The war with Solemn ended with Hilde defeating the Divine Emperor Oskleide Ruin Solemn.
Of course, there are still many things to do, such as cleaning up and governing.
We firmly conveyed the Alliance’s intentions to the surviving officials of the Emperor’s Castle. One of them, a human named Vincent Goldshtira, the former Prime Minister, was appointed as the provisional governor.
I don’t know what the officials and nobles of the Emperor’s Castle are thinking, but for now, they have pledged their loyalty to His Majesty Reinhardt and Hilde and are diligently carrying out the surrender proceedings.
However, three days after the fall of the Emperor’s Castle, I received a report from Ms. Viise, who was investigating near Deseo with the Black Army, Wise Rainbow, and Riot Flag, stating that about 2,000 Solemn soldiers were approaching. It turned out that some nobles had easily betrayed us.
When they suddenly demanded our surrender while I was eating lunch, I couldn’t understand what they were saying at first.
They quickly reported that they had been subdued and came to beg for their lives, but there’s no way we can trust such people, so we’ve displayed their heads in front of the Emperor’s Castle as a warning.
Incidentally, the Solemn army that Ms. Viise’s group encountered was annihilated by the Black Army, Wise Rainbow, Riot Flag, the Saber’s Guild, and later joined by Lily Wish and Snow Blossom.
Although they were overwhelmingly outnumbered, they managed to subdue them in about 20 minutes, thanks to Caesar, an Ancient Orc, Frau, an Ancient Human, Plum, an Ancient Elf, Saya, an Ancient Rabitary, and Eisen, an Ancient Dwarf.
Even so, the Solemn army didn’t surrender until their numbers were less than 500, so it seems to have been quite a hassle. They even mentioned that in the worst-case scenario, they considered annihilating them.
Subsequent investigations revealed that those 2,000 soldiers were stationed in the northern part of Solemn. They were quite far from our invasion route, and the mobilization order apparently arrived about two weeks ago. At the time of the order, they were optimistic, expecting little loot and a quick return. However, it was undoubtedly a sudden deployment, so they lacked food supplies. They marched through the towns along their route, plundering water and food, and even disrupting public order. While they didn’t resort to attacking the regular residents much, they committed heinous acts against the displaced people and slum dwellers, who were not considered citizens. Many were killed after being subjected to their lust. Naturally, these acts are serious crimes in Amister and Torencia, so all 500 who surrendered have been reduced to criminal slaves. They will be put to work in reconstructing Deseo and then dispatched to other cities.
His Majesty Reinhardt and Hilde were unable to move due to a meeting on governance, but Their Highnesses Elis and Maruca, along with Lady Sayuri, visited the affected towns. To do this, I and Mana rode on Athena and Eos in their dragon forms, circling Solemn from the west and east respectively to prepare for traveling. After that, Their Highnesses Elis, Maruca, and Lady Sayuri headed for their consolatory visits with Rosemary and the Holy Grave, Muse and Trial Hearts, and Delfina and Lily Wish, respectively. Although they were attacked in the cities they transferred to, their escorts, including the high-class individuals, fought back and captured the town’s lords and governors.
With so many other tasks, the week after the fall of the Emperor’s Castle passed in an instant. Thanks to these efforts, not only Deseo but also other cities have stabilized somewhat, and we decided to return to Torencia and Amister. We couldn’t stay away from our own countries for too long, and now that the war is over, the Alliance will be disbanded. Half of the Sabers and Orders will remain as governing forces, but we need to select personnel for that. The Hunters’ Alliance will also be dissolved, and they will return to their respective lives. In particular, the 10 unions that joined the Amister Alliance will be returning to Amister for the first time in two months.
“We will return to our home country for now. It will likely take two weeks, at most a month. During that time, we entrust the governance to you.”
“Understood.”
Acting Governor Vincent nodded at Hilde’s words. He is over 70 years old and retired about 10 years ago. The current Prime Minister was killed by Torencia Hunters while fleeing with the Emperor. The other nobles were all incompetent, seeking personal gain, so they could not be entrusted with governance. According to the people of Deseo, the former Prime Minister was not so bad. He was appointed as governor as a trial to see if he could be used extensively in the future.
We have also sent messengers to other cities. Anyone who defies Governor Vincent will be considered to be defying Amister and Torencia. Furthermore, as Solemn is a defeated nation, any noble house that rebels will be immediately abolished, a severe punishment. Even if they pretend to be obedient while secretly committing misdeeds, their entire family will be executed. While this may leave lingering resentment, many Solemn nobles neglect the common people, so this was considered the greater problem, leading to this proclamation. They are even considering removing those nobles and appointing others as lords to govern their territories.
Normally, eliminating such nobles would be a time-consuming process. However, the Solemn army is all but destroyed, making it difficult to gather troops. There is also a theory that deliberately showing weakness will make them more active. Of course, a few have already lost their heads as a warning.
“As you are probably aware, we are not like the ignorant Emperor. We do not intend to punish rashly, but we also do not intend to place undue importance on nobles who disregard the people.”
“I understand. Nobles will likely attempt to rebel now that Your Majesties are returning to your home country, but with both the army and navy severely weakened, they will not be able to gather soldiers. However, I have no intention of overlooking this either.”
