410-Episode 400 Where the Bek (1)




 Allen has rescued the Empress of the Proustian Empire, her children, and her vassal nobles.
 The palace, which you can see through the window, seems a bit noisy.

 Shea used her skill to make a huge hole in the thick walls of the palace, so the roar must have reached not only the palace but also the castle town where the emperor's people live.

(Hmm, the knights are still watching.)

"It's Alec. You don't seem to be suspicious of me.

 Shea, who had attempted the rescue with me, spoke to me while watching the knights walking outside the garden.
 The behavior of the knights does not indicate any suspicion towards us.

"I guess so. I'm sure they won't come out of nowhere."

"Mm."

 When Allen looked out the window, he saw that the knights were still monitoring the magic tools.
 It is safe to assume that these knights are the hands of General Ignomus.

 Ignomus is currently sitting on the emperor's chair, but in Allen's mind, he is General Ignomus because he had a hand in it and the civil war is not over.

"Have you calmed down a bit? Empress."

 Allen gently bows his head to the Empress, who has cleaned herself and changed her clothes.
 With all the family members rescued, the princes and princesses are around the mother empress.
 And the children who don't understand the current situation are looking at her anxiously.

 The Duke of Dresskalay is standing beside her.
 I wonder if the Duke of Dresskalay is also a member of the royal family.

"Yes, yes. Thank you very much. You said your name was Alec. This courtesy will be extended to the Empire of Prostia."

 The Empress said, and instructed the vassals who had been captured with her to move the children to another room.
 When she saw the expressions on Allen and the others' faces, she somehow didn't think that they had simply been rescued.

"Just calm down for now. We'll take care of the rest."

 Allen did not confirm or deny the favor.

(Now, to settle the civil war. You've meddled in the politics of another country. Well, I guess it can't be helped, since that's the goal. I'm glad the kids survived.

 Allen was born as a serf in a country called Latash.
 In that country, there is a definite status, there are peasants and there is a king.
 He was born to Rodin and Teresa, both peasants, and I think he enjoyed his life as a peasant even though he was poor.
 Even though there is a common sense in his previous life that people are born equal, Allen does not want to change the state of the nation or the world based on the memories of his previous life.

 This will not change even if his summoning level increases, if he has strong friends, if he has an army of over 5000, and if he has the power to change the state of the nation.
 I believe that each country has its own history, and that it is up to the emperor, the king, and the people who make up the majority of the population to decide.

 To be honest, I am not interested in internal politics.



 But I'll do whatever it takes to defeat the Demon King's army.
 I'm making Shea the Beast King because it will strengthen the party.

 The only other reason I would lend a hand would be to act at the request of a friend or benefactor, I thought as I watched the children being led out of the room.

 This time, when I reported to Princess Karmin and the Knight Commander of Ivanum that the Duke of Dresskalay was imprisoned, Princess Karmin strongly requested me to rescue him.
 Since she was also grateful for the sacred pearl of Makris, she thought it would be a good idea to rescue him.

(Since Bek is gone...) What's going on?

 He wasn't interested in the internal politics of the Prussian Empire, but that was not the case now.

 I've been searching the palace for three days, but I couldn't find Bek, who was said to have left the Arbahar Beast Kingdom with the fishermen.
 If they were to search any further, they would have to expand their search area to the castle town of the Imperial City.

 Allen and the others began by convincing the Kingdom of Culebure to come to the Proustian Empire.
 It took them three days to get permission to travel, and then many days to get to the imperial capital of Atlanta.

 He thought that if Bek was on his way to the Imperial City of Atlanta before Allen and the others, it would not be surprising if he was in the palace.
 However, he searched the entire palace, but Bek did not seem to be there.

 In fact, maybe I was wrong and the Proustian Empire was not involved.
 In order to confirm this, I rescued the Duke of Dresskalay, who had been captured during General Ignomus' rebellion.

"You're not fishermen? I can't believe it, but it's possible. On the surface, there is a civil war in the Arbahar Beast Kingdom.

 If Allen and the others were perceived as being from the Kingdom of Culebule, a tributary of the Protean Empire, the conversation might not go very far.
 Make sure the Duke of Dresskalay understands how Allen and the others rescued them.

"So that's why I followed Bek here. I'd like to know if you know anything about him."

 He seemed to be skeptical, but I decided to leave it to the Duke of Dresskalay to decide how much to believe, and proceeded.

"It's true. It was about three months ago that Ignomus started a civil war.

 He's going to tell us the story of what happened in the Proustian Empire.

(Oh? It's been a while. That's when we were attending the conference of the Five Continents Alliance.

 The Duke of Dresskalay is going to tell us about the civil war.

