Chapter Five: The Night Before the Peace Conference
Paladin, Ray Starling
It was now the day before the peace talks. The Masters who would act as bodyguards had gathered at the parade ground used by the knight office in Altea, where we would meet up with Azurite and the other officials participating in the coming talks.
However, about ten minutes before everyone was supposed to show up, I noticed something strange.
“...There should be more of us here.” There were 37 Masters gathered already. First, there were the members of Death Period. Five of us, to be exact—since Lei-Lei and Kasumi’s trio unfortunately couldn’t make it.
But as for the other 32 besides us, there was Miss Eldritch, Tsukikage, and a whole bunch of people with a crescent moon and closed eye symbol on their clothes... all members of The Lunar Society.
That’s right — there were only two clans.
“...I don’t see Rosa anywhere,” said B3.
“Hmm... I’m not seeing many of the famous rankers, either,” added Marie. “Based on my information, this is only about a third of the people who should be here.”
I’d heard that some duelists were coming myself, but none of them seemed to have shown up yet.
“Did something happen?” I wondered.
“Ray, should I speed off to DIN and investigate?” Marie asked.
As I considered whether or not she ought to do that, I saw some familiar faces among a group of knights and officials.
First was Azurite — the reason we were all here.
Next was... “Tomica,” if memory served. She was the K&R member around my age whom I’d run into back when Rosa ambushed us on the road to Torne.
And finally, there was a masked man, covered in Medical Bandages that enhanced the body’s self-healing abilities.
It was Riser the duel ranker.
“Riser?!” I called out.
“Ray... you guys are still fine... what a relief.” He had multiple injury-based debuffs. Even walking seemed to be difficult for him, since he was leaning against a knight’s shoulder.
“How did you get all those wounds...?” I asked.
“I’ll be the one to explain that,” Azurite interjected, before telling us what happened.
Shockingly, it seems that Masters — rankers included — had been ambushed en masse.
The one thing all the targets had in common was that they’d all accepted the bodyguard quest.
Riser had been one of them, and although he’d almost died to the bomb left behind by the assailant, his Lifesaving Brooch had activated and kept him alive, barely. He’d then used healing items to stave off death until the locals took him to a nearby state church.
Tomica had been ambushed along with Rosa, but she’d managed to escape back to the capital.
There were also reports that sounds of battle had been heard last night near the village next to the border, and the Masters who’d been waiting there had all vanished.
Riser and Tomica both vouched that their attacker was the same person — a boy with rabbit ears and metal boots.
Upon hearing those details, Shu spoke up. “...That’s The Rabbit, Chrono Crown.”
“You know him?” I asked.
“Yeah. I fought him back before I was a Superior. He’s a PK who hunts pre-Superiors... or rather, Masters in their sixth forms. He’s perfectly capable of assassinating dozens of Masters.”
“...How did your fight with him go?”
“I don’t even know. He did some serious damage to me, but stopped attacking after I caught him in a trap. I still don’t know if that’s because he actually got the death penalty or if he just ran away. Haven’t met him since.”
That was impressive, even if Shu wasn’t a Superior back then. If The Rabbit had grown stronger since then, he must be even more fearsome now.
“Though, his tricks are more or less common knowledge by now,” Shu added before explaining The Rabbit’s abilities, strategies, and how to counter them... which wasn’t something everyone could do, to put it mildly.
I thought about what he’d said and concluded that I was incompatible with Chrono’s fighting style. Shu aside, B3 and Marie would be better opponents for him.
“That’s it for his capabilities, but I’ve got another beary bad piece of info about him,” Shu said.
“Oh yes,” Marie nodded. “I was trying to find a good opportunity to explain that, too.”
Whatever it was, they seemed to find it difficult to say.
“The Rabbit, Chrono Crown... is a Dryfean PK.”
“...And he’s coming to the peace talks as a bodyguard on their side.”
So... that meant...
“You’re saying the imperium ordered him to target Altar’s bodyguards?” I asked.
“Maybe,” said Shu. “But it could easily be something he decided to do himself. I mean, going around and hunting Masters in their sixth forms is just what he does normally. The bodyguard thing gathered a whole bunch of Altarian Masters in a few locations, so he might’ve seen it as a good chance to score some kills. Hunting Masters is his goal, not a means to some end, and he’s never really done anything notable besides that. Really, the weirdest thing here is that he’s actually joining their retinue. But if Dryfe did order him to do this...”
“...It means that they thought it was necessary to weaken our retinue,” Altimia finished his sentence.
...Suddenly, I’m not as optimistic that the talks will go well, I thought.
“...This seems a little too bold for a Dryfean plot, though,” Shu said. “Especially since the assassin is also a part of the official retinue.”
“We shall use Truth Discernment and ask the imperium’s delegation about it. Then we will know for certain whether they gave the order,” said Azurite. “There is now a more pressing problem, however...”
