Chapter 89 - Episode 5: "Retaliating by Scattering Mysterious Documents, desu-wa"
Gokigenyou. It is I, Violia Nico Fortesia.
It's been a few days since Carol declared her candidacy for Saint. The enemy's sabotage has splendidly begun!
"As expected, some people have started exposing Carol's background."
Yes. After all, Carol is a beautiful girl who was originally a slave. Even though she has been released from her slave status now, the fact that she was a slave in the past is undoubtedly a bad impression.
"I'm sorry, if only I had handled things a bit better..."
"It would have come out sooner or later. It cannot be helped."
Carol isn't the girl Saki-sama put a Slave Collar on, so records of Carol becoming a slave remain in other towns.
It's almost impossible to erase them, and rather than spending effort on erasing them, it's better to spend power and time on other ways to fight.
"What should we do? Won't the people who find out I was a slave refuse to vote for me?"
"You're being naive, Carol. All the settlers in this Settlement are already head over heels for you. Their votes won't budge. ...However, it will indeed be an obstacle when acquiring new votes."
"Then, I won't be able to win this vote..."
The fact that information about Carol's past status was leaked from the circles of other Saint candidates was also aimed at damaging Carol's impression.
...But this is also a chance.
"Are you listening, Carol? You are making one mistake."
I puffed out my chest and answered.
"The opposite of 'affection' is not 'hostility.' ...It is 'indifference.'"
What cannot be seen is the same as not existing. Words not spoken are the same as not existing. A Saint candidate known by no one is the same as not existing!
The thing Carol must avoid most is not hostility. It doesn't matter if she's hated.
'Many people hate her, but many people love her. And few people don't know her.' That is a reasonable line. Yes. I have no intention of having her be loved by everyone and getting votes from everyone from the start!
"The fact that rumors about you have started means your name recognition has increased. It's not that difficult to use this to our advantage and earn votes for you."
When I said that, Carol looked anxious, but she nodded anyway.
"...Therefore, what is needed here is selection. It's about identifying where you can get votes."
"For example, the ones who will vote for a Saint from a slave background are slaves."
"But slaves don't have the right to vote."
"Yes. But there must be quite a few people who have returned to commoner status from slave status, right?"
It's not just Carol. It's not that rare for slaves to return to commoner status.
Especially around here, when the noble district of Elsemarin was wiped out all at once, slaves released from their status flooded the area...
"Therefore, what you must do is not let your direction waver. The image you should aim for is... 'a beautiful girl who lives earnestly despite having a past of being a slave'!"
A week after Carol's bad reputation started, sympathy votes began to come in for her.
On the other hand, she has a bad reputation among the nobles who loathe those of slave status, but that can't be helped. We'll discard the noble votes. Since the nobles are mostly people who want to vote for Saint candidates involved in their own interests anyway, cutting them off was originally within our expectations.
...And with this, we've mostly figured out who started Carol's bad reputation.
In short, it's someone who feels strong disgust upon hearing the fact that 'Carol was a slave in the past.' In short, it's one of the nobles.
That person probably didn't think Carol would maneuver well and gain the support of the commoners as a 'pitiful and cute Sister who escaped slavery and is working hard.' The perspectives of nobles and commoners are vastly different! It's common for things nobles think are brilliant ideas to not work on commoners! Ohohoho!
...But anxiety remains.
Carol suffered almost no damage from this smear campaign, but I don't think the enemy will just back off.
If Carol's name recognition and popularity have actually increased, there's no telling what they'll do next.
...But of course, Carol is absolutely not allowed to do anything to them. A maiden who is to become a Saint must smile and forgive no matter what the enemy does.
Therefore, it is my job to take them down.
I immediately consulted Giovan.
After all, he's still doing buy-ins in the back alleys of Elsemarin. Information is also a commodity. Since he both procures and sells it, he has a fair amount of information.
"So, House Orchesta was the main culprit this time."
