The Overlord’s Stratagem — Surface

View of Viktor-Era-Ruars, Duke of the Lumoria Kingdom

Calm down.

I had to calm down.

For now, I needed to calm down.

Alright, I had calmed down.

…

No, this was bad—completely bad.

What was going on?

…I didn’t understand.

For now, I needed to be composed.

Alright, I was composed.

…

No, this was bad—I wasn’t composed at all.

I took a deep breath and slowly exhaled so no one around me would notice.

I felt like I had become a little calmer.

I closed my eyes, took another long, deep breath, then slowly opened my eyes.

This was the room prepared for us.

There were several people here besides me, and most of them looked like they had lost their composure and could not sit still.

The only ones who remained calm… were the two maids standing beside the door.

And of course they were… for them, being in this room was perfectly normal, nothing out of the ordinary.

But for us, this was—plainly speaking—an abnormal situation.

I needed to calm down and organize the current situation.

Ideally I would have organized it while speaking with someone… but judging by how they looked, that was still difficult.

I needed to calm down myself, and then calm them down.

Without panicking, I had to slowly recall what had happened up to now… we had only just arrived at the territorial capital of Yōntsu Territory, and there we had exchanged greetings with Ilmitt-dono, the Minister of Internal Affairs.

There had been minor issues, but nothing wildly beyond expectation… good, up to this point was fine.

Next, Ilmitt-dono said she would invite us to the castle… as far as we knew, no castle existed near the territorial capital, and though I found it strange, it was not a reason to refuse the invitation.

Naturally we accepted, and as Ilmitt-dono guided us, we approached the mysterious tower-shaped magic device… and we were standing inside the castle gate.

Huh?

That was strange… hadn’t there just been a gap there?

By the way I organized it just now, wouldn’t it mean that the instant we approached the magic device, we were already standing in front of the castle?

…Calm down, me—there was no way that could be true… right, after we approached the device, Ilmitt-dono said something, didn’t she… I think…?

“Alright then～ we will now transfer to Einheria Castle～. Yes, we have arrived～”

…Yes, it should have been something like that… but strange, I thought I recalled the line, yet the context didn’t connect.

I was still confused… no, there should have been more. I think…?

“Normally we would transfer to the castle town～ but the castle town is still under construction～ so we are sorry, but we transferred you here～”

Mm, if the castle town was under construction, then it couldn’t be helped that we were brought inside the gate without passing through it.

…

…Wasn’t something off?

No, I would admit it.

The fact that I was in the castle now… that must be the result of the “transfer” Ilmitt-dono spoke of.

In other words, that tower-like magic device was a magic tool that could move between bases in an instant.

…Magnificent.

I didn’t know how much it cost to use that device… but depending on how it was used, it might move not only people but also the flow of supplies, and perhaps even troops.

This alone could solidify Einheria’s strength… yet for Einheria, this might not even be a fraction of its true power.

Otherwise, they would never reveal such technology so easily to me, a key figure of a nation they had fought.

…I was finally calming down.

“Are you calm now?”

When I spoke, everyone looked at me with restless eyes.

“Your Excellency… this is…”

“…I understand how you all feel. It took me time as well to swallow what is before us. But now is not the time to dwell on that, is it?”

Remember why we came here… when I told them so, every face tightened.

They were truly excellent people.

They had seemed dazed for a short while at this unreal situation, but once they moved, they were dependable indeed.

“Your Excellency… if we could deploy that magic device across the entire kingdom, it would not be an exaggeration to say the world would change.”

“But wouldn’t lands that prospered as transportation hubs, or territories that relied mainly on tariffs, decline…?”

“We don’t know whether the people can use it freely, but if they could, some territories might see their people leave the land…”

“Certainly there may be such aspects… but in distribution, it is a card far too powerful. If movement between devices is free, then from one end of the country to the other… goods could be carried in an instant, you know?”

“There is no doubt it would deal a major blow to the transport trade.”

“If instant movement is possible, it also means information from afar can be transmitted across the entire country instantly. In military affairs, there would be no greater advantage.”

Watching them debate with sudden excitement after witnessing transfer technology was almost pleasant, but they still could not be called calm.

Their talk had gone too far ahead.

“Everyone… yes, transfer technology is magnificent. And it is fine to let your minds roam over what it could do. But now is not the time for that.”

At my words, the room fell silent as if water had been poured over it.

“We apologize, Your Excellency…”

“No, I understand the urge to get carried away. But do not forget: this is still an enemy nation.”

I glanced toward the maids by the door.

Of course it was not talk to be overheard… yet we could not simply send them away, either.

““…””

Seeing my subordinates fall silent, I gave a small, bitter smile.

It was wonderful that they could immediately discuss uses and problems upon seeing new technology… but to obtain it, we would have to lose everything.

Before coming here, we had already resolved ourselves… I—no, everyone who came to this place—would wager our very heads to secure peace across all of the Lumoria Kingdom.

As I recalled that resolve, I felt a strong will settle into the eyes of those in the room.

I truly felt sorry for them… and that was why I would do everything to send them home… if with just my head I could buy the end of this war, and the people’s peace, then it was cheap.

As an old noble… there was no better moment than now to sell this life for the highest price.

As I clenched my fist so no one would notice, a knock sounded at the door.

If the room had not been so quiet, we might have missed it…

One of the maids by the door immediately checked the visitor and informed us.

“Pardon us for interrupting your conversation. Minister of Internal Affairs Ilmitt is here; how shall we proceed?”

“Ilmitt-dono…? Let her in at once.”

At the visitor’s name, I stood and straightened my posture.

Normally, as a duke, I would not bow to such a person… but in this situation, which position stood higher needed no words.

Those in the room understood as well; without a word, they stood and moved to the corner.

“Were you able to rest a little～?”

