Side Story 4 – Human and Politics
(Third party’s POV)
Right after the expulsion of Adam the mage from the hero’s party.
The banquet in the castle starts with a hero’s welcome for the hero's party that stopped the demon army invasion. The hero and his party paraded in the carriage in his shining golden armour around the castle’s garden. Many types of fanfare and merry making are happening in the castle and also the castle grounds. People of importance, diplomats, generals, and many officers are joining in the celebration. The King gives a long and winding auspicious speech, praising the hero for his deeds and officiated the party. The hero and his party are invited to give a speech, and he explained all their grandeur in the battlefield, and the disgrace brought by the mage in his party and the announcement of his expulsion from the hero’s party.
Even though it is such a grand and regal event, the hero Aaron doesn’t feel happy with the entire party, and he just sits and drinks wine without accepting any of the offers from the noble girls that come to ask for his hand for a dance. This is because Ester just stares into space in a daze, and never looks at Aaron even once. So Aaron only keeps staring at Ester while eating his food (offered by the noble girls) jealously. The noble girls keep pushing their spoon and handkerchief filled with food near Aaron’s mouth while he chews them with gusto, until a fat middle-aged man approach the youth.
The girls gave a mannered, but sharp look at the man, and move away gracefully, leaving only his right side with three girls attending to him. The man is the main general approach the hero while holding onto two cups of wine. He passed one of the cups to the hero, and drinks from his cup, while being accompanied by matured, beautiful looking ladies with sexy and revealing dress on both sides.
“General Gramont de la Tsvaich at your service, o Hero of Velodria” (Main General -> Gramont)
“Do you want to make me look like a devil myself?” (Hero Aaron, regarding mage’s family)
“You don’t want the possibility of someone alive holding a grudge against you, right?” (Main General/Gramont)
“What can those small fry do to me as the hero in a party? I’m the one protecting them from harm all this while.” (Hero Aaron)
“I just did you a favour, sonny. How unthankful can you be? On the matter at hand, do you see where the mage went after the prison guard released him?” (Main General/Gramont)
“I don’t. He’s officially out from my party, there is no way he can worm his way back in” (Hero Aaron)
“Haha, that’s true. Some party has taken measures so that the mage can never use magic ever again” (Main General/Gramont)
“If there is nothing else, I would like to take my leave” (Hero Aaron)
Hero Aaron gets up and grabs the hands of one of the noble girls, and leads her to dance at the ball near where Ester sits. Ester is also surrounded by noblemen, but she paid them no heed. Her mind seems off, it’s like only her body is in the hall. Hero Aaron goes around dancing with beautiful girls, and intimidates the young noblemen that tried to approach Ester, but Ester paid no attention to such matter. The song of the ball plays on and on until late into the night.
(Hero’s POV)
To be honest, I don’t want to follow the schemes of the main general of the kingdom, General Gramont. But his schemes just coincide well with my own scheme to expel the mage, Adam, from the party.
From the beginning, right after I was summoned here as a hero, and formed my party, I don’t have a good impression on him. His skills and talents are quite amazing, but I don’t like him on a personal level. I feel like if things stay the way it is, he’s going to steal the limelight away from me.
When I was newly summoned to this kingdom, I was quite shocked at the sudden change, but I got used to the new environment quickly. The mage also helps us to accommodate to this new world. But he starts to make a move on Ester, my childhood friend and lover. He always smoothly helps her out just right before I managed to, and shows his good side just when I’m almost going to show her mine too.
I got unhappy instantly with that guy, and I want to make him look dumb and stupid in front of Ester so that she will give up on him. Ester always dotes on him, and adores him. I totally cannot accept this, and I put a stopgap in between them to stop things from progressing further. Ester is mine and only mine alone. I made sure that he’s always busy by assigning him with healing duties for the party and the army, and give excuse that a cleric need to be prepared in case of severe injury that caught the party by surprise. That way, Ester will always be together with me. After I got into this new world, I realized that power is absolute. Without any power, you can’t preach justice. As the strongest person in the kingdom, I have the strongest command of influence and justice. Even the king listens to me, and he rarely dismisses my proposal.
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However, this abhorrent mage keeps the balance of power upside down, and always tries to steal a large portion of the credit of a mission. I can’t stand the idea that some scrub from this world can even stand toe-to-toe with the amazing me, summoned from another world with modern knowledge and gifted with both amazing physical body and superior magical abilities. If it isn’t for that general’s meddling, the mage will definitely try to take the seat of hero from me. Luckily for me, General Gramont seems to favour the summoned hero and has avoided any other members or party from disturbing the status quo of the hero’s party, which wield absolute power when dealing with the Demon Lord’s army.
An important thing to remember is that the main person that proposes for our summoning into this world is General Gramont himself, and he funded the ritual with a portion of his wealth. In this sense, I’m tied to his grace rather than the king, and he’s been constantly trying to be on my good side, so that he can win me over for whatever reason he fancies. I am wary of his plans, but I can’t avoid getting more entangled into his web of control.
