Told that there would be a brief wait until the awards ceremony, I sat on a chair in the waiting room. Since we had won the championship, I had assumed all that was left was to collect the five hundred gold coins and go home. Nobody had warned me that I'd have to give a speech at the end.
"Hey, are you sure 'Well done, that is all' won't cut it...?"
"Of course it won't! People from all across the royal capital have gathered here, you know! At least think about what you're going to say!"
Standing across from me, Clarice gave me an exasperated look. When I had hugged her in the excitement of our victory earlier, she had blushed all the way to her ears, but now she was completely back to her usual self.
"I wasn't even the one fighting out there, so what am I supposed to say? Praising the soldiers and telling them to rest today ought to be plenty."
"...Whatever. Just make sure you don't say anything weird, all right?"
She had so little faith in me... All I wanted was to take my five hundred gold coins in peace and go home! As I grumbled to myself, our summons was called, and I reluctantly stood up.
◇
A podium for the ceremony had been erected in the center of the Grand Drill Grounds, and the area surrounding it was packed with soldiers and spectators. Though the Razgrim soldiers who had just finished the finals were lined up covered in mud and scrapes, the joy of victory clearly outweighed their exhaustion; simply seeing me appear near the podium prompted cheers to erupt from every direction.
Before long, as the cheering subsided, Alecia stepped forward onto the platform. It had not been long since her coronation, and as Queen, this was her first time presiding over the Founding Festival and standing before so many commoners and nobles. Even so, as she straightened her back and looked out over the venue, an air distinct from her days as a princess was steadily beginning to show.
"First, I would like to thank everyone who has come to this Founding Festival. And as Queen, allow me to express my gratitude to all the houses that participated in the military competition, and to the soldiers who have trained relentlessly until today."
Her clear, carrying voice resonated across the Grand Drill Grounds.
"It has not been long since I ascended the throne. Nor can I say that I am yet accustomed to standing before so many people as your Queen. But seeing those who fought here today reminded me... a kingdom cannot be sustained by a monarch alone. There are those who defend the domain, those who till the fields, those who craft goods, and those who conduct trade. It is precisely because so many people fulfill their duties in their respective places that this kingdom stands here today."
Applause rippled through the commoners' seats, and Alecia's expression softened slightly.
"The same held true for today's military competition. A single strong individual cannot achieve victory alone... I wish to offer my applause to every soldier who supported one another and fought through to the very end."
A great roar of applause erupted, directed equally toward the soldiers of the defeated houses. After waiting for the noise to settle, Alecia turned toward us once more.
"With that said—let us honor those who fought their way through this year's Founding Festival military competition to the very end, defeating the previous champions, House Eldran. The champion—House Razgrim!"
Cheers erupted once more, and I ascended the podium as called.
"I hereby bestow the grand prize of five hundred gold coins."
I've been waiting for this...!!! My gold coins!!
The moment I took the offered box, a hefty weight sank into my arms. Naturally, I couldn't open and count them in front of the entire kingdom, but my five hundred coins were officially secured.
Next, as the medals were brought forward, Alecia turned back to face the crowd.
"And regarding the medal to be awarded to the winning house—by right, it would be received by the head of the house, Duke Vain Razgrim... However, a request was made by the duke himself to pass it on to the two who commanded the army."
For a moment, all sound vanished from the Grand Drill Grounds, quickly replaced by a wave of murmurs spreading through the noble seats.
"Pass the medal...?"
"The head of the winning house willingly declined the decoration?"
I guess it really was that unusual...? To me, it was just giving an item that would only end up collecting dust somewhere in the estate to the people who were actually useful.
"Such a request is truly unprecedented... However, for this occasion only, I shall grant it as Queen. Raisa Vangrit, Lydia Eldran. Step forward."
Standing in the soldiers' ranks, the two of them froze in unison. Lydia's eyes went wide, and even Raisa lost her usual grin... Coming up to the podium, both of them looked at me before looking at the medals.
"...Boss. Did you really mean to do this?"
"Lord Vain, I haven't heard anything about this! Isn't this something you should be receiving...?"
"Because I didn't tell you. I don't need it, and you two are the ones who won the match, right? Then the two of you should take it."
