“…I see. That certainly makes sense from the perspective of profit. What do the two of you think?”
Gustav furrowed his brows as he answered Caspond’s question.
“The Sorcerer King came here because we asked him. Also, was it not the Captain’s suggestion to have the two of them fight?”
“…Indeed it was. That masked bitch in Blue Rose is also one of them. If not for what she said, we would never have gone to the Sorcerous Kingdom. If not for that suggestion, we would have gone to the Empire or the Theocracy. And who knows, he might have come anyway even if we didn’t say anything.”
Haaaaah, Caspond sighed deeply.
“Captain Custodio, your logic has been nothing but self-serving from the start. You’re simply twisting the facts to match what you’re saying. I recall the Sorcerer King saying he wanted the maid demons, am I wrong?”
“…Please forgive me for saying these things which are unbecoming of a priest. I hear that those maid demons are quite powerful. In that case, I can understand why the Sorcerer King would like to obtain them. Demons do not need to eat or drink and they do not have a maximum lifespan. Being able to dominate such powerful demons might be better than gaining an army.”
“In that case, it would mean the Sorcerer King is aiding our nation because he felt there was sufficient value in it. It is only common sense for a king who rules a nation.”
“Still, nobody’s seen those maid demons before, right!?”
As Remedios screamed while in the grip of her emotions, Caspond looked at her like she was a pitiful, sad child.
“Captain Custodio. I would like to have a reasoned conversation with you, and not an emotional one… but it seems you are tired. Go and rest. That is an order.”
The red-faced Remedios still looked like she wanted to shriek something else, but Caspond was a step ahead of her and continued speaking.
“Go visit the wounded men. That’s part of your duties as a field commander, am I wrong?”
“…I understand.”
Remedios picked up her helmet and left the room.
There was no way to describe how the air in the room relaxed after that. It felt like the sense of fatigue one would have after a storm had passed and all the pieces had been picked up, mixed with a sense of relief at the fact that one had managed to survive.
However, one man was not finished yet.
“Your Highness! I sincerely apologize for Captain Custodio’s actions!”
Caspond smiled bitterly to Gustav as the latter bowed his head.
“It must have been really hard on you too. However, could you think about the future too? I honestly have no idea what’s going to become of this country after this war is over. If only we could find my sister, the Holy Queen… what happened to the Holy Queen during the battle of Kalinsha? Did you hear anything from Captain Custodio?”
Gustav was Remedios’s personal assistant. Therefore, he would have been present when Remedios told Caspond about it.
The fact that he knew but was asking again proved one thing — the prince suspected that Remedios might have been lying to him.
“…My Prince, I heard the same thing from Captain Custodio that she told Your Highness when we met for the first time.”
She had been sent flying by a shockwave and when she came to, the Holy Queen and her sister — Kelart Custodio — were nowhere to be seen. Although there were corpses of paladins and adventurers and priests everywhere, the bodies of those two were nowhere to be found.
“Is that so? Maybe I was worrying too much… Captain Custodio does not seem like one of those people who say one thing and mean another. It would be better if they were captured by him. If they were killed… the matter of the succession would become very complicated.”
Startled, Siliaco asked him a question.
“Caspond-sama, are you tired of the position of Holy King?”
“Are you flattering me? In truth that might be the case if my sister had perished of an accident under normal circumstances. However, things are different now. The North is tired and the South still has the ability to fight. In that case, it’s very likely that the South might support someone else to be Holy King. Frankly speaking, it’s very likely that one of the great nobles from the South might end up as Holy King.”
“What!?”
Caspond smiled as he looked at Siliaco’s shocked face.
“I don’t think that should come as such a surprise… in that case, with regard to what Vice-Captain Montagnes said earlier, if things go well, the first thing the Southern nobles will do is request that Captain Custodio take responsibility for the whole affair and place her under house arrest.”
“Why would they do that?”
“Then I’ll ask you, Vice-Captain Montagnes — why would they not do that? Is a paladin who failed to protect Her Majesty not the perfect outlet for their unhappiness? And of course, that’s not the only reason either. She can beat an army single-handedly. In that case, surely defanging your enemy is a basic tactic in warfare, am I wrong?”
“The enemy!? Who’s the enemy!?”
“The enemies of the Southern nobles. In other words, the Holy Queen’s faction. Remedios Custodio was a confidant of the Holy Queen. Surely the paladins she leads would also be seen as the enemy, am I wrong?”
“In that case, what about the priests that Kelart Custodio-sama led?”
“While there are priests who climbed the ranks thanks to their connections with the Southern nobles… don’t you think that would be the case too? Priestly magic is indispensable in everyday life. While I feel that anyone knows how stupid it is to put someone incompetent in high office, people sometimes do things that can only be described as foolish by others.”
“My Prince… what should we do?”
“Vice-Captain Montagnes, what do you mean by that? Do you want to keep her from being placed under house arrest? Or do you want to keep the paladins from getting involved?”
“I want a better future for the Holy Kingdom.”
“…We need to find my sister. Then, we need an achievement that all the people will accept as having saved the nation. For instance, by driving out the enemy without having to draw on the strength of the South.”
“That’s impossible… we can’t possibly win without the Sorcerer King’s power.”
Caspond looked at Gustav, who was complaining unconsciously, and shrugged.
“Still, that has to be done. Otherwise there won’t be any way to stop the pressure from the South after we win. Hm, yes, or we could damage the South as badly as the North. All that matters is that the balance of power is preserved in the end.” Caspond looked up at the ceiling. “If only we’d made a deal with the South sooner. She was too kind for her own good. And I understand how all this might have struck a nerve with Captain Custodio. After all, the only one who looked good in this battle was the Sorcerer King. If things go badly, the Sorcerer King might end up becoming the Holy King as well, am I wrong?”
The other two felt it was impossible, but neither of them could deny it.
“In that case, we need to start thinking about our plans from now on. While I would like Captain Custodio to be here, will she disobey a direct order?”
“…I feel it would be fine as long as it’s in keeping with this country’s justice.”
“I see… I’ve been thinking about how to attack the prison camps. The reason for that is—”
Caspond began to explain.
Roughly 100,000 demihumans had attacked the nation.
Since they had not heard of any movements from the demihumans squaring off against the forces of the Southern Holy Kingdom, they estimated that the 40,000 demihumans that had attacked them this time round were a large portion of the forces assigned to manage the prison camps in the North.
“I agree with your opinion. By attacking the undermanned prison camps, we can both destroy them piecemeal and increase our own forces at the same time. I feel it will kill two birds with one stone.”