The Two Princess

I used the workshop to make a few copies of the Frame Gear training device,

and made sure to have the others train with it in their free time.

I made eight of them in total, lining them up along a far wall in my game

room. The setup was a little bit reminiscent of an arcade. Though it was a little

more serious than a mere game.

I was surprised to find that the ones who took to it best were Yumina and

Linze. But it made sense, given that they were the most adept at magic. But, as

far as adapting to the movement went, Yae and Elze were the fastest to actually

develop and improve.

I cast [Program] on the Frame Units to make them project their displays on

the outside as the person on the inside piloted. Rosetta made use of that

further and developed the program to the point where it consolidated multiple

image feeds from the various units and created a much clearer image of the

battlefield. We could then watch as a third party to see the failings and

successes of the individual pilots. I briefly considered that it'd probably be

effective to imbue a Frame Gear with a program that allowed it to fight

autonomously.

But the amount of programming I'd have to do would be obscene, not to

mention the amount of magical power that would have to go into it. Plus, it

took two hundred years for Leen to program Paula to a standard level of

response. I was sure it would take even longer to create a combat drone. I

certainly didn't have that much time on my hands.

"Aagh, I losssst!" One of the units to the right of me popped open, and out

jumped a wolf beastwoman. Specifically, Vice-Commander Norn. From another

unit came a fox beastman, Vice-Commander Nikola.

"Come, Norn. You must remember that a Frame Gear is not your own body. It

has different proportions. Even if you feel as though you might have dodged, it

could still be a hit."

"Guh... Hey, you calling me fat?" Norn had received a fatal strike from Nikola's

halberd on the Frame Gear's flank. She'd likely tried to dodge just by a hair's

breadth, but her own physique was different to that of the unit's, causing a

critical mistake.

The game room was opened for any members of the knight order that were

done with their daily training. I decided it would be fine, since they needed to

have relaxation time now and then. And a happy knight is a hard-working

knight. In a sense you could consider it a perk of working for me, too.

The simulators had become another attraction. The knights saw a toy they'd

never played with before, and thus had to have it. They were regularly

competing against each other to try and score the highest.

But, even though they used the training tools, I didn't tell them about the

Frame Gears themselves. For now it was fine for everyone to treat it as a game.

They'd likely be concerned if they knew they were being trained for such a

monstrously powerful weapon. I didn't mind secretly grooming them that way.

If anything it was preferable for them to play the simulation as a game, since it

would mean they'd be proficient when the time came for them to put their lives

on the line in a real Frame Gear.

As I was mulling over such ideas, Commander Lain strolled into the game

room. She had slowly adapted and gotten used to her position as commander.

"Ah, Lainy-wainy! Let's fight, 'kay?!"

"Norn. You are to address the commander as commander." Norn gave a big

over-exaggerated wave to Lain. I was somewhat amused to see Nikola interject

with his usual deadpan expression.

Lain gave a small smile to the two, then walked over to me.

"My liege. Tradesman Olba has stopped by and requests your audience."

"Oh? Neat." Wonder if he brought me the metals I asked for... Hope so, massproducing the Frame Gears is gonna be a pain. I can only create one per day,

and that's at a constant pace. It'll take me a whole three months just to produce

enough for the Duchy's knights, so I'd like to get on that really fast.

I headed off to meet with Olba. He immediately attempted to rise to his feet,

but I waved him off and sat down on a couch opposite him.

"I've brought the metals, as per our arrangement. The receipt is right here, all

should be in order! For now, I've five carts of the stuff, but I'll continue to

supply you as I find more." Olba passed me the paper and I gave it a brief look

over. There was a considerable amount of steel, copper and silver, but a slightly

lower amount of gold, mithril, orichalcum, and hihi'irokane. I was quite pleased,

to say the least.

"You've really brought this much? I'm impressed."

"Only the best for my most financially bountiful client. Every last nation I have

peddled your wares in has eaten them up like good, vapid little consumers. To

show my appreciation for your most wonderful mind, I have put my top men in

charge of acquiring the goods you seek." Wow, the kitschy junk I pitched sold

that well? Merchants sure are formidable, huh... I guess I've lit a fuse that I can't

put out.

"I did run into a small issue of competitors producing similar goods to ours

and selling them at lower prices... But our goods were produced first, and we

have the proper branding. Thus, we win." Guess that makes sense... Hula hoops

and spinning tops can be imitated pretty easily, but the guy who introduces it to

the marketplace in the first place probably stands to gain the most.

"I must say, this is an exceptional amount of metal. Might I ask your intent?

Are you going to build a great iron fortress?"

"Mm... I'll keep that a secret for the time being. Ah, right. Zanac, the clothing

merchant, wants to have a little talk with you about baseball clothing. He said

he had an idea about baseball uniforms, baseball caps, and miscellaneous

baseball merchandise being produced and sold on a large scale."

"Ohoho. How very interesting. Baseball merchandise is indeed a hot topic

right now." Olba went off to meet Zanac on business, while I headed to the

training field to pick up my metal shipment.

The trading representative was waiting off in a corner of the field, so as to not

disturb the practicing knights. I walked over and signed his receipt, and then

moved all the metal from the carts to the workshop.

I'd already moved the Mass Production Model Frame Gear to the workshop,

so all Rosetta needed to do now was start the process off.

Incidentally, Mass Production Model Frame Gear was a bit of a mouthful, so I

asked Rosetta if they had an official designation.

"Yessir! This model is FG-09, sir!" she replied.

Not a very catchy name, but I guess since it was discontinued they never had

to put too much thought into it... I guess I can think of a better name for it now,

though!

Hmm... how about Grey? It's colored that way, after all... but maybe that'd be

more appropriate a term for an alien creature than a mech...

Ah! How about Chevalier? It sounds cool, and it means Knight, so I'll go with

that.

With that settled, I left the mass production to Rosetta, and the fuel creation

to Flora.

I exchanged a few parting words with Olba, and was getting ready to relax.

But of course, it wasn't that simple. I heard the rushing pitter-patter of

medium-sized feet behind me.

"Touuuuyyyaaaaaa!!"

"Ughaah!!" I turned to the source of the voice, only to find myself the victim

of a violent tackle. Ow, damn it! My mystery assailant knocked me over,

straddled me, and grabbed me harshly by the collar. It was none other than

Sue. That was confusing in itself, because I had no idea what she was doing in

my country. The young heiress to the Ortlinde family stared right at me with

raw ferocity in her eyes.

"Touya! You will take me as your bride, understand? We will marry!"

"Huhwhat?!" I was absolutely dumbfounded by what she had yelled. I

thought she was joking at first, but her expression conveyed only absolute

sincerity. She looked even more determined than Yumina usually did. Then

again, Sue had traveled far and wide to cure her mother's eyesight, so I

shouldn't have been that shocked.

"Touya, you're attracted to little girls, right? That's what Cesca told me! It

should be fine, as I'm the littlest girl you know!"

"Wh—?! Don't listen to that goddamn maid, she's out of her mind!!" L-Look, I

know every one of my fiancees happens to be young, but... there's only one year

of difference between Yae and myself, then a two-year difference between

myself and the twins, and the age difference between myself and the princesses

is four years! That's not awful, right?!

