Chapter 200: Incompetence and Ignorance

Summer arrived, with scorching heat pouring down from the sky.

The seasons passed indifferently with the flow of time, yet Hestia's prosperity remained unwavering.

Among the Empire's lower-class citizens, word of Hestia had begun spreading by word of mouth.

"Have you heard about a place called Hestia Village?"

"Isn't that the land ruled by the Red Dragon?"

"A place ruled by such a terrifying tyrant? Can humans even survive there?"

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

"Better than the Empire?"

"You actually believe such nonsense?"

When Imperial citizens thought of villages beyond the walls, they all imagined the same thing.

A backward life where, once you left the Imperial Capital, you had to collect rainwater to drink, and if you caught so much as a cold without a healer nearby, all you could do was pray you didn't die.

Most places truly were like that, so the prejudice was understandable.

"They say every household has clean running water."

"We've got plenty of water in the Empire too. What's so special about that?"

"And do you think pumping up all that water comes for free? The better the place, the higher the taxes. If you move somewhere like that, you'll spend the rest of your life worrying about food."

"Not at all! I heard the water bill is less than a quarter of what it is in the Empire, so people can actually save money!"

"They... save money?"

To the lower classes, the very idea of savings was unimaginable.

"But isn't it still dangerous? It's right next to land crawling with monsters..."

"It's actually safer because the Red Dragon protects it. And if you enlist, they'll even teach you how to use magic."

"There you go spouting ridiculous nonsense again!"

"How could anyone possibly use magic?"

"What's it called again...? Magic ointment?"

"They make staffs with it."

"You mean Magitech Engineering?"

"Yeah, that's it! They even let you try one if you complete reserve military training."

"So you still have to join the army?"

"They only use it when monsters attack. Besides, joining the military isn't a bad thing! Plenty of people in the Empire are desperate to enlist but can't. I was one of them."

"Hmm... Maybe... it really is a good place?"

"Anyway, I'm moving out within the week. Packing everything up and heading east. I'm going to build a life there."

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

"I'll send you a letter. If you ever change your mind, come join me. I'd rather risk paying the emigration tax than keep being treated like an outsider here."

People were leaving the Empire.

Crossing the wall that people claimed no one ever returned from, hoping to settle in a new land.

And it wasn't just the poor making that decision.

"I heard from some adventurers that everyone's heading toward the Land of Demons these days, hoping to strike it rich."

"They're also giving favorable treatment to blacksmiths. There'll be plenty of work for anyone who knows how to work iron."

Even craftsmen whose positions within the Empire had become uncertain were eyeing this new land of opportunity.

Eventually, the Imperial Capital could no longer ignore the issue.

"The current immigration figures we've received are comparable to last winter's."

The newly appointed acting emperor, Ureas Arken, asked from his seat,

"And why is that a problem?"

"Normally, summer migration is only about one-third of winter's. At this rate, we're estimating that this coming winter's migration will exceed three times the usual amount."

"So?"

"A significant portion of those people are currently leaving from the Imperial Capital."

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

"The fact that people are leaving is the real issue."

"If this continues, confidence in the nation itself will begin to erode."

Ureas came to a simple conclusion.

"Then execute anyone trying to cross the wall and make an example of them. That should solve it."

"We cannot do that. This matter falls outside military law."

"A reign of terror would only provoke greater resistance from the citizens. Right now, Your Highness must earn the trust that the Crown Prince failed to gain."

"Then triple the emigration tax so they can't leave."

"That would also disrupt merchants traveling in and out of the Empire. The nobles who depend on trade revenues would strongly oppose it. If that happens, the Crown Prince's faction would once again—"

"If you're just going to tell me no to everything, why bother asking me at all? Are you trying to show everyone how incompetent I am?!"

Ureas exploded.

Just as Valdemar Golt had predicted, Ureas Arken was a complete novice in politics.

His philosophy had always been simple—cut through any knot that couldn't be untied.

But Imperial politics didn't work that way.

Simply by waiting, Alexander would naturally appear more competent by comparison.

Yet there were still those determined to prevent Alexander's restoration.

The newly emerging faction seeking to drive out the old ruling class.

And among them...

"Brother."

Olivia Arken.

She sat beside Ureas and gently clasped his hand.

"Please don't be angry. They're only trying to help you make the wisest decision."

"Olivia, what would you do?"

"For now... leave it alone."

"Leave it alone?"

"Hestia is only a newly established village. Just as a sparrow must take ten steps for every one step a stork takes, trying to imitate the Empire will inevitably lead to its own destruction. It's only a matter of time."

