“Please wait!” I exclaimed.
“What is it, Countess Dolkness?” the marquess asked, a little impatiently. “I’m in the middle of—”
“Isn’t the Lord of National Affairs actually...the Lord of Leveling?” I said, interrupting the dubious marquess as I revealed the truth that had been hidden for all these years.
“Excuse me?” he sputtered.
“If an individual of this kingdom raises their level, then they can protect the kingdom from the threat of other nations, as well as the harm caused by monsters inside our borders. The fact that the position description makes a point to mention all people of this nation, which would include aristocrats, is further proof of this. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a commoner or an aristocrat when it comes to leveling. Leveling up and then encouraging everyone else to do the same—that is the job of the Lord of National Affairs! It’s an extremely important position!”
Time seemed to stop in the audience chamber.
Perhaps the king, the prince, and the aristocrats were all shocked by the same realization: “So that’s what the position was for all along! That makes sense!” They were so surprised that they couldn’t say anything. I had been just as shocked when I’d figured it out.
It was like when all the foreshadowing in a mystery novel came together to reveal the true culprit, or like when everyone in a battle manga—allies and enemies alike—all gathered to take down the final boss... Perhaps this was what catharsis was. It felt like there wasn’t a single cloud in the sky of my mind, and I felt a deep satisfaction. It was like when a series had such a perfect ending that the small inconsistencies didn’t matter.
The one to get in my way was once again Marquess Prynan.
“What are you talking about?” he snapped.
“Do you not understand?” I asked. “Everyone aside from you understands.”
I know it’s hard for you to accept defeat, but this is just pathetic. As proof that everyone else understood exactly what I was talking about, even the king himself sat there with his mouth agape. I turned to my side and addressed one of the radicals.
“Do you understand it?” I demanded.
“Huh?”
“The Lord of National Affairs is the Lord of Leveling, right?”
“Um, I have no idea what that means...” he insisted, clearly feigning ignorance.
Wait, why did he lie and say that he doesn’t understand? There must be a reason he chose to not tell the truth. He’s a radical, and they are always the best at protecting their own interests, so...maybe there’s more than one Lord of Leveling?
I wanted to keep pursuing this, so I started interrogating the man next to him. “You have a position, right?”
“Yes...” he admitted reluctantly.
“What is it?”
“What does that have to do with this?”
“The way you’re hiding it is suspicious... Is your position also the Lord of Leveling?”
“N-No,” he stammered.
“What level are you? If you’re also a Lord of Leveling, you must go dungeon crawling every day, which means you’re level 99, right?!” Bingo. He’s a Lord of Leveling too.
If he wasn’t going to tell me, I just had to ask others. I looked around me at all the radicals standing around me; they had strength in numbers if not anything else. But those who were looking at me with blank faces all looked away with extreme speed once our eyes met. No one would meet my gaze.
Could it be that they’re all Lords of Leveling? All of them hang out together as members of the leveling faction, and they don’t even have regular meetings to go dungeon crawling together? Oh, but going as a group lowers the efficiency of leveling, so having meetings where you exchange dungeon information would be more constructive.
I had accidentally brought the hidden “darkness” festering within the Kingdom of Valschein to light. This wasn’t just a matter for the radical faction. I decided to address the king directly.
“Your Majesty! There are plenty of aristocrats who are actually Lords of Leveling, yet they classify themselves as having other positions, and they are therefore not fulfilling their duties! Let me ask you something, as an aristocrat concerned about the future of the kingdom—what do you think of this situation, Your Majesty?!”
Even though my question was directed at the king, Marquess Prynan was again the first to answer.
“How dare you speak to His Majesty in such a tone!” As anger washed over his face, he shot a significant look toward the guards. I don’t think they would do anything in this situation even if they are the king’s personal guards.
It was obvious to everyone here that the Lord of Leveling was the most important position in the entire aristocracy. It was precisely because they were the king’s personal guards, who had pledged their loyalty to His Majesty and to the kingdom, that they knew exactly which person in this room was the most fit to take on the position of the Lord of Leveling.
But in a kingdom where even the Commander of the Knight’s Order is only level 60, the only person who can appoint someone to the role of Lord of Leveling is...me? Am I the only one? I am Yumiella—Yumiella Dolkness, the Lord of Leveling for the Kingdom of Valschein!
I had steeled my resolve to go against the will of our leader in order to fulfill my sacred duty. I ignored the lower-ranking Lord of Finance and instead focused on the king. I noticed that his expression seemed strangely tense.
“Your Majesty, please answer,” I demanded.
“If I think about it, the Lord of National Affairs might be the Lord of Leveling?” he repeated. “Was that it?”
“Which means that the Lord of Leveling, who advocates for leveling, should naturally raise their own level to level 99, correct?”
“That line of thinking could be correct...”
The king’s statements were a bit vague. It seemed like he was trying so hard to not misspeak that it made him unable to articulate himself properly. Why are you using the kind of language that important people use at press conferences to avoid making definitive statements?