The congress danced at a dizzying pace.
"How did your harvest fare in the Empire this year?" I asked.
"Thankfully, this year most of our crops have performed well," said Jeanne. "Our
wheat crop, in particular, was quite fruitful. How were things in Elfrieden? I had
heard you were facing a food crisis."
"Our yields have been steadily improving," I said. "Partly thanks to the replanting
effort having begun in time, I don't believe we have any fears of a food crisis any
longer. That said, I do have some misgivings about the levels of our food stores. Even
if the harvest is good this year, if we were to have a crop failure next year, or the
year after, there could be a relapse of the food crisis."
"It's a problem that every country shares, I'm sure," said Jeanne. "There's little
that can be done but to pray for a good harvest."
As Jeanne and I spoke, bureaucrats from both the kingdom and Empire were
going about their business quietly, but busily nonetheless.
Some were frantically keeping a log of the proceedings. Once committed to paper,
a verbal agreement was as good as a contract. They listened intently, ensuring no
word was missed.
Others were confirming that there was a mutual understanding of what those
words meant, in order to ensure that nothing was misconstrued. There were also
those thrusting the documents they had prepared in advance towards one another,
comparing the goods and materials which each nation had an excess or deficit of.
Because we shared no land border, it would be difficult to engage in direct trade, but
if both sides shared that information, then something might be worked out through
a third party.
The scene was truly a battlefield.
Hakuya was scrutinizing the documents presented to him, while Liscia acted as
my aide.
Only my bodyguard, Aisha, stood erect and motionless, but she probably didn't
want to have to deal with the numbers. With the large number of people present, she
was paying close attention to her duties as my bodyguard, but she looked fed up
with it all.
...It hasn't been like this in a while, I thought.
The way things were going so blindingly fast reminded me of the days when I had
just taken the throne.
Normally, in foreign affairs, even if the heads of state only meet for ten minutes,
behind the scenes there have been bureaucrats from each country negotiating for
weeks, perhaps months.
Things were this busy because it hadn't been possible for the kingdom and
Empire to hold talks ever since the appearance of the Demon Lord's Domain.
Incidentally, the first thing Jeanne and I had agreed to was the resumption of shuttle
diplomacy between the Gran Chaos Empire and the Elfrieden Kingdom.
"Speaking of foodstuffs, I found those lily root dumplings most delicious," said
Jeanne. "I believe the primary ingredient was the rootstalk of the bewitching lily. I
would like to hear how you go about harvesting them."
"I'm happy to tell you," I said. "From what Poncho was telling me, he learned the
method from a mountain tribe inside the Empire. If you enlist their help, it should be
simple to do."
"Oh, my. There was a tribe like that inside the Empire?" Jeanne asked. "Even
though it's my own country, I must shamefully admit, I did not know."
"That's just how it goes," I said. "It can be hard for anyone to see what's lying at
their own feet."
The same went for our country. I mean, when I'd put out the call, "I don't care
what it is, if you have a special talent, come and show me," I'd had quite a number of
people show up. If I kept digging, there were probably more such people to be found.
In order to develop this country, I'll need to find them, I thought to myself.
While drinking the coffee Serina had prepared for me, I looked to Jeanne. "Now,
since I gave you information on the lily root dumplings, I'd like some information in
return."
Jeanne, who was drinking black tea, laid her teacup down on its saucer and tilted
her head to the side questioningly. "What information might that be?"
"I think food for food is a fair trade," I said. "Are there any ingredients used in the
Empire that aren't commonly eaten elsewhere?"
"...In that case, I know just the thing," Jeanne said, a mischievous smile on her lips.
I dunno, she just looked like she had an incredible ace up her sleeve.
Then, Jeanne confidently said, "Monster meat."
"...Say what?" I asked.
"It's possible to eat monster meat."
Monster... meat? Wait, seriously? I thought.
"The monsters you mean... They're the ones from the Demon Lord's Domain? Not
from dungeons?" I asked.
"Yes," said Jeanne. "They tasted surprisingly normal."
"You ate them yourself?!"
That's more wild than I'd have expected from her neat, pretty appearance, I
thought. But, still, she's eaten monsters from the Demon Lord's Domain... huh. When I
heard about the kobold that spared Tomoe and the mystic wolves, I thought
negotiating with the Demon Lord's Domain might be an option, depending on the
situation... Oh, but, there's both "monsters" and "demons," right? If I remember, kobolds
fall under the demon category.
I hesitantly asked Jeanne, "You didn't happen to eat... a kobold, by any chance, did
you?"
When I did, Jeanne reacted with shock, quickly shaking her head, "Perish the
thought! I only ate animal-like monsters! I wouldn't go around eating demons, with
their human-like bodies."
"No, it's just I'm not familiar with the distinction," I said.
"...I see," Jeanne said. "The Elfrieden Kingdom doesn't share a border with the
Demon Lord's Domain, after all."
Jeanne nodded, satisfied. "Very well. This is something of a side note, but allow
me to provide you with the information our country has on the Demon Lord's
Domain, as well as demons and monsters."
She began to slowly explain it all for me.
"First of all, even in our country, we have no information on why the Demon
Lord's Domain appeared," said Jeanne. "Honestly, all that we can say is that one day,
out of nowhere, it did."
"So even the Empire doesn't know...?" I asked.
"Yes," said Jeanne. "So, in the Demon Lord's Domain, there are aberrant creatures
that form swarms, but which demonstrate no intelligence, violently devouring all life
they come across, as well as those like the kobolds, which behave almost like wellordered armies and have few differences from the races of mankind. In order to
distinguish the two, we call the former monsters and the later demons."
I'd heard that much from the former king, Albert.
In the northernmost reaches of the continent, a dimension called the "Demon
World" had appeared, and monsters of many sizes and shapes had poured out,
throwing the Northern Countries into chaos. The forces of mankind had formed an
alliance and organized a punitive force to send in, but the attempt had ended in
failure.
In the Demon World there were "monsters," which had minimal (or, some would
theorize, no) intelligence, as well as "demons," who were intelligent and also
powerful fighters. This loss had been inflicted on them by the demons. After that
battle, mankind had lost the means to defend themselves against the monsters that
appeared from the Demon World. The Northern Countries were laid waste one after
another, and the monsters extended their range to cover all of what was now called
the Demon Lord's Domain.
