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Chapter 368: A New Spark, and Getting a Bride.

“A civil war’s going to happen in Horn Kingdom soon!?”

“Yes. Surrounding the throne, the factions supporting the king’s grandson and the king’s younger brother are facing off against each other.”

I unintentionally let out a loud voice in surprise when I heard Tsubaki-san’s report.

Horn Kingdom. It’s a country situated to the east of Magic Kingdom Ferzen, and north of the former Heavenly Empire Yulong.

With fertile land, a climate blessed by the various spirits, and the hard work of a capable king, it’s a prosperous country that poured its national strength into agricultural development, and is at the forefront of the Surface World in terms of that.

Its customs and culture are apparently quite similar with Eashen in some places. If this was on Earth, it would be a country in the Asian cultural sphere, so to speak.

A year ago, tragedy suddenly struck the aforementioned Horn Kingdom. The sudden death of the country’s king.

Normally, the crown prince would inherit the throne and continue to lead the country as the new king.

However, the crown prince in question had passed away just one week before the king did, at the young age of 21. It’s apparently caused by an accident.

While the late king had no other male heirs, the late crown prince did have a son. In other words, he’s the grandson of the king.

As the young child, who was barely over 1 years of age back then, could not possibly lead the country, the prime minister back then acted as regent and took control of the government.

However, the grandson’s succession process was called to a halt. The late king’s younger brother came out with an objection.

The prime minister who took over governance in place of the grandson was the father of the widow of the late crown prince. Based on that, the younger brother claimed that this is a ploy by the prime minister’s family to take over the country, and that he himself is the only person fit to inherit the late king’s will.

Actually, there was friction between the king and the crown prince back when they were alive. The king was a conservationist who wanted to preserve the current state of the country, while the crown prince was a reformist who advocated for the inclusion of new industries to the country; they had even openly clashed against each other in the past, apparently.

It’s somewhat ironic that those two who, although different in approach, were both thinking of their own country, had passed away at nearly the same time.

It was said that the king had always complained to his younger brother that the crown prince was a possessor of dangerous thoughts that could shake the foundations of this country, and had promised to take the right to succession away from the crown prince, and give it to the younger brother instead.

On the other hand, the prime minister claimed that while the king and the crown prince were in opposition in their views, they understood each other as people both worrying for the country, and had been trying to come to an understanding.

He had also claimed that he was asked by both the king and the crown prince to mediate between the two of them.

With two parallel views, the tension continued rising, until finally the country was on the cusp of war.

“Instead of a conflict between the grandson faction and the younger brother faction, it’s more accurate to say that it’s between the prime minister and the younger brother instead, I suppose.”

“Yes. On one hand is the late king’s younger brother, Ganossa Da Horn, and on the other hand is the prime minister, Schwein Adante. To Prime Minister Schwein, the late king’s grandson, Cuo Da Horn, can be considered his grandson too, since he’s the son of his daughter.”

Tsubaki-san replied to the words uttered by our prime minister, Kousaka-san, who was standing next to me.

That sounds like a rather troublesome situation alright. Although, problems regarding succession are pretty common in such situations, so it can be said to be natural, as well.

It’s normal practice to have the crown prince inherit the throne, but in cases like, say, when the crown prince is a complete fool, and the second prince is a brilliant individual, there would obviously be some confusion. It would be better for the people to have a talented person on the throne, after all.

However, to the king in question, both of them are his sons. Well, as a king it would probably be wrong for him to be swayed by personal feelings, but still.

Still, a civil war, huh. Since it might not directly damage other nations anyway, should we intervene in this matter or not? We might get called out for unnecessary intervention in another country’s affairs, to be honest.

“It’s troublesome when we don’t have connections with the other country in cases like this… What are the other countries doing?”

“Ferzen is watching the situation without doing anything for the moment. They apparently have some connections with both the grandson faction and the younger brother faction, so it might be hard for them to move. However…”

Tsubaki-san hesitated a bit before opening her mouth.

“There’s actually the presence of Yulong in the shadow of this civil war.”

“Eh?”

Yulong? What do you mean? Ever since the grand invasion of the Phrase and the civil unrest that followed, Heavenly Empire Yulong has basically ceased to function as a country.

Right now, only several small cities exist in that region, and they had all declared their own independence. Apparently, even now there’s small conflicts between those city-states from time to time.

