Record of Wortenia War: Volume 2

by Ryota Hori

  The frustration must have been maddening. Every word leaving Helena’s lips was steeped with toxic grudge.

  “I... I worked so hard to rise to the rank of general despite being a commoner... Can you imagine it? The sacrifices I had to make to reach that rank. After all, knights are typically men...”

  The issue was less one of sexism, and more one of aptitude. In terms of muscular strength, men had an advantage over women, even if thaumaturgy could help mitigate that. It went without saying that Helena’s baptism into a society dominated by men was a painful one. But she used her femininity to its utmost, exhibiting a strength which surpassed that of men.

  Not the power of individual valor, but the strength of a group. When knights find themselves on the battlefield, they savor the aesthetic of one on one battles and abhor fighting a single enemy in a group. But while knightly pride may have a sweet ring to it, it was inefficient. And so, Helena proposed the knights fight in formation.

  Even those who were fixated on their pride and objected at first were gradually swayed by Helena’s charisma and her feats on the battlefield, and came to appreciate her ideas. And that was a victory Helena won by effort.

  “Can you imagine having to throw all that away?”

  Ryoma shook his head at her question. He could imagine it, but wasn’t shameless enough to say so out loud. Only someone in that same position could truly understand.

  “But still, if it was for her, I’d cast away my title of general... If it would bring my daughter back...”

  It was the girl she was blessed with at the age of forty. Helena could only marry after turning thirty, due to her work as a knight, and had almost given up on bearing a child.

  Unlike modern Japan, the medical techniques in this Earth didn’t amount to much and birth at an advanced age bordered on the impossible. So, when she learned she had conceived, Helena was overjoyed.

  “And so, I ignored the words of my friends and colleagues and retired as a knight... Looking back now, I can acknowledge that decision was a naive one, but I had no other choice...”

  “And they never gave her back, did they...”

  Helena nodded silently at Ryoma’s assertion.

  “I asked my friends and colleagues to keep this matter covered up, so as not to entice the culprit any longer. It was a good thing it wasn’t reported to the guards... But a month passed, then two months, and she wasn’t returned to me... And during that time, that man took the seat of general.”

  If the victim had covered up the details of the case themselves, it was only obvious it wouldn’t be known to the public.

  “How did he manage that?” Ryoma asked. “Wouldn’t Hodram need the recommendation of the retiring general to claim the title?”

  At least, he would need that in an official capacity. But Helena shook her head.

  “Fundamentally, he would... But sometimes a former general may die without a chance to nominate a successor, and in those cases, it would be put to a vote by the knights...”

  Stricken with concern for her daughter, Helena couldn’t fulfill her duties, and appointing a successor was the furthest thing from her mind. And it was in that time that Hodram’s plots showed their effect.

  Helena’s aide and her friends objected, but they were soon silenced. Hodram’s pedigree had worked in his favor from the start, elevating him to the rank of Rhoadseria’s general.

  “Five years passed as I waited for my daughter to return... I’d already given up by then... Even if I wanted to avenge my husband’s death, I didn’t know who it was that did this, and I couldn’t search for her without any hints... Just living had become pain.”

  It was all understandable. A child is a parent’s treasure... No, they were the parent’s life itself.

  “You didn’t suspect General Hodram?”

  “I had my suspicions, but...”

  “No proof?”

  Helena nodded silently.

  Many countries saw Helena as a nuisance at the time. Few monarchs would sit idly by and let another country build up their military strength unobstructed. That applied even for Xarooda, which they had helped repel O’ltormea in the past, and their neighbor Myest.

  “Perhaps you’ve heard of how, five years ago, a slave merchant operating secretly in the country was executed?” Helena suddenly directed a question at Meltina, who sat stupefied.

  “Huh? Y-Yes...! Though, I do not know the full details...”

  Human trafficking wasn’t generally illegal on this Earth, but was only permissible for prisoners of war from other countries and those with debts they couldn’t pay off. If nothing else, no country tolerated having its citizens snatched off the streets and sold off.

  But you could find a fool in any place, at any time, and there were those who did their business openly, even though they’d have been turned a blind eye to had they merely operated in moderation. The slave merchant beheaded five years ago was one such fool.

  “That man would buy and sell off anyone, so long as it turned him a profit. Even people from the capital if he could get his hands on them... And that led to his demise.”

  Kidnapping a blood relative of a prominent noble, and one who had relations with the royal family at that, cost the merchant his life.

  It seemed his brazen confidence had stemmed from the fact that he’d bribed someone affiliated with the kingdom’s guards, but antagonizing an even more influential noble led to his rather predictable end.

  “It was the knights who apprehended him. He had quite the large private army, you see... That was likely why the guards couldn’t touch him.”

  “And that’s how you figured out what happened to your daughter?”

  “Yes... There were a lot of rumors surrounding that man, so the knights subjected him to a great deal of torture in order to get information from him.” She answered Ryoma’s answer calmly, but there was a great deal of melancholy in her tone. “And eventually, the torture loosened his tongue, and he talked about my family’s assassination...”

