The Demon God Roa’s attack and the subjugation of Leviathan…
And then, Jariterum’s descent.
It’s been about three months since all that happened.
While the threat of the Demon God Roa cannot be said to have completely disappeared, the seal Lady Seleneis placed is said to last for at least ten years, so there’s nothing we can do about it now but to not worry about it.
As for Jariterum… who cares about that guy!
After that, he caused all sorts of trouble as expected, so I’m being dragged around to various places under the guise of a pilgrimage trip by the Holy Light Church, led by Monjirou and Rein.
I feel bad for them, but honestly… he’s just really annoying.
Well, ever since he became Jariterum, his intellect seems to have plummeted, but they say that by encountering the devout prayers and goodwill of believers on their pilgrimage, he’s gradually becoming more decent, so he’ll probably be a bit better when he returns.
Rein is Rein, but as long as Monjirou is with him, it won’t be too bad.
He should learn something from Monjirou.
Anyway.
Today, as per the long-standing plan, a peace negotiation between Ormechia, Rumelia, Romeo, and the Empire is to be held in a city on Ormechia’s front lines called Ortancia.
We have finally arrived here after a long journey of two months… or so the story goes.
Well… I’ve been to many places myself, so I’ve made a few appearances here and there.
The advance party left a while ago, and this is a slightly far-fetched story about tagging along with them, so don’t worry about the details!
In reality, we left Convenience Store Village and arrived at the venue last night. For the past three months… Kuroie and I have been flying all over the place!
There were visits to various regions by the northern nobles led by Duke Shattern, meetings with influential nobles in the capital and Duke Marstella, and meetings with local lords. On top of that, there were consultations with bureaucrats and discussions with aristocrats. Every single day was incredibly busy and exhausting!
Be that as it may, a tent has been erected in front of the fountain in the town’s central plaza, with a luxurious table and chairs set up. A peace conference is about to begin, with nobles and influential figures invited from neighboring countries and the townspeople watching.
I thought, “An outdoor peace conference, really?”… but in a provincial city like this, grand facilities like a public hall are rare, and it gets incredibly stuffy inside buildings during the day, so being outside is much better, which I found acceptable.
Unlike Romeo, this area is a hot and dry region, so having a fountain and good ventilation… that alone makes it quite comfortable.
There are also sunshades set up in the surrounding area, so it’s cooler than I expected… even though it’s the same southern region, it’s quite different from Kenturi City.
Ah, Kenturi City is the Convenience Store Village where my convenience store is located!
After various twists and turns, that’s the name it settled on… as usual, everyone else decided, and my opinion was completely ignored.
In any case, when in Rome, do as the Romans do.
Since this outdoor style is also recommended by the locals, I should just go along with it.
In fact, the signing ceremony for Japan’s surrender in the Pacific War was held on the deck of a battleship, so I quickly accepted that.
From Romeo, the attendees are me, Kuroie, and Ms. Aage, the Chief Aide to the Queen.
For venue security and escorting the attendees, we’ve deployed members of the Queen’s Personal Guard.
There’s no need to explain the Queen’s Personal Guard any further.
It’s an armed guard unit directly under the Queen, led by the three noble daughters who are my wives: Selamaile, Listis, and Latrie.
Originally, it was said to be an ornamental army that wouldn’t even be deployed on the battlefield.
However, spurred on by my personal guard detail and elite fighters, they’ve become accustomed to actual combat through rigorous training simulations and encounters with monsters and bandits during dangerous forest patrols.
Furthermore, they’ve undergone training with firearms brought from Japan, just like the Wolf Tribe, so they are all armed with Glocks and Governments.
They all wear elegant attire and don’t look particularly strong.
However, they are heavily armed beneath their attire, with sturdy knives and handguns attached to garter belts on their thighs. Moreover, each and every one of them is a skilled magic user and a proficient sword fighter.
They have undoubtedly become Romeo’s strongest elite force, boasting combat capabilities unrivaled in this world.
Their original mission was a feint march on the way to this peace conference to disguise the absence of Kuroie and myself, and they successfully completed that as well.
In any case, this two-month expedition was truly eventful…
By the way, I also have a body double, who is disguised as a man with cat ears and a cat tail, and is actually quite cute!
I’ve become quite close with the guards during our travels, but I spent more time in Kenturi City, and my body double seemed to be quite active.
Kuroie and I were also flying around on business trips using spatial transfer, and various incidents occurred even when we were away… well, that’s a story for another time.
And, back to the topic at hand.
The city security in Ortancia is handled by the local Ormechian army, so our security detail is primarily focused on guarding Kuroie. However, there were some neglected areas such as the underground waterways and the surrounding highlands, so we dispatched some of our guard members to watch over them.
However, they have been strictly ordered not to engage the enemy even if they encounter one.
Because causing them any harm could lead to major problems, and we’ve all become too close to treat them as expendable soldiers.
However, I’m not too worried about it, as their escorts will likely handle any such situations.
We don’t have to worry about snipers from a kilometer away or securing all the tall buildings, and since Ursula and the others would be unfazed by gunfire, they would likely shield us with their bodies if necessary.
