“Somehow I’m not fully satisfied.” (Wendelin)
“With what?”
Eleven days after the death of Wilhelm the 14th, the enthronement ceremony of the new emperor was carried out.
Therese-sama, once again, didn’t return to the guest house the previous day due to being very busy with the preparations, but it seems that the arrangements were completed in time.
We were also invited and a stately ceremony took place.
The congress members and influential people of the church partic.i.p.ated too, and the new emperor, Urquhart the 17th was enthroned.
With the emperor"s seat returning to the central’s imperial family after three generations, the citizens of Bardiche were also very delighted.
Since there was a parade after the ceremony, many people showed up along the roads.
That doesn’t mean that the reign of the previous emperor was bad, but the awareness of ((the new emperor)) being a local of this city is probably the same in any world and country.
“No, it’s about Duke Nürnberg…” (Wendelin)
The other contender for the throne, Duke Nürnberg, cornered the new emperor into a close contest going as far as a third voting round, might be the expression of a wish for some change in the empire’s state which has some kind of hopeless feeling, although its government is stable.
That’s why it probably ended up becoming an unexpectedly close compet.i.tion once there were only two candidates left.
“The emperor’s election has such rules. Thus he has no other option but to aim for the next time.” (Burkhart)
It’s likely just as Burkhart-san says.
Given that it’s possible for the emperor of this country to retire, it might barely be possible for Duke Nürnberg to run for becoming the next emperor.
However, since there’s also the possibility of ((the next emperor selection)) being too late, he should bear quite strong feelings of frustration.
However he swore allegiance and cooperation to the new emperor without hesitation and as confidently as usual.
As there were opinions that he is hiding ulterior motives in his heart, I also sensed that there are some parts which I’m not fully satisfied with.
He should have wanted to become emperor.
In addition, he had more supporters than expected.
Just as speculated the emperor had been chosen from among the members of the Archduke household and I felt in reverse a doubt about him pretending that it is not a reason for him to not be mortified.
“Well, since he isn’t a child, it would be wrong of him to throw a tantrum.” (Burkhart)
“However, in the case of normal people, you can expect them to reveal those emotions through their expressions and behaviour, even if only just a bit.” (Wendelin)
“I guess he has an outstanding talent enabling him to hide that.” (Burkhart)
I unintentionally reveal my true opinion to Burkhart-san.
This bad premonition comes from no more than my own intuition and might be a wild delusion.
And yet I think I would be able to feel relieved if he showed a bit of a bad obstinacy or his frustration.
“At any rate, the new emperor has been decided. The Friends.h.i.+p Visit Group will likely be a.s.sembled next year once again. Though it’s unknown whether we will be invited to it.”
Since the magic exhibition has already ended, it seems that there’s actually no necessity to invite us.
Nevertheless, we might be invited once again since we have left in a flashy manner.
“We have to stay patient for three more days. Once the enthronement ceremony finishes, the stores related to entertainment will resume business. Let’s return home after buying some decent souvenirs.”
Three days after the ceremony finished, we spent our time with buying souvenirs and going sightseeing in Bardiche since we don’t have anything particular to do. At last we will set out to return to Helmut Kingdom tomorrow.
『Wendelin, can thou mate with me early?』 (Therese)
『Wendelin-sama will be busy inseminating us!』 (Elise)
Therese-sama’s solicitation was as usual, however Elise and the others dodged it skilfully.
Especially last night’s words, which were filled with Elise’s anger, were something I couldn’t imagine from the usual her.
Even Ina and the others at least understood that 『It’s scary if Elise gets really angry』.
On the night of the last day in the empire we slept normally in our rooms since it’s the day before returning home, but I end up opening my eyes due to suddenly hearing a sound I’m not used to hear.
As the time’s still in the dead of night it was pitch black outside, but I can hear a sound similar to some metal being sc.r.a.ped with a clattering from outside the window.
Once I look outside after getting up from the bed, I was able to confirm a large number of soldiers rus.h.i.+ng into the imperial palace.
At the same time it seems that this guest house is also surrounded by soldiers and knights who wore metal armour.
“What’s this about?” (Wendelin)
No way, is it a declaration of war by erasing the Friends.h.i.+p Visit Group?
No, rather than that, I can also predict one more possibility.
“It’s a coup d"etat, isn’t it?” (Elise)
“With this timing?” (Wendelin)
“Yes.” (Elise)
Elise, who entered inside after opening the door, mentions the worst-case scenario which I antic.i.p.ated as well.
The emperor is chosen by election in this country, therefore the other candidates, who harbour dissatisfaction towards the result, will regularly cause a coup d"etat, won’t they?
