The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 106
Ash, who claimed to be a prince.
I carefully recalled the information.
‘There are three officially known princes of Tunkai.’
Perhaps my expression showed doubt, as Ash grinned and said, “Let’s just say I’m the kind of child that can’t be revealed. It’s not an uncommon thing, is it?”
“Ash! Stop talking!”
“What’s the big deal? It seems like he already knows everything.”
Having revealed his identity, Ash seemed to have found some mental composure. Rather, there’s a testing light in his eyes as he looks at me.
Finding that a bit ridiculous, I decided to eliminate his composure.
“Hmm.” I set up a suitable hypothesis and spoke. “Seeing that you participated in this war, I guess you were trying to achieve some military merit? To increase your influence through that.”
“…”
“I don’t know where the Florand tribe is, but it’s obvious they’re a force supporting you. Given that you were so reluctant to reveal your identity, I assume the military and the royal family were largely unaware of your participation.”
“…!”
“Despite that, the fact that you were given such an important role in the last battle means that the military commander at the time was on your side. It must have been the 4th General Landon Crow, right?”
Ash’s expression, which had found composure, instantly hardened.
“Well, well, it seems another person who can find out about your circumstances has appeared. I no longer have any business with you, do I? I can just demand your ransom from that Landon Crow fellow.”
“W-wait! Landon has nothing to do with this!”
“Now your mask is finally cracking.”
“Kuk!”Ash gritted his teeth. Any composure disappeared in an instant.
Lysithea shouts instead. “Keep your promise! You said you’d show leniency if we revealed our identities!”
“I never said such a thing. I only said I wouldn’t hand you over to Crossing. You’re free to have your delusions, but don’t force them on others.”
“How dare you!”
Oops, I got carried away without realizing it. It’s not good to create bad feelings with them, so I decided to stop here.
“Well, to be honest, I’m not very interested in who you are, what your identity is, or what you’re aiming for. I don’t intend to dig deeper. So let’s talk about the conditions for your release.”
Lysithea breathes a sigh of relief.
“You said it earlier. The woman, you don’t care what happens to you, but release the man.”
“That’s right.”
At this, Ash glares at me with murderous eyes.
“Don’t look at me like that. I’m thinking of being as merciful as possible. First of all, you two. Do you have the means to pay a ransom?”
“How much is it?”
“200 million sillan for both of you.”
“200 million?!”
“This is even lightly calculated. The ransom for high-ranking prisoners is quite expensive. If it’s a prince of a kingdom, even several hundred million wouldn’t be enough. I’ve just set it at 100 million sillan per person. If you pay, I’ll let you go. Can you pay?”
“Such a large amount suddenly…” Lysithea hesitates. She’s fallen for it.
They probably can pay that amount. Since Ash is said to be supported by the Florand tribe or whatever, they could probably gather 200 million.
But it’s also true that it’s a burden. So when Lysithea hesitates, I say this, “If that’s too much of a burden, work it off yourselves. Woman, you work under me for two years, deducting 100 million sillan per year. In exchange, I’ll release the man. How about it?”
Lysithea, who was hesitating at the large amount, jumps at the idea that she can pay off the amount by sacrificing only herself. “I’ll do it!”
“Lysithea! There’s no need for that!” Ash tried to stop her, unable to accept it,
but the woman was firm. “It’s all my fault that you were captured like this. So I’ll take full responsibility.”
“Damn it…!”
Somehow I feel like I’ve become the villain.
Am I really the villain?
“Don’t talk like you’re parting forever. As I said, I’m deeply merciful. If you’re worried about the woman, contact me through Crossing. I’ll let you meet her anytime.”
“…”
Ash narrows his eyes as if checking the truth of my words. “You’re not lying, are you?”
“I’m not that petty.”
“If I bring 200 million sillan later, will you release Lysithea?”
“That won’t work. That 200 million sillan will be paid off by this woman’s work. If you don’t like that, contact the Tunkai royal family or the Florand tribe or whatever right now and prepare 200 million sillan.”
Ash remains silent, seemingly facing difficulties with the latter option. “Why are you being so unreasonable? Why do you want Lysithea so badly?”
