Even my uncle can be forgiven for this treatment of the viscount, hi!

　When he got up, Henkel tried to yell at his grandfather, but he let out a small scream when he was hit by his grandfather's killing intent.

'I don't remember having a nephew like you!

　With a shout from his grandfather, Henkel begins to rattle and shake. Seeing such a sight of Henkel, laughter escapes from Viscount Mustang and the neutralist nobles.

　Henkel glares at the neutrals when he sees them, but on the contrary, he shrinks at one glare from Viscount Mustang. Although Henkel and Viscount Mustang are nobles of the same class, they are different in rank as human beings for all intents and purposes.
　On the contrary, the aristocrats behind Viscount Mustang were all nobles below the viscount and many of them must be younger than Henkel, but even compared to them, they looked lower in rank.

''Oh! You're Temma, I'm your...

　When Henkel found me, he tried to crawl over to me, but I silently took out my sword. In addition to that, I lightly flew the killing blow, which also changed Henkel's color in an interesting way.

'Grandpa, Viscount Mustang. If a stranger comes at you on the battlefield claiming to be one of your people, there's no problem if you cut them off, right?

　This is a place where Podolo may have been trying to stage a coup, and since it's still in the midst of post-processing by the djinn, it wouldn't be surprising to say that this is a battlefield right now and the war isn't completely over.
　In such a place, someone, friend or foe, is sneaking in. I'm not going to be able to complain if I cut down in favor of safety," he threatened Henkel while checking with his grandfather and others.
　When Grandpa and Viscount Mustang noticed this, they made serious expressions and nodded.

''There's no problem with that. It's not uncommon for people to pretend to be on the same side and try to sabotage themselves from within, and that can cause serious damage to their team.

That's right. In addition, that person pushed aside Merlin, his second in command on this battlefield, and tried to break into the chain of command himself. It's too suspicious... to begin with, His Majesty has informed me that Merlin is currently the only family member of Lord Tenma, and no one else. In other words, that means he's an impostor or someone who thinks up something outrageous.

　There's no way the notice from the royal family hasn't gone to Henkel, who's most likely to use me. Then this guy is a fake Henkels? I thought, but the appraisal says it was Henkel himself.　

'Perhaps he thought that if he said it was Shelia's affair, he'd be able to suck the delicious juice... forgetting what they did to Shelia and Ricardo!

　Grandpa's anger was rekindled.
　Viscount Mustang said, "In the first place, weren't you a stranger to Henkel when Lord Shelia and the others offered His Majesty's former Majesty a breakup and he agreed? And I'm burning wood in the flames of my grandfather's anger.

'Oi, Temma. I'm sorry, but I need your help! There are some people still alive, so we have to make sure they're still alive and accounted for!

　Jin called out to me without reading the air. Grandpa's voice made him huff, and he calmed down a bit, having had time to look around.

'Then we'll give you some from here. If we're going to prove it, it would be more convenient to have someone from the nobility here to help us out.

　As he said that, Viscount Mustang gave the neutrals behind him a look and sent some of them towards the djinn and others.

　At that time, I saw Albert and the others coming towards us from the back of the mansion.
　As expected, Jeanne and Aura returned their scorpion-shaped golems and rode on Shiroumaru's back.
　Albert is in the lead, with Shiroumaru (plus Jeanne and Aura), Tanikaze (plus Slarin) and Podolo and the others on the cart behind them, with Rion and Cain diagonally behind them, and Solomon above everyone else.

'Ho, this is quite a luxurious transport.

　Viscount Mustang strokes his beard (goatee) and smiles with amusement.
　Indeed, there's a marquis for the incoming duke, a frontier earl to escort him around, and then there's Solomon in Shiroumaru, who has become famous at the convention, with a metal horse-shaped golem in tow for the criminals. You wouldn't see them under normal circumstances.

　At the same time Jeanne and the others arrived at my place, the djinn seemed to have finished checking them out and pulled the six survivors.

''Then it's time to return to the royal castle.

　At my words, everyone nodded and was about to walk away when Albert started to look around.

'Hey, Temma. Where did Namitaro go? We had Namitaro to guide us here...

　Hearing those words reminded me of Namitaro for the first time.
　Since it was that guy, I'm sure he's wandering around somewhere, but when I tried to look for him in a search just in case, the mansion that was left in the slightest collapsed.

　Everyone was surprised by the suddenness of the event and held their weapons at the ready, but the one who came out of the collapsed mansion was Namitaro.

