Turning over the handling of the dungeon to the republics military, we hurried back to the town of Noblebeppu, where Roroa and Tomoe were waiting. That was where talks with Kuus father, the head of the Republic of Turgis, were waiting for us.
It had be arranged that the talks would be held in a room at the inn where we were staying, with a very limited number of people attending. This was the result of taking the Turgish sides situation, in which a larger eting would require taking the ti to go through a process with the Council of Chiefs, into consideration.
We were able to make it back to Noblebeppu by noon on the day of the talks. We had stayed in the mountain village near the dungeon for one night after the ogres were exterminated, then set out just before dawn, but it had ultimately taken us this long to arrive.
Though the situation had been explained to the other side, we must have kept them waiting for a fair amount of ti.
When I dismounted from the carriage in front of the inn, Roroa and Tomoe ca out of the inn to greet us.
Welco back, darlin! Roroa called. Ya had worried.
Welco back, Tomoe said. Im glad youre okay, Big Brother.
Im back, Roroa, Tomoe.
When I patted them on their heads, they cooed and smiled. Seeing them like that, I was relieved I had been able to co back safe.
With us having had help from Dece, Juno, and the rest, it might seem like there ultimately hadnt been much danger, but seeing those ghoulish ogres that looked like theyd crawled up out of hell, feasting on what looked to be human at, may have made feel a little weak at heart. That was a traumatic sight, after all.
Whew, were here, were here. Disembarking from the carriage, Kuu spun his arms in circles. Its already noon, so have your king and my old man already started the talks?
We people from the kingdom looked at him blankly, but...
Oh, right, everyone quickly realized. The only ones here who didnt know were Kuu and Leporina.
I put on a strained smile and told Kuu, No, not yet. One of the leaders only just arrived, after all.
Huh? Whats that supposed to...
When Kuu was about to ask, a group of about five people walked towards us from across the way. The one leading them was a large-bodied, stern-faced snow monkey.
He was a mountain of muscle. His sideburns and beard had rged into sothing like a white lions mane.
If Kuu was Sun Wukong, this man was fit to be called the Monkey King. His white robe and white cape with shoulder pads made him look every bit the person of high station that he was.
With soldiers following behind him, the great man stood before us.
Hm? Well, hey, if it isnt my old man, Kuu said to the snow monkey. What happened to the talks?
Yes, just as Id assud, this great snow monkey was Kuus old man, and also the head of the Republic of Turgis.
The man ignored Kuu and stood in front of . It is good to et you, King of Friedonia. Welco to the Republic of Turgis. I am the head of state, Gouran Taisei.
Sir Gouran smiled and extended his right hand. He had a stern face, but it wore a courteous smile.
I took his right hand. Its good to et you, too, Sir Gouran. I am King Souma Kazuya of the United Kingdom of Elfrieden and Amidonia.
We brought our left hands together with our clasped right hands for a two-handed handshake.
While watching us, Kuus mouth hung open as if he didnt understand what was going on. Eventually he must have worked it out in his head, because Kuus eyes went wide.
Whaaa?! Kazumas a king?!
Now, Kuu, youre being rude to Sir Souma, his father scolded.
No, its my fault for not saying anything, I said. Sorry for not telling you, Kuu. My real na is Souma Kazuya. I did, at least, contact your head of state about it.
Once I had apologized for keeping it a secret, Kuu let out a sigh. To think... the guy I bumped into at Tarus workshop was the king of a neighboring country...
I could say the sa, I said. Who would have expected the son of this countrys head of state to coming riding in on a numoth while I was talking business with Taru?
Talk about serendipity. All either of us could do was laugh wryly.
Sir Gouran, who had been watching us, gave a hearty guffaw. If were keeping score, Im the most confused of all. Who would have expected my own son was working with a foreign king? Whats more, it seems you helped us subjugate the monsters that spilled out of a dungeon. I thank you cordially on behalf of my people.
Gouran bowed his head. I could feel he was related to Kuu from that forthright posture of his.
Please, raise your head, I said. The monsters in dungeons are a threat to all of mankind. Theyre like a natural disaster, so its only natural that I would offer help, irrespective of whether it happened in the kingdom or the republic.
Well, Im grateful to hear you say that... Oh? Sir Gouran noticed Roroa, who was standing beside , and blinked. Pardon . Would you happen to be Princess Roroa of Amidonia?
Yes, Lord Gouran. I am Roroa Amidonia. Roroa lifted the hem of her coat and curtsied.
For a mont, that gesture was so well-refined I had to question if she was really Roroa. Had she suppressed her usual rchant slang and responded politely because he was the representative of a nation?
For us, who knew the usual Roroa, she looked like a little tanuki playing innocent, though...