When I explained what I had heard from Albert to her, Jeanne nodded, a somber
look on her face. "That is correct. And the Gran Chaos Empire were the ones to lead
that punitive force. The one who commanded it was the former emperor, our
father."
The Empire lead the punitive force, huh? I thought. Well, given they're the strongest
amongst the nations of mankind, I guess that should have been a given.
"Then, does that mean the Empire has made contact with the demons?" I asked.
"If you mean waged war against them... then yes," said Jeanne. "Though, my sister
and I being nine and seven at the time, we haven't seen them ourselves. However,
with the passage of time, and as we analyzed the statements of those who were
touched by the menace of the Demon Lord's Domain, the situation at the time has
become clear to us."
"What situation is that?" I asked.
"In the very beginning, when many countries perished, countless lives were lost,
and an even greater number were displaced to become refugees," Jeanne said, "all of
those attacks were done by monsters."
I said, "Monsters? There were no demons, then?"
"Yes. At that point, at least." Jeanne paused to take a sip of her tea, looking down
into her cup as she continued. "The first time demons were spotted was when they
met the punitive force in battle. The punitive force was wiped out at the hands of
those demons. After that, with our capacity to wage war diminished, mankind was
unable to fend off the attacks of the monsters, and we were forced to pull back from
a considerable stretch of territory."
"So, in short, the creation of the Demon Lord's Domain was a two-stage process?"
I asked.
The first stage had been attacks by the monsters that had suddenly appeared.
The second stage had been when the demons had destroyed the punitive force, and
the weakened forces of mankind had been attacked by monsters. It had probably
come some time later, but the attack that had driven Tomoe and the mystic wolves
to become refugees had presumably been part of the second stage.
Jeanne nodded, continuing. "It seems the damages caused differed greatly
between the monsters and demons. During the monster attacks in the first stage, I've
heard it was a terrible sight to behold. The monsters spewed fire, burning cities to
the ground, devouring soldiers and civilians alike, with no regard to their age or
gender. I've heard that in the towns and villages they struck, there was nothing left
but the messy scraps of their feasting."
So, they were literal monsters, huh, I thought to myself. These monstrous beings
swarmed over the land like locusts, and even mankind was no more than prey to
them.
"Then, the second stage, the attack by the demons, was total war," said Jeanne. "I
hear that they acted in an organized fashion, crushing the punitive force with their
overwhelming force of arms. Also, while they are few in number, we have
statements from those who claim their villages were attacked by the demons. These
situations vary, and in some cases, if they withdrew, they weren't attacked any
further, while in others, the demons raped and pillaged, carrying out massacres."
"...Almost like one of the races of mankind, huh," I said.
The way that the damages varied from place to place was one point on which that
similarity was especially strong. Even within the same army, when there are both
disciplined and undisciplined units, the situation post-occupation for each will be
different. When we had occupied Van, I'd made an example of some soldiers in an
attempt to keep the whole of my armies in line, but had I not, I can say with certainty
that there would have been some who abused the civilian populace.
Monsters... and demons, huh... I thought.
"Where do you think the difference comes from?" I asked. "Did the demons
evolve from the monsters?"
"'They gained sentience by eating human brains!' ...is what a bunch of religious
types shouted about for a while... but that's nonsense," said Jeanne. "If that were the
case, there would be a lot more demons out there. Ever since the battle lines bogged
down into a stalemate, it's only been the monsters that attacked us. Though, you
could say that's why we've been able to maintain the status quo."
...In other words, we just don't know what demons and monsters are really? I
thought.
I said, "Come to think of it, when we were digging a sedimentation pond near
Parnam, we found a whole lot of monster fossils. They were apparently from a
stratum that would have been the surface more than a few thousand years ago."
"What are these... 'fossils'?" Jeanne asked.
Oh, that's not common knowledge in this world yet? I thought.
"To put it simply, they're bones left in the earth by living creatures that have
died," I said. "There are a lot of things that have an effect on the process, but the
bones fossilize underground over a long, long period of time. However, even if the
bones have only been underground for a few thousand years, they can still be called
fossils."
"I see... So does that mean there may have been monsters on the surface several
thousand years ago?" Jeanne had a pensive look.
I hadn't expected her calm reaction. When I'd told Liscia the same thing, she had
been pretty shocked after all.
"...I thought you'd be more surprised," I said.
"When you think about it, even before the appearance of the Demon Lord's
Domain, there were monsters living inside dungeons," said Jeanne. "Couldn't it be
that there was a dungeon there?"
"It seems our country has no records of that, historical or legendary," I said.
"Though, given that it was thousands of years ago, I can't deny it's possible that it
was far enough back that there wouldn't even be legends."
"Hmm... perhaps we should look into this in our territory, too," Jeanne said.
If they did that, I couldn't ask for a better outcome.
"I'd very much like for you to do that," I said. "The kingdom plans to carry out
excavations around the country to investigate the matter."
"Please, do tell us if you learn anything," said Jeanne. "Of course, we'll do the
same."
"Okay," I nodded.
The Empire had far more territory than the kingdom. If they were willing to
investigate the matter, I could expect further discoveries to be made. Of course, I still
intended to carry on with our research in the kingdom.
This established a formal agreement for the kingdom and Empire to exchange
information on excavations and research.
Jeanne paused for a breath, finishing off her cup of tea. "Now then, I think we've
veered pretty heavily from the topic of monsters being edible."
"Oh, right... We were talking about that, weren't we?" I polished off the rest of my
cup of coffee, too, then asked Serina to get another cup for each of us. When I had my
coffee and Jeanne had her tea, we resumed.
"The meat we ate was from a winged snake," Jeanne said.
"A winged snake? Like a dragon?" I asked.
I recalled there was a god named Quetzalcoatl in Central and South America that
was also a winged snake, but this wasn't Earth, and she'd called it a monster, so it
was probably more natural to assume it was something like a dragon.
That was my assumption, but Jeanne shook her head. "No, it was nothing so
impressive. It really was just a giant snake with four bird-like wings slapped on it."
What the heck? I thought. It sounds like a total chimera.
"I'm amazed you decided to eat something like that..."
"It tasted like pretty much any ordinary snake," said Jeanne. "It was more like fish
than chicken. Quite tasty, really."
I was surprised that she'd eaten snake at all, but... well, they're eaten in some
countries. When I thought of snake meat, the image that came to mind was the fake
fish meat from Ryunosuke Akutagawa's Rashomon, which I had read in my modern
literature class, but... maybe it was tasty?
