147 - - 第百四十七话 日出る国と日没する国
I am looking at the building under construction with Gon. It has only been under construction for about a month, but the building is being built much faster than expected.
The carpenter, Gen-san, is playing a central role in the construction, but all I can hear from the site is angry shouts. I can feel the spirit of the master carpenters, but I am a little worried that the young workers there will be crushed.
As for the new building to be constructed, we have decided to build it on the site of the former Bertham family residence. The dining room and kitchen are still there. Gen-san told me that the building itself is quite sturdy and carefully constructed, and he was happy to accept my plan to build an additional building.
From there, the craftsmen quickly got to work. The scaffolding was erected and construction began in no time at all, partly because I had entrusted the design to them. I wonder what they are doing with the design documents, but since Gon is involved as an advisor, I dare not say anything about that. They are going to build a room for the whole family including me, and it will be a rather large building using the large garden of the Bartham family.
As for Considine and Soleil, May has sent an emissary to the village of Niza and Siljus for a meeting. Considering Rico\'s health condition, she has set the date for the wedding in late October, when Rico will be in stable condition and the autumn harvest will be over. It seemed that both of them would be accompanied by a good number of ladies-in-waiting and attendants. However, when Mei met and talked with them in person, they said that they would have no problem living in a house in the capital. Considie, in particular, could not forget the food she had eaten in Perris before, and she would love to live there. Therefore, the residence in the capital is currently being expanded.
As for the residence in the capital, we are basically planning to build an addition to the new building where we live. There was a risk that our warding would be leaked to the outside when the craftsmen came to the mansion, but I asked the carpenter who added the mansion before and he said he has the blueprints he used at that time. Basically, since the mansions in the capital are wooden structures, it seems that the materials are processed elsewhere based on the design drawings and assembled at once at the site, and there seems to be surprisingly little work done directly at the mansions. I decided to leave this to Rico and Peris.
Rico is now in the midst of his maternity life, but recently he has started to have morning sickness. However, the symptoms themselves are not severe and she is able to eat well. As for me, I would like her to sleep quietly in the house, but her doctor, Loni of Posehay, says that she should move around a little and avoid doing anything that might cause stress to a pregnant woman, so I will ask her to help me with my work as much as it is reasonable.
Incidentally, His Majesty the Emperor of the Empire has generously paid for the construction of the royal palace in Agartha and the additional house in the Imperial City. The source of the money, however, is the loan given at the time of the founding of the nation. In short, they reduced the amount of repayment.
And as for Matkal, the two of us had a talk across from each other.
"Matkal, you have slaughtered many of the people of Agartha. You must pay for this with death. Otherwise, the families of those killed by you will not be satisfied."
"I know. That\'s the way it should be. I\'m ready.
"But I\'ve decided not to kill you. Because if you die, it\'s all over. It\'s not over when you\'re dead. What you\'ve done...
"Lord Lycoretto asked me to be his wife. I am a defeated man. I cannot complain about how I am treated. Do with me what you will.
"You stupid son of a b*tc*. Well, you know what? You don\'t feel any guilt about the people you killed, do you? There\'s not much fear of death... or anything like that. Don\'t you think that makes the people you killed feel bad?
"What do you want from me? I\'m going to be a man\'s torture for the rest of my life, to be f*cked hole for hole, until I get tired of it..."
"Matkal, let\'s get away from that play for now. Oh, yeah. I\'ll make you happy."
"...happy?"
"Yeah. Me and our family will make you happy. Only when you feel happy as a human being will you understand the regret, the pain, the anger, and the hatred of those you killed and their families. Only when you understand the feelings of those who look at you with hatred, will you be able to face your sins. It will be more painful than dying. That\'s what we\'re going to do to you."
Matkal looks as if he doesn\'t understand.
"I think I\'m being cruel," he says. The happier I feel, the more unhappy I feel. I\'m going to make you very happy. In the meantime, your cursed skills are not good enough to be my wife. I\'m going to have to get rid of her because she\'s going to be a bad influence on our unborn child."
Matkal kept his head down and said nothing.
Rafaiez is happy about her marriage. He has not given me the slightest indication that he is, but he is in such a high state of excitement that he fears the old general will wilt and die if Matocal refuses.
Matocal is the bastard son of the Emperor of Lamalong, but he has chosen not to reveal his status. It is not difficult to imagine that her status would eventually become a well-known fact and would be looked at with curiosity even if she hid it. The only way to change the world\'s view of her is for her to realize the gravity of her crime, face it, and change the world\'s view through her way of life and actions. I dare to choose this way, even though the people of Agartha may not understand or agree with it. We will only cooperate with her so that she can lead a happier life than she did when she was living in the Kingdom of Ramallon.
The information that Linos was going to take a new wife was also conveyed to the Kingdom of Lamaron.
