CH 212

“Sir Eugene must be doing well, right?” the mayor of Maren asked.

“He’s a knight who won against 800 with 50. Besides, has he ever lost a battle?” Trevik responded reassuringly.

“Well, you’re right,” the mayor nodded with a relieved expression. It wasn’t that he had no trust in Eugene. It was simply because taking over the royal castle of a country was a completely different matter from winning a few battles. It would have been strange if the mayor wasn’t anxious, knowing that they could face a major transformation after the king was replaced.

“The arrow has already left the bowstring. Now, we have no choice but to wait for the results. It’ll work out somehow,” Trevik said.

“Hmm. Well, that’s why I wanted to say this, but… There’s no law saying that we just have to stand and wait, right?” the mayor asked back.

“What?” Trevik asked. The mayor lowered his upper body and lowered his voice, as if he were wary of anyone listening. It was rather strange for him to act like this because only the two of them were in the office.

The mayor whispered, “This is something I’ve only discussed with the merchant guild leader.”

“Yes.”

What was he about to say? The mayor’s cautious, tense demeanor caused Trevik to lower his posture as well.

The mayor continued, “Assuming Sir Eugene takes over the royal castle, the present king will definitely be disposed of, and a new king will ascend the throne.”

“Well, that’s true…” Trevik remarked.

“But no matter how hard I think about it, we don’t have anyone who can replace the king,” the mayor said. The current king could be forced to step down, but they could not replace the royal family in its entirety. Such an action would be tantamount to real treason. Moreover, nobles valued honor and legitimacy. They would obviously only support a suitable member of the royal family to become the new king.

“Hmm…” Trevik contemplated. He wasn’t an expert when it came to politics.

The mayor spoke once again as if he were frustrated, “So what I’m saying is that the nobles won’t listen to us. It doesn’t matter who we support. It’s most likely that the one being supported by the Winslon County and the noble union will become the next king.”

“I see. But why is that…?” Trevik muttered.

“No matter who it is, there’s no way for the new king to be favorable to Lord Eugene and Maren. After all, aren’t we the decisive reason for the abdication of the current king? I’m certain the new king would try to maintain his distance from us. The noble union will also remember to be wary of us,” the mayor explained.

“Hmm. I see,” Trevik answered.

“That’s right. At best, we would be left with some leftovers. We would likely receive guaranteed tax cuts, as well as administrative, legislative, and judicial powers. Of course, that’s not bad at all. It’s not bad at all, but…” the mayor said before trailing off.

Trevik’s eyes finally filled with astonishment because he realized what the mayor was getting at.

The mayor continued in a quiet voice, “We will continue to act the same way toward the new royalists as well.”

“I agree...” Trevik nodded. Once the new king ascended the throne, the ones supporting him, in other words, the noble union, would become the new royalists. And in the first place, it was impossible for a port city like Maren to maintain a good relationship with hereditary nobles. They were currently in the same boat due to the king and the cardinal, but they would obviously pit against each other once the kingdom was reorganized.

“So, what are you planning to do? Don’t tell me you’re going to ask Sir Eugene to pick out a new king? The noble union would not listen to such an unreasonable demand.” Trevik pointed out.

“Of course. Besides, Sir Eugene doesn’t have to worry about the consequences of taking down the current king and the cardinal. Even if we ask something like that of him, he won’t do it,” the mayor said.

“Then…”

The mayor continued with a glimmer in his eyes,” I think it would be better to establish Sir Eugene as the King of Maren.”

“…!!!”

Trevik was surprised. In fact, he had never been so surprised in his life until today.

“M-mister mayor? What do you mean? N-no, I mean, even if that’s the case, would the other guilds and the citizens tolerate this decision? Our Maren is a free city. How could you suggest a monarchy?” Trevik said.

“Don’t get me wrong. It won’t be a monarch that you are thinking of. Sir Eugene will be a symbol. I would say that he will possess very little real power,” the mayor explained.

“A-a symbol?” Trevik asked.

