The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 31

The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 31

After crossing the border of Crossing, it took us 4 days to reach Crosshorn, the capital of Crossing.

We considered stopping at the nearby Rainpol first, but since I couldn’t afford an audience with the king later, we had to visit the capital first.

The capital of Crossing, Crosshorn.

This coastal city was characterized by its gloomy atmosphere.

Perhaps because of the barren land, the city pursued only practicality.

Despite being the capital of a large kingdom, the royal palace was ridiculously small, and there was no sense of artistic flair in the streets.

Conversely, the fishy smell enveloping the city gave an objectively poor impression.

“What a trashy city,” Eonia, who had ill feelings towards Crossing, spewed insults, but I had the opposite thought.

“I actually like it. It feels like they’re not indulging in luxury. The citizens’ faces look quite bright too. Well, I am a bit worried about basic hygiene though.”

“I-I see! Now that I think about it again, it does seem quite nice!” Eo quickly changed her stance to agree with me.

This one. As expected, she’s full of the qualities of a sycophant.[1]

Anyway, after settling in Crosshorn, I disguised myself as Wade and headed to the royal palace.

“We’ve been waiting for you, Sir Wade. Please come in.”

It seemed Juras had given them a heads-up, as I was able to enter the palace smoothly following the guards’ guidance.

The interior of the palace wasn’t much different from the image I had seen from outside. It was so modest that it barely felt like a royal palace.

Finally arriving at the reception room, I was able to face Juras, who was wearing a sly smile.

“Welcome, Wade. It’s been half a year, has it not?”

“Exactly seven months. More importantly, could you process the matter as quickly as possible? I feel uneasy being in enemy territory.”

“Haha, if we had any intention of doing something to you, we would have done so already.”

That is true.

“Please make yourself comfortable. The king will be here soon.”

“Here? Isn’t there a separate audience chamber?”

“This is the audience chamber.”

“This shabby reception room?”

“Huh, everyone reacts that way. Though you’re the first to say it out loud.”

Seated on the sofa in the audience chamber, I reached for a teacup as my throat was dry, but Eo frantically stopped me.

“You can’t! Ar… Sir Wade!”

“It’s fine. As he said, if they had any intention of doing something, they wouldn’t resort to poisoning now.”

“Still…”

I brushed off Eo’s hand and was about to sip the tea… But then I remembered I was wearing a helmet.

Juras grinned and said, “Why don’t you take it off? I’d like to engrave your face in my memory while we’re at it.”

“That sounds like you’re begging me not to take it off.”

As I was having this pointless conversation with Juras, soon the king of Crossing, Parain Malorn, made his appearance.

“Oh! So you’re Wade, the one who defeated Juras in chess! It’s a pleasure to meet you!”

“…”

“Would you mind having a match with me as well? I’ve been dying to see your skills!”

For a moment, I thought Juras was playing a prank on me.

An elderly man in casual clothes that a commoner night wear, cheerfully carrying a chessboard.

I couldn’t believe that this person was the king of Crossing, referred to as the root of all evil in the game.

Parain Malorn.

In the past, he was the eldest son of the Malorn ducal family of the Fensillon Empire, with the highest possibility of inheriting the Malorn family.

The reason why such a person was expelled by his younger siblings and driven to the east was simple.

He opposed the aristocratic system.

As a result, his rebellious younger siblings split the territory of the Malorn ducal family and established the kingdoms of Alvard and Beckavia, while Parain fled to barren land and established a republic.

Thus, in the Crossing Republic he founded, there was a king but no nobility.

‘Yet they promote slavery, making it a difficult kingdom to understand.’

It seemed this shabby man is indeed the king.

He appeared to be just over 70 years old.

He placed the chessboard on the table like a child.

I couldn’t help but say something.

“Aren’t you too unguarded? I mean, not having any escorts.”

“Well, having the royal guard around is a hassle with all their nagging.”

“Are you aware? If I wanted to, Your Majesty could lose his life.”

“Is that so? But Juras is here.”

“They could easily be subdued by the two people behind me.”

At those words, Parain looked at Yumir and Eonia and asked Juras, “Is that true, Juras?”

“Hmm, I suppose so. Putting aside the Valkyrie… That beast-kin woman is also not to be taken lightly. Even I would have to be on guard against her. If both of them attacked together, I wouldn’t have the leisure to protect you, godfather.”

“Oh, for you to say that, they must be quite formidable.”

Even as he said this, Parain didn’t seem concerned at all.

I shrugged my shoulders. “Well, I have no intention of doing such a thing. Your Majesty probably knows that, hence your composure.”

“No, I’m prepared to give up my life at any time.”

“…What do you mean?”

