The Reweaving Balance Of Power

As a few more days passed, Ian could see that only key figures gathered separately to negotiate. In the end, he was able to hear the final sum the Doicheun Empire had to pay.

‘That amount… it is a figure they would need at least thirty years to repay even if they did nothing else.’

It was the amount they had clawed out through biting and tearing at one another. The question, of course, was whether the Doicheun Empire would have the capacity to pay it. In the aftermath of the Great War and abnormal weather, both money and food had hit rock bottom. It would not be easy to demand such money from them as reparations.

‘It will take at least a few years before they can even begin paying little by little.’

And it did not end with reparations. The Doicheun Empire lost every colonial territory it held on other continents. The empires that were parties to the war tore them apart and decided to incorporate them into their own colonies. In sheer size, it was enormous—amounting to nearly half of the Doicheun Empire’s own territory.

‘They even seized all the mineral mining rights.’

They took away the mining rights to the many tangible assets—mines—within the Doicheun Empire’s territory. In other words, they were taking anything that could become money.

They even imposed a time-limited restriction: for a while, Doicheun would be forced to import all goods, and it was notified that the Doicheun Empire itself would be forbidden from exporting. It was truly an infuriating matter.

‘They are trying to erase their industrial power entirely. How vicious.’

Ian could feel just how intent they were on draining the Doicheun Empire’s strength. And amid this, the army was disbanded as well. The size of the force they were allowed to rebuild was limited to a mere 150,000. Considering the vast territory of the empire, it was an absurdly small number.

In the same vein, personnel in the navy and air force were also limited to a few tens of thousands. It foreshadowed mass unemployment for generals and officers alike. Realizing this, Ian understood how quickly Rednix had predicted the future—and moved to solve it.

‘Still, they are not trying to annihilate them entirely.’

Perhaps knowing that if pushed to the very end the Doicheun Empire might reignite war, the Magnia Empire decided to provide large-scale food aid. Of course, it was not abundant. Magnia’s own food situation was not particularly good either.

‘Come to think of it, the Magnia Empire did not suffer such severe damage.’

Because it had not been long since they declared war and joined the Allied Forces, their casualties were absurdly small compared to the Moria Empire and the Noma Empire. Of course, that was only in relative terms—when one considered that even they had suffered deaths in the millions, it was still tremendous loss of life.

Even so, with fewer losses than others, the economic gains they had accrued as a neutral state for a time, and then the colonies and mining rights they would receive as reparations, they had gained an enormous benefit. In truth, they had gained even more than the Polia Kingdom, which had maintained neutrality throughout.

The treaty that would finalize everything was signed as November approached. In that atmosphere, they redecorated the Hall of Waves—which had served as the conference venue—and held a commemorative party celebrating that the war had fully and officially ended.

Everyone celebrated in a happy party—everyone except the Doicheun Empire and the kingdoms that had stood with it. Even then, Ian did not summon his family back to the palace. Under the pretext that she was still ill, he still did not bring Adrina before Emperor Jedic.

Thus the party continued amid dazzling splendor. With nobles from foreign countries attending en masse, Ian could not help thinking it might be the largest party in Polia’s history. And in such circumstances, Ian—the king and the “face” of the kingdom—had to greet countless people.

“Your royal palace is truly beautiful.”

“It seems to speak of the Polia Kingdom’s stature. Heh heh.”

“But is Queen Adrina still ill?”

“They say Queen Adrina’s beauty is the greatest in the world, yet it is regrettable we cannot see her.”

“I hope we can continue a more economically cooperative relationship with the Polia Kingdom.”

“Could we commission the construction of cruisers in the Polia Kingdom? As you can see, the empires say they have no spare capacity right now.”

“Our kingdom has some vessels that were crippled and damaged during the war. If your shipyards have space, could we commission repairs?”

“As an oil-producing nation, can the Polia Kingdom proceed with exporting oil to us?”

