Chapter 5 – Feeling a Deja Vu from the Demons’ Speech and Behavior

 

 

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“I’m back, Elise. Man, I’d never expected for us to get a stinkstone twice in a row…”

“Dear, messengers from the royal palace and House Holmia have arrived.”

“Eh? That sounds as if they’ve only waited for me to get back here, doesn’t it?”

 

At long last the stench clinging to my body had dissipated. Once I came back to our magic airship which served as a provisional home, a messenger from the royal palace and a retainer of the Holmia House were waiting for me.

It seems like they’ve got some urgent business with me, but…that only gives me bad vibes, if anything at all.

“Is something the matter?

“It is a royal command from His Majesty: 『Today the first round of negotiations has been held, but far from reaching some sort of agreement, it’s actually doubtful whether both sides will continue with the negotiations. Earl Baumeister-dono, I order thee to urgently head over to the Terra Harrez Archipelago』.”

“Me?”

“Yes. I do not know of any other Earl Baumeister, so…”

I, a guy who has magic as his only redeeming merit, was assigned a diplomatic mission all of a sudden. At once, I was acutely assailed by worries whether I’d be able to carry out this sort of duty.

 

＊

 

“Baaah, I really don’t wanna go…,” I bickered.

“It can’t be helped, right? I mean, it’s a royal decree from His Majesty,” Burkhart-san retorted.

“I’ll definitely be treated as a nuisance over there…”

“You have no option but to resign yourself to that.”

 

Upon His Majesty’s order, it was decided that I’d join the diplomatic negotiations between the Kingdom and the demon country which had finally started yesterday. A room inside the demon fleet’s flagship, which was currently floating above the archipelago, was set as the venue.

Basically it meant I’d march into enemy territory, but the diplomatic corps of the Kingdom has been up there without anything happening to them, so it’s not like I don’t want to go there because it’s dangerous.

I just think I’ll earn myself some sarcastic comments and draw the hate of the nobles belonging to the diplomatic corps. As far as they’re concerned, I’m an enemy who’s come to steal their achievements.

“It seems like the negotiations started just yesterday, but they say Foreign Minister Überschaar is useless.”

“Foreign Minister Überschaar?”

So far as it goes I’ve heard the name from His Majesty, but I don’t know what sort of person he is. Even though I’m a prominent high-ranking noble within the Kingdom, I don’t know much about the other nobles.

“He was switched in at some point, wasn’t he?”

“Yeah, each ministry post is held in turns by several families.”

However, it’d be a potential seed of chaos if all ministers were switched out at the same time. Accordingly, each ministry had a different timetable for its shift change. This time the change at the top of the ministry of foreign affairs apparently happened just one month ago.

“I didn’t know about that.”

“The shift of ministry posts usually becomes a topic to some extent, but since it’s a custom, many people don’t pay much attention to it and above all, we’re talking about the ministry of foreign affairs here..”

The sole job of the Minister of Foreign Affairs lies in diplomatic relations with Urquhart, so it’s the least glamorous ministry among all cabinet ministers. Even so, the predecessor successfully wrapped up the peace negotiations with the Empire together with His Majesty. But, since the crown prince helped out with this as well, it remained mostly unnoticed by the society…

“How would you rank the abilities of Foreign Minister Überschaar?”

“They’re not bad per se.”

Burkhart-san had apparently gathered information about the minister from Margrave Breithilde in advance. Because of that, he could now answer my questions.

“I didn’t hear any bad rumors about him, but it’s said he’s somewhat timid.”

“Isn’t that quite bad for a minister of foreign affairs?”

I feel like it’d come with various issues if you’re timid during diplomacy. Coming across too bullish is of course not that good either, but being so weak-minded that he gets pushed around means he’ll basically go along with any demand forced on him.

“There don’t seem to be any particular problems with his other abilities…”

“Yesterday was a failure, wasn’t it? That’s the reason why His Majesty ordered me to join…or why was I called over?”

I’ve never done anything remotely close to diplomatic negotiations…at most I had business negotiations with clients in my previous life.

“Well, you did quite a good job during the civil war in the Empire and you’re a magician, so maybe he thought that you’d be good as a threat against the demons?”

But, all of the demons are magicians, so if I picked a fight with them, I’d be defeated after getting outnumbered. Also, going by what I heard from Mall and his friends, it’s more than doubtful that the demons would know about my war achievements.

“There’s no way the other side will suddenly draw their swords anyway. Earl-sama, let’s go.”

“Okay.”

“Have a safe trip, Dear.”

“I’d been quite content with my days of fishing and taking care of my babies, though…”

“It is a royal decree from His Majesty. So you do not have much of a choice.”

I ended up whining to Elise.

