Side: Fionha Reiga Jilva, King of the Gilba Empire – Gilba VIII
Am I dreaming...?
The insolent mercenaries who broke through to the throne room – no, not even the eight of them, but the goblin they kept – defeated Air, one of our nation's greatest military assets...
Then, after the man who appeared to be their leader provoked me, nearly thirty of my subordinates flew into a rage and attacked him. Yet every single one of them ended up exactly as he had predicted—word for word—embedded in the windows and turned into decorations.
And the man himself had not moved a single step... Every one of them had been struck down instantly by the women surrounding him.
Of course, it must be partly thanks to the superior physical abilities and magic of the demi-humans, but the fools who failed to notice that these demi-humans were not wearing slave collars continued to provoke him.
"You bastard!! Aren't you ashamed to be constantly shielded by women!? Fight fair and square!!"
"No, you guys brought nearly thirty people to attack our group of nine and you're talking about ‘fair and square'? Besides, if you're going to put it that way, your supposed King over there is also being protected by a female Magic Sword wielder."
"The King is the symbol of this nation!! There is no need for him to take such dangerous actions!!"
"Then as the commander, I can't do anything that would tie up my own hands either."
"Guh..."
It was an entirely logical response.
Instead of being provoked, he had sealed us with logic, and now it felt like we were the ones being provoked.
As proof, the man who had done the provoking flew into a rage and tried to slash at him, but...
"Sorry. Someone of your caliber won't ever manage to lay a single finger on my Yuki-san."
A demi-human, likely possessing the blood of a cat beast, severed the soldier's blade with a speed that entirely defied the eye. With a follow-up kick, another decoration was added to the rows of windows.
"Now then, by your logic, a king who cannot pass judgment on criminals is no king at all. Wasn't that what you said?"
"......"
I never imagined my own words would come back to stab me like this.
"...What is your objective? My head? Or the ruin of this country?"
At long last, I had finally come to recognize the true extent of my opponents' strength.
The use of force was completely invalid against these mercenaries... No, force alone could never hope to match them. In this world engulfed in the relentless storms of war, I was forced to acknowledge that these mercenaries already stood as existences far above us.
Yet, despite possessing such overwhelming power, my head remained firmly attached to my shoulders.
Given the absolute leisure they displayed, completely slaughtering everyone within the royal capital—let alone this castle—would have been child's play for them.
The fact that they refrained from doing so and chose to enter the royal castle—or rather, to meet with me directly—meant they possessed an entirely different objective.
"If that were my goal, I'd have cut your head off from the start. And if I wanted to destroy your country, why would I bother coming all the way to the royal castle? Asking something that obvious makes you look stupid."
Ngh...
I held back so as not to repeat the same mistake as my soldiers, but that remark still irritated me.
"Well, it looks like all the important people—including that temporary king over there—have finally realized the difference between us. Coming here personally was worth the trouble. If we'd just relied on someone's introduction, you'd all have looked down on us and made everything unnecessarily complicated."
Indeed.
Had some influential noble introduced them, I would have viewed them as people beneath me.
These individuals had launched this raid with that exact calculation in mind.
"Now then, we can finally get to the main topic. Let's keep it concise; we have three main objectives. First, your military has picked a fight with us on three separate occasions, so we went ahead and neutralized them, including three of your Magic Sword wielders. We went out of our way to let them return alive, so make sure you truly absorb the difference in our power. Frankly, it's getting incredibly annoying, so halt your invasion from the city of Feil toward the demi-human villages. If you try it again, dealing with it is a hassle, so we will bring down this entire royal castle next time. And that includes your lives."
What a preposterous demand... It's practically a call for surrender.
"Second, we want to conduct some research, so grant us permission to access and read through the historical documents held within the royal capital. Consider this a form of reparations for all the trouble your side has caused us. Third, I want you to guarantee the safety of the Magic Sword wielders who were defeated by us."
"...The second request is acceptable enough. But what purpose does the third serve? The Magic Sword wielders possess independent authority, and I have recognized that authority. They attacked you, and as a result I now find myself in a situation where a sword is effectively pointed at my throat. I cannot simply leave them unpunished."
"What are you spouting? Your side was completely looking down on us at the start too. When you were talking with that Magic Sword wielder, Air, in the council chamber just now, you completely dismissed the facts of what happened as impossible despite hearing the truth. If we're going by that logic, the one who committed the ultimate blunder wasn't the Magic Sword wielders, but the King who stands at the absolute top. Well, I get that you have to do something about punishments for the sake of your prestige and authority, so just leave it at confiscating their Magic Swords."
