A pleasure to meet you, King Equus. I am Julia Rosais, in the name of King Rosais. This is the Lord of the realm of Ath, Alms Ath.
　This is Armes As. I'm here as Lady Julia's bodyguard and my wingman.

　Me and Julia bow to King Equus.
　This is the first time I've come in contact with a king other than King Rosais.

　'Welcome. I am the Equus, the chief. I'm a tribe of Equus, a chieftain, or as King Rosais likes to say in his country, King Equus. First of all, I would like to thank you for saving my wife.

　King Equus thanks Julia.
　Not a bad start.

　Now, as for your alliance I find it less than appealing. My people are poor. So the grain from King Losey's country is a great help. But it's a small price to pay for your life. And then there's the risk of making an enemy of King Domorgal's country. We have a sworn enemy, the Lupus. They have repeatedly invaded our lands since we brought the Arias to their knees. If they are linked to King Domorgal's lands, they pose a great threat.

　'Hmm, the reason I was opposed to it was just as Muzio said.

　''As you said. So I have a suggestion.......how about a mutual alliance?　If King Domorgal's nation invades, the Equus will fight with us. If the Lupus race invades the Equus race, we will fight with them.

　Julia suggests to King Equus.
　This is not a bad story. Even though King Rosais' country is mainly infantry, it has more troops than the Lupus tribe.

　As I recall, the population of the Equus tribe is about 30,000, the Ariace tribe is about 10,000, and the Lupus tribe is about 30,000, I've heard.
　The Alyce tribe is already controlled by the Lupus tribe, so the enemy population is 40,000.

　
　The Equus tribe can only mobilize 21,000.

　It is seven thousand short.
　But King Rosais' country can gather more than eight thousand troops by calculation.

　Even if they don't directly participate in the war, their presence will be a great deterrent.

　King Equus looked a little troubled by Julia's suggestion.
　But.........

　It's certainly tempting. But profit and profit and loss are hanging in the balance. If you don't lean on profit, there's no reason to take the alliance.

　That's true.
　But I expected this response.

　We talked it over with Julia.

　"King Equus. "King Equus, may I ask you a question?
　Excuse me?

　King Equus gives him a dubious look.

　'The next King Equus is your eldest son, Master Methyl, right?

　I'm asking this to get the story out of the way, not that I don't really know.
　King Equus has named Methyl as his next successor.

　In short, it's a confirmation of the basic premise of the story.

　''Yes, but ... so what?''
　How about inscribing the name Crown Prince (...) Methyl on the treaty?

　That would mean that Prince Methyl's accession to the throne would be in the form of recognition by King Rosais' country.
　Naturally, King Rosais's country had neither the right nor the obligation to get involved in the issue of the Equusian succession to the throne.

　But this would be a great check on them.

　'In addition to Methyl-sama, I would like to see the names of his second son, Muzio-sama, and his third son, Redus-sama, also be linked together.
　Naturally as a prince (...).

　That is to say, it would be like having Muzio and Ledus recognize Methyl's accession to the throne.
　Naturally, they can't refuse.
　Because in the customary law of the Equus, the order of the patriarch is absolute.


　It would be a great advantage to reduce the possibility of internal conflicts even a little.


　Besides, this depends on whether or not the Three Queens consulted with them........
　It's also a check to say, 'My country knows the weakness of your succession problem.


　"Hmmm... not bad. But there is a problem. But there is one problem: King Rosais is in critical condition. If we don't allow the next generation to inherit the alliance, our country will have to shed blood unilaterally.
　''That's not a problem. The next candidate for King Rosais has also agreed to the alliance. I can't say who, specifically.

　Julia replies.
　But King Equus shakes his head.

　'It's not all talk. I want it in writing. 'Lord Armes As. I need your signature.

　Yes, yes, I understand. If you sign it.......yeah!

　Hey, how do they know?!

