** Queen of the Night â Strategy Conference Room **
The preparations on the side of the Lev Magic Empire were complete. They had completed the analysis on the Kruvan Holy Kingdom, the Saint Knight Kingdom, and the Keith Gran Federation.
The Saint Knight Kingdom was offering support under the reasons âA knight does not abandon his neighborâ and âPrideâ. They do not seem to be seeking a clear compensation.
While expressing support, Keith Gran Federation did not give any reason for their decision, but the Empire decided to welcome the representative from Keith Gran in order to keep Kruvan in check. The representative was waiting in the waiting room.
Two of the finest chairs inside the Queen of the Night were prepared for the meeting â they had no way of knowing that Lark had been napping on those chairs, though. The Emperor sat on one, while the other was prepared for the former Holy King.
In addition to the senior statesmen, the Emperor prepared five soldiers with âHeroic Gearâ, which looked like an unconventional metal equipment reminiscent of an ancient work of art. On a side note, these Heroic Gears were inoperable due to unknown reasons, so it was prepared only as a bluff. The Heroic Gears which are operable, were used actively in the front lines.
ăââFrom Kruvan Holy Kingdom, Duke Grenjido and Earl Sillys have arrived.ă
ăUmu.ăthe Emperor nodded.
All of it was prepared for this negotiation.
How to use Kruvan to capture the Red Gate? Will they move as the Empire wants? â That is the main point.
The double door to the room opened. An astonishingly large man, donning a thick chest plate, appeared.
His blue hair was glowing, indicating that he was the former Holy King, Duke Grenjido.
ăDuke Grenjido has arrived at the behest of Her Majesty the Holy King of Kruvan Holy Kingdom.ă
ăI welcome your visit from the bottom of my heart, Duke. Please, take a seat.ă
The Emperor offered the same chair as himself, but was surprised to see Earl Sillys who appeared behind the Duke and a girl who was clearly in her teens.\n
From the color of their hair and eyes, they seem to be parent and child. But no matter how high of a noble they might be, is it really appropriate to bring a child into a stage of diplomacy?
The girl, dressed in a chic lapis lazuli dark blue dress, carried herself dignifiedly. Furthermore, the girlâs facial features captivated even the Emperor who had become accustomed to seeing Anastasia, who is from the High Elf Royalty known for their beauty.
Her eyes gave off a feeling of intelligence more so than innocence. Her perfectly combed hair flowed inward to the contours of her face. Her healthy pink lips seemed slightly crimson.
ăYour Majesty, I donât think sitting on this chair will be a good idea.ă
The Emperor finally came to his senses after being called out by Grenjido.
ăâŚMeaning?ă
ăI would like to avoid being seen as the same stature as Your Majesty. I am a simple duke and a nobleman.ă
ăAll right.ă
This answer was expected, so when the Emperor gave a signal, a lower grade chair was brought in.
Grenjido is the âformerâ Holy King, so he does not want to be treated as one would the Holy King. The Emperor felt that it was his true feelings.
(Not the kind of man who cares about appearances, huh.)
It was also necessary to determine what kind of man Grenjido is in order to proceed with negotiations in an advantageous manner.
Grenjido noticed that the Emperorâs gaze shifted to his side.
ăI am accompanied by Earl Sillys, who is in charge of domestic affairs in our country.ă
ăA pleasure to make your acquaintance, Your Majesty the Emperor of Lev Magic Empire.ă
As Earl Sillys put his hand on his chest and bowed down, behind him, his daughter knelt a knee and bowed her head.\năEsteemed Duke, what about the child?ă
ăShe is Eva, the daughter of Earl Sillys. I brought her along due to necessity.ă
Grenjidoâs lips curved into a grin.
ăLetâs talk about that later.ă
**
The Empireâs side explained the situation on the front line. It was Abba who did the talking. He began with an overview of the situation, progressed in a smooth chronological order, and within the span of 5 minutes, Grenjido and the others understood exactly what was happening currently.
ăI understand. Your city was destroyed overnight and now you have no choice but to engage in ceaseless combat. I deeply sympathise with the Lev people.ăGrenjidoâs words, which he said with his eyes cast down, were quivering.
When they realized that it came from the bottom of the dukeâs heart, several of the soldiers, armed with heroic gear, became teary-eyed. Even the chief of military affairs was choked with tears.
ăThe Holy Kingdom will cooperate as much as possible. I presume the ultimate goal is to block the Red Gate, but how will you go about it?ă
ăIndeed. We canât observe what is going on with Red Gate because we canât even get close to it at the moment. So we have drawn up a four stage plan. The first stage is pushing up the front, the second stage is analyzing the Red Gate with an observation team, and the third stage is researching the Red Gate. The 4th stage will be the blockade operation.ăthe Emperor said.
ăI think that sounds appropriate.ă
After that, a detailed talk about the front lines was held.
ăBy the way, I donât think the Empire can thank the Holy Kingdomâs kindness until the country recovers from this crisis.ă
ăOf course. We are not going to ask anything in this situation.ăGrenjido said clearly.
In other words, it is uncertain whether the Holy Kingdom will overcharge the Empire when it recovers to the original state.
ăThank you for your reassuring words. However, Duke, even you will not be able to march into battle without a prospect of reward, right? So, I would like to suggest⌠how about our state-of-the-art airship, Queen of the Night, as a thank you?ă\n\năâŚâŚâŚâŚă
When the Emperor looked at the Earl who was next to Grenjido, the handsome-looking Earl was grimacing.
The Duke was dead serious.
ăâŚWhy on earth would you do that?ă
That was the only thing the Emperor could ask.
ăTo save our benefactor.ă
Grenjido made a clear statement.
ăThat is the reason why I decided to come to the front line personally and also brought Eva, the secret weapon of our army.ă
The Emperor remembered that there was a teenage girl who did not belong in this room.
Unlike her father, Eva did not have a bitter look, but rather, she listened enthusiastically.
ăâŚThat girl?ă
The Emperor realized that he was just repeating what the other party was saying like a fool, but there wasnât much else he could do in this situation.
ăShe has a special power that doesnât depend on skill. âMagic Eye of Inspireâ â it has the power to make the battle on the front line very advantageous towards us.ă
ăAnd I, like Duke Grenjido, wish to save a certain person.ă
The girl spoke for the first time.
While sounding cool and intelligent, she was passionate when she mentioned âa certain personâ.