â End of the 2nd month, 1549th year, Continental Calendar â Imperial Capital, Valois
Empress Maria Euphoria was standing in front of a Jewel Voice Broadcast jewel. The simple receiver placed nearby showed the image of King Souma A. Elfrieden of the Kingdom of Friedonia.
âKing Souma, first, allow me to congratulate you,â Maria said, lowering her head slightly to him. âI hear you put down a great monster in the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago. I bow my head to you.â
âNo, no, it was only possible with the Empireâs assistance. Thanks to you spreading word of the danger posed by the Kingdom, the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelagoâs islands unified, and we were able to pull them into a final showdown with Ooyamizuchi. You have my gratitude,â Souma said, bowing his head.
Maria smiled. âJeanne was sulking about that, you know? She said things like âIf they were sending their fleet to the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago to slay a monster, I wish they would have told me so,â and âI look like a fool for suggesting they were going to invade.ââ
During the negotiations in Zem, unlike her sister Maria, Jeanne had been furious about her inability to discern Soumaâs intentions from the limited information available. Though, her anger had been directed more at herself than at Souma and his party. Obviously, the reason things turned out that way wasnât because Jeanne was lacking, but because Maria was just that incredible.
âThere was just... no way I could have told you at that point. I needed to set the Kingdom up as a potential enemy. If the information leaked, all of the preparation that the Nine-Headed Dragon King and I did would have been for nothing. In that sense, Iâm really grateful that you picked up on what was happening.â
âHee hee, do you think I was able to show my dignity as the big sister? I know Jeanne sulked about it at the time, though. If I recall, Sir Hakuya had to console her, didnât he?â
âIn that case, Iâll tell Hakuya to let Madam Jeanne air her complaints to him again in the future.â
âPlease do.â
Maria decided to move on and change the topic.
âSetting that all aside, I want to hear about this Ooyamizuchi that attacked the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago. They say it was as big as a mountain. It sounds almost like a monster out of the storybooks. What was it like in reality? Iâd love to hear.â
âAh, ha ha... Thatâs true, huh? Ooyamizuchi was...â
Mariaâs eyes shone like those of a little girl asking to be read a picture book. Smiling wryly, Souma described what he had seen of Ooyamizuchi, and related the story of how it confounded the Kingdom and Archipelago Unionâs fleets in battle. Maria listened intently with childlike reactions of awe as she heard how the creature shot water from its mouth to capsize several ships, and slapped ships and wyvern cavalry down with its writhing tentacles.
âWhew.â Maria put her hand to her cheeks and exhaled. âItâs a big world out there. I never imagined there was a creature like that. Dangerous and gargantuan... I believe your word for them was âkaiju,â Sir Souma? I know this must have all been a lot of trouble for you, but I wish I could have seen it before it was slain.â
â...I can relate. It felt like I was witnessing one of the wonders of this world. I think Ichiha will be compiling an illustrated report for the encyclopedia soon, so Iâll have it sent to you when itâs finished.â
âIâll be looking forward to it.â Maria smiled happily. Seeing her like this, she was like a cheerful woman you might find anywhere. Though, beauty like hers was anything but commonplace. âWhile weâre on the subject, our informants tell me that you used an island-like ship, and controlled a mechanical dragon. Iâd love to see those as well.â
Maria brought these things up like it was a casual extension of the previous conversation, but Souma stiffened the moment he heard her. Hiryuu and Mechadra, eh? he thought.Those were weapons the Kingdom didnât want to fully open up about yet. Having used them as bombastically as he had, heâd been prepared for other countries to find out about them in time, but counted on the Empireâor Maria, ratherâto be on top of gathering intelligence.
Souma slumped his shoulders in resignation. â...Those are still secret. Theyâre our tiger cubs, you could say.â
âOh, you raise tigers, Sir Souma?â
âNo, Fuugaâs the one with a tiger. Itâs a figure of speech from the world I came from... It means a secret weapon.â
âA secret weapon, hm? Sounds exciting. It certainly has our navy feeling antsy, though.â
âAntsy... you say?â Souma asked, and Maria let out a faint laugh.
