Various things had been announced at the council that had just taken place. One of them was the fact that Vandalieu was a reincarnated individual from another world, and he wasnât the only one â there were multiple others, including Kanako Tsuchiya. Another was the fact that after the four creation-oriented champions led by Zakkart had their souls broken by Guduranis a hundred thousand years ago, the fragments of their souls had undergone countless reincarnations, eventually resulting in the birth of Vandalieu. Various other identities and truths that had previously been kept secret had been revealed as well.
These revelations caused violent tremors among the dukes who governed the Orbaume Kingdom.
The first emperor of the Amid Empire, long before it became the Holy Nation of Amid, first founded the empire by declaring that he was a descendant of Bellwood. As history made clear, making the people believe that one was the descendant of a champion provided the justification for the authority to found an entire nation.
And in Vandalieuâs case, he was able to have Vida, the Goddess of Life and Love, vouch for him through Darcia â over and over, if necessary.
There were many in the modern era who doubted whether the imperial family of Amid really were descended from Bellwood â even after accounting for the false rumors spread by the Orbaume Kingdomâs spies and simple envy towards the imperial family.
In contrast, there wasnât a single person who could deny that Vandalieu was a champion reborn⌠No matter how high a social standing one possessed, no matter how charismatic and eloquent they were in speech, no matter how much proof and evidence they provided, it would be impossible for them to cast any doubt on this fact whatsoever.
No matter who voiced their doubts, their opinions would never trump the endorsement of a great god. Duke Arthaba, who had declared neutrality, and Duke Lequst, who had been late to declare friendly ties with the Demon Empire of Vidal due to his opportunistic way of thinking, trembled in fear. They knew that Vandalieu could use this fact to justify an ambition to unite the entire Bahn Gaia continent⌠no, the entire world.
⌠Though, of course, Vandalieu was already a Guider who had such tremendous support from the citizens of the Demon Empire of Vidal that they had willingly erected an enormous statue of him. Additional support as the âreborn championâ would be nothing more than icing on the cake.
Compared to that, the other revelations â the fact that Kanako was also a reincarnated individual; the fact that she and the others were not Dark Elves but Chaos Elves, a new race created by Vida; the fact that prolonged use of V Cream could cause transformation into Dark Humans; the fact that Zorcodrio of the Storm of Tyranny was actually a Pure-breed Vampire; the fact that the territory of the Demon Empire of Vidal extended to the legendary Demon Continent as well as the Demon Kingâs Continent, a land spoken of only in mythology â well, they were certainly notsmall. They were still of such scale that they were not immediately comprehensible to the dukes.
The fact that Darcia had been executed in the Mirg shield-nation and brought back to life was also kept secret. It was fine for Hadros and Takkard to know, but if the other dukes were to learn that the miraculous resurrection of someone who was completely dead had occurred, there was no guarantee that they would not be gripped by a desire for immortality⌠though this was perhaps a needless fear, it was already well-known that people could mutate into races like Dark Humans, become Undead, or undergo pseudo-reincarnation as Demons or other monsters.
Every duke present at the council had sensed that Vandalieu and his companions had other such secrets that they had not revealed, but nobody had dared ask about them. They were interested in knowing more, but the more important thing to keep in mind was the fact that the Demon Empire of Vidal was by far the stronger nation.
Information was often kept under a tight grip by powerful figures before eventually becoming known, but in some cases, that could be a hundred or a thousand years later, discovered by the research of archaeologists.
Even the concept of human rights was ambiguous in this world; almost none of its inhabitants ever stopped to think about the right to know.
Of course, every duchyâs information network would normally conduct investigations to gather information before any real diplomacy began.
As for Vida fundamentalism simply becoming known as âthe worship of Vida,â it was not a shock to the dukes; they were even slightly understanding of the change.
Unlike Earth, fundamentalists in the world of Lambda had not committed extreme acts like terrorism or created conflicts. However, nobles and clergymen were aware of Bellwoodâs extremist faction, which had committed such extreme and barbarous acts that Alda himself had exacted his divine punishment upon them.
Bellwoodâs extremist faction had arisen from what would be known as extreme fundamentalists, who had placed Bellwoodâs teachings above all else. Thus, the term âfundamentalismâ was one that caused nobles and clergymen to be vaguely cautious. That was enough of a reason to understand this change.
