202 - Lusworth
The Kingdom of Lusworth.
Though it bore the name of a kingdom, like Rolfis, it lacked a king. The difference was that it wasn't governed by a proxy or left vacant; instead, a queen ruled the land.
While kings had reigned in the past, in the current generation, a queen had ascended the throne.
The route from Galleria back to Rolfis and then into Lusworth had been tedious.
However, once the initial transit tax was paid, there were no lords to collect further taxes along the way.
They only took significant transit taxes upon entry and exit.
After descending from the Porter, we decided to rent a place and stay overnight in the village where we arrived.
The roads were mostly standardized, and unlike in Galleria, there was no sense of the individual lords' unique styles. In the first place, it seemed that in Lusworth, the king existed, but the nobles were merely figures who held court ranks.
Magistrates were dispatched to various regions, which seemed to be why there was such a sense of uniformity.
However, the atmosphere of the village we arrived in was subtle.
The first village we passed through was terrible. They were living in extreme poverty.
But as we headed toward the center of Lusworth, the villages and towns seemed to gain vitality.
The village where we stayed overnight had a subtle atmosphere.
The magistrate who permitted our stay returned to his manor in high spirits after the merchants gave him some gratitude.
Villagers gathered around that magistrate.
"Magistrate-sama, can't something be done? Many of the youths in this village were injured in the previous war. We are in no position to provide ten men."
When a man who seemed to be the village chief said this, the magistrate looked uninterested.
"What of it? Rules are rules. If you don't like it, pay money to be exempt."
The magistrate, whose management of the land he oversaw was merely temporary.
He ignored the pleas of the people and returned to his manor.
Clara, who had parked the large Porter in the designated spot, came over to me.
"Liel-san, please move the Porter as well."
"Eh? Ah, I get it."
"Is something wrong?"
As Clara tilted her head, I told her about the exchange between the magistrate and the village chief. Hearing this, Clara said,
"Lusworth is a country managed by the Lusworth royal family. To put it positively, it's a monolith, but perhaps the management isn't thorough."
Lusworth was a place where magistrates were dispatched to every region and everything was managed by the royal family. Thanks to that, one could say it had cohesion.
However, looking at the local situation, that cohesion seemed to have problems.
From within the orb, the Seventh Generation said,
"...Whether that magistrate is just not hardworking, or if that is normal, there seems to be a problem."
The Fourth Generation, while observing the internal affairs of Lusworth, said,
"Or rather, is it my imagination that it gets wealthier the closer you get to the center? The atmosphere is somehow subtle."
Since the method of governance was different, the problems that arose were likely different as well. Still, it had a different atmosphere from Banseime.
"The circumstances differ when the country differs, huh. No, I knew that, but..."
Clara agreed with my opinion. Holding her staff, she used magic to light up the area as it grew dark.
"Well, there is a difference between understanding by reading books and experiencing it. It seems they have a standardized system overall, so it's nice that we can move more smoothly than in Galleria."
Indeed, the conditions for travel were significantly better in Lusworth.
As I looked around, the villagers with their subtle atmosphere were looking at the Porter as if it were a curiosity.
Then, the Third Head made a suggestion to me.
"Liel, shall we try gathering some information here? Let's have Eva-chan perform a little song. The magistrate seems to still be nearby."
Thinking that would be a good idea, I decided to call Eva.
"...The Great Chancellor?"
At night. Inside the tent, I was confirming the information Eva had brought in.
Novem and Aria were in the tent, listening to Eva's story. However, Aria looked sleepy.
Eva began to boastfully recount the information she had elicited from the villagers.
"Yes! Apparently, a chancellor was born over ten years ago. Until then, it seems the king made various political decisions."
Hearing this, the Fifth Head spoke from the orb.
"No, isn't that normal? Even if there is a chancellor, the one above them makes the final decision... Are they giving them a certain amount of power?"