âYou used wyvern cavalry at sea, didnât you? Now, Iâm no expert on naval combat, but judging by how the navy is panicking, I have to assume itâs revolutionary. Theyâve been busily coming up with countermeasures like, âWe must load anti-air repeating bolt throwers on all our ships at once!ââ
Against a crazy weapon like an island-type carrier, that was likely the only thing they could do at the moment.
âThey would think that, huh...?â Souma replied, awkwardly scratching his cheek. âWell, if they do come up with countermeasures, weâll just counter their countermeasures.â
âIâm sure you will. I can believe the Kingdom wonât suddenly invade my country, but the people who serve me donât have that luxury. If working on countermeasures helps put them at ease, I think thatâs fine.â
âYes. I donât intend to use them to invade other countries, obviously, but I think our country needs to have its military equipment prepared so that we can respond to the predicted change in the situation up north.â
â...This is about Sir Fuuga Haan, right?â Maria stopped smiling and looked at Souma. He nodded.
âHeâs been increasing the territory under his control by steadily carving land off the Demon Lordâs Domain. He lets the refugees return, while also becoming their protector. More and more people have been praising him for his great accomplishments.â
âI am aware. I have a number of my retainers urging me to retake land from the Demon Lordâs Domain as well. They worry that Sir Fuugaâs actions will shake peopleâs impression of me as a saint, and that it would be terrible if that happened.â
â...I sense youâre not enthusiastic about this.â
âThe Empire is already too large for me to manage,â Maria said with a slight laugh at her own expense. âIt would only be more territory I couldnât oversee.â
âI understand the feeling, but... will that satisfy your retainers?â
Unlike in the Kingdom, where there were many talented personnel working to support the country, Mariaâs charisma was a major factor in how the Gran Chaos Empire controlled its vast domain. Her retainers must have been concerned that some of that charisma might fade. Thatâs why it wonât be easy to convince them... Souma thought.
Maria lowered her eyes and quietly replied, âIf I canât satisfy them, then it just means I was never that special.â
Souma didnât know what to say. Maybe it was the weight of what she carried on her shoulders, but Maria had an air of enlightenment about her that belied her age.
Then, as if to wipe all the doom and gloom away, Maria clapped her hands. âCome to think of it, I heard something about you forming a maritime alliance with the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago Union.â
â...You do hear a lot of things. I plan to bring it to the Republic, too.â
âOh, goodness, and youâre not going to offer it to my country?â Maria said mischievously, and Souma shrugged his shoulders.
âYouâre saying that knowing the Empire canât join, right? If we were to add the chief signatory of the Mankind Declaration to the maritime alliance, it would be thought of as a practical extension of the Declaration. In order to keep our strong ties a secret, we canât let the Empire join, yet.â
âNot yet... you say. I expected that, but itâs still unfortunate. If possible, I would have liked for you to become the leader of all the nations of mankind, Sir Souma.â
â...Please, donât push the Empireâs load off onto me.â Souma sighed, then looked at Maria with a serious expression. âThe maritime alliance was organized to be a different framework from the Mankind Declaration, which is primarily based on land. If we let them think of it as another faction in opposition to the Empire, then third nations wonât be as wary.â
âYes. I understand that.â
âBesides, even if weâre in different factions, I think the Kingdom and Empire can still work together when we need to, and wield considerable power.â
âThatâs true. I suppose itâs all the more reason I need to maintain the Mankind Declaration.â Maria nodded to herself.
âWhat is the scale of the Mankind Declaration at this point?â Souma asked her. âI know weâre partially at fault for this, but... I suspect you lost some members after we annexed the Principality of Amidonia. Has that affected your influence in any way?â
âHee hee, you donât need to be concerned. Itâs true that with the Principality of Amidoniaâs withdrawal, the Declarationâs membership was reduced to my country and its two vassals, Mercenary State Zem, and a number of countries in the Union of Eastern Nations,â Maria said without sounding concerned. âHowever, during the demon wave, you sent reinforcements to the Union of Eastern Nations âat the request of the Empire.â That was interpreted as the Kingdom of Friedonia recognizing the validity of the Mankind Declaration even if you wonât join it yourselves. Itâs helped guarantee my position as the leader of the alliance.â
â...I see. Iâm glad to have been of service, then.â
âYes, Iâm glad, too.â
Then we both laughed.