As expected, it’d be silly to take my babies with me to the frontline, and as such Burkhart-san, Erw and I got into a magic airship of the royal army to head over to the archipelago. Elise and my other wives saw us off while holding their babies.

“Plenty of young and pretty wives, huh…?”

“My flames of jealousy shall illuminate you, Earl Baumeister.”

“He won’t burn anyway, you know!? I’m going to pour all my anger into sightseeing!”

For some reason our three demon guests had also shown up to see me off while hiding their ears. The magicians employed by the royal air force tilted their heads in confusion upon seeing those three intermediate magicians for the first time.

“I’ve hired those three temporarily.”

“Oh, adventurers, huh? You’re a rich man, Earl Baumeister-sama.”

They revealed expressions showing their comprehension. Given that magicians hired by the government didn’t care much about unaffiliated magicians, they didn’t notice that I was lying.

“Don’t fret, Earl Baumeister. We’ll go fishing in your stead.”

“We’d get bored with just sightseeing.”

“Also, helping sensei with his thesis, sorting the data, and so on is more fulfilling for me than my time of unemployment.”

It’s not like they’ve been apathetically lazing around just because they’ve been jobless so far. Not only did they go sightseeing and join the fishing, but they also assisted Arnest in his work.

Which reminds me, these three have apparently graduated from an elite university in the demon country. They’ve got enough smarts that they’d be appointed to a responsible post in the Kingdom as part of the few intellectuals over here. Seeing how they say they can’t find a job despite that, the demon country might actually be in fairly dire straits.

“We even get a share depending on our catch, so we’ll definitely do our best!”

“Time to master fishing!”

“Is there no boss in this area of the ocean?”

“Silas-san, you’re saying the same things as Wend.”

“Eh? It’s normal to mention encounters with a boss whenever you talk about angling, no?”

Ina seemed perplexed by Silas saying the same things I mentioned before. He was looking at her with a face that made it clear he considered this common sense.

It looks like the demon country also has this sort of publication.

“Sheesh, just why did Wend become chummy with the demons so quickly?”

“Earl Baumeister simply has a way of thinking that resembles ours,” Silas replied to Luise.

Certainly, the demon society resembles that on earth, so they have many aspects I can understand.

“Earl Baumeister, it is about time!”

This time Doushi would stay behind. On the one hand, we would have him watch Arnest and the other three demons just in case, on the other hand it was also a political decision since it’d be possible for Foreign Minister Überschaar and his peers to fly into rage if even Doushi crashed their show. I guess his close relationship with His Majesty plays into this as well.

Even if the other party might be incapable of doing his own job, he’s still a high-ranking noble. As such, the Kingdom cannot afford to make the whole situation even more complicated by getting him upset.

“Well then, I’m off.”

 

＊

 

The magic airship departed on time and we arrived at the archipelago without any particular problems.

“The shape of their magic airships is different, huh?”

“It looks like they use different materials to build them, too.”

The magic airships on the continent looked like sailing ships and were mostly made out of wood except for the armors of warships, but the airships of the demons looked like eggs. Their exterior was completely made out of metal and they seemed to be equipped with around a dozen magic cannon openings (although those were usually kept closed).

To describe them in layman terms, they looked just like sky battleships.

“The Royal Air Force won’t be able to win if it comes to a fight.”

“That’s the reason why His Majesty wants the negotiations to somehow succeed.”

Because we had contacted them in advance, our airship could dock right next to the flagship without any further issues. We quickly moved over to their flagship and were currently walking through the ship’s gangways, but seeing how the walls and floor were made out of metal too, I doubt it’d be easy to destroy this ship. The demon soldier, who was guiding us, appeared to be very well-trained. He led us to our destination without losing any unnecessary words.

“The design is incredible, Wend.”

“Our technological abilities are too far apart.”

Erw and I couldn’t stop admiring the futuristic design and structure of the flagship. Meanwhile, Burkhart-san was spellbound by the floor, walls, and ceiling being made out of metal without a single seam being visible.

“Oohh! Earl Baumeister, how wonderful of you to have come here!”

As soon as we entered the room we were guided to, Minister Überschaar drew close as if only having waited for me. He was a man in the midst of his thirties who obviously grew up well and looked like a noble youth, but the rumors about him being timid seemed to be true.

Even though the other members of the diplomatic corps were watching, he cried out pathetically as soon as he spotted us.

“Umm, did something happen?”

“Those guys are different from the Empire’s folks!”

“Well, that makes sense since they’re demons.”

Even Minister Überschaar had participated in smaller meetings and negotiations with the Empire without so much as a hitch. But, demons are another race and since it’s said that all of them are magicians, he seems to have become scared of them. Of course, this also meant that expecting negotiations on equal footing would be all but a pipe dream.