“The lands of Yulong are to the north of Horn Kingdom. Since the grand invasion, the number of people who are flowing into Horn from Yulong is substantial, and a problem has occurred due to that.”

“A problem?”

“The people of Horn cannot accept the ones from Yulong into their midst so easily. As a result, many of those from Yulong had apparently become bandits and such, and laid waste to the fertile lands of Horn.”

Quite the trouble there indeed.

Still, could Horn Kingdom really not take in the people from Yulong? Wasn’t it a rich country blessed in agricultural aspects?

“I believe Yulong had also planned to invade Horn Kingdom to its south, just like with Hanock in the west. Not only that, apparently the people of Yulong also belittled Horn Kingdom as a country of barbarians with a lower level of civilization. With the other side being like that, it’s natural that the citizens of Horn wouldn’t take too kindly to the refugees from Yulong.”

Umu. If what Kousaka-san said was the truth, then I suppose it can’t be helped. Those people from Yulong had looked down on Horn Kingdom all the time in the past, and yet now when they’re troubled, they expect to be helped just like that. Well, there’s no way the people from Horn would agree to it that easily.

“As you already know, there’s a division in Yulong that specialized in things like assassination and sabotage. When the country collapsed, they had all separated, and some of them had drifted over to Horn. There are rumors that those same people are involved beneath the surface of the current unrest in Horn.”

Yulong’s assassination corps… If I remember correctly, they’re called [Kurau] or something. They’ve also targeted me before. They were a group of people who wore masks like the ones in Chinese operas, and were dangerous fellows who would blow themselves up if they failed their mission.

“Don’t tell me, the death of the late Horn king and crown prince…”

“It could be a crime by the king’s younger brother Ganossa or the prime minister Schwein; either one could’ve hired the [Kurau]. Or, it could be the act of a third party who wished to lead Horn into a civil war…”

Etto, assuming the grandson faction hired the assassins responsible…

The prime minister would obviously want his grandson to inherit the throne. In that case, the king (if what the king’s younger brother claimed was correct) who wanted to pass the throne off to his younger brother would be an obstacle; and for the crown prince, if the prime minister wasn’t part of his reformation faction, there could be reason for him to be targeted due to a difference in governing policy. Still, would he kill his own son-in-law for that?

On the other hand, if the younger brother faction was the culprit… Well, if the younger brother’s side of the story was to be believed, then he shouldn’t have a reason to kill either one of them. The throne would come his way in due course, anyway.

If that talk was a lie, and the prime minister’s claim that the two of them were trying to make peace with each other was true instead… Well, then he would obviously want to kill both the king and the crown prince in order to obtain the throne.

Still, in that case, there are problematic points such as the fact that the king’s grandson was left alive even though the younger brother should be aiming to kill all potential successors… Umumumu…

“This is confusing.”

“Indeed.”

“Yes.”

No matter how many hypotheses we make, without something decisive, we can’t actually do anything.

Hmm, well, for the moment I suppose the grandson faction is more innocent-looking? Their potential reasons for killing the king and crown prince are pretty weak compared to the younger brother faction.

“Either way, I suppose it’s better for us to not do anything, isn’t it?”

“The other side isn’t in contact with us anyway, so there’s no reason for us to involve ourselves. With Your Majesty’s power, it would be easy to forcefully put a stop to the conflict in that country, but I believe that is overreaching on our part. Or perhaps, would you rather use this opportunity to subjugate Horn with force as the first step of your world domination plan?”

What’s this person saying… Even though it should be a joke, it doesn’t sound like one…

To be honest, it’s not like I can’t do that. But still, you know how tough it would be to govern the entire world after I conquered it? I already have my share of troubles with just this small country, too.

“Well, for now our country’s development comes before matters regarding other countries. While the number of citizens as well as the size of the town has been increasing, crime rates have also risen in proportion to that. For now, the knight order members as well as Nyantarou- dono’s feline surveillance network are working hard to protect the town, but I fear the drop in available personnel once the knight order is dispatched somewhere else.”

I understand Kousaka-san’s worries. Basically, the town’s security personnel would be lessened whenever I send knights out for Frame Gear operations. I do wish that large-scale battles won’t happen, but with the variants increasing in power and the world barrier weakening, we never know what could happen.

“Should we form a guard corps separate from the knight order, as expected?”