Once she was done, Maria said, âBut with two large camps having formed like this, itâs likely to confuse the countries that belong to neither of our factions. I donât expect it to affect the Spirit Kingdom of Garlan or the Nothung Dragon Knight Kingdom because of their closed-off nature, but thereâs the Lunarian Orthodox Papal State, the countries in the Union of Eastern Nations that arenât part of the Mankind Declaration, and...â
âAnd Malmkhitan, which is expanding its influence under Fuuga.â Souma finished her thought.
âYes. It will shake those countries.â
Which would they side with? Or would they side with neither? If they wanted to stay independent of both, they would need to build up the strength to make that possible. They would shake under the influence of many crossed intentions.
Souma let out a little sigh. âThat us remaining cautious of Fuugaâs actions and preparing ourselves might be what stimulates him to act... is awfully ironic.â
Maria silently nodded in agreement.
At the same time, in a dry region of the north...
On this day, the forces of Malmkhitan led by Fuuga had retaken a walled city. The city had prospered thanks to an oasis that sat in the center. The walls were a little on the low side, so they may have served less to protect against attackers and more to keep out sandstorms on windy days. Fuuga and his men had swept away the monsters infesting the city in no time. The battle to retake it had been less of a siege and more of an extermination of some monsters that wandered into the abandoned houses.
As Fuuga had predicted, it seemed the demons who had broken the combined power of mankind were only deep inside the Demon Lordâs Domain. His forces had already retaken a number of cities and villages of this scale before now. They would settle the refugees that wanted to remain in the towns and villages, then, after securing their supply lines to the Union of Eastern Nations, would head for the next settlement to repeat the process. This resulted in a rather relaxed march.
Though they had taken back land that was part of the Demon Lordâs Domain, they didnât so much control the territory as points inside it, connected by supply lines. These cities and villages were in no state to support themselves yet, and Fuuga and his men had to use some of their own numbers to guard the supply lines, so they were under the protection of Malmkhitan. The highly mobile temsbock cavalry were vital to supporting these supply lines. Because of all of this, you could see the recaptured cities and villages as being effectively under Fuugaâs control.
â...Whew.â
Fuuga was sitting on the edge of the walls of one such recaptured city, looking at the evening sky. By now, they would no doubt be preparing a feast near the oasis to celebrate retaking the city. Fuuga was the leading actor in the reconquest, but he found himself exhausted with constantly being surrounded by people lately. He didnât see his comrades as a nuisance, but sometimes he wanted a quiet place where he could relax on his own.
âIs this where youâve been, Lord Fuuga?â
â...Oh, itâs you, Mutsumi,â he replied to her.
âIt worries your followers when you wander off like this,â Mutsumi complained as she sat next to him, and Fuuga scratched his head.
âEven I want some time to myself.â
âOh, my. Should I have left you alone then?â
âYouâre different. Having you at my side helps me relax... Mind if I borrow your thigh?â
âGo ahead.â
Fuuga removed his helmet and lay down, resting his head on Mutsumiâs thigh.
âItâs pretty tough living up to other peopleâs expectations, huh?â
âBecause you always go beyond what anyone imagines, Lord Fuuga. It must be difficult, seeing how large their expectations grow.â
â...Could you talk normal when weâre alone?â
âOh, are you sure? I quite enjoy acting like a virtuous wife.â Mutsumi stroked Fuugaâs slightly spiky hair with a chuckle.
When his followers couldnât see them, Mutsumi spoke more casually with Fuuga. She was an important figure who he could just be himself with.
âYour followers respectfully refer to me as âMy Lady.â They bow when I pass, too. It makes me feel like Iâve become the queen of some great country.â
âThatâs bound to happen eventually.â
âYou sure are confident. Thatâs one of your strong points, though.â
âIâm more than just talk. Malmkhitan is growing bigger by the day.â Fuuga pulled a book from the bag sitting next to them. â...Well, itâs a bit upsetting that whatâs supporting Malmkhitanâs control is this book that Souma sent us. It makes me feel like I owe him.â
âThe Monster Encyclopedia, right?â
The book Fuuga was holding was co-authored by Mutsumiâs younger brother Ichiha Chima, and Prime Minister Hakuya of the Kingdom of Friedonia. Souma and Maria suspected that demons and monsters were different. Because of that, Souma had made the contents of this encyclopedia public, and was working to spread it so that countries neighboring the Demon Lordâs Domain wouldnât conflate the two when they made contact with them. In particular, heâd sent a copy to the Gran Chaos Empire, Malmkhitan, and the Kingdom of Lastania where Julius was.
