(EP-41) Too Many #2

041 – Too Many Secrets #2

The current Angmar was a centralized type of kingdom.

However, there used to be a time when Angmar was nothing but a collection of small warring nations.

So, like ancient Greece, the rulers of each city state once referred to themselves as a “King.”

The Lion King Lioness, ruler of the golden city of Borgia and vast lands in the western desert, was such an example.

Once Lioness, the greatest warrior on the continent, swung his arm, mountains would be split and rivers were filled.

And a descendant of that valiant Lioness was sitting at the table right now.

“Humph.”

Elga was aggressively tapping her fingers on the table, as if she didn’t like being here.

Meanwhile, her blue eyes were coldly staring at the seat in front of her, where the descendant of another King was situated.

The Dragon King Draco ruled the numerous cliffs and valleys of the eastern part of the continent, as well as the rugged mountain peaks and fortresses.

Thinking about it, did the Dragon King Draco use the corpse of an ancient dragon to reign supreme and cause terror on the battlefield?

“Stay still, young Lioness. What has gotten you so mad?”

On her seat, Draco’s descendant was elegantly sipping the milk tea…

Hureureup.

Among them was a Tarantera, hailed from the clan of a Mage King who wisely governed the northern forest.

Aira, the descendant of the Mage King, said.

“It seems that Belhawk’s Young Lady doesn’t want to come. Even after the promised time has passed, she’s still not here. This is a disregard for my authority, how unacceptable…”

Aira looked at the empty seat on the southern side and frowned.

Seeing that, Draco’s descendant Mirna put down her teacup and said.

“Is the spider’s web too short to bind the free-spirited Belhawk Family? But then again, spiders can’t fly, they just hang on a thread. Oh, lions also *crawl* on the ground, don’t they~?”

“…….”

Those words got Aira to raise one of her eyebrows.

Standing near the table and listening to the conversation, I could tell that Mirna was ignoring Aira and even mocking her.

Wasn’t what she said basically a metaphorical twist on Aira’s lack of authority to keep the Belhawk Family in line?

In addition, she also took a jab at the Lioness Family.

But before Aira could say anything.

Kwang-.

Elga slammed the table.

Thanks to that, the map of the Angmar Kingdom, which was drawn on the table, got a small scratch in the western city of Borgia.

“Mirna Draco, you better keep your mouth shut. Just looking at your face already makes me grit my teeth!”

Elga looked at her nemesis, Mirna, as if she could no longer contain her anger.

But then again, their last meeting was at the dully ended duel. The sparks from back then probably hadn’t gone away yet.

Jirit, jirit.

As the two stared at each other, I could feel my skin tingling and cold sweat running down my back.

Should I say that this wide round table with the map of Angmar was feeling like a real battlefield?

It might even be said that the history of Angmar was unfolding at this very moment…

The Families of Lioness and Draco had always been at odds.

On the other hand, I could only wonder what the Tarantera’s side in the north was thinking.

Meanwhile, the southern warlord Belhawk was not even present.

Indeed, this table and the present people were like representations of the kingdom.

I looked out at the entrance to the large conference room of the temple.

The Belhawks didn’t seem to be coming no matter how long we waited, so it was probably a good idea to start with the dinner and carry out the meeting before anything went wrong.

“Alright then. I, Theo Gospel, will conduct the 1st ever Gracia General Assembly. The order of the meeting is-.”

“Halt!”

As I was recalling the lines I had memorized in my head, someone suddenly interrupted me.

It was Mirna Draco.

Pointing the tip of her neatly folded fan at me, Mirna Draco coolly said.

“Theo Gospel, do you have the right to hold a meeting of the four families that formed the foundations of the kingdom with petty common democracy?”

“Uhm, yes?”

“Do you truly think that your presence serves any purpose? It is insulting and humiliating for a commoner to be here!”

Oh right…

Mirna Draco didn’t like me. Maybe it was due to my affiliation with Aira.

Aira, who had been listening to this fuss, frowned.

“Do not insult my appointed Court Secretary.”

“You’re a Secretary? Were you not a gardener?”

Mirna Draco raised her eyebrows as if she couldn’t believe those words. Actually, I was in the same situation.

… Since when did I become a Secretary?

Then, Aira showed a proud expression and confidently puffed her chest out.

“I recently promoted him.”

“… Was there even a Court Secretary position in the first place? What right do you have to meddle with the old laws of Angmar?”

“I am the Queen. By my will, it shall be done.”

That seemed to be the case.

I was suddenly promoted from a Court Gardener to the Secretary. It didn’t change what I had to do, but getting a higher position felt good.

Aira then continued.

“An insult to Theo would be considered an insult to me, Mirna Draco. You should feel fortunate that I, the Queen, still hold your father and grandfather in high regard.”

“…….”

Hearing the unspoken threat, Mirna Draco had nothing more to say. She simply opened her black fan and shut her mouth.

After all, despite everything, Aira was still the Queen.

When dealing with someone reigning at the top of the kingdom, Mirna couldn’t completely ignore Aira even if she was the daughter of a great family.