"You think so?"

"Of course. In fact, why not take this opportunity to send away all the vagrants everyone claims are draining the Empire?"

"Hmm... So we'd be cleaning house. That's actually a fine idea."

"Absolutely not!"

One of the officials could no longer remain silent.

"You must look further ahead than this."

"A small decision today could return as an enormous backlash."

"Why?"

"We've investigated the people who already left. Over ninety percent are living better lives than before. If we deliberately drive out the slum dwellers and they, too, improve their lives there, Hestia Village will become known as a land of opportunity."

"At that point, the population exodus will only accelerate. We must restrain Hestia as much as possible."

Olivia immediately objected.

"You're imagining things that don't exist."

"Hestia Village is one of our Empire's proudest achievements. It gives the Empire legitimacy as a nation on the Cerdes Continent."

"Do you intend to pressure Hestia until it has reason to declare independence?"

"They cannot declare independence yet. Hestia still belongs to the Empire, and without the Empire, it cannot establish a proper foundation. They're intelligent enough to know not to tighten the noose around their own necks."

The room became tense.

Olivia turned toward Ureas.

"Brother... didn't you personally witness what happened when Brother Alexander tried to suppress Hestia?"

"..."

"Our victory in this war alone won't secure your place in the succession."

"That's why we must support Regent Ferda and eliminate Alexander."

"Your Highness!"

The official finally lost his temper.

"I don't know what you're whispering into his ear, but step away from him immediately, you witch!"

Olivia stared at him in disbelief.

"...What did you just say?"

"I said women have no place in politics! I've held my tongue long enough!"

"Do you even realize the rumors spreading through the capital? People are saying you've allied yourself with Regent Ferda!"

Olivia's expression stiffened.

She placed a hand over her chest and swallowed hard.

"Are you... accusing me of treason?"

"Stop pretending! If you want to play the saint, then stay a saint! How dare you interfere here—!"

His words stopped abruptly.

Ureas's sword was pressed against the man's throat.

"How dare you..."

Ureas's face twisted with fury.

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

"Second Prince... General..."

There was a trace of betrayal in the man's eyes.

"General, I am your man. Do you remember how many battlefields we've crossed together?"

"You know where my loyalty lies."

"I know."

"That's why your head is still attached to your shoulders."

Ureas's hand trembled.

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

The rage on his face only deepened.

His sword looked ready to strike at any moment.

"Brother..."

Olivia gently held his arm.

When Ureas looked down, he saw tears welling in her eyes.

"Please..."

"Do not take another life."

She pleaded, trembling like a frightened little animal.

Ureas slowly lowered his sword.

"Guards! Drag this man away."

"Strip him of his title and throw him out of the Empire!"

"Y-Your Highness!"

The man looked utterly stunned.

A comrade who had fought beside him for over ten years had cast him aside simply because he had insulted his younger sister.

Even Ureas's final words held no warmth.

"If I ever see you again..."

"You'll be nothing more than a corpse."

The guards dragged him away.

Still unable to calm himself, Ureas pointed his drawn sword toward the conference table.

"I know full well that I'm ignorant."

"My job has always been swinging a sword and commanding soldiers. Of course there are things I don't know."

"But if any of you dare speak carelessly about my sister again..."

Slash!

He cut straight through the large map mounted on the table.

"This..."

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

"Y-Yes!"

"We understand!"

Ureas finally sheathed his sword.

"This meeting is adjourned."

"Prepare yourselves. We'll be discussing the war against the Heinkel Kingdom."

The meeting of Ureas's inner circle came to an end.

Olivia stood, dabbing the tears from her eyes with a handkerchief.

The moment she wiped away the moisture, her eyes became completely dry, as though she'd never cried at all.

Even Ureas's people aren't easy to fool.

The rumors about her colluding with Regent Ferda...

The suspicion that she was deliberately strengthening Hestia...

Neither was something most people would notice.

Even so... they still don't truly understand Ureas.

There was one thing they had overlooked.

No matter how close they had fought beside him on the battlefield...

None of them could ever compare to his younger sister.

Olivia had carefully shaped Ureas into exactly this kind of man.

Where Alexander had become her rival...

Ureas had become the brother closest to her heart.

They had bonded over the shared bitterness of being pushed down the line of succession.

Whenever Ureas struggled, he leaned on Olivia.

She had become the motherly figure he no longer had.

Blood, after all, was thicker than water.

Alexander is incompetent.

