How a Realist Hero Rebuilt The Kingdom
Book 16: Chapter 9

Chapter 9: The Fruit of Two Years

Souma set down Maria and looked towards the viewers.

“This is the situation on all fronts. As I speak, 150,000 soldiers from the Kingdom of Friedonia are coming ashore at the Empire’s western port. With the Empire’s transportation network and my own nation’s shipping capacity, they will have gathered at the Imperial capital in about two days’ time. If you insist on continuing this war, then as I have already said, we will take you on. Consider that carefully before you make your decision.”

Following his words, the image of Souma vanished. Through this broadcast, Souma had informed the entire Empire of the current war situation. Supporters of Maria cheered at each thing he said, while Fuuga’s supporters were overcome by a sense of frustration. And larger than either of these groups were the ones who were doubtful that this could really be happening all across the Empire. However, those who knew the kind of person Souma was, the kind of nation the Kingdom of Friedonia had become, and what exactly the Maritime Alliance meant, could tell that he spoke the truth.

In front of Jamona Fortress, Hashim was grinding his teeth.

“To think...he’d get so deeply involved in this...”

“What do we do? The soldiers from Zem and the Orthodox Papal State are demanding we let them return home.”

Hashim snorted at Gaten’s question.

“Let those who wish to return home go. So long as we don’t let our guard down, we can face Jamona Fortress with the forces of the Great Tiger Kingdom alone. If they want to retreat without permission, then we can have them take responsibility for that after the war.”

Seeing Hashim’s smirk, Gaten cocked his head to the side.

“After the war...? Is it fine to start thinking about that already?”

“This war ends here... Out of an abundance of caution, Lord Fuuga and I discussed what to do if the Maritime Alliance showed up. I doubt either Souma or the Black-robed Prime Minister want to get into a serious war with us. There won’t be anything more than minor skirmishes.”

“Hmm... If you say so, then I’m sure you’re right,” Gaten said with a shrug. Hashim glared towards the camps of Zem and the Orthodox Papal State.

“Lord Fuuga described Souma as a mountainous turtle with countless snakes for tails. I’ve also thought he’s a monster, but it’s a monster’s fate to be slain by a great man. I was sure Lord Fuuga would strike Souma down with ease, but...great as Lord Fuuga is, he can’t do it with a patchwork coalition of riffraff. Only once he’s able to move all the parts of our national body himself will he truly be able to become a great man.”

Seeing the dauntless smile on Hashim’s face, Gaten understood it was about to rain blood in the Orthodox Papal State and Zem. The realization sent an uncharacteristic shudder down his spine.

◇ ◇ ◇

Meanwhile, in Fuuga’s camp outside Valois...

“That’s the end of this war...” Fuuga murmured to himself. The words made Lumiere’s eyes go wide.

“Why?! If it’s as King Souma said, we still have two days before Friedonian forces reach here! Even with the additional troops that just dropped into Valois, it’s not a significant change! If we attack with the forces we have, we can take down both Maria and Souma in one strike!”

“That’s not the point,” Fuuga said, scratching his head as Lumiere ranted. “Souma’s the farthest thing from reckless or haphazard. Unlike me, he doesn’t enjoy the thrill of living on the edge of life and death. If Souma himself is out here, it means he has a chance of beating us. One that’s good enough it won’t be easy to overturn.”

“Even so...”

“Besides, from the sound of it, if we back off now, Souma’s gonna let us walk away with a victory.”

“Huh?”

“Madam Lumiere, try to remember what Sir Souma said,” Mutsumi began to explain as Lumiere stared blankly at them. “Sir Souma said if we were to continue the war, he would take us on. That means he only wants a cessation of hostilities—not to have us pull out of the Empire entirely. In other words, we can keep the territory we’ve already taken. We’ll still have defeated the Empire. However, if we continue fighting, we face an all-or-nothing gamble against Sir Souma.”

“And what’s wrong with that?! Why are you so cautious?! This isn’t like you, Sir Fuuga!”

Despite Lumiere’s impassioned words, Fuuga just laughed with a hint of self-derision.

“Being a little cautious is just right. Against an opponent like Souma, at least. He’s not so easy that I want to be taking him on at the same time as Maria.”

Lumiere couldn’t accept this and retorted, “Then attack with only the forces of the Empire that submitted to you! We’ll take the capital by ourselves!”

