Everyone in the room seemed to gasp at the same time.
Neia included.
How was he able to guess their true condition? How had he seen through their story? It was especially impressive that he got the detail about the cave right.
The commander and Gustav looked at Neia. They had to be wondering if she had told him about their situation. So she shook her head slightly to say, I didn’t.
The King of Darkness ignored their surprise and continued.
“Even if the southern forces are still around, they aren’t cooperating with you due to the deep-rooted issues that exist with the nobles. Since you weren’t able to protect the holy lady, it will be difficult for you to serve in the same positions under the new Holy King. So of course you can’t offer me privileges such as land, title, or trade. If you did that, depending on what the new holy king thought, a war could break out with the Nation of Darkness.”
He recited the future of their situation so accurately it was as if he had learned it by heart.
“And of course, national treasures are also impossible to part with. Like your sword, Lady Custodio. One possible option would be to say that Jaldabaoth stole everything and turn over the country’s assets to me, but that’s dangerous. If I told the new holy king you did that, no one would trust paladins anymore. So your only choice was to do as you did and appeal to my emotions… Hmm, it seems like I guessed right. I can see from your faces that I scored a bull’s-eye.”
Having said that much, the King of Darkness leaned back in his chair.
Silence reigned in the room.
It was perfect, just so perfect.
Neia was astounded by his accurate reading of their circumstances.
So this is the King of Darkness, she thought.
She had seen royalty alongside the Holy Lady but only ever received a perfunctory greeting from them; she never really got the chance to interact. This was her first time meeting a perfect being with superior discernment, the appropriate dignity, and even more power. The impact was so great she would never forget it.
“That said, anyone can figure out that much. I’m a bit embarrassed that I sounded like I’m boasting… I’m sure you guys didn’t think I wouldn’t see it, right?”
“O-of course not, Your Majesty!” Gustav replied, forcing a twitching smile.
“Good. If people thought I was an idiot who couldn’t read a situation so simple, I don’t know how I could face my hardworking subordinates… Now then, I’ll explain what I’m after: maids. I want maids.”
The completely unexpected word that burst out of the king’s mouth stunned them all, including Neia.
“…Oh, sorry. I should explain better. Uhhh, so during our audience, I told you how Jaldabaoth has strong maids, right? I want those. How much do you guys know about magic?”
“Nothing at all,” Remedios admitted openly, and the king’s eyes swam.
“I—I see. Then I’m not sure where to start this explanation but, hmm, I guess… Uhhh, Jaldabaoth’s maids must be bound to him by some sort of contract. So if I defeat him and make his method my own, I can take control of those maids. Thus, my country will gain some powerful servants.”
“B-but we haven’t seen Jaldabaoth’s maids in our country…”
The King of Darkness snickered at Gustav’s reply. “They were seen in the Re-Estize Kingdom. It’s hard to imagine they’re not around somewhere. Maybe they’ll show themselves if we corner Jaldabaoth.”
“Just to reemphasize…we don’t know for sure if the maids are there or not. What will you do if there are no maids?”
“We’ll cross that bridge if we come to it, but I won’t make additional demands. I’ll have worked for nothing. But they may not look like typical maids, so let’s call them Jaldabaoth’s subordinates. Oh, right. Since he might be controlling them with a specific item, I’d like anything in his possession that doesn’t clearly belong to the Sacred Kingdom to be turned over to me. If things turn out badly and the maids rampage through your kingdom before I seize control, I’d like you to forget your hatred of them once they’re mine.”
“You’re saying we should forgive people who’ve torn apart our country?” Remedios said, sounding somewhat offended, and the King of Darkness shrugged.
“It’s not like I’d be getting anything else from the Sacred Kingdom. Unless you have something to offer?”
Unable to say anything, Remedios bit her lip.
“Your Majesty, I think what she wanted to say is that it would be difficult for us, who aren’t currently there, to get the people who are suffering to forget their ill will.”
“Well, you’ll just have to work hard to convince them,” the King of Darkness said in an icy tone. “…Er, you can explain that I put them under magic control and took them away. That might make them feel a little better.”
I wonder, thought Neia as she listened. Still, refusing after he had made this much of a compromise would likely cause everything to fall apart. Frankly, this offer was an extraordinarily valuable one for the Sacred Kingdom. Wasting it would be foolish.
“That’s a problem. If they rampaged—”
“Your Majesty!” Gustav cut Remedios off. “We’d like to discuss this among ourselves. May we have some time?”
I’ve compromised this much, and you still need to talk about it? Neia was worried he might reproach them like that, but…
“Sure. I can’t imagine it would take too long, and it’s troublesome to go somewhere else, so I’d like to wait here if that’s okay.”
The king’s generosity surprised Neia.
“Thank you. Then we’ll go discuss things and come right back. Excuse us for just a moment, please.”
“That’s fine. Talk as much as you need.”
The two of them left and came back awfully fast. Well, the answer had been decided from the beginning, surely.
“We apologize for keeping you waiting, Your Majesty.”
“Not at all. You could have talked a little longer. So what do you think?”
“We’ve decided that
