novelraw Chapter 64: Directory Government - King of the Wastelands (1)
Chapter 64: Directory Government - King of the Wastelands (1)
The report from the border guard of the Southern Mountains was very unusual.
An Orc claiming to be the King of the Wastelands requested a conversation with our higher-ups.
In Francia, barbarians were imagined as uncivilized beasts, incapable of conversation. However, according to the border guards' report, they had sent letters in our language multiple times via arrows.
It's quite an interesting event, but no one in the National Assembly wanted to go all the way to the Southern Mountains to meet an Orc face-to-face.
Most of the nobles in the Central Party reacted even more negatively than other representatives.
Unlike Christine, who is more akin to a merchant, and myself, distanced from chivalry due to the Marquis, most Francia nobles learned the history of this country as knights fighting barbarians.
However, we couldn't ignore their request without listening, unsure of their reaction. Therefore, as the commander of the Southern Army and an assembly member, I was sent.
Riding south on horseback, I was deep in thought.
Was there such an event before the regression?
At that time, I was not the commander of the Southern Army, and even less a member of the National Assembly.If the Wasteland barbarians established a kingdom, rumors should have spread, and news should have reached the Lafayette territory in the south.
But I have never heard of such a thing until I was executed at the age of 28.
The revolutionaries had completely overthrown the old regime and declared victory six years prior. It remains impossible to know what variables may have occurred...
But would the changes in Francia affect the barbarians of the Wastelands?
Christine confirmed through the Aquitaine Company that something was indeed happening in the Wastelands...
"You seem to have a lot on your mind, Marquis."
At the sound of a voice beside me, I turned my head.
"Ah. It's such an unusual situation, General."
Ran Gaston, who became a general along with Louis Desaix at my strong recommendation, still looks at me with the attitude of my guard knight.
A general doesn't need to accompany me this far, yet his insistence on coming is both a relief and a burden.
"Ahem, ahem. It's more comfortable for me if you treat me like before..."
Gaston, who was addressed formally by me, opened his mouth, looking very awkward.
"But now you're a general."
"Before I am a general, I am the Marquis' knight."
Gaston answered without the slightest hesitation.
Even the nobles of the long-standing Knight Kingdom don't take on such a knightly attitude, it's quite a sight to behold.
I chuckled and looked at the procession following us.
Now, not only me but also Gaston has enough guards to follow him as a general.
- This time, I will make sure your loyalty is rewarded.
Those were the words I spoke to Gaston when I had just regressed, barely joining Christine to take Aquitaine, and wandered the south in search of Eris.
Even so, making him a general is a reward. Now, I can ask.
"Sir Gaston."
"Speak, Marquis."
"...May I ask why you are so loyal to me?"
It was something I had been curious about for a long time.
After the regression, I was good to him out of remorse, but before that, I had almost killed Gaston in the Knight's Trial.
After that, I didn't even apologize to him, and I was just uncomfortable.
It was merely an excuse; the Marquis would have found my flaws and tried to undermine my authority regardless. At the time, however, I felt defeated by him and was criticized as a disgrace to the nobility.
Nevertheless, Gaston remained loyal to me as a knight until the end, and died in battle against the revolutionary army.
Gaston scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed.
The man who was my age and seemed like the epitome of a silent and valiant knight, is making a boyish expression.
"This might be a bit of an embarrassing story..."
"If you're comfortable sharing, I'd like to hear it."
"As you know, Marquis, my father was a mercenary. It was a thankless job, doing anything for money."
"Yes, I know that well."
Raphael Valliant was also a mercenary. He's the type of mercenary who is capable and lucky, but I know that most are not.
"My father would always say how dirty a mercenary's job was when he came home. He told me not to become a mercenary, but to join a noble family and become a knight's squire at least. From a young age, I became interested in stories about nobles and knights, and knights seemed so cool compared to mercenaries."
I tried my best to suppress the laughter that was about to burst out.
The Kingdom of Francia, home of honorable knights.
Of course, the stories about knights in this country are epics of heroes full of honor and dreams, glorifying and embellishing them endlessly.