Raisa was uncharacteristically at a loss for words, and Lydia didn't answer right away either. Even Galvas's eyes widened in surprise, but he soon let out a hearty laugh toward his daughter.
"Gwahaha! Take it, Lydia! You're the ones who won it!"
Clenching her fist against her chest, Lydia bowed deeply.
"...Thank you, Lord Vain. I shall continue to serve so as not to bring shame upon this medal."
"You don't need to put so much pressure on yourself, you know. Just keep working as you have been."
Beside her, Raisa accepted her medal with a wry, troubled smile.
◇
"Next, a few words from the head of the winning house, Duke Vain Razgrim."
It finally came, huh...
Stepping to the front of the podium, every gaze in sight—not just from the Razgrim soldiers, but from the nobles of each house and the commoners of the royal capital—turned toward me. Glancing back, I saw Clarice making a face that practically screamed, "Do this properly."
"...I hate long speeches, so I'll keep it brief, all right? First off, we didn't win today because of me... The ones who fought were the soldiers, and the ones who commanded were Raisa and Lydia. I was just watching from the outside and shouting halfway through. That's why I gave the medals to those two."
A slight murmur arose, but I paid it no mind and looked at the soldiers.
"I think you guys know this too, but man for man, the Eldran soldiers were stronger. We got pushed back plenty of times, and halfway through, even I resigned myself to second place... But even so, we won in the end. When the guy in front got pushed, the one behind supported him; when a tired guy fell back, the next stepped up. If you can't win alone, you do it together... You guys won today because you did that to the very end."
The Razgrim soldiers listened in silence. Since the commoners were here anyway, there was no need to speak only to the soldiers.
"And this isn't just about soldiers, got it? It's the same for the guys tilling fields, crafting goods, or doing business. No one can do everything alone. If there's something you can't do, just leave it to someone who can. I do the same, and that's why I hire people. High status, low status, where you were born, what you did in the past—I couldn't care less about any of that. If you can work properly right now, I'll use you; if you're useful, I'll give you a job. That's plenty."
In the ranks of the soldiers, Gash bowed his head slightly, and Raisa touched the medal on her chest just once. In the spectator seats, Elsa drew her single arm against her chest, and beside her, the master blacksmith silently looked up at the podium.
"So hold your heads high, you guys who won today! And those of you watching, at least remember that these guys won before you go home. But don't go getting satisfied just from winning once, got it? Because I plan on having you work for me a lot more."
The soldiers looked up.
"Work for my dreams! Until you die!"
The Grand Drill Grounds fell dead silent, and I felt the presence of Clarice gasping behind me. Thinking my phrasing might have been a bit poor, I added a little more.
"Well, in exchange—I'll take care of you until you die. I'll provide your food and your jobs, and if you get hurt, I'll have you treated... I have no intention of pushing you to the point where you can't work anymore. I went through the trouble of hiring capable people! It helps me out more if you work for a long time, after all. That is all. Well done! Rest today."
Having finished speaking, I took a step back, but no one made a sound.
Huh? Was that really... that bad...?
The next instant, just as Vain thought that—
"LORD VAIIIIIIIIINNNNN!!!"
The voices of three hundred men exploded all at once. Swords were raised, shields were thrust into the air, and without anyone ordering them to do so, every single one of them shouted my name.
"We will follow you for the rest of our lives!!!"
"We'll work until we die!! Long live Lord Vain!!"
"Glory to Razgrim!! Glory to Razgrim!!"
Long live Razgrim!! Long live Razgrim!! Long live Razgrim—!!!
O-Oh...? Did I really say something worth getting that thrilled about?
The cheering didn't end with just the soldiers; the commoners in the spectator seats stood up one after another as well. What began with the voices of three hundred men pulled in the surrounding applause, turning into a roar that shook the very Grand Drill Grounds itself.
◇
Galvas watched the scene without a smile.
Three hundred soldiers, without being commanded by anyone, raised their swords and shields toward a single man, shouting his name. And this was not merely them making noise in the excitement of victory. Exhausted and caked in mud, they were nonetheless shouting without a shred of hesitation that they would "work until they die."
