Isekai Taneuma

Royal Heritage

It took another week for the refugees to leave Alma. It was not time consuming to persuade, it was simply a preparation period to act as an army.

As Waltstein said, the refugees did not show much resistance to moving as long as they guaranteed their immediate lives. If they had already gone on a long journey until they came here, they would have heard about the situation in which the Alma Nation was actually standing and saw the King himself say an apology. They felt no resentment at all because of gratitude.

They were grateful to the King who had supported them until then. If anything should happen to Alma in the future, I would have promised to run. It is enough to say that it is no longer an Alma Nation.

Like the fables of the north wind and the sun, people do not move physically even if they are forced to do so. If you want to move people, you have to move your mind first. In that way, people move themselves. As if to show it, the organization from there proceeded smoothly.

We can't just walk 10,000 people, so we need to split up into platoons first. Waltstein chose a total of 100 men to be platoon commanders and divided his troops into 100 from among his sons' men, Scarsahs' adventurers, and refugees who excelled in battle.

And we divide around 100 people each, but unlike the actual army, its members are refugees, so it took a lot of time to put together families and deploy them carefully so that the weak, such as the elderly and children, were not biased.

With the 100 platoons formed in this way, we orientated ourselves looking at the map once and made sure that all platoons were able to successfully clear the problem before finally leaving. It took a week to do all this.

King Alma came to see me off on my way out and prayed for a good fight. The refugees were heartbroken by their appearance and departed cheerfully, saying that they would be glad to return to the country one day. It is very impressive considering that this was a close call as to whether it would be a bandit if one step went wrong.

Upon departure, Skarsaha rushed from afar to the King, who had been watching him, again expressing his gratitude for his dedication so far.

"King Alma. Thank you so much for the refugees since the Hermes War. Thanks to you, I was able to march. Remember that if anything happens to Alma in the future, there will be an army running for you."

"That's... as long as it's so reliable."

The king replied carelessly. If you look at the group of women, children and the elderly in front of you, everyone will have that feeling. Scarsaha smiled at him like that,

"Without the refugees, the Empire will lose its rightful place in the Heroic Leadership. But I don't think they'll keep quiet. I'm expecting some kind of difficulty. Please be vigilant."

"Yeah... I know. But Congress is out of my hands. Liberals don't listen to people who have good ear problems. In reality, they will not change their opinions unless something ravages our country."

"I hope not...."

"That doesn't mean the conservatives are decent. Recently, even strange people, such as the Demons, have appeared and become accusatory."

"Demon King...?

I wonder if the Devil King worshippers are making a difference? Didn't the King know that Scarsaha was confused? Sigh and exhale.

"I wish the empire hate had gone too far and the demon king had destroyed me almost 300 years ago. Looking back at the history since the Demon King attack, the priests continue to reduce their numbers despite the heroes' crusade against the Demon King. So, even with or without brave men, the priests were on their way to extinction. Then we will invade and destroy the Empire."

"I see... people who think like that..."

"These radical young people have been on the rise recently. The Brave Leader has become more prominent for his extreme opinions, perhaps because of the continuation of peace. Now that Congress is no longer functioning properly, I may have no choice but to defend myself... a lamentable thing."

The king laid his hand on his forehead and closed his eyes and shook his head. Scarsaha was sympathetic to him, but he couldn't find a word to hang on to, so he had to shut up. The Adventurer Alliance was a stance that took a certain distance from politics. Besides, I'm going to have a tough escape. I can't afford to feel sorry for others.

The two were silent without words, and a distant voice called out to her.

"... I'm sorry, King Alma. It's time to go."

"No, don't worry. I'll see you off from here. Be careful on the road and good luck."

"Thank you."

With an exchange of greetings, Skarsaha began to walk with her heels back. There are hundreds of kilometers from here to the destination. Another long journey. And when she was rejuvenating, she turned to her, as though King Alma had remembered.

"Speaking of which... is Dai-kun alive? It's been a long time since I dazzled myself. It's time for Congress to show its face... don't you know where he is?

And Scarsaha shook his head.

"Unfortunately. You have been nominated by the Empire, so you will not show up for a while. [M] You can do anything by yourself, so don't worry."

"Really...."

"Maybe I'll show my face to some Guild branch, so I'll tell them about Congress. Something you've been looking for."

"If you do that... no, I'm sorry I stopped you. Please feel free to contact us if you need anything."

No, see you later.

King Alma said his farewell words many times, unfortunately. The two of them broke up this time.

King Alma stood there and dropped him off until he could no longer see the back of Scarsaha. Eventually, when the last refugees were gone, the hustle and bustle of the past calmed down like a lie, and the silence came back around.

