Chapter 200 - Incompetence and Ignorance

Summer, with scorching heat beating down.

The seasons flowed on indifferently with the passage of time, but Hestia's prosperity alone remained unchanged.

Hestia had begun to be mentioned here and there among the lower classes of the Empire.

"Have you heard of a place called Hestia village?"

"Isn't that the land where that Red Dragon reigns?"

"A place ruled by a terrifying tyrant, you say. Can humans even live in a place like that?"

"Surprisingly, they live there just fine. An acquaintance of mine settled there, and he said it's far better than living in the Empire!"

"Better than the Empire?"

"You believe that nonsense?"

The image imperial citizens had of villages outside the wall was generally the same.

Once one left the imperial capital, life was backward: collecting rainwater to drink, no healers to be found, and no choice but to pray that even a simple cold would not kill you.

Since most places truly were like that, it was a prejudice with reason behind it.

"They say clean water comes out in every district."

"There's plenty of water in the Empire too, so what else could there be?"

"And do you think they draw up that water for free? The better the land, the more taxes you pay. If you move to a place like that, you'll end up snared and worrying about food for the rest of your life."

"Apparently not! From what I heard, the water tax isn't even a quarter of the Empire's, so they can even save money!"

"They can save money?"

For the lower classes, savings were unthinkable.

"But isn't it dangerous land? Right next to it is land crawling with demonic creatures..."

"It's a place protected by a Red Dragon, so if anything, it's safe. And they say that if you enlist, they'll even let you use magic."

"You keep spouting absurd nonsense!"

"How would they use magic?"

"What was it called... magic ointment? They say there are staffs made with that."

"Do you mean magical engineering?"

"Yes, that! They say if you undergo reserve training, they'll even let you handle it."

"Doesn't that mean you have to join the army?"

"They say it's only used when demonic creatures attack. And joining the army is actually a good thing! Even in the Empire, there are plenty of fellows desperate to enlist, aren't there? I was the same myself."

"Hmm... Is it... a good place?"

"Anyway, I plan to move out and get all my belongings sorted within the week. I'm going to try settling down in the east too."

"I think that's a foolish idea..."

"I'll send you a letter. If you feel like it later, you should come too. Rather than keep being treated as a foreigner here, I'm willing to pay the exit tax and cross over."

The Empire's population was flowing out.

People were crossing the wall, the one said never to let anyone back out once they entered, and trying to settle in a new land.

It was not only simple lower-class people who made up their minds to do so.

"The adventurers were saying that these days, people are trying to make a fortune toward the Land of Demons."

"And they say people who work iron are being treated well too. There must be plenty of iron to hammer, no?"

Technicians with uncertain positions within the Empire were also eyeing this land of new opportunity.

In the end, the imperial capital had no choice but to treat this as a problem and discuss it.

"The reported number of people moving in is said to be similar to last winter's level."

Ureas Arken, the newly appointed acting emperor, asked from his seat.

"And is that a problem?"

"Ordinarily, the number of people moving in summer is about one-third of winter's. Based on this, it is estimated that more than three times as many people will move in this winter."

"So?"

"A considerable number of these people are currently coming from the imperial capital."

"The numbers don't seem that large..."

"The most important problem is that there is a population outflow."

"If this kind of outflow continues to be seen, the nation's credibility will be damaged."

Ureas reached this conclusion regarding the situation.

"Then cut off the heads of those trying to cross the wall and make an example of them. That should do, no?"

"We cannot do that. This matter is different from military law."

"A reign of terror will only make the citizens' backlash even worse. Right now, you must gain the trust of the citizens that the Crown Prince failed to obtain."

"Then what if we triple the exit tax so they cannot escape?"

"If you do that, even the entry and exit of merchants will become a problem. There will be backlash from those funding the nobles, and if that happens, the Crown Prince's side will again—"

"If you're going to say this won't work and that won't work, then why are you even asking me? Are you trying to see how incompetent I am!?"

Ureas lost his temper.

Just as Waldemar had predicted, Ureas Arken was a novice when it came to the Empire's politics.

His method of cutting unsolvable knots with a single stroke was impossible in imperial politics.

If they simply waited, it would show Alexander to be comparatively competent.

Even so, there were those who wanted to prevent Alexander's restoration.

They were the rising powers who sought to drive out the existing power holders,

"Brother."

And Olivia Arken.

She sat beside Ureas and gently clasped his hand.

"Please don't be so angry. They are helping you make a wise choice, aren't they?"

"Olivia, what would you do here?"

"For now, leave it alone."

"Leave it alone?"

