Five days after defending Bacion from Solemn’s Steam Battleships, Valentia’s Anti-Beast King Organization, and Baron Rain Estait, a significant announcement was made in Amister’s royal capital, Float.
“Solemn has attacked the holy capital of Bacion, Esperanza, without declaring war. Fortunately, we were able to prevent any harm thanks to the dispatch of Orders and Hunters. However, we cannot know when they will commit such atrocities again. Therefore, I have accepted the long-standing pleas and will recognize the Amister Kingdom’s re-annexation of Bacion. Furthermore, I declare the establishment of a new High Priests’ Guild Headquarters here in Float!”
Emperor Reinhardt made this declaration from the terrace of Amagi Castle.
The leaders of the Priests’ Guild, including Pope Idea, had already relocated to Float, while Bishop Nicholas, Amister’s Head High Priest, had moved to Esperanza.
The Holy Order Guild, a subordinate organization of the Priests’ Guild, also became a subordinate organization of the Order’s Guild simultaneously with Bacion’s re-annexation.
However, the Holy Order Guild only has about 200 members, so many remain stationed in Esperanza. About a third have moved to Float, and the Grand High Priest is tasked with defending the Priests’ Guild Headquarters.
“Furthermore, in that battle, Baron Rain Estait, who wickedly attempted to abduct His Holiness the Pope, and Leonas, the former prince leading the Anti-Beast King Organization, have been executed, and the Estait Baronial Territory will be annexed to Amister. We have already spoken with the Beast King. From today onwards, the Bacion Theocracy and Estait Baronial Territory will become direct territories of the Amister Royal Family.”
At this point, loud cheers erupted from the crowd.
Although both Bacion and Estait are considered direct royal territories, neither has yet established a stable administration, and lords or deputies have not been appointed.
Bacion has deputies in its cities, including Esperanza, so they will be entrusted with those roles. However, in Estait’s case, since the baron betrayed Valentia, the Estait Baronial family cannot be appointed as deputies. Therefore, Count Sofia has been appointed as a provisional deputy and will be dispatched. Additionally, since Estait cannot guarantee complete safety or the absence of rebellion, about 50 members of the Order have been hastily selected and will be dispatched to provide security along with the Beast Knights. The Estait Beast Knights apparently withdrew their troops after believing Mana’s words, so Count Sofia should be safe.
Emperor Reinhardt found it unsettling that the annexation of Estait, which he had discussed with King Gumnos of Valentia, was accepted more readily than expected. It is understandable that rebuilding the northern Rodpiece and southern Trial, which were devastated by Solemn’s Steam Battleships, would be the priority. However, the effortless acceptance of the Estait Baronial Territory’s annexation without any objections is also difficult for me to comprehend.
But for now, the more important issue is what to do next.
After finishing the declaration of Bacion and Estait’s annexation on the terrace, we were led to a reception room in Amagi Castle and listened to Emperor Reinhardt’s explanation.
“Included with the reply regarding Estait’s annexation was a survivor from Gilfa Trial. It seems he abandoned Trial and fled, and is now in the Freyheit Baronial Territory.”
“The fact that he fled and ended up under the Chancellor, not the Beast King, is as good as admitting his guilt.”
“I agree. If we can prove that Streihait and Gilfa were connected to Solemn, then Valentia’s issues can be considered settled.”
Indeed. Amister was wary of Valentia primarily because of the existence of the former Prince Leonas. I don’t know who instigated him, but he ran rampant as the leader of the Anti-Beast King Organization and even had ties to Solemn; not to be wary would have been incredibly foolish.
However, that Leonas was slain by Prim. I was genuinely panicked when I heard she used a subordinate magic item on him, but since she incinerated him into dust, I felt a bit of satisfaction. Frankly, I wanted to kill him myself.
