The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 15.
When I arrived at the palace banquet hall, I quietly entered and took a table in the corner without drawing much attention.
Usually when entering, they loudly announce your family and title, but they only do that for somewhat powerful families.
As the barons of the frontier, we had to sign the guestbook and enter through a side door, quickly finding seats.
My companion Ferge sighed lightly as he looked at the people at the main tables, then straightened his collar.
“Ars, can you watch our seats for a bit? I should go greet the officials.”
“Shall I go with you?”
“That doesn’t seem like a good idea.”
“Ah, then go on ahead.”
I obediently passed the time eating.
Meanwhile, almost all the powerful noble families had entered.
The higher ranking noble families enter later, and the last to appear is effectively the host of this party.
And he took that role.
“The Marquis Millias family! Lord Casper Millias and Lady Flora Millias entering!”
People around murmured with interest about the fabled lady appearing.
Casper, entering with his mother, stiffly walked like a robot towards the king, seemingly quite tense.
I scanned the king and the people around him.
Two people stood out.
The figures from the two ducal families of the kingdom, the Saleons and the Hellians.
Since Altior of the Saleons had essentially retired, it was his heir and clan head Gilbert taking his place.
‘Gilbert Saleon and Regnante Hellian… Both were R-rank characters back then.’
Gilbert Saleon was just a character who appeared due to story relevance, his actual performance was poor. Even I, who mainly raised R characters for convenience, disregarded him.
In contrast, Regnante Hellian next to him was different.
Duke Regnante Hellian was also an R-rank character in the game, but in domestic affairs, his extremely low cost allowed UR-level utilization, making him a top 0-tier character for that aspect alone.
This Regnante began explaining Casper’s military accomplishments to the king in a commendatory tone.
The core included having routed Gillias Melbourn and Fierce Horn forces.
That was the achievement of my master’s mercenary corps that I participated in, but he somehow subtly took credit for it.
‘Well, that brat did do his part too.’
I dismissed it from my mind and resumed eating.
Then it happened.
“Long time no see, Ars. Have you been well?”
“…?”
An elegant blonde woman had come all the way to my corner table.
She gave a flustered smile as she opened her fan with a snap.
The youths around all looked entranced as she appeared.
‘She seems familiar… But who Is she?’
I narrowed my eyes, thinking, and recalled she was from the Saleon ducal family.
But her name eluded me. It had been nearly a year since that incident.
The person I vividly remembered from then was just Prince Eldric. The others were passing acquaintances. [1]
‘It started with an E and ended with an NA sound, I think.’
Since I wasn’t certain, I decided not to gamble.
I gave a polite smile and said, “Greetings. I trust you’ve been well, Lady Saleon.”
“…”
Her expression froze. Then in a voice like she was gritting her teeth, she said, “Ars? There are many from the Saleon family here besides me. If possible, could you call me by name?”
“Ah…I suppose I should.”
“Then shall we reintroduce ourselves? Ars Chasing Elaine.”
Emphasizing my middle name, she pressured me. I tried to recall but couldn’t remember the middle syllable.
But I couldn’t be so rude as to ask her name to her face.
I quickly gave a look to her attendant standing behind her.
It’s common in high society for attendants to memorize names in case their masters forget, so they can subtly provide reminders.
The attendant, seeming to understand, mouthed a name to me silently.
[Aina]
Ah, I see.
“Yes, it has been a while, Lady Aina.”
Instantly, the air seemed to freeze. Apparently I misread the lip movements.
“It has a similar sound but one letter is off. It’s Erina. Erina Saleon. I’ll let this one go as a joke, but please don’t make the mistake again next time.”
“Ah, Lady Erina, my apologies. I must have gotten a bit confused. I’m sorry if I caused offense.”
“Then to make amends, would you care to request a dance with me?”
“That would be rather difficult.”
“…Did I mishear you?”
“Shall I speak louder? I said a dance would be difficult.”
“…Hehehe. So that’s how it will be?”
Though her laughter bubbled, Erina still exuded a certain pressure.
It’s not that I can’t dance, but I didn’t want to draw attention dancing with a lady of the Saleon duchy at this court party.
I was affiliated with the Hellians to begin with.
“Then shall we share some refreshments? You won’t say that’s not possible, will you?”
Erina stubbornly took a seat at my table, already the focus of maximum attention from her peers.
Thankfully the adults were still lively exchanging greetings, so their eyes weren’t drawn over here yet.
“I heard you were active in the recent war.”
“It was just rear support, nothing more.”
“That alone is quite impressive. But then I guess there was no need for you to use the spear I gifted you. Should I be happy that there was no need to use it, or should I feel sorry about it?”
“Ah, it broke.”
“What!? How could your spear break when you are only rear support?”
“I was backpedaling when I tripped and sat down hard on my butt, and it just bent.”
“Impossible…That spear was made by Grancel’s finest craftsman…”
Certainly, that spear was excellent. If it hadn’t held up until it bent, the halberd would have sliced my neck instead of just grazing my helmet.
“Next time, I’ll prepare a better spear for you.”
“No need, my master said she’ll get me a spear as a coming-of-age gift. You don’t have to trouble yourself.”
“I see…”
As Erina and I were having this conversation, a boy approached us with piercing eyes.
“You there. How dare you bother Lady Erina.”
He seemed to be a military student belonging to the Saleon faction.
The noble military students of the Saleon faction were also invited to this victory party, as they too had been training at the northwestern front where the battle took place, just like us.
This guy immediately realized I was from the Hellian faction.
From his perspective, it must have been infuriating to see me, a Hellian, talking to Erina, the beloved lady of the Saleon duchy.
