Meaning of Life
Good morning. Apparently, my first time using magic resulted in a three-day coma. One of the spirits told me the reason. It seems that I consumed too much magical power and that my body rejected using magical power far beyond its own capacity. The spirits got panicked and stopped my magical power halfway and shared their own magical power with me, which allowed me to wake up three days later. If they hadn’t done that, the worst-case scenario would be my death, so my mother was very angry with me.
I was in tears. My father was also very angry so I cried for about an hour. I didn’t think the first time I cried would be because of a scolding…
“Do you understand, Alice? You cannot use magic or spirit magic as you please.”
Roger that, Mother. I did not think I would nearly die on the first day of my rebirth. I was not patient, no, prudent enough. Also, this was really scary so I must make sure I don’t get scolded again.
“It looks like Alicetia is a special existence. There have been no confirmed cases of receiving magical power from spirits. Moreover, the envoy from the Church is already here. I’m going to have an audience with them now, and they are apparently demanding Alicetia’s participation… those good-hearing bastards. I wish they perished.”
I guess my father doesn’t really like people from the Church. Well, if the Church is like what I heard from Teth, it’s no wonder he doesn’t like them, but it does raise a question. How does an organization like that still exist? An organization would not be able to survive without the support of the people. But it exists, and moreover, it seems to have a lot of power. If not, they wouldn’t be able to arrange an audience with Father and me so easily.
Well, let’s look into that matter when I grow up.
We arrived at the audience hall, a room that looked straight out of an RPG. A luxurious room with a gorgeous chair. And my father who sat there was wearing a crown and a red mantle.
As for me? I was in the Queen’s chair, held by my mother. Well, the envoy who came this time had three demands.
1.) To hand me over so that my education can be overseen by the Church in the Empire.
2.) To stop unreasonably protecting the demi-humans and abide by the Central Nations Alliance’s policies.
3.) To join the Central Nations Alliance as the lowest seat.
These three demands, aren’t they looking down on us too much? At first, I thought the power relationship might be delicate, but this person speaks as if we had to agree to everything. Moreover, he didn’t even use honorifics. Does he think he’s greater than a King of an entire country? A blue vein popped on both my father and mother’s foreheads and it’s very scary from a point-blank range!! The trauma left from the scolding caused my body to tremble from fear.
“It’s okay.”
My mother seemed to have noticed my situation. The bloodthirsty aura that she had been releasing dissipated and she calmed down. However, the bloodthirst of my father next to her continued to expand until the envoy finally fainted.
“I refuse all the terms. I’m going to write a letter, so take this trash and throw it out of the country. This person is prohibited from entering the country ever again.”
My, oh my, he got deported and banned from entering. Well, it can’t be helped since the person didn’t show a speck of politeness. A nearby soldier carried him out as if he was luggage.
“What do you think of this, Volken?”
Father asked an uncle of the same generation who stood beside him. This person was wearing clothes resembling a civil official attire, and he had long, brown hair collected in a ponytail and eyes of the same color. His eyes were sharp and he seemed to be very capable at glance, but he had dark clouds under them.
“They must have sent him to confirm the situation. Otherwise, their demands would be more reasonable. However, his gaze was fixed on the princess while he listed the demands we would never be able to accept.”
Mhm, they sent him to see me. Moreover, they already factored in that everything is going to be refused. However, refusing to join the Central Nations Alliance means that only a minority of countries are willing to shelter other races, and that the alliance encourages discrimination against those races. That is certainly unacceptable.
There are many people of different races in this country, or rather, within the range of the royal palace I was able to see, but I saw that there were quite a few nobles of other races, too.
“Don’t interfere with other countries and don’t accept interference from other countries. These words of our Founding King lead me to believe that he had foreseen such future happening.”
“Indeed, our ancestor was a person of many mysteries, but he was someone who had realized the idea of coexistence with other races. If possible, I would like to maintain this idea. But the times had changed! For how long do we have to endure? It has been five hundred years, how many of our soldiers and our relatives died defending the country? There are only four members of the royal family left, the royalty of this country is soon going to vanish at this rate.”
Eh? Only four royal family members? Isn’t that risky? I was sure that there were many people in the Ducal households and who was related to the royal family or something, but why are there so few of us?
“That’s why I want you to remain here, my King. Leave the battlefield to the soldiers and knights, so that the royal family can expand little by little. Now that princess was born, we now have the option of claiming a Ducal household for your future son-in-law.”
Well, that’s how things should be usually done or there would be a fight for the inheritance if handled poorly. Well, I don’t want to become the Queen or anything, so just assisting my older brother would be fine with me. While keeping a physical distance, that is.
“Can’t do! If we do that, the oath we made would be broken and the country will get divided. Our royal family needs to lead the soldiers from the vanguard. That is the oath our Founding King made to the patriarchs of the other races. They help us maintain peace because of the oath.”
“However, that was only possible because the Founding King was capable of running around the battlefields unscathed.”
“You are too long-winded! There are things that shouldn’t be changed. Why do we exist? Do you know why we, the common people, who are resented by other races so much, are the royals of a multi-race country? It’s because we must make amends. It’s our duty, it’s the duty of the royal family to continue to prove that they are equal to us, and that common people here are different from the other common people.”
They seem to be having quite a profound conversation, but I’m now wondering whether my marriage will be one of political convenience? Well, my parents seem to be good people so they wouldn’t choose someone bad for me, and I am now a member of the royal family too, so I have already resigned.
“Increase the number of guards along the borders. They are going to invade with Alicetia as their objective. We have not lived idly for the last five hundred years. We must not let the spirit users become puppets of the Church! God will see our will through this child. Now that the Asta Commonwealth has fallen, there will be no place for other races and our proud common people to live if our country falls too.”
I know I’m the spark that started the war, but I will do my best to help this country. From what I’ve heard, it’s impossible for the demi-humans to live in another country, and no one wants to be someone’s puppet. I don’t know anything yet, but if time is not going to wait for me, I will have to grow up quickly on my own. I need to grow up fast before I become a disaster for this country.
Therefore, I want to use all the knowledge and power I have to become someone who can protect my family and my country.