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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Angel Dust]
[Proofreader – Prototype]
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Side Story 2
“Hmm.”
Hmm. Uh-huh.
“Fucking hell.”
I’ve tried so hard not to use that kind of language for a while now.
I’ve returned from being a sergeant in the Imperial Army to being the son of House Adelheit.
The people around me are no longer those who casually engaged in crude banter.
They are nobles who must adhere to a certain level of decorum and etiquette.
The language and behavior accepted in the military are not suitable for the esteemed company I now keep.
So, as soon as I left that world, I shed all traces of it.
“This is absolutely fucking ridiculous.”
But even so, this time, I just couldn’t hold back.
I think I underestimated those damn fools.
There’s no way they would have done this otherwise.
* * *
“…Your Majesty?”
One day, after my niece’s first birthday celebration had concluded, the Emperor suddenly summoned me.
As soon as I greeted him, he said—
“You know, brother-in-law, I had hoped that my reign would be a time of peace.”
He had hoped his reign would be a time of peace. That means it’s no longer the case.
I gulped involuntarily at the Emperor’s shocking words.
“Your Majesty, is there something happening that I’m not aware of?”
“Something happened a short while ago, brother-in-law. I didn’t want to inform you, but I figured it’s better to tell you in advance since you’ll find out eventually.”
A chill ran down my spine.
A sense of dread washed over me, like a stain I couldn’t wash away.
Please, no. Not now. My niece’s birthday just ended, and I’m in my final year.
I don’t want to get dragged back into this.
I don’t want to worry about other things. No, to be honest, I was hoping that there wouldn’t be any other trouble I’d have to deal with.
“We’ve received a top-secret report from the Special Task Force. It seems the South is becoming turbulent again.”
“…”
“If it were just the South, I wouldn’t be this worried. It’s inevitable that their discontent will resurface eventually, so it might even be better for it to happen sooner rather than later.”
Tap. Tap.
The Emperor continued, tapping his fingers on the armrest.
“It seems Avileshti is involved.”
“Avileshti, you say.”
“According to the top-secret report we just received, there was an attack on an Imperial Army base near the Great Forest. It was a large-scale explosion spell triggered remotely.”
“…”
“And the Ministry of Magic’s investigation concluded that the structure of the spell is different from that of the elves.”
Large-scale explosion spell. My heart pounded.
Magic. Large-scale magic. The monstrous beast that devoured countless of my comrades.
When someone who lost their legs and arms grabbed my hand, begging me to find their limbs.
Or when I saw them torn to pieces, unable to even speak properly before they died.
Magic, which some call a product of convenience, was the breath of death to me.
“The casualties…”
“Thankfully, there were no fatalities. Had it detonated any closer, the entire base would have been obliterated, but it seems they weren’t able to get close enough. Distance, in this case, was their salvation.”
No fatalities. But that means there were injuries.
“We can’t keep this a secret forever.”
“Of course not. The Ministry of Magic has already sent people to the South to investigate, and the news will spread eventually. It can’t remain a secret.”
The Emperor paused, then quietly looked at me.
I wondered if he had something to say, so I lowered my head and waited.
“Brother-in-law.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“While the chances are low, if Avileshti is fully involved, the Empire will face a two-front war. If that happens, our support for Hyzens will likely be delayed.”
“That’s understandable. Avileshti is a far more threatening potential enemy than those defeated elves. And we can’t be sure when or how Lasker might turn against us.”
The relationship between Lasker and Avileshti is the worst. Or rather, it was the worst.
With the strongest nation on the continent right next door, the two nations that were constantly at each other’s throats also felt the need for change.
They recognized that despite their mutual animosity, they had to set aside their differences and cooperate to counter a greater threat.
In other words, they wouldn’t openly form an alliance, but they would leave the possibility open.
Until now, the Empire supported their amicable relationship because it was good for the stability of the continent.
But if these two countries suddenly formed a united front, it would be very troublesome.
The Empire’s strategy was to support Lasker and make Avileshti wary, keeping them at odds and maintaining peace.
But if the sword and magic suddenly joined forces, even the Empire would have to brace for significant losses.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Special Task Force will launch investigations in both directions. And if it turns out that Avileshti is directly involved, if there are signs of Lasker joining them, then, like my ancestors before me, I will gladly sound the trumpet of war for the peace of the Empire.”
Even during the Great Forest War, the entire Imperial Army was never mobilized.
Only a few legions stationed in the South were cycled through the conflict with the elves.
However, this time is different. Sounding the trumpet of war isn’t just about that level of mobilization.
It means deploying all of the Empire’s regular forces to the front lines, and gathering recently discharged soldiers to form a reserve force, ready for deployment.
“Fortunately, if this incident turns out to be the work of some anti-Imperial agitators within Avileshti, and if Lasker wisely chooses not to break their ties with us, then we’ll finally be able to put an end to the Great Forest War.”
In other words, they’re saying to hell with the elves’ sovereignty and intend to push the Imperial army beyond the Great Forest, deep into the south, to crush all resistance.
The elves will fiercely resist, but that will be ignored.
The Empire has come to believe that problems should be solved with force rather than dialogue.
The elves who complain about this will be the ones who become rebels, so the Empire is convinced that it’s in their best interest to crush them all at once.
“The important thing here is that there’s only one thing left to do.”
Yes, this is where it really begins.
The reason the Emperor summoned me. The reason he’s telling me all this.
It’s not just a simple explanation of the situation. Even though he’s my brother-in-law, he wouldn’t tell me such important information for no reason.
There’s something I have to do. Something I can do well.
Something only I can do, that’s what the Emperor has decided.
“Unfortunately, the Empire is now desperately seeking peace.”
Sometimes people have a big misconception. They think that martial artists are violent. No. It’s just a job. No one becomes a martial artist because they want to beat people up.
People also have another misconception. They think that a country that has been constantly at war will always want war.
People there have become so numb to it that they’re always ready to fight, or so they say.
‘No.’
That’s not true either. Those who have experienced more battles are the ones who shy away from conflict.
Many of those who advocate for peace after a war are veterans.
They know war better than anyone, and they don’t want others to experience its horrors.
It’s only been a few years since the gunfire ceased in the Southern Great Forest.
If another war starts now, the war fatigue among the Imperial citizens could become severe.
Even if we have justification, it becomes meaningless if the people are psychologically exhausted.
“But in the end, we must take away the candy of peace from them and give them the poison of war.”
“…”
“I’m truly sorry to ask this of you, brother-in-law. Please understand.”
There’s only one way to mitigate the inevitable war weariness that will grip the nation.
It’s to use me, the war hero the Empire has recently been promoting.
That way, we can achieve a storm-like result in a short war.
More importantly, until we’re certain, more than half of the Empire’s Imperial army can’t be in the South.
Instead, they need to be vigilant about the movements of Lasker and Avileshti.
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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Angel Dust]
[Proofreader – Prototype]
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