Epilogue (part 1)

The central city of the Carmine Duchy, Landel.

In the center of that central city, in the meeting room in Landel Castle, in the

residing castle of Duke Georg Carmine, right now, the three dukes who controlled

the land, sea, and air forces of this country had gathered.

First, at the head of the table was the lord of this castle, Georg Carmine.

This lion-faced beastman had a burly, muscular build that was apparent even

through his military uniform. He had the appearance of a warrior who had

weathered many battles. Beastmen were no longer-lived than humans, but even at

the age of fifty, he showed no signs of decline. His very presence was enough to

make the atmosphere tense.

Seated to Georg's right was Admiral of the Navy, Excel Walter.

Wearing a kimono that was similar in style to the ones worn in Japan, she was a

beautiful sea serpent woman with antlers poking through her blue hair. Sea serpents

were a race that could live for over a thousand years, and she herself had already

reached an age of more than five hundred, yet she still looked to be in no more than

her mid-twenties. However, contrary to her appearance, her command showed all

the experience that came with that age.

Sitting across from her was General of the Air Force, Castor Vargas.

He looked like a gallant young man, but the two oni-like horns that grew through

his red hair, the membranous wings that grew from his back, and the lizard-like tail

marked him as a half-dragon, a dragonewt. He was close to one hundred years old,

but as a member of a race that lived to five hundred years, he was still treated as a

youngster. He, too, looked like he was in a foul mood.

Looking at the other two, Excel sighed. "...I was under the impression that we

were meeting here to avoid a needless conflict."

"What, Duchess Excel, are you afraid of that whelp?" Castor took an aggressive

tone with Excel. "Has the once-feared sea serpent Duchess Excel grown old?"

"Oh, me? And who was it who tried to seduce this old granny fifty years ago,

hmm?" Excel asked.

"Urkh."

"Also, when you address me, it's not 'Duchess Excel,' it should be 'Mother,'

shouldn't it?"

"...Right."

With that playful rebuttal, she deflated Castor.

In truth, Excel had been Castor's first love. Perhaps because he had been unable

to forget her even after his attempts failed magnificently, when he had later met

Accela, her daughter who was closer to him in age, he had fallen in love with her at

first sight and they had married. In short, Castor was Excel's son-in-law. She was not

someone he was in a position to argue with and win.

"Castor, do you still mean to oppose the king?" she asked.

"Of course! I don't care if he's a hero, or whatever else they want to call him, that

fake king usurped the throne, forced Princess Liscia into a betrothal, and unjustly

seized power in this country! How could I serve a guy like that?!"

"The only ones who tell it like that are the nobles being investigated for

corruption," she corrected him. "King Albert abdicated of his own will in favor of the

man he felt would be a better successor. The king's relationship with Princess Liscia

is close, too."

"I don't know about that! He may just be making it look that way! If he wanted to

rebuild this country, he could have done it as a vassal! Was there some problem with

the former king's reign?" he snapped.

Excel wisely said nothing.

There were no problems with it, but there were no good points to it, either, and that

was a problem, thought Excel, but to say so would be too disrespectful to the former

king, so she refrained.

Excel had found the speed with which Albert had abdicated dubious, but all signs

since then had pointed to it being a wise decision. Excel didn't remember Albert as a

ruler who could make such a decision, but perhaps it merely meant he had grown as

a person.

"Besides, we three dukes have protected this country for many long years. I can't

stand the way he's belittling us!" the man snapped. "The letter he sent me as soon as

the throne was abdicated to him was 'Serve me, or not, make your choice,' you

know?"

"It was 'If you will cooperate with my reforms, I will provide food aid and build

roads for you'... Right?" she asked.

The three duchies had a lower population than the crown demesne, and because

they had armies to supply, they had reserves, so the food crisis had not been felt as

deeply in them. However, when the food crisis had hit, the three duchies had opened

up their reserves and begun rationing, so all of the merchants who'd dealt in

foodstuffs had gone bankrupt due to lack of demand. Next, because of the rise in

unemployment, shops had gone out of business because their wares wouldn't sell.