  In truth, the merchant had taken the role of a mediator in order to find an assassin to carry out the job, but for all Helena was concerned, he was guilty all the same.

  “The knight in charge of his torture was an old subordinate of mine, and thanks to that, I was able to meet him face to face.”

  She made it sound simple, but it was quite the reckless act. It wouldn’t have been so concerning had Helena still been a general, but it had been five years since her retirement at the time. Despite her past position, she was a regular civilian then, so meeting a criminal was unheard of...

  “I see... So that’s how you found out Hodram was the one behind it all...”

  “Yes.”

  That one short word told all there was to tell.

  “So why did you wait this long?”

  “It’s simple... that story never surfaced publicly. Even if it were to be exposed, it would be suppressed, and we’d be assassinated next. Ever since I retired, Hodram’s influence has only grown. The slave merchant’s testimony alone wouldn’t be enough to bring him down...”

  Silence filled the room. None of them had imagined the grudge ran so deep. Mikhail and Meltina were at a loss for words.

  “So that’s what happened...” Ryoma’s words were heavy, too.

  He’d had his suspicions, but the resentment simply ran too deep.

  Well, this isn’t good... This could be worse than letting Meltina handle the knights’ faction.

  A grudge can be a powerful motivator to move people, but people who are overly occupied with it will eventually destroy themselves. And while Helena was free to drive herself to self-destruction, Ryoma didn’t want to get caught up in that.

  “It’s fine. It’s nothing for you to worry over...” Helena guessed at Ryoma’s concern from the expression on his face. “What I want is Hodram and his family. Nothing more.”

  And so, she put her desire properly into words.

  Right... So she understands our doubts... Her
abilities and sensibility all check out, for sure... And we’ll have to grit our teeth for the rest, I suppose.

  The fact remained that Helena was the one person they needed for the job. No one could match her capabilities and achievements. They would simply need to fulfill her wish and hand over Hodram and his family.

  Vengeance was seen as evil in the eyes of the law, and that was true even under the laws of this world. But Helena knew this well enough, hence why she had planned this for many years. To create an opportunity for her to have her revenge.

  Helena made her selling price known. The question remaining was whether Ryoma could pay it.

  Guess I don’t have any other options here... I feel bad for General Albrecht’s family, all things considered, but... I suppose there’s no way around it.

  He could only see this becoming a ghastly revenge tragedy, but Ryoma easily turned his back on Hodram Albrecht and his family. The fact remained: no one was fit for the role but Helena. Ryoma didn’t have any desire to condemn the evil of revenge or ascertain whether it was just. There was only one question here— which of them would be of greater use to him.

  I might be content with this... But whether Princess Lupis would be is the problem...

  Ryoma might turn a blind eye here, but Princess Lupis would need to approve of this as well. It had been a month or so since he’d met Princess Lupis, which was ample time to get a grasp on her character and sensibilities.

  She pursues ideals too much, for better or worse... Would someone like her approve of offering revenge against Hodram as compensation...? Never... But what do I do? If I turn her down here, Helena will go straight to the nobles’ faction instead...

  If he were to bring it up to Princess Lupis, she would undoubtedly insist to have the issue resolved through the law, but that wouldn’t resolve Helena’s grudge. Her governing principle was vengeance. True, she had loyalty to the Rhoadserian throne, but her resentment was stronger than that.

  If the nobles’ faction were to approach her first and agree to her price, she would take their side without a second thought. The most important thing to her was to kill Hodram with her own two hands... Or worse, in all likelihood.

  No choice... I’ll have to bear the brunt of this blow...

  Ryoma braced himself. He would have to agree to her demand for vengeance without consulting the princess.

  “Very well... We’ll accept your demand.”

  ““What?!”” Meltina and Mikhail exclaimed in surprise, but Ryoma glared them into silence.

  Negotiations had a way of changing. If they were to ask for time to consult the princess, Helena’s interest would falter. They had to make their decision here.

  “Are you sure? Shouldn’t you check with Her Highness first?” Helena asked probingly.

  “Yes. She entrusted handling of these matters to me, and I very well may be exceeding my authority... But I’ll take care of that. You can be calm.”

  Helena listened to his words and then stared intently into his eyes. She wouldn’t forgive him if they were to betray even a sliver of a lie. But after observing him for one interminable moment, Helena’s expression softened.

  “Very well. I shall trust you, Sir Mikoshiba.”

  She referred to Ryoma with a respectful title, to demonstrate her trust.

  “Thank you very much, Lady Helena.”

  “So, what am I to do going forward? Help divide up the knights’ faction?”

  Ryoma pondered her question for a moment.

  “I guess the big question is just how many people are discontented with General Albrecht.”

  The answer to that could change things significantly. Of course, given his haughty personality, it was likely few people respected General Albrecht from the bottom of their hearts, but that didn’t necessarily mean they hated him.

  Ryoma’s concerns would prove to be groundless, though.

  “Well, I believe roughly two thirds of them are discontented with him... To the extent of being willing to kill over it.”

  “Two thirds?!” He couldn’t restrain his surprise at her appraisal.