The mayor answered, “That’s right. The king will be Sir Eugene, but the real power will be with us. We will form a guild-centered parliament. The king and the royal family will be there to garner the respect of the citizens. Ah, of course, we will need to pay for all the fees required to maintain the dignity of the king and the royal family.”

“What? Never mind the money. Do you really think Sir Eugene would accept such a position?” Trevik asked.

“He most likely will,” the mayor replied.

“…?” Trevik was dumbfounded.

The mayor shrugged. “At first, I also thought it was a ridiculous idea. However, after careful consideration of the things Sir Eugene had achieved in Brantia, I saw a definite possibility.”

“What do you mean?” Trevik asked.

“The one who is most revered and feared by all the nobles and knights of Brantia is not its king. Rather, it’s Duke Batla—Sir Eugene,” the mayor answered.

“…!”

“And do you really think that’s the end of it? Orcs, elves, vampires… Everyone, regardless of their race, is more afraid of Sir Eugene than the king. In the first place, it was only possible for their king to ascend the throne, as he was Sir Eugene’s aide. This is definitely true, for all the knights who had returned from Brantia testified to it,” the mayor said.

“Huh?!” Trevik exclaimed.

“Now, the important thing here is… Do you really think Sir Eugene is unaware of this fact?” the mayor asked.

“He would obviously know,” Trevik answered while immediately nodding his head. To him, Eugene was one of the strongest knights in history, but the latter was also an extremely intelligent individual.

“That’s right. So, he did all those things whilst knowing about these facts. Even though he could have risen to the throne, he handed it over to his aide. The merchant guild leader and I became certain of one thing after discovering this fact,” the mayor said.

“What… do you mean?” Trevik asked with a puzzled expression.

The mayor responded with a deep smile, “Sir Eugene isn’t very interested in authority and power. In addition, he is someone who will allow himself to be used to an extent if he’s left alone and compensated accordingly. That’s what I’m saying.”

“…!” Trevik’s eyes filled with shock. Was there anyone in the world who didn’t want power? However, he realized that it was certainly plausible after a moment of contemplation. When he recalled the words, actions, and demeanor shown by the knight Jan Eugene since his first appearance, he realized that Eugene was indeed a man with little greed for authority. And if it was in his interest, as the mayor had just said, Eugene had always been willing to cooperate.

“And one more thing—there’s one more thing to be gained by taking Sir Eugene as the King of Maren. It’s also the decisive reason why we must take him as our king,” the mayor said.

“I think I might know what it is…” Trevik remarked.

“Oh? Really?”

“Yes. If you combine his skills and our troops, neither the king nor the noble union would be able to touch our city, or rather, our kingdom.” Trevik pointed out.

“Hahaha! As expected! You’re a recruiter down to your bones,” The mayor burst into boisterous laughter after hearing Trevik’s answer.

“Then, I will take it that you have agreed with my suggestion, Trevik,” the mayor said.

“Yes.” Trevik nodded. He could see no harm in pushing ahead with the plan.

“Well, let’s get to work. First of all…”

Thus, the plan to enthrone Eugene as Maren’s “King” was initiated.

***

“Uagggh! It’s a monster!”

“A-a dragon!”

Eugene ran rampant in the heart of the Caylor Kingdom’s capital, unaware of the events transpiring in the City of Maren. The people of the capital rarely saw large monsters. To them, Eugene was no different from a legendary evil dragon. Naturally, Eugene did not harm the residents, as his objective wasn’t to kill them. Simply smashing apart buildings while letting out a deafening roar was sufficient to cause the people to scatter in fear.

The first ones to come running were the capital’s security forces.

“Uaa!”

“T-the knights! Get the knights!”

Unfortunately, the elite troops of the capital had already departed to fight against the noble union. As such, the guards weren’t able to get anywhere close to the drake. They had never even participated in an evil land subjugation, let alone experienced any battles. The mere sight of a high-ranking monster and its overwhelming majesty was sufficient to make them numb.

‘Is that it?’

In the meantime, Eugene casually destroyed a few more buildings before spotting the tallest and largest building in the capital and running toward it.

“No! The dragon is heading toward the royal castle!”

“Chase after it!”

