Chapter 42: Status Check
There I was, in His Majesty the King’s office, which was smack-dab in
the middle of the royal palace, having forgotten that I had sworn to
the Goddess that I would never again set foot in here. I have to
provide a logical explanation for this...
“It’s been a while, Your Majesty. I know I made a solemn vow that I’d
never come back here, but I’m sure glad I made sure to ask Celes for
an exception for emergencies and other important situations!”
There, problem solved!
“Ah... Right...”
It seemed the king was a bit embarrassed about crying to his older
brother in front of others, and his face was slightly red.
Roland treated the king with indifference, but I didn’t have anything
against the guy. He was the king of this country, after all, so I was
going to interact with him accordingly. I mean, I didn’t want any
rumors going around that the Angel had more authority than His
Majesty the King.
...I had already given up on claiming I wasn’t the Angel long ago.
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“So, what’s the situation in the Kingdom of Brancott?” Roland asked
as he pushed the king back, given how he was clinging onto him, with
no small amount of annoyance on Roland’s part.
“Yes, let me explain. Please take a seat,” The king said, gesturing
toward a sofa for guests and sitting down himself.
As his guests, we weren’t allowed to sit down before he did. That is,
unless we were kings from other countries ourselves. But if we had
actually been foreign monarchs, we wouldn’t have been greeted in a
room like this.
A maid brought us some drinks, then the others were dismissed,
leaving just our party and the king.
Once everyone else left, Roland’s younger brother Serge — the king
— explained the details to us. According to him, it was all just as we
had been told by the royal guard. The king of the neighboring
kingdom of Brancott had suddenly passed away, causing an all-too-
familiar contest for succession. Normally, it would have gone to that
annoying first prince Fernand, but the second in line, Ghislain, was
also vying for the throne.
They were both children of the princess consort, so there weren’t
any issues like the first prince’s mother being of a lower class while
the second prince’s mother was the daughter of a marquis or
anything like that, but instead it seemed like the selfish and greedy
second son just wanted to take the throne and supplant the hard-
working and honest first son. I had only ever seen Fernand as a
stalker who caused me problems, but he was actually fairly
respectable about things that didn’t involve me. That was pretty
surprising...
So anyway, there was no official successor appointed because of the
previous king’s sudden passing... Well, there wasn’t really a need for
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one, because everyone assumed the first prince would take over...
But some folks decided to use that as part of their plot to appoint the
second prince instead.
Their reasoning went like this: “The first prince has displeased the
Angel, so if he becomes king, we’ll lose the protection of the
Goddess and our kingdom will crumble.” Some idiot had made up
that rumor and started spreading it around.
Not to mention, there were self-proclaimed high priests in the royal
palace, in an entirely separate hierarchy from the priests of the
Temple of the Goddess. They’d been making connections through
bribery and had joined the second prince’s faction, hoping to put the
easily-manipulated boy on the throne for their own benefit.
The Temple of the Goddess hadn’t accepted these shady newcomers,
but stayed silent because they couldn’t deny that the first prince had
displeased the Angel...
Then there was the previous king’s demise. Word was that he had
seemed healthy but had then suddenly died of an illness, which
could mean he’d been poisoned...
The first prince should have been the crown prince in the first place,
and considering the fact that he was more suitable and better-liked
than his younger brother, the succession should have been a smooth
process. And yet, the second prince’s faction had started firing off
unsubstantiated claims that the late king had appointed the second
prince as his successor, then launched a sudden attack on the first
prince’s faction — which denied their claim, of course — and took
the royal palace by force.
Fortunately for them, the first prince and his confidants had
managed to flee by using a hidden escape route that was only known
to the royal heir, and he’s been missing ever since.
“A pretty common story...” I said.
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“Indeed,” Roland agreed.
“Meanwhile, there are brothers who try to push the duty of being
king onto each other because they’d rather not deal with it...” I
noted.
“Hahaha...” the king replied, shoulders drooping at my words as he
chuckled listlessly.
Welp, you never know what’ll happen! Gotta keep your chin up!
“So, the second prince, Ghislain, is currently in control of the royal
palace, but it seems no one believes he is the legitimate heir, not
even those who are trying to put him on the throne. Everyone is
either staying silent out of fear of being purged then and there, or
are otherwise trying to benefit from backing the winning horse. They
will surely crumble as soon as the tides turn. Therefore...”
“They want to take out their greatest threat, which is you, the first
prince...” I replied.
“Indeed. If that happens, the line of succession would technically
devolve onto the second prince. Though, whether a usurper who
murders his father and older brother has the right to succeed the
throne is another matter altogether...”
Of course, someone like that had absolutely no right to become a
ruler. Even if the first prince was out of the picture, someone else of
royal blood should take over instead. The late king had a daughter,
and his younger brother had children too. It wasn’t as if there were
no successors left if the second prince was to be disinherited. And it
wasn’t as if the second prince could just massacre all of the other
successors, their collateral lines, and everyone else related to the
royal family.
Then Serge began to fill us in on the response status of his own
country.
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“I’ve dispatched the Four Walls to the eastern border. I determined
that the Kingdom of Aseed to the south and the Aligot Empire to the
west were less of a threat, so the arrangements there are the same
as usual. Though, that said, I haven’t extracted any soldiers from
those regions, just in case.
“The remaining forces of the standing army and the conscripts have
been sent to the eastern border as well. The Kingdom of Aseed has
also gathered their forces along the border they share with the
Kingdom of Brancott as well as on the side closest to us. They’ve
agreed to cross the border and send us reinforcements as soon as we
request it.”
“Perfect. We can’t make the first move, so all that’s left now is to
wait for them to declare war or cross our border without warning.”
“Yes. We will be intercepting the enemy’s attack, so the battle will
take place on our territory. It’s a shame that our land will be ruined
as a result, but there’s nothing we can do about that...”