Novem, while listening to Eva's story, said,
"The information we obtained in Beim previously focused heavily on the two Valkyries. We couldn't investigate the surrounding human relationships."
I felt a bit frustrated.
"If I had known sooner that there was a transport convoy escort, I would have asked Rauno-san. Right now, he's investigating beyond the Redant Fortress."
Aria, perhaps disliking the diversion, asked Eva to continue. She was sitting in a chair, her eyes becoming glazed over.
"More importantly, what happened with that Great Chancellor?"
Eva looked at the sleepy Aria and sighed.
"That's why I'm saying, currently the Great Chancellor supports the politics, and the Queen of Lusworth is the pillar of the military. Galleria is supported by that Glacia-san, but in Lusworth, two people support it."
The Great Chancellor.
Since he was called that, there must be a reason. However, only the Fourth Generation showed a subtle reaction.
"...The Great Chancellor, huh."
Mireia-san asked about the Fourth Generation's doubt.
"Is something bothering you?"
The Fourth Generation didn't say it clearly, but they seemed to think the situation in the two countries was not good.
"That Glacia girl is the same, but was it Elsa who can fight her? The Queen of Lusworth might be reliable on the battlefield. But looking at the internal affairs of the country, it just doesn't feel right."
The military power was an unknown, but the Fourth Generation seemed bothered by something.
(Both military and politics seem to be well-equipped, though)
I found myself wondering if there was something going on in Lusworth as well.
After that, we were able to reach the center of Lusworth relatively smoothly.
The center was a fortress city, same as Galleria, but in terms of scale, while I wouldn't say Lusworth was twice as large, it was quite big.
Our party, upon arrival, headed toward a magnificent castle.
However, I had noticed the problem Lusworth faced. No, it would be better to say I was made to notice it.
On the way to the castle, the wealth caught my eye.
And the closer we got to this fortress city, which was the center, the wealthier the villages and towns became.
In other words—.
"You've managed to make it in time. With this, you'll be in time for the next battle."
An elderly man with long white hair styled into a vertical drill said this upon seeing us arrive. The man was Letre Haldore—the Great Chancellor of Lusworth. This chancellor, in fact, had a reputation that grew the closer one got to this fortress city, the center.
That meant this chancellor was capable of governing the center.
Beside the man was a woman watching the luggage being unloaded from the large Porter.
The second Valkyrie.
It was Elsa Lusworth. She was watching the work near me. No, it felt more like she was monitoring it.
She wasn't taciturn, but she gave a quiet impression. The reason she felt somewhat cold was likely due to the atmosphere coming from her demeanor.
"Hey, you there."
The one Elsa-san called out to was Novem. When Novem greeted Elsa-san, Elsa-san said it was unnecessary.
Lightly brushing back her long light-blue hair, her purple eyes felt cold, partly due to her sharp gaze. She was different from Glacia-san, who also had purple eyes. And of course, her eyes were different from Novem's.
"Yes?"
"...You went to Galleria first, didn't you? How was it, the state of that witch?"
Elsa-san wore clothes like those a knight would wear, which was the same as Glacia-san. Why was the impression she gave different from Glacia-san, who had the atmosphere of a warrior?
When Novem smiled troubledly,
"We were escorts, so there was no conversation."
Hearing this, Elsa-san laughed through her nose.
"I see. I wanted to hear about her trembling before the battle. Well, fine."
The silver staff looked almost like a mace. Holding it in one hand and resting it on her shoulder, Elsa-san looked at the luggage and spoke.
"The luggage from Beim arrived in time. Now I can fight without reservation. Next time, I'll put an end to that wretch's life."
The smile she wore emitted something utterly cold.
The chancellor bowed his head.
"Please leave the government affairs to me. Until Elsa-sama returns, I, Letre, shall manage them firmly."
I didn't miss the fact that Elsa-san's reaction was delayed for just a moment at the chancellor's words.
(What's this?)