Whatwasshocking, however, was who would be stationed at the Embassy of the Demon Empire of Vidal, once it was built.
Embassies were nationsâ windows for diplomacy with one another; the fact that an Embassy of the Orbaume Kingdom would be built in the Demon Empire of Vidal meant that an Embassy of the Demon Empire of Vidal would also be built in the Orbaume Kingdom.
When discussing who would be staffing the Embassy, Vandalieu had announced, âFor now, Iâm planning to send a few Demon King Familiars.â
The one who had achieved the most at this council was likely Duke Gerald Birgitt, who was a wolf-type Beast-kin with a masculine-looking face
âI was absolutely astonished by that statement. I had to stop myself from shouting, âAre you serious?ââ he said, speaking his honest thoughts to his close aides. âTo think that his test of loyalty would have a second page to it. If he hadnât explained that itâs to reduce the stress on embassy staff and just a temporary measure until he chooses someone to appoint as ambassador, I wouldâve thought that heâs planning to weather down every duchy from the inside, just like heâs done in Orbaume.â
Almost as if the duke had expected Vandalieuâs test of loyalty⌠he had brazenly sworn that he was willing to confront the Farzon Duchy.
Even though his duchy was just south of the Hartner Duchy, close to the Farzon Duchy, he had stamped his seal without any sign of discomposure. And most importantly, he had done so despite not being in direct contact with Vandalieu like Duke Alcrem, Duke Jahan, and the recently crowned Duchess Sauron were.
âWell, weâre trying to carry out diplomatic relations with a nation that accepts not only races created by Vida, but even Demons and Undead as its citizens, so I suppose the least we could do is be prepared for its ruler to station split entities of himself at its Embassy,â said one of the dukeâs aides, a knight who was a bear-type Beast-kin.
âQuite calm about all this, arenât you, Bombarde? I can tell you that I never knew I was prepared for it until the moment he told me it would happen,â Gerald said.
An ambassador was a representative stationed in a foreign nation with which their own nation had diplomatic relations. But nobody had imagined that the ruler of a nation would station split entities of himself to fulfill the purpose.
But Gerald knew that he would eventually have to host Vandalieu as a state guest one day; despite this unexpected development, he had shown no hesitation or discomposure whatsoever â at least, none that were visible on the surface â as he answered this second test of loyalty. The other dukes, and even Vandalieu himself, had been a little surprised by this, butâŚ
âI still have much to learn,â Gerald said. âBut the conditions other than having to pass these tests of loyalty were not as heavy as I expected. And now that I think about it, there isnât much point innotanswering the tests. I made preparations thinking that there would be more, but it seems that they were unnecessary.â
Duke Gerald Birgitt had expected Vandalieu to demand some form of guarantee at the council. He had thought that clearly stating his duchyâs hostility towards the Farzon Duchy and the Holy Nation of Amid was nothing more than the bare minimum⌠a condition that needed to be met in order to even attend to council.
Gerald had expected that Vandalieu would demand treaties of commerce that were advantageous to him; the construction of churches within the Birgitt Duchy; having beautiful women from the Birgitt Duchy, including the dukeâs own relatives, marry important figures within the Demon Empire of Vidal or live and serve as Vandalieuâs lovers under the pretense of bridal training; or having Gerald offer his family treasures. As such, Gerald had made various preparations beforehand, butâŚ
âI thought he would demand political marriages where we adopt the children of the Demon Empire of Vidalâs prominent figures into our families, or that our land becomes a part of their territory in the future, but⌠he was unexpectedly humble, or rather, reserved,â said Gerald. âIf I had suggested these things myself, I might have been considered a feeble duke who easily yields to those with power. Iâm glad I didnât.â
There were other dukes who, like Gerald, had thought of offering their relatives or vassals as concubines or mistresses in political marriages, but none of them had voiced the idea.
The reason for that was that they had received reports from those who had attended Duchess Elizabeth Sauronâs coronation ceremony and been introduced to Bakunawa, Vandalieuâs firstborn child.
Bakunawa was absolutely, utterly enormous â to the point that the sight of him had shocked the dukesâ vassals into the realization that perhaps they needed to gather more information and learn more about the prominent figures of the Demon Empire of Vidal.
