We've decided to participate in the crusade against the Archbishop faction.
Now then, we should get right to making preparations for the operation—
But before that, there's one more thing we need to do as the Third Princess faction. That is—
"—Negotiating with the 'Neutral Nobles.'"
Church headquarters, inside the Grand Cathedral.
Yurugen, walking down the corridor, began speaking once more—addressing Ermes and Liliana, who were following behind him.
"Her Highness Laila has already arranged a meeting for us as part of the terms for our cooperation. Normally, we should probably wait until after the Archbishop faction is dealt with to settle this, but..."
"—That would be too late, wouldn't it?"
"Exactly."
At Ermes's preemptive answer, Yurugen nodded.
"Our alliance with the Second Princess faction exists solely for the purpose of defeating the Archbishop faction. Once that's over, the partnership dissolves—in fact, the moment it does, we become adversaries again with regards to the throne. Her Highness Laila seems to understand that, since she didn't bring up anything about 'after the crusade.'"
"..."
*Tug.*
Hearing Laila's name, Liliana gripped Ermes's sleeve with a look of unease.
Ermes, trying to ease her anxiety even slightly, squeezed her hand in return and prompted Yurugen to continue.
"So, right now. At this timing. I want to settle this. At the very least, I want to secure a contract that offers us some measure of protection after the crusade—when we'll essentially be isolated in the heart of enemy territory. ...If the 'Neutral Noble faction' truly participates in the operation, that alone would be more than enough."
"...Are they really that powerful? The Neutral Noble faction?"
"Yeah. —Actually, we still have time before we reach the meeting place. This is a good opportunity, so let me tell you about them—the Neutral Noble faction, what you could call the fourth power in this succession dispute."
In response to Ermes's question, Yurugen answered with the certainty one would have expected from someone who had clearly already thought it through.
The First Prince's faction, which controls the Royal Capital; the Second Princess's faction, backed by the Church; and our own Third Princess's faction.
Apart from the Archbishop's faction, the only other consolidated power was the so-called Neutral Noble faction.
After taking a breath, Yurugen once again opened his mouth to speak about the party they would soon be negotiating with.
"—The Neutral Nobles are a faction that has rapidly expanded in scale over the past few decades."
"A few decades... Since the previous succession dispute, you mean?"
"That's right—it more or less started back then. Of course, even before that, there were always noble families who declined to take part in the succession wars generation after generation... but it seems one particular house reached out to those nobles and unified them. That appears to be how it all began."
That "particular house" was most likely the very party they would be negotiating with this time... As Ermes mulled this over, he urged Yurugen to go on.
"In principle, they espouse the ideal of 'acting solely for the future of the kingdom.' In short, even when the royal family splits, they side with no faction and start no conflicts—because they've judged that doing so wouldn't serve 'the kingdom's future.'"
"..."
"If anything, when the chaos threw the kingdom into disorder and things like monster subjugation were left unattended, they took it upon themselves to fill those gaps. They are a collective of noble houses that responds only to genuine 'national crises' that have nothing to do with power struggles."
"...I can see the appeal. But... based on what you're telling me..."
Having heard the brief origin and principles of the Neutral Noble faction, Ermes posed his question.
"Then... wouldn't there be relatively little room for negotiation? If they've already decided not to participate in the succession dispute—"
"A perfectly reasonable question. But... here's the thing about that."
Yurugen nodded at the entirely natural question, and then—delivered the crux of the matter.
"They call themselves the 'Neutral Noble faction,' but—
the noble at the head of it all,
is not
loyal to any
particular royal—
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"......Yeah, well, that line of thinking isn't exactly wrong, but..."
Yurugen wore a deeply ambiguous expression — though thinking about it from Ermes's impression of the "nobles" he'd encountered so far, perhaps it was only natural — and slowly nodded.
"Calling them a 'majority' would be a stretch, even. But it's true that such families aren't entirely nonexistent. And... precisely because of that, you'd do well to consider that this 'negotiation' won't be straightforward either."
"!" / "—Huh?"
To Ermes and Liliana, who had their eyes wide open, Yurugen continued.
"What it means is that this isn't the kind of family where surface-level authority or empty flattery will get you anywhere.
—By the way, regarding what I mentioned earlier about how 'if it truly benefits the country, they wouldn't hesitate to serve a particular royal'..."
"...Yes."
"Well, after hearing that, a certain royal actually paid that family a visit. He went and said, 'Then surely serving me is what you truly desire.'"
