I greeted Roseward when he arrived at our country's checkpoint.
　It seems that everyone is safe.

　Ains and the other members of the Senate can be seen.

　"Welcome back, Rosward. Welcome back, Rosward. ...nothing at all?

　I asked Rosward, who returned with five bodies.　
　As a matter of fact, I had called up about two thousand troops and had them stake out the border.

　At the same time as putting pressure on the city-state cluster, I had cavalry on the run at any time to come to their aid.

　Well, I didn't want to move until I received a request for help from Roseward and the others for diplomatic relations.

　I was absolutely certain that Rezad would come after me, and that there would be a city-state to turn to.
　But Rosward came back safely.

　It's not that I'm not happy about it.
　Rather, it is a joyous occasion.

　But it's puzzling.

　'There was nothing there. Every city-state was welcoming. At first I was prepared to camp out in the field, but there was little need for that either...

　Rosward glanced back.

　When I looked at him, each city-state convoy saluted.
　And behind them were several carriages, loaded with liquor, wheat, and live pigs.

　Rosward and his men returned with not only the councilors, but also souvenirs.

　He said, "Let's have a drink and a feast to celebrate our safety first. I would like to invite all the city-states' soldiers to join us.


　


　The feast was a great success.
　The senators who had made it safely to King Rosais' country drank and ate like a lot of liquor, probably because the tension had been lifted.

　Rosward, Soyeon, Alice and the others were welcomed as heroes.

　Those in each city-state's guards are obsessed with spirits.
　Spirits are very expensive.
　Normally we cannot drink it.

　When they hear that they can drink it for free, they stuff it into their stomachs.
　I'll bring you something to drink later.

　"How are you enjoying yourself, Ains?
　'Yes, thank you. Not only for helping us, but also for this spree....
　'Well, well, we're both in trouble. Drink.

　I poured my drink into Ains' cup.
　Ains took it reverently and poured it down his throat. A good drink.

　Now, I'm sorry to be the one to tell you about the situation in Rezad. And about the lack of pursuit from Rezad.

　Ains tightened his expression, which had been loosened by the drink.

　'We don't know exactly what happened, as we were imprisoned. But I can imagine what's going on. Perhaps it's the anti-Locaissez faction being suspicious of each other.

　Doubt?

　'Yes. There had never been a coup d'état by force in Rezad until now. But this time it had happened. Won't I be next?　......... That's why I don't want to send out my own mercenaries. Besides, the merchants of Rezad don't know about Alice-san's abilities.

　I see.
　The more mercenaries you send out in the chase, the more suspicious your own safety becomes.

　So you're more passionate about exposing the non-existent traitors inside than the chase.

　''And it's also possible that the security of Rezad itself is getting worse. Because we, the pro-Lossaeans, were one of the biggest merchants in Rezad. Our absence would have a huge impact on the economy of Rezad. Trade is in a slump, even with the war. On top of that, if there is a fire riot...''

　It looks like Rezad's politics are in more turmoil than I thought.
　Well, I understand why Rezad didn't... or couldn't.

　Why were the other city-states so cooperative?

　'Who would you rather be a friend of, Your Majesty, a close family or a family that is always fighting?　Rezad has lost a lot of his reputation in this case. Looking at his body, it's no wonder that the city-state, which was torn between being pro-Rossians and anti-Rossians, is making a decision.

　It's a fragile thing.
　Alliances and friendships are such fragile things.

　The Cilician cities in the south, which not so long ago would have ignored our country and rather mocked it as a rube, are....
　We are now looking at the core, Rezad, and flattering our country.

　What this means is two things.
　First, it will not be difficult to annex the southern cities.
　Secondly, if our country's momentum begins to show its limits, the cities will easily switch sides.

　It's not easy.

　It is not enough to simply restrain them with military force.
　But even if we continue to give them the benefit of the doubt, they will easily give up on us.

　It's easy to say that it's both the candy and the whip, but.......
　It's hard to spoon feed.

　To begin with, what to candy and what to whip....

　Well, for now, as long as you're in this country, you will be safe. We'll do everything we can to accommodate you.
　Thank you Your Majesty.