Gerard had thought to take the opportunity that was left by the other dukesâ hesitation, but⌠that hadnât been necessary.
âSir, isnât everything other than annexation a method of strengthening relations by showing allegiance? And I havenât heard anything of a plan to be annexed,â said Bombarde, the bear-type Beast-kin knight.
âOf course you havenât. Thereâs no way we could speak of something like that beforehand, is there?â said Gerard.
Bombarde gave an exasperated sigh. âEven if Vida-sama herself supports them, they are still a nation that little is known about, so please do not sell our duchy out to them. The elders would faint in shock.â
âWe are already lagging behind Alcrem, Jahan, and Sauron. What should we do, if not sell everything we have while the others are still hesitating? Itâs true that little is known of that nation, but that is simply becausewedo not know much about it; once embassies are established, we will have far, far more information to work with and we will know more about them,â Gerald said. âBesides, Iâd take the Demon Empire of Vidal over the shady, scheming foxes in Central Orbaume like that old geezer Tercatanis. And itâs already too late. Half of the Orbaume Kingdom is under their umbrella now.âThis story is hosted at NovelPing.
Gerald believed that the time to consider standing their ground and fight the Demon Empire of Vidal in order to defend the Orbaume Kingdomâs independence and ideologies had already passed.
âOf course, however, I donât intend to sell my homeland for next to nothing. I intended to at least demand that he recognize our right of self-government,â Gerald said.
The Birgitt Duchy was a duchy located in the southwestern part of the Orbaume Kingdom and it was difficult to travel to or from due to its geography; it only shared a border with the Farzon Duchy to the east and a small border with the Lequst Duchy to the northeast. The Boundary Mountain Range lay to its west, treacherous rocky mountains separated it from the Hartner Duchy to the north, and more rocky mountains separated it from the ocean to the south. Previous generations had made the effort to dig a tunnel to connect the duchy to the ocean, but it wasnât wide enough to conduct large-scale trade through.
However, before this land became known as the Birgitt Duchy with the founding of the Orbaume Kingdom, it was precisely because of this geography that it had been home to all kinds of Beast-kin who built settlements and formed alliances of tribes there.
Beast-kin were less suited for magic than humans or Elves, but they were blessed with tough bodies and superior senses. To them, Birgittâs land had been a natural fortress, surrounded by mountain ranges and rocky mountains.
That had continued to be the case even after the foundation of the Orbaume Kingdom, but⌠a dramatic change had occurred over the past few months.
The days of having to send soldiers to the Sauron Duchy to keep the Amid Empire at bay while fretting about maintaining relations with the unpleasant Farzon Duchy and worrying about whether the nobles in Central Orbaume were making any unnecessary moves â those days were over.
âI mean, that emperor of theirs can move mountain ranges. Thereâs no way we could defeat him,â Gerald said.
The natural fortress that had protected the Birgitt Duchy was meaningless now that Vandalieu had shown that he was capable of moving the Boundary Mountain Range. The walls of this fortress had always been unmoving, but they were unreliable now, given that Vandalieu was capable of changing their shape if he put his mind to it.
The Birgitt Duchy did have defensive strongholds such as forts and fortress cities facing the mountain ranges and rocky mountains. But these were to protect the duchy from monsters stampeding from Devilâs Nests or overflowing from Dungeons; they were not designed to fight against enemy armies that would attack using planned strategy and tactics. Any army using basic strategies that anyone could think of would easily be able to break through these defensive positions and enter the cities.
Actually, Vandalieu wouldnât even need to do that â he could just use the mountain range and rocky mountains themselves against the forts and fortress cities. The sheer mass of the mountains closing in slowly but surely on the fortresses would destroy the fortress walls far more easily than any Dragon attack.
If the mountain range to the west and the rocky mountains to the north and south were to all begin closing in at once, the Birgitt Duchy would be crushed before it could even cross blades with the enemy.
And that would result in the Birgitt Duchyâs homelands becoming mixed with the Boundary Mountain Range, its original form lost forever. There would be no hope of running, biding their time and counter-attacking after recovering their strength. The people would become nomads with no land to return to.
âEven if you donât take any of that into account, do you really think we would win in a war? Iâm sorry, Bombarde, but the way I see it, there would only be two outcomes â either weâre completely crushed on the battlefield, or weâre completely overrun,â said Gerald.
