed her head up and down.
Aisha thumped one hand on her chest. “Leave it to us! I will protect Madam Roroa! So, Madam Naden, you look after His Majesty!”
“Roger that. I’ll stake my pride as a dragon on it.” Naden imitated her and thumped a hand on her chest lightly too.
Seeing them both puff up their chests in front of one another, I couldn’t help but feel all warm inside.
I next spoke to Juna, who was watching the two of them with a gentle smile. “If I’m being honest, I want you to come, Juna, but I’d prefer to avoid a situation where the king and all his fiancées are away from the castle, so please stay behind.”
“It can’t be helped,” she said. “Lady Liscia is away too, so someone should watch over the castle.”
Though Juna seemed a tad disappointed, she placed her hands together at her chest and bowed a little.
“By your will, Your Majesty. Please, allow me to hold down the fort for you. But if there is anything I can be of help with, just say the word. I will fly to your side in no time.”
“Right. If it comes up, I’ll be counting on you.”
We looked into one another’s eyes for a short while. I felt like those eyes were telling me, Be sure you come home safely.
When I gave her a big nod, hoping to reassure her as much as possible, Juna smiled a little.
Then Hakuya said, “Sire... A word, if I may?”
He was asking permission to speak, so I granted it.
“It’s about this dispatchment of troops,” he said. “We should consider the possibility that this may become a long-term engagement. What will we do about the coronation and wedding ceremony scheduled for the end of this year?”
“Oh! I totally forgot about that.”
We had a coronation ceremony to formally make me the king of this country and a wedding with Liscia and the others planned for the end of the year, right? There was no way of knowing when the demon wave would subside, and even if I could return by the end of the year, things were going to be hectic. It was probably going to overlap with Liscia giving birth too.
Well, when I’d asked Liscia about it, she’d said, “I can still attend with my belly sticking out, you know?” It hadn’t seemed to bother her, but it’d worry me to no end if she did that, so I hoped she’d stop saying things like that.
“Let’s put it off until next spring for now,” I said. “Liscia has the birth to deal with, so it’d be better to do it once the children are born and things settle down. Arrange it that way.”
“Understood,” Hakuya said with a bow.
That was everything taken care of.
When I got up, everyone else practically jumped out of their seats. I brought my right arm down toward them and gave the order.
�
��Now then, people! So that Liscia’s childbirth, the coronation, the wedding, and all that other good stuff can happen in peace, let’s all work together to get through this crisis!”
“““Yes, sir!”””
Now, let’s go to the north, which is crawling with monsters.
Chapter 4: Defending the Walls of Lasta Castle
The manami, or demon wave. It was a phenomenon of monsters appearing en masse from the Demon Lord’s Domain and moving south.
The second year after Souma assumed the throne, the 1,547th year of the Continental Calendar, was the year that the third demon wave after the Demon Lord’s Domain’s appearance broke out.
In cases where monsters overflowed from a dungeon, even if those monsters formed groups, there were, at most, several dozens of them. But in the case of a demon wave, over 10,000 monsters would suddenly invade the nations of mankind.
Naturally, unlike when they emerged from a narrow dungeon, the monsters would be scattered across the border as they invaded, so there would be fewer monsters on any given battlefield, and the pressure put on defenses would vary from place to place, depending on the monsters’ weakness or strength.
However, if thousands of powerful monsters invaded at once, a small country would be mercilessly trampled underfoot, and a medium-sized country would likely face an existential crisis.
One of the locations seeing heavy fighting in this year’s demon wave was the Kingdom of Lastania on the northwest edge of the collection of small- to medium-sized countries known as the Union of Eastern Nations.
This country had a population of under 20,000 and a force of merely 500 career soldiers, but a swarm of over 5,000 monsters was now bearing down on it.
Most of them were lizardmen, which had lizard heads and scaly upper bodies that were humanoid, but their legs more in line with a small beast. (If one were to compare them to a dinosaur from Souma’s world, the closest would be a deinonychus.)
Their name may be lizardmen, but their actions were purely bestial in nature, and there was no sign of the high intelligence said to be possessed by the demons.
