I want to borrow 20,000 tarrant from Almus and I need your help.
　As soon as he received the letter to this effect, Ains realized two things.

　One, the kingdom's finances have deteriorated considerably.


　As far as Ains knew, the Kingdom of Romalia was already doing the best it could.
　Even so, the fact that it still needs 20,000 Tarrant means that the treasury is empty.

　And one more thing.

　We will lose if we don't do something.

　There was no way foreign merchants would lend us 20,000 tarrant.
　Even domestic merchants, who are not interested in profit, can't afford to lend more than 10,000 Tarangs.

　And there was no way foreign merchants would lend me that much money.
　Three thousand at most.
　At best three thousand, and at best five thousand if they were successful.

　If this was the case, the Kingdom of Romalia would sink.
　It is the way of the Cilician merchants to flee quickly and without getting on a mud boat.

　But.....

　My body is already part of the ship.

　Ains has already entered into a marriage with the House of Julius and has the key position of receiving negotiations with the Kingdom of Romalia and the Empire of Persis.

　He can't get off in the middle.

　If that's the case........
　Ains himself would have to make a move.

　There was one thing that Ains had a strange plan.

　But.........
　That's something anyone can come up with if they think about it for a bit.
　But the vassals of the Romarian Kingdom, including Almus, don't suggest it.

　Do they consciously try not to think about it.......
　Or I have an idea, but I absolutely hate it.

　Either way.
　Either way, Ains is in danger of being disliked for suggesting it.

　If he's not good at it, he could be dismissed.
　But .....

　So you have to do it.

　Goodness hasten.
　After writing the letter to Almus, Ains went to the palace of the Persis Empire.








　'I knew you would come, Mr. Ains.
　'Ha!　I fear for your wisdom, Your Majesty.
　Well, there's no other way for the cornered kingdom of Romalia to get a handle on this. ........Now, let's make one thing clear. Are you here on behalf of King Almus?　Or are you here as one diplomat, Ains?

　Ains is asked by Emperor Xerxes.
　While Emperor Xerxes looks at Ains with amusement, Ains replies with a hackneyed smile.

　'It's my sole opinion. In other words, I am here as one diplomat, Ains.
　'Is it good?　That is, as a subject.
　''It was His Majesty the King who sent me to this place. The intention is to facilitate a quick exchange with the Persis Empire and diplomatic negotiations. Therefore, it is in accordance with His Majesty's will that I move in this way.

　The Emperor Xerxes then narrowed his eyes.

　'So ... you're saying that you have no authority to make any decisions now?
　Not at the moment, Your Majesty. But I have just sent a letter to your Majesty. I will soon be given full authority. In the meantime, wouldn't you say it would be more efficient to devote yourself to diplomatic negotiations?
　"Hmmm, well, I understand that you guys don't have much time to spare. All right. I'll let you negotiate on your own.

　Emperor Xerxes smiled nastily and....

　So what do you want?
　"I would like a loan or assistance of 15,000 tarrant.

　It is difficult for merchants and countries to borrow money from each other.
　It's because the country is far more powerful and able to step down.

　But .....
　It's not easy to step over when it's between countries.

　If it's between a small country and a big country, even more so.

　So......
　In a way, it's the easiest thing to borrow.

　But it would also be a weakness.

　You don't have the time for such luxuries right now.

　''I see, I see.......well, let alone aid, a loan.......in other words, if you're willing to return it, I wouldn't hesitate to do so. And I'd really like to see the Kingdom of Romalia defeat the Republic of Pofenia. All right, I'll lend you the money. That's a small fraction of money. But...

　Emperor Xerxes grinned.

　'I have a few conditions.'

　I knew it would be.
　Ains braced himself.

　This is where the real work begins.

　I have some idea of what you want but....




　'What I want is King Almus and Lord Julia's lovely, lovely child His Highness Marcus. If I were a little younger, I would have demanded a daughter as well but, well, that's a tough one to physicalize, so we'll leave it at that.

　Ains patted his chest at the expected demand.

　He demanded a son on the shoulders of his debt and a precious heir.
　Well, it's a common occurrence.

　Ains has also received several sons as shoulders of debt and put them to work as merchant apprentices.

　That's just the way it has become on a national scale.

　'Well, as far as I'm concerned, I'd say right now. 'I hear that His Royal Highness Marcus is a sickly man. And I've heard that he's finally born, a long-awaited baby boy.

　You've done a lot of research...

　He said that Marx was sickly and weak, or that he had a dispute with her before she was born...
　Those are just bits and pieces of information that only a few senior ministers of the Kingdom of Romalia know about.

　That's exactly what I've captured.

