Chapter 188 : Stirring Up a Fight - 2
Chapter 188: Stirring Up a Fight - 2
That's right.
If I'd threatened the monsters of the Fifth Territory with Kanesella like Karin suggested, it wouldn't have turned out like this.
They would've simply ended the Popularity Poll and punished us.
Likewise, simply letting the monsters of the Second Territory invade wouldn't have worked either.
They would've calmed the monsters of the Second Territory by ending the Popularity Poll as well.
Only this method had any real effectiveness.
The key had been deceiving the monsters of the Second Territory about the Replication Bag's ability and making them covet it.
I said,
“I imagine the monsters of the Second Territory will say something like this.”
-Mason hid the Replication Bag somewhere in the Fifth Territory?
-Isn't it actually you people lying because you want to keep the Replication Bag for yourselves?
-If that's not the case, let us into your territory.
-We'll search for the Replication Bag ourselves.
Only then did Jehar fully understand what I had been plotting, and his body trembled.
Slam.
I closed the window and said,
“I'll say it again.”
“Cast one vote for each Ordinary participant.”
“…….”
“If there are more of you monsters than there are remaining Ordinary participants, it's fine if multiple votes overlap on the same person.”
“The important thing is that not a single participant gets eliminated.”
Instead of answering, he simply glared at me with terrifying eyes.
But I wasn't frightened.
I continued clearly,
“I'll give you one day.”
And so we began what was practically a sit-in inside the house.
Since it was so noisy outside, Berseum used magic to block out all sound.
Thanks to that, we were able to talk in peace.
Armelia asked,
“How do you think Jehar will respond?”
“He has no choice but to accept the proposal.”
“But he was a man who refused to back down even during the war against the Empire in his previous life.”
“You said that even after becoming monsters, their nature remained.”
In other words, what if he decided to stand and fight against the Second Territory's unjust invasion?
That thought made even me uneasy for a moment.
Just then, Sienne spoke.
“Jehar once said something to me in our previous lives.”
“It was before Magireta dragged us into her Quests.”
“Hm?”
“It was when the war against the Empire was just around the corner...”
“He told me to abandon everything and run away with him.”
“……!”
“Of course, he'd had a bit too much to drink.”
“He immediately told me to forget he'd ever said it, and I didn't take it too seriously either.”
But that had probably been how he truly felt.
It was an unexpectedly human side of a man who had personally fought on the front lines as a king.
Sienne continued,
“In truth, Jehar tried every possible means to avoid going to war with the Empire.”
“He even offered humiliating concessions.”
“The war only happened because the Empire refused them.”
“Mm... Hmm...”
“Hehe.”
“You don't have to make that face, Your Highness.”
“I've long since come to see you as separate from the Imperial Family of the past.”
“…….”
“Anyway, he's someone who always leans toward avoiding conflict whenever he can.”
“I never realized it before.”
“But now... I'm certain.”
Her tone was so pitiful that even that word seemed insufficient.
Pat. Pat.
Armelia gently patted her shoulder in consolation.
Sienne forced a smile.
Then, unexpectedly, she said in a slightly teasing tone,
“The person I imagined my lover to be...”
“...might not have been who he truly was.”
“…….”
“When that happens, I don't think the right answer is simply to be disappointed.”
“I think people should have a heartfelt conversation instead.”
“I hope you'll remember that too, Your Highness.”
“Mm.”
“Mm... Mm.”
After nodding several times, Armelia stole a glance at me.
Then she muttered so quietly that anyone not paying close attention would've missed it.
“I think... I'd be fine.”
After that, I listened to the situation outside through the Listening Device attached to Jehar.
Jehar continuously pounded on the house where we were staying.
Not only him, but several of the Fifth Territory's stronger monsters joined him, trying every method imaginable to break through the defensive barrier.
But this was Berseum's defensive barrier after awakening Infinite Power.
No matter what they tried, they couldn't even leave a scratch on it.
Eventually, perhaps deciding it was a waste of time, Jehar sighed.
“This won't work.”
“We're only wasting time.”
“Then...”
“Let's go speak with the monsters of the Second Territory first.”
“We have to persuade them.”
So Jehar headed outside the Fifth Territory.
He questioned the monsters camped outside in detail.
Only then did he discover that they wanted not only my head, but also the Replication Bag.
He realized I'd been telling the truth.
Facing the monsters of the Second Territory, who looked ready to charge in at any moment, Jehar raised his voice.
“Mason is definitely inside our territory.”
“I'd like nothing more than to drag him out myself, but one of his companions is a mage.”
“So it's impossible.”
“Then let us in.”
“We'll kill Mason ourselves.”
“What lord would ever allow another lord's army into his own territory?”
One of the Second Territory monsters sneered.
“Is that how you 'humans' think?”
“You still haven't gotten rid of the habits from your previous lives.”
“I heard you 'dragons' used to live in places called Lairs.”
“Did you so readily allow other dragons into your Lairs?”
“…….”
“Please return.”
“We'll somehow persuade Mason and—”
“Enough!”
“We don't have time to listen to that nonsense!”
One of the Second Territory monsters spoke.
“We don't only want Mason's head.”
“We want the first-place reward he's carrying.”
“The Replication Bag.”
“…….”
“If you absolutely refuse to hand Mason over, fine.”
“We can deal with him later.”
“For now, take away his Replication Bag and hand it over to us.”
“He claims he hid the Replication Bag somewhere in the Fifth Territory.”
“Heh heh... Is that so?”
“Or perhaps he handed it over to you as a bribe?”
The monster smirked.
“Mason said the monsters of the Fifth Territory are his powerful supporters.”
“That's slander!”
“Is it?”