''Temma~ There were all sorts of treasures in the basement~''

　Namitaro slipped in front of me and began to take out some of that treasure.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find a few hundred weapons and armor each, a few dozen kilograms of preserved bread and dried meat, and a few jars filled with gold and silver coins.
　Moreover, there is still about ten times this amount in Namitaro's bag, and the possibility of a coup is finally becoming more and more likely.

''I suppose we should look at this as having other accomplices.

Yes.

　I think my grandfather agrees with Viscount Mustang. I agree with him. At any rate, I don't think Podolo would try to stage a coup all by himself, and I don't think he has the guts to do so.

''In that case, should I call the knights from the royal castle and stay here until they finish taking over?

Yes. They may try to retake the building or recover other evidence or destroy it after we leave.

　As for the destruction, it's too late now, but there may be something else important hidden in there, so it became necessary to stay here.　

Then I'll send a messenger to the castle. And then it would be better if the rest of us take charge of guarding this place.

　Viscount Mustang seemed to be used to this sort of thing, and he immediately sent the neutralist nobles towards the royal castle and began to give instructions to the rest of the nobles.

''Lord Temma, is that all right with you?''

　After finishing giving out instructions, Viscount Mustang asked me for permission for some reason.
　Viscount Mustang will be the highest ranking person in this place, and I think he should be the representative, based on his experience and other factors," he said, when I asked him accordingly, Viscount Mustang

You were the first to arrive here, weren't you, Lord Temma? And then there's the destruction of it. We can't take credit for that. And we're the ones who came in as reinforcements. Then it's time to appoint the leader of the first group that arrived. I'm sure you'll find that Temma-dono is well remembered by His Majesty. There's no problem in making him our leader.

　And I was forced to be the leader of the group. Moreover, the fact that no one had any doubts about it stopped me, and although they were leaders of the decorations, Viscount Mustang and the others would temporarily join my team.

''At any rate, let's take turns arranging the area around the ruins of the mansion. I'm sure reinforcements will be arriving from the royal castle soon, but don't let your guard down.

　Viscount Mustang's instructions were precise, and I was really in a state of decorum.
　
　However, I couldn't give him instructions, but I was pleased to provide him with food and other items he had in his bag, so I'd like to think that I managed to save face as a leader.......

　About thirty minutes after the discovery of Namitaro's seizure, the knights began to arrive from the royal castle, and after about an hour or so, we were finally able to leave the mansion after we took over.
　However, from now on, Grandpa, Jeanne, Aura, Namitaro, Albert and the rest of the group and Viscount Mustang had to go to the castle and tell the king and his men the details.
　Furthermore, the djinn of the third group and the rest of the neutralist nobles went straight back to their mansions and accommodations.




　As soon as we arrived at the castle, we were ushered into the audience hall.
　By the way, Podolo and his friends were taken away by other knights on the way and taken to the dungeon.

　I was led to the audience room where the noblemen have already gathered, including the King, Caesar, Prime Minister, and ministerial officials.
　Taking a closer look at the nobles, they were divided into three groups.

　The largest group is probably the royalists, since they are behind Caesar and his friends.
　The other two were next to each other, so I wasn't sure which one was which, but I had a rough idea since one group was staring at the other.

'Thanks for your late efforts. According to the reports, 'a possible coup d'état by the quasi-consort of Podolo Il Chloride,' but give me a full report.

　At the king's words, Viscount Mustang, the highest-ranking among us, stepped forward and began to report.
　The content of the report was a general affirmation of what the king had said, but when he added, 'There is a possibility that there are other collaborators,' the audience room was in an uproar.

''Be still!''　

　At the sound of the person introduced as the Prime Minister, the nobles gradually quieted down.
　When it became quiet, the king opened his mouth.

The report from Viscount Mustang has already been submitted for review by the military. Warlord.

'Ha! The items found by Viscount Mustang and others were found in large quantities of armor, food, and money, enough to be considered a coup d'état, and from the number of items found, we have determined that there are likely to be other collaborators or accomplices, and we are currently investigating them.

　With Lyle-sama's statement, the audience room became noisy again.
　At the same time, the air in the audience room began to tense up.　

　The reason for this was Lyle-sama's statement just now.
　Since the ringleader this time was Podolo, a reformist, the royalist and neutralist nobles were looking at the reformist nobles with a somewhat reproachful eye.
　It's a good thing that you have a good idea of what you're talking about.

It's a good thing that you're not the only one who can do this.

　The person who made the remark was Duke Kaisen von Dallam, the fat, balding, s*xually harassing old man and the number one unpopular man in the castle (according to Luna)!
　He really does look just like Luna said, and even I, who didn't know his face, recognized him right away.
　However, as expected of a minister of a country, the power with which he glares at Lyle-sama is quite impressive.

