novelraw Chapter 170 : Chapter 170
Chapter 170 : Chapter 170
Chapter : 170
There was one magician’s complaint, but preparations for war were still proceeding steadily.
Since it had come to this, what could I do. I had to step up myself and command from the front.
“Has all the food the soldiers will eat been prepared?”
“What about the Jubo merchants?”
“If the participants start causing a disturbance, do not go easy on them. Once you let them off once, they will keep causing incidents, so punish them severely.”
“Classify the knights and mercenaries attending the subjugation campaign by region. If we make a reputable person from that place a temporary commander and have them lead, it should work.”
But once it became like this, the ones dying were the frontline administrators.
Just being next to a high noble made your mouth go dry. But what kind of high noble checked every single thing one by one himself.
And since I reviewed each document more meticulously than most administrators, the frontline administrators broke out in cold sweat.
“…Lord. How about you stop doing things like this now, and instead greet the nobles who are coming?”
“Ah…?”
“Since it is different from before, you should have your subordinates do this now. You have dignity, but this seems a bit not good.”
“Kh, ahem. Is that so?”
Embarrassed, I cleared my throat.
When I glanced around, I saw the administrators smiling brightly at Hamil Chamberlain’s words.
It seemed these bastards had asked him to do this.
You insolent bastards!
But it was not bad, in its own way.
‘Certainly, there is no reason for me to step forward….’
In the first place, had the goal of this convocation order not been for me to not step in and for others to handle it on their own?
Especially the church and knight-order people.
Even if things were suddenly flowing strangely now and other participants had increased, thinking of the original purpose, that was right.
“Well, fine. Thinking about it, that seems right.”
Yeah, I should rest a bit now too.
As Hamil Chamberlain said, I would just greet the lords and nobles participating in this subjugation.
I would set up a banquet, stand in front for a bit, then slip away.
‘Hehehe.’
Honestly, if I had worked this much, I did not need to go out to the front lines anymore, right?
Thinking that, I withdrew from the site and headed to my office.
I planned to sit in my office and receive a report on the domain’s status.
But….
“Your Excellency! Your Excellency!”
That thought of mine collapsed in an instant.
“The elf king, the Prince-elector of Bohemia, has arrived.”
“????”
---
“Margrave! It has been a while. I have heard many rumors about you. My goodness! You fought the cultists and struck down the cultists’ god, did you not? How could you enjoy such glory all by yourself! You are a cold person.”
“Th…. It was not a cultists’ god. It was just a pagan champion monster.”
“Oh? Is that so? But whether it is a cultists’ god or a pagan champion monster, it is all the same! Is it not truly an enormous achievement?”
“…….”
The elf king, the Prince-elector of Bohemia, whom I met again after a long time, was indeed worthy of being the king of barbaric elves.
The first thing he said to me as a greeting was not anything else, but about beating up a monster.
And that gesture of lowering both those pointy ears. It clearly showed that he was disappointed he had not been taken along to the subjugation.
“It is insignificant. It was only something I stumbled upon during the undead subjugation, Your Highness. Rather, I heard the elf king has built even more achievements?”
I remembered this crazy elf king rampaging about, saying he would hunt a dragon from legend, as if he even realized he was a king.
I heard it had not been a dragon but a giant rock snake monster, so he had been quite disappointed…. Still, catching a monster so enormous it could be mistaken for a dragon was something.
But it seemed the elf king, the Prince-elector of Bohemia, was not satisfied with that.
“Hey now! What are you saying.”
The elf king, the Prince-elector of Bohemia, shouted while pounding his chest.
“Compared to your splendid achievements, it is nothing. I heard you obtained a holy sword that emits a brilliant light?”
“…Where did you hear that.”
“Where else? Wandering monks traveling the empire spoke diligently. When I heard that, I slapped my knee, did I not? A holy sword that emits light and protects its master! Next time, I plan to go on an adventure to obtain such a holy sword too. Hahaha.”
‘Oh, my head….’
Thanks to that, my head throbbed again.
I tried to relax a bit, but now it felt like an even more annoying sticky burr had latched onto me.
I could not tell whether he was a prince-elector or a wandering knight. The elves’ aggressive, battle-minded warrior spirit did not go away anywhere.
“Ghn…. By the way, why did you come, Your Highness, the Prince-elector of Bohemia? Are you also planning to attend the subjugation force?”
“Hm? What subjugation are you doing now?”
“?”
What was he talking about now?
Flustered, I looked at the elf king, the Prince-elector of Bohemia. But he truly seemed not to know. With those pointy ears pricked up, he was reacting as if he had encountered something very interesting.
“…Recently, I issued a subjugation order toward the Crusader Knight Order, who were excommunicated by The Holy See.”
“Oh? A subjugation order?”
“Yes. I thought Your Highness had come because of that….”
Come to think of it, the elf king, the Prince-elector of Bohemia, did not look like he had come to fight.
Judging by the coat made of eastern silk embroidered lavishly with gold thread….
‘He looks like he is going to a lover.’
That was right.
He looked exactly like someone dressed up to meet a beloved lover. And now that I looked, his face was slightly flushed too, like someone with lovesickness. At first, I thought he was showing a thirst for battle, but it did not seem like that.
“I was on my way to stop by the Kingdom of Aragon.”
“The Kingdom of Aragon…. you say? Is it not ruled well by the queen you married? I heard your ministers help well and run the administration.”
“Ahem. Ahem. Still, I am a co-king in name, so should I not check once?”
‘Oh, really?’
Since when did the elf king, the Prince-elector of Bohemia, care about internal affairs? Had not the elves in [Pangea Universalise], with their ignorant barbarian concept, rampaged about saying war was the best, without even knowing administration?