In a room of the palace in the imperial capital, a young man in a glittering military uniform is sitting on a chair, resting his cheek on the desk and listening to the report of his subordinate. He is Duke Koenig, the newly appointed commander-in-chief of the Imperial Army.
"Hmmm. Our enemies are quite good, aren\'t they? Taking the princess of the Duchy of Nysa as a bride. This will strengthen the bond between Heedata, Niza, and Agartha, so that Agartha can focus on the war against the Empire without worrying about the future.
"The king of Agartha will marry several more women in addition to the princess of Niza. Among them is the name of Commander Matkal..."
A slender, nervous-looking subordinate reports with a frown. Duke Koenig sniffs.
"Well, leave him be. But as for Matkal, let him be a stranger. I agree... Tell the people that Agartha is trying to take advantage of Commander Matkal\'s good name. Only the top echelons of the military will know she\'s a woman. It would be best to say that Matkal fought against Agartha and died a glorious death and became a god of war.
"Awe, sir."
"More importantly, the prestige of the army within the Empire has been damaged thanks to the failure of Zizeu\'s idiocy. On the contrary, many of the soldiers are also being cowed by the appearance of the Great Demon King in Agartha. First of all, we must restore the prestige of the army.
Are you going to deploy again, sir?
My men\'s hands are shaking faintly.
"You\'re a fool, you know that? How can that stingy Prime Minister give us food? Not for the rest of the year. What I\'m most concerned about are those who will try to further undermine the prestige of the Imperial Army by spreading rumors of the other day\'s failure. Rumors of the defeat of the Imperial Army are spreading all over the city, including the capital. Rumors have a way of following one another. We can\'t let such enemies of the Imperial Army roam around, can we?
So, what would you like to do?
"Select those in the army who you think could be of use and have them infiltrate each town and village. Find and capture anyone who tries to undermine the prestige of the army.
Awe, sir.
They will be executed in the name of the army. The people will see the horror of the army and the prestige of the army within the Empire will be restored. What do you think? Two birds with one stone, right?"
"I think it\'s a wonderful idea, but won\'t the prime ministers be too fussy...?"
"Oh, leave it. I\'m trying to do for you what should be done by the Prime Minister. After all, a politician can\'t think this far.
"I think you\'re absolutely right."
The subordinate bows reverently. Then he looks up and opens his mouth anxiously.
"How would you like to see the military discipline?
Duke Koenig replies tediously.
"Those who are frightened of the Great Satan should be sent together to the troops of General Caries," he replied. Or perhaps I should say that only General Caries\' troops are frightened of the Great Satan. Leave it to the general to educate such cowards.
"Awe."
The subordinate bows and leaves the room. With a sigh, Duke Koenig watches him go.
Meanwhile, in Prime Minister Madril\'s room in the palace, a man is talking with the Prime Minister about something. He is General Callies, Commander-in-Chief of the Lamaronic Empire.
"How do you like it, General? What about the reorganization of the army that Mister Zizeu left behind?"
General Callies glances at Prime Minister Madrin\'s face as he asks with a sigh, and opens his mouth.
"I honestly did not expect it to be this bad.
"Is it that bad?"
"Yes. Morale is completely lacking. The men are frightened. The mere sight of a loud noise or the shadow of a bird in the sky is enough to frighten many of them. No matter how good their strategy is, they will not be able to defeat Agartha.
"Ummm..."
Prime Minister Madrin puts his hand to his forehead and looks up at the ceiling.
"What the general said to the Empress Dowager, that he promised to stab the King of Agartha in the back, that seems to be difficult for the time being."
The general sighs slowly.
"The training of the soldiers is our top priority right now, and it will be some time before we can make a decision on the operation," he said. Our first priority is to clear up the misunderstandings among the soldiers.
"Misunderstanding? What do you mean?"
"The rumor among the soldiers is that the Great Demon King who destroyed Juka is here in the Imperial Palace.
"A great demon king in the kingdom...what a surprise... What the hell is going on with Zizeu\'s troops?
"When we had our standoff with Heedata near the border, strange things were happening in Zizeu\'s unit.
"Strange things?"
"Suddenly, one of the soldiers flew through the air and was sucked into the enemy camp, a fog appeared on the Juka side of the mountain, and a shadow like a great demon king was seen, and finally, Egnimo, a cowardly demon that usually does not attack people, rushed in large numbers and attacked Zizeu\'s troops.
"No way..."
"I don\'t think so either, but the soldiers are talking. A great demon king has appeared. In fact, Zizeu\'s army lost many men in battle, but the one who informed the soldiers that the Great Demon King had appeared was said to have all died. Egnimo was probably controlled by the Great Demon King, and all who saw him were killed. And the soldiers say that he entered the kingdom while we were in confusion.
"But General, if the Great Demon King had entered the Empire, our country would have been overrun by now.
Prime Minister Madryn, wiping the sweat from his forehead, is struggling to speak back. Such a