  Hodram couldn’t have remained the leader of the faction all this time if the majority of its members were displeased with him.

  “There can’t possibly be that many, can there?”

  Helena regarded his question with a smile.

  “Yes, I suppose under normal circumstances there wouldn’t... But he managed it. He did it by having the knights mutually observe each other.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “In layman’s terms, he encouraged them to inform him of each other’s movements.”

  There were countries in Ryoma’s world that used this tactic, too. The communist sphere used it widely before the Soviet Union collapsed, and there were still governments that relied on it to maintain their power.

  Put simply, this was a system that encouraged betrayal among people. In exchange for reporting any dissent spoken by one’s colleagues or family, they would be rewarded with upward mobility in one’s company or society, or with monetary prizes.

  It tended to sow distrust. All too naturally, as any person was prone to complain when they didn’t like the way they were currently living. There likely wasn’t a person alive who wasn’t displeased with their lot in life in some way.

  But what if someone overhearing that complaint could lead to them being reported and killed? One would keep their hearts closed to their colleagues and friends, even their own families.

  “I see... In that case, it would be easy to have them switch sides.”

  As firm as this system was, its major flaw was in its brittleness; even a single person working up the courage to resist would cause it to fall apart. Calling it both firm and brittle may be an odd phrase, but it was apt.

  The main issue was, people found it hard to exhibit that courage to begin with. Everyone was anxious, but no one dared speak up, since doing so put one’s life at stake. That was what made the system a firm one.

  But what if even one person were to share their anxieties with another? Of course, one would have to choose who they told wisely, but in greatest likelihood, they would share those anxieties with someone eventually. And doing so would further agitate them, causing their discontent to overflow and reach the breaking point. And once they got to that point, no one would be able to stop them. The suppressed anxiety would erupt all at once, like lava from an active volcano.

  The person most suited to throw the first spark into that powder keg was sitting right in front of him. Rhoadseria’s own admired hero would do the enticement, surely causing the flames of contempt to flare up grandly.

  Meltina and Mikhail, as slow as they were, didn’t quite understand the implications, but Ryoma could easily envision it.

  “Very well. I’ll leave the execution up to you. On one condition... be sure to keep us updated on the situation.”

  “Yes, you can rely on me in that regard. Old though I may be, I’m still a former general.” Helena nodded deeply, to answer the trust Ryoma placed in her.

  “Can I ask you just one thing?” Ryoma asked Helena as she got to her feet and prepared to leave.

  “My, aren’t you reserved all of a sudden. What is it?”

  He knew it would be insensitive, but he couldn’t help but ask.

  “Your daughter...”

  Helena fell silent at Ryoma’s query. It seemed that this was one matter she hesitated to speak of. Ryoma immediately regretted his own thoughtlessness.

  “My daughter... was raped and ravaged cruelly soon after her abduction, and was driven to madness... Since she wasn’t suitable for sale... that slave merchant killed her.”

  “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.” Ryoma could only bow his head at the words Helena spat out.

  He’d already suspected that may have been the case, but hearing those words from the bereaved parent’s lips was extremely overbearing.

  I’m such an idiot... I would’ve been better off not ask
ing her at all...

  He had asked purely out of curiosity, but all the same, he was better off leaving that unsaid.

  “It’s fine... Don’t worry about it. But... that’s why I can’t walk away from this... No matter what!”

  Ryoma could only stand still, wordlessly. As Helena left the room, he could clearly see the flames of hatred swirling violently in her stride.

  Chapter 4: Proof of Strength

  The sun hung at its zenith. A single woman raised her voice amidst the tumult of men drinking in the noon of day.

  “Over here, Gran!”

  They were in the castle town of Pireas, Rhoadseria’s capital. In a slum sitting at one end of the town was a small corner pub, where Lione tilted her glass of wine towards a man looking into the store from its entrance.

  Gran was a man in his mid thirties to early forties, who towered at over 190 cm and had an overall well-built, firm physique. The sleeveless vest he wore showed off his hulking upper arms, which were as thick as logs.

  He turned his face in Lione’s direction and gave a small nod. His sunburnt, brown hair was cut short, and a thick beard plastered his face, giving the impression of a man who wasn’t quite a respectable member of society. The leather armor he wore was reinforced with metal in spots, and he had a massive war axe at his back; either item could only give him the appearance of a brigand or bandit.

  But truth be told, his attire wasn’t the issue here. His body simply teemed with the vigor of a man who had lived through countless battles. A man who made his living through fighting. Any common man who fixed his eyes on Gran would awkwardly look away and scamper off.

  That said, any person in this pub would simply turn their gaze in Gran’s direction one moment and lose their interest in the next, going back to their business. Because they all knew Gran was in the same line of business as them. The name of this shop was the Verde Forest Parlor, one of the pubs beloved and frequented by the mercenaries of Pireas.

  “One ale for that table over yonder, lass.”

  Leaving his order with a passing waitress, Gran headed in Lione’s direction to take the seat opposite hers.

  “Been a while. How’s life been treating you?”