"My lady, please do not act so rashly. His Highness the Grand Duke seems

perplexed." Leim suddenly appeared from the shadows and took Sue aside.

When the hell did he get here?! No, calm down... Obviously she wouldn't have

come all the way from Belfast alone.

"Sorry, but can someone please explain what this is all about?"

"The thing is, recently the young miss received a marriage proposal."

"I don't wish to marry anyone but Touya! I'm turning that other guy down!"

Engagement, huh? Well that came out of the blue. Oh, but then again,

considering Sue's social standing, I guess it makes sense? Sue's eleven if I

remember right, and I recall the king saying something about royalty generally

deciding on their engagement partners by the age of fifteen. Plus, well, Yumina

got engaged to me at twelve, so...

"I see. So who did the proposal come from?"

"The Kingdom of Lihnea's First Prince, Zabune." Lihnea? If I remember right,

that's north of Refreese... In other words, across the ocean.

It was on an island called Palnea, which was split into two kingdoms, Lihnea

being the southern kingdom of the island. Supposedly they were always getting

into small military conflicts with the northern kingdom of the island, Palouf. If I

remembered right, Lihnea had trade agreements not only with Refreese, but

with Belfast and Regulus as well.

"I think it might at least be worth hearing out their side of the story. Who

knows, he might be a great guy."

"Would a great person propose to someone they've never met!? I refuse to

marry the kind of man who would dare such a thing!"

"How did Duke Ortlinde respond?"

"He has not yet given an answer. Considering the relations between our two

countries from a purely political standpoint, it would not be a bad thing for

either of our sides." That made sense, considering this proposal was coming

from a prince and all. If Sue and that Prince got married, it certainly would

improve political relations between the two countries. But that alone would

basically just be a political marriage born only out of convenience.

"Putting that aside, I'm amazed you brought Sue all this way just to tell me

that. Does the duke know about this?"

"He does... in a way. Yes, in a way at least... The young miss stormed off so

abruptly that I was forced to leave behind a letter explaining the

circumstances... And truth be told, I, personally, am against this proposal."

"You're against it? How come?" If this guy was the first prince, that meant he

was gonna be king someday, right? If Sue married that guy, then that would

make her the future queen of that kingdom, directly linking the duke's family

into the other side's royal bloodline. I couldn't really see any negatives thus far.

"Prince Zabune's reputation is not a particularly good one. Especially when it

comes to women. According to the information of Belfast's secret intelligence

unit, Espion, Prince Zabune has had his way with many nobles' daughters and

various castle maids. It is due to such rumors of him that he has not yet

succeeded the throne despite being older than thirty already."

"Whoa whoa whoa, hold the phone! This guy's over thirty!? And he's

proposing to an eleven-year-old girl!?" Is this seriously okay? That's pretty much

a whole twenty year age gap! I mean, sure, even back in my world you

sometimes saw variety programs with stuff like "Age Differences! Would you

believe it, his wife is thirty years younger than him," but that was always about

stuff like a fifty-year-old guy married to a twenty-year-old woman.

But this is a thirty-year-old guy proposing to an eleven-year-old girl! Is even

that normal in this world!? "Is this like, y'know, that kinda thing? Where they'd

just be engaged for now, and then the actual marriage would take place once

she's grown up?"

"I am afraid not. The prince wishes to get married the moment he receives an

answer to his proposal. From what he has said, he met the young miss at a

party held in Refreese between our friendly countries, and that he fell in love at

first sight."

"I refuse to marry him, and that's that!" Geez. Not like I'm in any position to

talk, but... Is this guy a pedo prince or something? No, wait, according to the

rumors he'd been raping other women, so I guess he's not a pedo. He's just a

piece of shit. With a reputation like that, how can I even begin to trust him?

"Touya, please! Take me! You don't even have to treat me the same as

Yumina. Just keep me by your side. Please, Touya?" Sue wrapped her arms

around me as tightly as she could and, unable to bring myself to push her away,

I just stood there with her. From all that I'd heard, I didn't think this marriage

would make Sue very happy at all. However, considering that this involved

Belfast politically, it wasn't something I could take care of just like that.

"...I suppose I should go discuss this with everyone." "Everyone" being the

duke, the king, and my wives-to-be.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Well, why not? It's been a long time coming."

"I fail to see any problems that need discussing."

"You know, I always had a feeling things were going to end up this way

anyway, I did."

"I'm happy that we'll be gaining a new companion!"

"You see, Touya? It turned out just like I told you it would, didn't it?" You

what? Why is every single one of you reacting like that!? I tried to consult with

Yumina and the others about the Sue situation, and they all simply nodded and

agreed.

"E-Er well, we can come back to this later..." I couldn't just accept it like that,

but that was beside the point. That wasn't the issue to begin with.

"The issue is figuring out how to politely decline Prince Zabune's proposal."

"Wouldn't it just be fine to say she's moving to Brunhild as a bride of the

grand duke?"

"That would cause repercussions for the Kingdom of Belfast. Prince Zabune is

a persistent man who holds petty grudges. In the worst case scenario, he could

end trade with Belfast once he ascends to the throne. That would be a crippling

hit to our economy." Leim frowned as he spoke. I didn't really think the prince

would be that petty, though.

Still, what an awful state of affairs to get mixed up in... I was definitely against

Sue getting married to a villain like him. But I wasn't entirely sure what we

could pull out of our sleeves.

Maybe it would be better if the other party changed their mind about taking

Sue as a bride.

"The problem is the rejection itself. Still, this is a state affair. Is it really okay to

be listening to our suggestions?" Hrmph, what to do... I crossed my arms and let

out a deep sigh, when Cesca suddenly raised her hand.

"The most logical course of action would be to kill him and be done with it."

"Are you insane?!" You dumbass robo-maid, don't go running your mouth!

That being said, she had a point. It would certainly solve a lot of our immediate

problems... it'd just cause more in the long run!

"I would be more than happy to squeeze the life out of a pathetic, thirty-yearold idiot prince. A miserable little piece of pedophile vermin who toys with

women to mask his own insecurities... he'll bring no wisdom with age, only

suffering. It is best to snuff him out before his flame spreads."

"...E-Easy there, Cesca... How were you planning on killing him, anyway?"

Cesca's scornful words took me aback for a moment, and then the other

gynoids chimed in with their own contributions.

"I'll ready the sniper rounds, sir!"

"Potassium cyanide would end him quickly and painfully, you see?"

"Uhm, I would like, totally... put an end to the damnable fool with my pipe

wrench." Shooting, poisoning, and good old-fashioned bashing? Y-You lot scare

me sometimes...

I decided to ignore those dummies and get back to the point.

"We should visit Duke Ortlinde's estate first. I'll explain to him how Sue feels

and come up with something. There might be something we can do still."

"...Okay." Sue nodded quietly. With that decided, I saw no reason to delay. I

opened up a [Gate] to the Ortlinde estate in Belfast.

"This problem is causing me a great deal of stress as well, I assure you." Duke

Ortlinde let out a deep sigh as he sank back into his couch. It was only him and

myself in the room. Despite my status as grand duke, we skipped pleasantries.

Though that was probably a faux pas at this point, I didn't care.

