Book 1 Chapter 752

752.

The capital of Debian, Dean.

Currently, it had been declared a neutral zone to prevent the worsening civil war between the 1st Princess faction and the 2nd Prince faction.

Of course, the declaration of the neutral zone was not made through voluntary negotiations between the 1st Princess and the 2nd Prince.

The capital of a country is the city where the king, the pinnacle of that country, resides.

As such, for the 1st Princess and 2nd Prince, who coveted royal power, it was inevitably a place they wished to occupy, no matter the sacrifice.

The Debian civil war itself began in Dean, the capital.

A brutal battle fought in the heart of the capital.

However, the fierce battle in Dean soon came to an end, and the 1st Princess and 2nd Prince had to lead their forces and leave Dean as if they were driven out.

This was due to the third power within Debian.

Because the meritorious retainers, who possessed Debian's core military strength guarding the eastern front with Tartaros, intervened in the civil war.

The intervention of the meritorious retainers from the Tartaros eastern front in the civil war was both the first and the last time.

"Why aren't the meritorious retainers of the eastern front intervening in the civil war any further?"

Eiran asked with a puzzled expression.

At that, the elves, led by Lunia, also showed curious looks.

Although they had intervened in the civil war at the 2nd Prince's request, as a different race, they couldn't quite understand why the heroes and meritorious retainers who protected Tartaros's eastern front, which could be considered Debian's core military strength, were not mediating this civil war.

In response to Eiran's question, Leo crossed his arms and glanced at Celia.

Rhodren is the hegemon of the western continent, and the relations of interests within the country are even more complex than Debian.

And Celia is the highest-ranking military noble of that country.

She could explain the current situation well to the elves.

"Because the nobles protecting the Tartaros eastern front have no justification."

"No justification?"

"Yes. Both the 1st Princess and the 2nd Prince of Debian have a justification for royal succession. In contrast, all the meritorious retainers protecting the Tartaros eastern front are those who swore allegiance to the deceased Crown Prince."

As such, they had no justification to participate in the war of succession.

Their participation in the capital struggle was merely forcing a non-existent justification.

Because they could not just stand by and watch the capital be destroyed.

"Is there no way to decide the throne peacefully from the start? Like the princess and prince just competing in individual skill."

Rea of Seirun, wrapped in bandages, asked with a puzzled face.

Elena, looking at Rea, burst into laughter with a 'Puh-hoob!'

Teeth marks were clearly visible on Rea's face.

It was the trace of being bitten by Lisinas earlier.

Of course, no major catastrophe occurred, such as skin being torn, blood profusely flowing, or needing stitches.

If Lisinas had bitten her seriously, it would have been so, but she had only lightly nipped Rea to scold her for spreading false rumors about herself as if they were true.

Still, the clear teeth marks were unavoidable.

"Leo, doesn't it look funny to you too?"

"Indeed."

'That witch of Zerion!'

Rea glared at Elena with burning eyes.

She was already embarrassed, and Elena emphasizing her shameful appearance to Leo, whom she respected, made her resentful.

Of course, Elena was in her fifth year, but what could she do if Rea glared at her a bit?

She was a Seirun student.

Furthermore, in terms of family, she wasn't that inferior.

If the Zerion family was a disciple family of Lumerne, then she was from the family of the Comet Sorcerer.

Since both were sorcerer families deeply connected to the heroes of creation, there was a strong rivalry between Zerion and Tingel.

"Oh my~ how scary."

Elena jested.

"Ahem! To answer Rea Tingel's question… If they were people confident in their abilities, they wouldn't have caused such a civil war."

Celia cleared her throat to prevent the conversation from straying and continued her explanation.

Originally, if even one of them had been a little wiser and more capable, the meritorious retainers of the eastern front who followed the former Crown Prince would have sided with them.

But sadly, neither the 1st Princess nor the 2nd Prince resembled their father, the late king, or their eldest brother, the Crown Prince, in the slightest.

They had no ability, only greed.

The surrounding nobles were also merely incompetent nobles who clung to the royal power like flies swarming to the scent of power.

These were individuals who would normally have no connection to the throne, but now that the king's position was within sight, they became agitated.

If they chose one side, the nobles who followed the Crown Prince would try to carry out a bloody purge, even if they were opposed.

Ultimately, the opposing faction would engage in a desperate struggle for survival.

At that moment, the country would truly split into two.

That was why the meritorious retainers who followed the Crown Prince could not easily intervene in the current civil war.

With the front with Tartaros unstable now.

If a larger internal problem arose, the continental situation would clearly spiral into unpredictable chaos.

With the political situation unstable both internally and externally, and the best option gone, choosing the lesser of two evils was the best course of action.

In human royal society, justification and legitimacy are precisely that.

