Chapter 131: Tightrope Walking

This war isn’t merely being waged out of the Emperor’s personal greed, his inability to abandon the conquest, but is becoming a noble war for the sake of future generations.

People feel a sense of elation when they participate in something noble and grand. Why else would people be so crazed by religion that they sacrifice their own lives? The justification of ‘nobility’ possesses that kind of power.

“Therefore, I ask all of humanity watching this now: What should we do? Should we truly sell our future for immediate peace based on the words of these untrustworthy demons, or should we seize our future by turning our overflowing national power, which the Empire currently enjoys at its peak, against them?!”

A voice overflowing with passion that makes one forget that the beginning was the Empire’s ruthless war of conquest.

As if responding to his call, a voice shouted from somewhere outside, “We must seize the future!”

This is why speeches are terrifying. With written text, you can read and reread, carefully considering the content and discovering logical fallacies. However, speeches that stir emotions and numb reason rush past before you can even fully absorb the content if you get caught up in the emotion, making it difficult to notice flaws or contradictions. Because of this, everyone ends up reacting the same way, as if hypnotized.

‘Moreover, once the atmosphere gets like this, even those who retain their reason can’t easily point out logical flaws…’

From the Demon King’s perspective, this needs to be interrupted. Far from the internal strife he intended, they’re about to unite as one.

Just when it seemed this debate would end with the Emperor’s side carrying the momentum, the sound of applause echoed.

– Clack. Clack. Clack.

Everyone’s gaze turned towards the Demon Realm’s screen, located right next to the Empire’s screen. There, the Demon King was clapping, a smooth smile playing on his lips.

A light voice, like cold water being poured on the heated atmosphere, followed.

– Excellent. A truly excellent speech.

– ….

– But you know, no matter how well you dress it up, isn’t the conclusion this?

It’s sudden, but I think I understand why the Demon King allowed the Emperor to interfere with the video magic.

– The Empire will not give up on conquering the continent.

Because it’s interesting.

After constantly engaging in a war of nerves, he now has the opportunity to face his opponent and engage in a verbal battle. Of course, he would happily encourage it.

“…”

“…”

The heated atmosphere cooled down.

Trying to reason with the Demon King in the first place was the Emperor’s mistake. He should have countered with a face-to-face confrontation like the Demon King.

The Demon King is right. Although it’s been embellished, if you strip away the packaging, the core is, ‘We won’t give up on conquering the continent, so let’s go to war.’ The Demon Realm’s initial speech offered to withdraw if the Empire stopped its wars of conquest, and now a declaration of war has been made, so it’s reasonable for him to frame it this way.

‘Is this the end…?’

The Emperor’s defeat.

The effect of the propaganda lingers, but now that the Demon King has personally torn open the wrapping, it will be difficult to repackage it with the same impact, no matter what words are used. Overturning this current atmosphere will be challenging.

It’s a precarious situation, as if on the verge of falling. In this uncomfortable scenario where almost all humans are glaring at him, the Emperor’s choice was:

– If you want to go that far, isn’t the Demon Realm’s claim also ultimately about this? To keep the Empire in check and seize the Human Realm when the opportunity arises.

To grab his opponent by the collar and fall together.

To use another example, instead of deflecting or dodging a flying fist, he completely abandoned defense and threw a punch back.

A fierce determination to not die alone!

The Demon King covered his mouth at the unexpected remark, then bowed his head and his shoulders shook. The muffled laughter that initially leaked out gradually grew louder, echoing thunderously through the magic.

– Ha, ha-ha! Hahahahaha!! How amusing, truly!

– ….

– It’s been years since I’ve laughed like this! I admit it, you’re the best, Emperor! If I hadn’t met *him* before, I might have coveted you!

It feels like I’m witnessing many firsts today.

The Demon King is laughing out loud. He always wore a mask-like smile, but this is the first time I’ve seen him laugh so heartily.

…Why do I feel a chill…

***

“A chill…”

“…Marquis.”

“A chill…”

“Marquis!”

“Uh, huh? What is it?”

I quickly snapped out of my thoughts and raised my head. Dan’s concerned face was right in front of me, having approached sometime without my noticing.

…You’re too close. I wish you’d back off a bit.

“Are you alright? You kept muttering about feeling a chill.”

“Ah… I’m fine.”

“Are you really alright?”

“Yeah.”

“Then please expedite the paperwork.”

“Thinking about it again, I don’t think I’m fine.”

“If you’re lying, your hand will… no, that’s not right. It’s a habit.”

What?

“I won’t believe you even if you lie.”

“…Dan, do you still… gamble at the trading company?”

“What a terrifying thing to say. My trading company has been completely transparent from the start. We’ve never engaged in activities like opening gambling dens disguised as a trading company to collect fees or hiring ringers to cheat customers, and we never will.”

“…That’s a very detailed explanation…”

It’s probably better for my mental health not to delve deeper.

I watched Dan return to his seat and start reviewing the documents as if nothing had happened, when something caught my eye, and I narrowed them.

“Those documents don’t look like they’re mine…”

“Ah, I brought them to handle some paperwork related to the trading company… Damn it, the Lowfell Trading Company! Again!”

The document crumpled.

The Lowfell Trading Company… I know they were the dominant force before the Den Merchant Guild came along. It’s also the reason the Lowfell baronial family isn’t ignored in the Empire.

They seem to be rivals with the Den Merchant Guild now…

“Did they cause trouble?”

“They snatched a deal to exclusively distribute something we were trying to get our hands on!”