Having led armies for so long, Galvas understood all too well how utterly abnormal this was. Soldiers bound only by coin would waver if offered higher pay. Soldiers made obedient through fear would abandon their master the moment he showed weakness. But the three hundred before him were different. They had chosen of their own accord to follow Vain, and they were genuinely thrilled to be told that he would look after them to the end in return.
"...Good grief, he's raised a terrifying thing."
His usual hearty laugh was nowhere to be found.
Today, the Razgrim army had defeated the previous champions, the Eldran army. That alone was a massive event, yet during the battle, Lydia had invented a formation never seen before, and at the end of it all, the soldiers themselves displayed such loyalty toward their lord. If it were merely the army's strength, one might catch up through retraining. But if asked whether one could forge the hearts of men in the same way, even Galvas could not give an easy answer.
"...Even I don't know if my soldiers would adore me that much."
Hearing those words, Alecia, who stood beside him, widened her eyes slightly. For Galvas, who had led the kingdom's armies for so long, to voice such a thing himself was telling.
Alecia was looking at Vain on the podium with mixed emotions. Of course, she was happy. The man who had supported her during the Royal Selection, whose attitude toward her never changed even after she became Queen, had now defeated the previous champion in the military competition. But looking at it as a ruler, she could not simply be pleased by the scene before her.
The duke who made her victorious in the Royal Selection... the army that defeated the previous champions... the daughter of House Eldran who took command in that army... and the abnormal loyalty directed at him by those three hundred men.
If Vain had been a man opposed to her—having thought that far, Alecia quickly gave her head a small shake. She knew very well that he harbored no such ambitions.
The problem was that the surrounding nobles would not necessarily think the same way.
"...Vain. You probably don't realize how much you're standing out right now, do you?"
Naturally, the man on the podium could not hear her.
A short distance away, Regnard was also quietly gazing at Vain.
"...Good grief. He really is a troublesome man, that one."
His tone sounded exasperated, but his eyes were not smiling.
Beside him, Perkin had not uttered a single word for quite some time.
Even after the Royal Selection had concluded, he had hoped that the tide might turn somewhere. If Alecia's standing wavered, could they not rally the nobles around Regnard once more? What should be done to achieve that—such had been his thoughts until just moments ago.
Yet now, he was being shown, whether he liked it or not, just how shallow that thinking had been.
If the Razgrim army were merely strong, that would still be manageable. The problem was that the three hundred men who had defeated the previous champions had demonstrated before the entire royal capital that they would follow Vain to the ends of the earth. Behind him was a continuously expanding domain, connections forged during the Royal Selection, and now even ties to House Eldran.
Even if something were to happen in the royal palace, the existence known as Vain Razgrim would not vanish. If anything, should that man give a single call, those soldiers would gather without hesitation.
Perkin swallowed dryly.
"...Perhaps I saw nothing at all."
Without looking beside him, Regnard answered while keeping his gaze on the podium.
"If you have realized it now, that is fine."
◇
In the spectator seats, the master blacksmith stood with his arms crossed, watching the Razgrim soldiers erupting in celebration of their victory. The armor and shields they had forged, repaired, and worked on time and again were covered in mud and scars. Even so, few were heavily damaged, and they had protected the soldiers' bodies to the very end amidst such fierce combat.
"...You've been picked up by one absurd lord, Elsa."
"Vain was... this incredible...?"
Stunned, Elsa looked back and forth between Vain on the podium and the soldiers continuing to shout his name.
When she first arrived in the Razgrim domain, Vain hadn't said a word about her missing arm. On the contrary, he told her that if she had an arm, she could work, and entrusted the gear to her alongside the master. At the time, she had thought he was an eccentric noble, but looking around now, the drill grounds were full of people who, like her, had lost their place somewhere.
There were former mercenaries, and there were former bandits. Yet now they wore the same equipment, had defeated the previous champions, and were holding their heads high, shouting the name of a single lord.
"...He's been gathering people like this all along."
Even as Elsa muttered softly, the master didn't answer right away. His gaze remained fixed on the soldiers' armor and shields. Eventually, amidst the deep wrinkles on his face, a satisfied smile emerged.
"They put on quite a fight using our gear. Holding out to the end against the previous champions, and even managing to win on top of it."
