Reader’S Regeneration Life [EN]: Chapter 333

333―――――

Who is the Light?

Once a flame is lit, it must be spread quickly in all directions.

Only then will the speed of the flame spreading and growing outpace the speed at which it dies down.

If you’re complacent just because it’s burning well, you’ll suddenly lose momentum in an instant.

And all that’s left are ashes complaining about what happened.

‘There’s nothing as devastating as those who burned enthusiastically suddenly changing their tune after everything is burned to the ground.

If you’re going to start a fire, you should burn it all down so that no one can say anything different later.’

Zion, who knew the ways of the world so well, decided to persuade Vanessa, the decision-maker, to put his thoughts into action.

However, instead of giving the above reasons, he would say that the nobles had now understood the situation and knew which direction would benefit Hispania, including himself, and that it would be good to let them operate within their own territories.

“…What does that mean?”

After ordering the nobles to return to their respective spheres of influence and await further royal orders, as Zion suggested, Vanessa questioned Zion, who remained in the room.

She naturally thought they should move immediately, but Zion’s opinion was the complete opposite.

“You’re saying we shouldn’t move?

Zion Clauser, are you serious?”

“Yes.

We should speak, but we shouldn’t act first.

If we do, the Holy Prussen and the Celestial Race could use that as an excuse to become even more emboldened.”

It was said that there was nothing in the world that couldn’t be said.

The power of words is beyond imagination, but nothing is as fleeting.

Sometimes, a single word can create justification, but a single action can serve as a much stronger justification than a thousand words.

And Zion judged that the current situation was a moment when action was much more dangerous and important than words.

‘Richel, that Celestial came and started wagging his tongue first.

Hispania responded in kind.

In the end, they exchanged blows once, so neither side has enough to use this as justification.’

The Celestial Race and Holy Prussen took away the fact that Hispania, like Nudia, would not accept them willingly, while Hispania took away their unity.

Rather than seizing a justification to attack the other side, they focused on eliminating internal noise and establishing a basis for concentrating on other areas.

In this situation, subsequent actions become important.

They’ve exchanged jabs once, so now it’s time to throw a powerful uppercut.

But here, a slightly different development unfolds from the previous methods.

‘Until now, the side that struck first had the advantage.

In individual fights, or when it was determined that the opponent had to be fought anyway, it was always better to strike first in terms of effectiveness and other aspects.

But not this time.

The Hispania royal family and nobles have expressed their willingness to focus more on Hispania itself than on the descendants of light, but there will naturally be some among those nobles who hesitate, and above all, there are certainly those among the kingdom’s people who are deeply devoted to the will of light.

In that situation, if Hispania steps forward and directly rejects and antagonizes Holy Prussen and the Celestial Race, the will of light they speak of, the picture will actually work against us.’

Zion predicted that if the Celestial Race heard the news from Hispania, they would increase the intensity of their pressure but would try to refrain from any actions that could pose a direct threat.

If they really pushed the forces of light to ‘attack’ Nudia and Hispania first, it would damage the image of the descendants of light that they had spread throughout the continent.

They would probably try to pressure Nudia and Hispania as much as possible to create a situation where they attacked them first, and in doing so, they would incite the followers of light in various parts of the continent to stir up chaos everywhere.

Zion was most concerned about that very point.

Even if any external threat approaches, there is no problem as long as the inside is solid, but if the inside is shaken, even a small shock from the outside will cause it to collapse.

Zion, who clearly remembered the original content of the novel, tried to minimize the chaos that would arise from within at all costs, and to do so, it was important to block anything that would undermine the internal cohesion of this side in advance.

“We are not attacking Holy Prussen, the Celestial Race, or the will of light.

Light, the Celestial Race, and Holy Prussen are attacking us.

It doesn’t matter if they talk about light, justice, or good.

There’s nothing more unpleasant than being hit while standing still.

In order to completely persuade those who are wavering between Hispania and light, not to mention those who are already followers of light, the picture of you being subjected to that unpleasantness is very important.”

“…You’re saying that since we were attacked while standing still, we can’t just stand by and be hit, and you want to emphasize that to the nobles and kingdom’s people who haven’t yet firmly established their intentions?”

“That’s right.

No matter how much the royal family and nobles shout, if they don’t follow from the bottom of their hearts, people’s minds will waver even in a gentle breeze.

