Chapter 532: Stana’s ambition
King Jeddha died easily. He didn’t make any attempt to resist, but it might have been a waste if his opponent was Rainer. The king left behind a legacy so large that even now, fresh blood continues to spread across the floor from the sword that remained stuck in his body, but his daughter, Princess Stana, still has a beautiful smile on her face.
“He was truly a troubled father”
“Stana……Princess”
Not knowing how to react, Neia finally opens her mouth, her movements squeaking like a broken karakuri doll.
“Hey, Neia. You don’t understand why I’m ordering you to do something like this……are you thinking that?”
“……Why?”
“You thought I was just some empty-headed ornament, didn’t you?”
The princess turned around with such a dainty movement that she wanted to be on stage.
“The time was like a torrent, when human lives were shining and everyone was rushing precariously to survive. I don’t care about my father, who tried to stage such a scene of history in a small valley. I am very concerned about what will happen to this valley……and this country in the future. I know it. Various countries are trying to reach this valley, aren’t they? They are trying to correct the broken world, riddled with monsters and turn the wide plains around this valley into a country where people can live like they did in the past, right?”
“Yes, that’s right……. And when that happens, so will this country”
“A country like this, thin and uncultured, to be frightened and tamed by the rich nations at will, to live on as cattle to provide bed and food while they leisurely improve the world. Am I wrong?”
“……”
“Anyone who has read the books of the royal court and unraveled the history of the past can see that there is nothing in this country. The girl said that even if the agriculture is a little better, they will not treat you as an equal. What kind of threat can you pose by saying that there are only five heroes?”
Princess Stana always kept her smile on her face. And Rainer stands next to her, glaring at us. The replacement for the sword that had been stabbed and left in the king had been brought from outside the room by Leyla and handed to him.
“It’s as if it never happened. This country, my position, my life. It’s no joke”
“……So you have a king……family”
“It is not uncommon for the common people to kill their fellow citizens, who may be their parents or siblings, in the slightest dispute, or to thin out the herd in order to eat. Oh, aren’t you close to that, Neia? As I recall, Faria died because of you and you let it go and ran away, didn’t you? My father died for me because he was harmful to my future. What difference does it make?”
“You are……!”
“You’re going to pull it out, Neia? Even though you know you’ll be dealing with three dragons and Rainer? Can you cut me down while protecting your guests around you? Or are you not going to protect them?”
“Damn……!!”
Neia’s hand on her flash sword droops tremblingly. Seeing this, Rainer nodded as he snickered.
“Hmph. Originally, you guys probably came with the intention of eliminating the king. Just be grateful, there’s no reason for you to attack me”
“Rainer……you are here for something like this……”
“Even if you say you’re a dragon rider, you can’t manage a country or a group of humans. A sword is a sword, violence is violence. Nothing else. Flash knight, you may have big dreams, but……I’m just doing my part as a hero”
……Is that what you are made of, Rainer? You, who were considered a dragon rider and expected to save this valley. I look at Leyla. ……She has no expression on her face.
“There is a storm coming upon this land now. A great storm of interference from the world of human. We, as Kalwin Kingdom, a group that has survived three hundred years in the demon world, need to be a 『Nation』 that can stand up to them. We can’t just suck up to them”
“Things like that……shouldn’t matter, right?”
“Yes, Neia. It should not matter by your standards. Most of the people in this country, those who have to live and die in this valley, whether they want to or not, probably don’t care who they are either. They just want to live a somewhat safer and easier life than they do now and that alone will be fine. But what about ten years from now, thirty years from now, or a hundred years from now? Do you think that our children will not feel that they were born in this country, that they were not born in the outside world?”
The princess twirled and unfolded her sumptuous dress like a dance and danced past her father’s corpse as if in a playful play.
“How bitter, how unfortunate, how hopeless is this valley! Do you want to see your descendants depressed and flattered by outsiders, Neia? Even if you arrive, you won’t promise the people happiness?”
“Tss……”
“Sometimes they refuse, sometimes they take. Without that strength, they would still be slaves even if it were easier. I will reborn Kalwin as a nation, not just a realm where people hide and dwell. Is that wrong?”
