Arc-6 Ch-33

『My objective of action. That is the protection of the Old Humans, and the extermination of the New Humans.』

“The first half is fine, but stop the second half.”

『Impossible. I was manufactured that way. To advise a being created with a purpose to stop fulfilling that purpose. That is a denial of my very reason for existence, and nothing less than an insult to me.』

Some incomprehensible terms were coming out, but basically, for this ball‑thing, finding the descendants of its master and wiping us out were things it absolutely could not compromise on. No matter how much I tried to convince it to stop exterminating humanity, sadly, there was no way to stop this thing. It seemed that this ball was merely projecting its eyes and mouth or whatever, and its actual body was the flying ship, a Lost Item. If it seriously wanted to kill me, it could simply move its main body and fire a single shot, and it would all be over. To begin with, to this thing, I was like a slightly tough ant. Humans do not seriously negotiate with ants.

『However, concerns have arisen from your existence, and from the same time, the interesting information gained. It is a fact that, at least at the present stage, I lack information regarding this world. I cannot help but judge that acting as things are will make it difficult to obtain sufficient results.』

“Thanks for that.”

『Confirming the existence of Old Humans, as well as assessing the military strength of New Humans, is an urgent matter. I hear that besides magic technology, there are technological systems I have not yet confirmed.』

“I’m not that knowledgeable about them either.”

『It does not matter. What is important to me now is information and a collaborator. It appears that, while I was in standby mode, the changes to the world greatly exceeded my predictions. Alongside repairing my main body, I must conduct investigation and exploration.』

“How many years is that going to take?”

『The repairs themselves fall within the range of regular maintenance. The issue is the Old Human or New Human affiliates who, like me, continue to be active.』

“There are others like you!?”

『As a possibility, it is fully conceivable.』

I see, I’ve never boarded a royal ship before, but maybe it was something like this thing. Other countries’ royalty also possessed Lost Items. If many things like this had run wild, the world would have been destroyed long ago. I didn’t know which country or which organization possessed things like this, but at the very least, the ones who had them didn’t seem to be planning to rampage right now.

『A proposal, Leon Fou Bartfort.』

“What is it all of a sudden? I have an extremely bad feeling about this.”

『Become my collaborator.』

“I refuse.”

What with the war against the Fanoss Principality, the conflict between the Holfort royal family and the Redgrave ducal house, plus Angie giving birth and my brother’s wedding coming up. Why on earth did I have to shoulder even more burdens?

This thing was big and amazing enough; it shouldn’t need my cooperation.

『Are you dissatisfied?』

“Extremely dissatisfied. Why do I have to work for you?”

I came to these ruins out of obligation to Luxion, who told me various things. If I’d known Luxion was such a dangerous object, I wouldn’t have come. What kind of hero was the me from another world to have tamed such a bomb?

Marrying Angie, the Saint, and the Queen—being a womanizer is one thing, but that’s too much.

I can’t handle this thing. A single wrong choice and the country might be destroyed. No matter how powerful, I have no bad taste for using a weapon that might explode and kill me.

『If you cooperate with me, I will bring you useful information and materials.』

“Oh? For example?”

『Synthesis of rare metals through material substitution. I do not know the currency standards of this world, but I can replace iron with gold and pay you that as compensation. Besides gold, I can substitute silver, copper, tin, lead, and even transform rocks lying on the ground into metals of the same mass.』

“Stop it, you’ll mess up the country’s economy.”

Currency and the total amount of gold circulating in the kingdom were under the control of the state. If you increased it without permission, you’d be suspected of counterfeiting and your entire family clan would be executed. Lucky adventurers sometimes found treasure, but it wasn’t much, and part of it had to be handed over to the state. Even if I received an enormous lump of gold, it would just cause trouble.

『Then how about providing technology? I can offer some of the superior technology of the Old Humans. Naturally, I will downgrade it to a level that low‑ability New Humans can handle.』

“You’re subtly insulting us, you know.”

