9. Name Lending
“Did I mishear? I felt like I heard something with the nuance of ‘making me a king’ or something like that.”
“I conveyed it in that manner.”
I gave Morow, who had nodded solemnly, a firm pat on the chest. Morow seemed happy.
“…What did you mean by that? Aren’t you going to become the new king?”
“In that case, the people will feel unrest. The royal capital seems peaceful at first glance, but in reality it is in a precarious state of balance. If they learn that a coup has already taken place there, they will surely be glad that the foolish king is gone, but they will not welcome the blood-stained new king.”
“Is that so? Even now, your policies seem to be well-received, so it might turn out alright after all.”
“Yes, that will happen eventually. However, there is no guarantee that a critical situation won’t arise by the time I am accepted. So.”
“So, I’m to be the king?”
I don’t understand why this is happening. That’s what was written on my face, and Dambus smoothly emerged from behind Morow.
“I am the one who came up with the idea. We would like Lady Edea to become the hero who defeated the perpetrators of the coup d’état.”
Setting aside the fact that this person also calls me with an honorific suffix as if it were a matter of course. What’s that? Things are starting to get a little confusing.
“In other words, after announcing Morow as the culprit, you’re going to announce to the whole country that I defeated him, right?”
“It is probably fine not to specify the true identity of the perpetrator. What matters is not what has happened so far, but that Lady Edea will reign. By maintaining the current policy, we will make the country more prosperous. Just by you declaring so, the people can be convinced and feel at ease.”
This is ridiculous. I somehow started to feel like I was being pranked, but Morow and Dambus didn’t seem to be joking. Their seriousness is almost frightening.
“…Does my name have that much value?”
“I believe I have already mentioned that.”
When I asked, Celia responded affirmatively as if to say ‘why bring it up now.’ This is… There might have been a slight discrepancy in our understanding. What is common sense for Celia and the others is unreasonable to me. Although the opposite is also true, in any case, it seems that because of that, I still haven’t fully understood.
“The impression of the new king will be different, simply because it’s not the same person who purged the royal family and nobles. Besides, if Lady Edea were to reign, it wouldn’t raise voices of dissatisfaction from the people.”
“I wonder if that’s the case… Maybe so?”
It would certainly have a tremendous impact on the citizens if I, who is regarded like a character from a fairy tale, suddenly appeared and declared, “I will be the king from now on.” Even though it is said to be yet another folktale, it is also important to note that half of the people believe in the actual existence of the ‘Primordial Witch’. If no one believes me in this situation, then even if I call myself that, it would just be seen as a mere prank.
And what’s even more crucial point is that you can’t easily complain about the Primordial Witch. It’s not that I am being respected or feared, it simply means that they probably can’t think of what to say.
“Of course, the actual implementation of the policies will be carried out as usual by me and Sir Morow. However, Lady Edea has ascended to the throne, making it clear to everyone that this place is under your rule. If this wish comes true, we won’t have any worries.”
Both Morow and Dambus are very confident in their assertions, and I am gradually starting to believe them… Well, even if they are just average as magicians, there’s no doubt they are both outstanding politicians, when the two of them say this, there must be various benefits to be gained from using my name. As an amateur, I don’t quite understand it well.
But I see, I am merely lending my name and not actually governing the country. If that were the case, there isn’t really any actual harm. I feel like it might be okay to lend it. In short, it’s just lending a name… Even though it is a bit of an understatement to simply call it just something, considering it involves a country and is thus quite large, in practice, it is no different from becoming a nominal owner of some small shop somewhere, regardless of its scale.
“So, does Celia also agree with this?”
“──I thought it was a brilliant idea. I also do not have the ability of a bureaucrat, so I cannot accurately predict the future of the country… However. At least in the present, it is certain that with the assistance of Miss Edea, the people will have peace of mind.”
“Hm, I see.”
I thought that since she is not on the side that influences the country, her opinions might be somewhat different, but surprisingly that doesn’t seem to be the case. This may also serve as a model case for how the public feels about me.
I’m uncertain, but… It’s because I said I was going to stay and help with the cleanup. Although the request has ended up being more than I anticipated, it would feel a bit uncool to back out of it now. No, I don’t think I have the right to refuse, do I? I think it exists the possibility, but if I were to actually do it, I feel that it would be incredibly pathetic, especially since I am being celebrated as a legendary witch. But I am not sure.
