Mercenary State Zem

— One day in the 9th month, 1548th year, Continental Calendar —

"Sigh... It sure is nothing but mountains, huh?" I said as I looked at the

scenery while riding on Naden's back.

We were in the skies over Mercenary State Zem, heading to watch the

finals of the Great Martial Arts Tournament. There was a wyvern flying

alongside us, carrying a gondola which held Aisha and the other members

of our entourage. Naden and I had been riding in the gondola at first, but the

scenery outside was so beautiful that Naden said she wanted to go for a

swim through the sky. I ended up tagging along for her little midair stroll.

Our view was truly breathtaking. The Amidonia Region had been pretty

mountainous itself, but the mountains of Zem were big, tall, and they shone

blue when viewed at a distance. There were settlements dotted around at

clearings in the mountains, and I could see the people were raising some

white woolly animals that looked like sheep or llamas. You know, I wouldn't

be surprised to see a certain "Girl of the Alps" out here.

I petted Naden's back as I asked, "What do you think, Naden? Does this

sort of mountainous scenery put you more at ease?"

"Because the Star Dragon Mountain Range is all mountains?"

"Yeah. The only ones near Parnam are medium-sized, and are the source

of our water."

"I never thought about it, you know... Dracul itself is flat, and I only

really went into the mountains to hunt, after all."

"Oh, yeah," I recalled. "The deer meat I had in your cave was

delicious."

It didn't taste too gamey, and the meat was soft. I'd enjoy eating it again.

"Heheh, would you like me to hunt for you again sometime?"

"That'd be nice. I'd like to eat it again, using soy sauce and ginger to

completely get rid of that gameiness. Oh! But don't come back covered in

blood, okay? If you cause an uproar in the castle, I'll be in for a long lecture

from Liscia."

"Roger that... I know it all too well."

While we were chatting idly, our destination came into sight in the

distance. There was an aged castle rising up in the mountains, that was

Blanc Zem Castle. Incidentally, the place the castle looked over was also

called Zem City. The Colosseum where the finals would take place was

located here, as well.

Being their country's greatest hero, the name Zem was used on

everything, from the city itself to the dishes cooked there. Looking at it

from the perspective of a foreigner, it felt excessive, but it just showed how

great the people of this country thought the first Mercenary King Zem was.

"Can I assume that castle's where we're going?" Naden asked.

"The Zemish side said to land right in the courtyard."

"We're not going to suddenly get attacked, are we?"

"They probably wouldn't do anything that stupid, but... if it happens,

let's fly away," I assured her.

A single wyvern rider flew towards us from the direction of the castle.

They came up alongside Naden, then put his hand forward to salute me.

"I assume you must be King Souma of Friedonia and his entourage!" the

rider said. "I have come at the orders of the King of Zem to welcome you! I

will guide you in, so please follow me!"

"Gotcha. Lead the way."

We followed the wyvern rider and flew over the walls of the castle to

land in the courtyard. Naturally, the anti-air repeating bolt throwers did not

take aim at us. There were no flowers in the courtyard, just plaster figures

of macho men, and columns of soldiers who were masses of muscle, trying

to look no less tough.

I jumped down as Naden turned back into her human form, and Aisha

came out of the wyvern gondola that had landed with us and rushed over to

me. "Your Majesty, take every care not to be separated from Madam Naden

and me."

"I know... I'm counting on you to protect me, Aisha, Naden."

"Roger that."

We had fought against Zemish mercenaries during the battle against the

corrupt nobles. There was no guarantee that none of the soldiers lined up

here had been among those who had been forced to pay ransom money for

their release. Also, I had entrusted old man Owen with the task of guarding

Colbert. We had brought other guards as well, and snuck in a number of

members of the Black Cats, too.

"Make way!" a voice rang out.

The line of soldiers in the hall split in two. Once they had, a single man

walked through the middle of the crowd. He was a large, muscular fellow

with an eyepatch over one eye. His physique was quite similar to Owen's.

The man stood in front of me, and spread his big arms wide. "It is good

of you to come to Zem, Sir Souma, King of Friedonia."

"You are... Sir Gimbal?"

"Indeed. I am Gimbal Zem."

