Arc 8: Vincent Vollachia
Arc 8, Chapter 14 "Kingdom and Empire"
--Priscilla and Yorna are unreturned.
It was clear from the lack of objections from the other people in the room that the startling information from Emilia's mouth had not been misheard.
One can only imagine the significant role that Priscilla and Yorna played during the siege over the Imperial City of Lupgana and the battle between the regular soldiers of the empire and the rebels who rebelled against them.
At the same time, Subaru's fists clenched tightly in one realization.
"Is that why Tanza looked so gloomy......"
Subaru woke up in the bed of the chain-dragon carriage, and the members of the battle group who came to visit him. Among them, he was concerned that Tanza had been looking unflattering for a long time.
He had planned to discuss his future plans with Emilia, Abel, and the others, and to listen to Tanza's story again after he had settled down. However, before Subaru could actually take action, the reason for Tanza's concern became clear.
"So you're away from the Imperial Capital even though they haven't come back?!"
"--. There are many people who participated in that battle and have not returned yet. Of course, the presence of that one and Yorna Mishigure may be significant, but they cannot be treated specially."
"But, Yorna is...... moreover! You must have some kind of connection to Priscilla, too."
Subaru looks out the window of the dragon carriage, at the scenery outside, and, thinking of the Imperial Capital that is moving away from him, he makes this appeal to Abel.
He has not heard the details of the situation. However, Priscilla, who had rushed to his predicament in the castle city, probably literally flew there to protect Abel.
The exchanges that followed, while sharp and pointed, seemed to have a certain ease to them, as if they were two people who knew each other well.
Abel must not be at peace with the fact that Priscilla has been left behind.
Or perhaps his distraught state in Subaru's room earlier was not only because of the dead person, Chisha.
"How dare you speak so rudely to His Excellency!"
However, it was not Abel himself but a large man beside him who objected to Subaru's attitude.
Goz Ralfon, a scarred-faced man in golden armor, looks down at the boy who has packed up to become a loyal emperor, his voice booming at a volume like a volcanic explosion.
"Looking at the details of the situation in the Imperial Capital, it is only natural that Your Excellency would be abandoned! The remaining generals and the people will understand the rightness of your decision!"
"I'm not talking about right or wrong. What I'm talking about is......"
"You--!"
"Stop it, Goz Ralfon. That's one person who won't shut up."
Subaru still insisted, and Goz's face turned red, but Abel stopped him with his hand.
At the sound of Abel's calm voice, Goz closes his mouth, which was about to open, and hangs his head reverently. Subaru, on the other hand, looks at Abel with a disappointed look on his face,
"I'm sorry for making a fuss, but I'm going to say the same thing."
"Goz is right. Remaining in the capital under the current circumstances is tantamount to throwing away one's life. I cannot make such a decision. Of course, the safety of Priscilla and Yorna Mishigure is in jeopardy......"
"You see, Subaru, it's not all bad news. ......I'm talking about the fact that even in the bad stories, there is hope."
It was Emilia, with her eyebrows lowered, who placed her hand on Subaru's shoulder as he went out in front of her.
She, like Subaru, was also very concerned about the safety of Priscilla and the others. If she said there was hope, it was for Subaru as well.
"What kind of hope?"
"Priscilla and Yorna are both very strong, but they also have the power to influence the children around them."
"Around them...... well, yeah. I don't know about Priscilla."
Yorna, the ruler of the Demon City of Chaos Flame, was raising the power of the entire city with her "soul marriage technique", an ability that connects all the city's inhabitants with his soul path.
The same principle applies to Tanza, who is just a lovely deer girl on the outside, but her unparalleled power is different from the overall strengthening of the Pleiades group.
It seems to be a very powerful support effect, and the effect lasts even on the Gladiator Island, far away from Chaos Flame, and even during the siege of the Imperial City--.
"......Maybe Tanza's enhancement hasn't worn off yet?"
"That's not the only thing that's still having an effect on the people who have joined us from the capital, I suppose."
"Inevitably, the life of General Yorna, the wielder of the magic, will be safe. That's why Emily, who worries so much, is not flabbergasted."
"Yeah, so I'm not flabbergasted. So, Priscilla is the same way."
"Is Priscilla the same?"
Beatrice and Ram corroborated Subaru's guess. Subaru raised his eyebrows at Emilia's comment that Yorna and Priscilla are the same.
That simply means that Priscilla is a user of the same skills as Yorna, if we take it simply.
"But it's an ability that doesn't seem very Priscilla-like, and first of all, Abel told you that it's insanely difficult to use the 'soul marriage technique.' Did you trick me?"
"You're a fool. What's in it for me? I don't care what you think of me now, but there is no reason for you to antagonize me here. Use your head."
"If you're not going to antagonize me with that, you're not cut out to be emperor."
A behavior that would have surely led to a coup d'etat in the near future, even without this incident.
When Subaru pointed this out, Goz again became angry, but this was interceded by Berstetz, who was standing next to him, and no big deal was made of it.
"I don't know what Natsuki's impression of Priscilla is, but she's a master of that 'soul marriage technique' of hers. I saw it with my own eyes."
"Otto, you're right, I did check. But unlike Yorna's substandard use, in her case, it was limited to her favorite squire."
"Your favorite, Schult? ......Speaking of which, where's Al?"
When the topic of conversation turned to their camp, along with Priscilla's unreturned, Subaru asked about the man in the iron helmet who had not been seen here or in the chain-dragon carriage.
Al's position is a knightly position for Priscilla, although the squires do not approve of it together.
He, too, was aloof and frivolous, but he was certainly loyal to Priscilla. Naturally, Al would feel the greatest responsibility for Priscilla's non-return.
"......That man would have stayed in the Imperial Capital instead of getting on the dragon carriage, in fact. He is working to find Priscilla as Subaru thought, I suppose."
"That guy......! Don't tell me he's alone?"
"One person is more flexible. Ram agrees. It is not a good idea to leave so many people in the capital in that condition."
"Shit, that doesn't mean......"
They got an answer about the absent Al, but it was a fact that wrinkled Subaru's brow.
With that, Al is quite discerning, and he's a human resource who specializes in surviving more than he is capable of. Still, there is no doubt that his groundwork is a step below that of the more competent.
Even though he was aware of this, Al kindly cooperated with Subaru. He can't tell them how many times there were phases in the Demon City where he would have lost his life if he had not been there.
The leader of Priscilla's camp, Priscilla, is at the top. Her follower, Al, and Heinkel, who was accompanying her, are missing. Mr. Schult is resting in his room."
"Heinkel...... uhh, it's a very nasty name that I remember......."
"Get drunk."
"I don't get it from that description...... is he Reinhard's father?"
"--! That damn dad! How the hell did he get into the empire!"
Peeling his eyes, Subaru pulled up a bad-tasting memory from the depths of his memory.
Heinkel is the man who ruined the atmosphere in the Water Gate City of Pristella. Come to think of it, he was with Priscilla and the others, but he was surprised to learn that he was also in the empire.
Selfish and selfish, it seemed to him that they would never want to come to the Vollachia Empire.
"But Mr. Heinkel is missing, too."
"Shit...... I don't know what to think of Priscilla and the rest of the unreturned."
Of course, he doesn't want them to die, nor does he think they should.
On the other hand, he is not a person that he can like, so he has no reason to wish him alive beyond not wanting to make Reinhard and Wilhelm sad.
However, he had a thought about the consequences of participating in that battle.
"----"
Heinkel is a man of the Kingdom of Lugnica and father of "Sword Saint" Reinhard.
Even Subaru, who was not close to him, felt bitterness at the thought that he might have been involved in a battle in the Vollachia Empire and, in the end, lost his life.
He also said that no matter what it takes, Subaru must return to the Kingdom with all his precious friends.
And so Subaru has just strengthened its resolve.
"I have already informed you of the situation with Priscilla and Yorna. On top of that, I would like to make a firm statement before we begin our policy meeting going forward."
In the room occupied by a heavy silence, Otto was the one who started the conversation.
He stood up on the spot and held up just one index finger as he attracted the attention of those around him,
"I am sure you are aware of this, but we are from the Kingdom. I will say this after acknowledging the iniquity of crossing the border at a time when we should not have crossed it."
"--I'll tell you."
Yes. --We have achieved what we set out to do. If we enter the fortified city of Garkla, we will go northward through the city-state of Kararagi and return to the Kingdom of Lugnica."
Otto made it clear that in the midst of this unprecedented crisis in the Vollachia Empire, in front of a Vollachia emperor who was in danger of going into exile, Otto declared.
△▼△▼△▼△
"--Natsuki and Emily, please shut up."
And then, before Subaru and Emilia could say anything, they were told, and the stakes were raised.
Otto, who did not look at him, rolled his eyes at his previous comment, and Subaru and Emilia, who were about to protest vehemently, were caught off guard by him.
But Subaru's and Emilia's reactions are to be expected.
