Gathered within a small meeting room inside the Aureatia Central Assembly Hall was a small portion of the Twenty-Nine Officials.
There was a condition to the summons. For civil servants, it was possessing thorough familiarity with Aureatia's military strategy. For military officers, it was being in a position to command Aureatia forces to act.
"This everyone, then? Well, this is good enough, I guess…"
The person sitting in the place of honor was the same as during normal assemblies, the speaker in charge of managing the meeting. The First Minister of Aureatia, Grasse the Foundation Map.
He was a man of medium build, just shy of his twilight years. His wrinkle-free black clothes and healthy complexion still appeared unfamiliar to the concept of age.
"Yes, let's get started. As you are aware, this summons came from the Third Minister. I know it was sudden, and I thank you for being here. First, regarding the topic of the meeting, if you will, Third Minister."
"Third Minister Jelki here."
His name was Jelki the Swift Ink. He was a shrewd-looking man, thin glasses perched atop a look of displeasure. He was shouldered with the core practical governance, controlling the whole of Aureatia domestic affairs, focusing mainly on the commercial industry.
"We've identified new information regarding the Old Kingdoms' loyalists' movements. I believe it's widely known that Gilnes the Ruined Castle has joined with Togie City and is recruiting soldiers. But, two days ago, Togie City was placed under martial law. He is gathering soldiers more rapidly than ever before, and we estimate he will soon march on Aureatia."
"Gilnes, huh?"
The aging general, leaning back in his chair, smiled as he polished the short sword in his hands. The Twenty-Seventh General of Aureatia, Hardy the Bullet Flashpoint. A prominent influence with the largest faction of the military on his side.
"That name brings me back. When this was the Central Kingdom, he was a real troublesome general. He naturally has the skills and is popular among his subordinates. How many do we think he's gathered? Thirty thousand? Forty thousand?"
"…For the Old Kingdoms' loyalists in Togie City, the number of active soldiers is within our estimations. I think the army already dispatched to the region is more than enough to keep them in check."
"Is that all? If you're calling us with an emergency summons, we've at least gotta be talking about a major battle on home soil."
Hardy blew cigar smoke from his mouth in disapproval. This man was someone who spoke his mind.
"An alliance, perhaps?"
The man who spoke up was the Twenty-Fifth General. His name was Kayon the Thundering. One of his sleeves hung down loosely, the arm that was supposed to pass through it absent. He was a one-armed general.
"There are no major movements in Togie City. Given that, if there was a move they could make to force our hand, it's an alliance right now… Togie City, making a lot of noise and drawing attention, is the bait to pin the Aureatia army down, with the real attack coming from another military force, like the mercenaries in the Free City of Okahu. That's really the only move that'd be annoying for us to deal with. That said…"
Cayon twisted his decorous lips into a smile.
"Hah! That's not it, is it? I mean, Jelki's in charge of commerce, after all. If there were any signs of major movement, like two powers forming an alliance, it'd be strange if we generals weren't the very first people to be told about it. So basically, the Old Kingdoms must have a strategy that's likely to turn things in their favor. But one that doesn't involve reinforcements. Well then, what could it be?"
"…Very impressive, Twenty-Fifth General. Thank you for speeding up the explanation. Their rapid movements give the Old Kingdoms' loyalists a fair chance at victory. A decisive factor, one worth putting all the soldiers Gilnes has amassed into action at once. Their reinforcements are coming not from a detached force nor from troops gathered from an alliance—they're coming from the weather."
"The weather?"
"All right, hold on now, what's that supposed to mean?"
"There is an atmospheric phenomenon unique to the Yamaga Barrens, called the Particle Storm. Think of it as a sandstorm violent enough to wear and tear anything caught inside it down to nothing. This Particle Storm is continuing to move in Aureatia's direction. The damages from a possible direct hit are impossible to estimate. As far as we can confirm, there is only one precedent for the Particle Storm appearing beyond the Yamaga Barrens. In that example, it demolished the entire country of a self-proclaimed demon king."
"Judging from that, when you say, 'a sandstorm is moving,' I imagine you mean the storm is bringing the sand with it, then?
Speaker Grasse cut in, intrigued.
"Can we assume that's the situation at hand, then?"
"Yes, that's exactly right. We believe that an enormous sand cloud is taken up in the air flow, like a whirlwind, and it is as perpetual as the Particle Storm. There is rarely a drop in force. We're in the middle of collecting confirmed reports from the cities around the path of the storm. Naturally, given that there's not enough time for a horse to make the round trip, they're being done by way of long-range radzio communication."
"Oh, oh, oh. Okay, okay, my turn."
In one of the seats was a young boy stretching up high and raising his hand.
He was Mizial the Iron-Piercing Plumeshade. At a mere sixteen years old, he counted himself as Aureatia's Twenty-Second General, the youngest of its military officers.
"Listen, Jelki. Who's saying all of this anyway? Not the reports, but the original info. For starters, it sounds way too out-there to be true, right? That would be way too convenient for our enemies."
