Chapter 176

Translator: Willia

A spring breeze swept across the boy standing in the field. His gently stirring blond hair shimmered in the sunlight.

No one knew where the spring breeze came from or what it carried with it, but to anyone who felt it, it brought a pleasantly refreshing coolness.

The boy was watching a cow tied to a tree. Perhaps it was because of their long eyelashes, but cows had remarkably beautiful eyes. Looking into those eyes, somehow both sad and indifferent, was enough to stir an inexplicable sense of guilt.

Cows were animals Roy had grown deeply attached to. They had accompanied him on the long journeys he took with his father, and especially on nights when he could not get into the clan lodgings and had to shiver in the cold until morning, having them beside him had been an immense comfort.

Do you recognize me? Would you? Roy gazed into the cow's beautiful eyes. Then he reached out and stroked its soft fur.

As though it truly did recognize Roy, the cow turned its head and flicked out its long tongue. What need were words between friends? A smile spread across Roy's lips.

“Roy.”

Someone called to him from behind. When he turned around, he saw Res. It had been a year.

Roy was not fully grown yet, but perhaps he was taking after his large-framed father, because the difference in size between him and Res was obvious at a glance.

Res wore a somewhat stiff expression and could not quite bring himself to look directly at Roy, his eyes darting this way and that.

“Have you been well?”

Roy asked calmly when Res, despite having called out to him first, failed to say anything.

“Uh......”

“I don't see the ones who used to bully me.”

“They all ran away. Are you going to get revenge?”

“No. I just figured they would.”

“Yeah. None of them were much to begin with.”

“But you stayed.”

“Yeah.”

There was a clear difference between someone who ran away and someone who stayed to fight.

Res was still too young to be sent into direct combat, but if the clans truly came to blows, there would be plenty of other ways he could help.

Of course, that would not be easy either. It required resolve of its own, because there was no telling what might happen to him if they lost.

Roy moved closer to the cow and leaned against it as though embracing it.

“Looks like I chose my friend well.”

“No. You're the one who made me who I am. If that hadn't happened back then, I'd probably be just like all those worthless guys even now.”

Roy turned to look at Res again. Res continued.

“I regretted it like hell for a long time. I couldn't sleep at night. I should've spoken up back then. Instead of keeping my mouth shut like a moron, I should've stepped forward and said I was the one who did it. Sometimes I'd punch myself in the head, or go down to the lakeside and try to drown myself. But I could never really go through with it. Then word spread that the clans were going to fight, and everyone got nervous. But I wasn't nervous at all. All I could think was that my chance had finally come. That this time I had to fight instead of running away like a moron again. So yeah. You really did make me who I am.”

Roy merely smiled as he listened to Res. He seemed to be inheriting his father's steadfastness, while somehow taking after Ricardt in his composure.

“Eternal friendship. That's the Viola Clan's motto, isn't it? If neither side gives up on the other, maybe it isn't such an impossible thing after all. Just look at my king, Bori, and the others. I'm sure they had a time like that too. A moment when they refused to give up on one another.”

“Hmm...... I suppose so.”

“How are your sisters?”

“Huh? They're probably doing fine.”

“You're in the same clan and you're that indifferent to them?”

“Aren't you indifferent to your sister too?”

“Yeah, I am.”

Roy and Res both chuckled lightly. Res stepped closer. He put his arms around the cow too, then looked over at Roy and asked,

“What's the royal castle like?”

“Big. Really big. There are a lot of people too.”

“What was the war like?”

“I hardly saw any of it myself. I did see my king go out and fight a few times. You wouldn't believe me even if I told you.”

“I'll believe you. So tell me.”

“Hmm......”

Roy searched his memory for a moment. He remembered how Ricardt had gone out alone to fight at Adelivari and taken a banner. And so the story began.

And with that, their conversation began as well, stretching into a long talk between the two friends.

One trait of childhood friendships was that even after something unpleasant happened between two friends, the wound could quickly heal. Cleanly, without leaving a scar.

Friendships between adults, on the other hand, were not so simple. Perhaps, if one thought about why, it was because as their bodies grew, so too did their stubbornness, greed, and suspicion.

Even so, those who managed to remain friends despite the passing years were truly blessed. Because instead of stubbornness, greed, and suspicion, it was courage, consideration, and trust that bound them together.

And there were those who had once been united by friendship, gone their separate ways, and then gathered together again. Just because their paths had diverged did not mean their friendship had split apart.

Karllich, headmaster of Beringen Academy; Volka, master of the Viola Clan; Ice, the de facto leader of the Miquella Sword Monastery; and Ricardt and Bori.

They were in a room overlooking a vast lake. Sunlight shattered across the surface, and the emerald-tinged water was so clear it scarcely seemed real.

Ice stood by the window, quietly gazing out over the lake. Then he heard Ricardt's voice behind him and turned his head.

“I'll be frank. I'm not planning to rely on friendship and loyalty alone. If anything, the closer people are, the more careful they should be about money, and if we're going to do something together, I think the benefit to each side needs to be clear. For now, the basic idea is that we help one another.”

“......”

No one spoke. Karllich and Volka were the only ones seated at the table, while Bori sat atop a cabinet in the corner. Ice remained standing by the window.

Judging from their expressions, none of them seemed either for or against the idea. They were simply looking at Ricardt.

“Just as a commercial transaction has a deposit to guarantee it, Adeloron's army will serve as our guarantee. Including Marie, the six founding members will deploy it only when all six unanimously agree. Until then, we'll provide defense only to those who join, with the Sword Masters at the core. They won't have the resources to raise armies anyway, so they won't be able to launch attacks. And once we start including offensive action, there's a risk the organization itself could become distorted. Instead, we'll make sure their villages, cities, and territories are properly protected. Against bands of routed soldiers, raiders, and the like. What do you think?”

