Chapter 109 - Episode 25: "A Jailbreak!?"
Gokigenyou! Violia Nico Fortesia here!
I have now arrived at the Kingdom of Asumbra.
And now, I shall release the dragons.
"Ferocious dragons in breeding season, and a kingdom with plenty of humans before them. It is the best."
I quickly open the Spatial Bag and take out the contents.
If I open the lid of the bag, turn it upside down, and shake it... in no time, the dragons come out, and while surprised by the kingdom spreading before them, they head straight toward it.
Results can be expected from this...
Now then.
Once I have released as many dragons as possible... roughly sixty of them, I have no further business, so I shall return on my dragon!
When I get back, I shall have dragon meat for a late-night snack!
Having returned to Elsemarin under the cover of night, I proceeded with my late-night snack of dragon meat and fine wine in an elegant manner, made Chesta, who was lured by the scent of dragon meat, dead drunk, and made Doran, who came to collect Chesta, join us for wine, thus greeting the morning.
"It is a fine morning."
"To think there's someone who eats that much dragon meat between night and morning..."
Because it is delicious. And, I was hungry from working all day.
When I go out and move, night is the basic rule. At night, it is difficult to be found even if flying above on a dragon, and even if found, I myself on top will almost certainly not be found.
But, one does get hungry in the middle of the night, doesn't one? Therefore, I think it is fine to have a day with such a luxurious late-night snack once in a while.
"Now then, I shall sleep until around noon. After that, I should check if any information has come in from the Elsemarin Guild."
"Understood. I'll take this guy back. ...I originally came with that intention, but I've stayed quite long."
"Oh. It was just right for me to kill some boredom."
Ever since falling from grace, I have completely become a night person, haven't I? An irregular lifestyle is the enemy of beauty, so I must be careful.
...Now then. Having seen Doran off as he carried Chesta back to the hideout, I decided to sleep in my own room.
Working hard, having plenty of delicious food, and then sleeping soundly in a fluffy bed. Mmm, it is the greatest luxury!
I was woken up in the middle of my luxury. How cruel.
"What is it...? It is not right to barge into a lady's bedroom..."
"Sorry. It's an emergency. It seems the Royal Family has urgently begun gathering military strength."
Oh. That was unexpectedly fast.
The current time is noon. Thinking about it... it means that immediately after the information that the Kingdom of Asumbra was attacked by dragons came in, the Royal Family began gathering military strength.
Likely, a formal request for aid from the Asumbra Royal Family has not come yet. Even so, the fact that Carol was summoned...
...I have a bad feeling about this...
"...And so, now is the opportunity. We shall invade Asumbra."
"Please stop such foolishness."
It was just as I expected. When I dragged Carol to the Royal Castle and made her question the King, it was just as I expected!
This King apparently intended to normally start a war with the Kingdom of Asumbra!
He likely thought that now, while they are weakened by the dragon attack, is the chance! But he really thinks of nothing but foolish things!
"But this is the time to attack. If we miss now, it will be like waiting for the Kingdom of Asumbra to attack our Orchesta. There is no reason to leave alone an opponent we know is going to start a war!"
"Your Majesty. With all due respect, if the Kingdom of Asumbra is easily weakened by a dragon attack, I believe we must consider the possibility that the original assumption was wrong."
It cannot be helped, so I shall have Carol explain it for him!
"The original assumption? That is..."
"It may have been a mistake that the Kingdom of Asumbra was trying to start a war."
"Even if they were attacked by dragons, if they were in the middle of increasing their armaments, they should be able to repel them. Conversely, if the dragons are invading the Kingdom of Asumbra so easily, doesn't that prove that the Kingdom of Asumbra had no armaments to begin with?"
"...In other words, Amavire Rent was lying?"
"Yes. That possibility exists!"
The moment Carol said that, the King made a sour face. Well, for a King who wants to start a war so badly, the loss of a pretext must be a tremendous blow. Ohohohohohoho!