 General Ignomus was usually the Commander of the Kingsguard.
 Therefore, the army he can move is limited to the Kingsguard.
 It is said that General Ignomus used the Kingsguard to conquer the palace three months ago.

 There are three armies stationed in the imperial capital of Atlanta and its vicinity.
 The Knights of the Kingsguard, the guardians of the palace, are the smallest in number among the three armies, but they surpass the other two armies in talent and equipment.
 The other armies are the First Imperial Army, which protects the Imperial City, and the Second Imperial Army, which protects the area around the Imperial City.
 The size of the armies is said to be 3,000 for the Kingsguard Knights, 12,000 for the First Imperial Army, and 25,000 for the Second Imperial Army.

 The elite forces of the Kingsguard, with their superior equipment and talent, quickly overran the palace, and the emperor of the Proustian Empire was killed in the process.
 The royal family and their entourage were all captured.
 The Duke of Dresskalay was also captured and imprisoned because he was related to the royal family.



"...... So, you're the leader of the Kingsguard, so you were able to take over the palace?

"That's right. If I hadn't made you a Knight Commander, none of this would have happened. I would have taken him away from the commoners because he was good.

You're a commoner. But whether a civil war succeeds or not depends on the caliber of the person.

 Allen understands the position of General Ignomus.
 Of the three armies, the one that has the best chance of defeating the emperor is the Kingsguard in the same palace.

 But then, if the First and Second Imperial Armies turn on them for rebellion, even the most talented and well-equipped of them will have a hard time.
 I think it should be standard practice to distribute power evenly among the three armies to prevent civil war.

"Do you know anything about what happened after that?

 I ask him if he knows anything about what happened after he was imprisoned.

"I heard that Ignomus advised the First and Second Armies to surrender afterwards.

I've already defeated the emperor, so I guess that means you'll have to follow me.

 According to the Duke of Dresskalay, General Ignomus, the leader of the Kingsguard Knights, holed himself up in the palace and persuaded the First and Second Imperial Armies that he was the Emperor.

 He persuaded them rather politely and called on the two armies to stop further bloodshed.
 The two armies, finding it difficult to overcome the situation where the emperor had already been defeated and the palace occupied, decided to surrender after a short period of stalemate, and handed over to General Ignomus.

 Thanks to this, both the first and second armies are now under the command of General Ignomus.
 Currently, the entirety of the Proustian Empire is under the command of General Ignomus.

(So the Empire has fallen with the least amount of blood? Is it really that easy? Hmm?

 Allen felt uncomfortable, though he was grateful for all the information.

"The fact that you know so much about the post-imprisonment period, does that mean you have informants in the palace as well?

 The Duke of Dresskalay's story was too detailed.

"Of course. There are many vassals who have served the Prussian Empire for many years.

 I thought it would be helpful to know more about what happened to them after they were caught in the prison, but it seems that many of them were informants.
 Allen heard that and thought, "I see what you mean.

 Many of the royalty and nobility who opposed General Ignomus were imprisoned, but there were also many who were not imprisoned and were active within the palace.
 Not only ministers and other nobles, but also knights of the Kingsguard, officials, servants, and other servants seemed to be opposed to the rebellion.
 It seems that those on the side of the Proustian Empire were providing information to the Duke of Dresskalay who was in prison.

 There are many people who have been loyal to the Empire for generations.
 Even though the emperor has been defeated and most of them are on the side of General Ignomus, they are not giving up and are watching the situation.

 The Duke of Dresskalay, who is still in his twenties, is not here because his father was killed during the civil war.

 He seems to be merciless to the blood relatives of the Prussian family.

"I see. So you're saying that the palace might be destroyed?"

 Shea, who claims to be a beast princess of the Arbajar Beast Kingdom, talks to the Duke of Dresskalay normally, unlike Allen.

 The Empress and the Duke of Dresskalay, who were almost hostages in the palace, have been released.
 I wonder if anyone in the Order will take this opportunity to make a stand.



 The palace is getting a little noisy, and Shea wonders if it will get any noisier.

"No, many are on Ignomus' side. I've told them not to do anything. I don't think so.

 They're already on the side of Ignomus.
 So he's telling them not to do anything crazy, but he doesn't know what will happen in the end since the Duke and Empress of Dresskalay are gone.

 Perhaps their absence from the prison will cause an outburst by those who oppose General Ignomus.

 Most of the talented Knights of the Kingsguard are now following General Ignomus.
 The Duke of Dresskalay says that the subjects who have followed the Princes will probably not suddenly break out.

"I've heard enough about the civil war. By the way, we're actually trying to track down Bek."

 Allen asks the Duke of Dresskalay about Bek.