...Just from that line of reasoning, Ermes more or less guessed what had happened, but he asked anyway.
"I can more or less guess, but that 'royal' was...?"
"Just as you suspect — Prince Aster."
"...And then what happened?"
At the follow-up question, Yurugen smiled cheerfully.
"—He was turned away at the gate, apparently."
"..."
"Without even being let inside. They were merciless, thorough — pointing out every last one of that former prince's characteristic stubbornness and twisted logic, not letting a single contradiction slip through. They argued him down completely and sent him packing, so to speak."
"Um... didn't that make Brother Aster angry...?"
"Oh, it was an absolute spectacle, that's for sure."
To Liliana's tentative question, Yurugen gave exactly the answer one would expect.
"—But that was all."
"!"
"He flew into a rage, rattled off insults and bad press, and forced his entourage to agree with him...that was his limit. Naturally, he tried to impose sanctions as well, but apparently every attempt was turned back on him. The bad reputation was already distant from the power structure to begin with, and above all, they weren't the least bit intimidated by his overwhelming strength. After that, His Highness apparently began to ignore them entirely—as if they didn't exist."
"...I see."
Setting aside Aster's behavior, which was exactly the sort of thing you'd expect from him from start to finish...
In a way, between the Lucius affair and the matter with those neutral nobles...
"Around His Highness Aster...that was truly the 'surface' of this country, wasn't it?"
—The 'bottom' of this country isn't as shallow as I thought.
The words Laplace had spoken when they confronted each other at the academy came back to mind.
"Well, yes. In a sense it's only natural, because if the only nobles in this country were ones who truly fawned over His Highness Aster—"
Upon hearing Ermes's murmur, Yurugen—
"—this country would have ended even sooner."
He said it. And the weight of those words...
Was somehow different from his usual tone. Ermes and Liliana couldn't help but glance at Yurugen, but by the time they did, he had already returned to his usual calm expression.
"Regardless, the point is this: he's merciless toward naïve thinking like that, but he does seem to hold a reasonable degree of knowledge and interest in you, Ermes.
So—use that. Present to him your vision for this country's 'future.' If it goes well, you may gain the cooperation of the Neutral Noble faction—and with the Archbishop faction's suppression still ahead, that would finally mean that in terms of military strength—"
"—We'd have a clear path to reclaiming the Royal Capital."
"!"
Yurugen once again laid out the flow of events going forward.
Of course, countless hurdles remained before then...but the sequence that ended with Ermes's words—leading toward the 'goal' that was finally coming into view—involuntarily ratcheted up the tension in Liliana's chest.
And then, at that moment.
"…Well, we're here."
Yurugen stopped in his tracks and looked squarely at the door of a chamber within the cathedral.
He glanced back at Ermes and Liliana one final time. After confirming their resolve, he reached for the door—and the instant it swung open—
"—I am opposed!"
The first thing that pierced their ears was a grating shout.
Liliana flinched involuntarily, but the voice carried on without pause, rattling off complaint after complaint.
"Why is this? I cannot comprehend your decision!"
"That may be so, but it was decided within my household. If you wish to have your say, would you kindly follow the proper channels for submitting a formal petition?"
"That is precisely what I'm saying—it's too late for that!"
Looking into the room, a middle-aged man who appeared to be a noble was desperately pressing his case, utterly ignoring the young man trying to restrain him.
The middle-aged noble pressed on.
"Do you understand, Lord Chrono? You may not grasp this as a mere acting head of house, but our Neutral Alliance cooperates under the noble principle that all traditional noble houses must be treated equally!"
"…"
"And yet you say you'll listen to the Third Princess's proposal? Those people are subverters who would deny the very foundation of the nobility—they are everything we should despise most!"
"…And?"
"You would lend your ear to the likes of them and, if given the chance, offer them your support!? This is no playground for children! Granting special treatment driven by personal sentiment is absolutely unconscionable—a flagrant violation of the ideal of equality! Leave this matter to us experienced nobles; that is what serves this country best—"
"—Um, excuse me."
The young man cut off the Neutral Alliance noble, who had been steamrolling ahead with his monologue.
"—First of all, my house has never once stated that 'equality' is our guiding principle. Where exactly did this convenient talking point of yours originate?"
"What?"
"And speaking about it as though it were some given premise is deeply inappropriate. It's quite clear you have no understanding whatsoever of what an opinion even is."
"—"
With the gentlest of smiles and the softest of tones.