“During the war, we lost all the battleships our kingdom owned. So—could we purchase battleships from your country? Imperial battleships are simply far too expensive…”

Many different words were thrown at him, and among them were kingdoms offering favorable commissions. In particular, empires that had lost many warships in the Great War were even now running their shipyards at full capacity, pumping out warships to restore their lost strength.

In such a situation, the kingdoms had no choice but to turn elsewhere. So they were asking Polia to build relatively cheaper Polian battleships and cruisers. It stung the pride a little, but considering the profit, it was something to welcome.

There were also requests for food. But Polia could no longer export food. All food beyond the minimum reserve set aside for the worst case had already been sold off through prior deals. From here on, even Polia would be living on a knife’s edge, so Ian refused—they could not send any more food outward.

‘Next year, the average temperatures must return…’

As Ian worried about that, someone approached him. Of course, they could not come close casually. Camyu was always at Ian’s side. Only once the proper words were exchanged could the visitor approach. The person halted, asked permission, and delivered the message.

“Emperor Jedic has requested a private meeting with Your Majesty.”

“Hm? Emperor Jedic?”

“Yes. He asks that it be in the garden here.”

“Very well. Tell him I agree.”

As the messenger withdrew, Ian thought he had expected this. In truth, aside from the moment at the harbor when Jedic first arrived, Ian had not met him privately at all.

Since he had accepted, Ian immediately had people clear out a large section of the garden. There were quite a few couples already there, having discreet meetings of their own, but given the situation, they had no choice but to leave.

Thus, a proper space for conversation was prepared only after about forty minutes had passed.

Step, step—when Ian arrived, Emperor Jedic was there, along with an Expert bodyguard named Lacen. In contrast, only Camyu stood behind Ian.

In the garden where only the four of them remained, they stopped near the bench where they had once sat before. Jedic glanced at the bench as if in wistful remembrance, then spoke.

“Do you not think time is cruel? Before you know it, you realize you have become who you are now.”

“That is so. When you notice it without intending to, time has already gone far.”

“Only lately have I been thinking that more often. Are you not curious about the Empress’s news?”

“I wonder what your intent is in asking that. As you know, I am married to Your Majesty’s younger sister.”

“I simply wished to ask. And it seems the problem is that this younger sister keeps behaving like she is not a younger sister.”

“Once she entered the Polia royal family, she is no longer a member of the Magnia imperial family, is she not?”

It was a roundabout way of saying: she was now wholly Ian’s, and even as an older brother, Jedic could not act as he pleased. Jedic’s expression stiffened slightly—but he soon relaxed it and spoke.

“You are not wrong. Once she has married away, what does blood relation matter?”

“More importantly, you said you wished to see me—what is it about?”

“King Ian. There is something I wish to ask you.”

“If you have questions, ask. If it is something I can answer, I will.”

“First, regarding the White Ogre—I will say it was not ours.”

“I know. I expected as much.”

“You believe my words?”

“Whether I believe or not, the circumstances make it clear they created it.”

“…Still, I heard an interesting fact about it. For example, I heard even an aura blade cannot cut its bones.”

“You already know, then. Yes. That is what I heard as well.”

Bones that even an aura blade could not pierce—an astonishing thing. And yet even those bones had been shattered and erased. It had been the result of magic used by the wizard Kreba. In terms of range, magic could be inferior to modern weapons, but the destructive power contained within it was overwhelming.

“Could you perhaps give me a sample of the White Ogre’s living tissue?”

“Living tissue, you say?”

“Yes. If you do, I will hand over several technologies you desire—whatever you want.”

It was a remarkably attractive price. Just for handing over tissue, he would offer desired technologies. But that would have been before Ian heard Emperor Rednix’s proposal. Moreover, if they took the tissue and produced regenerative drugs or the like, the share Ian could claim would shrink drastically.

“I am sorry, but I must refuse this request. For us as well, it is an irreplaceably precious specimen.”

