Hyaku ma no Omo - Chapter 43

Hasim Kudo Lemuse On that day, Hasim managed to sneak into the meeting hall in Zurias castle without any issue at all.
The path they took till they reached that hall was filled with tension.

While being concealed by the members of Aishas exclusive spy organization, Hasim managed to sneak into the Kingdom of Zuria.

That in itself wasnt really that difficult.
Even among the princes of Lemuse, Hasims existence itself was not very widely known.

It doesnt even need to be mentioned that, that was simply the result of the King of Lemuse refusing to let Hasim have any limelight because of his own jealousy.
Although it couldnt be called a lucky break but in the current situation, that had actually worked in their favor.

However, in the recent days, he had been the topic of gossip amongst the citizens of Lemuse as the one who would save the kingdom so he did take the basic precaution of disguising himself.

The problematic part was what came after they snuck into the country.
In what way should they intrude into Zurias castle where the Summit of Three Kings was taking place.

They definitely wouldnt be able to pa.s.s through the castle gates with their disguise as travellers.

If they had prepared their hand in advance then they might have been able to prepare the appropriate position in Zuria to make it through the gates but, from the time they found out about the Summit of Three Kings and made their way to the three kingdoms, they had already used up all the time they had left.
In the first place, they didnt have much time on their hands to begin with.

Since that is the case, then they have no other choice but to invade as fast as possible.
Oddly, Hasim felt an odd sense of camaraderie with that word, so much so that he ended up quietly laughing to himself.

When he remembered the time when he invaded into the academy of the academic state of Aios. he realised that he had a past unlike what you would expect a prince to have. He remembered all of that with mixed feelings of self-torment and pride.

They were feelings similar to what a mischievous boy would feel after having successfully fooled adults.

On the contrary, the one in charge of escorting Hasim to the Summit of Three Kings, Aisha, had a rather sharp expression on her face.
There were a lot of guards on lookout in Zurias castle. The job she had been entrusted involved in her having to successfully evade the guards surveillance net and manage to get Hasim to the meeting without any mishaps.

Hasim was definitely not the type who moved without thinking but in that sense, Aisha was several steps ahead of him. Which is why, Hasim, to the best of his abilities, didnt interfere with her.

He instead decided just to watch over Aisha as she very seriously studied the floor plan of Zurias castle, which he had no idea how she had gotten her hands on.

As a result he succeeded in trespa.s.sing into the hall where the Summit of Three Kings was taking place but the path to it was rather troublesome.

The measures that Aisha took, while they were rather plain and had a high success rate but they were also the kind of strategy that would be considered rather unsightly.

Crisca, I told you this at Aios Academy as well but your defenses are too weak. The area under the floor is completely deserted. Its fine that you have more ambition than others but if you keep looking up then youll have the rug pulled from under your feet

While sweeping the hem of his clothes, Hasim spoke to Crisca.
On the other hand, Crisca, who even forgot to move the bangs covering her eyes, kept staring into Hasims eyes with a dazed look.

Well, I managed to reach this place because of that thoughThough let me tell you, there are tons of blind spots in the other pa.s.sageways as well. The one who built this castle was probably the previous king so I dont want to nitpick but you could at least fill those blind spots in couldnt you?

Hasim continued to admonish Crisca but she suddenly opened her mouth.

Ku, Kudo, you, did you seriously crawl your way under the floor?

Thats right. Seriously though, my clothes are completely filthy now. Ive been trying to dust them for a while now but t refuses to become clean

Hasim continued to dust the hem of his clothes.

The hem of his clothes had multiple spots of dust on it and was very clearly dirty.
The woman in black clothes next to HasimAisha, pulled out a handkerchief and wiped Hasims face.
His face had traces of dust as well.

In recent times, even robbers wont go that far you know

Im not a robber though

In that case, what are you?

At that point, another person b.u.t.t into the conversation between the two.
The one who b.u.t.t into the conversation between Crisca and Hasim, with his huge bear like body was the King of Filarfia Fasalis.

Lets hear your name from you, yourself

While speaking, Fasalis also took a step towards Hasim. He seemed to be on guard against Hasim.

Hasim on the other hand, just let that caution slide with an easygoing air.

Hasim Kudo Lemuse. So that there is no misunderstanding Ill say it outright, Im the one who attended Aios Academy with you people. Im not some fake okay?

Yeah, we wouldnt doubt something like that now. No, more like Im convinced right now

At Hasims answer, Fasalis felt as if his strength had faded away.
Watching him speak that calmly, his figure seemed rather similar to his memories of Kudo.

In that moment, Fasalis was, without a shadow of a doubt, sure that the man in front of him was Kudo.

Seriously? You just said Lemuse didnt you?

Ah, thats right Muran. Even like this Im still a prince of Lemuse

Hasim laughed in a rather self-mocking way while answering Muran.

Haha, seriously, Kudo. Are you really Kudo?

