The Paladin of the Holy Kingdom: Part 1

She smiled to the Sorcerer King while she nodded. While the smile was a little stiff, she had managed to skillfully conceal her thoughts.

“If others see this, tell them I lent it to you.”

Can’t I not let them see it? If possible, I’d rather wrap it up or something — but I can’t do that with a weapon His Majesty lent me to protect him… Ahh… wait, my head’s starting to hurt. So something like this is nothing to be proud of… His Majesty’s standards are just too high… Will I have to pay him back if I damage this bow? Me? Ahhh, my tummy hurts… I wish I didn’t have to think about this bow… Ah!

Neia thought of a wonderful topic she had not yet mentioned.

“Your Majesty! I saw those huge and grand statues of yourself in Your Majesty’s country!”

“—Hoh.”

He responded in a quiet voice that was tremendously different from the one he had used in the past. It made Neia uneasy about whether she had made some sort of mistake.

He had named his country after himself. Thus, Neia guessed that the Sorcerer King was eager to show himself off, which was probably why he had built those huge statues of himself to proclaim his might to those around him.

Did I not praise him enough?

“Those statues not only showed off Your Majesty’s greatness, but they also demonstrated your power as well! We don’t have any statues like that in the Holy Kingdom!”

That was most definitely not a lie. Size notwithstanding, one would need engineering techniques that had been refined down to an art in order to produce such a life-like product. There was a similarly-sized statue of a Sea Dragon at a place called Lighthouse Cape, but it was cruder, and it looked quite pathetic after being worn away by the elements.

“My subordinates often say that.”

Ahhhh, is that it? He’s heard praise like that from his subordinates, so this much is only to be expected, is that what he means?”

“My subordinates are now planning to raise statues like these in various places of my nation.”

“I see. Indeed, it would be a good way to declare the glory of Your Majesty!”

The Sorcerer King looked at Neia in what seemed like surprise.

“...Uh, mm. Still, I feel that placing statues of myself within my country is a little… how shall I put this? Even so, my subordinates built statues of myself that are over a hundred meters tall in the middle of the city in order to show me off to the world… I think they’ve gotten carried away with the concept of bigger is better.”

“But why is that?”

The Sorcerer King coughed to clear his throat, and that was when a question arose in Neia’s mind, Did the undead still have throats to clear? However, the Sorcerer King was speaking as that question echoed in her head, and she could not interrupt him.

“A king’s greatness cannot be shown with physical objects.”

“Ahhh!”

Neia was shocked, but that was only to be expected.

Neia had not only forgotten that the Sorcerer King was undead, but had come to harbor feelings of genuine respect for him.

This man was truly a King.

Suddenly, she saw the Sorcerer King clenching his fist out of the corner of her eye.

“Of course, declaring my greatness to the world by allowing my people to live without impediment is a different matter. But showing it off with statues of myself is… well. I wish to be known by the peace of my rule.”

“It is as you say!”

Neia gulped, and then asked a question.

“Your Majesty is one of the undead, but why do you spend so much time thinking of the people?”

Neia did not think the Sorcerer King’s compassion for the masses was an act. She even began to wonder if he was even undead.

“...I have not spent much time pondering that. But doing that much should be par for the course, no?”

Neia was shocked.

Were all kings such amazing people?

Could the Holy Queen and the nobles rule the people with these thoughts in their heart?

Or — was it because he was undead? Did he have this perspective because he was undead?

Neia could not answer that question.

“Also, if it really was one hundred meters high, there’d be complaints about things like not getting enough sunlight and so on.”

The Sorcerer King followed up with what sounded like a joke, which only served to drill the humility of this incredible monarch into Neia’s heart once more. This man was truly a King of Kings.

♦ ♦ ♦

As the Sorcerer King had pointed out earlier, the Holy Kingdom Liberation Army’s base was a natural cave in a mountain.