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C295: The Kingdom of Lubel / Haruma
The Kingdom of Lubel is a tyrannical state that has been ruled for thousands of years by a royal family with absolute power. Throughout its long history, the kingdom has been threatened with extinction on numerous occasions, but it has been able to overcome this by the unity of the royal family and the five great noble families that have served it since ancient times.
The Kingdom of Lubel has long been at odds with the Valkyria Empire, and the two countries have been fighting over territory. The relationship between the two countries has been changing. Dignitaries began to visit each other’s countries, and there were frequent discussions between them. The border skirmishes that had been going on all year round were now banned, and even provocation was subject to severe punishment.
“How is it that the scouts of the Valkyrie Empire have not crossed the border for so many days?”
“I’m sure they’ve been given the same instructions as our army.”
“I don’t understand. I’ve talked to the old guard and they’ve never seen anything like this before. What the hell is going on?”
“Rumor has it that a long term truce will be signed, but how can there be a truce with that Valkyria? What do you think, Haruma?”
A fellow soldier from the same corps asked me. It hasn’t been long since I’ve been a part of this country, but I understand the relationship with the Valkyria Empire. It’s definitely a strange situation, but I didn’t think it would be strange to have a truce if our interests were aligned.
“I don’t know what the reason is, but if it’s mutually beneficial, I don’t think it’s strange that we’re talking about a truce.”
“Oh, a mutually beneficial arrangement. I doubt that there is such a thing, but Haruma is right.”
It wasn’t long after that I learned of the mutually beneficial talks. On the recommendation of my legion commander, I was assigned to attend an engineer’s conference with the Valkyria Empire as the designer of the Beast Strike. The purpose of the meeting was to show off each other’s technology for the sake of exchange, but I knew that a truce would not be enough to explain what had happened.
“So you’re the designer of that beast magicraft, huh? I’m surprised that you’re much younger than I imagined.”
The person who called out to me was Prince Lifso, the third prince of the Valkyria Empire and director of the Imperial Engineering Bureau.
“I’d like to ask you right away, what is the logic behind that powerful turret attached to the beast magic machine?”
“You see
”
Prince Lifso listened to me attentively and was greatly impressed.
“Excellent!　It seems that the people of Earth have a way of thinking that we do not. If they had mass-produced a turret with that much power, the Valkyria Empire would have been destroyed by the Kingdom of Lubel in the near future. I’m really glad we became allies.”
“What, an alliance?”
I listen back to the surprising statement. The other participants started to make a lot of noise.
“That’s right, the information hasn’t been released to the public yet. However, it will be made public soon, and since you are important people in the Kingdom of Lubel, you can know in advance. The Valkyrie Empire and the Kingdom of Lubel have officially formed an alliance. From now on, they will fight together against a much more powerful enemy.”
“Which enemy is more powerful? Is there anyone that the Valkyrie Empire and the Kingdom of Lubel need to ally against?”
“The Elysian Empire, which has gained great power and the Amurian Union.”
I’ve heard that the Elysian Empire is the most powerful nation on the continent, but I didn’t expect it to be that powerful. Furthermore, the Amurian Union was a newly formed country, but I wondered if it was the kind of opponent that Valkyria and Lubel feared. Another person in the room asked the same question, perhaps wondering the same thing.
“I’ve heard of the Ten Gods of War, and I understand the Elysian Empire, but can the Amurian Union be an equally formidable foe?”
“The organization that eradicated the beast magicraft unit designed by Haruma-dono is under the umbrella of the Amurian Union.”
I was surprised. It was the Amurian Union that annihilated my Beast Strike Force. So, it must be a powerful enemy then.
“What is the organization under their umbrella

?”
“It’s called the Iron Knights.”
Iron Knights

I’ve never heard that name before, but I’ve taken it to heart as the name of my Beast Strike’s killer.