It seemed better to be honest about this part. “It’s not the woman I want. It’s you I want, Ash.”
“…What?”
“I’m gathering talented individuals. I like you. But even if I asked you to join me now, you wouldn’t agree, would you?”
“Of course not.”
“So I’m going to take time to draw you in. This woman is just the bait, let’s say.”
“What nonsense… Do you think I’ll pledge loyalty to you because of this?”
“Let’s look forward to two years from now for that.”
“…”
Ash stared at me intently, and eventually nodded as if giving up.
* * *
After the negotiation ended.
I left Ash with Olaf and sent him back. Even if he holds a grudge against me, he won’t act recklessly since Lysithea is on our side.
“Wait a moment.” Rutger, who followed me out, asks with a bewildered face. “You said you had a way to prepare a bodyguard for Estelle. Don’t tell me you’re going to assign that woman as Estelle’s guard?”
“Are you not satisfied? Her skills are quite good.”
I wasn’t sure of her exact abilities, but she seemed at least stronger than me.
“Putting aside her martial skills, we can’t fully trust her.”
“The woman won’t act rashly either. She’ll think that if she does anything unnecessary, Ash will face retaliation. Let’s build trust gradually. Besides, for the time being, I’ll have Yumir and Eo take turns watching her, so don’t worry.”
“Hmm, well, if that’s the case…”
As they say, strike while the iron is hot. I decided to introduce her to Estelle as well. “Would you bring Estelle here now?”
“Alright.”
After wetting my throat in the pantry, I returned to the room.
For some reason, Eo and Lysithea were having a showdown in the room.
“The Florand tribe… His Holiness once mentioned that there are pagans who worship evil gods in the northwestern Elrich Mountains…!”
“I’ve also heard from my grandmother about the Valkyries of Kuravel. A group that worships heretical gods. There’s a childish person who’s treated like a princess, despite being just a nominal captain of the royal guard.”
“What did you say!?”
“What? Want to fight?”
“Fine! Grab your weapon and come out right now!”
“That’s what I’ve been waiting for!”
I wonder why they’re fighting.
‘Kuravel Holy Kingdom and the Florand tribe… Two places on opposite ends geographically, what connection could they have had?’
This seemed like something Eo wouldn’t be much help with, so I decided to ask Bisketa about it later.
As I was thinking about this and trying to stop the fight.
Estelle arrived.
I sat in a chair to greet her.
“It’s been a while. A year, perhaps?”
From Wade’s perspective, it had been a really long time since meeting Estelle.
Estelle seemed to know this and appeared quite nervous.
“…?”
Upon hearing my voice, she paused and narrowed her eyes.
She probably reacted like this because it was her first time seeing Lysithea.
“Oh, it seems you’ve recovered from your illness. What a remarkable change. No wonder Rutger was making such a fuss.”
“Y-yes…”
A year ago, Estelle would have trembled nervously in front of me, but now there was no sign of that.
“Why did you call for me today…?”
“Rutger earnestly requested it. He asked me to assign you a bodyguard. That doting father, I can’t stop him.”
“…Hmm?”
“This person here will be in charge of your protection from now on. Greet her.”
“Greet… Her, you say.”
Step. Estelle took a step forward. I thought it was to greet her, but took another step. She took another step closer.
“What’s the matter?”
“…Hehe.”
Step. Another step.
I felt some pressure. If I hadn’t been sitting, I might have taken a step back.
“If you have something to say, say it.”
“So that’s how it is…”
“What do you mean by that…?”
Step. Estelle, who had now come within 2 meters, muttered quietly. She was looking at me, not Lysithea.
“As I thought…”
“As you thought?”
Then, grab! She seized my hand and looked at the back of my right hand.
“That unmistakable manner of speaking and behavior. Above all, the number and location of moles on this hand… I’m certain. It really is you, Ars!”
“What!?”
Even I had never thought about the number of moles on the back of my hand…
Then, swish! Estelle suddenly removed my helmet. Since we were indoors, it was a mistake not to have fastened the helmet’s clasp.