One day, that incompetence would become his downfall.

And when it did, the struggle for succession would naturally become one between Alexander and Ureas.

Ureas, on the other hand... is ignorant.

Incompetence and ignorance were worlds apart.

An incompetent person recognized the problem but failed to solve it.

An ignorant person didn't even realize what the problem was.

And someone who didn't know the problem was remarkably easy to manipulate.

In the end...

Ureas was nothing more than a pair of shoes to be worn and discarded.

Increasing Hestia Village's population is only a matter of time...

The Black Bandana had been reorganized into the Shadow Division under Valdrova, continuously controlling the flow of information.

At the same time, Hestia had become the gathering place for warriors sent by the Northern Alliance under the pretext of conquering the Land of Demons.

For now, it was merely a branch that could be snapped at any moment.

But the next time anyone looked back...

It would have grown too large to cut down.

When that day came...

He would surely be pleased.

"Ah..."

An involuntary sigh escaped her lips.

Standing before a shrine in a quiet corner of the hallway, Olivia folded her hands in reverence.

Her eyes were fixed upon the symbol of Alte.

Yet what she truly saw was something else.

A man with gray hair...

And blue eyes.

Though it was nothing more than imagination, bliss filled her heart.

Lord Ferda...

She offered her prayer.

I will make you happy.

***

"...Therefore, these developments should not significantly affect the expansion project."

"So the Imperial Princess is helping us quite diligently."

The Imperial Capital should have begun interfering long ago.

But with Ureas's rise to power coinciding with growing tensions with the Heinkel Kingdom, Hestia had unexpectedly been left alone.

Ferda merely hoped the war he was preparing wouldn't end too easily.

"Anything else of note?"

"One thing."

"The Armored Knight has disappeared."

"Disappeared?"

"Yes. After speaking with Branch Manager Eri of the Adventurers' Guild, he officially withdrew and said he would set out to find his own path."

"Hmm..."

The Armored Knight.

The mysterious man who had appeared before Hestia Village even had its name.

Ferda had gained much from him.

And had misunderstood him just as much.

The biggest misunderstanding happened recently...

Because his mental strength had been exhausted, he had mistaken the man for Valdrova over and over again.

He had embarrassed himself repeatedly.

In the end, he had even collapsed from exhaustion and been carried on the man's back.

He owed him more than a few apologies.

At the very least, I wish we'd had the chance to talk.

Even after leaving, the man lingered in Ferda's thoughts.

On a whim, he asked Isabella,

"Did you try tracking him?"

"..."

For the first time, Isabella's smooth composure faltered.

Tracking him?

Of course she had.

The Armored Knight had been one of Hestia's most important unknowns.

At least until his true identity became known.

Who could have imagined... that he was Lady Valdrova...

The information had come from Erika.

As an old friend who had shared countless hardships with her, Erika had warned her to be careful.

Careful, my foot...

Isabella knew Erika well.

She was certain the woman simply wanted someone else to suffer with her.

Because Isabella was still reeling from the fact that she had unknowingly made Lady Valdrova work for her.

"Administrator?"

"Yes."

"What happened with the pursuit?"

"I'm afraid tracking him will be difficult."

"He was never someone who was easy to detect in the first place."

"I see."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you."

"Not at all."

Why would he be disappointed?

Isabella always did everything in her power.

"You may go."

"Keep up the good work."

"Understood."

Isabella bowed respectfully before leaving.

Ferda looked down at the stack of documents on his desk.

No...

He looked at them.

No...

He looked up at them.

These damned documents never stop piling up.

True, more than seventy percent could probably be skimmed over.

But Ferda trusted no one completely.

He refused to let someone pull the wool over his eyes, so he checked everything himself.

It was simply the sort of person he was.

Resigning himself to another all-nighter, Ferda opened the first document.

Knock. Knock.

Someone knocked on the door.

"Come in."

The door slowly opened.

That was all.

Echidna?

The only person who opened the door without immediately stepping inside was always that woman.

But today was different.

What peeked through wasn't a wide-brimmed hat or her gloomy, unkempt hair.

Instead...

Two pairs of curved horns.

Glossy crimson hair.

She leaned against the half-open door, cautiously peeking inside.

The way she acted reminded him of a rabbit peering out from its burrow.

To Ferda, those intimidating horns almost looked like black rabbit ears.

"Mr. Ferda..."

"Are you... busy?"

Valdrova asked softly.

"I'm completely free." 2

He immediately closed the document, shoved the stack of paperwork aside, and turned his full attention to her.