I Don’t Need a Guillotine for My Revolution

Chapter 143: Iberica - Knight, and Brother

After declaring victory and founding the Iberian Brotherhood,

Kroxx decided to hold a grand, multi-day, nationwide festival, releasing a massive amount of military rations and slaughtering livestock.

I wondered if it was truly okay to use up all the military rations, even though the war was over, but Kroxx's answer was simple.

-Food can be bought or grown again, but a day like this will never come again!

What a boisterous, live-for-the-moment Orc…

Well, the trade route Christine maintains is intact, and Francia’s harvest last year was quite good, apparently, so I suppose it will work out somehow.

In any case, this was the first unified nation founded on the Iberian Peninsula. For a country with such a diverse population, it was true that there was a need to win hearts and reassure its residents.

I was taking a leisurely stroll through the streets of Port Harbor, where the festival was in full swing.

From the nearby festival streets, illuminated as brightly as midday despite the night, laughter could be heard, while the streets untouched by the festival's flames remained dark.

Walking amidst that light and darkness gave me a subtle sense of peace, and I turned to Gaston, who was silently following me, and spoke.“In the end, our mission here has concluded safely.”

“Indeed, Your Excellency the Marquis.”

He always follows me in silence, only giving simple answers when asked.

Even though he has been through all sorts of trials as a general of the Revolutionary Army and has made a name for himself, Gaston remains unchanged.

His attitude seemed little different from the time he worked as a mere personal guard of mine, holed up in the fief after defeating me in the knight's tournament.

I heard that even the Blue Knight was a paragon of chivalry in his youth, yet he changed so much.

“We’ve been through a lot, haven’t we? Leaving the Marquisate Lafayette for Francia, the Germania Empire, and now to the southern tip of Iberica.”

“It has been an honor to follow Your Excellency the Marquis this far.”

Gaston replied as if he truly meant it. My, how steadfastly principled.

“Is that so, even after you nearly died twice following me—once by the Empire’s assassins, and again here swept up in the Mana Storm?”

I couldn’t tell him, but before my regression, he had also died fighting for me, hardly a man worth respecting.

…Perhaps it wasn’t for me, but for the chivalry he had dreamed of.

“For a knight, overcoming danger with his lord is an honor.”

At the unwavering reply, I turned to face Gaston.

No, that’s not right.

His attitude might be similar, but what was in his eyes had changed greatly from what I saw in the marquisate then, or when he looked at me before my regression.

Reflected in Gaston's lamplit eyes was a clear sense of pride, and I spoke with a bitter smile.

“I am a lord far removed from chivalry. I do not hesitate to commit dishonorable acts if necessary, and there was even a time when I, having lost my reason, slaughtered members of the assembly and likely mere underlings in the middle of a city street.”

Christine would gladly love even a man like me.

But Gaston, who worships chivalry itself.

“There is no law in chivalry that compels a lord to be just, Your Excellency the Marquis.”

I gave a bitter smile.

Right, it was just something kings and nobles, who wanted loyalty and honorable conduct, made up for their own convenience.

As I was thinking that, Gaston spoke with conviction.

“However, every moment I have followed you, Your Excellency the Marquis, I have considered it an honor to follow your path. Whatever Your Excellency may think of it, the path you have walked has protected our motherland and saved many people.”

“…It just happened to turn out that way.”

My top priority is still Christine and those I must protect.

If I must include Eris in that, it is only because I wish to fulfill the Queen's desire to protect the people of Francia as much as possible.

Gaston, who had been listening silently, retorted.

“But Your Excellency. If your path ultimately protects and saves many, who would dare say that path has no honor?”

Hearing that, I couldn't help but laugh in the end.

“Haha, hahaha… The feudal system has long since vanished, and the relationship between you and me is merely that of a military superior and his subordinate. And yet, to you, am I a lord worthy of being followed as a knight?”

“Yes, Your Excellency the Marquis. It has been so until now, and it will be so in the future.”

To the knight who answered without a shred of hesitation, I replied with a smile.

“Then I, too, shall speak. Sir Lan Gaston. You said you admired the knights in stories and wished to become such a person.”

