The Legendary Spearman Returns

“How...?” the girl whispered.

Everyone was shocked, especially the girl. The sight of Paulman becoming a death knight had been even more unsettling to her than it was to everyone else. Becoming an undead didn’t change the fact that Paulman was her enemy; he was the reason why her family of eight had died and she had been subjected to slavery for her entire life. How could she maintain her composure when a man like that came back to life as a monster?

-What... have you done?

Jack Steropes was not only shocked by his death knight’s sudden collapse, he was suffering the side effects of their contract. When an undead was hurt, its master was also injured to the same degree.

It didn’t take long for Jack to sense the wicked energy that Kireua exuded.

-Demonic power...?

Jack’s lips trembled. He would expect to find this level of demonic power from a demon lord.

-The Prince of Avalon... has an Evil Sin?

When Kireua’s demonic power rushed over Jack, screams filled his head, clawing at his mind with temptation.

-Ah, fuck...!

Jack couldn’t believe the depth of the greed in those screams, but he wasn’t going down without a fight. Jack unleashed a shower of black sparks that chewed through the ground.

-Stop! I’ll fry everyone here if you don’t stop right now.

That included the survivors, too—and as expected, the screams in his head died out immediately.

He chuckled.

-This... This is a surprise. A prince with demonic power, at the level of a demon king no less. Why don’t you explain yourself? I do believe most of your knights and mages are able to sense your Evil Sin right now.

Kireua remained silent, which only served to embolden Jack based on his grin.

-The world must have gotten a lot better. That would’ve been unimaginable back in my day.

It was none other than one of the Seven Evil Sins, so it wasn’t impossible that Kireua had used it to infiltrate an undead’s mind and end their contract even if it was one as powerful as a death knight. However, the monster wasn’t what mattered right now.

-Or was it a reflexive response?

Jack’s voice gained strength as his confidence returned.

-Everyone, look! A prince who uses demonic power! How am I any different from him? Just like he claimed to be saving Avalon, I’m trying to save the world!

Jack had all the necessary justification now. After becoming a lich, he had found a sign indicating the collapse of the Human Realm, so he had focused on building a portal that would lead them to a new world and studied necromancy, the key to his visions in the new world, without harming humans until now.

In fact, he had the moral high ground right now. While Kireua was going to battle for the sake of his own country, Jack sought to save the entire world. The casualties weighed in his favor as well: a war could result in hundreds of thousands of deaths, but Jack only sacrificed one thousand people at most. Above all, all those sacrificed people had volunteered themselves to Jack’s goals.

-What justification do you people have for hindering my grand plan!? I’ve put aside my desire for revenge to save the continent, but that Prince of Avalon...!

The more Jack continued, the more unsettled the nobles’ troops grew. The situation was getting worse by the minute. Their prince had cut off a knight’s head for a slave, and every word from the lich, supposedly evil incarnate, was right.

“To be honest, there’s no reason to feel uneasy about demonic power...”

“Well, His Majesty has already proven that there is no good or bad power. It’s the people who use them that are good or evil.”

“There’s nothing odd about His Majesty’s son using demonic power, but His Highness’s disposition...”

As a matter of fact, none of the blue-bloods were willing to accept Kireua’s speech. Most of the people in power hated change, especially if those changes were going to deprive them of their privileges. That was why most knights, mages, and nobles were conservatives. There were only a few progressive nobles who wished to make big changes in the country, and most of them were from the countryside.

“Those children said that they’re here of their own will... Is there a reason for us to risk our lives for them?”

The murmurings were quiet yet clear enough that everyone heard—he had a good point. It was very odd to take the survivors back to their homes against their will; besides, the chances of the warband dying once they crossed the border of Hubalt was high enough already.

Besides, even if their operation succeeded despite the million-to-one odds, Avalon was obviously changing in ways that ran completely counter to their beliefs. That was why all of them were beginning to wonder why they should even bother.

Cain could feel his hands sweating as he watched everything.

‘Your Highness...’

The survivors picked up on the subtle change in the air and all the progress that Kireua had made toward changing their minds was abruptly reversed. They knew that the chances of Kireua taking the throne were low and that the country wasn’t going to change if he was the only one with that mindset. The survivors had no reason to go back if they would only be subjected to the same nightmare.

