We Go For It First! (6)

When a situation unfolded where it was awkward to say I was not a king, I could see the vassals around me looking away from me while holding back their laughter.

I had no choice but to look at the knight, nod, and ask.

“It is an unexpected visit, but what is the matter?”

“Please lower your speech, Your Majesty.”

Another problem had occurred. First, this was a habit. I was in a situation where I was lowering my speech with difficulty even to slaves, so if I was going to play king, it meant I first had to change this habit.

Should I use the same manner of speech as the Empress?

It was a tiresome matter.

“First… I shall hear… the reason.”

“Ishtain offers congratulations on the successful independence of the Minor Kingdom of Ingrad. And this is a gift from the ruler of Ishtain. Please accept this.”

Then she gestured to the knight who had come with her and had something handed to Demina. It was a box of suitable size. I wondered what it was, and just as Demina opened the box, saying she would first check the contents, a foul smell began to drift out.

On top of that, Demina also frowned and sighed, so I asked what it was.

“What is it?”

“…It does not seem like anything good would come from you seeing it.”

Out of curiosity, I slightly raised my head and looked at the contents of what Demina was holding, and there was a person’s head inside. It was also a face I knew well, and he was also a person who would cause trouble if he died like that.

“It is the head of Duke Balsen. Since we thought he was like an enemy to the Minor Kingdom of Ingrad as well, we brought it on the way here.”

“…There are some things I need to think about, so can you give me some time?”

“Understood, Your Majesty.”

The sound of “Your Majesty” was uncomfortable, and I did not like the situation of receiving as a gift the head of Duke Balsen, a man who should not have died like this. On top of that, there was a need to understand Ishtain’s intention in bringing this, so I first told them to withdraw for a moment, then watched them leave the audience chamber, leaned my back firmly against the chair, and sighed.

“…I suppose this is what it feels like when a tower built with great effort collapses.”

At my words, Linda, as well as Matilda, looked at me with empty expressions. Balsen was not a person who should have died like that.

He was a person who should have eaten away at the Empire with his incompetence, but I thought he had died too easily.

“What do you think?”

At my question, Linda, who had been glancing at the box placed on the floor, spoke.

“Since what is already dead cannot be undone, I think it would be good to find a way to make use of this.”

“From the Empire’s perspective, since an incompetent noble died on his own, it must feel like a bad tooth has fallen out, no?”

“That is true, but…”

The position of duke could be called a so-called indulgence noble, someone who had an ironclad immunity. Unless it was treason, he was a high-ranking noble who could not be questioned for crimes and killed.

That was why I had thought that even if he was incompetent, he would not easily lose real power, so I had planned to release him and deal with him for a long time, but things had become troublesome.

“The problem is the intention behind bringing the head… It probably was not brought simply because they thought they had avenged an enemy, so what do you think Ishtain wants?”

At my words, this time Matilda answered.

“Until now, Duke Balsen was missing. But judging by the circumstances, I think Ishtain may have already secured Balsen.”

“What is the reason?”

“What bothers me is that the state of Duke Balsen’s head is relatively clean for someone who supposedly died after being caught in an explosion. Moreover, even if Duke Balsen was incompetent, he had high value as a prisoner.”

I thought Matilda was right. Even if he was incompetent, he was a duke. On top of that, as Matilda said, there was not even a common wound visible on his face. And from one question I glimpsed, the way the area around his neck had curled inward let me know that his head had been cut off while he was alive.

‘Is this the power of medical dramas…?’

After thinking something useless, I turned my gaze away from Duke Balsen’s head and looked around at the others. Since they did not seem to have any particular thoughts, I had no choice but to ask Linda and Matilda.

“What matters is the reason they killed Duke Balsen instead of using him alive. On top of that, there must be meaning in the fact that they brought him to us instead of proclaiming it to the continent. What do you think it is?”

“Could it be because the Ishtain Region’s situation is not good?”

“What is the reason?”

“The Empire only recognized our Ingrad’s independence. That means the Ishtain Region is still nothing more than a rebel province. For the rebellion to succeed, the Empire must also let go of them, but from what I hear, the Empire is organizing a second punitive army.”

It was Matilda’s words, and if so, it could be said that there was a high possibility it was true. On top of that, Linda also added an explanation.

“In the case of the Ishtain Region, I hear there is not a single intact castle. So could they not be trying to turn the punitive army’s attention toward us?”

“Matilda, I think that does not make much sense.”

“Why?”

“Rather, if their situation is not good, it would be right to use Duke Balsen for some other purpose. So there is a reason for this. It is just a feeling, but… I think it may literally only be for the purpose of ‘goodwill.’”

“Goodwill…?”

Was that not talking while looking at things from too simple an angle? While I was thinking that, Matilda nodded. Could it be that Matilda also thought it was such a simple intention?

In any case, through the short exchange between the two, I spoke while keeping one possibility in mind.

“I never thought I would receive a person’s head as a gift. Anyway, I do not know what the intention is, but… a person’s head… Should I say I am pleased about this… or should I say I am sad…?”

Was it Branne’s intention?

If not that, was it excessive loyalty like last time?

It might have a simple intention, but rather than that, I was thinking hard that I had to find out the fundamental, that is, the exact intention. At that moment, Hare spoke with a puzzled expression.

“I think it would be better to just ask them about the circumstances. Even if we agonize over it among ourselves forever, we cannot know their intention, can we? On top of that, is that human’s head that important?”

In truth, we were already in a situation where our independence had been recognized, and the people who had had their mana forcibly suppressed for a long time were going through a grace period before being returned, until they recovered to some degree, even if not as much as before.

