CH 197

Chapter 197 – Demon King and Secret Talks

The following day, I awoke in a guest room in the council chambers and was asked by the civil officer of the Republic to meet with the board chairman of the council.

After I agreed and the civil official left the room, I asked Myrril to accompany me. I don’t think I need an escort, but if a decision is required of me as leader of the Casemaian, I would like her to be present as well.

“It doesn’t matter. I don’t think they would be foolish enough to antagonize us at this point in time.”

“There is one thing that is bothering me. If it was their intention to kill Lord McKin’s family, then…”

“Kill them? If that’s what you decide, I’m not opposed to it. The man is a bit young if he was involved in the assassination of his father and brother, not to mention this one, isn’t he?”

If the head of the conservative faction is something that is replaced, it would be better to confirm his responsibility before making a decision.

After getting ready, we headed to yesterday’s meeting room. In the hallway on the way there, we find the “Battlecry” members looking bored and unmotivated. McCain at the door. Louis and Colon are at the end of the hallway.

“Uh… is this Lord McKin’s room?”

“Yeah. Tig is inside. If you want to talk to him, he’s here.”

“No, it’s something else. Stay with the escort. We will leave before noon.”

“We’ll go through Cassmeer and get to Lafan at night.”

“…If all goes well, is it not?”

“””Uhee.”””

Everyone who could hear me made a disgusted face. I’m not saying it myself, but I’d rather not have that happen to me, either.

I’ve had enough of the rough stuff. I don’t have a problem with supplying weapons and ammunition, but I can’t keep my motivation up. Even though it’s my job, it’s an internal affair of the Republic. I don’t want to say that I don’t have feelings for them now that I know more people, but at the end of the day, it’s just someone else’s business.

“This way, sir.”

The civil official who was on his way indicated the door in front of the conference room.

“Isn’t this the conference room?”

“The chairman said it would be better this way.”

Myrril-san and I casually straighten our collars at the door and check the pistols in our shoulder holsters.

I keep the overpowering UZI and M79. I also keep the ammunition belt and the polar revolver that I had been using as a razor strap. The only weapons I have on hand are an M1911 copy and a Browning Hi-Power.

“With twenty-seven rounds, there would be no danger.”

“I hope so.”

The officer knocks and ushers us into the room. The inside of the room is a calm and quiet office. It is about 33 square meters in size if I had to guess. There is a desk facing this way by the window in the back and two sofas and a low table facing each other in the front.

It is a scene I often saw in my previous world. Perhaps what people think is not so different in any other world.

The board chairman was preparing tea in the corner of the room by himself, without showing his mental superiority by being positioned by the window.

“Ah, good morning. Thank you for coming, Your Majesty the Demon King, Your Majesty the Queen.”

He stopped the civil official who was about to take over the preparation of tea with his hand and made him step back. He put a cup and a pot on the tray and invited us to sit on the sofa.

“Is this the board chairman’s private room?”

“Yes. More precisely, it is the room where I work out details with my colleagues before meetings.”

“A secret meeting room for conservatives, I see.”

Unperturbed by Myrril-san’s sudden jab, the board chairman shook his head with a wry smile. I see; he has already accepted the situation.

“That’s how it is. Each faction has a similar room and gathers their opinions in the same way.”

“So, what do you want?”

“First of all, let me explain. Besides the two who were disposed of by Your Majesty yesterday, there are others who are entrenched in conservative ideology. There are few people who don’t think that the “Raging Sea Monster Octopus” is a threat. I am one of them.”

“Not everything can be forgiven if one is honest, can it?”

“Yes. But hiding the truth is also a problem. The innovations he was promoting, good or bad, had a somewhat too strong connection with the kingdom. Moreover, the foolish king was still alive and well in the kingdom at that time, so it was even more so. Rather than envy the development of the southern territories, we feared interference and retaliation from the kingdom, which was a quasi-enemy.”

“So, you tried to replace the head of the Southern Territories, didn’t you?”

“I do not deny it. But there are certain methods that should be taken as a nation ruled by law. It would be foolish to bring in the imperial army. It would be unacceptable if we were to become the puppet of the Empire in place of the Kingdom, which would obviously be the puppet of the anti-mainstream faction.”

“So you cut off those two names.”

“Negotiations broke down, and the invasion began with the help of the rebels. If Lord McKin and Your Majesty had arrived a few days later, we would have been the ones who were disposed of.”

“Do you expect me to believe that?”

“I leave it to you to decide. But as long as I am the board chairman, I can tell you that the Republican administration has no intention of antagonizing the Demon King’s territory of Casemaian or the Southern Territories at this point in time.”

“Board Chairman. …Merlot, may I ask?”

“Yes.”

“Was it you who unleashed the light-tailed tribe?”

There was a slight hesitation in the eyes of the board chairman as he silently looked back at me.

“Yes. The council denounced the informal communication with the kingdom and decided to eliminate the Southern Lords since the discussion was broken down. It is the unanimous will of the council that the previous and previous Southern Lords were purged.”

“You may not be lying, but you are not answering the question. I am asking if you are the one who did it.”

“I was not even a member of the council at the time, but that does not change the fact that it was the decision of the council of the Republic. It is a technicality to say that I do not know the sins of my predecessors.”

Myrril looked at me with a stunned expression on her face. No, I wouldn’t know if you dumped it on me. I suppose, at least in the Casemaian way of law enforcement, the sins of the parents are not imposed on the children, at least not in my, or rather Japanese, way of thinking.

“Did you ever consider canceling the assassination order?”

“The Light-tailed Tribe only accepts changes to their orders from the party who requested them. Because the party is… dead.”

“Dead?”

“He was executed. For usurping the national interest and informing the empire.”

“That’s outrageous…”

There was a knock at the door. Myrril and I gently leaned back on the couch as if discussing the matter. I made it easy to pull my pistol from the shoulder holster. We leaned our bodies on opposite sides of each other so as not to block the line of fire. We looked at each other and smiled.

“Come in.”

Without waiting for a reply, Lord McKin entered. He is accompanied by Tig and Louis behind him. From the look on his face, it seems that he is not in trouble.

I’ve gotten into the habit of bracing myself for new trouble every time someone breaks off the conversation.

“I’m here to ask you to return the Demon King, Board Chairman.”

“I’m not trying to take him. I was just talking to him.”

No, how can I trust you? These people are the proud adventurers and merchants of our southern territory. I cannot accept your offer.”

“McKin-dono, we are not your subordinates, are we?”

“What do you mean? You are my employer for the time being. At least make me look good in front of the central government.”

I don’t know if he’s serious or if he’s the type of politician who pretends to be incorruptible and catches people off guard, but the board chairman can’t help but laugh at the boldly smiling Lord McKin.

“I heard about adventurers, but what is a merchant?”

“They brought supplies to Cassmeer, where the sea routes had been destroyed. They are the ones who prevented the rebels from overrunning the city. Well, they also helped us survive by destroying the enemy gunships before we could.”

Do we need to talk about specific merchant capabilities? We probably don’t have direct business dealings with the Republican government, you know.

The board chairman chuckles to us as we stand up after pleading for time.

“The southern lord has teamed up with the Demon King to destroy the Republic. The words of the Imperial Army may be true in a sense.”

“If you mean the kingdom, that may be so. What? Ruin is not always a bad thing, you know. It is common to see burnt ruins become fields of flowers!”

The young chairman looked as if he had just been punched in the face and was horrified by Myrril’s words, which were uttered with a big smile on her face.