United Front
Right now, the center of the continent is in the Izrim Magic Kingdom. As much as one could say that, a lot of eminent people had gathered in this place.
In the audience hall of the royal castle, there was a large round table that had been hastily prepared, at which the assembled people were seated. Near the throne sat Selim, the Elected King of the Izrim Magic Kingdom. Behind him sit the chief civil and military officials. Diagonally to his left sits the King of the Luine Kingdom, and diagonally to his right sits Heinz, acting emperor of the Lemberg Empire. The heads of the three major powers are all present.
This is why they prepared a round table. The reason for having a round table was to make the order of precedence clear.
"Now, what should I say to begin?"
The host country, the Elected King Selim, has decided to lead the meeting, but as the Elected King, he does not know how to proceed. The location of the meeting was the Izrim Magic Kingdom, but it was not the Izrim Magic Kingdom that initiated the setting of the meeting.
"Why don't you let His Majesty King Luine, the originator of this matter, speak?"
Heinz immediately advised the troubled Elected King Selim.
"Ah, that's right. So King Luine, as the originator of this matter, would you please explain?"
"Yes, that would be fine."
Although a round table has been prepared, the rating is clear. Heinz is young, and in part, because he is the acting Emperor, but even though the two are the same king, King Luine's dignity surpasses that of Elected King Selim by a margin.
"First of all, let me thank you for accepting my country's proposal. If it were between two countries that are allies, they would still be allies, but you have listened to our country, which has a relationship that could almost be described as hostile. I was impressed by the generosity of both Elected King Selim and Emperor Lemberg, who was not present at the meeting.”
It was a splendid greeting, as he were the king of a great country, lifting up the other party's feelings and yet not being condescending.
"Now, we are in the midst of a busy meeting. Let me get right down to business. As I am sure you have already understood, the purpose of this meeting is to propose a joint front against the Nord Empire."
At this point, King Luine gets straight to business and checks the reactions of the people around him. The reaction of the Elected King Selim and Heinz, of course, but also the reaction of the vassals who are waiting behind them.
If anything, the main thing is to check the reactions of the subjects. If Elected King Selim and Heinz are thinking of rejecting the proposal, they will not come here. If there is any opposition, it will be from one of the subjects who are waiting behind them.
The ones who are actually making sure are Prime Minister Holdings and Knight Commander Harrisman, who are standing behind him. With a casual cough, Prime Minister Holdings announced that he had finished his confirmation.
"Some may wonder why there is a need for a joint front against a small country like the Nord Empire. But think about the last war. The Nord Empire was underestimated as a small country, and the delay in response resulted in the involvement of the entire continent."
King Luine's explanation is meant to persuade those who have doubts and objections.
"Some may have thought that it was our country that was trying to start the war. It is true that the three countries here will eventually fight for supremacy on the continent. But it will be to create a new order on the continent, and that is not the same as the Nord."
A slight growl could be heard. It was a reaction to King Luine's show of support for the war effort. It's quite forceful, but not unusable.
"I want you to think about what is happening on the continent right now. The Nord has extended their hand to the entire continent and is causing chaos. It is only stretching the war in the dark and destroying order on the continent. It is different from us."
As King Luine's words continued, Heinz was impressed that he could create a just cause like this. At the same time, if it was Ren, he was intrigued as to what justification he would come up with.
"The Nord must be defeated. Not for the benefit of one's own country, but for the order of the continent. To that end, we three major powers should work together. If we move, other countries will also appear. I will raise an army to subdue the Nord Empire as a common enemy on the continent."
King Luine gave an explanation that could be sent directly to the other countries as a resolution. It would be very difficult to oppose this.
"If anyone has an opinion, I will listen to anyone's words."
Knowing this, King Luine said. If there is no opinion, he intends to bring the three countries to an agreement at once.
But things didn't go as planned.
"May I ask you a question, then?"
"Excuse me, but who are you?"
