01x11 - Sacrifice the Plum Tree to Preserve the Peach Tree

[bunniefuu]

How did you get here?

Thanks to the library that stores

all types of documents

and a capable librarian.

You found the blueprints

for Red Dragon Castle, huh?

So you know about

all the underground escape routes too?

It's our first time meeting in person,

King Souma.

I am Castor Vargas.

I'm Souma Kazuya, the interim king.

I am Tolman,

and I serve the Vargas family.

Tolman has nothing to do with this affair.

If I am defeated,

you can leave the Air Force up to him.

He will do a splendid job.

If you're thinking that far ahead,

why don't you stop doing this?

A man can't just

take back his own decision.

And of course, I won't go down that easy.

Your Majesty, please stand back.

ORIGINAL STORY BY DOJYOMARU

Aren't you a hero?

Want to fight me one-on-one?

Don't be crazy.

How could a regular person like me

who only handles politics fight you?

Castor, how long do you plan

to point that sword at the king!

You pipsqueak.

I didn't want the king to know,

but I have lived several decades.

I have been fighting for this country

for a hundred years.

Not bad, you female dark elf.

I'm Aisha. I will not let you

get near the king!

What monstrous strength…

Yes. I may not be smart,

but if my strength can be useful

in His Majesty's domination,

I don't mind being called a monster.

I like your loyalty.

Is Souma a good ruler to you?

I don't know.

But I want to be by his side.

I want to be with His Majesty

and Princess Liscia forever.

As I thought,

you are similar to me and Carla.

But if you don't have enough strength

to match your loyalty,

you cannot protect yourself,

let alone your ruler.

Freeze, Ice Sword Mountain!

Who knew you were hiding

the princess inside a doll.

I lose.

Duke Vargas…

Don't look at me that way.

I stuck to my decision

and lost after putting up a fight.

I don't have any regrets.

More than that,

I have something to ask you.

What is it?

Is he a good king?

Yes.

He is a good king to me.

Even if people say it's selfish of me,

I want Souma to be the king.

Even if my father tells him

to give back the throne,

I will stick by King Souma

and fight against my father.

That's how resolved you are?

The battleship blew up.

Liscia, the Air Force is coming back.

A sl*ve collar, huh?

The master is set to Souma Kazuya.

If you try to harm your master…

The collar will tighten

and cut my head off automatically.

I know.

How dare you do that to Father!

Stop it, Carla!

We lost.

That's enough, Carla.

We put a sl*ve collar on Duke Vargas.

If you k*ll Souma,

Duke Vargas will also die.

-Tolman.

-Yes?

I will temporarily give you authority

as the commander of the Air Force.

Lead the Air Force

and join the Forbidden Army.

Understood.

However, may I ask you one thing?

What is it?

What will happen

to Duke Vargas and Lady Carla?

That will be deliberated after the w*r.

They won't get a sentence now.

Please give us your order.

What will be the next move

for the Air Force?

First, announce that the battle has ended.

Make it known to the people that

Duke Vargas was captured and the Air Force

is part of the Forbidden Army.

Once the army is ready,

head to the Carmine Duchy.

Understood.

Sorry to make you wait, Georg Carmine.

I'm on my way.

She may not look it,

but Carla is the devoted type.

She has a strong sense of duty

so she'll do whatever you ask

even if she doesn't want to.

I think she's a nice girl.

On top of that,

you may not notice,

but under that armor she's--

I know what you're thinking, Liscia.

You're pleading for Carla's life.

But are you thinking about

the risks that come with it?

Carla is guilty of rebellion.

We can overlook that

if I make her a secondary consort.

But if the king bends the law,

the people will not trust him.

-Well… But…

-I won't plea for my life.

We received many letters urging us

to show our submission

but we willingly rejected them.

I am a warrior myself.

Now that it's come to this,

I won't beg for my life.

I wish you used that determination

in a way that didn't hurt Liscia.

Multiple wyverns are flying in

from the east.

It's the Air Force.

It's Duke Vargas' Air Force.

This was what the Army was waiting for?

Don't worry, Hal.

We won this bet.

Souma pulled through for us.

That's right!

We stopped

the anti-air repeating ballistae.

We will now commence

an airstrike over Randel Castle.

