We headed to Nemeth next.
　Nemeth is a Cilician colony called Telbai.

　It has adopted a form of vassalage to the suzerain state, though it keeps some distance from it.

　Terbaai was led by an organization called the Senate, which gathered some nobles and influential commoners (wealthy merchants and farmers) to run the government.
　However, it is said that important decisions such as the war are made by a referendum of citizens with the right to citizenship.

　Nemeth also follows the political system of the suzerain state.

　Well, this time we're only talking about trade, so the referendum is irrelevant.

　The army is composed of half navy and half army.
　I heard that they have an elite unit called the Sacred Corps, which is made up of only homos*xuals. They are undefeated and undefeated.

　In Adelunia, homos*xuals do not have civil rights.
　But in Cilicia, it seems to be different.

　It is said that loving beautiful boys is the way of the Cilician people....
　Apparently, this is especially true in Telbai.

　It didn't matter.

　Nemeth doesn't have borders with the countries of the Adelian peninsula in the form of being contained by Gehenna and Rezad.
　

　But is Nemeth less powerful than the other two countries?　If you ask me, that's not true.
　On the contrary, his military power is much stronger than Gehenna, which relies on mercenaries.

　So how does Nemeth gain the power to compete with Rezad and Gehenna?
　There are two reasons.

　One is the country of King Carne.
　Nemeth has a large trade with the country of King Carnu in the west. That's where they get their rock salt.
　Second, iron mines.
　Nemeth has a relatively large scale iron mine and exports high quality iron.

　For me, I want this iron.


　In Nemeth, we were also entertained.
　The content of the hospitality is not so different from that of Rezad.

　What is different is the taste of the food. Slightly different.
　Nemes had a more rustic feel to it.

　By the way, Nemeth's guardian deity is the 'God of Love and Friendship'. By the way, a male god.
　Is it just me, or does it feel like an evil meaning?





　Exporting steel, but if you ask, we can process it into weapons for you and export it.
　That helps.

　Our blacksmiths are still not good enough.
　The number of reparations blacksmiths we got from King Domorgal's country is also low.

　In that respect, Nemeth's iron weapons are excellent and can be trusted.
　Weapons wear out, and arrowheads consume constantly.

　Besides, it's about time we had iron armor.
　At the very least, I want to fortify my standing army with iron armor to set it apart from the rest of the army.

　''The tariffs, sir...''
　'How would that be on the same terms as Rezad?　I believe that opportunity is something that should be given to all things equally.
　It's not a good thing that Rezad is the sole authority on the matter, as he can buy you cheap or sell you high.

　'Do me a favor. I would like you to provide our country with information on the East Tethys Sea and Pofenia.
　I'll ask Nemeth to do the same.
　We need more than one source for this kind of thing, so we can get the information right.

　"Then I wish you friendship with my country.
　I smiled and shook hands with the chairman of Nemeth.

　Thus a treaty of friendship was signed between Nemeth and my country.







　The next stop for Nemeth was Gehenna.
　Our honeymoon was scheduled to end in Gehenna.


　By the way, this country Gehenna is a little unique.

　Gehenna was a colony of a city-state called Alto in Cilicia (...).

　Now it is practically independent.

　Alto is a ballyhooed democracy with a direct democracy running the state.
　But the gap between the rich and the poor is huge.

　Gehenna was born with such a political system in Alto, but about twenty years ago, a political change took place in Gehenna.

　A politician named Abraham led a coup d'état led by a group of proletarian citizens, peasants and debt-slave second-guessers in debt.
　Thus Gehenna fell to Abraham.

　Artoo followed the request of the politicians who had been driven out of Gehenna and attacked Gehenna to pursue Abraham.
　However, the resistance of the soldiers under Abraham's command was fierce, and it was difficult to win.
　This was because they had the support of Rezad and Telbai in the background.

　In the meantime, Abraham's diplomacy was successful, and the allied forces of Clarice, Telbai, and Reim launched a raid on the short-handed Alto.
　At that time, the Southern Alliance led by Alto was gaining strength in Cilicia, and the Eastern, Western, and Northern Alliance wanted to kick Alto's ass.

　Thus, the Alto army withdrew from Gehenna. Gehenna became completely independent.

　Today Gehenna is in the dictatorship of Abraham.

　Now, there are two great bad rumors about this Abraham, and two great good rumors about him.

　The bad rumor is that the opposition was uprooted and killed or forced to leave the country. After all, all the poor people in the majority are on Abraham's side. There is no way they can go against him.

　The good news is that he tried to redistribute wealth and foster industry.
　If the wealthy farmers and wealthy merchants didn't defy Abraham, some of their assets would have been confiscated but not killed.

　Abraham attempted to regenerate his own agriculture by sharing the land confiscated from the opposition to the poor.
　He also provided measures to combat unemployment by making a standing army of unproductive citizens.
　The poor who still could not absorb it were given wheat rations so that they would not starve.

　And his greatest achievement was the development of the gold mines that were in the country.
　There were small-scale gold mines in Gehenna. But they didn't have enough technology, labor and money to dig them.

　So they invited miners from Persis and Pofenia, who were ahead of the curve in mine development, to develop the mine on a large scale. The source of funds was the gold confiscated from the opposition.

　It is said that he also trades with the Lupus tribe.
　However, we don't know the true intentions of this project because it is only a rumor. The Lupus tribe is a closed tribe, so the reality is unknown.

　But the territory of Gehenna and the Lupus tribe has no mountain range, and they are in direct contact with each other.
　It is not funny that there is trade between them.

　It wouldn't be funny if there was a war at the same time but what's going on in that area?





