The Overlord And The Holy King

“Thank you for responding to this sudden visit. I am Efaria-Falk-Lufelon, the current Holy King of the Lufelon Holy Kingdom.”

The Holy King gave a greeting that felt slightly stiff.

Her appearance was completely that of a child… well, she was apparently ten years old, so her inside was probably completely that of a child too.

Her height was probably around one hundred thirty centimeters? She felt a little on the small side, but she was in her growing years, so that would come later.

Her hair, which was a sort of pale violet color… was naturally that color, I suppose, but it was quite striking.

Her long hair, softly spreading out, contrasted with the perfectly straight hair of Count Heldio beside her, as if wire had been put into it, but it suited her very well.

Well, she felt more like a princess than a king.

“You have come well, Holy King-dono. I am Fels, king of Einheria. I dislike stiffness, so you may call me Fels.”

“Thank you very much, Fels-sa… Fels-dono. I would like you to call me Efaria as well.”

“I shall do so.”

I said earlier that inside she was a child, but she must have received a proper education, and when it came to etiquette, she was surely more composed than I was.

Well, it would be fine if I just pushed through with saying this sort of style was normal in Einheria, right…?

If that became the reason they looked down on me… then I could just silence them physically.

What a barbarian nation… Einheria… though that was my fault.

“Even so, I was a little surprised that Efaria-dono personally came to my nation.”

“My apologies, Fels-dono. I entered your country without any prior notice…”

“There is no need to mind it. This visit is unofficial, after all, that is what this is.”

So please forgive me where etiquette is concerned, all right?

“Thank you very much, it is a relief to hear you say that.”

“However, unofficial or not, the Holy King has personally come. You must have a matter of great importance, I would think?”

Surely it was not that she simply wanted to see the dragon slayer in person.

When I steered the conversation that way, Efaria turned her gaze toward Count Heldio beside her.

“Regarding that matter, would it be acceptable for me to explain?”

“Let us hear it.”

“Thank you very much. The main reason we visited your country this time was, as I said earlier in the audience, to form friendly ties with your nation. In truth, as a gift of goodwill, we had intended to offer ourselves as mediators for ceasefire negotiations, however…”

Ceasefire negotiations, huh… if anything, the ones hoping for that would be the enemy nations.

I had no intention of accepting it, though.

“That will not be necessary in the slightest.”

“Yes. When we departed our homeland, Einheria was in the midst of being attacked by three nations, yet by the time we realized it, the situation had changed to one in which you had advanced deep into enemy territory… the journey here caused us no small amount of confusion. However, that very fact convinced us that the stories of your nation’s war with the Kingdom of Lumoria, and of the dragon subjugation, were true.”

“Hmm… but is this not beyond merely being careless? For one who is the Holy King to visit a nation at war with only a small escort… it is hardly something to be praised. Had you at least informed us in secret, we could have guaranteed your safety on the road. If, by some chance, the Holy King had come to harm within my country, do you realize how much trouble that would have caused us?”

“We too placed the highest priority on the safety of His Majesty the Holy King and took measures accordingly, but because it had to be kept secret, we could not assign very many direct guards, and we are aware that we have caused your nation great inconvenience, however…”

Count Heldio bowed her head as if apologetic at first glance, but… that way of speaking felt faintly loaded.

“I shall guarantee your safety while you are in this country. But when you set out for Einheria, our side was not yet in an advantageous state of war, was it? Given those circumstances… the reason the Holy King herself would visit Einheria while accepting such danger… perhaps it is time you let me hear the main point?”

“For the sake of friendship with your nation… that is true. But more than that, it was absolutely necessary for us to confirm whether the rumors surrounding Einheria were true.”

“I do not know what rumors you mean… but I cannot imagine the Holy King herself moving just to confirm them. There is no need whatsoever for that, is there?”

“If it were only a matter of confirming rumors, then that would be so. It is because we were able to glimpse the strength of the nation called Einheria that we asked to be granted this meeting. Forgive my rudeness, but are you aware of the current state of the Lufelon Holy Kingdom, Your Majesty?”

Count Heldio’s expression grew even more serious.

Apparently… despite me telling her to get to the point already, she intended to disclose information little by little. She had not really answered any of my questions from earlier, either.

But I could not grasp her aim… for making this into a seed of war… the Holy King was too big a piece. And even if she made me uncomfortable, I did not think Count Heldio would gain anything from that… no, she must be acting this way because there was some reason.

It was slightly troublesome… but it looked like I would have to play along.

“I do not know the details very well. Only that the struggle for power within your country is intensifying, that the heads of the factions are the regent and the chancellor, that there is the shadow of some foreign nation behind those factions, and that in contrast to the confusion at the center, the lives of the people are relatively stable… about that much.”