Make sure to not drop them

on residential areas.

I brought over the Air Force as planned.

We warded off the Army's attacks

as planned.

It was only a day and a half.

If you couldn't last that long,

I'd be in trouble.

Don't be stupid!

They even brought out cannons!

It was dangerous, you know!

We also had a hard time

fighting against Duke Vargas.

That man is so overfamiliar with the king.

Halbert is allowed to

treat him as a friend.

Basically, they're like you and I.

The Air Force betrayed us.

We must hurry and take countermeasures.

Please give us orders.

What should we do?

Duke Carmine!

How's the damage from the airstrike?

Parts of the roof and tower

were blown away, but that's all.

Luckily, only a few were injured.

However, Souma has air supremacy now.

I see.

Which means they have basically

taken all the citizens of this city

as hostages.

Yes.

Then we have lost this w*r.

Wh… What are you saying?

The Army is almost unscathed!

We can recover from this.

We can use the people

as a shield and hide here.

Using the people as a shield

and hiding in the castle, huh?

Are you seriously saying that?

What's wrong with sacrificing the people?

I forgot that's the kind

of people you were. My goodness…

What are you doing!

That's a sl*ve collar!

So you're planning on offering our heads

to plead for your life?

How sneaky of you, Georg Carmine!

Don't act like I'm like all of you.

How rude.

Take them away.

Your Majesty.

The mission to construct the fortress

and defend it

is complete.

Good work.

The devotion you and everyone

showed will be rewarded after the w*r.

Gather the soldiers

and get them ready to move.

Yes. We will capture Randel.

No, our battle here is already done.

I have done my part.

Now I have no regrets.

Well then Beowulf, it's time for mine.

Yes.

Tell the Forbidden Army that we surrender.

Aside from the corrupt nobles' armies,

everyone was only obeying my orders.

I will take full responsibility.

I'll leave the rest to you and Glaive.

-Understood?

-Yes.

Randel Castle has raised a white flag.

Your Majesty… You knew about this?

CARMINE DUCHY, RANDEL

GAIUS AMIDONIA

The wine gifted to me by King Albert.

I had planned to get drunk on it

on Princess Liscia's wedding day.

My only regret is not being able

to see Princess Liscia as a bride.

But if I think of this as the best

wedding gift anyone could give her,

it's not that bad.

I have a message.

King Souma has led the Forbidden Army

to the west already,

without entering Randel.

He ordered the Army to follow

as soon as we're regrouped.

Then I will just step over the old tree.

I see!

That's what he meant!

So the king himself

was after a bigger fish.

Oh king, oh princess,

step over this old tree, hand in hand.

Glory to the young seedlings

and to Elfrieden!

What is going on? I need an explanation.

I don't blame you.

This was Duke Carmine's idea.

Duke Carmine?

I never planned on fighting with

the three duchies in the first place.

Well then--

It may have seemed like Duchess Walter

joined my side after my ultimatum.

But really, she was already

following me from before that.

Thanks to Juna.

That's right.

Her granddaughter, Juna, was our liaison.

I wasn't sure about the other two dukes,

so I had her keep that

a secret for a while.

According to Liscia,

Duke Carmine seemed like a guy

who would be understanding

if you spoke heart-to-heart.

That's what I thought.

But then he harbored the corrupt nobles.

That wasn't in any of the scenarios

Hakuya and I predicted.

Honestly,

I had no idea what

Duke Carmine was thinking.

That's when Halbert's father,

Glaive, requested an audience.

So, what did you want to talk about?

Yes…

Duke Carmine

is assembling corrupt nobles in one place

so they can start a rebellion

and be quashed by you, Your Majesty.

It will be a pain if those corrupt nobles

go into hiding. So to wipe them out,

he is purposely taking a stand against you

and becoming

a light trap for any possible threats.

That's ridiculous!

Nobody asked him to do that!

I understand why you are upset.

But that is what Duke Carmine

decided to do on his own.

Your Majesty, rotten wheat

makes the wheat around it rot too.

The problem with nobles are their ties.

Even if you know they are corrupt,

if they use their marital ties

to plead with you,

you will have to protect them.

So there is a need to make them

guilty of treason first.

We have to go that far?

