Chapter 2: The Casts of Two Nations (part 1)

—9th Month, 1,546th Year, Continental Calendar — Princely Capital Van.

The city of Van, in the princely capital of the Principality of Amidonia, was

surrounded by high castle walls, and its architecture was without stylistic excess or

ornamentation. Put in a flattering light, it could have been called austere and rugged.

Termed less favorably, it was dull and monotonous. The unrefined scenery of this

town closely resembled the people who inhabited it.

This country, which had lost land in a war with Elfrieden two reigns ago, had

made revenge on that kingdom a national policy. What they valued above all else

was the warrior ethos. Of their men, they demanded austerity. Of their women, they

demanded servility to those men, as well as a feminine modesty. Because of that,

there were no men laughing in the streets and no women promenading in

fashionable outfits.

That was the nature of the "quiet city" Van, but recently there was a strange

giddiness in the air. It had started when their neighboring country, the enemy

Kingdom of Elfrieden, had gone through a sudden change of leadership.

In the 1,546th year of the Continental Calendar, King Albert of Elfrieden had

abdicated his throne.

Albert, the now-former king, had been a mediocre individual, but owing to his

gentle nature, he had been respected by his vassals and the people. However, also

owing to this gentleness, he had not implemented the drastic policies that would

have rooted out the corruption of wicked vassals. Thanks to this and a variety of

other, overlapping causes, the kingdom had fallen into a slow decline.

This Albert had turned over his throne to a hero said to have been summoned

from another world.

The hero was apparently named Souma Kazuya.

At the same time as Albert had entrusted the throne to Souma, he had also

arranged for the betrothal of his only daughter Liscia to the new king, ensuring

Souma's hold on power. This Souma, who the throne had been turned over to, had

yet to be formally crowned, but he was, in effect, the king, and had embarked on a

series of political reforms.

With this sudden change of kings, there had been those who had suspected

usurpation at first, but, with the support of Liscia, he had righted the wrongs of his

vassals, gathered new personnel, improved the food security situation during a time

of shortages, and installed a domestic transportation network to boost shipping

capacity. With the steady implementation of these policies and more, Souma was

gathering the support of the people. For a hero he was rather plain, but as a king, he

was a superb. That was the people's appraisal of him.

However, Souma's reign was not to be smooth sailing in all aspects.

First, the three dukes who controlled the land, air, and sea forces of Elfrieden

(there was also a force other than these, the Forbidden Army, which served the king

directly) had still not sworn loyalty to Souma.

The lion beastman who was General of the Army, Georg Carmine.

The sea serpent who was Admiral of the Navy, Excel Walter.

The dragonewt who was General of the Air Force, Castor Vargas.

Ever since the change of kings, these three had taken their armies and secluded

themselves in their own territories.

Because this was all taking place in another country, their exact intentions

remained unknown, but it was clear that their relations with Souma were strained.

In particular, there were rumors that the general of the army, Georg Carmine, had

been gathering forces in his territory, making his position in opposition to Souma

clear.

In addition, the nobles who had been investigated by Souma for corruption were

pushing back against him.

Those engaged in serious wrongdoing had been stripped of their titles and had

their lands and assets seized. Those whose crimes were even more severe were to

be jailed or otherwise punished.

The corrupt nobles were not happy about this and had attempted to take their

assets and flee the country. However, the borders had already been sealed, and, with

no other alternative, they had gathered under Georg Carmine, who was in open

opposition to Souma.

Thus, with the discord between Souma and the three dukes rising to the surface,

the citizens of Amidonia were in high spirits. There were plausible rumors that King

Souma had begun to raise troops to subjugate the three dukes who would not step

back from their rebellious position. The kingdom was experiencing a conflict

between the king and his vassals.

This was a situation that had the Principality of Amidonia watering at the mouth.

It looked like an unparalleled chance to pursue their national goals, to "reclaim our

stolen land" and "take revenge against that kingdom."

Because of that, among not only the soldiers but the general populace as well, the

overwhelming consensus was that: "Now is the time to invade the kingdom!"

In this militaristic state, the army came first and the lives of the people second.

Priority was given to the military when funding was handed out, meaning that the

people did not become more prosperous. Of course, there must have been

discontent from this, but the people were taught that "all of our suffering is the fault

of the Elfrieden Kingdom, who stole our land."

Rather than direct their anger towards the politicians or the army, instead they

directed it at the Kingdom of Elfrieden. No matter how badly they were

misgoverned, it was always that kingdom's fault. From a statesman's perspective,

there could be no situation that was more ideal.

Furthermore, this belief that "that kingdom is responsible for our difficult lives"

led naturally to a belief that "our lives will become better if we can defeat the

kingdom." That was precisely why, given this seemingly-ideal opportunity, there

was growing momentum to invade the kingdom.

Having caught wind of that momentum, bold words could be heard on every

street corner.

"Finally, the time has come for us to fight that kingdom!"

"That's right! We will bide our time no longer!"

"The brave and manly Lord Gaius will never lose to that whelp!"

"A war, huh..."

While many people were spoiling for a fight, there were also those who felt

uncertain about the war that seemed to be drawing closer. They feared that they

themselves, their homes, or their families might get caught up in it.

However, right now, the public sentiment in this country wouldn't allow them to

voice those worries. They had no choice but to suppress their anxiety, entrusting

themselves to the flow.

One person silently watched the people from the shadows of an alleyway.