“At any rate, those people are weird!”

“Weird?”

“They keep repeating incomprehensible stuff!”

“Hmm, let me hear the full story.”

Since we wouldn’t get anywhere at this rate, I decided to listen to the minister first.

『I’m Remy Shahar, the leader of the diplomatic corps representing the Republic of Zontark』

“Earl Baumeister, the likes of a woman has been assigned as the leader of their diplomatic corps!!”

“(Uh-oh…)”

Even though he had been covering all the time up until now, the minister started to bicker about a woman leading the demons’ diplomatic corps as soon as we showed up.

For women it was next to impossible to participate in politics when it came to the Kingdom or Empire. People like Therese were extremely rare cases and even that was something the Kingdom wouldn’t approve of. Hence, Minister Überschaar snapped when they demons sent a woman to lead the negotiations.

He probably felt that the demons were looking down on him.

“(That’s bad news, isn’t it…?)”

It was obvious that the demons would also be unhappy if they were suddenly confronted with tensions due to such a minor issue. Given that their side had their own way of handling things, it’d become impossible to negotiate with them, if our side suddenly nitpicked their methods. Moreover, the demons might actually be pissed about the Kingdom suppressing women.

“That bitch dared to complain, telling us that the Kingdom should use more women and commoners in its politics!”

“(So both sides are equally bad, eh…?)”

There appears to exist some problem with the demon’s side as well. The delegation leader Remy is a member of the Civil Rights party, the party’s chief secretary to be precise. On top of that, she’s the president of an organization fighting for women’s rights and equal treatment of women in society. She appears to be an amateur politician and thus she didn’t even try to hide her belief that the advanced demons should teach the dumb humans about democracy and gender equality.

Thanks to that, Minister Überschaar apparently became so angry that he forgot the negotiation. However, because he’s afraid of the demons, he didn’t show any of this in front of them, but waited to vent his anger in front of me. However, using us like that is nothing but a nuisance…

“Even though we’ve come here to negotiate, that woman told us how to run the Kingdom! On top of that, she said the original cause for all of this is to be found in the reckless behavior of nobility!”

The demons had passed a detailed report, stating that the cause for the seizure of the Lingaia was to be found in the noble vice-captain having ordered a magician to open fire first. Because the ones having investigated this were the defense forces of the demons, I read the report while doubting its credibility, but I couldn’t find any contradictions or unusual parts.

“If our side truly invaded their territorial waters and fired magic at them first, we should apologize for that and then check out how to negotiate on even ground, shouldn’t we?”

“Won’t we be taken lightly by the demons then!?”

The minister remained stubborn and cocksure while in front of us. Burkhart-san and I could defend ourselves with magic if needed as we possessed more mana than the demons present on this ship. That’s probably the reason why the minister came across so strongly despite us being outnumbered.

Does he believe that it’ll definitely become a disadvantage for the Kingdom if we apologize for the preemptive attack? Or is he possibly connected to Earl Platte in some way? Either way, why didn’t he simply use his cocky attitude while in front of the demons?

“Who do they think they are anyway!” The minister exclaimed.

Not just the leader, but the other members of the demons’ delegation seemed to be somehow odd. The gender split was almost 50-50. That seems to be the idea of their leader, but some among their members clearly looked like they were on some sort of entertainment trip while being complete laymen at this. This is probably another reason why the negotiations haven’t been proceeding well.

Some among the demons’ delegation were running businesses and had approached our side about concluding a trade agreement. But, once they started to talk about the tariffs, contraband, and trade volumes, the folks believed to be amateurs butted in. Moreover, according to our diplomatic corps, those amateurs only talked about stuff unrelated to trade.

 

＊

 

『Aren’t things like forced child labor and abuse growing increasingly worse in the Kingdom and Empire? If that’s the case, you should put a stop to it at once!』

『Haven’t you been using discriminatory terms in literature and other publications? I’m an activist working towards the erasure of discriminatory terms in written language…』

『Hunting and selling pelts is terrible! I demand that you forbid the sale of goods using such materials! I have been serving as director of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals…』

 

Ignoring the actual negotiations, these demons threw the Kingdom’s diplomatic corps into confusion by making incomprehensible demands. Meanwhile Minister Überschaar didn’t know what to do about it. And thus he sat there frightened while secretly seething in rage.

Given that these negotiations were completely different from the ones with the Empire, the first day ended by them just listening to their demands.

“(That’s a lost case…),” muttered Burkhart-san under his breath, but now I can understand why His Majesty sent us around as reinforcement after learning of this.

In short, he’s trying to test the waters by throwing an irregular noble like me at the demons after realizing that normal nobles wouldn’t be able to handle this.

“I don’t get what they mean! How are they surviving without hunting!?”