　There seems to be an invisible spark between Lyle-sama and Duke Durham.

''It can't be helped if you think so, can it?

　It was surprisingly Zain-sama (Lord Treasurer) who entered the fray. Lord Zain, who usually has a quiet image, is glaring at Duke Daraam.

''You previously incited Prince Tida and Princess Luna to go outside to kill a cow, putting them in danger.

'That's a bit different, Lord Treasurer. I was only teaching the prince and princess the importance of having a real battle and the cattle that breed at this time of year. It was the prince and princess who slipped out of the castle and attacked the herd of cattle. Shall I ask you to stop making accusations?

　The standoff between the three of them soon turns into a standoff between the royalists and the reformers.
　The two camps gradually heat up. The neutrals are gradually distancing themselves from the two camps that are creating a disquieting atmosphere.

Each of you, let's settle down first. You may have some words to sell, but this is disrespectful in front of His Majesty.

　With a pang and a clap of hands, a man at the head of a different group from the Duke of Daraam interrupted.
　He was separate from the Duke of Dallam, so he must be a bigwig of a neutral figure, but I didn't know his name.

''Lord Temma. That man is one of the main neutralist figures, the Foreign Minister, Count Alan Van Kromfel.

　Viscount Mustang, who was moving beside me, told me in secret.
　Count Cromfel is not the strict and stern-looking person I had imagined, but rather a meek and good-natured person. It's hard to imagine him as someone who is a foreign minister.

　The Count of Cromfel, when he saw that the surroundings had gone quiet.

'Lord Treasurer, Lord Warrant Officer, it is not a good idea to interfere with your personal affairs in your reports. Lord Home Affairs, I understand that you are uncomfortable with being suspected, but the mismanagement was caused by someone from your faction. I would ask you to forget that and refrain from speaking in a quarrelsome manner.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work. You'll be able to see that he doesn't like the Duke of Durham very much, even though he's smiling and laughing.

I'm not sure what to make of the punishment of the Podro quasi-consultants, Your Majesty.

　The vizier asked the king about the punishment of Podolo and his men, without regard to the sour atmosphere. The king pretended to think for a moment.

"Quasi-Consort Podró il Chloride has been stripped of his title and confined to a dungeon. He will be confined in a dungeon, to be dealt with as soon as the results are in. As for the other prisoners arrested here, those with convictions for first offenses and misdemeanors shall be sent to the mine or the settlement after being stripped of their titles, and those with convictions for serious crimes shall be put to death. And let the people know of this. This is a royal decree.

　The moment the word "death penalty" came out from the king, the audience room became noisy. After all, even though there had been disputes among the nobles in the last few decades, there had never been an execution in the royal capital, ostensibly (........).
　This is partly because there were no criminals who had committed that many crimes, but also because the successive kings did not want their people to know that they were being executed.

　Even in a world where human life is light, there are a certain number of people who are opposed to the death penalty, and they do not want to create a conflict. Moreover, some of the opponents of the death penalty are aristocrats, so their quality is poor.
　But this time is not something that can be overlooked, and it's probably because they are confident that those who oppose the death penalty will have no choice but to make it public, and that Podolo will almost certainly be executed as well, says Viscount Mustang.

'I suppose it would be more convenient for the reformers to put Podolo to death, too.　

'Well, the death sentence is a crossover to prove they weren't involved in the coup, and Podolo isn't a very influential nobleman, and he's a small guy who can be replaced.

　As for the reformers, since Podolo was the one who originally betrayed Viscount Almeria, who was his main family line, to come in, they would think that he wasn't there from the beginning, so it should be just right for the sacrifice.

　While Viscount Mustang and I were talking, the standoff between the royalists and the reformers seemed to be over, and the only thing left to do was to discuss the details and dismiss the matter.

''Temma, Viscount Mustang, you and the others may step back. I'll have some light food prepared in another room, so you can rest for a while.

　The king told us to leave ahead of him, which would mean that we should wait in another room.
　We bowed and left the audience room, and Mr. Cliffe and Aina were waiting outside to show us in.

　In the room we were led to were Tida, Luna, and Lady Isabella. And for some reason, Amour and Blanca were there as well.
　When Amur noticed me coming into the room, he flew up to hug me, but I held Amur's head to prevent him from doing so.
　I then looked at Mr. Kryfe and he immediately told me why the two of them were here.

