Congratulations

Episode 20

Before going to Ervin’s room, Saintess Johanna steeled herself, over and over.

‘This is for the Holy Kingdom. This is for the Holy Kingdom. This is for the Holy Kingdom.’

What Johanna was attempting was a sort of honey trap, a seduction.

Thanks to the recent meeting of Information Bureau Directors, Ervin Barmut’s capabilities had been proven to the world once more.

No nation would be without envy for his ability to hold the reins on the flow of world affairs.

The Holy Kingdom of Phraus was no different.

‘Haa…’

This wasn’t something she was doing because someone told her to.

Saintess Johanna Pauch was offering her body to Ervin out of pure patriotism.

‘Is this how those princesses in stories felt, offered as sacrifices to monsters?’

Replace the word ‘princess’ with ‘Saintess’ and there wouldn’t be much difference. Ervin Barmut. The man was, without a doubt, a demon wearing human skin.

Frankly, Johanna was terrified. The tremors wracking her body wouldn’t cease from tension and fear.

It wasn’t just that she had no experience with men, or even close contact with anyone of the opposite s*x, but the fact that her first encounter would be with *the* Ervin Barmut that was the ultimate source of her dread.

‘Still, it’s worth a try.’

If everything went according to plan, Ervin would be stained with the infamy of having defiled the Saintess.

Of course, it wouldn’t work as blackmail material, but there would at least be room to leverage it for negotiation.

‘If things really go well, she might even defect to our side from the Empire…’

Though her position prevented her from openly boasting, Johanna was quite confident in her appearance.

She had only recently come of age, reaching the height of her beauty as a woman, and her figure was outstanding enough to draw countless gazes from men.

Above all, she possessed a precious title unique in this world: Saintess.

‘Male creatures love to taint a pure white canvas with their own colors. There isn’t a man alive who would dislike being the one to take the Saintess’s first.’

Once she managed to get there, she was certain she would win him over, one hundred percent.

The problem was resolve.

After agonizing over it countless times, Johanna steeled her determination and headed towards Ervin’s room.

And the moment she revealed her killer negligee, a woman wearing an owl mask seized her by the neck and hoisted her into the air.

Gasping for breath, Christina growled low and menacingly at her.

“What sort of tricks are you playing?”

“Put her down.”

Hey, don’t squeeze so hard. If you apply too much pressure, the Saintess’s head might have a sad parting with her body.

Her face is turning blue. She really might die!

“I said, put her down.”

Christina hurled the Poutz Saintess towards the wall.

…I said put her down, not throw her.

“Haa, haa, haa, haa…”

The Poutz Saintess, panting heavily, looked back and forth between me and Christina with horrified eyes.

This is troublesome. I hope this doesn’t escalate into an international incident.

“Saintess Poutz.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I, I won’t tell anyone! Please, just spare me…!”

Oh, she won’t tell anyone? That’s fine by me.

It’s not that I don’t trust her words, but maybe I should confirm it, just in case.

“You won’t tell anyone?”

“N-Never! I’ll never tell!”

Then that’s settled.

“In that case, I think I should be heading back.”

“Y-Yes! I’ll be going now! Good bye!”

The Saintess Pauch, in a flurry, shot up from her seat and bolted out of the room.

Could’ve closed the door on the way out.

“S-Sorry, Minister.”

Closing the door the Saintess left ajar, I turned around to see Christina, mask discarded, trembling uncontrollably.

What’s with her now.

“What’s wrong with you.”

“A-Acting without permission…”

“It’s alright.”

But now I’m wide awake, this is a disaster. There’s no way I’ll be able to sleep now, what am I going to do?

After a moment of consideration, I spoke towards the ceiling.

“Someone go and get some booze and snacks.”

A short while later, I found myself seated around a table overflowing with liquor and appetizers, surrounded by the members of the Owls.

Hold on. Why are you guys sitting?

I was just thinking of having a drink to help me sleep, how did this turn into a company dinner?

More importantly, aren’t you supposed to be working?

“Minister, please, have a drink.”

Various questions swirled through my mind, but it felt wrong to just send the others back up to the ceiling now that they were already settled in. So, I decided to let it be.

Accepting the drink from John, I poured liquor into each of the Owls’ glasses.

Come to think of it, this is my first company dinner.

“Cheers.”

With a light clink of glasses, we raised them to our lips.

Hmm. Not tasty. But the snacks are good, so it’s tolerable enough.

“What kind of meat is this?”

“Probably lamb.”

“Kuh, great! Drinking with the Minister is the best!”

“You’ll get a beating if you act up too much, Sergei.”

“Don’t be so stiff, Leader. Ah, Minister. Make sure you drink some water along with your spirits.”

So, Alexander was the type to look after those around him, despite his appearance.

Did Sergei like to drink?

Christina seemed to be eating as well as ever.

John and Valdemar… the two of you have a bit too much overlap in your taciturn character. One of you should change.

These drinking sessions with subordinates were more mundane than he’d imagined.

Drink in moderation, eat in moderation, chat in moderation.

So that was it. This was how it was done.

“Speaking of which, Minister! It’s so unfair, taking Celine to such a fancy place!”

“Fancy place?”

Christina’s face was flushed, so he racked his brain. He only remembered taking Celine to one place, once.

“Are you talking about the Golden Griffin?”