“Maybe the demon country has made progress in farming, animal husbandry, fishing, and so on, making hunting, where you kill animals directly, obsolete and shunned?

I stated my own opinion when one of the diplomats got all exasperated. I mean, personally I don’t quite get the difference between hunting and animal husbandry.

“Even with animal husbandry, the animals will eventually be put down as livestock…”

“Umm… It’s just my guess that they might be considering things in such a way,” I didn’t have any way to refute the minister’s objection.

Animal protection groups existed in my previous life as well and they performed many protests. Some of those things made me wonder whether they aren’t simply reading too much into things. On some occasions I sat in front of the TV, wondering why they are protesting against certain circumstances or things.

And now I had learned that the same sort of people was among the demons, too. Is this an effect of their society’s ethics having diversified too much?

“(Magic won’t be of any use here whatsoever. Should we just go back like this?)”

Because I understood to some extent what those hot-blooded demons were talking about, I could tell the gravity of the situation. Ignorance is bliss, seriously.

“We were told that we shouldn’t kill sea boars since they’re intelligent, but are cattle dumb? I can’t really believe that there’s that much of a difference between both…”

Minister Überschaar’s simple question is very reasonable, but he won’t be able to do his work as foreign minister if he only considers things like that. If you don’t gather information skillfully, understand the other side’s way of thinking and methodology, and adopt countermeasures, I fear it’ll be difficult to hold any decent negotiations with them.

“Anyway, I will listen to more of the details during tomorrow’s negotiations.”

After deciding to attend the next round of negotiations, I prepared with the minister and his diplomats as much as possible.

 

＊

 

“You are an awfully young diplomat, aren’t you?”

“His Majesty might have believed that my youth would account for a more flexible thinking.”

The demon granny called Remy got surprised when she saw me, who still hasn’t reached twenty in age, attend the meeting on the next day. As might be expected, no minors were present on the demons’ side.

Well, I’d suspect that minors don’t have a right to vote over there.

“Even the Kingdom is capable of assigning flexible personnel to match the situation.”

Either way, it’d be bad if things don’t proceed in some way to avoid a war from occurring. Seeing how the demons value a democratic mindset, I should probably emphasize how a young person like me was assigned to such an important duty first off.

The soldiers of the defense forces, who stood behind the demons’ diplomatic corps, started to whisper as soon as they saw me. Maybe they have already obtained information about the Empire’s civil war.

“(Their government officials sure are superb… But, their politicians seem to be…well…)”

In addition, several people, who seem to be news reporters, appeared to carefully take notes. They’re likely going to report about the negotiations’ progress to their respective media outlets.

“Still, it is definitely bad to see that your diplomatic corps has no women among it.”

Remya nitpicked about the lack of females among our diplomats. This granny is the leader of such a movement, and she probably won her seat in parliament on a ticket heavily supported by women.

Even if this might seem to be the wrong place to bring up such a topic, she cannot afford to not mention it. After all, it’s connected to the next election. Though she might also just be clamoring around as a layman in politics.

“I would like to ask you something about this matter. Since when did the social progress of women start to advance in the Zontark Republic?”

“Around a thousand years ago.”

After the collapse of the Ancient Magic Civilization, they were under monarchical rule until a few thousand years ago, and then proceeded into a limited democracy. Only a thousand years ago, women were also allowed to take part in politics, according to Remy.

“Women work in the Kingdom as well.”

There exist female adventurers, and the female ratio among guild staff, shop clerks, and the clergy is relatively high.

“I think it’s roughly around 30% of all women.”

“What about politicians?”

“Well, it’s not like they don’t exist at all.”

There was Therese in the Empire, and noble houses where the wife runs the show because the patriarch doesn’t have the necessary abilities, do exist as well. Though, those are rare cases, to be honest.

“What is the female ratio among politicians in the Zontark Republic?”

“It’s 28%…”

“What’s the female ration among members of the defense force?”

“…Around 5%…”

As I thought. Given that Remya serves as president of a gender equality organization, she must have felt embarrassed that it’s not 50%, but that’s how reality works. Things are never so convenient in society.

“But, our side doesn’t oppress women unlike yours!”

“Oppression, huh…?”

I have completely no clue about such emotions since I’m no woman. And given that I’m like this, I can easily guess that it doesn’t even enter any sort of relevant category in the minds of Minister Überschaar and his diplomats.

However, I could say at least this much:

 

 

 

“The continent we inhabit basically started from scratch when the Ancient Magic Civilization collapsed 10,000 years ago. Political systems and social life take time to change and evolve. If you try to force these things, it leads to unnecessary chaos. Currently the Kingdom is in the middle of development. If you say you’re going to meddle in this, it’ll be equal to an intervention.”

