Chapter : 90

The atmosphere in the banquet hall was congenial.

The grand finale of the southern heretic subjugation was finally drawing to a close. In reality, all the heretics that had been plaguing the southern Elang Kingdom were finished.

The defeated remnants had fled to the Kingdom of Aragon, and everyone knew that the next time would be the last.

Thus, everyone was excited, anticipating a massive distribution of honors.

And this annoying elf next to me, the Elf King and Prince-elector of Bohemia, was excited for a completely different reason.

“My, Margrave Bellua! Is it true that you hunted an ogre by yourself?”

“Ah, that is…”

“Good heavens! It must be true.”

Having heard the news from somewhere, the first thing he talked about upon meeting me was the ogre.

“How could you not call me when you were hunting such a monster? I’m so disappointed.”

“…Weren’t you in the middle of a battle?”

“You should have waited until I could join. If our friendship is true, shouldn’t we have shared the glory of hunting a monster together?”

“……”

At this point, I was beginning to think that this absurd whining was a characteristic of his race.

Moreover, the face of the Elf King, the Prince-elector of Bohemia, was tinged with a strange sense of betrayal.

‘Aigo, my head…’

I rubbed my throbbing head and said bluntly.

“Your Excellency, the Prince-elector. It’s not a big deal. It was just a common monster hunt.”

“Not a big deal? What do you mean? An ogre is the best monster there is. Especially since even our elf knights can’t catch them easily.”

“Indeed. That’s right.”

“If it’s difficult even for elves, for a human to catch one is a tremendous achievement.”

“Ahem! Our Margrave is no ordinary human. Apologize at once, Sir.”

“Ah…. My apologies, Your Excellency the Margrave. I misspoke. To a knight recognized by the Elf King himself…”

It felt like watching a one-act comedy. To think they could play off each other like this.

I let out a sigh at the sight of the elf knights, to whom I could never get accustomed.

“Your Excellency, the Prince-elector. The important thing right now is not that I caught an ogre, is it?”

“Ah, right! You’re right.”

The Elf King, the Prince-elector of Bohemia, shouted as if he had a great realization.

Yes, he was a leader, so he had to get a grip. But… the Elf King’s understanding was a little different from my expectation.

Very different, in fact.

“The fact that he caught an ogre is not important. Knights! Do you know how our Margrave Bellua caught the ogre?”

“Of course, he must have killed it by luring it into a pit trap, right? Isn’t that how they are usually caught, Your Excellency?”

“My! Sir. What a rude thing to say. Our Margrave is not such a petty person.”

“That’s right. He must have cut off its head with a sword after a fierce, bloody battle.”

Amidst the many opinions being exchanged, the Elf King, the Prince-elector of Bohemia, shook his head and cut them off.

“No! From what I’ve found out… he strangled it to death!”

-Pfft!

The wine I was drinking was involuntarily spat out. I almost choked for a moment.

“W-where did you hear that from? Such an absurd rumor…”

“Hmm? A rumor? Hoho, our Margrave is so humble. I have already heard everything. He had a tug-of-war with the ogre and then with a tree trunk, his neck went ss-.”

As he said that, the Prince-elector of Bohemia made a squeezing gesture with his hands.

“Is that true?”

“No, I’m telling you. Don’t you believe my words?”

“Still, Your Excellency. Winning against an ogre in a contest of strength is something only those boastful dwarves would say, isn’t it?”

“This is so frustrating. Margrave Bellua. Stop being silent and tell us.”

Seeing that, my head spun. These damned elf knights… to think their mouths were so loose.

“A-ahem.”

Look at him subtly turning his head away.

He must know he was wrong, right? But what could I do? The water was already spilled.

In the end, I had no choice but to sigh and admit it.

“Ugh…. That’s right, Your Excellency the Prince-elector.”

“See? Wasn’t I right? There are even witnesses and evidence.”

“Ooh-! Indeed, he is a true knight recognized by the Elf King.”

“To defeat an ogre in a contest of strength!”

Their fuss was distracting. The elves’ characteristic martial spirit was making me extremely uncomfortable.

Wasn’t the attention of the banquet hall already focused on me?

‘Well, at least it’s not infamy.’

In the end, even rumors like this would eventually become honorable. The way a noble proved himself was ultimately through his personal fame, apart from the prosperity of his family.

Of course, there were also those who were jealous of this.

“Hmph. To believe such nonsense.”

“What did you say?”

“Think about it. How could a human body defeat an ogre that is several times its size in a contest of strength?”

It was my soul rival(?), Count Bozen. He had attacked with a very common-sense-based argument.

“Hmm, that’s true.”

“It does seem a bit exaggerated. Hahaha, in fact, didn’t His Excellency the Margrave deny it at first?”

“That’s right. I wonder if the elf knights were just playing a prank…”

The surrounding nobles nodded, offering rather moderate opinions. It was because they didn’t want to get on the bad side of the Elf King, the Prince-elector of Bohemia.

But the Prince-elector of Bohemia was not one to stand for this.

“What? Are you saying I’m a liar, Count Bozen?”

“O-of course not. The one who made that claim was Margrave Bellua, wasn’t it, Your Excellency?”

“Hmph, I don’t want to hear it.”

Then, the Elf King, the Prince-elector of Bohemia, suddenly looked at the priest sent from the Holy See and asked.