"You're supposed to be a princess, aren't you?" I asked. "That's some weird stuff
you've been eating."
"I'm also a commander of armies," said Jeanne. "If we can live off the land, we'll
have extra rations."
"That's... practical of you," I said.
"Now, as for what made me think to try eating a monster, it was when one of our
scouts came back and reported seeing 'the remains of a monster which appeared to
have been cooked by demons.'"
There was another word there that caught my attention. "'Cooked,' you say? Not
just sloppily eaten?"
"Yes," said Jeanne. "The bones seemed to have been cut apart with a blade, and
judging from the charred head left behind, we could infer that it was likely roasted
whole, then cut apart and eaten. That made me think that, if we caught a monster of
the same variety, we could consider trying to eat it." Jeanne popped one of the
teacakes she had been served into her mouth and ate it. "Of course, I checked that it
wasn't poisonous first, you know? I had it fed it to animals before I let people try it.
Then, once its safeness was ascertained, we ate in order of lowest to highest ranking
officer."
"It's not easy to test food for poison, huh..." I said.
"So, when I ate it, it had a simple but refreshing taste," said Jeanne. "It tasted good
in an ordinary way."
"No, I'm not concerned about the flavor, there was something more interesting in
what you just told me," I said.
What she'd said about demons eating monsters was far more shocking than the
fact that they were edible. Basically, it meant that demons didn't see monsters as
being the same general race as them.
I loved chicken and pork, but no matter how much their faces made them look
like pigs or cows, I would never think of eating orcs or minotaurs. Compared to
eating something with a humanoid body, even snake was preferable. Maybe demons
felt the same way.
Thinking about that, I came to a certain hypothesis. "Hey, Madam Jeanne."
"What is it?" she asked.
"Could it be that demons and monsters are equivalent to what we'd call 'people'
and 'animals'?"
The moment I said that, the air froze. Not only Jeanne, but Liscia and Hakuya
opened their eyes wide with shock.
Huh? Did I say something that surprising?
"...What made you think that?" Jeanne asked, erasing all trace of an expression
from her face.
I thought about explaining my reason... then hesitated for a moment. What I was
going to say might seem discriminatory, depending on how it was interpreted. Of
course, I didn't mean it that way, but I still might cause offense, depending on how
people took it.
...Maybe I should clear the room first, I thought.
"Um... I'd rather not have what I'm about to say overheard by too many people," I
said.
"...Very well."
When Jeanne looked to them, the imperial bureaucrats stopped their work,
quietly filing out of the office. I made my own bureaucrats leave as well, having
Aisha stand by the door to ensure that no one was eavesdropping. The only ones left
in the room were Jeanne, Liscia, Hakuya, Aisha, and me. I looked to Liscia, who was
beside me recording the content of the talks.
"Liscia, I want you to stop recording, too," I said.
"...Okay." Liscia's pen stopped. Now, the content of our meeting wasn't being
recorded.
In this room so quiet that it made the earlier excitement seem like a lie, Jeanne
shrugged her shoulders. "If you have to clear the room first, it sounds dangerous.
Just what kind of bombshell statement are you about to drop?"
"Sorry," I said. "It's just that what I'm going to say could be considered
discriminatory."
"Discriminatory? In a conversation about demons and monsters?" Jeanne seemed
doubtful, but I chose my words carefully as I continued.
"Yeah. You asked what made me think that. Well, it's because... I can't tell the
difference between this world's animals and monsters. The animals in this world are
larger than the ones in my own, with big fangs and sharp tusks, and a generally
aggressive appearance. If the animals from your world appeared in mine, the people
there would definitely think they were monsters."
Especially when it came to things like rhinosauruses. If even one giant creature
like that appeared in my world, it would probably cause a panic. With their huge
bodies, they looked like either dinosaurs, or something out of a monster movie.
"Hmm... Is that how it is?" Jeanne tilted her head to the side quizzically. Not
knowing the animals from my world, she couldn't imagine what it felt like to me.
"That's how it is," I said. "And... if I take it a bit further, I have a hard time seeing
the difference between races like beastmen or dragonewts and demons."
She gasped in shock. "That's..."
I raised my hand to stop her. "Yeah, I know. If the beastmen heard me, they'd get
mad and say, 'Don't lump us in with them.' But, still, for me, as guy who lived in a
world without demons or beastmen, it's hard to see the difference."
When I'd first seen Kaede at the singing cafe, Lorelei, in Parnam, I hadn't been
able to tell the difference between her race, mystic foxes, and Tomoe's mystic
wolves.
At the time, I'd asked, "They're both canines, so can't we just lump them both
together as mystic dogs?"
When I'd said that, Liscia had retorted, "If you say that, you'll get both the mystic
wolves and the mystic foxes angry. Kobolds are mystic dogs, so it would be like
lumping humans together with apes," and warned me against doing it.
At the time, I had just accepted that was how it was, but when I'd thought about it
a little more, what was the difference between mystic wolves or foxes and kobolds?
"Can you tell the difference between mystic wolves or foxes and kobolds?" I
asked.
"Of course I can," said Jeanne. "Mystic wolves and foxes have ears and tails, but
their faces and bodies aren't markedly different from humans. Kobolds, on the other
hand, have dog faces."
"But there are beastmen with animal faces, right?" I asked.
To give an example from my own side, our General of the Army, Georg Carmine
was one. If that lion man showed up in Japan, everyone would think he was some
kind of demon.
When I pointed that out, Jeanne crossed her arms and groaned. "When you say it
like that... it makes sense. Hrm... Oh, I know. Kobolds are covered in fur. In other
words, while beastmen have some animal features, perhaps kobolds are just dogs
walking on two feet like a human?"
"In that case, how would you tell apart demons with no hair, or short hair?" I
asked. "By that reasoning, wouldn't beastman be like the orcs and minotaurs, who
have bodies like a muscle-bound human?"
"Murgh..." Jeanne said.
When I shot down her argument, Jeanne thought on it for some time, then said, "I
give up," raising her hands in surrender. "I've never thought deeply about the
difference between humans and demons before. When you pointed it out, for the
first time, I realized I was distinguishing people from demons purely by instinct."
"You're right..." Liscia murmured. "Now that we're being asked to, I can't find a
single defining difference."
"I wonder why we never noticed before now..." Hakuya murmured.
