Wortenia Senki (LN) - Volume 18 - Chapter Pr

Prologue

The Kingdom of Rhoadseria was one of the three kingdoms that made up the western continent’s eastern region. The country boasted a long and proud history, but other than that, it had very little to distinguish itself. True, it had vast plains and abundant water sources, which allowed it to become one of the few agrarian countries in the continent, and its soldiers were well trained and strong, but its national power was dwarfed by the continent’s three great powers, one of which was the O’ltormea Empire.

Rhoadseria wasn’t a feeble kingdom that would cave under any threat, but the collective opinion among those familiar with the continent’s political landscape was that it was, at best, a medium-ranked country in terms of strength. But despite its lack of national power, its capital, Pireas, was a large, orderly, and imposing citadel city. Its streets, paved with flagstone, were full of people hurrying here and there. The architecture of the buildings displayed the city’s history, and the structures were made of sturdy stone and plaster, likely as a countermeasure against fire. The entire city had been built in preparation for war.

In this world, the birth of new nations and the fall of strong countries wasn’t at all unusual. Heroes who gained glory on the battlefield could climb to the rank of king through martial prowess, and it wasn’t unheard of for even celebrated countries on the cusp of unifying the continent to collapse overnight from internal strife. Just in the western continent’s south, a region known for its constant wars, several countries had collapsed in a matter of decades. Even the O’ltormea Empire, an impressive power that had expanded its influence and now sought to unify the continent, had only risen to such power since the current emperor, Lionel Eisenheit, took the crown.

It was said that fortune and misfortune tended to alternate, and that was true for entire nations as well as for individuals. Rhoadseria had carved out five hundred years of history in this world showcasing that pattern. It was on this day that Rhoadseria would welcome a man of remarkable exploits into its gates.

Very few celebrated this man’s historic achievements though. The grand majority regarded him with confusion and dread. Sensing the coming storm about to descend upon the kingdom, they couldn’t help but be overcome with anxiety, so they simply watched as the knights marched on, holding a banner for the God of Light, Meneos. Depicted on the banner was a cross, a scale, and a sword that symbolized the strength and desire to uphold the God of Light’s will.

At the end of a dim alleyway was a tavern. Normally it was filled with the cheers of drunken patrons and the coquettish voices of its barmaids, but a different atmosphere surrounded the place today. Business wasn’t quite as booming as usual, but only a fifth of its tables were free, and it was still early evening. A few hours remained before the tavern’s rush hour began, and with the majority of its tables occupied already, the tavern seemed to be doing good business.

The tavern’s slight decrease in customers lay with the inexplicably suffocating air hanging over it. The barmaids didn’t go among the drinking men, instead standing against the wall as they watched over the patrons. A few of them were diligent enough to check on the tables, ensuring that the customers had enough snacks to go with their drinks, but no one seemed to particularly praise their devotion.

Indeed, not even those devoted girls were truly focused on work. Their eyes and ears weren’t fixed on the patrons’ orders, but rather on the conversation taking place. Their anxiety was to be expected too, considering what had happened the last few days.

In the midst of this oppressive atmosphere, a man seated in the center of the tavern whispered softly to his companion. He was a middle-aged man with a beard. He wasn’t very tall, but judging by the thick, tanned arms jutting out of the sleeves of his linen shirt, it was obvious that he was a manual laborer working by day in the slums. The man sitting opposite him looked to be his colleague. They had likely come here seeking some respite after a hard day’s work, but their expressions implied they weren’t enjoying their drinks very much.

“They say the Temple Knights’ Eighteenth Order has been dispatched as reinforcements this time. Experts when it comes to hunting heretics, they are,” the bearded man said as he gulped down the booze in his mug.

Although the majority of the capital’s forces were stationed on the city’s outskirts rather than the interior, the citizens didn’t find it encouraging to see an army marching through the main street and holding up the church’s banner, especially since the knight order in question was an infamous one.

“The Colsbarga Grave Diggers...” the other man whispered, his voice thick with contempt and disgust.

