Chapter 42 – The Kingdom’s Status Quo

“Good grief, what was that?”

None of the men lying around respond to Syltina’s words, as she grumbled while dusting off her clothes.

“Let’s go, Tedla-sama. We stand out a bit too much. Let’s hurry up with the shopping so we can finish and return.”

“Yes.”

A lone man matches his steps with Syltina and Tedla who walked away and pushed their way out of the gathered onlookers.

“Ara, welcome back, Al. Were you able to meet?”

“Yeah. We were able to meet properly.”

The man who was tailing them, Alhart, nods in reply, as Syltina smiles his way.

“Oh. That’s great, then. And? Who were those?”

“They were part of the group that lost to Fara. We’ve already finished them.”

“That’s great, then.”

“By the way, Sylti, Fara gave me something interesting.”

Alhart takes out a piece of paper and presents it to Syltina as he speaks.

“What?”

“It’s a new order given to all the Knights, including Fara and The Special Command Forces.”

“I see. So, the King has finally begun to move.”

“Yeah. Well, they’re moving within our expectations though. We made the smart choice by deciding to avoid populated villages from now on.”

“Yeah. It helped that the one we met was Fara.”

“Ummm…. What on earth are you talking about?”

Tedla asks Syltina and Alhart, who were talking by themselves.

“Hmmm? Ahh, that’s right,”

“The King gave a royal order to all the Kingdom’s Knights. It seems they are to escort us to the Royal Capital as soon as they find us.”

“Us?”

“The people who went on the purification journey with the Saintess. Specifically, Al and me.”

Unlike Alhart, whose words were ambiguous, Syltina unhesitatingly hands the paper she received from Alhart to Tedla.

Towards her action, Alhart blinks in surprise.

“Hey, Sylti, is it okay?”

“Yes, it’s fine.”

“I see.”

Even without hearing enough details, Alhart nods at Syltina and collects the paper from Tedla.

“Don’t tell the Saintess nor the Prince about it, or else it’s gonna get messy.”

“Ah, yes…….Umm, will we not be returning to the Royal Capital?”

“Why would it be necessary to return?”

“Eh? But, the King’s order is……”

“We don’t belong to this country, so we don’t have any responsibility in carrying out the King’s orders.”

“In the first place, this is an order to the Knights, and not necessarily a direct order for us to return to the Royal Capital, so, there is no need for us to act on the knowledge that we have been given such an order.”

“……”

“Sylti, did you know? That’s called sophism.”

“Oh my. But, it’s not wrong, is it?”

“Beats me. Besides, we both know what they’re going to tell us once we return.”

“Eh?”

“You’re right.”

“Umm, do you know why the King would want us to return to the Royal Capital?”

“Of course, we do. Anyone who truly knows about the country’s current status would figure it quite easily.”

“The country’s current status?”

“Oi, Sylti, is it really fine to talk to him about this? Won’t he talk to the others?”

“Right, there is a possibility of him talking. Well, if he does talk, then, it just means that he has no more room to choose.”

The way Syltina said it with a grin, had Tedla’s face, unintentionally, stiffening. Alhart nodded at her agreement and spoke at once.

“Right now, this country, Rideiran Kingdom, is in the midst of a looming battle against the neighboring country, Rulan Kingdom.”

“……Eh?”

“For the Kingdom of Rulan, who has long since coveted this country and its resources, it is the most opportune moment as this country is currently in a state where the demons have caused the stagnation of the government, there is a growing distrust among the people, and the country lacks a major military force.”

“……War? But, that’s….that information is……”

Tedla murmured in a daze.

“It seems the Monarch decided not to tell the people about the war with Rulan Kingdom, so it’s natural that they don’t know.”

“Huh? But, why would they keep such a thing……”

“Demons causing lands to be tainted, political stagnation, growing distrust, and dissatisfaction of the people toward the Royal Family. Under such circumstances, the citizens will not stand still if there is aggression from other countries. The country doesn’t have the power to deal with all those issues. That’s why the King has a good reason not to tell the people about the war because he didn’t want to cause undue restlessness amongst the people.”

“But, wouldn’t that put the people in danger!?”

“The Royal Family doesn’t care about that. They are only thinking about their safety.”

“No way……”

“That’s why, they want us to go back immediately. I’m also quite certain they want to assign us to be their guards.”

“But, Rulan Kingdom is a small country. No matter how dire the current situation the country is in if we can develop a proper strategy to deal with it…”

“That’s impossible.”

Syltina cuts off Tedla’s suggestion.

Sullenly, Tedla asks her.

“Why is that? The Rulan Kingdom’s military power shouldn’t be that high. If this country’s strongest unit, the Special Command Force, were to stand in the frontlines and fight, wouldn’t there be a good chance of victory?”

“The Special Command Force will not be going into battle.”

“Eh?”

“Because they had previously declared that they will only follow the Captain or the Vice-Captain…..that is, they will only listen to orders made by Famiras Carranzado or Heine Milberia. Now that they lack those two people, they will not follow anyone else’s orders. That’s why the Special Command Force will not be participating in the war this time.”

“B-but, the country’s military still won’t lose, would they? The opponent will be attacking from the sea. If that’s the case, then, it is more advantageous for us to deploy our forces on land from the beginning!”

“Rulan Kingdom employs about half of the members of The Dipterous Sword as its military force.”

“……Eh?”

“For us of The Dipterous Sword, it doesn’t matter whether the battlefield is in the sea, land, or air.”

“The Dipterous Sword…… then, you were aware of it right from the start? Even before this journey started, you knew that this country was being targeted by Rulan Kingdom……”

“Yes, that is correct.”

At Syltina’s answer, Tedla grabbed onto her.

“If you know, then, why are you keeping quiet about it? If we had known earlier, then, we could have already made several countermeasures!!”

“Why do we have to say it?”

“Wha-!?”

Syltina, who was grabbed by the lapels, calmly responded after brushing away Tedla’s hands.

“We are a guild. We live in a world where the success rate of a request and the trust of the client are the key to success. Nevertheless, there is no reason for me to divulge the details of my mission so easily. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t do that in the first place.”

“……”

“We are currently in charge of escorting the Saintess in this country, but that is all I can say. It’s none of our business if other guild members are carrying out different requests within the country. We are only doing our jobs.”

“No way…… then, what do we……”

Alhart shrugged at Tedla who had hung his head in confusion.

“What’s this, Second Son, you still don’t understand?”

“Eh?”

“Wait, Al.”

“What, isn’t it fine? You’re going to make him choose anyway. If that’s the case, there’s no problem if we’re speeding it up a bit, right??”

“Yes, but….earlier, I said, ‘you will have to choose when the time comes’ in such a cool manner……”

“Haha!! Too bad, Sylti!”

“Geez……”

“Well then, Second Son, it’s time to choose.”

Alhart said, grinning.