Genjitsushugisha no Oukokukaizouki - Volume 18 - Chapter 3.1

Chapter 3: The Paths of Brother and Sister

— End of the 1st Month, 1554th year — Night — Parnam Castle —

It was around the time the celebratory mood of New Year’s had started settling down. While I was working overtime in the governmental affairs office like every other day, I felt a shadow creep up behind me.

Aisha, who was sitting on the couch with her mouth hanging half open in a somewhat disappointing way, suddenly jumped to her feet and put her hand on the hilt of her sword.

Should I praise her for being able to guard me properly while asleep on the job? Or complain that she shouldn’t fall asleep in the first place? I thought.

She cast a sharp glance behind me and challenged the intruder, saying, “Who goes there?”

“It is I, my lord,” came the voice of Kagetora, leader of the Black Cats, from behind me.

Given that it was someone who had been able to slip through the defense network inside Parnam Castle and get this close before Aisha noticed him, there probably wasn’t anyone else it could have been. And this was why I remained calm even when Aisha jumped to her feet.

“You’ve got something to report, huh? Aisha. Could you stand by the door and keep people away?”

“Yes, sire! Understood.”

Kagetora’s subordinates, the Black Cats, would also be keeping watch, so I was just being extra cautious. Once we were ready, I looked at him.

“Go on?”

“Yes, sir. The agents of the Great Tiger Empire, who were actively sniffing around inside our nation last year, have downsized the scale of their operations since the start of this year. We believe they have given up on maneuvering inside our country.”

“Well, we have been thoroughly crushing any seeds of unrest they could have fomented, after all.”

Obviously, there was no way to rule without causing discontent among the people. However, even if people were dissatisfied, we could keep it at a level where they wouldn’t want to take up arms to remedy the situation. Hashim probably wanted to incite a rebellion of the people against the state, but the rebels would be risking their own lives.

Unless they suffered under harsh rule and were in such a desperate situation that it was do or die for them, they wouldn’t rise up so easily. Even if there were prospective rebels among the people, their friends and acquaintances who didn’t want to be held responsible for their actions could be expected to turn them in before anything came of it.

In the nineteenth chapter of Machiavelli’s The Prince, “That One Should Avoid Being Despised and Hated,” he says that “those who conspire against a prince always expect to please the people by his removal; but when the conspirator can only look forward to offending them, he will not have the courage to take such a course,” and also that “he who conspires cannot act alone, nor can he take a companion except from those whom he believes to be malcontents.”

Ultimately, ruling in a way that makes it hard for the people to get upset will save a king. I had my new wife, Maria, flying all over doing her philanthropic work, absorbing the troubles of the powerless and reporting them back to us to be remedied. These sorts of small things had culminated to deal a painful blow to Hashim’s scheming.

I crossed my arms and looked up at the ceiling.

“If I were to think of anyone else he could agitate in this kingdom, it would be those who might want the throne for themselves or those who are against the current trend towards meritocracy. But the Royal House of Elfrieden was largely wiped out in Elisha’s time, and as for the Princely House of Amidonia, Roroa and Julius are both trustworthy allies.”

“There are no royals who could rebel against you.”

“Yeah. As for the corrupt nobles who might be counted on to rebel at a time like this, I purged them all a year after receiving the throne... If I consider that as preparation for now, I guess it was worth getting their blood on my hands.”

I looked down at my own hands. I couldn’t believe I’d truly made the right decision back then, but now I felt it was a good decision. When I thought about how those guys could have still been hanging around at this point...it gave me the shudders. Well, that was only something I could say in hindsight.

After a long pause, Kagetora nodded and said, “I suppose.”

We shared a quiet moment of sadness together.

Then, as if to dispel that emotion, I shook my head.

“Well, if there’s less pressure on us, then that’s for the best. We just have to prepare for the coming war, so we’re ready for anything. And maybe...we might even need to borrow a helping hand from ‘the dead,’ you know?” I joked while sending a meaningful look in Kagetora’s direction.

Kagetora, however, didn’t stir in the slightest. “There is no need for concern, my lord. The strength of the young ones in this country grows by the day. There will be no need to cling to such absurd nonsense as the dead being returned to life.”

“Oh, yeah?”

Hearing Kagetora’s weighty voice say that there was no need for concern, I couldn’t help but feel everything really was okay...

“Your Majesty! Someone is coming,” Aisha suddenly called from where she stood in front of the door.

Before I could signal to Kagetora with my eyes, he had already vanished. He’s really polished his whole ninja act.

After some time, there was a hesitant knock at the office door.

“Come in,” I called, and Yuriga entered. She looked at me and Aisha as though she were about to say something but was hesitant to.

“What’s up, Yuriga?”

She seemed to find her resolve and looked up.

“S-Souma! I want you to let me go home!”