The next day after the kingdom's arrival, the Tripartite Conference finally began in the afternoon.
　The leaders of the three kingdoms were seated on triangular desks with no expression on their faces.
　And as a result of their eye contact, the king was to begin the conversation.
　For now, the country that had called for the meeting would have to thank the other countries for their support.
　And so on, when I turned to the rotund king: .......
'My Kingdom of Alvar, let us declare war on the Vector Empire!
　He picked a fight with the Empire without warning.

　No, don't you think he'd like to give a little more warning?
　Hélène and the Prime Minister have done it ...... and the look on their faces makes it look like the King is out of control.
　That country is going to be destroyed if we don't change the top brass as soon as possible. .......

...... What's the term date?
　You're the emperor, your response to this sudden surprise was to return the question without changing your expression.
　We have no choice but to push forward with the war.
　At ...... we have prepared for war and now it's all because of the king.
　If the king knew this was coming and wanted to waste my time preparing for it, then he needs to revise his opinion of the king.
　Well, that doesn't sound like you mean it.

"The war begins the moment I enter the kingdom.
　Well, they'll insist on that: .......

'You don't want us to attack you while you're in the Empire?

"Yes. Now I'm a guest. Does the Empire attack our guests?
　It's kind of creepy for the king today: .......
　Was he this level-headed when we last met?　I think it was more of a stunt.
　Was this flow of events exactly what that vizier wanted, and did you give him the words to answer beforehand?
　So you were upset about the king's outburst earlier.

All right. I'll give you a guarantee of your life as long as you're our guest.

Hmm. So what does the Pope have to say on behalf of a neutral country in this matter?
　The king turned to the Pope, who hadn't spoken a word since a moment ago.
　He took the trouble to mention the word "neutral country" to tell us to stay out of this war.

No. But on the neutrality front, I would offer you one thing.

What?

''For the next six months or so, the saint will be conducting missionary work in Myrddin territory. If any harm comes to the saint, the Church State may have to contend with both sides.
　Seeing how he says both sides and then turns his face to the king, this must be what he's saying to the kingdom .
　Maybe Toad had something to do with the Pope.

''What!　I didn't hear anything about that!
　Naturally, the king looked surprised.
　I guess he hadn't expected the Church to be his enemy in this war.
　Well, it's not like the Empire had anything to do with it either.

No wonder they didn't know. We decided last week.

What the hell? ......

Does that guarantee the saint's safety?

"Don't worry, I won't let any of the kingdom's soldiers lay a finger on the saint.
　Of course, the Emperor replied immediately .

''...... Here too, I promise not to do any harm to the saintly lady when we conquer the Myrddin territory .
　The king belatedly answered the Pope's question.

"I beg you to do the same.

"Then let me ask you something. I would like to know what the Kingdom has in mind for invading the Empire. These trilateral meetings were originally convened by my predecessors to keep the peace. Don't tell me you're using it for your own personal war?
　The emperor, with a stream coming in, folded to the king .
　At this, the king did not know what to say.
　Well... So it was that king.

"May I speak to that question?

Princess Elemenane. All right, all right. All right.
　The king stammered, and Hélène, who was standing behind him, began to answer.

''Yes . First of all, it all started when the Empire snatched the previous brave man from the kingdom. The folly of the empire at that time, when the demon king was defeated and peace was finally restored to the people, is very unacceptable.

Why now, then?　It seems like a long time has passed since then, doesn't it?
　At Hélène's answer, the Pope asked more questions.
　Hélène began to answer the questions without changing her expression.

''Yes. From now on, the kingdom has demanded the empire to return our heroes. But the empire refused to comply, and finally eight years ago that was never going to happen again. And the wrath of our people will not be appeased as they are done. So it is with this war, after a brief preparation period, that the Empire is made to see how foolish it has been for its actions.

I see. Do you have any objections from the Empire?



One thing: The kingdom was mistaken when it said we took the heroes. Brave men have fled their kingdoms and sought refuge in the Empire. We are not to be blamed.
　Well, as far as the Empire is concerned, my grandfather just escaped on his own .
　That said, this excuse is unreasonable when you've benefited from so many brave men .

''...... I see . Whether or not the brave man crossed over to the empire of his own volition is impossible to know since he is already dead, and no matter how much we argue about it, there will be no solution at all. So, let's talk about this,
　Huh?　You're done with it!

'Is this the end of it?　Doesn't the Church State have something to tell us?

'Yes. ....... Whichever side wins, I need you to promise me that you will continue to trade with the Church as you have always done. If you can't, though, we're going to have to move on.

Of course I promise.
The kingdom is not going to change.

Then I have nothing to say to you. So let's just sign the pledge and be done with it, shall we? I'll be no match for you if I get caught up in the war.
　With those words, the first Trilateral Conference in decades was over .
　We haven't even discussed it for an hour. .......
　Pope, what are you thinking?　You've spent a long time coming here from church, haven't you?


After all that preparation: ......
　I spent ...... a lot of time back-checking with Hélène and thinking about what to ask the emperor to say, but it was all for nothing.
　Really, give me that time back: .......

"That's just the way life goes. You'll just have to change your mind next time.

"Mr. Cliff: ....... Yes. Yes.
　I was left alone in the conference room complaining about it when Cliff-san came into the room.
　Haha, you're right, we're going to war next week, so we have to get ready for it.

Well, I haven't been able to make the switch either: ....... You don't normally expect me to declare war on the first word: ......

You got him.

'I suppose the unfortunate thing is that the Pope, who was neutral, is now on the side of the Empire.

Yes. That was another surprise.
　I thought the neutral Pope would be cool with this war.
　I didn't expect him to speak for the Empire.

Maybe that's because she's about to be confirmed as the daughter of the House of Fontaine.
　Oh, I get it.

You think he's just trying to fit in because the Empire is getting stronger?
　With Lelia confirmed as a saint, does that mean that Gregoire is the next Pope assured, and inevitably, the Pope can no longer ignore the Imperialists?

'It's partly that, and isn't it nice to know that your biggest enemy isn't coming back to the Faithful Nation?

I see. ......
　The Pope was so afraid of the saint and Lina before he deported them, you know.
　Now that they weren't completely against him, would you comply with Gregoire's request to confirm that?

Oh, there you two are!

Hey, man.
　Now it's Brother Ivan.

Your Majesty wants to see you, both of you.
　Ah, so they finally finished signing the papers.

Yes, sir.


'I'd like to be happy that the Tripartite Conference has come to a successful conclusion: ....... War is coming, and we'll get ready for it soon.

Yes, sir.

Cliff and I will have no choice but to return to the Imperial City when the war begins. Leo, take care of the rest.

Yes. I'll take care of it.
　If war comes, the Emperor and Cliff will have to return to the capital where it's safe.
　I don't plan on losing, but you never know what will happen.
　So from now on, I have to take care of everything on my own.
　Yeah, I've got to change my mind right now.

"And you, Cliff, before you return to the capital, notify all the noblemen that the war begins next week.

Yes, sir.

Is Leo going to head west any time soon?

Yes. Yes, sir. As soon as I finish my last meeting with the Knights, I would like to begin the war with the Kingdom.
　I'm afraid I don't have much information on what Gert has invented since he fell into slavery, but I'm going to go ahead with the mission to destroy their weapons in the west end.

"I see. You're our only hope. Don't force yourself to die, okay?

I know, sir.
　I'm in charge of this event, and the moment I die, the Empire will lose.
　The emperor is right, we must never push ourselves too hard and die alone like we have done so far.
　We have to remember that we're not fighting alone. .......