To the knight born the son of a mere mercenary, who followed his childhood dream his entire life and walks that path without faltering even after becoming a general.

“As the last noble in an age where knights and nobles are meeting their end, I tell you, you are braver than any knight in the stories and more loyal than any knight. You will remain the last and greatest knight, and your tale will be told for a long, long time.”

Gaston’s eyes widened as if he never expected me to say such a thing, and he soon dropped to one knee in a show of respect.

“It is an honor, Your Excellency the Marquis!”

“Now, then.”

He has suffered until now, and once we return, he will be the knight to face the most trials, confronting the formidable Krafte Kingdom once again.

“You’ve proven your valor and honor sufficiently, but if that’s all there is, the story would be too dull.”

“Pardon?”

I smirked at Gaston's quizzical face and pointed a finger behind him.

“Oh, was I interrupting the story?”

A short distance away, Shandra was smiling awkwardly, so I smiled back.

“No, you came at just the right time. My steadfast knight here is so clueless he’d miss the dance if a lady didn’t ask him. Go on, take him.”

“Ahaha, thank you, Marquis-nim! Then I’ll be borrowing this knight~!”

“As you wish.”

“Ah, uh… Then, I will take my leave, Your Excellency the Marquis!”

Shandra, the feisty infidel warrior, is a far cry from the ladies in tales of chivalry, but that, too, must have its own charm.

I watched the scene from afar, where people had begun to dance around a bonfire to the sound of lively drums and percussion, unlike the elegant melodies of Francia.

And Shandra, holding Gaston’s hand and leading him that way.

…If Christine had come with me, would I have joined in?

As I was pondering whether Christine, who was the very picture of an aristocratic lady, would fit in at such a gathering, a massive presence, difficult to conceal, approached.

“Is it alright for the main character to be away when the festival is in full swing?”

Hearing my words, Kroxx burst out in a hearty laugh and replied.

“Uahahaha, isn't it considerate for the high-and-mighty to make way in due time! You seem free, so let me borrow some of your time, brother!”

I let out a smirk.

First Gaston, now Kroxx.

Since Christine isn't here, I'm only meeting men tonight.

*

Porto was an ancient, sprawling trade city.

As is often the case with such cities, while it boasted a brilliant and prosperous center, it also held an equal measure of misery and darkness.

Kroxx strode naturally through the slums and back alleys of Porto, a spiderweb of tangled streets, as if he knew them intimately.

Normally, residents would be here, but thanks to the festival Kroxx had proclaimed for all, there was almost no one left in these dirty, narrow alleys.

“You seem quite familiar with these streets.”

“Places like this rarely change, brother. Those who live here die quickly, and another born among them lives on, only to die having accomplished nothing. Those with the will or ability to change things try to escape, not change it.”

I see.

To be honest, having been raised a noble and never having ventured into a place like this, it felt quite unfamiliar to me.

So even in such a prosperous city, such misery coexists.

It occurred to me that there were probably places like this in Lumiere, places I wasn't even aware existed.

There is a severe gap between receiving reports that Eris was helping the poor in the slums and seeing firsthand a street where it seemed impossible for people to live.

After walking for a while, Kroxx stopped in front of a building that was quite large for this alley.

Kroxx strode into the building, its door completely shattered, and muttered, not in his usual booming voice, but softly.

“I’m finally back.”

“Back?”

Kroxx grinned and led me into a space with a floor lined with severed shackles.

From the looks of it, this must have been one of the places where my dispatched subordinates had liberated slaves.

“I was born and raised here. My mother was a slave here, and I don't know who my father was.”

“…I see.”

I recalled him telling me he grew up with humans when I had wondered how strangely knowledgeable he was about them.

But I had never imagined it meant being born and raised a slave in a slum like this.

“Shandra and Hassan were the children of an employee who worked for this merchant guild. They found me, a diligent, curious slave with a thirst for knowledge, and taught me many things.”

As I tried to figure out what to say, Kroxx looked at me and spoke.

“I'm sorry to only tell you now. I have proclaimed myself king, but my bloodline is humble. To you, a noble from birth, it might seem rude for someone like me to call you a brother.”

“…What are you saying now, of all times? I am the commander of the Revolutionary Army, which rose up against the class system. What does it matter where you came from? Your accomplishments are so great.”