The Church of Meneos’s influence spanned the entirety of the western continent, but how much power they exerted over a region differed by country. The three kingdoms of the east, which included Rhoadseria, were the farthest geographically from the holy city of Menestia, so the church’s influence over them was relatively weak. However, that only applied to those in power and authority, such as the nobility. The church’s customs were still a part of everyday life for the common citizen. Most people called on the church’s priests to oversee ceremonial occasions such as weddings and funerals, and in times of famine, they went to the church because it gave away food to the hungry. Priests also used the churches as schools, teaching orphans and the poor how to read and write.

In that regard, the Church of Meneos did have some degree of recognition in Rhoadseria, but that was the extent of its relationship with the country. To most people living in the three kingdoms of the east, it was nothing but a convenient tool. That much was clear from the fact that only one percent of Rhoadseria’s population periodically visited the churches for prayer.

That wasn’t to say Rhoadseria’s people denied or opposed the Church of Meneos or its teachings, nor did it mean that they didn’t practice its customs. The God of Light, Meneos, was one of the Six Pillars—gods worshiped in the western continent since ages past. He was, in fact, known as the strongest out of the six. The church’s scriptures stated that Meneos wasn’t the singular, absolute god, but in practice, the church treated him as if he were. This discrepancy had led to a decisive break between beliefs of Rhoadseria’s people and the Church of Meneos’s teachings.

It wasn’t a matter of who was right or wrong, but merely a question of what aspect of the faith one chose to stress. Or perhaps, in an even more basic sense, it was a question of how to interpret the scripture—a personal, emotional decision. Unfortunately, such simple arguments could, at times, cause tragedies. That was a major factor in the rivalry between the three kingdoms of the east and the Kingdom of Helnesgoula.

At present, the Church of Meneos hadn’t done anything to aggravate relations, but looking at the western continent’s history, differences in faith had led to immense bloodshed, and not even that far back in the past. It was beyond the lifetime of those living in the present, but the memories of what had happened passed from parent to child to grandchild and were carved into Rhoadseria’s collective consciousness.

Those memories included the tragedy of Gromhen, which had taken place sixty years ago. The ones who had instigated that incident were notorious to Rhoadseria’s people, and no citizen could maintain their composure upon hearing the infamous name of the Colsbarga Grave Diggers. Not to mention, the citizens were already shaken by the royal edict that had been passed down several days ago.

“I know that, given the situation, we have no choice but to turn to an outside force for help,” the bearded man whispered. “And if this is Her Majesty’s decision, I can put up with the church being here. But of all people, that unit—the Temple Knights’ Eighteenth Order? Calling those fanatics here? I don’t know what the palace is thinking...”

“And it was just the other day that Her Majesty declared Baron Mikoshiba a traitor to the kingdom,” the other man replied, nodding weakly.

They spoke in hushed voices because they couldn’t afford for others to overhear their topic of discussion, but despite that, everyone in the tavern heard them. There was no mistaking the meaning behind their words either; everyone present felt the same way.

Just a few days ago, the royal edict condemning the Mikoshiba barony for treason had shaken many citizens to the core. Not only had the queen charged Baron Mikoshiba with the serious crime of attacking the House of Lords, but she had marked the entire barony as traitors to the crown as well. In consequence, she had declared an expeditionary force would be organized to punish them.

The difference in status between the nobility and the commoners was vast. The affairs of those who lost their standing or came to power in the palace didn’t directly affect the lives of the commoners.

But everything has its limits, the bearded man thought to himself, gripped by an inexplicable anxiety.

In cases like this one, when an army was being organized, the commoners would absolutely be involved. Forming an army and going to war required a great deal of manpower and supplies. The expeditionary force would need to gather equipment and rations, which would make the prices of goods skyrocket, and as a result, that would put a strain on the commoners.

There were already early signs of this beginning to happen. In the few days since the edict, the price of wheat had risen by ten percent. And that wasn’t limited to just wheat; other foodstuffs, like beef and pork, were rising across the board, and the prices of weapons and medical supplies were beginning to go up too. The price of iron, used to make armaments, had all but tripled.