"Hestia is a new village. Just as a sparrow has to take at least ten steps to keep up with one step of a stork, it is only a matter of time before they destroy themselves trying to imitate the Empire."

"Is that so?"

"Of course. Why not take this chance to send away the vagrants who are being mistreated as parasites eating away at the Empire?"

"Hmm... So it would be a cleansing. That is quite a good idea."

"You must not do that!"

Unable to bear seeing Ureas nod, one man offered remonstrance.

"You must take a longer view of this matter. A small flap of wings could return as an enormous backlash."

"Why is that?"

"After checking the living standards of those who have flowed out so far, ninety percent are said to be living better than before. If you drive out the vagrants of the slums and even their standard of living improves, it will only create the perception that Hestia village is a land of opportunity. If that happens, the population outflow will accelerate. You must keep Hestia village in check as much as possible."

Olivia objected when she heard that.

"You are imagining far too much that is unnecessary. Hestia village is the pride of our Empire, and the land that gives us our justification to exist as an empire on the Serdes Continent. Do you intend to keep Hestia village in check and give them a justification to become independent?"

"They will not be able to declare independence yet. Hestia village still belongs to the Empire, and without the Empire, they will not be able to establish a proper foothold. They know it would be tightening the noose around their own necks."

A taut war of nerves.

Olivia turned her head and spoke to Ureas.

"Brother. Did you not see with your own eyes what happened when Brother Alexander tried to keep Hestia in check?"

"..."

"You cannot gain the upper hand in the succession race with this war alone. That is why we must help Regent Ferda and exclude Alexander."

"Princess! I don't know what you're whispering, but get away from him this instant! You wicked temptress!"

In the end, the man could no longer hold back his anger and shouted.

Olivia asked with a shocked face.

"What... did you just say?"

"I'm saying a woman should stay out of politics! I have held back and held back, but now I must say something! Do you know that rumors are spreading that you have colluded with Regent Ferda?"

Olivia's face hardened.

She placed a hand on her chest and swallowed.

"Are you... saying I am committing treason? Why would you—!"

"Stop acting! If you are going to play the Saintess, then just play the Saintess. How dare you, in a place like this—!!"

His words did not continue any further.

Ureas's sword was pointed at the man's neck.

"How dare you..."

Ureas's face twisted fiercely.

"How dare you insult my younger sister to my face?"

"2nd Prince, General..."

What appeared in the man's eyes was a slight sense of betrayal.

He spoke calmly.

"General, I am on your side. Do you not know how many battlefields we have crossed together? Do you not know that my loyalty lies with you?"

"I know. That is why your head is still attached to your neck."

Ureas's hand began to tremble.

"I want to cut off your head right now."

His face gradually lost its self-control.

His hand looked as if it would cut the man's neck at any moment.

"Brother..."

Olivia grabbed Ureas's forearm.

When Ureas lowered his gaze, he saw her tearful face.

"Please, anything but killing... I beg you to stop."

She pleaded while trembling like a small animal.

Ureas lowered the sword aimed at the man's neck.

"Guards! Drag this man away. Strip him of his status and expel him from this Empire!"

"Y-Your Highness!"

The man looked as if he could not believe it.

A comrade who had been with him for more than ten years had turned on him merely because he had insulted his younger sister.

Even the words thrown out as a final mercy were cold.

"If you come into my sight, then next time you will be a corpse."

He was dragged outside by the guards.

Unable to cool his anger, Ureas pointed his drawn sword toward the table.

"I know myself that I know nothing. My work has been swinging a sword and commanding soldiers, so that is only natural! But if you speak carelessly of my sister, then next time...!"

SLASH!

He cut through the entire board holding the map.

"This is what will happen to you. Understood?"

"Y-Yes!"

"We will take your words to heart."

Ureas sheathed his sword again.

"We are dismissed. We will discuss the war with the Heinkel Kingdom, so prepare yourselves."

The meeting of Ureas's close aides came to an end.

Olivia rose, wiping her tears with a handkerchief.

Once she wiped her moist eyes, they became dry as if they had never been wet.

'Ureas's people are no easy opponents either.'

The fact that she had colluded with Regent Ferda, and her intention to inflate Hestia village, were not things anyone could easily notice.

'Still, they do not know Ureas well.'

There was one thing they had overlooked.

No matter how close a comrade who had stood back-to-back with him might be, they were nothing before his younger sister, Olivia.

Olivia had made Ureas that way.

If it felt as though she opposed Alexander, with Ureas it was an intimate sibling relationship.

They were bound together by the shared sorrow of having been pushed down in the line of succession.