　'From the looks of it, it sounds like it's true. 'One word of advice, kissing should be done away from the eyes of the rat. And you should practice hiding your expressions before you become a king. And Lord Julia.

　f*ck.....
　If you hid your expression, it would just be an affair...

　Okay, next time we kiss, let's make sure we're in a safe place.

　'Well, the thing is...'
　I want to reassure you. I will not repay you for your kindness. In the matter of the Three Queens, Lord Yulia has shown great consideration for me. I too will remain silent.

　In short, if you want me to shut up, shut up about the curse.
　''You've been countered.

　'I want the treaty to be signed not as the next king, not as the Lord of As, but as Lord Almus As personally. Is that alright with you?

　In other words, he's not going to allow the "I'm not a lord anymore, I'm a king, so this treaty has expired".
　Well, I'm not in the habit of doing that.

　"I understand. I'll sign it.
　Let's call it a night, then. And then you can sign.






　A feast. What kind of food is it? I'm looking forward to it. Brother.
　'Well I guess ... well, you know, like lamb and horse milk wine. And some cheese.

　I don't expect much.
　The food is much poorer than in King Rosais' country.


　But the feast was about to begin.
　The falcon delivery arrived.



　King Domorgal is gathering his forces. King Domorgal is gathering an army, more than 10,000 men. You must hurry to conclude an alliance. If you can't make a pact by tomorrow, you must return home. If you can't make it by tomorrow, return home immediately! King Loseys.


　Well, this is no time for a party.


　'I'm sorry, my lord. King Equus. I was given a banquet like this to give you.
　'Raise your head. If the country is in danger, it is inevitable. I will cancel the banquet and select the men to be sent to the city by tomorrow morning. How many men do you need?
　'About three hundred. Can I ask Master Muzio to be the commander?　And would you lend me a horse?　I need it for my wagon. It's for transporting loot.

　I answer for Julia.
　King Equus answered in a good mood.

　You worry about the loot even before you win. You seem pretty sure of yourself. No, I'm not being sarcastic. I'm not being sarcastic. I'm complimentary. I've got plenty of horses. You can lend me your horse for free. It's up to you to return them alive. Well, Muzio!　You head for King Rosyth's country tomorrow morning!

　To which Muzio answers on his knees.

　'Ha!　We will make the name of our Equus race known in the land of King Domorgal and the land of Rosais!


　The preparations for the battle were made in a hurry.







　'King Rosais!　I'm back now.
　I'm glad you're back. But you're still back a day earlier than expected. This is the mobility of a cavalryman...

　King Rosais let out an exclamation of admiration with a look of surprise on his face.

　I sat next to Muzio, who bowed to King Rosais.
　''Muzio Equus Nudias. I am the second son of the Equus Chief. I have come here to lead three hundred Equus cavalrymen.''
　Thank you for the reinforcements. Muzio will take command of Mr. Alms here and give you a fighting chance. Then we'll have a briefing session and then we'll go over it. After that, you will hurry up and assemble your troops back in Ass territory.




　All of the great families were present except for Almus As.
　It was immediately announced that the general manager would be Almus As.

　The As faction, which had been informed beforehand, shouted for joy while holding back their laughter inwardly.
　The As, who had not been informed of it, shouted for joy, though they were confused.
　The neutrals were puzzled and voiced confusion and confusion.
　And the Dibelites shouted in anger.

　Non-Australian royalty could participate in the Australian Council.
　Therefore, the number of votes slightly outnumbered the affirmative, and it was successfully passed that Almus As was to be made a Grand Marshal.

　Rigal d'Ibel protested that he had not been made Grand Marshal.
　King Rosais did not take any part in it.

　After Rigal Dibel had put three men, one hundred each, and three hundred in all, under the command of Almus As, he declared that he himself would hide himself in his domain with five hundred men in the name of fortifying the borders of King Domorgal's kingdom and preventing him from being backed.

　Almus As acknowledged it with a smile and extended his hand to fight with him.
　Rigal Dibel brushed his hand away and returned in silence.

　The usual old man was not seen beside him....