A Treacherous Courtier Manages the Empire Well

66 – Blurfing

As soon as I acquired the Holy Sword, another council meeting was convened. Nobles from the capital and the provinces gathered in the royal court. And in front of the imperial family, I proudly displayed the Holy Sword as if to show off.

“Oh! Is that…?”

“The legendary Holy Sword!”

The murmuring nobles were calmed by the Emperor raising his hand.

“Excellent, Lendor. But the Holy Sword is just the first step, isn’t it?”

“Of course.”

“I would like to hear about your plan. Any opinions?”

“Yes. I will explain now.”

After glancing at Selene and Caria, I took a deep breath and began my explanation.

“I have directly requested the analysis of the ingredients of the Holy Sword from Princess Selene and the sorcerers of the Tower of Ma. The confirmation results showed that the compressed Oriharcon is indeed the essence of the Holy Sword.”

“Oriharcon?”

“Wasn’t that rare metal extremely difficult to handle?”

“How on earth did they have that in those days?”

This time, I raised my hand to calm down the murmuring nobles.

“Please recall myths and legends. The hero said that he obtained this Holy Sword by dedicating the sweat, tears, and treasures of many humans. Perhaps in an era where civilization was not properly established. It seems appropriate to view it as something that was painstakingly crafted with a great investment of manpower and capital.”

That was why dragons used to plunder gold coins to hinder humans from accumulating wealth.

As the story reached this point, the Emperor looked at me with a face full of anticipation.

“So, does this mean that with modern technology, we could also mass-produce Holy Swords?”

“No. According to Princess Selene, it is still unknown how they managed to compress it so highly. It seems that a considerable amount of time will be needed for research to assess the possibility of mass production.”

The Emperor lowered his head, appearing disappointed at my words.

“Is that so.”

“Your Majesty. What we need right now is not to mass-produce the Holy Sword.”

“What do you mean?”

“Princess Selene?”

Without bothering to explain in words, I simply looked at Selene. Selene, in response, raised a single sword with both hands and drew it in front of everyone’s eyes.

“Oh?”

“What is that?”

“Isn’t that the Holy Sword?”

At that moment, a sacred-looking longsword emitting a subtle golden glow, similar to the Holy Sword, was revealed. While everyone, including the Emperor, was astonished, Selene put the Holy Sword back into its sheath and began to explain.

“It was not made by compressing Oriharcon in the same way as the original Holy Sword. However, it is possible to mimic it to some extent. It involves putting mana batteries and mana stones connected to Oriharcon into the handle and creating a resonance phenomenon by flowing mana.”

“Selene, then can it also teach dragons’ draconic magic like the Holy Sword and cut through their skin and bones?”

Once again, the Emperor’s question filled with expectation followed, but Selene shook her head.

“It’s impossible. It’s just a sword that sparkles a little.”

The Emperor seemed about to show a disappointed expression at her words but then noticed that both I and Caria, along with Selene, were smiling. After a moment of contemplation, the Emperor began to burst into laughter.

Similarly, the nobles who caught on also started to laugh.

“So, Bluffing? Since dragons won’t be able to tell if there is just one Holy Sword or several?”

“Exactly. Your Majesty.”

Adran was certainly sharp.

“After spending several days reading and analyzing all sorts of data, I have come to one conclusion. Dragons are cowards. Huge cowards, indeed. Immortal and eternal beings, but because of that, they are incredibly fearful of the possibility of dying or getting hurt.”

Just by witnessing the incident where one member of the clan was killed by a hero, they had relentlessly plundered humans over thousands of years, obsessively trying to drain the capital of humans.

Even the gold coins they had hoarded were not cherished or well-preserved. They simply piled them up like heaps of sand, and if they got tired of it, they would either leave the rare untouched for centuries or, in a rare case, scatter gold coins as playthings in human society.

“Looking back at history, there are many stories of adventurers bringing back gold from dragon lairs to kingdoms, or of unknown men and women leaving with vast amounts of gold. In short, dragons found their hoarded gold bothersome. It wasn’t that precious to them.”

“So, they hoarded gold not because they liked it, but because they were afraid of humans becoming powerful again and killing them?”

“That’s right.”

“Ridiculous story. Randor. This is the moment when all the common knowledge about dragons is shattered.”

The Emperor burst into laughter.

“Good. The dragons are cowards. So, we’ll bluff them. Understand? How do you plan to do it specifically?”

Caria continued the conversation.

“Please hand over the command of the Dragon Knights to me, Your Majesty. If you support us with around 200 dragons, I intend to show all the knights a fake Holy Sword made by Princess Selene.”

“And then?”

“We must engage in battle once. Mobilize all the forces of the Iron Blood Legion in the Green Hell to directly clash with the monster horde and dragons. The key is to come out as if we are truly risking our lives in battle.”

“But the losses could be significant?”

Caria chuckled at those words.