You know who I am, Lord Gouran? she added.
We arent directly acquainted, but you reminded of your mother, he said.
My mother? Roroa tilted her head to the side.
If I recalled, Roroas mother had passed away when she was little, hadnt she? I rembered that because when wed held a funeral for Gaius, hed been interred in the princely familys tomb, where his wife had already been laid to rest.
With a hearty laugh, Gouran continued. When I was young, there were only minor skirmishes, but I crossed blades with the Amidonian military on several occasions. In that process, I gathered information on Amidonia. You know, Sir Gaius made for a fearso adversary. Nothing could have been more troubleso.
I... I see... Roroa struggled to give a proper response.
There had been a rift between her and her father. When soone was laughing and telling her things about him that could be complints or insults, she must have had no idea how to respond.
Sir Gouran continued despite Roroas reaction. I hear your mother was a person so cheerful, she could laugh Sir Gaiuss stern face away. Ive also heard talk about how you married yourself, and your country with you, to King Souma. You must have inherited her boldness.
Th-Thank you... Roroa responded, while shooting a look that scread, Darlin, help !
It seed she was troubled by him bringing up awkward topics it was hard for her to respond to, and apparently doing it with no ill intent, at that.
Unlike Roroa, though, I was impressed with Sir Gouran. Even though he lived in this closed-off land, he hadnt been lax in gathering information about the outside world.
Well, that aside, Roroa was tearing up, so I decided to help here.
Sir Gouran, should we start the talks now?
Oh, sorry, Ive been rude, Sir Gouran said with and took on an extrely serious expression. I know the talks were scheduled for today, but between subjugating the ogres and traveling, you must be tired. Please, relax for today, and we will hold the talks tomorrow.
...Well, okay, I said. Id be grateful if we could do it that way.
I didnt want to rush the negotiations; I wanted us to take our ti. And it was true I was tired. So I decided to accept Sir Gourans considerate offer.
We would stay in the inn, and Sir Gouran and his entourage would stay at the villa where Kuu had been staying near here.
Then, tomorrow, we would reserve this entire inn to hold the eting.
Now, this was where it would all be decided.
That night, I used the jewel I had brought in secret to contact Hakuya back in the capital of Parnam. When I explained the situation in Turgis...
Honestly... what were you thinking? he asked in exasperation. It should be unthinkable for the king of a nation to go out slaying ogres.
That was the first thing out of Hakuyas mouth.
Well, I thought I had to...
It would seem a scolding from Lady Liscia is inevitable at this point, he went on.
Urkh... Is Liscia there, too? I asked hesitantly, but Hakuya shook his head.
No. Lady Liscia has already gone to rest in Lord Alberts domain.
Thank goodness... I wouldnt want to worry her now.
She was carrying our child in her womb. I couldnt afford to worry her unduly.
But it really was a sha to be unable to see Liscias face, and unable to hear her voice. I wanted to thank her directly for having our child. This made feel like a father living away from the family due to business.
Hakuya looked exasperated. If you know that, I want you to be prudent. You will be a father soon, Your Majesty.
Ill take that to heart...
There was nothing else I could say in response. I had to be honest with myself, and reflect on it. That said, though, if I encountered a similar situation in future, I didnt really know if I could be prudent or not.
So, how is the plan going on your end? I asked.
Ive already received assent from the other party. The preparations are complete, but... what are your thoughts on Sir Gouran, sire?
How do you an that, exactly?
Do you think the talks will be a success or not?
I thought about that a little. I recalled what I had seen of Sir Gouran today.
He seems abrasive, but I could also see a more sensitive side to him. He looks like a warrior, but thats not all there is to him. If we underestimate him, hell take advantage of that. Hes not the head of a nation for nothing.
Sire... in order to make negotiations move smoothly, you wanted to demonstrate the power of our nation, correct?
In order to form friendly relations, I want to show them the rits of forming an alliance with us, and the derits of making an enemy of us. But from the look of things, hes not going to be intimidated by just anything. Thats all the more reason why the trick youve set up will be useful.
I grinned.
Please, do not go to the talks tomorrow with that look on your face. Hakuya sighed in exasperation.
anwhile, around this ti, Head of the Republic Gouran and his son Kuu were in the living room of their villa in Noblebeppu, talking about Souma and his companions over drinks.
When you were working with that king, what was your view of him? Gouran asked while tilting back a goblet of fernted milk.
Hes a weird one, Kuu chuckled. He looks weak, but theres sothing about him you just cant figure out, I guess you could say?
Gouran tilted his head to the side at his sons words. So... which is he, in the end?