They both nodded repeatedly.
This was probably the common understanding of most people in this world.
Turning that around, it meant the people of this world could instinctively tell people
and demons apart.
To explain from a Japanese perspective, even among those who love clams in
their miso soup, many are probably disgusted even just looking at land mollusks like
slugs.
Also, people who will react with shock to videos of aboriginals from Australia
eating insect larvae from inside trees are perfectly fine with eating shrimp (raw, at
that), which look the same once they're peeled.
It's natural for the environment we're raised in and our customs to have an effect
on the way we understand things.
Perhaps this world's understanding of demons was something like that?
"In my world, humans are the only race of people," I said. "I lived in a world with
no elves, beastmen, dragonewts, or demons, so I don't have a sense that lets me
distinguish between them. To my eyes, demons look like just another race of
mankind."
"S-Sire!" Aisha burst out from her place standing by the door. "...Do you hate us
dark elves, perhaps?" She looked at me like an abandoned puppy
I grinned back at her. "Not at all. A dark-skinned elf is just plain adorable. Of
course, the same goes for an orthodox human beauty, too."
The first was meant for Aisha, while the second was directed at Liscia.
When they heard me, Aisha cried, "Truly, do you mean it?!" her face bursting with
glee, while Liscia said "Yeah, yeah, thanks," curtly, but with a smile on her lips that
showed she didn't mind the compliment.
Jeanne watched the two of them with a wry smile. "I can see how loved you are."
"They're a better bodyguard and fiancee than I could possibly deserve," I said.
"Well, that's lovely... Whew." Jeanne slumped back in her chair. "I'm glad you kept
this between us. If you had said all that without clearing the room, I might have had
to slay my country's bureaucrats."
Slay them?! Isn't that a little violent, out of nowhere?!
"I-Is it really something you'd need to go that far over?" I stammered.
"It is," said Jeanne. "If the way you were talking had spread, it wouldn't just
worsen people's opinion of you. It could have caused war across the continent. Isn't
that right, Sir Hakuya?"
"You are entirely correct," said Hakuya. "I wish I could have taught him that
sooner." Hakuya looked at me with reproach.
Huh, is he mad at me? I thought, surprised.
"You need to understand this, sire," said Hakuya. "If what you said about 'It's hard
to distinguish demons from beastmen' spreads, it would give a human supremacist
country like the Principality of Amidonia, or the high elves of the Spirit Kingdom of
Garlan, who think they're the chosen people, perfect material to use to attack their
enemies. Beastmen and dragonewts would be expelled as demons, or accused of
potentially conspiring with the enemy, and be subjected to undue persecution."
The Garlan Spirit Kingdom was an island nation northwest of the continent, I
recalled.
It was a country made up of two islands, one large and one small, but the smaller
island had been abandoned in the face of monster attacks, and a portion of the larger
island was occupied, as well. Apparently, at least... I could only go on hearsay,
because the country had highly isolationist policies and very little information
leaked out.
The elven races tended to have a lot of beautiful men and women, and this trend
was especially strong with the high elves. They called themselves God's chosen
people, and looked down on other races, loathe to have any interaction with them.
It seemed that even now, with monsters invading, that wasn't going to change.
In a country like Garlan or Amidonia, it was true, they would likely try to use this
information to affirm the superiority of their own race. In fact, Amidonia had already
succeeded in fomenting hatred towards Elfrieden to make their people easier to
rule. There were countries out there that would use hate and prejudice.
Jeanne nodded. "Sir Hakuya is correct. Furthermore, it's not something that
multiracial countries like mine or yours can ignore. If that sort of thinking were to
run rampant, we would be looking at the sparks of interracial violence in our own
country. If we had an internal conflict, on top of the external threats we face..."
"...Sorry," I said. "I hadn't thought it through that far."
I bowed my head sincerely. They had both made good points. There were bigger
things at stake than my reputation. I needed to be more cautious with my words.
While I was reflecting on my actions...
"No," Jeanne said, shaking her head. "If you hadn't pointed it out to me, I wouldn't
have noticed. It's a thorny issue, but this is better than having it thrust on us by
surprise one day. We can make preparations ourselves now."
"I'm grateful to have you say that," I said. "...Still, I can't think of any
countermeasures off the top of my head."
When I said that, Jeanne slumped her shoulders with a sigh. "The Mankind
Declaration speaks out against the persecution of minority groups, but that's an
agreement between states. If it were a national policy—like, if someone in the
administration, for instance, gave the order to persecute them—we could intervene,
but if it's ordinary citizens doing it, all we can do is call the country's responsibility
for the matter into question."
"Besides, there are countries like ours that haven't even signed the Mankind
Declaration," I said. "On top of that, if you try to intervene in the internal affairs of
other countries, that will breed discontent, which could, in the worst case, lead to
war."
"I agree with you," said Jeanne. "What's more, we don't have all the relevant
information about demons and monsters available to us. With so many uncertain
factors, it's dangerous to rush to any conclusions."
In the end, it was decided that the Empire and kingdom would continue to
discuss this problem.
We called the bureaucrats back in, and the conference continued until it was
getting to be late at night. Around this time of day, people would start to get hungry.
Jeanne was an important guest from another country, so normally I should
probably have held a banquet for her, but time was precious to both of us, so I'd
decided we would eat at the conference.
That called for something we could eat as we worked, so I'd decided to serve
Jeanne and her entourage a certain type of bun I was debating whether or not to
spread throughout the country.
When Jeanne ate that bun, her reaction was...
"This is incredible! It seems wrong to put a staple food on another staple food,
but once you dig in, the two contrasting textures are a perfect match. The tomato
sauce gives it a nice tangy flavor. What's more, by putting a dish that you would
normally eat with a plate and a form on a bun, it lets us eat it using just one hand! My
hat's off to you for that idea! What a marvel!"
...she praised it without holding back.
Did you think it was a sandwich? Too bad; it was a spaghetti bun.
The truth was, I'd wanted to make a yakisoba bun, but I just couldn't seem to
replicate that thick sauce. That was why I'd used pasta and tomato sauce, both of
which already existed in this world, to create a spaghetti bun. By the way, I hadn't
given up on replicating the sauce; Poncho was researching it at this very moment.
"When I first saw it, I questioned your sanity, but it really is good," said Liscia.
"Neither bread nor pasta is new, but it's quite a novel experience to eat them
together like this," said Hakuya.