"It's nine out of ten certain."
And the mastermind behind this was revealed quite easily.
House Orchesta is a branch of House Clarino. Well, unlike House Clarino, which is a house of knights that has achieved many military exploits, it's a house that doesn't really stand out.
"Since there shouldn't have been a daughter of House Orchesta among the Saint candidates pushed by the Royal Family, I suppose they were just incited and made to take the fall."
"They probably want to make sure the Royal Family isn't damaged even if it's found out that House Orchesta was spreading bad rumors."
...Even if I take down the people who spread Carol's bad rumors this time, a second or third assassin will likely appear. House Orchesta will surely be treated as a dragon's tail to be cut off.
"Well, I don't think you can attack straight from House Orchesta to the Royal Family. Plus, even if you do something to House Orchesta, sabotage against Sister Carol will surely come from somewhere else. What will you do, Milady?"
Even if I take down House Orchesta, it won't be a complete solution. It'll be endless.
After all, the other side has an astronomical number of hands joined together. While they are connected here and there and working in cooperation, we are countering them with just Carol alone. We definitely won't be able to get the upper hand through sabotage.
...But.
Even if the effect is thin, even if it's endless, still.
"That's already decided. I shall crush House Orchesta as an example!"
I must make them understand what happens if they spread bad rumors about Carol!
And so, I dispatched Chesta to the Royal Capital.
I had Chesta carry a Spatial Bag filled with a large number of bones (including human bones!) and a large number of papers with 'The daughter of House Orchesta must pay the contract fee' written in red ink.
Chesta flew into the night sky on a dragon.
...And then, a large number of bones and mysterious documents rained down from the sky above House Orchesta in the Royal Capital.
It's ominous no matter how you look at it. There's no way it won't affect the Saint vote!
As expected, by the day after next, news of House Orchesta's misfortune had reached the Elsemarin Guild.
In the middle of the night, in an instant, a large number of bones and mysterious documents rained down on the noble mansions around House Orchesta. It became a huge rumor.
Bones were scattered on the roofs and in the gardens of the noble mansions, and on top of that, papers with 'The daughter of House Orchesta must pay the contract fee' rained down. It was a bizarre phenomenon. Naturally, the town is buzzing.
Since Fawn Tart Hornbone's recent demon summoning is still fresh in the memories of the people in the Royal Capital, rumors have started that 'House Orchesta might have also performed a demon summoning.'
No one would think that someone would ride a dragon and scatter bones and mysterious documents from the sky, so it seems to have worked perfectly.
Even if not a single piece of evidence of demon summoning comes out, their reputation won't stop plummeting the moment the mysterious documents and bones were scattered!
Well, they should be grateful I didn't set their mansion on fire! Ohohohohoho!
Now then. The other side must know they've been 'retaliated against,' but since they don't want to explicitly state that they were the ones who spread Carol's bad rumors, they shouldn't be able to do anything to us openly.
...However, it's quite possible they'll do something not-so-openly, so we must continue to be vigilant.
At this point, I've already put Doran, Keeb, Onii-sama, and even volunteer adventurers from the Elsemarin Guild on full-time security for the Settlement.
Since our strategy is to earn votes by bringing people from the boonies, it's not hard to imagine there would be people trying to target the Settlement itself.
It would be a disaster if they accidentally set it on fire, so for the less than a month until the Saint vote, we will thoroughly guard it!
...And so, we were as vigilant as possible.
However, as if mocking our efforts, those people did something outrageous.
With only 20 days left until the Saint vote, ominous footsteps approached the peaceful Settlement.
It was... soldiers dispatched from the Royal Castle.
"Is the representative of this Settlement here?"
While the settlers trembled at the soldiers' imposing manner, they brought Carol and introduced her to the soldiers.
...Then.
"This Settlement is suspected of harboring great criminals. By order of the Royal Family, we shall now demolish this Settlement."
The soldier actually spouted such nonsense!