“Madam Lumiere!” Mutsumi was about to chastise her, but Fuuga held up a hand for Mutsumi to stop.

“Well, I don’t see a problem with that. Let them try.”

“Wha?! Lord Fuuga?!”

“Thank you.” Lumiere saluted him before striding off.

Mutsumi stared at Fuuga’s face. “Is that really all right...? They probably can’t win.”

“I’ll bet not.” Fuuga crossed his arms and chuckled. “Consider it a lesson. The guys who surrendered could stand to learn how hard it is to fight Souma. I’m sure a little pain will make them listen better later.”

“Yes, you’re right... And having them attack the Imperial capital will make it harder for them to return to the Empire later...is what I’m sure Big Brother Hashim would say.”

“Ha ha ha, no doubt... And besides...” Fuuga said, stroking his short goatee as he looked towards Valois. “I kind of want to see what Souma’s gonna pull. He’s probably got some kind of secret move we’d never think of. Let’s kick back and enjoy the show.”

Meanwhile...

“Heh heh heh...”

Krahe, who had been standing by with his personal forces, trembled with glee.

“Ha ha ha... Ah ha ha ha ha!”

At first, he had been holding back his laughter, but finally, he reached his limits and burst out into a hearty guffaw.

“I... I have received a sign from Heaven!”

Krahe thrust his fists into the air as he shouted.

“I knew I was right! This is my role! In becoming Maria’s enemy, I brought back her radiance as a saint! The love of Heaven has returned to her! Did you see, men?! My fellow lovers and admirers of Lady Maria! She threw herself from the high balcony! Normally, she would have been dashed against the ground below, a bloody flower blooming where she struck! Yet Lady Maria did not die! King Souma rode in on his black dragon to save her!”

Krahe’s eyes shone with ecstasy and madness.

“King Souma is a divine servitor, sent from Heaven to rescue Lady Maria! Her salvation here is proof that she is a true saint! And we are the ones who led her to it! We who stand here as her foes! Because we opposed Lady Maria, she was able to shine as a saint! We are the foes of the saint! We stood against her like the demon lord, and in so doing, made a saint and a hero appear in this land! We have played a truly heavenly role!”

Krahe drew his rapier and pointed it towards Valois.

“Now my heart is unclouded! With this sign from Heaven, I will face the saint as her enemy with all my might! The greater my evil, the more Lady Maria will shine! What greater joy could there be?!”

Just as he said this, a messenger ran up to him.

“I have a message! Madam Lumiere says to attack the capital!”

“It shall be done!”

With that response, Krahe leaped onto his griffon’s back.

Standing before his personal troops, he raised his rapier above his head and shouted, “Now, let us fight! Until our lives end!”

◇ ◇ ◇

“You did your job admirably, Piltory,” I told Piltory Saracen, my ambassador to the Empire, following the broadcast address from the balcony of Valois Castle. He’d been the one directing the mages who were controlling the broadcast jewel since the start of Maria’s broadcast. Such a fine detail really illustrated how planned this was between the Kingdom and the Empire. I’d been able to stop Maria’s fall because I was already close at hand.

“You stayed in the Imperial capital, working even as the fires of war drew near. Thank you.”

When I said that, Piltory put his hands together in front of his chest and bowed.

“No, I only did my duty as a retainer. As no order to return home had arrived, I was certain you would defend the Imperial capital, sire.”

“Thank you... I’m glad you believed in me.”

I looked at Maria, who I’d just saved. My smile had a hint of anger in it.

“Right, Madam Maria?”

“R-Right...”

“Why did you jump? That wasn’t part of the plan.”

“Um... When I was standing out there, I found myself overwhelmed by my emotions...” Maria let out a troubled laugh. “And so many of my vassals left me, including Lumiere and Krahe. My name as Saint of Empire is ruined now. I won’t miss it, but if I was going to comfort and unite those who’ve still decided to stay with me, I needed a little of that divine aura—like miraculously surviving against all odds.”

“Oh-hoh... So it was all an act?”

“Yes...” she muttered, averting her eyes.

I placed my hands on her shoulders and smiled gently at her.

“Um? Sir Souma?” Maria’s expression twitched.

I looked her in the eye, pulled my head back, and... Bonk!

“Ow!”

I gave her a good, hard headbutt.

