第４９６堀：生きるための情報 (Part1)
**Chapter 496: Information for Survival**
**Side: Yuki**
"Even if I call it 'information,' it’s all just rumors, you know? I haven’t exactly been walking on thin ice."
"Did you catch wind of the Empire’s attack on Baide this time?"
"Yeah, I caught wind of it, but when it’s that close to the event, there’s nothing anyone can do. Telling Lady Catherine to just run away is a tall order. I don’t have the power to change where the princess or the students are holding their exercises, either. If I had that kind of power, I’d have made a name for myself already."
"Fair point. Well, what I want is the information you gathered from your perspective, Big. I’ve just been called in, and I can’t tell which stories are true. That’s why..."
"You want to judge things based on the information we’ve collected and know to be true, huh?"
"Exactly. The only people who can give me an objective view of Baide, Haiden, and the Findar Empire are the townspeople, but they aren’t exactly well-informed about the bigger picture."
"True enough. Alright, first, the internal situation in Baide. I think you already know most of this, but Catherine is running things quite well. She’s connected to the underbelly of Baide—people like me—after all."
"Is there anyone who resents Catherine for being the lord?"
"It’s not that there’s *no one*, but those are a tiny minority because of how well she’s managed Baide until now. She expanded its functions as a trade city, succeeded in attracting even more merchants, and created jobs through the associated urban expansion projects."
"And all that was ruined by this incident, huh?"
No wonder Catherine hates the Haiden royal court crowd.
"Fortunately, thanks to you and your people, the damage was kept to a minimum, but since the fighting started right here in Baide, merchants won’t be coming around for a while. Well, merchants who specialize in war might show up, but those who want to do safe business won’t come, fearing requisitions and the like."
"Come to think of it, Catherine mentioned the possibility that someone was aiming to have her ousted, right?"
"That’s likely, too. This country has a long-standing custom that men should hold the important positions. But I can’t pinpoint who exactly is gunning for her downfall. That’s just how much heat Lady Catherine takes. She’s developed the trade city further, and that alone draws envy."
Ah, if I were to compare it to Earth, she’s climbing the corporate ladder and achieving results, so the people who want to get ahead find her existence annoying.
If the person in question is a woman, it’s even worse. Just like the wage gap between men and women in Japan today, gender discrimination exists everywhere.
Or rather, Japan is only just beginning to correct those things, and on the scale of the entire Earth, male chauvinism is still rampant.
I suppose it’s a matter of labor force issues and the like.
Given that, it’s tough to expect women to be respected in a civilization at the level of medieval Europe.
Thinking about it, Seraria in the continent where Weed is, the Saintess Rurua, and the magic sword and holy sword users in the New Continent are quite the exceptions.
Ah, adventurers and mercenaries are exceptions, too. They’re a true meritocracy, so gender doesn’t matter.
Of course, they might get looked down upon at first for being women, but that’s just the level of being looked down upon for being a beginner, so it doesn’t really matter. It’s a world where those without skill die.
From my perspective, I think, "If they have the skill and are useful, what’s the problem?" but I suppose there’s all sorts of pride involved in that.
I’m the type who basically wants to take it easy, so I don’t really think that way.
"So, it doesn’t seem like Baide will fall apart from the inside?"
"Not a chance. If it split internally now, it’s obvious that some unknown weirdos would be sent from the Haiden capital. Things were bad enough before."
"It happened before, too?"
"Yeah. It was fortunate that it wasn’t an official audit from the capital. Some idiot who wanted Baide’s profits told Catherine to submit to him. I think he was a Baron or something?"
"Wait, wasn’t Catherine a Countess?"
"Exactly. She sent that guy packing right back to the capital for his insolence toward a noble of higher rank, and then she had him dragged before the King to be made an example of. She told the King, 'Your Majesty, this is the first time I’ve heard that a Baron’s standing is higher than a Countess’s.'"
That’s a brutal retort.
If the King himself overturns the hierarchy he created to keep his subordinates in line, it would immediately trigger internal strife among the nobles.
To maintain order, he had no choice but to accept Catherine’s statement and punish the man severely.
"So, on the surface, the others can’t complain anymore?"
"They can’t exactly demand Baide without having any results to show for it. They can’t use the 'she’s a woman' card anymore, either. That would be the same as declaring that they themselves are incapable of working as hard as Catherine. It seems Lady Catherine made sure to drive that point home, too."
"...If she’s caused that much of a stir, it wouldn’t be strange for anyone to be her enemy."
"That’s the size of it. You’ve probably heard it from Lady Catherine, but the current Haiden royal court crowd is full of warmongers—or rather, thoughtless people. That’s why they want the rights to Baide, a trade city where the environment is already set up."
"It’s perfect for securing money, supplies, and talent, but if they’re thoughtless, it sounds like they’ll only be able to resupply once."
"The folks up in the mountains think they can just defeat the enemy and secure the next batch there. They can’t do anything without initial capital. The people in the capital are basically poor nobles without territories."
"So in that sense, they want Catherine’s Baide. It’s a miracle she’s endured this long."
"Even if she surrendered to the Empire, it’s already decided that Baide is the front line against Haiden, anyway."
Catherine had no choice but to maintain the status quo.
Man, the internal situation in Haiden is truly a headache.
The more I realize they don’t listen to reason, the more depressed I get.
You can’t properly resupply in enemy territory, you know? Establishing supply lines is important. Resupplying in enemy territory costs money, obviously, and there are mountains of trouble. If the enemy uses scorched-earth tactics, you’ll be stopped in your tracks. It’s better to extend supply lines from your own country.
"That’s the general situation in Baide. Oh, and if I might add, it became Weed’s territory without anyone noticing in the last three days. As you can tell from what I’ve said, they’re favorable toward you and your people, Yuki, for leaving Baide in Catherine’s hands. I’m sure the townspeople will understand if you explain it to them properly. I don’t know about the students, though."
"As I thought, the most troublesome things in Baide are the princess and the students."
"That’s it. But you don’t need to worry too much about that. You already hold the real power, Yuki. You’re already in a state of rebellion against Haiden. The princess and the students are just prisoners. You’ve got them locked up in a cell, right?"
"Yeah, we’ve got that handled."
After all, they are precious DP sources.
"Then there shouldn’t be a problem. As long as they don’t escape. While we’re at it, that’s how things are in Haiden, with the warmongers all fired up about world unification. Until now, their justification was flimsy, and they couldn’t suppress the old royalist faction, but with this Findar Empire invasion of Baide, they’ll likely start moving."
"I’ve heard about that from Catherine, but why are they so obsessed with war?"
"I don’t know the details, but it seems the current King was quite at odds with the previous one."
"At odds, huh..."