I don’t particularly care about them doing as they like, but I’d like them to hold back on that during the time of the Friends.h.i.+p Visit Group’s visit, I end up thinking.
“Get ready.” (Wendelin)
“Yes.” (Elise)
The enemy soldiers might come rus.h.i.+ng in at any time.
Once I swiftly changed my clothes, I tossed all our luggage into my magic bag.
Elise also already changed into her combat outfit for when she’s active as an adventurer and tightly grasped her specialized mace.
“Is outside full of enemy soldiers?” (Ina)
“Rather than enemies, it’s the forces of the coup d"etat. Will they become our enemies?” (Luise)
“We will counter-attack if they tell us that they will capture us.” (Wilma)
Next Ina, Luise and Wilma got ready as well, but as expected, they were used to it or rather they were already completely armed.
“Wendelin-san, if one considers that they are strangely skilled, the imperial army must be in cohort with them as well.” (Katharina)
“So, who’s the ringleader?” (Wendelin)
“That’s likely obvious.” (Burkhart)
Continuing, Katharina, in her usual dress-styled equipment, and Burkhart-san, wearing a robe, enter the room as well.
“Duke Nürnberg after all?” (Wendelin)
“There’s no one else who has a motive.” (Burkhart)
The young, ambitious household which advocates military expansion and an expedition towards the south, Duke Nürnberg.
He, who had piercing eyes like a falcon, set his sight on me.
It seems that I’m a hindrance for his southern expedition policy.
Under normal circ.u.mstances, they probably wouldn’t commit such foolishness like sending soldiers to us who are from another country.
“We can’t hope for decent treatment if we are caught.”
“It’s quite likely that we will be used as hostages for the sake of recognizing the political power of the coup d"etat party.”
That’s the same for Earl Schultz’s group as well, but as we have to currently care about our own situation with all our might, we don’t have the leeway to worry about others.
“Let’s escape after gathering our luggage.” (Wendelin)
“I agree!” (Armstrong)
Lastly Dous.h.i.+ made an appearance, but once we left the room in order to gather everyone, there were several knights and soldiers lying unconscious in the corridor.
It seems they were knocked down by dous.h.i.+, who fought with a flowerpot, as they tried to secure us.
His strength was powerful as usual, but suppressing us with these numbers would have likely been impossible to begin with.
“Which reminds me, what about Earl Schultz’s group?”
“It looks like soldiers also entered the neighbouring inn. Since Earl Schultz’s group consists of civil officials, they have been captured, I suppose.”
They have guards, but it’s probably unreasonable for those to oppose several enemies per person.
In that case, they were either caught or killed.
“Certainly you are not planning to rescue them, right?” (Armstrong)
“No, that would be unreasonable.” (Wendelin)
I deny Dous.h.i.+’s question right away.
It’s obvious if one looks at the number of soldiers surrounding the guest house and the imperial palace.
Besides, at the time they joined the Friends.h.i.+p Visit Group, any kind of n.o.ble must have the resolve that this might happen.
It’s wrong of me to not have rescued them is a completely absurd opinion.
“Well, we can escape with 『Teleportation』 right away though. Ack!” (Wendelin)
“What’s wrong, Earl-sama?” (Burkhart)
Once I try to use the 『Teleportation』 spell on the spot since everyone finished preparing, a sudden pain hits my head.
“Magic is being obstructed?”
I used the 『Teleportation』 spell once more, but it just caused another stab of pain in my head.
When I chant silently in order to invoke the spell, I receive another stab of pain that cuts it off completely inside my head.
“No way! We can’t use magic?”
“Is it really the magic? I can use it though.” (Armstrong)
Dous.h.i.+, who defeated the soldiers who stormed in, was able to normally charge his fist with mana.
“What does that mean?”
“There’s Earl Baumeister!”
“I’ve become a target after all…” (Wendelin)
It’s probably because their comrades, who charged in first, haven’t come back.
Next several knights and soldiers draw their swords and approach our direction.
“It’s legitimate self-defence, thus…”
“Uguuu…”
I steal their consciousness by mercilessly releasing an 『Electric Shock』 spell and not 『Area Stun』 at them.
They might have died since I didn’t adjust its power output, but I didn’t have the flexibility to care about it to such an extent.
“Huh? I can use magic.” (Wendelin)
“It seems to be limited to a part of magic.” (Burkhart)
“Only a part?” (Wendelin)
As his head apparently suffered pain, Burkhart-san held his head with his hand.
“As a test I tried to float with 『Flight』, but…” (Burkhart)
It appears that all movement magic gets obstructed.
The magic won’t invoke and a stab of pain would hit the caster’s head.
“Hm~~~mm. We can’t use magic tools for communication either.”
