Genjitsushugi Yuusha no Oukoku Saikenki Volume 3 Chapter 3 Part3

Genjitsushugi Yuusha no Oukoku Saikenki Volume 3 Chapter 3 Part3

Translator Corner





This is Yukkuri demasu!





As always, Yukkuri is overwhelmed by his RL
work… But now he is free‼!





I am sorry for the belatedness on my part.





Now that my work routine had cleared up (I transferred
to a new Hospital you see) I can resume my usual translation schedule…
Hopefully…





DISCLAIMER: There is no
guarantee that my translation is 100% correct. Please correct me if I was
wrong.





Author-sama:





Dozeumaru(どぜう丸)





Lazy Translator:





Yukkuri Oniisan





Le Editor:





So-Chintzy





Postwar Arc





Chapter 3: The Negotiation C





「Wh-……」(Julius)





Perhaps because my firm rejection
was something unexpected, for a moment Julius was at a loss for words. However,
he immediately spoke out with naked anger plastered on his face





「b.a.s.t.a.r.d[1],
are you insane?! Do you think you can escape unscathed to defy the Humanity
Declaration!」(Julius)





「That
is not something that someone like you can say. You invaded Efrieden’s
territory, and then, when you got invaded in exchange, you started yelling “no border
changes with military power”. Because of that, your reasoning doesn’t make any
sense.」(Souma)





「That
is…… Everything was just the previous Duke Gaius’ arbitrary act-……」(Julius)





「You
also know that those words are just excuses, right?」(Souma)





When I threw the question back at
him, Julius’ words were tightly clogged up.





「……Whatever
you say, it doesn’t change the fact that you are occupying our citizens. I, as
this country ruler, ought to liberate my people.」(Julius)





So he objected. But, liberating
from an occupation, yeah……





「Is
that something that Van’s Citizens desire?」(Souma)





「What?」(Julius)





「Julius-dono,
when you were travelling to this place, didn’t you see how Van’s streets and
buildings looks like?」(Souma)





Julius stared in amazement at my
question, but he immediately replied while glowering at me.





「Van
is a city where I was born. I am more familiar with it than someone like you.」(Julius)





「Is
that so…... Then, what “color” does that Van have right now in your sight?」(Souma)





「Color?
If it’s buildings with distasteful color on their walls or roofs, then I saw
several of them, what of it……」(Julius)





「……
Well I wouldn’t find fault in someone’s sense of art, but Julius-dono, if they
are under an occupation, would the citizens who were struggling under
tyrannical rule paint their walls and roofs so colorfully like that?」(Souma)





Without any antagonism, I
explained in a very kind and detailed manner for Julius.





「If
the despot imposes his power on the citizens, then the citizens wouldn’t do
something that would attract the eyes of the despot, right? Since the citizens
wouldn’t know what kind of calamity would fall upon them if they did any flashy
acts that caught up the despot’s eyes. Therefore, the citizens under a
tyrannical rule wouldn’t speak of their discontent, wouldn’t let their att.i.tudes
show their emotions, and would stow away their true opinions into the deepest
corners of their hearts. Because of this, something like colorfully painting
their walls and roofs would be something that they absolutely wouldn’t do.
Right?」(Souma)





At this point, I momentarily
stopped my words, as I stared directly at Julius’ eyes and continued my
explanation.





「However,
what color did that Van have when you were governing this city?」(Souma)





「!
That is……」(Julius)





Julius hesitated to say. Well, of
course. When I first entered Van, the color that I sensed was “Grey Townscape.”
The buildings that stood in the labyrinth-like unmaintained districts were only
houses with ash grey walls and brown earth roofs without any fragment of individuality.
The uniformity of the color tone, even without any standardization, might be the
fault of the lack of freedom given to the citizens of this city.





「The
Van that I govern right now and the Van that you had ruled before, as expected,
which one that seems to be an “occupied” city?」(Souma)





「b.a.s.t.a.r.d,
are you accusing us of being tyrannical despots!」(Julius)





「It’s
a fact, right? Most of your national budget is poured into military expenses,
right? …… Ah, also for the furnishing of this castle, right? Even though the
tax that the people paid should essentially be used for the Citizen’s welfare, it
wasn’t. Not for maintaining the city, not for maintaining the roads, not for
promoting industry, but all those heavy taxation fees went to the military. Isn’t
that stupid?」(Souma)





「Shut
your mouth up!」(Julius)





「Cease
it, Julius-dono!」(Jeanne)





Jeanne stopped Julius who seemed
to want to approach me. To be stopped no more than a half-step, he gritted his
teeth with frustration. Although they weren’t permitted to carry any weapons into
the audience, if Jeanne hadn’t stopped him, perhaps he would cast a magic spell
at me. If that happens, then we could have attacked Julius under the
justification of self-defense, but…… It is not the time for that.





