Chapter 130: Quintus
Quintus Fabius Scipio.
That was the name of the current First Seat of the Senate.
Quintus belonged to the Scipio family, which represented the scepter. For generations, his family had almost always been members of the Senate, with recent generations successively rising to high positions. In his generation, he had firmly secured the position of First Seat in the Senate by virtue of his contribution in helping the current Emperor Lucius ascend to the throne.
He had known Lucius for a long time. Generally, after Lucius ran off, both major and minor affairs in Rome were handled by him.
But he was also getting old.
He couldn't bear having so much work dumped on him alone. So, after making basic arrangements, sealing off the ports to prevent Lucius from actually running off to Britain, and finally deploying personnel to search for Lucius, he went to find Manaka Sajyou.
As for Manaka Sajyou, the advisor, few in Rome knew much about her.
In fact, only Lucius and he, Quintus, knew her name was Manaka Sajyou.
Other close ministers, guards, and some departments directly under the emperor knew this monster was a woman. Beyond that... the rumor that the advisor was a man in his thirties was the most widespread and considered the most credible.
However, both Lucius and Quintus trusted Manaka Sajyou deeply.
The reason was that Manaka Sajyou, who had suddenly appeared in the Roman palace, had defeated Lucius head-on on the very first day and displayed her power as a ruler.
At the time, she could have directly replaced Lucius and become the emperor of Rome, but she didn't do so.
Moreover, after that, she had indeed helped Rome resolve many issues, quickly stabilizing a Rome that had already begun to face internal and external troubles, and even allowing this declining nation to gradually rise again.
All of this was the merit of Manaka Sajyou, the advisor.
Whether Lucius, that monkey-like fellow, truly understood these things, Quintus wasn't sure, but at least he himself was aware of Manaka Sajyou's abilities and contributions.
So this time, after temporarily handling both major and minor affairs, he sought out Manaka Sajyou.
"Advisor, the assassins you previously sent to Britain have returned. Although they found that Romulus, their mission failed, and this is the intelligence they reported."
Quintus handed the intelligence to Manaka Sajyou, who nodded, took it, and began reading.
Even upon hearing of the mission's failure, she showed no particular reaction, as if it had nothing to do with her. However, when she read further into the intelligence and her gaze lingered on the line stating—Romulus is King Arthur—her eyes clearly widened, and she let out a rare sound of surprise.
Seeing her like this, Quintus shook his head slightly.
"Even you are quite surprised, aren't you? I feel the same. After all, none of us would have expected that mere Britain would dare to wage war against our Rome.
"Although this is a suicidal act on their part, we are currently still dealing with those Huns, and His Majesty the Emperor seems very interested in Britain's King Arthur... So, Advisor, what are your thoughts on this matter?"
At first, Quintus spoke like an old man chatting about everyday matters, occasionally grumbling, until the final sentence when he turned his gaze to Manaka Sajyou, waiting for her opinion.
What did I think of this matter?
Manaka Sajyou had already composed herself by now and set aside the intelligence report.
Since His Highness has taken an interest in Rome, I shall offer Rome to him and declare my loyalty!
That was what Manaka Sajyou thought, but she didn't show it on her face. Instead, she smiled and spoke.
"This is indeed surprising, but there isn't much we can or should do right now. First, we should investigate intelligence on Britain, then proceed with troop deployment and grain mobilization..."
There's no way a war could break out at this time, right? It feels like it would at least have to wait until next spring, so the best approach now is to muster the entire nation's strength to crush the Huns first—
Manaka Sajyou was well aware of this, but she deliberately left it unsaid.
In truth, if she wanted to, she could suppress Rome right now, open its gates, and welcome the great King Arthur to his loyal Rome.
But she didn't do that.
Because this wasn't Rome declaring war on Britain—it was Britain declaring war on Rome.
So...
Since His Highness wanted to invite her to play a little game, she was naturally interested in participating.
However, even in this game, she had to be on the same side as His Highness!
This led Manaka Sajyou to deliberately continue speaking this way.
She had even thought about what she would say next if Quintus noticed the timing issue.
She didn't intend to make it too obvious. Instead, she planned to remain hidden within Rome as a spy for now, so she aimed to guide Quintus in this manner—preferably leading him to connect the battlefields against Britain and the Huns. Then, as long as Britain's combat strength exceeded a portion of Rome's military force, Rome would be defeated outright and unable to fully focus on either front.
Retreat would mean collapse on both fronts, giving Britain and the Huns a foothold. Advancing would mean simply being unable to win.
...But to achieve such a situation as a spy... she couldn't rush it. She had to take it slowly.
That was what Manaka Sajyou thought.
But...
"I see. Indeed, as the Assistant says, although we must now fend off the Huns' invasion, it would be too arrogant to make no preparations at all against Britain. After all, they dared to declare war on us, and their leader is a king bestowed with the name Romulus by the Pantheon—this demands even greater attention."
Quintus didn't notice at all that winter was approaching. In fact, after pondering for a moment under Manaka Sajyou's gaze, he proactively continued the discussion.
"Moreover, if we choose the right locations for grain storage and select a suitable battlefield against Britain, we might even be able to, after repelling Britain, follow Rome's..."
Good roads allowed for the swiftest possible arrival at the battlefield against the Huns to provide support, and the same applied to grain supplies—as long as the two battlefields were connected, we could save on two layers of logistics.
...
Rome had long ago constructed many well-connected roads radiating from the city of Rome as the core. So, after confirming his idea, Quintus first thought of utilizing these roads to link the battlefield in Britain with the one against the Huns, thereby preventing Rome's military strength from being spread too thin.
He thought his idea was very clever.
Upon hearing this, Manaka Sajyou nodded repeatedly.
"Indeed."
"Truly worthy of you, Lord Quintus—it is said that in the distant East, in earlier years, there were two wise men known as the Sleeping Dragon and the Young Phoenix, and it was said that obtaining either one could secure the world."
"Lord Quintus is simply the Sleeping Dragon of Rome!"
In Quintus's impression, Manaka Sajyou had always been a person of few words, with little emotional fluctuation and strong personal abilities.
So now, being praised by Manaka Sajyou and receiving such high praise made him very happy, and he smiled, waving his hand at her.
"It's nothing much. Having lived so many years, I've gained a bit of insight—but as for you, Lord Aide, the changes you've brought to Rome since arriving are obvious."
"If we are to speak of the Sleeping Dragon and the Young Phoenix, then you, my lord, are the Young Phoenix of Rome!"
At this point, the Sleeping Dragon and Young Phoenix of Rome exchanged glances and both smiled.
It gave off a feeling that with the two of them by his side, His Majesty Lucius could already consider the world within his grasp.