Chapter 247

I Favor the Villainess . 247

Feb 03 2021

Forward March

Finally, the day we depart the fortress town of Zurück and make way for the capital has come .

In preparation for the march, soldiers, who formed the majority of our forces, were all in the city lined up and in position .

Because the soldiers already took up most of the town’s open space, not many people were able to send them off .

Those soldiers now stood at attention, listening carefully .

『Soldiers . I extend my sincere gratitude that you have gathered here today . 』

A gentle but dignified voice filled the ears .

The voice belonged to Philine .

A wind mage had constructed large scale telepathy channels, delivering her voice directly to the soldiers .

She was currently delivering the speech that would prelude our march toward our final confrontation with the Demon Queen .

『It is not only imperial soldiers that stand here today . I express deep gratitude for the Bauer soldiers that now stand with us as friends . 』

Philine referred to us as friends .

『For many years, we stood on opposite sides of a war . I’m sure there are some who still hold reservations over putting that aside . However, I believe we should discuss those differences after this battle . For now, let us stand united and face this threat against humanity . 』

A statement asking for compromise .

In actuality, there were many that still held complicated feelings toward the Naa Empire .

The empire’s attempted strategic invasion into the kingdom could not so easily be forgotten .

『I wish to express my earnest desire to repent for the imperialistic policies that my predecessors, including my mother, Dorothea Naa, have acted upon until now . To prove my sincerity, I am prepared to offer appropriate reparations . However, if we are to fall to the demons here, everything will be for naught . Please, just for this moment, lend us your strength . 』

This section was for the most part, addressing the soldiers from Bauer .

That emphasis should show how much Philine values the solidarity of the alliance .

『Brave soldiers of the empire, you no longer need to point your weapons at your future comrades . Instead, the force you must face is the common enemy of all humanity, the Demon Queen and her army . 』

She continued, now addressing the Imperial Soldiers .

『Until now, our empire has continually shown aggression against our neighboring countries . We did so in order to form a strong, unified continent . In order to create a strong, unified force that could oppose the Demon Queen . However, no matter what justifications we believed we had, it is an undeniable truth that our actions caused the deaths of many . 』

Philine continued, almost in spite of what she had just said .

『Soldiers of the empire, that past is not something that you should hold over yourselves . It was the country that gave you orders . The army, the soldiers that form them, are an existence that must obey the orders that they are given . I ask that you please forgive us, who have constantly compelled you to do terrible acts . 』

Philine was trying to relieve the imperial soldiers of as much guilt as they would let go of .

As the new political leader, she surely had the option to push all the burden onto the previous regime, but instead she was trying to take the responsibility upon herself .

『That being said, I’m sure there are many of you who are unable to let go . There may be some soldiers who feel they are being crushed under the weight of their past mistakes . 』

In actuality, General Zasha, who sacrificed herself for our escape, was one of those people .

He had left us with these parting words .

『Protecting the lives of the country’s citizens is my role as an imperial soldier . We, who have continually hurt the people of other countries, finally have the chance to fulfill this role . Please let us follow through to the end . 』

Being from Bauer, I too was on the receiving end of their aggression . Furthermore, during the revolution, I had experienced it first hand . As a result, I wasn’t particularly interested in their excuses . However, I also believe that many of them held doubts about their actions .

Though, if possible, I do wish they had translated those doubts into actions sooner .

『If you are being tormented under your own guilt, I ask that you consider this fight to be one for your atonement . Please, for the sake of humanity, your friends, your neighbours, your fellow soldiers, the kingdom’s soldiers, this time, fight to protect them . Even as you bear injury, every time you are able to protect a friend, I’m sure you will feel redemption . 』

Philine was smartly guiding their hearts .

The negative guilt that so many imperial soldiers bore, she even wanted to use that in our favor for the upcoming battle .

『Our goal is the imperial throne room! The very one that humanity’s enemy, the Demon Queen, has unjustly claimed as her own! For our motherland!』

Philine strengthened her tone .

Her speech was heading towards its climax .

『My mother, Dorothea Naa, dreamt of humanity’s tomorrow even as she perished . My mother’s revenge, the enemy of our people, a being that wishes ill on humanity, the Demon Queen, we will defeat her! Our friends in Bauer, Soldiers of Naa, together, let us bring about peace for all humanity!』

The soldiers raised their voices in affirmation .

『Individually, a human may seem frail in comparison to a demon . However, we are able to gain infinite power by joining hands . Our preparations to do so have not just begun now, but have persisted since ancient times . Let us join also with our ancestors, making use of the weight of humankind’s accumulated history to vanquish the Demon Queen . 』

It is not just the people who are here now, but everyone who has lived stands here with us . That is what Philine was appealing to .

『The time has come . Though the enemy is powerful, we who have overcome our barriers to come together will surpass them . 』

Philine paused . The momentary silence added gravity to her next words .

『Humankind’s tomorrow hinges on this one battle! We must win, taking hold of a future alongside our family, friends, and neighbours! Forward, march!』

After all of the soldiers responded loudly, the troops began to move .

Finally, the march toward the final confrontation began .

“Thank you for your work, Philine . ”

“You did well with your speech . ”

“Thank you~”

We were currently next to Philine . The same Philine who had just spoken confidently to deliver a very potent speech, had now seemingly deflated into a useless mess .

We too had taken part in writing today’s speech .