"Thank you for the invitation, Sir Gimbal, King of Zem."

I shook his hand as the representative of the group. If Gimbal felt like it,

he could easily have crushed mine, but he held back and left it at a

somewhat firm handshake.

I introduced Aisha and Naden to Gimbal, "Sir Gimbal, these are my

wives, Aisha and Naden."

"It's an honor to meet you, Sir Gimbal." Aisha put her hand to her chest

and bowed.

Naden did the same. "I-It's an honor to meet you."

Gimbal seemed impressed with the two of them, stroking his short

goatee. "It seems your wives are strong and beautiful warriors. Especially

Madam Aisha. If you were to participate in the martial arts tournament, you

might have some chance of winning. If you could win and they defeat me,

you could even become the king of this country."

He must have found the aura Aisha gave off as a warrior quite

stimulating, because there was a somewhat defiant look in Gimbal's eyes.

Aisha looked straight back at him, accepting it.

"It is an honor to meet you, but I am happiest in the Kingdom... at His

Majesty's side," she replied. "I have no wish I would want granted in Zem."

The way Aisha could say that so boldly was really inspiring. Aisha

could be a bit of a disappointment once food got involved, but as a warrior,

she was always so gallant and beautiful I couldn't help but fall head over

heels for her.

Hearing her response, Gimbal laughed heartily. "Is that a fact? Well,

well, I can see she loves you dearly."

"She's too good for me."

"Now then, you must be tired from coming here. Please, rest in your

room first."

"Thank you."

Gimbal clapped his hands twice. When he did, a person clad in armor

walked over from among the soldiers and dropped to one knee before us. I

couldn't see her face, but the shape of the armor indicated it was a woman.

She took off her helmet, and held it under her arm. She was a little older

than me, with well-balanced features, and cat ears perched on top of her

dirty blonde hair.

"Ah! I knew it...!" Owen, who was a little ways back from the rest of us,

exclaimed.

Then is this cat-type beastman Mio? Was she Georg's daughter, Mio

Carmine? Sexual dimorphism was a trait of many of the beastmen races, but

this woman was far prettier than anything I would have imagined from the

stern lion face her father had.

Gimbal put a hand on her shoulder and said, "You can spend your time

as you like until the finals tomorrow. If you wish to look around the castle

town, she will be your guide, so please ask. She is a participant in the

tournament, but I hear she is from the Kingdom, so I asked her to help out."

Yes, she certainly is from the Kingdom...

"It is an honor to meet you. I am Mio."

The girl raised her head and stared straight into my eyes.

"There's no doubt about it. That was Duke Carmine's daughter, Madam

Mio," Owen said with a pained look.

After we had each been shown to our rooms, I had gathered my key

companions in the room allotted to me and my queens.

"Yes, it most definitely was Sir Carmine's daughter. I have met her on

multiple occasions," Colbert agreed, so that more or less confirmed it.

Mio, the daughter of Georg the traitor. If he assigned her to be our guide,

it was a near certainty that Gimbal knew who she was. It was clear Mio was

plotting something by taking part in this tournament. But what was

Gimbal's angle, putting us in contact with her like this? Were their plans the

same?

"What do you think? Colbert?" I asked Colbert, the intellectual of the

group.

Colbert brought a finger to his mouth as he pondered. "Though I've met

her in the past, we weren't friends, so I couldn't tell you what Madam Mio

is thinking. But... if Sir Gimbal were plotting something, you would have

expected him to show some reaction when you and Madam Mio met."

"Reaction? Like a scheming look, or something?"

"Or a forced smile, maybe. But I didn't see either. It's entirely possible

that Madam Mio's intentions are just as inscrutable to Sir Gimbal." Colbert

crossed his arms and groaned. "Even if she is the daughter of Duke

Carmine, Madam Mio is still originally from the Kingdom. To Sir Gimbal's

eyes, she must appear as a suspicious individual who still has ties to us. It

seems Madam Mio has been winning her way through the tournament, so

perhaps he arranged for the two of you to meet so that he could gauge your

reaction?"

"He was checking if we're secretly connected to Mio?" I said with a

sigh. "If that's what it was... his fears are unfounded."