“Denian, I…”
“No need to worry, Lady Erina. I’ll drive this rascal away.”
“No, I’m…”
He glared at me without listening to Erina’s words.
This was my chance, I thought.
“I’m truly sorry. I did not realize she was a lady of such high stature. I will be more careful to avoid this in the future.”
“Hmph, so you know your place. Then get lost quickly.”
“Yes, excuse me.”
As I hurriedly left, I could hear their voices behind me.
“Now you can enjoy the party in peace, Lady Erina. If you need anything, just…”
“Shut your mouth. It’s unpleasant.”
“Yes…?”
Erina left without a second thought.
The one called Denian wailed about what he did wrong.
I moved to another table and decided to tune it out and eat again.
“You’re just going to let it go, Ars?”
“…? Oh, Master!”
Master Ilya was participating in simple attire unsuitable for the party.
Some nobles were giving her disdainful looks, but it seemed her basic presence as a mercenary at a royal party was accepted, as it was not the first time.
“That girl seemed quite lovely. In my opinion, she suited you well.”
“Come on, what are you saying? We live in different worlds. More importantly, Master, I thought you couldn’t come to the party?”
“The Mercenary Guild requested it so earnestly. They said it’s a chance to uphold the Guild’s honor. Speaking of which, Mercenary Wade was also invited. Did you know?”
“Wow.”
Effectively, I had received two invitations.
My master joined me at my table, seemingly wanting conversation. We spent time chatting about what I had seen in the city.
Then, a huge incident occurred that shook the party venue.
Denian Ahn asked Erina for a dance but was irritably rejected, a trivial matter compared to the unbelievable events that unfolded.
A delegation from our ally Crossing arrived at the party venue accompanied by some 20 slaves.
***
The Crossing Republic is a kingdom publicly known as an eccentric nation. They would wage wars without any context, and at other times, send relief supplies recklessly. They abolished the aristocratic system and advocated equality, yet had a king and a thriving slave system. Crossing is a kingdom whose principles of behavior were difficult to understand. From Calliper’s perspective, they had no choice but to form an alliance to keep Alvard in check, but they couldn’t help feeling disgusted.
The fact that Crossing’s delegation appeared at the court party with slaves in tow was an event that would cause a stir beyond just the kingdom, but throughout the continent.
“What is this outrage at such a noble place!”
“Leave at once!”
The senior nobles immediately protested and shouted.
However, the head of the Crossing delegation smiled nonchalantly despite the hostile atmosphere.
“I’d appreciate it if you refrained from treating us like unwelcome guests. This is all part of the contract, isn’t it?”
He looked to be in his 30s.
I knew this man.
‘Juras Pamilion…!’
In the game, he was one of the villain characters that only appeared as an enemy, ranking among the top ten of the current generation.
He was the one who reduced the contemporary Prince Eldric to a perennial second-in-line, and despite not being of royal blood, Juras was the number one heir to the Crossing throne until a few years ago.
He was such an exceptional figure.
If he had appeared as a gacha character in the game, he would undoubtedly be UR rank, and in terms of performance, he would be an undisputed 0-tier, according to many.
His nickname was Heavenly Seamless (天衣無縫).
He was also one of the Three Great Generals, along with Kaien, the commander-in-chief of the Alvard Kingdom, and Zemuto, the Evil Brain, the greatest general in the West.
“Your Majesty, did you not mention anything about this upcoming slave auction?”
“Uh, um…! I did say I would arrange an occasion soon, but I didn’t say it would be at this party!”
“The treaty explicitly stated that the slave auction would be held at the first event where influential noble families gather. Are you saying we have misinterpreted it?”
At that, a man who appeared to be a senior official whispered something to the king.
The king nodded resignedly.
“Very well. Do as you wish.”
“A wise decision.”
At the mention of a slave auction, the banquet hall became restless.
In the Calliper Kingdom, the slave system was legally prohibited. A slave auction was unthinkable.
In contrast, the Crossing Republic actively encouraged the slave system.
However, their welfare system was well-established, giving slaves the opportunity to become citizens if they repaid a certain level of debt.
While the slave system was permitted, they strictly penalized mistreating or abusing slaves.
‘The protagonist had opposed Crossing due to this slave system.’
From a historical perspective, there were understandable reasons for Crossing to employ slaves.
The land was so barren that more citizens left than settled, so they had to secure labor and forcibly increase the population by promoting the slave system.
“Greetings, esteemed people of Calliper. Today, I will introduce you to Crossing’s slave auction.”
It seemed that the latest alliance treaty included a provision for admitting slave auctions.
Juras began explaining the slave auction with practiced ease, as if he had done it many times before.
While some nobles expressed discomfort with the concept of slaves, those interested began listening intently.
“For our beloved noble friends of the Calliper Kingdom, this occasion where we unveil the auction for the first time is special for us as well. Therefore, for this event, we have brought premium-grade slaves that would typically be reserved for our founding day celebrations in Crossing Republic.”
As Juras began describing each slave, I trembled in shock as if struck by lightning upon recognizing their identities.
“This can’t be…”
I could hardly comprehend why he was among the slaves.
“…”
Among the various slaves, one man stood out with his overwhelming presence.
His fiery red hair and striking eyes vividly sparked my memory.
‘There’s no mistake. That’s Cassius Lloyd.’
Cassius Lloyd.
The protagonist of Athena War Tales was standing there, shackled in slave restraints.
Footnotes:
1] LOL
TL NOTE:
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Guess that probably the reason why protagonist of Athena War Tales hate that country
Seriously, what’s with the Kiseki series names.