Yes. And there is one more reason.

There's more?

Their assets you seized are just

the tip of the iceberg.

The nobles who are hiding

within the Carmine Duchy

have hired mercenaries from Zem.

That proves that you were not able

to take away all of their wealth.

Nobles are much more scheming

than you think, Your Majesty.

Is Georg trying to make the nobles

use up their money?

But in the end,

the money goes to Zem,

who's dispatching mercenaries…

A ransom?

Yes. At the same time

as capturing the corrupt nobles,

the hired mercenaries

will become prisoners of w*r.

Even if you make the corrupt nobles

hire mercenaries,

their slush fund will just go to Zem.

But if we capture the mercenaries,

we can collect that money as a ransom

and keep it from flowing out.

Yes.

Why do I have to lose someone

who can think that far ahead?

Use that resolve to cooperate with me!

Please understand, Your Majesty.

Duke Carmine entrusted you

with the future.

How can he trust me that much?

We've never even met.

It is best to ask him yourself,

when the time comes to meet him.

Duke Carmine risked his life for this.

I wasn't sure about telling even Liscia.

I was only told about it

right before he gave them the ultimatum.

Which means,

the rebellion of my father and I…

I'm sorry.

I wish I could have told

Duke Vargas about this.

But if this leaked out, Duke Carmine's…

Life-risking plan would be ruined.

If Duke Carmine risked his life,

this is nothing compared to that.

Carla…

ALTOMURA

Weist messed up, it seems.

Someone is at the gate!

Why?

Why is Excel there?

She was in Lagoon City

for the meeting with the duchies.

It takes at least three days

to get here from Lagoon City.

Maybe she was in Altomura

even before the meeting?

She was in cahoots with Souma!

Father, this is a trap!

Retreat now!

What are you saying!

I am the interim king

of the Elfrieden Kingdom,

Souma Kazuya.

Duke Vargas of the Air Force

and Duke Carmine of the Army

have been defeated.

The entire army is under my control now.

The civil w*r has ended.

However, we still cannot

put our weapons down.

Because the Principality of Amidonia

has taken this opportunity

to trample on our land.

The Princes of Amidonia have been

creating tension by the border

under the claim of taking back their land.

The current Prince of Amidonia,

Gaius VIII,

fueled the rift between me

and the three duchies

and is trying to benefit from it.

Will you be satisfied

with just kicking them out?

In this era, where mankind is trying

to unite against the Demon Lord's forces,

can we overlook this barbarism?

No! Most definitely not!

Therefore,

the Elfrieden Kingdom declares w*r against

the Principality of Amidonia.

That brat!

You just called the wish

of three generations "barbarism"?

I know you're watching, Gaius!

I will send my forces west this instant.

Our target is

the capital of

the Principality of Amidonia, Van.

While you're wasting time in Altomura,

we will burn down your city.

If you lay hands

on my territory and my home,

you will pay the price.

Return to Van this instant!

You defeated Duke Carmine

and even declared w*r on Amidonia.

It's not something you can do on a whim.

How far ahead did you plan?

What is going on?

Yesterday, I got a report saying that

Prince Gaius left Altomura.

Princess Roroa, I have news.

Prince Gaius has arrived

at the plains of Van.

Is that so.

But I doubt they got here unscathed.

The Valley of Goldoa… Am I right?

I am humbled by your insight.

That Souma guy is really ruthless.

He really knows my idiot dad's

thought process.

What do you mean by that?

Well, the fastest route is

to pass the Ursula Mountains.

Even if you rush there at top speed,

you'll pass the mountain at night.

I heard that night was like hell.

They abandoned comrades

who were screaming for help

in the blood and mud.

The valley ends there!

The front of the principality's army

exited the valley.

Shall we chase them?

That's not necessary.

We've done our job here.

Get ready to retreat.

By the time they exited the valley,

their army of 30,000 went down to 15,000.

After that,

His Highness assembled soldiers and food

from surrounding villages

and somehow brought his army

back up to 25,000.

If you do that, it will fuel resentment.

How does he not know that even if

he gets Van back,

it could start a rebellion?

By the time he got his army

back up and arrived at Van,

the plain was already

filled with flags

of the Elfrieden Kingdom.

‪Van has fallen?