　Ains bowed to me.




　Meanwhile, the Rezad Assembly was in turmoil at the time.

　The delay in taking action had led to a major blunder that allowed the pro-Rosaisites to flee.
　In addition, each city-state began to be dominated by the land of King Rosais at once.

　The Southern League of Cities, centered on Lesad, is in danger of collapsing.

　Before taking action on this problem we were discussing where the blame lies.

　''To begin with, the problem is that the Chancellor-dono has thinned the gates to begin with, isn't it?
　"So you wish Rezad had been burned?　I left enough troops behind to begin with. The only reason I was able to get through was because I had a collaborator inside!

　Of course, there are no collaborators on the inside.
　But it's more convincing than the fact that a beastman named Alice easily crossed over the city walls in the dark and entered....

　But there is no one who does not exist.

　''As I recall, I have heard that you were a distant relative of the pro-Rosaisian Lord Ains?
　'If you're wondering what I'm going to say... then I'm going to ask you, on the contrary, did any of you have any friendships with the pro-Lossies at all?　You're not here.　Such a question is moot.

　The blame game.
　The search for a missing criminal.
　Countermeasures that never get started.

　Rezad's parliament had become an example of a corrupt oligarchy.
　In the first place, the system of determining the number of votes that can be cast based on the amount of tax paid.......................is probably the problem in the first place.

　This is the end of a country steeped in mammonism.

　'Eei!　You guys keep talking about the same thing!　Now would be the time to take action!

　One of the senators shouted.
　The senators look down in unison.

　They all understand that this kind of blame shifting is futile.
　But.........

　'There's a traitor in here. If you don't fix it, what are we going to talk about?　King Almus is eavesdropping on you, remember?
　'That's right. Now it's time to find the traitor!
　But who the hell...

　The goofy and never-ending story begins again.

　It was two days later that Rezad came up with a countermeasure.
　It was exactly a week after the fire.







　'Pofenia is still better than that, I guess. Totally.........

　Alexios sighed.

　Alexios had succeeded in squeezing the attacker's escape route into two.
　But he couldn't chase them.

　The council had not given him permission to do so.

　To go searching outside of Rezad, they would have to cross a national barrier.
　Of course, they wouldn't let the army through easily, and they couldn't just leave the country on their own.

　The cooperation of the Rezad Congress was essential.

　Alexios naturally asked the council for permission, but they wouldn't give it.

　'Perhaps I am under suspicion. I have fought alongside King Almus before. And I've actually been recruited.
　Plus, I betrayed my country once.

　Melia cowered.

　No one in Rezad would be as suspicious as this.

　No wonder we can't give permission.

　'Still, you would normally produce a diplomatic text or two, right?　Stop the barrier, or catch the criminals who torched our country... it's too bad you can't even do that.
　'If you leave your seat now, even for a moment, you could get hung up...'

　If you go there as an emissary of diplomacy, you need to be a senator, at the very least.
　That is common courtesy.

　But there is no one who can leave the Congress now.

　'But is it really this bad in Rezad?　It was a little better when we defected...
　'The great merchants were taking leadership. And King Rosais' country wasn't that powerful at the time. ...Everything went wrong when he imprisoned the great merchants who were at the heart of the political administration in Lesad.

　Now that the great merchant who was at the core of the political operation has left, there is no one to run Rezad.
　In other words.....

　'At this rate we'll lose to King Rosais' country...'
　What do you think?　Alexios.

　In those words, "Would you seek asylum again? There is a hidden nuance that says.

　'What shall we do?　It's bad form to defect too many times, but I can't leave you a widow. Let's just be quiet for now. Let's get ready to run away if the need arises.

　The most important thing to Alexios is the family he has now.
　Of course, he owes a debt of gratitude to Rezad.
　However, that doesn't mean that I'm not willing to risk my own life and that of my family.


　The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that there are a lot of people who have a lot of questions.　King Rosais' country?　Or maybe Nemeth or Gehenna... or maybe the Kingdom of Roselle would be good...

　They began to seriously consider exile.
　The Pofenians are not so ungrateful as to cling for any length of time to a ship that they know is going to sink.