"That would hardly serve as a guarantee. Without their Magic Swords, those girls are nothing more than reasonably capable commanders. They will immediately be brought low by those who have harbored resentment against them until now."
"We'll take care of that follow-up, so it's fine. Well, confiscating the magic swords means we'll have to recall the sisters and the Wind Princess Knight from the front lines, which sounds like a huge pain though."
Indeed.
Reducing our military strength against the Holy Kingdom at this moment would be unwise.
"...I have a question. Why protect the Magic Sword wielders? They are the ones who directly opposed you."
"Simple. We had some injured people, but no deaths. In other words, they were never opponents we needed to take seriously. They gave us information, so from our perspective they became useful allies. Sure, they attacked us, but after losing they started listening. All of them cooperated desperately to stop the invasion of their country."
"I see. So what you are saying is that the only reason my head is still attached to my shoulders is due to the achievements of the Magic Sword wielders?"
Umu. This could actually work in our favor.
I can frame it as them holding back such powerful forces, and now we have met face-to-face with the correct understanding.
Fortunately, word of this incident has not yet reached the individual legions.
If I can completely suppress the rumors of this commotion, accept their terms, and manage to have them accommodate our own demands to some extent, it will ultimately bring immense profit to this empire.
We would be securing a relationship with powerful individuals who managed to defeat four of our Magic Sword wielders—including Air—without killing a single one.
From our conversation so far, I don't think this man makes unreasonable demands... No—that was not entirely correct. His demands themselves were outrageous. Yet they were not impossible. He was not asking a bird to live in the sea or a mole to fly endlessly through the sky. Everything he requested was achievable.
In fact, regarding the punishment of the Magic Sword wielders, he openly permitted the act itself by suggesting the confiscation of their blades. His demand for a "guarantee" undoubtedly pertained to their lives and personal assets.
At worst, there will likely be those who catch wind of these rumors and attempt to pick a fight with these mercenaries, but in a way, that can be utilized as a convenient method for purging rebellious elements from within our ranks.
"Ah, just so we're clear, the only reason I made the second reparation about information gathering instead of money is because I figured demanding funds would cause all sorts of internal complications for you, alright? I did it specifically to reduce the number of idiots who would try to pick a fight with us. Don't you dare use this as an excuse to have us eliminate your unwanted subordinates, you hear me? If your soldiers come charging at us, I'm going to take the reparations directly from your treasury myself. You could try using assassins or other intermediaries, but I wouldn't exactly recommend it. In the first place, even your Magic Sword wielders couldn't even lay a finger on us, so give strict orders to your people not to do anything that might provoke us."
"...Understood."
Does this man truly see through absolutely everything?
He commands himself with a supreme confidence from the very start, as if he possesses extensive experience as a ruler. To call him a mere mercenary leader feels entirely insufficient; I cannot shake the profound impression that he is something else entirely.
"Well, I suppose that about covers our demands for now. If anything else comes up, I'll let you know as we go."
"Is this not the end of it?"
"The defeated have no right to dictate terms. That is your rule, isn't it? Well, I won't demand anything unreasonable. Bringing down a nation only leads to total chaos anyway. As long as there is profit in it for us, we'll cooperate with you. That should work out fine, right?"
Excellent. While the phrasing is somewhat distinct, I have successfully gotten him to state out of his own mouth that he will cooperate. This will serve as an invaluable tool for persuading the highly conservative stalwarts within my court.
"...By the way, I want to ask something."
"What is it?"
"I mean, it's great that you're totally in a mindset to accept our terms, but right now we're still just in the stage of stating our demands. First, go hold a council meeting. You're the King, so you already know that trying to push things through entirely on your own only leads to massive unrest later on."
"Ngh..."
True, while I practically lacked any alternative choices to begin with, as a matter of official protocol, I must establish a formal council session to deliberate and persuade the court. A king alone cannot sustain a nation.
"Ahem. I have fully grasped your demands. However, I cannot render an immediate judgment on the matter. Grant me roughly one week—""
"Don't be stupid. You have three days."
"...Very well. I shall deliver our conclusion in three days' time. Until then, you are welcome to lodge within the castle."
Kuh, to think I am not even granted sufficient time.
I must utilize these three days to devise a negotiation strategy that places us in the most advantageous position possible.
* * *
A single day's event that would never appear in the official history books.
On this day, the Jila Empire's royal castle fell spectacularly yet secretly, and was then returned once more.