“…Then what of the time of His Majesty the Holy King’s enthronement…?”

Count Heldio, after briefly turning her gaze toward Efaria, asked that question.

“I do not know the details, but I heard there was an unfortunate accident…”

At my reply, Efaria lowered her head with a sorrowful expression.

It made me feel sorry, but… no, was this Count Heldio’s fault…?

Even for the Overlord, this was hard to bear, you know?

“With that accident, His Majesty the Holy King became the only direct royal left. However, as is the case with His Excellency the Regent, if not direct, there are still several remaining bloodlines.”

Well, that made sense.

Royalty was the sort of thing that produced many children so their bloodline would not die out, so if you included those with and without succession rights, there were probably quite a lot of them.

Efaria must have become the Holy King because she was the direct child with the highest place in the line of succession.

However… it was hard for the Overlord to say that having many blood descendants was only natural… because I had no children! More importantly, I did not even have a wife!

…How exactly was an Overlord supposed to find a wife?

For a moment my thoughts almost drifted off in a foolish direction, but Count Heldio’s voice pulled them back.

“His Excellency the Regent has renounced his succession rights. Also, his son has become the head of a ducal house… and so, the one who now holds the highest place in the line of succession is the son of the younger sister of the late Holy King.”

I see… and what exactly did that have to do with Efaria being here right now…?

“That lady was married to the king of another nation… and that nation is the Kingdom of Sorakil.”

…A country name I had never heard before just appeared… this was bad… I did not remember seeing it in any reports, so was it a fairly distant nation?

“Hmm…”

Now what would I do?

Pretending to know… was dangerous. Pretending to know in this setting could turn into a fatal wound… what would you do, Overlord Fels!?

…Right, if I could not dribble my way through, then I should just pass the ball.

Having reached that conclusion, I instantly activated Hawk Voice and Hawk Ear!

Muttering under my breath, I spoke to Kiriku.

“Kiriku, what is the Kingdom of Sorakil?”

“It is a country located north of the Kingdom of Est and the Duchy of Yuran. It is not so large as to be called a great nation, but in this region it is a country with a fairly broad territory. It is rumored to excel in schemes against other nations.”

Thank you, Kiriemon!

“The scheming Kingdom of Sorakil, hm…”

“Yes, that country is never free of dark rumors… however, the Holy King before the previous one married off the First Princess to the crown prince of that time, the current King of Sorakil, in the name of friendship. However, because she was the Second Queen, even though her child was male, his place in the line of succession is low. Still, because he carries the blood of the royal house of the Lufelon Holy Kingdom, he does possess succession rights, albeit of low rank.”

A princess of one nation as the Second Queen…?

Did that mean he had taken a First Queen from a more powerful country?

Well, that did not matter right now.

“…Is the nation backing the chancellor’s faction the Kingdom of Sorakil?”

“I believe that is beyond doubt.”

Yeah… I would not call it checkmate, but it definitely felt like the king was in check.

For the moment, I felt like I understood why Efaria had come here as if in hiding.

This child… had fled from assassination.

Efaria, the rightful bloodline… the last remaining direct descendant. If anything happened to her, then the Lufelon Holy Kingdom would have no choice but to call back the blood of the royal family that had married into another nation.

It would have been better if the regent had not renounced his succession rights, but there was probably some sort of rule that required him to abandon them in order to become regent… it would probably be troublesome in all sorts of ways if he still kept succession rights.

For the chancellor’s faction, after making the previous Holy King and his consort look like victims of an accident, if they then had the regent, their greatest obstacle, renounce his succession rights, there would be nothing difficult left… if Efaria then died in an accident or by illness, mission complete. And then hello there, a new Holy King with chains attached from the Kingdom of Sorakil.

I did not know what kind of secret pact they had made with the Kingdom of Sorakil, but the benefits must have been great enough for them to slay their own king.

“Heh heh heh… and you still dared call yourselves envoys of friendship. No matter how I look at it, it seems you have brought me nothing but trouble.”

“I am fully aware that this is the height of rudeness. However, we no longer have the luxury of choosing our means! We would gladly offer up the heads of the entire envoy in apology for our insolence! But I beg of you, I beg of you, please… please protect Her Majesty the Holy King… protect the rightful Lufelon Holy Kingdom!?”

Count Heldio bowed her head so forcefully it looked as though she might smash it into the table.

So the reason she had been subtly leading the conversation in a way that irritated me, and trying to make me feel sympathy for Efaria, had all been to get me to swallow this.

I was not going to chop off heads just because I got a little annoyed, but… it was probably a matter of placing the blame on herself, and the sympathy on Efaria.

Looking at the top of her bowed head, I spoke with as little emotion as I could manage.

“Is that the regent’s request?”

“…It is a proposal made by the three of us: His Excellency the Regent, myself, and Her Majesty the Holy King.”

