kscans

Chapter 136 - The Little One and the Gods' Banquet

"Greetings, O Golden King."

"Hey there, Lean!"

Hanging from Pochiko-san, the Little One descended the cliff and entered the seaside cave. Dorfen followed her down on a rope, carrying a toddler-sized penguin under his arm. The penguin’s beak was skillfully turned down in a pout, and its sullen face reminded Dorfen of the Little One, making him chuckle quietly to himself.

"This little guy, he followed us."

The Little One’s party hadn’t noticed it until they arrived in Frontier. It had snuck into their carriage at some point. It seemed to have hidden inside the large cart on which the carriage box rested. When the penguin emerged, wiggling, the entire party had stared, their eyes wide.

When she asked if it had Lean’s permission, it nodded. But still, the Little One couldn’t rest easy without hearing it directly, so she had brought the little penguin here to confirm with Lean.

The giant penguin narrowed his eyes as he listened.

"I did not give permission, that is true."

"What?! You lied?"

The Lords were not supposed to lie. Knowing this, the Little One’s eyes flashed with anger. But Lean continued.

"I did not give permission. However, I did see this one off. I tacitly approved of it accompanying the King, so it did not lie."

With the gaze of a kindly old man, Lean patted the head of the little penguin, which was kicking glumly at the floor. The little penguin glanced at the Little One, then quickly turned its head away. What? Is it sulking?

The blatant attitude made her burst out laughing, and she and Lean shared a smile through their gazes alone.

"Then it’s okay. Do you want to come on the pilgrimage, too?"

The little penguin’s face lit up, and it started pattering its feet. Thinking how transparent it was, the Little One turned back to Lean.

"How have things been since then? Has the King of Claudia tried anything?"

"Tried anything, you ask... He was about to, so I had them sunk in the sea," Lean replied with a sly grin.

Apparently, more than a dozen ships had set out from the coast, heading for Frontier. Since land travel was difficult, sea routes were the primary mode of transportation in Arcadia. Most merchants also used sea routes for the main part of their journey, then traveled the world by land. With a large mountain in the center of the continent, heading inland from the border ports was the fastest way. And so, the border regions flourished as nations possessing port towns, but Claudia, separated from the interior by a large mountain range like this one, couldn’t receive those benefits and, as a coastal nation, lacked that particular advantage. But being on the coast was an advantage. With Arcadia currently suffering from magic depletion, the sea routes were a fast and safe path, free of monsters. She didn’t know what their motive was for heading to Frontier, but Lean and the others had sunk several of the ships to block their path.

"They were fully armed ships. I do not believe Frontier would be outmatched, but to make them aware that the seas are ours, I thought I would make a little move."

Lean sounded truly delighted. The Little One had too many thoughts on the matter and just gave a wry smile. The seaside forest was a marine forest, primarily consisting of caves. A corner of the steep cliffs where lush plants thrived. It covered the entire border region, but it didn’t reach the Claudia Kingdom itself. If the Plain Forest were still intact, the southern half of the royal capital would have likely received the forest’s blessings. Now that the Golden Ring was being restored, a peaceful granary was not just a dream. But because their ancestors had acted foolishly for generations, Claudia couldn’t receive the benefits of the magic’s range. Having made an enemy of the Lord of the Forest, it was as if their lifeline had been cut.

"That’s why I came to talk to you. Life might become difficult for the people of this country. People who want to escape might come to the border."

Lean tilted his head at the Little One’s explanation.

"That... well, it is possible, I suppose."

"So, if people like that come, I want Lean’s children to take them to Castrato."

As she said this, the Little One took out several sealing gems from her pocket and threw them into the sea. Several boats appeared on the water. About five small boats, large enough for about ten people to sit in a row, bobbed gently on the waves.

"I’ll leave these here. Put the people who escape on them and have your children take them to Castrato."

She had informed Castrato during her previous visit. The three brothers had been speechless at the state of the Claudia Kingdom, but they had readily agreed to accept the refugees.

