Genjitsushugi Yuusha no Oukoku Saikenki

Chapter 4: The Lion in a Cage

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Translator Corner

Minasan oideyasu. This is Yukkuri demasu!

As usual. The apology session:

Sorry… for the lateness on my part… But Ineed to put rice on my plate… (or bread for European).

I am thanking the donators for the donation.Your donation will be used to purchase LN to be translated one day…… I wonderif one day will come where I don’t need to work for my daily bread……

DISCLAIMER: There is noguarantee that my translation is 100% correct. Please correct me if I waswrong.

Author:

Dozeumaru(どぜう丸)

Translator:

Yukkuri Oniisan

Editor:

So-Chintzy

Postwar Arc

Chapter 4: The Lion in a Cage

Several days had pa.s.sed since ourreturn to the Capital City Parnam from Van.

I am now in front of the prison underneathParnam Castle. There is no light source other than torches, so it is dim. Fromthe fact that it is located inside the castle, it could be easy to surmise thatthere are many people of high ranks who have entered this prison. Chiefly,imprisoned as political prisoners. Inside such a dungeon, I am faced withsomeone behind the bars. After a lull of silence for a pa.s.sing moment, Iaddressed the person inside the cell.

「Thisis the first time we have met personally like this. I am the Temporary King, SoumaKazuya.」(Souma)

「Itis my pleasure to meet you. I am Georg Carmine.」(Georg)

While giving his greeting, theformer Army’s Supreme General, the Lion-faced beastman, Georg Carmine, bowedhis head deeply. In contrast with me, who was sitting on the chair, Georg satdirectly on the cell floor, cross legged just like how a commander in Sengokuj.a.pan would sit when having an audience with his lord.[1]While still bowing his head, Georg began to talk,

「Onceagain, I give my sincere congratulations for the war this time.」(Georg)

Georg’s imprisonment in thisplace happened several days before our return. Until then, he was under housearrest at Randell Castle, so he must have gathered the information back then.

「Raiseyour face. It is hard to talk with that posture.」(Souma)

「Asyou wish, Your Majesty.」(Georg)

Georg raised his head and moved hisbody upright to face me. Because his body has a burly physique, with a statureclose to 2 meters, our eyes were at the same level even though I was sitting ona chair. 『Magnificent』…… such an expression suited him as a military man. Iunderstood why Liscia respects him. It was hard not to be overwhelmed by hisatmosphere. He has such an amazing presence, even so, he is the youngestamongst the three dukes. I’m positive that Castor is about 160 years old. Whilefor Excel, she had pa.s.sed 500 years.

「Doesn’tthe true ages of the Three Dukes seem to be the opposite from their outer appearances?Also in the mental age aspect, too.」(Souma)

When I mentioned this, Georglaughed 「Gahaha.」

「Certainly.It is typical for the long living races that the body and mind’s growth couldbe said as slow. For a long living race, it’s been said that their appearanceand mental age is (their true age) x (human or beast-kin’s usual maximumlifespan

I see. It could be said that thisworld had something similar to 『for the Crane one thousand years, the Tortoise tenthousand years』[2] that is 『for the Dragonewt Race five hundred years, the SeaDragon Tribe one thousand years.』 for the symbol of longevity (but in this world, they really do live upuntil that age). In other words, Castor is 160 x 100 ÷ 500, so he is still just32 years old (human equivalent). If we think along these lines, then I couldunderstand why he still had his muscle-brained att.i.tude,……. Eh? Wait a minute!

「Ifwe use that theory, then isn’t Excel’s mental age already 50 years old?」(Souma)

「……Ineverything, there is an exception.」(Georg)

「Don’tjust overlook on this.」(Souma)

From that casual conversation, aftera breather, I moved on to the main business.

「……IfI meet with that you, there are a lot of things I want to say to and ask fromyou.」(Souma)

「Byall means.」(B)

「Well,before that, it seems you haven’t met with Liscia yet.」(Souma)

When I brought this matter up, Georgslowly closed his eyes. Since her return to Parnam, it seems that Liscia had oncehad requested to meet with Georg. However Georg, yelled 『YourLady is someone who will soon become the queen, how could you request to meetwith a criminal?』(although to be accurate, it was the prison guard whosent the verbal message) and drove her away. Since Liscia has a really seriouspersonality, she reacted heavily to those words. Since then, she has never madeanother meeting request. Each and every day, she is stout heartedly endured it.