Liscia and Hakuya seemed to be enjoying them, as well.
Now that the food crisis was more or less solved, I thought that, rather than offthe-wall ideas like gelin udon, it might be nice to spread some dishes from Earth
instead. Developing our culinary traditions would improve our country's brand
power and image, and could also lead to an influx of foreign money.
Now, as for Aisha, the one most likely to dig into these sorts of new dishes with
gusto...
"Om, nom, nom!"
Even as she stood behind me as my bodyguard, she was busily scarfing down
spaghetti buns.
Wait, hold on, Aisha, I thought. Just how many have you eaten?
What had once been a mountain of buns on the plate had now been reduced to
less than a hill. Even at a time like this, the hungry dark elf was the same as ever.
Once we had finished eating our buns and taken a short break, Jeanne broached
the issue we had met to discuss. "Hmm... Now then, do you think it's about time we
moved onto the topic of your occupation of Van? The Empire's position is that, in
adherence with the Mankind Declaration, we cannot accept border changes brought
about by the use of military force. We demand that the Elfrieden Kingdom return
Van and the region surrounding it to the Principality of Amidonia."
"The kingdom's position is that we can't accept that demand," I said. "The
Principality of Amidonia were the aggressors in this conflict. I think we're justified in
our actions, no?"
"You could also be seen as having induced them to act, you realize?" Jeanne
asked.
"They've done plenty to interfere in our internal affairs," I replied. "It's not right
for them to complain as soon as we turn the tables on them. Is the Empire fine with
that? If you accept their outrageous behavior, both signatories and non-signatories
to the Mankind Declaration will take you lightly from here on."
"Yes, they will," said Jeanne. "That is why the Empire is prepared to force
Amidonia to pay suitable reparations. In this matter, I think the Empire has no
choice but to punish both sides."
Well, yeah... I figured that would be your response, I thought.
Because Amidonia was a signatory of the Mankind Declaration, the Empire had
no choice but to stand by their side and demand Elfrieden return their territory. But
if they allowed Amidonia to get away with their outrageous behavior, it would invite
the other signatories to act with impunity, which would create resistance from the
non-signatories. That meant they needed to impose harsh penalties on Amidonia, in
order to keep the other signatory states in line. The Empire had the power to do just
that.
I looked at Jeanne, as if testing her. "And if we don't comply, you will resort to
military force?"
"It is not my preferred method... but if the need arises, I will have no choice," said
Jeanne. "At this moment, the number of troops the Empire has brought is equal to
your Royal Army, but I am confident that we have the power to annihilate the forces
of both kingdom and principality at the same time, if need be."
The Anti-Magic Armor Corps, the griffon squadrons, and the rhinosauruses
carrying cannons... I recalled the many troop types they had which would be
powerful when fighting against castle walls. There was no hint of boasting in
Jeanne's words.
"...I'll bet you could," I said. "We don't want to fight, either." I rested my elbows on
the table, crossing my fingers in front of my mouth. "That's why I'd like to sort out
each of our intentions here."
"Our intentions, you say?" asked Jeanne.
"Yes," I replied. "The Empire doesn't want to recognize border changes. That's
why you're asking that the kingdom return Van. Correct?"
"...Yes. That's right." Jeanne nodded.
Having confirmed the Empire's intent, I continued, "Now, as for our intent, we
want to reduce the power of the Principality of Amidonia, which continues to engage
in hostile actions towards our country, In order to ensure that they can't influence
our country again. Furthermore, we want them to pay for invading us. We took Van
to exact that cost."
"...I see," said Jeanne. "Then you have no particular desire to hold Van. In other
words, an unconditional return of the city is out of the question, but if the
principality pays a suitable price, you are prepared to return it."
It was good to see that she was quick on the uptake. When I nodded, Jeanne
turned a harsh glance towards me. "Will you demand Sir Julius's head?"
"That's hardly going to be worth as much as an entire city," I said.
"Then... is it money you want?" she asked.
"It is," I agreed. "If the principality will pay reparations to our country, we will
return Van. You yourself said that the Empire would see to it that the principality
paid a suitable price for their actions, so that should be perfect, shouldn't it?"
Looking at it in the long term, turning over territory that could produce wealth
indefinitely if managed properly in exchange for a one-time payment was a negative.
However, because it had been Amidonian territory until just recently, and taking
relations with the Empire into consideration, it wasn't a bad decision.
Meanwhile, for the Empire, they would have fulfilled their duty to the principality
by securing the return of their land, and they could warn the other signatories, "If
you act like Amidonia, you may not have your territory seized, but you're gonna
have to pay reparations." That would, in effect, also help to build trust with the nonsignatories.
Jeanne sighed. "Sir Julius won't like it..."
"I have no pity to spare for the root of the problem," I said. "Have him pay in
imperial coinage. Sir Julius isn't terribly bright when it comes to the economy, after
all. He'll probably think he can just mint low quality coins for the reparations."
"You're getting our country involved in this?" Jeanne asked.
"The Empire shares some responsibility for Amidonia's outrageous behavior," I
replied. "You have to give me this much, at least."
"...I have no good response to that." After a shrug of the shoulders and a wry
smile, Jeanne suddenly slipped into a more serious expression. "I have a question for
you. Why won't the Elfrieden Kingdom sign on to my sister's Mankind Declaration?
If you were a signatory, I don't think the kingdom and Empire would have ended up
staring one another down over this matter." Jeanne glanced over to Liscia, and
added, "I hesitate to say this in front of Princess Liscia, but when it comes to why the
prior king, Sir Albert, didn't sign the Mankind Declaration... well, I can understand.
It's not so much that he chose not to sign it, as..."
"...he couldn't decide whether to sign or not," Liscia finished for her. "He's so
indecisive."
Liscia came right out and said what Jeanne was hesitant to. Jeanne looked
somewhat apologetically to her and said, "That's exactly it," with a nod.
She went on, "However, in your case, I think you see the threat posed by the
Demon Lord's Domain, as well as the need for all mankind to unite in the battle
against it. At first, I thought it was because you couldn't trust us, as the ones at fault
for your being summoned to this world in the first place. But, earlier, you said you
bear no resentment towards us over that. If that's the case, why won't you adopt my
sister's Mankind Declaration?"
When she looked me straight in the eye and asked that, it left me with a
conundrum.
I couldn't give her the real answer right now. But if I were to lie, or to completely
ignore the question, it would probably hurt relations with the Empire.