At the end, all that I need now is that Ester listens to me and only looks at me. I have obtained them, by expelling the mage in such a disgraceful fashion that he can no longer come back to the kingdom, and Ester’s promise to company me for the night. For that, I wouldn’t mind selling a little bit of myself to the main general, Gramont. I can still choose to disobey him if he made me unhappy or give out commands that I can’t accept or agree to. With this great power and abilities, I will make use of them and be someone that Ester can look up to, and that I would one day rule a utopian kingdom of my own.
(Main General @ Gramont’s POV)
Heh, the hero is totally in my grasp. He’s such a simpleton, and believes that strength is the absolute power. I may be just an elite rank only, but my power far extends out from my hands. I have eyes and ears everywhere, and the Church backs me up. The one who has the most money is not the king, but the Church. Money itself is power. Without money, we can’t even organize our defense and pay the soldiers to fight against the Demon Lord’s army. Asking for the loyalties of the peasants to fight for the kingdom they live in is like barking at the stone wall, asking for it to move.
The king still believes in the power of royalties and the call of Noblesse Oblige, where the nobles are responsible to fight for and with the people under their serfdom. The king tries to fill up the vacant knight positions by calling on the nobles to join the military and giving them the title of knighthood, disparaging the order of knight’s status. The number of nobles also increases in this number of years, with noble titles obtained with money and given to people of unknown origin and status, as long as they can afford the fee. I am part of the scheme too, as I was able to obtain huge kickbacks from the title purchasers that want my referral and quick transition.
The king intends to use these slush funds to increase his military strength quickly. He also obtained some wealth from other human kingdoms through negotiation, as our kingdom bordered with the Demon Lord’s kingdom, so they basically paid some form of protection fee to our kingdom. Of course, I also have my people extort some money from the surrounding nation without the king’s knowledge. All forms of illicit business in the capital are run by my henchmen or at least those under my thumb, and cannot operate freely, unless they paid me with money, exquisite food, or beautiful people.
In front of me, I have placed a map of the kingdoms surrounding us and place pieces and pawns on strategic places to indicate my power sphere. This is similar to a strategy meeting during war, but this is only personal to me, in this private room. The pieces available in this kingdom are the Pope, the king, the hero, and the army.
Hehe, I rub my hands in glee as I hope my plan goes smoothly so that money, delicious food, power, land, and beautiful and influential people all flock to me and make me the supreme leader.
(Velodria’s King @ Silgemuth’s POV)
Although I’m the king of a kingdom, in truth, I’m just a puppet head. I’m just like a bird trapped in a golden cage. It looks beautiful and invites envy from those on the outside, but they don’t know that there is no freedom at all for those on the inside.
I got this position after my two elder brothers fought to the bitter end, and almost divided the kingdom. In order to unite the kingdom again, we unite against a common enemy, the demon. They came in and run rampant fifteen years ago, when I’m just a young adult. With both my brothers weakened and drained after lengthy internal squabble, the appearance of a young prince (me) raising his sword against the demon managed to appeal to the populace and the previous king to let him (me) be the crown prince. I am also a natural born speaker, and my words sound very convincing and touch the hearts of the populace. The people rallying behind me swell greatly each time I speak, and many people would come and listen to my oratory from far and wide.
However, this entire fiasco is staged by the Gramonts. They secretly provide funds and political support to the two headstrong brothers that won’t easily bend to Gramont’s will. The opposing nobles and royalties of both brothers of different mother have long been having feuds with each other, and didn’t suspect that their grass root supporters are actually just taking convenient money and manpower without actually doing a background check on the source and intention of the giver.
The Church especially, who could have known that they are the single largest entity without a kingdom. They provide the necessary funds and weapons of war for both the princes to kill each other. After the dust had settled, the Church unveils the bond letters signed with the kingdom’s seal by both princes, and the kingdom is left with a huge debt to cover, so the Church now has significant influence in the kingdom. Even for myself, I also signed a bonded letter so that the Church will provide near unlimited arms for the soldiers to fight against the demons that invade our land. In the end, we managed to repel the demons, but we have sold our land to the Church in actuality.
Although this is a poisonous fruit to consume, after contemplating for a long time, it is a poison that I must consume in order to maintain my power and to keep my life and lifestyle, at the expense of the kingdom. Though it’s regrettable, but I didn’t regret my decision, as I have no love nor loyalty to the long tradition of this kingdom or its people, as we are all just killing each other at the first opportunity that appears.
My father, the tenth king of this kingdom of Velodria, Hisputh the Second, died one year after I was made crown prince, also exactly one year after the war with the demons. After I was crowned as the eleventh king of Velodria, my benefactor, the Church and the Gramonts begin to make their move. My wife is determined to be a niece of General Gramont, now adopted as his stepdaughter. She is beautiful and well trained in court manners, but she’s cold and calculating, and follows under the thumb of Gramont family.
The terrible treatment of a mage recently is just but a small pebble in the political machination of the Gramonts and the Church. I can only watch as people lose their life or being mistreated, as I am actually just a powerless puppet king that sits in the golden cage.