There are five enemy countries in Rezad.
　The first two, Gehenna and Nemeth, neighboring countries and the same Cilician city.

　Clarice, the suzerainty of Rezad, is in an adversarial relationship with Artoo, the suzerainty of Gehenna, and Telbai, the suzerainty of Nemeth.
　They are hostile to each other in maritime trade, and are on bad terms with each other as they compete for the business sphere.

　But since they are of the same ethnicity, war will not occur until the end of the country.
　They are so close that they quarrel........it's not so close, but it's such a relationship.

　The next two are Persis and Pofenia.
　Since the Persis Empire and the Cilicia city-state group are close friends who have fought many wars, this is natural.
　However, since Persis has not advanced to the West Tethys Sea, it is unlikely that it will clash with Rezad.

　On the other hand, it could clash violently with Pofenia.
　Pophenia is just off the Adelunian peninsula and is competing with Cilicia for the island of Trisichellia, which exists across the continent.

　The three Cilician nations of Adelnia, which are also the outposts to Trisichelia, are naturally under constant threat from Pofenia.
　However, since we are not currently at war, it is not an imminent threat.

　The biggest enemy of the current Rezad. It is King Belvedil's country.
　Between Rezad and King Belvedere's country, there is a cluster of small states in disorder.

　The reason why there are so many small states in the south is because of the mixed forces of the local Adelnians and the Cilician and Poffenian colonists who came to the region.

　Between the countries of Rezad and King Belvedil, there are small states of Cilician Adelnians, and both countries are vying for control of the area.
　The small states are not settled because they are quick to switch sides depending on the situation.

　This is probably why Rezad wants to form an alliance with our country.

　King Belvedere's country has a population of about 100,000. Rezad has about 60,000.
　Because Rezad devotes much of its national strength to its navy, its army is poor.

　Therefore, if you face them head-on, there is little chance of Rezad's victory.　
　The home country, which you can rely on, is wary of the suspicious movements of the Persis Empire and cannot move.

　But if you can form an alliance with our country, it's a different story.
　We can catch them in the crossfire from the north and south.

　At the very least, Belvedere is too wary of our country to give its all against Rezad.


　This is what Rezad is trying to do.






　'I would like to see us forgo a military alliance.
　I kicked Rezad's suggestion.

　I could see the disappointment on the senators' faces.
　But they looked up quickly, as if they had expected it.

　'May I ask why?'
　'I don't want to provoke King Belvedil's country. My country and King Belvedil's country are not hostile to each other.

　King Belvedere's country is our neighbor.
　I don't want to complicate our relationship.

　I don't want to deal with foreign countries when we're not even close to being unified.
　Even if King Belvedere's country is far inferior to ours in terms of national strength.

　And the merchants who travel between our country and Rezad always pass through Belvedere.
　If the borders are blocked, it will be tough.

　But as long as we have a treaty of friendship, it's no problem. As far as the disputed territories between your country and King Belvedere's, you will have to declare your neutrality.
　'Neutral........................Okay. Let's start with our relationship as friends.

　A handshake is in order between me and the Chairman of Clarice.
　Friendship is important.

　Like starting with a friend, or a lover. Maybe we should start with a friend because I like you.

　'Now about trade. When our merchants enter your country, they pay a large number of duties. I would like to see this eliminated.　
　That's the deal from Lethard.
　That means I want special treatment for Clarice's merchants.

　Customs duties are a source of revenue, but I have a monopoly on paper and salt.
　I will have a monopoly on whiskey and vodka.

　So as far as tariffs go, I'd be happy to get rid of them.
　We'll still charge sales tax.
　The more merchants that come in, the more tax revenue we'll end up with.

　But I'd also get zero tariffs for free.

　Good. In return, I will ask for your full cooperation in the matter of Cilicia's technology and manuscripts.
　Okay. I'll do my best.

　Well, most of my errands are now done.

　The rest is just a bonus...

　'And if I can do it with this, could you tell me what's going on in Pofenia and the East Tethys Sea?　We are collecting information in our own way, but there is a limit to what we can do on our own. We would appreciate it if your country could provide us with this information.

　We already know from the information we've scoured from Cilicia merchants that Persis is building a large fleet and conducting massive military exercises.

　It is rumored that a third Persis-Cilician war will soon break out between Cilicia and Persis.

　The Adelunian peninsula is far away, but the effects of this war will certainly have a ripple effect.
　If Cilicia is defeated by Persis, the balance of power in the Tethys Sea will be greatly altered.

　There is no harm in knowing the information.

　''Yes, I understand. I'll let you know as soon as things move.''
　Thank you. I appreciate it.


　This concludes our errands in Rezad.
　Next, we will visit Nemeth and Gehenna in that order to conduct similar diplomacy.

　We will not sign declarations of friendship with these two countries, but we will sign the same treaties with Rezad in the economic field, such as tariffs, and in technology and human resources.
　Perhaps it's because these two countries don't want to be won over by Rezad alone, but they've been actively sending love calls to me since I became king.


　''Um, you're heading to Gehenna after this, right?
　'Gehenna's after Nemeth, but we're certainly going to visit. What about it?