“But…”

“If you keep insisting on this, it will only lead to a sorrowful future for both sides. In the first place, these negotiations are supposed to be about forming a friendly relationship between both countries, making trade agreements, and resolving the conflict surrounding the airship, right?”

The insights of Mall and his friends weren’t wrong. The currently ruling Civil Rights Party actually knows nothing about foreign diplomacy. If they only try to push the political agenda of their own party, they won’t be able to get on with the negotiations at all.

And in such a case, people will naturally ask just what the point was in changing the government.

“I think such issues will resolve themselves over time…”

Once all women in the Kingdom work, the gender ratio in most occupations would become half-half, leading to men participating in childcare and housework. If the people were to suddenly elect their rulers on top of all those changes, the Kingdom would fall apart in no time. After all, the groundwork for all of these measures to work doesn’t exist.

Well, it’s unthinkable that Minister Überschaar and his diplomats would agree to these demands anyway. Also, there are oddly many demons who’re saying weird stuff despite this being diplomatic negotiations.

“You should prohibit child abuse, though.”

“Children should be raised with love and care.”

Those were some crazy sophisms, at present we could only say that things would slowly improve as long as the Kingdom became more prosperous. Besides, even if these arrogant demons were to rule the Kingdom, it’d still remain impossible to resolve this issue.

“(What empty talk…)”

“What about the freedom of speech?”

“You’re allowed to publish books of any sort, besides those heavily criticizing the monarchy, in the Kingdom.”

That’s ultimately limited to just the Kingdom. When it comes to local fiefs, lords will deal with residents, who publish books criticizing the local rule, in their own way. The church also has been calling out on books they deemed to be bad.

To be honest, it’s nothing that can be answered easily.

“How about a ban on hunting?”

“That’s realistically impossible.”

The Kingdom cannot easily increase the farming output because of the monster domains, and it lacks the space to carry out animal husbandry on a large scale. In short, people need to hunt if they want to eat meat. On top of that, pelts are essential trade goods to be exported to the Kingdom’s north or the Empire. Or to be more precise, the number of people freezing to death would likely grow significantly, if they couldn’t rely on pelts because of the low production of silk and cotton wool.

When I explained all this to the demons, one of them told me, “You would just need to import food and clothing from our country!”

“When it comes to trade, we first need to negotiate the currency exchange rates, tariffs, and trade volumes.”

On that day we somehow managed to push the talks to a conclusion where we’d continue the negotiations. But, I’ve become completely drained from doing something I’m not used to. As I thought, in the end I’m not suited to be a politician.

 

＊

 

“Earl-sama, you have much more of an aptitude than that braggart Überschaar.”

“Is that supposed to be praise?”

Burkhart-san approached me to express his admiration after the negotiations for the day had ended.

“It’s not like Lord Überschaar failed in his negotiations with the Empire. And I’m telling you that you’re more capable than someone like him.”

Because of all the deja vus, it’s probably going to become even better as I learn to understand what sort of people the demons are. Either way, let me just say one thing: I have absolutely no talent in diplomacy.

“Rather than that, those groups, which had bickered about hunting, quickly shut up.”

“Ah, about that…,” I gave an explanation to Erw, “…they’re actively endorsing the prohibition of hunting in their country, right? But, do you know who’s funding their movement?”

“I already considered that to be weird. Can such a protest movement be profitable?”

“Yeah, it can.”

The folks, who are doing all the volunteer work at the base, might do it because they genuinely feel sorry for animals. However, it’s also true that those at the top of the movement earn money with it.

“Even though they should be running their movement based on the donations by its supporters, I suspect big companies dealing in food to be among those supporters as well.”

Or to be precise here, I think it’s going to be trading companies and enterprises selling food.

“Why would such people support them financially?”

“That’s simple. In order to sell agricultural produce and animal products to the Kingdom.”

According to Mall and his friends, the demon country currently has a surplus on food. That’s also why food is being distributed to jobless people for free. If we assume the situation to be the same with clothing, it’s not strange that they put all their criticism aside for the moment when I mentioned that import would be possible, depending on the following negotiations.

They probably wanted to avoid calling potential customers savages.

“They won’t be able to sell a piece of cloth for each pelt clothing our people wear. Correct?”

“So it’s not a virtuous movement at all…”

I won’t say that they’re doing this completely for the sake of profit, but the heads of the folks, who have come to the negotiation this time, should be filled with nothing but the intentions of their financial backers.

“No, they’re endorsing a ban on hunting based on a virtuous mind because they really feel pity for the animals. However, things have become oddly mixed up as soon as the country and the interests of their backers also came into play here.”

It meant that some within the movement had only joined to make some money out of this.