「……That’swhy, I don’t think this situation is alright.」(Souma)

「Myfarewell with the Princess had been finished at the Final Counsel. There is nolonger any need for words for now.」(Georg)

「Thetime when she cut her hair?」(Souma)

「I haveseen the Princess’ resolution with that deed. As a person, as a women, Princesshas splendidly archived her independence. I don’t want to cloud thatresolution, influencing it by this fading body.」

He rejected for Liscia’s sake? Goodgrief…… this obstinate old man.

「Thereis something that I want to ask.」(Georg)

「Whatis it?」(Souma)

「Itis about the people who followed our treason, what will happen to the soldiersof the Army and the Air Force? Then, how will you deal with the treacherousn.o.bles who have committed dishonest deeds?」(Georg)

「Thesoldiers from the Army and the Air Force have obtained meritorious deeds in thewar against Amidonia, and so are pardoned of their crime. The Vargas House hadcommitted high-treason against me, but they have accomplishes many meritoriousservices until the previous King’s reign. The only people who will be implicatedwould be Castor and Carla. The duchy will be abolished, but I will let theeldest son, who had severed connections with the House beforehand and was in thecare of Excel, to succeed the House and permit him to possess only the CrimsonDragon Castle-Town. But then, since that child is still young, his mother Axeraand the chamberlain Tormann will become his counselors. As for Castor and Carla,since Excel had appealed for them by relinquishing her war merits, they willreceive my personal judgment at a later date.」(Souma)

Georg closed his eyes. I wonderwhat he felt when he heard all this.

「Then,for the dishonest n.o.bles…… on top of the abolition of their Family Name, confiscationof their territories and a.s.sets…… execution. The main perpetrator will be publiclyexecuted, while the other implicated people will be dealt with in private.」

The existing law stated that 『the Crimeof High Treason will be punished by summary execution to the third degree of kinship.』 Before rebelling just like Georg, if they had severedtheir connections, then they wouldn’t have involved the unrelated relatives, butthe dishonest n.o.bles had mostly been negligent in doing so. Perhaps, they neverthought that they would lose…… But how incompetent of them. Furthermore, notonly they commit treason, but they also had committed corruption, bribery,collusion with Amidonia, and misdeeds on their individual territories (abusingtheir authority and status to commit murder, rape, robbery, etc.), and in anycase, they had completely violated the law. For people like Georg and Castor,whose only crime was treason, it is possible to at least deliver a clemencyappeal for them, but on the contrary for the n.o.bles, there are pet.i.tions tohave them killed in a gruesome manner.

「Asystem of guilt by a.s.sociation, I guess that is to accuse the other relatives fornot stopping the criminal? But isn’t third degree of kinship is too much?」(Souma)

「Thatcan’t be helped. For humans and beastkin, being able to see the face of agreat-grandchild already means a long life, but there are races that could seethe face of their great-great grandchild and beyond that while still in activeservice. Because of this, the sentence scope was extended.」

「That’swhy, wouldn’t too many unrelated people die? Even after Hakuya frantically ranaround things, he was barely able to revise it to second degree of kinship.Furthermore, those under thirteen years are exempted from the execution sentenceand would be given to an orphanage or into the church’s custody.」

Those under the age of ten willbe in the care of a state managed orphanage, those aged eleven to thirteen willbe entrusted to the church. The difference between both of those are whether ornot they could marry and create a family in the future. For those that enteredan orphanage, this is possible, but not so for those who entered the church, asthey will need to detach themselves from the secular world. Furthermore, ifthere are pregnant women or women that are not yet one month from herchildbirth, they, too would be entrusted to be watched by the church. If in thefuture, they conspire for a crime, then at that time, they will be “dealt with”…… Currently, I am only able to do this much.

「Iam…… against this guilt by a.s.sociation system. Only the people who committedthe crime who should be judged. Even if they are the criminal’s relatives, itis surely a mistake to put innocent people to death. In addition, I also feelthe same for public execution. The death penalty, as a verdict for a heinouscrime, will lose its deterrence value. That’s why, I don’t want to turn such a deathpenalty into a public spectacle and want to quickly reform the citizens’ minds whothought of the death penalty as a show.」(Souma)

「Itis already your country. You can do whatever you like with it.」(Georg)

「……ThenI shall do so.」(Souma)

「……YourMajesty, is it painful to rob people’s life?」(Georg)

Was I making quite a bitterexpression on my face? Georg spoke out as if he noticed it.

