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Volume 3 Chapter 3 Part 2

「He really is a kind-hearted person, is he not? 」

Vilar said while smiling.

「He is neither good nor bad. 」

Kurt remarked in a low voice.

「He said that he wants to know exactly what kind of consensus are the Lords going to reach at this Lords Conference. If the time in which we are living were different, then I would definitely want someone like him to be our leader, but with the way things are now… 」

「So you want to say that the times in which we are living nowadays are the tumultuous ones? 」

Vilar asked Kurt while laughing.

「Of course they are tumultuous. The Ocean King Eric has started harassing the small continent of Pretland, and there have even been sightings of him along the coast of our country. On top of that, we still have no idea exactly how big of an organization Pandora really is, and as if that was still not enough, the Order of the Crest is resuming its bothersome activities. 」

「Now that you mention it, I did hear that a surprisingly large number of Lords started to associate themselves with the Order of the Crest recently. 」

「Yes, that is true, but let me tell you something more, You know that the Order has a cathedral build in Ismeia, right? Apparently, more people are pledging their loyalty to the Pope of Varossa than they do to the king of Ismeia. 」

「I went with the king of Ismeia part of the way, and I did hear a lot of complaints about it from him. But honestly, how can you blame people for turning to the Order of the Crest when right now the very foundation of the peerage system is being shaken to its core, and yet Elam and the Mages Association appear to be utterly powerless to do anything about it, so I would say that it really should not be all that surprising, all things considered. 」

「Officially, it is probably all because they want to remain neutral for as long as possible. Moreover, unlike Pandora that wants to bring back the Age of Extreme Chaos, the aim of the Order of the Crest is to put an and to Chaos and the monsters and disasters that are born from it, which makes their ultimate goal align with that of the Mages Association. Well, it is not like the Mages Association is an entirely monolithic organization either, and arguing with one another seems to be one of their favorite past time these days, so it is entirely probable that they have been absorbed in their pointless discussions and have not reached any sort of conclusion about anything just yet. 」

Vilar nodded with a smile.

「Well, for me, this meeting means more than anything else. And with all due respect for Lord Alexis, but I think that right now my stubborn cousin is focused solely on defeating the Fantasia Union through force of arms more than she ever was before… because she has convinced herself that the two Archdukes have died because of her selfish desire to be married to Lord Alexis even though the majority of the Lords from both sides were clearly against it. 」

「Are you sure about that? 」
Kurt’s expression changed when he heard that.

「Yes, I am. You see, albeit briefly, we have seen each other on the battlefield during the Battle of Selvis last year. We exchanged a few words with one another while our swords were clashing. 」

「If what you are saying is true, then it would seem that there really is no other way for the Fantasia Union to survive other than defeating the Factory Alliance in open field combat. I have been saying that for some time now, but whenever I was bringing that subject up, no one would listen to me seriously. Everyone was simply standing idly by twiddling their thumbs while Artuk and its people were suffering alone. 」

「No, no, the fact that you have been dealing with Ocean King Eric’s advances towards Pretland is amazing in and out of itself, Lord Kurt. 」

「At the current moment, he is still nothing more than an element of a proxy war between the Factory Alliance and the Fantasia Union, and the situation is like 50-50, and it is not possible right now to predict in which way it is going to develop. If that small continent would choose to become allies with the Factory Alliance, it would prove to be fatal for the Union, because we would have no way of knowing if or when the towns and villages located along the coast of the sea are going to be attacked by pirates… 」

Kurt paused and let out a big sigh.

「However, thanks to Lord Vilar’s actions, most of the central and southern parts of the continent have become allies of the Fantasia Union, and now that it lost the entirety of Selvis, Falvis and Clovis, the prestige of the Kraische family is bound to be eroded even more than it already was. 」

「Is it really going to be like that, though? For me, it looks more like Marine simply gave up on these two countries. If it were up to me, then I would focus on assembling a support army so that it could deal a critical hit to the Heavy Knights of Waldrind when it would really matter. As for Marine, right now she is probably focusing all of her energy on the restructurization of her army and the Factory Alliance as a whole. This is the only thing that she can do right now, because if she allows herself to lose any more influential Lords who are supporting her now, then the Factory Alliance as we know is will definitely fall apart. 」

「Exactly! That is why I think that we should not be givine Marine Kraische any kind of grace period! If we make our move now, invade the territory of the Factory Alliance and conquer Waldrind, we will be able to put an end to the Factory Alliance once and for all! 」

Kurt raised his fist high into the air and declared in a loud voice.

「You want everyone to listen that badly, huh? 」

「I am telling all of you! If we just follow Lord Vilar, then our victory over the Factory Alliance will be all but assured! 」

After saying that, Kurt glared at everyone who was giving him the look as if they thought that he had lost his mind.

「Now, that would certainly be a bold move. 」
Vilar’s group heard such a voice calling out from behind them, and when they turned back, they saw that a middle-aged Lord who must have been in his fifties already was approaching them. On his chest there was a navy blue medal that indicated that his court rank was that of a Marquis.

「Long time no see, Marquis Dawson. 」

Vilar bowed to the newly-arrived Lord gracefully.

(Bernard Durham, the Marquis of Dawson…)

Siluca recalled the name of the Lord before them.

When Kurt looked at Bernard, he frowned and ostensibly turned his back towards the Marquis. That one action of his was more than enough for Siluca to figure out exactly what kind of relationship those two had with one another.

「You definitely took your time to arrive here, Earl Vilar of Artuk. 」

Marquis Dawson spoke bluntly without even trying to hide the sarcasm in his voice.

「I would have come sooner, but the road was blocked so I did not have a choice but to make a little detour. 」

「You must really not like ships then. 」

「Yes, I do not like them, in fact. They shake too much, they get wet easily and then they sink. 」

Vilar said while borrowing the words that Siluca used before.

「A true Lord should not fear a little Chaos. 」

Marquis Dawson laughed and arched his back.

「If Chaos was not something that should be feared, then there would be no need for us to quell it, do you not think? 」

Vilar replied in a calm tone.

「The Chaos concentration in our territory is extremely low, unlike your territory, where accidents involving Chaos and Chaos Disasters are not all that rare. 」

「Then I guess I should thank the Founding Lord Leon foe moving to the west, and also thank the Free Knights who followed him there. 」

The exchange between the two Lords was getting more and more heated, to the point where the other Lords who were observing the situation nearby decided that this would be the best moment to make their exit. Even the Lords who were only observing Vilar and Bernard from afar were trying not to turn their heads towards them as much as possible.