Had he been scrutinizing our motives, the same way we were

scrutinizing his?

"Yes, completely." Colbert nodded. "But it does prove that Sir Gimbal

doesn't have a full grasp of what Mio's intentions are, either."

"...So it all comes down to what Mio's thinking, huh?"

If she won the tournament, she would be granted a wish. But what was

she participating for? What exactly was the wish she'd want granted?

"Hrm... If she's got a grudge against Souma, maybe she wants 'Souma's

head'?" Naden said that so casually that I felt a chill on my neck.

"I-Is that a wish Zem can grant?"

"I doubt she could ask for it directly. However, if she asked for 'the

throne of Zem,' and defeated Sir Gimbal to become the Queen of Zem, she

could start a war with us any time she wanted to. Naturally, based on the

relative size of Zem, they would have a hard time winning a war against us

alone." That was Colbert's sober analysis.

Well, our country was coordinating with the Empire and the Republic,

so even if she roped the Lunarian Orthodox Papal State into attacking us

with her, we could still beat them back. But if she didn't attack directly, and

instead fomented unrest inside the country, lending mercenaries to the

dissidents and encouraging terrorist attacks, that would be a pain.

"So if someone with a grudge against the Kingdom got a hold of the

Zemish throne, they'd have all sorts of ways to harass us, huh?" I thought

aloud.

"Does Madam Mio even resent you to begin with, sire?" Aisha asked.

"She had a bit of determination in her eyes when she looked at you earlier,

but nothing like the dark emotions you would expect from someone looking

at her father's killer."

"Now that you mention it... you've got a point."

If there was any hostility or murderous intent, a warrior like Aisha

wouldn't have missed it. Mio's expression then—her eyes, specifically—

were full of resolve. I felt no anger or hatred. When I met Julius in Van after

the war with the Principality of Amidonia, his disgust for me was palpable.

Even if he kept a level head, those sorts of emotions weren't something you

could fully suppress.

"That makes it even harder to figure out, then. What exactly does Mio

want?"

"Madam Mio, like Duke Carmine, has a one-track mind..." Owen said

with a pained expression. "You could take that to mean she's stubborn and

obstinate like him. Once she sets her mind on something, she will do

whatever it takes to stay the course. Even if it's a path of carnage, and she

may fall along the way..."

"...This father and daughter are a couple of pains in the neck," I said,

scratching the back of my head and trying to find some resolve. "I guess all

that's left is to talk to her directly, huh? She's our guide, after all."

"You're going to have her join us," Naden asked, and I nodded.

The "one-track mind" that Owen mentioned and the lack of "dark

emotions" that Aisha detected led me to believe that she wasn't going to kill

me the moment she saw an opening.

"Whatever Mio's wish is, she'll win the tournament first, and then

openly try to have it granted. That's why I want to try to talk with her as

much as I can before then."

"Is that not... dangerous?"

"Don't worry, Aisha. I'll keep you and Naden with me at all times as a

means of protection and escape, of course. If Mio tries to harm me, will you

stop her for me?"

"Leave it to me." Aisha thumped her chest with one hand. "I can see that

Madam Mio is quite a capable warrior, but I won a tournament of my own

back in the Kingdom. I won't let her lay a finger on you!"

"Well, if it gets dicey, I'll grab you in my mouth and run away into the

sky." Naden put her hands on her hips and puffed up her chest. My wives

were so reliable.

Colbert opened his mouth, a pensive look on his face. "Should I... look

into it a little?"

"You, Colbert?"

"Because I'm from the former Principality of Amidonia, she may be less

wary of me than she would someone from the Kingdom. It would be easier

for her to air her complaints to someone who was also part of a hostile

faction."

I saw what he was saying. Maybe she would let a complaint slip.

"I'm grateful, but don't push yourself too hard," I said. "If anything

were to happen to you, there'd be no one left to keep Roroa under control,

you know?"

"...I could say the same thing to you, sire."

Seeing the wry smile on Colbert's face, everyone nodded in agreement.

Huh? Is that how they all see me? It felt kind of awkward, so I cleared my

throat loudly and moved along.

"Anyway, don't any of you get careless."

"""Yes, sir!