To the commoners, war was an atrocity that caused them no end of trouble, but to merchants with political ties, it was a golden opportunity to make money. For all the merchants were concerned, they were just out to make a profit, and the sky was the limit when it came to how high they could raise the prices. Nevertheless, to capitalize on such chances, one needed power and funds, and retail merchants who sold wheat to the masses weren’t particularly graced with those assets.

“The butcher shop opposite mine closed up today,” the other man said. “Apparently they have stock for a while, but they complained their wholesaler won’t sell them anything.”

The bearded man clicked his tongue. “Yeah, some of the bigger companies are buying up all the food. No retail butcher shop can compete with that. All the same, they’re lucky enough that they didn’t have to sell off their kid. The big question is, when will this end?”

Multiple factors could affect a business’s survival, such as weather conditions, plagues, and wars. The merchants, even if they’d never studied economics or business management, knew this at an instinctual level.

Rumor had it that this expedition was going to be a large one, so the citizens were gripped with doubt and anxiety. After all, this war would be held within Rhoadseria’s territory. Whichever side won, the conflict would strike a critical blow to the kingdom, which had yet to fully recover from the civil war a few years ago.

And honestly speaking, I’m not sure how many of the crimes the palace charged Baron Mikoshiba with are true... 

It wasn’t that the bearded man assumed that Baron Mikoshiba was an innocent victim being hunted for false charges, but the capital’s people weren’t naive enough to blindly believe the palace’s edict. There weren’t many reasons a man regarded as a national hero would elect to rebel against his country. The people had only been told that he was charged with treason, but the details of his crimes hadn’t been disclosed, which made the whole affair seem questionable.

“Baron Mikoshiba... Many of the nobles are following the palace’s example and openly criticizing him,” the bearded man explained. “It probably has to do with the hearing in the House of Lords from a few days ago, but who’s to say how much of it is true, right?”

It was a simple question, but honestly speaking, the bearded man wasn’t looking for an answer. The other man, however, grimaced. He realized how dangerous a topic this was.

This tragedy had taken place in the House of Lords, the cornerstone of Rhoadseria’s law, and if the nobles caught wind of this conversation, the two men could be in mortal danger. But even so, the bearded man kept talking. It was because this was such a dangerous topic and because the facts were so unclear that they couldn’t help but discuss it. At the same time, the topic wasn’t too dangerous to discuss in a back alley tavern over drinks, so the bearded man kept his eyes on their surroundings and kept his voice down.

“The rumors I’ve heard say there were a lot of bodies back there. You heard about that?”

The law in this world was quite limited and could do very little to maintain public order. Once one left the cities, the highways were a dangerous place where monsters prowled and bandits lay in hiding. It was different when crimes took place inside the cities, though. Outside the wall of Pireas were slums, where public order was barely a thing, but incidents of this scale didn’t happen even there.

Regardless of what the truth is, there were dozens of victims. Things like that don’t happen often. 

It was natural that those unrelated to this incident would be curious about it. That said, this exchange should’ve been nothing but idle chatter at a nighttime tavern. For all the bearded man was concerned, he was only speaking of rumors, but his friend’s reaction to his question took him by surprise. His friend seemed frightened by something.

“What...? Don’t tell me you actually know something,” the bearded man prodded.

His friend hesitated a moment, then in a grave voice said, “Apparently, what they say is true. The leader of the House of Lords, Marquis Halcyon, and all the major nobles under him were murdered. Except...”

“Except what?” the bearded man asked.

His friend clammed up. He knew what he was about to say was true, yet he hesitated because he knew the danger in saying it. He only wavered for a second, though.

“From what I’ve heard, the truth is that the House of Lords tried to set Baron Mikoshiba up, and he killed them in retribution...”

The bearded man’s eyes widened in surprise.

“They say the nobles criticized Baron Mikoshiba’s war with Count Salzberg,” the other man continued. “Apparently, Her Majesty did the same, and this was why the hearing was held. But Baron Mikoshiba presented evidence of Count Salzberg’s corruption.”

