The Villain's Reincarnation – Tired of Working Hard, I'm Slacking Off! The Peacefully Oblivious Slacker Avoids Ruin! - Chapter 34.2

The bl00d of a hero. The title of First Princess. Those two alone gave her immense value.

“And from the Mitsurugi family’s perspective, someone like her is convenient. She gives them a lot of plausible deniability.”

“Convenient…? Even so, being attacked—especially within Mitsurugi-controlled territory—would be a liability. If her entire party were wiped out, wouldn’t that just make it look like the Mitsurugi family lacks power and control?”

“That’s a typically stiff knight’s way of thinking. This world, for better or worse, isn’t so simple that everything is determined solely by strength.”

Higashiyama said this with an expression of utter disinterest.

“I’ll say it plainly: that girl might actually be better off being killed by the organization trying to resurrect the Demon King. Not just for the Mitsurugi family—but even for the royal family.”

“…What?”

Iwaya was momentarily speechless, unable to immediately process Higashiyama’s outrageous statement.

“What are you even saying…? ‘Better off dead’?! That’s insane. She’s been dedicating herself to the kingdom. How could that ever be a justifiable ending for her…?”

As the one directly handling the inspection and overseeing the royal entourage, Iwaya had seen firsthand—if only a glimpse—how deeply the princess had devoted herself to her people.

“I understand you’re speaking emotionally. But even so, notice how your voice lacks conviction.”

“…”

Iwaya clenched his fists.

A man in his position couldn’t afford to be guided purely by emotion. And yet, the fact that no overwhelming rage had risen within him proved that deep down, he was already beginning to understand the cruel truth behind Higashiyama’s words.

“…What’s the benefit of turning her into a martyr?”

Taking a deep breath, Iwaya posed the question calmly.

“Just like you felt earlier—grief and anger are powerful tools.”

Higashiyama’s tone turned almost venomous.

“The royal family, as they are now, are practically broadcasting their inability to protect the people. They’re being outmaneuvered at every turn. Naturally, the public grows dissatisfied, their support dwindles, and the royal family loses the ability to act. That negative spiral needs to be broken.”

“…”

“To do that, they need either a major victory—or a way to redirect that anger.”

“That girl,” Higashiyama continued, “has inherited nearly every one of the projects initiated by the late Queen Isabelle—revered as a saint by the people. Despite her young age, she’s shown extraordinary capability and has served the people tirelessly. Unsurprisingly, her reputation is overwhelmingly positive—some even say she’s surpassed Isabelle herself in the eyes of the public.”

“So if she were to be killed by the Demon King revivalists…”

“The public would be devastated. Their grief and fury would be directed squarely at the enemy.”

“But that’s not all,” he added coldly.

“The current king—having lost his beloved daughter—would become a tragic figure, a victim of evil. At the same time, he’d gain an unshakable moral justification to wage war against the Demon King revivalists. That would restore the monarchy’s support and give them the political weapon they desperately need.”

“…”

What Higashiyama was saying wasn’t wrong.

In fact, Iwaya’s earlier surge of anger only made it clearer. He couldn’t deny the underlying truth.

“She’s on the brink. If she makes a critical mistake, she could lose the one thing keeping her afloat—her popularity. Rather than risk that, it may genuinely be better, from a strategic standpoint, to let her exit now as a beloved, tragic heroine.”

Higashiyama spoke with a terrifying calm, outlining her “value” in death as if he were reading from a ledger.

“And the Mitsurugi family understands this. If she were to die within their territory, they could publicly declare that they are honoring her will—avenging the innocent girl who gave her life for peace by crushing the organization that took her. It would justify intervention.”

“Wouldn’t that force them into more direct involvement than they’d prefer?”

From Iwaya’s perspective, the Mitsurugi family would rather stay as uninvolved as possible—only stepping in out of obligation or necessity. Their earlier heavy-handed tactics certainly didn’t seem welcoming.

“Oh, they’d be involved. And that’s precisely the point.”

“…Why do you think that?”

“Because the Mitsurugi family’s core principle is the pursuit of strength. And right now, preserving the status quo is the most effective path toward that goal.”

That was the most widely known truth about the Mitsurugi family.

“I don’t fully understand why they see the current balance as ideal for that pursuit. But what is clear is that they despise change. With that as a foundation, this incident is too dangerous to ignore or hand off to someone else.”

“So what exactly do they see as the biggest risks?”

“There are two. First, the loss of the royal family—a group that’s extremely convenient for them. Second, depending on how this incident plays out, there’s a chance their own position of power could be shaken.”

Both of those would be deeply troubling outcomes for the Mitsurugi family.

“Judging by their behavior, the royal family seems to be underestimating their own value. But the fact that they’ve managed to maintain those absurd privileges—even through this kind of crisis—shows just how irreplaceable they really are. The Mitsurugi family understands that.”

Keeping those longstanding promises isn’t easy—especially the ones related to noble privilege. After all, those privileges involve enormous wealth and power.

And yet, the royal family had upheld them without causing major problems.

To Higashiyama, that alone was enough to justify Mitsurugi’s support.

“At the very least, if the royal family can maintain the current balance, it’s better to keep them in place. And this current threat—the biggest since the Dark Age—could either give birth to a new dominant force or allow interference in the established power structure. Either way, it can’t be ignored. That’s why the Mitsurugi family will likely take bold and proactive measures.”

