Chapter 209. The Road to the Summit (4)
“A-Astolfo! What kind of nonsense are you suddenly talking about?!”
Bradamante was the one who raised her voice.
“You’re putting the Nameless King in an awkward position! Stop saying ridiculous things!”
“It’s not ridiculous. I’m being serious.”
“Q-Quickly say you were joking!”
“But Bradamante thinks it’d be nice if the Nameless King really became our king too, doesn’t she? I know you do.”
“A-Astolfo!”
Bradamante’s face reddened at Astolfo’s frivolous teasing.
“N-Nameless King! Please tell him off properly so he stops spouting nonsense!”
“Well, I...”
“Bradamante, you’re calling His Majesty a king right now too.”
“That’s because it’s his Constellation title! Stop making it confusing!”
The Count of Monte Cristo had also used the Constellation title ‘King of Avengers,’ but that didn’t mean he had literally been a king.
“You’d probably prefer it this way too, Bradamante. We’re knights. Having a king to serve gives us more motivation.”
“T-That’s...”
“See? I’m right. So Bradamante agrees too?”
“I-I never said that!”
Faced with the peerless beauty’s shameless insistence, Bradamante could only blush in embarrassment.
“I don’t think it’s a bad idea.”
“Odysseus?!”
Odysseus, who had been listening quietly, placed a hand on the round table.
“From now on, our Committee will grow into an organization with tremendous influence throughout the Spirit Realm. If so, we should move beyond the current loose social-club structure and transform ourselves into a more formal organization.”
“W-What does that have to do with serving the Nameless King as our king...?”
“It has everything to do with it, young lady.”
Odysseus shrugged and turned his head.
“Mordred.”
“Hm?”
“Even after becoming Constellations, the Knights of the Round Table remained united around King Arthur, didn’t they?”
“Yeah. Everyone was loyal to King Arthur. Even the ones who betrayed him while alive.”
Mordred scratched the bridge of his nose as he answered.
“I ended up turning against King Arthur again in the end... but it’s true that we were tightly united. Round itself was able to exist because of that sense of unity.”
“As you can see, such a system is remarkably stable.”
Odysseus smiled.
“If an organization wants to move in perfect order, it is better to establish clear ranks and a definite chain of command. But all of us come from different backgrounds, and each of us carries the pride of being a hero. The moment we start arguing over who stands above whom, conflict is inevitable.”
Then he looked at me.
“So we do this instead. Every other Constellation remains equal, while the Nameless King alone reigns above us as our sovereign. Everyone obeys the Nameless King absolutely.”
“Hmm. As expected of Odysseus, famed for his wisdom.”
Arjuna, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke.
“There would certainly be many advantages. It would strengthen the unity of this gathering, and outsiders would likely regard us more highly as well.”
“I appreciate the agreement, Arjuna.”
“I doubt anyone here would oppose the Nameless King becoming our king.”
“That’s what I’ve been saying!”
Astolfo jumped back into the conversation.
“No one’s going to complain if His Majesty gets crowned as His Majesty, right? Isn’t His Majesty already the leader of this group?”
“That is true. The Nameless King is currently the central figure of this gathering.”
Arjuna nodded.
“From the moment he defeated the Count, inherited his legacy, and revealed himself before us... the Nameless King became our center. To be honest, we were somewhat bewildered at first, but after hearing his plans, I naturally found myself thinking, ‘This is the person who will lead the Committee from now on.’”
“Yes. I felt the same.”
Odysseus nodded, then looked around the table.
“Of course, I’m not suggesting everyone suddenly swear something dramatic like, ‘Nameless King! I’ll gladly sacrifice my life for you!’”
“But creating a single ‘kingdom’ by raising the Nameless King as our ruler, as a sign that we trust and follow him, is certainly worth considering.”
“No matter how you look at it, I’m a man from the age of monarchies.”
Astolfo spoke casually.
“Following some chairman or representative just doesn’t have the same feeling. I’d much rather raise one king and serve under him.”
Renaud and Mordred nodded as though they understood perfectly.
Bradamante also seemed to think there was some merit to the idea, judging from her thoughtful expression.
“What do you think, Nameless King?”
Odysseus looked at me again.
“Wouldn’t this arrangement be more convenient for you as well? You would be able to issue commands with less hesitation.”
“I’m not sure. I’ve never thought about it before.”
I called myself the ‘Nameless King,’ but I had never once considered myself an actual king.
Nor had I ever wanted to become one.
I was born in a democratic society, after all.
But maybe it’s different for these Constellations.
Most of the Constellations sitting here had been born in monarchies.
They were more accustomed to serving under absolute rulers than democratically elected leaders.
And maybe... they don’t consider enthroning a king to be something especially extraordinary.
Looking through world history, it was rare for a single king to possess absolute meaning.
Even knights in chivalric literature would serve one king, then another.
Sometimes they even became kings themselves.
To them, a king was almost like the president of a company.
That was why enthroning one did not necessarily carry some uniquely sacred significance.
Still, I can’t treat it too lightly either.
A king was still a king.
If I took that position, many things would change.
Would those changes benefit me?
I need time to judge that...
How should I answer here?
Being too positive or too negative would both be dangerous.
If I responded too positively, they might crown me on the spot according to their own enthusiasm.
If I responded too negatively, I might hurt their feelings.
“That’s enough.”
A cold voice came from one corner of the room.
The only Eastern woman present.
The A-rank Constellation ‘Fairy Who Controls Water,’ Princess Longji.
“The discussion has wandered far off course. Weren’t we talking about the current situation?”
“Ah, yes. You’re right.”
Odysseus smiled and nodded.
“We’ll return to this subject another time.”
“Huh? I want to do it now. Since we’ve already brought it up, let’s just hold the coronation.”
“Astolfo. Shut up.”
Bradamante clamped a hand over Astolfo’s mouth as he complained.
“Princess Longji, thank you.”
"..."
I gave her a small bow.
But Princess Longji didn’t even look at me.
She simply sat there expressionlessly.
She had attended the meeting, but with her this cold, I had no idea how I should interact with her.
“Hmm. Where were we?”
Bradamante scratched her head and reached toward the map on the table again.
“Once northern France is liberated like this, we can begin the full-scale reclamation of all Europe.”