“If you were to take my head, it would mean you have that much ambition. Or perhaps you’ve been instigated by someone with such ambition. Wouldn’t it be a joyous thing if taking this old man’s head would advance that ambition?”

What on earth was this guy talking about?

He’d willingly offer his head for the sake of someone else’s ambition?

“Anyway, I’m ready. Shall we play a game?”

“…Alright.”

Wanting to know more about this person, I decided to go along with the chess game for now.

* * *

Chess pieces moving in silence.

As far as Parain’s chess skills were concerned, it wasn’t much.

He seemed to have played many games, but perhaps he hadn’t played against skilled players much, as he fell for easy traps.

Finally, when checkmate was achieved, he said, “You said you had something you were curious about.”

“That’s right.”

“Feel free to ask anything. I’ll answer everything I can. Consider it a reward for winning at chess.”

“Then I’ll ask, why are you trying to wage war?”

Crossing, obsessed with military buildup.

Because of this, Alvard and Beckavia, which share borders with it, as well as other kingdoms like Calliper, had to increase their military strength as well.

This led to a military buildup across the entire continent.

If it were just military buildup, it might not be a problem.

The problem is that they actually start wars after that.

Right now, the continent was in a state like a powder keg about to explode, starting from the Three Lions War waged by Crossing.

“Is that it… I’ll have to tell you a bit of an old story, is that alright?”

“That’s fine.”

A bit of an old story. The King of Parain spoke of the time of the Fensillon Empire.

“Well, do you know why the Fensillon Empire fell?”

“I don’t know in detail. I heard it was because they lost public support and civil war broke out while recklessly organizing an expedition force to find an unknown continent.”

“That’s the official reason. But it wasn’t. At that time, Fensillon had fundamentally become unsustainable.”

“Unsustainable? Why is that?”

“Because of the population.”

“…!?”

The unusually large population of this world.

That’s what caused problems.

“Fensillon, which had created a single empire through the Unification War, faced a difficult problem in its 114th year of foundation.”

When war disappeared, the population started to increase explosively.

It reached a point where the state could no longer control it.

As the number of commoners increased exponentially, those who tried to challenge the authority of the nobility and the emperor began to appear.

In addition to the feudal structure that basically exploited the commoners, dissatisfaction quickly built up as food became scarce due to population growth.

“Fensillon made the crazy choice of waging civil war to solve this. So, under the pretext of finding a new continent, they recklessly organized an expedition and fomented discord. Nobles who sympathized with this also raised armies and started a civil war.”[2]

“Are you saying they deliberately created a war? To reduce the population?”

“That’s right. From then on, the empire started to go astray.”

When even civil war couldn’t stop population growth and the discontent of the commoners, they tried to eliminate the fundamental reason for population growth.

“The emperor at that time pointed to ‘God’s miracle’ as the reason for population growth.”

Priests who heal all kinds of external wounds without aftereffects through sacred magic called God’s miracle.

Like how Eonia’s severe burns were healed as if washed away, its effect was tremendous.

This wasn’t limited to healing external wounds. It could also help with childbirth.

It was the same with my mother’s recent childbirth. Without their help, mother, who was having a late pregnancy, would have been in great danger.

“Those who should have died from injuries and illnesses. Children who should have been miscarried. He thought the population was increasing rapidly because such lives were not dying and continuing to live.”

“That’s…”

“So they tried to eliminate all the priests by making them out to be the root of evil.”

A kind of witch hunt began.

However, this met with more resistance than the emperor had imagined.

Nobles with religious faith united and rebelled.

“God’s miracle is a kind of holy proof that proves the existence of God in the past. The nobles judged that they couldn’t give that up no matter what. So the emperor was executed, and the nobles who executed the emperor began to discuss succession.”

Those were the nobles who became the origins of the kingdoms that rule the continent today.

“At that time, they also discussed solutions for population growth among themselves. As the representative of Malorn, I argued. I said we should abolish the inefficient noble system that causes discontent among commoners, and develop food technology to keep up with population growth.”

“It wasn’t accepted, I guess.”

“That’s right. So I entrusted the land of the Malorn family to my younger siblings and came here to Crossing.”

“Weren’t you exiled?”

“Those guys wouldn’t have had the ability to drive me out. I came to this barren Crossing for the development of food technology. Believing that if agriculture flourished in this land, agricultural technology would greatly advance.”

But it failed. In the end, they couldn’t develop agriculture and had to rely on fishing, hunting, and trade.

“Because of that, my long-cherished desire ended in vain. The other nobles had already gone back to the past, waging wars over Fensillon’s territory and reducing the population. From then on, it became a situation where I couldn’t complete the reform with my power alone. I no longer had the energy to run.”

