Chapter 161

“…… I see, Count Mikhail has been communicating with the enemy…”

“Oh, you don’t think it’s easy to believe the information I’ve brought you?”

“I don’t doubt it. What good will it do Yuri-dono if you use falsehoods to undermine my opinion of Count Mikhail?”

“Well, that’s true…”

King Raven is indeed right, no way disgracing Count Mikhail will benefit Yuri.

However―――isn’t it true that this king trusts people too easily?

“Even so… I was prepared for a certain amount of resentment from Count Mikhail since I was the one who refused to acknowledge the ownership of the silver mine. However, I thought I had offered him a certain amount of benefits, such as granting him the right to conduct small-scale trade with the Kingdom of Hydra at the discretion of his lord.”

“Count Mikhail was not satisfied with the profits, I suppose.”

“… Huhhh, It is a sign of a lack of ability as a ruler to be betrayed by a vassal. I’ve shown Yuri-dono a very pathetic part of myself.”

King Raven’s shoulders slumped with a heavy heart as he spoke.

The fact that the hearts of his subjects are unwillingly separated must be very painful.

But since the Yuri Empire is completely one-sided when it comes to building a relationship of trust with its subjects, it’s a little hard for Yuri to sympathize.

“… The Kingdom of Hydra will attack…”

“… It’s going to be a war…”

After reading the report to the end, King Raven and Yubel both spoke heavily.

The most recent of the letters from the Prime Minister of Hydra, copied by the <Nadeshiko> follower, states that they will be sending troops to the Kingdom of Rapier soon and that Count Mikhail should support them.

It seems that no specific date has been given yet, so at least the invasion won’t start within the next week. However, it’s not too far off now that the Kingdom of Hydra is going to declare war.

As military power is greatly outnumbered, if the Hydra Kingdom’s army invades, the people living in the cities close to the border will almost certainly be exposed to the ravages of war.

The thought of the people’s grief and suffering must have made his heartache.

“I have a request to make to King Raven.”

“Let’s hear it.”

“When the invasion forces from Hydra arrive, will you let the Yuri Empire destroy them?”

“………………what?”

Hearing Yuri’s comment, King Raven’s eyes blinked in surprise.

It was an understandable reaction. Even though the Yuri Empire has now established itself as a major power, to take on a troublesome war is a statement that is far too covetous.

While King Raven was surprised, Yubel nodded as if she was somewhat convinced.

It seems that she has already grasped the information about the “skeleton soldiers”. I’m sure she heard about it from the children who are in the same position as concubine.

“What do you think? It’s a no-brainer for the Rapier Kingdom, don’t you think?”

“It’s not a loss, it’s a gain… What are you asking for?”

“I don’t need any compensation. But yes―――If I had to, I’d want the right to provide [Broadcast] to the people of the Rapier Kingdom.”

The more areas that broadcast, the more faith that will be gathered in Yuri.

This would directly benefit Lydina, who would be able to freely use the faith gathered in Yuri.

“I’ll accept your terms. But I’m sorry to say that I don’t know anything about this [Broadcast], so I would appreciate it if you could explain it to me.”

“… You don’t even know what it is, and you’re going to accept the terms?”

“The military power of the Kingdom of Hydra greatly exceeds our own. Therefore, if we were to intercept the invading army with only our troops, it would cause a great deal of damage to our people. If I can limit the damage with the help of the Yuri Empire, I’ll accept the terms, even if it’s too much.”

In response to Yuri’s question, King Raven smiled cheerfully.

As a king, he knows exactly what his top priority is in protecting his kingdom, and as someone who is also in the position of the king, Yuri frankly likes his attitude.

“So, what exactly is this [Broadcast]?”

“… I feel like it’s quite difficult to explain in words.”

It’s hard to explain to someone who doesn’t know anything about ‘broadcasting’ from scratch.

When Yuri was in a bit of trouble, Yubel, sitting next to her, smiled at her.

“Your Majesty Yuri, there’s no reason for you to explain [Broadcast] to father. It would be better if father stayed in the Yuri Empire for a day.”

“Oh, I see… That would certainly be quicker.”

The [Broadcast] is difficult to explain verbally, but it’s obvious when you see it in action.

We can ask him to stay at the same hotel that Yubel is staying at, the Ulysses Butterfly.

“So, since I want you to experience [Broadcast], I’d like you to come to stay at the Yuri Empire for one day.

We’ll provide you with excellent accommodations, and we’ll use transfer magic to transport you to and from the hotel, so you won’t have to worry about transportation. Of course, you can bring as many guards as you like.”

“Hmmm… I’m interested in experiencing transfer magic, and a trip that doesn’t require a lot of travel time sounds interesting. Of course, I will have an escort with me, but if it’s all right with you, my wife and son can accompany me?”

“Yes, of course. When would be best for you?”

“Yes… The sooner the better, since we know there will be a war soon. However, I need to talk to my wife and son… Could you pick me up again tomorrow around noon?”

“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow at noon.”

It wouldn’t be too much trouble to come back another day to pick them up.

I wish I could set up a【Transfer Gate】, but I guess it’s too early to tell.

“So, back to the topic of war. If the Kingdom of Hydra were to attack, what would our country be in charge of?”

“…? The Yuri Empire will take care of the enemy’s army?”

“But we can’t just leave the entire enemy army to you, can we? It’s a defensive battle to protect our country, so we’ll do everything we can to help.”

“Oh… I’m sorry, but it’s more trouble than it’s worth. I’ll just thank you for your kindness, and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t interfere.”

Even if the troops are sent out, they will only get in the way of firing the【Star Fall Meteor・Strike】.

We don’t want to be caught in the middle of the effect and have a grudge.

“I beg you, if you believe in Yuri Empire, please don’t send a single soldier.”

“Mm… If you say that much, I understand. However, can you at least allow us to keep our troops on standby in neighboring cities so that we can deploy them at any time?”

“Yes, you can do that as you wish, but make sure you tell them not to leave the city without permission. Frankly, it would interfere with our military operations.”

“All right, I’ll give a strict order.”

As long they don’t leave the city, it doesn’t matter how many soldiers you have.

The【Star Fall】will cause the terrain in the area of effect to sink, so I will take the utmost care not to cause any damage to the city.

“King Raven, I don’t want to rush into an alliance with you, but can we at least reach a written agreement now so that if the Hydra Kingdom attacks, we won’t have a problem conducting military operations in your land?”

“Oh, that’s true, too… So, how about we call it a ‘mutual defense treaty’ for the sake of appearances?”

“Thank you. I have no objection to that.”

A mutual defense treaty is, simply put, a military treaty that says, “If one country is attacked, the other country will dispatch troops to help.”

As a general rule, it only applies to defensive warfare and does not apply to invasion warfare.

King Raven called his secretary into the reception room and prepared two copies of the Mutual Defense Treaty, which Yuri and King Raven signed as sovereigns.

Of course, they also added a sentence that said, “Mutual military passage will be allowed”. This way, there won’t be any problems when Yuri and Raquel rush to the battlefield with Transfer Magic.

“We’ll still have a secret agent hiding in the Rapier Kingdom for the time being, but please don’t feel bad.”

“Of course. You’ll pass the information on to us, won’t you?”

“Yes, of course.”

“I’ll be very grateful if you do.”

If we continue to keep our secret agents in hiding, we will be able to know as soon as the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Hydra informs Count Mikhail of the specific date of the invasion.

Yuri’s【Star Fall】will cause tremendous damage to the surrounding area, so we have to shoot the enemy army before they reach the city. So it was essential to control the information.