After thinking about it for a moment, I began to speak slowly and calmly. "This
is... let's call it a 'legend' from my world. Long, long ago, there were two gods, one in
the east, and one in the west."
◇ ◇ ◇
The God of the East said, "The world should be equal. Thus, I say to you, O
humans, you must each till the fields for the same amount of time, and the crops are
to be split evenly among all."
The God of the West, on the other hand, said, "The world should be free. Thus, I
say to you, O humans, each of you must till the fields, and those who work the
hardest may take an amount of crops equivalent to their efforts."
The God of the East said to the God of the West, "With your methods, the rich get
richer and the poor get poorer. In a world like that, conflict will arise between the
rich and poor."
The God of the West said, "If those who work the hardest only receive as much as
those who work the least, they will lose their motivation to work. If that happens,
the total amount to go around will fall, and society as a whole will be poorer for it."
And so, the two gods glared at one another. The conflict between these gods
influenced the countries that worshiped each of them. As the countries of the East
and West glared at one another, each thinking, We are right, and they are wrong, the
ones most troubled by all this were the countries caught in the middle.
If the countries that believed in the two gods went to war, they would be the first
victims. Their houses and fields would be all torn up. When they thought, Well, what
are we going to do about this?, the countries near the border had a flash of insight.
"I know! It may be inevitable that they glare at one another, but we just need to
lay down some rules that will stop a war from happening!"
And so, the countries that lived near the borders came together with many of the
countries of the East and West to establish some rules.
One was: "Let's not allow borders to be changed by military force."
One was: "Let's let the people of each country make decisions for themselves."
One was: "Let's arrange cultural exchanges between the East and West and try to
get along."
◇ ◇ ◇
"What was that story?!" Jeanne burst out.
When I'd suddenly started telling her some old legend, she had looked at me
dubiously, but as the story went on, her eyes gradually opened wide with surprise.
Jeanne had seemed composed up until until this point, but that was gone now.
Liscia and Hakuya had similar looks on their faces.
Jeanne slammed her hands down on the table, leaning in closer. "Setting the
process aside, those rules they decided on are basically the Mankind Declaration! So,
how did it turn out?!"
Jeanne was eager for an answer, but I shook my head quietly.
"As for what happened next... I can't tell you that yet."
"Sir Souma!" Jeanne burst out.
"But I do know how the story ended," I said.
"Were those rules... not enough to prevent the war?" Jeanne asked worriedly, but
I shook my head.
"No, at least in the time when those two gods were staring each other down, they
were able to avert the worst case scenario of a total war between the two gods.
Eventually, the God of the East broke apart, and because that god had lost the power
to fight, the God of the West was relieved and stopped glaring in that direction."
"It sounds like a happy ending," said Jeanne. "Where's the problem?"
"Well, if this is where it ended, it would have been a 'they lived happily ever
after,'" I said.
"There's more to the story, then?"
"...That's all I can tell you for now," I said. "Sorry, but I can't reveal any more of
my cards."
I broke off the conversation with a strong tone. Jeanne seemed to want to keep
pressing me, but she gave up when she saw the look in my eyes.
I said to Jeanne, "Don't worry. You'll know soon enough. I won't cause trouble for
the Empire."
"...You're worrying me," she said.
"I'd like you to trust me; our country would like to walk alongside yours. For as
long as Empress Maria holds true to her ideal of uniting mankind against the threat
of the Demon Lord's Realm, I promise you the kingdom will never become the
Empire's enemy."
Jeanne still looked doubtful. "You're not going to join the Mankind Declaration,
are you? Yet you still ask us to trust you?"
"The Mankind Declaration is not the only possible pact," I said. "We can't
participate in the Mankind Declaration, but our country would like to form an
independent alliance with the Empire. Secretly."
"A secret alliance... you say?"
I nodded firmly. "We've finally managed to stabilize the situation inside our
borders. From here, I intend to reform the military, creating a system which allows
me to move all of my forces with one unified will. Furthermore, I've managed to
break Amidonia's fangs in this war. Our country is finally free to move its forces."
Jeanne said nothing.
"So, here's my proposal," I said. "Right now, the Empire is dispatching troops to
aid the Union of Eastern Nations, right?"
"...Yes." She nodded. "They're a conglomeration of medium to small states, most
of which have signed the Mankind Declaration. As the leader of that agreement, it's
only natural that we would dispatch troops there."
"Yeah, that's it," I said. "Can I ask you leave that duty to our country from here
on?"
"Are you serious about that?!" Jeanne raised her voice in surprise.
Here was my proposal:
In the center of this continent was the impregnable Star Dragon Mountain Range,
where wise dragons lived. If the monsters and demons came south, they would have
to go around these mountains to the east and west.
That being the case, I was suggesting that the Empire resist their southern
advance from the west, while the kingdom would resist it from the east. In practical
terms, that meant if the Union of Eastern Nations was threatened by the menace of
the Demon Lord's Domain, the kingdom would dispatch reinforcements.
However, there was a process required.
"In the event that that happens, and the Empire, as head of the Mankind
Declaration, receives a request from the Union of Eastern Nations for
reinforcements, you will make a request for reinforcements to us," I said. "When our
country dispatches troops, I want it to take the form of us responding to a request
from the Empire."
"...That seems like a rather roundabout way of doing things," Jeanne said. "Why?"
"While we don't have the national strength to be called a great power yet, we're
the second largest nation by landmass if you exclude the Demon Lord's Domain," I
said. "If they learn that the first and second largest nations on the continent are
working hand-in-hand, there are going to be countries that get worried by that. The
ones caught in the middle between us—the Principality of Amidonia, the mercenary
state Zem, and the Turgis Republic—particularly so. That is why, as far as possible, I
don't want it known that the Empire and kingdom are cooperating."
"I see. Hence the secret alliance."
Jeanne had a pensive expression. She must have been weighing the pros and cons
of this pact. However, there shouldn't have been any cons for the Empire in my offer.
They would save the war funds that would have gone to defending the east, and
they could thicken their defenses on the western side of their own country, where
they shared a border with the Demon Lord's Domain. If there was anything for them
to be suspicious of, it was our intentions...
After some time, Jeanne nodded. "I don't see any harm in accepting your
proposal. But, is there any merit for you in taking on that duty?"
"If I were pressed to answer, I might say building trust with the Empire," I said.