“I have heard that those who are loved by God can miraculously receive grace and display superhuman strength. Is that right?”

“Uh…. There was an incident where an untrained old priest performed a miracle and saved a child who was pinned under a carriage, but…”

“Yes! This incident can be seen in the same way. What was Margrave Bellua’s nickname early on? Was it not ‘performer of miracles’? He must have performed a miracle this time as well!”

“Th-that miracle is not something that happens so easily and continuously, Your Excellency the Prince-elector…”

The priest from the Holy See who had spoken broke out in a cold sweat and tried to control the situation. Of course, the Prince-elector of Bohemia didn’t even snort at him.

“Do you understand, Count Bozen? This is possible. It’s not a lie. Apologize quickly to the Margrave who has shown a great achievement.”

“Gah…”

On the contrary, he was using it to pressure Count Bozen.

And in the end.

“M-my apologies, Margrave Bellua.”

He apologized to me with a very resentful expression. Only then did the Elf King, the Prince-elector of Bohemia, who had regained his honor(?), look satisfied.

-Tiriring!

[Notification: Count Bozen holds a grudge against you. Be careful.]

‘What the hell?’

For me, who had suddenly accumulated a grudge, it was a bolt from the blue.

* * *

There was a minor misunderstanding(?), but the banquet was ending on a relatively good note.

The nobles, knights, and mercenary captains had relieved the tension and fatigue from the long battles and had filled their stomachs satisfactorily.

Now, only one thing remained.

“The time is finally ripe.”

To execute the King of Aragon, the ultimate goal of this southern heretic subjugation.

“Oh…”

“Are we finally going?”

The attendees of the banquet all expressed their anticipation with flushed faces.

This was the matter of replacing the king of a nation. And that nation was the Kingdom of Aragon, which was called one of the three major powers in the western part of the continent.

Therefore, it would be a very difficult war, but on the other hand, they could expect a huge reward. They would be able to taste a different level of spoils compared to conquering a domain.

Thanks to this, all the participants were excited and began to voice their opinions.

“Since the days of the ancient empire, the Kingdom of Aragon has been very easy to access by sea. As it happens, from here, it’s just a few hours by boat to the capital, Barca.”

“What nonsense! The galleys of the Kingdom of Aragon are the best on the continent. If the landing plan is discovered, we will be annihilated at sea.”

“Don’t talk nonsense! The land route is even more rugged, isn’t it?”

“What did you say! Nonsense?”

Everyone became heated due to their conflicting opinions, but in fact, they were all right.

The Kingdom of Aragon had a natural barrier called the Hispenia Mountains, so the paths that could be passed by land were very limited. Thanks to its long and flat coastline, it was good for landing by boat, but even this was not easy.

As mentioned before, the Kingdom of Aragon was a very famous maritime nation.

‘Hmm, it won’t be easy.’

I frowned, recalling my memories of conquering the Kingdom of Aragon in [Pangea Universalise].

The key to conquering the Kingdom of Aragon was the city of Perpignan, located at the foot of the Hispenia Mountains.

If this city was captured, a plain would stretch out after it, making it easy to conquer, but the problem was that Perpignan was a huge fortress city that had been expanded since the days of the ancient empire.

The hard and high walls were a very big burden in a siege.

‘What will he do?’

A situation where anything would be very difficult.

What choice would the Prince-elector of Bohemia make?

But.

“Ignore them all. We will march straight to Barca, the capital of the Kingdom of Aragon.”

The Elf King, the Prince-elector of Bohemia, brought out a very aggressive method, just like his racial characteristics.

“Yes?”

“I mean, we will go straight to the capital, Barca, by land.”

“?!”

“Y-Your Excellency the Prince-elector. That is madness. To leave a hostile city at our back.”

Everyone was surprised and tried to stop the Prince-elector of Bohemia.

But the Prince-elector of Bohemia seemed to have no intention of changing his opinion. On the contrary, he shouted confidently.

“Hmph, compared to our forces, they are nothing more than a handful!”

There were no lords who maintained a large number of standing troops on a regular basis.

Unless they hastily hired mercenaries and scraped them together from wherever they could, the number of troops in a city was at most around 1,000. In contrast, the army of the subjugation force was nearly 30,000 strong.

Just as the Prince-elector of Bohemia said, they would surely not dare to attack. Moreover, the Prince-elector of Bohemia’s words did not end there.

“We are not fighting the Kingdom of Aragon, but the family of the Holy Empire’s Emperor who holds the throne of the Kingdom of Aragon. How many kingdom nobles would be loyal to a foreign king?”

In fact, that was a chronic problem of the Kingdom of Aragon. The kingdom nobles who were in conflict with the arrogant foreign king who knew little about the local situation.

“Hmm…. That is true, but.”

“And that’s not all. The excommunication of the King of Aragon that the Holy See will issue!”

When they began to show signs of being persuaded, he drove the nail in.

“Unless they have turned to heresy like the southern Elang Kingdom, no one will side with the King of Aragon. Therefore… we will go straight to the capital! Do not worry.”

And hearing those words, I couldn’t help but be impressed.

‘Oh?’

To think that this battle-crazed Prince-elector of Bohemia could make such a judgment. There was a reason why he was one of the prince-electors vying for the hegemony of the Holy Empire.

Perhaps this war.

It seemed like it would end sooner than I thought.

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