Since it’s a state of emergency, Dous.h.i.+ tried to get in touch with His Majesty by using a magic hand-held communication device, but this didn"t connect either.
As test I tried to use my own magic hand-held communication device, but it was completely in vain.
“Magic tools which have restricted types of magic get obstructed but not all magic?”
“They have increased the range of the effect to some extent in exchange for restricting it to a few types of magic?” Burkhart-san predicted.
I have a feeling that it’s a frightening OOPArt, but there’s a great number of the Ancient Magic Civilization heritages sleeping in Helmut Kingdom as well.
It was unthinkable that something similar doesn’t exist in Holy Empire Urquhart.
“That means, in other words…”
Movement and communication spells and magic tools don’t work at all right in the middle of Holy Empire Urquhart’s capital.
It would probably be best to expect that even the magic airs.h.i.+p, we used before, won’t be able to take flight with this.
“Before that, have the coup d"etat forces already seized full control then?” (Elise)
It’s probably as Elise says.
I guess it’s almost a fact, but the elite Duke Nürnberg feudal army and quite a few forces of the imperial army are suppressing important bases and people of Bardiche by obstructing communication.
As it seems that even soldiers of the imperial army have joined, the whereabouts as well as life and death of the new emperor Urquhart the 17th is uncertain.
I’m not very knowledgeable about things like the political and military circ.u.mstances of other countries, but such total coup d"etats are things that happened often in the past as well.
Probably, they secretly prepared and made sure they were ready at the time they lost the emperor election.
“Earl-sama, we are foreigners after all.” (Burkhart)
As Burkhart-san says, we are from another country.
Rather than their safety, our own safety takes priority.
“There’s no other option but to escape.”
It’s a painful fact that we have no means of transportation, but at any rate, we have to run away.
Since the ringleader will harbour wariness towards me if we are caught like this, there’s no doubt that he should make me suffer needlessly.
“I don’t want to mention it, but there are women here.”
I think it’s pointless to demand reason from Duke Nürnberg who has become the mastermind of a coup d"etat just because he couldn’t become emperor.
There’s the possibility that he won’t think anything but sacrificing us for the sake of building a new nation.
Even if Duke Nürnberg was rational, there’s no guarantee that he will transmit his thinking down to all his soldiers.
“Anyway, let’s escape to a place where this strange jamming magic doesn’t exist.”
I take out bags which were filled with a large amount of a certain something from my magic bag.
I collected it at the time of clearing the Savage Lands. It was something copying a bullet which uses tungsten.
Guns don’t exist in this world.
In the case of bows, large ballistae existed, but those evolved in the direction of changing them into magic tools as a means to raise their power.
They have been deployed in battles as magic tools which fire large, special arrows with mana, but the thinking hasn’t reached guns yet.
There was no gunpowder either. In that case I think it’s a better idea to exchange gunpowder with mana.
“(It will be dangerous if Elise’s group gets caught. Besides, I’m a person from Helmut Kingdom.)” (Wendelin)
There were many good-for-nothing n.o.bles there, but the place I belong to is over there. I have to protect my family.
To begin with, the ones who attacked me first is the other side.
If they receive such retaliation, it probably won’t fit with their predictions.
“Did you get it as well, Elise-jou-chan and the others? Kill them.” (Burkhart)
“Elise’s healing is the most important component of our escape. Protecting her takes maximum priority. At worst it can’t be helped if others have to be sacrificed for her.” (Armstrong)
Burkhart-san’s and dous.h.i.+’s expressions became sharp.
Both might have experience in killing people from their time as active adventurers.
“Erw, will you be alright?” (Wendelin)
“Wend, will you be alright?” (Erwin)
“Who knows.” (Wendelin)
As a matter of fact I have already killed close to 100 people, but since I didn’t see their corpses at that time, I didn’t feel something like remorse.
“How about you, Ina?” (Wendelin)
“There’s no other choice but to do it! We don’t know what might happen if we get caught.” (Ina)
“Luise?” (Wendelin)
“The magic combat style is originally a martial art to be used on the battlefield. There’s no reason for me to hesitate.” (Luise)
“Wilma.” (Wendelin)
“The reason why I became your wife, Wend-sama, is for a time like this. I will do it.” (Wilma)
“How about you, Katharina?” (Wendelin)
“If I ended up dying here, the long-awaited revival of the Waigel household will vanish like a bubble. There’s no other way but to get it done.” (Katharina)
Everyone seems to have resolved themselves.
At the end I try to ask Elise.
“Currently time is precious. Let’s move quickly.” (Elise)
“Got it.” (Wendelin)
———————————————- End of Part 1 ————————————————–