Did the rules fail to avoid a war?
Jeanne asked, looking uneasy. I shook my head.
Oh, no, the rules definitely worked. At least during the ti the two gods antagonized each other, the worst case scenario of total war breaking out due to the two gods was avoided. The god of the east disintegrated in the end, losing the power to fight, and the god of the west felt safe and stopped their vigilance
So its a happy ending. Wheres the problem in that?
well, if it ended there, everyone would have lived happily ever after
Theres still more?
This is all I can say for now. Sorry, but I cant show my hand just yet
I cut off the conversation with a strong tone. Jeanne seed to be even more curious, but abandoned it when she saw my eyes. When I relaxed my shoulders, I said to Jeanne.
You dont need to worry, youll find out in ti. It wont be any trouble for the Empire
its disconcerting
I want you to trust on this, but as far as our country is concerned, we want to walk in step with yours. As long as Empress Maria upholds that humanity should band together and fight the Demon King Army, the Kingdom will not be your enemy
Jeanne looked at doubtfully.
You didnt sign the Humanity Declaration, and you still want us to believe you?
The Humanity Declaration isnt the only treaty there is, right? We couldnt be part of the Humanity Declaration, but I think our country could agree to a bilateral alliance with the Empire. A secret one
Secret alliance is it?
I made a clear nod.
We would be settling our dostic matters soon, and well be reforming the military next. We plan on rebuilding the military with the intent of having them move with one will. Also, weve de-clawed Amidonia with this incident, so we no longer need to reserve so of our military on the western front. The Army of Elfrieden can now move freely. and there it is. Right now, the Empire had received calls from the Confederation of Eastern Nations for reinforcents, right?
yes. Theyre mostly an assortnt of small countries, but most of them are signatories of the Humanity Declaration. As the leader, we would of course send troops to their aid
There it is. Im wondering if you cant leave that task to us
What Im proposing is this: At the center of this continent there was the Star Dragon Mountain Range where wise dragons live in their natural defenses. If the demons wanted to go south, they would have to invade through its west or east. At the western side there was the Empire, but an attack through the east would be handled by the Kingdom. Concretely speaking, if the Confederation of Eastern Nations called for military support, the Kingdom would dispatch relief forces. However, there are procedures for that.
At that mont, when the Empire as the leader of the Humanity Declaration received the appeal, you would sound out to the Kingdom, and we would respond to your call and dispatch troops. Thats how well do it on the surface
It seems sohow, slow. What for?
Power-wise, we still cant be called a large country, but territory-wise, we rank second if we exclude the Demon King Territory. If word goes out that the largest and second largest countries joined in an alliance, countries are going to go on alert. In particular, Amidonia, rcenary Nation Zem, and the Republic of Torgis, whod be sandwiched between us. Thats why we dont want it to be known that the Kingdom and the Empire are in an alliance
I see. Thats why you wanted a secret alliance
Jeanne made a thoughtful face, probably thinking what the plus and minuses were there for the Kingdom. However, the Empire had nothing to lose by doing so. They could spare the troops they wouldve sent east and strengthened the defense on the western side where their country touches the Demon King Territory. If theres anything theyd be worried about, it would be our intentions but Jeanne finally made a big nod.
I dont think thered be any loss to us to accept that. However, is there really any benefits to you to do that?
If pressed to ask, then Id say its to have the trust of the Empire. That, and by participating in the war, you wouldnt be asking for any support money afterwards
Well, of course. That was only asked of the countries that dont participate in the war but are you sure? I dont think it can be called a benefit
well, it doesnt pay to be rcenary when the existence of humanity is at stake. Other countries wont look at us kindly if we acted indifferent even though were stable
I see
Jeanne folded her arms and groaned, hmm
In that case then the problem is how close the cooperation would be. The Empire and the Kingdom is on either ends of the continent, so it would take ti to convey our intentions. Its good to be able to deflect relief appeals but the ti it would take will be a problem
About that, Ive thought of sothing. Hakuya, bring that
Yes
Hakuya stood up and left the room. He ca back carrying a box. He then presented the box to Jeanne. The latter received the box with a perplexed face.
And what might this be?
Feel free to open it. I want Lady Maria to have it
? This is a receiver device? Ah!
Jeanne seed to have noticed. Inside the box, there was a simple receiver device I used when giving Georg and the others the Final Counsel.