This person was wearing an ochre robe, the hood covering their head entirely, so

it was not possible to see their expression. However, they were of slight build and

stood less than 160 cm tall. The person sighed at the way the people of the city were

acting, and then walked off at a brisk pace.

The person was heading towards a shop. From the goods in the show window, it

seemed to sell men's apparel. The sign out front read "The Silver Deer."

The person entered the shop, and the moment they drew back their hood, two

braided twintails appeared. The hood had been hiding the adorable face of a young

girl.

Next, a middle-aged man with graying hair who was dressed like a bartender

emerged from the back. This man had a gentlemanly demeanor and upon seeing the

young girl, he greeted her with a "Welcome back."

"What did you think, Lady Roroa?" he added. "How did things look in town?"

"There ain't no two ways about it, Sebastian... it's terrible," the girl said.

The girl who addressed the owner of this store in merchant slang (a fake Kansai

dialect) was the first princess of Amidonia, Roroa Amidonia.

"Nearly everyone's lookin' forward to the comin' war," she continued. "They're

thinkin' this King Souma is young and can't keep his people in line. They haven't

even thought that my old man could possibly lose."

"Lord Gaius is strong and manly, after all," the store owner said.

"He just looks rugged, that's all," said the princess. "Even if he is strong, that's just

one man."

Even though they were father and daughter, Roroa was merciless in her criticism.

Between Roroa, who had great economic sense and wanted to use the money she

had earned to rebuild the country, and Gaius, the militarist who wanted to pour the

funds into military hardware, there was a wide divide in their ways of thinking.

It was sad to see such a gulf between parent and child, but Roroa, as the first

princess of this country, found herself in a position where she had to do more than

simply lament that fact. As one who stood above others, she had to take action to

prepare herself for any eventuality.

Perhaps out of consideration, Sebastian asked in a friendly tone, "Well then, Lady

Roroa, how do you read this Souma character?"

"I dunno," she said. "The things I'm hearin', they aren't his personal

accomplishments, they're the accomplishments of his subordinates. That's why he's

so hard to figure out. He does seem like a king who's good at listenin' to his vassals,

though."

With those words, Roroa put her hands on her hips and groaned.

"If we're startin' a war with someone we can't get a good read on, that's

dangerous. That doesn't change just because the king and the three dukes ain't

gettin' along. Whether it's territory, or power, or population, the kingdom's got us

beat in all three. And, of course, there's the number of soldiers they can field, too.

We've got ourselves a lot of mineral resources, so the quality of our equipment's

good, but... that's about all we've got goin' for us."

With Roroa giving that pessimistic assessment, Sebastian asked, "...Lady Roroa,

do you believe this country will lose?"

"I told ya, I dunno," she said. "War's not my area of expertise. Still, though, what I

do know is that if we lose, it's gonna be real bad for us. It ain't just the kingdom that

we've gotta worry about. There's that irritatin' theocracy to our north, the Papal

State of Lunaria, and then there's the Turgis Republic, who're lookin' for any opening

to advance north. We've got an alliance with the Mercenary State of Zem to our west,

but I'm not sure they'll be much help for us if we end up on the back foot."

The Papal State of Lunaria was the headquarters of Lunarian Orthodoxy, a

religion which stood, next to Mother Dragon worship, as one of the two largest faiths

on this continent. That country was ruled by the Lunarian Orthodox Pope, who was

both a temporal and religious authority, and they had a system of values that was

markedly different from other countries. There were many followers of Lunarian

Orthodoxy in the Principality of Amidonia, and with some agitation, it was possible

the state could topple their principality.

The Turgis Republic to the south was a land of frigid cold. During the long winter,

their lands were buried in snow and their seas locked with ice. Because of that, in

their quest for unfrozen land and warm water ports, they were always keeping an

eager eye on the north for any opportunity to expand.

The Mercenary State of Zem was a unique country. They professed eternal

neutrality, yet obtained mutual security guarantees by dispatching their

mercenaries to every nation. They had dispatched mercenaries to the principality as

well as all the rest, but... mercenaries were motivated by profit. If their country ever

found itself at a disadvantage, there was no way to know how seriously the

mercenaries would take the fighting.

If the worst should happen, and they were to lose, how would these three

countries react?

That was what worried Roroa.

"The sentiment that's taken hold in this country right now is the worst," Roroa

said with a sigh. "There ain't nobody thinkin' about what'll happen if we lose. Even

though, in the worst case scenario, we could be invaded by three of our neighbors at

once."

She thought it over, then said:

"That's why I'm gonna do what I'm gonna do. Even if it means partin' ways with

my old man, I have to be ready if things go south..."

As she said that, she flashed Sebastian a big smile.

"So, there ya have it, Sebastian. Help a gal out, will ya?"

"...I suppose I'll have to, won't I?" Sebastian said with a shrug, as if trying to sound

very put-upon. That was the appearance he projected, but he had already resolved

himself to throw his lot in with this girl. Sometimes Roroa's actions betrayed her

youth, but she had a certain charm that drew people to her.

Sometimes, I think it's a pity she was born a woman... he thought.

Had Roroa been able to take the throne, might this country have become a more

comfortable place to live in? Sebastian couldn't help but wonder.

As for Roroa herself, she had already moved on to thinking about the next thing.

"Well, now that that's settled, we're still short of hands," she said. "I'd like to

spend a little more time looking for collaborators, I think."

"...And you have your eye on someone in particular?" Sebastian asked, having

sensed something in the way Roroa spoke, and she gave him a mischievous laugh in

return.