"Even if you say that... it is hard to think that such a thing could happen. This dragon commotion might also be a trap."
"It cannot be a trap. Sightings of dragons have also been reported from surrounding countries, and it is also essentially impossible to artificially gather that many dragons!"
"B-but..."
The King does not know that Spatial Bags have been illegally modified to be able to take in living things, so there is no way he can argue against this. It is perfect!
While the King was agonizing, Carol delivered the finishing blow.
"...War is not something that should be done. Even if the other side originally intended to start a war, it would already be difficult in this situation. Then, we should act as if it never happened from the start and live in peace. Rather, shouldn't we send aid and form a peace treaty?"
"B-but, the food and weapons, we have gathered this much. How shall we tell the people..."
"The people do not know that a war might have happened. Please use the weapons for monster extermination, and the food to save refugees and the poor of our own country. Wouldn't the country be settled peacefully with that?"
"But... but..."
The King is a poor loser, isn't he? Since there is an opponent before him that he could win against with a single blow, I can understand his hesitation... but well, being found by Carol was the end of his luck!
"Or, by any chance, does Your Majesty wish for war...?"
When Carol's eyes finally turned to suspicion, the King had no more room for excuses... and he had no choice but to promise that 'he would not go to war'!
Now then.
The Kingdom of Asumbra side was settled relatively smoothly after that.
The reason is that a massive number of dragon hunting requests flowed into the Guild.
If one goes to the Kingdom of Asumbra, there are a massive number of dragons, and what's more, the dragons, who have become a bit quiet after attacking a human nation, are now holding a large-scale matchmaking party with the Kingdom of Asumbra as the stage, so it was a perfect target for adventurers aiming for a quick fortune. Adventurers from various countries poured in, and the dragons of the Kingdom of Asumbra were hunted in no time, or they fled and disappeared somewhere. Ah, by the way, I also hunted a few. They were delicious.
And while the Kingdom of Asumbra was settled, the King.
As long as he is under the eyes of Carol, the representative of the Cathedral and the people, he cannot start a war.
The profit that should have been obtained from the war cannot be obtained.
What remains afterward are the weapons and food gathered by force, and only the dissatisfaction of the people.
In this situation... a target to vent the King's dissatisfaction upon becomes necessary.
Yes. He has no choice but to vent his dissatisfaction on the great criminal who deceived the King and made him prepare for war in vain.
And so, two days later, an 'Announcement of the Public Execution of Amavire Rent' arrived at the Elsemarin Guild. Ohohohohoho.
Regarding the public execution of the Pin-Hane Girl, it was accepted in both Elsemarin and the Royal Capital with a sense of 'well, that's expected.' In Elsemarin, it is because there are many who were treated poorly during her time as a Guild clerk, and in the Royal Capital, it is because there are many who saw the disaster during the Saint voting. And it is a public execution after a long time. It cannot be helped if the town gets a bit excited.
The Pin-Hane Girl's charges have already spread throughout the town.
'Attempting to defile the sacred Saint voting,' 'Attempting to entrap the country with false accusations,' 'Suspicion of conspiring with Violia Nico Fortesia.' Something like that? It is vexing that the skimming (pin-hane) at the Guild is not among the charges, but since two of the three listed are false accusations, well, I can forgive it.
Though, regarding 'Attempting to entrap the country with false accusations,' she has no choice but to die since she can no longer make any excuses. Ohohoho.
And so, on the night before the public execution.
Since it was a special occasion, I decided to go to the Royal Castle with Carol to mock her. Ostensibly, it is a 'petition for clemency.' Carol was on the side that had issued a petition for clemency. It would not be strange for her to move here.
...And so, we came to the Royal Castle... but how strange, it is somewhat noisy. Is it busy with preparations for the public execution? No, even so, I feel like something is a bit off...
"Um, has something happened?"
When Carol asked the Minister who was wandering around at just the right time.
"Ah, Saint-sama! Th-that is..."
The Minister was particularly flustered... and then, he said this.
"Amavire Rent has escaped!"