Like I said, I dont know. Hes probably a king who rules by the pen, not the sword. Kazuma... no, Souma looks weak, and he really isnt strong, but hes got a good collection of subordinates around him. That dark elf especially. Shes in a class of her own. And even if Souma looks like hes wide open, if you make the mistake of trying to lay a hand on him, his subordinates will leave piles of bodies lying around.
Hm... Gouran pondered. Hes a king who is loved and protected by his vassals, then?
Oook... I feel like its more than just that. Hes a smart one, so he wont be reckless, but its not like hes completely without courage. No matter how much he trusted his subordinates, a weak guy wouldnt decide to accompany on a dangerous task like subjugating those ogres so easily, right? If he can place his own life on the scales, thats proof hes made it through his own share of trials.
They say he defeated a military man like Gaius VIII, after all, Gouran nodded.
Triggered by Soumas ascension to the throne, a war had broken out between the Elfrieden Kingdom and the Principality of Amidonia. From the stories they had heard, the war had been a crushing victory for the kingdom, but Gaius VIII had shown his pride as a warrior to the end.
Even though the war had been decided, and his troops had broken and scattered, Crown Prince Julius had escaped, while Gaius himself had gone with his personal retainers and charged into a great army, coming within steps of wringing Soumas neck.
Even in defeat, Gaius had maintained his pride as a warrior.
Those who lost a war were always vilified at first. The victors spread those stories to demonstrate the righteousness of their own actions.
However, in Gaiuss case, because his daughter Roroa was going to marry Souma, and an attempt was being made to unify the two countries, Souma never spoke ill of him, and he did not have an undeserved reputation.
Setting aside peoples views of his performance as a sovereign prince, Gaiuss reputation as a warrior was being defended by a daughter who hadnt gotten along with him, and her fianc who had fought him as an enemy. Whether this was a neat contrivance of history or an irony was up to the individual to decide.
Here was what Gouran thought.
Perhaps by confronting Gaius, Souma had gained a courage that did not match his own weak body.
If so... Gaius has left behind an incredible nto.
Whether Gouran wished for it himself or not, the threads of fate continued to wrap themselves around him. While feeling the flow of ti, he looked to Kuu, who was drinking fernted milk in front of him.
Will getting involved with Souma bring about so change in my idiot son? That may prove to have great aning for the republic...
Gouran downed the rest of his fernted milk, and made his decision.
The night broke, and it was the day of the eting.
We reserved the great hall of the inn where we were staying, and Gouran and I sat across from one another. It was the place we had used for the party before, so there were no tables or chairs. We sat cross-legged on brilliantly colored cushions laid out on the carpet.
On either side of were Juna and Roroa, who no longer needed to hide their positions, and Kuu was sitting next to Gouran.
Behind us were Aisha and the rest of the mbers of our group, with the exception of Tomoe, and behind Sir Gouran and Kuu were a group of this countrys soldiers lead by Leporina.
Each of those groups stood at attention and guarded their respective leaders.
I bowed slightly, then looked Sir Gouran straight in the face. First, allow to thank you for arranging this eting.
Think nothing of it, he said. It is not often one has the chance to speak with the king of a neighboring country. I would very much like to use this rare chance to speak openly about things that will be of benefit of both our countries.
Sir Gouran returned my slight bow, and looked straight in the eye.
We were both the leaders of our respective countries, so neither could bow deeply in a way that implied one was higher or lower than the other.
Gouran turned to look to the side. Still... Im surprised. To think you would bring such a thing here...
He was looking at a jewel for the Jewel Voice Broadcast. The massive crystal that I had also used to communicate with Hakuya yesterday was occupying a corner of the room.
Sir Gouran furrowed his brow. That is a Jewel Voice Broadcast Jewel, correct? Is this being broadcast sowhere?
No, this is only for communication purposes, I said. Im not broadcasting it to the people.
...I see.
Do you have jewels in this country, too? I asked.
Just one. I would like to have more, but theyre made from dungeon cores. Unfortunately, weve only cleared one dungeon in this country.
I see...
It sure was inconvenient that there was only one dungeon core.
The country had a fairly large amount of land, so I would want the to have one for broadcasting and one for communication, at least.
If wed had any to spare, Id have been willing to sell or trade them, but of the five dungeon cores we currently had, one was used for broadcasts from the castle, one for communicating with the Empire, and three for broadcast programs. Unfortunately, I had no way to help.
Well, with those pleasantries set aside, I dove into the matter at hand. Now then, Sir Gouran, I have a proposal for you...
The dical alliance... I believe. Before I could say it, Sir Gouran crossed his arms and groaned. Treatnts that dont rely on light magic... It really is fascinating. Doctors, were they? For this country, where its hard to even walk around outside in winter, there would be great aning in being able to permanently station one person who could perform treatnts in every village. Besides that, you say they can treat diseases that light magic cant. Id very much like to have that.
