The Paladin of the Holy Kingdom: Part 1

Most nobles had not expressed their approval of the Holy Queen, and by the Captain’s reckoning, there was nobody there who liked her. However, there ought to be some northern nobles with blood ties to the southern nobles. If they did them a favor, they ought to be able to better make a formal request to the southern nobles.

Remedios looked at Neia.

“Squire Neia. Go accompany the Sorcerer King. Make sure you sway him to our side for our sakes.”

“Hah? Haaaahh!?? Please, please wait! I can’t possibly serve a king or something as a squire!”

“All you need to do is work hard on it, no?”

“This isn’t a matter of working hard!”

Usually, she would have agreed immediately, but now she was desperately trying to refuse. This was not something she could casually accept. There must be something wrong with Remedios’s head.

“Th-That’s right! Captain,” Gustavo chipped in. “If we don’t have someone of appropriate status to serve as his handmaiden, it’ll be taken as an insult to His Majesty.”

“...How many other women are there in the Liberation Army?”

Those women who could not fight had long since fled to the south. However, that was not to say that they did not exist. The Liberation Army still had a few women among them. Gustavo was about to name some of them when the Captain cut him off.

“We need a woman from the paladins. If I gave orders to a woman from the priesthood, what do you think the temples would do? My sister’s no longer around, you know? Also, the person for this duty should be chosen from people who are present and who have heard my thoughts. Can we force this onto a third party?”

So instead you’re pushing it onto me, right, Neia thought, but did not say.

“In that case…”

Gustavo looked at the Captain.

“I need to be fighting on the frontlines, you know? Also, do you want me to go accompany the Sorcerer King? Or should we yield all authority to the Sorcerer King?”

“Even if we’re using him, we can’t just go out and do that, right? There’ll be problems with trust, and if the Sorcerer King sees that we have no fighting power and decides to conquer the Holy Kingdom while he’s at it…”

After seeing the tongue-tied Gustavo, Neia realised the fact that their allies might end up turning on them.

“—Understood. While I might not be sufficient for the task, I will work hard and do my best.”

“Ahh. I’ll tell you this first. Your mission is make the Sorcerer King more easily usable. Flatter him and keep him in a good mood.”

This was no longer just an impossible request. It was just plain absurd. She had no confidence that she could do such a thing at all. However, no matter what she said, Remedios would not change her mind. Neia hung her head in resignation.

“Understood! I will do my best to achieve that aim, and I hope I can count on the aid of everyone here.”

“Good. If there’s anything, just look for me or him (Gustavo).”

Even as despair filled her heart, Neia was surprised that she was actually feeling a little elated.

His Majesty, huh...

CHAPTER 3 BEGINNING THE COUNTERATTACK

Part 1

The carriage was shaking.

This carriage was the property of the Sorcerer King, and in contrast to its plain appearance on the outside, its interior was classy, refined, and functional to boot. Neia was particularly grateful for the soft cushions that did not hurt her butt no matter how long she sat on them.

Neia peeked at the Sorcerer King, who was seated opposite her and gazing outside.

He may be a fearsome undead king, but she did not feel the oppressive grandeur he had shown when he had met them in the audience chamber.

This was probably because she had spent more time conversing with the Sorcerer King during their journey.

During all this, one thing which Neia had learned was that the Sorcerer King was extremely magnanimous.

It was true that the Sorcerer King acted with the dignity of a sovereign, his every action reflecting his quality as a monarch.

However, when Neia sat in the carriage with him, he would act like an ordinary person from time to time. In addition, these occurrences had been getting more and more frequent recently.

In all likelihood, the Sorcerer King had considered that Neia would be nervous while sharing the same carriage as him, and in his generosity, he had chosen to act more like a commoner. The reason why such incidents were recurring more and more were surely because his skills were improving.

The reason why he did not act that way around the others was probably because they were still playing the role of paladins.

To think he would treat another country’s citizens this way… what a compassionate man he is...

What was he looking at? Was he looking at the paladins riding alongside the carriage? Or perhaps something else, something that Neia did not see—

“Hm? Is there something interesting on my face?”