There was a camp curtain set up in the middle of the plain, where King Rosalia, his entourage, and I, the representative of the Demon King's army, and the brigade commander, gathered.

　King Rosalia was younger than I expected.
　No, he might still be old enough to be called a boy.
　He was probably between 13 and 14 years old. He was quite a pretty boy.
　His entourage is also younger than I thought.
　According to Alistair, they seem to be fellow fox hunters and poetry writers, and have nothing to do with politics or military affairs.
　In other words, they are hobbyists who have nothing to do with the Prime Minister's party in control of the national government.

　However, it is clear that they are fed up with the dominance of Eichs, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom, and that is why they have decided on this peace conference on their own.

　The king, Tristan III, was the first to explain it to me.
　There seems to be no lie in his words.
　Tristan's words were truthful.
　I don't think it's right for a king to talk about his affairs from the start.

　Diplomacy is a game of deceitful tactics, but to blabber the truth from the start is a third-rate way to be a diplomat.

　--though, by the way, this move can be useful for some opponents.

　I'm sure that this is useful depending on who you're dealing with, but it's also useful when you're dealing with someone who can't lie to you, like the Trade Federation's Ertolia.

　And I've always preferred someone who can honestly speak their mind, rather than someone who doesn't know what's going on in their heart.

　Therefore, I would also advise the king frankly.

''Your Majesty, I know that your Majesty is tired of this war, but have you noticed that His Excellency the Prime Minister, who runs the Kingdom of Rosalia, is not?''

　Tristan shook his head slowly.

'I know. That's why I proceeded with this story with only my close associates, summoned Alistair and sent him to you as a messenger.

　And then he looked at Alistair who was waiting at his side.

　Alistair, who was stared at by the king, was so tense that he froze, as if he had been enchanted by the freeze.

''Then it is correct to say that Your Majesty itself has no objection to peace, right?

　Tristan nodded his head and signed the peace document that had been prepared and stamped with the seal of state.

　I have decided to trust this king completely.
　It was my grandfather's teaching that the actions of a person are better to be seen than his words.
　The seal is stamped with the national seal, which means that the king of a country makes a formal treaty.
　If he broke the treaty, the country's reputation and trust in him would fall to the ground.
　I'm not going to be able to press the national seal so easily.

　I've confirmed that, and I've decided to respond to the king's trust by my actions.
　After confirming that there are no deficiencies in the document, I sign the document and press the national seal entrusted to me by the king.

　With this, the peace between the Demon King's army and Rosalia was officially decided.
　The people who had been watching this historic moment erupted in cheers and applause.


''Oh, this frees us from the war that has been going on for so many years.

Let's take this opportunity to wipe out the Eichis faction that controls the national government.

"At any rate, let's return to King's Landing as soon as possible and declare this fact to the people, and let the League of Kings know that the Warring States period is over.


　That was the word of the king's aides.
　On the other hand, the reaction of the leaders in my camp was mixed.


　Jiron, for example, let out a sigh of relief, saying, "Oh dear, I'm relieved that we were able to sign the agreement safely. Giron seemed to think that the king was in on it and that the signing ceremony itself was a trap.

　However, he was still happy that the peace was successful and said that he can now focus on making and raising children.

'I'd like to have about a dozen more children,'

　And then he broke his face.


　Lilith's response was an easy to understand "ick".
　This girl is not particularly fond of warfare itself, but she loves it when the place gets rough.
　Secretly, she has a kind of look on her face, as if this signing failed and it would have been nice if it had turned into a melee.


　As a dragonman, Sigan is still silent and expressionless.
　That won't change even if this war is over and there is a period of peace.
　However, since he is a warrior by nature, it is unlikely that he will give up that spear.
　Perhaps, in order to improve that spear technique, he might declare that he will go on a training journey.
　I had a feeling that this was the case.


　Anemone, the warrior chief of the elves who has recently joined the ranks, is conversely puzzled.
　She has jumped out of her hometown, the World Tree Forest, with the intention of jumping into the front lines of the battle against humans.
　It must have taken a lot of determination to abandon the peaceful life of the forest, but that determination was wasted after only a few months.

　To say it was pathetic, but the forest people elves are a peace-loving race by nature.
　Soon, their confusion will be replaced by joy, and they will return to the forest and resume their normal lives.
　I can imagine him living in harmony with his sister, who is the opposite of him.


　Now, the problem was the King of the Dwarves.
　I have made him a promise.
　That promise was to rebuild the kingdom of the dwarves.
　When I made a pact with him, I promised him that I would rebuild the dwarven kingdom.
　Making peace with Rosalia meant that I could not fulfill that promise.
　The kingdom where the dwarves were located was in the far west.

　To make good on our promise, we would have to conquer Rosalia, capture the neighboring country of Ithmus, and retake the dwarves' homeland.

