Chapter 60: Reinhard, Do You Want to Be a Loyal Minister or a Treacherous Minister? (Patreon)

Domineering and imperious!

The instant Priscilla Barielle appeared, that air of looking down on everyone from on high, an arrogance so extreme she could have passed for an Sin Archbishop of Pride, came flooding out of her.

Strangely, though, hardly anyone present was repulsed by it.

Cavendish III's contempt for others only made people want to retch. But when Priscilla Barielle carried herself the same way, the slum locals, the tourists, the private soldiers and guards, and even the knights of the Knight Order, now freed and withdrawn from Cavendish III's side, all felt it was only natural.

They all felt that Priscilla Barielle was simply entitled to that attitude and those privileges.

And the way she had belittled Cavendish III to the extreme the moment she arrived, grinding him into the dirt and slicing off his tongue, made people want to leap and cheer without end.

"Priscilla Barielle, wait for us! Ram and Al haven't caught up yet!"

"I have no obligation to waste my time waiting on useless servants. What, do you think servants and buffoons are worth the bowing of my noble self? Don't be absurd, you foolish half-elf. Even naivety has its limits."

Holding their breath was no longer enough to express the shock inside them.

The commoners, merchants, and ordinary nobles present all had their hair standing on end and their scalps tingling. Their throats seemed to have lost their voices, and not a sound would come out.

Dazzled, overwhelmed... no, it had gone beyond even that. They had never seen her with their own eyes, but they all knew who could possibly bear the name Priscilla Barielle.

And they knew the only being in the world who could be called a "half-elf."

Crusch, Anastasia, Priscilla Barielle, Emilia.

In other words, apart from the Council of Wise Men as a whole, the most exalted figures in the Kingdom in both rank and standing, all four Royal Selection candidates, were now, astonishingly, gathered here in person!

"Don't make me say it a third time, commoner. Go and do what you want to do, now. Otherwise, if I'm left staring at that clamoring, revolting thing any longer, I'll simply act on a whim and finish it myself. Then you'll lose even your chance at revenge, and weeping to me about it afterward will do you no good!"

Snap!

Priscilla Barielle folded her fan shut and urged Subaru Natsuki on.

Emilia, meanwhile, looked at Cavendish III rolling on the ground in agony over his lost tongue, then at Subaru Natsuki, then at the many injured commoners scattered across the ground. "Th-this... did that person do all of this? No wonder the Shopkeeper was so angry..."

Even someone as naive as she was knew just how vile Cavendish III was.

The crowd's minds had crashed.

What on earth was going on?

The boss of a slum, and first Crusch showed up, then Anastasia, then Priscilla Barielle, and now even the half-elf?

Which meant that all the Royal Selection candidates not only knew Subaru Natsuki, but perhaps each had a deep connection with him?

What formidable connections!

But... no.

When they marveled at it and quickly turned their eyes back to Subaru Natsuki, the words they had meant to say, about his incredible luck, about how skilled he must be at working people, died in their throats.

Could anyone deny it? Could anyone dispute that Subaru Natsuki was a true man, a true powerhouse?

When he learned that the people he cared about were being persecuted, and that the enemy was none other than a ducal house, a grandson of the Council of Wise Men, he didn't run away alone. He faced an enemy of that rank head-on and set out to cut down everything in his path.

Before the four candidates arrived, he had no backing at all. He hadn't known he had any. Yet he had resolutely set out to kill that highest-ranking piece of noble scum.

If it had been anyone else, who could have done it? Who would have dared?

It was utterly impossible.

Everyone searched their conscience and knew the truth. Even with ten times the courage, even with Subaru Natsuki's powerful, refined swordsmanship, they would never have dared do such a thing.

Even with his kind of skill, one word or one glance from Cavendish III would have had them dropping to their knees and begging for mercy.

Today was truly unforgettable. In their whole hundred-year lives, there would likely never be a second day to rival it.

But the sight of all four Royal Selection candidates appearing together only ranked second among the day's memories. The most important root of it all was this man, Subaru Natsuki!

"Kill him!"

"Kill him!"

"—Kill him!"