With Leonas dead and Baron Rain Estait, who was also connected to Solemn, captured, Baron Streihait, the suspected mastermind behind the previous Beast King’s assassination, will likely have his forces significantly depleted. The southern Trial Baronial Territory also seems to have been attacked by Solemn’s Steam Battleships, and Gilfa, the baron and lord, reportedly fled immediately, making a comeback unlikely.
That said, we have no intention of leaving those two alone.
“Should I go to Centro and meet the Beast King directly?”
“I would like you to, but I am also concerned about the situation in Torencia.”
“Indeed, we’ve been preoccupied with Bacion for the past ten days.”
Right. As Prim said, after annihilating Solemn’s Steam Battleships in Ovest in the west, we had been on alert in Bacion. And as we suspected, Bacion was attacked by Steam Battleships, and then the Anti-Beast King Organization showed up, making things even more troublesome. Both have been wiped out, and Baron Rain, who was taken prisoner, has been interrogated by the Order daily. As expected of a baron, it seems they are extracting quite useful information.
However, during this time, we haven’t been able to visit Rio, or rather, Torencia, even once. After all, once Solemn and the Anti-Beast King Organization were eliminated, we had to deal with the aftermath, scout Rodpiece and Trial, and also handle the issues of Bacion’s re-annexation and Estait Baronial Territory’s annexation. We were rushing back and forth. It makes me reconsider the advantages of mobility. By the way, the Alliance and Order members dispatched to Bacion are still on guard duty in Esperanza for a while longer.
“Yes. We’ve confirmed that High Hunters can handle Steam Battleships, so we’ll need to inform everyone in Rio.”
“Yes.”
Off the coast of Esperanza, High Classes faced Steam Battleships for the first time, and the usefulness of Flying and Scaff was thoroughly proven. This information also needs to be conveyed to the Alliance dispatched to Torencia. Torencia’s sea is covered in ice, making it difficult for Solemn’s Steam Battleships to attack. However, it cannot be entirely ruled out, and the battle results were excellent. So, it’s information we want to convey as soon as possible.
“Speaking of Torencia, Yamato, now that you’re engaged to Hilde, you’ll be gifting her equipment with the Wing Crest, won’t you?”
“Yes. Ed and the others are working hard on it.”
Hilde, the Queen of Torencia, is scheduled to abdicate and marry me after the war with Solemn ends. At that time, she will be registered as a Hunter and join the Wing Crest. Therefore, I have commissioned Ed to craft a Crest Defender Coat and a scythe weapon specifically for the Wing Crest for Hilde.
“I see. Then Hilde’s enthronement is not far off.”
“From what I heard before leaving Torencia, Princess Brynhild was gradually taking over. The reason Hilde is accompanying us when we attack Solemn is also because of this.”
“That was another issue. If only we could transfer to Rodpiece and advance north from there… No, we’d have to cross the Praia Desert, so a land route is impossible.”
That’s also a headache. The Rodpiece Baronial Territory is adjacent to Solemn, across the Torrente Strait. In the past, trade with the city beyond was prosperous, but now, due to Solemn’s constant declarations of war on other nations, there is almost no trade. Furthermore, directly north of that city lies the vast Praia Desert, which occupies a quarter of Solemn’s territory. The Demise Species Antlion Empress resides in the Praia Desert. If we were to go overland from Rodpiece and attack Solemn’s imperial capital, Deseo, after negotiating with Valentia, we would inevitably have to pass through the Praia Desert, making the risk too high. I believe we could defeat them, but other Antlions would undoubtedly appear, and it’s not impossible for the battle to be even more arduous than the Slume Lord subjugation. Therefore, a land route from Valentia was never even considered by us.
“Yes. Therefore, if we are to use a land route, it can only be from the Libertà side. However, Yamato, Mako, and Grandmother Sayuri do not want to hand over the Steam Battleship blueprints to Libertà, so that’s also difficult.”
“I can understand how you feel. I also believe that such weaponry should be sealed away and never see the light of day again.”