　They came to the castle, but the gatekeeper refused to allow them to enter. There was a dispute, and when Blanca mentioned Aina's name, Aina was summoned to the castle and Isabella gave her permission to enter the room.

"We were so worried about Tenma that we came here!

　Amur was struggling to hold onto me while I held his head down. Two cold stares pierced me from behind, but I pretended not to notice them and ignored them.

　After that exchange, I was sitting in front of Isabella-sama and the others, making small talk.
　Amour, who was desperately trying to hug me, was being forced to sit upright away from me by Blanca, who was angry with him. And near them, Jeanne and Aura were also sitting upright in the same way.
　In front of the two of them, who are suffering from numbness in their legs, is Aina standing in front of Niou-sama (Aina).

　The two of them, who were being stared at by Niou-sama (Aina), went straight into sermon time after being forced to confess the reason for such a commotion.
　Incidentally, the story of how they were kidnapped by Podolo's gang is simple: my grandfather and I were cleaning the kitchen after we had gone out, and we noticed that our stockpile of food was low, so we went shopping to replenish it as soon as possible, and we were kidnapped in a less popular place.
　If that was all, it would have freed me from Aina's sermons early, but there were a few things that Aina found particularly problematic.

　The first was that she acted without permission while I (her husband) was away.
　But this was an extension of that, since I had allowed a certain amount of freedom, and Aina reluctantly limited herself to a light warning.

　Secondly, I didn't ask Namitaro for an escort.
　They knew that they would be the focus of attention in many ways (........), and because they didn't take Namitaro, who is treated as my subordinate, this is what led to this mess. I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on in the world. I'm not going to be able to get rid of it, but I'm going to be able to get rid of it. I agreed with her on this one.

　And the third was, in a way, the cause of Aina's anger the most. It was the fact that the two of them hadn't taken their weapons with them and had forgotten about the scorpion-type golem.
　They both thought that they wouldn't need the weapons because they were a little over there, and the golem was out of their minds until the last minute.
　It's too faint-hearted to not carry even a minimal weapon for self-defense, even though Aina and I taught him how to handle weapons and how to fight, and Aina said that such slackness was the main reason for the commotion. I only half (...) agreed with this.
　The reason why I half disagreed with Aina is because I thought that even if the reason was because of slackness, it was because I was noticed by people who make a living out of crime, so there was a side that could not be helped. But my opinion was not listened to. Aina says, "Even if you are the follower of the man of the hour (the winner), it's just fine to be too cautious.

　Aina continued to point out other details, and even started lecturing me on things unrelated to this case.
　As a result, it was a long sermon, and there was still no end in sight.

　The small talk with the backdrop of Aina's sermon was surprisingly lively, and we were enjoying our tea while picking up the new sweet potato yokan that was mentioned in the conversation.

　An hour had passed since we started talking when the king and his friends finally arrived.
　As soon as he entered the room, the king came up to me with a big sigh and threw the sweet potato yokan into his mouth over my shoulder.
　Albert and the others stood and saluted as the king entered the room, and were about to step back, but the king made them sit down as he did.
　The king sat in front of me, where Isabella-sama was sitting, Maria-sama next to her, Caesar-sama and the others sat down a little further away, Isabella-sama and Tida, Luna moved to the other side of Caesar-sama and the others, and Aina, as expected, interrupted her sermon (...).

''I'm tired........ugh!

　Maria next to me elbowed the king, who was sitting in front of me and was about to get sprawled out, to straighten him up.

'I know. Ooh-oh-oh! Temma, Lord Merlin, thank you for preventing the coup from happening. I am pleased that Albert von Sangha, Leon von Hust, Cain von Sammons and you also acted quickly and helped to put down the coup. Rewards and other rewards will be announced as soon as the captors' sentences are confirmed.

　The king's unusual tone almost blew me away, but Albert and the others were hurriedly kneeling down and bowing their heads.

'Well, so much for the stiffness. But Temma, you've done really well. Now the reformers will be quiet. It will be temporary, though.

　They say that the people will be informed of this event. The nominal reason for this is because it is a very serious crime in the history of the kingdom, but no matter how you look at it, the purpose is probably to reduce the power of the reformers.
　He said he's going to inform me, Grandpa, Albert and the others and Viscount Mustang and their activities along with that, so he asked me to forgive him for the increased trouble.
　I agreed to this, thinking about the future, but inwardly I was hoping that they would remove my name alone (...). Well, I don't know what to think...

　After that, as I was confirming what was to be announced, Zain-sama called out to me.

''Temma, could you sell me a few of your battle golems?''

　The sudden words caused everyone in the room to stop moving.