「Ofcourse there is no way that it is not painful. Just by one decree, numerous livescould be snuffed out. I am crushed by this sense of responsibility. Just half ayear ago I was still a commoner, you know.」

「Ihave heard about this from Princess’ letter. Yet, the Princess gave highpraises to Your Majesty as a King amongst Kings. She wants to devote her bodyand soul to support you.」

「Liscia……has frequently supported me. However, I must make a decision that will make herreally sad. I must have you…… die.」

I put my hand on my forehead andlet out a groan.

「Yourplan is splendid. I have heard about it from Hal’s dad…… Glaive. To gather allthe dishonest n.o.bles into one place, even their hidden a.s.sets, and catch themin one go. Even those that were missed by Hakuya and I, a plan that doesn’t leavemuch to desire. However…… since we couldn’t release this information officially,your treatment, will be the same as the dishonest n.o.bles.」

There are two reasons why Icouldn’t make an official statement about this. The first reason is that therewere casualties in the battle between the Royal Army and the Kingdom Army. Unlikethe battle at the Crimson Dragon Castle-Town, where the only casualties onRoyal Army side was just one battleship, at the battle on Randell’s outskirts, therewere quite a few victims that had fallen on both sides. Although, it could besaid that Georg had deliberately incited the battle for this country’s sake, surelythe families of the victims wouldn’t agree with this.

The second reason, is that Zem, whichwas paying the ransom for the captured mercenaries would have its sentiments towardsElfrieden deteriorate even more. At the present stage, Zem would regretdispatching their mercenaries to the losing side as the revenge for ourdiscontinuation of the Zemish mercenary contract. However, if they know thesecret connection between Georg and me, then Zem would have thought that theyhad been set up by the Kingdom (although, it was Georg’s own arbitrary actions).Their national sentiment towards the Kingdom, that was already bad, will becomeeven more worse. This is a situation that I want to avoid.

That is why we arrived at thissituation, I couldn’t make an official statement about Georg’s plan. But then, Georghad already been aware of this since the beginning. But he decided to purposelytake this literally to the grave. An obstinate person. Really…… a foolish one.

「Hey,are there no other ways besides this? Is this your wish? To suffer even infamy,have a double suicide with the dishonest n.o.bles, are you satisfied by this!?」(Souma)

I stood up and banged at thecell’s bars.

「Whydo you need to rush things!? It will take time, but there are surely other waysto bring the dishonest n.o.bles to justice! The same with what happened toCastor! Isn’t his rebellion because of your fault pushing your plan rashly!Even though there are jobs I want you to do in the post war times, but thatplan has already been thrown out of order now, right? …… Well, settling everythingwith just one action is too ambitious. If this country’s openness had becomerelatively better, my and Hakuya’s plan would proceed easily. Because of that, thereis no meaning for losing you! Don’t you know that for a country, losing atalented person is a terrible blow! It is not an equal value to the dishonestn.o.bles!」(Souma)

「……」(Georg)

I asked Georg who had silentlyclosed his eyes. I once again struck the cell’s bars.

「Answerme! You. Are you really satisfied by this!?」(Souma)

「……Ofcourse.」(Georg)

Georg made his reply with a calmexpression.

「Ibelieve that I am similar to a large tree, and after my death, new sproutswould grow from my roots. Then, my only wish is for that sprouts to growhealthily.」(Georg)

「……Forthat reason, must the great tree also need to be struck down?」(Souma)

「Itis my cherished dream. I feel joy to sense that the next generation will have arobust growth. Your Majesty will also eventually understand.」(Georg)

「…… WillI?」(Souma)

「Whenthe Princess gives birth to a child, then certainly you will.」(Georg)

I slammed myself into the chair. Iwas wrapped by an unusual ennui as I asked another thing that I had beenconcerned with.

「Hey…..Was everything “thought up by yourself”?」(Souma)

「……What does that mean?」(Georg)

Georg opened his eyes and askedme back. Don’t suddenly play senile!

