My Villains Episode 534 68.
Traveling to the
Royal Road (7) Did he obey my order to shut up or did he freeze up from the terrible explosion unfolding right in front of his eyes.
The nudes gathered in the synagogue stood still, far away from the remains of the middle-aged man who exploded spontaneously. The hall was so quiet that only the sound of stifled breathing was filled.
You are finally ready to have a conversation.
I leaned back against the backrest and looked around at the crowd.
“Should we say hello first?”
The lord seat of the synagogue was so large and heavy that it would not be uncomfortable for a small person to lie on his side. The backrest, which seems to have been carved entirely from an old olive tree, with the symbol of the late Ulan Church – a regular cross with a pentagram engraved in the center – was impressive. Red and white cloths were wrapped around the horizontal neck of the cross, as if crossing each other, and it was a common decoration in the tents of high-ranking nudes. The four legs of the chair were shaped like the feet of a cat and a beast of prey, and the head of a horse was suddenly studded with gold on the armrest.
It’s hard to say anything without knowing the detailed background, but personally I feel that it was something that seemed to have no basis at all.
“It looks like everyone is seeing each other for the first time… Oh, do you need an introduction by any chance?”
“…No, Hunafi.”
Through the stillness, a man stepped forward.
“Not one of my people living in this city knows the Hunapi. Just as there is no one who does not know Napidat.”
“is it?”
He was a man reminiscent of a sand dune. He had a gold brooch that looked like a compass or a North Star on his shoulder, but somehow he felt poor because he was wearing a sloppy brown robe. The stocky physique, thick neck and wide chin gave off a strong impression, but the desolate and slashed face made them look old.
“Who are you?” “This is ‘Bajos Upini Odum Nouveau’ by ‘Al Faril’.”
“Can I call you Bajos?”
“Yes, Funapi.”
I looked at the man named Bajos and turned my head.
“Why are the others silent? Come out one by one and introduce yourself.”
The crowd with bewildered faces spoke again, this time in Gellan. Even after that, for a while, no one came next to Bajos, and only after slightly frowning did they come one by one and start bowing their heads.
Except for the Sultanate far away, most of the Nudin people lead a nomadic life. As such, it was very common for those who learned foreign languages, and most of the nobles gathered in the synagogue were also proficient in Milan or Gelan.
It was a bit funny to see people who used to shout loudly in Goulan until they set an example, but now speak a foreign language calmly.
As I guessed from entering the synagogue, the people gathered here were aristocrats representing various clans of the nude people. The elders of the ‘Nouveau Community’, which I had heard earlier from Argos, the head of Hareskis, were also the leaders.
Talking about which clan or which tribe they belonged to was thrown in one ear. The important thing is to figure out how the chunks are divided.
It was not difficult for me to infer the big picture because I had heard about the Nudes while rubbing against Atalante.
A group called the Nouveau Community was the force that actually ruled the territory abandoned by Atalanta.
Of course, the group leading this force were three clans, including ‘Al Qadari’, who could be said to be Atalanta’s parents, and ‘Zaladub’ and ‘Rejun’, who participated in the war with only the blade.
There were a total of thirty-five nude nobles gathered in the synagogue, and there were eighteen from these three clans… No, I just turned thirty-four and seventeen. In any case, 14 of them were ‘general elders’, and two of them were ‘senior elders’, and one was a ‘chief elder’ representing the entire community.
In fact, the three clans accounted for less than 10 percent of the community. However, because he was the main character who helped Atalante and occupied the territory, and because he had settled in this land first, he had a vested interest.
The high-ranking class virtually dominates the leadership of the Nouveau community, and ordinary members act as ‘first-class citizens’ under the privilege of conquerors.
I decided to call them ‘the minority’.
On the other hand, 90% or more of the nudes, excluding al-Qadari and Zaladub Rejun, had flocked to the territory after the end of the war.
The Nudeans wandering the Mitergueland Empire and the Milanol Kingdom are basically treated as wandering criminals or thieves. It was their daily routine to open a tent near a city or village and conduct daily commerce, but if they showed signs of settling down, they would be kicked out by the lord’s army.
Maybe that’s why, when the news spread that Atalanta had taken possession of Proshafen, the city of the rich port of the empire, and the whole area, a huge number of nudes flocked to it.
Not long ago, I heard from Heila that there were 100,000 Nu Danes who had flowed into Atalante’s territory in the past two years. Before the War of Blades, the population of the entire Angst region was less than 150,000, so it can be said to be a shocking population influx.
I decided to call them ‘the majority’.
“…and that representative is you?”
After organizing his thoughts and asking a question, Ni Bajos shook his head slightly.
“No, Hunafi. It is my mother sitting over there who represents al-Faril and the nineteen tribes.”
He pointed to an old woman sitting in a high-backed chair. There were sixteen general elders in the majority, and she was the only senior elder.
“In short, you mean that the thirty-five-no thirty-four people here will come together to govern the territory, including Proscha Fen?”
“That’s right.”
“A system similar to the senate or city council.”
I clicked my tongue and continued.
“…I’m not in a position to argue about how to govern, but what if I turn the city into shit like this.”