Someone whispered it under their breath. They never would have dared echo it, but they were watching Subaru Natsuki walk step by step, step by step, toward Cavendish III. He had thrown away his frost sword so that Emilia wouldn't be dragged into this because of him, and picked up a ducal soldier's weapon instead.

Gradually, the whisper became a flood.

They were emboldened, emboldened by Subaru Natsuki, their fearless leader. At this very moment, everyone in the capital who had suffered under Cavendish III's tyranny for years finally dared, for the first time, to shout out what was in their hearts.

"Kill him, kill him, Lord Subaru Natsuki!"

A world-shaking flood!

Crusch watched it all with a frown, then finally let out a quiet sigh. It was her own failing. If she'd had enough ability and standing back then, Cavendish III would never have been able to run wild across the capital and torment its people to this extent.

Anastasia was turning something over in her mind, but she never took her eyes off Subaru Natsuki. She had already instructed Ricardo and Julius that if Cavendish III had some take-everyone-down-with-him trump card left, the two of them were to rush in and rescue Subaru Natsuki at top speed.

Priscilla Barielle listened to the flood with elegant poise. She looked quite satisfied, as though she found it very pleasing to the ear.

Emilia suddenly froze, sensing something. "Wait, someone's coming?"

"—That's enough!"

The Mysterious Man of That's-Enough!

Reinhard, the Dragon Sword Reid at his hip, flashed in like lightning from far off and landed before Subaru Natsuki. "I heard someone calling for help. What's going on here?"

"Tch."

Reinhard had come merely because he'd heard a cry for help, knowing nothing of the situation. He had just returned to the capital from a field assignment and rushed straight over. Priscilla Barielle clicked her tongue and, ignoring the gulf in their strength, rebuked him in front of everyone without hesitation.

"—Don't get in the way, you hidebound fool. Stand aside, and do not spoil my amusement!"

If she dropped her pride and arrogance just because the other party was stronger, she wouldn't be Priscilla Barielle!

Reinhard was stunned. "Lady Priscilla Barielle? Why are you here? What is going on? What happened here?"

"Hi hi~ look over here, look over here! It's not just Priscilla Barielle, y'know? Little old me's here too~"

Anastasia waved a small hand, beaming, and drew Reinhard's attention.

Reinhard turned, and was startled. What kind of lineup was this? "Lady Anastasia? Lady Crusch is here too? No, even Lady Emilia?"

"Um..."

Emilia spoke softly. "That person did really, really bad things. Everyone hates him. If it weren't for the Shopkeeper, lots of people might have died already. Reinhard, could you please not stop the Shopkeeper?"

Under normal circumstances, Emilia would never say something like that about a man who was already down. But she had seen it with her own eyes: the people's anger was boiling over, and it made no sense not to kill him.

Hearing this, Reinhard finally had a moment to look behind him. "Cavendish?"

So he was the one who had called for help?

He was the most notorious scum noble in the entire Kingdom, a man who spent his days amusing himself by tormenting and slaughtering commoners. Reinhard had been unable to stand by many times, but he had no authority to restrain him, bound as he was by the Council of Wise Men. All he could do was quietly use his own money, after the fact, to cover the medical bills of the poor commoners Cavendish had picked as his playthings.

Even so, that was hardly a way of making amends. He considered himself in the wrong.

The moment he saw that the one who had called for help was this man, even Reinhard, being who he was, froze for a moment, and a thought rose in his mind.

How good it would have been if he had returned to the capital just a little slower, a little later, and had happened to miss that cry for help...

Unfortunately, that could only be a fantasy. He had heard it, and he had come.

With his position, not knowing would have been one thing. But now that he was here, bound by his station, he could only save the man. That was what a Sword Saint was. Everything was in service of the Kingdom, and protecting the Kingdom's highest nobles and the families of the Council of Wise Men was the Sword Saint's duty.

But...

Reinhard surveyed the scene. Subaru Natsuki went without saying. As for the commoners who had once been friendly to him, the way they looked at him now said they wished he didn't exist.

Subaru Natsuki stared at the Sword Saint he was meeting for the first time. "You're going to be my enemy?"

