Chapter 56 Faeries

Translator: Isekai Shousetsu

To say the least, I just cant imagine seeing that man having the caliber of Great King butare you absolutely sure youre correct? (Rosyth)

King Rosyth just said something quite mean. Although, I do agree with him.

Is the Divine Protection of the Great King actually not that rare?

Its not just me who has it? Or should I say, you could actually obtain such thing?

Now, that feels kind of depressing huh.

Yes. My Divine Protection of Perception is quite accurate after all. Its definitely the same as Almis abilitythat of raising the physical abilities depending on the number of people who believe in you as a leader. It also raises the physical abilities of people who trust you and have high loyalty to you as a ripple effect. Theyre the same, yes? (Julia)

Does that mean that Regal DeBell is actually a big shot without us knowing it? (Almis)

If that really were the case, then Ill be so disillusioned.

Hmmm, I wonder. At the very least, the people of the DeBell territory ((do consider, or should I say)) are afraid of him as their leader. Look, didnt he just boast that he killed a bear about three years ago?

I see, its enough that they consider you as their leader. Its not related at all to the persons caliber, huh.

Well, the people of a population probably dont know the character of their leader anyway.

Its only natural.

Nevertheless, why does a person like Regal DeBell have such a divine protection? (Almis)

Beats me. Fairies are whimsical creatures after all. (Julia)

Fairies?

Hey, Julia. When you said fairiesdid you mean the mischievous fairies? (Almis)

In the Adernia Peninsula, fairies exist in folklore. They say fairies are mischievous and do things like pulling pranks on people.

If youre having either an unusually lucky or unlucky day, they say its the work of fairies

If it suddenly rained, its because of the fairies.

Those kind of things.

Right, right. I looked up a lot of things about them and there was that kind of theory. The evidence is laughter. Havent you heard them? Specifically, childrens laughter. ((Youll hear them)) by the time youve been given a divine protection (Julia)

Childrens laughter, huh.

I dont know. That might possibly be true, however

Its been so many years ago when I noticed I had the Divine Protection. Ive probably forgotten about that.

Is that so? Almis doesnt know, huh. Ive heard them many times, you know. I could already hear them a little when we first met, you know. Maybe it depends upon the person whether if they could hear them. Well, anyway, I think the fairies true form is that of children. When you speak of fairies, you kind of think of a childish impression, after all. (Julia)

In other words, they only call them fairies as a matter of convenience.

Now that you said it, didnt Griffon-sama often spoke of those brats.

Well, its certain that its a child-like existence.

Werent there a lot of particularly nasty episodes concerning fairies?

Certainly there were things like that.

There were as many episodes concerning fairies as the number of stars in the sky. All of them about fairies pulling pranks on people.

These episodes can be classified into four types.

Those warm and fluffy stories.

Those moral lesson-like stories where the person gets deceives and loses everything but becomes aware of the importance of their bonds with family.

Also, those stories where people go through terrible hardships.

And the last onestories where people die because of the fairys mischief.

Lets give one concrete example.

A long time ago, there was a man.

This man hopelessly fell in love with his childhood friend from the village. However, his childhood friend ended up getting married to the village chiefs son.

He was devastated.

And then, a fairy appeared in his dream and said:

Tomorrow, go deep inside the forest at night and shoot the tree growing at the top of the mountain as the soon as the sun rises.

In the beginning the man ignored this, but the dreams kept coming every day.

One time, the man finally did as the fairy instructed.

The man shoots at the tree at sunrise.

At the same time, a rabbit jumps out and get hits by the arrow.

Since then, the man kept following the fairys instructions.

Because of this, the man becomes wealthy and gets popular too.

However, the only one in his heart is his childhood friend.

One day, the fairy tells him:

Your childhood friend was threatened to become the wife of the village chiefs son. You should kill the village chiefs son. After that, you should just run away. There are gold coins buried under the grape tree at the back of your house. With that money, you could run away.

The man did as the fairy told him. He killed the village chiefs son. The village chief and his wife witnessed this, so he killed them too. He then proposed to his childhood friend that they elope.

However, his childhood friend resisted.