──Apart from that, accepting this proposal isn’t entirely without benefit for me.
“I also have a condition. If you can keep my condition, I don’t mind lending my name.”
“Please do not hesitate to tell us.”
“It’s nothing significant. Well, first let me ask, does this country have a death penalty? If there is none, I want you to make it.”
“We do have a death penalty system, Lady Edea. Heinous criminals who deserve to be punished will naturally be executed.”
“Then we’re good to go. My demand is ‘secure death row inmates’. If you can, it would be helpful if you could gather them in this royal castle, is that possible?”
“Since there is also an underground prison here, it should be quite possible if we renovate the entire basement… But are we collecting them from all over the country?”
“Is it difficult?”
“Not at all! I will definitely make it happen. Is there anything else?”
“No, that’s all… Ah, one more thing, I would like you to not kill the prisoners without permission. But if transporting them alive is too difficult, at worst, it’s fine to let them die. That is all for my conditions.”
After I finished speaking, both Morow and Dambus had expressions on their faces as if to say, ‘That’s it.’ I wonder, could it be that they were thinking I wanted a mountain of gold and silver treasure? Did they expect to be confronted with even more unreasonable demands?
Because they were so determined to respond to any request, no matter how difficult, they probably felt disappointed.
“So, is it decided then?”
Where is the confidence you had a moment ago? Morow nervously asked me once more to make the final confirmation. Being able to hide that anxiety and put on such a mask during the presentation, he really is suited to be a politician. I couldn’t help but laugh a little.
“Sure, do as you please. I also have things I want to do.”
“Something that you want to do? What is it about?”
“Yup. For starters… Please tell me the location of the village where Morow was born.”
◇◇◇
“What are you going to do with the prisoner?”
After facing each other in the carriage for a while, Celia suddenly said that. At that moment, the view from the carriage window went up and down. Did we just bounce up a large stone, I wonder… However, there is hardly any shaking inside the carriage. It has excellent shock absorption. There should be such a mechanism at the junction between the wheels and the body, or perhaps under the seats as well. I was surprised by the first carriage I rode in as well, but this is on another level. This is indeed the exclusive carriage for the royals. It seems that no effort was spared to achieve luxury even in such parts.
The gaudy and tasteless exterior was covered with black paint for the time being, which toned down its ostentatious appearance, but once the large and bulky carriage turned completely black, it ended up looking quite intimidating, so there might be room for some improvement there. Well, that’s not something we need to hurry about.
By the way, the one pulling the carriage is not a horse. Its true identity is a horse-shaped moving statue. It seems that Danbus made it himself, and apparently, the royal carriages have been traveling without the need for a driver like this since ancient times. We also don’t need to take care of the horses or give them a rest. I was honestly impressed by its convenience, but the royals were dissatisfied with the horse’s appearance, saying it looked grey and shabby. Seriously.
The Horse of Living statue, with inexhaustible stamina, runs at a considerable speed. It’s non-stop, simple and it is also fast. However, it is arranged so that it cannot run at its maximum speed. Because even the royal carriage would not be able to absorb the shock if it were to reach such a high speed.
Oops, I should limit my daydreaming about the carriage which has become exclusively mine, and answer Celia’s question.
“Are you interested?”
“Yes.”
But merely out of curiosity, Celia cautiously added. I never mention it, regardless of what I intend to do with the prisoner. That, in itself, already indicates that it means something.
“Celia is quite inflexible. If you could loosen up a little bit, I wouldn’t mind telling you.”
“That’s… It seems difficult for me.”
She smiled wryly and didn’t try to probe any further. That’s correct. Personally, I don’t mind her getting more involved at all, but in order to show that Celia has to draw a line against me, there’s no choice but to do this. So let’s tell her a little bit about it.
“I wanted to do a little experiment.”
“An experiment?”
“Yup. The contents are secret, though.”
Celia dutifully said, “Thank you for letting me know,” and bowed, but as expected, she did not try to ask anything further. In this situation, I might get bored until we reach the destination. But I thought it might be nice to do something different occasionally, so I also got into the carriage. If it’s just about going to the target location, I only need to send Celia ahead with the totem, you see.
Where is my destination, you ask? That is of course the place where Morow and his mother were born.
I intend to inject the magic power of Eidos there, as I once did to Morow.
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