The Birgitt Duchyâs circumstances meant that it was impossible to win, but it was also impossible to win even when simply considering the sheer difference in military strength between the Demon Empire of Vidal and the Birgitt Duchyâs army.
In Orbaume, Gerald had seen Vandalieu in person, as well as Knochen, Darcia, Cuatro, the âSword Kingâ Borkus, the former âMajin Kingâ from the Boundary Mountain Range⌠Every single one of them was immensely powerful. And even with such individuals outside the nation, there were still capable fighting forces left back at home. Considering that, the total military force of the Demon Empire of Vidal was completely unfathomable to Gerald.
And if the Birgitt Duchy wished to take that fight, it would have to do it alone. After all, the Birgitt Duchy was surrounded by a natural fortress⌠a natural prison. The easily accessible Farzon Duchy was hostile; the Birgitt Duchy could not rely on reinforcements from there⌠and even if they did come, they were completely untrustworthy, as there was no telling when they would come stabbing the Birgitt Duchyâs men in the back.
As for Central Orbaume, Demons who worshiped Vandalieu were strutting around the streets. There would be no reinforcements from there â sending such reinforcements to fight against the Demon Empire of Vidal would cause riots that would reduce Orbaume to a mountain of rubble for a second time.
And to elaborate even further, from Geraldâs perspective⌠or the perspective of the people of the Birgitt Duchy, there was simply no point in opposing Vandalieu. So far, Vandalieu had shown no desire to invade them, and there were no signs that he was conspiring to exploit them economically, either. He had forced Gerald to commit to becoming hostile against the Farzon Duchy, but Gerald could not imagine that any of his people would rebel against him for that.
There was no reason to take a fight with a countless number of disadvantageous factors, so it was only natural for Gerald to swear allegiance and then look for a path to co-existence and co-prosperity.
But it seemed that Bombarde had something to say. âSir, your polite tone of speech has completely gone back to your usual tone. I know weâre inside a carriage, but I think you should still take more care in how you speakâŚâ
âThatâswhat you were worried about. Youâre not going to say, âDonât underestimate my skills,â or anything like that?â asked Gerald.
âEven I choose my enemies carefully, sir.â
When the Orbaume Kingdom was founded, the Birgitt Duchy had appointed the chief of the wolf-type Beast-kin tribe, which had always been a leading tribe among the Beast-kin, as duke. The noble-ruled social structure of the other duchies was something they had adopted later.
Thus, the duchyâs society was one that prized strength over lineage, befitting the Beast-kin that lived there⌠befitting for a race created by Vida. Sometimes, individuals came along who were stronger than the current heads of noble houses⌠in other words, the houses of the chiefs of the tribes. In such cases, as long as there were no major problems with the individualsâ personalities, it was common for them to be adopted into the noble houses through marriage and appointed as heir â though strength included knowledge and skill, so those who werenât suited to fighting werenât unfairly discriminated against.
In any case, Bombarde was someone who had risen to serve directly under the duke in such a meritocracy; he was a highly capable individual. He was confident that he would be able to protect the duke even from an assailant with the strength of an A-class adventurer.
But he had witnessed the battle in which Dark Avalon appeared and the Demon King Guduranis was resurrected. He had seen impossibly powerful beings⌠among them, Guduranis and Vandalieu, who had carried out their battle in the sky. Bombarde had learned then that there were battlefields that even he could not step foot in.
Vandalieu was not someone that a human could fight against. He was a being that could not be challenged by anyone who was not a god or a champion who had summoned a god upon their own body.
Bombarde might be able to put up a good fight against a single one of Vandalieuâs companions. In a single fight, if he fought with the resolve to give up his life, he might be able to strike one blow back.
But if such a battle were to take place, it would be because he had failed as an aide of Duke Birgitt.
A genuine battle against the forces of the Demon Empire of Vidal, led by Vandalieu, would cause unimaginable damage to the Birgitt Duchy just from the shockwaves created by their attacks.
âThe other duchies know this just as well as we do, so Iâm sure theyâll eventually hand in their test of loyalty to the Demon Empire of Vidal. And yet, those fools in Farzon donât get it⌠Frankly, I canât understand what theyâre thinking,â Bombarde said.
