Is This a Wedge?

The Empire, which I'd thought was overwhelmingly stronger than the Kingdom, also had its problems.

This time, the Church of the Sun God had acted carelessly and exposed their hand, so a large-scale investigation would likely be conducted within the Imperial army.

In the meantime, the Imperial army probably wouldn't be able to move much.

I conveyed this to Emperor Kelves.

"That's certainly true… if generals or commanders have been swayed by the Church of the Sun God, there's a possibility entire units could become uncontrollable. It will be difficult to take any major military action until suspicions are cleared."

"Specifically?"

"Hey now, this is supposed to be Imperial military secrets. Well, with the Royal Capital in its current state, the Kingdom isn't going to invade."

"You knew about that?"

"With something that obvious, of course. I sent people to confirm and they've just returned."

As expected, the Kingdom's current state was known.

If the Empire had no problems and a conquest-minded person were Emperor, would we have been invaded?

The current Kingdom would be helpless if attacked from behind.

"Nobles and military personnel who might rebel within the Empire have already been dealt with. Besides, the Imperial army won't be moving for anything other than monster extermination for a while. As a friendly nation, that's all I can tell the Kingdom. I feel bad for burdening you, but that's a separate matter."

"No, that's more than enough. Thank you."

This eliminated the possibility that Princess Tianis feared most.

However, at the same time, it meant there was essentially no chance of the Imperial army assisting in the war against the Church of the Sun God.

While it was realistically unlikely anyway, it had been one of the options.

Could it be that revealing the insider's presence at this timing was intended to prevent the Imperial army from moving?

If they'd planted someone in the Imperial army's upper echelons, there should have been better uses for them.

"You're overthinking it. In the first place, I don't understand how religious people think. You and I make rational decisions, but they'll take any roundabout path if it achieves their goals."

"That's true."

The Church of the Sun God's actions tended to be quite roundabout and labor-intensive.

They'd crushed opposing religions through war, then nonchalantly raised their favorability among citizens through soup kitchens and medical treatment, integrating into nations and spreading across the continent.

Churches also served as orphanages, gathering children and sending them to the homeland.

From what I'd heard, it seemed many of those children had been used as sacrifices.

Some of them must have had talent.

They'd probably brainwashed such children and used them for various evil deeds.

No matter how devout someone was, that kind of willingness to offer oneself up was abnormal.

It made more sense to think of it that way.

However, lately I felt they'd been using quite forceful methods.

It even seemed like they were deliberately provoking conflict.

What happened in Alsarm was exactly that.

They'd specifically targeted Anatia-san and threw away any chance to defend themselves.

After doing something like that, any lord governing a city would be unable to stay silent, not just Duke Baroba.

It made more sense to assume they did it on purpose.

"The remaining Prominence members who tried to escape self-destructed with magic when they realized they couldn't get away. I wanted to get at least some information, but this is troublesome."

So Elhani's subordinates had also taken their own lives.

I'd had a feeling that would happen.

To them, the value of life, enemy and ally alike, was low.

"Yohane, you really won't consider coming to the Empire? I feel like the goddess of fortune is with you. As an apology for this incident, I'll prepare a suitable position for you. I'm not joking."

"I'm a merchant of the Kingdom. A position in the Empire is too much for me, and I have some attachment to the land where I live."

"I see. Understood then. In that case, look forward to your gift."

I wondered if I'd made a mistake.

Emperor Kelves would genuinely prepare an important position for me.

But afterward would be difficult.

Being the Emperor's favorite would be obvious to see, and those who'd served the Empire until now wouldn't be pleased.

Assassination through internal strife was a real possibility.

Apparently, the Empire was full of assassins even better than Finn.

The situation was similar to when Orleans worked under Duke Dantarg.

If someone from outside was favored, they'd think their own position was in danger.

My current position, suited to my abilities, was sufficient.

I could grow it through my own efforts.

Besides, I didn't really like working under someone else.

I thought of Princess Tianis not as a superior but as a client.

"You don't get angry, do you?"

"Huh? What's this suddenly?"

"Well, your life has been in danger twice now. Including before, that's three times. It wouldn't be strange for someone to be furious. The fact that I'm the Emperor probably plays a role, but I don't sense any anger from you."

"Getting angry wouldn't solve anything."

"That's what I like about you."

I had certainly been angry when that lord's useless son had me imprisoned…

But there was no need to get angry at someone I could reason with. Getting angry at Emperor Kelves wouldn't accomplish anything.

I could say this because I was still in one piece.

Though I'd recently learned that sometimes you need to show a "I'm angry, you know" posture.

In the end, it was just negotiation tactics.

Only those with power like Azu could act on pure emotion.

*　*　*

The conversation ended, and Emperor Kelves went back to his mountain of work.

He'd opened up to me to some extent this time, I think.

As expected, there were no replacement magic tools.

He'd said he'd be generous with gifts, but what would he give us?

I received a letter for Princess Tianis and headed to the stables to return to the Kingdom.

When we went to the stables where we'd left the mules and carriage, our mules were pulling an unfamiliar carriage.

The mules were definitely ours, no mistake.

When I checked with the soldiers, they said they'd been ordered by His Majesty to do this.

Could the lavish gift be this carriage!?

It was larger, sturdier-looking, and far more luxurious than our previous one.

It must have cost a fortune.

I thought it would be too heavy for the mules to pull, but it moved smoothly.

When I had Alexia check, the material was enchanted with weight-reducing magic.

A carriage this size with weight-reducing magic.

I couldn't even imagine how much it cost.

Even the enchanted lightweight sword I'd bought for Azu had been quite expensive.

"There's something inside the carriage too."

"These are… magic stones."

Highest-quality magic stones were packed in boxes.

They were more valuable than the same weight in gold and silver treasures.

This was an extravagant gift, to say the least.

I wondered if I could get a share if I asked Princess Tianis.