That receiver has been tuned to one of our countrys orbs. I would like madam Jeanne to send one of the Empires when you get back there. Tuned to one of the Empires orbs as well, of course. We could then contact each other any ti
My
In other words, using both countries orbs and simple receivers, we would create a hotline between the Empire and the Kingdom. Unlike the orbs, you can carry the receivers on foot just fine. When either country contacts the other via the receiver, the other could simply go to where the orb is and open a conference session. We couldnt send any docunts this way since were only getting transmissions, but it would be possible when combined with bureaucrat-level shuttle diplomacy. Jeanne was impressed by the proposal.
Then even Elder Sis who couldnt leave the Empire could easily converse what should I say, King Somas power of imagination gives the chills
But you exaggerate. Its a common thing in the world I ca from
To think sothing like this is common um, Soma, your highness. If I may say sothing rash
Hm? Lets hear it
Thank you very much. Also Princess Liscia
Eh, !?
Liscia was startled from being suddenly called to, but Jeanne continued without minding.
Wont you return the throne to Lord Alberto? The Empire is willing to wholeheartedly support him
Recomndation to abdicate. Hold on, what is she saying to a countrys King!? Liscia was taken aback for a mont but after having processed the statent her face turned red.
What are you saying all of a sudden! That will certainlynothappen!
Why not? This is Lord ALbertos Kingdom to begin with. Then as Lord Soma is free, co over to us! If you do you can be a pri minister or any rank you want! Ill even throw in my Elder Sister now, so please be our Emperor!
Are you out of your mind!? Do you understand what youre saying!?
Of course I do. Lord Somas ideas will lead to a new era. I want to see what kind of Empire Lord Soma could make with Elder Sis. had we known we wouldnt have accepted the war support money and got Lord Soma to co at all costs. Would you be willing to co over now?
Before I could say anything, Liscia loudly slamd the table.
OF COURSE HE WOULDNT! Soma is my our countrys indispensable person!
She made a nacing look, showing her fangs. Im honestly happy that she thought so highly of , but were in a negotiation right now. I pat Liscias head.
Calm down Liscia. Im not going anywhere, okay?
Sorry. I lost my cool there
You to Aisha. Stay! Hands off the sword handle
A, arent you treating too roughly!?
Ignoring Aishas protests, I looked at Jeanne.
Sorry, but I cant accept that
Fuh all right. However, its true that were regretting it
Jeanne bowed her head, thank you for listening to my rude remarks
Returning to the topic of alliance such an important issue cannot be decided by alone. Since you have magnificently suggested a top-level conference using the Royal Broadcasts, I think its proper if you personally discuss this with Elder Sister. In line with that, I would like to return to the Empire with a few of your diplomats, and leave so of ours to take to the Kingdom
We of course need to exchange signed docunts. Hum how about this. Appoint one of the diplomatic delegation as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary12and establish an Embassy on both countries capitals. It would be inefficient to travel back and forth everyti we need to co to a decision.
That would be magnificent! We shall put it under consideration right away. Really King Somas wisdom is an ever-welling spring
Like I said, its not mine
Afterwards, Jeanne and I ca to a mutual understanding and discussed many things. Like, about how Lady Maria wanted to stop slavery. She had been wanting to abolish this hotbed of human trafficking, but now with the looming threat from the Demon King Territory, she was able to do so under the na of Human Solidarity. Having anticipated that this would be hard to accomplish in tis of peace and that she should do it now, it looks like shes not just a flower child.
As for myself, I also agree that we should stop slavery3, but I thought it was too early for it and decided to wait. Sudden changes, even though (I think) it was good, would lead to chaos. Having known how much chaos the Arab Spring (I dont an to decry the movent itself, of course) engendered in the surrounding countries, I had been careful about these things.
That was why, regarding slavery, I ntioned to the Empire that it should be done a step at a ti, and if possible to match with the movents the Kingdom was pushing.
that kind of important stuff ca out one after the other, so the bureaucrats on both sides were running around in a mad rush. They continued until late at night, even after the conference had been settled. Im sure they would be staying up all night. Giving the bureaucrats a side glance, I took Liscia and Jeanne out to the office balcony.
