Unable to remain in their lands or flee to another country, ultimately, they headed for the duchy of Duke Carmine. They went to Georg Carmine, who was hostile to the king, and waited for an opportunity to rebel.
The central city of that Carmine Duchy was Randel.
While not as great in scale as the royal capital Parnam, it was still large compared to other cities, with a large enough population to become a city-state on its own.
General of the Army Georg Carmine’s castle was here, and a castle town had grown up around it. However, past generals had been indifferent to the city’s management and so, unlike Parnam which could change greatly with the direction the king chose to take it, the town had a nostalgic feel to it, probably the same now as it had been 100 years ago.
On a street corner in that city of Randel, a single carriage was parked. Inside the carriage was a beauty in her mid-twenties. Any man who saw her would, almost certainly, have let out a sigh of admiration.
Even wrapped as it was in a kimono that was similar in style to the ones worn in Japan, her voluptuous figure was still apparent. However, the reptilian tail which stuck out from the buttocks of her kimono and the tiny antlers that sprouted out from beneath her blue hair made it clear that she wasn’t just an ordinary human.
From inside her carriage she was listening to the hustle and bustle of the town around her. There must have been a tavern nearby, because she could hear a group of drunkards grumbling quite clearly.
“Seriously, that new king… Just who does he think we are…? Hic!”
“Indeed. It is we who have supported this kingdom for so many long years.”
“But the king goes and ignores us, pushing forward policies on his own!”
“Why did King Albert leave the country to that whelp…?”
“His retainers are no better! They’re a bunch of inexperienced novices, too! What’s with that gloomy black-robed jerk?! What’s with that human pig?!”
“Heh heh heh, I’m sure he only values those’re good at flattering him.”
“The young are prone to such things! He throws out experienced people like us, only listening to people who’ll flatter him. A king like that won’t last long.”
“That’s right! Let’s take this country back with our own hands!”
“Yeah! For the kingdom we love!”
“““For the kingdom we love!”””
For the kingdom, is it…? My, how they do like to run their mouths. The woman in the carriage sighed. Even that sigh was alluring.
You people are the ones who betrayed the country with your illegal acts. When it came time for you to face the law, you fled, so it certainly takes some gall for you to say the king threw you out. And the king only values those who flatter him? Were you not watching when he gathered personnel? That king would use even those who were dissatisfied with him so long as they were worth it. He uses Sir Hakuya and Sir Poncho because they are capable. The reason he doesn’t use you is because you are not.
Since they didn’t even understand that much, she couldn’t bring herself to even bother ridiculing them.
It’s been a few months since the crown was transferred to His Majesty, Souma, yet he hasn’t made any major policy blunders or lost the support of the people. To the contrary, he’s shown extraordinary ability in the way he’s steadily resolving the food crisis we feared. No matter how much they respected King Albert for his sagacity, it’s nonsense to ask, “Why did he choose that whelp?”
The woman rested her elbows on the windowsill, her chin in her hands.
To think the nobility has fallen so far from the proud and high-minded people who founded the country… Their ancestors must be turning in their graves.
Though she appeared to be in her mid-twenties, this woman recalled the dawning age of this kingdom more than 500 years ago. She thought back to her comrades, smiling sadly.
As a descendent of sea serpents, it would be more than another 500 years before she would be taken to their side.
“It’s times like this when belonging to a long-lived race is the hardest. I’ve gotten used to bidding farewell to the short-lived, but then I’m forced to see unpleasant things like this. I envy you people who have been able to die without a care for what would come after.”
With those words, Navy Admiral Excel Walter, one of the three dukes, gave a self-deprecating laugh.
“Sea Princess!”
When a voice addressed her from outside the carriage, Excel sat up straight. “…Yes?”
“Ma’am, a report has arrived from Canaria,” the voice said.
“Show it to me,” she commanded.
“Yes, ma’am. It is here.” The speaker pushed the documents through a gap in the carriage door.
Excel took the documents, opening them and perusing their contents. As she was reading through them, finally her face broke into a smile.
I see… So that’s how you’ve judged him. Yet still, you wish to be at his side, you say. Hmm… That’s all well and good, but I do think the loving praise dripping from your writing is going to give me heartburn. Really, now… I have to envy your youth.
Excel froze the documents with a sigh, then let them go. The documents fell, shattering into pieces when they struck the carriage floor.
Allow me to correct myself. When you live so long, there are times when you’ll find new light in the most unexpected of ways. This feeling is something you people who have died can never taste, isn’t it?
Serves you right.
Excel wore the smile of a young girl, not showing so much as a hint of her true age.
Chapter 5: The Legendary Old Man
In the audience chamber of Parnam Castle…
A large number of people were lined up in this place where the hero summoning and talent award ceremony had been held. These were the bureaucrats of the finance ministry.
Each wore an exhausted expression on his face.
Their cheeks were sunken, they had bags under their eyes, some wore dry smiles, while others looked to be on the verge of collapsing. Despite that, each and every one of them had a twinkle in his eye.
Theirs were the eyes of warriors who had survived a bloody battle.
Since I had become king and launched my reforms to save an economy that was on the brink of collapse, they had served as my hands and feet, working hard, like horses drawing a carriage. Anyone who had been working to enrich themselves had been dismissed, leaving only the serious ones behind. These were people who worked hard, reluctant to take time off even to sleep.
One of them might spend an entire day comparing the numbers between sets of documents, while another might spend most of the day on horseback, going around to ensure funds were being used correctly. They had been spending their days returning home only to sleep. No… many of them didn’t even return home, they just slept in the castle’s nap room, returning to work as soon as they woke.
Some had families.
Some had children.
Some were recently married.
However, the time they would have spent with their families… they cast aside, continuing to work.
The face of a wife dissatisfied that her husband put work before her, the face of a child lonely because his father wouldn’t play with him, the face of a newlywed wife sincerely concerned for her husband… They averted their eyes from these faces, telling themselves it was just for now, and worked diligently.
Earnestly trying to save this country from collapse.