Chapter 166: |
“Haa…”
A sigh escaped from Otto’s mouth.
He realized what it meant for Abdul II to storm in here and scream at the top of his lungs….
“You dare to disobey this father’s¹ orders, when it’s not enough for you to take an army and crush the traitors on his behalf?”
“F… Father!”
“Such a coward, a weakling, how can you be a sultan with such a weak mentality!”
“Father, please take counsel, war is not necessary now!”
“Shut up, you bastard!”
“…..!”
“No Empire, no dynasty in our history has been able to achieve the great unity of our country, Father, treat them with mercy, for only mercy and the doctrine of the Church can bring about great unity!”
“How dare you try to teach this Father!!!”
“Father….”
“Your weak and feeble politics can be pursued after this father’s death and you take the throne! For now, you will do as your father commands!”
“If I takes the lead in destroying other tribes at the behest of Father, do you think they will follow my pacification policy, even if I succeed Father and become Sultan in the future?”
“What?”
“Great unity can only be achieved through mercy, inclusion, and wisdom, and I must become a saint, a prophet who speaks the words of Anan!”
“Heh! It’s terrible, how appalling!”
“The situation on the continent is dire right now! Countless great powers have been targeting our magic stones since ancient times and….”
At that moment.
“Oh, Shut up!”
An enraged Abdul II lifted the pottery next to him and smashed Saladin’s head.
*Crash!*
The pottery shattered into a million pieces.
*Drip*
Blood trickled from Saladin’s head.
“Okay.”
Abdul II glared at Saladin with a deadly gleam in his eye.
“If that’s your intention, then we shall see. I will watch with my own two eyes how long you continue to defy my orders!”
“F… Fath….”
“Don’t even call me Father! You coward, you weakling, if I had another child, I would have dethroned you at once, consider yourself lucky!”
With that, Abdul II turned on his heel and walked away.
“…I’ll see him later.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Otto decided to meet Saladin later.
It would be bad enough if he got involved in a domestic quarrel and sparked a firestorm.
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That evening.
Saladin sent a servant to apologize and invited Otto back.
On their way to see Saladin.
“Why does Crown Prince Saladin do things that make the Sultan dislike him so much?”
Camille asked.
“Everything Saladin says is true.”
“What?”
“You can’t take over by force. History proves it. Has there ever been a single successful case in history?”
“Well, yes, but.”
“Why else would the Great Sage Eldologon have created the Scripture of Reconciliation, and why did I go to the trouble of getting my hands on it?”
“Ah.”
Finally, Camille realized what Otto meant.
Humans are different.
Even amongst family members who spend time together every day, everyone has their own personalities and values.
This goes without saying for other people.
Culture, customs, race, ideas, and so on.
It was difficult to overcome all of that and achieve great unity.
That is impossible with human power.
Perhaps that is the realm of the true God.
“But you know what even that Scripture of Reconciliation struggles with? Religion.”
“……!”
“Even the Scripture of Reconciliation is incapable of doing its best when it comes to religion, so what is the cause of the division in the Caliphate?”
“Isn’t it a matter of religion?”
“Yeah, exactly. It’s because each tribe has different interpretations of the doctrine, and they’ve been fighting over it, leading to this situation. The conflicts and confrontations between tribes are just secondary issues.”
What Otto said was true.
The Caliphs even went to war over how many times a day they should pray.
For some, the tribe prayed three times a day.
Another group, even up to five.
One tribe would pray up to seven times.
These differing interpretations of the doctrine led to frequent clashes.
“How can anyone subdue such people with force, except to overwhelm them with at least 100 times the military force and treat them like cattle?”
“So you’re implying that Sultan Abdul II is wrong?”
“He is mistaken by a long shot. He’s about to fall into a quagmire, and Saladin is desperately trying to stop it at all costs.”
As they talked, the pair eventually arrived at the crown prince’s palace.
“Welcome.”
Saladin, with his head wrapped in bandages, greeted Otto and Camille.
“There were some minor incidents during the day, and I apologize for the sudden change of schedule.”
“No worries.”
“Please do follow me this way, and I will bring you some tea.”
That’s how Otto ended up talking to Saladin while drinking tea.
“What are you going to do?”
Otto asked rather bluntly.
“Yes? What do you mean by that?”
“If you continue to defy your father’s will, even if you are the crown prince, you won’t get away unscathed.”
“Ah.”
“Don’t you think about your own safety?”
“My safety or anything else concerning me is not important.”
Saladin forced a smile.
“If it leads to unification, I wouldn’t mind sacrificing even my life. I would gladly offer it.”
“Ha.”
Otto sighed deeply.
‘This is why option 2 is so unpopular.’
But games and reality are different.
If Saladin was this kind of character, then he was doomed.
“You know there’s no way out.”
Otto said to Saladin in a pleading tone.
Otto’s words were true.
As for whether Saladin could dethrone Abdul II and become Sultan It was…. absolutely…. impossible, without a doubt.
The power of the current Sultan, Abdul II, is absolute.
In contrast, Saladin had almost no support.
If he started a rebellion?
Death.
Even if he succeeded, Saladin’s lack of support would make it impossible for him to stay on the throne.
And Saladin’s personality wouldn’t allow him to stage a rebellion.
‘I can’t lend him the Scripture of Reconciliation, I’d be ruined. Even if I lend it to you, its effectiveness is uncertain.’
Nor could the Kingdom of Lota intervene in a military capacity.
The Lota Kingdom is preparing itself for a continental war.
The idea of embarking on an expedition all the way to the Caliphate Kingdom is simply unimaginable.