Ignoring them could shake the entire nation.

"Lineage is more important to humans than you might think. Sometimes, even more so than individual abilities."

Celia smiled bitterly.

In fact, among all races, the race that values lineage the most is none other than the elves.

But there is one crucial difference between such elves and humans.

That is, the principle of primogeniture does not exist.

While they value noble lineage, they do not pass on status to those who lack 'ability'.

For elves, noble lineage means 'a bloodline from which excellent individuals are born'.

In human noble families, if a successor's ability is lacking, they await the next generation.

However, in elf noble families, if there is no suitable individual in that generation, or if the individual is replaced by another, the family itself not infrequently loses its status.

'That must be why elves, despite having the smallest population among all races, are renowned as the most powerful race.'

Unlike other races that are spread and rooted across the entire continent, elves only have power in the northern part of the continent.

If one considers the territory they occupy on the continent, they possess the least and also the most barren territory, as they inhabit the cold northern continent.

Yet, despite this, elves are the most powerful race among all races.

"Even with the same lineage, those born first are considered to have more legitimacy than those with greater ability, it seems."

Rea nodded as if she understood.

The Tinah siblings, famous for being twins, also showed puzzled expressions.

"Why is that?"

"Indeed."

Celia chuckled at their reaction; they understood the answer but not the principle.

"Well, from your perspective, it might not be rational. I also think…"

"Perhaps it's because the first-born is seen for the longest time?"

Then, a Seirun student put forward a hypothesis.

More accurately, it's because the earlier one is born, the higher the probability of acquiring the necessary abilities as a successor.

Unlike elves, who are called a race of magic, ordinary individuals are also born among humans, whose average racial ability is relatively lower.

However, the elves did not seem to intend to understand it that far.

They simply interpreted it in a way that suited them.

"Right. Because they've been seen for a long time, parents can't help but grow more attached."

"Mm-hmm! That's it!"

Watching the elves, who had formed their own hypothesis, the Lumerne students thought.

'If they interpret it that way, they'll think it's an irrational culture where successors are chosen based on affection.'

'Elves being arrogant is nothing new.'

"Humans are indeed a race that pursues love! To value a child's love more than the fate of the family!"

"Truly a race of love!"

"There was a reason why Luna-nim's lover was Kyle-nim!"

"They are also a race of faith!"

"Ah. Even if they are a bit lacking, they embrace them with faith!"

"Exactly! At first glance, it seems unreasonable, but it must be because of that faith that human noble families stand shoulder to shoulder with elf noble families!"

"That's wonderful!"

"A race of love and faith!"

At their conclusion, all the Lumerne students' mouths dropped open.

No. Why would they reach such a twisted conclusion!

Elena, watching them, said with an indifferent expression.

"Sometimes I think. Elves, as a race, seem to have heads made of stone."

"Are you insulting our race now?"

Lunia snapped back in a fierce voice.

But Elena indifferently spoke her thoughts.

"Think about it. Your race has been born with the blessing of magic since ancient times. Has there ever been a time in world history when elves were a weak race?"

"…"

No.

Although their numbers were the smallest, elves were always a race competing to be the strongest.

Excellent mana sensitivity.

And physical abilities that were slightly inferior to beastmen but possessed strong muscle power and rapid agility.

Dexterity second only to dwarves.

And even superior intelligence.

Elves in every era have taken pride in their racial culture and have blossomed a culture and power to warrant it.

In fact, humans, beastmen, and dwarves have experienced the brink of extinction, but elves have never.

Conversely, humans, beastmen, and dwarves have held immense power, enough to dominate the continent, but elves have never.

"I'm not saying you're stupid or stone-headed. It's just that your thinking flexibility is stiff, so I call it stone."

At Elena's words, Lunia couldn't bring herself to retort.

"Perhaps the creator, realizing they had made too overpowered a race, gave them such racial characteristics as a final act of conscience."

To refute, the sight of her classmates and juniors enthusiastically calling humans a race of love or faith, genuinely praising them, and saying they wanted to emulate them, was painfully vivid.

She agreed that humans should be emulated.

But they should at least not emulate such baseless things.

Even more, over half of them had firmly believed that elves were superior to humans just a short while ago.

Such individuals had become 'human-philes' overnight.

She felt it was better than looking down on humans and being hostile.

'No, why do these pointy-eared idiots not know moderation!'

Ugh-! Lunia groaned, tearing at her hair.

Seeing Lunia, Leo said.

"You're going through a lot."

"What would Luna-nim have done?"

Lunia mumbled with a gloomy expression.

It wasn't a question that expected an answer.

However, there was, unfortunately, someone here who would answer.

"She would have tried to smash their heads with a staff to make them come to their senses."

"…"

She wanted to say no, but Lunia once again couldn't bring herself to retort.