#1096 Hands Off the Farm

So, the attempted invasion of the farm by certain individuals came to an abrupt halt.

The Demon Kingdom, Human Kingdom, and Mermaid Kingdom.

They find themselves completely immobilized, surrounded on all sides by troops from these three nations.

Being vassals of their respective kingdoms, they couldn’t act without their ruler’s orders.

But they went and did whatever they pleased anyway, even resorting to force.

Naturally, once caught, it spelled big trouble. With the Demon King and Ritheseus showing up, it was like having their necks firmly in a chokehold.

Their blatant rule-breaking is now laid bare for all to see.

All that’s left is for their crimes to be judged.

“Dampahl. I’ve heard from Lucife Focale that though you served the Demon Kingdom for many long years without flashy achievements, your honest work was worthy of trust.”

“Guh…!”

“Yet you twisted governance for your own gain, scheming behind the scenes. I don’t know who whispered into your ear, but betraying a royal decree cannot be swept under the rug.”

Pressed by the Demon King, this demon-official-looking fellow hangs his head in regret.

He seems to have given up on making excuses, but the human side chimes in with...

“Y-Your Majesty! Please! This is all a conspiracy against me! I was only trying to preemptively stop the saint’s army from harming the Human Kingdom…!!!”

Pathetic.

Even though he’s caught red-handed, he’s babbling excuses to his superior, Ritheseus.

“It’s true! That so-called saint was leading forces to destroy the Human Kingdom! If we left him unchecked, not only our nation but also the Demon and Mermaid Kingdom would fall, and the entire world would be his! To prevent that, we must unite the three great races in a full-scale assault to wipe him out first!”

“Lavajiputa. …I’ve known for some time that you wanted to turn me into your puppet and seize control of the Human Kingdom.”

“Ha-hnguh?!”

The official gasps, rattled by Ritheseus hitting the nail on the head.

“I’ve heard the shady rumors about you. Of course, I investigate anyone I put in office. Even if I smelled something fishy, the current system is so strapped for talent that I had to use you anyway, which honestly just makes me want to cry.”

Ritheseus has had it rough.

“And as for you, the pressure to appoint someone from your ‘old-guard noble family’ was immense. A young person like me just stepping into leadership could never stand against that. Keeping you around was a huge source of stress for me, I hope you know.”

He lets out a deep sigh, heavy with the weight of his experiences.

“You tried desperately to get dirt on me so you could pull my strings from the shadows, right? That’s why you obstructed every policy I tried to enact and sent a swarm of spies to snoop on my private life. I never got a moment’s peace.”

“You’re making this up! Where’s your proof?!”

“I don’t have much. That’s why I couldn’t easily accuse you and had to endure a stressful day-to-day life. Still, I kept a careful watch, waiting for a chance to oust you, just like you kept watching me, hoping to find a weakness.”

“Ugh…?!”

“Ever heard the saying, ‘When you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you’?”

So Ritheseus endured that soul-crushing pressure all this time, working hard as the president...!

He’s come a long way.

“Now that our mutual surveillance is finally over, I feel like I’ve just broken free. You’ve finally made a colossal blunder. No matter how storied your noble family may be, or how vast your connections, this is it. No one can shield you anymore.”

“Wh-What are you saying?! What crime have I committed?!”

“For starters, you forged official documents under my name. That’s clearly illegal—an undeniable crime.”

This must be about the forged mandate they sent before.

I remember Ritheseus and the Demon King grabbed the soldier who delivered it and rushed off somewhere.

They probably worked to confirm the authenticity of that order, gathering ironclad evidence against that official.

Then, they waited for him to show up in person today.

When he marched in with his troops, they nabbed him as a criminal caught red-handed.

After all that careful prep, you’d think he’d realize there’s no escape.

But he still clings to denial.

“It’s a conspiracy! A conspiracy, I say! This plot to bring down a noble like me was all arranged! The witnesses, the evidence... it’s all fabricated! King Ritheseus! If you humiliate a loyal servant with such dirty tactics, you’ll sow the seeds of future trouble!”

“I keep telling you, I’m the president, not a king…”

Wow, what persistence.

He’s beyond pathetic, but I bet whining and flailing like this is how he’s squirmed out of crises before.

Refusing to acknowledge any inconvenient truth, holding out to the bitter end.

It might be a kind of strength in its own way.

But not this time, I think.

“Lavajiputa, if all you did was forge documents, you might have slipped away. But you committed a truly unforgivable blunder. A fatal mistake.”

“What?!”

