The Meeting Behind The Conference Behind The Meeting

View of Rigaro-Rangas, Chancellor of the Lufelon Holy Kingdom

The other day, after being presented with terms that I could hardly believe had been brought by someone seeking friendly relations, I had been terribly shaken by their sheer contents, but once I calmed down, I realized that there was no way that treaty could have been serious.

Otherwise, the Holy King and the regent’s attitude made no sense.

Was the fact that they showed no negative emotion whatsoever upon seeing those clauses proof that it was a farce?

No, that was wrong… Their lack of reaction was far too strange as well.

If it was a farce, then it was far too unnatural for the Holy King and the regent to show no reaction at all… Precisely because it was a farce, they should have reacted in some way.

The fact that even that had not happened meant… it was a farce, yet there had been no intention of hiding that it was a farce.

Their intent in thrusting that treaty upon us… It should likely be taken as a declaration of war against me, and against the Kingdom of Sorakil behind me.

And the reason a king currently at war with other countries had deliberately visited this kingdom was… to make it known that he had become the backing of the Holy King’s faction.

If so, their true aim was… war through the Lufelon Holy Kingdom… Had they grown arrogant after conquering small nations?

Certainly, if the information was accurate, Einheria had achieved military results unthinkable for a small nation.

The fear I felt for an instant from that king of Einheria… It felt of the same kind as what I had felt from the hero I once met in the Kingdom of Sorakil.

I myself was not a warrior, so I could not measure his strength, but that king was likely close to those called heroes.

The fact that the king of Einheria was here meant… that king no longer needed to be on the front lines of the war… Perhaps it had been true when he said the remaining two nations were only a matter of time.

A king who seemed to be a hero… and military strength unthinkable for a small nation. It was understandable that he would get carried away, but he was far too ignorant.

He could never defeat the Kingdom of Sorakil.

The Kingdom of Sorakil was sometimes mocked as a nation of plots, but that alone was not why it was called a middle-ranking nation.

Needless to say, its military strength, economy, industry, technology, culture… in every respect, it stood far above not only small nations, but even other middle-ranking nations.

Einheria also possessed outstanding power for a small nation, and it might not be impossible for it to win against a country of around medium scale, but there was no reason it could defeat the Kingdom of Sorakil.

Even if the king of Einheria was a hero, and even if he could obtain national power on the same scale as the Kingdom of Sorakil… even then, Einheria would surely lose, because…

“Your Excellency! What are we to do now!?”

Having been addressed, I slowly opened my eyes.

There were about ten people in the room, and until a moment ago, each of them had been speaking in agitation… but had they reached some kind of agreement while I was shutting out the noise and thinking?

No, judging by the state of these people, they were waiting for my opinion.

“It seems the information has been conveyed sufficiently. Then first, let me hear your opinions. What do you think of this visit from Einheria?”

Though I had dismissed it as noise, I first needed to know what these people were thinking.

The people here belonged to my faction, but that did not necessarily mean they were my allies.

Most of them were nothing more than vulgar men who merely wished to enjoy power in the Lufelon Holy Kingdom.

Well, I had let them enjoy some benefits, and once the current Holy King and regent were eliminated, I intended to let them taste their springtime of power, though only for a short while.

“He is merely the king of an emerging nation. I suppose winning a few battles has gone to his head.”

“However, there is no doubt that he is skilled in war. Starting with the Lumoria Kingdom, he has continued winning against the Kingdom of Fregis, the Kingdom of Est, and the Duchy of Yuran. They are all small nations, but in terms of military strength, they are nearly equal to us. I do not believe picking a fight would be wise.”

“Is that not a little too timid? Einheria has been fighting battle after battle in succession. It is true that the strength of its soldiers may be certain, but as long as they are human, they will tire and be wounded. Their continued fighting should soon reach its limit.”

“On what basis do you say they are reaching their limit? If they were truly reaching their limit, they would never do something like make enemies of us at this point!”

“They are simply foolish enough not to understand their own limits.”

“Declaring the enemy foolish is a bad habit of yours, sir! If Einheria’s forces still have strength left to spare, we may end up following in the Kingdom of Est’s footsteps! We should think carefully!”

“You are the one being far too timid! The enemy may be exhausted from successive battles now, but sooner or later, they will absorb the national power of Fregis, Est, and Yuran! If that happens, do you think our country alone will be able to oppose them!?”