“We just need to pretend to fight. The battle between the monster horde and the Iron Blood Legion will probably be fierce. When the dragons, who are unable to decisively seize the victory, finally step in, the Dragon Knights and I will fly on dragons and draw the Holy Sword.”

“Then the dragons will be scared stiff.”

“They will naturally lead the monsters and run away. Once we bring them to the negotiation table, they will come willingly.”

The Emperor seemed pleased with the plan, nodding.

“It’s an excellent plan. However, there is a problem.”

“What is it?”

“I am concerned about the possibility of legionnaires dying during the confrontation with the monster horde. Is it right to create a situation where lives are at risk instead of just threatening the dragons with the Holy Sword and calling them to the negotiation table immediately?”

Caria firmly responded to his words.

“Respect comes from fear.”

“……”

“The dragons are arrogant. Merely showing the Holy Sword and saying it’s in our hands won’t be enough. We need to demonstrate the will to wage war with this sword, so the enemies will believe that all the countless fake Holy Swords are real bluffs.”

“Is there really no other way?”

Adran seemed concerned about the sacrifice of the legionnaires. It was a valid concern for a leader.

And I, too, was in a similar state of concern.

“I have already devised a way to reduce the sacrifice of the legionnaires dramatically, Your Majesty.”

All eyes of the Emperor and all the nobles turned to me at my words.

“What is it?”

From Noble mtl dot com

I gestured, and from a corner, a man who had been quietly waiting entered.

A nitrogen sorcerer and a man who made bread out of thin air.

Leoric walked in.

His expression was grim.

He looked at the object in his hand with apparent disgust. But it seemed unavoidable.

He handed it to me.

“What is that, Randor?”

Even at the Emperor’s question, I couldn’t easily articulate words and just stared at the object in my hand.

At that moment, it seemed questionable whether creating such a cruel item in this world was right, but there was no choice.

To truly intimidate the dragons, we had to take strong measures.

Without a word in response to the question, I played the illusion stone received from Leoric, which contained a short video, in front of everyone.

Goblins, orcs, trolls, intoxicated by mustard-colored gas in a secret laboratory-like place, screaming in agony as they died one by one. Their bodies covered in blisters, spewing blood from their mouths as if their lungs were melting, monsters dying in excruciating pain left the nobles gathered in shock, mouths agape.

After watching the video with mixed emotions, I explained to the Emperor.

“It’s mustard gas, Your Majesty.”

“Gas?”

“Developed by the mages of Leoric and Matop, this is a poisonous gas. It emits toxins in the form of smoke. Through various magical treatments, we made it effective even against monsters with magic stones.”

“Randor!!”

Celeste screamed.

That was it.

Shortly after Leoric developed the fertilizer, a proposal arose among the alchemists and mages of Matop to utilize advanced chemical synthesis and factory systems for mass production of military weapons.

However, due to Celeste’s strong opposition, the project was abandoned, and since then, this item had never been mentioned until now.

And now, I brought it here.

“Princess Celeste. This is a one-time offer. Many people could die. If we release this on the horde of monsters, we can significantly reduce our casualties.”

“Absolutely not. Leaving something like that behind, can’t you see how future generations might exploit it?”

“I understand. I am well aware of the risks.”

I know well what the First World War was like.

But it was necessary.

I look at Adran.

I was not the one to decide on this matter.

It was Emperor Adran.

“Your Majesty. This toxic gas is a product based on mustard gas with various magical treatments. It has the ability to kill monsters protected by magic stones. The issue, as Princess Celeste mentioned, is the potential for humans to misuse it if used.”

“…….”

“The judgment is Your Majesty’s responsibility.”

Upon my words, Adran made a decision without much deliberation.

“Use it. Use it to kill the monsters.”

“Your Majesty!”

Celeste’s scream was heard, but Adran raised his hand to silence her.

“I will keep the production method strictly confidential within the royal family and ensure that no one easily accesses this information. This is a one-time exception. Celeste, you are also well aware of the danger posed by dragons, aren’t you?”

At my words, Celeste clenched her fist, then sighed and nodded.

“It is Your Majesty’s kingdom. I will respect Your Majesty’s judgment.”

“Thank you, Celeste.”

After saying so, the Emperor looked at Karia and me.

“As far as it has come, we must succeed no matter what. Karia, spare no effort, regardless of means or methods. You must terrify the dragons without fail.”

“Of course, Your Majesty. Leave it to me.”

“And Randor?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“If Karia succeeds in intimidating the dragons through war, lead the negotiations.”

“Yes? Shouldn’t Your Majesty do that?”

Adran chuckled at those words.

“The fate of the empire lies on your tongue. Your ability to threaten, persuade, and convince is far superior to mine. I entrust this task to you. If Karia terrifies the dragons, even if it costs your life, negotiate with the dragons for the benefit of the empire.”

Strategic dragon diplomacy.

It’s what Adran does best.

I respectfully nodded my head.

“No matter what happens, I will make sure we succeed. Your Majesty.”

“Trust me.”

All the plans were completed in this way.

Now, only war remained.