"Sue's happiness is paramount to me. Therefore this engagement, if you'll

pardon my expression, can bugger right off! There is surely a limit to that brat's

audacity! Why, if the prince were in this room with me right now I'd punch him

in the teeth!" I didn't think he would literally punch the prince in the teeth,

since that would cause an international incident, but I was getting concerned

that Duke Ortlinde's fatherly fury was welling up to unprecedented levels. In all

honesty, I'd probably punch the prince as well.

"From a purely political standpoint, it's obviously a good deal. If anything,

Belfast stands to gain more from the deal than Lihnea would. Noble

engagements are often political, that's simply how it works. From a perspective

like that, my Sue getting married to him is actually better than usual."

"Yumina being engaged to me isn't public knowledge yet, right? I'm surprised

the proposal came to Sue and not her."

"Yumina currently has direct succession rights to the throne. Other countries

would naturally assume she won't be up for grabs to a foreigner. Though, we

both know she really should be married already." Makes sense. The current

order of succession for the Belfast throne was Yumina, then Duke Ortlinde, then

Sue. But if Queen Yuel's baby is a boy, then Yumina would become second in

line. If it's a girl, the baby would become second in line.

If other countries wanted to make a political marriage with Yumina, they

would need to wait until the baby was born. If the baby was male, they'd be

free to send proposals to Yumina, as she'd no longer be bound to the throne.

That was how the story went, but it still sounded bad to me...

"Oh yeah, he said he fell in love with Sue at a party in Refreese or

something..."

"Bah. What was she doing at a party anyway?!" Duke Ortlinde frowned,

seemingly unable to direct his anger properly. I could understand his feelings.

As a father, he could only be haunted by the prospect of a man in his thirties

trying to make a move on his little girl.

"Despite his age, if he was well-liked by the people I may have had room for

consideration. But the more I investigated, the more I realized that this boy is

no good. He will not be able to make my Sue happy." I noted that Duke Ortlinde

called him a boy, even though he was over thirty. Guess that showed what he

thought of him.

From what I'd heard, the prince was an indulgent animal. He freely toyed with

maids and noble girls that caught his eye, and sent any knights that disobeyed

him to remote, dangerous regions with half-assed excuses. He also lived as he

liked in a complete lap of luxury, refused to pay his taxes, and demanded tithes

from merchants. If a merchant refused to pay up, he would make it his mission

to crush their business. And apparently his lechery was so debased that he'd

routinely go around snatching up married women, playing with them until they

broke, and then do nothing as their husbands committed suicide. But whether

or not the suicide was assisted was up for debate...

"Why hasn't a prince like that been disowned?"

"Wardack, Prime Minister of Lihnea, is the authoritarian leader. He basically

manages all of their state affairs and holds all the real power. The rumors say

that the king is just a figurehead at this point." Wardack? Even the name sounds

evil.

"Wardack is the cousin of Zabune's mother, Queen Dacia. He does whatever

he likes using that as his defense. Queen Dacia, in turn, gives Prince Zabune

anything he likes. It's surely this kind of coddling that created the animal he is."

Hmph... It's never good when all the power is held by one person. Sounds to me

like the king can't stand up to the queen, either... I better make sure that doesn't

happen to me!

"What do you think should be done about the engagement, then?"

"...What do you think we should do?" My question was shot right back at me.

Naturally, I was against it. I didn't want Sue to marry a monstrous creep.

"...I could kill him?"

"...Despite the fact that you're joking, I wouldn't be opposed."

"Haha... yeah..." Still, it was just a joke. That Cesca must've been rubbing off

on me.

That being said, it only sounded like bad news for Lihnea if that idiot prince

became king. Oh, but it probably didn't matter who succeeded the throne given

that they were just a puppet leader for Wardack. Having that moron in control

would just make it easier to control things.

"We could avoid this situation if you take Sue as your bride, Touya, but..."

"But what?"

"The idiotic prince would surely direct all his wrath in Brunhild's direction."

"Damn it." There'd been no formal contact between the Kingdom of Lihnea

and my Duchy of Brunhild, so I doubted there'd be much damage, but... I didn't

really want our first interaction to be tainted by his unbridled anger.

"No good?"

"It's not like it's no good, it's just... I see Sue as more of a cute little sister at

the moment... I'm also engaged to five other women!"

"Heh, at the moment, you say? Then there's a chance. Still, there's really no

reason why a monarch can't have multiple wives, just so long as he has the

means to support and love them all. Even the beastking of Mismede and the

emperor of Refreese have concubines. In fact, the burning king of Sandora has

twenty-six or so wives, I believe." Seriously?! That's a full-on harem! Then

again, I guess even the Tokugawa Shogunate had a bunch of concubines in the

inner palace, huh.

"In fact, you may find yourself with a succession crisis if you don't have more

brides or mistresses..." Hmph... I mean, I guess, but... I feel like a succession

crisis would be even worse if there were too many heirs.

"What to do... to stop this... hm..." Duke Ortlinde went quiet for a while, and

began to ponder seriously.

"This would involve dabbling in the affairs of a foreign land but... we could

place the second prince on the throne instead of that fool."

"A second prince? You mean there's more than one?"

"Yes, the child of a concubine. He lives in a shack near the palace, detached

from the luxuries of that life. He's said to be a wonderful young man, but one

with deep-rooted shame. Still, even a regular man would be better than the

idiot in line right now." A different mother? That means he isn't blood-related to

Minister Wardack.

He was probably lucky to be alive. Given his nature as the second prince,

there'd likely be a camp that wanted him crowned instead of his older brother.

From that perspective, he'd probably be considered a pest by Zabune, so I was

surprised he hadn't had him executed or something.

"There were some noble families who suggested having the younger prince

succeed, but Prime Minister Wardack silenced them. The second prince's

mother is also deathly ill and kept isolated from the world. He has nobody

supporting him, so they can treat him however they want. They're letting him

live in squalor until he dies, or something to that effect."

That's horrible.

From what I was told by Duke Ortlinde, he was twenty-two years old but not

yet married. Apparently the stupid prince wasn't the only one in the family to

live a long while without getting married, at least by this world's standards.

"So in order to have the second prince crowned, the first needs to be

disowned, yeah?"

"Yes, that's correct." This is a sticky situation. It'd be considered high

conspiracy to meddle in the state affairs of another country like this... Plus, I'm a

grand duke. I lead my own country! It'd be really bad if I got caught up in this!

It was true that I had to consider my own political affairs. If I was exposed

planning such a thing, it could spell disaster for my diplomatic relations with

other countries...

My mind was already made up: either way, I wouldn't give up on Sue.

"What did His Majesty say?"

"He said to reject it immediately. He said we don't need Lihnea's charity if Sue

was the cost." The duke spoke proudly of his brother with a faint smile on his

face. His Majesty the King of Belfast was truly an amazing specimen. I was glad

to hear he agreed. Plus, it wasn't like we knew for certain that the rejection

would ruin trade between the two countries. And even if it did, it wouldn't be

until that moron prince got put on the throne.

The trade with Belfast was surely benefiting them as well, so I had a feeling

that Prime Minister Wardack wouldn't put an end to it. If he wasn't an idiot, at

least.

"Then we're rejecting it?"