It seemed that he had taken care of what needed to be done, despite
his initial lack of self-confidence. Though, really, I didn’t think Roland
would have left him to be king if he was completely incompetent. I
sympathized with him, considering that he was always being
compared to Roland, but he probably would have been a fine king
even if Roland had never been in the picture.
“There’s no such thing as a younger brother who’s better than his
older brother!” as someone used to say...
Anyway, the Kingdom of Balmore couldn’t take any action until
Brancott did something first, so they had to cede the initiative out of
necessity. They couldn’t be the ones to spark the war, but Serge was
right that they had to take on the giant disadvantage of the battle
taking place on their home turf. They didn’t really have a choice in
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the matter, considering that the Kingdom of Balmore had their
position and reputation to consider.
...But none of that had anything to do with me. The enemy had used
my name for personal gain, put words in my mouth, and attacked
Layette and me. It was an undeniable fact that they had already
declared war on me. In fact, you could even say they had launched a
surprise attack on me without a declaration of war. So I had the right
to strike back, right? Me personally, I mean.
“Okay, we’ll be going now!”
“Huh?” Roland, Francette, and the king all said, looking at me with
wide eyes.
“I mean, we just came here to drop off Roland. We did what we
came here to do, so we’re leaving. Is that an issue?”
“Whaaaaaat?!?”
What, did they think I was gonna help them with their war?
“I have no intention of favoring one side of a mortal war over
another.”
“...” Roland and the king were stunned into silence and looked at me
as if they hadn’t expected this at all.
Francette was surprised at first when I announced I was leaving, but
didn’t seem too caught off-guard when I explained I didn’t intend to
help in their war. Emile, Belle, and Layette were as cool as
cucumbers, of course. It seemed that Roland was the only one who
didn’t understand me at all.
After all this time we had spent together... And he was supposed to
be the smartest one here, too... It just went to show that smarts and
the ability to understand people weren’t one and the same.
And so, I left the rather conflicted-looking Roland and the king
behind and headed back to the residence of the Eyes of the Goddess.
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...Indeed, I wasn’t going to provide any help for their war. This was
my war, after all. I’m not helping them because I’m the real
combatant here. I’ll be the one attacking Brancott, not the other way
around.
That was fine and all, but... Why was Francette following me instead
of staying behind? And with such a happy smile, too...?
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“I’m home!”
Thud thud thud thud thud thud! came the sound of feet down the
stairs, as several voices all piped up in unison.
“Welcome home!!!”
I had returned home for the first time in several months. Though,
really, this place felt like it actually belonged to the orphans and I
was just staying over... But it wasn’t as if I was just laying around and
slacking off. I simply tasked the orphans with cooking, cleaning,
laundry, making a living, and everything else to cultivate their
independence! That was why they were able to live on their own
without me or Emile there.
Not only had I taught the girls how to do housework, but I’d also
instructed the boys, too. I wasn’t so anachronistic that I’d only taught
the boys how to go out and hold down a job while teaching the girls
to do housework! Though I guess that was actually considered a
standard practice rather than an anachronism in this world...
That said, I had been sure to teach them to take care of themselves
without depending on others, regardless of their gender. I wanted to
make sure they could support themselves on their own before they
found marriage partners, and I didn’t want them to end up being
scumbags who dumped all of the housework and childcare on their
wives after getting married. As a result, they all ended up being fine
young kids. Each of them grew up to be capable of doing housework
for me.
I’m the one who raised them!
I had already let them know about my return with the sound
resonance crystal set, so while they were happy about my return,
they weren’t all that surprised. If I had suddenly come home without
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giving them a heads up, they might have wet themselves like overly
excited puppies. No, seriously.
I wasn’t gonna have them report to me on what I had missed in my
absence. I’d been keeping in touch and getting info in real time with
the crystal set, after all. Even though I had told them many times that
they didn’t need to report so frequently, the kids were so eager to
talk to me that they took every opportunity they could to chat about
whatever.
Telling me that onions were a copper coin cheaper at the vegetable
shop in Brancott’s royal capital wasn’t really useful information...
Anyway, I was back home for the first time in a while. I decided to lie
on the ground and have the kids step on my back. It actually felt
really good...
“Gueh!”
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I just made a weird noise. Wait...
“Quit it! You’re crushing me! Belle, you’re way past stepping on my
back already! Anyone who gets too heavy gets relieved of stepping-
on-my-back duty. Off you go!”
Belle stepped off of my back, looking a little sad. I really couldn’t
compromise on this, even though she was making those puppy-dog
eyes. If I left her to it, she’d snap my spine in two.
As Belle moved away, an older but smaller child moved in on the
now-vacant spot on my back.
That’s right, Belle, blame your own body for growing so much...
Especially your boobs! That’s why you lost the privilege of stepping
on my back!
“Gagh! D-Don’t jump on me! And not three of you at once!!!”
My insides were about to burst out of my mouth!
And so, I spent my time being a degenerate for a while...
Come to think of it, even if I was gonna deal with the enemy, it was
better to have them cross the border, both in consideration of this
country’s situation and in terms of dishing out divine punishment.
Picking a fight with the Angel was reason enough to get back at
them, but if they invaded the country where the Angel lived, that
would make them seem all the more villainous. Plus, if they crossed
the border and fulfilled the conditions to activate the secret alliance
with the Kingdom of Aseed, it would make things more convenient in
the long term.
And so, I had Francette take care of gathering information from the
king and focused on spending time with the children (leaving all the
work for others to do and basically lazing about)...
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Oh, and I introduced Layette to everyone as a new member of the
Eyes of the Goddess.
She was with us all this time, but a girl her age should have been
living with the other kids here. Such a young child being among all
these adults by herself wasn’t a good environment for her. Not to
mention, we were about to head into battle...
I couldn’t bring her with us. So, I had to have Layette live here with
the others as a member of the Eyes of the Goddess. I was going to
miss having her around for emotional support, but I couldn’t drag
her around for my own selfish reasons. I had to endure! I could come
back to see her any time...