And the elf king, the Prince-elector of Bohemia, had not escaped that racial trait either. Then, at a thought that came to mind, I widened my eyes.
‘Surely this man?’
Was he completely smitten with the queen of the Kingdom of Aragon he had newly married? After he had said last time he would quietly work behind the scenes and swallow the Kingdom of Aragon whole?
Then, as if he read my look, the elf king, the Prince-elector of Bohemia, cleared his throat and subtly turned his head away.
“Ahem. She is more charming than I expected. She is a very excellent woman. She follows me well and makes me comfortable. Hem hem.”
“Ah, yes…. I am sure she does.”
I answered with an uncomfortable expression as I looked at the elf king, the Prince-elector of Bohemia, who spoke as if making excuses.
If they loved each other, what could I say.
I should wish for their love to be beautiful and end in a happy ending.
After all, it did not have to be only a cold [Pangea Universalise] full of the smell of blood and foul stench.
Sometimes, you needed that kind of soft love too.
It was a place where people lived, after all.
Thinking that, I spoke to the elf king, the Prince-elector of Bohemia.
“Then you will not attend the subjugation and will go straight to the Kingdom of Aragon, yes? Rest well in my domain before you go. It is a long journey, so you must be tired, and I will treat you splendidly.”
“What are you saying?”
But the elf king, the Prince-elector of Bohemia, reacted strangely.
“Yes?”
“You will not attend the subjugation! What are you saying. Huh. Are you trying to fight while leaving only me out?”
“Uh, that is…?”
He said he was going to meet the queen of the Kingdom of Aragon, who was now his wife, but suddenly he wanted to attend the subjugation?
It was absurd, but the elf king, the Prince-elector of Bohemia’s answer was even more absurd.
“Is subjugating the excommunicated not very honorable! An honorable war is the happiness of us elves! Besides, if I cut off those bastards’ heads and bring them to her, it will be a very good gift. Haha.”
“…….”
As expected.
The elves’ way of thinking was truly hard to understand.
Better to die than to suffer.
---
Unexpectedly, the elf king, the Prince-elector of Bohemia, joined, but thinking about it, it was not that bad.
‘Mm…. It might be better than I thought?’
If it was the elf king, the Prince-elector of Bohemia, who would dare complain even if he became commander-in-chief.
So could I not slip to the back and only pay attention to supplies?
‘He is offering to auto-hunt for me, hehehe.’
Thanks to that, for the first time in a long while, I could stretch out both legs and rest comfortably. At least until attendants brought me various incidents.
“Lord, knights are dueling inside the city. No matter how much we try to stop them, the spectators are blocking us instead, saying it is a right before the sacred god. What should we do?”
“???”
No, what the hell was this again.
Even after I warned them like that, they were rampaging while dueling?
No matter what, to think they would go that far, even ignoring my honor.
Outraged, I ran straight to the scene myself. I meant to grab those rotten knights and the obstructing spectators and give them a thorough scolding.
But….
“Waaaah!”
“Fight! Wooo!”
“Sir Philip! Win. I bet money on you!”
The inside of the city was already a complete mess, with an impromptu dueling arena formed.
And even.
“Wahaha! That fellow is very impressive. Is he not, Your Highness?”
“He is. He is quite decent. Not as much as our elf knights, but for a human, hm hm.”
Nobles and the elf king, the Prince-elector of Bohemia, were watching the duel and judging it.
‘Oh, dear….’
Now I understood why they could not stop the spectators.
If it was an ordinary noble, you could ignore them and crush them, but it was a prince-elector. A prince-elector who co-ruled the neighboring great kingdom of Aragon and possessed vast territory within the Holy Empire.
As a mere administrator, it was difficult to tell such a being to disperse.
“Tsk tsk. That is why you should have rested after thinking carefully, you man.”
“Ahem. How could I have known it would be like this. Magician Agpiel. Is there no good way?”
“It is already hopeless. Stopping them.”
Magician Agpiel, who had come after hearing about this situation somewhere, said that.
“With hot-blooded fellows crowding into this narrow city, how could it not be.”
“Ghn….”
“Ah! Still, something comes to mind.”
“What is it?”
“Before they go to fight, their bodies ache and that is why they are doing that, is it not?”
“Mm, yes. Probably?”
“Then you just have to let them vent some strength, do you not.”
“Vent strength? What do you mean. That, too.”
What kind of puzzling talk was this. As expected of a magician, he really liked quizzes. Then Magician Agpiel looked at me as if I was pathetic and opened his mouth.
“Should you not hold a banquet? My goodness. This is the first time I have seen someone who does not hold a banquet at a noble gathering. You should hold a banquet and also hold a jousting tournament to raise the mood.”
Why would people about to go to war hold a banquet and a jousting tournament.
I could not adapt to the timeline of this [Pangea Universalise] era at all.
So relaxed.
If you were about to go to war, should you not be tense, and move swiftly and sharply?
But then.
“Mm? A jousting tournament?!”
From afar, the elf king, the Prince-elector of Bohemia, who had been judging the duel, suddenly beamed and cut in, as if he had heard the conversation.
“Hahaha. Yes. That is right. Before a war like this, it is banquets and jousting tournaments. You know something.”
“Uh, uh? Your Highness?”
Oh, no? Things were flowing strangely. I hurriedly waved my hands at the elf king, the Prince-elector of Bohemia.
But it was already too late.
“Everyone. The margrave says he will hold a banquet and a jousting tournament!”
“Oh? Really?”
“Praise be! The devout lord is holding a tournament!”
“Waaah! Those who know honor, let us attend!!”
Before I knew it, this story spread in an instant, and everyone was cheering and drawing their swords.
“…….”