34. My Compliments to You
Getting on good terms with people leads to many changes. Especially so when it’s with those who were trying to kill me, it was a really positive sign.
The biggest gain was learning what the people under Yubas were thinking. It was a story that was consistent with the information about Yubas’ strong authority that Bishop Ganista had told me.
Combining it with the common sense of this world that I had seen, heard, and experienced, I finally arrived at an answer.
The coastal raiders who invaded endlessly. The local nobles who were unable to unite and kept scattering. The conflict between the church and the secular powers over the right of investiture. The Lux Stella faith, which had gained an advantage because of its distance from the mainland where the Holy Idea was located, but was not absolute.
All of these factors had turned the Dawn Islands into a mess. To be exact, it was closer to England during the Heptarchy period than the broken empire or ruined kingdom cliché seen in fantasy.
The reason I say closer was because the situation in the Dawn Islands was even worse.
In terms of power alone, Yubas was overwhelming. If he had continued his alliance with the church, he would have naturally become king. However, Yubas did not give up the right of investiture, and this led to disastrous consequences.
As I said before, he lost both the support base and legitimacy that would have sustained him. Perhaps he didn’t feel it much in the short term. After all, when you broke the law, it feels good at the time.
But there’s a reason why people talk about legitimate. When someone becomes number one, they don’t need laws or traditions. Then, if I’m number one, why would I bow my head and live?
Do you think vassals will give up their lives and souls just because they signed a vassal contract? Absolutely not. The reason why loyalty is respected and treated with honor is because it is truly precious.
If you rent land from a landlord and the landlord is about to die, you wouldn’t risk your life to help them. Instead, you would wait until the landlord dies and then quietly claim that the land was originally yours. That’s what people are like.
I deeply felt this fact in the pure evil strategy game, [Fantasy Monarch].
It was when I was playing as a vassal of a long-standing empire. Our country was invaded by a powerful foreign force, and we were on the verge of collapse as our eastern border was completely overrun. At that time, the user guarding the eastern border desperately.
[Guys, our country is in danger of being destroyed!!!! Please help!!!!]
At the time, I was still a naive beginner, and I vaguely thought that I had to protect our country. So I was about to gather my troops. But then…
[But it’s not our territory?]
[I’ve already fulfilled the military service required by the emperor, so what help is it? I’m already helping?]
[Ugh… I’m not going to inherit anything anyway… If you give me some territory, I might think about it~.]
That’s right. Vassals are basically like company employees. If they are really dedicated employees, they will accept some losses and share the fate of the company, but most of them are not like that.
They fulfilled the duties required by the company, but if you asked them to do more, they would just watch and see. Especially those who didn’t care about honor and such were even worse.
[Our country is going to be destroyed!!!!]
The user on the eastern border repeatedly emphasized that we were all in the same boat.
[It’s not our country, it’s the emperor’s country~ It’s not my country~ Good luck~.]
[Wow, but our country is really destroyed. Should I start thinking about independence?]
[If the emperor wants to take more of my army, he should lower taxes lol]
Our user vassal alliance made a clear distinction. Business is business, and life is life. If they saw an opportunity to preserve their territory, they didn’t care if the country was destroyed or not. Some even watched as the country was shaken and made offers to other users.
[Guys, our country is a mess, so I’ll just be the emperor. I’m starting to recruit for a coup d’etat. If you join me now, I’ll give you each an official position.]
[Oh, I’m on my way.]
[Sir, I want to be independent. Can I join?]
[I’ll let you be independent while I take over the country lol]
Of course, there aren’t many people who don’t even know about honor. It was just an extreme example to emphasize that vassals are not people of faith. Even if such people have legitimate, they should be ignored.
However, if the country still had enough power, represented by a strong military, they would not have dared to defy it. This was exactly what I had learned from the interview.
I explained this fact in as much detail as possible in the bishop’s office.
“Really…”
“Narva, what nonsense are you talking about?”
I glanced between Bishop Ganista, who was shaking his head, and Terbear, whose face was already sullen. And then I realized that the paper that had been inked was completely black.
To persuade Terbear, it was much better to summarize it in one sentence than to explain it in great detail.
“Youbas has chosen to wield his fist for internal control. Rather than trying to win over the Lux Stella believers, he is targeting the ruling class that is chasing power. Our powerful army can also stand up to the authority of the Church. That’s the key.”
Oh. As I spoke, I realized it wasn’t a one-sentence summary. After thinking for a moment, I summarized this long sentence in practice.
“They want to conquer the bishopric and show that they are stronger.”
“Huh. So that’s what it was!”
Perhaps their purpose is also to target our brothers. However, if you ask what the main purpose is, it would be this. Youbas’ authority is still intact, so don’t think about anything else, and advertise that you plan to do so .
I judged this to be a very optimistic sign. It was also the answer to why the plan and execution were so different. The powerless beast barks more fiercely, the one who is in a hurry runs, and the weak one is cruel.
Youbas was now trying to hide their own poor authenticity by wielding their power.
Plus, there was one more thing. The reason why they were rushing into irrationality, unlike the meticulous and complex plan that had been solidly built up. I turned my head slightly and looked at the bishop who was repeatedly exclaiming.
It was a kind of intuition.
The reason why Youbas’ schemes are somewhat lacking is probably because they missed the most important addition to the plan. To be exact, the reason why my gambling-like strategy succeeded was because of the Church’s help.
Then the opposite would have been possible.
“…”
“Hmm? Confucius, your gaze is unusual.”
“Okay. If you’re going to pretend not to know, pretend not to know for the rest of your life. I’ll pretend not to know and live.”
“hehehehe. I guess I misunderstood. I hope it will be resolved someday.”