“Yes, that place! It’s so mean! The Minister always plays favorites with Celine!”

He hadn’t played favorites with anyone.

He didn’t even know how to, in the first place.

“Take me too! To the Golden Griffin!”

Well, that wasn’t particularly difficult, but considering what Christina just said, wouldn’t that just make it seem like he was playing favorites with Owl?

Hmm. It was too much of a hassle to consider all the angles. He’d just set a date later and have the entire Intelligence Division hold a company dinner there.

As he was thinking this, other Owl members chided Christina.

“Tone it down, Christina.”

“Don’t put the Minister in a difficult position.”

“That’s right. The Golden Griffin isn’t just some neighborhood tavern.”

“Celine-ssi is the Minister’s aide; it’s only natural he’d show her some favor.”

He didn’t play favorites, he was saying. And he only took her to the Golden Griffin as payment for packing him lunch.

“Shut up! All of you were incredibly jealous back then!”

“That’s…”

They glanced sidelong at him awkwardly at Christina’s words, so it seemed they did want to go.

The Golden Griffin was incredibly popular.

“I’ll arrange a date when we get back. For the entire Intelligence Division.”

“…Eh?”

“Just a moment, Minister.”

“You wouldn’t possibly mean…?”

“Are you serious?”

As if I would lie about something like this.

“I decree the Intelligence Bureau’s first company dinner will be held at the Golden Gryphon.”

While the other Owl members erupted in cheers at my words, Christina muttered softly, as if displeased.

“No, I wanted to go alone with the Minister, like Celine did…”

“Shut up!”

“Shut it!”

“Shut your mouth, Christina!”

“Can’t you keep that filthy mouth of yours shut!”

Quite the enthusiastic reaction.

Ah, while I’m at it, should I invite Francesca too? Regardless of the reason, she safely escorted Fraus all the way here, so I ought to repay the favor.

And so, on the road leaving the Holy Kingdom’s capital and returning to the Empire, I asked her directly.

“Mmm. Take me there sometime when it’s just the two of us. I wasn’t hoping for a reward in the first place, but…if you insist, could I ask one favor?”

“What is it?”

Francesca hesitated before answering my question.

“Could you go with me to meet the Grand General…?”

Pardon?

—

The Acherus Empire’s Knights Order, while technically belonging to the Imperial Army, is an organization with a degree of guaranteed independence.

They shoulder the vital task of maintaining public order, so their character differs greatly from that of the regular Imperial Army in many respects.

In peacetime, the Knights Order protects the interior of the Empire, and the Imperial Army protects the exterior, dividing their roles and striving for cooperation…or so they should.

Their territories rarely overlap, but perhaps that’s why there’s a strong tendency to look down on each other.

Needless to say, the roles of both the Knights Order and the Imperial Army are important, but they constantly argue over which role is *more* important.

Simply put, it’s a battle of egos.

Such rivalries exist in every organization in every country, but the Imperial government doesn’t want those who should be working together to protect the nation wasting their energy on pointless power struggles.

That’s why they created joint training exercises between the Knights Order and the Imperial Army, held regularly.

“Originally, it should be done on a rotating basis, but as Ervin knows, I’m the youngest of the Knights Commanders…”

In truth, if she had wanted to, Francesca could have used Ervin’s name to put pressure on her senior Knights Commanders.

Even so, there were three reasons why she didn’t.

Firstly, her very nature was innately kind.

Secondly, she feared worsening relations with the senior knight commanders.

And thirdly, and most importantly, she herself did not wish to peddle Ervin’s name.

“Is it really alright if I come to the joint training?”

“Ah, yes. Don’t worry about that. I’ve already sought permission under the guise of observation.”

Immediately after Ervin said he would accompany her to meet the General and returned to the capital, Francesca had contacted the Imperial Army.

The Imperial Army, upon hearing her request, was visibly displeased, but ultimately acquiesced, having no justifiable reason to refuse.

“We’ve arrived. It’s here.”

Ervin, riding alongside Francesca at the head of the Third Knights, halted his horse and surveyed their surroundings.

The Imperial soldiers, having arrived earlier, were staring intently in their direction.

“…Then, let’s go and greet the General first.”

Reluctantly taking each step, Francesca regretted asking Ervin to come.

She had requested his presence, thinking that having him by her side would ease her anxiety in facing the General alone, but she was starting to think it was a mistake.

‘Even if Ervin is remarkable, he operates in a different sphere than the General…’

Her counterpart was the supreme military strategist and commander-in-chief of the entire Imperial Army.

It wasn’t that Ervin was lacking compared to the General, but simply that they operated in different spheres.

But thinking such things now was surely pointless.

As Ervin and Francesca entered the command tent, the General, who had been studying a map of the training grounds, rose from his seat.

With an expression of profound displeasure.

“Welcome, Commander Chirner. And… Minister Barmut.”

“Yes, General.”

“It’s been a while. And congratulations.”

Ervin’s utterly unexpected words caused the gazes of Francesca and the General’s adjutants to shift towards him.

The General, also perplexed, inquired,

“Congratulations? Congratulations on what, exactly?”

“The Staff of Merlin, of course. Hasn’t it finally been completed?”

At that moment, the air inside the command tent froze.

The General, momentarily taken aback, roared like a tiger.

“That is classified military information!”