Sir Gouran sounded impressed. It felt like we werent off to a bad start.
But then Sir Gourans expression grew stern.
However, there are things I dont understand here. Why would you bring this to us? Wouldnt studying the subject alone allow your country to grow more powerful?
Suspicious eyes. He was trying to feel out if I had any ulterior motives.
When he asked that, for a mont, I thought about how the empress of the Gran Chaos Empire might answer. She might say, dicine knows no borders.
That person, who was not a self-proclaid saint, but had been proclaid a saint by others, was the sort to think about what was best for the whole world, and so those kinds of words suited her.
For , on the other hand, that sort of idealism was a poor fit. I always thought of my own countrys benefit first. I didnt think that was a bad thing, but if soone like said, dicine knows no borders, the words might sound hollow.
So I looked Sir Gouran in the eyes as I responded, Thats... for practicality.
Practicality?
Yes. Its true, it would be best to study it with only my country. However, that would take too much ti and funding. dicine is not a subject one country can fully study on its own. If I were to try to do it all with one country, I wouldnt have enough ti, personnel, or funding.
What I needed to demonstrate was the realistic benefit of dividing the research. If I could prove it would be of benefit to both the kingdom and the republic, I could get things moving.
That is why, like I proposed to Kuu, I want the republic to produce dical equipnt and to export it to us. We will dispatch the doctors who can use that equipnt. If this can be realized, the field of dicine should progress greatly in both our countries.
Thats true. It does sound like both countries stand to profit. Gouran gave a big nod.
Was this... going to work?
Well, then...
However. It had looked like things were coming together, but then Sir Gouran fixed a stern look on . Can this truly be called an equal exchange?
...What do you an?
Hearing your proposal of a dical alliance, I did a fair amount of thinking about it for my own part. It may look advanced, but, to make matters quick, I think its really just a developnt in the way dicine n and won treat their patients.
...Youre right, I admitted.
He wasnt mistaken. We had managed to cut out a lot of the process because of the existence of the three-eyed race that could see microorganisms, but doctors were rely a further developnt of the dicine man or woman who brewed dicinal infusions.
In that case, it is sothing we can understand, too, Sir Gouran said. Basically, the kingdom trains incredible dicine n or won, and our country is expected to create the incredible tools that they use, right? If that was all we were dealing with, Im sure you could call it fair, but theres one more elent: the dicinal infusions the dicine man or woman uses.
dical infusions... You an drugs?
We each hold one card, the doctor and the dical equipnt. However, the drugs card is floating in midair. We cant take the drugs card for ourselves yet. If the kingdom takes that card, the balance of power will largely shift in your favor.
Drugs, huh.
It was true that, in the kingdom, the three-eyes race had developed three-eyedine (an antibiotic). Three-eyedine was extracted from a subspecies of gelin that could even live in poisonous swamps.
This country was very cold, and the liquid gelins would freeze solid, so they didnt live here. It wouldnt be possible for them to develop it on their own.
Naturally, theyd be dependent on imports. If the kingdom had control of those imports, it would be easy for more funding to flow into the kingdom.
...To be honest, I hadnt thought about this until it was pointed out.
Obviously, I had considered the elent of drugs, but I hadnt expected the republic to be suspicious about it.
Still, now that I thought about it, it was only natural they would be. They were approaching these talks with a lot of determination of their own. They would think desperately about what could be disadvantageous to their country, and try to rub it out.
Because he was thinking so hard about their own country, Sir Gouran had hit upon this elent of drugs.
He must be a good ruler... Well, in this case, his fears are unwarranted, though.
I ntally shrugged my shoulders. It wasnt like I was deliberately avoiding the topic of drugs in order to make a profit down the line. I turned both of my palms towards Sir Gouran.
Theres no need to worry. That card is no longer in the kingdoms hands, you see.
Hm? What do you an?
Juna. Bring that thing out.
Yes, sire. Juna brought out a board-shaped thing that could fit in her arms, and placed it in front of the jewel so that everyone could see it.
It was a simple Jewel Voice Broadcast receiver. And projected on that simple receiver was a single beautiful woman.
When they saw that woman, Sir Gouran and Kuus eyes went wide.
D-Dad! Kuu cried.
Yeah...
Hee hee, Im sorry that I seem to have surprised you.
The woman on screen smiled, then bowed slightly to Sir Gouran and the others.
It is a pleasure to et you, head of the Republic of Turgis, Sir Gouran Taisei. I am Empress Maria Euphoria of the Gran Chaos Empire.
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