Chapter 55 - Prince Roberts
Crossing the eastern pass of the Nakanohara District leads to an area called the Higashinohara District. It is a plain spreading across the basin of the Nakanohara River, and unlike the basin of Nakanohara, the plains expand particularly in the southern part. The northern edge is mountainous.
To the north of those mountains lies a forest uncharted by humans. A deep forest called the Northeastern Forest, divided by several rivers, stretches out, and a portion of the Demon Lord's army had fled into it.
The Northeastern Forest and Higashinohara are connected by a single highway built at a break in the mountains.
A large fortress is built on a ridge overlooking that highway, where about a thousand soldiers of the Sertoria Kingdom Army are stationed.
When the Demon Lord was resurrected, a force of about ten thousand led by an officer of the Demon Lord's army attacked Higashinohara from the forest in response.
The unit at the fortress succeeded in stalling them until reinforcements arrived from the neighboring Medioland, creating the factor that led to the victory in the first field battle against the Demon Lord's army.
Currently, they are keeping a watchful eye on the highway to ensure the Demon Lord's army, which fled back to the forest, does not invade again.
The commander of the fortress has traditionally been a member of the royal family or a candidate for the next commander-in-chief of the army. This is because it is also the front line of diplomacy with Medioland, a neighboring and friendly nation.
The current commander is the King's younger brother, Roberts, whose martial prowess is said to surpass even the previous King who defeated the Demon Lord.
He has absolutely no interest in politics. As if it were natural to leave the royal palace and live in this fortress, he left the Royal Capital and moved in.
And, as the previous commander was appointed commander-in-chief of the army, he became the commander as he was.
Ten years have passed since then. His diplomacy with Medioland is simple and clear; he acts only as a good friend.
At times, he would put a single barrel of wine on a horse's back and go alone to the border fortresses to share a cup with the soldiers. If that were all, he would just be a cheerful general who cares for his subordinates, but the fortresses he visited included those of Medioland across the border.
Once every two or three months, he would go to the neighboring Royal Capital with a small retinue to have an audience with the King of Medioland, where he also drank wine. The King loved his straightforward personality and was simultaneously relieved. That was Roberts' diplomacy.
The King of Medioland has three sons and three daughters. Among them, the third princess, Gladys, was spoiled as the youngest of the siblings, but she was naturally unrestrained and what one might call a tomboy.
She wore armor, rode horses, and swung spears; even if the King or her brothers ordered her to stay behind, she would secretly come out to the front lines, and she publicly declared every day that she would only marry a man stronger than herself.
Roberts, who heard this story—or rather, the complaints of a father with a daughter who kept breaking off marriage proposals—from the King of Medioland at a banquet, offered to take her on himself.
As soon as he faced the princess, he struck down the spear she held with his own sword, and when she threw away the spear and came at him for a grapple, he ruthlessly pinned her to the ground and carried her back to the fortress as if snatching her away. At that time, Gladys was eighteen and Roberts was twenty-seven. That was a story from two years ago.
The King of Medioland secretly rejoiced at the marriage of his favorite, Roberts, and his beloved youngest daughter.
The marriage of a royal daughter is nothing more than a tool for diplomacy. Eventually, she would be married off to a man she had never even seen. It's fine if she bears an heir, but if not, she's disposable. Furthermore, being the third daughter, her partner might not be royalty but a vassal noble, perhaps the second wife of a forty-year-old man with concubines.
Knowing that full well, the youngest daughter, who had completely ignored bridal training and practiced only martial arts, had finally made her earnest childhood love bear fruit, and he knew it.
It probably started when Gladys, who was learning how to use a dagger as part of self-defense for a woman who couldn't use magic, happened to have Roberts, who was passing by, act as her practice partner.
Her declaration that she would become strong and marry Roberts had become a heartwarming anecdote among the ladies-in-waiting. No one would remember it now.
It took six years, the King of Medioland counted on his fingers.
Roberts' older brother, the current King of Sertoria, and his father, the previous King, were also greatly surprised and then delighted to learn the true feelings of Roberts, who had continued to refuse all marriage proposals despite being royalty. The simple and rugged wedding, befitting the bride and groom, was held at the fortress, inviting not only the relatives of the fortress master but even the King of Medioland.
In Sertoria, it became a popular topic along with the story of their first meeting, that a bride had come who was beautiful yet stronger than a demon when given a spear.
Since then, the two have been riding side-by-side at the head of the march for inspections and monster subjugations. Even when the Demon Lord's army invaded, that did not change.
It was in early August that the two of them had an audience with the King of Medioland together, under the pretext of celebrating the victory in the Cantas subjugation.
The two stepped forward before the King, offered a series of formal congratulations, and handed over a personal letter from the King of Sertoria.
The King of Medioland looked it over and handed it to the Prime Minister. Afterward, it was passed to the Crown Prince and the cabinet members. All of this took place right in front of the Roberts couple.
The personal letter contained seasonal greetings along with congratulations on the victory, and at the end, it noted a consideration for him to spend time with his daughter who had married into another country once in a while.
When the formal audience ended, the two left the room for a while and spent time in a prepared room until the banquet. A little later, the King and the Crown Prince arrived.
"Welcome. Father, Brother."
"Welcome or not, this is my castle."
"That may be, but it is also my room."
"It was, you mean."
"Those are quite the words. Am I no longer free to use this room?"
"Of course. You were married off to another family."
