'To put it mildly, the man doesn't look like a vessel for the 'Great King'... could I be wrong?'
　King Rosais said some pretty terrible things.
　I agree with you.

　Actually, is the 'Great King's Blessing' less rare?
　Am I not special?　I mean, can you get something like that?

　Don't be a little depressed...

　'Yes. Because my 'Blessing of the Guards' is almost accurate. And the effect spills over to the people who believe in him.......who are highly loyal, and their physical abilities increase. Same thing.　
　'Actually, we just don't know, but is Rigal Dibel a big deal?

　If that's the case, then my eyes are glazed over.

　''Hmm, I'm not sure. In case you're wondering, it seems that the people of the Digel territory are reasonably fearful of Rigal as a ruler, so I think he's highly physical. See, didn't you brag about killing a bear about three years ago?

　I see, it would be good if he could be made to recognize me as a ruler, but it doesn't matter how good he is or what kind of person he is.
　That's because territorial people don't know the personality of a ruler.

　Of course.


　''Anyway, why would Rigal Dibel have such a blessing on him...''
　'Well?　But fairies are so fickle.

　Fairies?

　Hey Julia. A fairy....that prankster fairy?

　There is a folklore of fairies on the Adelian Peninsula.
　Fairies are pranksters and play all sorts of tricks on humans.

　On a strangely bad day or a good day, the fairies did it.
　When it starts to rain suddenly, the fairies did it.

　And so on.

　Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've read all the books on the subject. It's based on the sound of laughter. Haven't you heard it?　The sound of children laughing. When you get your blessing.

　The sound of children laughing.
　I don't know. Maybe it's there, but I don't know.

　It's been years since I realized I had a blessing.
　I forgot about that.

　'I see. You don't know about this, Alms? I've heard about it a thousand times. I heard a little bit when I first met Alms. Do different people hear differently?　Well, anyway, I think a child is what a fairy is. And when I think of a fairy, I think of a child.

　So you're just calling them fairies for convenience.
　Come to think of it, Gryphon-sama used to call them 'little boys' or something like that.

　There is no doubt that they are like children.

　The fairies have quite a few exorbitant episodes, don't they?　
　Well that's true but it's also true.

　Fairy episodes, that's what they are, are stellar.
　All of them are about fairies playing pranks on humans.

　Fairy episodes fall into four categories.

　There are the heartwarming ones, the cautionary tales where humans are tricked and lose money, but find out something important like the bond with their family.
　And then there's the story of the human who gets messed up.

　And finally... a story about humans dying because of a fairy prank.

　I'll give you one concrete example.

________.
　Once upon a time. There was a man.
　He was very fond of his childhood friend in the village, but his childhood friend ended up marrying the son of the village chief.

　When he was disappointed, a fairy appeared to him in a dream and said

　Tomorrow night, go into the forest and shoot the big tree that grows on the top of the mountain, just as the sun rises.

　At first the man ignored it, but it came to him in his dreams every day.
　One day, the man decided to follow the fairy's instructions.

　At sunrise, the man shoots at a large tree.
　At the same time the man shot it, a rabbit jumped out of the tree and the rabbit's arrow pierced it.

　From then on, the man began to follow the fairy's instructions.
　Thanks to the fairy's instructions, the man becomes richer and richer and more popular at the same time.

　But the man's heart is with his childhood friend.

　One day, the fairy says to the man

　Your childhood friend was threatened to become the wife of the chief's son. You are to kill the chief's son. Then you must flee immediately. There is a bag of gold coins buried under the vines at the back of the village. With the money you can run away.

　The man followed his instructions and killed the chief's son and the witness, the chief and his wife.
　Then he proposed to his childhood friend to elope with him.

　But his childhood friend resisted.
　The man and his childhood friend fought with each other and the blade accidentally stabbed his childhood friend to death.

　The man rushes back home and digs under the grapevine.
　He finds a bag.

　But instead of gold coins in it, he finds cow dung...
_______________________________________________________________.


　The story ends here.
　In short, the lesson is don't be fooled because there are no convenient stories in the world...
　Is it necessary to be this bad?

　And what's scary is that the fairies in this story have no merit.
　In other words, the fairy had a human kill a human in a prank (...).


　'You never know what a fairy is thinking. And for some reason, I'm popular with them too.

　Come to think of it, this guy has a lot of blessings.

　"We don't need to be that careful when it comes to his blessings. The blessing of Almus is enough to counteract it. We don't even care about the fairies now. It's all hypothetical to begin with.
　King Rosais breaks off the conversation with that.

　'We've gotten off track.

　I'll leave first. We'll talk about strategy and Bartolo and the others later.
　Yeah, that's right. So come back here in three days. Don't let anyone know you're here.

　I bow to King Rosais and then turn to leave.
　But Julia holds it back.

　'Wait!　Take me with you.
　Hmm?　I think there's a problem with that.

　Even if he didn't let anyone know, they would soon find out that Julia had disappeared from the palace.
　There will be a lot of noise.

　'I know but I need to talk to Tetra about it so...'
　Julia said and turned to King Rosais.

