Chapter 3 - Episode 3: I Won't Allow this Conflict to Happen!

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Scene: At the dinner table in Sarendia Orphanage.

Saren
This city, Landsol... This is the capital city of the nation that has ruled the continent of Astraea for many years.

Saren
It's an old-fashioned, authoritarian type of country, as it's called... For generations, the royal family has acted as statesmen and rulers.

Saren
The castle of that royal family is the Royal Palace, located right in the middle of the city. The royal family serves as the nation's administrators and governors, managing public agencies, the Tower of Sol, and so on.

Saren
"Princess Knights" is a general term referring to the guilds under the direct supervision of the royal family.

Saren
Postal services, police, firefighters, water management... The administration of those, plus a whole host of other public agencies, is handled by the various guilds under the umbrella of the Princess Knights.

Suzume
That reminds me. Why was the name "Princess Knights" chosen?

Suzume
Muimi... Or rather, Noemu, had a strange reaction to that name.

Saren
Who knows... It seems to have come from an ancient legend of some sort. If you're curious, it might be worth investigating at the library. With my authority, I might be able to get access to some otherwise prohibited books.

Saren
Noemu, huh... I'm also worried about that girl. She was captured by that group Labyrinth, right? It bothers me; I feel that we ought to be pursuing that direction more.

Saren
Anyway. One particular guild under the Princess Knights, Nightmare...

Saren
As their name suggests,^[1] their mission is to defend the royal palace. They fill the role of royal guards.

Saren
Well, usually, the royal family maintains them as a military force. We're at peace now, so there's no need for that, but if war were to break out, then they would be on the front lines.

Suzume
They're exactly an army, huh. How frightening.

Suzume
That flashy person who attacked Kaon... She was incredibly strong and bloodthirsty. She was a soldier, I guess.

Saren
Ah, Christina, right? I'm not quite clear on what her lineage is, which is suspicious.

Saren
You see, Nightmare is a guild of high status, centered on royals and nobles. Her background is probably something like that, too, but... I don't know for sure.

Saren
In any case, even though public safety has been worsening as of late... This continent hasn't seen true war for a long time. This era of peace seemed like it was going to go on forever.

Saren
So Nightmare, military force that it is, was bored out of their minds. Their budget was being steadily cut, and the scale of their operations was being reduced.

Saren
Unsatisfied with those circumstances, Christina decided to start a war.

Saren
If war breaks out, then the military force of Nightmare will see their operations expand once more.

Saren
They would reclaim the influence of the old days. The declining Nightmare would go through a renaissance.

Saren
That was Christina's goal. Or at least, that's what I'd guess. There may be something even deeper going on.

Saren
Incidentally... Considering the geographic conditions of this country, historically, normal humans have always had the most freedom. Beastpeople, elves, and demons are all minorities.

Saren
In other areas, there are nations comprised of other races than humans.

Saren
But well, in Landsol, I have the impression that other races are somewhat shamed.

Saren
For that reason, among the other races, there are those who feel slighted or dissatisfied by how they're treated compared to humans.

Saren
Groups of people such as those could be set off by this incident, causing a rebellion to break out.

Saren
If that happens, then it's all over. Conflict between races would inevitably develop into a bloody civil war.

Saren
That road would lead straight to hell. If the effects reach outside of this country, the entire world will be embroiled in a great war.

Suzume
No way... There's going to be a war? Even though usually, we're hardly aware of the difference between races, and we even get along well with them?

Saren
In the end, this would be the worst outcome. We might only be one step away from that happening.

Saren
There isn't clear-cut discrimination from humans towards other races.

Saren
Even though I'm an elf, I've still achieved a title of nobility. Though, well, I feel like my newly rich father basically purchased it at an insane price for me.

Saren
But... Whether it's races, culture, or religion, in brief, whenever there are differences in ideology, it's easy for wars to start. That's a solemn truth that history has proven.

Saren
Just to be sure, we need to imagine and prepare for the worst possible situation.

Saren
In any case, Nightmare... They've attacked Kaon, a guild under the cooperative organization known as the Animal Garden.

Saren
This has set up a confrontation between beastpeople and humans. The sparks of war have already been scattered.

