I am Julia's father.

　........Isn't that a bit too rapid?

　The man lying in bed in front of me. King Rosais.
　Beside him is Yulia with a smiling, do-it-yourself look on her face.

　I ain't listening to you.

　I was thinking of the daughter of a wealthy family member or the daughter of one of King Lossius' entourage.
　You're not the daughter of King Lossius or.......

　My daughter is in your care.
　No, no, no. Oh, it's honey.

　In the ancient world, honey was used as a medicine. I'm sure it's the same here.
　I had intended to offer it to the sick as a gift but I didn't think I'd end up handing it to him.

　By the way, by the way, I don't know you at all. I didn't find out until last night when I questioned Yulia about it. So tell me about it.
　'Julia didn't say anything?'
　Yeah. Yeah. He didn't even tell me about the vase. Well, I didn't say anything about it because I wanted it and I wanted to see the maker of it.

　I see.
　So the reason Julia was able to get out of it wasn't because the guards were incompetent, but because this guy kept his mouth shut.
　That makes sense.

　Then I'd like to talk.
　Of course, you have to keep everything you don't want to tell me and everything that's inconvenient.

_______________________________________________.


　Okay. Very good. And by the way. Do you want to be a part of my country?
　I appreciate the offer, but I'm afraid I have to decline.
　Why?

　I tell him why I was thinking in advance.

　'Because you are ill. Will you defend us when King Domorgal attacks us?　Besides, you yourself are ill and not even King Ferm has been able to cope with it. I believe it is premature to reveal your affiliation.
　Okay. That's true. And the trade?

　I guess that's the main thing.
　Well, you know from Julia that I don't want to belong.

　'No problem. What you want is a suede device?
　Yeah. I know. What do you want to trade?
　I'd like some livestock. Chickens, cows, goats, and pigs. And possibly horses.
　Cattle....we can't afford to give up cattle too soon. And cows and horses are very difficult to breed. They are all imported from abroad. We can't afford to raise them at home. Is there anything you'd like to buy instead?
　So, slaves.

　What we're missing is a workforce.
　It would be a lot easier to work with several adult male slaves.

　You may think it's a pity to be a slave, but slaves are common in these parts. Especially since there is such a thing as witchcraft, they seem to be easy to control.

　I understand. Ten slaves for ten, how about one?
　Yes, sir.

　Slaves, that's cheap. But that's about it.

　By the way, I bought slaves for purposes other than labor.
　Slaves did not start out as slaves. They used to have a proper occupation.

　For example, they were grape farmers.

　I don't know how to grow grapes. I don't know how to grow grapes.
　I'd be lucky if I could find someone with the skills to grow grapes.

　Or maybe a carpenter.

　"I would also like to continue my relationship with Your Highness.
　"...dangerous. Julia is my only daughter. That's not how it works.
　"Hey, Dad. I've been with Alms for four years and it's been okay, okay?　That's good.

　Julia tries to talk me out of it.

　'It can't be helped. If you say so, you're forgiven. Unless...　Mr. Alms. Don't ever hurt my daughter. If you hurt her you know that, don't you?
　Yes, sir. I'm aware of what I'm doing, sir.

　Perhaps it's not the mind that you shouldn't hurt.
　It's the body, specifically the va*in*l membranes.

　I know that much too, you know.

　But I'm glad to hear it.
　Without Julia, I'll need to hire someone to teach me magic.

　Oh, I'm not just talking about Julia's relationship with you, you know, the one where she teaches me spellcasting.
　But, worst-case scenario, I can go to her and we can talk.

　The worst that can happen is that it's a spell.

　Do you have a wife, by the way?
　He's not here, but...
　Would you like me to introduce you?　What's your favorite type?

　Oh, man. It's happening.
　Oh, yeah, that, yeah, that's something to make the connection between us.
　You're going to hook me up with a high-flying family member, a rich girl. Steal some technology if you can?

　It's not that easy.
　I mean, I'm afraid of Tetra. He's going to kill me.
　But how do I say no...
　That's right!

　You're Julia. Can you have it?
　I can't.

　King Rosais snorts.
　Somehow he managed to get through it well.

　I glanced at Yulia and she froze, her face red.
　Hey, if you look like that, you'll look like I'm being serious.

　What if King Loseys kills you?

　'Hey, you don't think........'
　Look, they're staring at me.
　What do I do?

　"Are you serious?
　What do you think?

　I show him a scare.
　I don't say differently once and for all, because it's a consideration for Yulia, and also because it's relatively true.

　He's inedible. Really? Fifteen?
　Actually, he's over 20.
　'Don't lie to me. And besides, it doesn't change the fact that you're young anyway.

　Well, sure.
　I realize now that I'm not too nervous.

　Maybe it's because I'm more aware of being Julia's father before I'm king, or maybe it's because I'm the type of person who's strong enough to say that...

　By the way, your village is very close to King Ferm's country.
　'Yes. Yes, but...
　What if it happens, can we coordinate?

　We have a complication.

　In short, it's an alliance.

　Take it, and you risk being drawn into a war.
　Refuse, and you'll have to defend yourself alone.

　It's a very complicated problem, even today.

　''Will you allow me to think about it? We are very small in numbers. That's why we can't wage war so easily. I hope you will understand.
　If we were a country with a good national strength, it would be fine.
　But we only have thirty people who can fight.

　Fortunately, we have the technology. We can negotiate for that in return for a certain amount of leverage.
　There are enough ways to avoid war.

　If King Loseys' country was smaller than Ferm's, I'd gladly take it.
　But King Losey's country is bigger than Ferm's country.
　So in many cases, it would be King Ferm's country, not King Ferm's, that would be the first to launch the invasion.

　It's fine if it's in mutual defense, but it seems to be Aboo to shed blood in a war of aggression.

　'I understand that much, of course. I would expect a colorful response if possible.''

　He backed down.
　I guess he thinks there's still time to negotiate.

　Every time we see each other face to face we're going to have this discussion...

　You might want to get your weapons ready.



　'Lastly, the foreign man - was it Cilician?　I would like to purchase livestock from them. Can you introduce me to them?
　'I don't mind that much. There are several Cilician colonies in the far south. There are several Cilician colonies in the far south. I'll write you an introduction.
　'Thank you. Something.....
　I don't need it. I'll just write it down.

　Then King Rosais writes in ink on a wooden board.

　You don't have any paper....

　Well, thank you for a very good time today, sir.
　Me too. Do you want to stay the night?
　No, I've told my people in the village I'll be home by the end of the day.

　I say and get up.
　It feels a little rude to refuse the invitation, but it's dangerous for all sorts of reasons to stay here.

　It would be troublesome if they made me drink, and if they did things to me while I was drunk and created a pre-existing fact.
　Or rather, Tetra would kill me.