"Yes. I shall be doing so. I'm sure some of the other nobles will chatter about

it, but they can only talk after it's their daughters being hounded." Exactly. At

least Sue will be able to rest easily now. As I was pondering, a knock came at the

door and Leim wandered in.

"Sir. The Lihnea Kingdom's messenger has arrived."

"Oh? He sent a messenger? He must've gotten impatient, good timing! Send

him right in."

"Very well." I tried to leave the room, but Duke Ortlinde grabbed me by the

shoulder.

After a while, a young man who looked to be around twenty years old came

through. He bowed his body in a still, formal manner, allowing his tied-up

chestnut hair to shake a little.

"Most esteemed Duke Ortlinde. Pardon my rudeness and my intrusion, I have

been sent to receive your response to the prince's proposal."

"Worry not, you haven't intruded. Please, take a seat." The two of them

settled on comfy seats facing one another, just a little bit away from me. Duke

Ortlinde was to my right, and the messenger was to my left. I almost felt like a

referee at the start of a soccer game.

The messenger from Lihnea glanced to me, and was about to open his mouth,

but then Duke Ortlinde started to talk.

"While we appreciate the proposal, I am afraid we must reject it at this time."

"...If you don't mind, could I ask why?" Hm? Did he just smile? It looked like a

wry smile too, not a sneer... Guess he was expecting this.

"Indeed, it has been decided that my daughter will be marrying another

man." Wait... no, hey, don't do that! That's... no!

"...And to whom will she be betrothed?"

"To the gentleman in the room with us. This is Mochizuki Touya, His Highness

the Grand Duke of Brunhild." You sneaky bastard! You went and used me like

that?! If I speak out against it now the messenger will think you're lying! I've

been played like a damn fiddle! "Th-This man is the ruler of the Duchy of

Brunhild?!" The young messenger's eyes widened in shock. He immediately

shot up and began prostrating himself on the floor. Ah, wait... stop. That's not

necessary! Stop bowing, stop bowing!

"I-I never thought I'd be able to meet you here of all places... thank God... oh,

thank God!!" Wait... uh, huh? Isn't that a little much? Calm down a little, guy!

"I've heard tales told of you, Milord! Tales of wonder and awe! Pardon my

selfishness, but please let me ask... can you use transportation magic? Is it

true?"

"Huh? Uh, yeah. That's true..."

"A-Ah... P-Please, please save my mother!"

Wait? Sorry, slow down. Too many plot threads at once here. What mother?

When did he learn I can teleport?! I guess he could've heard about it because of

the coup, or maybe when I was purchasing stuff in bulk... or maybe when I... was

kind of just using it as a daily convenience... I guess I haven't really been hiding it

at all, huh.

"Sorry, can you start from the beginning? What's going on exactly?"

"M-My name is Cloud Zeph Lihnea. I am the second prince of the Kingdom of

Lihnea."

Duke Ortlinde and I stared, slack-jawed. Our gasps overlapped. The second

prince? Here? The illegitimate heir who was treated like garbage? Why was he

here as the messenger? Was that part of his family's cruelty?

"If you're the second prince, that means you're here because your mother's

ill... You want me to cure her disease?"

"My mother has no disease. In truth, she's been locked away. She's in the

clutches of that filthy cur, Minister Wardack!" Cloud, the second prince, raised

his head. His eyes were burning with rage.

Of course. Of course this was going to happen.

◇ ◇ ◇

Second Prince Cloud Zeph Lihnea of the Lihnea Kingdom lived a solitary life.

From the moment he was born, he was taken from his parents and made to

live in a small home away from the castle. By the time he even found out he

was a prince, his brother had already drilled his own worthlessness into him.

Depending on how Prince Zabune felt, days could consist of things like insults,

or things like kickings and beatings.

Insulting was fine, of course. The young prince could take that, but he could

not stand to hear his mother slandered. The guardsmen and other young sons

of noble families would not help him either. In fact, they would hold him down

as his elder brother kicked him in the ribs and face.

Even if Prince Cloud's mother could be considered nobility, she was originally

the daughter of a mercantile family. It was only by chance that she was adopted

into blue blood. A baron and his wife could not have children, and they adopted

the girl as their own, granting her the status in the process. It was because of

this that Prince Zabune was taught by his own mother to despise his younger

brother on principle.

"Frankly, I've always wanted to leave the country because of my brother. But I

couldn't leave my mother behind, and they knew it. She was falsely diagnosed

and locked away. My mother is isolated now, kept hidden from the world. They

said she was contagious, and not to approach." They effectively took his mother

hostage, leaving the young prince at his brother's mercy, with no way out. By

the time he'd noticed his mother's status as a prisoner, it was impossible to

even visit her anymore.

"She's still alive, right?"

"She is. There's a girl that takes care of my mother, or at least she did. This girl

is also a subordinate of a nobleman that takes care of me, so I know about her

safety thanks to that." Why would they do something like this? Is the older

brother just jealous of the younger one, or something?

"My brother preys upon the weak. He uses me for jobs like this to show

everyone my pathetic state. By displaying me as the messenger, everyone gets

to see that my place in his world is that of a lowly errand boy. I am nothing

more." That's seriously messed up. I haven't even met him yet and I hate his

guts.

"What about the king? Doesn't he speak up about this?"

"My father cannot speak out against Prime Minister Wardack. I fear that he

may even be killed if he resists that man's whims. The noble families that

supported my father have been driven away one by one, as well. My father has

no friends in that place." The prince's hands shook as he answered Duke

Ortlinde. It was far worse than I'd thought. The prime minister was probably

thinking of replacing the king with someone who had his family bloodline.

Treating it simply like replacing a light bulb was nuts, though. Wait, hold on...

"Then... the marriage proposal was for..."

"I believe so. The intention would be to announce his marriage alongside his

taking over of the throne." Makes sense, then... That means he could've just

picked anyone to marry, really. Or maybe he deliberately chose Sue because

she's young, and thinks she's weak? Even if they're married, a guy like Zabune

wouldn't let a woman stand on equal footing with him. If Sue marries this

jackass, she might end up being abused, killed, or worse... this is sickening.

"When he made me the messenger for this, I saw a chance. I'm aware that

Duke Ortlinde and Your Highness are good friends, so I had intended to beseech

Duke Ortlinde to meet with you somehow. I did not expect to be able to meet

you today, however."

"Then you want me to save your mother, right?"

"Yes, absolutely!" Prince Cloud began to kneel again. I wondered what to do.

Using [Gate] would be easy enough. Finding his mother probably wouldn't be

impossible either, but there were still potential complications.

"Grand Duke of Brunhild, if you'd allow..." Duke Ortlinde suddenly opened his

mouth to speak. Hm? What's with that tone? Is chatting like this in front of a

third party bad, or something?

"We should call an immediate emergency meeting of the western powers. We

should not hear just the opinions of Belfast. It is prudent that we hear out

Regulus, Mismede, and Refreese as well. It is equally prudent that you be

involved." What?! The matter's that important?! I-I mean, I'm not opposed to a

second opinion but this is a little much.

"If Prince Cloud thinks it appropriate, I believe other nations may need to take

action here. That fool of a first prince should be deposed, and Prince Cloud

should take the throne." WHAT?! Duke Ortlinde grinned and spoke with a

confident bravado. All Cloud and I could do was stare.