It was Prime Minister Holdings who returned the question. The attitude was that he would not allow a direct answer from the king. After all, the person who raised its voice was standing even further behind the person who stood behind Elected King Selim. It is obvious that it is of low status.
"My name is Lang Millet, a civil official attached to Prince Charles of the Izrim Magic Kingdom."
"Prince's civil official?"
In other words, his personal secretary. No official position.
"I am aware of my position. But His Majesty King Luine has asked for anyone, so I've been very lenient."
"But……"
"Never mind, let's hear it."
King Luine stopped the Prime Minister, who was about to make further protests, and gave his own permission.
"Ha. Then let me ask you a question. His Majesty King Luine just compared the Nord Empire to the Nord Empire in the last war. However, what the Nord Empire did in response to the declaration of war by the Saint Miriam Kingdom was simply that they won as a result. Can we hold the Nord Empire at fault for that?"
Not only Prime Minister Holdings but also King Luine could not immediately answer this question. The content of Lang's story should only be known to the Luine Kingdom, which heard it from Princess Amalia. The king was surprised that the Izrim Magic Kingdom knew about it.
"......Where did you hear about that story?"
Prime Minister Holdings decided to ask the question that popped up in his head straight away.
"It was a rumor in the city. For some reason, it seems those rumors have been circulating."
"I see. Nord."
Nord's espionage to assert its own legitimacy. Prime Minister Holdings understood it that way.
"It must be a rumor that Nord itself has been spreading. To cover up his own country's wrongdoing, I suppose."
"I see. But what is the point of spreading rumors in the city?"
"That's... we won't know unless we ask Nord."
"I see. Then let's move on to the next question."
"Next?"
"Is it no good?"
"...No, if there is."
"You said that the Nord is a common enemy on the continent, but the Northern Alliance is coordinating with the Nord Empire. Perhaps the Nord is also a member of the Northern Alliance. Is it correct to think that the opponents we are fighting are the Northern Alliance?"
"Temporarily, yes."
"Temporarily?"
"The Northern Alliance"
"Prime Minister"
"......No, it is. If the Northern Alliance continues to recognize the Nord as a member of the Alliance, then the Northern Alliance will be the one we will fight."
"Is that so"
Prime Minister Holdings hurried to make amends when King Luine stopped him, but it was too late. Those who could tell that the Luine Kingdom was reaching out to the Northern Alliance.
"Anything else?"
"No. My questions have been answered."
"And what about the others? Does anyone have any questions?"
"Then from me"
"...Duke Ruben, please."
"It's not about the gist of the united front, it's more specific. There are a few things that need to be confirmed before an agreement is reached."
"Yes, I understand."
"First of all, it's a united front, but which country has the overall command?"
Heinz threw a difficult question from the beginning. He asked first because it was difficult.
"Is this a question for our country to answer? Isn't this a matter for the three countries to coordinate?"
"That's right, but I think it would be very difficult for the three countries to coordinate. We have taken the trouble to prepare a meeting like this."
"......His Majesty the King will be present from our country."
This is not a direct answer, but it is important information. It is not easy to put a pecking order of countries, but if it is a pecking order of people, you can reason any way you want.
"...King Luine himself. Any word from the Izrim Magic Kingdom?"
"No, we haven't thought about this yet."
"Is there a possibility that Elected King Selim will be present?"
"That's... I don't know."
"I see. I will be the one from my country, by the way. In other words, our country will not be in overall command."
They didn't take a step back. It means that they will consider the united front on that premise.
Besides, having overall command is not necessarily a good thing. If you have bad intentions, you can force other countries to do things and preserve your own forces. However, doing so would surely incur the resentment of other countries. And even if they don't, they will resent you if they lose.
They should not incur that kind of resentment, considering what will happen later.
"What else?"
"I wonder if I should ask about this. Well, if you have an idea, and even if you do, you're welcome to explain it in broad strokes."
"What is it?"
"It's called a united front, but how do we fight? Will the whole army go all at once, or will each country attack individually?"
