Chapter 145: The Repercussions
Jerry called someone to take care of the body.
The middle-aged men who were summoned were shocked to see the corpse, and even more surprised when they looked at me.
Nonetheless, without saying anything unnecessary, they silently obeyed Jerry’s orders, cleared the body, and left.
“These guys just now?”
“As expected of my lord, you noticed well.”
“Hmm?”
“They were the ones who were saved by you the day I was with them.”
“Oh.”
I see that explains their surprise at seeing me.
“That’s why they could never betray you like those little cockroaches.”
“That’s good—more importantly, tell me one more thing.”
“Yes.”
“After the Imperial Army retreated, how did you manage to regroup here?”
I asked Jerry about that matter.
The initial incident was when Eila Nouf betrayed us, leading to a devastating defeat for the Imperial regular army.
That was what resulted in my personal campaign.
Of course, I had received reports, but I wanted to hear directly from someone on the ground.
Last time, with the chaos from the food storage fire, I missed the opportunity to ask.
This was also one of the reasons I came to see Jerry.
“Yes! Would you like a rough overview, or should I explain in detail?”
“Ha ha ha, what happens if it’s rough?”
“If we were just having little skirmishes at the frontier as usual, those little cockroaches betrayed us, and then it became a time-buying situation.”
“I see, that’s a rough overview.”
I nodded and smiled broadly.
“So the incident with the food storage was also an extension of the time-buying situation?”
“Yes.”
“And how do you perceive the reasons for your success in buying time?”
“Well, that’s thanks to my lord’s prestige—”
“Enough of that kind of talk.”
“—Yes.”
Jerry nodded and turned red.
He seemed to feel ashamed for having been stopped from flattering me.
“The reasons are… two, or rather one—no, maybe it’s two?”
“Is it disorganized? Fine, go ahead and tell me everything.”
“Yes. One reason is that the other side is disliked by the locals, while we are well-liked.”
“Does that change much?”
“Normally not much, but the second reason—if they are acting as the Imperial Army, that can significantly change things.”
“…I see, so the righteous path cannot be trodden without the cooperation of the people.”
“As expected of my lord.”
I nodded slightly.
If it were just mere savagery or rebellion, they could do as they please.
However, Eila claimed to be the Emperor.
Claiming to be an Emperor necessitates governance.
And governance requires the cooperation of the people—which more bluntly put means needing to win their favor.
If you claim to be an Emperor while the people are cooperative with the opposing forces, it’s as if your hands and feet are bound.
“…Jerry.”
“Yes.”
“Spread a rumor that once the Empire regains its lost territories, tax exemptions for one year will be granted.”
“That sounds good, but… will you actually do it?”
“Yes.”
“Is that really okay? You know, in that sort of way.”
Jerry made the classic gesture of forming a ring with his thumb and index finger.
“There’s no problem; if we defeat Eila, we can confiscate his wealth.”
“That’s true, but isn’t it normal to use such resources as rewards for military achievements?”
“This time I’m here. If I make notable military achievements, it can be suppressed.”
“Ah… oh! Is it possible that my lord is acting like a mere lantern right now—”
“It’s part of the plan. Since this is technically my first deployment for a personal campaign, I intended to claim military achievements for future purposes, but I just thought of the financial aspect now.”
“I see, as expected of my lord!”
Jerry was impressed again.
“Well then, I should probably get going… What about Muir?”
I suddenly remembered I had forgotten to ask about it amidst the sudden assassination attempt.
“Oh, yes! It’s being prepared outside. We’ve managed to squeeze it into a small carriage.”
“Understood.”
Together with Jerry, I headed towards the cage where Muir was confined, moving from the back of the garden to the front.
As we took the winding path outside, there it was, the carriage Jerry mentioned.
It was swaying slightly, looking restless.
I found it a bit amusing that Muir was probably fidgeting and causing the disturbance inside.
“Now, I—”
“Ah! There you are! Hey!”
“Huh?”
With a loud voice that interrupted my thoughts, I heard someone running toward me.
When I turned around, a familiar face was approaching.
It was the young eunuch, Luke.
He was coming toward me, drenched in sweat.
The people in the streets found it somewhat strange to see a boy running in such a dirty state from his journey, but most of them merely glanced in his direction with expressions that conveyed ‘What’s this?’ and then returned to their daily routines without any further interest.
Luke continued to run up to me as I stood there.
“I’m glad you’re here.”
Luke said, panting, as he placed his hands on his knees in front of me.
“Ah! Um, Your Majesty—”
“Not here, let’s skip that.”
“Uh! Ah, yes! Um… then, Master?”
“Yes.”
I nodded in agreement to Luke’s rephrasing.
“What did you come for?”
“Yes! Uh, I have a letter from my master—no, from Lord Henry.”
“Show it to me.”
“Yes!”