“The gaps in our retinue, huh?” said Shu.
“Indeed. If this turns out to be a trap, our ability to respond to it has been greatly reduced.”
If this whole thing was just a trap, then we would have to face the entirety of Dryfe’s retinue of Masters — The Rabbit included.
“Would you be able to fight The Rabbit?” Rook asked, looking at Shu, who fell silent for a moment.
“...I obviously wouldn’t be helpless. I’m almost certain I’d win, actually. The problem is that I’d be too busy to deal with him myself. If we end up fighting Dryfe, I’d have my hands full with the King of Beasts.”
The Rabbit wouldn’t be our only enemy there. Marie had told me they’d hired a whole bunch of Masters for their retinue, including King of Beasts — the so-called Physical Apex — and Hell General, who could bolster their numbers even further with his devils.
If Shu had to fight King of Beasts, then it would fall to us to face The Rabbit and Logan.
I silently considered my status as a combatant. My Grudge-Soaked Greaves were sufficiently charged, meaning that I could summon Gardranda, even though it was risky. Monochrome had also absorbed enough light for Shining Despair. I was completely stocked up on Counter Absorption uses, too.
I’d also maxed out my Death Soldier job and leveled Scout to get the Reveal utility skill before switching back to Paladin, which was the job that let me use all the skills I had unlocked.
And most notably of all... Nemesis had reached her fourth form and became a high-rank Embryo.
I was more prepared than I’d ever been, but I couldn’t bring myself to say we’d get through a fight like that with no problem.
A sense of unease coiled around my heart like a vine, and even I couldn’t say exactly what was causing it.
“It’s still not certain there will be fighting... but the outlook is not favorable,” said Azurite. The Rabbit killing so much of the retinue had stung her badly, and she was reluctant to continue under the current circumstances.
Suddenly, Miss Eldritch raised her hand.
Not in a manner that fit her gaudy Japanese-style apparel, but with the enthusiasm of a regular student who knew the answer in class.
“...What is it?” Azurite asked suspiciously.
“If we need more people, I can call a couple dozen more from my clan. You’d need to write off more of my debt beforehand, though.”
After hearing that offer, Azurite spent a good amount of time thinking it through — then finally, with a bitter expression on her face, she said, “...Please do.”
“Thank you for your business!”
Azurite’s really desperate, huh? I thought.
Also, this just reinforced to me how powerful The Lunar Society really was. Being a cult centered around Dendro, it had so many no-lifers that Miss Eldritch could casually call up “dozens” of Masters worthy of joining Azurite’s entourage.
I heard that it actually had the most high-rankers of any clan in any country, which made them actually pretty reliable in situations like this.
“Tsukuyo Fuso, I also have a request,” said Riser as he bowed his head to her.
“Whaddya want, Ri?”
I certainly hadn’t expected her to call him that.
“Please use your skills to heal me! I can’t just sit by idly while something like this is happening...!” he cried, a hint of grief creeping into his voice. Miss Eldritch fell silent.
Riser must’ve been so emotional because he wanted to avenge Bishmal and the other duel rankers who’d gotten the death penalty, on top of his desire to protect the kingdom.
“Okay. I’ll heal you,” said Miss Eldritch with a nod.
“I’ll be in your de—”
“But you can’t join the retinue.” She agreed to heal him, but in the same breath she outright denied him the honor of becoming a bodyguard again.
“Why...?” he asked.
“You know that better than anyone, don’cha? Your Embryo is completely broken. My Mercy of the Holy can fully heal your body, but I can’t do anything about your broken Embryo.”
“But I can still fight just as I am...!”
“Do you really think a Master can do much without his Embryo? And your build is completely focused on yours, isn’t it? You’d only get in the way.”
Riser hung his head. He clearly had no counterargument.
...Her words seemed harsh — perhaps even cold — but even so, I could tell that she was being far more earnest than usual.
“...Very well,” said Riser. “I won’t come, but please heal me anyway.”
“Can you give me a reason why?”
“Most of our powerful Masters are leaving for the peace talks. You’re going to be summoning even more Lunar Society members who were supposed to stay here. There won’t be enough people left to protect the capital in case anything happens.” Miss Eldritch listened to him silently. “If I can’t join the bodyguards, then I at least want to do what I can here in Altea. That’s all.”
“...Ugh, you Babylonian Battlegroup members are so stubborn,” she sighed before mouthing, “Mercy of the Holy.” With that, Riser was fully healed.
“Thank you... I’ll make it up to—”
“You don’t have to. I’m already indebted to you people. This is just me paying a fraction of that back.”
“...Thank you,” said Riser, bowing his head.
It felt as though Fuso was purposely looking away from him, which was something I’ve never seen her do before.
“Do you find it strange for Lady Tsukuyo to behave like this?”
“...Tsukikage.” Before I realized it, Tsukikage had snuck up on me and whispered right in my ear.