Then, in a chain reaction, the craftspeople who had supplied them had gone under,

as well.

On that point, Souma had weathered the crisis by providing subsidies only to the

poor, not distributing more than necessary, encouraging people to eat foods there

had been no custom of eating before, and increasing the country's transport capacity

by building roads. In doing this, he had managed to minimize the degree to which

the economy shrank. Furthermore, of the three duchies, only the Walter Duchy had

independent maritime trade routes and had been able to just barely stop the

negative feedback loop by selling off their excess merchandise to other countries.

But that's something I was able to do because my duchy has a port city, Excel

thought. Neither the Carmine Duchy nor the Vargas Duchy have inland trade routes.

With his large army, along with the fleeing nobles and their personal retinues to care

for, the Carmine Duchy must be suffering from serious economic problems. If that's the

case, why is Georg so adamant about opposing the king?

As she was thinking that, Castor roared, "'I'll feed you like a pet, so obey me,' is

basically what that means! He's looking down on us!"

"If it's for the benefit of your people... what else is there to be done?" Excel asked.

"I don't like it! Does he think he can tame us with a little bait?!"

"I doubt the king needs a pet with pride and little else," Excel said.

Castor slammed both his hands down on the table. "...What is with you today?!

It's like you're defending the king! I know you don't like him, either. That's why you

ignored the king's requests for assistance!"

"Kindly don't act as if we're the same," she said tartly. "What the sea serpent race

must prioritize above all else is the peace and safety of our beloved Lagoon City. If he

will just guarantee me that, I'm prepared to obey him."

The sea serpent race, with Excel at their lead, had a unique system of values.

Sea serpents always thought of the needs of their city, Lagoon City, first and

foremost. Their ancestors had once lived on an island in the Kuzuryu Archipelago,

but after losing in a power struggle within those islands, they had been driven out to

sea, becoming wandering pirates.

Then, at the end of their long years of wandering, their ancestors had finally built

a base of operations at what was now Lagoon City. The sea serpents protected

themselves on this land which they had finally gained for themselves with love and

with pride. The sole reason they had participated in the founding war of this

multiracial state, the Elfrieden Kingdom, had been to protect Lagoon City.

"If it will benefit Lagoon City, I'll wag my tail for anyone, and if they threaten

Lagoon City, I will eliminate them, no matter how great they are in number. That is

the pride of the sea serpents," Excel explained.

"Hmph, wagging your tail is something to take pride in?" he snorted.

"Yes. I fight to protect the things I must. I'm not an infant who throws a tantrum

just because he doesn't like someone. If it can be resolved by talking, there's no

better outcome than that. It would be absurd to start fighting among ourselves now,

when our neighbors are eyeing us for an opportunity to strike."

"...The Principality of Amidonia, huh?" he muttered.

He was referring to the country which bordered Elfrieden to the west.

When they had found themselves on the receiving end of the expansionist

policies of the king who had been king before Albert, the Principality of Amidonia

had lost close to half its land. Now, they were watching closely for any chance to

regain their lost territory. Amidonia seemed eager to intervene in the dispute

between King Souma and the three dukes, having already sent them a letter saying,

"If you intend to depose the false king, we are prepared to dispatch troops to aid

you."

"Honestly, what a stubborn bunch," he snorted. "Their intentions are so

transparent."

"I'm sure they've sent a letter to the king, too," Excel said. "I doubt the king will

take them up on it, but they may dispatch 'reinforcements' anyway. You see what I

mean? About how foolish it is for us to quarrel now."

"Hmph. Fine, then why don't you just go to the king's side already."

"There are a number of things I want to see and judge for myself, and then I plan

to do just that. Things about the king, and about you."

