8. You as the King
“I, I am the one to decide?”
“Because I’m kind of a chaperone. Celia should decide what to do with Morow. Well, even though the request was to reveal his intention, I’m not so inflexible as to withdraw at this point. I intend to stick around to deal with the aftermath.”
When I told her to decide what to do, Celia lowered her eyes.
“But for me to… It’s about the burden of the victory.”
“Really? I think Celia deserves it… Besides, you two are so similar.”
“！”
Celia, who looks surprised. Even without knowing her origin, considering her behavior up until now and her objective of becoming a court magician, it’s not hard to imagine that Celia, just like Morow, also went through some tragic experiences. Therefore, when she was hired and made it into the royal castle, several dangerous methods must have come to her mind.
So, was she just planning to keep it as a notion and had no intention of actually doing it? Or was it just because Morow got in the way, and there was no time to act before being driven out? I’m not sure either way, but anyway, one clear thing is that her approach or method was different from Morow’s. Though they are birds of a feather, there is still a decisive difference between them.
And there could be no one better qualified than Celia to decide what to do with Morow, precisely because they could have easily switched positions.
“Currently, the one who makes this country function as a country is Morow. If you hate both the crime and the person, killing him would probably be reasonable, but if you do that, it might finally bring this country to an end… Unless Celia can do something about it.”
“…………”
“Miss Edea”
Morow kneeled down and bowed his head again without waiting for Celia’s conclusion as she was deep in thought.
“If I have done something against Lady Edea’s wishes, then it is absolutely unforgivable. Though it was to avenge my mother’s grudge, I would take punishment for displeasing you. I will humbly accept it whatever it is.”
If possible, please kill me by your hand.
I forcefully made Morow raise his head by grabbing his face with both of my hands.
“Enough, Morow. What I said to Celia is just a general statement. It is different from my opinion. You killed many for the sake of your goal. Do you think a simple apology will be enough to solve that? Or do you think everything will be settled if you die… I don’t think so. For now, just wait for Celia to make up her mind and stop saying such naive things. If she wishes for the death penalty, then I will be the one to kill you. I will do it as gently and as painlessly as possible.”
“Y-Yes.”
……Why are you blushing? I intended to speak harshly to you.
I am aware that my own appearance is not suited to intimidating people. Let’s put that aside for now, and observe the situation for a moment… Yep, yep. I see, so it is as I expected. This is a well-established case.
Interesting. But it’s an obvious and natural outcome. When I think back, helping Morow when he was a baby was the reason that led me to start my current experiment. But, how should I put it, compared to the experimental subject that was meticulously infused with magic power using a specially made device, the individual that was haphazardly thrown in is far more compatible. It’s both sad and interesting.
However, unlike Celia, he has certainly reached his peak here, so even though it’s interesting, it won’t be the key to the next stage. What I’m aiming for is a perfect score of 100, anything other than that is frankly no different from zero. However, one hypothesis emerged because the results were clearly different from those of the experimental subjects that showed no signs at all. It’s not exactly the key, but it at least provides a hint as to its whereabouts.
In that sense, even though Morow is a rare but not necessarily valuable individual to me, someone who’s difficult to define, I’d rather not deal with him here, considering the substance of the hypothesis. So, depending on Celia’s decision, it would be unfortunate for me as well, but I am not too worried about it. The reason is──
“I will have him continue to act as the king’s representative.”
“Burndeux…!?”
──Because I was able to predict what she was going to do.
“I don’t have any right to punish him. Isn’t that right? Miss Edea.”
“Who knows… That too, is not something for me to decide.”
“Then, I will make my own decision. Morow, are you prepared to dedicate your entire life to this country?”
“…………”
I nodded back to Morow, who was silently observing me, and then let go of his head. Then he stood up and turned to face Celia.
“I understood. From the beginning, it has always been my wish to do everything I can to restore this country.”
I’ve heard that, like the other court magicians, he didn’t kill the servants in the castle but only drove them out. However, because the soldiers had completely become the king’s sycophants, it is said that they, along with the royalty, had become puppets. Hmm. As I thought I didn’t have to kill him. But that doesn’t change the fact that what he’s doing is mass murder.
I’m not planning to openly blame him for that, but I still can’t really say anything definitive about this either.
“…Yeah? So what happened to the old court magician? Unlike Celia, that person hasn’t been kicked out, right?”