Fuso didn’t seem to notice, though. She was busy using a comms item to contact her headquarters.
“...I would say so, yeah,” I said. “She always seemed more, well... ruthless to me.”
“It’s because she feels indebted to the Babylonian Battlegroup specifically.”
“Indebted?”
“The Gloria incident.” From what I’d heard of the events surrounding the defeat of the Tri-Zenith Dragon, Gloria, The Lunar Society — which was first in the clan rankings even back then — hadn’t participated from the start because the negotiations with the kingdom were taking too long.
While that was happening, the second clan in the rankings — Babylonian Battlegroup, to which Riser belonged — had been the ones who stood up to protect the cities of Altar.
However, they were defeated. They lost their home base and ended up collapsing as a clan. Their members had close ties to tians, so their defeat was particularly painful.
Many people thought that things wouldn’t have turned out so badly if The Lunar Society had participated from the very beginning — and though she didn’t outwardly show it, it seems Fuso was actually bothered by how everything had turned out... which was the reason she treated Riser the way she did.
“Is this unexpected?” Tsukikage asked. It was more than unexpected — I never would have imagined this from her.
Then again... Fuso had been the one who’d treated my wounds back at Torne.
“Lady Tsukuyo is like the moon itself.”
“Eh?”
“She is quite charming if you look at her the right way,” Tsukikage, gazing at Fuso with a gentle smile.
Ten minutes later, an extra fifty Lunar Society Masters joined us at the parade ground. The speed at which they’d made it here really hammered home why they were the top clan.
“That makes up for most of the lost bodyguards,” said Azurite.
“My people are strong. You can count on them... Though, I can’t deny that they’re a level below duel rankers.”
This reminded me of the blockade incident shortly after I first arrived in this world. The Lunar Society had gone up against K&R, and Rosa was defeating Fuso’s underlings one after another despite being under the effect of the Lunar Divider Field. That was clear proof that you couldn’t compare the power of a duel ranker with that of an ordinary Master.
“It’d be great if we had just one more ranker, at least,” said Tsukuyo. “Ah, is Kashimiya online?”
Tomica shook her head and said, “Not yet... He said that he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to come online today or tomorrow, so he probably doesn’t even know that all this has happened...”
“That so? Could you get him to come with us if he does log on?”
“Yeah! I’m sure he’ll want to avenge our sis...!” With Figaro being offline for the foreseeable future, Kashimiya was the most powerful duel ranker in the kingdom, but it didn’t seem certain whether he’d be able to participate.
We really lacked fighting strength right now, but without Kashimiya, there were no duel rankers that—
“Did someone mention duel rankeeers?” Suddenly, I heard a very familiar voice — one belonging to someone who definitely didn’t belong in this parade ground.
I turned and saw a young man with a giant cat seated on his head — a young man I knew very well.
“Tom...?”
“The Lynx, Tom Cat...?” Azurite and I spoke his name in unison.
He immediately drew everyone’s attention as he approached Azurite.
“I haven’t seen you since Quartierlatiiin, Your Majesty,” he said. “I understand this is rather last minute, but would I be allowed to joiiin?”
“Certainly... but didn’t you already refuse once...?”
“...The situation changed a bit, you seee,” he said with a slightly dark expression.
I considered what he could be referring to, and instantly thought of last night’s ambushes.
“You mean... The Rabbit?” I asked, making him look at me with a shocked expression.
“...Yeah. He and I have a bit of a historyyy. I know that he assassinated Altarian Masters who took on the bodyguard dutyyy, and that he is part of Dryfe’s retinueee,” he said before clenching his fist as if gathering resolve. “So if we end up fighting Dryfe... let me fight Chrono.”
“Tom...” I had no idea what was there between him and The Rabbit. I had no idea why someone who was rumored to have ties to Dendro’s management would join the bodyguard squad of one kingdom’s ruler.
However, there was a light in Tom’s eyes, still shaded by his hair, that made me understand just how serious he was.
“...Then it is decided,” Azurite said. She then looked over the Masters gathered at the parade ground... and nodded.
“We’re heading to the peace talks.” Following that declaration, we all moved out.
Dryfe Imperium-Occupied Territory, Old Lunnings Duchy
To the people of the kingdom, the phrase “Old Lunnings Duchy” has held several different meanings over the past few years.
Once, it signified the greatest grain-producing region in Altar.
It grew far more crops than it consumed and made enormous profits by exporting the surplus to countries that struggled with food production, like Dryfe and Granvaloa.
However, its time as the world’s breadbasket was tragically cut short just over a year ago.
The sudden attack by the strongest SUBM ever seen — Tri-Zenith Dragon, Gloria — had resulted in the deaths of just about every inhabitant of the duchy, including Duke Lunnings himself. Those who’d survived either abandoned the land completely or were consumed by despair, often to the point of taking their own lives.