　Or perhaps I have betrayed my allies who have worked so hard for the peace that hangs in front of me.

　I was staring at Günter with that in mind, and I wondered if he sensed that.
　Günter walked over to me and whispered in my ear.

'Never mind. It's true that you didn't fulfill your original promise, but Lord Ike has fulfilled his promise to me in a different way.

Different shape?　Is it?

Yes.

　And the taciturn king shakes his heavy chin slightly.

　His magnificent beard twitched slightly.

"Lord Ike has given us dwarves a place to call our own in a different way. He has given us a wonderful city called Ivalice. It is true that we will not be able to restore the dwarven kingdom of Wilheim, but that is fine. Originally, I don't care about the country.... The dwarves work hard and work hard, and they can drink as much as they want, when they want. It's only the difference between that place and Wilheim or not.

　Günther, King of the Dwarves, assured me that this was the case, and from then on, his mouth was tied in a straight line.
　I was relieved to hear those words, but I was also sorry to hear them.
　But if that was the case with Günter, there was no point in arguing with him any longer.

　The only way to repay his debt is to make a treaty, develop Ivalice further and make it a better place for the dwarves to live.


　As I thought that, I involuntarily put my strength into the treaty book that I clutched, but when I realized this, I loosened my hand.
　I shouldn't do this.

　In a way, this treaty is the most precious piece of paper in this world.
　I couldn't put a single wrinkle in it until I delivered it to the Demon King.
　I order Jiron to keep the treaty book in the crate.
　Giron nervously places the treaty book in the crate.
　The man seems to understand the weight of the paper.
　I literally breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that Jiron had put the treaty book in the crate without falling or sneezing.

''Now all we have to do is take this back to the Demon King, right?

Yeah, I'd like to--

　I was about to say that, but my words did not last.
　I was about to say that I was going to say that, but I didn't finish my sentence, because suddenly the soldiers broke into the camp.
　In an instant I was in a fighting stance.
　If King Rosalia was assassinated here, it would mean the end of everything.
　Now that the treaty was signed, the king must return to the capital alive.

　Until the other day, I was confronting him as the king of the enemy army, but now that the situation has changed, Tristan is one of my allies.

　I break in front of Tristan and put strength into the staff of the circular snake that was clutched in my right hand.
　However, that power soon weakens.
　This is because I realized that the man who broke in was not some kind of assassin.
　The man who entered the camp was a knight of Tristan's SS.
　He comes in breathlessly with an important report.

''Ta, it's serious. There has been a political upheaval in the royal capital!''

Political change?

　The boy king frowned.

'What do you mean?　What is it that has happened?

'And so, the decree reports that His Highness the Prime Minister has deposed His Majesty and installed His Highness Lambert, brother of His Highness Prince Tristan, to form a new government!

What?

　Tristan shouted loudly.

'There is no way such an outburst can be allowed!

　The boy king continues, but the message continues calmly.

"But I have sent a proclamation to all of Rosalia, and the kings who are members of the League of Kings have agreed to it.

What the hell...

　Tristan is speechless.
　I utter the words for him.

'You mean they've already been rooted there?

　However, it was Alistair, the leader of the White Rose Order, who countered there.

''Your Majesty, take care of yourself!　Eichs has plotted treason, but the seal of state is here. The Declaration of Abdication is invalid. The White Rose Order and your royal guard will be your allies. And the rightful throne is still yours. And the throne is still rightfully yours.

　Alistair's claim was half right and half wrong.
　To prove it, I returned to the table and picked up the national seal that had been placed there.
　All eyes are drawn to me, but I don't care and put my magic power into my hand.
　And then I squeezed it.


　I'm not going to be able to get it to work.


　I'm sure you'll be able to find the right one.

It's not a matter of time before you get your hands on it.　It is the one and only national seal in the world. And the thing that holds it is the proof of the king!

　I control Alistair with a calm voice.

I've been told that the national seal of Rosalia's kingdom is made of the legendary metal Abyssinion, which is said to be harder than Orihalcon. I'm not sure how easily the Great Seal can be deformed like this.

　They all gulp in disbelief at my insistence.

You're saying that the seal of state is a fake?

There's no other possibility. Apparently the real thing is out there.

　It must have been swapped out at some point.
　I assured him and handed the crumpled national seal to Tristan.
　When Tristan sees it, he lets out a voice of disappointment.

''You mean........you mean that I'm no longer king?

It's all on paper, isn't it?

　I say, but, I continue.

'I don't know how the later history books will be written. Later historians could write that His Majesty Tristan returned his brother for his rebellion.

What do you mean?

　Alistair asks.
　I reply.