Kroxx grinned and replied.

“Yes, you were like that. You thought more about whether we would be of help to you than about us being barbarians.”

“Because I learned that things like status are nothing more than a starting point one doesn't choose.”

Things like race or status are not something a being can choose from the start.

How unjust it is to rashly judge a being based on something simply given to them.

Christine, despite coming from a family that bought its title with money, is more noble and wise than so-called high-ranking nobles.

Eris, even if she hadn't been a princess, has a character so noble she would be worthy of being called a saintess.

Gaston was born the son of a mere mercenary, yet he is more knightly and honorable than those high-and-mighty noble knights.

And there is Giselle Davi, a mere commoner and a woman, who enlisted in the army and is distinguishing herself through her ability.

“The man I see is in no way unfit to call himself the king of Iberica. Likewise, regardless of your beginning, I take pride in being called a brother by someone like you.”

“Uahahahaha!”

Kroxx burst out laughing, his face looking relieved.

“It felt quite unsettling to hide things from you while calling you my brother, so I decided to tell you. I think I did the right thing.”

“I, too, am glad. For a man who has become the king of a nation, it is not an easy decision to reveal a hidden flaw. It seems I have earned that much of your trust.”

Kroxx grinned, then started walking again.

After following him for a short while, we left the slums and could see a hill.

Below the hill, the still-dark night sea stretched out.

“This was the only place where I could open my heart in this sewer of a place.”

“Yes, I see.”

Did he nurture his dreams here in his slave days, looking down at the vast sea?

“I'm only saying this now, but your revolution was a kind of hope for us.”

“Was it?”

“Hahaha, it breathed something completely new into a mind that had only been thinking how to desperately escape this place as a slave.”

“Ah. I see.”

So, upon seeing the revolution erupt in Francia and overthrow the old regime, Kroxx conceived the idea of establishing a unified nation in Iberica and driving out Porto and its demons.

“It wasn't exactly a romantic revolution, though.”

I said, a bitter smile forming.

Now, a series of coincidences brought about by my actions have led to the founding of the Iberian Brotherhood, but before my regression, this probably would not have been the case.

The point when the revolution, running rampant with madness, finally achieved victory against the old regime and I was executed, was still two years away.

The revolution's progression took so long, so who knows what would have become of Kroxx, who would have remained a slave until then.

“Uahahaha! Yes, I know, I’ve heard about it from you and Shandra! But isn't that how the world works! The reality on the inside is different from how it appears on the outside! Our nation has only just been founded, so the path ahead will be even harder.”

I let out a smirk.

Yes, thankfully he seems to be well aware. This boisterous Orc isn't just muscle for brains.

“Nevertheless, you were our goal and our hope! That is why I took the risk and reached out to you first, despite the opposition.”

Ah, so that's why.

So that was the reason for that bizarre action, the king himself coming out alone to the gate in the Southern Mountains to request a meeting.

Kroxx bared his fangs in a wide grin.

“And I met you, and came this far. With that alone, I can say with confidence that your revolution, and you, were truly our hope and led us to this point.”

I smiled gently.

“I am glad to hear that.”

They might have remained a nameless nation of mere barbarians who fought against the demons and Port Harbor, only to be destroyed.

But now.

“I swear on this spot, brother. You have not only returned the trust we placed in you, but you have also bestowed upon us a great favor. I, Kroxx, and the Brothers of Iberica will stand with you no matter what happens, until the day we repay that grace in full.”

This was more than just a diplomatic promise between nations; it was a vow made by the legendary Orc hero who started as a slave and raised a unified kingdom.

I answered him with a smile.

“I am grateful. For showing me that my decision to take your hands and fight for you was the right one. …It was an honor to be a part of the myth you are writing.”

Hearing my words, Kroxx laughed heartily and slapped me on the shoulder.

“What are you saying? The history of our two nations that you and I started is only just beginning!”

“Haha… I suppose that’s true.”

I gently turned my gaze to the horizon far away, where the light was faintly beginning to brighten.

It’s just the beginning.

Well then.

Is the necessary counterweight to stand against that ‘Great King’ now in place?