"...And, that's basically the situation!" The leaders of the western alliance

were all assembled in Brunhild Castle's meeting room. Present were

representatives from the Kingdom of Belfast, the Kingdom of Mismede, the

Refreese Imperium, the Regulus Empire, and the Ramissh Theocracy. Ramissh

was the newest member of the alliance.

I gave them a rough outline of the situation, explaining we needed to decide

our next course of action.

"Indeed, our intelligence reports reflect much of the same information. The

prime minister of Lihnea exceeds the king in power." The emperor of Regulus

let out a murmur, confirming he knew the same.

"Well my people have little to do with Lihnea, I don't think I have much to add

here." The beastking tapped his chin with a finger as he spoke. Lihnea seemed

to have frequent relations with Belfast, Refreese, and Regulus, but no such

relations with Mismede or Ramissh. Same for Brunhild.

"That being said. The first prince and the prime minister both offend me on a

personal level. I feel pity for the citizens."

"Indeed! I've heard stories that the people of Lihnea have been heavily taxed

in recent years. The excuse given is that they are preparing a war effort against

the Palouf Kingdom. It is troublesome indeed..." Her Holiness the Pope sighed

and shook her head.

"I've no concern with Prince Cloud ascending to the throne. He certainly

seems qualified, but will that undo the damage that is already done? I doubt

anyone in office will listen to him, as the government is filled with the prime

minister's corrupt cronies." His Imperial Presence of Refreese also had a point.

Changing the head wouldn't fix much if the body itself was diseased. We'd need

to pull it all out at the root.

"What are your thoughts on this?" I spoke up, addressing the prince. He was

dumbfounded and began to babble. Yumina's Mystic Eye confirmed that he was

a good person, and the pope would be able to easily tell if he lied.

"R-Right, well... I intend to make use of the people that the prime minister

shunned or exiled. For over a decade, there have been many nobles and

ministers who were treated poorly due to their social ties. Including many

talented people. The current situation is that if you cannot pay Wardack, you

cannot keep your position." The prince spoke in a deprecating manner, and the

beastking shook his head in response.

"Filthy... what a corrupt and... Ah, apologies. I did not mean to speak ill of

your home."

"No, it... it's true." Prince Cloud looked down, eyes welling with sorrow. On

the bright side, he was looking more and more like a good, honest man.

"Are there powerful or skilled nobles on your side, then?"

"Absolutely. Marquis Koupe is the former prime minister. He also has the

support and trust of most of our noble families, and is the person that

supported me from the shadows many a time." Prince Cloud instantly answered

the king of Belfast's question. It seemed he had friends as well as foes. It looked

like there was no shortage of powerful families that disliked Wardack. If we

could unify them, then the country would function fine even with Cloud on the

throne.

"But that aside, Prince Cloud. What of you? If you only wanted to help your

mother, then simply fleeing the country is an equally valid option, no?"

"...No. I've seen many suffer at the hands of my brother and Prime Minister

Wardack. I was weak, helpless. I couldn't aid them. But if I can do something,

even if my aid is late. I'd like to."

"That would mean you starting a revolution in Lihnea. Even if the prime

minister holds the true power, you'd still be opposing the king. Are you fine

with going against your father?"

"I must, so yes." The young man spoke confidently. Even though it wasn't

directed at the king, it was still a coup. Though ideally it would be done without

mobilizing a military force.

"Well then, everyone? What do we say to supporting Lihnea... No, Prince

Cloud's revolution?" I asked everyone seated at the table.

"Our country supports Prince Cloud. The vile corruption in Lihnea could

spread to our homelands if left unchecked."

"Hear, hear!" The king of Belfast was the first to speak up, with the emperor

of Refreese following shortly after.

"The Regulus Empire indeed cannot overlook this. While we cannot actively

provide forces, we still offer our support." The emperor of Regulus spoke up, as

well. They still hadn't recovered from the recent coup, so their national

strength wasn't at its peak. It was only natural they couldn't spare resources.

"While our heartland is unrelated to this mess, I still pledge my support to you

and our allies. I cannot bring myself to tolerate Lihnea as it is now."

"Our Holy Nation feels the same. We too, support Prince Cloud." The

beastking and Her Holiness the Pope also pledged their support. With that, all

countries in the western alliance were backing Cloud as the next king of Lihnea.

Now all that was left was the matter of overthrowing the prime minister and his

stooges.

Ideally we'd want to avoid war or military campaigns. I was about to consult

the others, when they all spoke up at the same time; "Well then, Touya. Good

luck!" Excuse me?! You're gonna make me mop this mess up on my own?!

Rescuing his mother is fine, but the whole revolution?! No way!

"Sorry for the trouble, truly. Thank you so much for your aid."

"A-Ah... no... I-It's... It's fine..." I smiled stiffly at Prince Cloud, who had gone

and started bowing again. Damn them all to hell, I can't possibly win! Combined

they were formidable, but I guess they were all experienced rulers for a reason.

They were pretty good, I could give them that...

"Righty-o, fellow monarchs! We're all supporting Prince Cloud? Great. Now,

since we're all in Brunhild... we should probably go and improve our diplomatic

relations."

"Very well."

"Ah, finally."

"Heh..." At the king of Belfast's remark, the other monarchs began shuffling

out of the conference room. I knew what he meant by improving their

diplomatic relations, because they were all headed for the game room.

The only people left behind were me, Prince Cloud, and the pope. The latter

two presumably because they had no idea about the game room.

"Good grief... You should go join them, Your Holiness. There's tea and sweets

down there, as well. Partaking in that is His favorite way to relax, you know."

"Oho? Then I'd love to." Of course, the Him I was referring to was none other

than God. God had recently started dropping in and stealing snacks from my

game room. I had no idea how he kept sniffing them out. Even the god of love

came around now and then and ended up eating over half of my sweets.

I was surprised to find that they had already found the Frame Units and were

piloting them gleefully. Rosetta and Monica were there doing maintenance, and

apparently just decided to stop and teach all the monarchs of the western

alliance how to operate a giant robot simulator.

They'd been developed to the point where four players could play at once.

The external monitor showed four Frame Gears in the simulation, labeled Red,

Blue, Yellow, and Purple respectively. I couldn't tell who was piloting which,

though. But that wouldn't matter, each pilot was equally terrible. They all

hopped around and slashed in the wrong direction, then lost their balance and

collapsed. It was kinda funny.

"Y-Your Highness, what is this?"

"Well..." Prince Cloud and Her Holiness were stricken with surprise. That was

only natural, there was a lot of foreign stuff in here.

"This is my game room. It's a room made for relaxation and play. Once a

month, the leaders of the western alliance come here after meeting in my

castle." Though lately I was wondering if they'd been using the meetings as an

excuse to just come and play. At least we actually hashed out an important

issue this time.

I pondered about whether or not I should start training pilots from other

countries. The Phrase threat was looming ever closer, after all...

If a massive amount of Phrase broke through the barrier, Brunhild alone

definitely wouldn't be enough to take care of it. Lending out Frame Units to

other countries would probably be a smart idea. It'd be good to make them

more accessible. Having only the rulers of each country trained enough to pilot

a Frame Gear would be a disaster in itself.