Then I educated the children on various topics before bedtime. The
thing is, they were all good, honest kids who revered me as a
goddess, but...they were a bit too dependent on me. They should be
able to stand on their own without me, but not one of them wanted
to leave.
The oldest of them, Emile, was currently sixteen and would be
seventeen soon. The youngest one, excluding Layette, was Belle at
twelve years old. I mean, they were all old enough to find work as
live-in apprentices, craftsmen-in-training, hunters, or military cadets.
In other words, they were at the age to be considered a normal
member of society who had lost their parents at a young age, and a
few of them, like Emile, were already of age. They weren’t just
orphans anymore. An ex-orphan with no guarantor or connections
would normally have had a hard time getting hired anywhere, but no
employer would turn down someone who had lived with me and
been taken under my wing. If they tried, they could have gotten
hired at any major business they wanted. Maybe they could have
even found work as servants in a noble household.
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...So why hadn’t they gone out into the world already?! In the four
years before I left on my journey, I taught them so much during our
before-bedtime discussions! Cooking, reading, writing, math, the
workings of society, how to make money, common scams — not to
scam others, but to avoid falling for them, of course. Plus, some basic
chemistry, physics, medical science, and more...
I even told them all sorts of stories so they wouldn’t get bored.
Mainly stories from Japanese manga and anime, along with some
mythology and folktales from Earth... They probably thought these
were true stories from my world at first, but they had to know they
were make-believe stories by now.
Anyway, I gave them enough training to get hired at most places. So
why had none of them tried to leave this orphanage?! I get that it
was easier to save money because they didn’t have to pay rent and
food was cheap here, but they couldn’t live together forever. They
would all eventually have to find a lover or get married.
...Wait, Emile and Belle better not get all lovey-dovey in front of
everyone here! That may be fine by society’s standards, but not
mine! Such insolence wasn’t gonna fly in my book!
Haah... Haah...
In any case, I had given them this house, so if they wanted to live
here until they got married to cut down on living expenses, that was
totally fine.
But why did they insist on working at places where they could
commute from here? Even if they had to find live-in work or go
someplace far away, they had to consider their future... Why
couldn’t they just think of this place as a home they could return to?
There was no reason to stay here all the time. Or maybe this home
that I bestowed on them was more like a curse binding them here...
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“Hey, why don’t you kids try to find proper careers with future
prospects instead of working as messenger boys, store clerks, or
nursemaids? I know you’re all capable of...”
“You’re the one that taught us that all occupations are equally
honorable, Kaoru!”
“Urgh...”
“There’s all sorts of baggage that come with regular employment,
like excessive responsibilities that are disproportionate to the salary,
human relations, and expectations of unpaid work or work on
holidays. And women have to deal with harassment from superiors
who abuse their positions of power...”
“Urggh...”
Damn, they sound just like permanent part-time employees... And
I’m the one who taught them all this... This was bad. Really bad.
“Don’t you guys want to become independent soon? I don’t intend
on living here forever, so I was thinking of moving on... And if you all
move out, I could sell this place and divvy up the money to help you
all on your fresh new starts.”
Yes, if I could just sell this place off, they would all fly freely off into
the world. And once this current incident was resolved, I planned to
go on another journey right away. I did plan on staying a legal
resident of this country, for the record. I was just going on a journey,
and as long as I was considered an inhabitant of this city, it would
make it easier for me and avoid all sorts of trouble later on.
If I wandered around on my journey without being registered
anywhere and people found out who I was, they would probably get
pushy about having me live in their country. Plus, I’d feel bad if this
country became known for being abandoned by the Angel. So I
would continue living here in a formal, legal capacity, but that didn’t
mean I had to leave this house here if no one was living in it. And the
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kids would end up being stuck in this house if I did just leave it here,
which would be a huge waste of talent.
If these kids went out into the world and put all their knowledge and
education they had gotten here to good use, it would make this
country — no, the world — a better place. Maybe just a little bit...
It would also lead to their own happiness, and I would have a small
part in doing something good for this world, which would make me
kind of happy too.
Wait...they seem pretty shaken by what I had said...
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“D-D-Do you mean...”
“Are you going back to the heavenly realm, Big Sis Kaoru...?”
“Y-You’re leaving us?”
Oh no, they’re about to burst into tears! ...Actually, some of them
are crying already!
But I couldn’t just baby them here. I had to give it to them straight,
here and now.
“I can’t just live with all of you here forever. I...”
“Wh-Wh-What is it?”
They were on the verge of tears, but I declared without mercy: “I’ll
get married and live a life of my own someday...”
“Oh, we’ll be fine for a while, then!”
...What was with their relieved smiles?! How incredibly rude...
“Oh, but I need to manage my own world too! Just like Celes...”
Indeed, I was generally known as a friend of the Goddess Celestine...
Most people continued to call me the Angel, no matter how
desperately I denied it, though. And so, I was supposed to be a
normal human girl who was loved by the Goddess, but some people,
like these kids, Francette, Roland, House Adan, and a few others,
thought of me as a goddess of another world. So this explanation
was fine for them.
“That’s why I need to leave soon...”
“...”
The children went silent. It seemed like they wanted to stop me but
considered that I may have important work as a goddess, or maybe
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they were worried that the citizens of my world were in trouble
without me.
They looked like they were about to cry again, but they seemed to
understand they couldn’t be selfish here and said nothing. And I
understood I had to be firm here. If I coddled them out of sympathy,
nothing would change. I had to keep my emotions out of this...
“Do you think people who try to keep the Goddess for themselves
and rely on her without trying to live by their own abilities deserve
the Goddess’s blessing?”
I ignored the sobs as I turned my back and walked toward my room.
...I was the one who wanted to cry!
“...”
I woke up the next day and went into the living room to find the kids
hanging their heads at the dining table. They all had red eyes. And
yet they had prepared breakfast, including mine, of course.
I sat down and thanked them for breakfast, then they mumbled
listlessly in response...