“Princess Stana……you would welcome the people who will appear here with swords? Do you think you can afford it?”
“It is an infinite sneer, Neia. It is the most despicable thing you can say about a nation from the point of view of a pauper like yourself. Besides”
The princess kept smiling until the end.
“I am not a princess anymore. You may call me Her Majesty Queen Stana”
With that, she led us away to the lower levels of the royal palace.
————————–
There were not many prisons. And in one of them cowered Brian Luo.
“……Brian”
“You guys……are also here against the rebellion?”
“……The rebellion has been accomplished. The king was just now in the hands of Rainer”
“I see……”
Brian let out a weary breath and fell on his face. We followed Rainer’s lead and glared at him as we entered the prison.
“How long are you planning on letting me live in prison? Isn’t there a real prison guard?”
“What, it’s not that far-fetched. You’re still worth a lot to me”
“……What?”
Threaten them with a duel if they try to force their way in and you’ve just sealed off a dragon that could easily reach these shores. The diplomacy hand card is as good as none. You and Neia Grans, with your face to Renfangas and other influential people, can be used for any number of other things”
“Is that how you will continue to play along with Princess Stana, Rainer?”
“What then? If you accuse me of being behind the murder of my parents and the overthrow of the government, then you are indeed a traitor who has taken the liberty of putting together a deal to sell out the land and its people”
Rainer’s tone was as if he was enjoying goading Neia rather than being pissed off at her. Neia gritted her teeth. While no one else is able to interject, Brian mutters, face down in his prison cell,
“How can you say that? For you, Princess Stana, etc……”
“I don’t like it when you interrupt me, Brian Luo”
“I’m sorry. It’s just too boring in here”
Brian looks up slightly and glares at Rainer.
“You’ve grown to have a very clouded look in your eyes, using the power of the dragon as a shield. It’s funny how your auspiciousness in assisting the princess is the landing spot you’ve been aiming for with your eyes”
“……Your life and death are in our hands”
“I know. ……See, I’m unarmed. You can do whatever you want. It’s an interesting life of a hero, isn’t it, with the last one being you, the one who’s upstaged you?”
“……I don’t like you, as usual”
Rainer also glared at Brian for a moment and left the prison. Afterwards, there was a prison that contained me, Neia, Apple and Tetes. In front of it is Brian Luo’s prison. And Shario remained in a position to glare at the two prisons. Maia and Emma are being separated by Rainer´s dragons. For now, they were not in the process of being killed suddenly, so I gave them a look and let them both back off plainly.
“What’s going to happen now……?”
Apple muttered in a worried tone. In the stone prison, there are two simple beds, two chairs and a table. There were two urns in the corner of the room, as if they were to be used as toilets.
“I don’t want to stay here too long. I don’t want to be seen putting things out in that thing, no matter how much its Master”
Tetes frowned and said in a carefree and fluent manner.
“I guess so…….”
As I said this, Shario peeked out from outside the prison.
“If you’re planning on running away, don’t. Dragons have a lot of patience. They won’t let their guard down even for days
“Hmm, well, I’m not in such good spirits that when you say that, I say, 『Fuck you, I’ll run away』”
“Then what’s the margin?”
“Do I look relaxed to you?”
I stroked my face and then, to my own surprise, laughed.
“No. High Priest Duke, gave me a good idea a while back”
“……Duke……High Priest? Where does that lead to……?”
“No, it’s a religious thing. I was told to pray. For the things that are important to me”
“…………?”
“I prayed. Many people told me I wanted to help this girl
Far, far away in the sky, at the thought of me, Dianne, Selenium, Jeanne, Laila……the female slaves. Sir Bonaparte, 100-man special duty commander Becker, 100-man commander Grantz, Isaac, Keiron and many warriors. And my father, my mother.
“I could hear them all telling me not to push myself so hard””
“……What are you talking about?”
“That’s why. …… I’m going to be saved”
I had a vision of everyone reaching out to me. So I just let them lean on me until I hold their hand. I can smile because it doesn’t seem so far away.