Novel Full Chapter 1011: Reconciliation
My name is Monren.
Monren Darglin.
A member of the Darglin royal family that forms the Raywhite Kingdom.
One of King Rafus’ sons.
I glare at the chancellor.
Why did you hit us?
「That is because you do not understand.」
Understand or not, first of all, who was that?
Where did Alfred go?
And why must we have our apology rejected by someone who suddenly appeared out of nowhere!
「Were you not listening to our discussion?」
The first one?
I did hear it, but I did not really understand it.
「…Sigh.」
Do not sigh so openly at me, a prince!
「Then please give me no reason to. And the one who was there was Alfred… Alfred-dono.」
It is rare for you to use -dono.
「Previously, he was merely a child who came here to study. But the one there was different.」
Because his appearance was different?
「That is not all. His resolve was different. He is no longer a child.」
Is that so?
「That is so. Could you not feel it? And yet, you interrupted at the very end, as if to trample on their goodwill. Being struck was only natural.」
Wait.
Did they really show any goodwill?
Hey, stop sighing again!
「Listen carefully. First, we were shown a different side of Alfred-dono, were we not? And High Priestess Fushu of the Korin Religion, as well as O’Brien, the priest-warrior commander of whom the Raywhite Kingdom is proud, acknowledged him. In other words, they were telling us that he is no ordinary man.」
W-well, if his appearance changes, he is obviously not normal.
「On top of that, he refused our apology, and then apologized to us himself. After demonstrating that he is no ordinary man, that very man apologizes. If that is not goodwill, then what is? Understand this. In this matter, they could have demanded the princes’ heads.」
No way…
「The Korin Religion has privately told us that, for the sake of settling the matter, taking such measures would not have been unreasonable.」
N-no way…
「I would like to say it is a lie. But it is true. And yet, Alfred-dono apologized, saying it was his fault. He apologized. So did Fushu and O’Brien. All together, they said that this incident would end here. That it should be treated as if it never happened. It should have ended there… But then the princes said ‘wait’.」
W-was that bad?
「It was.」
I only said wait.
You said wait too.
「I did so before the discussion began. Please do not lump them together.」
It is the same.
「It is not. You said ‘wait’ to someone who was saying to let it be as if it never happened. Do you understand what that means? It means you are saying it should not be treated as if it never happened.」
Th-that is not what I meant…
「In diplomacy, intent does not matter.」
Diplomacy…?
「It is diplomacy. At least toward the Korin Religion. Sigh. My head hurts.」
S-sorry.
So, what should we do next?
「…We will arrange another opportunity to apologize. There, you will surrender completely.」
……I am still a prince, you know?
「If you want to pick a fight with the Korin Religion, then do it on your own. I will side with the Korin Religion.」
…I am sorry.
I will follow the chancellor’s words.
「Please do. I will do my best to prepare a situation where the prince can bow his head honestly.」
?
-0-
Several days after leaving things to the chancellor.
I was in one corner of the wide courtyard of the Raywhite Kingdom’s royal castle, in a spot hidden behind tall shrubs.
The chancellor had told me to go here, so this must be the prepared place for the apology.
An apology under the pretense of a chance encounter, huh.
I understand.
All I have to do now is wait for Alfred… Alfred-dono to arrive here, and then apologize.
That said…
Oh, Alfred-dono has entered the courtyard.
He is with Fushu-sama and O’Brien-dono, the commander of the priest-warriors.
The three of them… are not coming toward me?
They have not noticed my presence?
Do they not know I am here?
That chancellor.
From here on, is it up to me to handle things myself?
He said he would prepare the situation, yet…
While feeling that indignation, I watched Alfred-dono and the others, and…
Ah… they are going to train.
Amazing.
O’Brien-dono looks evenly matched with him in swordplay.
And then, magic.
Well, if he can change his appearance, he must be able to use magic too.
I envy that.
…
Huh?
Was magic always that powerful?
The ground is shaking this much.
It is hot?
The heat wave is reaching here too?
From this far away?
Isn’t that more impressive than a battlefield mage’s magic?
And finally… the priest-warriors brought in and restrained a demon beast…
The demon beast is clearly distressed.
That ferocious demon beast is so frightened it is almost pitiful.
If a cornered demon beast goes berserk, isn’t that dangerous?
Is this safe?
Should I run too…
Ah, the demon beast has submitted.
And Alfred-dono did nothing at all.
Calm down, calm down…
Um.
First, I understand now.
He is incredible.
Yes.
I also understand that he is an important figure of the Korin Religion.
I see, I see.
…
And I also understand that this place was not a stage prepared by the chancellor for an apology.
It was a place to make me understand Alfred-dono’s power.
So that means I must…
Go and apologize to Alfred-dono of my own accord.
Yes, I will request an audience today.
-0-
A few days later.
I was able to apologize to Alfred-dono.
That was good.
We were also able to form a friendship.
That was good too.
But why am I now in charge of a kingdom-wide toilet improvement project?
Well, I prefer clean toilets myself, but still.
The other two princes who clashed with Alfred-dono along with me apparently came to apologize individually as well.
At that time, they were in different parts of the courtyard and reached the same conclusion I did.
Right.
Of course they would.
But they ended up with cooking and farming.
Why am I toilets?
N-no, the scale is the largest, at least.
And the two of them are helping too.
E-enough!
Do not think!
Move!
Just move!
Ah, but the question still comes back to me.
Alfred-dono is amazing.
I will acknowledge that.
But why is the goal of someone like him to be a village chief?
That part, I do not understand at all.