Magic Caster of Destroy

For a long time, the Kingdom had been divided into two factions that had been largely even until recently, but now the Royal faction had expanded, while the Noble faction had shrunk.

Because the King had boldly ridden forth and driven Jaldabaoth back, he was seen by the people as a strong ruler, and a fair number of nobles had thrown their support behind the King. Thus, the King could not afford to show weakness here. However, saying that would mean―

“Still, the Warrior-Captain has a point, no? We can avoid a war for the price of just one city. A king also has a duty to prevent undue suffering to his people. Would not a true king be willing to sacrifice of his own body for the sake of the people?”

The one who spoke was from the Noble faction. The words were pretty, but they were calculated to reduce the amount of land controlled by the King, and as such, the Royal faction rebutted them.

“That land is the demesne of the King! If you would hand over our Kingdom’s land, why not surrender yours first?!”

The Noble faction was also swift to reply.

“What nonsense is that?! The Empire asked for E-Rantel and its surroundings! Do you really believe they’d accept land from the other side of the Kingdom? Why don’t you think before you speak?!”

The Royal faction had grown stronger, while the Noble faction had gotten weaker. That simply made the Noble faction even more desperate to hamstring the King.

The upset balance between the two factions was the source of Gazef’s unease. In their desperate attempt to erode the power of the Royal faction, they might plunge the Kingdom into civil war.

That being the case, it was only natural for the King to want to quell the potential revolt with a demonstration of his power. But that would mean―

If he could not admit his weakness, was that not a dangerous thing in itself?

Lost in his thoughts, Gazef only snapped back to reality after several hard stares from members of the Royal faction. Because he had suggested handing over the Kingdom’s territory, they must have thought he had gone over to the Noble faction.

They were giving him looks that said, “You upjumped peasant, have you forgotten the grace which the King showed to you?”

“Then, why don’t you propose the exchange of your lands with E-Rantel, and then hand it over?!”

“As if land could be bought and sold like swine at a market! You fools!”

“You are the fools here!”

The childish squabbling engulfed the entire meeting hall. In the past, disputes like this would have ended in a stalemate due to the even balance of power, but now the voices of the Royal faction were louder than those of the Noble faction.

Normally, the King would have stopped this. He did not seem inclined to do so now, probably because the Royals had the advantage.

Nobody would put an end to circumstances which favored themselves. The King must also have wanted to vent his frustrations with the Noble faction.

It’s like he’s drunk a sweet poison…

Slowly, Gazef began to feel a cold, black conviction in the eyes of the Noble faction.

Unconsciously, he shivered.

The attack of the archdemon Jaldabaoth had been the start of everything.

At that time, the king’s decision to take to the battlefield was arguably the best one. Without his help, the battle lines might have broken and the adventurers would have been overrun. If ‘Blue Rose’ had gone down with them, the Kingdom would have been in a great predicament.

However, as Gazef looked at the scene unfolding in front of him, he could not help but wonder if they should have done something else instead.

What would this court session have been like if the standings of both factions had been even?

I don’t know, but… ah, that’s right, what if we lost this war with the Empire? Would we continueresisting to the end? The Royal faction’s power would be greatly decreased, while that of the Noblefaction would go up. Would we return to the days when both were evenly matched? Or would thebalance of power crumble completely and plunge the country into civil war? Would that be allright?

He disliked this feeling…The feeling that despite making his own choices, he was ultimately still dancing to the tune of someone else.

Could it be that all this had been planned from the moment I met Gown-dono? I don’t want to thinkthat might be the case, but I didn’t get a feeling like that during our short time talking to each other.