　'I'll say something like, 'Julia is leaving the palace for a special ceremony. I'll say something like, 'The location is a royal secret and I can't talk about it. So do what you want.

　So you mean I can take you with me?

　'Not at all ... can I borrow your carriage?　King Rosais.
　'Yeah. As expected, you can't fool me if you see me riding two people on a horse. Just one more thing.

　King Loseys calls me back.

　'You can craft, but don't go against Rigal Dibel in earnest yet. At the very least, until the battle with King Domorgal is over. Don't provoke a civil war until you're all set for it, and don't provoke it carelessly. Well, with that in mind, it's a good thing you played down the settlement then. If we had gone to all-out war then, this country wouldn't exist today.
　'I know. It's a head that's been lowered again. I'm going to keep it down for a while.

　The civil war is disastrous. No matter which side wins, there is only a negative outcome.
　So we need to end it all in an instant. We don't want Rigal to find out by then.






　''Well, we've arrived but Yulia, wear this bag for now.
　I'll put the bag over Julia's head.
　It will never be found out.

　I grab Yulia's hand and carefully get her off the carriage.
　I didn't have time to open the eye area, so Yulia must not be able to see in front of me.


　'Ah, Mr. Alms!　Where have you been?　I'm worried about Tetra-san.......Julia?
　How did they find out?

　Because my hair is showing...

　Oh, shoot. Come to think of it, the only woman with purple-red (lavender) hair is Yulia.
　Though, I didn't have a bag big enough to fit even this guy's hair in it...

　What do you want with Miss Julia?
　We'll talk later. For now, let's get you into the house.

　Most of the servants in the mansion would never see Yulia's face, so they probably wouldn't be able to tell it was her even if they saw her hair.
　However, just in case.

　We've got to hurry.
　I'll have them go into the back room before anyone sees us.

　That's why I want you to stay put.
　'Oh, oh!　It's just...

　I hold Yulia in my arms and run as fast as I can.

　'The picture plane looks like a kidnapper.
　Shut up.





　'Julia. I'm very angry.

　Tetra said that from the opening of the show when she met Yulia.

　I've known Tetra for quite some time, but this guy's emotions are very hard to understand.
　He calls himself angry, but to a normal person, his expression is the same as usual.

　However, if you look closely, you can see that his eyebrows are moving just a little bit.
　This is a peculiar movement when Tetra is angry.

　It's about 7 out of 10.

　But doesn't Tetra say that the second one is good?
　That's why I've decided to take Yulia...

　I'm sorry...
　Julia shrugs and apologizes.
　Tetra stares at Julia and says, "I'm sorry.

　'You just apologized. 'Apologized for what?'
　'What?　
　'I'm not angry about it. I'm not that interested in secular status.

　What's he mad about then? This guy is.....

　'You didn't give me a single consultation. If you had, I would have considered pushing Almus to do more. Besides, if you feel bad about it, you should have said no first.
　''Ugh ... you're right. I'm sorry........

　Julia bows her head to Tetra and apologizes.
　Tetra smiled.

　'Good. I forgive you.'

　Looks like it's all settled.
　Congratulations.

　"But you're sure about this?
　Yeah. Because I'm Almus' first (...). No matter what happens, I'll always be the first woman married to Almus. And because what matters is love. It doesn't matter what your status is.
　Hey!　What's that talk. It's as if I'm just coveting the position of the rightful Queen!

　I don't know what it is, but things are getting ugly again...
　Well, I guess we better stop now.

　"Boys. Don't fight for me ouch!　Don't hit me with your cane!

　Tetra smacks me on the head with her wand with a pop.　
　Tetra's wand is made up of several wooden disks, so it's quite heavy... this isn't the weight of wood.

　'Hey, you've got an iron rod in that one!
　'Boo, the correct answer is...'

　Tetra grabbed the tip of the wand, twisted it and then pulled.
　A glowing black blade appeared.

　'The blade in preparation. Pretty cool, right?
　'I agree that it's cool, but don't beat me over the head with it. If you're not good at it, you'll die...
　Hey, Tetra. Can you make me one of those?

　And so we were back together, albeit in different positions.






　I gathered a group of people I trusted.

　Ron, Rosward, Gram, So Yeon, Lulu, Ial, and Boros.
　These are the seven.

　It's not that I don't trust the other members, but it's not that I don't trust them.
　But information, the more people who know, the more likely it is that it will leak.

　There's a good chance that they will be tortured into talking about it, so we can't tell a lot of people about it.
　It's really bad, but....

　I sit in front of them, from right to left, Tetra, me and Yulia in that order.
　Everyone's eyes are focused on Yulia.

　I'm sure they've gotten the idea to some extent........

　'I'll be blunt. I'm going to marry Julia.
　I thought I heard them all gasp.

　The room was silent.
　The first person to speak up was Ron.

　''Does that mean that the leader ... will be ... the king?''
　That's what they say.

　I reply, and the seven of them look at each other.

　''Yay!''

　Ron and Rosward and Gram and Sojourn and Lulu clasped their hands together and shouted happily.
　Ial and Boros' faces broke out, too.