‘There is no answer to this, even if I become Saladin. I have no confidence.’
In the end, Saladin’s fate…….
“I pray every day. I believe that Anan will show me the way.”
Saladin smiles a genial smile.
“His Highness the Crown Prince looks more like a priest than a monarch.”
“I think so too, and there have been many times when I’ve thought I’d rather be a scholar of doctrine if it weren’t for my position as Crown Prince.”
“This aroma is good.”
Otto forced himself to change the subject, unable to continue the conversation with Saladin.
‘I don’t understand, and I mustn’t try to.’
He resigned himself to it.
‘Let’s not try to change things. I’ll just go with the flow.’
Otto realized that even if he knew the future, he couldn’t change the nature of a person.
“I’ve prepared ten tonnes of gold to repay my benefactor.”
“What?”
“You can take it with you when you return to your country.”
“That much?”
“Our Caliphate Kingdom, not just I alone, owes a great debt of gratitude to Your Majesty and Sir Camille. It may be small, but please accept it.”
“T-Thank you.”
Otto was speechless for a moment, his mouth agape at the magnitude of the reciprocation.
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Afterwards, Otto and Camille spent some pleasant time with Saladin’s couple and the Crown Prince Masud before returning to their quarters.
“What do you plan to do now? Are we going back home?”
“Wait for a sec.”
Otto pondered for a moment.
A decision had to be made here.
Should he leave now?
Or stay a little longer and do something.
‘I can’t do anything more here. Leaving now is the right thing to do.’
But there was something that bothered him.
‘If the conflict between Abdul II and Saladin developed sooner than I expected… that’s a variable. The situation in the Caliphate could become unpredictable.’
‘If the world’s largest producer and exporter of the magic stones becomes unstable, I’ll be in trouble. It will be difficult to get enough of it.’
If the supply of the vital material becomes difficult, the Lota Kingdom’s ability to win the war will be severely hampered.
“Let’s just stay for ten more days.”
” Are you sure about the ten days?”
“Yes.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’ve got some things to find.”
“……?”
“I need to find some holy relics.”
Saladin is also one of the main characters in The 100 Lords.
Of course, it goes without saying that he would have his own holy relic.
‘I’ll have to find the holy relic. There might not even be time to get it.’
With that in mind, Otto gathered his subjects.
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Saladin has two scenario routes obtainable holy relics.
The first is the Demon’s Cradle, which Saladin earns when he chooses the path of a tyrant.
And the other was the Revelation, which Saladin would receive if he chose the Path of a Saint.
However, it was impossible for Saladin to possess both relics.
Because of the contrasting properties of the two holy relics, it was impossible for one person to obtain both.
Therefore, gamers playing Saladin could only get one or the other depending on the direction of the scenario.
It wasn’t for nothing that Saladin became known as either a tyrant or a saint depending on the scenario choice.
‘Let’s split the team.’
Since the two holy relics were stored in different locations, Otto decided to split the team and try to acquire both at the same time.
“Qasim.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Otto decided to assign Qasim the task of retrieving one of Saladin’s holy relics, the “Demon’s Cradle”.
“Take the magic swordsmen and go here.”
Otto pointed out where Qasim needed to go on the map and briefed him on the details of the operation.
“Please entrust it to us! We will certainly fulfill the mission and bring joy to Your Majesty!”
“Guik, Gwikk!”
Qasim was more than a little thrilled to be assigned his first special ops mission in a long time.
When he uncovered the illicit trade of the Oberhauser Trading Company last time, it’s true that he had gotten himself some credit, but it was a minor victory in the grand scheme of things.
It was just a piece of information he unwittingly gained while confiscating Mordred’s assets.
But now that he was commanding a proper special ops operation, it was the perfect opportunity to make his mark.
And it was something he was entrusted to do.
‘The Demon’s Cradle is done. As for the Revelation….’
Otto’s gaze swept over the rest of his subordinates.
The only ones left were Camille, Kairos, and the Soul Knights.
“Hmm.”
Otto walked up to Camille and looked him up and down as if inspecting a product.
“Looks pass. Are you handsome enough?”
“Yes…?”
“But personality fails. You’re an asshole.”
“What?”
Camille’s expression crumpled.
It was ridiculous to be judged on one’s looks, but to be told that his personality was terrible seemed entirely unnatural.
Whether that’s the case or not.”
“They’re all tin cans, all fail.”
Otto’s gaze flicked past the Soul Knights and zeroed in on Kairos.
“Looks pass. Handsome in a manly sort of way, but personality fails. He’s too much of a jerk, and not a hint of tact.”.”
“What did you say? Have you finished talking! Pansy!”
“And your sexual orientation is a failure.”
“Se-Sexual orientation?”
“You like men, don’t you? Men dressed as women.”
At that moment.
*Snap*
Kairos’s tether of sanity snapped.
“This damn bastard! Today I’ll give you a proper beating!”
Kairos lunged at Otto.
“Hold it together! Hahahaha!”
“That’s true, though, Hohoho!”
“Isn’t it true that you’ve been fooling around with cross-dressers, Kehehe!”
Agatho-Hildegard-Maximus poked fun at Kairos.
“Ugh. There is no one here, there is no one else. I guess I’ll have to do it after all.”
Otto sighed and looked back at Camille.
“Go get a maid who knows how to put on makeup.”
“What?”
“I need to put on a little beauty treatment.”
Otto decided to use his secret weapon.
In order to obtain the [Revelation], the more handsome he was, the better.
** ** **
TL/N:
1. Some individuals who referred to themselves in the third person aimed to assert their importance and command respect.