King Karioth VI of the Berganda Empire was mentally reviewing potential adoptive daughters.
Of course, it was crucial to understand Marius’s preferences, but they couldn’t afford to fall behind other nations.
It was true that he was on better terms with Ranleo than Filat, but that didn’t mean his relationship with Filat was hostile.
Therefore, he believed their proposal wouldn’t be met with outright rejection.
The current King Bernhardt III of Filat was a monarch who leaned towards being gentle and focused on domestic affairs, and was not belligerent.
He shouldn’t mind an increase in friendly nations.
“If we’re going to fight Hordia, it would be better to have more allies.”
With Marius around, he probably didn’t need to fear the Hordian army too much, but war between nations wasn’t simply a matter of defeating the enemy. Even if Marius was overwhelmingly strong, earning war funds, procuring weapons and food, and managing post-war affairs were entirely different issues.
“Still, why would demons target Marius?”
Were they plotting something nefarious? Berganda was by no means a powerful nation. They had no strength to fight demons. The reason Berganda, despite bordering Seraeno, was not attacked was because Seraeno also bordered the great nation of Ranleo. Even if the Seraeno army was strong, their military force was finite, and so were their war funds. Therefore, Berganda had maintained friendly relations with Ranleo through diplomatic efforts. This was to avoid a scenario where Seraeno and Ranleo would join forces to target them.
King Karioth VI had no daughters, but he had nieces. All three of his nieces had married into influential noble families of Ranleo.
“If I had known it would turn out like this, I wish I had kept at least one…”
Even though he knew it was futile to regret, he couldn’t help but feel remorse. They lacked the strength to fight demons, but if they could cooperate with Seraeno and Ranleo, their chances of victory would increase. And Marius possessed the power to defeat demons alone. They desperately wanted to deepen their relationship. What color hair would be best, and which personality was preferred: a lively daughter or a gentle and demure one? Was it important for her to be skilled in cooking and sewing, or was it more desirable for her to be knowledgeable about magic?
“Thinking about it alone won’t get me anywhere.”
He decided to call a meeting of his senior officials upon returning home.
President Frederick of the Republic of Misra did not return home immediately. A letter from a secret envoy from Barshark, bearing the king’s signature and seal, stated that there was something he wished to discuss. Otherwise, he would have ignored it. He needed to instruct his daughter regarding her relationship with Marius upon his return.
When he arrived at the designated meeting place with two guards, Queen Jessica of Barshark was already there with her own guards.
“My apologies for making you wait.”
When Frederick apologized, Jessica smiled magnanimously and accepted.
“We haven’t been waiting long. Besides, the other party is not here yet.”
Frederick’s unspoken question was soon answered. King Johnson of Vester appeared, also accompanied by guards.
“Did I keep you waiting?”
“Not at all.”
After exchanging brief greetings, Jessica began.
“Thank you for coming. What I wish to propose concerns the future.”
“The future? Do you mean the demons? Or Hordia?” Frederick asked immediately. He couldn’t think of any other topics for these three countries to discuss.
“It’s about Hordia. Their violation of the treaty cannot be left unchecked,” Jessica stated.
Frederick and Johnson furrowed their brows at Jessica’s words. They couldn’t take her statement at face value. Regardless of the reality, Hordia had officially made sufficient amends. While Filat might have grounds to intervene, it was not for other nations to meddle.
“It’s certainly difficult to sleep soundly when bordering the ‘Mad King’s’ country,” Johnson remarked, and Frederick nodded in agreement. He felt exactly the same way on that point. Although publicly the blame was placed on the nobles and sympathy was directed towards Asteria, the truth was different. He couldn’t trust someone who would shamelessly disregard tacit agreements between nations, and he couldn’t feel secure with such a person as the king of the great nation of Hordia.
“So, why don’t we join forces? Honestly, Hordia is too powerful for any one of us to challenge alone.” Jessica’s reasoning was sound. Hordia was a great nation, excelling in territory, population, and maximum troop deployment on the continent. While not yet fully recovered from the chaos of the recent “incident,” their regular army remained intact. If Misra, Vester, and Barshark attacked individually, they would be crushed with a single blow.
“Hordia has a regular army of 200,000 and 800,000 slave soldiers, correct? That’s more than the combined forces of our three nations.”
“If you include ordinary slaves, they could raise several times that number. Of course, there’s the issue of provisions, so the actual number would be lower.” The sheer force of numbers could not be ignored. If each soldier was as strong as those in Seraeno, perhaps they could overcome it to some extent.