Even if miracles occurred one after another and they defeated the Demon Empire of VidalâŚSo what?Bombarde thought.
If victory would come at the collapse of the administration of their territory, it would be no different from defeat.
âIâve never liked those Farzons, but whatâs gotten into them?â Bombarde wondered.
âI canât pretend to know what theyâre thinking either, but Iâm sure they think theyâre waging some kind of holy war,â said Gerald.
âA holy war?â Bombarde repeated, unfamiliar with the term.Visit NovelPing for the full chapter.
âYes, a holy war,â Gerald said. âOne that you must fight, even if it means that your villages burn and your nation falls. A war fought not for the nationâs interests, land, resources or treasures, but for justice and faith, to protect the existence of all races and the world itself.â
âCouldnât you protect those things without opposing the Demon Empire of Vidal?â said Bombarde.
Vandalieu had expressed that he wanted the Orbaume Kingdom to recognize the rights of Vidaâs races. But he hadnât forced it to do so. Due to the overwhelming military force behind him, one might think that his request had been a threat, but there was no actual threat made.
If the Orbaume Kingdom didnât wish to accept this, it had the choice of persistently negotiating and buying time while searching for other ways to come to a compromise â for example, in exchange for having all members of Vidaâs races emigrate to the Demon Empire of Vidal, the Demon Empire of Vidal would also apprehend all the currently active, dangerous Majin terrorists and take them in as well.
Bombarde was no expert in politics, but even he was aware of this, so the people of other duchies had likely realized this long ago. It was difficult to imagine that the nobles of the Farzon Duchy hadnât.
âYouâre completely right,â Gerald said. âHypothetically, even if one wished to oppose the Demon Empire of Vidal, there would be no problem with limiting relations to diplomatic and economic ones while avoiding bloody conflict. But Iâm sure Duke Farzon and his men canât do that because their heads are full of belief, a great cause, and justice. Theyâre no different from Bellwood or Aldaâs extremist factions, or those dangerous Majin.â
There was a brief flash of sympathy in Geraldâs eyes as he spoke â sympathy for the people of the Farzon Duchy.
He was well-versed in the history of his own homeland; he knew how difficult it was to be isolated from the other duchies. Since the foundation of the Orbaume Kingdom, the Birgitt Duchy had found itself easily isolated.
Unlike the people of the Sauron Duchy, which had come to worship Vida during its repeated wars with the Amid Empire, the people of the Birgitt Duchy were true, passionate worshipers of Vida at heart. Thus, its relations with duchies where the Church of Alda held power had been strained.
In recent years, relations with the Farzon Duchy, the neighbor to the east, had worsened drastically due to their drastic realignment with Aldaâs peaceful faction â to the point that small skirmishes had occurred between them. Prime Minister Tercatanis, who had held thick connections with the Church of Alda, had derided the Birgitt Duchy as a âcountryside ruled by beasts.â Of course, it also had poor relations with the Jahan Duchy, which had been home to many worshipers of Alda for generations, as well as the Hartner Duchy, where the worshipers of Alda had become the majority two centuries ago.
He did feel some sympathy for the people of the Farzon Duchy, who would soon suffer those same hardships.
âWell, thereâs nothing we can do other than accept that they were just born in the wrong place, and see how everything turns out,â Gerald said, the brief sympathy vanishing from his eyes once more.
âThe conditions that we stated in exchange for our loyalty are more important, after all,â said Bombarde.
âYou truly do understand,â Gerald said with a nod. âThe evil-god-worshiping Vampires have disappeared from our land and the Majin tribes here are amicable, but we still must have His Majesty the Emperor and Darcia-sama promise to visit us, even if it is only a verbal promise⌠If they donât, our hot-blooded people and myself might be tempted to try and cross the mountain range.â
âI donât know about the people, but please control yourself, sir,â Bombarde urged. âAnd what will do about Asagi and his companions?â
âAh, them. Theyâre exceptionally skilled, so itâs worth hiring them as adventurers, but⌠given the information that we gained during the council, those three are also likely to be reincarnated individuals from another world, so Iâm sure there is some kind of connection between them,â Gerald said.
Gerald was a duke; there were not that many instances where he had directly exchanged words with Asagi and his companions. However, he knew of their reputation among his subordinates, as well as the progress and results of their research.