With the Imperial City in such a state of devastation, and to top it off, not knowing the safety of Priscilla and Yorna, it would be too much to make plans to return home.
"I agree with Otto's policy, even though he tries to tell me that I don't have a heart. I've recovered Rem and, by the way, the short-limbed Barusu, too. That's a good enough result."
"Ram......"
"You can't look at me with those covetous eyes, Emily. You know what I mean. The others and I just happened not to be lost. It's too dangerous to go any further."
Ram, who opened her mouth on behalf of Subaru and the others who were ordered to remain silent, expressed her approval of Otto's opinion.
Ram, who gave a curt answer to Emilia's clinging gaze, squinted at her in her usual pose of sitting in her chair and hugging her elbow.
It just so happens that they have been able to do so without losing it. --Ram is correct in expressing it that way.
As a matter of fact, they could not bring Priscilla or Yorna back to this place. There is no guarantee anywhere that it would not be someone from the camp.
"Dudley, do you agree with your lady?"
"She's not my lady, but I generally agree with both of you."
During the exchange, she introduced herself as Serena, a beautiful woman with a white scar on her face.
Was it Ram whom Serena called his lady? While denying the allegation, however, Roswaal also expressed agreement with Otto and the others.
"In fact, if you look at our objective alone, I would say it was a perfect accomplishment. His limbs are a little shorter, and the child that should have been asleep has become a naughty girl, but it's a good result. Retreating back to the kingdom at this point would be the decision with the least risk of loss to me."
"With the teething Barusu, I'd say the losses are minimal."
"I've got all my teeth......!"
Ram ragged on Subaru's size, hoping he wouldn't argue. But Subaru's gaze wandered around the room, as if it was a bad trend.
Otto, Ram, and Roswaal are three of the most pragmatic and intelligent members of Emilia's team, and they have a strong voice in policy-making meetings.
Despite the crown of being in the Emilia camp, there are usually times when the opinions of Emilia and her knight, Subaru, do not prevail. In fact, more often than not.
"The only one on our side is Beako......?"
"......Sorry to Subaru, but Betty is more or less over there as well, in fact. It's too dangerous to associate with the empire any longer, including the fact that Subaru has shrunk, I suppose."
"No way, not even you!"
Subaru's eyes peel back in surprise at his partner's unexpected betrayal.
However, while apologetic, Beatrice shows no sign of saying, "It's a lie, in fact." She is saying these things because she is seriously concerned about Subaru.
In other words--,
"Subaru......"
"......Just me and Emilia-tan."
Emilia's dark blue eyes twinkled as she clasped her white hand tightly. Subaru's throat clears at her call, and he breaks out in a cold sweat at his lack of strength.
At least if there were other people who were not here, the story would have been different--.
"I'll tell you what, Petra-chan is of the same opinion as we are. Frederica, you are also reluctant...... but please just take Garfiel with you when you return home."
"Emilia, Garfiel and me?! You've got to be kidding me!"
"Ugh...... that's something reeaally unreliable......"
Wishful thinking was realistically shattered and the reliance on the opinions of Subaru and Emilia was reinforced.
If this were a meeting where decisions are made by fist fights, the presence of Emilia and Garfiel would be an overwhelming advantage, but in any other meeting, they are just not a good match.
"What a travesty! What a farce! I can't stand to watch this!"
And it is Goz who snickers at such exchanges between Subaru and others.
He had earlier complained about Subaru's attitude toward Abel, and he probably felt that everything said and done by our camp was disrespectful to the emperor.
Goz, advancing with his big toe, plucks Subaru by the collar and lifts him up. Really, he plucked it with two thick fingers, and Subaru looked up, and let out a "Wah!"
"This is an imperial matter! If you are not Imperial citizens but Royal citizens, then you should cross the border as soon as possible according to the policy you have established! We don't need your help!"
"W-wait, please! I haven't quite worked out our side of the story yet......"
"It's a mess--!!"
Subaru's eyes roll back in his head as he is hit with a tremendous volume while dangling and floating on his feet.
Even with his hands covering his ears, Goz's voice, which penetrates his defenses, is now a weapon. But his point is that he is a military man of the empire, and there is no reason for Subaru to follow him.
And it is the same for all the other strangers except Subaru.
"I'll stop you right there, Mr. Goz. Let's put Subaru down first and talk to him properly."
Gulping, Emilia stepped forward with her hands on her hips.
She looks up at Goz, who is picking at Subaru, and conveys her stout intentions to her partner. Goz frowned at her posture, his thick eyebrows furrowed, and he looked down at Emilia with a scarred face.
"I see that you agree with the boy! But! The Sword-Wolf of the Empire will not accept charity! Your help is unnecessary! Join your comrades and quickly......"
"That! I reeaally disagree with!"
"What?!"
"He doesn't need our help! But! I don't think so!"
"They're getting louder, in fact."
Emilia's silver bells' sound gets louder and louder as Goz's momentum is overpowered.
Emilia's voice, which had retained its beauty but had become more like the sound of a bell than a bell, challenged him outright, and Goz's face contorted.
Pointing a finger at Goz, whose expression was distorted, Emilia continued.
"Because! Even in the battle at the Imperial City, if it weren't for me and Priscilla and the others, everyone would have had a reeaally hard time!"
"--!"
"We! Must have been tough, Mr. Berstetz!"
Saying this in a loud voice, Emilia turned the topic of discussion to Berstetz.
The threadbare-eyed old man was unfazed by the sudden nomination, and he said, "Yes, I guess," twiddling the beard around his mouth with his fingers,
"I didn't expect the generals to be so aggressive, it was unexpected that the leaders could not attack, if that's where their contribution came from......"
"It feels strange to speak from our perspective, but the girl in the dress there was the one who canceled out the white light...... that was emitted from the castle."
"--That's it."
Serena's jaw dropped and she let slip Beatrice's achievement. Hearing this, Berstetz's expression tightened slightly as he wondered what it had to do with that light.
Just before Subaru and his team arrived at the battlefield, a shot that nearly decided the battle--Beatrice's achievement in canceling that shot is a great honor for a partner to be told.
"Well, Mr. Goz, I think we're starting to make different assumptions, aren't we? You say you don't need our help, but things would be a lot worse if you didn't."
"Yeah! I don't know specifically, but I think it could have been a lot worse!"
"Emily, I think it's time to turn the volume down."
The wave of attacks by Subaru and Emilia, with Serena and, as a result, Berstetz also providing cover fire, caused Goz's lips to quiver.
If only the Subaru and others insist, but the Serena and the others, who are attending the top meeting in this situation, admit that it seems to work better for Goz, who has a strong sense of a beaten-up military man.
However--,
"......I will certainly acknowledge your contribution. But! In the first place, you have not been able to come to an agreement on what is essential among yourselves!"
"It's......!"
"It's so......"
Subaru and Emilia were disheartened by the plausible counterargument.
Even if they can talk down Goz here, it will only mean that they have defeated an easy opponent to beat, but it does not mean that Subaru and his team's ideas will go unchallenged.
Rather, what is essential is to persuade a much more formidable face than Goz.
"I know it's thin-skinned, but let me tell you something."
As soon as Subaru reacquainted himself with his enemy, he said so, as if that enemy had been watching him.
Otto, who had a bad feeling about this, looked alternately at the plucked Subaru and at Goz, who was plucking it,
"As General Goz said, this is an imperial matter. Unlike a situation of necessity, to get actively involved from here could become an internal affair...... of another country and an international problem."
"Guh......"
"First, why would Mr. Natsuki want to intervene so much? At any rate, the debt and affection for the people I have known up to this day in this empire, right?"
"Don't talk like you know what you're doing! That's what's wrong with you!"
"Not bad, but there is this kind of persuasion. --You see, Mr. Natsuki will take all those who cannot be abandoned out of the empire."
Otto, who tries to solve problems by reason, the greatest power of his principle, was on display, and Subaru's eyes went black and white at the outrageous proposal he made. Goz, perhaps equally surprised, slipped his fingers and dropped Subaru to the floor.
Naturally, this took Emilia by surprise. She helped Subaru, who had fallen on his butt on the floor, to his feet and looked at him, "Otto?"
"What does that mean? No way, this is truly......"
"I don't mean to be twisted, but this is a normal kind of proposal. This is the situation, and we should be reckless enough to take out the applicants we have solicited. Fortunately, we have the authority to decide."
Glancing around, Otto's gaze turned to Roswaal.
Roswaal is said to be hiding his identity in the empire, but it is true that he is the most powerful man in the Emilia camp. If Otto's opinion were to prevail, it would be Roswaal who would guarantee the acceptance of those who would be sent into exile.
And at Otto's challenging manner, Roswaal pinched, leaving yellow eyes,
"At least my employer wouldn't refuse it. If it saved them from taking a risk they didn't have to take, it was at least a necessary expense."
