＜Henry’s POV＞
The day before the Royal Tournament.
Morning.
At the inn.
I sat in a chair, lost in thought.
My mind kept drifting back to yesterday,
To the conversation I had with Vais and the others.
◆◆◆
According to Vais’s intel.
The ones behind the assassination attempt on me were apparently King Glaston and Lord Hydra.
Political and noble factions existed even in the Warrior Kingdom of Bernada.
And among them, Lord Hydra’s faction was the largest, enjoying deep trust from the king.
「Glaston and Hydra are the rot at the heart of this country」
Vais said.
「As long as they keep pulling the strings in noble society, this kingdom will continue to rot from within.」
From what he told me, the two had been bleeding the national treasury dry for their own personal gain.
On top of that, they had signed unequal treaties with foreign nations.
These agreements brought no benefit to Bernada itself.
But in return for signing them, Glaston and Hydra were reportedly pocketing immense wealth funneled in from those very nations.
In short, they were selling the country off just to fatten their own coffers.
「Even if those treaties ruin the kingdom, Glaston and Hydra will still be filthy rich. And if things collapse, well, money can fix anything.」
With enough money, fleeing abroad and living in luxury would be easy.
They could abandon the country whenever they wanted.
That’s why they didn’t hesitate to devour it from the inside.
「And no one resists that kind of leadership?」
I asked.
Rena answered.
「Glaston’s raw power makes him untouchable in combat, and Hydra’s political influence is enormous. No one wants them as enemies.」
Hmm. Makes sense.
An opponent who has both military might and political clout would be difficult to deal with.
「Rena and I make our living within that corrupt system too, so I suppose we’re not really in a position to talk,」
Vais said, giving a dry chuckle.
I said.
「Then look forward to my victory. I’ll make this country a little more breathable.」
「Hahaha. I’ll look forward to it,」
Vais replied with a smile.
◆◆◆
…….That was the gist of our conversation yesterday.
(King Glaston appeared by name in the game, but there was no character named Hydra.)
Most likely, in the game’s scenario, Hydra wasn’t a named character, just a generic noble.
But what might be a background NPC in the game could still be a formidable foe in this world.
This must be one of those cases.
(The assassination planned by Lord Hydra failed. But there’s no way those two will back off that easily.)
I reasoned.
(The Royal Tournament is tomorrow. If they’re going to make a move, it’ll be today.)
If their goal is to keep me from entering the tournament, assassination isn’t the only route.
All they need to do is make sure I’m disqualified.
There are plenty of ways to make that happen.
I’ll need to stay vigilant.
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