　'So, ten years old. In five years' time, when he turns ten, His Highness will study in our country for a minimum of seven years and a maximum of ten years. What do you think?　Not a bad thing to say, huh?　Our Persis Empire is far more advanced than the Kingdom of Romalia, and we have diplomatic and trade relations with countries all over the world. It will be a good stimulus.

　And....
　Emperor Xerxes adds.

　'You are supposed to be in charge of other people's children. He will be educated in a proper royal manner. He will be tutored like a prince in our country. Of course we will provide you with money to live on and give you an allowance to play with. If you wish, we can teach you swordsmanship, horsemanship, military science, philosophy and music. We have enough teachers in our country for that.

　Hostages....
　This may sound like a bad image, but it's not.

　They are, after all, hostages between nations.
　Naturally, it's something to be treated with great care.

　To Emperor Xerxes, Marx is the next king of the Kingdom of Romalia, an ally.
　Naturally, he doesn't want him to grow up to be a boner.

　'Oh, yes, yes. Right now, my daughter, Scheherazade, is coming with me. A three-year-old girl recently born to my side of the family. One of the conditions is that you marry Scheherazade, and that Scheherazade's child be crowned King of the Kingdom of Romalia. ........I don't know what her abilities are because she's three years old, but as far as her looks go, you can rest assured that she is. She's pretty.

　We've only met once, though.
　'Oh,' added Emperor Xerxes in his mind.

　''Oh, don't worry. A side room, even if it's a side room, he's from a very good family. One of the ten best in the Persis Empire.''

　Rather, it's too good for the Kingdom of Romalia in the countryside.
　Emperor Xerxes added in his mind.

　From Emperor Xerxes' point of view, these conditions are very generous.
　So generous that there is no way to be more generous.

　''May I add one more condition, Your Honor?''
　Say it.
　'They will be united in marriage, which means that the Kingdom of Romalia and the Persis Empire will be relatives. Isn't it too much to just lend money to your relatives when they are in trouble?
　What's your point?
　"Of the 15,000 Taranto, 5,000 Taranto is not a loan but an aid to be given free of charge.

　Emperor Xerxes thought for a moment and then....

　Okay, I'll grant you that. But no more concessions. Now go and get King Almus' approval.






　It worked.

　Emperor Xerxes chuckled.
　Everything went as planned.

　"King Almus is a hard man to please, a good king. "King Almus is a hard man to please, he's a fine king, but if I put a loan of 10,000 Tarrant on his collar, he won't bite me. I can serve as a guard dog guarding the Teutonic Sea for a while.

　This will keep King Almus safe during his reign.
　At least for another 20 or 30 years.

　Then there's the Dauphin Marcus. We don't know his character. But I think that if he spends his emotional years in Persis, he will naturally become pro-Persis. We can educate him that way.

　This is safe for Marx's reign.

　And .....

　"You will remain in this country for at least seven years, until you are seventeen. If you are a healthy boy you will have a child at, well, fifteen. The son of the Princess of Persis and the Dauphin of Romalia, that is, King Romalia the Third, will be born in Persis. ...and I will not return him until he is born. That child will be a grandson to King Almus, but it will also be a grandson to me.

　This will keep the third king safe during his reign.




　At least.....
　For one hundred years, the Kingdom of Romalia will be under the influence of the Persis Empire.

　The stability of the Teutonic Sea is assured.


　The First Poffenian War.
　The greatest victor was neither the Kingdom of Romalia nor the Republic of Pophenia.

　The real victor was Emperor Xerxes.

_______________________________________________________________.

'In this world, there are two beings who may call themselves emperors and empires.
　One is the Son of Heaven, who rules over Tian Hua.
　The other is the rightful King of the Kings, who rules both the Orient and the Occident, and who has the blood of the Persis Empire. He is the Emperor of Romalia, the sovereign of our country, the Romarian Empire.

　-Benito Julius Cross Sinaex


_______________________________________________________________.

A continuation of the profile of Emperor Xerxes that I wrote in Episode 136

The unification of the East and West and the construction of roads, and the unification of the Scarlet Empire in the Far East at the same time, led to the formation of the great trade routes across the continent.
And Cilicia's architectural techniques and natural philosophy flowed into the Persis Empire.

The Persis Empire was at its peak in terms of culture, economy, territory and military.

However.....
From the last years of his reign, the Empire's rule began to unravel.
A civil war that followed his death split the empire apart and brought it to a crashing halt with the rebellion of the various races.
Its successor states were the rapidly expanding Romalian Empire and the independent Paltodia.

As a result, the East (Orient) and the West (Occident) were divided into two parts: Paldia and the Romany Empire, which claimed to be the successor state to Persis as the king of the various kings.

The reunification of the East (Orient) and the West (Occident) had to wait until the conquest of Paltodia by the Romarian emperor Westoria I, the Wise Emperor.