The guards followed Eugene with great shock. The royal castle was immediately informed of the drake’s appearance in the capital. The royal castle was located in the highest place in the capital, so there was no way the rampage of a monster with a height of three meters and a length of ten meters could be missed.

“T-that! What is that?!” one of the guard knights exclaimed while pointing at the drake, which was jumping from building to building while smashing apart everything in its sight.

“It’s a monster! A dragon! A dragon has appeared!” one of the soldiers responded with a shout of his own.

“No! I’m asking how a monster like that managed to enter the capital!” the knight cried out. However, no one could give him an answer.

“Dragon! The dragon is coming this way!” one of the guards screamed.

“Huh? No, it’s not coming this way. That direction is… Huh?!” The knight’s face turned pale when he saw that the monster was heading toward the royal family’s hunting ground. It was questionable if a group consisting of a dozen knights could defeat the monster.

***

The news of a high-ranking monster’s rampage quickly spread to the cardinal and the king’s wizard. The reactions of the two people were polar opposites.

“W-what?!” The cardinal was greatly shocked when he heard that a monster resembling a dragon had suddenly appeared in the capital and was causing destruction in its path.

However, he soon spoke with a solemn expression befitting his position as a religious figure, “I see… To think that such an evil monster has appeared in this great city—a place protected by God. Such a being goes against the providence of God. Leave this matter to me and go assist His Majesty.”

The cardinal mimicked the holy symbol on a golden, sacred object hanging on his chest. His actions were incredibly courageous and selfless.

“Ooohhh! Cardinal!” The guard knight was deeply moved. The cardinal’s actions were truly befitting the kingdom’s supreme priest, someone who had been directly bestowed his position by the pope of the Holy Empire.

However, as soon as the knight returned to the castle, the cardinal spoke, “Brothers, gather all the holy knights into the cathedral.”

“What? Not the royal castle?” the members of the clergy asked with surprise.

The cardinal roared in a solemn voice, “Oh, brothers! Are we not servants of god and of his holy will? In such an emergency, a servant must protect the house of his master. Where else would we go?”

His words made sense, but the cardinal was essentially stating his intention to hole up in the cathedral with the protection of the holy knights.

“Ah…” The clergy immediately recognized the cardinal’s intentions. However, they were all holy men, and there were no flaws in the cardinal’s words in terms of catechism.

Above all else…

“Brothers! Let us hurry!”

“Yes! We must protect his house with faith and prayer!”

The clergies of the royal castle had always been loyal to the cardinal. Moreover, they were also human, so it was their instinct to get out of harm’s way.

Soon, the cardinal and the priests fled the royal castle and dashed toward the cathedral.

“Huh? Are you sure?”

“T-that’s right, Master Dolgwen! It was a black dragon the size of a castle tower!”

“Hmm. If it were a true dragon, it would have been shooting fire from its mouth and flying in the sky. No, in the first place, there’s no way I would not have felt it…”

“How am I supposed to know all that?! Anyway, you must step forward!” the knight cried out.

The wizard slowly raised their head. Even though they were inside, their entire figure was hidden with a dull robe. The wizard always wore their hood, and perhaps because of their magic, their face could not be distinguished at all. However, the wizard’s red eyes could always be seen.

The knight gulped. He was a knight, and at such a close distance, it would be entirely possible for him to behead the wizard with a single stroke of his blade. However, he always felt as if that was something that could never be done.

The wizard was perhaps favored by the king because of the inexplicable pressure and mystery they exuded.

“It’s probably not a real dragon, but a drake,” the wizard said.

“A drake?” the knight asked.

“A monster that failed to become a dragon. Even so, it’s considered a superior-rank monster, so you will need at least twenty knights to defeat it. But that’s only possible in evil lands with their enclosed spaces. In an open place like the royal castle, the best we can do is possibly drive it away,” the wizard explained.

“B-but the monster…” the knight muttered dejectedly.

“But there’s a way…” the wizard suddenly said.

“Is that true?” The knight asked.

“I swear in the name of magic. Leave it to me,” the wizard replied. Although his face was still indistinguishable, the knight felt as if the eerie wizard was smiling.