　Ains asked out of the blue.
　I think he knew long ago that I was going to visit all three countries, but...

　'Beware of His Excellency Abraham, the Pretender of Gehenna.
　I don't know what to watch out for...



Episode 86.5 Newlyweds.



　"Hey, Alec. You sure you don't want to go see it?
　What?

　Alexios and Melia's elopement was a great success.
　As soon as they got to Trisichelia, they entered the colony of Cilicia, and from there they moved to the Adelian peninsula within three days.

　The pursuers from Pofenia were completely scattered.
　It was the elopement of a general and a sorcerer that the Pofenian government had hoped for, and so they put up a pretty serious siege, but it all came up empty.

　Pofenia called off the search after a month.
　They didn't have time to chase after those who had fled the country forever.

　However, the Barca family of Pofenia's famous family is still searching for Alexios with all their might, so we can't be too careful.


　The elopement was going relatively well.
　To begin with, both of them are soldiers, so they have a plan.

　He bought land with his private funds that he had secretly moved to Rezad, bought slaves and ran a farm of a decent size.
　Of course, their standard of living was several levels lower than when they were in the military, but their lives were modest to begin with, so neither of them had any complaints.

　''The new king of King Rosais' country.
　The rumor of a commodity called paper that King Losais' country was exporting had spread throughout Lesad.
　Now, the country of King Losais is a tasty market for the merchants of Lesad, and the citizens of Lesad are in a welcoming mood because they do not have bad feelings about it.

　The citizens of Lesad are in a welcoming mood because they do not have any bad feelings about it.

　Oh. Oh, you're the one we've heard about. It is said that he is returning from a war with the neighboring country and uprooted the opposition forces in a surprise attack without dismantling the army. That was amazing. There aren't many kings who can end a civil war in an instant. And the soldiers and the great families are hesitant to kill their own people.
　But the new king of King Rosyth's country did it by lifting the spirits of his soldiers with victory.
　With their enthusiasm, he had created an atmosphere in which even the great families could not object to his excesses.

　Alexios appreciated the new king's skill.

　'I see,' said Alexios. 'Oh, I see,' said Alexios, 'it's just that today is the day, isn't it?　
　Yes, so do you want to go see it?
　No, that's fine. I'm not that interested.

　With that, Alexios shifted his gaze to the book he was reading.
　It's a book of eastern military tactics.

　A pain shot through Melia's mind as if she had been stabbed with a needle.
　Because the fact that Alexios was reading the book of warfare meant that he still had a passion for the army - war.

　'Hey ... do you regret it?'
　Alexios looked up at Melia.
　He looked dubious for a moment, then hurriedly closed the military book.

　''No, I don't regret my life with you one bit.
　But do you regret leaving the battlefield?
　'No ... yeah, I'll be honest with you. I was apparently quite fond of the battlefield.

　Some things people realize after they've lost it.
　However..........

　But I'm not going back to Pofenia. 'I'm tired of fighting for that country,' he said. The Congress often meddles in our battles. The Congress is always meddling in our battles, and we've lost many battles because of it. In addition, they don't mind executing a general who has lost a battle. It's unacceptable.

　Alexios cowered his shoulders.
　Alexios's patriotism for Pophenia was very thin.

　Melia didn't know the reason for this in depth. It doesn't bother him, but he doesn't force himself to ask about things he doesn't want to talk about.
　But it's easy to imagine that the cause is resistance to a family that doesn't get along.

　Alexios and his family do not get along very well with each other.
　Alexios' family is a family that seems to have given their souls to Pophenia, so his dislike of the house is probably directly tied to his anti-native feelings.

　We haven't even heard the reason for Alexios and his family's disagreement, but Melia believes the cause is Alexios' eyes.
　Alexios has so-called odd eyes .............................iris heterochromia.

　There is a tradition in Pophenia that a child with different eye colors on either side is a cursed child.
　Melia guesses that something happened in that area.

　But from Melia's point of view, Alexios' family doesn't matter.
　She will never meet them. They're as good as strangers.

　

　I don't even want to meet them. It's just that I don't want my self-proclaimed parents to show up now.
　So I can't share the general sentiment that my parents are important, nor can I share the sentiment that I hate them so much that I hate them like Alexios.


　'What about the idea of being a general in Rezad?
　Well, if you're only asking me to do it temporarily, I might do it. But I don't have a pledge of allegiance.

　Alexios' existence is known to the upper echelons of Rezad.
　It is also thanks to the cooperation of Rezad's upper echelons that Alexios has not been found by Pofenia in the first place.

　Depending on the country, the Cilician people like the words democracy, equality and fairness.
　That's why they are so fond of the two men who have eloped.

　However, Rezad's superiors are cooperating with the two men largely because of their cards to the Barca family, a powerful Pofenian nobleman, and because they are excellent generals.

　Since Rezad is a merchant nation, they have no trouble gathering mercenaries, but they have trouble commanding those mercenaries.
　

　'And the most important thing to me is you. And the second most important thing is here.
　Alexios touches Melia's stomach.
　Melia's mouth softened.

　Their lips touch.