"Being young in thought, Barusu, most of the people you're stuck with should be people who don't have the strength to fight. They would be opponents that the empire would be willing to let go of."
While negotiating at a tremendous level, the conversation is settled on its own without Subaru and his team's help.
Neither Roswaal's overly large scale protection, nor Ram's speculation based on her insight into Subaru's character, can find room to interject, and the conversation proceeds in a staggered manner.
"What do you think, Your Excellency? If we can reduce the number of casualties in our country even a little, our proposal is not a bad one, is it?"
"--. It's a well-thought-out proposal, the kind that's hard to dismiss."
"I'm sorry."
Abel's mouth also affirmed that it was a seamless proposal, and Otto bowed socially. However, Otto could have stuck out his tongue inwardly.
Imperialism and Otto are not compatible. Not in ability, but in personality.
Like Subaru, Otto probably hates the Empire.
He agrees with that. Otto is just able to properly select importance on top of that.
"Guh......"
It's as if a hole in the ship you are supposed to be on has been repaired without your permission, and the ship has been remade into a different one.
The ship sails in a different direction than Subaru desires, but it flows and drifts to protect the lives of those Subaru cares about, and heads for the other shore.
They know that it was thought out for Subaru and his team.
They know, and yet.
"How about this, Mr. Natsuki? This is the maximum concession and consideration I can give."
Instead of dismissing Subaru's opinions out of hand, Otto tries to pick up Subaru's opinions as much as possible, while also ensuring his safety.
A man who he thought was reliable, but too nasty when we had a serious disagreement. A man who should have been given a drink and left in a drunken stupor before this discussion.
How could Subaru, who has only a cypress stick to counter Otto's too-strong theoretical armament--?
"--Hey, Abel, I want to ask you something."
"Emilia-tan?"
Suddenly, Emilia, who must have been frustrated by being pushed into the same position as Subaru while holding the same opinion as Subaru, approached Abel in this way.
Subaru's eyes widen when he sees the profile.
Unlike Subaru, who was being overpowered and had a frustrated look on his face as he tried to find a way out of the situation, Emilia's eyes and profile were not in an inferior position.
Abel's black eyes look at her at that dignified and brave call of Emilia.
Prompted silently, Emilia's thin lips moved,
"How many people are there in the Vollachia Empire altogether?"
"--. The civil unrest of the past month must have reduced the number considerably, but it was roughly 50 million before that."
"I see."
Frowning, Abel answered Emilia's question in that way. Hearing the answer, Emilia let out a short exhale, then raised a finger to her lips and looked at Subaru.
And then--,
"Hey, Subaru."
"----"
Emilia told Subaru.
For a moment, he failed to take in the meaning of the words she handed him, and then immediately Subaru's eyes widened and his cheeks tightened.
Then, he hesitated for a moment what to do with the hardened cheek,
"Subaru, I gave you my opinion, in fact. But."
"Beatrice......"
"Betty will always be on Subaru's side, I suppose."
Holding Subaru's hesitant hand, Beatrice's body snuggles up next to him.
Beatrice, almost as tall as Subaru, and looking into her eyes, which were even closer than usual, Subaru took a deep breath in and out.
As it was, Subaru looked at Otto with Emilia's expectant gaze.
He looked up at him and said.
"Fifty million."
"......What?"
Otto asked back with a shaped eyebrow raised at the statement he had made.
At the words asked back, Subaru's chest heaves, his cheeks contort into a smile, and he tells them over and over again.
"You said it before. I'm taking all the people I can't leave behind to the Kingdom. If that's the case! The ones I can't abandon the fifty million people!"
"--, Mr. Natsuki!"
"I know! You're right! I'm the one being reckless! I know everyone came to save me and Rem, and I don't know what I'm talking about! I know what you're saying!"
Subaru sticks his hand out at Otto, who raises his eyebrows, and Subaru does not weigh himself with self-mockery.
There was no way he could beat Otto, Ram, and Roswaal if he was forced into a corner by logic. Then Subaru would do what he could with Emilia and Garfiel on his side.
It was, in other words, an emotional argument that spoiled the logic head-on.
"We're in a hell of a mess! What if we leave and the empire is in shambles? I can't eat a meal just thinking about it!"
"What about the risk we take? If we save fifty million strangers and instead one of us dies or suffers a wound that cannot be healed, we will suffer even more."
"No one among us is going to die, no one is going to incur that kind of debt. That is absolute! That's absolute, and then what?"
Subaru retorted to Otto, who was cornering him low and quiet, and then looked not at Otto but at Roswaal, who was standing by his side with one eye closed.
"Roswaal! You know what you're doing. My absolutes are absolutes."
"......I am Dudley, Subaru. Nevertheless, it would be somewhat too dishonest for me, who have your absolute highest expectations, not to nod my head to that question."
It is a roundabout way of putting it, but Roswaal raised his hands in agreement with Subaru's opinion.
Even though he does not know that he "returns by death," Roswaal knows Subaru's authority, and as much as he expects that authority, he cannot let Subaru's good mood get the better of him.
In the first place, what will happen to the oath of "Sanctuary" if we take Roswaal's mouthpiece here?
"Ram, please......"
"......Emily, do you at least have something to convince Ram?"
"All I want to do is try really hard and help everyone......so, please."
On the other side, Emilia is making a ridiculously forceful request to Ram.
Ram, who would have mercilessly slapped Subaru with a verbal slap if Subaru had done the same, was unable to respond effectively to Emilia's pushing.
As it was, Ram let out a small exhale,
"Ram is fine as long as Rem is brought home. But from what I've seen of Rem, he's become very close to the people of the empire...... and to abandon her would damage the dignity of the older sister she's just finally realized.
"Ram......!"
"Stop it, you're depressing."
Emilia embraces Ram, who closes her eyes and finds her own reason for compromise. Ram responded to Emilia's thoughtful embrace with a bitter look on her face.
And so, Roswaal and Ram fall in a way that can only be done by force.
However--,
"Otto, please......!"
"Are you the same crybaby as Emily? Unfortunately, I am not like Ram. I would never do something stupid like signing a contract for which I don't know the price I have to pay."
"And please, from Beako too......!"
"B-betty too, in fact."
"It doesn't matter if it takes two or three people."
Subaru urged Beatrice to join Emilia, who hugged Ram, but Otto again preemptively stopped her.
Otto has a face that is completely determined not to be moved by emotion, and his stubbornness is like the formidableness of a man who is dealing with Roswaal obsessed with maniacal obsession. But even the snide remark of conveying that impression would not go over well with Otto now.
"It's a risk we're willing to take, and there's no benefit to Natsuki and his team's idea. You haven't even met the requirements for a tear-off. Neither Ram nor Mr. Dudley, please don't spoil them."
"Oh, you got mad."
"You're too smart for Otto."
When Otto said this sternly, Roswaal shrugged his shoulders and Ram frowned. But neither of them argued further, as if they didn't disagree with Otto's opinion.
In fact, if the fortress of Otto cannot be broken down, the situation cannot be pushed through.
Emilia, and the Emilia camp, does not approve of simply imposing a situation that not everyone agrees with from the top because of their position.
There--,
"--You said there was no profit. Then it would be different if there was profit."
"----"
Not Subaru or Emilia, but Abel interjected.
Otto's gaze sharpens at the emperor's conduct as he interrupts the conversation. Unlike Subaru's flippant tone, Otto looks back at the emperor with a full-fledged disrespectful stare.
"If there is an advantage, that is. What on earth are you going to do? I'm telling you, it's not going to be worth it to receive any kind of reward......"
"--Formally request the cooperation of the candidates for the royal election in the Kingdom of Lugnica."
"--"
At Abel's suggestion, Otto's expression hardened and he cleared his throat.
At the same time, it was the people on the imperial side, rather than Subaru and the others, who had shivers running down their faces. Serena laughed at his words, and Berstetz lightly opened his threadbare eyes.
Then, with astonishment plastered across his face, Goz spreads his hands out as if it were the end of the world,
"Wait a minute, Your Excellency!! What a request for cooperation from the kingdom...... Such a thing! Unprecedented in this Holy Vollachia Empire!!"
"What about the precedent? For that matter, how can there be a precedent for an ungainly emperor who loses the Imperial Capital to a rude gang and then retreats in this way? It's a petty obsession."
"But! Let the generals and the people lament that you have made a decision unworthy of a sword-wolf if you rely on other nations and have no power! Awe, the Emperor's prestige will be shattered!!"
"Will the majesty fade...... that's a silly concern."
To Goz's loud appeal, Abel responded by shaking his head.
Goz's eyes widened in confusion as he was told. Looking back at Goz, Abel called out his subject's name, "Goz Ralfon."
"Is it empty majesty without substance that we need now? --Not so. What this empire wants now is victory. Victory that is obtained after biting off the enemy's throat, bathing in their blood, and sipping their life, will shape the empire's tomorrow."