“Create a tragic princess. Use that event to reestablish the royal family’s standing. And turn the public’s grief into a powerful justification for direct intervention… all while securing a more favorable position.”

“The royal family benefits from more than just a potential turnaround—they also gain the cooperation of the Mitsurugi family. And since Mitsurugi values the status quo above all, they’re the least likely of the Four Great Houses to make demands that would jeopardize the monarchy’s standing. While the girl may become a sacrifice, the return is immense. Moreover, the Mitsurugi family can use this as an opportunity to gauge the true strength of the organization attempting to resurrect the Demon King.”

It was a brutal, but undeniably pragmatic strategy.

“In other words, the Mitsurugi family is using this as an opportunity to evaluate the strength of the royal family, our lord, and the enemy. They likely consider an attack almost inevitable.”

“That’s my assessment. As for the royal family… they’ve likely accepted the possibility. At the very least, they must have ensured that those selected for the inspection party are ready to take their own lives if captured. They wouldn’t want them to be used as bargaining chips. If it’s too late, they can’t play the role of victims. That said, with the Mitsurugi family involved, I’m sure there are contingency plans for survival, should the worst happen.”

“…”

The idea that survival might not even be the goal left a sour taste in Iwaya’s mouth—especially given how involved he was with the princess’s group.

“…Hah. You’re too decent for your own good. That’s why someone with your level of skill ends up as a frontier knight commander.”

“…You’re not wrong.”

Iwaya smiled bitterly. Unlike Higashiyama, he couldn’t detach himself completely from sentiment.

“Feel free to sulk if you must, but if you intend to follow our lord, you’ll have to overcome it. By now, you should understand what this whole situation really means—our lord intends to walk his own path, regardless of the Mitsurugi family’s will.”

“I know.”

The relationship between Kaito and the Mitsurugi family was twisted. He hadn’t been treated as a proper heir.

Both Higashiyama and Iwaya had long anticipated that one day, Kaito would have to act.

That’s why they’d prepared. Iwaya had built a formidable knight order. Higashiyama had laid down a stable administrative foundation to support Kaito, and cultivated an intelligence network rivaling that of the Mitsurugi family itself.

Together, with others who shared their convictions, they had quietly assembled a faction devoted to supporting Kaito.

And now, the time had come.

They had begun to glimpse Kaito’s plan—only fragments of it, but enough.

“To save that girl is to make enemies of everyone who wants her dead. And there’s no way Lord Kaito doesn’t realize that.”

“Of course. And yet, knowing everything, he still chose to act—to save a princess who had already been marked for death. He really is… endlessly kind.”

Every strand of fate had called for her death.

No one—not even her own family—truly believed she could change anything.

That’s why she had been chosen to die.

But only one person had stood up and said no. Only one had taken action to save her.

“…And here I am, frustrated by my own inadequacy.”

He had wanted to support him. That’s why he’d prepared. But it still wasn’t enough.

“We’ve uncovered almost nothing about the movements of either the Mitsurugi family or the enemy organization.”

“It couldn’t be helped. With our current capabilities, if we were discovered, we wouldn’t be able to do anything but burden Lord Kaito.”

Both the Mitsurugi family and the organization behind the Demon King’s revival wielded overwhelming power. Their fledgling intelligence network was still too green—if they dug too deep, they’d lose people. Worse, they might draw the enemy’s attention and be wiped out.

That would only cause needless sacrifices—and waste Lord Kaito’s time and effort.

So they’d only learned fragments—bare outlines of what was coming. No detailed strategy. No confirmed plans.

They had fallen behind, unable to keep pace with the battles being waged at the highest level.

“This is the trial Lord Kaito has given us—to understand where we stand now.”

Normally, Kaito would’ve resolved everything quietly, without letting them glimpse the full picture. But this time, as the responsible party, he had deliberately given them a chance to act.

It was a test—to see whether they could follow him into the future, or whether they’d be left behind.

“…I understand. For now, we need to do what we can. I’ll leave the matter of the attack to you. Judging from the schedule, it looks like our lord is wary of the seventh day—but knowing him, it won’t be that straightforward.”

“True. We don’t have an effective way to predict the attack, and as expected, the Mitsurugi family is creating obstacles. We’ll have to proceed assuming we’re already behind.”

Since the inspection had begun, there had been a slight increase in monster-related incidents. Coupled with the strain of the inspection itself, manpower was stretched thin, especially outside of key locations.

“So they really are observing Lord Kaito’s response not just to the inspection—but to the attack itself. Makes sense. Anyone who dares to infiltrate Mitsurugi territory must be a formidable opponent. Instead of recklessly trying to strike first, it’s wiser to prepare thoroughly and meet them head-on.”

“Exactly. We’ll concentrate our forces at strategic points.”

“That sounds reasonable. Meanwhile, I’ll be working with that scheming old man to expose every problem with that sinking ship of theirs over the next two days.”

“That ‘sinking ship,’ huh? Harsh.”

Iwaya chuckled wryly.

“It’s a fair assessment. If they keep drifting like this, they’ll sink before long—and every time they do, it’s our lord who has to clean up after them. That can’t be allowed.”

Higashiyama’s voice was firm, his conviction unwavering.

“…We’ll grow stronger.”

“Of course.”

And so, those who were loyal to Mitsurugi Kaito—moved into action.