The Ogre tribe is quite resilient with their resurrection cheats. However, it seems that being shot by a gun does hurt quite a bit, so they don’t particularly wish to take any hits. It’s strange that they only feel pain, as normally, a single shot would be enough to kill someone.
As for myself, Rumelia seems to have reservations about beastkin and demi-humans, so I’ve hidden my cat ears in a beret and am trying not to stand out too much. I’m also properly wearing a dark green formal suit, making me look like an officer of some intergalactic alliance.
As for my tail… I’ve adorned it with various accessories, hooked it to a belt loop, and made it hang down like a molle accessory. I can’t do anything about that, but since I don’t have cat whiskers on my face, I look like a normal human from a distance.
However, for this event, I’m in a behind-the-scenes role and plan to remain seated without making any statements.
Param from the Merchant Guild is also attending, but they are participating as an observer and have no right to speak. Ms. Kashima and the others asked me to send them a recorded video later, so I’ve ordered one of the guards to take a video with a video camera.
This is a latest-model autonomous mobile camera, by the way.
It has insect-like legs and can walk around making clicking sounds, but it’s basically placed on your shoulder or somewhere similar, and recording starts with the press of a button.
It also has image stabilization, automatic subject tracking, and eye-tracking, so it’s easy to use even for those who aren’t tech-savvy.
Of course, it’s originally for military use and not sold to the general public, but since Ms. Kashima and the others sent them without any reservations, I decided to make good use of them.
They sent about ten of them, saying they were samples, and they’re apparently quite useful for reconnaissance, intelligence gathering, and surveillance. However, when these things are deployed, it makes late-night games of tag significantly more difficult… frankly, they’re annoying things.
In this manner, the latest gadgets being sent from Japan are all unfathomably advanced and ahead of their time.
As for the laser cannons, Zero One and the others assembled something like a laser beam cannon and test-fired it towards the sky…
Furthermore, regarding this matter, Japan has also expressed its full support.
Above all, it seems that information from the Empire confirming the obsolescence of the Slime Army and the Great Emperor was significant. We were able to lower our alert level regarding the Empire’s indiscriminate terrorist attacks, and it was also a significant advantage to accumulate operational data on unmanned weapons and gain a wealth of real-world combat data.
It appears that Japan’s Self-Defense Forces are currently undergoing a military revolution, with various weapons being rapidly robotized. Unmanned weapons are being deployed at a pace that overwhelms other countries in the air, land, and sea, and it seems that neighboring countries are going insane.
With the justification of “exporting unmanned weapons doesn’t violate the peace constitution, does it?”, they have also begun independently patrolling the Strait of Hormuz, increasing their international standing. A continuous stream of powerful unmanned warships, overwhelming even the United States, are increasing in number and gradually advancing into the seas of various regions, leading to whispers of the Imperial Navy’s revival.
The biggest problem with those kinds of warships is that they require a huge number of personnel to operate. The Self-Defense Forces, who have always been short-staffed, couldn’t increase the number of ships they could commission, so they understood that a fleet of less than 50 ships would be insufficient.
However, with unmanned warships, it becomes a pure contest of industrial power, technological prowess, and financial strength.
Originally, it was said that Japan, an island nation, would need hundreds of warships to be adequately defended. But, no longer having to worry about personnel shortages, new ships are being commissioned at a monthly pace without holding back.
Well, the neighboring country, despite being a continental power, is apparently assembling a large fleet of over 300 ships, and in response, Japan is also vigorously expanding its fleet capabilities.
Ms. Kashima and the others haven’t provided detailed information on this, but that’s how it appears from online news. After all, even unmanned aircraft carriers like “Zuikaku” and “Shokaku” are now in service.
Japan is getting started… it’s no wonder the neighbors are going crazy.
…I don’t know anything about it? I didn’t do anything.
The Merchant Guild seems to be treating this event as a festival for boosting business. Merchant Guild vendors have set up stalls all around, and the aroma of delicious food drifts through the air.
These vendors originally ran stalls near our place and were diligently studying convenience store food preparation techniques. The food they sell has a convenience store hot snack-like quality.
As a result, the convoy of Romeo personnel heading here turned into something like a feudal lord’s procession.
Although the slime incident made merchants reluctant to go to Ormechia… by telling them that it would be safe if they went with us, I managed to bring a few groups with me. Then, more and more people joined from various places, and eventually, the convoy grew to over 200 vehicles.
However, for the people of Ortancia, who were suffering from food shortages on the front lines of the war, the arrival of this large merchant caravan was welcomed, and the city has regained its vitality. All the stalls were crowded with people, and the merchants were letting out happy screams.
Before departure, I had them estimate sales to be about three times the usual amount and told them to load as much non-perishable food as possible. That estimate turned out to be spot on.
Well, it was my intuition as a businessman, but it was accurate… I’m amazing. I’ve done a great job as both a businessman and a prime minister. It’s perfect! Oh man… maybe I’ve stepped into the realm of gods? Heh heh heh…
Incidentally, Miria has been sent as the plenipotentiary representative from Ormechia and was fully authorized to act on behalf of the King, who was bedridden. However, the King of Ormechia’s health has been steadily improving since he received healing magic from the Manager during a courtesy visit we made on the way here.
