Chapter 425 Secret Meeting III
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
(Shinji’s POV)
”So, have you made up your mind about inheriting the throne?”
Van asked Bone as soon as he entered the room, even before taking his seat.
”I never planned on inheriting it, so there’s no need for any resolve.” Bone replied.
”But it would really help us if you could step up, Bone.”
Carla chimed in, taking a sip of the wine that Van had poured for her.
”You’ve prepared quite an excellent wine here.” Van commented.
”However, once the Azradelius issue is resolved…this place will undoubtedly be transferred or confiscated. What will you do then? Will you resist or comply?”
Milia pressed, ignoring Van’s wine appreciation.
”Fortunately, most of the citizens support the heroes. With that public support, we can pressure the King to abdicate. For that, we need either Sir Raincrist or Sir Bone to take a stand.”
”I’m not interested in that. But I’ll gladly fight by Shinji’s side,”
Bone responded to Viscount.
”That would lead to a civil war…and many lives lost,” Milia stated calmly.
”Hmm…”
Bone couldn’t help but agree with Milia’s sobering assessment.
”Whether we push for the King’s abdication or weaken his power, we need to bring down both the Marquis of Bausenern and Count Foreltun, who support the King and his eldest brother.”
And this had to be done before the Azradelius issue was resolved.
”Well, Shinji’s right. For now, Count Foreltun seems to be digging his own grave.”
”I’m not so sure. He might be more resilient than we think,”
Rain disagreed with Van’s prediction.
”He’s undoubtedly connected to the Empire and Fackler IV. To begin with…”
Rain continued with an unusually serious expression.
”──His support for the current King is likely at the Empire’s behest. Their aim is to weaken the Romuna Kingdom until Fackler IV can stabilize his territory and restore the Empire’s strength.”
”Hmm… is that Empire’s national power Healing trump card, supporting Azradelius?”
Hearing Rain’s explanation, the pieces fell into place in my mind.
”I’ve been adventuring with Mundo and Reedull, and on the side, we’ve been gathering intelligence. So I can tell you, waiting for them to self-destruct might take a while, but if we follow my lead… Count Foreltun will be easy to take down.”
Rain said this with a smile, but his words were ominous.
* * *
”There’s no doubt he’s making money from the Empire, and by illegal means within the kingdom…”
”Slavery…?”
Bone’s response caused Rain to nod silently.
”If we catch him in an undeniable situation, we can easily bring him down.”
Van muttered, glancing briefly at me.
(Hmm… Maybe I should send Marty…)
Even if we catch him ‘hunting’ for slaves, it’s unlikely we’ll be able to trace it back to Count Foreltun.
We need to catch him in the act of slave trading or at an auction.
”Anyway, since we’ve left the Azradelius matter to Hiroya and the others, we need to figure out what we can do with our free hands.”
Milia chewed her nails, her expression troubled.
”Indeed. Our current goal is to… bring down Count Foreltun, the weakest link among the current king’s supporters.”
With the Viscount’s conclusion, the discussion on this matter came to an end.
* * *
”If we’re talking about dethroning the current king and taking the throne, Rain would be a better fit than me.”
Bone continued to grumble as he ate the dinner that Della and the servants had brought.
”That’s not true. Bro Bone might not know this, but there were all sorts of wild rumors about you, but then the truth came out in Royal Capital, and your popularity among the people has been steadily rising.”
Bone made a sour face at Rain’s response.
”With the my incident, I’ve completely severed ties with the Marquis. It’s a relief to be free of that jerk.”
(Ah… this is the case of a man who rescued a former knight woman who was the mistress of Marquis Bausnerun after being devastated by his chivalry.)
”You’ve caused quite a stir with your actions, but they all stem from your strong sense of justice. I love that about you.”
Van raised his glass as he said these words.
”Nonsense…” Bone muttered, but he still raised his glass in response.
”I see… If the truth about that incident were to get out, it could tarnish Marquis Bausnerun’s reputation.”
Bone shook his head at my realization, as if to say, “Don’t even think about it.”
”I believe a man like Sir Bone is fit to be king.”
The Viscount smiled as he looked at Bone.
”Well, if I don’t do something, it might cause trouble for Van and Shinji… I’ll consider it.”
The outcome of tonight’s gathering was that Bone had slightly opened up to the idea of taking the throne.
I was satisfied with this progress.
* * *
”Oh? So Gargantua is here?”
I shared the news of an old friend during our post-dinner drinks.
”That’s a name I’d rather not hear,”
Bone muttered with a hint of resentment.
”We were so eager to face her, but she completely overwhelmed us,”
”…It’s frustrating, but I was no match for her.”
Milia teased Bone, who had no choice but to acknowledge his defeat with a raised hand.
That battle had been the reason Bone left the party.
”So, how have she been?”
Bone asked, his voice filled with nostalgia despite his grim expression.
”Yes, she’s currently under the care of Famière.”
”What? She’s right next to us? I should probably go and greet her…”
”She asked us to visit her on the last night of the Grand Market. How about we all gather again then?” I suggested.
Van and Bone both nodded in agreement.
”That’s great! She’s been wanting to see everyone too,”
Milia exclaimed, clapping her hands in excitement.
”Gargantua… Is she one of the Demon King’s Four Dark Heavens?”
Rain asked, swirling his wine glass.
”Yeah. I’m unwilling to do this… because I made a promise to become ‘friends’.”
”It’s been a while… Does she remember the promise we made?”
Van smiled, his eyes narrowing.
”What was the promise?”
”We vowed to face each other without the exchange of life next time.”
Van winked as he answered my question.
”Knowing you, Van, you probably meant it in a perverted way, right?”
”Of course! I’d love to ‘cross swords’ with a strong woman like her.”
Van said this cheerfully, unfazed by Milia’s glare.
”──I have to tell Barbara about this…”
”W-Wait, please don’t, Milia! It was just a joke, obviously.”
Van’s eyes darted around, clearly flustered.
* * *
”Gargantua of the Four Dark Heavens, huh? I’d like to meet her too, but I have to depart for the Royal Capital tomorrow morning.”
”Are you sure you’re okay coming to Raetia? People might suspect you’re having secret talks with Shinji.”
Bone asked the Viscount, who sounded disappointed.
”I’ve given the reason for my visit as wanting to see my daughter. Plus, I’ve managed to position myself as one of the current king’s supporters.”
The Viscount stood up and said, “Well…”
”Tonight, I’ll stay at the ‘Black Sheep’ barracks, and tomorrow morning, I’ll head back to the Royal Capital.”
I started to get up to see the Viscount off, but he stopped me.
”Stay here. We don’t know who might be watching.”
After a laugh, he added,
”I hope your son can handle the Azradelius matter well. Don’t worry, Lady Megumi is strong; she’ll be fine.”
The Viscount smiled as he said this.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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