“Sheesh, who died?! Get a grip! Remember what I taught you all? Be
cheerful during mealtimes! Even if you’re sad or in pain, be energetic
and happy when you eat, even if you have to fake it! Otherwise,
you’ll just make the food taste bad and feel even worse!”
Usually, the kids at least forced themselves to smile when I gave a
pep talk like this, but they all still looked like the world was ending.
“B-But...”
“I just can’t...”
“Urgh... Waaah...”
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This was hopeless... I had to do something or they were gonna end
up as empty husks...
“Do you think someone who doesn’t try to live by their own abilities
deserves my blessing?”
“But if we do become capable of living on our own, you’ll leave us...”
That was a good point... I had already left once, but maybe they
thought I was going on a journey to find a husband, and I was going
to come back once I did. They had said they would continue to
protect this house and wait for me, and Emile and Belle had left with
me. Maybe they were afraid I could leave for good next time.
Hmm... There wasn’t really anything I could do here...
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Chapter 43: The Battle Begins
Three days have passed.
During that time, I went to make excuses to Achille’s older brother’s
wife. I told him that I wasn’t lying around and making the children do
all the work because I was lazy, but I was doing so intentionally to
foster their ability to take care of themselves and be self-reliant...
She asked me if I was telling the truth, so I told her to look into my
eyes. She stared at my face...and then said, “You’re lying!”
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How did she know?!
Anyway, I made up an excuse and got outta there! Next, I went to
visit Maillart Workshop.
Of course, I saw my replacement Lolotte every day (come to think of
it, why was she at the house every day even though she’s supposed
to be living and working at the workshop?), but I had to find out
what was up with Achille’s whole “inviting Lolotte to be his lover”
thing. So I marched over there, and Achille suddenly prostrated
himself in a gesture of total submission.
...Did he think I was gonna kill him or something? Was it because of
my scary eyes? Hey, shaddap!
Well, I suppose things were different when he was just the third son
of a viscount, but it would be difficult to take in an orphan as his
lawful wife now that he was a big-shot baron. It would have been
one thing if Lolotte could have been a concubine whose child would
be born as an aristocrat, but if she was going to be a throwaway
lover with no rights, and if her child would end up with no claim to
their inheritance or any status as an aristocrat, it would be pretty
rough for her despite having married into a wealthy family...
It was possible for her to become a foster daughter of a noble family
just for form’s sake, but there weren’t a lot of aristocrats who would
take in a commoner orphan, even if temporarily and only on paper.
Unless they were really desperate for money and offered a big
payout in return, that is...
I mean, they would probably accept with reluctance if I personally
requested it. But I didn’t think it was quite right to force someone to
do something they didn’t want to, especially if it could affect their
house’s reputation.
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No, I knew there was a way. I could accept the title Roland had
prepared for me and adopt Lolotte myself. I wouldn’t have minded
having her as a step-daughter at all, and no aristocrat would turn
down my daughter, adopted or not, to take in as their lawful wife.
It was the perfect plan... That is, if you ignore two issues with that.
First, I had no intention of becoming an aristocrat. I didn’t want any
unnecessary duties or burdens on my shoulders, and I definitely
wasn’t cool with being bound to this country.
The other issue was that this would be far too much favoritism. The
Eyes of the Goddess had met me at an early stage, and they received
preferential treatment from me compared to all the other orphans.
There were so many orphans in the royal capital...no, in this entire
country. It wasn’t like I could help all of them. I had met them by
chance and they had just happened to help me out, so I took care of
them for a bit to repay them. Arranging for one of them to become
the lawful wife of an aristocrat was way too much.
Lolotte needed to get through this on her own and make her own life
decisions using the hand she was dealt. It wasn’t for me to butt in.
So...
“...Well, good luck!”
With that, I patted Achille on the shoulder, said my greetings to
Bardot, the owner of the workshop, as well as the others, then left
after having a little chat.
After some time, Francette returned from the royal palace with some
intel.
“It seems the Brancott army has begun mobilizing. There are many
aristocrats and military commanders who oppose this move, but
they couldn’t refuse orders from their king and superiors out of fear
for their jobs and lives...”
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No surprise there. They’d be lucky if the punishment had just
stopped there, but their whole family could have ended up getting
slaughtered if they didn’t do as they were told.
The first prince wouldn’t have done anything so stupid himself, but
the second prince knew he wasn’t as well-liked as him and had taken
the throne by force. But if he knew the first prince was still alive,
he’d surely be desperate to crush his opposition with all his available
force...
And even though this would just result in him losing even more
popularity, those who were putting him up on a pedestal weren’t
doing anything to stop him.
Not surprising, really. It was convenient for them if the prince took
out the people in his way, and they’d only put a target on their own
backs if they tried to stop him. If they truly were just in it for their
own profit rather than for the country or its people, there was no
way they would put themselves in danger for no reason.
“When will they arrive at the border?”
“In four days. They will likely be close to it on the evening of the third
day. They should camp the night there, then cross the border in the
morning.”
Yeah, it wouldn’t make sense to enter enemy territory in the evening
and camp overnight there.
“Then let’s get there by the morning of the third day, just in case. We
should depart tomorrow morning, I think.”
There were all sorts of factors at play, like the time it would take for
their spies to report, but it takes time, logistically speaking, to move
fully equipped armies. I had nothing to carry, thanks to the Item Box,
and they couldn’t possibly compete with Ed’s potion-augmented
speed, so I’d have plenty of time to get there.
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“What about the royal army?”
“They were already prepared to mobilize, so they’re ready to go at
any time. Of course, there were some troops who had already been
deployed, so once the army regroups with them, the combined force
will likely engage the enemy about a day’s march away from the
border. That area is a barren wasteland, with no residents nearby, so
it’s an ideal battlefield.”
Yeah, no one was stupid enough to start a fight in a granary. Oh, but I
guess it wouldn’t matter if it belonged to an enemy, unless victory
was guaranteed, and you knew you were going to claim that territory
afterward.