“It’s the same with the sea boars, too.”

Given the sheer size, they’d provide a sizable amount of meat if they were to be used as a source of food. From the perspective of the food companies in the demon country, it’s more convenient to label an action, which would steal their own profits, as evil.

“I cannot understand why they talked about the sea boars being intelligent either.”

“That makes sense. I mean, if you keep horses and cows, they can get used to it as well.”

Neither Burkhart-san nor Erw seemed to understand the demons’ point here. The same applied to me as well, though.

Given that I had received the horse, which I had borrowed from Peter during the Empire’s civil war, as a reward, it’s currently being raised on my estate and every once in a while I ride it too, but it’s a smart horse that will skilfully match its pace to me who’s rather bad at horse riding. Furthermore, it’s unclear whether sea boars are actually smart since we’ve only been catching them as food.

“How to say it…? They’re a nitpicky bunch.”

“Since we were able to understand each other to some extent, I think it’ll be okay to leave the rest to the Minister.”

I quickly summarized my predictions about the demons’ way of thinking and the minutes of the negotiation I had joined, and then I handed these to the diplomatic corps and His Majesty.

 

＊　＊　＊

 

『A different race with a different set of values, huh…? Just when I thought we finally came to an agreement with the Empire…』

The tone His Majesty used was rather grave, but considering the current technological gap between both our races, a war would be a pretty stupid option. In the worst case, it was possible for the Kingdom to get betrayed by the Empire and get pincered from two sides.

When I brought this up, Minister Edgar rebuked, 『The Empire, you think? Aren’t you overthinking this?』

“No, nothing like that.”

I was using two MHCDs to also talk with the minister since it’d be too much work to continuously switch around.

If the Kingdom and demons went to war, it couldn’t be completely excluded that the Empire would use that opportunity to backstab the Kingdom.

“The demons possess armaments and equipment which is far more efficient and lethal than the magic guns and cannons used by the Mizuho Dukedom during the Empire’s civil war. On top of that, all demons are magicians at intermediate level and above.”

『But, aren’t they lacking the numbers?』

“You’re right. Currently, they have few people at arms.”

Right now, the royal army might be able to somehow repel the demon force at the archipelago, if it defends with the will to do or die. But, if the demons go at it seriously, the Kingdom’s military forces will be finished in no time.

『Without a doubt, Doushi, Burkhart-san, I and the other magicians won’t stay alive in this world for long either, I’d say』

If the high-level magicians among the demons, who we don’t know as of yet, go for it seriously, we might not be able to fend them off unless we trade our lives for it.

“We’ll likely lose the magic airships and most of our elite forces, too. It’s quite likely that the demons would get the military preparations in order and attack us once more, once they become serious. Even the fact of many demon youths being jobless might become a big problem for us.”

The government could lure those youths into overtaking the Kingdom by promising them great rewards. Also, it’s possible that the demons would instigate the Empire’s government by shouting, 『Do not forget all the sacrifices during your civil war!』. It’s a possible scenario that the Empire would go along with the demons’ plan, I’d assume. In such a case, the Kingdom would be stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Even Peter would choose to call off the peace treaty with the Kingdom and attack, if the other option would be to fight the demons and ultimately lose. Given the low numbers of demons, they could see some value in the Empire which is impoverished because of the civil war.

After explaining all of that, Minister Edgar said, 『Uuhh…just when I thought things have become a bit easier now that the Empire’s national strength has deteriorated somewhat… We’d have no choice but to gain some time through trade and exchange that doesn’t lead to friction』

Because we wouldn’t be able to win the war, our only option is to tie a friendship treaty while trying to make the conditions as favorably for us as possible.

“But, there’s salvation in this.”

『There is?』

“First off, there have been basically no confrontations between the Kingdom and the demon country across history. There’s the matter with the Lingaia, but it didn’t lead to any casualties on the demons’ side. We haven’t had any battles so far. Rather, the demons’ country is much more of a blank sheet than the Empire with whom we went to war regularly until two hundred years ago, if you exclude the incident of Marquis Läger marching into the Empire during its civil war so as to take advantage of the situation.”

『That makes sense. The demons shouldn’t have as many grudges and hard feelings towards us as the Empire』

“Another factor would be the demons’ way of thinking. It seems like a part of them follow radical ideologies, but their numbers are low. The majority of the demons have a living standard going way above that of humans. I doubt they have any incentive to force an invasion.”

『Being able to embrace such a way of thinking is very enviable, I must admit』, said His Majesty.

Warharks are few and far between in the Kingdom as well, but during the Empire’s civil war, His Majesty had quite some troubles to restrain them from departing to the front. After all, nobles can’t resist the temptation of growing their territory.

