Chapter 83 : Different Stratagems

Chapter 83: Different Stratagems?

Anxiety had no form.

The hushed whispers.

The occasional bursts of raised voices.

The corpse-like stiffened expressions,

and the restless eyes that revealed it.

That formless thing leapt from person to person, constricting hearts and tightening throats.

“Lord Haarun... is dead.”

Somewhere in the Ailun region.

Someone’s voice, as though strangled, sank gloomily and made the air tremble.

“Ransen, that one. They say he’s not human. My relative’s friend knew a warrior who had guarded Haarun’s fortress...”

“I heard those terrifying warriors went mad....”

“They say he’s half-blooded with a Slayer Ghost.”

A shapeless anxiety drifted through the air.

Each time it rode in with a person’s breath and came back out, it grew larger and more grotesque.

“They say Lord Haarun was defeated with a single sword strike....”

“Truly... he might not even be human. How could he defeat Lord Haarun....”

Especially the adults in their thirties and older.

Those who remembered the unstoppable momentum with which Haarun had instantly unified the five cities of the Ailun region were all the more shocked that he had been defeated so easily.

“At least it’s a relief that our Loensi (City) surrendered.”

“Yeah. Lord Haarun declared his successor in his last words—resisting until the end would’ve just been laughable.”

There was no need to fight that monster, Ransen.

That fact eased the rising tension somewhat, but the embers of anxiety lurked everywhere, suddenly flaring up and once again breeding new fear and unease.

“But it’s not the same for Gellan and Rundna.”

A sigh spread at that one remark.

“They say Gellan outright declared its own independent path?”

And that was not a story limited to Gellan.

It was a crisis for everyone living in the Ailun region.

“Gellan is led by the House of Gulak.... Those stubborn men who have butted heads with the Empire all their lives aren’t going to obey anyone.”

“The current head, Kashimir... his loyalty to Lord Haarun was exceptional.”

“Yeah....”

The stubborn warrior Kashimir Gulak, who had devoted all his loyalty to Haarun.

“As for Rundna City, I hear they’re stalling without making any statement.”

“Those Rundna bastards were always despicable, scheming cowards.”

“Isn’t Rundna ruled by the House of Esir?”

“Yeah. Those greedy swine. With Lord Haarun gone, only the citizens of Rundna are pitiful....”

“But can they even stand against Ransen? It’s one thing for the House of Gulak to be hard-headed, but... what could the House of Esir possibly be counting on?”

“This is something I heard... they’re said to be in contact with the Sea King.”

“The Sea King?!”

“Shhh.”

The cunning and greedy House of Esir.

There, with the Sea King, other lords of Norberju, and even the Empire thrown in as fuel, the fire of anxiety spread ever greater.

War, food shortages, the severing of trade routes, raids and acts of sabotage....

As if every imaginable future crisis and suffering had already descended upon this place, people felt pain in their chests.

Naturally, this anxiety flourished all the more among the people of Gellan and Rundna City, who had not submitted to Ransen.

What course would Ransen take?

That was the root of their fear.

“At the very least, he’ll slam us with higher tariffs. No... he might even sever the trade routes altogether.”

“Insane... then how are we supposed to eat?”

“But still... we can’t kneel to the bastard who killed Lord Haarun!”

“But... didn’t Lord Haarun leave a will, saying he ceded Ailun to Ransen....”

“You believe that nonsense?!”

The proud citizens of Gellan felt both fear and indignation.

“But... what about the Ailun White Horses? Our region can’t raise warhorses on a large scale. Without the Ailun White Horses, we’ll have trouble subjugating Demonic Beasts, and even the Empire will look down on us....”

“At this rate, there’s no reason not to join hands with the Empire. Better the Empire than the one who killed Lord Haarun, isn’t it?”

Yet what was lodged deepest in their hearts was, in the end, fear.

“What if that lunatic Ransen storms in here again? Just like with Lord Haarun, wiping out Master Kashimir and annihilating the entire House of Gulak....”

“Hey! Don’t speak such ill-fated words. We need to band together so that can’t happen.”

“I just... I just hate all of it. Lord Haarun, Ransen... can’t we just live in peace?”

“Did you just insult Lord Haarun?!”