“Yes. There was some confusion, but thanks to that, I was able to calm down.”

“Confusion～? Was there some inconvenience～?”

“No, it was simply that we were astonished by your nation’s technology…”

“Ahh～, I see～”

Her unhurried way of speaking still made it hard to read her intent, but if Ilmitt-dono herself had come all this way, there must be something important.

“I felt sorry to have kept you waiting～ but if you were able to rest even a little, that’s good～”

“Kept us waiting… for what?”

Had we made some promise while I was out of it?

I panicked inwardly at that thought, but the moment I heard Ilmitt-dono’s next words, my mind went completely blank.

“Of course～ the audience～”

“…Au-dience?”

“Yes～ an audience with our master, His Majesty Fels～”

“…”

…An audience… an audience!?

“I-Ilmitt-dono!?”

“Yes～?”

“Was the audience not tomorrow!?”

“Yes, that was the plan～ but you said so earlier, didn’t you～? Could you not have an audience today～”

“Th-that was…”

I certainly said it… but that had only been to see the reaction, and I never expected it to be granted from the start…

“When I told His Majesty that you wished for an audience as soon as possible～ he said then let it be at once～ so we hurriedly prepared the place～”

“…To think you would truly accept my foolish request… I am humbled beyond words.”

“No no～ His Majesty moves quickly～ so those from abroad will be surprised～”

To accept my outrageously rude behavior… no, by any normal thinking, an audience—a matter of state—could not be rescheduled so easily.

This was not a sudden visit… we had made prior requests, sent advance notice, and adjusted schedules before coming… it was not something that could be shifted so simply over a bit of probing between enemy nations.

…In other words, had this been anticipated in advance?

No, that could not be.

The anger I saw within Ilmitt-dono’s eyes then… that was real. If this had been anticipated, they would not have shown such emotion. Rather, it would not have been strange for them to show delight that prey had fallen into a trap.

And besides, for a king to lightly alter his schedule because of the words of a wartime enemy… especially one who came to declare defeat… that would lower the nation’s standing—there was no way he would do that.

We had thought, rather, that they would find some reason and postpone the audience.

For a nation, saving face was extremely important.

Even for a king… no, precisely because he was a king, he valued face and stature.

And yet this response… from another nation’s view it might be mocked… but this was different.

It was a threat made as plainly as possible.

An envoy who came to declare surrender had shown contempt toward the other nation’s king… and the king had displayed unbelievable magnanimity, even knowing it would crush his own nation’s face.

…I had been completely played.

In this matter… the King of Einheria must have advanced things while keeping even Ilmitt-dono, a key minister, in the dark.

Otherwise they could not have responded like that at the territorial capital, and without foreknowledge, this audience at this timing could not have happened.

Even if I had been dazed, it had not been even a quarter-koku—about thirty minutes—since we were brought to this castle. (Translator note: “quarter-koku” is an old time unit, roughly 30 minutes.)

There was far too little time from when the king heard Ilmitt-dono’s report to when the audience preparations were complete.

It seemed impossible unless preparations had already been made… but could such preparations be made while hiding it from the Minister of Internal Affairs?

If Ilmitt-dono were merely a figurehead, I could understand, but… that pressure she displayed then… it was not that of a mere civil official, and I could not call her incompetent.

Rather, what should be feared here was the king who drew the entire plan and executed it.

No—what I had to fear now was not that.

The problem was the fact that my words, as the one who came as the defeated nation’s leader, had moved the king.

For them, it was exactly as intended… and as for me, I had no time to think or consult about it… I was being dragged out defenseless before an opponent fully armed.

A terrifying hand.

“…I was surprised, but it was a request from us. I am grateful for your mercy.”

“Fufufu～ then I will guide you～. Your guards may keep their swords belted～ it’s fine～”

““…””

…Even now she pressed further?

Allowing us to keep swords…?

In an audience…?

To harm us on the pretext that we carried weapons…?

No, that was not it.

In some minor nation, perhaps, but would a great power like Einheria do something so small?

Without such tricks, crushing us would be easy.

Allowing us to keep swords was also a declaration that they, too, carried weapons… but the intent… no. I could not spend more time thinking.

“Ilmitt-sama. When we appear before the King of Einheria, we cannot carry impure weapons. If we did, in our tension we might even injure ourselves. It is shameful to trouble you, but would you be willing to take our weapons into custody?”

“Is that so～? That’s fine～. Then let’s go～ we’ll take your weapons along the way～”

With that, Ilmitt-dono led us onward toward the Audience Chamber.

At this point, I could not even exchange words with my subordinates.

This torrent of developments… if all of it was the King of Einheria’s design, then there might be no king as terrifying—and no king as reliable—as he.

As the one being toyed with, it was hard to feel alive… but I had been prepared to throw away my life from the beginning. Let me go thinking it meaningful that I could at least glimpse a fraction of the king’s caliber in the end.

For a time we walked in silence… and only now, having had no room to spare, did I notice… what a beautiful castle this was.

Since this was the path to the Audience Chamber, of course they meant to display their nation’s strength to foreigners… but not only the furnishings—delicate carvings adorned even the pillars and walls, and each pillar carried the refinement of an artwork.

National power aside… this spiritual richness, this attentiveness even beyond furnishings…

No wonder we could not compare.

Just walking these corridors made the overwhelming difference in strength unmistakable; if this nation called Einheria would shelter the people… then perhaps our people could gain peace beyond measure.

If only their king truly loved the people.

At last we reached a heavy door… and beyond the slowly opened door, the king was already there.

Young, beautiful, and above all powerful… I had seen many kings, including my own, but I had never known a king with such immense, overwhelming presence.

I forgot all conflict and anxiety and every other thought I had carried here, fell to my knees, and bowed my head.