Chapter 151.1 - Wall of Race
「Your HIghness… What do you think of those weak, and poor demons?」
I was really surprised upon hearing Alvar's question.
「Do you mean… As the demon race?」
That must be the case, given the context of his question, but I'll confirm it, just in case. Perhaps he was trying to discuss the topic of the weak and poverty, regardless of race.
「Yes.」
Or so I hoped for, it turned out to be limited only to the Demon Race.
The weak… And poor demon?
「They should just go die for all I care.」 Was definitely not the correct answer in this situation.
「Uhm…」
I groaned a bit to buy some time. What kind of answer did he expect from me?From the way he acted, it seemed he had no intention to tease me with this question. Alvar was a rare, mild-mannered type among demons.
In the first place, he himself lives in the old town. There were people who tried to belittle others to make themselves look better, but Alvar didn't strike me as that kind of person.
And then, just after we had almost passed through the old town, he started this kind of conversation――most likely to avoid letting the residents of the old town overhear our conversation. In addition, he was also trying to give some consideration to me, a Demon Prince…
『What's his plan for asking that question?』
What I could say for sure was that he wanted to gauge my response. I could feel Alvar’s tension increasing as he waited for my answer.
『Indeed, is there really a need to think this deeply? No matter what you answer, or what this person thinks, it likely won't have much impact.』
Well, now that you mention it, that was true.
Instead of overthinking it, I'll just express my honest thoughts and see how Alvar reacts.
「Properly speaking… I don't know about the existence of poor demon race.」
That was my honest opinion. The Demons were part of the noble class in the Demon Kingdom, after all.
「I see…」
Alvar grimaced as if to say 「is that where you're starting from?」.
「I was born and raised in the Demon King's castle. There are only demons who were truly like demons around me.」
They were all the kind of people who exploited other races, wielding magical power and authority, dressed in barbaric, noble attire, with sharp glints in their eyes.
「That's why I'm really surprised when you ask me that question. Why do they fall into poverty?」
Since you're living around here, you're also a member of the Reiju clan, right? For those of the darkling, the ability to use the precious healing art of transpose curse—why would someone with such a skill end up poor??
「Well… I can't say it’s all one thing, but there are various reasons for it…」
Scratching his head, Alvar started speaking, carefully choosing his words.
「Well… It's mostly because the family head died before his successor could grow into a respectable figure.」
Yeah, that was something I've seen far too many times, even in the Alliance.
「Or, the said demon made a contract with a battle-oriented devil but was unable to go to the frontline, and ended up struggling to develop their magical power due to a lack of opportunities.」
Here I thought, wasn't that unnecessary worry since they could make a pact with the devil?
「Why can't they go to the frontline?」
「… One won't be able to go to the frontline without connections. The only time you're sent without connections is for your first battle, but it's hard to make a name for yourself in that situation. In the end, it's always the strong ones and their relatives who get sent to the frontline…」
「I see…」
Since I'm a Demon Prince, I always got special treatment and barely knew the common sense among the Demon King Army.
Apparently, there was constant conflict for military merit on every frontline, and the next target of conquest had always been fiercely contested between the clans. However, I didn’t know the specific details about how the clan that gets assigned handles the deployment of their forces.
「… So 『Being taken along』 means that the clan will cover various expenses involved in moving to the frontlines.」
「Yes. There are various costs, like the arrangement fee for the skeleton carriage, food expenses, and so on… So, it’s not possible to take everyone who wants to come.」
So that was the reason behind the scramble for the quota.
「Still, if I can't be taken along, then I'll have to manage on my own――」
I was about to say something before I shut my mouth. The reason being I saw the crux of the problem.
「――I see, so if you're too poor, you can't even afford those expenses.」
「Exactly.」
Alvar nodded in affirmation.
『The rich become richer, and the poor become poorer. It’s a pattern I’ve seen enough to be sick of… Not even the demon race can escape from such a pattern, huh?』
Anto scoffed with a rather dumbfounded voice.
「If those with peerage above a certain rank―for example, count or higher―should cover their own participation costs, and then you can fill the vacant spots with younger generations, right?」
「That's… Makes sense.」
My simple question seemed to catch Alvar off guard, as if he hadn’t expected it.
「If you're asking whether suggesting that would make the higher-ranking individuals readily nod in agreement…」
「Aah…」
It was definitely going to be rejected.
「However… If Your Highness insisted…」
Stop, please don't push that bomb to me!
Why in the hell should I have to help train new recruits for the demon race?!
「Unfortunately for you… I'm a prince, not the heir of the Reiju clan.」
I heaved a sigh as I said such a plausible reason for rejecting.
「If I meddle too much with clan matters, it might cause undesirable friction with my clan. My mother had always warned me to be careful about that point.」
So, I subtly warned Alvar not to expect my help in this matter.
「I see… Makes sense…」
「Why don't you try to suggest that idea to the clan patriarch?」
Alvar made a face as if he had bitten into a bitter bug upon hearing my remarks… I guess he must have already made the suggestion, and it was rejected.
Well, it seems the Wald family’s position wasn’t stable enough to wield that much power, so they couldn't afford to force through policies that would cause a widespread backlash from the mid-tier nobles. In fact, I could easily imagine the Dios family stirring up trouble with the goal of having such policies abolished…
「It can't stay like this forever.」
If I was a true member of the Reiju clan, I’d probably have a headache. But in reality, I’m a prince, and with my current situation, that wasn't my problem.
Hypothetically speaking――reducing the quota for the veteran warrior would increase the quota for the weakling warrior.
In that way, the probability of the alliance side being able to defeat the demon race would be increased dramatically, then it might be worth me getting involved――
『On the other hand, it’s difficult because there’s a risk of giving sleeping talents the opportunity to grow on the battlefield.』
My thought exactly. The scariest part about making a contract with a devil was not knowing what might trigger explosive growth.
Also, if I forcibly arranged for the poor demons to be able to go to the battlefield, I think the veteran slots would remain the same, and the rookies would only be added on top of that.
That would only increase the burden for the alliance. It wasn't worth the effort…
「…What do you think about it, Alvar?」
I asked the question to Alvar, who had slumped his shoulders.
「You must have known that the fundamental solution is difficult, right? What do you want to do about it?」
「I…」
Alvar raised his face.
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My first CN project, why waifu though? Well, coz the main heroine's job is buying soy sauce till the end of act 1
New Project:
Harem, Hero, Demon King, Seven Deadly Sin, Seven Virtue, Sacred Beast, Sword and Magic, Dystopian Future, DESTINY PROJECT HAD IT REALIZED!, Dungeon, Dragon, 72 Demons, Reincarnations
===TN: Those Who Can't Wait For more Jil-kun's, I've Uploaded Advance chapters in Fox<–HERE and in PATREON(cheaper 10/$10) with a paywall of course===
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