Prologue — Explanation

“Say, Lady Paulette.”

“You don’t need to add the ‘lady’...”

“I’m not very smart, so I figure it’s better to make it a habit... But anyway, wasn’t the war supposed to be over by now?”

Shouzo’s question referred to the confusion within the Arcana Kingdom. From what he had originally heard, the Arcana Kingdom isn’t supposed to want to continue the war.

“Am I going to end up having to destroy that entire Domino place?”

“Please rest assured that House Caputo is doing everything it can to make sure that doesn’t come to pass.”

Shouzo looked anxious at learning that the war might continue. He fully intended to do as he was told, but it’s not something he particularly relishes.

“If you’d like, I’ll give you a basic summary of the current situation.”

“Please keep it as simple as possible.”

It’s a relatively complicated situation, but if she takes it step-by-step, even Shouzo should be able to understand.

“Our kingdom, Arcana, and the Domino Empire — now the Domino Republic — are neighboring countries of about the same size, so please think of them that way.”

“Okay~”

At the very least he isn’t having any trouble with the concept of countries of similar size. Shouzo could understand those easily enough.

“However, the Domino Empire is heavily depleted from a combination of oppressive policies and a long civil war. To put it simply, they are poor.”

“So they have no money.”

“That is part of it, but the lack of food is a bigger issue. If things are allowed to continue as they currently stand, they will suffer from innumerable deaths by starvation. As such, Domino invaded Arcana to forcibly take our food.”

War is generally something to avoid, of course, but perhaps in this case there wasn’t much choice. Based on Paulette’s explanation, their motives for war weren’t entirely immoral, but neither was it immoral to have defeated their invading army.

“As House Caputo’s lands are on the eastern edge of the Arcana Kingdom, we share a border with Domino. This is why we had you intercept the enemy army.”

“There would have been a serious problem if we hadn’t stopped them.”

“...I’m sorry for pushing such an unpleasant role upon you. Regardless, Domino has lost many of their soldiers, making it impossible for them to wage a war for the purpose of pillaging us.”

“That’s a good point. Since this isn’t a game, people who die stay dead.”

“With this accomplished, the initiative now belongs solely to the Arcana Kingdom. Therefore, our options now are either to demand reparations and enter into a peace treaty or to invade them and gain more than would be possible if we just negotiated.”

In either case, there are advantages and disadvantages, but regardless of the chosen approach, it’s clear that Arcana is guaranteed to win.

“If I was to prioritize the interests of the kingdom as a whole, a negotiated settlement would be best. Thanks to you, Shouzo, we have taken no losses, so there is no concern that we’ll be criticized for not taking revenge, and there’s nothing to be gained from invading a poor country.”

“So there’s really nothing to gain from fighting.”

“That is the reason why the Four Great Houses desire a diplomatic settlement.”

The actual target of the invasion, House Caputo; the martial foundations of the kingdom, House Sepaeda and House Batterabbe; and the House furthest from Domino, House Disaea... All four Great Houses have pushed for negotiations.

“The issue is the Crown. The House of Arcana, the royal family, with their lands at the center of the kingdom, have made clear that they disapprove of settling things as they currently stand.”

“Whyyyy~?”

“...Because they lack a heroic figure of their own.”

“...They want someone with a cheat ability?”

The Young Sword Apostle employed by House Sepaeda, Sansui Shirokuro... Having suffered a setback against him, the Crown has been seeking a means of competing against him ever since.

A man chosen by the Sacred Sword Eckesachs and possessing the talent to use all of the Rare Arts, the heir to House Batterabbe, Saiga Mizu...

House Caputo’s Shouzo Kyoube, ‘the Scarred Fool,’ the world’s most powerful mage, possessing mana far beyond that of the typical individual...

And Shun Ukiyo, ‘the Thinker,’ the man who can use House Disaea’s secretly acquired Armor of Disaster Pandora with no risk...

All of them are special aces rivaling Sansui in ability.

“Ordinarily, that’s not the sort of person you can find simply by searching. However, there is one in Domino... The revolutionary who overthrew the entire corrupt, powerful Domino Empire.”

“What’s he capable of doing?”

“The Eight Sacred Treasures, such as Arcana’s Eckesachs and Pandora? He holds four of them.”

“Wow, that’s impressive~!”

“Yes, it’s quite impressive. It’s not that he himself is powerful, but if they can pull him into their orbit, the Crown would have a heroic individual comparable to those possessed by the Four Great Houses. As such, the Crown is opposed to a settlement at present.”

If they settle things as they stand, it would likely end with the handover of a Sacred Treasure or two. But the Crown wants the man wielding all four treasures.

“However, that is against the kingdom’s interests. There is no possibility of Domino simply handing over their supreme leader and all four Sacred Treasures just because we demanded it. If they were to do that, even if the Arcana Kingdom didn’t destroy them, their other neighbors would do it instead.”

“...So that’s not happening?”

“That’s correct. The only way Domino would accept those conditions would be if the Arcana Kingdom were to hand over an enormous amount of aid, along with all of the exiled nobles who defected.”

“...So that’s still not happening.”

“Yes, that’s right. For the side that got invaded to accept such terms, despite having won, is something the citizens would never accept. Which is why the Four Great Houses were unified in their opposition...”

Which is when information came forth that would make it impossible to reach any kind of settlement under the current circumstances.

“We have learned that the Young Sword Apostle, Master Shirokuro Sansui... his adopted daughter, Miss Lain, may be related to Domino’s Emperor... That is, to put it simply, she may be a member of the Imperial House.”

“...What happens if that ends up being true?”

“That revolutionary may try to assassinate Miss Lain.”

The reason that Sansui Shirokuro, who had spent many years holed up deep in the woods, had journeyed to the mortal world and accepted employment with House Sepaeda, was solely for the purpose of raising Lain.

If there is an attempt on Lain’s life, or, Heaven forbid, that attempt was to succeed, there is no telling what Sansui would do, even considering his employment by House Sepaeda.

“...Wait, wait, surely he’s not going to do that. I mean, Lain’s been raised by Sansui since she was a baby, right? It’s not like she ever did anything as a member of the Imperial House, and it might not even be true!”

“One of the Eight Sacred Treasures, the Demon Blade of Vengeance, Dainsleif... That weapon’s ability, triggered by the wielder’s thirst for revenge, is said to suck the blood out of those it wounds and then find those related to that target.”

Hearing that, Shouzo falls silent. It’s possible that Lain would be killed simply for being related to the Imperial House.

“The Arcana Kingdom, to protect Miss Lain, must find a way to make the wielder of the Demon Blade give up his desire for vengeance.”

“Can’t you just make that one of the terms for the settlement?”

“Even if it’s made one of the conditions, it’s not clear he would actually give up on killing Miss Lain. It’s possible he would still send in assassins covertly.”

“Then what are we supposed to do?”

“We do what the Crown wants. Make an ally of Domino’s chief rebel.”