Chapter 20 (1/2)
“Leave.”
With the man’s one word, the servant who had brought the alcohol immediately bowed, and disappeared.
The lights were all off.
He found the dim light of the moon just right for him.
Rotus flowers floated in the pond before him.
The pond itself was shockingly big.
As the man gazed upon the moon on the water surface, he brought the drink to his lips. And the corners of his mouth curved naturally into a smile.
Visiting this place always gave him a sense of reality about the size of what he had obtained.
His birthplace had been an impoverished village.
The crops wouldn’t grow well either, and the men of the village earned money by accompanying travelling merchant groups on particularly dangerous journeys.
Although the dangers of his job had brought him close to death, the man remained poor. Always――
But how about now.
A completely extravagant lifestyle.
When he thought of the ridiculousness of his being brought here and made King, he found his laughter impossible to restrain.
――But there was still a long way to go. He would make even larger things his.
The man was very clear about what he was going to do, as well as what he wanted to achieve.
The only concern he had was the naked, or very close to naked woman who occasionally appeared.
She certainly had a mysterious power. She had that container overflowing with water, and she could appear in various places.
But that seemed to be all.
She had mysterious powers, but the woman herself was just a regular woman. That was how he saw her.
Having saved his life, and led him to I’Jibro, that woman had gotten in his way three times.
Considering her support for Prince Hinoki of I’Jibro, as well as the Ottko Yu boy, he immediately knew that she was weak to children.
Not only that, from the fact that she couldn’t save the Prince herself and the fact that she even sought help, it was clear that she was far from omnipotent.
――As he recalled, he wrote something about crus.h.i.+ng the kid’s finger each time she interfered, or perhaps something about cutting off his nose and ears…
Either way, it was things that only sc.u.m would say.
If she was a boring woman as expected, then she would probably stop meddling out of fear for Prince Hinoki.
When he imagined the face she would make when she saw the letter, his face betrayed another smile.
Feeling quite happy, he swirled his drink.
He liked his drinks strong enough that they felt like they burnt his throat.
After his first cup, he regretted sending the servant away.
Whenever he told his servants to clear out, he would always have them at a distance where his voice wouldn’t reach.
――Can’t be helped. Should I go to the kitchen, and threaten a cook?
The man stood up. And the moment he did, a white light shone above the pond.
“Here’s your order! The ultimate delicacy that goes with distilled wines, fruit wines, sweet rice wines, nigori wine, anything! Cured mullet roe cheese!”
Pitch black hair that ran down white shoulders. The woman appeared half-naked again, rambling energetically no sooner than she had arrived.
“h.e.l.l yeah! Got the right guy! It’s been a while!”
The man looked on in dumb amazement as the woman pumped a fist in joy.
――Why…
The man couldn’t believe that his a.s.sessment was off. He was proud to say that he was better at reading people than anybody else.
“Oh? What’s wrong? Ah, I know. Here, take these.”
The woman tilted her head in confusion for a while, before apparently remembering to pa.s.s over the dish in her hand.
“You wanted some snacks to go with your drink, right?”
“…Yeah.”
Only after he accepted it had he come back to his senses.
“What do you plan to ask of me this time?”
The first time he had just given her the earrings.
What on earth did she plan on asking this time…?
The man studied her carefully.
Her face showed no signs of terror nor fright. The man felt immense regret. He had no choice but to accept that he had completely misread her. She was not so fragile nor merciful that she would back down because of threats to that prince.
It was impossible to tell if she knew what he was thinking, but she smiled as though she had waited for that exact question.
“It’s simple. First, release Prince Hinoki. Second, stop your troops in Triht.”
He snorted.
“What part of that is simple.”
“It’s terribly simple. I can’t understand what part isn’t.”
Anger surged up at her carefree response.
“Then let’s say I release him. Are you telling me to send him to I’Jibro? Even if he’s a child, I can’t imagine a person who had his country stolen from him twice is fit to rule. He’s just going to get locked up somewhere again.”
