Rumble…
As the gigantic Black Dragon slowly fell asleep, the beings around it began to move cautiously in fear of awakening it. After all, it was a slumbering ferocious dragon.
“How’s the Black Dragon?”
“Greetings, Grand Duke. As you can see, it has fallen asleep after filling its belly.” A pale vampire bowed his head toward the man bearing a horn on his head.
The horned man, known as the Grand Duke, looked at the dragon before saying, “This is just the beginning. The Black Dragon has not yet completely recovered. I presume it’s not yet satisfied.”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
“Just a bit more. If we wait a bit more, then its will and consciousness will come back. Once that happens, it will definitely kill those hateful humans.”
Listening to the Grand Duke’s declaration, the pale vampire grinned. “Whether they like it or not.”
“We have put our lives on the line for this war. Once the Demon Lord gets resurrected, we will be able to seize this land back from those hateful bastards. Never forget that fact.”
“Yes.”
“How about the movements of those filthy human beings?” The Grand Duke asked as he started to move again.
The vampire answered quietly, “We have received reports that the nobles are gathering in the central empire, the Pallan Empire. Perhaps they’re trying to take measures against this situation.”
“Right. Did you dispatch our messenger? They are idiots that will only notice the power of the great demons and vampires if you say it to their face.”
“Yes. We also made sure to present them with a very unforgettable gift. Please don’t worry. Even if they have that monstrous human on their side, our messenger will still be able to execute his orders perfectly.”
“Hmph. They’re just mere humans,” the Grand Duke snorted as he grabbed the jewel emitting a black light and made a move once again.
***
“I-Impudent!”
“No matter how young and vigorous you are, how can you say such a thing?!”
“You have to pay for your words, Saint!”
The conference hall’s atmosphere was tense as people began to scramble and refute Davey. As everyone looked at Davey in astonishment and shock, Baris sighed and massaged his temple with one hand. He never expected his brother to openly refute the West’s Great Emperor.
However, Davey hadn’t caused this mess due to a bout of madness. With such a rare and good opportunity, he simply planned to make good use of it.
“Are you telling me that this Emperor should not pick a fight with you?”
The Lyndis Empire’s Emperor Deorte El Lyndis snorted in displeasure at the Contas Empire Emperor’s ridiculous behavior. He said firmly, “Great Emperor Contas, don’t forget the main reason why we’re currently here.”
“Hmph! I already know that you favor the Saint greatly, East’s old fogey.”
“It appears to be a custom in the Western Empire to speak so crassly, huh? Then again, even your father did not and would not show such an arrogant attitude in front of me.”
Great Emperor Contas frowned at Emperor Deorte’s extremely displeased remarks. He said, “I’m sorry, but this is our Contas Empire’s custom and tradition. Emperor Deorte, I respect you as a ruler and a warrior. However, I believe that anyone respectable will most definitely understand why I’ve made this choice.”
“…What a shrewd rascal.”
Quite a few people responded positively to the comments of the Contas Empire’s Great Emperor. They obviously had to take the matter seriously if they were in this situation and had found out that someone had kept the information for their own preparations.
“Now, let’s get this straight. Saint Davey, you have spent a lot of money to buy new and custom-made weapons from the Pallan Empire long before this situation unfolded. You even had those weapons loaded in warehouses in the Pallan Empire. In addition, you’ve also airlifted food rations and even invested in the mage towers so they could mass produce Attack Magic scrolls,” Great Emperor Contas said quietly.
“Goodness… That’s completely…”
“Doesn’t that mean that he had completely foreseen this situation?”
“Then! Why didn’t you inform us about the situation in advance?!”
Dissatisfied and frustrated complaints rang out across the conference hall. Well, this was bound to happen the moment they knew what Davey had been doing behind the scenes.
Whether Davey liked it or not, this interrogation was something that he had to endure at least once.
“That’s right! If you had predicted that this situation would happen, you should have informed us in advance! If you had done that, then the two nations would not have been burned to ashes in just a few days!!!”
Knock, knock.
Having observed that the meeting had become a hearing, Crown Prince Sullivan could take it no longer. He rapped the table with his knuckles lightly while saying, “Are we having an alliance meeting or are we having a hearing?!”
“The same goes for you, Crown Prince Sullivan! Explain yourself! If you knew about this, why did you hide it from everyone?!”
Crown Prince Sullivan frowned to express his displeasure when several royal representatives had rode the Great Emperor Contas’ momentum to question him.
The biggest problem now was that some of the empire’s princes were attending this conference.
“It seems like you still lack the ability to distinguish between huge and small matters when compared to your older brother, huh?”
“It’s because you’re so incompetent…”
Crown Prince Sullivan’s gaze turned fierce and sharp, but the princes just looked back at him leisurely.
“What do you think you’re doing right now?” Davey asked solemnly when he saw the princes’ atrocious behavior.
“What?”