「Aisha,
you should also release your hand from the hilt.」(Souma)





「……Yes.」(Aisha)





I reminded Aisha, who stood
diagonally behind me while emitting a strong bloodthirst. She replied in the dejected
tone of a child that has just been scolded. Don’t worry Aisha, I didn’t pay any
mind to it. Even if the opponent Julius was acting all high and mighty, I felt safe
since Aisha is protecting me. Then, Jeanne sighed while offering her honest
opinion.





「King
Souma…… I want you to stop inciting Julius-dono.」(Jeanne)





「I am
only telling the truth. An economy is about managing the land and providing
relief to its citizens[2]……
despite that that was the ideal image of a ruler, his governance that was
wasting all the heavy tax for military expenses was clearly tyrannical
despotism.」(Souma)





「Whose
fault was this! You b.a.s.t.a.r.ds had robbed from us our ancestral lands!」(Julius)





「So,
this again……」(Souma)





Julius repeated his constant
insistence, so I sighed.





「Although
Amidonia’s Royal Family had been yelling revenge against Elfrieden’s Royal
Family at every opportunity, that incident happened 50 years ago, right? Not to
mention you, but Gaius too, are not the people that were directly related to
that event. Additionally, I am only someone who arrived in this world not too
long ago. So, why are you holding a grudge against me so much?」(Souma)





「!
That is,」(Julius)





「Ah, please
leave out killing Gaius and capturing Van. The one who began this in the first place
was your side. After all, if I don’t kill Gaius, then I would have been the one
who was killed.」(Souma)





「Kugh……」(Julius)





「See,
you couldn’t find any words to say, right? You don’t have any reason to resent
me after all.」(Souma)





Or rather…… The one who received the
real grievances was the Kingdom’s side.





「Hakuya.」(Souma)





「Yes,
Your Majesty.」(Hakuya)





When I gave a sign, Hakuya took
out a rolled up paper and handed it over to Julius and Jeanne. What was written
on that paper were several people’s names. After reading it, Jeanne was only
tilting her head in confusion, but Julius became pale.





「This
is…… What does this mean?」(Jeanne)





Jeanne inquired towards Hakuya,
who then replied while making a respectful bow.





「The
names written on this paper are those of the n.o.bles inside the Elfrieden
Kingdom who had been agitated by the Amidonia Dukedom. Among these were the people
who were involved in the failed rebellion during the previous King’s reign. Amidonia
agitated them, kindled insurrection, instigated corruption, and incited a
noncooperative att.i.tude towards the Royal Family.」(Hakuya)





「My,
my……」(Jeanne)





Receiving the cold glance sent by
Jeanne, Julius’ mouth was bound close as he hung his head down. I had Hakuya investigate
about those who instigated the Three Dukes (well, in the end the rebellion failed).
But wow, the shady bunches were here and there. Among the names in the list, I
could see the name of the n.o.bles who had committed corruption, but I also found
the names of the n.o.bles who didn’t partic.i.p.ate in the battle and just chose to
wait and see.





「Do
you understand, Jeanne-dono? While pretending to cooperate in the Humanity
Declaration, the Amidonia Dukedom was doing secret maneuvers behind your back.
This is the revenge against the Kingdom that they always talked about.」(Souma)





「That
revenge, too, in the end, is something that they adopted for their own conveniences.」(Hakuya)





As if to continue what Hakuya had
said, I spoke out while glaring at Julius.





「The
country is poor, it’s the Kingdom’s fault. The citizens are hungry, it’s the
Kingdom’s fault. The citizens suffered from hard labor, it’s the Kingdom’s
fault. Heavy taxation not for the citizens’ sake, but for the military, this
too is the Kingdom’s fault.」(Souma)





「……What
do you want to say?」(Julius)





「How
convenient, since if you chant the slogan of revenge, then you can hide your
misgovernment and shepherd the Citizens’ anger towards the Elfrieden Kingdom.」(Souma)





「You!
b.a.s.t.a.r.d!」(Julius)





「Julius-dono!」(Jeanne)





This time, too, Julius tried to
draw near, but Jeanne ‘s loud voice stopped him again. Then, she sent a harsh
stare at my direction.