Gloria’s Fatal Field had also made every growing thing within it wither, devastating the fields and turning the land of bountiful harvests into a land of desolation.
After that, it became the Old Lunnings Duchy and began undergoing restoration as a territory directly under the control of the royal family.
However, half a year after the Gloria incident, the region became a battlefield once more.
The Dryfean army invaded through a pass near the Lightning Dragon Mountains, and they found the kingdom’s forces waiting for them there.
Since it was no longer inhabited, the Old Lunnings Duchy was an optimal battlefield, but whether that actually benefited Altar was another matter.
Because there was no one living there, none of those present had to worry about collateral damage and could go all-out.
Countless elites. The Giga Professor and his many monsters. The Hell General and his devil army. And finally, King of Beasts, whose very steps cracked the earth and whose claws could shatter meteors.
All of them unleashed their full power, completely devastating the Altarian army.
After that, Old Lunnings Duchy became Dryfean territory. The imperium acted fast and relocated their farmers to the west side of the region — the side closest to Dryfe. They’d also hired Masters with abilities related to farming and construction, quickly preparing the western part of the region for agriculture and gradually transforming it back into the breadbasket it once was.
Because of all this, it was widely believed that one of Dryfe’s demands during the coming peace talks would be for Altar to formally cede the Old Lunnings Duchy to them, shifting it from an occupied territory to a region that Dryfe officially owned.
Although Gloria had devastated the Old Lunnings Duchy, the destruction mostly took the form of pure biological death. Much of the construction had remained untouched.
There were a few remnants of villages destroyed in the war, but the town of Lunnings in the heart of the region still looked much as it had before Gloria’s arrival.
The same couldn’t be said for its atmosphere.
Lunnings had once been surrounded by verdant grasslands, and it had truly earned its title of “the town of meadows.”
However, there was no longer a single patch of green anywhere in sight — the fields surrounding the town had become nothing more than withered wastelands. And on top of that, Gloria had brought about the deaths of every living creature there, leaving behind thousands of corpses.
Lunnings was no longer the town of meadows. It was a town of death.
Maybe people wouldn’t say it in so many words, but that was the most apt description.
After the incident, the huge amount of corpses had been imbued with grudge, resulting in undead roaming the land; but before the war came, The Lunar Society’s holy men had purified the area and cleaned up the bodies.
Even so, no one had wanted to move there. It had become a literal ghost town.
Now, however, the place housed quite a lot of people — the hundreds of Masters that Dryfe had hired for the coming peace talks
“...Man, we’re spending the night in a place with a hell of a history,” one of them said. “This really is just like a classic RPG.”
“I can already imagine zombies or ghosts showing up and taking us out one by one.”
In a building that had once served as an auditorium, the Masters were exchanging their thoughts about the situation.
This would be where they would spend the night, but it hadn’t actually been their first choice. A lot of them had wanted to use the nearby inn, but the bedding — untouched for over a year — reeked of mold, and rumors started to spread about a tian corpse being found in one of the beds, which made everyone forget all about using the inn or any of the local homes, so they ultimately settled for the auditorium.
Although it had the space, it didn’t have any beds, so the Masters were now setting up their sleeping spots. A few hated the very idea of spending the night in a ghost town and had logged out to wait until it was time to leave.
Interestingly, one of those was Hell General, Logan Goddhart — and right before logging out, he’d said, “There’s no way I’m staying here! I’m logging out back to my room!” ...which was exactly the kind of thing you’d hear from the first person to disappear in a horror film.
“...Wouldn’t it be better to just camp outside?”
“You wouldn’t be able to sleep with all the monsters around, dumbass. This is the most appropriate place here in this duchy. It’s even been purified to protect against undead.”
Villages and towns smaller than Lunnings remained untouched by The Lunar Society and still had undead wandering around as a result. The damage done by Gloria was far too great to easily undo.
“We could’ve just lodged somewhere on the western side of the border, then. It’s already been developed by Dryfe.”
“If we stayed there, we wouldn’t make it for the peace talks tomorrow afternoon.”
“...Altar’s guys are probably spending the night in an actual village or something. I’m jealous,” someone complained.
“If what I heard is true, then you should feel bad for them instead,” the other whispered.
“What do you mean?”
“Apparently, like two thirds of their bodyguards were assassinated right before the talks.”
“HUHH?!” another exclaimed.
“Shh...! And Chrono was the one who did it.”
“...Seriously?” Chrono was an infamous figure in Dryfe. After all, a lot of the Masters in their sixth forms had fought him personally. It was also well known that many players had grouped up to face him... only for Chrono to fight them all off.
All of that wasn’t immediately relevant, but there was another pre-Superior who was just as infamous in Dryfe — King of Light, F. In order to avoid getting on the wanted list of his own country, Altar, he’d primarily targeted the imperium for his “reference gathering material.”
