Nice to meet you. King Rosais. My name is Alexios. As you can see, I am a Pophenian. I have been hired by Rezad to lead this war.
　So you're Alexios. I've heard a lot about your exploits.

　A man named Alexios apparently took the enemy's fortress a few days ago with little or no sacrifice.
　I hear that Rezad and Gehenna are overjoyed with the large number of slaves they have acquired.

　'King Rosais, I think we should work together for victory. But that city over there is preventing us from joining forces.

　Alexios says, pointing to the city in the distance.　
　It's a city with high walls and a large population.

　It is the third largest city in Belvedil, and 70 percent of its inhabitants are of mixed Cilician descent.
　It is said that the King of Belvedil collects taxes in this city instead of giving it autonomy.

　It is probably the most efficient way to govern the independent-minded Cilician people.
　There are many such cities in King Belvedere's country.

　''But attacking a castle will take time. If it's not done well, it will take several years. Of course, we don't have the time to do it.''

　That's right, because we have to rescue Bartolo.
　We have to bring down the enemy city before Bartolo and his men starve to death.

　What do you mean by that?
　"My king, it's not the city that needs to be dropped, but the hearts of the people.

　Alexios grinned.
　Then he began to explain.

　'Up to now we have been able to march smoothly. This is how we have been able to join up. Do you know why?
　'Because King Belvedil withdrew most of his army and pulled down his defensive lines. He left a minimum of troops behind and abandoned many towns and villages.

　Well, I think it's a safe bet.
　If you put up a line of defense in front of them, that line of defense will expand.

　If that happens, there is a risk that each one of them will be destroyed.
　If that's the case, we should lower the line of defense from the start to preserve our forces.

　It would be smarter to fight a decisive battle on the plains near the capital, or to hunker down.

　At the very least, this would be the most probable strategy to keep the country alive.
　But I'd never do that, though.

　This strategy would leave a lot of commoners and great families out in the cold.
　If that happens, he will lose support as a king. Even if we can keep our country, we will never get our power back.

　...well, King Belvedere isn't as challenging as I am.
　Belvedil King Belvedil will never listen to me.

　This is a difference in values, not a question of whether I'm better or worse than the King of Belvedere.
　It's not about me and King Belvedere being better or worse.

　'I think I know what you mean,' he said. You want me to proceed to surrender to that city.
　That's right.
　'But that city has been under the control of King Belvedil's country for over a hundred years. There must be some debt of gratitude. Is it so easy to break?

　When I asked him that, Alexios nodded.

　''We will use the weapon of King Rosais's kingdom, the secret potion of fire. We will make that thing explode in the middle of the night.

　Well......

　'Three days should do it. The rest of the time, we will confront you with a recommendation to surrender. King Belvedere's country seems to have levied a tenth of its tax revenue on that country. It's not a heavy tax, but it's not a small tax. They also had other military service obligations, etc. I thought if we promised to lighten some of them, we would open the gates honestly.

　Yeah, it's a good idea. It's not a bad idea.
　But there is one thing that bothers me.

　"Are you sure?　You're employed by Rezad. This isn't something you should be proposing to me, but to Ains.
　'If we give this city to Rezad, Rezad's power will be overwhelmed. If that happens, Gehenna and Nemeth will be in danger. Besides, this is the northern part of King Belvedil's country. It would be too much for Rezad to maintain.

　That makes sense. It's all very logical.

　All right. I'll take your advice.
　'The king!　Are you sure?　Such a foreigner's opinion....

　One of the Australians spoke out against it.
　The other Australians don't look amused either.

　Well, I know what you're thinking, but....

　But the clock is ticking. This will be the quickest way. If it fails, you can still tire them out. I think it's worth a try, gentlemen, but do you have a better idea than this?

　When I asked, the great families looked away.
　They too think Alexios' opinion is right. The only reason they objected was purely because Alexios was a foreigner.

　.........Well, I don't mind the fact that I don't have any warnings about foreigners at all, because I think that's what it's all about.

　I consider myself a Japanese, so I'm no different from Adelnians, Cilician and Pofenians.


　'What terms does the king intend to offer?
　'Well we'll supply the troops, garrison for a while, military duty, freedom of diplomacy and full autonomy except for tariffs, and a fifty-fifty tax ... that's about right.
　Are you sure it's not too much?

　The Australians voiced their doubts.
　The other great families also voiced that more taxes should be taken. Alexios has a strange look on his face.

　'Well, well, I have an idea,' he said.

　'Turning from Belvedil to Lossius means that Lossius could turn to another country. We eliminate that danger. Lower taxes would make that less likely.

　In addition to the taxes they pay us in the first place, they also spend money on other things like infrastructure and maintaining the army.

　One tenth of the tax is the tax that Belvedere exploits, and the commoners actually pay a lot more.
　That burden is not light.

　Originally, the Cilician people did not like to be ruled. So much so that they would overthrow the monarchy.
　So, it's obvious that they don't like the idea of having their taxes taken from them.

　So they pay much less tax.
　And the hostility towards our country will be zero.

　And this is not the only Cilician city in King Belvedere's country.
　Once we play nice, things will go smoothly.

　It's enough to give us troops in the event of war.
　Taxes would be an exploitation, but if they're doing military service, it's for mutual defense. It's easier for them to agree.