“I want to know what made Hunapi uncomfortable.”
“Is it normal for thugs to fight over territory in the middle of the city? There were human corpses hanging like pork in the square, and the bastard called the guards adjutant said that it would be difficult to touch it even after seeing it, and fell asleep. According to rumors, it’s not just this place, but other small towns and villages and even rural villages are similar. The scene of the Nudin tribes who came from outside the country and the native Gellan tribes are reminiscent of bandits.”
The elders of the Nouveau community each made a mysterious expression.
Some of them seduced the other side with an ‘Okay then’ face, some of them later turned red as if they felt insulted, and some looked sideways at the remains of the corpse as if they were dumbfounded. It was as if he was asking if he had exploded and killed a person just because of that.
“Everyone seems to have trouble grasping the situation.”
I answered him.
“That’s what you guys do.”
Pointing to the pool of blood mixed with broken bones and fragments of organs, the elders swallowed dryly.
“Some crazy guy out of the blue kicked in the door and killed the elder Nari and one of you guys. But what can you do?”
“Yeah, be quiet. Shut up and watch that madman.”
Some sighed and some clenched their fists in anger. But most of the elders were busy avoiding my gaze.
“When we gathered to rule the territory on behalf of Atalante, there was not a single Gellan. All of them were nude, and they weren’t even firmly united. Do you think you can protect the territory by acting like this?”
“But Hunafi.” The high-ranking elder, who was sitting in an awkward position on a chair on the podium, opened his mouth at the question that he asked while holding back his irritation. He was an old man from the Zaladub clan.
“As you know, our Naphidat has been recognized as the rightful ruler by the emperor of the empire and various electors. Now that he is forced to leave, it is not entirely natural for my own people to rule the territory on behalf of me, Pidat.”
“You have to say the damn thing straight.”
A cold laugh bursts out involuntarily.
“It was Prince Ulkar, not the Emperor and the Elector Counts, who gave this land to Atalanta.”
“Whether the opponent is the emperor or the silver prince, we just won a fair price. The reason Naphidat was given this city and this land was not because everyone acknowledged that we fought bloody battles!”
“Oh yeah? You said you shed blood in the war with only the blade? I think I’m seeing your face for the first time in my life.”
When the mocked old man fell silent, I continued talking in a low growl.
“Probably, at that time, there were only two people, excluding the Nude Humans, who thought you should occupy this land. Do you know who they are?”
M 99
“Prince Ulkar and I. And he is not in Middle-earth right now.”
“…Are you trying to deny our legitimacy now?”
“It tells you that it is of no use to anyone. The justification you speak among yourself will only work among the Nudes, but it won’t work anywhere else.”
I slowly got up and went down the platform. The elders, who had been gathering towards the podium little by little, backed away all at once. It looked like a group of frightened minnows, so I kept my accusation.
“If I raise an army from Eisbowald and invade this land, who will help you?”
“……Uh”
……
“There will be no rattlesnake. Rather, the Gellan tribes, tired of you guys shoveling, might rise up and join me.”
“Nudein warriors are beings with a fighting spirit and never give up, so if the opponent tries to take away the legitimate rights of our people, no matter how much Hunapi, they will fight until the end.”
“Yes, you will. But, at most, can a ragtag group of 23,000 warriors stop me and my army? Without Atalanta? I’ll be happy if I can hold out for a month.”
At my ridicule, the old man and several elders blushed with shame. However, in the end, no one denied it.
“Then, Hunafi.”
Bahos, who had been silently listening to my story, cautiously stepped forward.
“Then what does Hunapi want from us?”
“Simple. Please stop acting like an asshole and grow stronger.”
When I gave an immediate answer without the slightest hesitation, a trembling expression appeared on Bajos’ cold face.
“They said to grow in strength.”
“Think about how this land will forever become the home of the Nude Humans. Don’t throw shit on rich cities, think about how to prosper more, and think about how to be safer. I’m thinking about how to appease the Gellans in the territory so that they can hold the spear together next to you. Don’t cling to things like justification, authority, and legitimacy that are useless.”
Standing in the middle of the synagogue, I looked back at the elders and shouted at them until I sighed in irritation.
“Do I have to tell you all the fucking obvious things?”
Just as the unanswered questions were scattered in vain, someone opened the large arched door of the synagogue.
“Lord!”
Fritz, clad in armor full of rough bumps, strode forward, covered in blood.
“Ouch I—”
“Hyala.”
The elders of the Nudein tribe swallowed empty breaths everywhere. It wasn’t just because of Fritz’s hideous appearance.
“The ‘big men’ of Proshafen!”
He shouted cheerfully and tossed something lightly.
What rolled at my feet were three severed heads.
“Lord!”
Fritz, clad in armor full of rough bumps, strode forward, covered in blood.
“Ouch I—”
“Hyala.”
The elders of the Nudein tribe swallowed empty breaths everywhere. It wasn’t just because of Fritz’s hideous appearance.
“The ‘big men’ of Proshafen!”
He shouted cheerfully and tossed something lightly.
What rolled at my feet were three severed heads.