“I suppose. We can let Yamagata or Baba-dono lead it, and make it a division under the country instead of Your Majesty as an individual. If we do that, when Your Majesty is absent, they can still move freely to a degree.”

Un, it should be fine if it’s those two. And they didn’t like riding in Frame Gears much to begin with, too. They should do well for this job.

“The fishing industry based off the dungeon islands has started operating normally as well. Merchants from both Belfast and Regulus have started to come here to buy fresh fish.”

“Please tell the fishermen to not go too far off the coast, okay? Since monsters will show up if they’re too far out.”

“We understand that as well.”

I had ordered the kraken I summoned to patrol the waters near the islands and chase away large monsters, but if they go out of that area, I can’t promise their safety.

After that, I received more reports on other matters from Kousaka-san and Tsubaki-san, and my job for the morning is over.

After eating lunch with everyone, it would be the Reverse World for me in the afternoon. I have some small things to do in preparation for the two-world conference in the future.

First, I should go to Trihalan God-Empire, I suppose. Let’s contact His Majesty the Emperor and make an appointment. Linze and Hilda were coincidentally free and said they wanted to go as well, so I brought them along.

As we transferred ourselves to the imperial palace in the capital of Trihalan God-Empire with [Dimensional Transfer], the person sent out to welcome us spotted us immediately and came closer.

“It’s been a long time. Prince… Or not, Princess Lystis. Have you been well?”

“Aah, ever since the senate was dissolved, there has been a ton of things for us to do. If I’m not well, I wouldn’t have made it this far.”

While it wasn’t the rigid-looking male clothing I saw last time, it isn’t something a girl would wear normally like a dress. Wearing a rough-looking jacket on top and pants below, the crown princess of the empire, Lystis Le Trihalan greeted us.

When I introduced Linze and Hilda as my fiancées, while she was surprised, she exchanged handshakes with the two of them with a smile.

“Father and elder brother are waiting for you. There’s apparently something they wanted to consult you about.”

While saying that, Lystis-san led us into the castle. Consult…? What could it be about?

In a room within a corner of the castle, the emperor, Harold La Trihalan, was waiting for us together with the crown prince, Rupheus La Trihalan, and Princess Lystis’ teacher, Sir Zerorick.

Both the emperor and the crown prince wore glasses, and had a similar intellectual look; on the other hand, Sir Zerorick gave off the feeling of a warrior who had experiences numerous battles.

Back when the senate was still in control of the empire, both the emperor and the crown prince looked a bit thin and unwell, but now they had better complexions compared to before.

“Ohh, thank you for coming, Touya-dono.”

The Trihalan emperor stood up from his chair and came forward for a handshake.

“It’s good to see you’re doing well.”

“Thanks to you, every day has been fun for me. I almost feel as if I’m regressing in age.”

I smiled wryly at the emperor’s words. Until recently, he had been an emperor only in name, and was oppressed by the tyranny of the senate in actuality. It stands to reason that he would become more energetic once they’re gone.

The same goes for the crown prince; the gloominess during the time when he was forced to be engaged with the daughter of the senate chairman was gone from his expression.

While I only heard about this from others, apparently like her father, that fiancée in question had also relied on her status as the daughter of the senate chairman to do whatever she wanted; after the senate was dissolved, she had been arrested for her crimes.

Anyone would feel like they’re reborn if they’re freed from a fiancée who’s over 40, looks neither like a man nor like a woman, and also has a terribly twisted personality.

Although we talked about this on the phone before, I once again gave the explanation regarding the two-world conference to His Majesty the Emperor and His Highness the Crown Prince, and asked them if they had any potential countries in mind that they can convince to join.

“Unfortunately, our diplomatic relationships were also controlled by the senate in the past, you see. We don’t really have any country that’s friendly with us. We have a non-aggression pact with Raze Martial Kingdom to our south, but that’s the extent of our relationship; and as for Diem Kingdom to our east, they had been threatened by us before to become a vassal state. Right now, only Primula Kingdom—with which we managed to form ties due to your help, Touya-dono—would probably be willing to interact with us in a friendly manner.”

Un, Primula did almost get invaded back then. “It’s something done by the senate so it doesn’t have anything to do with us” isn’t something that can be said for this, anyway.