I wavered a bit, but receiving something I couldn’t handle would be troublesome, and at worst, it could cause conflict. If it were technology that helped my people’s daily life or agriculture, that would be fine, but clearly it would be weapons. Its power far exceeded what I could manage, so I wouldn’t be happy to receive it. No wonder the other me became a king.

“Please just behave. How long is your investigation going to take?”

『Unknown. Repairs will take a few months, but to explore every corner of this world and investigate Old Human ruins and descendants will require over ten years.』

“…If I don’t help, what will you do?”

『In that case, I will choose another human as collaborator. Many New Humans have visited this laboratory before, and your visit has prompted me to resume full operations. I do not need to cling to a single New Human named Leon Fou Bartfort. I simply need to pick another human who agrees to the terms I presented.』

“You’re a demon king, you know that?”

Damn it, I really shouldn’t have come. I nearly died from being attacked by mechanical dolls, and on top of that, I awakened an absurd disaster. How was I supposed to persuade something like this?

Entrusting the fate of the world to me—there had to be someone more suitable for the job. Like the king, the duke, the Saint, or a hero. I wanted to complain about a life tossed around by fate. How did it come to this?

“All right, fine, I’ll cooperate. But promise me something. As long as I cooperate with you, do not kill my family. If you’re going to exterminate them, make it the last thing you do.”

『I will take that into consideration as much as possible.』

“You’ll pay for necessary expenses, and you’ll prepare any tools I need.”

『Understood.』

“And let’s see… if we’re accomplices, then help me with my misdeeds. For now, give me some assistance upfront.”

『…And what guarantee is there that you won’t run away?』

“None. Think of it as an ante. Either trust me and cooperate, or wait forever for someone stronger and smarter than me to come here. Or start acting without any information and get intercepted. The choice is yours.”

This thing didn’t know the current world’s information, and that was my opening. That flying ship was definitely troublesome; if it was equal to or superior to the royal ship, it could destroy a country. But its thought process was fairly easy to read. Maybe because it was impatient, it tended to choose the shortest, fastest method, since it had the leisure of being able to kill me anytime. For now, I’d deal with it only for as long as I was alive, and after that, I didn’t care. I had no idea what the world would be like in fifty or a hundred years. Call it irresponsible, but this was the best I could do. I was honestly relieved an evildoer hadn’t been the one to wake it up.

『Understood. I will regard the contract as established under the conditions you presented.』

“That helps. I look forward to working with you.”

『Then first, let me hear your objective. What do you intend to accomplish by receiving my cooper

ation?』

“Let’s see… for now, stop the war.”

And thus, I sold my soul to the demon king.

※ ※ ※ ※ ※

I heard a loud noise from outside the door.

Finding someone in the Holfort Kingdom who could match the two of them—“Musclehead” and “Glasses”—would be more difficult. I thought maybe the people at the duke’s mansion had brought out guns or something, but the sound was too strange for that. Maybe I should get the conversation with the duke moving quickly.

“To quell the rebellion, it’s necessary to punish the duke and his eldest son, but to suppress the duke’s faction, the head of the duke’s house is required. In that case, the solution is simple. Angie should become the new head of the Redgrave dukedom.”

“Eh!?”

“Wha—!?”

“Hah!?”

Angie, the duke, and Gilbert all raised their voices at the same time. As expected of siblings, their surprised voices sounded exactly alike. For me, this suggestion was half serious, half joking.

‘Duke’s house has intentions of rebellion.’ Once the Holfort royal family confirmed that, the Redgrave family could normally be abolished without issue. The reason it couldn’t be done is that if the Redgrave family were destroyed and a rebellion broke out, the nobles in the duke’s faction couldn’t be held in check. They must be certain that the country would perish if that happened. Feudal lords and knights are responsible for the governance and security of their territories. If you destroy them in a rebellion, you can’t just replace them and call it a day—if you kill them, you have to prepare new lords and knights for the same number, otherwise even tax collection becomes impossible, and the people in the territories would starve to death.