“You raised your sword against Lord Saint. That alone is a crime worthy of ten thousand deaths.”

When Ritheseus says that, the human official suddenly revives his fighting spirit.

“Yes, exactly! I moved my troops to bring down that wicked saint! Just look at him! He’s got both of the world’s two greatest calamities, a dragon and a Lifeless King, under his command, and on top of that, a fearsome army of monsters! There’s nothing in the world that could rival such a threat!”

He points at me.

Wait, does that mean I’m a world-ending crisis here?

“If we leave such evil unchecked, he might seize the entire world one day! That’s why I rose up, leading the charge to protect us all…!”

“People around you say you heard rumors of Lord Saint’s wealth and tried to seize it for yourself. Care to explain that testimony?”

“That’s slander! Lies! I won’t listen to such lies!”

How can he lie so boldly?

If it were me, I’d stammer and sweat bullets. He’s got some nerve, that’s for sure.

“The idea that Lord Saint wants to dominate the world is utter nonsense. I know better than anyone that it’s a baseless drivel. Lying is pointless.”

“But I’m not lying…!!!”

“I studied under Lord Saint, you know.”

“Huh?”

The official tries to ramble on, only to choke on this unexpected revelation.

“Ever wonder why a commoner like me is so well-educated? It’s because I trained and studied under him. Now, who do you think I’m going to trust: you or Lord Saint? There’s no contest.”

“By the way, I’m the one who asked Lord Saint to educate Ritheseus. I wanted promising youths of the Human Kingdom to receive high-quality education, and Lord Saint kindly obliged.”

All eyes turn to the Demon King after that remark.

“Yes, my Demon Kingdom has long enjoyed a friendly relationship with Lord Saint, though we kept it under wraps.”

“The Mermaid Kingdom, too. In fact, we have an even closer bond since my younger sister, Merprincess Platy, married into Lord Saint’s household.”

Arowana joins in.

Everyone’s stunned by these revelations that had been kept secret.

The official at the center of this mess is livid...

“What?! So the top echelons of the nations have been secretly dealing with the Saint all this time?! This is a massive betrayal of the people’s trust!”

“Lord Saint transcends worldly logic. If this became public knowledge, we feared opportunists would try to exploit that power. Today proves that fear well-founded. Just look at you and your foolish attempt to seize the farm.”

They raised an army to invade the farm, after all.

They warned me that going public would cause trouble, and I thought “Surely not.” It turns out I was the one who was too laid-back.

Seeing this with my own eyes, I can’t deny it now.

“Lord Saint watches over this world as both a mediator and a sacred presence not to be trifled with. If that sanctity is broken, who knows what disasters might follow. Surely you understand this now, firsthand.”

“Exactly. Lord Saint commands both world calamities, leads an army of mutated monsters, wed a genius potion-maker, and befriended an angel and a bean-loving princess.”

“You feared that Lord Saint might harm the world, but tell me, who on earth could stop Loord Saint if he tried? Not even the entire world united could halt him. The fact that he does nothing harmful despite wielding such immense power is proof of his benevolence!”

Hey, no need to lay it on that thick...!

Flattery will get you nowhere. Well, maybe a nice dinner? Ah, feel free to drop by my place tonight.

“That’s why, Lavajiputa, it’s obvious that your claims are nonsense and your crimes are enormous. To highlight Lord Saint’s greatness as it becomes more widely known, we intend to deal with you severely.”

“Grrr… This isn’t… This wasn’t supposed to happen…!”

With this, it seems he’s out of excuses. The official falls to his knees.

This is the moment the lingering rot from the old regime finally got squeezed out and removed.

“And now, lastly… Lord Saint.”

Huh?

The Demon King addresses me.

“To show that you too must not be taken lightly, would you demonstrate something for us? A small display of your power, if you will.”

Understood.

It’s a vague request, but I guess he wants to make sure no one tries a stunt like this again. Let’s really drive it home: “The Saint is strong!”

All right then. I’ll give this my all, more than ever before.

Full power! Greatest skill, activate!!!

I pour that might into my holy sword, Dreischwartz...!

“Ultimate attack! Super-Mega Sphere: Thousand-Blade Dreischwartz Manifest (Gear 5 version)!!!”

Hmm, a colossal blast, bigger than ever before, streaks into the sky.

I figured firing upward would avoid damage, but… um, is that okay?

Hope I’m not cracking a star or something…

That’d be bad.

“...Y-You see now, don’t you, just how fearsome Lord Saint truly is…?” the Demon King says, a bit stiffly.

With that, I guess the commotion in the frontier settlement is finally put to rest.