"I truly don't want to. I know a man like him must have committed grave sins against you." Reinhard gave a helpless, bitter smile. But a Sword Saint could only act this way.

Subaru Natsuki's eyes sharpened.

He certainly couldn't beat this man, rumored to be the strongest in the world, but he had a trump card of his own.

In fact, before Anastasia had shown up, he'd already been thinking it through. If Julius insisted on being his enemy, Cru-Cru would probably help hold Julius off so he could take his revenge, but accidents could still happen.

So he had decided back then: if there was truly no other way, he would pay the price with himself and the notebook together, unleashing a limited burst of combat power. It didn't matter if both he and the notebook were burned to nothing. The point was to keep Felt and Otto and the others safe.

That resolve hadn't changed even now.

If the Sword Saint Reinhard insisted on being his enemy and protecting Cavendish III, then he would do exactly that—

In this tense standoff, Felt no longer cared about anything else. She wanted to dash out right then and take down that garbage Sword Saint together with her silly little dummy.

"Reinhard."

But at that very moment, Crusch suddenly stepped forward and rebuked him sternly. "Do you consider yourself the Kingdom's Sword Saint, or House Cavendish's Sword Saint?"

"The Kingdom's, of course," Reinhard said, his face full of anguish, utterly helpless. "But, Lady Crusch, my position does not allow me to turn a blind eye when a duke's grandson is being harmed."

"Are you mixing something up, Reinhard?"

Anastasia was smiling, and though she was small and cute, the words she spoke in defense of Subaru Natsuki carried more force than anything. "He's already a publicly recognized criminal. He deserves to be executed. You've got no duty to protect him, right?"

"But, Lady Anastasia," Reinhard said, still forced to hold to his Sword Saint's duty. "Even a criminal, a criminal of this rank, must be sentenced by the Council of Wise Men and then officially put to death."

"Is that so~?"

Anastasia tilted her little head, looking left and right with a puzzled face. "Reinhard, maybe little old me just doesn't get it, but lemme ask you. Who represents the Kingdom? Who holds the highest power in the Kingdom?"

Reinhard: "His Majesty."

Anastasia pressed on: "And if the King isn't here?"

Reinhard answered again: "The Council of Wise Men."

"That so~?"

Anastasia laughed softly, like a cunning fox. "Little old me figured that since the King is supreme, then when there's no King, whoever can represent the Kingdom must be us few, one of whom is sure to become the next Majesty, the Royal Selection candidates. Turns out it's only the Council of Wise Men, whose job is to assist the King. Mm-hm, I see, I get it now~"

"—"

Reinhard's eyes went wide, as though he'd suddenly understood something.

Anastasia looked at Crusch, then at Priscilla Barielle and Emilia.

Crusch had already understood. She nodded to Anastasia. Priscilla Barielle gave an arrogant little snort but raised no objection.

Seeing that Emilia was still bewildered and clueless, completely out of the loop, Priscilla Barielle reached out and yanked her over by one hand.

Emilia yelped. "Eep, Priscilla Barielle?"

"Silence, foolish half-elf. Just be a good mascot. I permit you, this once, to stand in the same place as my exalted self." Priscilla Barielle gave a cold snort.

"So, everyone who agrees with Natsuki-kun executing that criminal, show it, okay~?"

Anastasia smiled lightly. "Little old me is of course standing by Natsuki-kun~ How about everyone?"

Crusch drew her sword and raised it to the sky. Priscilla Barielle pointed her fan at the heavens and gave Emilia a little kick, and the latter finally caught on and raised her hand.

With the four of them leading by example, Wilhelm van Astrea, Julius, and the others raised their hands too, then Felt, Otto, and Old Man Rom.

Last of all came every one of the remaining commoners, and the knights of the Knight Order.

"..."

Between the Council of Wise Men and the full body of Royal Selection candidates, which of them, by rights, better represents the Kingdom?

Reinhard fell silent, torn for who knows how long. At last, with a long, wry smile and a sigh, full of self-reproach toward himself and guilt toward others, the Kingdom's Sword Saint stepped aside and cleared the way. "Forgive me for wasting your time in carrying out the execution."

Subaru Natsuki won by unanimous vote!