Karllich slowly raised a hand. Ricardt gestured toward him with his chin.

“Yeah? What is it? Go on.”

“Shouldn't we deal with the One-Eye Clan first?”

“Bori and I could cut down the whole lot of those bastards by ourselves. Finding where they've scattered to will take longer. The job itself isn't much of a problem.”

The Viola Clan had been on the verge of collapse because of the One-Eye Clan, but now that Ricardt had arrived, it truly was not much of a problem, just as he said.

“Any other questions?”

“......”

Karllich merely looked around at the others, but once again, no one answered.

“Marie and I already put together the rules we'd need to follow if we're going to form an organization. Read through them and let me know if you have any questions.”

Ricardt slid a sheet of parchment across the table. It was the sort of document used by the royal family, its edges gilded with beautiful patterns, while the contents were written in Ricardt's graceful handwriting.

1. The decision-making body of the Master Alliance (hereafter, the Alliance) shall be the Council of Six. Subsidiary bodies and branches shall be established by decision of the Council of Six.

2. The inaugural Council of Six shall consist of Ricardt von Ricarn, King of Adeloron; Martellia von Nibelinger, Queen of Adeloron; Karllich von Rosten, Headmaster of Beringen Academy; Bori, Director of the Adeloron Royal Library; Ice, monk of the Miquella Sword Monastery; and Volka, Master of the Viola Clan.

3. Membership in the Council of Six shall be held for life, and no member may be deprived of that position except in cases of betrayal or conduct equivalent thereto.

4. A member of the Council of Six may retire of his or her own free will and shall designate a successor upon retirement. If no successor has been designated, the appointment shall be decided by the remaining five members, or by a council of however many members remain.

5. The addition of a new member to the Council of Six shall require the unanimous approval of the Council of Six.

6. The Council of Six shall hold regular meetings twice each year, and every member must attend. Each member shall have the right to convene a special meeting outside the regular meetings.

7. The Alliance shall provide its members with defense, not offense.

8. The Alliance shall review requests submitted by its members and make sincere efforts to resolve them.

9. Should a dispute arise between members, the Alliance shall not intervene on either side. However, it may intervene as an exception if so decided by the Council of Six.

10. The Alliance shall not infringe upon the inherent rights of lords, including their legislative, judicial, administrative, and taxation authority.

11. Each clan belonging to the Alliance shall be recognized as independent, and the Alliance shall not interfere in its affairs.

12. Members of the Alliance may freely withdraw at any time. However, until their withdrawal, they shall respect and comply with decisions made by the Alliance.

13. Members may be expelled by decision of the Council of Six.

14. In cases of betrayal against the organization, including breach of trust, embezzlement, or the disclosure of information, all members shall be obligated to punish the traitor.

15. The Alliance shall seek an exclusive position in the matters it undertakes. Should a similar organization arise, it shall be regarded as an enemy.

16. The management of Alliance funds shall......

.

.

.

It was clear that considerable thought had gone into balancing their respective roles and powers.

It was, in essence, a draft. Bori, who had already read it, naturally did not bother looking again, while Ice simply remained standing by the window. Karllich and Volka were the only two reading through the draft.

“Master Alliance? You already came up with a name?”

Volka asked.

“Why? Don't like it? I put a lot of thought into that name. We all have different positions, don't we? Ice is a monk, Volka, you're a clan master, and I'm a king. Bori's a library director, and Kali's a headmaster. Our jobs and positions are all a little different, but I chose Master so we could still stand as equals.”

“I thought Master meant the master in Sword Master. I'm not a Sword Master.”

“That meaning can be part of it too. But what's important isn't whether someone is a Sword Master. It's whether we can unite behind the same purpose. I don't want this to be some temporary organization. I want it to last. A legacy we can pass down to our descendants.”

“......A legacy.”

“But Kali, don't you have anything to say?”

Bori had been with Ricardt from the outset, and Ice did not seem like the sort to quibble over details, but Karllich was fairly learned, yet had said almost nothing.

Karllich carefully read through the draft, then looked at Ricardt with concern.

“......Is this really all right?”

“What do you mean? If we work hard at it, surely it'll turn into something.”

“That's not what I mean.”

“Then what do you mean?”

“This...... is what an emperor does.”

“......”

Ricardt stared blankly at Karllich for a moment, then said,

“I hadn't thought of that.”

“But there's no emperor right now, so...... well.”

“If the Alliance gets big enough, does that mean we're conquering the Empire?”

Ice spoke. By now, his eyes and expression made him look almost like a monk who had attained enlightenment. Combined with his beautiful features, his very presence seemed almost unreal.

Ricardt did not think about it for long. He rubbed his chin for a moment, then asked everyone,

“So, anyone opposed?”

No one was. Curiously enough, not a single person in the room had ambition burning in their eyes.

In the end, Karllich reviewed the draft, made a few additions and revisions, and it was finalized that very day.

Marie had already signed it, and the remaining five added their signatures, each in handwriting that reflected their personality.

At the bottom of the document was stamped the gold seal (金印) of the King of Adeloron. Because it signified that the King of Adeloron guaranteed the document, it later came to be known as the ‘Britzlingen Golden Bull’ or the ‘Golden Bull of Ricardt I’.

The original Golden Bull was to be kept in Britzlingen, while copies would be produced for practical use.

And so the Master Alliance was founded, with Ricardt as its first leader. The first line of the Council of Six's minutes, written immediately after the Alliance's founding, read:

‘The Council of Six of the Master Alliance unanimously resolves to annihilate the One-Eye Clan.’

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