All three of them had been promoted to B-class, and their actual ability rivaled those of A-class adventurers. In addition, the three of them possessed Unique Skills â Tatsuya Tendouâs âClairvoyanceâ was particularly powerful, as it was capable of seeing the internal structure of any enemy nationâs military locations. Asagiâs ability to almost completely suppress mages was also a valuable asset in combat.
It seemed that Asagi had some flaws when it came to his personality, but Gerald didnât see that as a problem because Asagi had not become so deeply involved with the people of the Birgitt Duchy that those flaws would be unacceptable.
Asagi considered only the other reincarnated individuals as true companions, and he had kept his distance from everyone else. Thus, he was only thought of as a somewhat hot-blooded young man.
And his research on the sealing of Demon King fragments was already showing its value in the present. Although Vandalieu had promised to completely absorb any Demon King fragments in a completely safe manner⌠no matter how infrequent Demon King fragment rampages occurred, Gerald wished to avoid having to call upon the ruler of an extremely powerful nation with whom he had not yet established clear friendly ties every time it happened â though any hesitation would result in heavy damage and casualties, so he didnât have the luxury of choice in this case.
But what if it was truly possible to safely seal away fragments of the Demon King? They would not have to be sealed away for a hundred or a thousand years. They would only need to be sealed away for as long as it took Gerald to tell Vandalieu, âHereâs a fragment of the Demon King that I found at homeâ and offer it up to Vandalieu.
The end result of handing the fragment of the Demon King over to Vandalieu wouldnât change, but diplomatically speaking, it would turn a debt owed on Geraldâs part to a debt that Vandalieu owed to him.
And thanks to the cooperation of Asagi and his companions, the technology to safely seal away fragments of the Demon King had been completed.
Up until now, there had been no way to seal away a rampaging fragment of the Demon King other than to immobilize it such as by destroying the body of its host, and then sealing it away as it attempted to infest another. This task was a dangerous one; if those carrying it out failed at their attempt to seal it away, one of their companions would be infested and they would have to fight the fragment all over again.
But with the sealing Magic Item developed with the help of Asagi and his companions, it was possible to seal away a Demon King fragment just by defeating its current host. There was no risk of the fragment infesting a new host.
The use of this Magic Item required a Magic Stone taken from a high-Rank monster, but considering its effectiveness, this was a cost worth paying.
Given that the fragment would be handed over to Vandalieu afterwards, this was likely not the use that Asagi had intended for the Magic Item. But the results of their research had only produced a safe way to seal away fragments of the Demon King. It had not produced a safely store them.
And given that the Demon King Guduranis had proven himself to be capable of partial resurrection, it was likely best to store fragments of the Demon King somewhere where they would never reach Guduranis⌠by having Vandalieu absorb them.
In any case, given past events and circumstances, Gerald had no intention of doing anything to get rid of Asagi and his companions.
âTo begin with, theyâre adventurers who belong to the Adventurersâ Guild, so I have no authority to get rid of them. Their letter to the emperor also went through the Adventurersâ Guild, so I have no say in the matter. I just need to keep acting like a good neighbor. Until something occurs, I just need to choose which forces Iâd send in a war against the Farzon Duchy, and maintain diplomatic relations with the Demon Empire of Vidal,â Gerald said.
Directing his thoughts to his diplomatic strategy with the Demon Empire of Vidal, something that the other dukes were struggling to come up with as well, he returned to his secondary residence in Orbaume.
Duke Pilchkoff and Duke Arthaba were plotting to make use of the embassies that would be built, sending spies to build an intelligence network in the Demon Empire of Vidal, but that would certainly result in failure.
After all, every street in Talosheim had dozens of Demon King Familiars around it. These Demon King Familiars interacted with the people of the Demon Empire of Vidal on a daily basis. And they shared their senses and memories with Vandalieu, who never forgot anything he saw, as he possessed the âPerfect Record Techniqueâ Skill.
Any unfamiliar face would be one that stood out to Vandalieu.
Every street, from large main streets to deserted back alleys, was under surveillance 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, by the split entities of the supreme ruler of the nation who remembered the name and face of every single citizen and could share and relay that information instantaneously.
There was no way that they could conduct intelligence operations through their ordinary methods in a nation like that.