Reincarnated to the Past 37: Plots (1) (Patreon)

Reincarnated to the Past
Chapter 37: Plots (1)

-VB-

I didn’t get the triumphant parade that I deserved for saving the city, but I kind of expected that.

As I walked up the streets of Istria once more but as its savior this time, the people shied away from me.

I was, after all, still the person who’d poisoned their water, choked their air with smoke, and burned their food. All of these still affected them. Their sunken cheeks, dirty hands, and dehydrated lips told me exactly the length of the damages still in place.

After sparing these people only a few glances, I turned back to the current king of Istria, Renius, and apparently my brother-in-law, Johaken, who’d married Renius’s sister and became his brother-in-law as well.

I saw what was going on… and let it be.

Despite the fact that I now had the standing and position of one of the leaders of the Lower River Kettin tribe, I still did not believe in intervening in the personal affairs of individuals, which was not the case for most people during this time. Considering that “Romeo and Juliet” took place thousands of years after today and involved families not allowing people to marry or love whomever they wanted, I think I was safe to say such things.

Johaken looked both triumphant - still covered a little in gore and blood of our fallen enemies - and scared. I wondered why.

I looked at his new wife, the woman who’d stood by Renius during the negotiations when Istria fell to me. I noticed right then that Johaken looked even more nervous than before.

I faced him directly and raised an eyebrow. “What are you nervous about, brother?” I asked.

He opened his mouth and then grimaced.

“I… was nervous whether you would be fine with my marriage,” he said slowly. Was he trying to make himself not a threat to me? I supposed that by allying himself through marriage with Istria, he was intertwining his interests with the new vassal of the Lower River Kettin.

However.

He could in no way prove to be a threat to me.

If his wife and her family turned him against me, then I would kill them all and drop him in front of his blood family.

It was a simple matter.

But if they didn’t mess with me, my family, and my tribe, then they would get many benefits of being my associate.

And despite the almost casual conversation between me and Johaken, Renius looked at me contemplatively. He’d been upon the wall when Johaken and I slaughtered the Byzantions. Since then, he’s been staring contemplatively. Thinking. Planning.

As for how I could tell, it was kind of obvious? His face literally looked like a stockbroker’s constipated “I think I can make money with this” face.

“And I meet you again, Lord Alan.” He bowed once. “Thank you for saving the city.”

“I did say that you are a vassal of the Kettin now,” I replied. “I do not make promises of vassalage easily or in falsehood. Even if Johaken had not been here or married to your sister, I would have come.”

“... Then you will have to come often. The traitor had done much damage to our reputation and honor. Many, not just the Byzantions, will seek to crush us.”

I knew this, he knew this, and everyone else in this immediate conversation group knew this (outside of the five of the self-appointed “guards” who came with me).

So why was he saying it?

“Do you intend to wage a defensive war upon all of Thrace on your own?”

I blinked.

That … was a good question. I was able to defeat the Byzantions because they were unprepared.

But would others be as unprepared? Would they only come with a thousand soldiers?

I frowned as I took this in.

Breaking out of my reverie for a moment, I urged us all to move indoors where no one else might hear us.

-VB-

I blinked, hearing just how many enemies had been made by the now dead “diplomat.”

“How many?” I asked incredulously.

“At least fifteen cities.”

Cities.

I knew that there was a distinction between “city” and “tribe” here. The Greater Kettin Confederation, despite the numbers and wide area we controlled, was a “tribe.” A “city” was a fortified city with equal or more people than a third of the GKC put together. Istria, for example, had more than ten-thousand souls, which was a big ass achievement for the era. Sure, they weren’t as big as Rome in the 700 BCE or something with its forty-thousand residents, but it was still big.

Fifteen cities meant a total enemy force that could be mustered to anywhere between thirty thousand to fifty thousand soldiers. If they managed to put issues aside or get together with the intent to rip apart Istria and the Kettins, then …

I don’t think even I could stop them. I was a “demigod,” but there was a firm limit on how many people I can kill before I go down.

As those thoughts came crashing down, I realized that I truly only had one option.

Several options in reality existed, yes, but all except one would be … it would be disadvantageous for me. I could reach out to those cities as a lord over Istria. It might net me some points, but they would certainly demand payment for past injustices.

“I’ll tell you what I intend to do later,” I told him. It was clear to me that he wanted to use me as the shield for his city. I would not do so easily. As much as I brought this issue upon myself, I had no intention of blindly attacking.

I needed to plan.

Renius bowed and left, leaving me with only Johaken and his wife.

I turned to them.

“You are… Regia,” I spoke directly to her.

The long brown-haired and heart faced woman bowed.

“It’s -”

“I’m not one for formally,” I interrupted. “You are family because Johaken is my family. I expect you to work for and with him first before you work for your city. Is that understood?”

She tittered a bit before she nodded.

“Good.” I turned to Johaken. “This isn’t just from me but your father, Johaken, whom you’ve somehow forgotten to inform regarding your marriage. I hope you didn’t force yourself on her…?”

A light touch of my war axe made the unspoken words clear.

Brother-in-law, he may be, but I was not going to tolerate rape.

“I was the one to approach him, Lord Alan,” Regia quickly interjected. “It may have been … political initially, but I love him now. Please stay your hand for he has not tainted his honor or mine.”

I stopped touching the war axe.

“... Fine.”

They looked surprised.

“Just fine?”

“Yes. What else was I going to do?” I asked earnestly. “It’s not like I was going to demand bride price or something like that…” I carefully looked at how they looked relieved. “Wait, you two seriously expected that?” I asked incredulously.

Johaken was the one to look sincerely apologetic for thinking that about me. “I’m sorry, brother, but in the wider world… it is not uncommon for the ruler to demand a night with the newly wed.”

I stared at him in shock.

“Well, fuck them and fuck that. That kind of shit is not happening where I could see, touch, and reach!”

Honestly, what the fuck?