Was that the strangely unenthusiastic attitude because of that?

“But that doesn’t answer my question. If so, I don’t understand even more why you’re trying to wage war.”

“To find ambition.”

“Ambition…?”

“This world, once broken, needs to stand at the starting point again.”

The starting point. In other words, unification.

“If the empire had made a different choice, I don’t think it would have come to this. In fact, within Fensillon, there were hardliners and moderates. In the end, as the hardliners took power, such things happened. I think. If the moderates had taken power, wouldn’t there have been a different outcome?”[3]

Parain was most wary of the continent’s divided state becoming fixed.

That’s why he’s trying to forcibly start a war.

Hoping that in that chaotic world, someone with the ambition for unification would appear, unify the continent, and lead it to a better outcome.

* * *

The Crossing Republic, which I thought was the axis of evil.

After hearing the inside story, I couldn’t help but fall into thought.

‘Crossing has a proper mission…’

Although their method is an extreme tactic of inducing war, ultimately they want the world to go in the right direction.

“What do you think? I’d like to hear your thoughts.”

“…I agree with the part about developing food technology. The development of food technology can certainly keep up with population growth. And population growth will also slow down once it reaches a certain level.”

That’s how it actually happened in modern times.

If we develop science and technology and improve cultural standards, we can cope with explosive population growth.

“Huh, I didn’t know it would be this joyful to have someone who understands me. What do you think about war?”

“I can understand that too.”

I could understand why they chose war as a means.

It’s true that it’s the only way to bring down other kingdoms that have already established themselves as vested interests.

I asked Juras. “Was this the reason you employed me?”

To show the King of Parain who was craving new talent.

But Juras shook his head. “Let me say in advance that I have a different view from godfather. The world is just something that should be left to flow as it is. Whether it’s a mission or destiny, it’s trivial in the grand flow of humanity. As for you, I’m just personally interested in what role you’ll play in that flow.”

“Letting it flow as it is…”

Juras’s view also felt like the right answer.

“Anyway, I hope the conversation with the King was helpful, Wade. No… Ars Elaine.”

“Tch.”

So he had figured out my identity after all. Well, I guess he wouldn’t let someone whose identity he didn’t know talk to the King.

“It was very helpful. Thank you, Prime Minister Pamilion. And Your Majesty.”

When I returned the greeting politely, King Parain smiled with satisfaction.

“I’m the one who should thank you for listening to my old story. I hope you’re the person I’ve been looking for.”

“I’m not sure if I can live up to your expectations.”

“Hmm…”

After groaning for a moment, Parain carefully asked me. “If it’s alright, could you show your face? I’d like to engrave with my own eyes the face of a young man who might go down in history. I don’t have much time left to live, so all sorts of thoughts come to mind.”

“…”

“If it’s too difficult, you can refuse.”

“No, it’s fine.”

There are only Juras and the King here anyway.

I released the clasp with a click and took off my helmet.

Then, Parain’s eyes, which had been maintaining an indifferent attitude all along, were filled with astonishment. “Wh-wh-what…!?”

Parain, unable to close his mouth while looking at my face.

No, to be precise, it wasn’t my face.

He was unable to contain his surprise at seeing the necklace that came out from under my clothes when I took off my helmet.

Seeing that necklace Yumir had given me as a coming-of-age gift.

“How do you have that…!?”

Then, with a flash, he turned his head and stared intently at Yumir, whom he had ignored until now.

“That beast person… Could it be you’re Yumir!? The beast slave Yumir that Rizhna took in! Were you the one who helped her child escape from that situation!”

“…”

Yumir remained silent, neither confirming nor denying.

I was about to ask what was going on, but from this point on, Parain kept his mouth shut for some reason.

Then, sighing as if he had aged ten years, he muttered. “Is this also fate? How interesting.”

He soon did something unexpected. He summoned a man to the audience chamber.

I hurriedly tried to put on my helmet, but Parain shook his head, saying it was okay.

The man who appeared was wearing red armor. It was Anton, the Red Knight who had been my right-hand man in the Carrington battle.

“Your Majesty. You called for me?”

“Anton, the time has come to fulfill the oath of the Quinter family.”

“…!”

“This person is the one you must serve from now on.”

Then Anton immediately knelt before me himself.

“I, Anton Kairos Quinter, will serve my lord until my dying breath!”

As I was bewildered, unable to follow the conversation,

Parain called in one more woman.

The second princess, known as the Black Jewel in Crossing.

He introduced Melodie Malorn and tried to proceed with a marriage arrangement.

 

Footnotes:

1]  A Suck-up.

2] Fomented here means stir-up.

3] Hardliners are generally political groups who do not compromise their ideals.

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