“Okay then, time to sleep for the big day tomorrow!”
“...”
Ah, the kids were listening from behind me and looked pretty
concerned...
“Why do you look so worried? Do you think mere mortals can do
anything to me?”
“...”
Well, I suppose they couldn’t help but worry, even if I was a so-called
goddess. So...
“Don’t worry, on the off-chance that something does happen to me,
this body is only temporary. Even if it gets destroyed, it won’t have
any effect on me. Worst-case scenario, this little vacation of mine
will end a bit quicker than planned, and I’d just go back to my own
world. I probably have a lot of work waiting for me...”
Oh no, it had the opposite effect! They got even gloomier... On the
other hand, Francette and Emile look pretty pleased! Francette is one
thing, but I’m not taking you, Emile!
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“Whaaaaaat?!” Emile and Belle screamed in shock when I told them I
wasn’t bringing them with me.
Of course I’m not! Emile may be a hard worker, but his skill level is
only somewhere between that of a common foot soldier and a
veteran soldier. He wasn’t strong enough to guarantee his survival
on the battlefield. As for Belle, she wouldn’t even qualify as a
disposable sacrificial shield.
I mean, there’s no such thing as guaranteed survival no matter how
strong someone is. You could always get struck by a stray arrow,
surrounded by enemies, or who knows what else. Even Francette
had suffered a fatal wound in the war against the Aligot Empire four
and a half years ago... This time, of course, we weren’t going to fight
like we had back then.
But I had to appease them somehow, or they would insist on tagging
along...
All right!
“Why would I want to waste my most reliable trump cards on a
chaotic battlefield? I want you guys to protect everyone here and
prepare for the worst. In other words, stay on standby here and
prepare to protect me during the last stand for the royal capital.”
“Yes!” Belle and Emile replied enthusiastically.
...They were so easy.
The day before the Brancott army was expected to cross the border,
we calculated the distance the invaders would travel from the border
in a day (including their support troops), anticipated that the
Balmore royal army would be deployed in the wasteland there, and
moved even farther ahead. ...Basically, we snuck around without
greeting the royal army.
Page | 35
I hadn’t brought the children with us, of course, and the king was
back at the palace instead of at the front lines.
Roland was a bit farther behind us and leading the main forces. It
was probably a veteran general giving out the actual directions, so he
was more of a figurehead.
So it was just me here, along with...
“Why are you here, Francette...? You’re supposed to be Roland’s
guard!”
“What? But you granted me the title of Einherjar, the Guardian of
the Goddess, that one time.”
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“Urgh!”
...I had just been going with the flow then, but I did remember saying
something like that.
“B-But you’re a noble and a knight, and it’s your duty as Roland’s
guard to...”
“I am a liaison officer.”
“Huh?”
“A liaison officer.”
“Whaaat?”
“A liaison officer.”
“Whaaaaaa!”
...Damn! Oh well.
Unlike Emile, Francette was an upstanding adult, even from my point
of view as Kaoru Nagase the Japanese woman rather than the Kaoru
of this world. She was around thirty, and had lived much longer than
me, too... As such, she could make and take responsibility for her
own decisions. Yes, Francette didn’t need me doing this and that to
protect her. She should be the one protecting me.
And so, the number of forces charging into the middle of the
Brancott army came to a grand total of two people.
“What about us?”
Oh, my mistake. Two people and two horses— Ed, and Francette’s
beloved horse.
All right then, time to rock!
“But let’s have some tea for now.”
Page | 38
“Yes!”
We had arrived early, just in case, but the enemy wasn’t expected to
arrive until tomorrow afternoon. And so, we decided to pull out a
tent, beds, chairs, a table, and a tea set, and wait for them to show
up.
Some time past noon the next day...
The Brancott army could be seen in the distance. Of course, both the
Brancott and Balmore army had sent out preliminary troops to scout
ahead, so each of the factions must have known each other’s
positions.
We quickly packed up the tent. Surely they would completely ignore
two young girls and their horses just standing there without giving
them so much as a second glance. They wouldn’t bother trying
anything with a harmless lookout or two at this point.
And so, we watched as the two armies closed in as each other and
waited for the right timing.
The Balmore army waited for the enemy as the Brancott army
moved in, closing the distance between them to about 700 to 800
meters, which meant there was still plenty of time before they
started firing their bows at each other. I hopped onto Ed and charged
in between the two armies from the side. Then...
Booooooom!!!
The “nitroglycerin-like substance” made a huge explosion up in the
sky. Yup, it was that same, familiar stuff I used before. It came in a
gourd-shaped container and spawned with two types of chemicals
that would mix and cause an explosion right away.
The entire Brancott army froze immediately. Now was the time to
bust out the loudspeaker-type potion container.
Page | 39
“To the usurper’s rebel army, which plots to invade the country
that the Goddess Celestine has bestowed upon her friend, I say
this: you shall fall straight to hell!”
Boom! Bam! Bang!
Glass balls containing something like nitroglycerin rained down from
the sky and exploded one after another. They each landed a bit in
front of the Brancott army, but weren’t causing any damage. Physical
damage, that is.
“Wh-Whaaat?! But they told me the Angel abandoned Balmore! I
thought the Kingdom of Balmore was no longer loved by the
Goddess!”
“I was told the Angel supports Lord Ghislain’s claim to the throne!
They said this is a holy war and the Goddess is with us! So why is the
Angel on their side and we’re treated as the rebel blasphemers?!
That’s not what I heard at all!”
“They tricked us! We were lied to by those usurping, blasphemous
bastards! I don’t wanna go to hell! I don’t want my family to get
struck down by the Goddess!”
“Hell no! I didn’t become a soldier just to get killed as an enemy of
the Goddess and go to hell! I just wanted to fight for my family, for
my country, for justice! I just wanted to protect everyone’s
happiness!!!”