Mirna’s face, which was covered by her fan, seemed to express her regret, “Why the heII did I come here?”

Anyway, before this momentary calm was broken, I decided to quickly proceed with the meeting.

“Then, let’s eat first. Today’s dinner was specially prepared using ingredients found in Gracia.”

Clap-.

At my signal, the food in silver trays, which were covered by dome-shaped lids, was brought out one by one.

Doldoldoldol-

The sound of rolling wheels was followed by the sight of various food being served on the table. Only after seeing this was I able to release my breath.

After all, the people present were members of great aristocracy.

Thus, dignity and nobility must be maintained during meals!

* * *

“The rebellion was suppressed before it could bloom. Thanks to this, we managed to recover the enormous amount of slush funds kept by the Finance Minister and return it to the royal treasury.”

Contrary to the unstable start, surprisingly, the meeting went off without a hitch.

“It is equivalent to 10 years of the royal budget, and such a huge amount of money was just about to enter the rebels’ pocket. This is why no matter how much tax we collect, the money is always not enough. Now, however, we can begin to lower the tax rate.”

Elga, who was calmly listening to Aira’s explanation, said.

“Mirna Draco, while you and your skeleton friends were leisurely playing, I had to deal with the Barbarians from the South on a terrible battlefield. Heh, have you ever seen humans eat other humans?”

The meeting was about the state of Angmar Kingdom and the situations surrounding it. We debated hard about what should be done to solve the various issues.

Mirna pretended to be apathetic and uncooperative, but in reality, she was actually listening to the discussion. She asked.

“Then, has the Dawn Association been completely uprooted?”

“Yes, and it is all thanks to the hard work of Secretary Theo.”

“Heh, well, the group might have disbanded on its own once the commoners started lazing off. I heard that the Dawn Association elected a leader by voting, right?”

I nodded at Mirna’s words.

“That is correct. It was an organization ran by democratic decision-making.”

“Democratic decision-making… I simply can’t understand why anyone would believe that ancient thing.”

“What do you mean?”

“Isn’t it just how a popular clown without any abilities or anything special gets chosen as the leader of the crowd?”

Hearing Mirna criticize democracy made my heart pound. Especially since I was a person who lived in a free society of the 21st century…

When I did not give an answer, Mirna proceeded to add a poignant criticism.

“Wasn’t that how the ancient city of Artena got destroyed? Vulco, the clueless minstrel, became the leader thanks to his popularity, causing the nation itself to be buried in the sand. Democracy had long since been proven to be a failure.”

“Eum….”

“Why do the common people even want to blindly revive the old, imperfected ways? Those fools just don’t seem to understand the sophistication of kings and nobles. Theo, you’re a commoner, so do tell.”

Suddenly, Elga decided to intervene.

“Enough of that, Mirna Draco! You said you’ve been in this Gracia for quite some time, right? So what have you achieved playing around while we toiled and sacrificed for our kingdom and people!?”

“I wasn’t ‘playing around’, Lady Lioness. I was busy working for Angmar in Gracia.”

Seureureuk.

Mirna’s eyes, which were half covered by the black feather fan, began to narrow. Seeing this, Elga just yawned and asked as if she was bored.

“What did you do? ‘Busy’ touring around? You did nothing but abhor commoners while boasting about being lucky enough to be born as a noble? If you really are a ‘noble,’ act like one!”

Elga gave quite a cutting remark…

I wondered if she was scolding Mirna in my stead, who got insulted and scorned for being a commoner.

「You have calmly judged the situation!

You have gained experience points through the talent 《Calm Thinking》.

All job experience +5」

‘I see’.

I was a little bit touched by Elga’s care…

However, Mirna maintained a relaxed attitude.

“Noblesse oblige. It’s funny that the most unbecoming person says this, isn’t it? Anyways, I found out that ‘it’ is in Gracia.”

“‘It’? What are you even talking about?”

“Lady Lioness, you really don’t know anything, do you? It must be nice living comfortably~.”

“What did you just say!?”

As Elga got up and kicked her chair, Aira raised her palm, stopping the situation from escalating.

“Go on, Lady Mirna.”

With Aira’s permission, Mirna folded her fan and revealed a serious expression. It was unlike any other time where she ridiculed and looked down on her opponent…

“I, Mirna Draco, finally figured it out last week. I have found that ‘it’ was right here in Gracia.”

“So what is ‘it’!? Stop beating around the bush and just say it!”

“The Taboo Legacy.”

‘Taboo Legacy’.

The moment these words came out of Mirna’s lips, the atmosphere in the conference hall changed in an instant. Even Elga, who had been filled with dissatisfaction with Mirna, sat quietly in her seat.

Aira said.

“Everyone, leave this instant. Theo, you too. Only the descendants of the great families are allowed to remain here.”

“I also have to leave?”

“Yes, Theo. Stay out. I won’t say it twice.”

I couldn’t believe this… Aira was actually telling me off!.

This should never have happened.

… However, the information on the Taboo Legacy was indeed juicy.

Was it really in this city?