As I pondered my next course of action, I asked Cesca and Lapis to bring some

snacks for Prince Cloud and Her Holiness the Pope. I certainly had a lot going

on, I couldn't help but feel that the busiest leader in the room that day was me.

◇ ◇ ◇

I used [Recall] to retrieve Prince Cloud's memories of his home, and from

there opened a [Gate] to the Lihnea Kingdom. Honestly, I didn't like using that

spell on boys, but it was just one of those things. I didn't want to hold hands

with him, much less push my forehead against his.

There were five of us on the mission to rescue Queen Erya, Prince Cloud's

mother. The prince himself, me, Elze, Yae, and Kohaku. We wanted to make use

of mobility and stealth rather than overwhelming force. The other party

members would be staying at home in the meantime. I didn't want to bring too

many people, after all.

We stepped out of the [Gate], finding ourselves in Nimue, Lihnea's capital.

Prince Cloud was a little disoriented, but that was only natural since it was his

first time traveling by portal.

"W-Wow... We really reached Lihnea in moments..." We emerged in a back

alley so as to not be seen. Thankfully, it looked like we had avoided detection.

From there the plan dictated we head right to the castle. I told Prince Cloud to

report the proposal response as usual.

I hadn't yet seen the first prince or the prime minister, after all. I needed to

see with my own two eyes just what kind of people they were. I cast [Invisible]

to make every member of our group undetectable. Except Prince Cloud, of

course.

"What an incredible spell... I can't see you at all..."

"We're only hidden as far as sight goes. If someone bumps us, we'll be felt.

Please guide us along, since we don't know the place well." Prince Cloud gave a

short nod before walking back to the castle at a slightly slower-than-average

pace.

We walked along a quieter road with less people on it, until we finally arrived

at the castle. The guards gave a small glance toward Prince Cloud, offering little

more than a grunt. That felt pretty uncomfortable to me. It really seemed as

though he was given a hard time by the people around the castle, despite his

status as a prince.

We entered the castle hall, and someone came strolling along from the

opposite side. Prince Cloud stiffened up, froze in place, and slowly bowed his

head.

"...I'm home, elder brother."

"Hah. Cloud? That was fast, wasn't it? Who would've thought a slug like you

could slither so quickly. It must be an ill omen; I'll plan for rain tomorrow..." He

was shorter than Cloud, and quite gaunt. He had a bowl cut. The sides of his

mouth curved into malicious points as he chuckled. I knew then that it was the

First Prince, Zabune. He wore golden boots, a fancy silk scarf, and lame style

clothing all over his body.

"...What horrid taste." I heard Elze muttering, but thankfully Zabune did not.

Keep it down, dummy! Your voice isn't invisible! Behind him were two

sneering men, and a woman who was looking down at the ground. The men

were likely his followers, and the woman... seemed to be a slave. She was

wearing one of those collars around her neck, like the kind I'd seen in Sandora.

Still, I wasn't aware of Lihnea having any slavery practices.

"Well? Spit it out. What was the response? Good news, I hope?"

"Ah, no... Duke Ortlinde's daughter already has a fiance, it seems... It's for

that reason that they have declined."

"...Excuse me? What did you just say? Do speak up."

"...I said that they have decl—" THWACK! Before Cloud could finish his

sentence, Zabune smacked him square across the jaw.

"You useless little urchin. Why didn't you just snatch the girl up?! If you had

brought her, I could have collared her and there wouldn't be an issue. You

stupid, unintuitive little shit!"

Whoa... What did he just say? Slap a collar on Sue? Is that what he has in

mind?!

"That little bitch looked over at me and giggled during that party in Refreese!

Her! A mere duke's daughter, laughing at ME! Once I have her, I'll collar her,

then train her body. I'll warp her damn mind! Then we'll see who's laughing!"

What the actual hell... If you wore that stupid-looking outfit at the party, then

it probably wasn't just Sue giggling, you bastard...! Well, I guess the other

guests probably restrained themselves to be polite. But Sue's just a kid! Grow a

goddamn backbone, you scum!

"Tsk. I can't believe you're this useless. What a miserable shitstain I have for a

younger brother... Well? Who's the fiance? You found out that much at least,

didn't you?"

"...The grand duke of Brunhild, Mochizuki Touya."

"Brunhild...? That fledgling nation? Pah! What are those retards thinking?

They won't profit if they marry her off to such a small nation!" S-Small?! What

an asshole... It's fine for me to say it, but he can't!

Prince Zabune tutted in Cloud's general direction. All of a sudden he started

pondering something, and then began to grin wickedly.

"Hey, Cloud. Go to Belfast at once, and begin spinning a yarn."

"Excuse me?"

"Go and spread the rumor that the grand duke of Brunhild is a pervert who

uses and abuses women. If it gets around, then that pathetic little Ortlinde man

might reconsider the situation at large... After all, he wouldn't want his

daughter going to a bad man. Aren't I smart?"

Man, I really wanna smack this guy. I'm definitely gonna hit this guy... just you

goddamn wait.

"...If I spread that rumor, can I see my mother?"

"What? Didn't I already tell you? Your mother's sick. Con-ta-gious. Retard.

What if you got sick as well? What then? Hm? Well? You should be thankful I'm

looking out for you as your venerable elder brother. Hah... then again, she could

die any minute, so I see where you're coming from." Zabune grinned alongside

his last sentence, to which Cloud responded with clenched fists and a furious

glare. Prince Zabune's expression shifted immediately.

"...Who are you to look at me in such a manner?" From out of nowhere,

Zabune kicked Cloud in the gut. Cloud doubled over in pain, and Zabune

smacked him again. Then, he dished out a third, merciless kick.

"You pathetic little lowborn shit! You miserable, slimy little maggot! How dare

you! How dare you!!! You should be thankful for even being alive... You should

be licking my boots and kissing the ground I've stepped on, do you

understand?! Maybe you'll learn some respect if I smack it into you, you little

shit!" Idiot Prince Zabune's vicious assault finally subsided, and another person

entered the room.

"Zabune? What is the meaning of this?"

"Ah, Mother... I was educating my rowdy little brother, think nothing of it."

What initially appeared to be a pig in a gaudy red dress was actually a human

woman. The gaudy, obese, makeup-caked creature strutted down the red

carpeted stairs with several maids in tow. She was quite clearly Queen Dacia,

the idiot's mother. They looked almost nothing alike, the only common feature

being their filthy mouths and corrupted gazes.

"Oh dear, Cloud... You really need to understand your position here. Unlike

you, Zabune is the one who will carry the future of our nation. Don't bother him

with such trivial things, okay? Though, I suppose you can't help it... You must

have so much commoner blood in you from your mother's side that such

stupidity comes naturally, hm?" She stared Cloud down with cold, icy eyes,

before suddenly turning to Zabune with a warm smile. The speed of her

expression shift was disturbing, to say the least.

"What happened with the proposal, Zabune?"

"Cloud messed it all up. He's useless."

"Aw, my poor little baby... Well, Belfast is a stupid little place... I'm sure it'll

fall into disrepair before long!" Instead of feeling anger, I found myself more

surprised and amazed by the exchange I was seeing. These people were

something else.

"Once I sit on the throne, I'll be sure to punish everyone that disappointed

me. Speaking of which, Mother... I'd like to just become king already. I don't

need to get engaged."

