Rebirth in a Ruined Nation! The Life of a New Strategist Starting From Now - Chapter 139

A Summon From the King

The ceremony succeeded, and shortly after we returned to the capital.

Then, I was summoned by the King.

I came to the audience chamber fully expecting to be scolded.

“Good work,” King Zeurasia said.

“I’m sorry for dragging the Prince around without permission,” I decided to take the initiative to apologize.

“What do you mean?” The King looked a bit confused.

“I made him give speeches and dragged him to a battlefield,” I replied, and the King laughed.

“You are concerned about that kind of thing? Oh, right, I haven’t told you. It was a wonderful first campaign for Zeland and a great addition to the ceremony, so allow me to express my gratitude to you, both as a King and a father.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. So I wasn’t in trouble, that’s good.

“The incident is also mainly the reason I called you here. I want to tell you about the details of the incident.”

“The details?”

“Yes, about the members of the Belosa family. It was found that Senburia Belosa was the person who instigated the thugs, so all members of the Belosa family except for Senburia Belosa and Dentacruz Belosa were arrested.”

“What happened to Senburia Belosa and his son?”

“By the time the investigation team arrived, they had committed suicide.”

King Zeurasia was still smiling, but the fact the entire Belosa family was captured despite the two main culprits dying meant…

“The Belosa house…will be demolished?”

“Only demolishing the house is too light of punishment…I have to destroy them from their roots.”

That meant the entire family would be executed. It was a harsh punishment, but considering what they did, it couldn’t be helped. After all, Senburia and Dentacruz tried to kill a Prince. If the King left the Belosa family lightly, other noble houses might become more arrogant.

It’s perfect timing too. Even if there was any noble house that was dissatisfied, they wouldn’t do anything drastic. After all, if they tried, with the Gorber now weakened and the Empire being quiet, the Order had enough leeway to strike them down.

But…

“You seem to have something to say.”

Yeah, I couldn’t shake off that the whole incident was off.

“Everything was done too carelessly.”

“Explain.”

“Though it’s true Senburia Belosa was currently in a difficult position, if he didn’t try to attack Prince Zeland, things wouldn’t have escalated this much. Am I right?”

“Perhaps.”

“He knows the risk if he fails, but he still tries to attack the Prince with such a crude plan. Why?”

“What do you think?”

“Could it be someone instigated him to do it? Maybe someone promised to help make his plan a success?”

“Then why did his plan fail in the end?”

“Because from the beginning, that instigator had no intention of fulfilling his promise. To be honest, no matter how many people he managed to gather, if they were all on the level of thugs, his attack wouldn’t succeed.”

King Zeurasia chuckled.

“I’m sorry, but did I say something strange?”

“No, I just couldn’t help it because you said the exact same thing as Rays. Your deduction is brilliant. I also think there’s a good chance what you said is right.”

“So the investigation will continue.”

“It will, but it seems that the members of the Belosa family knew nothing. With the main culprit having committed suicide, or perhaps they were murdered, I don’t know how many things the investigation team will be able to uncover.”

The King’s bitter expression should mean that the investigation almost reached a dead end. It seemed like finding the real culprit would be difficult. Just as I was thinking about such a thing, the King changed his expression and said, “Let’s change the topic.”

Judging from his tone, this seemed to be the main thing he wanted to tell me.

“Roa, are you willing to become Prince Zeland’s vassal?”

“Becoming the Prince’s vassal? Does that mean I have to leave the 10th Division?”

If it does, I couldn’t do that. But I wasn’t sure how to refuse…

“No, your position will remain the same. I have no intention of letting the commander who had accomplishments in Hakusha and Zetta stay in the rear. As a member of the 10th Division, you are currently my vassal. Not only you, but Rays and most members of the 10th Division are all my vassals.”

“Ah, you want to change my alignment to someone who belongs to the 10th Division, but is Prince Zeland’s vassal?”

“Yes. Zeland has completed the royal ceremony. From now on, he will take on more responsibilities as a member of the royal family, so he needs to increase the number of people below him. Roa, Zeland has great trust in you. After he returned from the ceremony, he talked more about you and the Roa Brigade’s accomplishments rather than his own ceremony. I think you will be the right person for Zeland’s first vassal. Of course, that is if you are okay with it. I have also discussed this with Rays. I hope in the future, you and Zeland can build a relationship like the one Rays and I have.”

“I..am honored that you and the Prince thought highly of me. But will it be fine for a commoner like me to become the Prince’s first direct vassal? I am also concerned about how Prince Ural will react to the news.”

“You don’t need to worry about Ural. He has mellowed down after the mock battle. Besides, Ural is 5 years younger than Zeland. He’s still young so I just need to make him understand slowly.”

…Prince Ural looked so much bigger than Prince Zeland, but he was a whole 5 years younger!? That news was the most surprising for me today. I bet he would grow up to be a real giant.

“Still, it’s true that you being a commoner will bring some complaints. Rays also had a lot of trouble with his background back then.”

“Huh? Rays-sama used to be a commoner?”

“Yes. He received noble rank because of his achievement in the battle against the Empire.”

Heh…I see…

“I can’t give you a noble rank right away so for now, I will assign you as Zeland’s military tutor. I’m sorry, I know you must be dissatisfied with this arrangement but…”

“Ah, no, I am satisfied. Raising my rank to noble right now will make me attract other nobles’ attention, so I prefer to just become the Prince’s tutor.”

I was telling the truth. I didn’t have time to get involved in nobles’ squabbles.

If I could remain in the 10th Division, then being a vassal of Prince Zeland wasn’t a bad idea. It’s better to have a connection to the royal family in case something bad happens. Plus, I do have a good relationship with Prince Zeland.

“I see. Then, you will accept it?”

“Yes, it is my honor.”

Thus, I became Prince Zeland’s first vassal.