It was complete chaos. Some men cried and screamed as they clung
to their commanders, others tried to retreat, while others threw
their weapons to the ground... No one was concerned with fighting a
war against Balmore anymore.
There wasn’t a single life, weapon, or resource lost. And yet, the
Brancott army was wiped out psychologically before the battle even
began.
“Open the way.”
Page | 40
Fwssh!
I gave the order through the loudspeaker-type potion container,
then the sea of people parted, opening a straight path through.
...Who am I, Moses?!
Anyway, the soldiers all fell to their knees, and I walked through the
newly-created path with Francette, who was all smiles. Oh, and we
were each riding our horses, of course. But man, Francette sure
seemed thrilled whenever I did Goddess-like stuff...
In any case, we kept moving forward. With that done, the soldiers
should turn back and retreat from here. It was a good thing the
battle had ended without any needless casualties on either side. The
soldiers were simply following orders, but it wasn’t as if they had
strongly believed in their cause this time.
If they understood everything that was going on and were still dead-
set on killing the enemy and seizing their riches for their own
country, without any intention of listening to the other side, I would
have had no choice but to give them a harsh reality check. But if they
knew who I was and could be convinced through a simple
explanation, that was fine by me.
“Destination: Aras, the royal capital of the Kingdom of Brancott. Let’s
go!”
“Yeah!”
“Breeehehehe!”
I glanced behind me and saw the Balmore frontline soldiers just
standing there, having done absolutely nothing...
Yeah, I was glad I couldn’t really see their expressions because they
were somewhat far away.
My bad!
Page | 41
“Lady Kaoru, what shall we do next?”
Now that she was back in her own country and I was acting as a
goddess, Francette was back to addressing me as “Lady Kaoru.” Oh
well.
“We should be able to head straight to the capital with the method
we just used. I’m sure the Balmore army and Brancott army will
follow too... And if we move forward normally without rushing too
much, post horses should deliver their reports before we get there.
“The first prince, who should be hiding somewhere and keeping an
eye on the situation, the men of his faction who had no choice but to
reluctantly follow the second prince’s orders, and the original priests
of the Temple of the Goddess in Brancott...they should all have
heard about what just happened by the time we get there...
“So, we’ll be marching right in through the front door after giving the
other forces enough time to gather, march in, and join us.”
Francette grinned, but then she looked a little worried as she
brought up a question.
“Um, Lady Kaoru. I will have a chance to be of use to you, won’t I?”
...Not my problem!
“What? Kaoru has returned to Balmore?! And she’s leading the
Balmore army and our own invading troops to strike down the
blasphemer Ghislain?! Ahh! The Goddess’s blessing is with us!
Contact any aristocrats and dignitaries who will answer our call at
once! And only those with a trust ranking of A. Don’t contact B-ranks
or lower until the very last moment to avoid the information getting
leaked!
“As for the Temple of the Goddess, contact only the archbishop.
Emphasize to him that the other priests are only to be contacted
after the uprising takes place.”
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“Yes, my lord!” Fernand’s confidants moved out at his orders.
“So, Kaoru is here. Hmhm... Hahaha...”
“You shouldn’t get too optimistic... The counterattack is one thing,
but afterward, she isn’t...” Fabio warned the grinning first prince
Fernand.
“That’s right. Kaoru is working for the Kingdoms of Balmore and
Brancott, and for their people. She absolutely isn’t doing it out of
love for you or anything. If you get the wrong idea and get ahead of
yourself, it’ll end up in disaster. You understand that, don’t you?”
“Urgh...” After even being told off by Allan, who had failed in his
search for Kaoru but still enjoyed his little trip anyway, Fernand
couldn’t help but hang his head.
“What?! The Angel is leading the army to the royal capital?! Ah! The
forces of the Goddess are with us! Lady Celestine has sent her
servant to save our Kingdom of Brancott from the heretics leading
her to ruin! Very well, I will keep this a secret for the time being.
Once the time comes, we of the Temple of the Goddess will give our
lives for the Goddess, the Angel, and the people...”
“Impossible! You’re the ones who told me that the Goddess
Celestine had forsaken Balmore! You said that Lady Kaoru, the Angel
herself, had left the kingdom and was to ally with me to oppose
Fernand! So why...?” Ghislain accused the priests, but they had also
been taken completely by surprise.
It seemed they weren’t too frequently in contact with Bishop Bruce,
given that they hadn’t been alarmed when they stopped hearing
from him with him. It was also evident that they were not yet aware
that Bruce had tried and failed to kill Kaoru, and had been executed
after revealing everything he knew.
Page | 43
But as bishops, using eloquence to wheedle their way out of
situations was part of their job description.
“I have no idea what you are talking about, my lord... The Angel is
leading the army of Balmore to come to beg for your forgiveness!
Now that the Kingdom of Balmore’s own army has defected to us,
along with the Angel, there is no need to ruin the land or slaughter
the people, all of whom are about to belong to our kingdom. We
only need to demand their complete and total surrender.”
“What...?” It was obviously a lie, but a drowning man will clutch even
at a straw. Amidst the fear and despair, the second prince Ghislain
wanted to — no, had no choice but to — cling to the answer that he
wanted most.
“I...I see! So that’s it! Damn that messenger for coming back with a
false report! Haha, hahaha... Hey, someone behead that messenger
from earlier!”
When the crimes of the bishops from the old Holy Land of Rueda had
been exposed and their assets were seized, some of them had
quickly converted their funds into gold and jewelry, then escaped the
country to live the rest of their lives in comfort, while the other
bishops rejected their methods and instead plotted their return to
power.
Out of those bishops, there was a group who had vowed to get
revenge by making their way into the center of the Kingdom of
Brancott, a neighbor to the Kingdom of Balmore, which the old Holy
Land of Rueda had been absorbed into. They concealed the fact that
they had escaped from Rueda and claimed to be bishops on
missionary work from a faraway land, so as to curry favor with the
second prince. The vast riches they had brought from the Holy Land
of Rueda certainly hadn’t hurt at all.