"That, and because we'd be participating in the war, I would want you to stop
demanding war subsidies."
"Of course," said Jeanne. "That's something we ask of countries not involved in
the war. ...But, are you sure? I don't feel like there's enough in it for you..."
"Well, when the very existence of mankind is at stake, there has to be more
thought put into it than a simple cost-to-benefit analysis," I said. "Besides, if we act
as if it's none of our problem when our country is stable, the other countries won't
look kindly on that."
"I see..." Jeanne crossed her arms, groaning in thought. "In that case, it's a
question of how closely we can collaborate. The Empire and the kingdom are on
opposite sides of the continent. It'll take time for us to communicate. It's good that
we can redirect the requests for aid to you, but if the reinforcements don't arrive in
time as a result, that would be terrible."
"We have some idea of how to deal with that," I said. "Hakuya, bring me that."
"Yes, sire."
Hakuya rose and left the room, soon returning with a wooden box about the size
of a cardboard one. He then offered the box to Jeanne.
Jeanne accepted the chest, looking down at it dubiously. "What might this be?"
"Try opening it," I said. "I want you to give that to Madam Maria."
"Is this... a receiver? ...Ah!" It seemed Jeanne had figured it out. In the box was a
simple receiver, like the ones used when I'd issued my ultimatum to the three dukes.
"This receiver is set to the same frequency as one of the jewels held by our
country," I said. "When you return to the Empire, I would like you to send one of the
Empire's simple receivers to me. Of course, it should be set to the same frequency as
one of the jewels held by the Empire. That way, we can contact each other at any
time."
In other words, by using simple receivers and a jewel in each country, we would
establish a hotline between the Empire and the kingdom. Unlike jewels, simple
receivers were easy to walk around with.
If either country called the other's simple receiver with a request for talks, the
other just needed to go to the location where the jewel was and they could start
immediately. This would only allow us to transmit video and audio, so it wouldn't be
possible to sign anything, but if we had bureaucrats to go back and forth carrying the
documents, even that would become possible.
Jeanne looked highly impressed with this proposal. "With this, you can easily
hold meetings with my sister, who can't afford to leave the Empire. I don't know
what to say, Sir Souma. Your creativity leaves me trembling in awe."
"You're blowing it out of proportion," I said. "It was pretty ordinary to have
something like this in my old world."
"And you think it's perfectly ordinary... Um, Sir Souma? I would like your
permission to say something a little crazy," Jeanne said. "Would that be all right?"
Something crazy? What's she going to say? I wondered.
"I'll allow it."
"Thank you. Now then... Princess Liscia."
"Huh, me?!" Liscia looked surprised to have the conversation suddenly turn to
her, but Jeanne continued regardless.
"Would you consider restoring Sir Albert to the throne? If you act now, the
Empire will support you with everything it has."
Recommending she depose me?! I'm in the room, you know?!
Liscia seemed bewildered at first, but when she came to her senses, she replied
angrily, her face flushing red, "What are you suggesting all of a sudden?! I'd never do
that!"
"Oh, where's the harm?" Jeanne said. "It was Sir Albert's kingdom to begin with.
Then I'd like you to please give the newly-freed-up Sir Souma to us! If he'll come, I'll
give him the position of chancellor or any other position he wants! Heck, I'll even
throw in my sister as an added bonus, so please become our Emperor!"
No, if you're offering to throw in your sister like a free bottle of detergent... aren't
you treating the Empress a little too lightly?!
Liscia was indignant. "Do you even realize what you're saying?!"
"I'm sane, yes," said Jeanne. "The way Sir Souma thinks is ahead of our time. I
want to see the Empire my sister and he would create. If this was how it was going
to be, we should have never accepted the war reparations. We should have insisted
that Sir Souma come be with us. It's not too late, would you consider coming to the
Empire now?"
"Obviously not!" Liscia slammed her hands down on the table. "I need... the
kingdom needs Souma!"
Liscia shouted that threateningly, her canine teeth showing. It wasn't just Liscia;
Aisha behind us was giving off a grumpy aura. Her hand was inching towards her
weapon, too.
I appreciated that they cared so much about me, but Jeanne was, technically, an
important guest from another country. I couldn't let them be too hostile with her.
I patted Liscia on the head saying, "There, there. Calm down Liscia. I'm not going
anywhere, okay?"
"...I'm sorry," she said. "I lost my composure there."
"Aisha, stay, girl!" I barked. "Don't put your hand on that hilt!"
"I-Isn't the way you're treating me a little undignified?!" Aisha objected.
Ignoring that, I looked back to Jeanne. "I'm sorry, but I can't accede to that
request. I do hear that Madam Maria is charming, but I want to stay here and be king
in this country where Liscia and the others are."
"Whew... I know that," Jeanne said. "But I really think it's regrettable that you feel
that way."
Then, saying, "Thank you for allowing me to say something crazy," Jeanne bowed
her head. "Now, back to the topic of the alliance... That's something far too important
for me to decide on my own initiative. Now that you've provided a wonderful system
for our two heads of state to hold talks over the Jewel Voice Broadcast, I think it
would be best if you discussed the matter directly with my sister. For the time being,
I would like a few members of your diplomatic corps to come to the Empire. I will
also leave a few members of our bureaucracy here, so please take them back to the
kingdom with you."
"I see. That should make coordinating things easier," I said. "Very well... but how
about this? What if we each bestow the title of Ambassador Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary on the representative of our diplomatic corps, then establish an
embassy in each country's capital? It's inefficient having to travel back and forth
between our two countries whenever we decide on something, after all."
"That's marvelous!" exclaimed Jeanne. "I'll look into the possibility at once. My
word... the wisdom gushes forth from King Souma like water from a hot spring."
Again, it wasn't like that had been my idea. If she rated me too highly, it was just
going to make me feel more constrained... But, well, setting that aside, Jeanne and I
continued to talk about various things after that.
For instance, we talked about how Madam Maria wanted to abolish slavery.
Madam Maria had apparently wanted to abolish the system, which was a hotbed
for human trafficking, for a long time, but she was now looking to use the looming
menace of the Demon Lord's Domain to do it in the name of national unity. Though
the policy would be hard to pass in peacetime, she recognized that she could force it
through now, and she was quick to act on the opportunity. It seemed she was more
than just an idealistic dreamer.