"It shall be done. If any troubled people come, I will guide them and have them board these."

The Little One thanked Lean, who nodded in understanding, and flew off to the border town.

"Hmm? Has it gotten worse, I wonder?"

Three months had passed since then. It wasn’t immediately obvious, but the people of the border town also showed signs of exhaustion. When spring arrived and summer approached, any land would normally be bustling with farm work and other activities... But the townspeople lacked spirit. They went about their work mechanically, with a somewhat vacant look in their eyes. Wanting to hear the details, the Little One and her group headed to the border count’s town.

"This is..."

This was even worse.

The townscape was deserted compared to their last visit. When they asked the few people passing by, they said the royal capital had taken people away. The Little One could guess what had happened. The capital had probably run short on labor after she bought the beast-humans. The beast-humans had superior physical abilities and were an extremely valuable labor force. Each one could easily do the work of several people. They had sought labor from the border to make up for that loss. If they took people from around the capital, it would affect the capital itself.

"For some reason, the planting didn’t go well this year... It was already hard enough, and then they took the men. I just don’t know what to do anymore."

The lady sobbed, her face on the verge of tears. The Little One watched her quietly and whispered in a small voice, "When it comes to the worst, you should head to the seaside forest. The Lord of the Forest will help you. He’ll send you to another, richer country."

The lady’s face lit up.

Move to another country?

She slowly looked around and sighed. Anyone would hesitate. The decision to abandon one’s homeland was difficult. But it was important to have it as an option. To know that such a method existed. Because land travel was difficult, such a simple choice was surely something the people of Arcadia, who couldn’t even conceive of it, had never considered.

"Let everyone know, okay? The Lord of the Forest is on the people’s side. If you want to escape this country, he’ll help you."

The lady watched blankly as the gently smiling girl left. From here, a plausible rumor began to spread throughout the Claudia Kingdom.

When the time comes, seek help from the Lord of the Forest.

The Little One visited the border count’s mansion and heard the details.

"I see. So you have heard."

The border count sat limply in his chair, his head hanging low.

When she had come before, he had also been at the mercy of the royal family. He had said there was nothing he could do. He was surely in the same state of mind this time.

"If the current king isn’t useful to the country, you should probably just get rid of him. I wonder if that idea doesn’t exist in this country."

The border count’s eyes widened at the girl’s casually uttered, unsettling words.

Get rid of the king?

Noticing the question in his gaze, the Little One raised the corners of her mouth in a grin.

"Why does a king exist? To protect the people and make the country prosper, right? A king is one who serves the people. That’s why they can live in luxury and hold great power. Can you call someone who only enjoys the rights and doesn’t fulfill their duties a king? A king like that would have been dragged from the throne long ago in Frontier."

The border count blinked at the girl’s words, replaying the unbelievable phrases in his mind. A king is one who protects the people. One who serves the people.

For that reason, the subjects respect the king, serve to support him, and pay taxes. He had forgotten such a common-sense dynamic.

The scales fell from his eyes, and a faint light appeared in the border count’s pupils.

Yes. I thought this man would be like that.

The Little One watched the conflicted border count with a gentle smile. He was kind. That was the same for everyone. For the people and for the king. If someone was in trouble, he would lend a hand. In particular, the ingrained notion that he could not defy the king was deeply rooted. Since that was the worldview of Arcadia, it couldn’t be helped. But she had thought that he, who treated the people without discrimination, would realize it. That a king is a position, not a reference to the person themselves. If the current king was a fool, then they should just make someone else king. Someone who would make the people happy. That a king was by no means absolute.

However, even if one could reform a person’s consciousness, a clash with public opinion was unavoidable. It wasn’t something that would spread to the general populace so easily. So for now, a starting point was fine. If he could just have a little doubt about the current state of Claudia, the rest would work itself out.

Watching the conflicted border count, the Little One got to the main point.

"If this continues, the border will be exploited. The royal family disrespected the Lord of the Forest and incurred his wrath. They caused one of the Lord’s forests to wither. The Lord of the Forest will not forgive the current King of Claudia."

