Chapter 169: 169

* * *

People started to wake up at dawn.

“We will sell.”

The old man from the merchant group came and told us this. It was clear that he had mulled over this throughout the night. His face looked rather slim compared to yesterday. Deciding whether to trade with us or not was probably a rather crucial moment for his merchant life. Nonetheless, his eyes were still clear and strong.

Jacquerie more than gladly accepted his decision.

“A wise choice. How much do you intend to sell?”

“As much as your side desires.”

The two parties reached an agreement. Exchanges such as these would normally be tenser, but they were arms merchant and we were mercenaries. They were all experts when it came to weapons. They quickly reached an appropriate price.

We split ways with the merchant group and continued down the Empire Road. We continued through the endless clusters of dry trees once more. We moved leisurely while pulling a carriage.

Jacquerie spoke from on top of his black horse.

“This was basically their lucky day. If people were to see a carriage filled with weapons during a civil war, then they would have undoubtedly been plundered while being promised money later.”

“Jacquerie, do you plan to offer the weapons to the Empress Dowager in order to give her a strong impression?”

Weapons are always in demand during wars. If you were to offer up a lot of weapons during this time, then you would receive a lot of rights. You would go from simply being used in battle to being able to voice your opinion.

This wasn’t a bad idea. This probably wouldn’t be enough to acquire a position among the higher-ups that come up with the strategies, but being able to influence the positioning of your unit would be good enough. One’s survival rate could change drastically depending on whether you got assigned to the right side or the left side. Jacquerie made the right decision.

“That is right.”

“Very well, then. However, that is not the most optimal course of action.”

“Could you explain why?”

Jacquerie didn’t seem bothered by my comment. Jacquerie had become more humble toward me ever since our meeting ended last night. If he was like a mercenary being courteous to his employer yesterday, then he was like a knight serving his lord today. I welcomed this change.

“Instead of giving the weapons to the Empress Dowager’s camp, give them to the commoners instead.”

“Pardon me?”

“I am telling you to incite a revolt.”

Jacquerie furrowed his brow as he fell into deep thought. He finally opened his mouth after a while.

“Your Highness, revolts are incredibly dangerous. Frankia is different from the other nations. Commoners have little to no rights and there are many knights present. Suppressing a revolt is a rather easy matter here. Furthermore, the republicans within Frankia are in support of an aristocratic republic. They would never overlook a revolt.”

Jacquerie was a branch manager of the Liberation Alliance. He knew about the inner workings of Frankia better than anyone else. He probably contemplated a lot about whether it was truly possible for a revolution to occur or for Frankia to become a republic. This was clearly the most rational decision he had arrived at after deliberating over this as one of the leading members of the Liberation Alliance.

He believed it was too soon to incite an uprising.

“If the scale of the revolt is not large enough, then it would get suppressed almost instantly. There would be no point in it. Therefore, we do have to incite an extensive revolt……but, in this case, we might end up giving the royalists an excuse.”

In the end, the republic faction’s goal wasn’t to overturn this master-servant relationship. The royalists would criticize the republicans like this. This would put the republic faction on shaky grounds. They also happen to be nobles, so a majority of the republican nobles wouldn’t approve of a commoner uprising either.

“The royalists and the republicans might stop their civil war in order to work together. All of our efforts would have been in vain. Your Highness, I am humbly against the notion of giving the commoners our weapons.”

“But what if the Kingdom of Brittany is involved?”

I smiled.

“Pardon?”

“Frankia and Brittany are sworn enemies. The commoners rose up to fight back against Brittany themselves.”

They wouldn’t be going against the nobles. They would be fighting back against Brittany’s invasion. Would the nobles have an excuse to stop them?

“They would be treated like an army raised in the cause of justice.”

“……!”

Jacquerie’s mouth fell open. It had opened by itself. His face contorted more than ever before. He had a habit of contorting his face a whole bunch whenever he fell into deep thought.

“It’s possible……no, it would definitely work!”

He muttered in a small tone. He was boiling with excitement.

“The Empress Dowager and the nobles of the republic faction would give this civilian army their full support!”

“Indeed. Referentially, there is nothing more terrifying than a political power that is supported by the people.”