　The truth is that it would be best to lose it, but our tax rates are determined to be low.
　We want to keep as much tax revenue as possible. When the dust settles, it piles up.
　And we want to have a gap with other cities. A fifty-fifty split is just right for that.

　The problem is that there won't be any land to give to the rich and powerful, but it's hard to imagine that there won't be a single rebellious city or village in King Belvedere's country. We can give them the land that we have captured from those areas.
　If you want, you can cut down the land under your direct control.

　And....

　Naturally, we'll preserve the ruling class in that country. It's easier to do that.

　The most troublesome part of a war is the post-war process.
　It's the best thing we can do to preserve the local government and leave it in charge.


　Now, who has any objections?

　No one ever questioned me.







　Zudong!　
　Thud!
　Thud!

　Three days have passed since the enemy forces occupied the city.

　They're still making loud noises and shouting as usual. Haha.........you're just not worth it.
　We're the only ones who think that. Those civilians are scared to death of the war. My wife told me. "There's a lot of crying every day.

　The soldiers looked down at the enemy forces who were only making noise below them.

　When the Allied forces surrounded this city, the soldiers were ready to die.
　The enemy is a large army and we are few. There was no way they could be an enemy.

　The center is supposed to send out reinforcements as soon as the army is ready, but we don't know when that will be.
　Even so, we were determined to defend our position.

　But the enemy army did nothing.
　Or to be more precise, they continued to make sounds and screams like a thunderbolt.

　The screams of the soldiers were still good.
　Pretending to be a night attack in the middle of the night and waiting for the enemy to wear down. This is a very common strategy.
　The soldiers and the citizens of this city were prepared for it.

　But the sound of a lightning strike was the only thing they could not become.

　A sound like a lightning strike, but essentially completely different. It was a roaring sound that could make one's gut throb.　
　The citizens were completely surrendered to this sound.

　Children and feeble-minded women, for example, can't sleep at night and start to cry, and the sound of their cries makes other people nervous.　
　Many of the city's residents are stressed out.

　On top of that, human excrement falls from the sky day after day.
　They are properly handled, but even so, the stuff still smells.

　The enemy's commander may be of a very bad character, and he goes out of his way to make it rain at mealtime.

　Do you know what I mean?　The Example Arrowhead.
　I know, I know, I picked it up too.

　Saying this, the soldier shows his colleague an arrowhead that was shot from the enemy.　
　On it is written

　'King Belvedere is gathering a large army in the capital, but it does not seem to be marching. 'King Belvedil has gathered a large army in King's Landing, but it does not appear to be marching; the cowardly king has abandoned you all. There will be no reinforcements.

　Is it true?
　Don't... don't say that too often. Morale is so low that the politicians have gagged the hell out of you.
　You're the one who dumped me in the first place.

　The soldier shoots his colleague an accusing look.
　His colleague apologizes, apologizes, looks up at the stars and mutters.

　'Can't we just surrender?'
　Hey!
　No. We don't belong to King Belvedere. I'm just following him. Why are we risking our lives for this?

　That's a sentiment that many of the soldiers from this city have in their hearts.
　Seventy percent of the soldiers defending this city are from this city, and the remaining 30 percent are the few defensive troops left by King Belvedere.

　It is obvious that King Belvedere is trying to use this city to buy time.
　It's just a question of whether he has the righteousness to go that far.

　But hey he hasn't asked us to surrender. And if we asked for it we'd be treated worse than before, for sure. Do you want to leave a negative legacy to your children?
　But we're going to die.　It's our job to save our species. ...well, it's not something we can do about. The decision is up to the higher-ups...



　It was the day after that day.

　King Rosais made the following conditions.



　One, if your life is at stake, you must disarm and open the gates. Then I will guarantee the lives and property of all the citizens, including the soldiers.

　Two, garrison the troops. And pay for their stay. Secondly, provide a minimum supply of food, arrows, and other supplies.

　Three, the city will come under the control of King Rosais.

　Four, you shall be obliged to perform military service.

　Five, to be granted full autonomy, except for diplomacy and customs duties.

　Six, it shall pay a fifty-fifty tax.


　After half a day of fierce debate in the council, the supreme authority over the city, the amendments to the treaty were proposed to King Rosais.


　One, if your life is at stake, disarm and open the gates of the city. This would guarantee the lives and property of all the citizens, including the soldiers.

　Secondly, garrison the troops. And pay for their stay. Secondly, provide a minimum supply of food, arrows, and other supplies.

　Three, the city must make a pact with King Rosais.

　Fourth, King Lossies will provide protection to the city when the city goes to war with other countries. Fourth, when King Loseys wages war against other nations, the city supplies troops to the city.

　Fifth, full autonomy except for diplomacy and tariffs shall be granted.

　Sixth, it shall pay a fifty-fifty tax.

　Seventh, that in the future, when Belvedere and the allied armies fight and take prisoners of soldiers from this city, they shall not be enslaved, but shall be released.



　''........in effect, little has changed. Totally.........you're too proud.

　Almus gave his permission with a bitter smile.
　Thus the third most populous city in King Belvedil's country fell in four days.

　The allied forces then marched on.
　Many cities heard the rumor of the surrendered city and bowed to King Rosais.

　Thus, the Allied forces approached the capital much earlier than King Belvedere had expected.