"...I'm counting on you, Chancellor. It's good that you are here. Now, I shall return to the castle and begin preparations. I leave the merchants to you."
"Yes!"
As the chancellor replied, Elsa-san returned to the castle with her attendants.
Then, once Elsa-san was out of sight, the chancellor's attitude became a bit more arrogant.
"Don't dawdle. We are in a hurry."
Hearing this, the representative of the merchants urged the workers to hurry. And nobles had gathered beneath the chancellor.
"Chancellor-sama, with this, we'll somehow make it in time for the battle."
"Yes, indeed. Even so, Beim is untrustworthy, playing both sides with us and Galleria."
I completely agreed, but that's just how merchants are.
(After all, the merchants of Beim are merchants of death)
To a greater or lesser extent, Beim was a gathering of such merchants.
Within the orb, the Third Head seemed to have noticed something.
"...Hmm, is it this guy?"
And the Fourth Generation, as if convinced, said,
"Indeed. He's what you'd call the Blundering Chancellor."
That's what they said.
—Inside the castle of Lusworth.
After taking a shower, Elsa was lying on the bed in her private room.
"Sigh, as expected, Glacia-chan didn't give a letter to the merchants. I was hoping a bit..."
With a sigh, she reached for a box in the room. Inside were a present and a letter she had received previously.
The contents were medicine for skin irritation.
"I want to thank her, but if I order this kind of thing, the chancellor gets noisy. Something about taxes being the blood-tax of the people... Look in the mirror, I say."
Elsa was called the queen, but she understood better than anyone that she was merely a convenient pawn for the chancellor.
At first, she was simply the strongest among the Lusworth royalty. She was distanced by her family and spent most of her childhood in the frontier where she had been placed.
She was only informed about the turmoil in the capital after everything had ended. And a king who could be a puppet was needed among the royalty.
That was Elsa.
"I have to apologize in a letter. Or rather, I wish there was something I could give... and I want to wear cuter clothes."
Most of the clothes she owned were knight's uniforms used for official duties. Elsa could not wear the king's attire, and she was told that dresses were not suitable, so she ended up with knight's uniforms.
The chancellor was likely satisfied since it was his taste, but Elsa was not.
She had been suddenly brought to the capital and made queen. Moreover, if she didn't do as the chancellor said, her life was in danger.
The one who murdered the royalty who didn't obey was clearly the chancellor.
Elsa couldn't sympathize with blood relatives she had never met, but she knew the chancellor's dirty methods. Elsa had realized that killing her would be easy as well.
"Sigh, another war this time... the meetings are finished, but honestly, I'm not looking forward to it."
Kicking her beautiful bare feet on the bed and hugging a pillow, Elsa was tall but cute.
After kicking for a while, she sighed and stood up.
"...I should get ready."
Reluctantly reaching for the prepared clothes, Elsa took off the clothes she was wearing, became naked, and began to change—.
That day.
I saw an unbelievable sight.
Having separated from the transport convoy heading from Lusworth to Rolfis, I was watching the scene from the sky while riding Mei in her kirin form.
"W-what is this..."
As pale blue flames tried to swallow the battlefield, a giant wall of ice rose to block them. Fragments of ice rained down upon the ground, and clouds of dust rose as they collided with the earth.
People were being blown away by the impact, but those were the soldiers protecting themselves behind the two who were fighting.
On the battlefield, a duel continued with two women at the forefront.
The sight of soldiers on both sides being injured by the aftershocks continued, and after a while, both parties stepped back.
Watching such a scene from the sky, I
"Those two are definitely not normal,"
I muttered.
Then, Mireia-san spoke from the orb.
"...Those are rear-guard type skills. Both seem to be the type that involve a wide area."
The Fifth Head said one word.
"It would have been much easier if we had drawn them in before the defensive battle. Well, as military power, they're sufficient."
The Third Head, while pondering, said,
"Now, the question is how to scout them."
I thought.
(...Eh? You intend to scout them?)