"Kah, Your Excellency......"
"If it is possible to be an obstacle to the fangs, all of them are 'enemies' of the iron-blooded code laid down by Vincent Vollachia. Answer with all your heart, Goz Ralfon."
"----"
"--Are you my 'enemy'?"
When asked so quietly, Goz's entire body trembled.
There was no sign of a struggle with Subaru in the room, and Abel had the strength to stand up straight and show his authority as an emperor.
There was a power in his gaze, in his voice, and in his very presence that overwhelmed others, and Goz had to face it up close, head-on, on his own.
Goz then went through a period of contemplation that would have lasted less than five seconds,
"I'm sorry to take up so much of your time. --I am Goz Ralfon! The hammer of war that shatters every obstacle that stands in His Excellency's way! I am never! I am not your 'enemy'!!"
"Then that's good. Your work is our only hope. Work harder."
"Huh!! ......Huh?!"
Nodding to Goz's loud answer, Abel responded that he expected his subjects to work hard. After accepting it emphatically, Goz shouted as if he had been struck by thunder.
Perhaps it was Abel's one word that was added that caused his surprise.
"--, I'll be very excited!!"
Goz wiped his face with his thick arm and swore again in a trembling voice to Abel, while tears streamed down his cheeks.
With this in mind, Abel glanced at Serena and Berstetz,
"I'm sure you won't disagree with me."
"I am not. I feel more loyal to His Excellency now that he has a face to my liking."
"I was more than a little surprised. Except that I was more than a little surprised."
"Hmph."
After snickering at the attitude of the two, the smiling Serena and the thread-eyed Berstetz again, Abel then proceeded to go forward and stood in front of Emilia.
Then, look at Emilia, who is blinking her eyes,
"You heard him right, candidates for the royal election. The Vollachia Empire formally requests the assistance of the Kingdom of Lugnica in containing the situation. --Lend us your strength."
"You know, Abel, I do want to help you. But I reeaally don't know the candidates for the royal election well at all."
"Emilia, no! This is the part where you can tell me apart!"
"What?! Is that right?!"
Emilia, who looked really distressed by Abel's offer, rolls her eyes.
When Subaru and Beatrice nodded back at her repeatedly, Emilia looked at Ram, who was hugging her for further confirmation.
Then, Ram shakes off Emilia's arm and pushes her back in the opposite direction.
"Yes, it is. --Please, do as you please, Lady Emilia."
"--ah"
When Ram called her 'Emilia', Emilia was surprised, then her eyes lit up. Then she blinked to hide her joy behind her eyelids and turned to face Abel again.
Emilia coughed, "Oho", at Abel, who was waiting for her to rejoin the party with a slight frown on his brow,
"I am Emilia, just Emilia. I'm one of the candidates for the royal election to decide the next king of the Kingdom of Lugnica. And now, one who wants to help an empire in danger."
"--. This is a formal request. The Vollachia Empire would never ask for the cooperation of a person from another country, even one in a position of great responsibility. Therefore, if this fact becomes public, it will be a tailwind for you as you vie for the throne in the kingdom......"
"No! Those things can wait! What I want to do now is this!"
Emilia's cheeks puffed up when Abel tried to put up some hard and fast logic. With that cute puffed-up face, Emilia showed Abel her hand.
Slowly lowering her lifted hand, Emilia held it out to Abel,
"Let us help your empire."
In the end, it seems that Emilia is the one who ends up being the one to cut the cord. Looking down at Emilia's outstretched hand, Abel looked at Subaru for a moment.
At the slight bewilderment arising in those black eyes, Subaru laughed with a bad look and nodded.
"Please, Your Excellency. I will allow you to hold Emilia-tan's hand."
"I told you, Subaru is mine."
Subaru's lighthearted comment was answered by Emilia with a wry smile, and Abel closed one eye and sighed at the exchange between them.
Then his hand slowly grasped Emilia's proffered hand,
"--Okay. I'll let you help me."
This one, in the end, was also a very Abel-like thing to do, to establish cooperation between the two countries.
△▼△▼△▼△
--The two shook hands, and the historical moment between the Kingdom of Lugnica and the Vollachia Empire was marked.
"Um, Mr. Otto, how about something like that......?"
Subaru and Emilia, Abel and the imperial side got excited and the exchange eventually reached the handshake, but Otto, who initiated it in the first place, was left behind.
Subaru was horrified because Roswaal and Ram had found a compromise, but had left Otto, who had not, out of the conversation.
He is aware that he has done something too much, so he ends up asking for help with honorifics and rubbing hands.
"----"
Otto did not reply to Subaru's coy question.
Subaru, who was too scared to look the other person in the face, was greatly troubled when silence was taken as a response. Unexpectedly, he hugged Beatrice beside him, their cheeks pressed against each other,
"W-what now, Beako...... Otto won't talk to me......."
"You know how I feel, I suppose. Otto feels like a total asshole, in fact. He's a clown for ruining his own ideas, I suppose."
"A clown doesn't have to look that much like Roswaal......"
"Stop it, in fact! Such a maximum insult will only make him angrier and angrier, I suppose!"
Flustered and flustered, Subaru and Beatrice searched for a way to break the ice.
He would like to somehow make up for the loss of Otto's face, but he doesn't know what to do.
"Would you like me to rub your shoulders or feet or something......?"
"It's kind of a reminder that it's like I pissed off my mother, in fact......"
"I can't think of anything else! Otto, for God's sake...... heee!"
Otto, who had been standing silently until then, suddenly pulled out a chair and sat down there with a plop.
Surprised by this sudden action, Subaru jumps away while hugging Beatrice. No way, the reason he sat down on the chair was not to let Subaru rub his shoulders.
And in front of Subaru and Beatrice, who were in a hurry, Otto put his hand on his forehead--,
"......Well, I hope you've settled on the drop-off point you wanted."
"Huh......?"
Otto let out a long, deep breath and began rubbing his eyes. After he said what he said, Subaru was stunned, then blinked his eyes and said, "No way."
"You didn't think this was going to happen from the start......"
"It was not a matter of 'this will happen', but of 'I'm willing to do this much.' I was not sure how much concessions Emperor Vincent would make. However, Natsuki and Emilia would not change their opinions anyway, so we had to think of a way to settle the matter."
"Ah, oh, uh, eh, ah, oh, uh......"
Subaru's mouth was agape at Otto's nonchalant response. He turned around with that feeling of disbelief, but then his eyes met Roswaal's and Ram's.
And those two, too, looked like they had it all roughly and generally figured out.
"You guys, you guys--!!"
"I'm so disappointed! Mostly because you and Natsuki are so stubborn!"
"Wah, I can only trust Beako and Emilia-tan anymore...... And Rem! Louis! Tanza, the whole group, Flop, Mizelda and the others!"
"There's still many more, I suppose!"
While hugging Beatrice tightly, Subaru could do nothing but fear the careful preparation of Otto and the other members of the brain team. Perhaps Abel had some of our ideas in mind, but even so.
"No, I'm afraid, I'm afraid, I really can't. I'm going to continue to go the emotional route."
"I don't know if this makes any sense, but Betty thinks Subaru should be more honest with his heart, in fact. It's more passionate, and Betty likes that, I suppose."
"Yeah, I love you, too. I love you so--"
Finally, Otto's earlier shock is beginning to ease, and Subaru is relieved.
And he had just calmed himself down like that.
--Suddenly, applause rang out in the room.
"--I've seen some very funny things. It's great, great."
There was a loud clapping sound, and unexpectedly, Subaru looked around to see who clapped, and held his breath when he spotted a strange figure there.
In the corner of the empty room, a tall figure somehow stood there. The figure was clapping his hands, applauding, and watching the exchange that had been going on.
--Without anyone in the room being aware of their presence.
"Who the hell is this guy?! How in the world did he get here......!!"
"Oh, shoot. I clapped even though I wasn't called. Oh, no, no. I have a bad habit of praising the children I find worthy of praise."
At the moment, with Emilia and Abel sheltering behind him, Goz was on the warpath.
In front of Goz, who had assumed a devil-may-care demeanor, the person maintained a nonchalant attitude, chewed on a golden smoking pipe from his pocket, and laughed dexterously.
The person who looked so out of place was even more unusual in appearance.
With a height of nearly two meters and black body hair, he has a charming expression with a carefree smile, and together with his sparsely growing fur, he gives the impression of softness to others.
Dressed in a kimono, chewing a smoking pipe, and a presence that somehow appeared in the chain dragon carriage with all the important people of the empire in attendance, naturally, everyone's attention is drawn to him.
"Oh my, everyone seems to be interested in me."
"Who are you? What are you doing here?"
The dog person scratched his head with his finger as he looked at her. Emilia, who was sheltered by Goz's back, asked the wolf person.
In response to his question, the wolf person tilted his head, his fang-lined mouth twisted into a smile, and said.
He said, "I'm Halibel. Can I say hello to you?"