「King
Souma, I think I had myself clear that I DO NOT want you to continue inciting
him.」(Jeanne)





「……sorry.
But our side ,too, would like for you to understand our irritation towards Amidonia’s
conducts.」(Souma)





「That
is……I can sympathize.」(Jeanne)





「Thank
you. Then, there is a suggestion I want to ask from you.」(Souma)





Well, from now on, this will be
the real deal, and as if to indicate this, I faced the both of them.





「Will
it be acceptable for you to make Julius-dono leave the room?」(Souma)





◇　◇　◇





「Who
are you fooling with! Why do I need to leave the discussion for the return of
the capital city of our nation?!」(Julius)





At my sudden proposal, Julius lashed
out with an infuriated expression. I felt that the angry faces of a strikingly handsome
guy was 50% more dreadful than a normal face. If it was the me from before
coming to this world, then I would have been overwhelmed from dread and
wouldn’t say anything. However, up until now, I have met with various scary
people like Gaius and had wagered my life to some degree. Now, I wouldn’t be
disturbed with only this level of intimidation.





「It’s
a simple story. In the first place, there is no reason to do any discussion
with Amidonia.」(Souma)





「Why
is that!」(Julius)





「What
I placed on the negotiation table was for the Empire 『I
want you to recognize Van’s possession』. Conversely, the Empire has the standpoint of not
recognizing border changes due to military power, so they came to negotiate 『I
want Van’s return to Amidonia.』, right? See, in the end, isn’t the negotiation just between
the Kingdom and the Empire?」





Yes, this negotiation, ever since
the beginning, has been a negotiation between the Kingdom and the Empire.
Julius is nothing more than an extra(omake) that had been just sticking along
the way. Since his enmity would prevent the negotiations from proceeding
smoothly, it would be really helpful if he left the negotiations. Jeanne also
seems to understand this.





「……Julius-dono.
Would you please leave this matter to me?」(Jeanne)





To which Julius replied.





「Jeanne-dono!?
However,」(Julius)





「If
both sides keep antagonizing each other, the negotiations wouldn’t go anywhere.
Even for the Empire, we don’t want to spend too much time mediating another’s
country war. Since Van would surely return, I want you to entrust the
negotiations to me.」(Jeanne)





「However!
Then, won’t the negotiations would be one-sided!?」(Julius)





「Then,
should the Empire withdraw from the negotiation, so you can conduct the
negotiation by yourself?」(Jeanne)





Julius wanted to keep arguing,
but Jeanne shut him up with her words.





「If I
can be honest, for the current case, the fault lies on Amidonia’s side. We
offered a.s.sistance since you are a member nation of the Humanity Declaration,
but if you keep troubling us more than this, then the Empire would have to
withdraw from this case.」(Jeanne)





「Kugh……」(Julius)





Since this was something that his
last ray of hope, the Empire, had said, Julius couldn’t say anything back. After
showing an anguished expression, he replied with a strained voice.





「Van……
You will be able to return it, right?」(Julius)





「I
swear by my sister’s name, Grand Chaos Empire’s Empress Maria Euphoria.」(Jeanne)





「……I
will be glad to entrust this matter to you.」(Julius)





After Julius said this, while
lowering his head and moving to leave the room, he glared towards my direction,
and only then, did he exit the audience room. After watching him leave, I and
Jeanne then sighed together.





「……Sorry
for my idiot member nation.」(Jeanne)





「Nah,
it’s me who should be the one who’s sorry that our idiot neighbor is bothering
you.」(Souma)





We looked at each other and
laughed. The serious atmosphere had disappeared, but it didn’t change the fact that
the atmosphere was tense. No, rather, it could be said that the tension was higher
than before. Though I heard about this later, Liscia, who was watching from beside
me from the time that Julius was in the room to up until he left, had her heart
fluttering rapidly. Well…… For both the Elfrieden Kingdom and the Grand Chaos
Empire, this negotiation would decide “what would happen from now on” in just a
few moments, so her nervousness was understandable.





☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽





The true negotiations
finally can begin!





It’s refreshing somehow
that the Empire is not the standard evil empire commonly found in the fiction.





Also if this is Chinese
web-novel, Julius would have been coughing out blood and Jeanne would be confused
whether she should cry or laughing. Also the Empire would be a rude and discourteous,
after all the stronger Top Tier Sect like the Empire wouldn’t bat any eyelashes
for a Middle Tier Sect like the Kingdom.