Towards An Alliance

We encountered absolutely zero anomalies on the road back.

Ever since our return to the Royal Capital, we had been enjoying a beautifully peaceful stretch of daily life. The hefty reward from the dungeon investigation had cleared our account, leaving our financial situation exceptionally comfortable. Then again, if an S-rank adventurer had high-profile requests flooding in every single day, it would indicate a massive institutional crisis for the kingdom to begin with.

“My Lord, an official missive has arrived from the Royal Palace.”

“Thank you, James.”

I captured the dispatch from James and meticulously sliced open the seal. The text explicitly requested that I guide my steps toward the Royal Palace in the immediate future.

“James, could you notify the palace staff that I shall report there tomorrow afternoon?”

“Understood, my Lord. I shall communicate the response precisely as you command.”

The following afternoon, I headed toward the Royal Palace, bringing Hana and Misa along with me. The exact fraction of a second we arrived at the grand gates, the knight stationed as a sentry recognized my face, snapped into a sharp salute, and instantly permitted us entry.

“Thank you.”

Offering a light nod, I stepped into the interior corridors.

“We have been expecting you, Lord Vim. His Majesty is waiting inside.”

An official palace attendant promptly escorted our party into the familiar reception parlor.

“I apologize for always summoning you so suddenly on short notice. Please, make yourselves comfortable and take a seat.”

Answering the King’s invitation, we settled onto the sofas directly opposite his position.

“Please, do not worry about it, Your Majesty. I calculate that a sudden summons merely reflects the absolute importance of the matter at hand.”

The letter itself had been entirely devoid of granular details. I interpreted that layout as a clear sign that the agenda was far too critical to be risked on basic parchment.

“As sharp-witted as always, I see,” the King noted, sitting a bit more upright on the cushions. “I must apologize for shifting your gears when you’ve only just returned from a grueling dungeon investigation, but there is a specific matter I desperately need to request of you.”

“I am listening.”

His Majesty’s features tightened into an exceptionally serious, grave expression.

“Have reports reached your ears regarding our kingdom’s current initiatives to forge a formal alliance with our neighbor, the Griffinto Empire?”

“Yes, I systematically vetted the documents sent to my estate regarding that boundary a few days ago.”

“We have maintained perfectly amicable relations with the Griffinto Empire for quite a significant chunk of time, but we have never entered into a formal, binding treaty. We are actively moving to lock in an official alliance at this exact juncture.”

Because Leoria operated as a strict, absolute meritocracy, our military parameters sat a clean head and shoulders above the neighboring nations. On the flip side, Griffinto was undoubtedly a top-tier powerhouse when it came to international commerce. Forging a pact between these two superpowers would unlock immense, mutual national prosperity.

“I am entirely in favor of the initiative itself. But what exactly is the core nature of the request you wish to assign to me?”

“Well, you see… under standard diplomatic protocols, completing an alliance requires one party to make the journey directly to the other nation’s capital. Therefore, I highly want your party to travel to the capital of the Griffinto Empire—operating under the official title of our state Ambassadors.”

“Just to verify the parameters, Your Majesty… you want us to deploy under the explicit designation of Ambassadors, rather than acting as a standard security escort?”

“Yes, precisely.”

I had fully calculated that my involvement would strictly entail acting as a high-caliber combat escort for the journey.

“Tell me, Vim… are you capable of casting Spatial Magic?”

“Yes, I can utilize applications of that nature.” Practically any spellcraft I had witnessed or analyzed even once fell entirely within my operational capacity to replicate.

“Is it theoretically possible for your system to establish a direct link connecting two entirely separate spaces?”

“On a purely theoretical plane, it is entirely possible. However, I have never actually executed a long-range spatial bridge of that magnitude before.”

“I see. If you can successfully master that application, my ultimate objective is to have you permanently connect the capital of Griffinto straight to the Royal Capital of Leoria.”

The King’s calculation made perfect sense. For a sovereign to undertake a long-distance crossing over national borders always invited a barrage of constant security hazards. If he could simply bypass the physical distance using a localized spatial bridge, the operational risks would be minimized to absolute zero.

“Would it be alright if I took this proposal back to my estate for the time being? I highly require a window of opportunity to run a series of experimental trials with my spatial magic arrays.”

“Of course. Exactly how much time do you calculate you will need?”

“If I could secure roughly three days, that should be sufficient.”

“Very well. I shall eagerly await your data. I am counting on you, Vim.”

I resolved in my heart that I would run the mandatory processing trials on my spatial spellcraft, and the exact fraction of a second I verified that bridging two distant domains was mechanically possible, I would formally accept the King’s historic assignment.