Arc 8, Chapter 14 "Kingdom and Empire"
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--Priscilla and Yorna are unreturned.
It was clear from the lack of objections from the other people in the room that the startling information from Emilia's mouth had not been misheard.
One can only imagine the significant role that Priscilla and Yorna played during the siege over the Imperial City of Lupgana and the battle between the regular soldiers of the empire and the rebels who rebelled against them.
At the same time, Subaru's fists clenched tightly in one realization.
"Is that why Tanza looked so gloomy......"
Subaru woke up in the bed of the chain-dragon carriage, and the members of the battle group who came to visit him. Among them, he was concerned that Tanza had been looking unflattering for a long time.
He had planned to discuss his future plans with Emilia, Abel, and the others, and to listen to Tanza's story again after he had settled down. However, before Subaru could actually take action, the reason for Tanza's concern became clear.
"So you're away from the Imperial Capital even though they haven't come back?!"
"--. There are many people who participated in that battle and have not returned yet. Of course, the presence of that one and Yorna Mishigure may be significant, but they cannot be treated specially."
"But, Yorna is...... moreover! You must have some kind of connection to Priscilla, too."
Subaru looks out the window of the dragon carriage, at the scenery outside, and, thinking of the Imperial Capital that is moving away from him, he makes this appeal to Abel.
He has not heard the details of the situation. However, Priscilla, who had rushed to his predicament in the castle city, probably literally flew there to protect Abel.
The exchanges that followed, while sharp and pointed, seemed to have a certain ease to them, as if they were two people who knew each other well.
Abel must not be at peace with the fact that Priscilla has been left behind.
Or perhaps his distraught state in Subaru's room earlier was not only because of the dead person, Chisha.
"How dare you speak so rudely to His Excellency!"
However, it was not Abel himself but a large man beside him who objected to Subaru's attitude.
Goz Ralfon, a scarred-faced man in golden armor, looks down at the boy who has packed up to become a loyal emperor, his voice booming at a volume like a volcanic explosion.
"Looking at the details of the situation in the Imperial Capital, it is only natural that Your Excellency would be abandoned! The remaining generals and the people will understand the rightness of your decision!"
"I'm not talking about right or wrong. What I'm talking about is......"
"You--!"
"Stop it, Goz Ralfon. That's one person who won't shut up."
Subaru still insisted, and Goz's face turned red, but Abel stopped him with his hand.
At the sound of Abel's calm voice, Goz closes his mouth, which was about to open, and hangs his head reverently. Subaru, on the other hand, looks at Abel with a disappointed look on his face,
"I'm sorry for making a fuss, but I'm going to say the same thing."
"Goz is right. Remaining in the capital under the current circumstances is tantamount to throwing away one's life. I cannot make such a decision. Of course, the safety of Priscilla and Yorna Mishigure is in jeopardy......"
"You see, Subaru, it's not all bad news. ......I'm talking about the fact that even in the bad stories, there is hope."
It was Emilia, with her eyebrows lowered, who placed her hand on Subaru's shoulder as he went out in front of her.
She, like Subaru, was also very concerned about the safety of Priscilla and the others. If she said there was hope, it was for Subaru as well.
"What kind of hope?"
"Priscilla and Yorna are both very strong, but they also have the power to influence the children around them."
"Around them...... well, yeah. I don't know about Priscilla."
Yorna, the ruler of the Demon City of Chaos Flame, was raising the power of the entire city with her "soul marriage technique", an ability that connects all the city's inhabitants with his soul path.
The same principle applies to Tanza, who is just a lovely deer girl on the outside, but her unparalleled power is different from the overall strengthening of the Pleiades group.
It seems to be a very powerful support effect, and the effect lasts even on the Gladiator Island, far away from Chaos Flame, and even during the siege of the Imperial City--.
"......Maybe Tanza's enhancement hasn't worn off yet?"
"That's not the only thing that's still having an effect on the people who have joined us from the capital, I suppose."
"Inevitably, the life of General Yorna, the wielder of the magic, will be safe. That's why Emily, who worries so much, is not flabbergasted."
"Yeah, so I'm not flabbergasted. So, Priscilla is the same way."
"Is Priscilla the same?"
Beatrice and Ram corroborated Subaru's guess. Subaru raised his eyebrows at Emilia's comment that Yorna and Priscilla are the same.
That simply means that Priscilla is a user of the same skills as Yorna, if we take it simply.
"But it's an ability that doesn't seem very Priscilla-like, and first of all, Abel told you that it's insanely difficult to use the 'soul marriage technique.' Did you trick me?"
"You're a fool. What's in it for me? I don't care what you think of me now, but there is no reason for you to antagonize me here. Use your head."
"If you're not going to antagonize me with that, you're not cut out to be emperor."
A behavior that would have surely led to a coup d'etat in the near future, even without this incident.
When Subaru pointed this out, Goz again became angry, but this was interceded by Berstetz, who was standing next to him, and no big deal was made of it.
"I don't know what Natsuki's impression of Priscilla is, but she's a master of that 'soul marriage technique' of hers. I saw it with my own eyes."
"Otto, you're right, I did check. But unlike Yorna's substandard use, in her case, it was limited to her favorite squire."
"Your favorite, Schult? ......Speaking of which, where's Al?"
When the topic of conversation turned to their camp, along with Priscilla's unreturned, Subaru asked about the man in the iron helmet who had not been seen here or in the chain-dragon carriage.
Al's position is a knightly position for Priscilla, although the squires do not approve of it together.
He, too, was aloof and frivolous, but he was certainly loyal to Priscilla. Naturally, Al would feel the greatest responsibility for Priscilla's non-return.
"......That man would have stayed in the Imperial Capital instead of getting on the dragon carriage, in fact. He is working to find Priscilla as Subaru thought, I suppose."
"That guy......! Don't tell me he's alone?"
"One person is more flexible. Ram agrees. It is not a good idea to leave so many people in the capital in that condition."
"Shit, that doesn't mean......"
They got an answer about the absent Al, but it was a fact that wrinkled Subaru's brow.
With that, Al is quite discerning, and he's a human resource who specializes in surviving more than he is capable of. Still, there is no doubt that his groundwork is a step below that of the more competent.
Even though he was aware of this, Al kindly cooperated with Subaru. He can't tell them how many times there were phases in the Demon City where he would have lost his life if he had not been there.
The leader of Priscilla's camp, Priscilla, is at the top. Her follower, Al, and Heinkel, who was accompanying her, are missing. Mr. Schult is resting in his room."
"Heinkel...... uhh, it's a very nasty name that I remember......."
"Get drunk."
"I don't get it from that description...... is he Reinhard's father?"
"--! That damn dad! How the hell did he get into the empire!"
Peeling his eyes, Subaru pulled up a bad-tasting memory from the depths of his memory.
Heinkel is the man who ruined the atmosphere in the Water Gate City of Pristella. Come to think of it, he was with Priscilla and the others, but he was surprised to learn that he was also in the empire.
Selfish and selfish, it seemed to him that they would never want to come to the Vollachia Empire.
"But Mr. Heinkel is missing, too."
"Shit...... I don't know what to think of Priscilla and the rest of the unreturned."
Of course, he doesn't want them to die, nor does he think they should.
On the other hand, he is not a person that he can like, so he has no reason to wish him alive beyond not wanting to make Reinhard and Wilhelm sad.
However, he had a thought about the consequences of participating in that battle.
"----"
Heinkel is a man of the Kingdom of Lugnica and father of "Sword Saint" Reinhard.
Even Subaru, who was not close to him, felt bitterness at the thought that he might have been involved in a battle in the Vollachia Empire and, in the end, lost his life.
He also said that no matter what it takes, Subaru must return to the Kingdom with all his precious friends.
And so Subaru has just strengthened its resolve.
"I have already informed you of the situation with Priscilla and Yorna. On top of that, I would like to make a firm statement before we begin our policy meeting going forward."
In the room occupied by a heavy silence, Otto was the one who started the conversation.
He stood up on the spot and held up just one index finger as he attracted the attention of those around him,
"I am sure you are aware of this, but we are from the Kingdom. I will say this after acknowledging the iniquity of crossing the border at a time when we should not have crossed it."
"--I'll tell you."
Yes. --We have achieved what we set out to do. If we enter the fortified city of Garkla, we will go northward through the city-state of Kararagi and return to the Kingdom of Lugnica."
Otto made it clear that in the midst of this unprecedented crisis in the Vollachia Empire, in front of a Vollachia emperor who was in danger of going into exile, Otto declared.
△▼△▼△▼△
"--Natsuki and Emily, please shut up."
And then, before Subaru and Emilia could say anything, they were told, and the stakes were raised.
Otto, who did not look at him, rolled his eyes at his previous comment, and Subaru and Emilia, who were about to protest vehemently, were caught off guard by him.
But Subaru's and Emilia's reactions are to be expected.