What else did you expect? Well, I agree that my appearance wasnt very cool though.
By the way, I had the guards standing outside sleep a little. Ill apologize to them later. If the guards were too intimidating it would, in turn, be more suspicious but, those numbers are too few.
You people are unnecessarily strong so instead youre rather negligent in that aspect

Oi, its definitely Kudo. This irritating but accurate sermon is without a doubt from Kudo

Thats the reason you realised that I am who I say I am? said Hasim with a wry smile.

I missed you Kudo!

Suddenly Muran jumped up from his seat and briskly walked towards Hasim and hugged him.
Hasims expression didnt change from his wry smile.

Oi, how old do you think we are? How many years has it been since that time. This would be rather bad to show in front of the public wouldnt it?

I dont care! Its a fateful reunion!

Murans expression changed from the cynical smile he had until then and changed to a genuine smile from the bottom of his heart that was purely enjoying the current situation.

What? The third prince? I heard that Lemuse only had two princes?

After having enjoyed their reunion for a while, they realised that they didnt have much time left and returned to the table and started sharing information.
When they heard the commotion inside, the guards rushed into the room but each king restrained their guards and they were left tilting their heads in confusion.

Well, I have a bad relationship with my father

Its a little odd saying this in front of you, whos that fathers son but, the current king of Lemuse is horrendous. Cant something be done about that?

Something can. Im going to do something from now on

Hasim was rather relieved at the fact that he had been accepted by them much more smoothly than he had thought would happen.

At the same time, as he had expected, the Three Kingdoms had also noticed the terrible state that Lemuse was currently in and that fact made Hasim feel a mixed sense of relief and lamentation.

Thanks to that consolidation of information was much easier but he still couldnt help feeling embarra.s.sed about the shortcomings of his own family.

Do you plan on killing him?

Crisca asked him with a meek expression.

At those words, Muran and Fasalis looked like they finally thought of that but they immediately looked convinced.

I dont plan on narrating the details of the majority of my life butwell, thats how it is. Having Lemuse crushed as it is, is something that I could never agree with. Which is why, Ill become the king.
Ill kill him. After I die, Ill probably end up in h.e.l.l but, in the current situation, stuff about what might happen after I die really makes no difference. Ill be living in the present

Hasims determination could be seen, brilliantly shining in those aqua blue eyes of his, the Three Kings were able to clearly see that determination.

well, we cant really reproach you when it comes to such dark things. Before becoming the king and even after becoming one, we have done some rather horrible things after all

At Hasims determination, Muran gave a slight nod and then started talking about himself.

I wont ask you to forgive us. However, its true that we ended up causing the death of a hero

Hasim immediately understood what Muran was talking about.

He was referring to the deed that the Three Kingdoms had their hand in, in the past they had done something that was rather similar to demon lord hunting.

Theres no way back from that situation. Not ot mention, no matter how the situation changes, I dont think I would have chosen a different route. That was how cornered we were. Thats why, as the King of Kushana, I dont plan on apologizing for anything other than that hero.
He, who was called a demon lord by someone, was without a doubt a Hero in my eyes

Becoming a demon lord from a hero.
That sort of a situation was quite widespread during the turn of the era.

However, as far as Muran was concerned, the man he had let die in the past had gone from being a demon lord to a hero.

A reversible change.

In the end, it was a label that could be changed as and when it was convenient.

While people may think that they wont be judged just because of some words but the term hero, no matter the era, is considered in a good light.

Which was why Muran decided to call that man a hero.
As the hero who saved them all.

The mood turned rather gloomy huh. So, why did you come here now, Hasim?

That was a question from Muran as the King of Kushana.
He didnt call him Kudo as he would an old friend who studied together with him but instead Hasim who is a prince of Lemuse.

Hasim as well noticed what Muran was trying to say and straightened his posture.

From that point forward, it would be diplomacy.

In order to save Lemuse and in order to scare the h.e.l.l out of Mzeg, I want you to lend me your power. Of course, I have something to offer from my side as well

In Hasims eyes, a burning light could be seen.

Something to offer, huh? Does Lemuse even have something like that? Ah, if I hurt your feelings then I apologize. However, this is diplomacy. We have the lives of our citizens on the line. So I hope youll forgive a certain amount of strict speech, said Fasalis.

With a large yet dignified figure, he sat upright in his chair with a posture that looked like not even a gale could move him.

No, I get what Fasalis is trying to say. If youre a king then that much is to be expected

Then Ill ask, what can you get from the current Lemuse that would be equivalent to our a.s.sistance?

Hasim nodded to Fasalis words.
With a serious expression, he raised one hand in front of him and raised his index finger.

First

With that as the precursor, Hasim started to speak.

Under Lemuse, there is a vein

Hou, a vein

The one who calmly spoke up to that was Muran.
He had an easy-going air around him but his eyes showed a sharp glint.

Thats right. Not to mention, its a vein of magic stones

Seriously?

Muran spoke up once more.
This time however, he had none of his easy-going air and looked rather astonished.