“Just like what the Great Emperor has said, I have made a lot of preparations. But let me ask you this, what have all of you done while I was making such preparations?”
“What, what do you mean by that, Saint?!” some members of the royal families from other nations asked Davey indignantly.
“A while has passed since the Duchy of Felicity incident. There was also the war with the Undead in the Pallan Empire and the monster invasion in the marine city state of Valkass.”
The royal representatives, who had been making a scene, shut their mouths.
“Then, let me ask you this question. While I was busy dealing with those incidents, were all of you so incompetent that you felt no sense of incongruity and urgency during those moments?”
“We, we do not hear the voice of God! It’s the Saint’s duty to inform us of the words of God!”
“Did you think that a Saint is some sort of Alarm and Notification Magic that will whisper in your ears? Should I relay an oracle that God did not even bestow upon me? What, do you want me to fake an oracle?”
“T-That’s blasphemy!”
“But you seem to expect such a thing from me…?”
Bang!!!
“Even if you’re the Saint, you’re being far too rude! Is this what the Rowane Kingdom wants to convey to us?! Or is this the will of the Holy Empire?!”
“That’s right! Are you confident that you can handle the consequences of your disrespect?!”
“Enough!!!” Emperor Deorte roared indignantly to shut everyone up. Then, he turned to Davey and said, “Prince Davey, do not ride along with their petty political moves.”
Although he pretended to not side with Davey actively, Emperor Deorte was closely watching the situation and supporting Davey in secret.
“You have already seen three major events. You must have noticed that there’s some kind of force influencing them, no?”
Well, to be exact, Davey was still unsure whether all of the incidents were related to the vampires or not.
When Davey stood up to walk around the conference hall, everyone quickly fell silent.
“If you have learned anything from the previous events, then you should have already started to prepare for the future. Is it wrong for anyone to be anxious and prepare excessively for the future? Or…”
The other nations had made the mistake of cherishing their national treasuries and ignoring all three of those disastrous incidents. They had disregarded the earlier incidents, which had not required their direct involvement.
“At the very least, you should have given us a heads up or something!” The oversized royal representative demanded before frowning at Davey’s smirk.
“A heads up. Ha…! A heads up, that’s nice. By the way,” Davey said as he slowly closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his eyes momentarily flashed with a red light. “Why should I bear with your pettiness and incompetence?”
“Hii, hiiiiii!”
“Manatrinas Kingdom’s Prince, are you confident that you can bear the consequences of this situation right now?”
“This disrespect is something that I absolutely cannot tolerate! Inform His Majesty right now…!”
Davey then pulled out a small crystal ball from his pocket.
A cute and adorable elven woman appeared on the self-operating crystal ball.
[Sir Davey.]
“Emilia. How are the preparations?”
[We cannot let the continent fall into a crisis. Our elven troops are not that large, but the nymphs and ents have sent us reinforcements. We are all ready to go to war.]
“From this point on, sharpen your soldiers’ spears. Your target, the Manatrinas Kingdom.”
While everyone’s expression morphed into horror, Davey added firmly, “Even though the enemy that threatens the peace of the continent is just right around the corner, there are still some people only fighting for the interest of their own nation. We consider them our enemy as well, so we will go to war with them.”
The conference hall broke out in a commotion. However, not a single one of the three empires’ commanders stepped forward to stop Davey.
“H-Hey! What the hell are you doing?!”
Finally realizing that things had gone south, the prince of the Manatrinas Kingdom looked between Davey, the Three Emperors, and the royal representatives. Trying to mediate the situation, he protested, “This, this is against the alliance’s ban on war in the continent…!”
“From this point on, the Rowane Kingdom will no longer take part in the Continental Alliance. This means that the Continental Alliance’s agreement on the prohibition of war will no longer have anything to do with the Rowane Kingdom. Emilia.”
[Are we… Are we really going to attack humans?]
“The scariest thing when going to war is not the powerful enemies but the incompetent allies. We will go to war.”
[…]
Emilia sighed before turning away from the communication crystal, seemingly holding a conversation with someone else. Not long after, she opened her mouth again and said…
[Mother Divine Tree is in agreement with Sir Davey’s opinion. Then, the allied forces of nymphs, elves, and spirit beasts will now march.]
“W-Wait!!!” The prince of Manatrinas Kingdom shouted urgently.
Flustered by the prospect of the elves going to war with his kingdom, he turned to Davey with a terrified gaze and yelled, “This, this is ridiculous! Why are we fighting when we’re on the same side?! We have all gathered here to guarantee the safety of the continent!!!”
“The same side? I don’t think we’re on the same side at all. I believe you’re the enemy’s spy.”
[Heed my words! Everyone, march. Our target, a small kingdom in the Central Continent, Manatrinas! With our fastest speed, make the kingdom surrender and take over everything! Do not forget! Our enemies are not simply humans but people who want to raze the continent down the ground!]
Although she still wore a complicated expression, Emilia gave her orders with firm determination.