Recently, though, he had become more active in the kingdom itself...
“But Chrono’s also one of the bodyguards, right? Ah. Wait, so the thing that happened this afternoon was...”
“Yeah. That’s what caused the fight.”
There had been an incident in one of the groups heading towards the peace talks. One of the more notable Masters — the third in Dryfe’s duel rankings, in fact — had angrily confronted Chrono about the things he’d done in Altar.
Apparently, The Rabbit’s response was somehow... off.
It had enraged the duelist, driving him to challenge Chrono... only for Chrono to give him the death penalty.
“...But that wasn’t a big deal, right?”
“Yeah. I heard that Princess Claudiah said ‘As long as they cause no trouble for tians, conflicts between Masters are not forbidden.’ So yeah, no one’s getting punished for that fight.”
Legally speaking, that was indeed the case.
However, the fact that no one would get punished despite the current political situation sent a cold shiver down all of their spines.
“He assassinated the kingdom’s bodyguards and took out one of our own... yet all of that is apparently a-ok. What the hell are we supposed to make of this?”
“No.”
“I’ll refrain.” The ones who’d replied were King of Beasts, Behemot, and Leviathan. As befitted hired bodyguards, they were watching over Claudiah even as she was bathing.
“It is rather uncomfortable being the only naked one here,” she said.
“Why are you bathing in the first place?” Leviathan asked.
“Eh? Because we have the peace talks tomorrow. If I am to meet Altimia, I must clean myself, no?”
“...I’m not sure if a bath with corpses is fit for that purpose.” Leviathan’s gaze traveled to one corner of the bath.
In that corner, a human-shaped stain was still visible — likely left behind by a person who’d died and decayed there long enough to leave a mark before becoming an undead and walking off.
It was a sign of death that couldn’t be easily washed away.
However, Claudiah didn’t seem to mind. She bathed happily, as if the stain didn’t bother her at all.
“What of it?” she asked. “I’ve had corpses fall directly on me before. This is nothing.”
She tilted her head and moved her fingers around.
Behemot and Leviathan both noticed that she was making the same kinds of motions that she did while wielding a spear.
“Even during last year’s civil war, I had blood and guts on me so many times that I lost count.” Claudiah played with her pinned-up hair as she sighed, thinking back on the past.
She was referring to the imperator accession civil war — an event that had happened because of two specific people.
The first instigator was the previous imperator, Xanafald Wolfgang Dryfe.
He was over eighty years old before the war started, but he had yet to cede his throne to his crown prince.
In fact, he hadn’t even decided who the crown prince was.
At the time, there were two princes worthy of the throne — the first prince, born to a concubine, and the second prince, born to the imperator’s legal wife
The imperator hadn’t yet declared which prince would take the throne after him. In fact, he actively had them fight for it, implying that the one who survived would be named crown prince.
However, no matter how fiercely they feuded, neither of them killed the other. The first to perish ended up being the third prince and his wife, who weren’t even involved in the conflict
Xanafald’s life finally ended before he named a crown prince.
He had written down all of his thoughts in his will, but they seemed to be pure madness
“Fight over the right to the throne. The one who stands at the top will be the next imperator.”
Through this will, his implication had become a statement.
Basically, he’d ordered his family to fight each other. It was unclear whether he was sane when he wrote those words, or if age had taken away his reason. Those who knew Xanafald before his health started to decline, though, would claim that he could have easily written those words while of sound mind
Every single person in the imperial family who had any claim to the throne gathered for a meeting at Dryfe Imperstand in the heart of Vandelheim, and there they were all presented with his will.
Many thought that this would be the beginning of the greatest civil war the country had ever known.
They were both completely right... and very, very wrong.
The two princes and all of their supporters were killed mere moments after the will was read out.
This deed was done by someone nobody had expected — a child of the late third prince of Dryfe, and perhaps the least likely candidate for taking the throne... Claudiah R. Dryfe.
The imperial succession civil war that followed was nothing but the unlikely new imperator’s struggle to be recognized — to prove to the empire’s powerful nobility that she fulfilled the previous imperator’s will. The imperator had to wipe out any detractors, which were far more numerous than supporters.
The only people Claudiah and Reinhard had on their side were their direct relatives — the Barbaros family — along with an insignificant number of officials and soldiers, and their friend King of Beasts, Behemot.
They might be few in number... but in the end, they were more than enough.
“How nostalgic,” said Claudiah.
“ggwp,” said Behemot.
“It was obvious that we would survive, but it’s a miracle that all of you did,” said Leviathan.
“Truly. There were many times when I thought that Uncle Gifted’s old friends, the SMTF, would kill me.”
Before the number of Masters began to increase, the Special Mission Task Force was the imperium’s strongest. They were against the current reign and had attempted to assassinate the new imperator on many occasions.