The square (camp), which had been hosting refugees ever since it was pushed by Congress, was crushed by people's feet, the ground was black, and there was no penicillium growing. I don't know how long it's going to be before the green returns to normal again... anyway, my shoulders are finally loaded. He sighed relieved and immediately sighed again in another sense.

Sure enough, we don't have to take care of the refugees anymore, but this isn't all over. As Skarsaha said, as always, the tentacles of the Empire extend into the realm of the brave, and when the worst happens, the most dangerous is the land of Alma.

I had to put it in case of an accident... the King remembered his liver and then turned to the carriage he came in.

The carriage with the canopy was parked on a hill a little away from the square. Seeing the king move, the horses of the guards rushed in and escorted him from side to side, inviting him to the carriage. While walking looking up at the body, which was still far away, the curtain hung at the window shaken and the face of the person inside was visible only for a moment.

You must have waited so long for me to hide from you, saying you would never find me. I'm sure when I get back to the carriage, I'll bump into some frustration. He got a little depressed at that thought.

As he approached the carriage, the gentleman who was waiting for his husband's return respectfully opened only one of the doors open to the audience. As he stepped into the room, he noticed that the person who was waiting inside raised his dissatisfaction.

"It's too late! King Alma, you've been waiting."

The king was struck by such a golden trumpet, and whispered in his heart that he should have kept his earplugs, but tried not to break his love and laughter.

"I'm sorry, Ser Hermes. For some reason, Mr Scarsaha is out of stock, so I've been waiting for the timing to make sure we don't get our intentions figured out. As you told me, I've been checking on Leonardo's whereabouts."

The blonde-haired young man who was stepping forward, whether he had lowered his sip to the words, pulled his body back and rested on his back. This man, known as Lord Hermes, may not have said Isaac… Isaac XI, the former Lord Hermes' nephew, not the newly reigning XII.

After the Hermes War, he fled his ancestors' castle, Versailles, and after lurking in the woods, he fled to Alma.

The kingdom of Alma is at the exit of the streets connecting the Empire with the Hermes, and it was geographically closest to the Hermes, so it was like a relative, to say the least, whom it had been dating for a long time. Isaac's Newton family and the Alma family were related several generations ago, and before the war it was the Alma kingdom that used that relationship to have the greatest say in bravery, both economically and politically. That's why the King couldn't get up to Isaac.

There were such circumstances, and the King knew that Isaac was in danger and had been hiding until now. Naturally, the Empire and the other 12 clans thought about it, but what had been hidden until now was that many refugees had crossed the border. Isaac entered the country indisputably as a refugee.

But now that the refugees for the camouflage are gone, the Empire will find them here forever. As a result, Isaac was in a hurry to move to the next incubator.

"So, King Alma. Where's Leonardo now?

"Unfortunately, Sir Hermes. I couldn't find you. [M] After the Hermes War, he also fought the Empire and still seems to be missing."

"What do you mean? You didn't know anything!?

The king shook his head before Isaac shouted Kinkin.

"But if Skarsaha tells me, you'll be stopping by the Adventurer Alliance everywhere to keep up to date. In other words, you seem to have the means to communicate, even though it is one-way street. With this, we may be able to circulate information from here and guide him."

"I see... the only way to do this is to do it well"

"... Isaac-sama should have gone to Bohemia with them anyway. I don't think they're going to hurt you any more."

The king suggested so, but Isaac shook Bull and his head.

I'm not kidding! Who the hell do you think I'm in trouble for? Guys, it's that Waltstein guy. Did that man drop my castle?

"Perhaps... perhaps it is the refugees who are the safest Ser Hermes is now."

"Even so. I don't want to bend my knees to someone I've decided to fight once."

That's what Waltstein said… King Alma was so alone in his heart.

Although he was a former Imperial General, he now chose his own path to fight the Empire for the refugees. In contrast, Isaac hasn't changed anything. I don't think he liked to sip muddy water with the refugees, because he's nowhere to go.

The king thought the difference between the two generals was clear, but he didn't show it to his face. Which one is happier for the people?

"Lord Hermes. So, what are you going to do...?

"I don't think so. Find Leonardo first. Then we'll talk. I don't want to think about it if I don't find it."

"... I didn't ask why, but why do you want to know where you are?"

"Nh...? Well, didn't I tell you?

Isaac had actually intentionally hidden the reason, but King Alma said so and decided that he had no choice but to hide it now.

"Hmm... well, I've taken care of the king, so let me tell you something special. As a matter of fact, I have a family heirloom, the Book of Hermes, that has been passed down from generation to generation."

So Isaac took a scroll out of his luggage, which he always carried, and handed it to King Alma. The king was suddenly handed such things, confused.

"May I... read this?