The bearded man laughed. The northern regions, which had been under the rule of Count Salzberg and the ten houses of the north, weren’t that far from Pireas. Therefore, the count’s reputation had reached the ears of those living in the capital, so the idea of Count Salzberg being a corrupt noble didn’t strike him as implausible.

Seeing the bearded man’s reaction, the other man went on. “But Marquis Halcyon and the House of Lords publicly dismissed Baron Mikoshiba’s claims and focused only on pursuing his crimes. Doing that incurred his wrath and brought down his retribution. That’s the truth of this incident, from what I’ve heard.”

The bearded man picked up the bottle of ale on the table and took a swig before looking up at the ceiling and heaving a sigh. His mind was occupied with thoughts of disillusionment with his own country and disgust for the nobles who’d tried to eliminate a hero. For the common citizen like him, this whole affair seemed far out of reach. Nonetheless, hearing this story of how a man he admired fell from grace filled him with emotion.

“I see... It does sound likely. The nobles never did like him—that much is fact—but...” The bearded man shook his head and directed a questioning gaze at his friend. Something about his story felt off. “Where did you hear this, anyway? How do you know all these details?”

His friend’s story seemed plausible, and normally the bearded man wouldn’t have questioned it, but this time it included undisclosed information about the nobles’ conspiracies, and that changed things.

No, it’s too detailed to be a rumor.

His friend knew too much for this to be just hearsay he’d heard in the tavern, so it made sense that the bearded man was suspicious.

“I heard about this from my cousin,” the man explained in a hesitant tone. “She heard about it from a colleague of hers, who works as a maid in the House of Lords’ kitchen. That’s how she knows all these details.”

“I see... Right, come to think of it, you did mention your cousin works there.”

The other man nodded. Most nobles didn’t pay much mind to what their servants did. That didn’t mean servants could freely reveal blatantly top secret information, but there wasn’t much security when it came to small, fragmented bits of information. Thanks to that, servants were much more well-informed than their employers realized, and this was one case of that.

“Yeah, I can believe that,” the bearded man said, taking another swig from the bottle. Even with no solid proof, that explanation made the story credible enough.

The other man nodded, reached for his own bottle, and sighed.

Seeing this, the bearded man jokingly said, “But thanks to that upstart, life in the capital became much easier. It’s a shame, really.”

Ryoma Mikoshiba was known as the Devil of Heraklion, and he had the worst possible reputation among the Rhoadseria’s’s ruling class, but the common class regarded him with a mix of fear and awe. Not many commoners viewed him negatively. In fact, they regarded him highly because he wasn’t as tyrannical as most nobles were.

Of course, since his domain in the Wortenia Peninsula was a no-man’s-land with no real population to speak of, even if Ryoma had chosen to act like a despot, he’d have had no one to exploit to begin with, and that came before the man’s kindness or his personality. Only those involved with Ryoma could know that, though.

While the nobles saw him as an upstart and scorned him, the commoners only thought the better of him because he wasn’t concerned with the nobles’ prejudices. The fact he didn’t believe his bloodline was superior to others’ meant he probably wasn’t prone to the bigoted approaches typical of nobles.

Despite all that, there was another reason why Rhoadseria’s commoners favored Ryoma, and that was the major financial power that the Mikoshiba barony held. The Wortenia Peninsula, which jutted out of the western continent’s northeastern shores, was a key position in the northern sea routes. Thanks to its location, it could trade with other major countries, like the Holy Qwiltantia Empire or the Kingdom of Helnesgoula, and recently it had even opened trade with other continents. Wortenia wasn’t a match yet for the Kingdom of Myest’s greatest trade city, Pherzaad, but it was certainly solidifying its status as an important relay point between the continent’s northern and eastern regions.

Thanks to that, the Mystel Company, which was based in the citadel city of Epirus, was able to expand its trade sphere as far as the capital. Qwiltantian teas, spices imported from the central continent, and other such eye-catching goods were becoming a part of life for people in the capital.

“Teas and spices becoming cheaper is a good thing, but...” his friend began.