Whether we should come into conflict with Einheria or proceed cautiously—such was the extent of the discussion being exchanged in this room.

This was of no use at all… I opened my mouth while sighing inwardly.

“Einheria is the enemy. Whether we should fight now or proceed cautiously… that is your understanding, then?”

“Is Your Excellency’s view different?”

As I spoke while looking over everyone present, the man seated near me asked with a suspicious look.

“No, it is not different. But that is not what we should be discussing now. What matters is how to maneuver against an opponent that has already made its move. The stage of deciding whether to fight or not has long since passed. The war has already begun.”

““…””

“You understand the situation now, yes? Then I shall ask once more. What do you think of this matter?”

At my renewed question, the people in the room looked at one another, then began raising their voices one by one.

“…The regent’s faction drew Einheria in. Could we not pursue responsibility for that and bring them down… then negotiate with Einheria under our leadership?”

“No, judging from the exchanges at the conference, the regent’s faction has already accepted this matter. Most likely, the Holy King has already made some sort of agreement in Einheria. Even if we remove the regent’s faction and seize real power, Einheria will surely bring up the agreement made with the Holy King.”

“To begin with, how did the Holy King go to Einheria!?”

“There is no need to think about it. She likely slipped into the envoy and traveled with them, yes? The one we thought was the Holy King was merely a double.”

“Can we not discover the contents of this so-called agreement!?”

“Wait! The agreement is only a hypothesis! Perhaps they were trying to settle the details in this conference…”

“Are you a fool!? She may be a figurehead, but that little girl is still the Holy King! Einheria must have talked her into it and already made her conclude some suitable treaty!”

“Calm down! There is no use speaking only in hypotheticals! What we must consider now is how to respond to the enemy! The regent faction’s aim is undoubtedly to crush us and seize real power. Einheria’s aim is… to force impossible demands upon us, cause a breakdown… and then invade from there, I suppose. In this situation, what move should we make… no, what moves can we make?”

As expected, when this many people were gathered, the discussion did not move forward at all.

Well, that was fine with me. The purpose of this meeting was to stir my faction’s sense of crisis while guiding these people toward our true objective.

If a last-ditch plan were born from this, that would be acceptable as well… but nothing that convenient would appear.

“How about eliminating the Holy King and the regent? The concern about the agreement the Holy King made was raised earlier, but at the very least, there is no doubt that the regent was not beside her when that agreement was made. If we eliminate both the Holy King and the regent, we may be able to reject the agreement as invalid.”

“Since the Holy King is young, a regent has been placed, so while it may be strained, that would establish the minimum logic, perhaps? However, if it comes to eliminating them…”

“For the Holy King’s bloodline to die out would be…”

Hmm… It seemed they were moving in the direction of a method such as assassination… but the flow was not bad. With one more push, the discussion would proceed in that direction.

I sent my gaze toward a man who, despite being in the room, had not spoken even once.

Among those present, he held a rather unimpressive position, but he was my comrade, and the only person here I could call an ally.

It was somewhat early, but perhaps I should use this opportunity to guide things toward advancing our plan.

Receiving my gaze, he stated his opinion for the first time.

“…Instead of killing the Holy King, how about assigning her a royal consort? If we make her carry the next generation before she reaches the age where she can take charge of political affairs, then afterward, we could have her abdicate under some suitable pretext. In a few more years, she should become capable of bearing a child, after all.”

It was a warning disguised as a compromise.

If they wanted to preserve the blood of the current Holy King’s house, they would have to wait a few more years before eliminating the Holy King herself.

Giving that Holy King a few years of leeway… That would be a risk that the people here could by no means overlook.

That was because the abilities of the current Holy King, who displayed wisdom despite still being young, were not something we, who had seen her up close, could ever take lightly.

“Is that not something to discuss after we get through this matter?”

“No, if we eliminate only the regent, could we not restrain Einheria with the explanation from earlier?”

“Do you think a nation that calmly thrusts such a treaty upon us would listen to excuses?”

“Wait! To begin with, do you truly think that little girl would become controllable merely by assigning her a royal consort? She may be young, but there is wisdom in her conduct. If only the regent is eliminated, she will inevitably become an existence that harms us a few years from now.”

“But we cannot allow the Holy King’s bloodline to die out…”

“If blood is the issue, did the regent not have a daughter, if I recall?”