Upon my reminder of that circumstance, His Majesty asked, 『It’s not the same for the demons?』

“About that…”

The island inhabited by the demons was named Solent, but you could call it a subcontinent with a size of around a quarter of the Lingaia Continent.

“I heard the demons lived spread out across the whole island in the past, but…because of their declining population, they abandoned many of their settlements in the outskirts. Nowadays, three quarters of the island are uninhabited. As such, the demons have lots of land available they could easily develop, and something like monsters do not pose much of a threat to demons, if they feel like getting rid of them. But, even if they reclaim the land, they lack people to settle there, so they’re leaving a lot of the monster domains and nature alone. Then again, parts of it are used as research areas for scientists or as nature reserves.”

『That sounds like a waste』

“Maybe, but please avoid offering to settle in those places, no matter what you do.”

『Why?』

“Because it’d aggregate the warhawks among the demons. They could claim that the humans are trying to destroy their race by slowly stealing their motherland over time. Such rhetoric would instigate the other demons, possibly causing some among the general demon public to shift towards support for an invasion of the Lingaia Continent.”

『We’ll be busy with developing our own territory for several hundred years. And given the distance to the demon country, it’d be difficult for us to control anyone we send there, too』

His Majesty didn’t seem to consider sending immigrants to the demon country, as might be expected.

『I have understood most of the situation now. But, I must say you’re holding up much better than expected, Earl Baumeister』

“No, it’s just a fluke.”

Yep, I have no abilities as a diplomat. The circumstances in the demon country are simply resembling some of the political situations on Earth by chance. And since I can understand the demons to some extent, this much of an analysis would be possible for anyone who’s not completely incompetent.

“But, my job is done with this.”

『Minister Überschaar, huh…?』

Initially Minister Überschaar was too confused because of the wide difference between him and his thinking and the demons and their thinking, but since he has learned to comprehend the demons to an extent, he told me that he wouldn’t need any further assistance.

『I suppose Minister Überschaar wouldn’t feel overly happy about being beaten in his own field of expertise by you, who’s not a part of the foreign affairs faction』

“Yes.”

『I will make sure to stay in contact with Minister Überschaar. Earl Baumeister, could I have you remain there on standby, in case your help becomes necessary again?』

“As you wish, Your Majesty.”

I must stay on the archipelago, but it looks like I don’t need to join the negotiations anymore. Since it’d just piss off Minister Überschaar and his diplomats if His Majesty were to push me into joining the negotiations, this way of handling it was welcome to me.

“But, with just Erw and Burkhart-san at my side?”

“Got a problem with us? I mean, even I’d obviously prefer to have Haruka-san at my side!”

“I’ll be fine either way as long as I can drink some good wine and eat some delicious fish. I haven’t been able to take my wife and daughter along anyway.”

However, there would be no problem even if I brought my wives along.

 

＊

 

With that out of the way, I immediately called Elise and the others over.

“Bringing your babies to a place brimming with demon military, demon diplomats, Holmia’s naval reconnaissance ships, and the Kingdom’s military and diplomatic envoy; you sure are a bold one, Earl Baumeister!

The Terra Harrez Archipelago included close to fifty islands, but at the moment, the demons were building a base only on the biggest island, and they had merely stationed a few guards on some of the other islands.

We built stone houses――the same types as the ones during the Empire’s civil war―― and a simple dock on a small island located at the outer edge of the archipelago and moored our airship over there.

“Wend-kun, have you now become an important noble?”

“So far as it goes, I’m just here to support.”

“I don’t quite understand it, but the demons’ magic airships are definitely unusual.”

Even Amalie-san, who had been mostly in charge of baby-care until now, had followed my wives. We left a part of the guards and retainers back in Sirius, entrusting them with the management of the fishers working for us.

However, I also had several fishermen come with us as well. Just now I was taking out the boats from my magic bag at the island’s beach so that we could check, repair, and get them ready for fishing trips.

“Wend, is this a vacation?”

“Something like that.”

Either way, I have to stay on the archipelago due to His Majesty’s decree, and since it’d be boring to simply sit around here doing nothing, I might as well enjoy vacations on an uninhabited island with my wives.

“The demons’ army is around though…”

“That’s no problem.”

I doubt that they’re planning to suddenly kidnap and murder us. If they had such plans, Minister Überschaar and his diplomats would be dead by now.

“They’re proud of their own progressive culture. The possibility of them suddenly doing something to us is low.”

“But, it’s not zero, right?”

“If these negotiations break down, things will head towards war in the worst case. With the demon army as opponents, the outcome will be the same, no matter where we might be. Hence, it’s indispensable for me to support the diplomatic efforts as much as possible.”

“Support? But, wouldn’t Minister Überschaar hate that?” Elise argued against my thinking while holding Friedrich.