From stories I heard while mingling with newly ennobled families, some said that when they were ennobled and went to their territories full of pride, not only the stewards and knights but most of the peasants had already fled. To be honest, even the Bartfort territory couldn’t function initially without loans from the Redgrave family. In the present kingdom, where the number of nobles has decreased due to war, you can’t easily crush a noble family. If you miscalculate, you’re just tightening the noose around your own neck.

But that doesn’t mean they can overlook a duke and Gilbert who have intentions of rebellion. In that case, it’s far better to have them retire quietly and have Angie inherit the house.

“I cannot become the head of the Redgrave dukedom, but if it’s Angie, that’s a different story. She is the daughter of the current head and sister to the heir. The conditions for succession should be sufficient. Even if Angie cannot, how about a son born between Angie and me?”

“You… that’s your goal…”

“If the queen and Angie are on friendly terms, and it seems the rebellion was suppressed beforehand, showing leniency for the survival of the house would also benefit the royal family. If we can avert the nation’s crisis with the heads of the two of them, they would gladly agree to terms favorable to us.”

“You’ve done well, Bartfort.”

The duke and Gilbert were glaring at me intensely, and Angie’s gaze was cold as well. I feel like crying. But if I don’t go this far, they’d never even listen to me. Moreover, they might even demand I divorce Angie. Why are nobles so stubborn and arrogant?

Well, I get it. If nobles are underestimated, other nobles will look down on them, and the family loses power rapidly. If you rose through luck and tenacity like me, fine. But someone who has no real skill and relies solely on bloodline cannot recover once they fall. The duke was almost ruined due to being trapped by the royal family and Marquis Frampton, so I understand his desire to destroy the royal family to remove risks. Honestly, I want to agree with that. But if he did that, it would undoubtedly spark a civil war.

I’m weak, my men would probably be forced to fight again, and if the peasants are conscripted into battle, even the Bartfort territory could face rebellion. So, it’s better for everyone to behave calmly.

“But I don’t want to destroy the Redgrave family. I don’t want to trap my father-in-law or brother-in-law to take over their house, and it would be unbearably painful for Angie to hate me. So if the royal family reconciles, I’ll destroy the evidence.”

“…Are you serious? The information you hold determines the future of this country. Depending on how it’s used, it could destroy not just one house but one nation and one dynasty.”

“All the more reason I don’t need it. I, who cry and wail even as a viscount or baron, would never try to control a duke’s family as I please. Well, if Angie wants to become the female head of the Redgrave family, I won’t object.”

“Do not leave such an important decision to me!!”

“But Angie wouldn’t want her family executed either, right?”

“Then why did you push father and brother to this point!?”

“Because I thought it was necessary.”

Ah, Angie is angry. She’s really angry, what should I do?

Because no matter how you look at it, I’m not fit to be a lord. I can sense a kind of wall between someone like me, raised almost like a commoner, and those who have been educated in that noble training since childhood. It’s a difference in refinement, or just general demeanor. Of course, there are sleazy types who think, ‘Is this guy really of noble birth?’ but high-ranking nobles have a different aura.

Apparently, it takes three generations for someone to be recognized socially as a noble. Someone like me, who became a noble through military merit, probably will never be fully accepted as a noble in a lifetime. Then why not just return my title to the royal family and plead for the lives of everyone in the duke’s house? Titles like viscount or count are far beyond my station. I never wanted those titles or lands, and it’s exhausting to grind myself down for them. I’m happy just with land I can farm myself and enough income to occasionally eat well.

It’s wrong for someone who wasn’t raised as a noble to be a lord. In the current kingdom, there are female heads and heiresses, so Angie has a real chance to inherit the Redgrave family. If I offer my title as proof of ending the rebellion, it should suffice for the Redgrave family to be demoted and lose some land instead of being destroyed. Sure, the duke’s family might see me as a traitor who took over the Redgrave family, but they already dislike me anyway. Angie is much more competent than me, so it’s better for her to wield authority as head rather than me awkwardly holding the title as her inferior.