The two argued when suddenly the childhood friend gets stabbed by a knife and dies.

He escapes in the confusion and returns to his home to dig up whats under the grape tree.

There he finds a sack.

However, what he found inside were not gold coins

but cow feces.

The story ends there.

In a word, its a story with a moral lesson. That in this world, there are a lot of things that are too good to be true so dont get deceived. However

Was it really necessary for it to get that horrible?

And whats really scary here is that theres nothing in it for the fairy that appeared in the story.

In other words, fairies, just as a prank, get people to kill other people.

I really dont get what fairies are thinking. I was somehow well liked by them too. (Julia)

Which reminds me, this person has a lot of divine protections, huh.

Its probably fine to not be that cautious of that Regals divine protection, okay? Almis divine protection is more than a match for him. You should also just ignore about the fairies for now. In the first place, its just a hypothesis, right? (Rosyth)

We stop at King Rosyths suggestion.

Weve gone off topic, huh.

Then, Ill be going home for now. Lets talk about the strategy next time when we have Bartolo with us. (Almis)

Yes. Lets do that. Then come here three days later. Remember to keep this a secret, okay? (Rosyth)

I salute King Rosyth and leave the room.

However, Julia stops me.

Wait! Take me with you. (Julia)

N? Wouldnt that be a problem? (Almis)

Even if we tried to hide it, itll immediately be known if Julia disappears from the palace. Itll cause an uproar, right?

I know, but I want to have a talk with Tetra, so (Julia)

Julia looks at King Rosyth.

Just do as you like. Ill say something like Julia is away from the palace for a special ceremony. The location Is a royal family secret so I cannot disclose it. (Rosyth)

In other words, I could take her with me.

JeezThen can I borrow a carriage, King Rosyth? (Almis)

Yes. Since itll probably cause a misunderstanding if the two of you get seen riding on a single horse together. Also (Rosyth)

King Rosyth cautions me.

While its fine for you to conduct some maneuvering, do not yet fully antagonize Regal DeBell. At the very least, wait up until the end of our war with King De Morgal. Well put in order all the preparations for the civil war so dont carelessly fall victim to provocation. Well, come to think of it, we were saved by that time you humbled yourself into settling out of court with them. If the two of you had completely gone to war at that time, then this country wouldnt exist today. (Rosyth)

I know. Ill keep my head down, okay? For the mean time, I intend to continue as such. (Almis)

Civil war would be dreadful. No matter who wins, all that will be left are minuses.

Therefore, wed have to end this in an instant. Until then, Ill have to trouble myself with keeping Regal on the dark.

Okay. Weve arrived but Julia, wear this sack for the mean time.

I make Julia wear the sack on her head.

With this, we wont be found out.

I hold Julias hand and carefully help her get down from the horse.

We didnt have the time to open up the part near the eye so she shouldnt be able to see anything.

Ah, Almis-san! Where have you been? Tetras been worried aboeh, Julia-san?

We got found out!?

Well, her hairs sticking out, you know

Ah, crap. Now that you mentioned it, the only girl with lavender-colored hair here is probably Julia.

That said, we dont have a sack big enough to hide all of Julias hair so

Why is Julia-san here?

Lets talk about that later. For the meantime, lets get inside the mansion. (Almis)

The servants in the palace, for the most part, havent seen Julia before so they probably wont know its her just by seeing her hair.

That said, Im just making sure.

We have to move quickly.

Ill have to get her inside the mansion without getting seen.

Thats how it is so stay still for me, okay? (Almis)

Hey, wha! Wait (Julia)

I carry Julia and run with all my strength.

You kinda look like youre kidnapping some right now, you know.

Shut up (Almis)

Julia. Im very angry right now. (Tetra)

Tetra declares to signal the start of the twos meeting.

Ive known Tetra for so long now but this girls expressions are quite hard to understand.

Although she said shes angry, her expression right now is not that much different from her normal one.

That said, if you look closely you can see that her eyebrows are moving a little.

Its a peculiar trait of Tetra when shes angry.

Its about 7/10 on the scale, huh.

However, didnt Tetra say that its fine for Julia to become my second wife?