“She has already married. And if we made her the Holy King, real power would simply return to the current regent faction in the end.”

“No, there is no need to deliberately use someone from the regent’s faction. The previous king’s younger sister married into the Kingdom of Sorakil and should have borne a child. If I recall, it was a boy. The royal younger sister herself has lost her right of succession, but that prince should also have the right of succession to the Holy Kingdom.”

The man who stated that last line once again thinned his presence, as though his role was finished.

For us, this was the predetermined course, but with this flow, they would move to eliminate the Holy King and the regent by their own will.

“Her Highness the royal younger sister has already passed away, but… it is true that her child possesses the right of succession.”

“…If the Holy King’s blood will remain, shall we have the current Holy King vacate her seat?”

““…””

What men of thin loyalty they were.

Merely by being given a sense of crisis and a slight excuse, they were trying so readily to betray the royal house they ought to serve.

Well, it was precisely because they were such people that they were easy to manipulate.

“However… even if we welcome a new king from the Kingdom of Sorakil, it will not be easy, will it?”

“I have connections regarding that matter, so would you leave it to me?”

“But exchanges with the Kingdom of Sorakil will take considerable time even just for travel. Can we hold Einheria back during that time?”

“How about eliminating Einheria’s envoy as well?”

“That would only give them a pretext for war, would it not?”

“No, if they have made some sort of agreement with the Holy King and the regent, they will attack either way. In that case, should we not confuse the enemy even a little and slow their movements?”

“There is no guarantee that king is the real one, is there? If he is a fake, they will joyfully march against us.”

That king being a fake… The possibility was not zero… but an even greater problem was that assassinating that thing was likely impossible.

Even during transit, their security formation had been so perfect that we could not obtain any information.

Even inside the castle… no, precisely because this was our field, their vigilance must be considerable.

If, by some chance, we could kill him… I would be delighted… but the risk in the event of failure was far too great.

The Holy King and her people had originally been marked for elimination, but as for Einheria, it would be better for me to handle them myself.

Thinking that, I decided to interject for the first time here.

“It would be better not to lay hands on Einheria yet. Considering that they have proposed such a treaty, there is a strong possibility that the king is a double.”

“But Your Excellency… since they have taken the initiative like this, if we do not make some move, will it not become irreversible?”

“…Separate from the conference, I shall personally make contact with Einheria’s people. If something happens to the Holy King’s group, I will be the only one who can serve as a negotiation channel. We must make them believe negotiations can continue.”

Above all, I needed to investigate Einheria’s true objective.

What would Einheria gain by joining hands with the regent’s faction? If it was the regents, they should realize that the Kingdom of Sorakil stood behind us.

But did Einheria have a need to come into conflict with the Kingdom of Sorakil?

If this was simply reckless courage born from not understanding the difference in ability, that was fine in its own way… Even if there was some scheme, the Kingdom of Sorakil would not be shaken by something of that level.

…Could it be that Einheria was thinking in the same way we were?

That it could fight head-on if its opponent was only the Kingdom of Sorakil… and precisely because of that, it had backed the regent’s faction so that the Lufelon Holy Kingdom to Einheria’s east would not become its enemy.

If the regent’s faction disappeared, the Lufelon Holy Kingdom would cooperate with the Kingdom of Sorakil and attack Einheria from the north and east… That offensive would be far fiercer than dealing with three nations at the same time… Was it to avoid that?

If this thinking was not off the mark, then Einheria’s support for the regent’s faction could be called natural.

“So it is to prevent the elimination of the Holy King’s group from immediately leading to war…”

“I will focus on restraining Einheria. I will leave the rest to you, but… though we have little time, I ask that you take great care to avoid rash action.”

I stood while looking around at the people in the room.

I had sufficiently grasped the thoughts of those in the Holy Kingdom.

As for the rest of the flow, if I left it to my comrade, he would guide it in a suitable direction.

There were some who seemed likely to run wild, but if they did, I could use that as well… For the sake of protecting their own interests, I hoped they would dance as skillfully as possible.

As long as we could buy time… as long as we could make contact with the Kingdom of Sorakil, we could overturn this situation.

For that purpose, even if the majority of the chancellor’s faction disappeared, it would be enough as long as they caused chaos. That would be sufficient to buy time.