Book 8: Chapter 38

「…Now, then. I assume you’ve called us here to a meeting because you have some manner of a request. Let’s hear what it is.」

Upon Vermudol’s inquiry, Celis nodded.

「Yes. To put it simply, we wish to make clear that we have no intention of making your country our enemy.」

「Hmm?」

「As you know, we are currently caught in a civil war. Of course, we do not intend on asking for assistance from other countries to assist in that matter, but… as we have mentioned earlier, our country is currently being attacked by the Alva.」

Vermudol surmised that she must be requesting that they deal with the Alva for her.

It was unclear exactly how many Alva were rampaging about the Canal Kingdom, depending on how wide their range of operation was and how long they remained during their appearances, dealing with them in secret could prove to be difficult.

It was unlikely that he’d be able to station the Demon King Army in various locations, and ensuring that he’d be able to provide enough troops that would be able to instantly take care of Alva that could appear practically anywhere would end up hurting the power of his own country as well.

「…Just so you know, we aren’t asking you to do something about the Alva for us.」

「Oh?」

Seeing Vermudol’s face deep in thought, Celis went on to clear any assumptions he may have been making.

「We understand the situation of your country as well. We know that you won’t be able to easily maneuver your troops away from your country… which is why we will be the ones to take care of the Alva. Our request is of a different matter.」

「Let’s hear it, then. I can’t guarantee we will be able to accept it, however.」

As Vermudol spoke those words, he spoke with a completely different tone from before.

Compared to the timid girl she was when they first met, she now gave off the air of a capable politician.

If she were to maintain that air about her at all times, she would have no issues passing as a politician, but considering that she had shown several glimpses of lack of confidence towards herself, she still had some room for improvement.

「We would like to request that you assist with repairing the city walls and entrance. In addition, we’d like to request that you import the stone necessary for the task as well.」

「…Stone?」

「That’s another strange request to make,」 thought Vermudol.

He had learned that they had enough food and daily necessities stored in the city, but it was unclear if they would last throughout the whole war, which is why he assumed that they would have made a request in relation to that.

However, stone was quite the unexpected request.

「Yes. Unfortunately, the area that would provide such materials is currently in enemy territory at the moment. We have secured any routes necessary for providing food, but we have no means of acquiring the stone needed for our city repairs.」

it was true that even with enough carriages to carry enough food to feed the entire city, that wouldn’t be enough to carry the sufficient amount of stone necessary to repair the entire wall surrounding the city. There was stone needed to create lodgings for those who had lost their homes as well, which further put a strain on the overall stone required.

And while the repair of the city entrance was requested, to put it more precise, that very entrance had been completely annihilated at this point.

In that case, they’d need metal and the means to shape that metal, and with the craftsmen of the Canal Kingdom in mind, it’d be doubtful whether they’d have enough time to manage such a tall order, not to mention that they were already busy with the forging and repairs of weapons and armor.

「…Hmm.」

The Zadark Kingdom was fully capable of fulfilling Celis’ request.

The stone could be acquired in the southern region, and there was no doubt the Norm would be able to perfectly provide the iron doors necessary for the entrance.

The only other concern was transport, which could easily be solved with Transfer Magic. Anything that needed to be carried over would be able to be done swiftly and safely.

And by dispatching Norm to the city, they’d be able to greatly increase the pace of the repairs.

「I understand your request. What would you grant us in return?」

That’s right, some payment was required for such a request.

However, it was doubtful that the current Canal Kingdom would be able to provide anything in return.

Of course, he was perfectly fine with doing all of this for free… but Vermudol made a point to purposely ask this in spite of that.

He’d be able to understand exactly what kind of person Celis was this way, after all.

He didn’t want to support someone and only end up getting betrayed again. He had enough of that with Borkio.

Celis took that meaningful gaze Vermudol displayed head-on.

Swallowing her saliva, Celis responded.

「…Trust, and friendship.」

「Oh?」

「We will, of course, provide you with money. If it is something that you would like, we will attempt to meet your demands to the best of our ability, as well. However, more than that, I would like to develop a relationship that would go beyond such exchanges.」

Vermudol remained quiet as he waited for her to go on.

「Which is why we will provide our trust and friendship in return. Once this civil war has settled down and we retain our stability as a country… I wish to enter a friendly treaty with your country, the Zadark Kingdom.」

If Reina had been planning this all along, it would be quite the impressive feat.

But he doubted that was the case.

Depending on how one took her words, they could be interpreted as those of arrogance. It was as if she was saying that earning their friendship was worth more than anything else.

If Vermudol had been any other foreign ambassador, it was likely that such a haughty statement would be taken as an insult of the highest caliber.

But the Zadark Kingdom was different. The Zadark Kingdom only desires peace, in other words, a friendly relationship. This meant that such a thing would mean far more than simply money.

However, there was still a chance that those words of hers could be implying she was underestimating them… or maybe she just had enough guts to speak such words.

The only people who would be able to say something like that were those who had some kind of plan in mind, for the most part.

If that was the case with Celis, then she must have something significant planned.

「L-Like I said earlier, we would reward you with the money or goods necessary, as well…」

「Heh.」

Seeing Celis’ cat ears droop down caused Sancreed to make a small chuckle.

Honest and sincere. That was the kind of person Celis was, there was no doubt about it.

It was not necessarily the best personality a politician should have, and she was still green in many areas, but… glimpses of the makings of a true ruler could be made out.

「…I understand. The Zadark Kingdom will do everything they can to assist with the repair of your city walls. We will assist with the homes of your citizens as well if so desired. In return… we expect that you will grant us your trust and friendship.」

Seeing Celis respond with such a serious expression and her head nodding up and down again and again, Vermudol couldn’t help but give off a small smile in return.