I don’t want to divorce Angie just because I lose my title, but being treated as a mistress isn’t so bad either. If it gets really serious, there’s exile, or I could offer my life for everyone’s sake—that’s the level of resolve I’m ready for. I need that mindset to even attempt such reckless things. Attacking a duke who is a quasi-royal is, after all, a crime of treason.

“…Suppose, just suppose, that we accept reconciliation according to your wish. Can you guarantee our safety before it happens?”

“…Father.”

“I see. Your plan is remarkable. It should also be in the royal family’s interest to have Ange, who is friendly with the queen, inherit the Redgrave house rather than me, who harbors rebellious intent. That way, governance can proceed as desired.”

“Indeed.”

As expected of the duke, he accurately grasped my intentions. But to be honest, getting both the royal family and the duke’s family to reconcile would be the easiest. I owe both sides, so no matter whose side I take, friction is unavoidable. On top of that, I’m ultimately a lower-ranking noble, so if the royal family or the duke’s family glares at me, my existence is as fragile as if I could be blown away. That’s why I take reckless measures just to get them to sit at the negotiation table.

I’m not happy about it, but somehow I’m good at rough-and-tumble things and schemes. No, really, I’m not happy about it at all.

“History is full of cases where a truce was broken and a surprise attack launched. Do you think the Redgrave dukedom could survive if the royal family broke their promise and punished us afterward?”

“……”

“The strategy of using the former Fanoss Duchy to strike at the Redgrave dukedom was brilliant. It’s not impossible that the royal family could pull the same trick after reconciliation.”

Exactly.

The duke’s concern is natural. After all, they’re the type to demand the dissolution of the engagement between Prince Julius and Angie as a condition of alliance between the royal family and the duke’s family. Sure, I admit Olivia-sama is wonderful. She’s beautiful, kind, smart, and has large breasts.

But even I dislike the way he disregards his fiancé, provokes her into a duel, and manipulates it so that Angie ends up looking at fault.

Maybe Marquis Frampton or the temple had a hand in it, but the royal family apparently judged Olivia-sama more useful than Angie and left the situation as it was. You can’t trust someone who will betray you in a pinch; that’s a battlefield rule. It’s one thing if someone flees out of self-preservation, but someone who sells out their allies to join the enemy cannot be trusted.

I can understand why the duke dislikes the royal family; honestly, I dislike them too. But in this case, I’ll make sure the royal family keeps their promise. For that, I went on a dungeon search trusting the story of a certain sphere that apparently appeared in my dreams and nearly died, and I went to a gambling den where I had no pleasant memories. I did everything I could. The rest depends on how well I can manipulate the perceptions of the royal family and the duke’s family. If I get caught, I hope they’ll forgive me with my life—I don’t want to die, though.

DOOOON!!

A thunderous noise echoed, and the door opened. I checked the person entering with a sideways glance while aiming my gun at the duke and Gilbert. Why does this person always act up when it’s inconvenient for us?

Or maybe it’s the other way around—they’re stupid and act recklessly because they can’t read the atmosphere. Because of their status and talent, they can act without thinking and still resolve something. A commoner like me, who agonizes endlessly and squeezes my insufficient brain to devise a strategy, gets completely outdone. I envy that talent. I wish they’d share even a little with me.

“What’s the meaning of this, Bartfort!?”

“…What are you doing? I told you not to let anyone into this room.”

‘Sorry, but is there anyone in this country who can stop him?’

“Hold on a bit more, this will ruin the plan.”

‘What do we do? Retreat for now?’

“…The plan doesn’t change. We proceed as is.”

It’s not shameful to retreat to regroup, but we shouldn’t here. We could escape with Angie now, but we’d lose the chance to speak with the duke forever. The duke would never forgive me and Angie, who betrayed his family behind the scenes and conspired with the royal family. It would be a straight path to a civil war, killing and being killed, until one side is destroyed. The next time we meet, it’ll be either just before the duke’s faction executes my people, or just before the royal family executes the Redgrave family.