-Go back, Prince of Avalon! You have no reason to be here any longer. If these people wish to go back home, I’m more than happy to let them go. I can’t make people sacrifice themselves against their will just to build a new world.

Jack solemnly reproached Kireua, hiding his delight.

Cain was dumbstruck by Jack’s about-face. Only a moment ago, the lich was claiming that sacrificing the few for the sake of the many was just and right.

‘This is why politics is hard, Your Highness,’ Cain bitterly thought.

Kireua was on the back foot, so Cain’s only hope at the moment was for Kireua to grow from this experience. No matter how hard he thought about it, Cain couldn’t think of a solution where everyone would be happy. He could guarantee that there was no society where both commoners and nobles were content; when one side was happy, the other side was unhappy. That was the world they had been living in for their entire history.

“Then what about this new world that you’re going to build?” Kireua suddenly asked.

-...What?

“Supposing that this different dimension is real and you’re going to build a country with a new social system, are you confident that you can make both nobles and commoners happy?”

-Well...

Despite the survivors’ expectant gazes, Jack couldn’t muster an answer. He found himself in a dilemma. Were he to declare that he was going to build an equal society as he had earlier, Jack would lose the support of the nobles after all the trouble he had gone through to stir up discord between them and the prince.

“In the end, there is no utopia or dystopia. This is a world where good and evil coexist, so we need to accept people’s differences and work toward change, little by little. I know that it will be hard, but I can guarantee you one thing.”

Kireua turned to face his people.

“Not everyone is going to be happy in the country I’m going to build as soon as I take the throne, but the voices of both nobles and ordinary citizens will be heard. The fate of an entire country will not be left in the hands of a few people.”

-You’re trying awfully hard to sugarcoat your hypocrisy!

“I’m not. As a member of the Imperial Family, invested with the greatest power in the empire, the real hypocrisy would be to tell the nobles to make compromises when I don’t. If I become the emperor of Avalon...”

Kireua paused for a moment. The ensuing pause was so silent that the sound of someone nervously swallowing carried to every ear.

“...The hereditary class system, for the Imperial Family and slaves alike, will be first to be abolished.”

The gathered audience physically reeled from the sheer impact of what Kireua had said. His statement would mean that neither royalty nor slavery was guaranteed. The class of the parents would not be passed on to their children.

“Of course, I’m sure that not everyone is happy with my answer, but you can change it yourself. The people of Avalon deserve to live with that hope.”

-What...? That doesn’t make any sense...!

Kireua shook his head. “It does. It’s what His Majesty Joshua Sanders has done.”

Jack’s tongue was tied.

“He was born and could have died as a bastard, but he rose to become the emperor of Avalon. Even in Reinhardt’s Masters' Battle, he defeated many of Igrant’s greatest warriors and became king of Reinhardt as a mere baron.”

Both the troops and the survivors felt a thrill run through them. The story of the day that Joshua had become the king of Reinhardt was a legend that made their hearts soar, regardless of their class.

“If you don’t like the world, then change it! I can’t promise that those changes are going to make the world more fair, but I won’t spare any coin from the Imperial treasury to make the world better. Just like what Her Majesty Icarus, the Heaven’s Mind, once said, an academy for ordinary citizens will be built—and I promise that upon my name as Kireua Sanders the Second Prince of the Empire of Avalon!”

Kireua’s unyielding spirit touched a chord deep in Cain’s heart. There was something beyond the mere meaning of Kireua’s words that moved people’s hearts.

“Your Highness....” Cain whispered, smiling from ear to ear.

Anna poked Cain’s waist. “He’s good.”

If the Emperor of Avalon and the Queen Consorts were going to scold Kireua for making an outrageous promise, Cain would stand up for him. Of course, they were more likely to compliment Kireua for what he had done, considering their personalities.

“Don’t let the lich tempt you! Take pride in your nation. For all of our differences, how can we let a monster like him roam around in our country!” Kireua thrust his arm into the air.

“Wooaaaaah!”

Lord Adolanche cheered at the top of his lungs, quickly followed by hundreds of others. Their cry shook the forest.