The bearded man nodded gravely. Spices had been available in Rhoadseria’s markets even before Wortenia’s development, but there weren’t a lot of them in circulation. Spices weren’t unknown to the capital’s people, but they were rare and expensive luxury items. The biggest reason for this was a lack of ports in Rhoadseria. Most of the luxury items, such as teas and spices, in circulation in Rhoadseria’s markets were bought in bulk from Myest’s port in Pherzaad, from where they were carried to Rhoadseria by overland routes.

Needless to say, these overland caravans were limited in their capacity compared to ships, which meant higher prices. However, once these commodities had started being carried in from Wortenia to the citadel city of Epirus, where its merchants sold them to the capital, things had begun to change. The fact that the goods didn’t need to cross any national borders was especially important.

The Kingdom of Helnesgoula had made a treaty of commerce with the three kingdoms of the east under Ryoma Mikoshiba’s initiative. This treaty created a uniform tariff rate across the four kingdoms, as well as standardizing the border crossing procedures, increasing profits for all four countries involved. The nobles across all these countries were equally affected by the boons of the treaty.

Naturally, standardizing the tariff rate did lower tax revenue, and not being able to freely impose tariff rates influenced domestic industries within one’s own country. Nevertheless, with imports and exports increasing, business across Rhoadseria as a whole saw an upturn, and the simplification of border crossing procedures saved merchants time and costs. As the countries grew wealthier, those benefits trickled down to the lower classes as well.

That makes our lives much easier.

The bearded man’s job was loading and unloading crates for a company that dealt in spices and crops, and his wage had seen a considerable increase due to the amount of traded goods increasing, resulting in a shortage of laborers. Thanks to that, he was able to afford expensive luxury items like teas and spices that had been out of his reach before.

Everyone in the four countries—be they nobles, merchants, or commoners—profited from this arrangement. Still, not everyone profited from it equally. While overall costs went down, most nobles didn’t have ports in their domains, so the majority of goods still came from Myest. That applied to most nobles—except for Baron Mikoshiba, who owned a port within the Mikoshiba barony.

Baron Mikoshiba’s financial status had skyrocketed. Using a sea route to bring Qwiltantian and Helnesgoulan wares into Rhoadseria meant he could cut the costs of importing from Myest. As a result, high-quality goods were sold in Pireas in high volume and at reasonable prices. It had only been a few months since the Mikoshiba barony occupied northern Rhoadseria, but even in that short period of time, it had improved the quality of the commoners’ lives in the capital.

Everyone still profits from it, even now.

But in the future, that could change. The stronger the Mikoshiba barony became, the more it could control the circulation of goods all over Rhoadseria. If that were to come to pass, the nobles and the purveyors to the government that received their protection could end up experiencing a true hell. Anyone savvy in the ways of the world could imagine that future, and the nobles couldn’t just ignore that possibility.

That’s probably why the nobles hated him so much.

They likely first antagonized Ryoma just for the fact that he was a commoner who rose to noble status, but then the financial might the Mikoshiba barony had amassed struck terror into the nobles’ hearts. It was quite possible this fear was one factor behind this series of incidents.

It happened because it had to happen.

But that didn’t make these events easier to accept.

“Oh, and the cost of pepper and cinnamon has fallen too.” The bearded man shook his head and shrugged. “And we’ve been getting in new things we’ve never heard of before, like star anise and thyme. The lady living next door, who runs a diner, told me that. I met her today, and she said this incident might make it impossible to get things anymore. Apparently, the Mystel Company is selling the branch they were about to build in the capital.”

“I hear the same thing about salt,” the other man said. “There weren’t as many corrupt merchants who were overselling its price, and it made life much easier.”

They both sighed. It felt like just when their daily lives were starting to improve, shadows enshrouded them once again.

For the commoners, who were struggling to make a living every day, this was much more important than the country’s survival or dealing with the Mikoshiba barony’s rebellion. In fact, so long as their taxes were low and costs of goods remained cheap, they didn’t care one bit who ruled over them. If they believed the Mikoshiba barony’s rule was more beneficial to them, they wouldn’t hesitate to leave this kingdom behind them.

