The Empire’s Suffering 4
“Such a thing was…….”
“”””””…………””””””
The attendees fell silent and did not utter a word.
It’s the future. Somewhere in outer space…
…No, not really. It’s just the next day. In the royal palace.
In other words, I am reporting the situation to the king.
In addition to the king and myself, the other attendees were the familiar members, such as the Chancellor, Marquis Icebringer, the Crown Prince, the First Princess, and the Third Princess, Sabine-chan.
……But why were the last two here?…….
My guardian, Count Bozes, has not come to the royal capital because of territorial management issues.
Besides, even if I told him now, he won’t make it in time for this debriefing session.
……So, it can’t be helped, yea.
Also, why were the second prince and the second princess being cut off from this?
……No, no. It’s just a thought.
Those two were healers, and do not fit in the place of evil.
I mean, the fact that the first princess and the third princess, Sabine-chan, attended was even stranger!
“… So, Your Majesty. Could you receive the compensation and a pledge from the empire on my behalf?” (Mitsuha)
“Eh?……” (King)
Of course, I don’t mean to have the king himself go pick it up. All he had to do was order his subordinates to pick up the gold coins and document the pledge.
Perhaps the messenger will not be killed.
I don’t think they would harm a “mere messenger, who has no means to kill”, in exchange for the apparent destruction of the empire……
I have poor defense and no physical fighting ability.
Apart from having the ability to transfer and a handgun, I’m just a paper-armored, helpless little girl.
My healing ability was just “slow but complete healing”, so if I get a fatal wound at the level of instant death, let alone a severe injury, I could easily die on the spot.
It’s only a “slow heal” if I’m still alive, so if my head was blown off, or crushed, or even got shot through the heart, I’m out. Moreover, I will not multiply into two if I was cut into two.
It would be easy to kill me by assassins, ambushes, snipers with bows and arrows, dropping rocks from a mountain top while traveling in a wagon, and so forth.
If I can detect the enemy before he kills me, I can prevent it by moving myself, the enemy, or the weapon, but if I can’t detect it in time, or if I got rushed at close range and my reaction was delayed, then I’m out in one shot
So I’ll never meet with anyone from the imperial side unless I can be sure that it’s safe.
I further emphasized that “the divine messenger, protected by the power of the goddess, was unharmed”, of course, in order to make him think that any attempt to harm me would be futile and that retaliation would be terrible so that he would not think of attacking me.
Therefore, I must punish those who do so.
That, and making that fact widely known.
……To maintain a strong deterrent effect.
“And if you can leak… no, “publicize” the fact that you received them from the empire on my behalf, along with their contents.” (Mitsuha)
””””””…Are you the devil?!””””””
There was no one here who didn’t understand what that meant for the empire and for the emperor’s family.
……Including, of course, the third princess, Sabine-chan.
“…But is that really all right?” (King)
Of course, there’s a reason why the king confirms this.
“To announce that would mean announcing that “Hime Miko-sama alone is capable of bringing the empire to its knees and causing it to surrender unconditionally”, you know?” (King)
Yeah, I know.
Up until now, I have not had the ability to attack, but only “led those with powerful offensive capabilities”.
So, to those who think that those “powerful offensive capabilities” were the secret forces and secret weapons of this country, and to those who think they were a little closer to the truth by saying it’s my homeland’s army……, must have thought that if they got me personally, those forces would not be attached to me as a bonus.
In the former case, when I marry somewhere, the role of the portable shrine will be transferred to the daughter of a nobleman, who will play the role of the next Hime Miko.
And if it’s the latter, if I am already married to some country, and those of my motherland wouldn’t unconditionally set up a force for that country. I would no longer be the princess of my homeland, and it would be the end of its role to protect me.
……In other words, either way, my homeland’s forces would not be at their disposal for their own convenience.
However, if it was exposed that I alone can bring the empire to its knees without the need for those forces…
What it could bring to the table was…….
“…Will there be a flood of marriage proposals?” (Mitsuha)
“……Well, there will be that too…” (King)
Yes, it means that a battle for my custody may break out.
No, that’s right, I’m still called “Hime Miko of Thunder” and “Angel”, but not many people really believe that at face value.
Many of the nobles in this country must think of me as “Her Royal Highness, the King’s sister from a great country across the sea”, a little girl who can only use the secret art of “transfer”,… Moreover, it can only be used with great care as it reduces my life force and would not be very useful for convenience.
And they knew that if they pissed me off real bad, well, an army that could slaughter the ancient dragons would appear.
In their own territory.
In their own mansion.
…Right behind them…
If they win, they will make a little profit each time.
And if they lost even once, their whole family would be killed, or their house would be cut off.
No one would continue such a gamble.
And the nobles knew that I risked my life to save the commoner Colette-chan, who was seriously injured. They know that I take actions that they can’t understand…
…Yes, for the nobility, I am “a mysterious bomb made in another country, whose conditions for detonation and the sensitivity of the fuze are unknown”.
There were no bombs in this country yet, though.
Anyway, for them, I am too unbalanced in terms of risk and return, merit and demerit.
So not many would think of something crazy.
At least that’s what they thought……. Until now.
Things will change if we make all this public.
Yes, it means that the surrounding countries will know that I am not simply a portable shrine for the purpose of raising war spirits, but that I really have the power as an “angel”, with an unconventional combat power.
Distant countries that don’t have a mole in the imperial capital won’t believe that, though.
It’s natural for a snake to become a dragon as rumors spread far and wide.
So, although it does not concern distant countries, the nobles of this country and the upper echelons of neighboring countries, who have accurate information through recon and espionage, would know about it.
Then what will happen…
Well, I don’t think this country and most of its neighbors will change their attitudes.
This country was known for not invading other countries, and in the first place, they knew that the “Angel is real”, so they would never pick a fight with us.
If they were currently on our side, there’s no chance that they would be foolish enough to go out of their way to make an enemy of us.
It would be the same for neighboring friendly countries.
So, knowing that there will be many disadvantages, they will still prioritize strengthening the deterrence to prevent “attacks on us and those close to us” from adversaries who want to harm them.
……Do I not worry that everyone would treat me like a tumor, you say?
No, that won’t make much difference, since we already showed them a lot of things during the “Absolute Defense of the Royal Capital”.
I don’t think the people who saw that and still treated me normally were going to change their attitudes now.
After all, at that time, we fended off an imperial invasion force consisting of imperial soldiers, a horde of demons, and three ancient dragons.
Compared to that, it’s much easier to take down the imperial capital……
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1 More Empire’s Suffering
+5 Invader
Until the end of the empire… Tabun.
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