219 - Chapter 13 Prologue
――Bloah Cadell let out a sigh after hearing the report from his subordinates.
His office was slightly tidier than before, and the temporary administration was proceeding without issue.
Several months had passed since Banseime took over the governance of Beim's neighboring country, which had been destroyed by a massive army of monsters.
The man currently in temporary command was Bloah Cadell. He had quirky, short brown hair and an aura that suggested a lack of motivation, but as someone who had served as a general in the center of Banseime, he was truly capable.
The matter troubling him was the negotiations with Beim, which had become a neighboring state.
While looking at the documents, Bloah scanned through a report he had just received.
"Even if it's only provisional, the Four-Nation Alliance has been formed. Did they think there would be no war for a while, or did they decide to make their profit from Banseime this time... Death merchants are scary, aren't they?"
Zain, Rolfis, Galleria, Lusworth... from Banseime's perspective, these were small nations, but they had united to form an alliance of a scale that could not be ignored.
The name Lyell Wolt appeared here and there within the report.
"...I heard the exiled older brother was around, but he's moving quite flamboyantly. Even if it's unrelated, I wonder how the death merchants will utilize this."
Bloah felt a headache coming on just thinking about it. The only reason he had volunteered to come to a place like this from the center, spending his days buried in work, was simply because he had noticed the anomalies in the center and fled.
However, what would the next Queen say if she heard this information?
Leave it alone?
Or assassination?
Unable to judge, Bloah knew the whimsical side of Celes. There were times she would ruthlessly cut down those who resisted her, and times she would take her time forcing them to submit.
Currently, with the King, the Queen, and the Crown Prince behind her, as well as the powerful Wolt family, no one was in a position to oppose Celes.
If they resisted, their territories would be ravaged. Because of this, the lords remained tight-lipped.
"Truly a terrible era. The old stories about beauties who bring ruin to nations are starting to feel quite plausible."
Despite his troubles, Bloah still had a duty to report.
He placed the documents on the desk, looked up at the ceiling, and rubbed the corners of his eyes with his fingertips.
"Negotiations in the Banseime mainland... Central, huh."
Beim was about to begin full-scale negotiations with the Kingdom of Banseime――.
In a room of a mansion in Beim, I was writhing on my bed with a towel blanket draped over my head.
"It's not my fault, it's not my fault, it's not my fault..."
The reason I was this terrified was that a treaty had been formally concluded between the four nations, and they had become a union. There was no formal name, and discussions were still proceeding as mere administrative arrangements, but it could be said that things were going smoothly.
The problem was that Galleria and Lusworth claimed that an engagement had been made between me and their representatives.
Documents requesting explanations arrived from Zain and Rolfis.
That wasn't the issue.
Well, it was an issue, but it had become a fact, so there was no taking it back. What I was most concerned about was the situation inside the orb.
Even though it was placed on the desk and not the bed, I could hear voices nearby.
"...I want to see... garters..."
It was raiel's voice. Because this guy said it, my grown-up self had told everyone to prepare garters. I had even added the condition that they be the kind I'd find alluring.
How much better would it have been if I had been scolded then? If I had been scolded and it ended there, everything would have been settled amicably.
I could hear Mireia-san's cheerful voice from inside the orb. This person was still dissatisfied that she hadn't been able to see my grown-up self.
I think she's the type to be tenacious if you make her angry.
"Lyell, you have to keep your promises. Come on, let's go look at the lingerie everyone bought. Don't be shy. Some were even custom-made, so it'll be exciting~"
I wish they had hated the idea and opposed it, but Novem and the others, who had gathered to consult with each other, had immediately requested Monica and the others to create lingerie as soon as they returned to Beim.
And the level of passion they put into the shopping, even going so far as to have things specially tailored... it was a spiteful jab at me.
Since they didn't expect me to accept, raiel was also uncontrollably excited.
"I think stockings would be good too."
The Third agreed with that opinion.
"Those are great, aren't they?"
I felt a presence in front of the door――.
"Hie!"
――I let out a shriek.
Aria had come to the other side of the door. Was this intended as payback for me running away from the battlefield?
"Come on, come out, Lyell. You want to see the lingerie, right? We've prepared various things, so I'll show you. Hurry up~"
Knowing that I was hiding, Aria was enjoyably cornering me.
"T-today I'm not feeling well, so tomorrow..."
From inside the orb, the successive heads of the family were criticizing Aria's actions. The Third, for instance.
"She doesn't get it. It's better because they're shy. Aria-chan, you probably intend this as payback, but it's not alluring at all."
The Fifth didn't seem interested.
"...Rather than lingerie, I'd prefer if they increased the variety of Mei's clothes?"
The Seventh let out a sigh.
"This is why adventurers are... one should possess a sense of modesty."
I wanted to run away out of sheer embarrassment. Knowing this would happen, everyone had gone out of their way to prepare as a form of payback.
Aria, for one, was attacking aggressively, knowing that I wouldn't actually look at the lingerie.
It was frustrating, but I was too embarrassed to look.
If it were just the usual Aria, it would be one thing, but with the other members... just imagining it made my face turn red, and I felt frustrated toward Aria, who was taunting me from in front of the door.
"And here I went to the trouble of choosing them. I see, you don't want to see them. All that passion you had while talking about lingerie was a lie~"
The one who talked passionately about lingerie was my grown-up self.
He had ordered everyone to wear lingerie that would make me want to look more.
Afterward, I had writhed in embarrassment, but the women were using that to attack me persistently.
That's why... it's not my fault. And yet, raiel...
