The Paladin of the Holy Kingdom: Part 1

“That’s right — you know I can’t approve of that, nee-sama. Let’s say we wanted to sell their armor — where would we sell it? You haven’t thought about that, have you? We can only sell them overseas, but demihuman armor isn’t going to command anything but bargain basement prices. Besides, we ought to avoid strengthening other countries’ arsenals until the destroyed wall is rebuilt. In particular, I hope they don’t fall into the hands of the Sorcerous Kingdom.”

“Huh? You don’t like the Sorcerous Kingdom? I’ve never heard you say that in court, though.”

“No priest would like them. You’re the same way too, right, Calca-sama?”

Calca pondered the matter. As part of the clergy and the Holy Queen, she disliked them. However, as a head of state—

“—A king’s duty is to love his nation, love his people, and grant them peace. As long as he does that, it should be fine, right?”

The sisters looked at each other in front of Calca.

“Love? No way. Could an undead being ever think like that?”

“I agree with nee-sama. The undead — I don’t think they could love like you do, Calca-sama.”

“The two of you are harsh. Still, you can’t just badmouth people without even seeing them, right?”

The puzzled looks on their faces looked very similar. Calca mused that they were siblings after all, and after quelling the smile on her face, her voice turned serious.

“What did your adjutants say? Queralt, tell me our plan for dealing with Jaldabaoth.”

The Holy Queen did not take part in strategy meetings. Instead, she went around the soldiers to boost their morale. While the Holy Kingdom’s troops were better trained than those of other nations, they were ultimately conscripts. It was important to motivate them.

“Yes. We’re already discussing how to deal with situations where the demihumans encircle this city, bypass it, advance to the south, split up to accomplish different objectives, and so on.”

It was times like these that reaffirmed her belief that the sisters were similar, but not alike. If she had asked the elder sister that question, the answer she would get would make her want to grab her head in frustration.

“I see… then, which possibility do you think is the most likely?”

“Given the invasion path of the demihumans so far, it’s most likely that they will choose to encircle this city. However, there is a problem with that.”

“Mm, yes.”

“What do you mean?”

Remedios had not participated in the meetings either, given that she was Calca’s bodyguard. However, the fact that she had not grasped the answer which the Holy Queen had instantly realized was due to another problem.

“...Nee-sama. I’m talking about the demon who wrought havoc in the Kingdom, Jaldabaoth. While there’s no telling how smart he is, demons are skilled at schemes and trickery. He might adopt a plan we did not foresee.”

“I see… the adjutants who have to handle strategy and planning sure have it tough…”

While there was much she wanted to say to the leader of the Paladin Order, Calca resisted the urge to do so

“...This is quite vexing. Then, if the demihumans encircle this city, what will happen after that? While food supplies are ample, fighting a defensive siege is going to wreak horrors on morale. Have you considered that as well?”

“Yes. Normally, all we would have to do is wait for reinforcements from the south to arrive, but we have reports saying that Jaldabaoth used a mysterious power to destroy the wall in a single blow. As long as that tremendous factor of uncertainty in play…”

The three of them frowned as one.

Anyone would be upset when they thought of what had happened to the wall, but Calca knew what was going on.

Remedios was simply imitating what the other two had done.

Remedios did not like to think, and she was a very stubborn person. That was a flaw, but it was also the reason that she could embody absolute justice.

The nature of justice was difficult to contemplate. For instance, imagine if there were two children, one human and one demihuman. Being pure and innocent, they became friends. However, if the demihuman child was discovered by adults, he would be locked up, and the human child would plead for his life. However, if they let the demihuman child go, he might grow up to become a threat to humanity. Was killing the demihuman child just or unjust? This was not a question that could be easily answered.

Calca would have spared him without any hesitation.

Remedios, however, would kill him without any doubts. In addition, she would insist that she was righteous, and not feel a shred of guilt about it. In her heart, anything she did for the sake of the nation and people was acceptable.

When she took the throne of the Holy Queen, Calca had declared to her two close friends, “I will grant happiness to the smallfolk, and make a country where nobody will cry.” In response, she had said, “I will support you and uphold your just cause.” With that pledge in her heart, she was more forthright than anyone else, her heart filled with conviction, and the light in her eyes was like that of a fanatic.