“I’ll do it in addition to Minister Überschaar’s efforts?”

“So the support is us being on vacation?”

“In the end, it’s very likely to take that shape, yes.”

“I don’t get it,” Ina tilted her head in confusion.

But certainly, I think the people living on the continent cannot understand the kind of support I’m planning here.

“Anyway, let’s get started on the vacations.”

Given that we built ourselves a place to live within a few hours, I took a stroll along the coast while holding Friedrich in my arms.

“Friedrich, it’s a pretty ocean, isn’t it?”

“Aah――――”

“That’s because the area hasn’t been developed. It’s still all nature.”

“Auu――――”

“You’re right.”

“Umm, listen Wend, I don’t think you can talk with him yet.”

“Don’t worry. Friedrich is a smart boy so he already understands me.”

“Aren’t you going way too far with your doting!?”

“Is that bad!?”

This boy is supposed to deal with troublesome nobles and the Kingdom’s government after succeeding me. His mother is Elise, and his mana should keep growing as well, so I’m sure he’s going to become an outstanding second Earl Baumeister.

“At any rate, he’s the guarantee for me to retire with a peace of mind. He’ll allow me to live freely as I please afterwards.”

“You really shouldn’t place such a big pressure on a newborn…” Erw complained about my plan of letting the smart Friedrich take over the family headship ahead of time so that I’d be able to spend the rest of my life with an early retirement.

“Anyway! All that matters right now is for him to grow up into a healthy boy!”

“Hey, you’re trying to distract, aren’t you?”

Ignoring Erw’s retort, I held Anna, Elsa, Cayenne, Flora, Irene, Hilde, and Laura in the order of their birth. No matter how often I look at them, babies are cute and innocent. Someone like me, who’s already sullied, cannot hold a candle to them.

Once evening started, my wives breastfed the children, and then we had an outdoor barbecue. We roasted the meat and veggies we brought along as well as the seafood caught by the fishermen, enjoying a relaxing holiday for the first time in a while.

“You may be whining about this and that, but to me it looks like you have had quite a bit of fun most recently.”

“Come to think of it, how about you, Arnest?”

“In my case, my work and hobby overlap.”

We built three houses. One for us, one for the fishermen, and the last one for Arnest and his former pupils. Doushi and Burkhart-san also used the house of the four demons. Mall and his two friends mentioned that they had already enjoyed enough sightseeing of Sirius, and Arnest followed because, according to him, he could write his thesis anywhere.

“Still, the negotiations seem to not be going too well, are they?”

“Sensei, the other party’s delegation consists of new parliament members of the Civil Rights party.”

“Aren’t they kind of doubtable as politicians?”

“The only good thing is that they haven’t called off the negotiations all of a sudden and started to tout for war.”

For some reason, our local demons seemed to harbor a low assessment of Remy and her delegation. Even on Earth, you could find such politicians every now and then.

“So, our playing around is going to become a support for the negotiations? Personally, I’m happy if you, Wend, can spend some time with the babies as well, though.”

“Hah, war isn’t any good. Babies save a country.”

“I can understand that the Kingdom will be in dire straits if it has no children, but…”

Luise got worried while not understanding my train of thought, but suddenly she took a combat stance and directed her bloodlust in a certain direction.

“Aww───human magician, you’re not half bad. As might be expected, one shouldn’t mess around with someone experienced in actual combat.”

“Who are you? Seeing how our children are here, I won’t show any mercy, you know?”

“No, wait, wait. I don’t have any intention to fight you. Even though I might look like this, I’ve got a certain extent of training, seeing I’ve occasionally ventured deep into monster domains to get my news coverage.”

“News coverage?”

“Yes! The negotiations are so damn tedious, and since my editor-in-chief told me to send in an interesting article, I thought I might use you, Earl Baumeister-san, as source, seeing how you started something weird over here.”

At last, the sort of demon I had hoped for showed up. She was in her early twenties. Her dark brown hair was tied together into a braid on the back of her head. She wore clothes that resembled an overall. A magic camera was hanging down from her neck.

 

 

“Hello, I’m Lumi Carchs, a rookie reporter of Everyday Journal. I’d like to ask for permission to cover you in an article…”

“Coverage for an article? What does she mean, Wend?”

“I don’t particularly mind. It’s bad manners to talk outside, so please come inside.”

“Thank you.”

Ina scrutinized Lumi skeptically as she didn’t know what to make out of this whole 『news coverage』 business, but as far as I’m concerned, she’s the person I’ve been waiting for. Just as I had predicted, the demons’ mass media showed up, thus starting my support strategy that didn’t rely on magic.

After all, even an amateur like me would likely be able to at least apply the countermeasures against the press I knew of.

 

 

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