Mizial didn't have quick wits like Hidow or Elea, but he always gave his honest opinion.
"To put it bluntly, it's gotta be a trap, right?" "Jelki…exactly how did you acquire this information?"
The veteran general Hardy followed suit. Leaning his elbows on the table, he flashed a toothy grin.
"Going off your report, it's possible those Old Kingdoms' folks took over communication towers on the frontier and fed you some made-up story. Hilarious to think a man of your caliber'd be manipulated and sent off on
some wild goose chase… Though, if the bastard's main goal is a diversion, then they'd probably think up a better lie than that for the job."
"This isn't information that's gotten out from the Old Kingdoms' side, right…? Not anything from our secret agents or testimony from the prisoners we've taken."
At Cayon's question, Jelki held the temples of his glasses between his fingers.
"Indeed. The original information was a forecast we obtained from dealings with the Trade and Industry Council."
"The Trade and Industry Council…?!" "From those merchants, huh?"
"Everything regarding the extremely accurate weather forecasts being dealt between the merchant coalition and the major traveling merchants, ever since the demise of the True Demon King, is exactly as has been previously reported. This recent forecast showed the Particle Storm reaching Aureatia. As with the weather forecasts that have been dealt on the market up until this, it's believed this predicted path is based on field observations occurring across each region."
"…Weather observation techniques, huh."
If the traveling merchants, continuously moved along their route for a cyclically fixed route, had taken organized action, it wasn't inconceivable that they'd collect their accumulated weather information and make forecasts. In addition to serving as a great boon to the trade activity in each region, the forecasts themselves became a valuable commodity.
The Third Minister continued to speak.
"Next, an important point. There is someone who provides these techniques to the traveling merchants in each region like this and accumulates the information they provide. A young boy known as the Gray-Haired Child
—a visitor who supplies muskets. While his origin is unknown, he has been trading with various regional merchant guilds for, at the very least, ten or more years, and our merchants here are no exception."
Guns. Much like with the troops of Sixth General Harghent, in recent years even those among the Twenty-Nine Officials had introduced rifleman soldiers into their ranks. Thus was the weapon's level of superiority.
"Um, hey, Jelki. Isn't that basically just saying you know this information is fishy after all? I don't really have the smarts to understand everything
myself, but there's no proof this guy's not lying."
"That's enough, Mizial. We need to confirm the facts."
A man who kept quiet now raised his head. The Thirteenth Minister, Enu the Distant Mirror. Even in the middle of a meeting, he still maintained his sage and stony expression.
"The Gray-Haired Child has been collecting weather information far longer than the Old Kingdoms' loyalists. The fact he actually puts his trust in that information, and deals in said information, means we can verify it as factual. In which case, what does the Gray-Haired Child stand to gain from such negotiations?"
"What does he stand to gain? Well, it's gotta be money, right?"
"Yes, indeed. That is the most obvious fact here. In which case, if he is siding with the Old Kingdoms' loyalists, and misleading us with fake weather forecasts, we need to think about what sort of profit he can expect."
"The Old Kingdoms can probably pay him pretty well, right? At the very least, seems like he'd earn a lot more than with those stingy old merchants."
"Then, what about the whole sum of his business? If the information manipulation on the Old Kingdoms' side ends up influencing the merchants as well, he'll lose trade confidence with them."
"I get it. He won't be able to sell information anymore. We know for sure the merchants are already being influenced by news of the Particle Storm, so if this is all a lie, it'll end up being a huge economic loss for the Gray-Haired Child down the line."
"Thus, it becomes a pure numbers problem. Do you think the Old Kingdom would have the budget to match the total trade profits for the weather forecasts going around, Jelki? And all for what looks to be a foolish and precarious feint operation."
"We've already come up with the estimated sum necessary. To cut to the conclusion, it is inconceivable. From the results of our follow-ups, we're certain the Old Kingdoms' loyalists' information source is also the Trade and Industry Council. Given that the Old Kingdoms already needs to secure logistics for all the new soldiers recruited under Gilnes the Ruined Castle, they're currently trading with a large number of merchants. If they had involved Trade and Industry Council significantly in their strategy, there should be a noticeably unnatural flow of capital."
"Hm. A fantastic answer from our general supervisor of all trade and
commerce. Now then, Mizial. Put yourself in the Gray-Haired Child's shoes
—if you obtained information on the Particle Storm, what would be your best way to get the most profit from selling that information?"
"Weeeell, assuming the information was good, I guess I'd sell it to the merchants first, huh? If Aureatia and the Old Kingdoms are going to war, then right now that's the most stable market. Then, with it approaching Aureatia, you could sell it to us for a bunch, right? Then, after that... Ohhh."
Mizial suddenly clapped his hands together after staring up at the ceiling for a few moments.