"I see. That's a kind of military secret. The battlefield will be scattered. There is no place where hundreds of thousands of troops can be deployed."
"Certainly. And finally. What do you think about the treatment of the Nord?"
"Treatment?"
"Nord land. And people. What are you going to do with it?"
"...That is also something that the three countries should discuss and decide."
"So what about the Nord Emperor? What does the Luine Kingdom have to say about it?"
"We will take his life."
"……I see."
"We do not know what he will do if we let him live. That is what we recognize."
"It is certainly not wrong. Understood."
Heinz stopped asking further questions as he knew that he could not talk about anything else in such a situation. Frankly, it is difficult to judge this alone.
It is not a bad thing to put up a united front against the Nord, but the Lemberg Empire is at a disadvantage in many ways. The Lemberg Empire is close to Nord territory. If they attack individually, the Lemberg Empire will be the first to be hit. If they are not careful, they will be fighting alone. They would have to time their sortie very well.
And the best offender in this battle would be the Luine Kingdom. The Luine Kingdom will march forward, taking the northern part of the country. If this happens, after the battle with the Nord, the Luine Kingdom will be in a state of even more prominent power than it is now.
If they were to fight for supremacy from there, they would have less chance of winning than they do now.
Heinz is actually against a united front. The only thing Heinz could find useful in a united front was the possibility of taking Ren and his subordinates into his own country.
However, this was also denied by the Luine Kingdom. To tell the truth, he would have liked to reject the offer and return to his own country immediately. But that was not allowed.
Contrary to Heinz's wishes, the Lemberg Empire joined the united front. He understood this from the reaction of the Izrim Magic Kingdom just now.
The marriage with the Izrim Magic Kingdom was supposed to be beneficial. Heinz had no idea that the mere loss of the former emperor would be so detrimental.
◇◇◇
At the same time as the secret meeting of the important people of the continent, a meeting was being held in another place. It might be called a reunion. The atmosphere was not so lively that it could be called a reunion.
Yuya from the Luine Kingdom, Mei and the other five from the Lemberg Empire, and Jin, Akira, and Satoko from the Izrim Magic Kingdom.
The heroes from the three countries are all here, but not all of them were close to begin with, and some of them have a bit of a grudge against each other. It was not a matter of being honestly happy to see each other again.
If that were the case, it would have been better if they did not meet, but as a lone Yuya, he wanted to see their faces anyway. He gathered them here with his usual forcefulness and insensitivity, even though all of them had already declined to meet him. He should have just let Amalia be there, too.
"...In other words, that? The former scabbard."
In the indescribable atmosphere, it was Mei who first opened her mouth. Perhaps this is also thanks to mental resistance.
"It's not about that. Amalia has lost her country and is in trouble, so I thought I could do something to help."
"So you let her live in your mansion and you are taking care of her."
"No, because she has nowhere else to go."
"You look happy. Good for you."
"Well"
"……The worst."
Predictably, Mei's sarcasm didn't go over well with Yuya. That's why Mei is in a bad mood. The Mage has been putting aside all her love affairs to focus on the Mage Corps. Even though it's been going on for a long time, Yuya's bad taste in women is inexcusable.
"But if you put it that way, then Jin too."
"Jin?"
"Don't you know? The person next to Jin, Kanda-san, right? He's married to Kanda-san."
"What!?"
"What is it, the Lemberg Empire isn’t a big deal? You should at least check the movements of major figures in other countries."
"……Is that true?"
Receiving Mei's gaze, Jin made a troubled face and nodded slightly.
"…The worst. What's that? You mean you got it done close to home?"
"That's not how you say that, right? It just happened naturally."
"Naturally. I wonder if it came naturally to her?"
Mei glared at Satoko lightly while saying something suggestive. Satoko, who would normally be so forceful in her response, could not say anything to Mei and had no choice but to make her existence smaller.
Is it the difference in rank, or is it the fear of women's jealousy? Probably both.