However, their attempts always ended in death at the hands of King of Beasts, Gifted Barbaros, and Claudiah herself.
“That eventually led to Reinhard bringing order to the country, but...” Because the opposition had been wiped out, the leadership of the country was quite monolithic.
The purges of opposing nobles had created a severe shortage of tians working for the government, but they filled the gaps by assigning capable commoners to act as civil servants and bolstering their military with Masters.
Some would say that they’d just drained the pus from a festering wound... but it was more akin to a lizard cutting off its limbs to become a snake, then ascending as a serpentine dragon. That was how drastically the imperator’s leadership had changed the country’s political climate.
The only thing left was to unify with the kingdom... which is what had led to the previous war.
“Dryfe and Altar’s... I mean, Altimia’s future and ours both depend on the peace talks tomorrow. You will have to be the best bodyguard you can be,” Claudiah said to her friend with a smile.
“ic,” Behemot nodded.
“...Speaking of which, I haven’t had the chance to ask... What are the actual goals of these negotiations?”
“Umm... give me a second,” Claudiah said as she put her hand on her temple as if trying to recall something she’d forgotten. “‘We have three possible goals: the first is to completely cease hostilities between our countries while maintaining the current state of both. The second is to merge with Altar via their surrender. The third is to decide the win-lose conditions for the next war. These goals are ordered by priority, from highest to lowest. If nothing else, accomplish the third goal.’”
She’d explained it in a tone that didn’t seem like her own.
“...That’s what Reinhard said, anyway.”
“I see how it is,” said Leviathan as she nodded.
“I will really be counting on you tomorrow,” said Claudiah.
“kk,” added Behemot.
“After Behemot, you’re number one on my list of people to protect,” said Leviathan. Time passed by and the night grew darker.
Paladin, Ray Starling
By the time the sun was setting, we’d arrived at Vermina — the village closest to the Altar-Dryfe border.
Though many of the bodyguards had been assassinated last night, our trip from Altea went smoothly. We would spend the night here, then head to the hall prepared for the peace talks come morning.
After dinner, Azurite called us over. By “us,” I meant the members of Death Period and Fuso. Tsukikage and the other Lunar Society members were tasked with keeping an eye on the village’s surroundings.
Azurite was accompanied by the three tian officials she’d brought with her.
“Why’d you call us here, Azurite?” I asked. “Did something happen?”
“I gathered you together because I need Master opinions on tomorrow’s peace talks.”
“Our opinions?”
“Indeed. We decided on our terms before we left, but they were made with a tian bias. There might be some possible ideas and plans that we missed, but you Masters would come up with easily. I want to make these final adjustments before we have to leave for the peace talks.”
“I see...” I did understand her point of view, but honestly, our “real” selves didn’t exactly have much experience with peace talks, either.
Also, cross-national negotiations here were quite different from the ones you saw in reality.
First, there was the military force... the stats you could bring. Then there was Truth Discernment — which could see through lies — among many other skills available to the participants.
And perhaps the biggest difference was the existence of Covenants.
Covenants were items in the same vein as Contracts, except they could only be signed by leaders of countries and their representatives, and going against them would cause terrible things to happen to the entire country — not just those who signed.
To break a Covenant was to doom the country. I’d even heard that one country that had broken a Covenant had its capital consumed by a giant vortex, leaving absolutely nothing behind. This meant that agreements between countries were far more binding than they were in reality.
That was why the coming peace talks would focus on thoroughly looking over each country’s conditions, finding a compromise, and signing a Covenant both sides could accept.
That was the goal, and there would be no going back after that.
“Let me start from the beginning,” said Azurite. “First, if both countries agree, we’ve planned to enter a treaty that would forbid ‘any and all warlike action between Altar and Dryfe for the next century.’”
A century. Time in Dendro passed three times faster than real time, but I felt like that would still be long enough to make sure there would never be a war between Altar and Dryfe for as long as I was here.
“Define ‘warlike action,’” I said.
“Invasion by the military, unlawful occupation of land, and the activation of the War Boundary... Anything smaller than that could result in accidental breach of the Covenant, so there is only so much we can demand.”
“But that doesn’t prevent the kind of terrorism we saw in Gideon and Quartierlatin, does it?” Marie asked. “Neither incident involved the military and no land was occupied.”
“Indeed,” Azurite nodded. “We plan to deal with that in our terms for signing the treaty.”
“What do you mean?”
“The talks will involve negotiating the treaty conditions. Dryfe actually requested that we present them with our terms and what we are willing to compromise on.”
“That’s... pretty direct.”
So Altar would be negotiating after laying all their cards on the table, huh? I thought.
“It truly is. However, since both sides have Truth Discernment, it will be pointless to bluff or attempt to guess at any ulterior motives.”
That reminded me that one of the three officials accompanying Azurite had a build specialized in reading people. Skills like that weren’t limited to jobs, though. There could easily be Embryos out there that specialized in reading people’s motives, too.