Philine was wearing a splendid set of white armor, composed entirely of magic artifacts . Though different from the set that Dorothea once wore, in appearance alone, Philine looked like a valiant war-time princess . In her post speech exhaustion, however, her current appearance reminded me of cliched scenes where captured princesses would plead for death rather than face shame1 .

“I was so nervous… Claire, how was the response?”

“Everyone seemed to take much encouragement . None of them were amateurs . They were all soldiers who had received formal training, whether under Naa’s military or Rodd-sama’s personal command . Their military experience as well as their morale seems to be high . ”

“I can’t say that every last soldier will fight to their last breath, but I don’t think we need to worry that soldiers will flee the battlefield one after another, at least for now . ”

“Phew… That’s good to hear…”

As Philine breathed a sigh in relief, opposite to her prior dignified appearance, she seemed like a new employee who had just finished giving her first presentation .

She had given a speech when the imperial capital was taken though, so it’s not like this really was her first time .

“Were you really that unconfident?”

“Of course . Putting the soldiers of Naa aside, Bauer’s soldiers will need to fight alongside soldiers they saw as their mortal enemy . Also, at present, the only losses are the imperial capital…”

Now that she mentions it, that’s certainly true .

Only the empire was in imminent danger, it would be a while before Bauer suffered similar losses, it may have been natural to think that way .

“I don’t necessarily think so . Bauer’s soldiers must also have heard the Demon Queen’s declaration . I’m sure anyone who saw her freeze Mount Sassal in an instant would feel a sense of danger . ”

“Ah, that’s definitely true . ”

“Yes, it may be just as you say, Claire . ”

Her power had reached even Bauer, a place far from the imperial capital .

Nowhere could be considered safe .

“Whatever the case, it would be best to settle this quickly . The longer the battle is drawn out, the more likely unnecessary friction will surface . ”

“I agree . However, I’m sure the enemy is also serious, I don’t think things will go so easily…”

Philine’s words were tinged with inconfidence .

Philine, this is what makes you appear like a distraught princess in capture1 .

“Straighten up, will you? Aren’t you this operation’s supreme commander?”

“But Claire, I asked you to do it… and you refused . ”

“It can’t be Claire-sama, she already has the most aggro out of all of us . ”

“Aggro…?”

“Ah, I slipped . I just mean that she’s already on their priority list . ”

Though I had no intention of letting her die, if she were the supreme commander and she were to fall, the whole force would collapse .

“Also, strength wise, it would be better to utilize Claire-sama as a flexible reserve force . ”

“I do, logically, understand that…”

It seems that Philine was taking her time to recover from her current state .

“I wonder if my mother also experienced similar worries…”

Such words slipped out of Philine’s mouth, directed toward no one in particular .

“Dorothea… is probably, rather disconnected from such thoughts . ”

“Yeah, that’s true…”

Philine continued to deflate, convinced that she had no personal talents .

“It’s not like you need to emulate Dorothea . Philine, just lead everyone in your own way . ”

“That’s not something that I can…”

“You can . You may not have Dorothea’s charisma, but you have many other qualities that attract people to you . ”

“R-really!? Like what!?”

Philine, who had her face down this whole time, suddenly perked up expectantly .

“You inspire other people to want to protect you . ”

“Doesn’t that just mean that I’m unreliable!?”

Philine sank back into depression .

“Rei . While posing to cheer Philine up, you’re actually just teasing her, aren’t you?”

“Ah, you realized?”

“That’s not the response I wanted!”

“Waaah…”

It seems that perhaps I teased her a bit too much .

“No, but, really, Philine, I think in our current scenario, you’re a better fit than Dorothea . ”

“…Hck… Why do you say that…?”

“I mean, no matter what kind of peril humanity faced, no matter how much we truly needed to come together, I don’t think anyone would choose to unite under the command of the very person that orchestrated the invasion of their country . ”

“… Ah”

“That’s… certainly true . ”

This wasn’t about logic .

Even if it was for the sake of humankind’s tomorrow, it’s not as though people could accept such a thing so easily .

People’s feelings can’t be dealt with and put aside .

“Thankfully, Philine, you didn’t have direct involvement in any of that . On top of that, you have an aura that makes people want to support you, so you fit right in place . ”

“I’m not sure that counts as a compliment…”

It seems that Philine wasn’t yet satisfied with my response .

“And well, I’m sure you’ll get used to it . It’s not like Claire-sama was always like this either . ”

“Oh, is that so?”

“Yes, when I first met Claire-sama, she fervently bullied me―”

“Don’t lie! Rei, you were the one who was obsessed with being bullied!”

“… What in the world… is the relationship between you two…”

Philine seemed to pull back slightly .

“In any case, Philine, if you just keep quiet, you pass as a valiant war-time princess . Just do as you normally do . If you let Rodd-sama and Hilda issue commands, things will be fine . ”

“I, I see…”

It seems that Philine was finally back on her feet .

“Now, we should prepare and head out as well . The final confrontation has finally come . ”

“It’s time for our love for eachother to be tested, right, Claire-sama?”

“… If you’re going to flirt, could you do it somewhere else…”

Having acted out of character, namely, encouraging Philine, I was thrown off rhythm . In order to reset, I quickly recharged my Clarium .

It seems that Philine may have been protesting my actions in the background, but that was a story for another day .