“Well, look at that. A fight. As if it matters—if war breaks out, we’ll all die anyway.”

“Die, my ass! I’m telling you, if we join forces with the Empire, we’ll survive!”

“Then we’ll die even more.”

Because no one could foresee how this would end... their minds grew more tangled, and their hearts burned hotter.

Chaos began to sweep not only through the Ailun region but across all of Norberju.

Would this turmoil ever settle....

Or was it that from now until the day they died, they would live only in war and destitution....

In such fear, some grew angrier, some stayed silent, some confessed despair—and so, the citizens of Gellan and Rundna spent anxious nights day after day.

*         *         *

Should I be honest?

The truth was, what I really loved was simply swinging my sword.

To sweat and grow stronger, and with that strength, to protect the people I wanted to protect.

Not having to see sights I hated.

That was all I wanted.

A desire so simple and narrow.

So I always thought to myself.

The “king” that Uncle Burson expected me to become—that wasn’t something that suited me.

That was why I hated the Empire, which had forced me into a situation where I had to be king.

...And that was why I found the present situation unsatisfying too.

Because all the people of Ailun, and the whole of Norberju, were anxiously waiting for my next move.

Children.

It was always the children who became the problem.

When adults grew uneasy, children’s very natures would change.

Cheerful children grew gloomy, and some skipped over the things they should have felt and cultivated at their age, just to hurry into adulthood....

I had seen it many times.

When I had fallen into ruin, my younger siblings, our little ones, had been that way.

That was truly the sight I never wanted to see again.

And that was why.

That was why, as I was reading over the stratagem Seah had submitted for approval, I suddenly grabbed my sword and stepped out into the training grounds.

‘The stratagem itself is flawless.’

Seah always had a talent for gathering information.

With that information, she constructed an intricate stratagem.

It was a revised version of the “Counter-espionage Stratagem” she had mentioned before.

To directly crush Gellan and Rundna for not following us—that was the inferior plan.

In that case, resentment would run deep, and it would take a long time before they would truly follow us.

So her proposal was to apply economic and military pressure on Gellan and Rundna, while at the same time cultivating friendly factions within them and drawing them over.

From the outside they would be suppressed, and from within pro-Ransen forces would grow, until finally the two cities would collapse under their own strife—that was the essence of Seah’s Counter-espionage Stratagem.

It was good.

Efficient.

Perfectly feasible.

But—

‘During all that time, the people would be plagued with anxiety.’

And the children’s faces would only grow darker.

“Tsk.”

Swaash!

I cut through the dizzying tangle of thoughts with a swing of my sword.

Yeah.

What was there to agonize over?

Just do what I was good at.

I might not know the logic of governance well, but the logic of battle—I knew that quite well, didn’t I?

The fewer times a sword was swung, the better.

When it was swung, the timing had to be precise.

It was best to cut down exactly as much as was needed.

With that decision, a new stratagem sprouted within me.

A stratagem newly formed by recombining the information and plan Seah had given me.

“Oppa. Have you reviewed it?”

Before I realized it, the sun was already sinking low.

Seah had come to find me herself at last.

“Yeah. I reviewed it.”

“How is it?

What should I say....

As I hesitated to choose my words, Seah gently explained further.

“The situation is good right now. Thanks to the will Haarun left behind, we have legitimacy, and we already have friendly factions in place. Just by applying economic pressure through tariffs and supporting those allies... it won’t be long before they all collapse.”

That was true.

Every word of it was right.

But if we used such a method, a single swing of the sword would hurt too many people.

So—

“Seah. But with the Counter-espionage Stratagem, we can’t win people’s hearts.”

I voiced the thoughts I had been sorting out all along.

This was right.

It fit with my own heart, and as much as possible, it aligned with Haarun’s final request that I wanted to honor.

“I’d rather use the Stratagem of Moral Influence.”

“The Stratagem of Moral Influence?”

“Yeah. I’ll keep everything as it is now. No economic or military pressure. As if Ailun were still one. I’ll give them preferential treatment in every respect.”

“...But then they’ll just take all the carrots and never listen to us, won’t they?”

“Then I’ll swing the sword at that point. Whether cutting off their head or their wrist. After all, you’ve already prepared plenty of ways to do that, haven’t you?”