The commoners are rising up on their own to protect their nation. This would raise the republic faction’s position drastically in a single moment. This battle for justifications that has been balancing on a thread would add a weight on the Empress Dowager’s side.

The uprising would become stronger the longer the war lasts. This would increase the number of times the civilian army, the Righteous Army wins against the foreign forces.

The Righteous Army’s merits would undoubtedly reach a point where even the nobles would be unable to disregard them. This would strengthen the rights of low-ranking nobles and commoners. If a civilian army becomes a veteran army after countless battles and also gains the right to speak, then―.

“Let me ask you a question. Do you think the nobles of the republic faction would simply watch over the commoners’ growth?”

“……No. Most of them would try to suppress the commoners.”

“That is correct.”

I smiled.

“Now let me ask you another question. Do you think the commoners would simply stand idly by as those republican nobles suppress them?”

“…….”

From the civilian army’s perspective, there would probably be nothing more unreasonable than this. They had shed tears and blood for the sake of their homeland.

The nobles who had been supporting them up to that point, the nobles who had gone around saying nice words like equality and freedom, would suddenly be turning their backs to them the instant the war was over. This would be a clear-cut example of killing the dog after the hunt. The commoners would naturally become enraged.

“If they had no battle experience or weapons in their hands, then their anger would simply end as anger. However, a fair portion of the commoner army should have become elite soldiers by this point. Furthermore, they should also possess sharp spears.”

“A large-scale……revolution…….”

That’s right.

This would ignite a genuine revolution.

“The Emperor of Frankia was blinded by authority and brought in foreign forces despite knowing that this foreign army would harass his people. The Emperor’s authority has already plummeted. Even if the Empress Dowager comes out victorious, she would still not be the rightful heir to the throne. The empire would no longer have a justification.”

“…….”

“At this point, we have to provide the people with a cause.”

I had stayed up all night writing these manuscripts for this sake.

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Excluding the illiterate majority of commoners, low-ranking nobles and affluent commoners will also join the revolution. They will read my booklets and arm themselves with logic. They will then give speeches to the people about righteousness.

“Well, this is still a long way off. At the soonest, this will take about 2 to 3 years. We will have to work hard for the sake of this future.”

I laughed as I turned to look behind me. Jacquerie and Jeremi were staring at me blankly. Their expressions were funny to look at.

“It would be troubling if you only go with the intent of cooperating with the Empress Dowager. Resolve yourselves to raise the flag of revolution here and there throughout the nation once the Frankia Empire’s flag has fallen. I will make your dreams come true.”

* * *

Our group arrived at a village for the first time.

Bercy was a baronet in control of a small amount of land.

There were a lot of corpses piled around the Empire Road as if to prove they had barely managed to get through a difficult winter. These corpses had been brought here from the village. They mostly consisted of old people and children.

“This is a common sight in the hells of the demon world.”

Some of them could have intentionally been murdered by their families, Jeremi commented. Children and old people were nothing more than unusable manpower. Pointless mouths to feed were the first thing that had to be dealt with when an epidemic and a famine were sweeping over the continent.

They must have given out an emergency order once our group of about fifty people arrived with horses and a carriage. Once we reached the entrance of the village, dozens of soldiers were holding their spears up at us cautiously. There was a knight wearing plate armor among them. He was probably the baronet.

“Stop!”

A man who was standing next to the baronet stood forward and shouted. He was the lord’s attendant. He was both the lord’s close aide and adjutant who would lead the troops in his lord’s stead when necessary. He was probably the village chief of one of the villages under the baronet’s control.

Seeing as how they had gathered dozens of soldiers, they must’ve noticed our approach a while ago. I guess this means the lord has fairly decent control over his territory. The soldiers weren’t holding farming tools but proper spears and bows.

“This land is ruled by Baronet Bercy that was bestowed upon him by His Majesty the Emperor! Identify yourselves!”

“I am Jack Bonhomme of the Greenbeards. I am the leader of the Double Ax Mercenary Brigade.”

Jacquerie went to the front of the group with his horse and took out a scroll.

“We have been traveling on the Empire Road after receiving Her Highness the Empress Dowager’s draft. We wish to stay in your land for a night. I hope that you do not disregard Her Highness the Empress Dowager’s will.”