'It will come. If we can defeat Vizier Eichs' forces and return to the capital in triumph, then His Majesty Tristan will be able to return safely to the throne.

　Tristan was the one who shouted in surprise at those words.

''You mean to say that the army of the Eichis are about to attack us?''

'I'm sure you will, because now that you've enthroned your brother, the most disturbing thing on earth is His Majesty.

　Hearing those words, Tristan holds his head in his hands.

''Oh, no, we're going to fight Eichs?

　According to Tristan, there are nearly ten thousand knights in Rosalia right now.
　If these knights attack, they will not stand a chance.

I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this. You can't win," was Tristan's argument.

　Honestly, or rather, he was a monarch who painted a picture of incompetence, but I didn't find it offensive.
　He knows what he's capable of.

　There are many times when a king who sees a talented person and gives that person a free hand is better than a king who is not good at fighting and commanding a poor king.

　For example, in a previous life, there were two generals, Xiang Yu and Liu Bang.
　Han Han Yu was capable, had a strong ego, and was so proud of his own unparalleled strength that he did not listen to the opinions of others.

　On the other hand, Liu Bang, on the contrary, was aware of his own incompetence and listened to the opinion of his talented subordinates and let his subordinates take control freely.

　In spite of his overwhelming talent, it was an ordinary man named Liu Bang who won in the end.
　In short, trusting his subordinates and delegating everything to them was one of the necessary vessels for a king.

　However, it was also true that if it was too much, the power of his subordinates would be bloated to the extreme and create a man like Eichis - but it was also true.

　It was difficult to be a term of reference, but it was also difficult to be a man like Liu Bang.
　Now, does this boy have the capacity to be a king?
　I asked frankly.

''Your Majesty, at the risk of being rude, would you be willing to entrust me with the command of His Majesty's SS and the White Rose Order?''

　The person who responded to those words was not Tristan himself, but a nobleman who seemed to be the leader of the SS.

'How rude!　Are you trying to taunt us?

　It's a statement that could be taken that way, but I can't just say, yes, I can.
　I said in a calm tone so as not to hurt their self-esteem.

'I know it's rude. However, if we are to escape this crisis, we will need the cooperation of humans and demons.''

You think I need help?　You think you can defeat an army of 10,000 with 2,000 men?

I can beat it.

　I say this confidently.

　Of course, I think it's proof of incompetence to face a large army with a small army, but there's no need for me to be humble here. There was no need for him to show weakness to the people he was about to persuade.


''We might be able to win somehow.


　Then they can't trust you either.

　Besides, words are words. Even if the odds are overwhelmingly stacked against you strategically, I'm not in the mood to say "we can't win". As my grandfather used to say. When a general commanding a unit mutters "we can't win," his army has already lost.

　When I heard those words, it sounded like a superstitious sermon, but now that I have been in and out of the battlefield, I understand the meaning of those words.

　They say that warfare is not so sweet that you can win a battle with the intention of losing from the start.
　That's why I made a seemingly reckless decision, but it seems to have worked.
　In the midst of great opposition from the king's close associates, Tristan pondered and then declared.

''Hmm..... I'll leave the command of the SS and the White Rose Knights to Lord Ike.

　When they heard his words, the kinsmen were immensely disappointed. Some raised their voices close to screams, but the king calmly spoke to them.

'In the first place, it was you guys who said it. Lord Ike is a great general among generals. His character is also a man who respects humanity and loves peace. That's why I asked this man to broker the peace.

　Tristan said, and then stared at Alistair.
　Is the rumor true?　He looked at her as if to ask, "What do you mean by that?
　Alistair was a little puzzled, but nodded slightly and said, ''As you wish, sir.

'And you know very well what Lord Ike is capable of. Many of these have been made to lick bitterness on the battlefield as well, haven't they?

　Some of them are silent when they hear the words, and some of them shade their faces.
　In fact, some of them may have met each other on the battlefield.
　The king's words may have been the catalyst.
　From then on, the king's words were no longer denied.
　The king's words were no longer denied by me, which meant that he would entrust me with command of his forces.
　I'm going to ask Tristan again.

I'm going to be able to say that you can leave all of this warfare to me.

　Tristan turned around to face us.


Hmm.


　He nodded vigorously.
　The sight of him convinced me.
　Maybe this boy is not an incompetent monarch, I thought.

　He is still a young boy, or maybe he is playing the role of a cerebral monarch to protect himself from Eichis, who controls the government of the country.

　He was only ten years old when he ascended the throne.

　The monarch's tyranny had already begun, perhaps he played the role of a debauchee to protect himself from the poisonous influence of Eichs, and showed no interest in state affairs.

　One could interpret it that way, but now would not be the time to check if that interpretation is correct.
　For now, though, he should have taken full control of his command and focused on destroying the enemy that was looming in front of him.