Saren
Once they learn that one of their brethren has been attacked... Animal Garden, along with the other beastpeople in the region, will not let this slide.

Saren
In the worst case, this could really lead to war. Before that happens, I think we must extinguish the sparks of strife.

Saren
If this ends up as a simple dispute between two guilds, then that would be good enough. If any more attacks happen, then the situation may become unmanageable. Dealing with this aftermath is crucial, so to that end, I'll be spending all night doing what I can.

Saren
If war breaks out, the first victims will be the weaker people. Women, the sick, the elderly, children... A situation where the blood of innocent people is spilled -- I'll prevent that no matter what.

Saren
Good grief. If I'd known this was going to happen, then I would never have left Nightmare.

Saren
If I had been there, then I would never have let the likes of Christina have her way.

Suzume
Milady! You haven't been eating. You should eat before your food gets cold. Here, say ahhh...

Saren
H-Hey, stop that, it's embarrassing. Honestly, I'm having a serious talk here, you know?

Suzume
Milady, when you get in a trance like that, you forget to eat your meal. I'm being pushy, but I have to feed you something... Yuuki, you, too, say ahhh...

Yuuki
1. "Ahhh."

Suzume
Wah, you're so forward! Normally, shouldn't you be more flustered?

Yuuki
1. "Feed me some more."
2. "Would it be better to get flustered?"

Option 1.

Suzume
Okaay, please, eat at a steady pace. I'm not the best at cooking, but...

Saren
Won't you make yourself sad if you say that, Suzume? Shall I teach you some tricks to cooking?

Suzume
Ooh... For whatever reason, I've been bad at cooking for a long time... Even though I've been working really hard on special lessons, you know?

Saren
Ahaha. Suzume is the type to get determined and spin her wheels. Instead, wouldn't you see more improvement if you didn't spend so much effort on it?

Option 2.

Suzume
It's not that it's better or worse. But when you think about it calmly, it's weird for an older man to say "ahhh".

Suzume
But, somehow, Yuuki, you've grown to enjoy being spoiled, haven't you?

End of branches.

Suzume
Oops, I interrupted the main part of the talk. Yuuki looked like he didn't understand, so you were explaining it to him...

Suzume
Milady, you were once a member of Nightmare, then.

Suzume
The guild master of Nightmare is called the Captain. That means, Milady, you had the next-highest position of Lieutenant Captain.

Yuuki
1. "Saren, you were such an impressive person all along."

Saren
No, my father was the one who secured that position for me.

Saren
For generations, ascending to positions such as Captain and the like required a noble title. We simply came into wealth, and our noble titles were only on paper.

Saren
Nightmare had been cut drastically, and they didn't have enough manpower...

Saren
As there was nobody else qualified for the position, they had no choice but to make me Lieutenant Captain.

Saren
But in times of peace, there's really no need for military forces. There was seriously nothing to do, so I found a suitable excuse and left.

Saren
I said this earlier. But the Princess Knights comprise the public agencies serving in administration and management under the royal family.

Saren
There are also guilds for rescuing and raising war orphans, similar to orphanages.

Saren
But nowadays, they don't really exist outside of the official documents. There are only unfunded guilds with fame but no presence.

Saren
I revived one of those guilds, gave it the name "Sarendia Orphanage", and took on the duties of administration. I think it's been far more meaningful than sunbathing in front of the royal palace.

Saren
Lately, a strange phenomenon known as "lost" children has begin to occur... The parents and relatives of these children disappear without a trace. These are children with no family and no place to go.

Saren
You've met one as well; Kurumi is one of them. We take in and care for children such as her.

Saren
We try to give these children peaceful, happy, and human-like lives. That's the purpose of our guild, the Sarendia Orphanage.

Saren
I take pride in this work. It's worthwhile -- enough so that I'm willing to dedicate my life to these noble duties.

Yuuki
1. "Saren, you're incredible."

Saren
Thank you. And here, I thought my ideals were coming off as superficial... I can never explain it very well, and it verges on being embarrassing.

Saren
To protect and raise these children. To that end, I'll do anything.

Saren
First off, I'll have to give the fools trying to start a war a scolding, all at once. Because I can't allow the childrens' futures to be tainted with blood.