"Uhyoh~! But since I was told to look this much, I want to stare intensely and make them feel embarrassed instead! A normally rough Aria-san turning red in the face... I think that's a win!"
This guy was totally into it.
――Fidel Trace was happily reading a report in the mansion.
In his office, he scanned the incoming reports, and thinking about future income, he felt like he wouldn't be able to stop laughing.
"Good. I hated investing in that leech, but thanks to the four nations forming an alliance, the ports will have more meaning. Building ports takes time and money, but once completed, considering the usage fees... I can recover the amount spent within ten years. I'm glad I ordered the new ships. In my generation, the Trace family will grow even larger."
He had arranged ports in the sea-faring nations of Galleria and Lusworth, and had been granted exclusive use of them.
In Beim, which was also a city of merchants, the Trace family's influence would increase further. And even if wars decreased due to the alliance, other things would become sellable.
For the Trace family, there were no problems.
"That leech, his skill alone is magnificent. I don't want to admit it, but he's capable. If only Vera hadn't been deceived, he would have made a good partner... Ha, what am I saying! Damn it, is this some kind of trap of his too!"
As long as his daughter wasn't involved, the capable Fidel worked while saying such things――.
――Somewhere in Beim.
There, merchants and guild executives were gathered, talking.
They were those who profited from war, and had gathered like this for their mutual benefit.
Unlike usual, they were discussing in a small room, with merchant representatives and guild executives.
"The Trace family has exclusive port rights in two nations? We, the opposing faction, will only suffer more."
"The Four-Nation Alliance... it's troublesome if wars decrease."
"We can just sell to adventurers. Adventurers buy weapons and such. But the problem is the mercenary groups."
"If they lose work, can't they just defeat monsters?"
"Mercenary groups cannot be maintained with just that. The labyrinth subjugation we were given before didn't yield much profit either."
While there was Fidel, who profited because of Lyell, there were others who did not. Many mercenary groups were troubled by the decrease in wars nearby.
This was because they would need to change their bases of operation. If they felt they couldn't earn in Beim, they would leave Beim immediately. However, there was a reason why Beim wanted to keep the mercenary groups.
Beim was a special metropolis.
The majority of its military strength consisted of mercenary groups and adventurers. In such a situation, the disappearance of mercenary groups was a problem for Beim. It wasn't a matter of ten or twenty percent.
At worst, the number of remaining mercenary groups could drop to ten or twenty percent. Since the number of people requesting work would also decrease, it was a problem that the Southern Branch of the Adventurer's Guild could not ignore.
"It's Lyell. Wouldn't it be unwise to leave that brat unchecked like this?"
"...It's frustrating, but he's the hero who saved the nation. If we lay a hand on him, it'll become a problem. Besides, stories about the defensive battle have spread before we knew it. If we move, people will think we did it."
"It's that brat! He spread rumors to make us look like the villains! That brat said he would take it on! Besides, we only requested reinforcements once. He went back without even trying to negotiate!"
"Is that why the story became that we abandoned him? But facts are facts. He didn't lie."
The gathered members thought bitterly of Lyell. It was undoubtedly true that Lyell was the hero who saved Beim, and doing anything to such a Lyell would cause problems.
Amidst this, one guild executive spoke.
"Celes Wolt, who has the backing of her family in Banseime... she's the Crown Prince's consort, but I hear she's quite cruel. Apparently, civil unrest continues within Banseime. And she is Lyell's biological younger sister. Could we utilize this?"
Even hearing that, everyone only showed a reaction of "I see."
"That happens occasionally. Well, it is a time for us to earn. Armaments sell like hotcakes, and other things sell too. But will you utilize her?"
"Mercenary groups are already heading toward Banseime. Can't we stop them somehow? Beim's military strength will be depleted at this rate."
The guild executive. The executive of the Southern Branch said with a slight smile.
"We just say that Banseime is glaring at us because Lyell is here. We'll spread rumors too. And then, we hand Lyell over to Celes."
The people present reacted.
"We thought about that before, but he was cast out. Is there any meaning in handing him over now?"
"We just say that he intends to be hostile. If we say that the alliance in question is for that purpose, Banseime won't be able to leave it alone, right?"
The alliance was a collection of small nations. However, if they united, they became a significant power. It was a fact that they could mobilize twenty to thirty thousand troops, and if they pushed themselves, they could likely mobilize double that.
The people present nodded to each other while looking around.
"...So, he got a bit too carried away, is that it? But many merchant houses, starting with the Trace family, are investing in him. If he resists, it'll be difficult to force this through."
"...We can. As for the Trace family, it seems they've pushed themselves a bit too far recently. They've even increased their number of new ships, and I hear they provided considerable support during the previous wars of Galleria and Lusworth. Since the head of the Trace family is soft on his kin, I don't think he'd imagine his daughter would move."
Hearing that, everyone pleaded with their eyes for the Southern Branch executive to explain further.
Perhaps a major movement would occur within Beim.
The Southern Branch executive spoke happily.
"Gina Trace said that if we make her lover the next head of the family, she's willing to go along with our plan and kick her father out. Honestly, merchant daughters are scary too."
Everyone who heard that name knew from rumors that she was in a love across social classes. And thinking about how she would go that far, they instead wore pleased expressions.
"Good. If she only has that level of intellect, she'll be easy to manipulate."
"A daughter who is convenient for us is a good thing. We must congratulate her marriage to that lover. Shall we send a celebratory gift?"
"That's fine, but first the groundwork. While we're at it, we'll drive the Trace family faction out of Beim."
The conversation progressed.
Lyell was about to lose his great backing in Beim――.