“And? What are our conditions and the compromises we’d be willing to bear?” Shu asked.
“Our first compromise is obvious,” Azurite said. “We will abandon the Old Lunnings Duchy.”
That was the land that Dryfe had occupied in the last war.
“Are you okay with that?” I asked.
“...It would be worse to keep it, actually. In all honesty, that territory is pretty meaningless to the kingdom now.”
According to Azurite, Gloria had devastated the region and killed most of its inhabitants. That had been followed by the destruction of the nearby town of Claymill and the immense losses during the war, so Altar no longer had enough people to repopulate the duchy.
The Lunnings family would have insisted that the kingdom reclaim and restore their territory, but they were all dead now. Control of the Duchy had officially passed to the royal family, who had little use for it.
It had once been the kingdom’s biggest grain producer, but in its current decrepit state, it wasn’t even worth touching. All of Altar was rich in arable land, so that one Duchy was far from necessary. The other regions nearby also produced far more crops than they consumed.
Besides, even if the kingdom took the land back from Dryfe, it didn’t have enough people to dedicate to its development and restoration, so it would really be more trouble than it was worth.
“Dryfe, on the other hand, needs it more than anything else,” Azurite continued. “Based on what we know, the imperium’s soil is slowly turning fallow for unknown reasons. They’re actually suffering famines right now, so they can’t simply let go of the Old Lunnings Duchy. If we tried to take it, peace would be impossible. They’d be left with no other option but war.”
“So we have one confirmed com-paw-romise, and we need to present conditions we want in exchange for it, huh?” Shu nodded in understanding.
“As I said, the biggest issue is terrorism committed by Dryfean Masters.” Last month, Franklin was responsible for an incident in Gideon; this month, Hell General had caused some trouble in Quartierlatin. Although the worst-case scenarios had been averted, both places could have been completely wiped out.
“It already happened twice, so if we were to experience a third such event... perhaps if the King of Beasts attacks the capital or something similar... the situation would be especially bleak.”
Shu showed a slight reaction at the mention of the Superior, but said nothing. Acts of terrorism were lethal preemptive strikes. And even if the culprit was put on the kingdom’s wanted list, there was nothing stopping them from just coming back over and over again as long as the imperium didn’t do the same.
After all, neither Franklin nor the Hell General had ended up in the gaol for their actions.
“That is why I intend to lead with that,” said Azurite.
“You mean...”
“The first condition Altar will present will be... ‘a shared wanted list.’”
“...I see.” That would essentially create a rule that any Dryfean master who committed crimes in Altar and ended up on the kingdom’s wanted list would also be added to Dryfe’s list. That would certainly prevent the kind of terrorism that had been committed by Franklin and Hell General.
“This would necessitate the creation of additional conditions that prevent Dryfe from falsely accusing, say, Shu or Miss Fuso of some crime in order to put them on the shared wanted list,” Rook noted. I was reminded of the fact that, while I was in Torne, Shu had been locked up as a suspect for a crime. Apparently, that was the fault of a Superior who wanted to frame Shu, but honestly, it wasn’t out of the question that countries could conspire to do something similar.
One of the officials wrote down Rook’s opinion.
“That is true,” said Azurite. “Anything else?”
“This condition would bind Altar as much as it binds Dryfe. Both countries would come out approximately equal in that deal.” said B3. “Although Dryfe already occupies it, you’re letting go of an entire region. Why not make a condition that’s more beneficial for us?”
She had a point. And honestly, I agreed that wouldn’t do enough to bind the imperium.
“Indeed,” Azurite nodded. “We have several conditions in mind, and I would like your opinion on all of them.”
The officials then handed us booklets printed using Secretary skills. They contained a list of conditions the kingdom might present to Dryfe.
“Hmm? I like the demand for reparations,” said Fuso after just a moment of looking at the list. “Why not go with that and present it as ‘compensation to the bereaved families of those who died in the war?’”
“What’s your reasoning on that?” Azurite asked.
“Dryfe became powerful by hiring Masters out of their own pockets, didn’t they? That’s why I think you should take a bite of their military funding. The more reparations they pay, the fewer Masters they can hire. It’s perfect for keeping them in check.”
She had a point. Before Franklin’s Game, Hugo had told me that the war had been extremely costly for Dryfe. In that case, damaging their finances was a good way to limit their actions, but...
“But if the treaty is passed, warlike action will be forbidden,” said B3. “On top of that, the first condition will make it impossible for their Masters to touch Altar, too.”
I shared her opinion. What was the point of targeting military funds if we were about to enter a peace treaty?
“You’re sooo innocent, B,” said Fuso. “They could very well hire freelance Masters, you know? Money talks, and if it’s loud enough, you can easily attract Superiors and pre-Superiors who are both skilled and willing to become terrorists. Hey, they could even get their own Masters to do it. They just have to not be afraid of going to gaol. In either case, Dryfe would need more money to hire Masters than they do now, but that’s all the more reason to hit them in the wallet.”