“Hmm, in fact, we are close to enemies from the Empire’s perspective, but there is not really any damage that would make us think of the Empire as an enemy, is there?”

If one examined it, we could bring up this and that, but looking at the reality, that could be said to be the case.

“Come to think of it, as for the materials already used, we obtained the result… There is no need to think of it as a waste, and am I merely flustered before Duke Balsen’s unexpected corpse?”

Confusion could have arisen, but it felt like Hare had cut it off appropriately. Linda and Matilda also looked at Hare with similar expressions, then soon nodded.

“That is right. There was no reason for us to agonize over Duke Balsen’s head on purpose.”

“It would have been enough to ask about the intention. Thank you, Lady Hare.”

Hare showed a bright smile, and soon, thinking that we should hear the story directly and then come to a conclusion, I called the knights in again. The knight who came before me respectfully observed etiquette and bowed her head.

“I was somewhat flustered because you brought the head of an unexpected person as a gift. Then I shall ask.”

My tone was too awkward. I spoke while slightly thinking that my hands and feet felt like they might curl up.

“There must be a reason you brought his head. If I consider it and judge it not to be reasonable, I shall return it.”

“The Ishtain Region is currently facing many difficulties. Duke Balsen was the very person who committed the invasion of the Minor Kingdom of Ingrad, and if we considered only his existence, he was also someone who could have given us great benefit. However, it was literally an expression of our will to show goodwill, and we brought it in the hope that you would not misconstrue this and would accept it as goodwill exactly as it is.”

“Considering that, it seems you executed him while he was alive. There must be a reason you deliberately executed him, a man treated as missing, and brought only his head, no?”

“…We came because we wished to ask the Minor Kingdom of Ingrad for help.”

At the word help, I laughed softly and spoke.

“Last time, a noble called Tilda Josephine came and spouted strange things, and this time, you cut off the head of a living man, brought it here, gave it as a gift, and then ask for help?”

It was absurd. But when I mentioned the name Tilda Josephine, the knight’s expression stiffened. After a moment, she cautiously asked.

“May I know what she said?”

“Do you wish to say it was not an official visit?”

“That is not it. I say this because an unexpected name came up.”

“Unexpected, is it… I have nothing much to say. I hope you hear it directly. And you said you were asking for help, so let us at least hear what kind of help it is.”

Was it because of the name Tilda Josephine?

The knight looked as though she was hesitating. I thought that if I asked what she wanted, she would immediately tell me, but the knight hesitated and remained silent for quite a long time. Perhaps because of that, since I did not want the silence to continue, I opened my mouth first.

“You do not seem desperate?”

“…That is not it. I thought we had committed a discourtesy, so I was organizing my thoughts for a moment. The aid we desire is not troops or new weapons. We came wondering if we could receive some of the same healing medicines and physical ability enhancement potions as the ones you sent to the front line against the Demonic Tribe.”

“What can we obtain in exchange for giving those?”

Hare gave a slight cough at my manner of speech, but it was extremely uncomfortable. I wondered if I could not simply do it the way I wanted, and right when I looked back at Hare…

“We know that there is effectively nothing we can give. Even if we wished to give resources, we know that Ingrad already possesses many resources far superior to ours, and even if we wished to offer gold, silver, and treasure, the Ishtain Region’s situation is not easy, so we have nothing to give. Moreover, even if we wished to send our people, we heard that you do not accept humans. So if I speak honestly… what we can give is about ‘land,’ but we thought even that would not be accepted, so…”

She was right. As for resources, I would take them if they gave them, but we already had enough and overflowing, so there was no merit. Furthermore, the same was true of gold, silver, and treasure. Ishtain might have to fight another war. Their circumstances were bad for pouring out money recklessly.

On top of that, even if we accepted the people of the Ishtain Region, there was no benefit. It was a situation where it was predicted that even if we dragged in and gathered at Soil City only the inflowing population scattered here and there, we would reach saturation.

And lastly, the Empire would not acknowledge land. There was a high chance it would not even become my land, and I also had to keep in mind the possibility that it would return as a spark for another war.

So there was not a single merit. It was not an exaggeration to say she was appealing to emotion, but that knight looked at me as though she had decided something and spoke.

“However! The Ishtain Region has one token of an ancient promise passed down from long ago.”

I had expected that they had come because there was some item to trade, but curiosity settled in me at the fact that there really was one.

“What is it?”

“…It is this.”

The knight took out a splendid-looking wooden box from her breast.

“Does it contain someone’s body part?”

At my words, the knight was startled and waved her hands. Then she immediately opened the box and spoke.

“It is a secret passed down through House Ishtain for generations.”

Was there another secret besides the ring I was wearing?

I was thinking that, and at that moment, Hare slipped closer to me and whispered.

“It is a wooden box engraved with the Demon Dragon’s pattern.”

Why was the name Demon Dragon coming up here?

I was puzzled, but the knight who saw us whispering slowly lowered the wooden box, showed the accessory inside it, and spoke.

“It is a token of covenant that allows one to make a wish of the Demon Dragon once, so long as it is not a request to harm humans.”

My head almost spun at the sentence lined with words I had not expected.

If it was the Demon Dragon I was thinking of, then I thought that was not an item whose owner could be decided simply through trade. However, unlike my thoughts, Hare delivered the finishing blow beside me.

“I think I heard that long ago, she gave something similar to that to humans once.”

Just what kind of things had that dragon been doing? I again thought that she really was an unusual dragon.