Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 99: The Choice
With the servants’ help, Duke Eddie settled into the wide main seat. His enormous backside immediately filled the entire sitting area of the chair, with a bit of fat spilling over the edges, making it rather uncomfortable.
Tch, has this chair gotten smaller again? he thought. Once this meeting’s over, I’ll have to get someone to replace it with a bigger one.
Patting his protruding belly, Duke Eddie swept his gaze across the room and slowly revealed a piece of earth-shattering news.
“Gentlemen, I recently received word from the royal capital. His Majesty the King passed away two months ago.”
At this, everyone present displayed expressions of shock. None doubted him—Duke Eddie had no reason to lie.
The three counts quickly regained their composure, not rushing to question him, but patiently waiting for him to finish.
“Without a doubt, a struggle for the throne will soon break out between the First Prince and the Third Prince. Both have extended olive branches to the Eastern Fortress. Now, we must decide which side we will support.”
“Duke Eddie…”
Count Youm spoke up.
“What else do you know about the situation in the capital? Please, tell us in detail.”
If it came down to choosing between the two, they had to weigh each prince’s advantages carefully—backing the one with the greatest chance of victory was the safest bet.
Eddie glanced toward the thin man who had accompanied him.
The thin man quickly stepped forward and placed the two letters they had received the day before yesterday onto the table.
Duke Eddie then briefly summarized the contents of each prince’s letter.
Meanwhile, the three counts took turns picking up the royal correspondence and skimming through it.
“Hmm…”
Count Collette adopted a thoughtful look.
“The Third Prince controls the capital and its surrounding areas, as well as having the support of Gold Guard City. The First Prince has the support of Harvest City and Dragonfang Ridge—effectively, the whole northern region.”
“I have some thoughts I’d like to share.”
Count Pearl said confidently.
“The kingdom’s overall military situation isn’t great—most forces are deployed at the borders. The capital’s garrison is barely enough for defense, and the troop numbers in Gold Guard City have been repeatedly reduced over the years. Their forces are nowhere near what they once were. In short, the Third Prince doesn’t have much military power to call upon.”
Gold Guard City, he reminded them, was the capital Junhui’s protective city, charged with defending it.
Years ago, after an attempt to develop the Mystery Forest provoked the Black Dragon King, the royal army suffered heavy losses.
To guard against another attack, the king had ordered an outpost built at the junction of the Wen River and the Wei River northeast of the capital to monitor the northern forests.
That outpost eventually grew into Gold Guard City.
But when the Black Dragon King never reappeared, its rulers steadily cut troop numbers to reduce expenses.
Pearl went on:
“Meanwhile, the fertile plains of the north are the kingdom’s most important grain-producing region. They have a large population and supply soldiers to both the Red Sand Fortress and Dragonfang Ridge. They can easily muster a massive army. By military strength alone, the First Prince clearly has the advantage.”
“So, we support the First Prince?”
Count Collette glanced at the others.
“It’s not that simple.”
Count Youm stroked his beard.
“The Third Prince may not have the numbers to launch an offensive, but the capital houses the kingdom’s strongest mage corps. With large-scale magic, the First Prince’s forces could suffer devastating losses.”
“Large-scale magic is powerful, yes…”
Pearl countered.
“but it’s not without counters.”
The four men debated at length over whether to back the First Prince or the Third.
Finally, Duke Eddie bared a few gold teeth and gave a sly smile.
“I have an idea, one that will bring us the greatest profit.”
“Let’s support the First Prince. While he’s leading his army to attack the royal capital, the Third Prince’s attention will definitely be focused on the north. We can send troops to launch a surprise attack from the flank and help the First Prince become His Majesty the King. That way, we’ll be great contributors to his rise, and I’m sure the First Prince won’t treat us poorly.”
“And if the First Prince fails, what then?”
Youm asked.
“If he fails, we’ll just acknowledge the Third Prince as the next king.”
Duke Eddie said carelessly.
“Even if he defeats the First Prince, the Third Prince will still have to spend time dealing with Duke Markarth in the north. He won’t have the time or spare forces to handle the eastern region. To solidify his throne, I’m sure the Third Prince will gladly accept our allegiance.”
“This plan is a good one.”
Count Colette agreed.
Count Pearl also nodded in approval.
With three already in favor of supporting the First Prince, it didn’t matter if Count Youm disagreed.
In the end, everyone unanimously chose to support the First Prince, and they began discussing how many troops to send and how to coordinate with his operations.
A few days later, Count David of Linshui City also made his decision—identical to Dongsheng Fortress.
Both sides agreed to send a joint force to aid the First Prince.
…
Time shifted back to the late night after the Spring Festival ended.
Kadir and his companions returned wearily to their camp tent, having just finished cleaning up the ashes and scraps left from the burned-out bonfire.
Lying on his bedroll with his hands behind his head, Kadir sighed with emotion.
“Ah! Winter’s already over, and now there’s no threat from the undead monsters. Do you think the militia will be disbanded soon?”
From above his head, a teammate on the opposite bunk replied.
“Probably. There’s no fighting to be done, so the lord has no reason to keep spending money on us. When next winter comes, the militia will probably be formed again.”
“Sigh—”
Another teammate let out a long breath.
“Once we’re disbanded, I’ll probably go back to mining in the Sky vault Mines. If only this high-paying job could last.”
“I’ll be heading back to the Sky vault Mines.”
“Wow! So you were all miners before joining the militia?”
“Not me, my family still has farmland we can plant.”
The rest quickly chimed in with their own stories.
“You should all be content!”
Kadir cut in.
“I heard the mines now have those big metal contraptions to help with hauling ore and pumping water, so mining’s easier than before. The pay system’s been reformed too—if you work hard, you can still make decent money.”
“Those changes are all thanks to the lord.”
Blue spoke up suddenly.
After a pause, he added.
“Do you really think the lord will disband the militia?”
“What else would he do?” Kadil looked at him, puzzled.
“Before winter even started, the lord issued the recruitment order early and had us train for over a month. If he really meant to disband us, why go through all that trouble? Why not just conscript us on the first day of winter?”
“Wasn’t that to deal with the undead monsters?”
“Then simple spear drills would have been enough. Why did we train in other, unrelated things? And the cultural lessons—plus they even selected some of us to learn muskets and cannons.”
Hearing this, Kadir also found it strange. But what could the lord possibly want with keeping the militia around?