Chapter 107 Reason For War
Because Mr. Leol and others from the Blue Wolf clan defected, the Imperial Army units in this area were completely annihilated.
For that reason, we decided to take a break and celebrate our victory for now, and a campfire was being held on the plains.
"Let me introduce myself again. My name is Leol, I am Thea's father, and I was the assault captain of the beastman warrior group. Nice to meet you."
As the knights of Granbell and the liberated men of the Blue Wolf clan celebrated their victory under the night sky, Mr. Leol said this to me and bowed his head.
"Nice to meet you... wait, assault captain?"
The strange title made me tilt my head in confusion.
In response to my question, it wasn't Mr. Leol but Mr. Lygar who answered.
"He's definitely reliable in terms of strength, but he's always charging in without thinking and causing a ruckus by himself, so we made a special position just for him in the beastman warrior group. By the way, he has 0 subordinates because no one can keep up with him. The other Blue Wolf clan members have appointed someone else as captain."
"Hey, don't say weird things in front of my daughter!! What if Thea gets the wrong idea?!!"
"Dad... it's okay."
Thea, who was sitting on Mr. Leol's crossed legs, gently placed her hand on her father's shoulder.
And with her usual expression, which rarely showed emotion, she said one word.
"I already know that Dad is a bit stupid."
"Wait, Thea!! You shouldn't use the word stupid!! Where did you learn such a word?!!"
"My dad always called Mr. Lygar a stupid tiger."
"......"
Children grow up watching what their parents say and do.
Thea leans close to Mr. Leol, who is frozen and unable to say anything.
"It's okay... Even though you're stupid, I still love you, Dad."
"Thea...! Wait, I'm not stupid!!"
Mr. Leol is confused by the fact that his daughter has declared him an idiot, or should he be happy that his daughter has said that she loves him? He does look a bit silly, but just looking at him makes me smile.
Is this what they call a lovable fool?
"What a good dad, Thea"
"Um... thanks, Yumie"
As she spoke her mind, Thea came over to me with a small, happy smile and rubbed her face against me like a spoiled child.
In response to her usual gesture, I patted her head as I always do, and she wavered and wagged her tail with a feeling of pleasure, clinging to me even tighter.
At the sight of Thea like that, my Elder Brother was frozen with his mouth agape next to me.
"...I heard you got close through letters, but I didn't expect it to be like this. Hey, Yumie, you aren't doing this with anyone else, right? Especially not with men. You definitely shouldn't do that, alright?"
"...? Well, Thea is about the only one who does this, but I have given Gray a lap pillow too."
"Hah!?"
Elder Brother's piercing glare was directed at Gray, who was serving food and drinks to everyone.
I had already mentioned in a letter that we were hiring Gray as an apprentice butler for the Granbell Family, so his stare was merciless.
Eep!
Gray jumped as if he had been spotted by a predator, and Elder Brother approached with an intensity that could surpass even an Asura.
"I suspected something was off, but it really is... Sorry, but if you want Yumie, you'll have to defeat me first..."
"N-no, that's absolutely not the case!! Someone like me is not worthy of the young lady... I just hope to atone for the family's shame little by little by being by her side...!!"
Gray is taken aback by the Elder Brother, who looks as if he might even draw his sword.
I thought it would be dangerous if I left them alone, so I quickly got in between them.
"Oh, Elder Brother, I'll give you a lap pillow as much as you want, so please calm down! Gray is scared! "
"But Yumie, this guy definitely wants to be more than just a master and servant to you! He has the same eyes as Sigurt!! "
"If he's the same as Sigurt, I don't think so! Or rather, even if he was, there would be no end to Elder Brothers if you fought them one by one."
"Huh? What does that mean..."
"If it's just proposals, I've received plenty in Euphemia, after all."
""Whaaa!?""
Both my Elder Brother and my father stood up and screamed at my comment.
To present evidence to the two who looked utterly incredulous, I shot a glance at Mr. Lygar.
"...Well, there were 'more than 20 people' who directly proposed to her."
"So, even with this, I'm quite popular! Hmph!"
"Look at me," I said, puffing out my chest.
I'm not a loner who doesn't even have friends anymore!
Although I tried to show off this way, my father and Elder Brother exchanged serious looks and began whispering to each other.
"What should we do, Father? The world is finally starting to notice Yumie's charm!?"
"Hmm...If it were within Ortria, I could easily suppress any proposal letters, but Euphemia is definitely out of my jurisdiction. This is a blind spot...!! We need to take urgent action!!"
"...Isn't Carlot even more foolish than me?"
"I don't think there's much difference..."
Mr. Léol stared at the foolish duo with an exasperated expression, and Thea shot a merciless comment at Léol.
Honestly, I can't back them up on this one.
"So, my father and Thea's father knew each other. What is your relationship? "
When I asked them about something that had been bothering me, my father said, "Oh, that's it."
"When Riffia and I were on honeymoon in Euphemia, a monster outbreak occurred. It escalated into a situation that was called the 'Great Beast War'...and we fought side by side at that time."
"We didn't have any children back then. We were pretty reckless."
"...I don't think much has changed now, do you?"
Father and Mr. Leol were looking into the distance, reminiscing about the past, when Mr. Lygar muttered something.
Mr. Lygar gives me the impression that he's quite quick to fight or rather, has an intense personality, but I wonder about those fathers who are even drawn to someone like him...
"Well then, while it's good to have some fun and break the mood... can you tell me? What's happening in this country right now? Why did the Empire come attacking?"
As we were having a lighthearted conversation, Mr. Lygar asked that to bring back the atmosphere.
Indeed, that's something I'm curious about too.
In Euphemia, I could only grasp that "The Empire declared war on the kingdom."
In response to Mr. Lygar's question, my father returned a serious expression and answered.
"Simply put, if we're talking about their purpose, it's the takeover of the kingdom itself. With the country shaken by the political upheaval, they judged that now is the time to conquer it."
It's infuriating, my father scoffed.
It wouldn't be surprising to think a country in turmoil would be easy pickings, but....
"But why does the Empire want the kingdom so badly? The Empire is quite an advanced nation, right?"
It's the same for the guys who attacked Euphemia, and even for the fleets that clashed at sea.
The Empire seems quite modern; there shouldn't be much reason to attack Ortria.
"True, their technological level is high, but it was originally formed by uniting several small nations. The authority of the emperor isn't absolute, and a drop in centripetal force can immediately lead to rebellion. That's why I think they want to enhance the emperor's prestige by placing the long-established Ortria Kingdom under their control."
"Is that really how it is..."
In other words, the Emperor of the Bezelus Empire did this just to protect his position.
That's too selfish.
"However, the Empire is not so honest about such reasons. On the surface, their main demand is that they should be rectified for the unfair disadvantages they are suffering from trade with the Kingdom."
It seems that they forced the Japanese to accept the unequal treaties and use them as a pretext for war.
This is getting even more selfish,' I thought, as I grew indignant, and then an even more unexpected reason popped up.
"And one more thing... it seems that they also demanded the return of the Emperor's child, who was unjustly held captive."
"The emperor's child... is there really one in this country?"
"No, there shouldn't be..."
I tilted my head at my father, who seemed somewhat hesitant.
Then, after a moment of distress, my father let out a deep sigh and continued speaking.
"That is, the child of the emperor that the empire is talking about... is you, Yumie."
"...What?"
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