You have to plant the most important and strongest reason there.”

“And what is that reason?”

In response to Vanessa’s question, Zion smiled and opened his mouth.

“The real threat that what they have achieved so far will be insulted, rejected, and ultimately taken away by complete strangers.

You have to make them think of themselves as kingdom’s people of Hispania rather than followers of light, and make them fight for themselves, their families, their hometowns, and their country.

The weakness of the doctrine of light is precisely that.

If you can’t persuade them, the backlash will only grow.”

Vanessa nodded as if she understood Zion’s words.

But her expression was not completely free of doubt, and it seemed that there were still some concerns.

“I understand your intentions well.

I think the reasons are valid.

But despite that, the worries don’t all go away.”

“You seem to be saying that if the Hispania side doesn’t show any action, they will continue to provoke us to the point where we have no choice but to act.”

“You know exactly what I mean.”

The Celestial came and officially announced that they and Hispania were walking opposite paths.

In this situation, the followers of light in Hispania, especially the fanatical zealots, might do something, and the radical fairies who had been completely expelled might infiltrate the kingdom with their help and do something even more serious than the incidents that had occurred before.

The bigger problem was that from now on, such incidents would not be seen as evil deeds committed by demon followers, but as a warning light delivered to Hispania for abandoning the will of light.

“In this case, all of those fairies are now suspect.

Those fairies who betrayed the light and became corrupted, could they actually be more loyal henchmen of the Celestials than anyone else?”

The clever Vanessa seemed to vaguely guess that part as well.

Zion applauded the Queen’s opinion in his heart.

“That’s highly possible.

For now, we’ve only said that ‘some fairies’ have become corrupted in order to minimize social unrest or the backlash from the fairies who have a good relationship with the current kingdom, but if a majority have completely crossed over and become slaves of light, the situation could change again.”

“This is all a headache.

If we try to fight, there are many things to worry about, and if we hope that misunderstandings will be resolved over time, it doesn’t seem like the other side will easily change their minds.”

“Perhaps, in my opinion, the enemies will drag out time and aim for the moment when Nudia and Hispania collapse to the point where they can’t handle the internal division, and ultimately can’t fend off any external pressure on their own.

Holy Prussen, the radical fairies, the fanatics, and the Celestials.”

At Zion’s words, Vanessa once again let out a heavy sigh.

She had openly shown that she was clearly drawing a line against the Celestials, Holy Prussen, and the will of light, but she had a look of concern about what to do if she couldn’t actually take action.

“But, Your Majesty.”

Zion already had a plan.

“The weakness that Hispania has is, when you think about it the other way around, also a weakness that the other side has.”

“…What do you mean?”

“They will also hesitate to draw their swords first.

In any case, if they attack first, they will turn all the nobles who have been watching and the kingdom’s people who have been hesitating into enemies, and it will be very difficult for the followers of light to exert their power within them.”

“What does that have to do with anything, Duke Zion Clauser?”

“What they want is punishment, and judgment for sin.

Not a war to see who remains, but a judgment to determine who is right and wrong.

And the most wonderful picture they dream of is the sinner being caught by other people and dragged to the judgment hall.

They just stand in a high place, tell the sinner who has been dragged to them what they did wrong with dignity, and when they give the punishment, people cheer, spit on the sinner, and curse.

That’s the kind of picture.”

Then Vanessa exclaimed, “Ah.”

She frowned as if she understood what Zion was trying to say, and tapped the table.

“In the end, they’re going to threaten us to completely collapse from the inside, and then appear as if they are the true good, light, and justice to finish things off, is that what you’re saying?”

“That’s exactly right.”

“…Disgusting.”

Vanessa muttered, seemingly genuinely angry.

If those words came from the mouth of a country’s ruler, it could be said that the Hispania royal family was now completely hostile to those things called light.

“This side just needs to do the opposite.

A way to make them draw their swords because they can’t stand it anymore.

If we scratch their insides even more than they do, they will eventually have no choice but to go on the offensive.

Naturally, those who were in conflict will listen more to this side’s persuasion.”

“Is there an appropriate method?”

“Of course.”

At Zion’s words, Vanessa stared at him silently.

As if asking what the appropriate method he was talking about was.

“It’s simple.

Just increase the number of whispering mouths.”

―

Clink―.

A fragrant tea was placed in front of Zion.