Thats the reason I took Julia in.

I Im sorry (Julia)

Julia apologizes looking like shes about to curl herself up.

Tetra stares hard at Julia and says:

You just said sorry, right? What would that sorry be for? (Tetra)

E? ThatsThats for snatching away Almis and snatching away the position of queen consort but (Julia)

Its not like Im angry about that. Im not that interested in worldly social status. (Tetra)

Then what are you angry about, this girl

You didnt consult with me even once. If you did that, then we could have thought about how to force Almis together. Besides, if I was against it then I wouldve flat out refused from the start. (Tetra)

UuuIts just as you said. Im sorry (Julia)

Julia bows her head to Tetra and apologizes.

Tetra smiles.

Good. I forgive you.

Well, I guess its settled.

Great.

But is it really alright? (Julia)

Yes. Thats because Im Almis No.1 after all. No matter what happens, its set in stone that I was the one who Almis married first. Beside, whats important is love. To hell with social status. Well, it couldnt be helped if youre bothered about it. (Tetra)

Hey! Whats up with that? Youre making it sound like I wanted to be the queen consort so it couldnt be helped!!! (Julia)

I dont know what the hell happened but it looks like its become serious again.

For the meantime, I guess I should stop them, huh.

You two. Dont fight because of meOuch! Dont hit me with your staff! (Almis)

Tetra keeps hitting my head with her staff.

Tetras staff has those wooden disks bound together so its quite heavy butthis is too heavy for a wooden staff!

Oi, you put a metal rod inside didnt you! (Almis)

Nope~, The correct answer is (Tetra)

Tetra grabs the pointed tip of the wand. She unscrews it and pulls.

Its a black luster sword.

Its a Swordstick. Isnt it cool?

I agree that its cool but, dont hit me with that. If you got careless, you could kill me (Almis)

Hey, Tetra. Can you also make me one? (Julia)

Thus, although the situation has changed, weve returned to our former relations.

I call together my trusted members.

Ron, Roswald, Gram, Soyon, Lulu, Yal, Bolus.

These seven people.

Its not that I dont trust the others not included here.

It just that you increase the possibility of leaking information the more you increase the people who know.

Because the possibility of getting tortured to be made to talk is real enough, I cant speak about this to a lot of people.

Although I do feel bad about it

In one line starting from the right, Tetra, me, and Julia sit in front of them.

All of their gazes fall at Julia.

Theyve probably noticed it to a certain extent huh.

Ill get straight to the point. Its been decided that Ill be marrying Julia.

I could sense the tension in everyone.

Everyone falls silent.

Ron becomes the first one to speak.

That means Leader willhave to become King, am I right? (Ron)

Yes, its become like that.

Everyone exchanges glances.

HOORAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ron, Roswald, Gram, Soyon, and Lulu put their hands together and shouts happily.

Yal and Bolus, too, are smiling.

I was so worried!! Because I heard that Julia might have had to marry that guy Regal moreover, Almis-san looked so gloomy lately, too! Ive never felt so relieved. (Soyon)

Soyon grins while giving us her blessing.

I seeIt seems I looked so gloomy huh.

Im sorry I made you worry guys

However, that means well finally cross swords with the DeBell Clan, am I right?

Yes. Thats correct. Thats why Ill be imposing on everyone. This is so to speak, because of my and Julias love. I really feel bad dragging everyone into this. Im sorry. Howeverplease support us!! (Almis)

As I say so, the seven smile broadly.

Isnt it time for Almis to finally wield us for his convenience? Youre so reserved. You dont have to ask all of those one by one, you know! (Gram)

Roswald declares in addition to Gram.

We had to get along with the DeBell Clan before so ((I held back)). But if its become like this, then at that time, should I have just stabbed that ((Gilberto)) with my spear? (Roswald)

Roswald shows a somewhat regretful expression.

No, that was a wise decision, you know.

If it became an all-out war then the neighboring countries wouldve come together to intervene and I would never be able to succeed the throne.

Almis-sama. Congratulations. However, please let me confirm one thing. What would happen to Tetra-sama? (Bolus)

Bolus looks straight at me.

