第１８掘：我が策成れり
Excavation 18: My Plan Has Succeeded
My plan has succeeded.
side: Rurua
I am currently in the Royal Capital, awaiting their arrival.
We are scheduled to meet here for the first time.
And she arrives in the Royal Capital... holding someone's corpse.
"Seraria!"
"Rurua! Thank goodness! Quickly, look at Elju!"
Just as planned, Seraria attempts to hand over the fake Elju to me.
"Seraria, please wait! She is the Saintess of the Ritea Holy Nation, who can be said to be the cause of this incident! Do not approach her carelessly...!"
"She is a friend to Elju and me! And we can no longer do anything for Elju!"
"…!"
Quar glares at me with a frustrated expression. Even I understand that it's a natural reaction. But she bows her head with a bitter look.
"...Please, please! Save Elju!"
Her voice is strained, but I cannot meet her expectations.
Because Princess Elju must die in public.
However, it's not that I will do nothing. If I let Elju die here, my head might roll.
"...I'll give it my all! Extra Heal!!!"
A light of healing spreads, centered on Princess Elju, who is covered in blood.
"Wh-what incredible power! Is this the power of the Ritea Saintess!?"
Quar cries out in surprise. Of course, I'm intentionally expanding the heal's range as much as possible, meaning...
"Ohhh! The pain in my body is receding!"
"Ah! My child's fever has gone down!"
"My bad back, it doesn't hurt now!?"
Not only those within the military, but also the people of the Royal Capital fall within the heal's range.
"Rurua!? Suppress your power! At this rate, you'll be in danger too!"
Noticing the situation around us, Seraria tries to stop me.
"N-no! Elju is like a sister to me! I would never abandon her...!"
And so, I continued to pour all my magic into a wide-range heal, straining myself...
"Ah."
My consciousness faded.
side: Selva
To think I would see my daughter's corpse, even knowing it's a fake...
Perhaps there's no need to feign tears. My face was already ravaged by them.
"Your Majesty! As Loire stated, this incident is the work of the Ritea Holy Nation! Princess Elju was sacrificed for that nation's policies, no different from an offering!"
"That's right! We should inform the Gartz Kingdom of this and together strike down the Ritea Holy Nation... no, Ritea!"
"Don't be foolish! The Gartz Kingdom will surely seize this opportunity to ally with Ritea and attack our nation! Don't say anything reckless!"
"Justice is on our side! What sin did Princess Elju commit?! She was merely saving the people! We cannot remain silent when she was sacrificed for national policy!"
"Calm down! That will solve nothing! If we make a mistake, our nation... the people Princess Elju wished to save will suffer long-term damage! Do you understand that?!"
"Then what do you propose?! Are we to pretend we knew nothing of the Ritea Holy Nation?! Don't be ridiculous!"
Before me, feigning bewilderment, the meeting is in an uproar.
Naturally, the senior vassals have learned that the Ritea Holy Nation was secretly involved in this incident.
Depending on our future actions, the war could escalate further.
The Ritea Holy Nation did not want this incident to lead to war, which is why they resorted to assassination.
In other words, they are not in a state to commit to war, so if we don't make a move, they will likely observe quietly.
Honestly, since Elju is safe, I wish to resolve this peacefully. However, most of the ministers, believing Elju to be dead, are advocating to "attack the Ritea Holy Nation."
If I were to stop this with a single word, our nation could crumble from within again later, just like this time.
That's why one more move is needed. A move to halt this situation.
"Father, please excuse my interruption during the meeting!"
That final move appeared.
"Seraria..."
"Princess Seraria..."
The ministers' voices grow softer. Naturally. If asked who grieves Elju's death the most among them, the entire nation would answer Seraria.
Seraria appeared at this meeting, her face swollen from crying, without even trying to compose herself.
"Will you please listen to her story?"
And so, the Ritea Saintess appears from behind her.
"H-how dare you brazenly show your face here!"
"S-Seraria, why! Why bring someone who could be called Princess Elju's enemy here!"
"Everyone, calm yourselves. This Ritea Saintess, Rurua, was on good terms with Elju. And this time, I hear she used a great magic, disregarding her own danger to save Elju, even healing the wounds of those around her as an aftereffect. I have no means to doubt her here and now."
At his words, the ministers' shoulders slump. The ministers themselves had been within Rurua's wide-range heal.
"She came here knowing the current situation; it must be something significant. Will everyone please listen to Rurua's story?"
"If His Majesty says so..."
"...Understood."
Then, I give Rurua a knowing look.
What a farce, truly. But without this, the damage would spread even further.
The Ritea Holy Nation is responsible, but I cannot, for the life of me, openly state that the Ritea Holy Nation caused this conflict.
So what to do? The Dungeon Master declared this:
"Why not push the blame onto a convenient target? Like the Demon Lord, for example?"
"...This conflict. It was all orchestrated by the Demon Lord."
"What?! Do you think such a ridiculous excuse will pass?!"
"That's right! You have the nerve to say that! Have some shame!"
Insults fly at Rurua, but then a helping hand intervenes.
"Stop it! As the ministers say, if this were a conspiracy by the Ritea Holy Nation, why would Rurua, a Saintess, be here alone?!"
"Th-that is..."
"Rurua was scheduled to come incognito to teach Elju a new spell this time! If the Ritea Holy Nation were plotting something, they wouldn't send their Saintess here, would they?!"
"I-indeed... Rurua has no advantage whatsoever being here right now..."
"Father, as you've heard. If Rurua hadn't come this time, an endless struggle of national power would have begun between the three nations of Ritea, Roschur, and Gartz. I believe in the Ritea Saintess here... no, in my friend Rurua!"
Seraria looks at me with resolute eyes.
She should probably keep up the tear-stained face a little longer; her bravery is showing too much.
"Is this alright? Rurua might not be telling the truth; she might be telling a convenient lie."
"Rurua grieved Elju's death and shed tears. ...If she were to have deceived me with an act, then I would personally sever Rurua's head."
An agonizing silence hangs in the conference room for a while.
"...Hmm, I shall believe Seraria and Rurua's story. For the sake of the now deceased Elju, and to save many people..."
"...I have no objection either."
When one minister expressed agreement, everyone gradually voiced their approval, and eventually, all agreed.
Here, the plan was mostly accomplished.
"Now, about our relationship with the Gartz Kingdom."
"Although we were ensnared by the Demon Lord in this incident, the cause was Loire's leadership in advancing on the Gartz Kingdom, so..."
The meeting then moves on to discussions of a ceasefire and reparations with the Gartz Kingdom.
However, to utilize Rurua's arrival so brilliantly. The meeting proceeded almost exactly as Yuki predicted. With this, Roschur will no longer have to wage unnecessary wars.
As a ruler, war is a last resort. This time, Elju can no longer appear in public, but she was originally supposed to die; it should be seen as a stroke of luck.
The one who suffered the most from this incident is probably the Demon Lord, who did nothing.
After all, three powerful nations are suddenly forming an alliance, despite him doing nothing.
If this discussion concludes, the Ritea Holy Nation will gladly join the alliance.
It's uncertain what the Gartz Kingdom will do, but they will likely lean towards participation as well.
To reject an offer to join forces to defeat the Demon Lord is tantamount to saying one is allied with the Demon Lord.
From now on, we will likely focus on domestic affairs for a while, but...
"That Dungeon Master, what will he do next?"
I've heard the dungeon's policy, but I couldn't imagine at all where he intends to go.