“All I see is that you're refusing to hand Mason over...”
“And refusing to let us enter.”
“…….”
“There's nothing more to discuss.”
“We'll give you one day.”
“You'd better decide by then.”
Coincidentally, the monsters of the Second Territory also gave them one day.
I'd given them one day as well.
In the end, Jehar had only one thing left to do.
Spend the next day thinking until his hair fell out.
Fortunately for him, he didn't have to shoulder the burden alone.
Jehar gathered all the monsters of the Fifth Territory and sought everyone's opinion.
“We absolutely cannot let them enter our territory.”
“That's right.”
“We need to hand Mason over immediately—”
“We can't.”
“That's exactly why we're having this discussion.”
“Why don't we just do as Mason suggested?”
“It doesn't really hurt us anyway.”
“That's true.”
The debate remained evenly split.
Then suddenly, one monster raised a hand and spoke.
“Didn't I say this from the beginning?”
“I always insisted Edgar was the one worthy of becoming MVP.”
“You were, in your previous life...”
“Yes.”
“I played a small little game back then.”
“A game called ruling the Empire.”
When I heard that, I was genuinely surprised.
Apparently, that monster had been an Emperor of the Empire in his previous life.
Of course, just as Jehar had said, he felt absolutely nothing about that former title.
In a calm voice, he merely continued,
“He goes by Edgar now...”
“But originally, he was the Empire's First Emperor.”
“Proius Ker Deniroom.”
“That was his real name.”
......
Well now.
That was an unexpected gain.
'So I've finally learned Edgar's real name.'
Unable to hide my satisfaction, I smiled to myself.
Meanwhile, the former Emperor continued,
“The day I ascended the throne, Lady Magireta bestowed upon me memories of Proius.”
“Because of that, I know all about the achievements and authority he displayed while founding the Empire.”
“…….”
“I can say this with certainty.”
“No one besides Proius is worthy of becoming MVP.”
“No, I understand your opinion.”
“But what does that have to do with our current problem?”
“If we follow Mason's proposal and distribute one vote to every Ordinary participant...”
“Proius will still win first place in this game.”
“His path to becoming MVP won't be blocked.”
The monster shrugged.
“So we can comfortably follow Mason's proposal.”
“Urgh.”
The discussion continued for some time afterward.
But after the former Emperor spoke, public opinion had already shifted dramatically.
Their opinions soon united into one conclusion.
-Follow Mason's proposal.
Bringing the discussion to a close, Jehar said,
“Then let's each vote for an Ordinary participant.”
“Those who have voting rights, please gather over there.”
“…….”
“Mason said overlapping votes are acceptable.”
“But he also said not a single participant should be eliminated.”
“So we'll cross-check one another's votes to ensure there are no mistakes.”
All the monsters nodded.
Just then, one of them asked,
“But can we really trust Mason?”
“Pardon?”
“Even if the Popularity Poll ends exactly as he wants...”
“There's no guarantee he'll keep his promise.”
“…….”
“It sounds like he pulled off quite a scam in the Second Territory.”
“What's stopping him from doing the same thing here?”
I let out a sigh.
'How did my credibility fall this low?'
[Mr. Mason, have you ever heard the phrase, "You reap what you sow?"]
'Anyway, this should be enough.'
At that point, I turned to my companions.
“It's about time we made our move.”
I stood up.
Benjamin asked,
“Made our move?”
“What are you planning?”
“For some reason...”
“They don't seem to trust me.”
“Well, naturally...”
“No, never mind.”
Slowly, I continued,
“So we'll just have to reassure them.”
We teleported directly into the middle of the Fifth Territory monsters.
Startled by our sudden appearance, they cried out,
“M-Mason!”
“Trash...”
“The worst kind of human.”
“Swindler.”
“Fraud.”
Why's the atmosphere like this?
Keeping a calm expression, I addressed Jehar.
“Hello.”
“…….”
“Oh, and before I forget.”
“Just because we've left the house doesn't mean you should try anything by force.”
“My brother's defensive barrier is still active.”
“...I know.”
“How are the discussions going?”
“You're naturally going to accept my proposal, right?”
He silently nodded.
Then, glancing briefly at Sienne, he said,
“There is one problem.”
“You're worried about whether I'll break my promise.”
“……!”
“Were you spying on us?”
“How?”
“What?”
“Of course not.”
“I merely made a guess.”
I licked my lips and continued,
“Judging by your reaction...”
“I suppose my guess was right.”
“It pains me that there's so little trust between us.”
“And whose fault do you think that is?”
“Well.”
“Anyway, I have a good idea.”
Turning to face every monster present, I spoke.
“We'll do it simultaneously.”
“Simultaneously?”
“Your voting...”
“And our advance toward the monsters of the Second Territory.”
“They'll happen at the same time.”
“…….”
“Let's see.”
“The current Voter Turnout is 70 percent...”
I checked the Small Bulletin Board displaying the voting status.
Then I asked Jehar,
“Where are the monsters of the Second Territory camped?”
“About two kilometers in that direction.”
“Perfect.”
“Let's do this.”
Raising my index finger, I said,
“Every time we advance 400 meters...”
“You cast another 6 percent of the votes.”
“……?”
“Five advances of 400 meters will bring us to the monsters of the Second Territory.”
“And five rounds of 6 percent voting will complete the remaining 30 percent.”
“Hmm.”
“The point is that neither side acts first.”
“We proceed simultaneously.”
“That way, there's no room for deception or trickery.”
The monsters looked at one another.
After murmuring among themselves, they slowly nodded.
Apparently, my proposal sounded reasonable enough.
I said,
“Let's begin immediately.”
“From this moment on, we'll advance 400 meters.”