At present, however, this was merely a fantasy. Since the queen has already branded them as traitors, it was highly unlikely she would reinstate the Mikoshiba barony’s rights. If the northern expedition were to succeed, the Mikoshiba barony would be completely slain, and all those related to them would be executed as well. Included in that were the Mystel and Christof Companies, who helped back the Mikoshiba barony financially.

Officially speaking, the Mystel Company and the other members of the trade union weren’t considered subordinate to the Mikoshiba barony, but they clearly weren’t unrelated, and the nobles weren’t naive or foolish enough to spare them. They had been willing to cooperate with Ryoma and therefore would be marked as enemies to the kingdom.

They’ll either be slaughtered or squeezed for all they’re worth, but either way, they won’t be able to continue doing business.

If that were to happen, then once the northern expedition ended, the prices would spike back up, and life for the capital’s commoners would become harsher than ever before.

“But speaking of... When did you start regarding Baron Mikoshiba with so much respect?” the bearded man asked his colleague. “You used to call him a whelp and an upstart.” It had been troubling him for a while, but it was only now that he found the right time to ask. Once he’d realized this, he naturally became very curious as to what had triggered this change.

His friend scratched his head awkwardly. “Well, I hate the nobles as much as the next guy, but the more I hear about that man, the more I start thinking he’s not like the other nobles in this country.”

“You...” the bearded man looked at him, taken aback.

His friend was talking about a criminal who’d been branded a traitor. Respecting such a man was reckless and dangerous. But at the same time, the bearded man could relate.

The commoners weren’t fools. It was only because they understood that there were class differences that they toadied up to the nobles. In actuality, though, most commoners loathed them. Taverns like this one were places where commoners let out their pent up aggression toward nobles. Still, they were just as able to make out who was truly worthy of their admiration, and the other man recognized Ryoma Mikoshiba as a noble worthy of respect.

“What’s going to happen to this country next?” the bearded man wondered, looking up to the ceiling.

There wasn’t much they could do to change the fate of the kingdom. They could predict the coming of the storm, but all they could do was hold on and try to weather it. Most of the people in this tavern felt the same way too. People seated at other tables spoke quietly of similar topics.

That was why they gathered in this tavern to drink—to look away from the bitter, infuriating reality they lived in, at least for a short while. It was true for the patrons as well as the employees, who currently had little to do. That was why none of them noticed the one person in the tavern who felt differently.

One woman stood against the wall among the barmaids, a smile on her lips.

Zack Mystel and his merchant union really are skilled. They know when to pull out before things get dangerous.

Any normal merchant would hesitate to leave the capital and its economic sphere behind. After all, profits were beginning to rise. Their money tree was finally starting to bear fruit, so most people would think twice before throwing this chance away.

If the expeditionary force, which was rumored to have two hundred thousand soldiers, were to be dispatched, northern Rhoadseria would be reduced to ashes. Rationally speaking, there was no place for business at a time like this, but it would be some time before Rhoadseria’s army marched. Most merchants would linger, doing business until the very last second with the hope of making a bit more coin before their time was up.

Besides, if the Mikoshiba barony were to lose the war, the kingdom’s army would no doubt crush it, and the consequences of that would extend to the Mystel Company as well. To overcome that, the Mystel Company would need all the coin they could get.

Nonetheless, Zack Mystel chose not the profit that lay right in front of him at present, but the profits he could make in the future. Retreating from the capital’s business sphere was part of that.

I guess the lord wasn’t wrong to trust him as a merchant. 

Even after he’d sent his daughter Yulia to marry into House Salzberg, Zack Mystel had used her marriage in his favor. He had Yulia run House Salzberg’s finances, allowing his firm to build up a fortune. This was a testament to his abilities as a businessman with political ties. And right now, those abilities were about to eat away at Rhoadseria, under Ryoma Mikoshiba’s orders. Zack Mystel’s actions right now were only the first steps in laying that groundwork.

Everything is going according to the lord’s plans. That just leaves...

The woman observed her surroundings, holding her tongue as she kept her mission in mind. Such was her role, and the role of her clan—those who moved as shadows.