“Anyhow, I see that Miss Baraja has returned, but what can I do for you, Deputy Commander?”
“Oh, uh, right! I don’t mean to underestimate Squire Baraja’s abilities, but I thought it might be better if I came to explain things.”
“Hmm… If that’s what you decided, then an outsider like me can’t really talk. But I would like to say one thing.” Something dark mixed into the red flame of his eyes. “I sent her because I believed she could do the job. For you to show up, even if you’re her boss, says to me that you doubt my ability to judge people—I’m a bit offended.”
No matter how people looked at him or how they acted toward him, the King of Darkness had never appeared angry, but now Neia saw him slightly upset for the first time. The fact that it was anger because he trusted her warmed Neia’s heart. No one else valued her that much.
“Do excuse me!”
“If you’re going to apologize, it should be to her, not me, but whatever. How about that explanation, then?”
Gustav said what he had to say, and the King of Darkness made a vague noise—“Hmm”—in reply. “I see. So what do you want from me? Or did you really just come to share that with me?”
“Ah, I just wonder what you think of the plan.”
So that’s what it was about.
He wanted to pick the king’s brain and had used Neia as an excuse in order to come. He must have had the guard leave because it would be problematic if the consultation was overheard and word got out that he was subordinating himself to a foreign—not to mention undead—king.
What’s the point of hiding it now…?
It was already clear they couldn’t get by without borrowing the King of Darkness’s strength. Sooner or later, everyone would know.
Wouldn’t the best course of action for the Sacred Kingdom be to inform as many people as possible of the king’s compassion and maintain an attitude of gratitude?
I can understand not trusting undead or being on guard, but His Majesty isn’t like them…
But they probably wouldn’t believe it if Neia said that. They might think she was under the influence of a spell like Charm.
How can I get everyone to trust His Majesty? Ultimately, we have to overcome their preconceptions, but I can’t be so impertinent as to say something like, “Please go mingle with the people.”
As Neia was thinking, the other two continued their discussion.
“…Mm, I’m pretty sure I said I wasn’t going to give you any input on your plans.”
“I know, but I’m begging you. We only have one shot. If there’s anything, even something small, we can do to avoid failure…”
“That’s the issue right there. What if I gave you advice and the plan still failed? I couldn’t be held responsible for that.”
“Yes. That’s why I was thinking we could keep this between Your Majesty, me, and Squire Baraja.”
“And Miss Baraja? You don’t think it would be better to leave her out of it?”
“No, I thought it would be good to have a third party present. And someone with her special abilities might be able to point out some different possibilities.”
“…Hmm. Then let’s talk a bit. You’re fine with that, right, Miss Baraja?”
“Oh! Yes, it’s fine with me.”
“Then, from what I heard of your plan, there are a few things that concern me. First is food. I agree that the camps might have some, but I doubt it’s very much. We don’t even know if they are feeding the prisoners properly. If it were me, I’d be reducing the amount of nutrition they get to weaken them so they would be incapable of revolting. And you mentioned using them as soldiers, but what will they use as weapons? Do you have a stockpile in this cave?”
“No, we don’t. We thought we would have to get them from the camps.”
“Do you understand how dangerous this plan is if it relies on the camps for everything?”
“Yes, but it’s very important to rescue the suffering prisoners.”
“I agree with you there. They may be losing their love for this country as time goes by. But I do think you should at least have a plan for food. Honestly, I think getting the south to cooperate would be best. What can we do to make that happen?”
“We need the royal family. The Holy Lady passed away, but it can’t be that the entire royal family is dead. If we can rescue a member of the royal family that the south supports, we could request assistance through that person. That would also obtain us a place to evacuate to… By the way, Your Majesty, the Holy Lady did die, but do you think you could do something with your powers?”
“Do something?”
“Bring her back?”
“Ah. It’s not impossible.”
He said it so simply that for just a moment Neia couldn’t believe her ears. Resurrection was said to be the essence of faith magic. Only a handful of a handful of people could cast it. How many people in the world could speak of it so casually?
“Of course, I’d want compensation. And where is the body? What condition is it in?”
“At present, we don’t know where the body is or what condition it’s in. We’d like to pay whatever amount Your Majesty requests.”
The King of Darkness waved him off. “It’s hard if there’s no body. Even the extent of the wounds changes things. It’s possible that if I resurrect her without a proper corpse, she’ll end up undead.”
“W-we can’t have that.”
More than not having it, if the Holy Lady were turned into an undead, the entire kingdom would probably go to war.
“You don’t have anyone in the Sacred Kingdom who can use tier-five spells?”
“My apologies, but I don’t know.”
“Oh…? So where are the other members of the royal family?”
“We believe they’re probably in one of the prison camps. Given the amount