“Perhaps we should invite Filat as well? Even without Marius, the Filat army is quite strong,” Frederick suggested. Although Balderra Fortress had fallen recently, they had successfully repelled all previous attacks. Even if Balderra Fortress was a strategic stronghold that favored the defenders, the fact that they had repeatedly repelled attacks from Hordia’s regular army was worth considering.
“There are several reasons why we are not inviting Filat,” Jessica explained. Regardless of the truth, an understanding had been reached between Filat and Hordia, and the King of Filat was not bellicose. Although Hordia had suffered a significant blow, Filat had also lost elite troops. Therefore, it was likely that Filat would focus on domestic recovery and be unwilling to send troops. In that case, it would be difficult to ask for Marius’s assistance alone.
“And that brings us to Marius.” Everyone wanted to get along with Marius, but to do so, they needed to deepen their relationship with Filat. For that reason, they should first strike a blow on their own. This, she argued, would improve Filat’s perception of them. Frederick and Johnson both found merit in this and decided to consider it favorably. Filat, on its own, was a great nation superior to any of the three countries individually. With the addition of Marius, the strongest human, they absolutely did not want to make an enemy of them.
“I do wonder if it’s wise to befriend someone targeted by demons,” Johnson thought, but he didn’t voice it. Since Marius possessed the power to defeat demons alone, he might be even stronger than Johnson imagined. Considering that possibility, he should refrain from any impolite behavior. A king must not reveal any weakness to others. Johnson firmly believed this.
“What about a trade blockade?” he proposed, suggesting an action that would seem enthusiastic about encircling Hordia.
“Hordia’s food production capacity is low relative to its population. A year-long blockade could be expected to starve them out.”
“Do you think Hordia would just sit still for a year?”
“Also, Marius’s reaction is a mystery. I’ve heard he’s a kind soul who would save all the slave soldiers who were used as cannon fodder. Aside from the Queen, he probably wouldn’t look favorably upon measures that would cripple the populace?”
However, the proposal was quickly rejected. Indeed, if their goal was to win Marius’s favor, making him angry would be counterproductive. This was why they had wanted Misra and Barshark to carry it out, but Johnson, without revealing this, retracted his earlier statement.
“You’re absolutely right. Let’s abandon this plan.”
After discussion, they agreed to only cooperate in military actions. The military action would commence one month from today, after the period of tacitly agreed-upon non-aggression had expired. If they didn’t adhere to this, they would be perceived as being on par with Hordia, and they themselves would face condemnation from various nations. Conversely, if they abided by it, there would be no issues. They promised to finalize the details upon their return, and the kings of the three nations parted ways.
“That went well.”
Jessica was satisfied with the successful outcome. She genuinely wanted to get along with Marius and Filat, and she couldn’t ignore Hordia, which bore the regal title of Asteria, but this wasn’t the entire story. If they won, they could acquire Hordian slaves at a low price. As part of international treaties, there was an article prohibiting the sale of captured soldiers as slaves. However, exceptions were made for those from fallen nations or slave soldiers. With Barshark’s military strength, even allied with Misra and Vester, destroying Hordia was nearly impossible. Furthermore, it was difficult to target and capture slave soldiers alive. So, what was the alternative? They resorted to pillaging towns and kidnapping ordinary citizens. This provided not only money and valuables but also an outlet for the soldiers’ desires. If they sold large numbers of slaves, the nation would prosper. While Marius might frown with displeasure and bewilderment if he knew, war and plunder were, in their own way, respectable industries. Of course, this was contingent on winning and being able to raid towns and villages. Barshark, whose main source of income was brothels, had a regular need to acquire slaves. The true intentions of the other two nations were likely similar, even if unstated. Even in Misra, where the monarchy had been abolished long ago, slavery persisted.
“A joint attack on Hordia by the three nations.” Frederick also believed that with the three nations acting together, there was a chance of victory. Hordia was in a period where the repercussions of rapid reforms were beginning to emerge, and their soldiers were not as strong as those of other great nations. Their strength was primarily in numbers, and if they could increase their own numbers, they should be able to counter. Frederick had forgotten about the demons.
Johnson surmised that, depending on how much control Queen Asteria had over her country, the common people might be deceived, but the upper echelons of the military likely were not. The most important thing to be wary of, he believed, was the tactic of using slave soldiers as cannon fodder, as they had done during the attack on Balderra Fortress. While they couldn’t overuse this tactic without depleting their national strength, even that “moderate” use posed a threat by comparison. The difference between them and Hordia was that significant. There was absolutely no guarantee that the three-nation alliance would prevail. Johnson decided it would be best to let other countries take the risks while he focused on strengthening their relationship with Filat.