"...Yeah."
"I got to do the best work I could ever ask for."
The master let out a small breath as he said this, looking across the drill grounds with the gentle face of a craftsman who had finally finished a long job.
"...Then I'm satisfied."
"...Master?"
Elsa couldn't help but turn toward him. But the master said nothing more, instantly returning to his usual gruff expression.
"It's nothing... We won, after all. Just watch without overthinking things for now."
"...Y-Yeah."
Though she answered, Elsa couldn't bring her gaze back to the drill grounds for a while. Usually, once the gear had done its job, the master would say, "Next time, I'll make it even better." Yet those words just now—"I'm satisfied"—strangely lingered in her ears.
◇
And more than anyone, the ones whose complexions had paled were the nobles who had previously looked down on Razgrim.
When he helped Alecia win the Royal Selection, some claimed he had merely caught a lucky break with the tide of events. Many also believed that his elevation from count to duke was simply the result of getting on the good side of the new monarch.
However, after witnessing today's spectacle, they could no longer say the same.
He had defeated the previous champions, House Eldran... He had brought forth a formation never seen before... One of the commanders was the daughter of House Eldran, a distinguished military family... And above all, three hundred soldiers were shouting toward Vain alone, declaring that they would follow him of their own accord until they died.
"Are we... to oppose that?"
Someone muttered softly. No one answered... Turning him into an enemy meant fighting those soldiers. But that was not the most troublesome part.
The ones who heard today's speech were not just the soldiers, but the commoners and craftsmen gathered from across the royal capital as well. Status, birth, and past did not matter. If you can work now, you will be used. And once hired, you will be taken care of until you die—Vain himself had declared this before the entire royal capital.
—What if the soldiers mistreated in their own houses heard that? What if skilled craftsmen who went unused purely because of their status heard it?
If those who had lost their place in other houses began to think that Razgrim might put them to work—
A certain noble stiffened as his thoughts reached that point.
"...Once we return, prepare a congratulatory gift for Duke Razgrim."
"B-But we've hardly had any dealings with him until now, haven't we...?!"
"That is why we must build them now! It will be too late once that man grows any larger!"
Similar hushed voices were not limited to that one spot. On this day, the nobles gathered in the royal capital had not merely witnessed the victor of the military competition.
Just how massive a power the man named Vain Razgrim was beginning to wield, without even realizing it himself—they had been shown a glimpse of it, whether they liked it or not.
◇
The cheers finally settled down a bit, and I looked out over the soldiers from the podium once more.
...Still, these guys are far less injured than I thought.
Naturally, there were bruises and cuts, and some were leaning on others' shoulders. Even so, considering how violently they had clashed with the Eldran army, those with serious injuries were clearly few. While the soldiers' deep blue armor and shields bore scratches and dents, most had fulfilled their duty right to the very end.
"...It's thanks to Elsa and the master."
Those two really had the real deal when it came to skill.
...Hm? Wait a minute.
There were tons of nobles from all over the place here today. Every single one of them saw the Razgrim army, clad in gear made by Elsa and the others, defeat the previous champions.
Couldn't this... sell?
Equipment used by the army that won the military competition... That alone would be a huge selling point, and if it's genuinely hard to break and reduces soldier injuries, there ought to be plenty of people who want it. We could expand the workshop, hire more craftsmen, and sell to other houses. Plus, if they're the ones coming to us, even if we charge a bit high—
The corners of my mouth curled up on their own.
—This is bad...! I've just come up with an utterly devilish idea...!
"...Vain, wipe that look off your face... Whenever you smile like that, you're thinking of something terrible! And this time, it definitely involves money, doesn't it?"
Turning around, I saw Clarice looking at me with absolute distaste.
"How rude! I just thought of a great business opportunity!"
"Not once have those words ever put my mind at ease..."
Ignoring Clarice's words, I turned my gaze back toward Elsa in the spectator seats. Despite having such incredible skill, she still only had one arm. If we were going to expand the workshop, have her work more, and craft even better goods from here on out, keeping things as they were would inevitably hit a limit.
In that case, the first order of business was set.
"...First, let's do something about Elsa's arm."