"Very well... Shall we go and confer with Wardack?"

"Yes please!" The two of them left, entourage in tow, completely forgetting

about Cloud.

That's a mother and child duo beyond salvation... They're far too corrupt. Why

did the king even marry that pig? Was it political? Or did they blackmail him into

it?

"Come forth, Light! Soothing Comfort: [Cure Heal]!" Prince Cloud staggered

to his feet after I cast recovery magic on him. His breathing was heavy,

however.

"Are you okay?"

"I am... It doesn't hurt anymore. Thank you so much..." The physical pain was

gone, but I was sure the mental scars remained. His fist was still clenched and

shaking. I could see the whites of his knuckles. It made me wonder just how

long he'd had to endure this treatment. It was a miracle to me that Cloud had

survived all of this without breaking completely.

"What a gross guy..."

"Indeed... I felt the urge to slash him into pieces, I did." Elze and Yae both

spoke up. Their collective tone was brimming with anger. I understood them,

though. I wanted to hurt Zabune as well. Badly.

"But what was with the slave collar...?"

"Our country ostensibly prohibits slavery... However, my elder brother still

purchased collars from a Sandora trader who passed by some time ago." If I

hadn't been here, Sue could've ended up as a slave... I decided then that I

wouldn't just let Zabune go with a simple beating... Still, I was getting ahead of

myself.

We moved to a shaded area behind a column, then canceled the invisibility

spell. From there, I target locked on to the slave girl and activated [Gate].

"Whuh... Huh?" I ignored her panic at suddenly being pulled to my location,

and immediately used [Apport] to get that disgusting device off her.

Her hands came up to her neck, and then she looked at the collar in my

hands. The moment she realized she wasn't wearing it anymore, tears began to

flow from her eyes like rain.

"I-It's off... Th-The collar's... h-ha... i-it's off!" I revealed our identities to the

newly-freed girl and took her back to Brunhild through another [Gate]. After

briefly explaining the situation to Yumina, I asked her to take care of the girl.

Then, it was right back to the mission.

A short time later, the prince and his entourage returned in a fluster, but we

had re-cast [Invisible] so we were in the clear.

"H-Hey! Did my toy come through here?!"

"I haven't seen her, no." Zabune rolled his eyes at Cloud's response, then

quickly turned around. He and his cronies began charging up the stairs. I briefly

thought about using [Slip] to give them a nasty tumble, but before I could, the

idiot prince stopped dead in his tracks.

"Is there something the matter, Prince Zabune?"

"Wardack! My plaything disappeared! She just vanished, like that!" A man in

his fifties came strolling from the top of the stairs. He was dressed in a long

black robe. Wardack...?

"That is Prime Minister Wardack, yes." Prince Cloud whispered in a voice so

faint we could barely even hear it. Wardack kind of had the face of a bulldog... It

was definitely the face of a villain, probably.

"Have you not issued the command that forces her to return?"

"I did, but she didn't come!"

"Then trigger the kill command. What use is a toy that refuses to function?

We'll find her corpse and clean it up, then get you a functional toy." The prime

minister shrugged, urging on the idiot prince. I was disgusted. How could a state

official behave like this?

"What the hell, man...! I didn't even get to make full use of her yet. All of her

limbs are intact, it isn't fair!" Zabune sighed, but as he spoke the collar in my

hand rapidly shrank in size... If it had still been on her neck, it would've killed

her. Slowly.

Their lack of regard for human life caused my blood to boil. They were doing

unnatural things as if it was perfectly natural, and their lack of understanding of

the vile nature behind their actions was baffling. These people were cruel.

Animals, even. And they had to be stopped.

"Well hello there, Prince Cloud. Back from Belfast already, are you? Did you

settle the proposal?" Wardack strolled down to the bottom of the stairs, eyes

focused on Cloud. He wasn't being polite by any means; his tone felt almost

mocking. He was clearly looking down on the younger prince.

"I'm sorry to say that it was declined..."

"Ah. Well, no matter. It's actually fine. You have a new mission, anyway. You

must head to the Palouf Kingdom to deliver a message."

"To Palouf? What for?" Prime Minister Wardack simply grinned, sneering

ever-so-faintly as he turned and wordlessly left the room with Zabune. The

elder prince looked like he was still in a bad mood.

I summoned a small mouse and made it invisible, instructing it to follow after

Wardack. I had a sinking feeling that his grin just then was one of a schemer. I

knew it would be better to investigate it rather than let it be.

The mouse caught up to them both before long, and their voices were

projected into my mind.

"Wardack... why are you sending Cloud to Palouf? Are there some cute little

noble or royal girls there to replace my missing toy?"

"No, it's not for marriage."

"Then what?"

"War, my boy. I will have Prince Cloud declare war upon the Palouf Kingdom."

I knew it... He's come up with a miserable scheme.

◇ ◇ ◇

The biggest island in the western region was Palnea. It was an island divided

into a northern kingdom, and a southern kingdom. North Palnea was known as

Palouf, and South Palnea was known as Lihnea.

The two countries skirmished repeatedly, and had no formal peace treaties,

but they had also never engaged in full-scale war. They would skirmish, then

cease hostilities, then repeat the process.

The national strengths of each country was about equal. If either side

declared war upon the other, then the winner would have a pyrrhic victory. The

damage done to both nations would be far too great.

But in recent years, that balance had begun to shift. The Palouf King tragically

passed away, and their benevolent prime minister followed soon after. And,

due to terrible weather conditions, crops had begun faring poorly in Palouf,

offering little yield. Lihnea also suffered some losses for the same reason, but

the brunt of it hit the northern nation. It was due to the strategically beneficial

timing that Prime Minister Wardack of Lihnea decided he would make his move

to unite Palnea as one.

Wardack had begun preparations in secret some time ago, all to deal the

decisive blow to Palouf.

"Is it customary to declare war using the second prince?"

"I believe that they are scheming, I do. If the young prince delivers the letter

as normal, but the contents are a war declaration... then the recipient will

become angry and kill the messenger, he will."

"That's certainly not impossible... It's probably not their primary objective,

but I can imagine Wardack using my death as some kind of tragedy to rile up

the war effort..." Prince Cloud laughed bitterly. Clearly, he had a good feel for

Wardack's personality. He must've been thinking about how little he was

viewed by the people who should've been his family.

"We need to start preparing. Cloud, I'll ask you one final time. From here on

we'll be opposing Wardack and his allies. Are you okay with that?"

"I am. I will fight him if that's what it takes to save my mother." He stared at

me, and his indomitable will was clearly shining in his eyes.

The first phase was meeting with the former prime minister, Koupe. We'd

need his aid. He was a marquis, so he'd be able to influence other noble families

and help us create a faction in support of Cloud. More importantly, he might

have information on the second prince's mother.

Regardless of what happened, we'd need to act fast.

"I'm glad you have such determination, Prince Cloud. You have the aid of the

western alliance, so I know now that there is nothing to fear." Marquis Koupe

knelt on the ground before Cloud and bowed his head. It was the first time I'd

seen him being treated like the royalty he was. It seemed that they were in a

place far enough from the capital that the idiot prince's opinion didn't count for

much. The Koupe mansion was way out in the countryside, after all. And it was

quite a nice place.

