Chapter 105 - Chapter 21: "The Path to Innocence Has Vanished."
Good day to you! I am Violia Nico Fortesia!
I am currently watching as the Pin-Hane Girl is being fed all sorts of information!
"Then, it is true that Violia Nico Fortesia-san had crossed over to the Kingdom of Windry before the Kingdom Festival?"
"That's righttt, it's trueee."
"The preparations she was making there were for a secret uprising in the Kingdom of Windry. The Kingdom of Windry has already promised cooperation in the war... is this also correct information?"
"You know a lottt."
"Then, between the end of the Kingdom Festival and the Saint vote, it was decided that the Kingdom of Asumbra would invade this country, and the Kingdom of Windry is planned to provide support behind the scenes..."
"...It would have been better if it weren't trueee. I think so tooo."
"Ah, how could this be... then, does it mean all the surrounding countries are in favor of attacking this country?"
"Hmm, it seems there are some countries that aren't that keen on ittt. I don't know the details thoughhh."
...It's going like this.
In this manner, she has been feeding the Pin-Hane Girl non-existent facts with great momentum for a while now.
Of course, the selection of information is up to the Pin-Hane Girl's discretion, so she'll occasionally say things like, "Ah, that's wronggg," but including that, things are becoming quite outrageous.
...Ah, I'm truly surprised at how much she can lie!
As for the information being fed to the Pin-Hane Girl, it is specifically that 'Violia Nico Fortesia is inciting other countries to attack the Kingdom of Orchesta.'
The Kingdom of Windry will provide aid, and the one actually at the forefront will be the Kingdom of Asumbra. That's how the story goes.
...The Kingdom of Asumbra is a country that was suddenly attacked and defeated by the Kingdom of Orchesta a long time ago. They should have a grudge against the Kingdom of Orchesta. Well, that doesn't mean they would suddenly start a war with this country now.
Furthermore, the idea of the Kingdom of Windry providing aid is quite interesting.
Back when I was selling Starry Sky Cakes, information about me actually being in the surrounding countries was circulating, so there is already information that the royal family could consider as evidence. If this information flows from the Pin-Hane Girl to the King, it will likely be judged as sufficiently credible.
...If the King believes the information that came from the Pin-Hane Girl, he will think, 'We must increase our military strength before the Kingdom of Asumbra invades.'
At the same time, will the pressure on the Kingdom of Windry increase? If they devote effort to that, our chances of making a profit will increase in various ways.
They might even go so far as to attack before being attacked. If that happens, many weapons will likely be sold in the Kingdom of Asumbra again. Giovan will be very busy. I wonder if I should have the drug dealers switch to being weapon merchants? If that seems more profitable, let's do that.
Now then. The information made entirely of lies, that 'Violia Nico Fortesia is inciting other countries to start a war,' has finally become firmly established within the Pin-Hane Girl.
It is like a castle made of papier-mâché. Or a grand mirage.
Now, I wonder how many people will be jerked around by this hallucination?
"...Thank you very much. With this, the Cathedral can also start moving toward preventing the war."
By the time Carol said that with a somber expression, the Pin-Hane Girl already had a face like she was trying to hold back a smile. Good for you. You've obtained information. Almost all of it is a lie, though.
"Since I have received confirmation from Amavire-san, I can now speak to His Majesty the King about this. I believe we must share this information with His Majesty and take urgent national measures..."
After giving that preamble, Carol asked the Pin-Hane Girl.
"If you would, could you be present at the sharing of this information?"
"Eh?"
"Even if I tell His Majesty that I heard it from you, it will not lead to an improvement in your situation."
"Eh? Eh?"
The Pin-Hane Girl is confused by the bait suddenly dangled in front of her. Yes. If bait is dangled so obviously, she would naturally be wary and confused. To the extent that she doesn't realize the previous bait was also bait.
But it's a simple thing.
Carol is a Saint, after all.
"...Because you cooperated for the peace of this country. For you, this must be equivalent to a confession."
Carol smiled, acting as a Saint through and through.
"One should be saved for the amount of sin confessed. Should people not be able to start over even if they make a mistake?"
Yes. And so, the final fishing was also successfully completed.
The Pin-Hane Girl went along with this story, so finally, the story that 'the Kingdom of Asumbra is being incited by Violia Nico Fortesia to start a war' will be conveyed to the King as the truth.
