< Chapter 100 - Argon Empire #2 >
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“What?! So you’re going to war with the Empire?!”
When Caesar shouted in surprise, everyone turned to look at Dahlia in surprise.
“That, that. There hasn’t been a war yet. No.”
Dahlia said so, but she herself wasn’t sure about it.
That is to be expected, as the history of kingdoms and empires proves.
‘War happens.’
Abolish the armistice and close the border.
There has never been a case in history where something of this magnitude did not lead to war.
“But we don’t know yet. We don’t know how long it will take before there is a direct conflict. It could end up as a simple demonstration of force.”
Lucas said in as calm a tone as possible.
It seemed like something I was saying to myself rather than to others.
The Kingdom of Cailun and the Empire of Argon have been fighting fiercely since the founding of the kingdoms.
In particular, they had fought eight wars in the past hundred years alone over the Silates Plain, the continent’s greatest granary.
Of course, not all of those eight were battles that risked the nation’s fortunes, but among them there were large wars that lasted for several years.
‘Hey, Yuder.’
Cordelia tugged at Uther’s sleeve with an anxious expression, and Uther tried to keep a calm expression.
“It is as Prince Lucas said. There has not been a war yet.”
Let’s say that first, Lucas is like that too, right? – he said, letting out a sigh of relief.
Uder thought as he felt everyone’s eyes focused on him.
‘There was no war in the original.’
It was natural since there was no kingdom of Seilun to wage war against in the first place, but that was not the only reason.
‘Not the entire empire has been overrun by demon followers.’
The Argon Empire was surprisingly not a country where the emperor’s power was that strong.
Although now nominal, there were electors in the frontier regions who had the power to elect the emperor, and within the empire, a powerful administrative organization centered around the chancellor assisted and at the same time checked the emperor.
Of course, as in the case of the Guardian King and the First Sword, the Imperial Chancellery could have fallen to the devil’s followers. In the original, if you played as Leon or Maximilian, there were a series of confrontation events with the dark entities of the Imperial Chancellery.
However, in the original, the demon followers were not able to completely control the empire’s policies.
Because within the empire, there existed a group that the demon followers could never control, yet at the same time had powerful influence.
‘Elf Mafia.’
Elf capital, to be exact.
Those who can deal with Jewish capital, which exerts strong influence not only in the financial world but also in politics, considering their previous life.
Unlike the elves of the Kingdom of Seilun who live in a huddled together in the Eternal Forest, the elves of the Empire have been living as part of the Empire for hundreds of years.
As expected of the elves who had precious hands, there weren’t many elves in the empire.
Compared to humans who could be counted in the millions or dwarves who numbered in the hundreds of thousands, elves who numbered in the thousands were no exaggeration in saying that they were a tiny minority.
But the elves had a lot of money.
In particular, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the financial industry was the elves’ home turf.
‘Long life and long youth.’
That was how the elves made money.
Even empires used to be small countries.
In the long run, prices were destined to continue to rise, and the empire, far from collapsing, has continued to grow over the past several hundred years.
In other words, speaking in extreme terms, this means that the value of a land document purchased a hundred years ago was bound to increase unconditionally a hundred years later.
If something similar had happened to humans, it would only be beneficial for their descendants, but not to the elves.
They were a race that could make long-term investments, each one of them a hundred or two hundred years long.
Of course, there could be failures in long-term investments as well.
But fortunately, the so-called father of the Imperial Elves, Vincenzo Lombardi, was a genius investor, and under his leadership, the Elves succeeded in amassing enormous capital over the past several hundred years.
So in the heroic tales, the elves of the empire were also called the Jonber elves, but in any case, the important thing was that the Jonber elves, or rather, the elven capital, had never once joined hands with the devil followers.
‘It’s not easy to master.’
Long life and eternal youth were the two most common slogans used by the devil’s followers to entice those in power.
Didn’t the Guardian King fall for those two things right away?
But from the beginning, the elves were born with those two traits.
Then the next thing that could be presented was power, but the elves of the empire were already the privileged class. Furthermore, those who could engage in external activities were those who had reached a certain level by the standards of the elves, so whether it was swordsmanship or magic, they were all considered masters by the eyes of humans.
Of course, if you dig deep, you might find some people who can be persuaded somehow.
Whether human or elf, they were all animals with greed.
But even so, they were only a very small number, so it was nearly impossible to control all of the elven capital.
‘In a word, this is a group with a strong defense against temptation.’
War was a very expensive affair, and it was an area that could not be free from the influence of elven capital, which held the natural purse strings.
‘Elf capital basically does not want war.’
To be exact, I didn’t like wars I couldn’t win.
Because history has proven that there is not much to be gained from waging war over the Kingdom of Cailun and the Plains of Silates.
‘There’s still time.’
So there is time.
Even if there was a butterfly effect, the entire empire would not have fallen to the devil’s followers.
‘The one who most likely fell was the Prime Minister.’
In the original work, it was a group with quite a few devil followers mixed in.
It is very possible that they had seduced the imperial chancellor and brought him over to their side, just as they had done to the Duke of Hoguk.
‘Okay, whatever, these are things that can’t be solved here.’
I had to go to the empire as originally planned.
But Yuder did not open his mouth readily.
This is because the risk has become prohibitively high to proceed with the existing plan as is.
‘It’s different from before.’
The Wild Lands and the Royal Road, the South.
