On that point, Souma had weathered the crisis by providing subsidies only to the poor, not distributing more than necessary, encouraging people to eat foods there had been no custom of eating before, and increasing the country’s transport capacity by building roads. In doing this, he had managed to minimize the degree to which the economy shrank. Furthermore, of the three duchies, only the Walter Duchy had independent maritime trade routes and had been able to just barely stop the negative feedback loop by selling off their excess merchandise to other countries.
But that’s something I was able to do because my duchy has a port city, Excel thought. Neither the Carmine Duchy nor the Vargas Duchy have inland trade routes. With his large army, along with the fleeing nobles and their personal retinues to care for, the Carmine Duchy must be suffering from serious economic problems. If that’s the case, why is Georg so adamant about opposing the king?
As she was thinking that, Castor roared, “‘I’ll feed you like a pet, so obey me,’ is basically what that means! He’s looking down on us!”
“If it’s for the benefit of your people… what else is there to be done?” Excel asked.
“I don’t like it! Does he think he can tame us with a little bait?!”
“I doubt the king needs a pet with pride and little else,” Excel said.
Castor slammed both his hands down on the table. “…What is with you today?! It’s like you’re defending the king! I know you don’t like him, either. That’s why you ignored the king’s requests for assistance!”
“Kindly don’t act as if we’re the same,” she said tartly. “What the sea serpent race must prioritize above all else is the peace and safety of our beloved Lagoon City. If he will just guarantee me that, I’m prepared to obey him.”
The sea serpent race, with Excel at their lead, had a unique system of values.
Sea serpents always thought of the needs of their city, Lagoon City, first and foremost. Their ancestors had once lived on an island in the Kuzuryu Archipelago, but after losing in a power struggle within those islands, they had been driven out to sea, becoming wandering pirates.
Then, at the end of their long years of wandering, their ancestors had finally built a base of operations at what was now Lagoon City. The sea serpents protected themselves on this land which they had finally gained for themselves with love and with pride. The sole reason they had participated in the founding war of this multiracial state, the Elfrieden Kingdom, had been to protect Lagoon City.
“If it will benefit Lagoon City, I’ll wag my tail for anyone, and if they threaten Lagoon City, I will eliminate them, no matter how great they are in number. That is the pride of the sea serpents,” Excel explained.
“Hmph, wagging your tail is something to take pride in?” he snorted.
“Yes. I fight to protect the things I must. I’m not an infant who throws a tantrum just because he doesn’t like someone. If it can be resolved by talking, there’s no better outcome than that. It would be absurd to start fighting among ourselves now, when our neighbors are eyeing us for an opportunity to strike.”
“…The Principality of Amidonia, huh?” he muttered.
He was referring to the country which bordered Elfrieden to the west.
When they had found themselves on the receiving end of the expansionist policies of the king who had been king before Albert, the Principality of Amidonia had lost close to half its land. Now, they were watching closely for any chance to regain their lost territory. Amidonia seemed eager to intervene in the dispute between King Souma and the three dukes, having already sent them a letter saying, “If you intend to depose the false king, we are prepared to dispatch troops to aid you.”
“Honestly, what a stubborn bunch,” he snorted. “Their intentions are so transparent.”
“I’m sure they’ve sent a letter to the king, too,” Excel said. “I doubt the king will take them up on it, but they may dispatch ‘reinforcements’ anyway. You see what I mean? About how foolish it is for us to quarrel now.”
“Hmph. Fine, then why don’t you just go to the king’s side already.”
“There are a number of things I want to see and judge for myself, and then I plan to do just that. Things about the king, and about you.”
Excel turned a silent glance towards Georg Carmine. After some light pleasantries when she had first been brought into the room, he had closed his eyes and said nothing. Was he listening to Excel and Castor make their cases, or was he thinking about something himself? She didn’t think he was sleeping, but… Excel was beginning to become irritated with his demeanor.
“Georg, what are you thinking?” she snapped.
“…What do you mean, what?”
“Oh, my. So you were awake after all,” she said. “Of course I’m asking why you, the one who is most patriotic and loyal to this country of all of us, would take hostile actions against the new king.”
“Duke Carmine, you don’t like that fake king either, right?” Castor demanded.
“I wasn’t asking you, Castor,” Excel said. “Answer me, Georg. Setting aside his legitimacy, his reign has been a stable one. Why would you go out of your way to cause turmoil like this?”
With Excel pressing him for answers, Georg opened his mouth gravely. “I judged him incapable of ruling this country. That is all.”
“And why is that? What is it about his abilities, with which he will soon overcome the food crisis and economic difficulties that were pushing this country to the brink, that dissatisfies you?”
“In order to accomplish that, that king cast aside many things without hesitation.” Georg opened his eyes. That alone was enough to make the atmosphere in the room tense.
Excel and Castor both gulped. He was the youngest person present, yet in appearance and mentality, he was the most mature of all of them. This was the imposing presence of the greatest warrior in the country.
“I’ve heard that that king was summoned from another world,” he said. “Because of that, he has no attachment to things and can discard them without hesitation. If he deems them inefficient, then be it history, traditions, soldiers, or vassals, he’ll throw them away. Am I wrong, Duchess Excel?”
“That’s…” Excel found herself at a loss for words. It was true, she could see that King Souma’s reign had that side to it.
“Vassals who’ve served this country for many long years were abandoned by that king,” he continued.
“Yes, that was because they were corrupt.”
“Will you still say that, even if they turn on him as a result? I believe you yourself just spoke of the folly of endangering the country at this time. That king is the one who sowed the seeds for it.”
“You say that, but you’re the one who’s sheltering those nobles,” she said.
“Those with a grudge against the king will be useful pawns in defeating him,” he responded. “Of course, I have no intent of reinstating those people once the war is over.”
Excel shuddered at the way the corners of Georg’s mouth rose as he spoke those words. Does this man mean to work the corrupt nobles to death in a war?!
He would strike down the king, work the corrupt nobles to death, and even if he couldn’t dispose of all of them that way, he would find some excuse after the war to execute them. These were people for which any number of reasons could be found.