From the royal family's perspective, there is no benefit for the Cathedral and the Pin-Hane Girl to conspire, so the credibility will know no bounds!
That day, we returned to Carol's guest room and slept, and the next morning, Carol reported to the King in the form of a consultation that she had obtained a statement from the Pin-Hane Girl. Before conveying the content, she pleaded for an improvement in the Pin-Hane Girl's treatment and suggested hearing the information from the Pin-Hane Girl herself.
The King was greatly surprised by this, but since Carol was saying, "It is an urgent matter," he couldn't refuse and went to the dungeon with her.
When we arrived at the Pin-Hane Girl, who was waiting excitedly and restlessly, the Pin-Hane Girl, unlike her previous state, rattled off information about the war to the King. The King was surprised again.
While being surprised, the King seemed to have estimated the credibility of this information to be high...
...With the above, the Kingdom of Orchesta has decided to hold an emergency meeting.
Well, if they think a war is about to be started against them, they'll prepare for it in a hurry...
By the way, it's really convenient to be by Carol's side dressed as a Holy Knight.
When the King came to consult with Carol after the meeting, I could stay by her side and listen to the conversation.
"...That is how it is. According to Amavire Rent's report, the Kingdom of Asumbra's preparations are still taking time. If that is the case, we have time to make our own preparations. It was a blessing in disguise that we were able to obtain information early."
"Yes. We must move urgently to protect the citizens."
When Carol said that and nodded, the King hesitated for a moment and then shook his head.
"...However, we cannot move openly. We must not let Violia Nico Fortesia herself, or the people of the Kingdom of Asumbra, know that we have realized her intentions. There is a fear that the start of the war might be moved forward."
"That is..."
That is a very reasonable opinion. Well, it wouldn't be a problem if they knew. After all, the Kingdom of Asumbra has no intention of starting a war at all, and I'm right here and know everything.
"Therefore, we cannot move openly, but... fortunately, there are some things that can be used as excuses for preparation. We can gather excellent soldiers and collect food and weapons without it being known that the purpose is to prepare for war."
Oh. Was there such an excuse?
...As for food, since there is a famine caused by the slime outbreak, they could say that the country will buy up a certain amount of food to prepare for the future, but as for weapons, and above all, if they gather soldiers, wouldn't that be quite problematic in various ways...?
But for Carol, the problem is not that.
"...Your Majesty. Um, if I may be so bold, is it not possible to arrange a meeting with the Kingdom of Asumbra? To prevent the war before it starts..."
That is a very reasonable opinion!
Yes! Before preparing for war, preventing the war is more important for a Saint!
Whether they win or lose, many people will die in a war. From the Saint's position, it's naturally better not to have a war!
"That will not do. What if the negotiations break down? They might realize we've caught on and attack all at once. Therefore, we must first make our own preparations. If we can implicitly show that we are also prepared, then perhaps we can prevent the war through negotiations."
...Well, what the King says is also reasonable. Yes.
It's ridiculous to think that you can stop a war just by saying, "Please stop the war!" when you have no military strength.
It would be one thing to negotiate to avoid mutual disadvantage while hinting at military strength, but...
...Of course, the King probably thinks, 'If they start a war and we can beat them back, we'll make a huge profit!' so I don't think he'll move toward avoiding the war.
"That's good, Amavire-san. For now, you've been able to leave the dungeon."
Now then. After the meeting was over. As promised, there was an improvement in the Pin-Hane Girl's treatment.
Surprisingly, the Pin-Hane Girl was moved.
Soldiers were firmly placed in front, behind, to the left, and to the right of the Pin-Hane Girl, and behind them were the smiling Carol and us. Surrounded by soldiers, the Saint, and Holy Knights, even the Pin-Hane Girl didn't seem to have the courage to escape.
Safely, the Pin-Hane Girl was transported, and her treatment was improved from being held in the dungeon to being under house arrest in an ordinary room.
Only the box has changed, and the situation hasn't improved much, and above all, the path to asserting her innocence has vanished, so from now on, the Pin-Hane Girl has no choice but to live as an accomplice to a great criminal, that is, a criminal.
...But well, the Pin-Hane Girl seems to have started harboring some mysterious hope on her own, so isn't that fine? It's up to the King and the citizens' mood when she'll be publicly executed, but until then, please enjoy your time.