This young man had delivered the most devastating of criticisms. The sheer incongruity of that intense impression left the middle-aged noble speechless, his words catching in his throat.
"Our house has but one objective — the future of this kingdom. Please do not misunderstand that.
—Oh, and there it is, a rather amusing choice of words. …'Special treatment,' you say?"
Seizing that opening without hesitation, the young man spoke in a voice that was soft… yet brooked no argument.
"—Yes, special treatment. That is exactly what we'll do."
"S-So I was right—!"
"Now, do be quiet for a moment. What exactly is wrong with special treatment in the first place? Her Royal Highness the Third Princess and her followers escaped the collapsing Royal Capital and the clutches of the First Prince's evil, and they also prevented Archbishop Johann from establishing his religious state. Furthermore, they have agreed to assist in suppressing the rampage of the Archbishop's faction this time around.
…They have accomplished deeds fully deserving of 'special treatment.' No matter how unusual their magic may be, no matter how unclear their ideals might seem, none of that constitutes a reason to refuse them a hearing — if anything, it is precisely because of those things that a proper conversation must be had."
"That's… but—!"
"In contrast—"
The young man fixed his gaze on the middle-aged noble, who was still trying to blurt out an emotional rebuttal.
"You just now made your position quite clear before the representative nobles. Yet you were too afraid of antagonizing the nobles who agreed with you to say anything more at the time. You brushed aside every opportunity to submit a formal petition or voice your opinion at the proper venue, and then you had the audacity to come straight to me for a personal appeal. There is simply no way such a thing could be accepted.
You know? Let me ask you this instead. While doing nothing whatsoever, while paying lip service to rejecting special treatment—
Why is it that you alone—
Are asking for—"
Special treatment?
to
receive
you thought
you would
?"
Devastating.
That single word says it all.
Calmly, with the utmost courtesy. Laying bare the hidden desires and self-justification lurking behind the words. The young man fires off counterarguments that are, in a sense, more humiliating than anything else.
...I see.
The previous Aster who came up in their conversation earlier was probably rebuffed in exactly this way, too.
The middle-aged nobleman in question flushes crimson with rage and shame, about to erupt—
"You brat—!"
"I'm a brat, but is there something you'd like to say?"
The next cutting remark, together with...
eyes narrowed in quiet composure and, at the same moment, unleashed...
a torrent of
magic power rivaling
even
Rose's own.
"!"
Even Ermes braced himself, and Liliana quickly ducked behind his back.
And the middle-aged noble who had faced that overwhelming pressure head-on — his face had gone deathly pale with fear and despair, a stark contrast to moments before.
"'Then, one final matter. If you insist on having your way, if you wish to prove yourself — then either follow the proper procedures and do things correctly — or...'"
Turning to face that noble, the young man had this to say last.
"'"
"Bring me"
"such overwhelming"
"results"
"that could"
"destroy"
"everything — then speak."
"Otherwise, I won't even consider your words worth hearing. Understood?'"
Being addressed in that condescending tone — the very tone one would use to lecture a child — by someone barely older than his own children. The humiliation of it was... something he could no longer even feel.
The middle-aged noble nodded like a broken toy and hurriedly took his leave.
"'Well then...'"
With that, the young man turned around.
"'I apologize for the unsightly display so soon after your arrival. However... from this point on, I won't be allowing any interruptions.'"
With a relaxed, unhurried bow, he continued.
"'Allow me to start with an introduction."
"I am the eldest son of House Feyblood — the leading house of the neutral noble faction."
"My name is Chrono von Feyblood. A pleasure to meet you."
"......"
His movements were unhurried, his expression calm.
Yet in stark contrast to that — an unwavering conviction, an unclouded stream of theory and ideals.
And above all... there was his magic power, which one might think could rival even that of his master.
"Well then, without further ado—"
...I see.
"Third Princess Liliana. And her master, Yurugen.
First — might I ask you to share your 'ideals' with us?"
This was, in every sense of the word, a formidable opponent.
Sharing that understanding with his disciple, their hands still clasped together... with a thread of tension running through them, they took their places at the negotiating table.
The players have all assembled.
Next time — a negotiation that promises to be anything but straightforward. Stay tuned!
Also, I have a quick announcement!
The first volume of "Creation Magic" went on sale the other day, and to coincide with that...
We'll be running a tweet campaign where you share your thoughts on Volume 1!
Simply put, if you tweet your impressions, you'll be entered into a drawing to win a signed copy of Miwamohi's book!
For more details, check out the activity report — if you're interested, please take a look!