Come to think of it, Gaston listened to Eris' stories with great interest, didn't he?
The unbelievably innocent knight, despite his astonishing valor, scratched his head and said.
"So I truly admired honorable knights and tried to become one. Then, I was lucky enough to participate in the Knight's Trial, but, ahem. That's, um."
"Ah, it's okay. It's in the past. ...It's late, but I'm sorry. I almost killed you."
"Oh, no! I should be the one apologizing. After the humiliation you suffered because of me, I thought you would cast me aside. Yet, you continued to trust me and allowed me to remain a knight of the Marquisate."
I inadvertently gaped.
I did something shameful and malicious...Yet...He he sees that as a favor?
"So I made a promise then. To become an honorable and loyal knight, and to help you, who allowed me to achieve my dream. Ahem, ahem, that's all."
My, my. What a straight-laced and naive knight, without any political understanding.
I inwardly resolved to find and attach a capable aide with political skills to him and opened my mouth.
"Then you need to make a new dream now, don't you?"
"Yes?"
I turned my gaze away from Gaston and looked at the Lafayette's mansion, which I hadn't visited in a long time, and the people waiting in front of it.
"Look, these are the people you have protected by opening the way for me with your loyalty and courage."
Gaston slowly turned his gaze and looked at Baron Dumont and the servants who had come out to meet us.
People with faces full of pride and welcome, visible because we won the battle against the Storm Witch.
"You are already more honorable and loyal than any knight in the stories, and you have been more than helpful to me and my people."
I'm such a lucky guy that I look pathetic for not knowing it at all before the regression.
My fiancée was Christine and my knight was Gaston, it was more than I deserved, but I couldn't make use of it before the regression.
And yet, I started my new life with the goal of surviving the chaos of the revolution and being a better person than the Marquis I was before.
But now, just as I want not just to survive, but to protect this country and make it a better place with Christine and my people, and with Eris.
"I hope you can enjoy some other happiness as well. That way, I'll feel a little less sorry."
Gaston looked moved, but he scratched his head.
"Thank you, Marquis. But I can't think of anything right now."
"Hmm, well. Then how about falling in love?"
Gaston coughed.
This is getting an interesting reaction.
"Why, you became a knight because you admired the stories of knights. Stories with a lady are common in most stories."
"M-Marquis."
Gaston seemed embarrassed, so I chuckled.
"Ah, I'll stop. But it's true that I'd be happy if you had someone precious to you."
I recalled the moment when Christine, who usually has a very calm expression, softens her eyes when she sees me, and a smile spreads across her lips.
Savoring the feeling of happiness that fills me just by recalling it, I spoke to my most loyal knight with sincerity.
"It's really, a happiness you can only know by experiencing it. I hope you can feel it too."
-
We were able to rest for a while at the mansion, which we visited after a long time.
Baron Dumont, who had adapted quite well in the meantime, showed the dignity of a Republic official, but he also exaggeratedly told us how happy the people of the old Lafayette territory were about the heroic tales of me and Gaston.
It felt a bit exaggerated, but still, it felt like being praised by my family at home, so both Gaston and I had a pretty good time.
And after resting for a day, we immediately departed and arrived at the Southern Mountains.
The majestic mountain range stretches endlessly across the southern part of the Kingdom of Francia and the so-called 'Wastelands' of the Iberian Peninsula. The walls of the Southern Fortress built along the mountain range are visible.
We followed the road, admiring the mountains and the walls, and arrived at the gate where the messenger had been sent.
"Welcome, Marquis de Lafayette. I am Major Jean Ocon, manager of the third gate of the Southern Fortress. You arrived faster than I expected."
"It's a matter of urgency. Are you the one responsible for sending the messenger?"
"Yes, Marquis. I can't tell you how relieved I am that you came."
Relieved?
Major Ocon's subordinates seemed a little frightened, which puzzled me.
I instructed my party to unpack and immediately began interviewing Ocon.
"The Assembly has only received rumors, but is it certain that the barbarians have established a kingdom?"