The prince of Manatrinas Kingdom became even more flustered. He said, “Who, who was the one that said that we should not find fault with each other and judge hastily?! Prince, Prince Davey! Calm down.”
“Why should I? Weren’t you the one who wanted this situation to unfold? It’s not like you’re unaware of who our enemy is. It’s the Black Dragon, a monster that decimated a kingdom in just a few days and is still pushing forward. With the entire continent on the verge of chaos, weren’t you the one who’s trying to take advantage of the future that may or may not come?”
Thud!!!
Everyone’s eyes grew wide from shock at the pressure that the bright and white holy mana Davey was releasing from his body. He was showing off his might as the Saint.
“Why are you not making an excuse?”
“That’s enough, Manatrinas Kingdom’s prince. If you continue to act recklessly and do whatever you want, then the Contas Empire, one of the three pillars of the Continental Alliance, will not protect you.”
“The Pallan Empire is of the same mind.”
“The Lyndis Empire will also stand firmly against you.”
“H-How can this be…?”
Leaving the stunned prince who had collapsed on the ground behind, Davey asked quietly, “Anyone else who has a complaint?”
“…”
With the consequences clearly shown for everyone to see, no other fool would fall in the trap that the Three Emperors had set for them.
“I do not have any complaints. The marine city state of Valkass will follow the opinion of our greatest benefactor, Prince Davey. On top of that, if Prince Davey withdraws from the Continental Alliance, then our City of Valkass will treat the Manatrinas Kingdom with hostility.”
“W-We shouldn’t make such rash and firm decisions. I, I just asked because I found it a bit weird, I didn’t mean anything by it. Now, now… Let’s all calm down and reign in our anger…”
Now that they had been caught trying to rip the others off, most of the princes and royal representatives were now making excuses with cold sweat dripping down their backs. They no longer tried to ruin Davey.
“Prince Davey, let’s leave it at that for now,” Crown Prince Sullivan quietly said.
Then, Davey connected the crystal ball once again and told Emilia to call off the march.
Just like the aftermath of a storm, the entire conference hall was chaotic. However, no one dared to open their mouths again.
Davey turned to Great Emperor Contas and asked, “Great Emperor, you must have enjoyed the entertainment, no?”
Then, he stopped at the head of the huge table and continued, “We are unaware of the enemy’s position nor goal. We don’t even know the strength and number of their forces. Needless to say, we don’t know where to start. That’s why we’ve been making arrangements in the Pallan Empire, the central empire, so that we could easily transport and distribute weapons all over the continent when necessary. We were just afraid of causing major disturbance without any confirmation. Is that answer enough?”
Cackling as if he found everything to be amusing, the Great Emperor said, “Ha… Haha… Hahahahahahahaha! You’re truly amazing! Truly amazing! Your foresight is greater than I expected!”
Then, he wiped the smile from his face and said, “I, Ixuzide Contas the Great Emperor of the Contas Empire, recommend Prince Davey as the Commander of this military expedition.”
As if they had been waiting, Crown Prince Sullivan and Emperor Deorte immediately said…
“The Lyndis Empire is of the same mind.”
“The Pallan Empire is in agreement.”
Several representatives from the other kingdoms looked perplexed as if they hadn’t been informed about this. However, none of them was fearless enough to oppose the recommendation of the Three Emperors. After all, they had just witnessed the situation with the Manatrinas Kingdom earlier on.
“Prince Davey,” Emperor Ixuzide called out to Davey quietly. “Your foresight and predictions are truly accurate and amazing. Alright. This emperor admits the disrespect and rudeness that I have shown you earlier. You can do whatever you want. You can even take this emperor’s neck.”
“Great, Great Emperor!”
“Enough! I am born a man and I will never take back the words that I have spoken! You bastards, how dare you tarnish the dignity of your monarch?”
Without any hesitation, he presented his neck to Davey and looked strangely satisfied.
Thankfully, things had worked out well. The Great Emperor had been fully aware that the representatives of each nation would nitpick and find fault with Davey once they learned that he had prepared for this situation in advance. Basically, what Ixuzide Contas had done was set fire from the very beginning.
At first glance, one would say that he was very much against Davey. However, what he had done clearly sorted out and removed the problems that they would experience in the long run.
Well, Davey found it cute when the Great Emperor had tried to see how he would deal with the situation. However, the remark that the emperor had made just now? That was perfect for Davey. He really, really liked that declaration.
“There’s no way that I will take the Great Emperor’s neck. That’s very wasteful. I would like it more if you listened and followed whatever it is that I want.”
‘Listen well. This is the introduction of what I call Explosive Nepotism.’
“Instead of having me as the Commander, I would like to appoint someone else, and I hope that the Three Emperors of the greatest empires, with the Contas Empire’s Great Emperor at the lead, would acknowledge her. Reina, come in.”
The door to the conference hall opened slowly to reveal a beautiful woman with sky-blue hair flowing down her back. It was Reina.
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