It was impossible to let go of I’Jibro now. Doing so now would be the same as withholding reward from his soldiers. The man’s strong point was the army in his grasp. If he neglected his soldiers, then his footing would become shaky in no time.
But the woman flapped her hand dismissively.
“I’m not telling you to send him to I’Jibro, nor did I say to make him king.”
“What?”
“I’ve actually met him already. As long as you accept one condition, he’ll hand I’Jibro over to you.”
The man raised an eyebrow.
“What condition?”
“The guarantee of the position and a.s.sets of the I’Jibro commoners. If you seize a.s.sets from the n.o.bles, you’ll have enough to offset the funds out used to take over I’Jibro, won’t you?”
Although it had fallen under his rule, I’Jibro was a bountiful nation, unlike Yohk’Zai which was nothing but sand. The fortunes of the I’Jibro n.o.bles were ma.s.sive. Just as the woman said, these funds would be more than enough.
Perhaps she guessed his thoughts, because the woman looked down and spoke.
“To Prince Hinoki, who should have been locked in that tower for life, do you know what his greatest treasure is?”
“Can’t say I do.”
“A map, he said. A world map. He would always stare at it and think to himself that if by some miracle he ever left that tower, he would travel the entire world. He has no interest in the throne. Instead, he despises it. Is it really that strange once you think about it? Because of that throne, he was locked up for a second time.”
The man sighed.
There were no demerits to following her idea, but he didn’t want to do as she told him to.
“Then what about Triht? That country is apparently frozen now. Wouldn’t their citizens be happier under our rule? At the very least, they would be able to live without starving. I’ll say this first, but I’m not giving them fire stones. That lot from Triht first asked us for aid, then the next time they began speaking nonsense about sending them fire stones. Those fire stones might not be worth much in Yohk’Zai, but they need to be handled carefully. Are you telling me to have them carried up those d.a.m.ned mountains for free?”
“It’s fine. I can’t say that they’ll give as much gold and silver as you want, but Triht can be of use to Yohk’Zai.”
The man furrowed his brows.
“It’s impossible for them to have anything like that.”
It was because they didn’t that they declared war with Yohk’Zai.
“Triht has exceptional blacksmithing. The Triht swords are currently very popular in Jebas. As you know, Jebas is a bountiful country that people often call a paradise. In fact, even their culture is a few steps ahead of other nations. And yet Jebas still can’t create a sword as sharp as Triht’s, and are trying to buy as many of them as they can.”
The man recalled the face of the young Triht king, who was the very model of honesty.
“That Setsugen is terrible at negotiations. If he had something like that, he should have mentioned it sooner. I’ll buy those swords. No need to deal with Jebas.”
The woman laughed.
“You must be joking. Who on earth would give fangs and claws to the very beast trying to hunt them down?”
“So you want to say that Jebas is safe, then? It’s because they’re so plentiful that they might be aiming for hegemony.”
“No need to worry. Jebas is a religious nation. Invading another country goes against the first of their 47 precepts. Even a king wouldn’t be forgiven if they violated this. Jebas is a sleeping dragon. And that dragon is holding Triht’s sword. You have no chance of winning.”
The man ground his teeth as he glared at her. She smiled triumphantly in return.
“Well? You don’t have any reason to confine Prince Hinoki or attack Triht anymore, do you?”
“Aye. Exactly as you say.”
When he spat that out, the woman’s eyes looked at him hopefully.
“Then-”
But he thrust the plate of snacks right in front of those eyes.
“But I think I’ll refuse. I do regret having to give these back to you though.”
His desires were not limited to just I’Jibro or Jebas. With those two nations in his hand, he could destroy even larger nations.
――It was no big deal. All he had to do was destroy Triht before they could complete the swords. He had the initiative.
The woman sighed sadly.
“Don’t misunderstand. I didn’t come here to ask you a favour.”
She stared right at him.
“I came here to threaten you. You have no choice except to obey. Isn’t that right――Karasu?”
“Karasu? Who is that supposed to be…?”
When he heard that name, his vision went blurry, and he only remained standing by force of will.