“Which is why, at the coming-up two-world conference that you spoke of, it’s necessary for us to show off the reborn Trihalan. Well, separate from that, there’s actually something we’d like to request Touya-dono this time…”

“That reminds me, Princess Lystis also said something like that… What is it? If it’s something I can do, then I’ll lend you my strength.”

His Majesty the Emperor glanced at the glasses-wearing crown prince to his side and cleared his throat. The crown prince, too, looked rather uncomfortable all of a sudden. What?

“Ah… Well, I heard that Touya-dono met Queen Margarita of Strain some time ago?”

“Yes. Her Majesty the Queen had agreed to participate in the two-world conference. She also promised to call out to Raze Martial Kingdom and Holy Kingdom Alent. What about it?”

“Queen Margarita has a son and daughter, you see. And the 20-year-old daughter, Crown Princess Berlietta, was said to be a beautiful woman with ample intelligence. And so, well…”

As I looked at His Majesty the Emperor, who was hesitating in his speech, with a suspicious gaze, Linze who was next to me opened her mouth.

“… Could it be that you wish for her to be engaged to the crown prince, or something like that- desu?”

With a feeling of “that’s it!”, the emperor slapped his knee and pointed at Linze.

“Yes! Exactly! It’s a good idea that can work to promote a new friendship between Trihalan and Strain, don’t you think? And as such, I was thinking if we can ask Touya-dono to convey our intent skillfully to the other side…”

“Then shouldn’t you just contact them yourself? I can give you Her Majesty the Queen’s number if you want.”

“No, well, you know how our country had been in the grips of the senate until recently… Honestly, I feel that she might not want to leave her precious daughter in the care of such an incompetent emperor’s son…”

I mean, yeah, I guess that’s possible… Although there’s no way I’ll say that out loud in front of the emperor, whose shoulders are slumped and looked pretty dejected.

“And how does Your Highness the Crown Prince view this matter?”

“… I agree with father’s thoughts in general. However, it’s the truth that I still have some resistance towards forming a relationship with someone I don’t know well… It might trouble the other side, too. Marrying someone that she dislikes would only bring her sadness…”

While pushing up his glasses, the crown prince gave a rather indecisive reply. Assuming she might dislike you even though you’ve never met each other, isn’t that too negative?

“Elder brother thinks in a much too pessimistic manner for most things. Isn’t it also possible for you two to find each other agreeable once you’ve married?”

The crown prince’s face had a bitter expression when he heard the manly words from his sister. Well, since Princess Lystis had been living her life as a man until recently, and also had more opportunities to work with the army compared to her brother, it’s probably natural for her to be more gallant in this regard.

While it’s a political marriage in form, if the two of them love each other then it doesn’t matter much. It’s like that in my case anyway.

“Does that crown princess not have any fiancés of her own?”

I snapped to attention at the point Hilda raised towards His Majesty the Emperor. Right, if the other side already has someone she’s betrothed to, it would be bad to get between them.

That reminds me, Hilda received a pretty big shock when she first learned I have fiancées of my own, didn’t she.

“There’s no worry about that. According to our investigation, Princess Berlietta has neither a fiancé nor any potential candidates. Although we don’t have any idea if there’s any man she’s attracted to.”

None, huh. If that’s the case… Eh, wait a second?

It’s weird how the crown princess of a country—who’s already 20—doesn’t have a single fiancé or potential suitor, isn’t it? There is the possibility that she simply has a strict standard, though.

“Whatever the case, first it’s contacting Queen Margarita, I suppose.”

“It may be troublesome, but please take care of it. It may change the future of our country, after all.”

I inwardly muttered a bit, that I’m not really used to something like this, as I watched the emperor lower his head to me.

However, it isn’t a bad method in order to form a tie of friendship between the two countries. Still, if it goes well then everything’s fine, but if it doesn’t it’ll be very awkward for both sides.

Should I just go all out and gather young men and women from various royal families and powerful noble houses, and hold a blind date party at the two-world conference?

Well, even if it doesn’t go to that level, it can still be a party to get them to know each other.

The only thing we’ll do is providing the location, and we’ll leave everything afterwards to the participants themselves, anyway. Un, I should give that idea more thought. Fortunately, there’s a pro regarding such matters in our household. Or rather, she’s an actual god of that field…

For now, I took my smartphone out in order to make an appointment with Her Majesty the Strain Queen.

- Pixel