No, in the case of myself, Mako, and Sayuri, it was judged to be unsuitable for the Helios Orb, or rather, its usefulness was deemed low. The cannonballs are lumps of iron, so they would be somewhat effective against sea monsters, but I still think they would be powerless against high-ranking monsters.
“Regarding Libertà, the situation doesn’t seem to be very good.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. We don’t have precise information, but it’s highly likely that a third of their territory has already been conquered.”
A third of Libertà’s territory? I believe Libertà’s land area is comparable to Solemn’s, about two-thirds of Amister’s. Moreover, we have sunk over 100 Steam Battleships, so it should have been a significant loss for Solemn as well.
“As I said, Amister hasn’t been able to fully grasp the situation. However, it seems certain that several cities have been occupied and plundered. They likely advanced their battleships from the Elect Sea to the north and the Nadal Sea to the south.”
A few battleships might be enough for the coastal cities, so they probably diverted those forces to the army and overwhelmed them with numbers. In that case, civilian casualties, as well as those of the Libertà army, are likely to be high.
“Most likely. But this, in turn, raises an issue with Libertà’s eastern side. Retisencia would also want to avoid Libertà being occupied. Therefore, there is a possibility that Retisencia will move to claim the eastern territory.”
Indeed. Amister has sealed its borders with Retisencia and even stopped trade, which has been a major blow to Retisencia, which relied on Amister’s supplies. Thus, I believe they rely on Libertà for that. However, Libertà has also been a burden to Retisencia, and I recall hearing that they imposed significant tariffs on Libertà after Amister’s border closure. Although not as powerful as the Order’s Guild, the Libertà army could easily handle the Retisencia Knights, which is why they responded as they did. However, due to Solemn’s Steam Battleships, the Libertà army seems to have suffered heavy losses, and the need to divert forces to the Solemn front has arisen. This would reduce the manpower on Retisencia’s side, but is it likely that Retisencia will overlook this opportunity? Furthermore, based on the testimonies of those from Trial Hearts who were stationed in Polar, a city in the Bernstein Count’s Territory, many have transformed into demons.
“In other words, Libertà is in a situation where they are facing a tiger in front and a wolf at their back.”
“Hm? What does that mean?”
Oh, Helios Orb doesn’t have expressions like the one Mako used.
“Ah, my apologies. In the language of our world, it means that even if one disaster is escaped, another disaster will strike. It’s like a wolf attacking from behind while fighting a tiger in front.”
The current situation in Libertà is exactly that. While they are fighting the tiger called Solemn, the wolf called Retisencia is looking for an opening to attack.
“I see. That expression certainly fits perfectly.”
Emperor Reinhardt seemed to understand after my explanation.
That’s not particularly important, but does this mean we should head to Libertà as well?
“Brother, should we head to Libertà?”
“No, there’s no need. While that country has a High Chancellor at its head, they cannot ignore the will of the Diet. Interfering without a request for aid could instead cause problems.”
That’s also troublesome. Unlike Earth, they don’t seem to have ruling and opposition parties, but unless a certain percentage of the Diet members approve, even the High Chancellor cannot unilaterally proceed with matters. The same applies to wars. Emperor Reinhardt mentioned that even if a few villages were attacked, it’s likely that troop deployment would be considered, but approval would not have been granted. He also predicts that they might not issue a request for aid even if more than half of their territory is occupied.
“The drawbacks of democracy, perhaps.”
“Since Libertà’s Diet consists of nobles and traders, wouldn’t it be better to call it capitalism?”
“Ah, perhaps that’s true.”
In Libertà’s politics, the opinions of civilians are not easily reflected, but the opinions of the Diet are. It seems that aspect is quite similar to Earth. Traders, who would do anything for money, are among those in the Diet, and there are nobles who cooperate with them. If those individuals sided with Solemn, then a request for aid would not come. However, since it is the civilians who suffer from this, perhaps it is acceptable to head to a suitable city as Hunters and eliminate them if we happen to encounter them?