　"You're the new king of King Losey's country, aren't you?　My name is Abraham, Gehenna's leading expert.
　Abraham said to me.
　The senators from the cities of Cilicia so far have been poor at it, but this guy is different.

　Is there a difference between a senator who can gather a few dozen people to become a national power and a pretender who can achieve national power with a single person?
　He is almost the same as the king.

　His Excellency Abraham. "His Excellency Abraham, it is a pleasure to meet you.
　Abraham and I shake hands with each other.

　By the way, I think I've seen this old man before...
　Great deja vu...

　But is it my imagination?

　Suddenly I noticed something strange. His gaze was not directed at me.
　No, I don't want to be stared at by the old man. I don't want him to stare at me because I'm not a Cilician.

　But I'm shaking hands with him and he's not looking at me?

　Even after the handshake was over, Abraham's gaze was still in a direction slightly off from mine.
　When I followed that gaze, I found Tetra.

　Somehow, Tetra is also glancing at the old man.
　What does that mean?

　But the fact that I noticed that I was looking in the wrong place seems to have been noticed by Abraham, who suggested it with a shy smile.

　I'd like to call it sightseeing, but I'm sure you've had your fill of Rezad and Nemeth. Isn't it about time you got bored with it?　As for me, I want to move on to diplomatic negotiations as soon as possible. We'll start early tomorrow morning.

　That's a quick turnaround.
　But we've seen Cilicia's technical skills for a long time.

　Approved.

　Thus the early morning discussion was to take place.







　'Hey, Tetra. Why were you staring at that uncle?　Are you in love?
　Julia asked Tetra for fun.
　That's not true........I want to believe it.

　I'm not a beautiful young man, but I'm a pretty good one.
　I've been working out, and I'm worthy of the job.

　I'm taller than the average Adelonian.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this in the future.
　It's frustrating before it's sad.

　'Don't be silly. I would never fall in love with an old man like that.
　Saying that, Tetra smacks Yulia on the head with her staff. She looks a little angry.

　That's because if you ask a question like that when I'm right in front of you.......

　Because I like you.
　Tetra said and hugged me.
　I picked Tetra up and kissed her. Tetra is one of the smaller Adelnians, so she is very light.

　Okay, refreshing.

　'So what was the reason we were staring at each other?
　' ... he looked like he'd seen it somewhere before. It felt awfully familiar.
　That's how I felt, too.

　I've seen that old man before, haven't I?
　I'm not sure where.

　Does Alms feel like he's doomed?
　No. I don't have a philandering habit.

　I wouldn't have chosen that old man if I had. I'd take the guy's daughter.

　An old man with a slightly deserted head?
　Not in the unlikely event that it does.


　Hey, haven't you seen it?
　'Hmm, I don't know ... am I being dull?'

　It is. Julia's senses are dull in many ways.
　Relying on a sorcerer's sixth sense, the man has poor visual and auditory perception.

　She's always looking for things. In a messy room.

　Well, he has a great sixth sense, though. It's like he knows where I am, even with a blindfold on.
　There's no way to play blindfolded.


　On the contrary, Tetra's powers of observation are very high.
　Instead, she is often tripped up because her feet are absent.

　As far as play is concerned, Tetra's reactions are more fun.

　I can't understand what I don't understand. It can't be helped. Apparently, His Excellency Abraham is also curious about Tetra. I'll ask him when I get a chance.

　This is how the meeting came about.




　I know what your country is looking for in our country. People who can read, write and calculate in the Cilician language. And a field commander to direct the development of roads, flood control and mining. Am I right?
　You're very quick on the uptake.
　I'll put out a call for help right away. There must be many people in your country who want to raise a flag. After all, Gehenna is a small place. But your country is as big as the sunrise.

　Some ambitious young people tend to want to leave the country.
　Like Ismail.

　Since the upward mobility in their own country is dominated by mature craftsmen, the young people themselves have to wait until they are older.
　That's the set rail, so many young people walk with ease, but some are impatient.

　There is no such thing as a mature craftsman in King Rosais' country, so we will put him in a high position from the beginning.

　Also, our country's power is growing rapidly.
　The new king is young and aggressive there are many people who think he is a winner when he is young and aggressive.

　''We'll cut our tariffs to zero.
　I appreciate that.

　You talk fast.
　He doesn't complain, so it goes smoothly.

　I don't bother a bit.
　Maybe he had access to all the treaties I have with other countries in advance.

　"Can I ask for information from overseas?
　Yeah. Information is important. Because as the Cilician proverb says, 'Knowledge is heavier than gold'.

　He took me up on it in two words.
　Very easy to do.

　''By the way, Gehenna is in contact with the Lupus tribe's territory... do you trade with them?''
　Trade?　Ha, there's no way you can trade with those people.

　According to Abraham, they've been rather badly plundered.
　The damage from looting is greater than the amount of money they make from trade, so they've built a defensive line along the border to keep people out of the country.

　It's impossible to negotiate. Well, they're the kind of people who didn't send a single person to me during my accession.
　Maybe that's about it.


　Can I ask you a question, then?
　Excuse me?
　'One of your wives is half Cilician, I'm told. I would like to know her mother's name.

　Tetra's mother's name?
　What was it?　I don't remember.

　Apparently Tetra herself doesn't remember that much, and of course I've never met her.
　Tetra seldom talks about her family, so I don't know.

　I'm sorry. Tetra's mother was murdered when she was very young she doesn't talk about it much. Shall I go get her?

　I remember when we were talking about it.
　You could ask Tetra and she would know.

　'Is he dead please? I'd love to find out your name.