“A refusal? That is entirely unexpected.”

“Plans are meant to go awry, are they not?”

Ian spoke with a smile, but Jedic could not help growing suspicious. It was not something Ian would normally do. For someone so famously obsessed with technology to refuse an offer like that—had he perhaps already joined hands with someone else?

The first possibility that came to mind was the Noma Empire.

‘Prince Alexei of the Noma Empire?’

He had heard that Ian had already met with him privately. So perhaps a deal had been made first. Then again, did Polia even need to join hands with Noma? Their technology was behind even that of Magnia.

Not drastically behind, perhaps—but still enough to make one think, “Why bother?” Yet politically, it could make sense. Perhaps it was not only Noma, but also the Moria Empire.

‘Are they worried about us running away with everything?’

Unlike before, the Doicheun Empire—once a massive pillar—had nearly collapsed, and both Noma and even Moria were weakened to the point of staggering. In such a reality, only the Magnia Empire retained intact strength and national power.

‘Today’s ally could become tomorrow’s enemy.’

The one place that still maintained significant power was the Polia Kingdom. Not only did it possess ten regular fleets, but if it wished, it could raise millions of soldiers. If it pushed itself, perhaps it could field even more than ten million.

‘To keep us in check, the two empires could choose to bolster the Polia Kingdom.’

Jedic was misunderstanding—but in truth, such discussions had already arisen in both Noma and Moria. In a sense, he was treating something that might happen soon as though it had already begun.

‘I would like to stamp it down in advance, but that is difficult as well.’

They had already fought one war. Even if their losses were comparatively small, it did not mean they were fine. And the Polia Kingdom’s power was not small either. Before the war, one might have thought they could crush Polia quickly, but Polia’s national power and military strength had already multiplied severalfold compared to the past.

‘They are not an easy opponent. If we blunder, while the two empires are rebuilding, we could be bound to war without end.’

A swift victory would be ideal—but what the war had taught was how long a nation could endure, dragging others down with it, when it fought a total war. And unlike other kingdoms with populations in the tens of millions, the Polia Kingdom was a population giant—boasting one hundred million people.

‘It is almost strange they are not called an empire. And even the king’s backing is not ordinary.’

Even if Jedic believed he could win, he also recognized the immense burden Magnia would have to shoulder. The conclusion was clear: even knowing, he could not act.

“It is regrettable, but I will have to give up on receiving the living tissue.”

“The Magnia Empire’s bioweapon level is quite high. In the end, you will be able to develop something similar.”

“Eventually, yes—but the problem is it will take time.”

“I am sorry about that.”

Ian kept saying he was sorry, yet made it clear he would never hand it over. Jedic no longer wished to continue. He even wanted to ask about Rednix, but judging by Ian’s behavior, Ian would likely not tell him.

‘They must have met to adjust the debt terms further. For now, it is more important to predict the consequences of Polia’s moves—joining hands with Noma and Moria.’

With that thought, Jedic said he would end the meeting.

“It seems there will be no further progress. I will return to the party hall.”

“Very well. Please continue enjoying the party.”

“Well, I do not know if I will feel like it. Then I shall go.”

Jedic walked past Ian and left, with Lacen following behind. For a brief moment, Lacen’s eyes met Camyu’s, but he showed no reaction at all. He frowned slightly, then turned away and left in a sweep.

As the two disappeared, Ian turned as well—and looking at Camyu standing there, Ian spoke as if surprised.

“You want to fight again?”

“…..”

He said nothing, yet in the mental space Ian could feel an overwhelming competitive spirit. He likely wanted to finish the duel that had not ended last time. Even if his mind had been reborn, a swordsman’s pride still lived.

Ian spoke softly to him.

“One day, there will be a day we settle it. Until then, build your strength. The other side will not stop growing stronger either.”

At Ian’s words, Camyu bowed his head in acknowledgment, and the two of them began walking back toward the party hall again.