“As expected, the rivalry is intense…. It must have been even harder to break into the market. How did you manage it?”

“Heh, heehee….”

A smile that looks ominous at first glance.

“You were gambling after all…”

“I reiterate, it’s not that. We simply succeeded in distributing Deosa tea leaves first, something they consistently failed at, firmly etching the Den Merchant Guild’s presence in the minds of customers.”

“…You’re the same as them.”

“It was unavoidable to break their monopoly. They’re the ones in the wrong. But more importantly, Marquis, your hands have stopped moving.”

Damn it. It always comes back to processing paperwork.

I sighed deeply and moved my hand. This is approved, this needs more thought so I’ll set it aside…

‘What was I thinking about before Dan called me?’

Ah, right. I was thinking about the debate between the Demon King and the Emperor.

What was the result of that debate?

‘It was a draw, probably.’

My mind is wandering again.

I put down my pen and rested my chin on my hand. I called out to Dan, preempting his scolding, stopping him from speaking first.

“Dan, about the war of nerves between the two rulers, who won?”

“Was there a winner? They each landed a blow, and in the end, they grabbed each other by the collar and fell into the mud together.”

“So it was a draw?”

“Yes, but they were quite eloquent. It served as a good lesson.”

“A lesson….”

You’re going to develop it further? I’m terrified of what kind of monstrosity will be born.

I deliberately turned my head away from him and sank back into thought.

Actually, I was curious about the Imperial citizens’ reaction, so I immediately threw on a robe and went outside as soon as the video magic disappeared. To put it simply, the Emperor achieved a middling result.

‘The people who supported the Emperor because his earlier statements were quite reasonable, those who harbored ill feelings towards him because regardless of the earlier content, it ultimately meant he wouldn’t give up on conquering the continent and would wage war against the Demon Realm, and those who didn’t care about how the world turned and felt that even if they did, there was nothing they could do, were split in a ratio of 1:1:1….’

Oh, and there were also people who discussed the Emperor’s character, focusing on the Demon King saying he liked him. Well, those people also belonged to the group harboring ill feelings towards the Emperor…

There were also people curious about who ‘him’ was, whom the Demon King mentioned when he laughed loudly, but that quickly died down.

While most people were debating right and wrong, uniquely, there was also someone educating another.

***

“See, Paul? That’s how you use words. Especially since that was aimed at swaying the masses while appearing to be an individual debate, making it an excellent lesson to examine from various angles.”

“Everything’s fine, but why specifically use the Emperor’s appearance as a lesson….”

“You have to learn from what you can, whether you like the opponent or not.”

The content was interesting enough that I think I unconsciously stopped walking.

“The Demon King used a simple method of blurring the main point and then striking at a weak spot. Let’s skip that. …Frankly, the Demon King seemed to lack initiative, or rather, motivation.”

“He definitely seemed to be reacting based on interest. Even when speaking, it was as if he was poking at an interesting insect….”

“Right?”

Was it? Come to think of it, the Emperor did speak overwhelmingly more. The Demon King just listened silently, then casually tossed out a few words.

‘Those few words were as impactful as a finishing blow, though….’

“As you know, the best approach in a debate is to perfectly defend against the opponent’s attacks and then counterattack. But things in life don’t always go so smoothly, right? If defense is difficult, you need to find other methods. In the earlier video, when the demon called the Commander of the 1st Corps said they would withdraw if the Empire gave up on conquering the continent, what did the Emperor, who has the major weakness of not being able to give it up, do?”

“…Instead of directly answering… he evaded the question. He attacked by pointing out flaws in the opponent’s statement.”

An attack to evade. And a counterattack disguised as a continuation of the attack.

“Exactly. That’s why it’s important to listen carefully to the opponent and find their weaknesses. If the opponent’s attack is the kind you can’t answer, you have to attack in return.”

“This can be seen as evading and counterattacking.”

“That’s right. And when the Demon King pinpointed his weakness, making even evasion impossible, what did the Emperor do?”

Ah, this is easy.

“He dragged his opponent down with him.”

“Correct! Do you know why the Emperor went this far? This isn’t just a debate between individuals. You must never lose in a debate held in front of a large audience. How many times have I stressed the importance of image? Image affects so many things. The morale of the soldiers, the ease of swaying the public, the perception of the speaker, and….”

The explanation continued on and on.

I don’t know what kind of teacher he is, but he teaches very well. The student is also bright and answers well.

The breeze is nice and the weather is good. I slightly tilted back the hood of my robe and looked up at the sky. It was a clear sky, hard to believe that the Demon King had declared war.

‘Ha, that damned declaration of war.’

The war is really going to happen now. A war with the Demon Realm, not some other kingdom!

Ah, I suddenly feel an enormous amount of stress. And for some reason, my insides are starting to burn hotly…

“Cough.”

Yeah, it wasn’t a delusion. I definitely received a huge amount of stress.

I casually wiped the red liquid flowing down my chin with the back of my hand, thinking calmly.

…I’ve mostly resolved my curiosity, so I should go back now. Back to my mansion where paperwork that I want to throw into the fire awaits.

As I lowered my head without thinking, my eyes met the man who was teaching the child.

“Do you understand, Paul? Silence is defeat. In a simple personal argument, it might be okay to lose, but if other people are watching, even if it means being dragged into the mud with your opponent….”

“…?”

What, why are you stopping mid-sentence while looking at me?

…Ah, is it because I coughed up blood… no, my hood was almost completely off! He saw my face!