Chapter 92

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And on March 10th, the comic adaptation of this work will start serialization in Comptiq!

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The Republic of Bluebalm is a country that recognizes slavery.

It is a minority on a global scale.

Most countries abhor slavery as an evil system and have established laws to ban it.

Bluebalm, however, went against the tide and made slavery the cornerstone of its state.

The economy runs on the cheapest labor provided by slaves, and the profits derived from this support the society.

More than ninety percent of the population are slaves... although slaves have no human rights and are not considered citizens, so officially, the country is said to be entirely composed of slave traders.

The government is run by a Senate composed of major merchants, and a governor elected from among them serves as the de facto head of state for a few years.

That is why Bluebalm is a republic.

They claim that this system is progressive and that they are the most advanced and efficient state, including the institution of slavery.

Since the country is made up only of slave traders, the more slaves they sell, the more prosperous and powerful the state becomes.

Therefore, they are plotting to export slaves to other countries, but due to the ban on slavery in many countries, they are struggling.

In terms of scale, it has less than one-twentieth the power of the Centakilian Kingdom where I live, and its territory is very small, making it a small country.

Moreover, the only national industry, the slave trade, cannot be conducted with other countries, so it is impossible to maintain the society.

For centuries, it has been said that the country will soon collapse economically and disappear, but it continues to exist and actively buy and sell slaves to this day.

The fact that the Republic of Bluebalm has not been destroyed for so long has long been one of the seven wonders of the world, a mystery to scholars.

However, what if the reason is that it is connected to the Church behind the scenes?

Could the Republic of Bluebalm, composed only of slave traders, survive only because it has the Church, which has the divine privilege of granting skills and dominates the world, as its backing?

By kidnapping and enslaving rare and talented individuals and selling them to the Church...

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"I will destroy the Republic of Bluebalm."

I state this to the king as if informing him of a fact.

It is not a consultation but a straightforward declaration of intent.

"Slavery is evil. It has a hundred harms and no benefits and should not be allowed to exist. Therefore, the Republic of Bluebalm, which not only recognizes slavery but also makes it a major industry, should be destroyed."

Furthermore, if they are connected to the Church, there is even more reason to destroy them.

I have just decided that I should do anything that troubles the Church without hesitation.

"......We have turned a blind eye to this problem for a long time."

The king said with a heavy heart.

"I knew that as long as our country does not recognize slavery, we must be enemies with theirs. They have tried to sell slaves to our country in various ways to expand their influence."

Sometimes they would flatter us with sweet talk, and other times they would threaten us with angry voices.

They would provoke misunderstandings with ambiguous words and demand sincerity from us while casually changing their own statements...

They have tried to push their agenda.

"Their campaign to make our country recognize slavery has continued for over a hundred years. The reason it has never succeeded is that slavery is a clear evil that tramples on human dignity."

"You are right."

"Still, their ambitions do not wane. Even if good can overcome evil, if it continues for so long, there might be a time when white turns to black. And once it turns black, it will never turn white again."

It was a terrifying thought.

The horror of letting evil run rampant.

"The idea of destroying that dangerous country by force has been discussed many times. However, each time it was dropped, and now I realize it was due to the Church's hidden influence."

Those who advocated for the destruction of Bluebalm would often fall ill at the right time or be ousted by scandals.

This has been happening for generations before the current king ascended the throne.

"Considering that the Church was behind their active efforts to expand slavery, everything makes sense. ...Those fake priests. To think they were such scum and were friendly with them. I am utterly disgusted!"

The king's hatred of the Church had reached its peak after the incident with the demon invasion.

Learning that the Church was involved in this trouble only increased his disdain.

"I agree, Ryuya. I will no longer hold back. Let us finally address the centuries-old problem of the Republic of Bluebalm!"

The king, full of determination.

This decisiveness is the first thing that makes him a wise ruler.

"I am already in clear opposition to the Church, so I do not care what they say. First, we will send a protest to their country. We will confront them with the fact that they have been conducting slave hunts in our country and demand an apology and compensation!"

The king said.

"Thanks to Ryuya exposing their crimes, it will be easier! With such clear evidence, they cannot talk their way out of it. We will demand a huge compensation amount to pressure their economy! When they start complaining that they cannot pay, we will declare the negotiations a failure and go to war immediately!!"

The king's excitement was rising.

As a politician, he was trying to set a more efficient path to war with a just cause...

"Please wait a moment."

I tried to calm the king's excitement.

"With all due respect, that is why the country has survived for centuries, isn't it? A weak country can only survive with cunning negotiation skills and bluffing."

No matter how decisive the evidence, a true villain will never admit it.

They will use acrobatic sophistry that a decent person would never think of to evade responsibility.

That is exactly what they want. While they buy time, the Church will surely interfere.

"No matter how much the king opposes the Church, it is impossible to completely shut out their influence. They will surely try to stop our actions in some way."

In the end, the issue will be left unresolved, and the campaign against Bluebalm will be shelved.

This has likely been repeated many times over the centuries.

"They are experts in evil schemes. I do not think we can get our way by negotiating with them."

"Hmm...? Now that you mention it, Ryuya, you might be right. There are indeed people who use sophistry that we would never think of..."

The king's expression turned sour, as if he had a specific incident in mind.

"So, Ryuya, what should we do? What would you do to crush that evil country?"

"If the enemy has a strength, the best strategy is to prevent them from using it. There is no point in sitting down at the negotiation table knowing they are skilled negotiators."

We should not fight on their terms.

The king himself is a tough negotiator, which is why he is trying to find a way to destroy the slave state by following the proper procedures and raising a just cause.

But because I am not good at political negotiations, I have a different approach.

"We will not negotiate; we will attack the Republic of Bluebalm directly."

"What!?"

The king was genuinely taken aback by my statement.

"We should attack and destroy them quickly and decisively, giving them no chance to make excuses."

Smooth talkers usually do not take action.

The slave state is a small country. Once a real war starts, it will be easy to crush them.

"No, no, wait, Ryuya! Isn't that too reckless!?"

"Why?"

"Why, even if they are an immoral slave state, they are still a legitimate country! If we destroy them without negotiation, we will be the villains. The Church and other countries will surely criticize us!"

After all the bad things you've said about them?

"However, if we give them a chance to explain, they will surely escape. The surest way to catch a cunning villain is to give them no chance to evade responsibility."

"That might be true, but..."

"Let's think about what to do after we destroy them. You are good at that, so I will leave it entirely to you."

"You make it sound so easy."

I have a plan in mind.

First, the solid evidence of the slave hunts they conducted in our country.

The testimonies of the people I ghosted in Abignon are not strong evidence, but the documents and ledgers found in their hideouts will be solid proof.

With this, we can expose Bluebalm's wrongdoing and create an urgent reason to act.

Additionally, I will provide something to help the king.

"I will go to the Republic of Bluebalm alone."

"Huh?"

The king was taken aback again by my statement.

"I will attack and destroy Bluebalm alone. This will not be a war between the Republic of Bluebalm and the Centakilian Kingdom, but a war between me and that country. This way, our country will not be directly involved."

This way, the king and others will not be criticized. At least not directly.

To stop the slave state that has survived for centuries by evading the law, I will act alone.