Although that sly Sertel was always a little short, the Church was a seasoned politician. When it’s time to get on the same boat, it gets hot. I felt this fact deeply as I looked at Bishop Ganista’s mysterious face.
Yes. It seems that they themselves did not deny that they were on the same boat, so I’ll let it go. Now follow me.
I grumbled to myself and looked at Terbear. Terbear was deep in thought, stroking his beard.
“So Youbas isn’t afraid of excommunication?”
“I don’t think he can.”
“You can’t excommunicate? What are you talking about?”
“If I could, I would have done it a long time ago.”
Even if you just look at the truth that has not yet been made public, it is obvious. No matter what the mainland is like, Youbas’ influence was precariously strong in the Dawn Islands.
Right now, Youbas was researching the relics of the other world on his own without the knowledge of the Church. Nevertheless, it ended with a passive response, such as the bishop not attending the feast day, not to mention making it public. It’s not that they didn’t excommunicate him.
It was because the local churches were worried that they would become completely independent from the Holy See, taking advantage of this momentum, and that the influence of the Holy See in the Dawn Islands would be expelled as a result of Youbas’ declaration of a complete break.
That’s why the Holy See is now fully supporting me. The Holy See wants a new person to replace Youbas.
And that’s me.
Now that we’re on the same boat, we couldn’t just bring up the Church’s shortcomings. I rolled my eyes slightly and checked Bishop Ganista’s complexion.
“Sir Terbear, there are some complications here. It will take some time to explain.”
“Hmm. That’s fine. If it’s for the Church.”
As soon as the bishop noticed my intentions, he made the sign of the cross and smiled. Right between Terbear, who was waving his hand while taking a break.
***
That night, Bishop Ganista stood on the ramparts, facing the cold night wind.
The bishop brushed off the frost that was tangled like grains of sand on his cloak and moved his gaze. It was to watch the two brothers hug each other and pat each other on the shoulder.
Unlike Narva, who was patting his shoulder in a daze, Terbear was shedding tears because he couldn’t bear his anger. This was because Narva’s proposal, which was put forward as a means of defeating Youbas’ army, was so humiliating.
“Brother, those fellows intend to seize you as a pretext for armed demonstration. You cannot let them have their way. Fortunately, they have brought an army with them, so they will encounter many obstacles in their pursuit.”
“Surely you don’t mean to let me endanger you.”
“Do not worry about me. I can take refuge with the Holy See.”
“Narva… If this is all I can do for you, I must seek out even Brother Edelred.”
The bishop could not help but stare at Narva, who, despite his tender years, was encouraging his elder brother, Tervere.
Narva Orn Stregos Glevios Fowys.
Being so young, he was in no position to take the initiative, and that was the way things were. It was to be expected, given that he was the son of Fowys, the weakest of the five duchies.
What was more, due to the stable succession structure that had been established early on, he had not received a proper inheritance, let alone an education befitting an heir. Nevertheless, he possessed innate talent and ability.
And it was the kind of virtue that was difficult to cultivate even with consistent education and advice. The bishop pondered, wiping the lens of his monocle with his shoulder cape.
‘I thought he was merely a puppet put forward by someone, but I was wrong.’
No one would believe that a twelve-year-old boy could really pull the strings. The bishop was no exception. He judged that Narva had an excellent expert in that field attached to him.
Moreover, there was the matter of emotion. It was only natural to feel a sense of incongruity when a child who should be innocent and naive suddenly displayed the dark shadow of human greed hidden beneath numerous virtues, the very avarice that humans themselves were shame of .
But what if he was not a puppet? What if he was truly pursuing his own innate instincts and making judgments with conviction? The bishop swallowed his words and prepared to pay tribute to that fearsome determination.
As it happened, Narva and Tervere had finished their preparations to part ways. Narva carried his knapsack with ease, his characteristic smirk on his face.
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“Go ahead and return. I will take my time looking around before I go.”
“You rascal. Ahem! Very well. This brother will… go and do what he must.”
Even Tervere could no longer act so superior when his younger brother was so composed. Tervere repeatedly stole glances at his reddened eyes before turning around and swinging himself onto his saddle.
That was the signal. The other knights who had come with Tervere also mounted their saddles and bowed their heads to Narva.
“Your Grace, forgive us for not being able to escort you any further.”
“Why not leave one of us behind, at least?”
?Nat?Some of them suggested, looking alternately at Tervere and Narva as if they were reluctant to leave.
“They are sending my brother away in order to leave no room for doubt. What good would it do if you gentlemen were to stay behind?”
“…If that is Your Grace’s wish, we will accept it.”
Narva cut them off with a smile.
And so began the escape under the cover of night. Tervere and the knights, who had been designated as the pretext, fled before Yubas’ army could close in. It was a simple and reckless plan.
Soon, the city gates opened as Narva climbed the stairs to the bishop’s side. However, Tervere did not leave immediately. Instead, he looked up at Narva once more before finally spurring his horse.
“Hyaa!”
The rough sound of hooves pounded the ground.
Narva watched the knights’ retreating figures from the battlements for a while before speaking softly.
“Come to think of it, I don’t think Yubas has any reason to kill me, unlike the Bishop of Fowys.”
His obsidian eyes were now fixed on the bishop.
“Bishop, let us move up the plan. We must release the news of my miracle examination immediately.”
Bishop Ganista said nothing in response, but quietly fumbled through his robes. A moment later, a single dried fruit appeared in the bishop’s hand.
Narva looked back and forth between the dried fruit and the bishop several times before frowning.
“What is this?”
“It is my personal tribute. You may boast as much as you like, for this old man never shares his food.”