Maria held her smarting forehead as her eyes teared up. “Oww, that hurts. You’re awful.”

“Hmph, that’s what happens to liars!” I said, my voice raising in anger. I couldn’t hold it back right now. “Don’t give me that crap after looking like you didn’t have the slightest care for your own life! If I hadn’t made it in time, you’d have been fine with it! Your life would have ended the war, and you’d be set free from your responsibilities as empress!”

“Urk... You understand me well...”

“I’ve been there myself on several occasions.”

Being forced to play a role by my position, and then that role taking control of me. I have experienced it many times. It had nearly killed my heart before...

“You said it yourself, didn’t you?! ‘I want to be a person, and I want to be loved as a person!’”

“Ah...!”

Maria had talked about it in the past.

“I may be an empress, but I’m still just a human being. Instead of being worshiped as a saint, I want to remain a person, and to be loved as a person.”

It was a declaration that she wouldn’t flee into her role as an empress and wouldn’t lose her humanity.

“Do you have any idea how many people would grieve if you were to die? You, who’ve lived as a person, and are loved as a person. Sure, the people who worship you as a saint may think that martyrdom will only make you holier, but those of us who love you as a person—those who you’ve loved as people—would never want that for you!”

Large teardrops spilled from Maria’s eyes. Without the time to let her voice out or the need to think about why she was sad, the tears overflowed from some natural, unconscious part of her being. Maria herself was visibly surprised when she noticed them streaming down her cheeks.

“Huh? That’s strange... Why won’t they stop...?”

Maria wiped them away several times, but the flow wouldn’t end.

Her tear ducts were open now, after being held shut by force of will for so long. Understanding the size of the burden she’d been carrying, I renewed my decision to shoulder it with her from now on. Obviously, I wasn’t very strong myself, but I’d get my friends and family involved too, and we’d all bear it together.

“Souma! The traitors from the Imperial forces are on the move!” reported Hal, dropping out of the skies from Ruby the red dragon’s back. They’d come to the capital as well.

Hal and his men, the dratroopers, were keeping an eye on how the forces of the Great Tiger Kingdom responded.

I’d thought that if I showed how confident I was, Fuuga’s wild instincts would pick up on the danger and he wouldn’t attack, but it looked like it was the northern knights and nobles of the Empire who’d made a move. Or maybe he’d let them in order to see what we’d do.

“Then we’ll simply meet their attack as planned. Madam Maria.”

“Yes.”

“I know I sent you the instructions through Piltory, but were you able to prepare the things I’d asked for?”

“Of course...” Maria replied with a sniffle. She wiped the tears from her eyes and looked straight at me. “When the earthquake and eruption happened in the north, I had ‘the things you sent with the relief supplies’ placed where you told me to. They’re ready to use anytime.”

“Okay.”

I nodded, then addressed everyone present.

“Now then, let’s show Fuuga and his people what we’ve got. The fruit of two years of research.”

◇ ◇ ◇

Lumiere sent forces to the north, south, east, and west gates of the city in order to assault Valois. Because the Kingdom of Friedonia had only sent a small number of reinforcements and Fuuga’s forces still vastly outnumbered the defenders, she believed an attack from four directions would easily take the city.

With the four armies in position and their attack imminent, the sound of a cannon firing was heard from within Valois.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Lumiere and her men braced for incoming fire, but the sounds were too sporadic for it to be that. No smoke could be seen rising from any of the four directions either.

“What...was that all about?”

As Lumiere was wondering, a messenger rushed over.

“I have a report! Something is slowly falling from the direction of Valois!” the messenger relayed.

Lumiere looked through a telescope and saw something fly from the capital, before a parachute opened above it in midair and it began fluttering to the ground.

She recognized it as similar to the equipment the Kingdom of Friedonia had used to bring soldiers into the capital. This time, however, the parachute wasn’t carrying a person but some crystalline object with metal objects around it.

“What is that...? Well, it matters little. Tell them to shoot down whatever it is at once!”

“Yes, ma’am!”

On Lumiere’s orders, the mages would attack...or so she thought. However, contrary to her expectations, no attack touched the mystery object.

What are the mages doing?! she thought. sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ N0vᴇlFirᴇ.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

As Lumiere watched with increasing irritation, the same messenger as before hurriedly ran up to her.

“L-Lady Lumiere!”

“What is it?! Why haven’t they started the attack?!”

