"Let the Empire go free?

　I muttered to the parrot, and the people at the round table nodded vigorously.
　Witte, the finance minister, says.

'I understand you own slaves?'

'Yes. That's right, but....

　When I say my slave, I mean the merchant Perse.
　However, Perse is only formally my slave because the imperial law states that demons must be slaves, so he is only formally my slave.

　Arte and Flora were also dropped into slavery as felons, so they have no choice but to take the form of my property, but I had no intention of treating them as slaves in effect.

　Perhaps these Free Alliance people are negative about slavery.
　So I tried to explain the situation before I was accused, but Witte's next words were unexpected.

'I've heard that you treat your slaves not as slaves, but as equal collaborators. That's a wonderful thing.

'Did Dr. Lucy tell you that?'

'Yeah. So you really want to free those girls from their status as slaves, don't you?

Do you mean to say that abolishing imperial slavery itself would make that possible?

Exactly. The only other major power on the continent that still has such a retarded system of slavery is this empire.

　But is that even possible?
　It's true that the number of slaves in the empire has decreased, and with the development of machines and magic in both industry and life, there are fewer situations where slaves are needed.

　Even so, there was no movement to abolish slavery in the empire at all.

　On the contrary, even now on the frontier, the imperial army kidnaps girls of different races and supplies them to the slave market!
　In other words, the imperial family itself owned quite a few slaves.

　Philia's mother, for example, was the daughter of the devil and served the emperor as a slave.

'The issue of slavery is just the tip of the iceberg,'

　The owner of the voice was a brown-haired woman sitting at a round table.
　Her beautiful brown eyes were shining with amusement.

''Are you... the Leticia Commander of the Basileus Adventurers?''

Yeah. I'm an officer of the Creon Salvation Order now.

　Leticia appeared with Lucy and Sophia when they attacked the Necropolis.
　She must have been acquainted with Lucy through this organization, the Free Alliance.

　Leticia was leading another group of adventurers, so she didn't seem to agree with Creon's line.

　Letitia tapped the round table with her thin fingertips.

'Political freedom has no place in this country. The Emperor and his incompetent entourage are running a dictatorship and then slaughtering the people.''

　I felt the sweat running down my back with a chill.
　What Letitia just uttered was a clear criticism of the current Emperor and the Imperial Government.

　Lucy adds.

''There's a famine in the west and many people are starving to death, and the war against the Alemany Farren Republic is a losing one. Our soldiers have been badly beaten in a disastrous battle.

　Witte responded to his words.

'I have called off the summons of Professor Lucy and Saint Sophia-dono once and for all, but that is only to buy time.

　Lucy and her team were to be put on the front lines of the war as the Five Imperial Magi.
　Lucy said that she asked a high-ranking Imperial official to stop them once, but the high-ranking official was apparently the Finance Minister Witte.

　Anyway, we may have come to a terrible place.

"Stop the war, abolish slavery and save all people. "Freedom for this country. That is the motto of the Free Alliance.

'Are Dr. Lucy and the others trying to overthrow the imperial government?

　I asked monotonously.
　Lucy shook her head.

''We have no intention of rebelling against this empire. Unlike the July Party, we are all loyal subjects of the Empire and His Majesty the Emperor.''

Then what do we do?　What the teachers are trying to achieve is impossible under the current political system.

No. I have a solution. It's why I called you here. And it's why I made you Philia's teacher.

　Lucy looked straight at me with her crimson eyes.

"Solon. You are my most important disciple. I trust you more than anything else in the world. That's why I want you to be the emperor's master and lead the country.

That means....

　I knew what Lucy wanted to say, but I didn't dare say it.
　Because it was too unrealistic to put into words.

''We will take control of the court by force and place His Royal Highness Filia on the imperial throne. That is the plan of our Free Alliance.

　Lucy murmured, "Freedom for this country," and so did the people at the Round Table, "Freedom for this country! I chanted.