"I cannot give you a definite answer as I have not crossed the wall, but it is presumed to be so."
Presumed. Presumed.
"On what grounds?"
"The Wastelands are barren and dry, yet people still live there, albeit in small numbers. They mainly survive by paying protection money to the barbarian tribes ruling the area, and according to them, the tribe of the one who recently claimed to be king is constantly waging expansion wars."
"Hmm, interesting. They live by paying protection money to the barbarians?"
Instead of a king, are they paying taxes to barbarians?
"Yes, that's right. But as the tribes protecting them became caught up in wars or increased protection money, the number of people fleeing to the gate increased, which is information confirmed by them."
I'm learning things I didn't know, likely because it's a border area.
If coexistence is possible even in that manner, I might need to adjust my perception of the barbarians slightly.
"And most merchant ships heading to the Mediterranean Sea pass through Perpignan or Montpellier, ports in southeastern Francia. Their common testimony is that Porto is buying large quantities of war supplies."
This is consistent with the information Christine gathered.
Porto, a small country, is located at the southern tip of the Wastelands, the Iberian Peninsula.
It's more of a city-state than a country, yet it's one of the few areas in the Wastelands where humans live stably and serves as a base for ships heading to the Mediterranean Sea.
The Aquitaine Company, based in the western trading port of Francia, also frequently visits for maritime trade with the Holy Theocracy.
"Hmm, is a city-state only interested in trade preparing for war, and are there constant wars between barbarians in the Wastelands?"
"Yes, sir."
I frowned involuntarily.
It sounds like trouble just by hearing about it.
Since Francia expelled all barbarians from the south and built a wall, there have only been sporadic raids and defensive battles on the border with the Wastelands for hundreds of years.
But a barbarian nation has appeared in the Wastelands, which remained a lawless zone divided into tribes, and it is alarming to the city-state that has long served as a trade hub in the south?
We must go to war with the Germania Empire at some point, so I want to avoid preparing for an attack from the south.
The good news is.
"So, their king wants to talk."
"Yes, sir. At first, I tried to ignore it, but it became increasingly difficult to ignore..."
Major Ocon seemed worried that I might be displeased, so I reassured him.
"No, it was the right decision to report this."
I also received and read the letter their king shot with an arrow, and although it was a little difficult to read, it was properly written in our language.
At least it's a positive sign that they want to talk, rather than being immediately hostile to Francia.
"But why do the subordinates seem quite frightened? Did they make any military threats-"
Before I could finish my words, a loud shout resounded outside.
[When-is-the-meeting!]
We are clearly inside the gate, but the air seems to be shaking from the magical shout.
Even I, a knight, felt my skin prickle and stand on end, and a hollow laugh escaped me.
"...So that's why?"
"I-I'm sorry, Marquis. That person periodically urges us like that."
"Huh, let's see his face."
I immediately got up and went out of the room.
"Marquis!"
"You're comming with me, Sir Gaston."
I went up the stairs with Gaston, who had run out of the room, and stood on the rampart of the gate, where I saw an Orc standing alone below.
"Oh."
He claims to be king and he's alone. He has guts.
I've read about Orcs in documents, but this is the first time seeing one in person.
It looks like a human, but with a muscular green upper body that looked ready to burst, only wearing leather pants, and a grim face with sharp fangs in its mouth.
There are many scars on the face and body, giving an overwhelming feeling; his size was much larger than me and even Gaston.
The Orc tilted his head slightly when he met my eyes.
He seems to be sizing me up, so I gathered magic power and opened my mouth.
"Do you want a meeting?"
"Yes!"
"I'll come down now."
Instead of answering, the Orc gave a satisfied smile.
When I immediately turned around, Major Ocon was surprised.
"M-Marquis? What about your guards?"
I glanced at the soldiers on the rampart, but the soldiers intimidated by the shout of the Orc king were pale.
"I don't need them. Sir Gaston, if you please."
"Yes!"
Ocon doesn't know what to do, but it's obvious. Those soldiers wouldn't even be worth a punch, would they?
Well, then.
Let's hear what the Orc king wants.