More than anything, I was too surprised to react properly.
After removing my helmet, Estelle looked at my face and smiled with satisfaction. “So this was the secret you were sharing with Erina.”
“No, that’s…”
“If I had known this, I should have met with Wade earlier. I could have discovered the secret sooner, but I hesitated because I was scared.”
I was considerably flustered.
If only Estelle had found out my identity, I might have just let it slide, but there was another person here who didn’t know my true identity.
“Wade’s true identity was a young boy!?”
Lysithea exclaimed in shock. Eonia too was in an uproar, not knowing what to do.
Oblivious to the situation, Estelle was smiling.
***
Estelle was afraid.
She was worried something bad had happened when her father suddenly told her to go to Wade.
However, she didn’t feel fear when she faced Wade after a year. Rather, she felt an inexplicable familiarity.
And then.
“It’s been a while. Has it been a year?”
The moment Wade said those words, Estelle couldn’t help but smile.
‘Why didn’t I notice it back then?’
Even with his voice disguised, she could clearly tell it was Ars.
In the past, she had a great fear of Wade, and she hadn’t known Ars for long, so she didn’t notice. But now it was different.
Her fear of Wade had disappeared completely.
The only thing that bothered her was realizing why he had approached her.
‘It was to have Father under his command….’
That part hurt a little, but she didn’t mind much because she knew Ars treated her sincerely besides that.
Rather, she was happier to know that Wade, to whom she owed a debt of gratitude, was the same person as Ars.
“Do you think you can deceive me? I know all of Ars’ habits, scent, physical characteristics, speech patterns, behaviors. Everything, everything, everything, everything, everything….”
“Ugh….”
Ars makes a genuinely disgusted expression. Estelle cleared her throat, wondering if she had gotten too excited.
“…Huh?”
Only then did she look around.
She knew one person. It was Eonia Mirabel.
Estelle stared at Eonia with wary eyes. Although she couldn’t see her face because she was wearing the same gray helmet as Ars, she could easily imagine what she looked like.
It was because she matched the character in the novel.
‘So that’s how it was. The female knight who appeared in Ars’ book. Elnia Pentabel was modeled after this person.’
Even though it was just a novel, knowing that Ars had set her as the main heroine made dark jealousy well up inside her, but she was able to control it without much difficulty.
It was thanks to Erina’s advice.
Erina had told Estelle not to interfere excessively in Ars’ romantic relationships unless he was indiscriminately flirting around.
-He’s not the type to open his heart to just any woman. If he’s opened his heart and accepted someone, we should be able to accept them too.
Estelle, with her strong possessiveness, couldn’t easily understand, but she eventually accepted after Erina’s persuasion.
However, with one prerequisite condition.
-What if Ars is indiscriminately seducing women?
-Then… It would be okay to get angry, right?
-I see….
-Estelle…? Your expression is scary.
Estelle decided to accept Eonia.
‘Broadly speaking, Miss Yumir too…. But no more than that.’
Considering her personality, accepting three people was already a miracle.
Estelle glared at the other one besides Eonia. Lysithea.
“Ugh…!?”
Lysithea’s eyes widened at the chilling pressure.
Ars sighs and says, “This person will be in charge of your security from now on. Her name is Lysithea Dearwind, but just call her by an alias.”
“Is that all there is to it? You don’t have feelings for this woman or anything…?”
“This is only the second time I’ve met her today. And she already has a partner.”
“Then there’s nothing to worry about. I’m Estelle Diante. Nice to meet you, Miss Lysithea.”
Lysithea sighed deeply at her precarious situation, then nodded. “Please call me Lia from now on. It will only be for a short time of about two years, but I look forward to working with you.”
Lysithea wanted to ask about Ars’ identity as soon as possible. Ars noticed her intention but decided not to impose any restrictions other than not disclosing it to others, since his face had already been revealed.
TL NOTE:
Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you would like to support me or read up to 30 chapters ahead, you can do so via patreon.com/ChibiGiant. OR by unlocking chapters.
Estelle just screwed up Ars’s plan and somehow became even scarier.