“I have a report! They can’t use magic! Not just the mages, but all of our soldiers!”

“What?! How could something so absurd happen?!”

In utter disbelief, Lumiere tried to use her own wind magic. However, while she felt like the power was being sucked away from her, she couldn’t produce so much as a slight breeze.

“No...this can’t be!”

“Madam Lumiere. Things have gotten a little bad.”

As Lumiere was recovering from her shock, Krahe came over.

“What is it, Sir Krahe?! Return to your post!”

“The griffons have been restless since that object appeared. Like they want to take off, but can’t. We can’t use our air force like this.”

“No...! Could it have something to do with magic no longer working?”

Was this some unidentified attack from the Kingdom of Friedonia? The moment that thought occurred to her, Lumiere recalled what Fuuga had said to her.

“Being a little cautious is just right. Against an opponent like Souma, at least. He’s not so easy that I want to be taking him on at the same time as Maria.”

Was this what Sir Fuuga was talking about...? Finally understanding what he meant, Lumiere ground her teeth in frustration. She hadn’t anticipated going onto a battlefield where all magic was completely sealed off.

Her common sense told her it was impossible. However, what she was witnessing defied common sense. That was what Lumiere, who had a sharper mind than most people, considered.

“It’s likely that the object is obstructing our use of magic. But they shouldn’t be able to block our magic while still being able to use their own. So we should assume that thing renders all magic unusable. It’s disrupted us, but the conditions are equal for both sides.”

Lumiere gave up on using magic and decided to give the order to lay siege to the castle using only conventional attacks. If the enemy couldn’t use magic either, it was going to be a slog, but they would be able to take the city with overwhelming numbers and conventional siege engines. However...

Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!

Before she could even give the order, there were countless popping sounds from the castle, each of them like a smaller version of the cannon from before. The sounds then overlapped to the point where you would think there had to be thousands of them. Lumiere got a bad feeling as a new messenger rushed over to her.

“I have a report! Our forces took heavy losses when they fired small iron balls at us from on top of the city walls as we attacked!”

“No! Can they use magic?! Wait, those pops... Don’t tell me...!” As she realized the possibility, Lumiere shuddered. Gunpowder weaponry.

Gunpowder had already been discovered in this world but had limited usage. Because magic was greatly weakened at sea, the cannon had been developed as a replacement. With it becoming the standard for naval combat, small arms development ultimately fell to the wayside.

If King Souma was anticipating a battle under conditions where magic was unusable to begin with, of course he would come armed with equipment similar to what’s used in naval battles. We never had the chance to fight properly from the outset! Damn!

Lumiere thrust her sword into the earth in frustration.

◇ ◇ ◇

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

I could hear our artillery firing from the walls of the Imperial capital. Around now, Fuuga’s forces would be attacking the walls without magic and finding themselves stymied by 2,000 lion-dog cannons. I’d put in a massive order with Shabon, anticipating a battle like this one. I’m glad I sent them to the Empire along with the relief supplies.

In this world without rifles, the lion-dog cannon was the most maneuverable kind of gunpowder weapon. They looked silly, but had proven exceptionally reliable in battles at sea, which were similar to the conditions we faced now. And it’d taken a significant amount of capital to purchase them from the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago Kingdom.

Fuuga’s forces were thrown into disarray as they found themselves suddenly without magic and exposed to a hail of fist-sized projectiles. They’d come with countermeasures next time. This strategy was the type that was only guaranteed to work on someone who hadn’t seen it, but it was enough to break their will to fight for now.

“Ugh, this feels weird.”

I looked over at Naden, who was acting like she had a hangover. Naden and Ruby started to feel ill whenever they were present during cannon fire. That was probably because they used magicium in order to assume their dragon or human forms.

“Sorry, Naden. Can you hang in there a little longer?”

“Ngh...”

As I patted her on the head, Naden gave me a look that said, “Fine, if I have to.”

“Sir Souma. What is it that you had us fire from the cannon? We prepared it for you because you said it would make magic unusable...” Maria asked, pointing outside the walls.

Yeah, she would want to know that, wouldn’t she? I thought, then said, “It’s made using curse ore, the energy source we use for the drill, only compressed to concentrate its effect. When it’s activated, it will nullify or weaken all magic. The machine sucks up all the energy used to manifest magic effects. I guess you could call it a magic canceler.”