"I will cooperate with you, naturally... but I wish to avoid damaging the

country. If possible, can we do this without force?"

"That just means that the only obstacles are Zabune and Wardack. If we

apprehend the prime minister and get the idiot prince disowned, we'll be

golden." Marquis Koupe stood up and turned to me. I found it hard to believe

he was actually over sixty. His muscles were insane. He had a receding hairline,

and what little of the remaining strands left were white, but it was hard to

envision such a well-built man as elderly.

"Defeating the prime minister won't be much of a difficult task... But having

Zabune lose his right to succession will be difficult."

"Can he not be disinherited for his heinous crimes thus far, can he not?" Yae

spoke up with her thoughts, but Marquis Koupe simply shook his head.

"There's simply not enough evidence. The prime minister has covered all of

that up. The people involved would be fearful of retaliation, as well. They

wouldn't testify against him. Without the king's direct word, Zabune cannot be

disinherited..."

But I guess the king can't oppose Queen Dacia, huh... Actually, why not? Is she

blackmailing him after all?

"In the worst case... we could take the king hostage and force him to hand

over the throne to Prince Cloud, but... that would not reflect well upon us."

"...Yeah, I hope we can avoid doing that. We wouldn't want the prince being

seen as some usurper who stole the throne." That would be the worst possible

situation. But we still had to move fast, since war with Palouf was inevitable at

this rate. Hrmph... maybe Cesca was on to something when she suggested just

killing the moron and being done with it...

"For now, we should focus on rescuing Cloud's mother."

"Queen Erya is being held under house arrest within Gallia fortress. It's a

place with deep ties to Wardack. One of my subordinates has successfully

infiltrated the place and confirmed that Erya has no such sickness. But, it's a

horrible place. If she stays there any longer, she may actually become ill." If the

situation was as Koupe described it, I could afford to waste no time. We

decided Gallia fortress was our first stop.

Alright, time to use [Recall] and retrieve the Marquis' memory... Ugh, gross... I

have to hold hands with a muscly old man and... oh God, not the forehead!

After the dirty deed was done, I instinctively embraced Elze. I-It helps a little...

She hit me.

Gallia fortress was reasonably large, but not quite as large as Brunhild Castle.

It was sort of like a castle nestled in the mountains, but it also spanned the

length of a mountain pass, blocking it off.

Queen Erya, Prince Cloud's mother, was being confined in the highest room of

the tallest tower by the fortress.

Thanks to Marquis Koupe's memories, we were able to bypass the tight

security and slip right inside. Prince Cloud spoke up as he looked on at the place

confining his mother.

"The defenses here are quite strong... Still, we should be able to bypass it all

with your invisibility magic... I just hope we can reach my mother and get her to

safety soon..."

"Target lock on: Fortress Soldiers. Invoke [Paralyze]."

"Target lock, successful. Invoking [Paralyze]."

I heard several gasps and grunts from all over the fortress, and the soldiers

lining the front gate fell down to the ground. That should've taken care of most

of it, at least. [Paralyze] wouldn't work on people with great magical defense,

or those who happened to be carrying talismans, but it wasn't likely that

there'd be many fitting that criteria.

"Let's go..."

"...Hm." I called on to the others and charged ahead. Prince Cloud was just

staring at me, blank in the face. Yae suddenly put a hand on his shoulder,

staring him in the eyes. She shook her head as if to say "Do not worry about it.

If you worry about it, you will worry forever." I had no idea what that was all

about.

We looked over the collapsed soldiers as we strolled into the fort. It was really

heavily guarded, for whatever reason. More so than the royal castle, come to

think of it. Once we entered the castle, I noticed there were still some people

moving around. Mostly helpers, menial staff, and so on. That made sense. I did

specify soldiers, after all. Oh well.

When we came through, they all ran outside in a panic. They were screaming

something about a disease outbreak. It did kinda look like that from their

perspective, I guess.

I ignored them and entered the tower. I took the door keys from an immobile

soldier, then started ascending the steep spiral staircase.

About halfway up the stairs, we came face-to-face with a black-haired maid

girl in her twenties. She hadn't been affected by the spell, seemingly. Only

natural, as she looked nothing like a soldier to me.

"Name yourselves or I'll call the guards at once!"

"I am Cloud, second prince of Lihnea. My mother is here, and I've come for

her. Please let us pass."

"Prince Cloud?!" The maid with long, black hair suddenly kneeled. She bowed

her head. Oh, could it be...?

"Please excuse my behavior. My name is Angie. I'm the personal

chambermaid of Queen Erya. On Marquis Koupe's orders, I've been protecting

her here."

"Ah, you're Angie? Koupe told me all about you. Thank you so much for

informing us about my mother. I owe you a great debt."

"You speak too highly of me..." I knew it! She's Koupe's maid, the one that

was sent to spy.

"Your mother isn't much further from here. Just keep climb—"

"What's all this, then?!" A lone soldier came charging at us from above. Just

as I'd expected, there was at least one who had resisted my effects.

Just as I was drawing Brunhild to immobilize him, Angie crouched down low

and launched a powerful flying kick to the man's jaw. Her display of speed and

strength was far beyond my expectations. Whoa...

"Angie... she's definitely a brawler. She moves like a pro..." Elze muttered

under her breath. A brawler maid?! Well, I guess if she was spying for the

Marquis she'd have to have more to her than just looks.

"Alright, let's go." Angie grabbed a set of keys from the fallen man and began

leading us up the stairs. We followed behind dutifully.

After a while of traipsing up the stairs, we came to a small door hinged inside

a wall. There was no more room to go upward. We were at the tippy-top.

Angie opened it up with the key, and Prince Cloud charged headlong into the

room. A lone woman sat on a small rocking chair in the corner, knitting

something. She looked to be in her forties. She definitely resembled Cloud. I

could see the gentle spirit in her eyes.

"Mother!"

"C-Cloud...? Is it... really you?! Cloud!" Both parent and child shed tears of joy

as they embraced. I heard something behind me and quickly turned. Yae was

openly weeping. She must've been moved. Well, I could understand her

reason... Yae was certainly a girl with a beautiful heart.

I took a handkerchief from my pocket and passed it over to Yae. She delicately

blew her nose with it, and then dabbed at her eyes. Pfft...

"Cloud... you've grown so much... I'm so glad I survived to see this... I-I'm so

glad...!"

"Mother... we're leaving this place at once. Your Highness, if you would..."

"On it."

"Highness...?" I opened up a [Gate] right away, and Queen Erya gave me a

puzzled look. I thought of taking them straight back to Brunhild, but quickly

decided that Marquis Koupe's mansion would be best for the time being.

Prince Cloud took his confused mother by the hand and led her through the

[Gate]. Angie was equally surprised, so we urged her through as well.

With that, the rescue mission was complete. With that, Prince Cloud was no

longer shackled... And with that, we could finally begin the revolution.

Heheh... Now, let's see here... How am I going to deal with that rat-bastard

who wanted to make Sue into a slave...? Ohoho... I'm not gonna go easy on

him... Now I have nothing holding me back... I giggled internally.

"...Touya's making a scary face again."

"He is surely plotting something malevolent, he is."

I-I'm not malevolent!