"I'd also sell it to the Old Kingdoms, looking to attack Aureatia. So, that's why those Togie City guys have started to make their move. They have information saying they'll be able to beat us with their current military forces."
"A logical conclusion. Thus, we can consider for the time being that the facts of the weather forecast are accurate."
"If this really was bum information, just like you said, they'd have to take out the weather observation teams in each region to cover it up. If they could manage to do that from out in the frontier, there'd be a plethora of much more efficient options at their disposal."
Hardy the Bullet Flashpoint breathed out cigar smoke, and Kayon the Thundering followed up with an opinion of his own.
"Jelki. I figure you're doing this already, but have them collect as much proof that can't be transmitted over radzio as possible. Even if a horse can't make the round trip in time, it'll make the one-way trip in time, right? If these forecasts have merchants fleeing, there should be plenty of people who have witnessed the Particle Storm directly. Besides, there's still one problem here, isn't there?"
"...What is that?"
"There's no telling if the Free City of Okahu will make their move, yes? Assuming the Particle Storm's arrival is their trump card, that doesn't rule out an alliance. While we're focused on how to deal with the Particle Storm, we'll still take measures to shut down Okahu. What're we gonna do?"
"Leave that to me."
Hardy spoke up to answer the question. A warrior's smile, brutal and ferocious, came to his face.
"I'll mobilize anyone I can and prepare to settle the matter with the head of Okahu directly. Of course, Aureatia and Okahu aren't officially hostile toward each other. Calling it cease-fire negotiations'd be a bit of an exaggeration, though."
"Planning on throwing the Passing Disaster into the mix, are you?"
"Like with the New Principality? Yeah, he did end up with the most important job, but…when you start talking about attacking Okahu's ironclad mountain fortress, I'm not so sure. There's someone more qualified for that, see."
The abilities of Kuze the Passing Disaster, who forced the New Principality of Lithia to capitulate to the Twenty-Nine Officials, were enigmatic and wholly inexplicable superpowers. They all considered it best to not make use of him.
"Hate to change the subject, but I'd like to clean up all the matters at hand."
Speaker Grasse looked toward the Thirteenth Minister Enu's chair.
"What about Obsidian Eyes' movements? There's a possibility some of their remnants have joined up with the Old Kingdoms' bastards, right?"
"Well obviously, we haven't been able to pursue them that far."
Enu replied coolly. His blank expression made his underlying emotions imperceptible. As it always had.
"During an operation four small months prior, my forces mopped up the remnants in Itaaki, including the Obsidian, but for the members who scattered across the different regions there's still much we do not know. However, our cooperator has a sufficient understanding of their members and their espionage methods. Should one of them do something conspicuous to make themselves known, we'll be able to pounce on them."
"And in exchange this cooperator wants to appear in the Imperial Competition, right?"
"If we can get it approved, I'd certainly like it to happen. This collaborating relationship was formed with that deal in mind, after all."
"…In that case for the time being, if we can do something about the Particle Storm, that'll get all points of concern surrounding the Imperial Competition in order, too. We'll end up crushing the Old Kingdom's main strategy in the end. Still, we're facing off against the weather here. What exactly are we going to do?"
At the question, Kayon the Thundering raised his hand. "…I have an idea. Could you leave this matter to me?"
Now then. Can we cleanly settle everything with this?
The First Minister Grasse thought to himself while looking out over the meeting.
The Old Kingdoms' loyalists. The Particle Storm. There's no way of knowing what sort of schemes are being set up and where. Friend or foe— truly shrewd players aren't always going to slot into our predictions.
At the very least, within this meeting, they had touched on a threat that would end up being deferred.
Following his appearance ten years ago… Just how much did the Gray- Haired Child predict when he introduced these weather observation techniques? What does he intend to do by making the Old Kingdoms' loyalists and Aureatia battle each other? Jelki must understand that he's a danger to Aureatia. The others should also realize that much…and yet.
The discussion in the meeting had focused on the reliability of not the information source, but the information itself. It wasn't because they were all incompetent; if anything, it was because they were excellent bureaucrats.
They knew that needlessly pursuing topics of discussion that could be postponed for later would delay their handling of the clear and present dangers in front of them. It had been necessary to continue the discussion with the common understanding that at the very least, the information was worthy of their trust.
That was how the Twenty-Nine Officials judged the situation. If this was all put into motion on purpose, then it would have to be the work of a considerably sharp mind…
The True Demon King was dead, and the monsters that had remained asleep during the age of terror were beginning to stir.
That was limited solely to embodiments of violence that destroyed whole nations. There had to also be intellectual monsters that brought about effects even more dangerous than ruination—manipulating everything, including whole nations, without ever taking a step on the battlefield.
Grasse was different. He had no wicked intentions. Nor was he hatching any schemes or plots. However, and especially now that he was informed of something so beyond anyone's expectations, a danger to the nation itself, his true inner character rose up to the surface.
His mouth curled into an uneven smile.
...Interesting.
Five days left until the disaster's arrival.