Page | 44
The bishops of Brancott considered the first prince to be the clear
heir to the throne, making them enemies in the eyes of the dumb
second prince who wished to be king. To him, the whispers from the
traveling bishops, telling him he was fit to be king and assuring him
that it was the will of both the Goddess and the Angel, were quite
comfortable to hear, so he ignored the unspoken agreement to keep
the church and politics separate. Instead, he kept them close by.
Once convinced, he began spreading their whispers around, in full
agreement with what the bishops had said. The second prince
claimed that he had just so happened to be the only one near the
king at the time of his sudden passing, and that the king’s last words
were to have Ghislain take the throne in his stead. He then took
immediate action to arrest the other would-be king.
But rather than be captured, the first prince used a secret
passageway that had been passed down through the kings and the
crown princes of each generation, and thus managed to escape with
his trusted confidants. The second prince knew that those around
him only cared about their own benefit over that of their country,
and that there was no telling how his currently-obedient retainers
would act if the first prince showed up, so he had no choice but to
eliminate his rival and make them accept him as the rightful heir.
In order to pull this off, he initiated a plan to invade the neighboring
kingdom of Balmore, effectively killing three birds with one stone by
searching for the first prince, getting the military and merchants on
his side, and diverting the people from their discontent all at the
same time. But, of course, this decision was greatly influenced by the
“traveling bishops,” who had given him such good advice while
relaying “the will of the Goddess.” And, of course, her will was for
him to unite the Kingdom of Balmore under his rule...
The traveling bishops had one wish: to take over the Kingdom of
Balmore, and thus retake Rueda, all while getting revenge against
Page | 45
those who had betrayed and banished them! With that done, they
would regain all their glory from those days long gone!
...But instead, it was all ending here. They had never expected the
Angel to return to the Kingdom of Balmore and launch a full
counterattack. Considering that they had raised their soldiers’
morale in the face of an invasion on a friendly nation of many years
by using the names of the Goddess and the Angel, this turn of events
had effectively nullified their military power.
They considered their options, and...
“We must escape! We pulled it off once before, and we just need to
do it again. Most of the fortune taken from Rueda is still there. We
only need to load it all into the carriage and flee to the center of the
continent, then start over again... Only...”
“Yes, we must crush that demon and get our revenge. Once she’s
gone, the Goddess Celestine will go back to staying out of human
affairs for the most part, apart from occasionally warning us of
danger...”
The self-proclaimed “traveling bishops,” who were actually Rueda’s
former bishops, were quite optimistic in their views. It was true that
the Goddess Celestine hadn’t directly punished the bishops from the
Holy Land of Rueda, instead only speaking of past events. She had
actually left without really doing anything, other than scolding the
Pope a bit for misusing the sacred treasure. Depending on how one
looked at it, it could be interpreted as refraining from unnecessary
interference and thus staying out of human affairs.
It was all because of that damned girl, the one who happened to
have the Goddess Celestine’s favor. She was the one who forced her
interpretation on everyone after the Goddess had left. In their
minds, the fall of Rueda was all because of that girl’s malicious false
rumor-mongering.
Page | 46
The soon-to-be-former rulers of the Holy Land of Rueda had looked
rather lifeless even upon returning to their country after those
events, and were in no state to make any reports for some time.
Because of this, there were several days of delay before the
information started to come in. Not to mention the reports were
wildly inaccurate and had many omissions, exaggerations, and
contradictory statements.
Among the confusion, a few of them with a keen sense for danger
were able to take the opportunity to flee. However...
The remaining bishops consisted of those who weren’t present when
the Goddess had descended, and therefore only had skewed,
inaccurate information. Not only that, but they took that flawed
information and interpreted it to fit their own bias.
And so, their final conspiracy was set into motion...
“I’ve been looking forward to seeing you, Lady Angel!”
“Ugh!”
When we arrived at a city just before the royal capital, an
unwelcome sight was awaiting us...
Yeah, him!
“Prince Fur Man...”
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Page | 48
“It’s Fernand!”
Well, on second thought, I guess he wasn’t all that furry. Anyway...
“I’m only here to take out those who picked a fight with me. No
more, no less!”
My message was loud and clear, but Fernand seemed unaffected. He
was still His Royal Highness the Prince, so I had to treat him with
some respect, but I didn’t have to give him that courtesy in my
internal monologue.
I had separated the armies of both countries; once that was done,
the six of us, including Francette, myself, and the four knights Roland
sent from the back moved forward, only to find Fernand waiting at
the first city just before the capital. Fernand, Allan, and the man
named Fa—no, Fabio—who I had met once each at the shop and
Grua, the royal capital of Balmore, along with their many followers,
were all there. According to them, their forces were waiting in a
place some distance away from the city.
As I thought, it seemed that most of those who were cooperating
with the second prince were doing so out of necessity. They couldn’t
publicly oppose him when the royal palace and influential aristocrats
had been occupied and the first prince was missing.
I mean, if the king and first prince were out of the picture, the
second prince would naturally be the official heir. Anyone who
opposed this would be treated as a rebel seeking to usurp the throne
and a traitor to the country. Their entire family line might end up
being massacred. This was especially true when the ruler was a cruel
and cowardly fool who was aware of how precarious his position
was. That was why everyone just did as they were told... Until the
right moment presented itself, that is.
Page | 49
If the first prince had died in accordance with the plan, things might
have gone differently. The people could have had no choice but to
give up on everything and obey the second prince, or otherwise
stage a revolution, fully aware of the dishonor that would come with
it...
But since Fernand was alive, they only had to wait. Justice was on
their side. They could wipe out the usurper, who had committed the
grave sin of murdering his own father, along with his parasitic and
treacherous retainers.
And that time had finally come. A full-scale civil conflict was unlikely
to break out. Everyone had only refrained from acting against the
usurper out of fear for their lives, and their lack of clear justification.