With the Imperial City in such a state of devastation, and to top it off, not knowing the safety of Priscilla and Yorna, it would be too much to make plans to return home.
"I agree with Otto's policy, even though he tries to tell me that I don't have a heart. I've recovered Rem and, by the way, the short-limbed Barusu, too. That's a good enough result."
"Ram......"
"You can't look at me with those covetous eyes, Emily. You know what I mean. The others and I just happened not to be lost. It's too dangerous to go any further."
Ram, who opened her mouth on behalf of Subaru and the others who were ordered to remain silent, expressed her approval of Otto's opinion.
Ram, who gave a curt answer to Emilia's clinging gaze, squinted at her in her usual pose of sitting in her chair and hugging her elbow.
It just so happens that they have been able to do so without losing it. --Ram is correct in expressing it that way.
As a matter of fact, they could not bring Priscilla or Yorna back to this place. There is no guarantee anywhere that it would not be someone from the camp.
"Dudley, do you agree with your lady?"
"She's not my lady, but I generally agree with both of you."
During the exchange, she introduced herself as Serena, a beautiful woman with a white scar on her face.
Was it Ram whom Serena called his lady? While denying the allegation, however, Roswaal also expressed agreement with Otto and the others.
"In fact, if you look at our objective alone, I would say it was a perfect accomplishment. His limbs are a little shorter, and the child that should have been asleep has become a naughty girl, but it's a good result. Retreating back to the kingdom at this point would be the decision with the least risk of loss to me."
"With the teething Barusu, I'd say the losses are minimal."
"I've got all my teeth......!"
Ram ragged on Subaru's size, hoping he wouldn't argue. But Subaru's gaze wandered around the room, as if it was a bad trend.
Otto, Ram, and Roswaal are three of the most pragmatic and intelligent members of Emilia's team, and they have a strong voice in policy-making meetings.
Despite the crown of being in the Emilia camp, there are usually times when the opinions of Emilia and her knight, Subaru, do not prevail. In fact, more often than not.
"The only one on our side is Beako......?"
"......Sorry to Subaru, but Betty is more or less over there as well, in fact. It's too dangerous to associate with the empire any longer, including the fact that Subaru has shrunk, I suppose."
"No way, not even you!"
Subaru's eyes peel back in surprise at his partner's unexpected betrayal.
However, while apologetic, Beatrice shows no sign of saying, "It's a lie, in fact." She is saying these things because she is seriously concerned about Subaru.
In other words--,
"Subaru......"
"......Just me and Emilia-tan."
Emilia's dark blue eyes twinkled as she clasped her white hand tightly. Subaru's throat clears at her call, and he breaks out in a cold sweat at his lack of strength.
At least if there were other people who were not here, the story would have been different--.
"I'll tell you what, Petra-chan is of the same opinion as we are. Frederica, you are also reluctant...... but please just take Garfiel with you when you return home."
"Emilia, Garfiel and me?! You've got to be kidding me!"
"Ugh...... that's something reeaally unreliable......"
Wishful thinking was realistically shattered and the reliance on the opinions of Subaru and Emilia was reinforced.
If this were a meeting where decisions are made by fist fights, the presence of Emilia and Garfiel would be an overwhelming advantage, but in any other meeting, they are just not a good match.
"What a travesty! What a farce! I can't stand to watch this!"
And it is Goz who snickers at such exchanges between Subaru and others.
He had earlier complained about Subaru's attitude toward Abel, and he probably felt that everything said and done by our camp was disrespectful to the emperor.
Goz, advancing with his big toe, plucks Subaru by the collar and lifts him up. Really, he plucked it with two thick fingers, and Subaru looked up, and let out a "Wah!"
"This is an imperial matter! If you are not Imperial citizens but Royal citizens, then you should cross the border as soon as possible according to the policy you have established! We don't need your help!"
"W-wait, please! I haven't quite worked out our side of the story yet......"
"It's a mess--!!"
Subaru's eyes roll back in his head as he is hit with a tremendous volume while dangling and floating on his feet.
Even with his hands covering his ears, Goz's voice, which penetrates his defenses, is now a weapon. But his point is that he is a military man of the empire, and there is no reason for Subaru to follow him.
And it is the same for all the other strangers except Subaru.
"I'll stop you right there, Mr. Goz. Let's put Subaru down first and talk to him properly."
Gulping, Emilia stepped forward with her hands on her hips.
She looks up at Goz, who is picking at Subaru, and conveys her stout intentions to her partner. Goz frowned at her posture, his thick eyebrows furrowed, and he looked down at Emilia with a scarred face.
"I see that you agree with the boy! But! The Sword-Wolf of the Empire will not accept charity! Your help is unnecessary! Join your comrades and quickly......"
"That! I reeaally disagree with!"
"What?!"
"He doesn't need our help! But! I don't think so!"
"They're getting louder, in fact."
Emilia's silver bells' sound gets louder and louder as Goz's momentum is overpowered.
Emilia's voice, which had retained its beauty but had become more like the sound of a bell than a bell, challenged him outright, and Goz's face contorted.
Pointing a finger at Goz, whose expression was distorted, Emilia continued.
"Because! Even in the battle at the Imperial City, if it weren't for me and Priscilla and the others, everyone would have had a reeaally hard time!"
"--!"
"We! Must have been tough, Mr. Berstetz!"
Saying this in a loud voice, Emilia turned the topic of discussion to Berstetz.
The threadbare-eyed old man was unfazed by the sudden nomination, and he said, "Yes, I guess," twiddling the beard around his mouth with his fingers,
"I didn't expect the generals to be so aggressive, it was unexpected that the leaders could not attack, if that's where their contribution came from......"
"It feels strange to speak from our perspective, but the girl in the dress there was the one who canceled out the white light...... that was emitted from the castle."
"--That's it."
Serena's jaw dropped and she let slip Beatrice's achievement. Hearing this, Berstetz's expression tightened slightly as he wondered what it had to do with that light.
Just before Subaru and his team arrived at the battlefield, a shot that nearly decided the battle--Beatrice's achievement in canceling that shot is a great honor for a partner to be told.
"Well, Mr. Goz, I think we're starting to make different assumptions, aren't we? You say you don't need our help, but things would be a lot worse if you didn't."
"Yeah! I don't know specifically, but I think it could have been a lot worse!"
"Emily, I think it's time to turn the volume down."
The wave of attacks by Subaru and Emilia, with Serena and, as a result, Berstetz also providing cover fire, caused Goz's lips to quiver.
If only the Subaru and others insist, but the Serena and the others, who are attending the top meeting in this situation, admit that it seems to work better for Goz, who has a strong sense of a beaten-up military man.
However--,
"......I will certainly acknowledge your contribution. But! In the first place, you have not been able to come to an agreement on what is essential among yourselves!"
"It's......!"
"It's so......"
Subaru and Emilia were disheartened by the plausible counterargument.
Even if they can talk down Goz here, it will only mean that they have defeated an easy opponent to beat, but it does not mean that Subaru and his team's ideas will go unchallenged.
Rather, what is essential is to persuade a much more formidable face than Goz.
"I know it's thin-skinned, but let me tell you something."
As soon as Subaru reacquainted himself with his enemy, he said so, as if that enemy had been watching him.
Otto, who had a bad feeling about this, looked alternately at the plucked Subaru and at Goz, who was plucking it,
"As General Goz said, this is an imperial matter. Unlike a situation of necessity, to get actively involved from here could become an internal affair...... of another country and an international problem."
"Guh......"
"First, why would Mr. Natsuki want to intervene so much? At any rate, the debt and affection for the people I have known up to this day in this empire, right?"
"Don't talk like you know what you're doing! That's what's wrong with you!"
"Not bad, but there is this kind of persuasion. --You see, Mr. Natsuki will take all those who cannot be abandoned out of the empire."
Otto, who tries to solve problems by reason, the greatest power of his principle, was on display, and Subaru's eyes went black and white at the outrageous proposal he made. Goz, perhaps equally surprised, slipped his fingers and dropped Subaru to the floor.
Naturally, this took Emilia by surprise. She helped Subaru, who had fallen on his butt on the floor, to his feet and looked at him, "Otto?"
"What does that mean? No way, this is truly......"
"I don't mean to be twisted, but this is a normal kind of proposal. This is the situation, and we should be reckless enough to take out the applicants we have solicited. Fortunately, we have the authority to decide."
Glancing around, Otto's gaze turned to Roswaal.
Roswaal is said to be hiding his identity in the empire, but it is true that he is the most powerful man in the Emilia camp. If Otto's opinion were to prevail, it would be Roswaal who would guarantee the acceptance of those who would be sent into exile.
And at Otto's challenging manner, Roswaal pinched, leaving yellow eyes,
"At least my employer wouldn't refuse it. If it saved them from taking a risk they didn't have to take, it was at least a necessary expense."