Naturally, its something thats bothering him, huh.

I embrace Tetra while looking straight at Bolus.

Tetra will remain as my wife. Though she wont become queen consortby no means would I make light of her, I promise you that. (Almis)

Is that soI asked something awkward. I apologize. (Bolus)

Bolus bows deeply.

When the excitement died down, Yal opens his mouth.

However, Lord Almis. Have you estimated the opposition against your enthronement by the clans aside from the DeBell Clan? Also, how shall we deal with the DeBell Clan? (Yal)

Naturally, Ive thought about it. First, concerning the opposition by non-DeBell factionsthe possibility of the De Morgal Kingdom invading us before long is high. When that happens, Ill be appointed as the supreme commander. There, I should be able to obtain a great achievement. Furthermore, concerning dealing with the DeBell Clan, I think we should try to destroy them from within. (Almis)

From within, is it? (Yal)

Yes. (Almis)

The DeBell faction is large.

If we fought squarely, it will probably become a very bloody battle.

Though I dont think well lose, it will be a tough battle.

The people who are supporting me are Tetras relativesin other words, the Ars Clans relatives.

However, the Ars Clan had a time where it had come to an end for some time so theyve lost a lot of influence during those years.

Because the opposing DeBell faction is quite collected by themselves, theyve flexed their muscle to try to bury the retreating Ars faction.

Even though the Ars clan managed to make a comeback when I appeared, were still quite far off.

The ones who hold the key are not the Ars clans relatives but the clansmen who are not relatives of the DeBell clan. Howeverrather than someone like me of a doubtful origin, they probably lean towards the DeBell clan.

Even those who would support me in a normal political dispute, would certainly choose the weather when Ive become to succeed the throne.

Thats why, as much as possible, in order to bring in an advantage, we have to drive a wedge into the DeBell Clans core.

I heard about this from King Rosyth but there seems to be two factions within the DeBell Faction. The first is the disadvantaged group of retainers led by Regals trusted confidant and subordinate Bermet. The second is the group of DeBell relatives headed by Gilberto. The former group is full of capable people but their social status, except for Bermet, tend to be low. The latter group, because they were chosen by their lineage, though lacking in capable people, are lucky in obtaining the good positions. Thus, it seems that Regal has a tendency to rely on relatives. (Almis)

Its not bad to reinforce your retainers with relatives.

Theres nothing you can trust more than your relatives after all, plus your unity is firm.

I, too, fill my close associates with Ron and the others.

However, there is a problem with installing and using only relatives to responsible positions.

Relatives would not be careful in making and shrugging off big mistakes because they can play the family card, and they would just rest on their laurels.

The man Ron, Roswald, and Soyon beat - Gilberto is a good example. Normally, if you had failed that miserably, at the very least, a demotion is in order. However, that guy got away with it with just a weeks house arrest.

This is a very delightful thing. Theres nothing better than having an enemy full of incompetents.

However, theres one person thats a cause for concern.

That man called Bermet.

Bermet, as the rumors say, seems to be a very capable old man. By all means, it was all because of him that the DeBell Clan had managed to expand to such power.

Certainly, I can feel some sort of drive from that old man.

It seems it was Bermet who made the horrible plan to casually slaughter the refugees before our eyes.

Honestly speaking, you really cant tell ability with just that.

I know too little about that man.

However, I know that hes very dangerous.

If I were able to remove that Bermet, then Ill be able to split the DeBell clan right in half.

Thats how it is butdoes anyone have a great idea? (Almis)

When I proposed such, everyone fell silent.

One thing or another, they seem to have a deep acknowledgement of Bermet.

Taking them down wont be an easy task.

For the time being, I have a strategy. The one who spoke up was Yal.

Oi, are you serious?

Regal DeBell wont trust anyone except his relatives. In other words, hes quite a distrustful person, yes? Well use that against him. Its just thatthis plan would some preparation and quite a sum of money. (Yal)

I dont mind. This strategy is? (Almis)

Yal explains his strategy.

Authors Notes:

For the time being, volume twos cesspool writing has ended.

I will end this volume by chapter 74.

The story will start to really pick up by chapter 63.