Once again, good to see you. And congratulations on your accession to the throne and the founding of your country. King Alms.

　The man in front of me the diplomat from the Persis Empire slowly bows his head.
　Then he looks me straight in the eye.

　''My name is Behrouz.

　'Look at me, please. Behrouz. It is an honor to receive congratulations and a gift from His Majesty, the Emperor (Xerxes) of the great empire of Persis, one of the most renowned in the world.

　Behrouz looked up slowly and his mouth dropped open.

　'Sit down, please. I'll have a meal prepared for you.
　Then I'll take you up on your offer.

　Me and Behrouz faced each other and sat down in our chairs.
　One by one, the food was brought to the table placed between us.

　In case you're wondering, I had them look into the eating etiquette of the Persis Empire, but it's not much different from the Adelunian peninsula......in other words, it seems to be eaten by hand.
　It seems that the idea that a meal given by a god is a sacred thing is a common idea in the East as well.

　Or perhaps we should consider it more alien to use dishes.

　'King Almus, you are the great one.

　Behrouz suddenly began to praise me.

　After acceding to the throne as a young teenager, he dared to improve the country's strength through agricultural reform and public works. He was besieged by neighboring countries and attacked at the same time, but he was able to overcome the national crisis and seize territory. In addition, he created a centralized state by having all the rich and powerful families reside in the capital and confiscating their territories.

　I don't know what it is ... it's boring.
　When you can lay out your achievements like this.

　''To be honest, I underestimated the Kingdom of Romalia at first. I thought it was just another rural Adelian state. But when I arrived here, I found the roads, the communication network, the laws, the military system. No matter which way you look at it, it's on par with Persis (an advanced country).

　The Kingdom of Romalia has a system that is second to none in the developed world.
　As for that, I was proud of it.
　I'm originally Japanese, and I learned about the level of development of civilization from world history, but I think that my country's current civilization is as good as even a poorly developed medieval nation.

　But I'm honestly happy to be admired and recognized for that by the Persis Empire the most advanced country in the world at the moment.
　Well, the other party is stirring me up, so it's better to listen to half the story.

　''You're not quite there yet. For example.........the monetary economy. The use of money is widespread around the capital and in the provincial core cities, but in the countryside, it's still not there yet. The proof is that our country has not been able to issue a unified currency.

　As far as I'm concerned, though, there were no mines in the country, so I couldn't do it even if I wanted to.

　If you haven't been able to do it, then you are planning to issue it, aren't you?
　"You know there's a gold mine in Gehenna.　It's part of our country now in Gehenna.

　We finally got our hands on a gold mine.
　I will issue a gold coin first.

　It would be a pleasure to do so. "It would be my pleasure to send our engineers to you.　When it comes to the art of casting currency, we have the best of both worlds.
　Thank you for that. I would love to learn from Persis.

　We have decided on a policy of 'Let's take what we can get' for our diplomacy to the Persis Empire.
　Our opponent is Persis, a world-renowned superpower.
　From the point of view of Persis, our country is like an ant looking at an elephant.

　Therefore, the country called Persis does not ask for a lot of reward from our country.
　This is because it has the pride of being a superpower.
　There is no way that Persis would ask for anything in return for teaching a mere casting technique.

　There is only one role that the Persians want our country to play.

　''Once money is minted in the Kingdom of Romalia, the Teutonic Sea trade will become more and more prosperous. ........Speaking of the Teutonic Sea trade, the Republic of Pofenia, what does your Majesty think of that country?

　I want you to hold Pofenia's head down.
　That's all.

　'I hear it's a rich and developed country. I'd love to visit it.
　'But I have heard that Pofenia and Romalia crossed swords once, sir?

　Don't hesitate to ask.
　I thought it would be too loud to talk about Pofenia-related security out of the blue, but if that's what you're coming for, it's fine.

　''Well that's true. To be honest, I can't say I have a good relationship with Pofenia. It's only been about a year since we engaged in battle. But I don't want to cross swords with Pofenia again. That country's naval power is a threat to our country, which has no proper ships. Besides, there is a growing exchange of paper, wine and hemp with Pofenia.

　If it were an economic power, that country would be ten or twenty times larger than our country.
　According to Alexios, that country seems to lightly exceed our national budget on agricultural income alone.
　And when you add to that the commercial income........

　It's still horrible. I don't know if I can fight properly and win.

　That said....

　But there is a line that our country cannot cross. If Pofenia is going to put its hands on the Adelunian peninsula, our country will throw Pofenia into the sea.