In a sense, he proved to be quite capable by eliminating the king and
those above him in the order of succession, then effectively dividing
his influential opponents before they had time to discuss how to
respond, but this was likely due to input from his advisors rather
than his own cunning.
At the point when he failed to kill the first prince and let him escape,
his sandcastle had already begun crumbling. And so, in an attempt to
take in the military, merchants, and combative aristocrats while
distracting the people from their grievances, he made a reckless
move to invade a friendly country. Or perhaps he was afraid the first
prince would defect to the Kingdom of Balmore and try to take back
the throne by force using Balmore’s army.
That possibility wouldn’t have been out of the question. It would
have provided Balmore with a righteous cause to aid the first prince
and rightful heir in his request to punish the usurper. In other words,
it’d be a chance to save the people, act in the name of justice, and
stand up for their ally, the Kingdom of Brancott. It was plenty of
reason to invade their neighboring country, and would leave the first
prince and the Kingdom of Brancott greatly in their debt.
Page | 50
In that scenario, which prince would the aristocrats and national
army side with? It was no wonder the second prince felt threatened.
And sure enough, the very thing he had feared was rapidly becoming
a reality...
“Kaoru, you should rest in this city and wait for the armies of both
sides to catch up. Once the forces regroup, we can attack the royal
cap...”
“I’m not attacking the royal capital.”
“What...?”
Why would you want to attack your own kingdom’s capital? Are
you stupid?!
...Yes, he was. And judging by his overly familiar attitude, Fernand
seemed to think I was “that Kaoru.” In other words, the Kaoru who
he had met here in Brancott.
In his mind, he had already decided that Alfa Kaoru Nagase, who he
met in Balmore’s royal capital, and Mifa Kaoru Nagase, who worked
at the dining hall in Brancott, were one and the same, even though I
kept telling him that they’re two separate people...
Hmm...
“By the way, why do you keep talking to me as if we are close? I’ve
only met you for a few minutes in Grua, correct? Do you always act
so familiar with women from other countries? First you call me the
Lady Angel, and the next second, I’m Kaoru? I can see why the
second prince deemed you unworthy of becoming king.”
“Wha! Wh-What are you...” Fernand’s eyes widened in an expression
of shock. Everyone around us seemed flabbergasted too.
Yeah, he deserved that. I had to keep him in check, or he would just
get carried away.
Page | 51
“Frankly, it’s quite offensive. I don’t want to be near you, so please
stay away. I feel like I’ll become pregnant if you so much as touch
me.”
“Wh-Wh-Wha...”
There! I hadn’t ever planned on making the armies clash or sieging
the royal capital in the first place. There was no need for people to
die in pointless battles, regardless of which country they were
fighting for.
Military officers and aristocrats may have been happy to defeat their
enemies in glorious combat, saving the capital and winning acclaim
in the process, but what about those who died needlessly as a
result? Maybe those who had been on the right side would be fine
with it, but the soldiers on the so-called bad guy’s side still had wives,
children, and family members too, and they would no longer have a
future.
No, I wasn’t gonna have these people march into the castle as allies
of justice or “the armies of the Goddess.” I had already taken
countermeasures to prevent this.
We had been moving forward slowly to buy more time, but we were
still some distance ahead due to the support troops moving at a
slower pace. Still, sending light cavalry between us and the bulk of
our forces wasn’t too big of an issue.
And so, we sent out Roland’s four knights — also known as the Four
Walls, the ones who had received the divine swords — behind the
vanguard troops and Brancott’s royal army to carry out my orders.
The orders I gave to Brancott’s armed forces were as follows:
“Choose an impressive-looking cavalry officer who’s a skilled talker
and send him ahead to the royal capital. Have him spread rumors
among aristocrats, military personnel, civilians, everyone who’ll
listen; have him say that the Goddess won’t forgive anyone who aids
Page | 52
the usurper, the one who killed his own father, and that she will send
forth her messenger to carry out her punishment.”
The message was loud and clear: Anyone who opposed me was an
enemy of the Goddess and would be punished accordingly. Everyone
knew about the incident that had occurred in Balmore about four
years ago. How many people would try to stop me from entering the
castle now? Only a heretic who didn’t fear the Goddess herself
would dare try. In other words, a member of the group who attacked
Layette, and therefore my enemy. They would be very easy to
recognize.
So, I didn’t need any soldiers that wanted to achieve glory and fame
through slaughter. People who were itching to kill were too
dangerous to have around. My goal was to resolve this peacefully,
and I didn’t want that to be ruined by their ambition. No thanks!
Did I have proof that the second prince murdered the king? Well, all I
said was that anyone who aided the patricidal usurper wouldn’t be
forgiven, and hadn’t specified anyone in particular. It was more of a
general statement. I mean, I think most people would agree that
killing one’s parents and usurping the throne were both pretty
unforgivable things.
I hadn’t said anything inaccurate. Nope.
“I’m afraid I might get pregnant if I stay here. We’ll be moving ahead
a little farther and camping out instead of staying in this city
tonight.”
“Yes, my lady!” “Wha...?” Francette and the Four Walls responded in
unison.
And so, we moved our horses along. Fernand and the others stood
there as we left them behind, the inn workers and people of the city
glaring at them hatefully.
Page | 53
Couldn’t blame them, really. They had lost the opportunity to be
known as the last inn where the Angel rested before entering the
royal capital, or the city that the Angel used as the headquarters for
her counterattack, so of course they’d be upset.
Well, it wasn’t as if this would make them think the second prince
was any better than Fernand, so I didn’t mind. I wanted to take a
long bath before bed, but oh well. We may have been camping
overnight, but I didn’t mind because I still had a bed to sleep on.
Tomorrow was the big day.
I would get vengeance for Layette and the orphans who had been
beaten and injured, as well as the incident where they had tried to
kill me. They would pay. No one will ever even think about messing
with me or my friends ever again...
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