Excel turned a silent glance towards Georg Carmine. After some light pleasantries

when she had first been brought into the room, he had closed his eyes and said

nothing. Was he listening to Excel and Castor make their cases, or was he thinking

about something himself? She didn't think he was sleeping, but... Excel was

beginning to become irritated with his demeanor.

"Georg, what are you thinking?" she snapped.

"...What do you mean, what?"

"Oh, my. So you were awake after all," she said. "Of course I'm asking why you,

the one who is most patriotic and loyal to this country of all of us, would take hostile

actions against the new king."

"Duke Carmine, you don't like that fake king either, right?" Castor demanded.

"I wasn't asking you, Castor," Excel said. "Answer me, Georg. Setting aside his

legitimacy, his reign has been a stable one. Why would you go out of your way to

cause turmoil like this?"

With Excel pressing him for answers, Georg opened his mouth gravely. "I judged

him incapable of ruling this country. That is all."

"And why is that? What is it about his abilities, with which he will soon overcome

the food crisis and economic difficulties that were pushing this country to the brink,

that dissatisfies you?"

"In order to accomplish that, that king cast aside many things without hesitation."

Georg opened his eyes. That alone was enough to make the atmosphere in the room

tense.

Excel and Castor both gulped. He was the youngest person present, yet in

appearance and mentality, he was the most mature of all of them. This was the

imposing presence of the greatest warrior in the country.

"I've heard that that king was summoned from another world," he said. "Because

of that, he has no attachment to things and can discard them without hesitation. If he

deems them inefficient, then be it history, traditions, soldiers, or vassals, he'll throw

them away. Am I wrong, Duchess Excel?"

"That's..." Excel found herself at a loss for words. It was true, she could see that

King Souma's reign had that side to it.

"Vassals who've served this country for many long years were abandoned by that

king," he continued.

"Yes, that was because they were corrupt."

"Will you still say that, even if they turn on him as a result? I believe you yourself

just spoke of the folly of endangering the country at this time. That king is the one

who sowed the seeds for it."

"You say that, but you're the one who's sheltering those nobles," she said.

"Those with a grudge against the king will be useful pawns in defeating him," he

responded. "Of course, I have no intent of reinstating those people once the war is

over."

Excel shuddered at the way the corners of Georg's mouth rose as he spoke those

words. Does this man mean to work the corrupt nobles to death in a war?!

He would strike down the king, work the corrupt nobles to death, and even if he

couldn't dispose of all of them that way, he would find some excuse after the war to

execute them. These were people for which any number of reasons could be found.

Then, with the current king's faction and the corrupt nobles having vanished

from the capital, only an empty lot on which he might build whatever he wished

would remain. He could reinstate King Albert as his puppet, if he so wished. Or he

could rise to become king himself.

Excel stood up. "Have you been driven mad with ambition for the throne?!"

"H-Hey now, calm down," Castor intervened, trying to smooth things over. "This

is Duke Carmine you're talking about. I'm sure he's not planning to usurp the throne,

right?"

Georg gave a nod. "Of course not. Once King Souma is removed, I will have King

Albert take the throne once more, and we will support him."

"...I'm not convinced." Excel lowered her posture. She was feigning calmness, but

she was actually quite flustered.

The situation is worse than I anticipated. This is the worst possible scenario...

Perhaps I need to act on the assumption that Georg already has undisclosed ties with

Amidonia. Ugh, if Castor was any judge of character, we might have worked together

to reign in Duke Carmine... Excel cursed her son-in-law for his short-sightedness.

Her daughter had married into his house and had since borne her two

grandchildren. She was worried what might happen if she let Duke Carmine win, but

if Excel were the only one to join the loyalist faction and King Souma were then to

win, as the wife and children of the traitor Castor, what would become of Accela and

her children? Under this country's laws, when a serious offense was committed,

relatives of up to three degrees of consanguinity were guilty of the same crime. If

she cut ties with the House of Castor, the House of Walter would avoid that chain of

responsibility, but if she did that, Accela and the children would...