"Being young in thought, Barusu, most of the people you're stuck with should be people who don't have the strength to fight. They would be opponents that the empire would be willing to let go of."
While negotiating at a tremendous level, the conversation is settled on its own without Subaru and his team's help.
Neither Roswaal's overly large scale protection, nor Ram's speculation based on her insight into Subaru's character, can find room to interject, and the conversation proceeds in a staggered manner.
"What do you think, Your Excellency? If we can reduce the number of casualties in our country even a little, our proposal is not a bad one, is it?"
"--. It's a well-thought-out proposal, the kind that's hard to dismiss."
"I'm sorry."
Abel's mouth also affirmed that it was a seamless proposal, and Otto bowed socially. However, Otto could have stuck out his tongue inwardly.
Imperialism and Otto are not compatible. Not in ability, but in personality.
Like Subaru, Otto probably hates the Empire.
He agrees with that. Otto is just able to properly select importance on top of that.
"Guh......"
It's as if a hole in the ship you are supposed to be on has been repaired without your permission, and the ship has been remade into a different one.
The ship sails in a different direction than Subaru desires, but it flows and drifts to protect the lives of those Subaru cares about, and heads for the other shore.
They know that it was thought out for Subaru and his team.
They know, and yet.
"How about this, Mr. Natsuki? This is the maximum concession and consideration I can give."
Instead of dismissing Subaru's opinions out of hand, Otto tries to pick up Subaru's opinions as much as possible, while also ensuring his safety.
A man who he thought was reliable, but too nasty when we had a serious disagreement. A man who should have been given a drink and left in a drunken stupor before this discussion.
How could Subaru, who has only a cypress stick to counter Otto's too-strong theoretical armament--?
"--Hey, Abel, I want to ask you something."
"Emilia-tan?"
Suddenly, Emilia, who must have been frustrated by being pushed into the same position as Subaru while holding the same opinion as Subaru, approached Abel in this way.
Subaru's eyes widen when he sees the profile.
Unlike Subaru, who was being overpowered and had a frustrated look on his face as he tried to find a way out of the situation, Emilia's eyes and profile were not in an inferior position.
Abel's black eyes look at her at that dignified and brave call of Emilia.
Prompted silently, Emilia's thin lips moved,
"How many people are there in the Vollachia Empire altogether?"
"--. The civil unrest of the past month must have reduced the number considerably, but it was roughly 50 million before that."
"I see."
Frowning, Abel answered Emilia's question in that way. Hearing the answer, Emilia let out a short exhale, then raised a finger to her lips and looked at Subaru.
And then--,
"Hey, Subaru."
"----"
Emilia told Subaru.
For a moment, he failed to take in the meaning of the words she handed him, and then immediately Subaru's eyes widened and his cheeks tightened.
Then, he hesitated for a moment what to do with the hardened cheek,
"Subaru, I gave you my opinion, in fact. But."
"Beatrice......"
"Betty will always be on Subaru's side, I suppose."
Holding Subaru's hesitant hand, Beatrice's body snuggles up next to him.
Beatrice, almost as tall as Subaru, and looking into her eyes, which were even closer than usual, Subaru took a deep breath in and out.
As it was, Subaru looked at Otto with Emilia's expectant gaze.
He looked up at him and said.
"Fifty million."
"......What?"
Otto asked back with a shaped eyebrow raised at the statement he had made.
At the words asked back, Subaru's chest heaves, his cheeks contort into a smile, and he tells them over and over again.
"You said it before. I'm taking all the people I can't leave behind to the Kingdom. If that's the case! The ones I can't abandon the fifty million people!"
"--, Mr. Natsuki!"
"I know! You're right! I'm the one being reckless! I know everyone came to save me and Rem, and I don't know what I'm talking about! I know what you're saying!"
Subaru sticks his hand out at Otto, who raises his eyebrows, and Subaru does not weigh himself with self-mockery.
There was no way he could beat Otto, Ram, and Roswaal if he was forced into a corner by logic. Then Subaru would do what he could with Emilia and Garfiel on his side.
It was, in other words, an emotional argument that spoiled the logic head-on.
"We're in a hell of a mess! What if we leave and the empire is in shambles? I can't eat a meal just thinking about it!"
"What about the risk we take? If we save fifty million strangers and instead one of us dies or suffers a wound that cannot be healed, we will suffer even more."
"No one among us is going to die, no one is going to incur that kind of debt. That is absolute! That's absolute, and then what?"
Subaru retorted to Otto, who was cornering him low and quiet, and then looked not at Otto but at Roswaal, who was standing by his side with one eye closed.
"Roswaal! You know what you're doing. My absolutes are absolutes."
"......I am Dudley, Subaru. Nevertheless, it would be somewhat too dishonest for me, who have your absolute highest expectations, not to nod my head to that question."
It is a roundabout way of putting it, but Roswaal raised his hands in agreement with Subaru's opinion.
Even though he does not know that he "returns by death," Roswaal knows Subaru's authority, and as much as he expects that authority, he cannot let Subaru's good mood get the better of him.
In the first place, what will happen to the oath of "Sanctuary" if we take Roswaal's mouthpiece here?
"Ram, please......"
"......Emily, do you at least have something to convince Ram?"
"All I want to do is try really hard and help everyone......so, please."
On the other side, Emilia is making a ridiculously forceful request to Ram.
Ram, who would have mercilessly slapped Subaru with a verbal slap if Subaru had done the same, was unable to respond effectively to Emilia's pushing.
As it was, Ram let out a small exhale,
"Ram is fine as long as Rem is brought home. But from what I've seen of Rem, he's become very close to the people of the empire...... and to abandon her would damage the dignity of the older sister she's just finally realized.
"Ram......!"
"Stop it, you're depressing."
Emilia embraces Ram, who closes her eyes and finds her own reason for compromise. Ram responded to Emilia's thoughtful embrace with a bitter look on her face.
And so, Roswaal and Ram fall in a way that can only be done by force.
However--,
"Otto, please......!"
"Are you the same crybaby as Emily? Unfortunately, I am not like Ram. I would never do something stupid like signing a contract for which I don't know the price I have to pay."
"And please, from Beako too......!"
"B-betty too, in fact."
"It doesn't matter if it takes two or three people."
Subaru urged Beatrice to join Emilia, who hugged Ram, but Otto again preemptively stopped her.
Otto has a face that is completely determined not to be moved by emotion, and his stubbornness is like the formidableness of a man who is dealing with Roswaal obsessed with maniacal obsession. But even the snide remark of conveying that impression would not go over well with Otto now.
"It's a risk we're willing to take, and there's no benefit to Natsuki and his team's idea. You haven't even met the requirements for a tear-off. Neither Ram nor Mr. Dudley, please don't spoil them."
"Oh, you got mad."
"You're too smart for Otto."
When Otto said this sternly, Roswaal shrugged his shoulders and Ram frowned. But neither of them argued further, as if they didn't disagree with Otto's opinion.
In fact, if the fortress of Otto cannot be broken down, the situation cannot be pushed through.
Emilia, and the Emilia camp, does not approve of simply imposing a situation that not everyone agrees with from the top because of their position.
There--,
"--You said there was no profit. Then it would be different if there was profit."
"----"
Not Subaru or Emilia, but Abel interjected.
Otto's gaze sharpens at the emperor's conduct as he interrupts the conversation. Unlike Subaru's flippant tone, Otto looks back at the emperor with a full-fledged disrespectful stare.
"If there is an advantage, that is. What on earth are you going to do? I'm telling you, it's not going to be worth it to receive any kind of reward......"
"--Formally request the cooperation of the candidates for the royal election in the Kingdom of Lugnica."
"--"
At Abel's suggestion, Otto's expression hardened and he cleared his throat.
At the same time, it was the people on the imperial side, rather than Subaru and the others, who had shivers running down their faces. Serena laughed at his words, and Berstetz lightly opened his threadbare eyes.
Then, with astonishment plastered across his face, Goz spreads his hands out as if it were the end of the world,
"Wait a minute, Your Excellency!! What a request for cooperation from the kingdom...... Such a thing! Unprecedented in this Holy Vollachia Empire!!"
"What about the precedent? For that matter, how can there be a precedent for an ungainly emperor who loses the Imperial Capital to a rude gang and then retreats in this way? It's a petty obsession."
"But! Let the generals and the people lament that you have made a decision unworthy of a sword-wolf if you rely on other nations and have no power! Awe, the Emperor's prestige will be shattered!!"
"Will the majesty fade...... that's a silly concern."
To Goz's loud appeal, Abel responded by shaking his head.
Goz's eyes widened in confusion as he was told. Looking back at Goz, Abel called out his subject's name, "Goz Ralfon."
"Is it empty majesty without substance that we need now? --Not so. What this empire wants now is victory. Victory that is obtained after biting off the enemy's throat, bathing in their blood, and sipping their life, will shape the empire's tomorrow."
"Kah, Your Excellency......"