“About that… Please follow me.”
Seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times. So, after leaving the throne room, Celia and I were escorted to the king’s chambers, which are known for their strict access restrictions. There was the body of a corpulent person, who appeared to be the king, lying on a massive canopy bed, and an elderly person sitting on a sofa in one corner of the room.
“S-Sir Morow. Could you please explain what exactly is going on soon? ──Who are those people?”
The elderly man, who quickly got up from his chair and came over upon confirming Morow’s arrival, was visibly bewildered, but it was Celia who raised her voice upon seeing him.
“Lord Dambus! So you were safe.”
“you are… Ooh, Miss Celia! It’s been about half a year? I’m glad that you, above all, seem healthy.”
“He is Dambus, the one who has been the sole court magician for a long time. He’s assisting me now.”
It seems that it was this old Dambus who was responsible for managing the finances while accommodating the absurd demands of the royal family. Is that even a court magician job? As I thought if it weren’t for his efforts, this country would have collapsed a long time ago. It could be said that it was undoubtedly because of this person that this country was barely able to keep its shape.
“So, without expelling or manipulating him, I am having him cooperate with me like this. Even though it was a coincidence, thanks to the presence of Dambus, the plan to take over the royal castle was successful.”
“At first, I was going to protect the king no matter what, but, oh dear. Embarrassingly, I ended up not standing a chance against Sir Morow at all.”
Dambus, who was saying this while stroking his so white and long beard, he didn’t seem to be too affected by the royal’s death. It might have been that he was striving entirely for the sake of the country and had no personal attachment to them.
I see, Morow wasn’t handling all the operations of the country by himself. Sure, that makes sense──am I supposed to be convinced by that? Even if one more person is added, there are still only two people. It’s impossible to keep the country going with just that. That being said, they’ve managed to maintain it for now. And while doing so, steering it in a favorable direction for the people.
“Haaah!? Th-this girl is the primordial witch…!? Are you sure, Sir Morow?”
Morow explained in earnest to Dambus, who was terrified when he found out who I was.
“Are you doubting me, Dambus? Well, I don’t blame you. However, the very fact that I have brought her to this room, which was supposed to be absolutely inviolable, is the most significant proof of all. Besides… I had the audacity to challenge Lady Edea to a fight, but I was utterly defeated without being able to put up any resistance. I am the one you couldn’t do anything against, are no match for her.”
“What… I have no doubt about it anymore if that’s the case.”
Yep, well. Even after being directly infused with high-level magical power, adapting to it, and spending twenty years honing his skills, Morow is still only at this level, and he has already reached his ceiling, to put it bluntly, Morow is utterly lacking in talent.
However, since he was connected to Eidos to some degree, an ordinary magician would likely be no match for him. Given that Dambus has been part of the royal castle for a long time, he is likely an excellent and seasoned magician, however, it is not surprising that he could not defeat Morow. It’s rather to be expected.
Likewise, it’s only natural that Morow can’t defeat me.
While thinking about such things, it appears that what happened in the throne room was conveyed in detail to Dambus.
“So, shall we reveal that Sir Morow will now take the throne in place of the deceased king?”
“It would be desirable to do so for better and more efficient governance, but…”
“But it would probably become a source of anxiety. Even those who are not doing anything, there are probably a lot of people who, like me, have doubts about the king’s sudden change.”
“The information that the king was assassinated resolves some doubts, but it also creates distrust of the new king who carried it out.”
“There is no doubt about it. If good governance is maintained over a span of many years and decades, it will naturally clear up with time, but the problem is now. Unfortunately, the embers of hate I planted are still smoldering in the capital city. Due to the oppression by the nobility, it did not spread and was extinguished, but once ignited, the embers in people’s hearts will likely flare up into a great blaze again at the slightest opportunity. You can say that I only reap what I sow, but…”
“So what should we do? Should we accept the current state with some inefficiency and continue as we are, or should we accept the negative impact on public sentiment and move to a new system? There are only two options.”
“Hmm… No, Miss Celia, that may not be the case.”
“What is it, Dambus? Do you have any suggestions?”
“Please tell us, Lord Dambus.”
“That’s because…”
The conclusion produced by the three of them huddling and mumbling unexpectedly dragged me into it as I absent-mindedly watched them like it was someone else’s business.
“──Lady Edea. Would you kindly allow us to have you as our king?”
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