The border count’s face shot up in alarm, and he stared intently at the Little One.

"But the Lord of the Forest is not merciless. He thinks the people are not to blame, so he will help those who want to escape. Can you be the bridge for that?"

Finding a glimmer of hope in the Little One’s smile, the border count listened to the details.

"That is..."

Hearing the story, the border count was at a loss for words.

In short, she was asking him to take in the people who fled and help them escape to another country.

"I don’t know what will happen from here on. It would be good if the Claudia Kingdom could recover, but I don’t think things will go that smoothly."

A temporary evacuation would be necessary. The first signs were already visible.

The planting had not gone well, and the manpower had been taken away. There was no doubt that the harvest would be poor. The Claudia Kingdom, which had no leeway to import from other countries, was at risk of a large-scale famine. Many people would suffer, and there was a possibility of starvation. Being on the coast, they could manage to some extent with the blessings of the sea, but there were limits to that.

The border count was in agony. The reception room was filled with a heavy silence when it suddenly became noisy outside. The next moment, a loud knock echoed through the room. His thoughts interrupted by the sound, the border count answered the knock with a rather stern face.

"What is it?"

What entered were the knights of the Claudia Kingdom. They lined up in the reception room, and one loudly read out the letter he was holding.

"An order from His Majesty. To support the people of the border count’s domain who were taken to the capital, this year’s taxes will be increased by twenty percent. Furthermore, you are to immediately prepare one thousand gold coins as payment for their living expenses up to now."

"What!"

The audacity of a thief, taken to its extreme.

In short, the plan was to use the people of the border count’s domain as hostages to snatch money and taxes. The royal palace must be in dire straits financially.

"...Then give them back. All of the people from the border count’s domain."

They must have only been looking at the border count. Hearing the sharp tone of voice, the knights finally noticed a small girl sitting on the sofa.

"I do not know whose daughter you are, but to suddenly interrupt a conversation is rude, is it not?"

The Little One glared at the haughty knight and slowly stood up, looking exasperated.

"The rude one is you, is it not? I was speaking with the border count first. Do you think a mere knight has the right to interrupt?"

The Little One was currently dressed as a young noblewoman and armed for her meeting with the border count. And the knights recognized her appearance.

"...! The princess of Frontier?! Why are you here?!"

The Little One slowly surveyed the astonished knights and, fanning herself, let out a small sigh.

"That is none of your concern. I was just now hearing from the border count. That many of his subjects were taken to the capital, leaving him short of manpower and in distress. If you have no intention of supporting them, then that is a stroke of luck. We will come to collect the people at once."

Unable to argue with the girl’s elegant smile, the knights of the Claudia Kingdom’s eyes widened fiercely.

"They are the people of His Majesty the King! How he treats them is his own affair!"

It was not the Little One who reacted violently to the knight’s words, but Dorfen, who was standing behind her. In an instant, his face contorted with rage, and he roared at the Claudia Kingdom knights.

"You fool! Have you not sworn the knight’s oath?! To whom did you swear your loyalty?!"

Called out, the Claudia Kingdom knights couldn’t help but falter. And then, every one of them gasped.

Arcadian knights swear an oath to the gods. To wield their swords to protect the people. For that cause, they would even strike off the king’s head. The Little One restrained Dorfen, who was gritting his teeth and growling as he stared at the stunned group, and murmured, "This is the current state of the Claudia Kingdom. How pitiful."

The border count, who had been watching the events unfold in stunned silence, swallowed hard and whispered to himself.

The border is being exploited. Correctly understanding the meaning of those words, the border count made his resolve. I am here to protect my people.

"Your Highness the Princess’s proposal, I would like to consider it favorably."

Smiling as if she had expected it, the Little One headed for the Claudia Royal Capital. The situation was more serious than she had thought. She wouldn’t get deeply involved, but she decided she should at least give a warning. Ignoring the king, the Little One headed for Pascal.