第４０掘：自分勝手 (Part2)
"It’s been a week since Rurua arrived. It takes about a month on foot to reach the neighboring Holy Kingdom of Litea, or ten days by horse. Faster if you use a relay of horses. In other words, I don’t know if they’ve officially reported Rurua as dead yet, but the upper echelons have likely already written her off. They went out of their way to pack her escort with hardliners. Even without a death report, if Rurua doesn't return, they can just process her as deceased. They’ll probably just grab some of her personal belongings from somewhere and claim she’s gone. Now, Ratz, here’s a question for you: why do you think they tried to assassinate Rurua?"
"That topic came up before, didn't it? Because Rurua’s authority and capabilities were too great, making her a nuisance... wait!? Does that mean... there are still factions within the Holy Kingdom of Litea that don't belong to the hardliners, even if they aren't necessarily 'Rurua-faction' yet?"
"Exactly. If the hardliners had total control, Rurua would have been ousted without a hitch, and there wouldn't have been any complaints or appeals. The only reason they’d go through the trouble of killing her is to suppress the remaining factions that don't align with them. Now, what happens if Rurua—whom they believe they’ve finished off—suddenly reappears just as they’re putting the finishing touches on their plan, and starts talking about an assassination attempt?"
"The situation would flip in an instant. The hardliners plotted to seize control of Litea in her absence, but if Rurua herself declares that they tried to assassinate her, the momentum should shift to her side immediately. In fact, some of the hardliners might even jump ship to join her, seeing as there’s no longer any sense of righteousness or loyalty to hold them back."
However, that’s only if it goes well.
How many cards would one need to play to reach that point?
"...But, Brother. Why go that far for Rurua? I think the probability of failure is higher than success."
"Hm? I never said I was doing this for Rurua. Whether this succeeds or fails, it doesn't matter to me either way. For instance, if Rurua goes to Litea and dies, that’s the worst-case scenario, but Milly and the others will have vented a good deal of their frustration. Conversely, if she succeeds, I don't know if she’ll return to the top of Litea, but she should at least be able to regain power with a fairly high standing. In that context, I can use the pretext of 'aid' to get support for this dungeon. I can claim, 'I was saved by this dungeon.'"
"You’re terrible again, Brother. Please, stop with this clumsy self-serving act."
"...Truly. You could just be honest and say you want to save Rurua."
That’s right. Brother just wants to save Rurua.
If it truly didn't matter to him, he wouldn't need to support such a troublesome endeavor.
He could just leave it all to Rurua. But he doesn't.
He goes out of his way to claim it’s for his own benefit, acting selfishly just to help her.
"Look, if I move clumsily to save Rurua, it’ll cause massive trouble for Roschur and this dungeon. It’s impossible to act without calculating the benefits, you know?"
"Yes, yes, Yuki is the bad guy, isn't he~"
"You say that, yet you didn't even tell Seraria that you were protecting Rurua. You were planning to shoulder all the trouble by yourself, weren't you? Right, Brother? Now, that’s enough alcohol. If we’re going to consider Rurua’s future, we can’t have the smartest person here getting dull."
Saying that, she takes the alcohol away from him.
"Hah... do you know what a nightcap is? I was drinking it for that reason, so there’s no need to..."
"Now, the reason you say there’s no time is because if we delay any longer, the hardliners in the Holy Kingdom of Litea will solidify their foundation, right? You wanted to make sure Rurua was ready to be sent to that battlefield as soon as possible?"
"...That’s right. If she stays as pathetic as she is now, she’ll die in an instant. I intend to play my cards, but if she doesn't have the drive herself, there’s nothing I can do. The only cards I can offer from our side are Mauve and his group. Aside from that, just the items I provide."
"I thought so. As she is now, Rurua wouldn't be able to accomplish anything. We, along with Seraria and Elju, are nominally part of the nation of Roschur. Any interference in internal affairs could cause cracks in the alliance. It’s fine to declare it later, but intervening like this now is problematic, isn't it?"
"That’s it. This is something Rurua has to accomplish as an individual."
"You need Rurua to realize it herself, don't you? That the only way to return to Litea is to achieve it on her own. You’re saying that if she only moves when we tell her to, she has no future, right?"
"She has to move on her own. Litea is the country she came from. It’s not a place I can just step in and save immediately... The time I think I have before it’s too late is three days. If Rurua doesn't move by then, it’s going to be extremely difficult for her to return to Litea as she is."
"That’s... will Rurua make it in time?"
"It would have been fine if she were as thoughtless as Elju."
"...That’s harsh. Elju is straightforward, for better or for worse."
Come now, Rurua.
You already hold the answer you need to provide.
Please, find a way to give the answer that Brother is hoping for.
This is the reason Yuki was saying all those things to Rurua.
Everything is a pre-arranged harmony. It’s dark—pitch black!