"I don't mind. If it's something you can read."

I noticed a sort of disingenuous attitude, but when I looked at the scroll because of it... it was written like a child's graffiti, none of which I had ever seen, and the King couldn't read it at all, even if he tried to.

All I knew was that there were illustrations all over the place, and the mysterious characters would explain it. Isaac looks at King Alma bewildered in front of an unknown document with a funny look.

"The Book of Hermes is a secret book bequeathed by the first Lord Hermes for his descendants. However, as you can see, the contents are not written so as to be understandable. He was afraid that his wisdom would be used by others than his descendants.

The first generation was part of a party that fought with legendary heroes, but unlike the great wizards like Amadeus and Leonardo, they had little magic. Still, he was called a rare alchemist, who created a lot of scientific knowledge, weapons blueprints, etc., and left them in the book. It also contains powerful magical boundaries, like the one where Mary was trapped.

So, if you can understand what that means, it's definitely a weapon. I'm on the run from the country now, but if I get it, I still have a chance to roll back. "

"So... do you know how to read this?

"No, it's not."

But Isaac shook his head.

"The first generation fought the Empire with the bravery, so they were grudged by the Empire. That's why I hid my grave in a place where no one would find it in the future. The tip for reading the book of Hermes is probably in the tomb... but we, our descendants, don't even know where it is. There's supposed to be a grave keeper, but I don't know where he is."

"Gravekeeper...?"

"In the first generation, it seems that the Empire avoided the warriors and let some of the Wesen tribes play the major role. So, if we look for the big forest, there must be a family left somewhere, but we won't be able to find it without a clue. Maybe Leonardo knows something, so I really wanted to talk to him."

"I see... that's why?"

"Oh, but if we don't find him, we have to. It's an authentic task, but let's try hitting the tribe of the Great Forest from one end. Actually, I have a clue."

"Hmm... what's that like?

Then Isaac pointed to a mark in the book of Hermes.

"This mark is depicted everywhere in this book. As a matter of fact, this indicates the grave keeper. It will probably be treated politely as a tribal symbol, so if you hit the big forest tribe one by one, you will eventually hit the people who know this. The tomb is probably close to Hermes territory. Then the grave keeper will be around. Fortunately, I still have two of the priests' men. Without them, there would be no danger in the forest."

"Two priests... did you say you were with Permel and Diogenes?"

"Oh, but I'm going to call them in tomorrow and leave."

"Tomorrow... that's sudden again."

"You've taken care of King Alma. I will definitely thank you for this eventually. When I inherit Hermes' legacy, why don't we build another heroism together?"

The carriage was racing along the street. When Isaac finished talking to the king, he opened the closed curtains and looked outside. The refugees will leave, and there will be no one to blame for him anymore.

It was sunny and cloudless. The outer walls surrounding the Alma Castle were lit by the sun and clearly visible to emerge. But why does the imperial castle look so far away...? As soon as he noticed, the carriage was heading in the opposite direction to the castle.

"Hey, King Alma. Isn't this carriage heading the opposite way to the castle?

"... yeah. Actually, before I left, I really wanted to see Ser Hermes...."

"What?

"You'll see."

Disturbed air flows. I don't suppose King Alma, the personality, would betray me... Isaac had a bad feeling, but he was surrounded by nearby guards who were about to jump out of the carriage, so he couldn't move badly.

Eventually, the carriage reached the jungle, a short distance from the castle, and suddenly stopped at a place where it had gone for a while. There's nothing around here, just trees covering your horizons.

"... hey, King Alma! Where the hell are we? Why are we stopping the carriage in this place?

"That's... you already know that."

As if he had signalled the words of King Alma, several Imperial soldiers suddenly appeared from the shadows of the surrounding groves. Isaac left the carriage as soon as he had expected, but as he had thought earlier, it was quickly seized by the Alma Guards.

"King Alma! You tried!

"Don't feel bad... I had no choice but to take my country and people hostage."

Even as Isaac blamed the king for his betrayal, he looked down with pity on Isaac, who had been seized by the ground without moving a single eyebrow.

Isaac twisted himself to escape from the guard's arms, but his mighty arm did not shrug. Empire soldiers continue to surround former Ser Hermes with his face bright red. As he raised his face with tears, an Imperial soldier walked out in front of him.

"Welcome aboard, Your Majesty XI. The Caligula Emperor has ordered us to receive Hermes' legacy from you. I wonder if I've been lucky enough to find you so soon."

"Who are you!

When Isaac screamed with regret, the man laughed invincibly.

"I'm late. My name is Francisco Pizarro. I just wanted the priest's men. At best, can you help me?"

Pizarro said so, ordering his men who were aligned behind him to hold Isaac captive.