So we must force the conversation here, no matter what. I’ve been preparing for this over the past few months. Even if I’m treated as the villain, I must resolve the situation. I hope it can be resolved with the loss of my title and exile. Execution would be a stretch, but I’d prefer to avoid it.

“Ah, if it isn’t His Highness Julius Rapha Holfort. We’re a bit tied up, so please wait a moment.”

“Stop with the overly formal courtesy!”

“Then please, just stand there quietly. We’re busy here.”

“Stop pointing a gun at the duke!”

“I refuse. I control this place. Besides, my attempt to persuade Duke has failed. Your Highness, your turn is long over, so actors whose scenes are done should wait backstage.”

“…Is this the royal family’s doing?”

Apparently, the duke has taken an interest. The first stage has gone well. It’s bad that I could only bring one gun. Chris and Greg are holding the prince for now, but for how long?

Also, it’s hard to predict what the servants of the duke’s mansion will do in this gap. If the duke is rescued, the discussion will forcibly end. We have no choice but to charge forward.

“…This is a strategy devised by me, Leon, and Mylene-sama. Originally, we were going to persuade father and have Mylene-sama unofficially apologize.”

“I learned of it and asked my mother to take over. The duke refused to meet me, after all.”

Even at the victory banquet, Duke blatantly obstructed me from contacting him. It’s understandable he dislikes his highness for breaking off his engagement with Angie, but it was childish behavior. Normally, those involved in the scene would see that persuasion is impossible, but Duke has a twisted view of others’ opinions, and Angie wasn’t there. So we had to prepare a backup plan for persuasion failure, and the four idiots around the prince at the banquet followed my plan.

“Your persuasion failed, so you resorted to a hardline strategy. Isn’t that a bit reckless, Lord Bartfort?”

“A strategy should have multiple contingencies. If peaceful methods fail, force must be used to enforce it.”

Only a fool or a confident idiot prepares just one best plan. Battle situations can change in mere hours, and a foolish plan can succeed when the best plan cannot be guaranteed. Angie tends to be lenient with family, so I compensate for that. Now that the duke’s persuasion has failed, I’m glad I prepared.

“If both sides have things to say, it’s faster to speak directly to them. If the duke hadn’t made unreasonable demands, Julius could have appeared, apologized, and initiated reconciliation negotiations.”

“To think you disguised the first prince as a servant and brought him along. Ah, that’s royal blood. Noble people seem to enjoy masquerading and indulging in amusement.”

Stop it. Don’t provoke unnecessarily. I know I’m the one pointing a gun, but I don’t want the prince to be provoked needlessly. Or maybe I should emulate the duke’s courage?

“Mind your tongue. I desire reconciliation between the Holfort royal family and the Redgrave dukedom. Excluding the hardliners, most nobles and commoners wish for this too.”

“You’ve grown quite bold, Lord Bartfort. When asking for something, one should be more humble, young man.”

“To me, you’re just a stubborn old man, Duke Redgrave.”

“You’ve gotten big for your britches. What can you do now?”

I was called out. Looks like I have no choice but to use the final measure. Ah, I don’t want to. Why do all these troublesome matters keep landing on me?

“For now, let’s try becoming king.”

┳⁠━━━━⁠━⁠⁠━⁠━⁠━━━⁠┳

Authors Note

┻━⁠━━━━⁠━━⁠━━━⁠┻

A long-awaited return of Luxion.

Since the Otome world harbors many calamities, he is taking a wait-and-see stance.

In this work, the relationship between Leon and Luxion is similar to Emil and Ideal in the original.

How their relationship develops will be explained in a future epilogue.

With Luxion present, most problems can be brute-forced, making him difficult to handle.

The descendant of the true king returns with great power.

A common story in legends.

I would appreciate any opinions or impressions, as they would encourage me for future work.