　'We've been worried about you all this time!　I heard that Julia was going to marry that guy Rigal... and it seems that Mr. Armes hasn't been feeling well lately!　Now you're safe.
　Seo-yeon congratulated me with a smiling smile.
　Well I didn't look so cheerful.

　I'm sorry I made you worry....

　'But that would mean crossing a contradiction with the Dibel family in earnest, wouldn't it?
　Yeah. You will. That's why I'm bothering you all. This is ... well, let's just say it's a love affair between me and Yulia. And I feel bad about involving you all in it. I'm sorry about that. And also ... help me out!

　When I say that, the seven of them grin at me.
　'Isn't it a bit late to be swept away by Mr. Almus' convenience? It's watery. Please don't ask me to do every one of those things.''

　Continuing to Gram, Rosward says

　'I knew that the Dibel family wouldn't like it. If this was going to happen, would I have been better off spearing them then?
　Rosward looks a little regretful.
　No, that was a wise decision.

　If it had turned into an all-out war, the surrounding countries would have intervened and become uncollectable.

　"Mr. Armes. Congratulations, Mr. Armes. But I want to make one thing clear. What will happen to Tetra?
　Boros looks at me squarely in the eye.
　Of course, it would be something he'd be curious about.

　I pull Tetra into a hug, looking firmly at Boros.
　'Tetra is still my wife. I can't say she's a legitimate queen but I promise you that she will never be despised.
　Well I'm sorry to hear that. I'm sorry.

　Boros said, then bowed his head deeply.

　When the excitement had just cooled down, Ial opened his mouth.
　''But Almus-sama. Isn't it expected that there will be an opposition from non-Dibelites to the accession of Lord Almus?　And how are you dealing with the Dibelites?
　'Of course I've thought about it. First of all, the rebellion of non-Dibelites there is a good chance that King Domorgal's country will invade in the near future. At that time, you will be made supreme commander. That should keep him in check to some extent if he makes a major achievement. And as for dealing with the Dibelites I will try to break them down from within.
　Inside?
　Yes.

　The Dibelites are big.
　If they fight properly, it will be a bloody battle.

　I don't expect to lose, but it will be a tough fight.

　The people who will support me are my relatives in the Tetra I mean the As family.
　However, the As faction has greatly receded in power over the past few years, as the main family has once ceased to exist.

　On the other hand, since the Dibel faction is reasonably well organized as a faction, it has extended its power to fill in for the retreating As faction.

　With my appearance, the As faction has also recovered, but even so, it's far from it.

　The key is not the relatives of the Asu family, nor the Dibel family's relatives of the Dibel family, but.......
　Most of them would rather be with House Dibel than me, who has no idea where they come from.

　Even those who would side with me in an ordinary political battle will surely decide their own day when it comes to the succession to the throne.

　
　Therefore, in order to get as much of an advantage as possible, I'm going to drive a wedge into the House of Dibel, the leading Dibelist family.

　I have heard from King Rosais and Raimondo-san that there are two factions within the Digel family. One is the non-Dibel family vassals headed by Vermette, who is Rigal's confidant, and the other is the non-Dibel family vassals headed by Vermette. The other is the vassals of the Digel family relatives, headed by Gilbert. The former are competent, but their status tends to be low, with the exception of Belmet. The latter are chosen for their bloodline, and therefore few are competent and hold heavy positions. And Rigal, it seems, tends to trust his relatives.

　It's not a bad move to solidify your vassals with relatives.
　There's nothing more trustworthy than blood, and it will strengthen your bonds.

　I've got my own entourage of relatives.

　But it's a bit of a problem if you can only trust your relatives to be in important positions.
　Relatives are good at being family and not worrying about failure and sitting on their laurels.

　A good example is the guy Gilberto, who was beaten up by Ron and Rosward and Sojourn.
　Normally, he would have gotten a downgrade for failing that badly, but he only got a week's suspension.

　This is a very good thing.
　There's nothing better than having an enemy that is incompetent.

　But there is only one concern.
　His name is Vermette.

　Vermette is a very capable old man, from what I've heard. The reason why the Dibel family's power has grown to this point is because of this old man.
　Certainly something like spirit can be felt from that old man.

　It seems that the out-of-character plan to slaughter the territorial population in front of our eyes was a plan made by Vermette.
　Honestly, that alone doesn't tell me whether he's really competent.

　I don't know this Vermette guy too well.
　But I do know that he's dangerous.

　If I could get rid of that Vermette, the Dibel family would be split in half, one at the top and one at the bottom.

　Well, that's just it, but what are we gonna do about it?

　When I suggested that, they all fell silent.
　For what it's worth, Rigal's faith in Vermette is strong.

　It would be no mean feat to break this.

　'I have a plan.
　It was Ial who said that.
　Oh, really?

　'Rigal Dibel only trusts his own people. That means he's a paranoid guy. I'll take advantage of that. It's just ... this takes a lot of prep work and a lot of money.
　Okay. So what's the plan?

　When I asked, Ial started talking about the plan.