Oh yeah, they really could do that... I thought in surprise.
Azurite was even more shocked than I was. “That is just... so...” she muttered, clearly shaken. Tians seemed to consider the gaol a much worse fate than we ourselves did. Although there were exceptions like Hannya, whose crimes were minor, the vast majority of the outlaws sent there would never return, making it seem like a death sentence. I supposed that this was one of the differences in tian and Master opinions that Azurite had mentioned.
There were probably some optimizations to be made for the first condition.
“I wouldn’t expect less from the un-bear-able, greedy, cunning she-fox,” said Shu.
“Why, thank you. Maybe you could learn a thing or two, Mr. ‘I’ll sell popcorn to buy ammo.’”
What followed was an uncomfortable silence.
...Was it really necessary to create such a hostile mood here? I wondered.
We continued to discuss, but in the end we went for the condition first proposed, plus Fuso’s idea.
“Though, we gotta bear in mind that they can also demand much more than just the Old Lunnings Duchy,” said Shu.
“Indeed,” Azurite nodded. “It’s not out of the question that they would want me to marry the imperator so our respective countries could merge.”
“...And take Altar as it is, huh?” I said.
“Apparently, the idea is not new.”
“Huh?”
“Before the war, Altar and Dryfe were on good terms. I was a transfer student there, and Prince Hallon — the first prince’s eldest son — was a transfer student in Altar.”
“Oh yeah, you did say something like that. You even had a really good friend there, didn’t you?”
“Yes... That same friend is also the person I will be negotiating with... Princess Claudiah.”
“So...” Azurite was going to face an old friend and negotiate the fate of her country?
“It is possible that they selected Claudiah for the peace talks specifically because we were friends... Back to the matter at hand, though. Since Altar and Dryfe were on such good terms, there was talk of a possible alliance or even merger by marriage between the royal and imperial families.”
I said nothing and waited for her to continue.
“Only my father knew about that idea, other than the Arch Sage — his advisor — and a few other high-ranking individuals. Even I only learned of it recently, from reading the records they left behind.”
So it hadn’t become common knowledge because it wasn’t set in stone, huh?
“Countries that once got along sooo well are now at war,” said Fuso. “What a twist of fate.”
“...Truly.”
“And what’ll you do if they come bearing a marriage or merger demand?” Shu asked.
“I would never accept,” Azurite instantly replied. “Our people wouldn’t tolerate something like that. Also, though Dryfe’s military power is growing, as a country it’s weakening. Merging with them would only make things harder for the kingdom.”
When it came to military power, Dryfe had many Masters, as well as five Superiors, one of which was the famed King of Beasts, the Physical Apex. However, their people were dying to famines, their wealth had been drained by war, and the civil war for the imperial throne had left them with a shortage of leaders.
With so many negatives, the kingdom had nothing to gain from merging with Dryfe.
“In the first place, we have no need for any Dryfean land, resources, or technology. Whether it’s war or a merger, Altar stands to gain nothing.”
Altar wasn’t expansionist — they were even fully willing to let go of the Old Lunnings Duchy.
While Dryfe lacked food production capacity, it was rich in minerals... but that meant little to a non-industrialized country such as Altar. The kingdom’s technology, at least when it came to machines, wasn’t advancing much... and there was still more than enough R&D to be done in the recently-unearthed ruins in Quartierlatin.
There was really no point in pushing for open war or a merger with Dryfe. It was a net negative for Altar that the war had begun at all.
“Actually... we gained nothing, and lost much,” Azurite said as she hung her head.
“Azurite...”
The war had taken so much from Azurite — her people, her teachers, and even her own father.
I couldn’t even begin to gauge what kind of emotion went into those words.
Despite that, she raised her head and looked at us before saying, “That is why we must end this. These are the conditions and compromises we will present to them. In exchange for the Old Lunnings Duchy, we would demand that our countries share wanted lists and that they pay reparations. The bargain may be weighted in Dryfe’s favor, but it will end the war.”
She looked us all over before continuing.
“However... just like last night’s ambushes, there could be some trouble at the peace talks... or it could all turn out to be a trap. If that happens...”
“You can count on us,” I said. “If Dryfe bares its fangs, we will protect you... and Altar.”
“Ray...”
“We Masters can help you and your kingdom, right?” I asked, recalling a question I’d asked her back in Quartierlatin.
In response, she said, “...Certainly!”
And so, it was decided. Come what may, we would give our all to seize the possibility Azurite desired.
Thus ended the last night before the peace talks.
When the sun rose, we would travel to an assembly where countless conflicting motives intertwined into a final apex.
Our goal was to get the peace treaty signed and end the meeting without any trouble.
Let the quest... begin.
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