　You can't win at sea.　
　But if it's on land, it's a different story.

　Between Pofenia, which relies on mercenaries, and our country, which relies on conscription, we have far more troops to mobilize than they do.
　We also have the trump card of Bartolo, and we have the geographical advantage.

　 What do you think of Trisichelia?

　Trisichellia.
　The climate is mild, the rainfall is high, and the land is fertile.
　In addition, it is a strategically important island located in the heart of the Teutonic Sea, between the southern continent and the Adelian Peninsula.

　'About two-thirds of Trisichelia is now in Pofenia's hands. It will only be a matter of time before the entire land is conquered. ...If all of Trisichelia falls, the straits of Trisichelia and the Adelian peninsula......the Strait of Mersina will be in danger.

　At present, the Strait of Mersina is stable as a neutral strait.
　As far as the neighboring Kingdom of Romalia is concerned, it does not have a good navy, and Pofenia's forces have not reached the Strait of Mersina.
　However, if all of Trisichelia falls into the hands of Pofenia, the Strait of Mersina will certainly become a sea of Pofenia.

　That would make it difficult for our country, and of course the Persis Empire, to sail westward.

　Besides, the Mersina Strait is a very narrow strait.
　You can go from Trisichelia to the Adelian peninsula by small boats.

　In other words, being able to seize the Mersina Strait would be equivalent to building a bridge between Adelunia and Pofenia.

　It's not pleasant.

　'I don't intend to spread the warfare unchecked. ....But I'm not so much a pacifist as to not return fire at the point of a knife from the other side.

　After I said that, I put a smile on my face.

　''I think we need to have a dialogue with Pofenia about the Mersina Strait, with Persis as well. Because if we can solve the problem by talking it out, that would be the best thing to do.

　If it's just one country, but with Persis....
　You won't lose the negotiation.

　''I see, I understand what King Alms has in mind. So much for small talk, may we discuss the date of your audience with His Majesty?
　'Yes, good. As far as we're concerned...







　It's been a long time, Your Majesty, King Alms. I congratulate you on your accession to the throne and on the founding of your country.
　"Thank you, Mister Azul Hanno.

　The day after the negotiations with Persis, I met with Azul Hanno, a diplomat from Pofenia.
　Azul smiled and extended his hand to me.
　I took his hand and squeezed it.

　We shake each other's hands and sit down in the chair.
　We're off to a good start.

　I'm here to reaffirm our treaty from a year ago.
　Yes, I know. The name of the country has changed, but I am still the king. Romalia is the successor state to Rosais. Therefore, all the treaties made in the time of Rosais will be inherited by Romalia.

　I replied, and Azul smiled.

　I'm relieved to hear that. No, there are some people who say that the treaty is invalid because the political system has changed.

　Well, there's no advantage to breaking the treaty with Pofenia in any way.
　If we break it, we can't guarantee the safety of Romalia's ships' passage.

　Their naval power is far superior to ours.

　''I heard that you had a meeting with the diplomats of the Persis Empire the other day.
　Yes, it's a surprise. To think that in a country like this, an envoy from the Emperor Persis, the world empire, would come to visit us.
　Ha, humility. Romalia is now the greatest power in Adelunia.

　You're already getting the scent.
　Quicksilver, I should say.

　However, as for the fact that I'm about to have a meeting with Emperor Persis, he must not know yet.

　Only a few senior ministers in our country know about this, and Persis won't divulge any information to Pofenia.

　'Our country and Persis are on friendly terms. If Romalia, Persis, and Pofenia join in friendship, the peace of the Teutonic Sea will be like a promise.

　.........
　According to Azul, Persis and Pofenia are good friends. But is it true?
　At the very least, there is no doubt that Persis is not happy with Pofenia.

　Is it Pofenia's unrequited love for Pofenia, Azul's faction's unrequited love for him, or is he just saying 'friendship' as a diplomatic courtesy?

　Well, at least there is no doubt that Azul Hanno does not want war.
　As long as Azul Hanno's faction is in the mainstream of Pofenia, the South is safe.

　'Our country will continue to maintain friendly relations with Pofenia. Pofenia, the great power of the southern continent, and Romalia, the great power of the northern continent. If the two sides join hands, the outlaws will be silenced.

　Honestly, though, our country is the most outlawed at this stage.

　Thus, the meeting with Pofenia's diplomat, Azul Hanno, ended peacefully.

　After that, we held talks with Roselle, Domorgal, Fardham, and Gilbed, in that order, and we were able to maintain our diplomatic relations as before.
　........at least on the surface.