As the entire Alliance retreats to Torencia, public order in Solemn, not just in Deseo, will deteriorate. Ideally, some should remain, but the Hunters were only hired for their participation in the war and cannot stay any longer. While it wouldn’t be a problem with the Orders or Sabers, the Saber’s Guild has seen a reduction in High Sabers due to previous Solemn invasions and the Slume Lord. The Orders have their own issues with Retisencia and Abaricia, so it’s best to return them to Amister as soon as possible. Furthermore, they are suffering from the fatigue of marching and have encountered an Antlion Empress, a Demise Species. They need to rest in a safe place rather than enemy territory. We have already conveyed the news of defeating Emperor Oskleide via float and beast carriage teleportation. Orders and Sabers, who will maintain public order in Deseo in his stead, have also been brought here, so we don’t expect major problems. With His Majesty Reinhardt and Hilde returning to their country, Associate Order’s Master Dianos and Associate Saber’s Master, male High Orc, David Rosenlicht, have also arrived. Although they are both Associate Masters, David will be the highest-ranking official as Torencia will be the primary governing body of Solemn, with Dianos acting as his aide. Incidentally, the newly dispatched Orders number 50, and the Sabers 36, but neither could dispatch any more.
Leaving the subsequent matters to the newly dispatched Orders and Sabers, we boarded a beast carriage and left Deseo. First, we will return to Bestia for a parade and celebration, and then we plan to do the same with a float. Queen Hilde of Torencia plans to govern Solemn, so her abdication and the enthronement of His Highness Brunhilde will be postponed for some time. The plan is to proceed after dealing with rebellious nobles. Ultimately, the territory of Solemn will be divided into the north and south, with Amister governing the south and Torencia governing the north. However, since Solemn’s territory is second only to Amister in size, it is likely that several nobles will be dispatched as lords to govern smaller divisions. Hilde, however, wants to prioritize rebuilding the damage caused by the Slume Lord and Solemn, and would prefer Amister to govern the entire territory.
“Lord Yamato, is that alright?”
“Aria? Is something wrong?”
While on watch from the observation deck, Aria approached me.
“It’s a simple question, but why didn’t you take credit for defeating the Demise Species solely for yourself?”
I wondered what she was talking about.
“Well, it’s because I couldn’t have defeated them alone.”
I have defeated Demise Species three times, but on each occasion, I couldn’t have done it alone. The first was the Orc Emperor and Orc Empress in the Mylight Mountains. Although Prim and I defeated them individually, we were able to create a one-on-one situation. It would have been too reckless to fight two Demise Species by myself. Moreover, if the Alliance hadn’t taken care of one of the Orc Queens, I might have been seriously injured. The Slume Lord, whom I fought in the Golud Great Glacier, even seemed to anticipate my attacks. My Wing Burst-powered Azure Silver Sword – Pale Green strike was continuously blocked by its forelimbs. If Prim’s assistance had been delayed, there’s a possibility I might have been defeated. The Antlion Empress I fought recently even coordinated with W-rank Antlions. If reinforcements hadn’t arrived from the main force and the left flank, it could have been a prolonged battle. If El hadn’t created an opening with her Scythe Edge Tornado, I would have been in much greater difficulty. “So, in the truest sense, I can’t say I defeated them alone. Or rather, it’s better to say that I was the one who delivered the final blow in the end.”
“Nevertheless, it is a great achievement.”
“Perhaps, but I was provided with the necessary setup, so I can’t claim it as solely my accomplishment.” If I were to boast about my achievements, it would have to be something like annihilating all the surrounding monsters by myself.
“You are unusual. But I don’t think that’s a bad thing.”
I think so too. After all, I’m content with living my life as a Hunter or Crafter. Of course, with Gaia’s prophetic dreams, it’s not that simple.
“On that note, have you received any oracles?”
“Eh? Ah, no. Not particularly.”
Nothing, huh? Since the Steam Battleship is a technology derived from Abaricia, I thought there might be something. The iron Steam Battleships developed by Solemn began development when a spy infiltrated Abaricia and obtained the blueprints. This was nearly 30 years ago, but it was confirmed that it began after Emperor Oskleide’s enthronement. Initially, there were continuous failures, but the first ship was successfully completed about 20 years ago. However, that first ship was slightly smaller than the current Steam Battleship and did not carry any cannons, so it was probably built as a test vessel. It took another five years to complete the current Steam Battleship. The development of cannons was also difficult, but the miniaturization has been successful in recent years, making them portable. The reason they didn’t use Steam Battleships earlier is that they were Solemn’s new, secret weapons. Solemn cannot use Innate Magic, so development and manufacturing took time. However, other countries can. Even if they succeeded in conquering Torencia and Libertà, Amister would inevitably discover their existence. Amister is the birthplace of the Crafter’s Guild and has many Crafters, so they might develop Steam Battleships in a few months, if not years, that Solemn took 15 years to complete. Furthermore, Emperor Oskleide apparently anticipated that even if he could conquer other countries, some ships would be sunk. If Amister were to capture any sunken Steam Battleships, they might complete magic silver Steam Battleships. Emperor Oskleide feared this, so after completing nearly 300 Steam Battleships, he planned to simultaneously conquer Libertà, Torencia, and Valentia, and then concentrate all his forces to conquer Amister. Retisencia was not considered, as it is considered a minor nation by all countries, and Solemn understood its reality, so they judged that ignoring it would not have a significant impact. Since Governor Vincent served as Prime Minister until 10 years ago, he was deeply involved in the Steam Battleship mass production plan. After retiring, he wanted to live peacefully, so he didn’t know how many were built in total. It’s questionable to rely on gods so easily, but given the matter of the Divine Emperor and the Helios Orb, I want to find out what the covenant is, even if I don’t know what it entails. Still, I will do what I can.