He smiled at the woman who had given him such a good tea, as if to thank her.

Then the fairy woman, Helen, who received the smile, blushed as if she didn’t know what to do, but also gave a bright smile as if she was very happy.

“You seem to be in a very good mood today?”

He had seen Helen’s brighter side, but she seemed to be in an even better mood today.

At Zion’s question, Helen fidgeted with her fingers and opened her mouth in a voice that struggled to overcome her shyness.

“I thought the situation was so urgent and you would be very busy.

I didn’t think you would come to see me in person, but you came here…”

“You like it?”

“…Yes.”

The fairy woman who, when they first met, had completely dead eyes with only cold air emanating from them, as if looking at a doll.

But now, she gave a fresh feeling as if looking at a flower that had sprung up from the ground melted by the spring sun, and she was accepting the sunlight shining on her to her heart’s content.

“You’re prettier when you smile.

Like Lilith.”

“D, don’t compare me to someone like that.

I feel so sorry to think that someone like me could be compared to her.

I’m just…”

“You said that competing with fairies is quite nerve-wracking.

Looking at it that way, it’s not just.”

“Is that so?”

She had lived a very difficult life, and in addition, she was a woman who could not leave the merchant guild headquarters in the royal castle because of the work of the guild or the work of constantly conveying information to Zion, unlike other women.

For that reason, Zion was spending quite a bit of time caring for her at the moment they met like this.

He had come to the guild and met Helen, and for 30 minutes he had been telling her various stories without talking about work at all.

“…Um, Duke Zion.”

“Yeah?”

“If you have anything to say, say it, and if you have anything to ask, ask.

I’m fine, so you don’t have to worry about me so much.”

But Helen seemed to have roughly noticed that part of Zion already.

It meant that she was telling him to feel free to tell her the real story now that she was done.

At that, Zion let out a groan, scratched his cheek, and carefully opened his mouth.

“Do you happen to have any new information?

Information that is a little difficult to convey to the Hispania royal family, strange rumors circulating among people, things like that.”

“Well.

I’ve given you almost all of the information I’ve obtained so far.

The Hispania royal family is also putting their heart and soul into collecting information, so it should be similar to the merchant guild.”

“But the royal family is still the royal family after all.

Originally, information naturally spreads in places where people and people, money and money collide, so the merchant guild, which had been trading with Holy Prussen until recently, can be said to be a little more advantageous in terms of information.”

Helen nodded at those words and shuffled through the documents she had put aside for a moment.

But almost all of the documents were already marked in various ways, and that was her way of prioritizing all the news and information.

In other words, most of the information had already been conveyed to Zion, and it also meant that Helen had no more nutritious information to give.

“…The most recent news is that all of the pro-royalist noble territories in the southern part of Nudia have been taken over by those who have taken up arms against the royal family.

The person who provided the information said that they had left the area before that and did not know about the situation beyond that.”

“Hmm.”

Zion, who had heard the news, fiddled with his chin as if thinking about something for a moment.

Then he muttered to himself as if something had occurred to him, “Could it be.”

“…Duke Zion?”

“Ah, sorry.

I had a bad feeling for a moment.

I have to hope that such a thing doesn’t happen, but the other party has some tricks up their sleeve, so I’m worried that they’ll use it as is.”

“I don’t quite understand what you mean.”

Helen said that, but she gestured that she wouldn’t ask any more questions beyond that.

She was clearly showing that she wouldn’t pry if Zion didn’t tell her.

“I have to focus on the work in front of me for now.

So, Helen.

Is the current atmosphere in the areas connected to the Haines Merchant Guild the same as the information you gave me before?”

“Yes.

Everyone seemed embarrassed by Holy Prussen’s sudden attitude.”

“Then what do you think will happen when the news spreads that the Celestials have appeared in Hispania and declared that their enemy is now Hispania and are attacking?”

“…Perhaps the atmosphere will change very seriously.

In addition, those who were cautiously siding with the will of light would watch and shut their mouths.”

“Or, conversely, there will be those who will take action, saying that they will be with the will of light.”

“It seems that what you want to ask me is related to that part.”

At Helen’s words, Zion smiled and nodded.

The words he had said to Vanessa, the condition that he would increase the number of whispering mouths.

That was actually too easy for Zion.

“Gather some people.

People who can be trusted, and who are also good at speaking.”