Seriously

Matching with Murans casual speech, Hasim replied with a plain answer as well.

Is it different from the one that the current king offered to help us consider a non-aggression treaty?

Ah, that one is something that we showed off to father in order to keep him away from the actual magic stone vein. I had already found the vein long before my father thought of it and Ive so far managed to keep it away from him, which was rather hard though. Hes unnecessarily sensitive when it comes to money after all. Just shows all the experience he has in receiving bribes every day.
Anyway, this is a vein that I have concealed for quite a while now. Even though I knew that there was a vein there, I purposefully decided not to dig it up

The reason for that was?

Fasalis took the lead and questioned him.

Just what I had said earlier. If I were to dig it up, it would smell of money. There may be others, other than father, who would be pulled in by that smell

Mzeg huh?

Who knows. The current Mzeg could take over one or two veins from other countries quite easily. Especially, in the north of Mzeg, where its hard for us to reach, Ive heard that there are quite a few veins of precious resources

Mzegs speed is quite frightening. As expected of the king who managed to set up such a humongous country. Hes really fast and knows where to concentrate his resources

This isnt the first time that Mzegs king showed that he was blessed in political tactics

There were groans in response to that.
It basically showed that they were in agreement when it came to their opinions of Mzeg.

At that point, Crisca, who had been quietly listening till then, floated a grimace while joining in on the conversation.

In a rather sensational fashion, she tucked her long blue hair behind her ear and opened her slender lips.

However, thanks to that we, to the south, somehow managed to survive. Because of the Alliance of Three Kings and Mzeg’s whim

I don’t think it’s something like a whim which relies on luck. Simply because Mzeg’s king made a rational decision, the three kingdoms together managed to survive this long. Add the fact that the Alliance of Three Kings managed to steadily acc.u.mulate your strength, I think in this situation you guys have done a really good job

At Crisca’s bitter words, Hasim straightforwardly praised them.
After that, he returned the conversation back to the original topic.

And, so. I’ve managed to dig up some of the magic stones from that mine. Those magic stonesI’ll give them to you

What do you mean give? Even if we are handed magic stones, if we don’t have a way to use them then it’s rather pointless don’t you think? Not to mention that having the stones could lead to the enemy setting its sights on us as well

Like an actor, Muran spoke so with a lot of hand and body gestures while laughing.

The Kingdom of Kushana has built a new strategic weapon haven’t they?

so you found out huh

That acting was immediately found out by Hasim.
Muran stuck his tongue out very deliberately and floated a smile.

I’d just heard rumours that Kushana really lived up to its t.i.tle of the foremost in industry

At least hide the fact that you sent in spies, oi!

It seems that you didn’t notice so, I’m just teaching you a good lesson

At Murans reproach, Hasim laughed scornfully in a very forced manner
It was an exchange between close friends and it definitely did not devolve into a stern atmosphere.

Even we managed to catch a few spies you know

Our Aisha is really skilled. I’ll be very troubled if you lump her in with your run-of-the-mill spies

I get that. Just the fact that you sneaked into this room alone goes to show that.
Well whatever. So, what is the scale of that magic ore vein?

Compared to the exhausted magic ore vein of the Kingdom of Kushana, it’s definitely much bigger

Haayou even know that far huh Fine, it’s enough

Muran laughed with an intermingled wry smile while waving his hand.

If Lemuse is going to provide us with enough magic stones then I’m fine with the alliance. Though, at the end of the day, it’s still only me who is fine with it

Just handing over magic stones is enough to set up an alliance with you huh

The development of our industry has been the long cherished wish of Kushana after all

At the sarcastic words of Crisca, Muran bowed gracefully and spoke in an elegant tone.

Alright, with this I have Morans agreement huh. What about you other two, Fasalis and Crisca?

At Hasim’s words, both of them fell silent at the same time.
It vividly portrayed that they had yet to make up their minds on the matter.

With just that much, agreeing is a little difficult. At least for my kingdom, Zuria

Let’s hear your reason

The first one to speak up was the queen of Zuria, Crisca.

The other side still has Serius Brad Mzeg, not to mention many other exceptional individuals. Even if we managed to create a satisfactory number of magic cannons, even then we can’t said to be equal. We need more power.
Can Lemuse offer such power?

Crisca’s demand was very straightforward.
Hasim, as well, had expected that demand of hers.
Which is why he was able to answer smoothly.

Lies, that is.

We can

Are you seriously saying that?

Yeah. Lemuse has power

It’s really hard to believe that something like that exists

Compared to Crisca, who could not even conceal her expression that clearly said that she didn’t believe him, Hasim on the other hand put on an air of importance and very slowly and clearly spoke up.

Let me rent out the power of over 20 Demon Lords to you

After that it was Hasim’s match.
A once in a lifetime match that had lives on the line.

My Wonderful Patrons~ Mathew Tiffany Joe Donahue Sheeta15 Kalpana