3 bar menu

Volume 5 Chapter 1 Part 2

「Do you have any other opinions?」

Moreno asked while looking at the Lords.

(As I thought, many of the Lords want Lord Lassic to be the leader…)

After all, Lassic was an outstanding fighter who was especially renowned because of his Fomorian slaying prowess. In addition to that, right now he was the Lord who possessed the Crest of the highest rank from among all the other Lords in the region.

「I’m sorry, but I cannot be the leader. 」

As the Lords looked at him, Lassic said that while shrugging his shoulders, and causing the animal fur on his cloak to sway.

「If you’d ask why, then it’s because the title that I possess is not my own, but the one that was entrusted to me by Theo Cornero. And truth to be told, I was thinking of performing a subjugation ceremony to him with everyone as my witnesses. 」

Lassic said with a completely straight face and then turned towards Theo. The gazes of all the Lords also turned towards the young Lord standing next to Siluca all at once.

「True, Lord Lassic was originally a subordinate Lord of Lord Theo… 」

Edochia said with a confused expression.

「Lord Theo was promised the position of the King of Selvis, but he wanted to learn about being the proper Lord, so he chose to be subordinated to the Earl of Artuk instead. As a result, he handed over the position of the King of Selvis and his title of Viscount to me. I replied that I would keep it safe for him, but promised to serve Lord Theo one day again when the time would be right. 」

Lassic said to Edochia. However, his voice was loud and clear as he was trying to convey this message to everyone in the hall.
Next to Lassic, Moreno grimaced.

(I know that you’re unhappy with that, but you’re letting it show too much on your face.)

Siluca sent a cold gaze to Lassic’s contracted Mage.

「I intend to follow Master Theo someday as well. 」

Baron Radovan Torias, who was present at the conference as a representative of Falvis, raised his voice.

During the campaign to conquer Falvis and Clovis, he was a Lord who was governing Perseta, a port city in Falvis that Theo conquered. At that time, he made it very clear to the residents of the city that he was intending to serve Theo.

「The same goes for Baron Petr Morva, who is now stationed in Veltava. 」

Lassic added.

Petr is an even younger Lord than Theo, but he so far managed to persevere through the most dangerous missions on the battlefield. Lassic headlined and raised him like his little brother, but even so, Lassic seems to consider Petr to be his equal Lord, and he intends to make him subordinate directly to Theo, to which Petr himself agreed. The family name Morva is a one that he acquired for himself recently, and it is said that it is the name of a river that flows near the village where he was born. When he was a child, that river was his favorite playground.

(I can’t imagine Lord Petr playing in the river, though.)

With Lassic’s remarks, the Lords who were in attendance seemed to finally realize the magnitude of Theo’s presence, and so the entire hall became noisy.

「Lassic, do you think that Lord Theo is the most suitable one to be the leader of the Artuk Treaty? 」

Serge the earl of Regalia asked Lassic.

「Of course. If I thought otherwise, then I wouldn’t want to be his subordinate Lord. 」

Lassic nodded quietly.

「It is true that Lord Theo defeated the King of Selvis and fought bravely against a large army of Waldrind’s Heavy Knights… but wasn’t all of that possible because of your presence, Lord Lassic? 」

Serge’s contracted Mage Ellet spoke frankly on behalf of her Lord.

「Isn’t the honor of victory given to the Lord? 」

「It’s just as you said. 」

After Ellet nodded, he looked around at the Lords.

「Lord Theo has shown great feats in defeating the Veltava’s army in the previous battle, and I have heard that Lord Vilar was also holding him in an extremely high regard. If Lord Lassic and the others were to subordinate themselves to Lord Theo, then he would also have the highest rank of his Crest in this region. And in that case, it might actually be true that he might be worthy of being the leader of the Artuk Treaty. 」

The noise in the hall started getting even louder. Ellet’s remarks sounded like she was supporting Theo, but Siluca knew that she seemed to have other intentions.

「I am afraid I am against it… 」

King of Clovis raised his voice as if he could not stand it any longer.

「Isn’t Lord Theo a wandering Lord who originally had no connection to this region whatsoever? He stole territories from our country’s independent Lords, and then annexed the territories of neighboring independent Lords one after another, including Lord Lassic’s. It can be said that his actions were the trigger for this great war in the first place! If Lord Theo becomes our leader, the Factory Alliance will attack us with all its might, just like it did against Lord Vilar! 」

Siluca thought that it was an overly honest opinion, but apparently the King of Clovis was still particular about his Theo’s origins.

But other monarchs must feel the same way. Theo is young, and unlike Lasik, he doesn’t have a fearless appearance. If anything, he looks helpless and unreliable.

「This war would have happened eventually, even if Lord Theo was not the one who caused it. But it looks like you need a little reminder anyway: in fact, I was the one who started a war with Lord Theo first, suffered a miserable defeat against him and became his subordinate Lord as a result. 」

Lassic laughed.

「And no matter who becomes the leader, the Alliance will show no mercy to us. They intend to unify the entire continent under them by force. The only way for us to survive is to win against the Factory Alliance without expecting any kind of help from the Fantasia Union at all. Isn’t that why we signed the treaty in the first place? 」

「That’s why the leader must be a person that all the Lords who signed the treaty can agree on. And I feel that this person is not Lord Theo, but rather Lord Lassic, right? 」

Ellet called out to the gathered Lords. It seems that her intention was to realize the idea of her master, Serge.

Applause then erupted throughout the hall. Although not unanimous, it was definitely more than half of the Lords who were present.

「I am honored that so many people are thinking so highly of me, but this is a problem between me and Lord Theo. And I assume that you all know full well what the relationship between a master and a servant is like, right? 」

「If Lord Lassic declines the position of the leader, then wouldn’t it be fine for Lord Serge to take it? 」

Alfred put all of his strength into his voice, but no one agreed with the opinion that he just stated. Since Serge himself did not want it, then no one can really support that claim, so Alfred simply sighed and shook his head.

The situation is exactly as Siluca expected it to be.

If Lasik were to subordinate himself to Theo right here, the fledgling treaty would have undoubtedly collapse. But still, Lassic simply cannot allow himself to break the vow that he made with Theo.

(Now……)

Siluca whispered as she gently nodded at Theo. He nodded back at her, signaling that he was aware, and then he slowly walked over to Lassic.

This is where Theo comes into play. He needs to be the one who is going to discuss the flow of the events for the future in advance together with Lassic, Moreno and the others.

「I appreciate Lord Lassic’s loyalty towards me … 」

Theo faced Lasik and spoke with a smile.

「But many lords here want you as their leader. They don’t think I’m worthy of having you subordinate yourself to me. 」

「Isn’t it all right if I don’t think about you like that? 」

Lassic retorted calmly.

「We can’t proceed forward like that. Now that we have lost Lord Villar, we are in a life-or-death crisis. In order for this region to unite, fight together and survive, just like Lord Serge’s contracted Mage pointed out, the leader must be someone whom all the members of the treaty can agree on. And that someone is you. However, if you accept it, you will break the oath that you made with me, and you might even be accused by some of usurping the title from me, which could lead to a disaster in the future. 」