"Enjoying life normally. That's nice, I didn't have that luxury."
"Neither do I. I can't afford it, so I just wanted support."
"I don't want to hear any complaints."
"No way. How much do you think I suffered?"
"Do you think you are the only one suffering?"
"...It's not just about the oath. I killed a comrade."
"Oh, about Orthea?"
"That's right"
"What about it?"
"What did you say?"
"When you say comrade, you mean a former classmate, right?"
"That's right."
"We killed our comrade a long time ago, you know? Me and Yuya."
"...Kazuki, huh?"
All the students in Class A are involved in Kazuki's death. The only exception was Jin, who was dumbfounded as he watched Kazuki die. Even that means leaving her to die.
"You reacted as if you had forgotten about it. You actually did forget, didn't you? Otherwise, you wouldn't have regretted killing a comrade."
"What do you mean?"
"I thought you said you would never forgive us. That means you're going to kill us, right?"
"That's……"
"Isn't that so? If that's the case, we can ignore the Izrim Magic Kingdom."
"What?"
"I've been thinking about how to kill Yuya and Jin. My companions are these four and the people of the Lemberg Empire. I won't regret killing anyone else."
"Mei too..."
"What?"
"How can you convince it like that?"
"Convinced? What are you talking about? I'm not convinced. I just made up my mind."
"Made up your mind?"
"...I see. I'm starting to understand."
"Understand?"
"I don't like it because it sounds like I'm throwing salt to the enemy, but for today I'll talk to you as an old friend."
"What is it?"
"Jin has a strong sense of justice. You always want to be right."
"That's right. I try to be right, so I try. I think so."
"You can't always be right. Jin doesn't understand that."
"That's not true!"
"Let me put it this way. You know it. But you don't want to admit it. So you refuse to see your mistakes and the mistakes you will make."
"…………"
"Still don't get it? Well, let me put it in a child's term. If you think you can live in this world by turning your back on the things you don't like, you're wrong."
"What did you say!?"
"Getting angry here!? You're really naive. Well, let me tell you something. I'm not the only one. The four of them have killed former classmates."
"What!?"
"Lemberg is also at war. And the country's heroes, in other words, former classmates, are the ones we're attacking. It's not a matter of course. And I hate that you're too happy to turn your back on it."
"No way..."
"I wish I had never seen Jin like this. I thought you were the most mature of all of us. So I'm going back. One last piece of advice as a former friend though."
"……What?"
"Ren-kun is out of your reach now. You should not be so competitive and just run away."
"Mei..."
Jin clenches his teeth and glares at Mei. How can this be considered advice for a friend? Jin's jealousy of Ren has only grown with the distance between them. All Jin can hear is Ren's unbelievable deeds as emperor. It is fair to say that Jin is now jealous of the false image of Ren that he has created.
To tell him to run away from Ren is the biggest insult of all.
"I was just trying to give you some advice, but I think I offended you. Then I'd better go back. Goodbye. Next time we'll be on the battlefield. It looks like we're on the same side for now."
Mei got up from her seat and left the room. The other four people are also silently following Mei. The last of them, Manami's mouth is slightly turned up. Manami is not the same as she used to be.
"Um, it ended in a strange way."
Yuya says, seemingly unaware of the atmosphere.
"After all, we are enemies."
"That's true, but we should at least have time to talk to each other outside of the battlefield."
Jin was surprised by Yuya's nonchalant reply. Because Yuya also knew that they had already recognized themselves as enemies.
In terms of personality alone, Yuya is still more of a child. However, Yuya came alone as a hero of the Luine kingdom. There is no one to comfort him even if he laments the fact that he is a hero. He had spent his life in such an environment. It was not like Jin, where if he lamented his misfortune, there was someone who would comfort him unconditionally.
Ren had taught Jin that graduation was not the end, but out of jealousy he forgot about it and did not make use of it. That was Jin's mistake. The reward for not trying to believe in Ren.
Unfortunately, there is no one to tell him this.
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