When Ureas had hardships, he often leaned on Olivia, and she had filled the role of his mother.

That was why blood was bound to be thicker than water.

'Alexander is incompetent.'

That incompetence would someday catch him by the ankle, and when that happened, it would naturally lead into a succession struggle with Ureas.

'Ureas is ignorant.'

Incompetence and ignorance were as different as heaven and earth.

The incompetent know there is a problem, but the ignorant do not know what the problem is.

If one does not know what the problem is, it is easy to use them.

In the end, Ureas too was no different from a pair of shoes to wear and throw away.

'It seems increasing the population of Hestia village is only a matter of time as well...'

Black Bandana was being reorganized under Valdrova as a covert arm and was continuously controlling information.

Under the name of conquering the Land of Demons, it was also becoming a new gathering place for warriors sent by the northern alliance.

For now, it was nothing more than a branch that could be snapped at any time.

But when they looked back at it again, it would have grown too large to cut down.

If that happened, he would surely be pleased.

"Ah..."

An uncontrollable sigh burst out.

Olivia stood before the shrine set up at the corner of the corridor and reverently clasped her hands.

Her eyes were certainly directed toward the symbol of Altes, but what she saw was something else.

A man with gray hair and blue eyes drifted hazily into her mind.

Though it was nothing more than imagination, Olivia felt ecstasy.

'Lord Ferda...'

She offered a prayer to god.

'I will definitely make you happy.'

"... As such, I do not think these matters will greatly affect the expansion work."

"The Princess is helping us with all her heart."

Interference from the capital should have come long ago, but with Ureas taking power and trouble with the Heinkel Kingdom overlapping, they had become free of it.

Ferda only hoped that the war they were preparing would not end anticlimactically.

"Are there any other noteworthy matters?"

"If there is one noteworthy matter, it is that the armor knight is said to have disappeared."

"Disappeared?"

"Yes. They spoke with Branch Manager Eri of the adventurer's guild, formally withdrew, and went off to find their own path."

"Hmm..."

The armor knight.

A mysterious man who had arrived even before the name Hestia village had been attached to this place.

Ferda had gotten much out of him, and in equal measure had suspected and misunderstood him.

'The greatest misunderstanding was recent...'

Because his own mental strength had been lacking, he had mistaken him for Valdrova again and again.

After acting rudely, Ferda had even collapsed from exhaustion and ended up being carried on his back, so he had caused him a great deal of trouble.

'I wish I could at least have spoken to him.'

He was no ordinary person, making Ferda feel uneasy even after leaving.

Just in case, Ferda asked Isabella.

"Did you try tracking them?"

"..."

It was the first moment that Isabella's words, which had flowed like water, came to a stop.

Had she tried tracking them?

Of course she had.

The armor knight was one of their extremely important assets.

That had certainly been the case before she learned the truth.

'To think that person was actually Lady Valdrova...'

The source of the information was Erica.

She had said it was something she mentioned as a long-time friend who had shared hardships with her, as a warning to be careful.

'Careful, my ass...'

Isabella knew Erica.

This was definitely born from a desire to make her suffer together.

Right now, the fact that Isabella had ordered Valdrova around was hitting her hard in the gut.

"Administrator?"

"Yes."

"What happened with the tracking?"

"It seems tracking them will be difficult. They were never easy to detect to begin with."

"Is that so?"

"I apologize for disappointing you."

"Not at all."

What was there to be disappointed about?

Isabella did her best in every matter.

"You may return now. Please keep doing exactly as you have been."

"Understood."

Isabella bowed politely and went outside.

Ferda looked down at the documents placed on his office desk.

No, he looked at them.

No, he looked up at them.

'This damn work only ever piles up.'

Of course, more than seventy percent of the documents could be handled roughly, but Ferda did not properly trust people.

Since he could not allow his nose to be cut off while his eyes were wide open, he checked everything meticulously.

His personality was making him exhaust himself.

Prepared to stay up all night, Ferda opened the first document.

KNOCK KNOCK.

Someone knocked.

"Come in."

The door opened carefully.

That was all.

'Is it Echidna?'

The one who always opened the door and did not show herself was that woman.

But today was different.

The figure glimpsed was not a wide-brimmed hat and gloomy, disheveled hair.

It was two pairs of rising horns and glossy red hair.

She was peeking in from behind half the door.

Her behavior was like that of a rabbit in a burrow.

In Ferda's eyes, those menacing horns rose so high that he could have mistaken them for black ears.

"Mr. Ferda... Are you perhaps busy?"

Valdrova asked.

"I am free."

He closed the documents and pushed them back.