The attendant walked out to us. He received the scroll from Jacquerie and delivered it to the baronet. Baronet Bercy took off his helmet and slowly read the scroll. He was a man with bright blonde hair.

Baronet Bercy nodded his head once and spoke.

“We definitely received orders from the capital to provide mercenary groups with ease of passage.”

Was he around thirty years old? His voice had a perfectly balanced weight to it. He was clearly accustomed to the ways of nobility. If he’s a baronet with his own land, then he was superior to a common knight.

“The Double Ax Mercenary Brigade was also definitely among the listed names. However, Mercenary Leader Jack Bonhomme, I have no interest in the pointless political battle that has been occurring. I have no reason to abide by this order from the capital, especially when it is from someone that is not His Majesty the Emperor.”

“Oh?”

I whistled quietly. His tone was definitely fierce. He was either that capable on his own or he was being supported by a powerful noble. Well, he was in charge of a center point of the Empire Road. There was no way that he wouldn’t be capable…….

Jacquerie responded bluntly.

“I do not care about your situation. We are moving in accordance with Her Highness the Empress Dowager’s order, so you simply have to decide whether to accommodate us or not. Of course, Her Highness the Empress Dowager will show great interest in Your Excellency’s decision here.”

It was quite obviously a threat.

Nonetheless, Baronet Bercy didn’t back down at all.

“I will be honest. This territory does not have the leisure to give accommodation and food to almost fifty soldiers. You are nothing more than unwelcomed guests.”

“You really are honest.”

Jacquerie let out a chuckle. The lord turned out to be an interesting gentleman.

“Then what will you do? Will you chase us away like this? You should fear the anger from the capital.”

“Of course I am afraid. However, do not feign indifference, Mercenary Leader. Frankia has two suns. Our decision here will not influence the capital’s temperament.”

In other words, he was saying that he didn’t want to be a part of the Emperor’s or the Empress Dowager’s side.

“I will allow you to set up camp in front of this village. We will also provide you with warm soup. However, I cannot allow you to step foot in this village. Please understand our situation, Mercenary Leader.”

“There is no situation that cannot be understood, Your Excellency.”

Jacquerie smiled. This was where the negotiation was going to begin. The desires of both parties have been put forward. Now we only had to persuade them somehow.

“We have already slept outside for the past few days now. Our muscles are sore and our hips hurt. I believe that Your Excellency must understand our desire to rest our constantly alert bodies somewhere warm.”

“What do I have to gain by understanding your situation?”

“Our group is also delivering a small amount of black herbs.”

This was the truth. The Black Death was still circulating around the continent. It would be the end of an army if the plague happened to infect even a single soldier. That was why we had a reasonable amount of black herbs in our carriage.

“Hm.”

Baronet Bercy folded his arms and tapped his right foot on the ground.

“That is a tempting offer. My territory is in need of black herbs. If you are able to provide us with a certain amount of black herbs, then we could include some chicken in the soup. However, the earnings and expenses will not match if we also incur His Highness the Emperor’s wrath. Could something be done about this?”

“This individual here is not a mercenary but a priest from the Temple of Artemis.”

Jacquerie gestured to me. I had put on a black robe a few hours ago. This was the disguise that Jeremi had prepared for me. There was nothing funnier than a Demon Lord like me becoming the priest of some temple. I enjoyed these kinds of funny situations. I gave the lord a nod.

“He is on a pilgrimage to comfort the pitiful souls during these difficult times.”

“Therefore, we would not be providing accommodation for mercenaries but a pilgrimage group?”

“That is correct.”

“Mm…….”

Baronet Bercy glanced at me.

“Splendid.”

He spread his arms out.

“O Priest of Artemis! And sacred warriors who are protecting him! We welcome you!”

***

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. I don’t really have anything in particular to say about the chapter this time. I already ranted in the last few. On a completely different note, I’ve been playing the new PSO2 NGS that came out. It’s been pretty fun as long as you can ignore the frequent server issues, but that’s to be expected with big releases like this. It’s rather annoying that SEGA decided to completely destroy the market in PSO2 before NGS came out, so most outfits and emotes cost hundreds of millions of meseta. A big mood. 

Welp, I’ll see you guys in the next chapter.

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