I was in favor of abolition, too, but I felt it was too sudden, so I asked them to
wait. Sudden changes, even good ones, always cause chaos. The French Revolution,
with its call for liberté, égalité, fraternité, ended in the purges of the Reign of Terror,
and the Arab Spring movement for democratization (though I did not, in any way,
mean to condemn the movement itself) brought chaos to the countries of the region.
With my knowledge of precedents like those, I had to be cautious.
That's why I told the Empire that emancipation had to be taken step by step. If
possible, I wanted them to move forward on it at the same rate as the kingdom.
And, well, with important topics like that coming up one after another, the
bureaucrats of both nations were running around in a frenzy. Even late at night,
once the conference wrapped up, they continued.
They would likely be up all night. With a sideways glance to those bureaucrats, I
took Liscia and Jeanne with me out onto the government affairs office terrace.
Because it was late at night in autumn, it was quite chilly. I had Serina bring us
hot milk in wooden mugs, and though it wasn't really to celebrate of the end of talks,
we shared a toast.
Liscia raised her mug. "To the glory to the Empire."
Jeanne raised her mug. "To the development of the kingdom."
I raised my mug. "And to the friendship to both nations."
"""Cheers!"""
We clacked our wooden mugs together.
It was hot milk in them, so after the toast, we could only sip away at them
(because if we knocked them back, we'd burn ourselves), but... oh, was it good. One
thing I'd come to appreciate since coming to this world was the deliciousness of
milk. It was unpasteurized (they probably milked straight into a metal bucket, like
you'd see in The Dog of Flanders, then chilled it with river or well water), so the
flavor was fully intact. The tradeoff was that it wasn't exactly safe, but... this
thickness was irresistible!
"This was a highly fruitful conference," Jeanne said as I was being warmed by the
delicious hot milk. "We talked for quite a long time, didn't we? It's almost dawn."
"...Now that I think about it, I feel like we talked about a lot of things today that
we really didn't have to," I said.
Since we'd gone to the trouble of arranging a hotline using the Jewel Voice
Broadcast, I felt like we could have saved a number of the topics we'd covered for a
later date. I felt bad for the bureaucrats of both nations whose workloads had
increased because of us.
"Maybe because it was so late at night, we got strangely excited..." I said.
"Can you blame us?" Jeanne said with a smile. "I, for one, was thrilled to find new,
reliable friends."
Friends... huh.
True, though our alliance was a secret one, we and the Empire could be called
friends now. As for what influence this secret alliance would have on the world... I
couldn't be sure yet, but it was reassuring to know that other countries could share
my values. The Empire must have felt the same.
Jeanne suddenly took on a serious expression. "I have something to tell you, my
friend in the east."
"What is it? My friend in the west."
"It's about the Demon Lord, said to inhabit the Demon Lord's Realm," she said.
The Demon Lord. If I were to employ my knowledge of RPGs, that was the being
who ruled over the demons and monsters. While it was unconfirmed, the former
king, Sir Albert, had told me there apparently was a being like that inside the Demon
Lord's Domain.
"Have you seen the Demon Lord?" I asked.
"No," said Jeanne. "More than that, no one has ever claimed to. The ones who
penetrated the deepest into the Demon Lord's Domain were the initial punitive
force, but they were almost completely eradicated."
"Huh? How do you know there's a Demon Lord, then?" I asked.
"When the punitive force was destroyed, there was a group of demons believed
to be capable of speaking, and there was a word they often spoke," she said. "The
researchers in my country have hypothesized that this word might be the name of
the Demon Lord."
There Jeanne paused, then spoke the word as if announcing it.
"That word was... 'Divalroi.'"
"Divalroi... Demon Lord Divalroi?" I asked.
"Yes. They say that's the name of the Demon Lord." Jeanne nodded somberly.
Demon Lord Divalroi, huh... hmm?
"Demon Lord Divalroi... Demon Lord... Divalroi, Demon Lord..." I murmured.
Huh? What's this? I remember hearing that phrase somewhere, I thought. Is this
deja vu? ...No, that's not it. It sounds familiar. Somewhere. I've heard it somewhere.
Somewhere other than here. Not in this world. In the other world?
No, hold on. Why would I think of Earth? There shouldn't be any demon lords on
Earth. I don't know any Divalroi. I shouldn't, at least, but there's something tugging at
the back of my mind.
"Wh-What's wrong, Souma?!" Liscia exclaimed.
When I came back to my senses, Liscia was supporting me. It looked like I had
been clutching my head in my hands and stumbled. Liscia and Jeanne looked
worried, so I gave them a smile.
"I'm fine," I said. "I just got hit by a sudden wave of drowsiness."
"Hmm... it is late, after all," said Jeanne. "How about we turn in for the night?"
Because Jeanne was saying that too, we decided to meet again tomorrow in the
audience chamber with Julius present to announce what had been decided today,
then we all went off to rest.
I asked Serina to show Jeanne to a guest room, while Liscia and I headed to the
room Liscia was using. I wanted to go to sleep as soon as possible, but my bed was in
the governmental affairs office. I couldn't very well go to sleep with the bureaucrats
working right beside me, so I thought I'd borrow a corner in Liscia's room.
"Souma... are you really okay?" Liscia asked me, sounding concerned, as we
reached her room.
"...I'm fine," I said. "I was just a little worn out."
"You're lying!" she burst out. "You've been routinely staying up for three nights
straight! I'm not going to buy that you're tired after staying up late for just one
night!"
"No, I think it's pretty bad that that's what's tipping you off..." I said.
Liscia sighed. "Come here."
Liscia sat down on her bed, instructing me to sit next to her. Sitting next to a cute
girl on her bed was a situation that should have had my heart racing, but Liscia's nononsense attitude intimidated me into meekly obeying her.
When I did, the moment I sat down, Liscia grabbed my head and pushed it down
into her lap. It was my first lap pillow in a long while. I could hear Liscia's gentle
voice above me.
"I don't know what caused it, but when you're tired, let me indulge you," Liscia
said, rubbing my forehead.
"...Sorry," I said. "And thank you."
"Hee hee. You're welcome."
I closed my eyes, letting the tension slip away from my body. When I'd heard the
name "Demon Lord Divalroi," I'd felt a vague uncertainty from the sense that I'd
heard the name before. That hadn't been resolved, but just having my head patted
like this made my heart feel lighter.
Thanks to Liscia, in the time it took me to fall asleep, I didn't have to feel worried
anymore.