As I spoke, I shook the stratagem report Seah had left on one side of the training grounds.

“....”

Seah said nothing.

She only gazed silently at me.

...Does she dislike my plan?

Just as that thought crossed my mind, Seah parted her lips again.

“Then, when the sword does fall, there’ll be an internal rupture, won’t there?”

“...That’s right. Since I conceded first, but they refused to concede, the trouble is theirs.”

“Mm. Discontent will build up internally. Then those discontented factions will become our allies?”

“That’s right.”

“Then those allies will topple the current ruling powers.”

“Yeah. The chances of that happening are high.”

Then Seah stared straight at me again and said,

“But that’s the Counter-espionage Stratagem, isn’t it?”

Huh?

...Was it?

No, it wasn’t!

I quickly shook my head and insisted.

“Seah! You have to look at the positive side!”

“The positive side?”

“Yeah! Because the carrot comes first, not the sword! That’s why it’s the Stratagem of Moral Influence!”

Shiiine—

Seah’s calm, unwavering eyes questioned me.

‘Really?’

Ah, but I truly did think that.

...Probably.

*         *         *

An evening tinged with sunset.

Leaving the training grounds behind, Seah smiled faintly.

A rare smile—one that, had Ransen seen it, he would surely have loved.

“Interesting.”

The truth was, Seah was surprised.

Her Counter-espionage Stratagem and Ransen’s Stratagem of Moral Influence were, in fact, no more than a hair’s breadth apart.

The only difference was whether pressure came first, or the carrot came first.

And yet that single difference was perceived as something entirely different.

“People will feel reassured. Since there’s no severing of the most anxiety-inducing trade routes or restriction on goods. The chance of immediate battle breaking out is reduced too.”

That was precisely why Ransen wanted to offer the carrot first.

Even if trouble arose later, people would be more likely to blame the rulers of Gellan and Rundna before pointing their fingers at Ransen.

Of course, for that truly to happen, the sword that followed afterward would have to be exceptionally sharp and precise....

But wasn’t that simply a matter of making it so?

“Truly interesting.”

Seah chuckled softly once more, hugged the documents to her chest, and quickened her steps.

“Let’s push harder.”

The vow she murmured left ripple-like traces in the air of the summer night.

*         *         *

“It’ll be the Counter-espionage Stratagem.”

Renajora Chemien spoke with certainty.

He was on his way back to the Gordor region in southern Roberland, having finished his business in Ilunael.

“The Counter-espionage Stratagem isn’t something just anyone can use.... But that clever young lady I saw then—she’d be able to pull it off.”

Even so, it wouldn’t be easy.

In this world, there was nothing strength could not achieve, except for one thing—winning people’s hearts. That, even with strength, did not come easily.

So thought Renajora as he let out a heavy sigh.

“Hoo.... Still, if the Ailun trade route were to be closed, or even tariffs imposed, things would become harsh for us too....”

Beep—

The sound that broke his thoughts was the alert ringing from his bracelet.

A message artifact of the Age of Magic.

It was an artifact used only in urgent situations—and it was ringing now.

“What’s this?”

Checking the message with slight tension, Renajora exhaled a long breath.

* Official declaration from Ransen: Maintenance of tariff abolition throughout Ailun. Hope for mutual peace. Guarantee of free trade across all Norberju. Announcement of requests as well: request for participation in plans for division of labor and specialization among the cities; request for participation in the establishment of an Ilunael Academy, similar to the Imperial Academy.

It was only a brief summary, shortened by the artifact’s limited capacity... but even that was enough to chill Renajora.

“He releases the carrot first...?”

A confidence that sent shivers crawling over his skin.

The Ransen he had seen was no softhearted, benevolent man.

If one took that carrot and still refused to cooperate with him, then beyond it, an extremely sharp blade would surely be waiting.

‘Just how will he swing that sword?’

Renajora wondered.

If only he wielded it well....

Then Ransen would swiftly reunify Ailun and even win people’s genuine submission.

And if he truly was a man of such caliber....

‘...I’ll have to reckon with the possibility that all of Norberju may one day fall into Ransen’s hands.’

Renajora sensed it.

That in this Roberland, an entirely new wind had begun to blow—something never seen before.

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