“Oh? I had thought Efaria-dono was being left outside the circle.”

“Her Majesty is a wise person. She still lacks experience, and so His Excellency the Regent assists her, but she has learned much and is growing at a rapid pace. I believe she will surely guide the nation herself even before reaching adulthood.”

Count Heldio spoke as if to say, if there is still a nation left for her to guide.

“You spoke of offering up heads, but are the members of the envoy in agreement with that?”

“Yes.”

“…There must be some in the envoy who belong to the chancellor’s faction as well. Are they acceptable too?”

“Though they were once our comrades, now they are traitors selling out the nation. If heads such as theirs would help calm your country’s anger, then we would gladly offer as many as needed.”

“Heh heh heh… if all of the chancellor’s faction were lined up, there might be no need to save anyone at all. But I have no use for such cheap heads. What if I were to demand the head of the regent who drew up this picture?”

“If you would save Her Majesty the Holy King, then His Excellency the Regent would gladly offer up his head as well. That promise has already been made.”

So saying, Count Heldio took a small document from her breast.

It seemed she had anticipated even my words… she had probably brought something like the regent’s blood-sealed oath.

“Efaria-dono, could you tell me what you yourself think?”

“As Holy King… I swear upon the unbroken blood of my forefathers that I cannot allow the rightful bloodline to end. Even should I be smeared in filth and my body burned with humiliation, I will surely rise again. That is both my duty and my wish.”

That was not the line of a ten-year-old child… her resolve was far too firm, wasn’t it? Royalty really was amazing after all.

It was on a different level from a make-believe Overlord… this petty Overlord would press a young girl a little further, you know?

“And even if, for the sake of that path, you must drink the blood of your loyal retainers? Even now, you may die as a king, but it is still possible for you to live as a person.”

“I shall brand that loyalty into myself, and I will surely answer their feelings.”

Those were words of great courage, but… her eyes wavered for just a moment.

“Efaria-dono. There is one thing I forgot to mention…”

“What is it?”

Efaria replied as if glaring at me.

Yeah, I understood her being on guard, since I had asked nothing but nasty questions.

“Did you not come to Einheria in secret?”

“…That is correct.”

“Then there is no need to wear your station. As Efaria the individual, would you tell me what you want? Do not worry, what you say here will not leak outside. If I give the strictest order that it not be spoken of, they absolutely will not let it slip. If, by chance, they let your words leak elsewhere, I shall cut off my own head. As for me… well, I am fairly tight-lipped. I probably will not let it slip.”

When I shrugged as I said that, Efaria looked blankly at me.

“If I let it slip by accident… well, please forgive me.”

“…If you say something like that, there is no way I could possibly speak.”

As I joked, Efaria answered with a smile.

Her tone had changed from the one she had used until now into something more like that of a refined young lady… no, a princess.

She had probably spoken in that manner back when she had been not a king, but a princess.

When I twisted my mouth a little, Efaria gave a small, very deliberate sigh and opened her mouth.

However, her expression quickly changed into a bitter one.

“I do not want Uncle or Lady Faran to die. Of course, not only those two, but also the retainers and people who serve the Lufelon Holy Kingdom, all of them. But a mere girl like me cannot restrain not only the Kingdom of Sorakil, but even a single chancellor. The only thing I can do now is pass on the blood of the rightful royal house… the wishes of Father and Mother to what comes next.”

Faran… ah, so she meant Count Heldio.

Setting that aside, pass it on to what comes next, huh…

“That prince of the Kingdom of Sorakil, was it? There is also the option of taking him as your husband, isn’t there? A prince consort would probably not satisfy the chancellor and the others, but from the Kingdom of Sorakil’s point of view, if they could bring the blood of the current king into the next generation, they might see that as more than enough.”

“It is true that if I were to bear that prince’s child, it would preserve the rightful bloodline, however…”

…Um… when a ten-year-old child starts talking about bearing children… this becomes deeply hard to bear in a very different way than before.

Unaware of my innocent distress, Efaria continued.

“I find that prince impossible to accept on a physiological level.”

“…Impossible to accept on a physiological level.”

That was… definitely the sort of phrase that ranked very high among the things you could never recover from once said to you.

“He is six years older than I am, but he looks at me with a gaze that feels downright sticky… and every word that comes out of his mouth is the sort that looks down on others. He may be my cousin in terms of family position, but as a spouse, I would like to reject him with all my might. I have also heard that though he has only just come of age, he already spends his time in excessive womanizing…”

Efaria, chattering away in anger, looked adorable in a way fitting for her age, but not a single part of what she was saying was adorable.

It had just been something I said casually, but… it seemed the Overlord had stepped squarely on the Holy King’s… no, Efaria’s landmine.