The Paladin of the Holy Kingdom: Part 1

“They were sighted in the Kingdom, after all. I find it hard to imagine they were not there. Or perhaps they will not appear until Jaldabaoth is forced into dire straits?”

“Let me repeat myself… we are not sure if the maids actually exist. What will Your Majesty do in the event that the maids do not exist?”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. I am not asking you to produce something that could substitute for it, in any case. At the very most, I will just write it off as a wasted effort. However, there is the possibility that they might have appeared outside of a maid’s guise, so my request will probably include Jaldabaoth’s subordinates as well. Ahh, that’s right. He might have used some kind of special item to dominate them, so I intend to add a condition that any of Jaldabaoth’s magic items which cannot be determined to be the property of the Holy Kingdom will be mine. It may turn out that the maids which ravaged your Holy Kingdom might end up becoming part of my Sorcerous Kingdom, and in that event I hope I can count on your forgetting your grudges against them since they will then fall under my rule.”

“You mean you want us to forgive people who might devastate our country?”

After Remedios retorted unhappily, the Sorcerer King shrugged.

“That is because I stand to gain nothing else from the Holy Kingdom. Or do you mean to say you have something else to offer me?”

Remedios bit her lip, unable to answer.

“Your Majesty, the Captain means to say that as outsiders, it will be very difficult for us to convince the victims to forget their grudges.”

“Then you will simply have to work hard to convince them,” the Sorcerer King said in a cold voice. “...No, then, just say that the maids were dominated by the Sorcerer King’s magic and taken away. That ought to quell their hatred somewhat, no?”

What would they do? Neia thought as she heard the Sorcerer King speak. If they still refused to accept the Sorcerer King’s terms after he had made this many concessions to them, it was very likely that they would end up with nothing to show for it. It was plain that these were extraordinarily favorable terms for the Holy Kingdom. If they did not seize this chance, then the only word to describe them would be “foolish.”

“That would be quite vexing. Allowing those who ravage—”

“—Your Majesty!” Gustavo shouted over Remedios’s words. “Please allow us to discuss this for a moment! Please give us some time!”

Do you stillneed to discuss matters after he’s compromised this much? Even Neia felt that it would not be strange for the Sorcerer King to rebuke them. But—

“Very well. However, taking too long will cause me problems, and moving around is troublesome. You don’t mind if I wait here, do you?”

Neia could not help but be surprised by the Sorcerer King’s largesse.

“Thank you very much. Then, we shall quickly discuss things. I pray you will be patient, despite the disservice we do you.”

“That’s fine. Go talk it out.”

The two of them rose to leave, and then they returned with surprising swiftness. No, they had already reached the conclusion from the beginning.

“Forgive the delay, Your Majesty.”

“Oh no, go ahead and discuss more, it’s fine. Well then, how goes it?”

“Yes, our conclusion is that we will abide by all of Your Majesty’s terms.”

“I am not asking you to obey me. I am simply making a trade. Well, that doesn’t matter. Now then, while we should put it in writing, I lack the necessary equipment and stamps. Let us discuss this later… You don’t mind if I use the Kingdom’s writing, no?”

“There are people here who can read it, so it is fine. Then, may I trouble you to introduce us to the person who is on par with Momon?”

“Ahh, he is standing before you right now — in other words, myself.”

Silence filled the room once more, and Neia and the others were unable to speak as they stared.

After blinking several times, their brains finally regained the ability to function.

“Your Majesty is as strong as Momon?”

Remedios’s words made Neia freeze in place, but there was a man who had made a move because of these words.

“Please, please wait a moment, Captain. There’s something else we need to ask His Majesty before this.”

Gustavo turned to the Sorcerer King. “Ah, will it really be all right if Your Majesty leaves your nation and goes to the Holy Kingdom? I do not know how much time that will take.”

“That will not be a problem. Unlike Momon, I can use teleportation magic, So long as I can find your base, I can move between it and the Sorcerous Kingdom at any time.”

“B-But, even so, surely having the ruler of a nation come in person is just too—!”

“After listening to me, did you not think that I would be coming in person? I did say I intended to defeat Jaldabaoth and bring the maids under my control, you know? It would be too much of a stretch to do all that from the Sorcerous Kingdom. In addition, with regards to Captain Custodio’s question, I am stronger than Momon.”