「Thisis our first meeting. Even so, you have a strangely high evaluation of me. Youhave entrusted the current plan to me, you have entrusted Liscia, who is like aprecious daughter for you, to me, and you have entrusted the Kingdom’s futureto me. No matter how much I thought about this, this is strange. Where doesthat faith come from?」(Souma)

「…… Iknew of your extraordinary talent from the Princess’ letters, do you have anydissatisfaction with this answer?」(Georg)

「Yeah, I am dissatisfied. Could you harbor faith onletters? If we are talking about your self-sacrifice, then there is only “forElfrieden’s Royalty’s” sake, isn’t this true?」(Souma)

Now that I thought about it, ithad been strange “since the beginning.” Since the beginning, strangely the roadthat I needed to take had been prepared. Suddenly handing the crown to me, easilyobtaining political power, pairing me with Liscia as her fiancée to grant me ajust cause, and bringing the dishonest n.o.bles to justice before I knew it. Tothink back upon it, I felt that the noob me had moved too easily. Perhaps, thiswas someone’s intentions…… If someone could do this, then there no one else but“that person.”

「Is thecurrent plan that person’s order?」(Souma)

「……I willkeep silent about this.」(Georg)

「Pleaseanswer it. That person, you, what in the world is it that the both of you know?」(Souma)

「……」(Georg)

I waited for Georg’s words, buthe didn’t reply back. We were facing each other in silence for a short while. Onlythe soundless ringing inside the prison reached my ears.[3]…… This is enough, it would be futile, no matter how much I waited.

「Soyou… can’t give the answer.」(Souma)

「…… Ifthe time for that eventually comes, that person will speak to you.」(Georg)

I stood up, took out a smallbottle from my pocket, and placed it in front of Georg.

「YourMajesty, this is?」(Georg)

「……Poisonedwine. It will be done in this way, since I can’t bring myself to let a man thathas sacrificed himself for his country to be executed in front of the public. Also……I have recommended this method to the people who are trying to sacrificethemselves for you.」(Souma)

Perhaps it was because of Georg’spersonality, that there was not a small amount of officers and soldiers fromthe Army who did this. Starting from theformer second of command, Beowulf, to several high ranked army officers, all hadrequested to be punished with the same sentence as Georg. Also, among the Armyand the Air Force soldiers who didn’t get pardoned with the services they had donein the war against Amidonia, there were people who were being imprisoned fromtrying to commit suicide in front of the Royal Castle to demand a life clemencyfor their general. Really…… These death-seeker fellows.

Georg received the small bottle,said 「My grat.i.tude」, and relaxed his cheek. His stern lion face began tolook like that of a good natured old man. Georg opened the lid of the smallbottle and then lifted it towards me.

「YourMajesty. I will entrust the Princess to your hands.」(Georg)

「I can’tmake any definite promises…… but I am Liscia’s fiancée. She is someone who willsoon become my family. 『No matter what happens, protect the family.』……This is the sole belief that I would never discard even if I have to disregardmy realist thinking.」(Souma)

Because I knew how lonely it was beingalone after losing a family, I would never concede over this belief. Even if itwould be inefficient for doing so. Perhaps, because Georg felt my resolution, henodded in satisfaction.

「Ifeel relieved to hear that reply. I will pray for Elfrieden Kingdom’s glory, andYour Majesty and the Princess’s happiness from underneath the shadow of the gra.s.s.Farewell….. Excuse me.」(Georg)

After saying these words, Georg drankthe contents of that small bottle in one gulp. His body shook violently beforehe leaned forward, the empty small bottle fell from his hand to the floor and brokewith a clang. At the next moment, therea thudding sound, and with that over, silence once again visited the prison. Georg’sface that fell sideways…… showed a satisfied smile. I stood up, turned my backat the cell and walked away.

Step, step……

After several steps, I stoppedfor a moment, and turned my head back once more.

「Youidiot…… Don’t just burden me like this.」(Souma)

I walked again. This time Ididn’t turn back.

◇　◇　◇

The next day, Chris Tachyon’s NewsProgram informed the public the news that 『FormerKingdom Army Supreme General Georg Carmine, has committed suicide in the jail.』

―――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

Author note:

Thank you for keep reading this.

Georg’s way of life’s image song[4]will not of 「A Lion Standing in the Wind」[5], but the second part of the lyric from 「When the Dream Blows」[6]. If you know both of this, then you arequite a nerd.[7]

*and some part about giving reaction andcomment after reading this and next story that I don’t feel want to translate…*

☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽

Q: Why are you nottranslate Author notes Yukkuri-san?

A: I only translate Authornotes that have interesting content… Most of the previous author notes is just thankingthe reader and asking for comment and rating……

Q: Why don’t youtranslate faster Yukkuri-san?

A: Well… let’s just say……working.

Also… I have several fullytranslated chapter in store, but since it has become night (at least on myplace) and I am sleepy, I will post it tomorrow afternoon.

For your drug, here a ‘notso good’ scan from the LN.

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