Fuuga grunted as he flipped through the Monster Encyclopedia. âIt sure is well put together, though. With this book, we donât have to just rely on supply lines to the cities weâve retaken; weâre also able to collect edible meat and usable components from the monsters we kill.â
Because this was the Demon Lordâs Domain, it was swarming with monsters that needed to be hunted to protect the supply lines. Thanks to being able to obtain food and components, merchants who wanted monster components sent adventurers along the supply lines, and it was providing a precious source of resources and funding to restore the recaptured cities to their former lifestyles. Basically, it was no exaggeration to say that Fuugaâs territory was being supported by the encyclopedia.
âI was surprised to hear this thing was written by that little brother of yours who Souma took back with him.â
âMe, too. I thought he saw things differently from other people, but not even I, his sister, suspected he had a gift like this. Hee hee, Father must be beside himself with frustration right about now.â
Souma had made the Monster Encyclopedia public to accomplish a larger goal, but he could have made a fortune selling the information it contained piecemeal. In other words, Ichiha, who many had assumed was the only one of the siblings with no talent, had in fact been a golden goose. Duke Chima would be mortified to know heâd let it get awayâeven if heâd never have discovered the boyâs gift himself.
âEven once he graduates, I doubt Ichiha will return to the Duchy of Chima. Iâm sure heâll be happier that way, too.â
When she said that, Fuuga roared with laughter.
âIâll give the kid a warm welcome if he comes to us. Though, if heâs with someone whoâll publish this information instead of hiding it, then thatâs good enough. But still... Soumaâs eye for people is scary.â Fuugaâs smile vanished and his expression grew serious. âItâs like he sees things I canât.â
âThatâs true. As a sister, Iâm grateful to him for accurately assessing Ichihaâs value.â
âHey now, youâre my wife, okay?â
âYes, but Iâm also Ichihaâs sister.â
âSigh... Yeah, I just get the feeling me and Souma arenât gonna get along.â
In the same way that Souma was wary of Fuuga, Fuuga was cautious of something he found inscrutable about Souma.
â...Just the other day, I got a report from Yuriga on what Soumaâs been up to.â
âAnd what has he been doing?â
âApparently, he sent a fleet to the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago,â Fuuga replied.
Mutsumi blinked. âYou mean the Kingdom went to war with the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago?â
âNah, thatâs not it. It sounds like the reason he sent the fleet was so they could cooperate with the Archipelago Union to slay some massive monster. She says it was the size of a mountain.â
â...To slay a monster? It wasnât a war, then.â
âYeah. The Kingdom didnât seize so much as a single island. You think a guy like himâd work for free like that? Then there was that âisland-like shipâ and âmechanical dragonâ in Yurigaâs report, too. She didnât see the mechanical dragon herself, but there were rumors. Honestly... I donât get any of this.â
Fuuga let out a big yawn.
âMalmkhitan is a steppe country. Iâd never seen the sea until just recently. I thought that was fine. My goal was to make Malmkhitan strong enough to become the dominant power on this continent, thatâs why I didnât take an interest in the world beyond, but... if Souma is actively going out to sea, that got my attention. Well, not that it makes a difference. We donât know anything about the sea. Iâm not interested, either.â
As Souma had hoped, Fuuga didnât place much importance on naval activity. He might think it was suspicious that Souma was striking out to sea, but the countries of the continent were connected by land, so he figured a superior army would let him dominate the continent.
Fuuga reached towards the sky, forming his hand into a fist, and said, âI believe the ones who can run around this land the best will rule this era. Thatâs why Iâll use all my strength to run as far as I can.â
âYes. Thatâs why everyone follows you. Myself included, of course.â
âDamn straight! ...But, well, let me rest a bit for now, would you?â
And so, with his head resting on Mutsumiâs thigh, Fuuga closed his eyes.