Listening to the strange father-daughter conversation, Roberts and the Crown Prince shrugged their shoulders at each other.
Roberts and Crown Prince James were close. Part of it was because they were close in age, but more than that, they just got along well. When Roberts visited Medioland, the two of them would ride horses together. Lies and deception didn't work on the Crown Prince, who was also a high-level mage, but even before such things, he trusted Roberts, who always spoke his mind and treated him without falsehood.
James of Wisdom, Roberts of Valor—they were called, and the fact that they recognized each other's strengths also worked well.
"By the way, what brings you two here today?"
Shaking off his daughter who kept claiming ownership of the room despite being married off, the King spoke to Roberts. Congratulations on a victory could just be sent with a vassal; there was no need for royalty to come all the way with his wife.
"Actually, there is something I wanted to talk to you about directly."
When Roberts spoke up, Gladys, who had been showing a playful smile until a moment ago, took on a solemn expression.
The King of Medioland nodded with a "hmm," and the four of them sat in chairs with luxurious decorations around a table. The room of Gladys, who had trained as a knight, was simple compared to the rooms of other princesses, but the furnishings were still luxurious as befitted her status. Though, her parents had chosen them all.
The story Roberts brought up was the grave news that Engrio seemed to be trying to create a legion of collected Revenants. Both were struck with terror.
"Can such a thing really be true?"
In place of the King, who couldn't carelessly speak, James asked back.
"It seems it is indeed true. Word came from my brother. And he told me to inform Your Majesty urgently."
The fact that Nakanohara was attacked by Revenants... this had also already been conveyed to the King of Medioland by Roberts, and it had been backed up by information brought by scouts afterward.
Whether it was that, or the fact that the priests of Engrio had mourned the war dead in the recent battle with Cantas, these were not stories within the normal range. Furthermore, those priests were collecting and memorializing the war dead even in the lands where Medioland and Morandine had invaded, claiming that mourning knows no borders.
If Engrio is behind the Revenants that attacked Nakanohara, it wouldn't be strange for them to want the corpses of warriors.
However, it was hard to believe.
"But, assuming that's true, what kind of measures does the King of Sertoria intend to take?"
To James's question, Roberts spoke of the content conveyed by his brother.
"Actually, our country is scheduled to hold an annual memorial service for the war dead soon. We plan to grandly sprinkle holy water on the graveyards there to purify everything from the cemeteries up. Of course, on the surface, it's a memorial for the souls that have gone to heaven."
"Does Sertoria have such a custom?"
"No, it's starting this year."
Roberts spoke to the two about the details. Gladys also seemed to know and nodded silently.
"I see. On the surface, it's a festival that doubles as a memorial. It makes for a good cover. But a water-splashing festival, they certainly came up with a good idea."
When the Crown Prince laughed, Roberts also spoke about the origin of the festival.
"Sertoria is an interesting country. An idea from the commoners becomes the catalyst for the whole country to move."
Knowing it was that kind of country, the Crown Prince laughed teasingly.
"Though he calls himself King, he was originally a hunter, after all."
Roberts also laughed. There was no self-deprecation there, but rather a sense of pride.
Gladys was about to say that Medioland should do the same.
When she first married in, she was bewildered and sometimes felt angry at the commoners' attitudes.
However, as she got used to it, she was surprised that the commoners didn't just follow systems and power, but felt a closeness to the Sertorian Royal Family as their protectors. And as her opportunities to interact with commoners alongside Roberts increased, she had come to find the Sertorian administrative system, which was close to the commoners, preferable.
Of course, that was also because Gladys, who had acted as a knight since before her marriage, had many opportunities to interact with soldiers recruited from the commoners.
The reason Medioland's conscripts protected her was her status as a princess, but she had realized that for Sertoria's volunteers, it was because they were comrades in the same legion.
If she had been a sheltered princess like so many other princesses, she might not have noticed.
However, she swallowed those words. It is, so to speak, a forbidden topic. Sertoria, which does not recognize the existence of nobles, is also an eyesore to the nobles of other countries. Carelessly recognizing a centralized system could lead to civil war. The reason Sertoria and Medioland are friendly nations is also because they share a border with Engrio, an extremely bellicose major power. My country is my country, another country is another country. Dividing it like that and not interfering with each other was the secret to remaining friendly nations.
"In any case, thank you for telling me. We will also consider some measures in our country."
Roberts silently bowed his head at the King's conclusion.
This kind of talk couldn't be held in the audience chamber. This was because someone who leaked information to Engrio might be mixed in. The words of concern written at the end of the Sertorian King's personal letter were also a code.
"And, one more thing. There is a strange story..."
The King and the Crown Prince leaned forward at the story that followed.
At the banquet that night, Gladys's daily behavior was being targeted. Recently, she said she was learning embroidery. Apparently, she was being taught by a lady-in-waiting so that she could sit quietly when she becomes pregnant in the near future. Gladys turned red at the exposure by her husband, but she still looked happy to receive embroidery tools and colorful threads from her mother.
The two stayed for two days. Roberts, who drank heavily for two consecutive nights, went home with a hangover while being tended to by Gladys.
A few days later, a rumor circulated in the taverns of Medioland that a human living with goblins had been discovered in Sertoria and subjugated along with the goblins.
It was the kind of story that would be laughed off as nonsense, but it's the same in every country that drunks tell the same story to everyone. The story spread more than expected.
It will eventually be passed on to other countries by traveling merchants.