“Sucks it up... So it doesn’t nullify it like our magic armor soldiers’ armor then?”

“Right. You’ve got the idea,” I said, nodding.

If magic were water, their magic armor would be like a dry suit, while our magic canceler was like a lump of diatomaceous earth, sucking it all up in an instant. But what that thing was sucking up wasn’t harmless water—it was energy.

“So if you keep trying to use magic near it, eventually you’ll go beyond its capacity and—”

Ka-boom!!!

Before I could even finish, there was a loud explosion, followed by a ground-shaking impact. Looking over, I saw a massive plume of black smoke rising from one corner of Fuuga’s forces.

“It’ll blow up like that...”

I was treated to the rare sight of the Saint of the Empire staring at me in blank confusion. It was likely destroyed from an attack by those among Fuuga’s forces who’d figured out the magic canceler was rendering magic unusable. Given that soldiers in this world enhanced their attacks with magic, with magic nullified, it might have only looked like they were whaling on a hunk of metal with ordinary swords—but without knowing it, they had been pouring magical energy into the canceler. Then it hit capacity and exploded.

“The reason curse ore is so hated isn’t just because finding it while mining means you can no longer use magic, but because if you keep trying to use magic, it explodes and causes cave-ins. We designed the magic canceler with that negative aspect of curse ore fully in mind.”

With my idea that magicium were nanomachines and curse ore was made up of nonfunctional nanomachines, Genia, Merula, and Trill had spent the last two years researching curse ore. The magic canceler was a by-product of that research.

When I heard that curse ore nullifies magic and explodes, my first thought was that it could be scattered as a weapon. But I gave up on the idea because it would remain in the soil afterwards, causing harm to people long afterwards like cluster munitions or depleted uranium. However, with the development of the magic canceler, which denied the use of magic over a wide area without scattering it, I was able to force my enemies to fight without magic.

Incidentally, the one that just went off had deliberately had its capacity lowered. That was Hakuya’s idea.

“When we use the magic canceler, we should deliberately include a number of them with lowered capacity. If we show them early on that it will explode, we can reduce the enemy’s attacks on the canceler. They’re also unlikely to carry it back after the war that way. No one wants to take something dangerous into their own camp, after all.”

I think that’s what he said. My prime minister was reliable and nasty. But, well, it’s not purely advantageous to us...it’s like an EMP attack. If we used the magic canceler, the enemy couldn’t use magic, but neither could we. Near a magic canceler, Naden and the wyverns couldn’t fly, and our options for ranged attacks were limited to simple bows and cannons. Also, while the magic canceler was in use, there was no way to cast healing magic on the wounded. We needed to fight a defensive battle without magic. This time we had a large number of gunpowder weapons ready, but preparing them and using them cost an incredible amount.

In all likelihood, we had spent an incomparably greater sum on this battle than Fuuga’s forces had. There was also the simple fact that we couldn’t mass-produce magic cancelers. It just wasn’t a method we could use every time. However, in its big debut, it proved extremely effective.

When Fuuga’s forces saw the massive explosion, they lost all will to keep on fighting and pulled back from the walls of Valois like a receding tide. It was safe to say the crisis in the capital was at an end for the moment.

Once the main body of Friedonia’s National Defense Force arrived from the west, it would be impossible for Fuuga’s forces to completely annihilate the Empire, so I expected Fuuga was going to have to take the win I was offering him.

“Once Fuuga’s forces retreat, I want you to retrieve and shut down the magic cancelers. Don’t let your guards down,” I ordered my subordinates.

Soon after that, the messenger came bearing word that Fuuga had accepted our ceasefire.

◇ ◇ ◇

Meanwhile, around that same time, Jeanne was crying at Jamona Fortress.

Jeanne had seen it all for herself over the broadcast, the way Souma had saved her sister. She’d heard it for herself, the state of the war all across the continent. And that the one who’d devised the plan was Hakuya, the Black-robed Prime Minister. Despite refusing his help, and despite the difficult situation it put the Kingdom of Friedonia in, he had still extended a helping hand to her.

“I won’t let you die.”

Jeanne could have sworn she heard his voice.

Thank you... Sir Hakuya...

Jeanne gripped her chest as she silently shed tears. In order to give her a moment to compose herself, her second-in-command, Gunther, silently watched Fuuga’s forces outside the fortress.

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