"If it is possible to be an obstacle to the fangs, all of them are 'enemies' of the iron-blooded code laid down by Vincent Vollachia. Answer with all your heart, Goz Ralfon."
"----"
"--Are you my 'enemy'?"
When asked so quietly, Goz's entire body trembled.
There was no sign of a struggle with Subaru in the room, and Abel had the strength to stand up straight and show his authority as an emperor.
There was a power in his gaze, in his voice, and in his very presence that overwhelmed others, and Goz had to face it up close, head-on, on his own.
Goz then went through a period of contemplation that would have lasted less than five seconds,
"I'm sorry to take up so much of your time. --I am Goz Ralfon! The hammer of war that shatters every obstacle that stands in His Excellency's way! I am never! I am not your 'enemy'!!"
"Then that's good. Your work is our only hope. Work harder."
"Huh!! ......Huh?!"
Nodding to Goz's loud answer, Abel responded that he expected his subjects to work hard. After accepting it emphatically, Goz shouted as if he had been struck by thunder.
Perhaps it was Abel's one word that was added that caused his surprise.
"--, I'll be very excited!!"
Goz wiped his face with his thick arm and swore again in a trembling voice to Abel, while tears streamed down his cheeks.
With this in mind, Abel glanced at Serena and Berstetz,
"I'm sure you won't disagree with me."
"I am not. I feel more loyal to His Excellency now that he has a face to my liking."
"I was more than a little surprised. Except that I was more than a little surprised."
"Hmph."
After snickering at the attitude of the two, the smiling Serena and the thread-eyed Berstetz again, Abel then proceeded to go forward and stood in front of Emilia.
Then, look at Emilia, who is blinking her eyes,
"You heard him right, candidates for the royal election. The Vollachia Empire formally requests the assistance of the Kingdom of Lugnica in containing the situation. --Lend us your strength."
"You know, Abel, I do want to help you. But I reeaally don't know the candidates for the royal election well at all."
"Emilia, no! This is the part where you can tell me apart!"
"What?! Is that right?!"
Emilia, who looked really distressed by Abel's offer, rolls her eyes.
When Subaru and Beatrice nodded back at her repeatedly, Emilia looked at Ram, who was hugging her for further confirmation.
Then, Ram shakes off Emilia's arm and pushes her back in the opposite direction.
"Yes, it is. --Please, do as you please, Lady Emilia."
"--ah"
When Ram called her 'Emilia', Emilia was surprised, then her eyes lit up. Then she blinked to hide her joy behind her eyelids and turned to face Abel again.
Emilia coughed, "Oho", at Abel, who was waiting for her to rejoin the party with a slight frown on his brow,
"I am Emilia, just Emilia. I'm one of the candidates for the royal election to decide the next king of the Kingdom of Lugnica. And now, one who wants to help an empire in danger."
"--. This is a formal request. The Vollachia Empire would never ask for the cooperation of a person from another country, even one in a position of great responsibility. Therefore, if this fact becomes public, it will be a tailwind for you as you vie for the throne in the kingdom......"
"No! Those things can wait! What I want to do now is this!"
Emilia's cheeks puffed up when Abel tried to put up some hard and fast logic. With that cute puffed-up face, Emilia showed Abel her hand.
Slowly lowering her lifted hand, Emilia held it out to Abel,
"Let us help your empire."
In the end, it seems that Emilia is the one who ends up being the one to cut the cord. Looking down at Emilia's outstretched hand, Abel looked at Subaru for a moment.
At the slight bewilderment arising in those black eyes, Subaru laughed with a bad look and nodded.
"Please, Your Excellency. I will allow you to hold Emilia-tan's hand."
"I told you, Subaru is mine."
Subaru's lighthearted comment was answered by Emilia with a wry smile, and Abel closed one eye and sighed at the exchange between them.
Then his hand slowly grasped Emilia's proffered hand,
"--Okay. I'll let you help me."
This one, in the end, was also a very Abel-like thing to do, to establish cooperation between the two countries.
△▼△▼△▼△
--The two shook hands, and the historical moment between the Kingdom of Lugnica and the Vollachia Empire was marked.
"Um, Mr. Otto, how about something like that......?"
Subaru and Emilia, Abel and the imperial side got excited and the exchange eventually reached the handshake, but Otto, who initiated it in the first place, was left behind.
Subaru was horrified because Roswaal and Ram had found a compromise, but had left Otto, who had not, out of the conversation.
He is aware that he has done something too much, so he ends up asking for help with honorifics and rubbing hands.
"----"
Otto did not reply to Subaru's coy question.
Subaru, who was too scared to look the other person in the face, was greatly troubled when silence was taken as a response. Unexpectedly, he hugged Beatrice beside him, their cheeks pressed against each other,
"W-what now, Beako...... Otto won't talk to me......."
"You know how I feel, I suppose. Otto feels like a total asshole, in fact. He's a clown for ruining his own ideas, I suppose."
"A clown doesn't have to look that much like Roswaal......"
"Stop it, in fact! Such a maximum insult will only make him angrier and angrier, I suppose!"
Flustered and flustered, Subaru and Beatrice searched for a way to break the ice.
He would like to somehow make up for the loss of Otto's face, but he doesn't know what to do.
"Would you like me to rub your shoulders or feet or something......?"
"It's kind of a reminder that it's like I pissed off my mother, in fact......"
"I can't think of anything else! Otto, for God's sake...... heee!"
Otto, who had been standing silently until then, suddenly pulled out a chair and sat down there with a plop.
Surprised by this sudden action, Subaru jumps away while hugging Beatrice. No way, the reason he sat down on the chair was not to let Subaru rub his shoulders.
And in front of Subaru and Beatrice, who were in a hurry, Otto put his hand on his forehead--,
"......Well, I hope you've settled on the drop-off point you wanted."
"Huh......?"
Otto let out a long, deep breath and began rubbing his eyes. After he said what he said, Subaru was stunned, then blinked his eyes and said, "No way."
"You didn't think this was going to happen from the start......"
"It was not a matter of 'this will happen', but of 'I'm willing to do this much.' I was not sure how much concessions Emperor Vincent would make. However, Natsuki and Emilia would not change their opinions anyway, so we had to think of a way to settle the matter."
"Ah, oh, uh, eh, ah, oh, uh......"
Subaru's mouth was agape at Otto's nonchalant response. He turned around with that feeling of disbelief, but then his eyes met Roswaal's and Ram's.
And those two, too, looked like they had it all roughly and generally figured out.
"You guys, you guys--!!"
"I'm so disappointed! Mostly because you and Natsuki are so stubborn!"
"Wah, I can only trust Beako and Emilia-tan anymore...... And Rem! Louis! Tanza, the whole group, Flop, Mizelda and the others!"
"There's still many more, I suppose!"
While hugging Beatrice tightly, Subaru could do nothing but fear the careful preparation of Otto and the other members of the brain team. Perhaps Abel had some of our ideas in mind, but even so.
"No, I'm afraid, I'm afraid, I really can't. I'm going to continue to go the emotional route."
"I don't know if this makes any sense, but Betty thinks Subaru should be more honest with his heart, in fact. It's more passionate, and Betty likes that, I suppose."
"Yeah, I love you, too. I love you so--"
Finally, Otto's earlier shock is beginning to ease, and Subaru is relieved.
And he had just calmed himself down like that.
--Suddenly, applause rang out in the room.
"--I've seen some very funny things. It's great, great."
There was a loud clapping sound, and unexpectedly, Subaru looked around to see who clapped, and held his breath when he spotted a strange figure there.
In the corner of the empty room, a tall figure somehow stood there. The figure was clapping his hands, applauding, and watching the exchange that had been going on.
--Without anyone in the room being aware of their presence.
"Who the hell is this guy?! How in the world did he get here......!!"
"Oh, shoot. I clapped even though I wasn't called. Oh, no, no. I have a bad habit of praising the children I find worthy of praise."
At the moment, with Emilia and Abel sheltering behind him, Goz was on the warpath.
In front of Goz, who had assumed a devil-may-care demeanor, the person maintained a nonchalant attitude, chewed on a golden smoking pipe from his pocket, and laughed dexterously.
The person who looked so out of place was even more unusual in appearance.
With a height of nearly two meters and black body hair, he has a charming expression with a carefree smile, and together with his sparsely growing fur, he gives the impression of softness to others.
Dressed in a kimono, chewing a smoking pipe, and a presence that somehow appeared in the chain dragon carriage with all the important people of the empire in attendance, naturally, everyone's attention is drawn to him.
"Oh my, everyone seems to be interested in me."
"Who are you? What are you doing here?"
The dog person scratched his head with his finger as he looked at her. Emilia, who was sheltered by Goz's back, asked the wolf person.
In response to his question, the wolf person tilted his head, his fang-lined mouth twisted into a smile, and said.
He said, "I'm Halibel. Can I say hello to you?"