There was no place that was completely empty.
In the wild lands there were uncorrupted eastern tribes, and in the royal capital there were powerful forces that could be trusted, including his father, Count Bayer.
In the South, there were the Seven Southern Clans and the five Paragon heroes led by Master Landius.
But it wasn’t an empire.
The connection with the Holy Cross Guardians that they had believed in was cut off, and the empire was taken over by demon followers beyond imagination. Many of the high-level minions who had escaped from the Kingdom of Cailun had joined them, so the empire was now a dangerous unknown land.
‘But I still have to go.’
If you don’t go, the problem won’t be solved.
There are very limited things you can do in the Kingdom of Seilun.
You can’t stop war from happening.
‘Great Tribulation.’
What you need for the grand summons.
The real reason why the demon followers want to start a war between the kingdom and the empire.
The longer we dragged it out, the more likely it was that things would get worse.
It was necessary to enter the empire and change the situation before the war broke out.
But why is that?
Why can’t I open my mouth even though I know it’s necessary?
Uther looked to the side without realizing it. He saw Cordelia, who was holding onto her sleeve and trying to keep a calm expression.
Cordelia also saw Uther.
Her blue eyes, filled with suppressed anxiety, blinked several times before her expression changed. She stared at Yuder intently, then let go of her sleeve and looked back at everyone.
“Let’s go to the Empire as originally planned. It’s likely a trick by the demon followers. So let’s go to the Empire and solve the problem.”
Even though the situation got worse, the work that had to be done didn’t change.
When Cordelia said that, the group led by Lucas, except for Yuder, nodded vigorously, but there was one exception.
“Miss?! The Empire? Are you saying you’re going to the Empire now?”
“Oh, mistake.”
Because I haven’t told Dahlia yet.
If it had been before the situation changed, it might have been different, but if I said I wanted to go to the empire in these times, everyone would have tried to stop me.
“miss?!”
“That’s why······.”
Cordelia smiled awkwardly, extending her words. She winked at Uther. Dahlia was winking at her to get things going, saying that she would do whatever it took.
“I’ll explain everything. Come here.”
As Cordelia took Dahlia’s hand and left, the group’s attention turned back to Yuder.
“Hey, brother?”
Uther nodded at the call of the Red Wind. He repeated what Cordelia had said.
“Work will proceed as scheduled. Please prepare.”
“All right.”
“okay.”
Lucas and Kaisha, who each answered with a determined expression, left the room, and Red Wind and Sun Song also returned to their rooms.
“I will contact you again soon.”
A few minutes after Kamael’s crows left.
Uther also returned to his room and sat down at his desk.
Even though this is a world where magic exists, news cannot help but arrive later than in the previous life.
It was most likely at least half a day before the Empire declared the armistice and closed its borders.
‘So I have to go now.’
Counts Bayer and Chase were most likely called in due to an emergency.
Gale and Adelia were also newlyweds, but given the circumstances, it was unlikely that they would remain in the Count’s household.
So, Yuder opened the letter paper.
Even if you were to leave, you should have left a letter saying you were leaving.
But that was just then.
[future generations.]
“Yes, Belencia.”
[···No. Let’s talk about it later. I don’t think now is the time.]
“Velencia?”
[Later. But we really need to talk about it. It’s really important for future generations. Okay?]
What is this talking about now?
But since he was a Belencian who didn’t talk nonsense except when talking about two-timing, Uder nodded for the time being.
“Okay, I’ll do that.”
Uder took a deep, conscious breath and looked at the letter again.
If it had been a normal day, I would have written a letter saying that I was going on a trip with my beloved Cordelia – no, if the circumstances had not changed, I really would have written it that way, but this time, the content had to be changed.
‘I will go to the empire.’
To prevent war.
To stop the plot of the devil’s followers and thereby create a world without great summoning.
[Please also write that this will be your last time running away without permission.]
When Belencia spoke casually, Yuder smiled without realizing it.
Because it was just as she said.
“Yeah, if it goes well, I think this will be my last time running away from home.”
No, if you think about it, you can’t really call it running away since you’re already living separately from Cordelia, right?
‘Cordelia.’
A conversation we had on Gayle’s wedding day.
The ring he gave her while talking about the following.
‘Then.’
A relationship that is a little more advanced than it is now.
[Are you thinking dirty thoughts right now?]
Uder flinched as if startled by Velencia’s sharp stab, and then repeatedly coughed in vain.
It wasn’t entirely wrong.
But that wasn’t really the only thought I had.
Of course, Uther himself is a man, and Cordelia seems to be looking forward to what comes next these days, but in fact, it was also very natural-
[You know what I’m obsessed with now, right?]
“Ahem.”
Uder, who still coughed at the sharp stab of Velencia, collected his thoughts again.
Next.
The story follows the end of the fight against the demon followers and the subsequent re-summoning.
“For a perfect happy ending.”
After that, the two lived happily ever after.
For a conclusion that is so clichéd, and therefore desired.
Uder, who had been mumbling quietly without realizing it, finished the letter. He left the room to find Cordelia.
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The witch of the western forest opened her eyes in the darkness.
I haven’t figured everything out yet.
It was never easy to see the truth.
But she caught the clue, and that’s why she was confused.
“This is a little different.”
The truth is different from what the witch herself thought.
The witch closed her eyes again.
I read the world’s records once again.
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< Chapter 100 - Argon Empire #2 > End