It was late autumn and also late at night, the air was chilly. I asked Selina to prepare hot milk in mug-sized wooden cups, not necessarily to celebrate the successful end of negotiations with, but just to have a toast between us three.
To the prosperity of the Empire, said Liscia, raising her cup.
To the growth of the Kingdom, said Jeanne, raising her cup.
To the friendship between both our countries, I said, rising my cup.
Cheers!
We raised our wooden mugs. Since theyve got hot milk inside, we only sipped them (wed get burned if we gulped them down) but, ah, this is delicious. Ive been enjoying the great taste of cows milk since I ca to this world. Because far from being pasteurized, theyre not even sterilized4, they dont destroy the taste of the milk. Even though its a safety problem I cant have enough of this!
Weve got a lot of profit from the conference this ti, havent we now, said Jeanne as she relaxedly savored the hot milk.
The talks got really loing. Its almost dawn already
Now that I think back to it, we even talked about things we didnt need to ntion today
Since weve made a Royal Broadcast hotline already, we could have discussed a number of agenda later. Because of that, I felt we did sothing bad to the bureaucrats.
We got into a strange mood since it went well into the night
Cant be helped. Were happy to have gained a reliable friend, Jeanne said, laughing.
Friend, is it? Well, since we have a secret alliance, we could call the Empire our friends. As for how this secret alliance is going to influence the world later I still cant clearly say, but its reassuring to have another country with the sa values as we do. The Empire should feel the sa way. Then, Jeannes face suddenly turned serious.
Theres sothing we would like to tell our eastern friend
What is it? O western friend
About the entity called the Demon King in the Demon King Territory
Demon King. In RPG terms, an entity dominating the demonic beasts and demon races. While not certain, it seems that such an entity exists, or so the previous King Alberto said.
Have Lady Jeanne ever seen him?
No, in fact, nobody has. While the punitive force did penetrate to the deepest part of the Demon King Territory, that force ca to almost complete annihilation
Hm? Then did you figure sothing out?
There are so among the demon races that seed to possess capacity for language. We dont understand the language, but theres a word that seems to be frequently spoken. Our countrys researchers believed that the word is the na of the Demon King
Jeanne paused there, then spoke the word as if pronouncing a verdict.
The word is Diable Roi5
Diable Roi Demon King Diable Roi?
Yes. Thats what they say the Demon Kings na was
Jeanne made a solemn nod. Demon King Diable Roi hm?
Demon King Diable Roi Demon King Diable Roi Demon King
Huh? What the? I think I rember hearing this phrase before. A dj vu? no, it isnt. Ive heard it before. Where? Where? Not here, but where? Not in this world. So the last world? No, wait. Why Earth? Theres no Demon King on Earth. Why? I shouldnt know any Diable Roi. And yet, why is it stuck on my mind?
W, whats wrong Soma!?
When I ca to, I was being supported by Liscia. Seems like I was holding my head and went unsteady. Seeing Liscia and Jeanne worried, I smiled and said Im alright
I just feel tired all of a sudden
Hum, itislate after all. Lets call it a day
Since Jeanne offered, we decided to officially announce what we decided tonight at noon tomorrow in the audience chamber with Julius present, and retire for the day. I asked Serina to show Jeanne to her room while Liscia and I went to Liscias room. I want to get to bed right away but since my bed was in the office, I cant sleep with the bureaucrats working. Which is why I thought to borrow a corner of Liscias room.
Soma are you really okay?
When we got to the room, Liscia asked worriedly.
Im alright. Just a little tired
Liar! Soma who could stay up three nights normally wouldnt get so tired after only one night!
Hey now, being figured out from that is a little
Haah co
Liscia sat down on the bed and urged to sit next to her. Its a heart pounding situation to sit side by side with a cute girl, but being put under the pressure of Liscias no-nonsense air, I quietly abided. When I did, Liscia held my head in her arms and laid it down on her lap. Shes giving the second lap pillow since the date at Parnam. Liscias gentle voice ca down on from above.
Its fine if you dont want to tell the reason, but at least rely on when youre tired
Liscia caressed my forehead.
Sorry. And thanks
Fufu, youre welco
I closed my eyes and relaxed. The feeling of unease I felt when I heard the na Diable Roi and felt it familiar still hadnt disappeared, but my heart was at ease just by having my head caressed. I was able to fall asleep without worry thanks to Liscia.
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