Luke carefully presented an envelope from his pocket.
I took it, opened the seal, pulled out the contents, and read it.
“Hm, understood.”
Having read the concise message to the end, I placed it back in my pocket.
“What’s going on?”
“Don’t worry, it’s not that the situation has changed. I received a report that Eila has moved to the city of Kakaruka.”
“Kakaruka, that’s close.”
“It seems to be part of an inspection of the royal tombs.”
“I see.”
“I’m heading there. I want to see Eila’s face at least once.”
“Easier to protect you that way.”
“No, it’s fine. Depending on the circumstances, I might go to listen to Eila’s bedtime stories, and having too many people would actually be a hindrance.”
“Is that so… understood.”
“Luke, you come with me.”
“Y-yes!”
“Jerry, be prepared.”
“Absolutely!”
After creating the emblem once more with the Fuwawa’s power and showing it to Jerry, I took Luke with me and jumped onto the carriage with Muir, leaving the city.
☆
On the driver’s seat of the carriage, I sat side by side with Luke.
Since Luke was still a boy and didn’t know how to drive the carriage, I took the reins.
The carriage continued along the road, heading to Eila’s territory.
Although it was Eila’s territory, originally, Eila was part of the royal family of the empire, meaning this area was also within the Empire’s dominions.
If Jerry hadn’t pointed it out, I wouldn’t have been able to tell where the boundary of the territory was due to how unchanging the scenery was.
During the journey, Luke was constantly fidgety, concerned about the presence and aura of Muir, who was inside the carriage.
“Um…”
“What is it?”
“I-I really won’t be bitten… right?”
“You’ll be fine… Muir.”
“Miki?”
“Yikes!”
Called by name, Muir poked her head out, startling Luke to the point of nearly falling over.
With a face that seemed to ask, “Did Master call me?” Muir exhibited none of the hostility or malice she once had, looking quite adorable instead.
“Lick him, Muir.”
“Miki!”
At my command, Muir leaned over even further and gave Luke’s face a long lick.
Luke, startled, nearly toppled out of the carriage until I grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
“How was that? You’re okay, right?”
“Y-yes… Amazing, Master, how did you manage to tame such a scary monster without anyone noticing?”
“Just a little while ago.”
“Wow… amazing…”
Luke was in awe, alternating his gaze between Muir, who had calmed down without commands, and me, who could direct her at will.
“…hmm.”
Suddenly, I noticed something in the surrounding scenery that piqued my interest.
“What’s wrong, Master?”
“…”
I stopped the carriage in silence, jumped down from the driver’s seat, and walked towards the discovered items.
Luke hurriedly followed after me, looking anxious as he descended from the driver’s seat.
I stood in front of a sparse cluster of trees, at the entrance of a small thicket.
I gently touched one of the trees and looked around the entire grove.
“What’s wrong, master?”
Luke asked again.
I turned around, met Luke’s gaze, and nodded towards the thicket.
“A grove… right?”
“Yeah, the bark has been stripped away, right?”
“Eh? Oh, you’re right. What’s going on here?”
“They’ve been eaten.”
“Eaten…?”
“Could it be the farmers nearby? Unless they’re really suffering from food shortages, it wouldn’t be like this.”
“Um, master?”
“Yeah?”
“Is tree bark… edible?”
“It can be an emergency food. But just enough to not starve to death.”
“How do you eat it?”
“Hmmm…”
I pulled out some old knowledge from the depths of my mind.
“First, you can’t eat it raw; that’s absolutely no good. If you try to eat it raw, you’ll end up with food poisoning and die.”
“R-really?”
“Peel the bark off, shave down the outer part, and leave the inner—let’s say the portion that looks fresh.”
“Okay.”
“Then you cook it by roasting or boiling. Slice it thinly, and you can use the shaved pieces to light a fire; that way you can use it up without wasting anything.”
“Wow… I had no idea you could do that…”
“The roots can also be processed and eaten.”
“Eh!? Really!?”
“Well, they’ll only be somewhat useful, just enough to not die.”
“I see… That’s amazing, master, that you know all this.”
I smiled slightly.
I looked at the thicket again.
It was a scene often seen during famines.
A sight where everything edible is gone, and even the bark is consumed.
It can happen due to floods as well.
Most disasters can allow people to survive until they’ve eaten the bark, but locust plagues are different.
Those locusts eat the bark, leaving nothing but the soil.
As I remembered the distant past, I felt a hint of melancholy.
“Ah, master!?”
“Hmm? What is it?”
“There’s a village over there. Are those the people who ate this?”
I looked in the direction Luke was pointing.
Indeed, in the distance,
I could faintly see what looked like a farming village.
I thought for a moment.
There has been no disasters, only war.
The cause must be war… but what happened for things to turn out like this?
Curious to find out, I had Luke drive the carriage towards the village.
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Thanks for the treat.