CH 307

T/N: It won’t be explicitly mentioned, but the Demon Country delegation that comes with Flora starts speaking the local language as soon as it becomes relevant for them to speak Ploissian.

Thanks to the meeting being settled more easily than I thought, I was able to go home immediately. I was prepared that it would take about a week if I didn’t do it right.

I have a feeling that I want to do more sightseeing in the Demon Country, but if I leave the other side alone too much, the work piles up too much. If I go home today, it will be two days and one night, so I won’t have much work yet waiting for me.

After having lunch with the emperor and others, I decided to return in the afternoon. I’m supposed to be taught the coordinates of the Heavenly Fall and how to move through it. Once that’s over, I’ll be able to come and go freely by myself from now on. It’s a funny story now that we were able to pass safely the first time, but it seems that doing this with Mikoto was quite dangerous…

That’s why I finished the preparations and decided to return to the other side…

“E~tto... who are all these people?” I said.

For some reason, there were a lot of people in the Heavenly Fall room. It’s not a send-off, surveillance, or an escort. Some of them are soldiers, but some people are clearly not military.

“Mochiron, these are the ones who will participate in the working-level talks,” Emperor Sumeragi replied.

“Ah~…” I said.

Your Majesty… are you planning to start negotiations now? I also thought that it would start after waiting for a while to prepare… I never thought that we would hold a top-level meeting today and start working-level discussions on the same day…

“Shouldn’t it be better to go with you when you return, my yome Flora?” Emperor Sumeragi said. “If we delay this for later, the problems and hassles will only grow in the meanwhile.”

“Sorewa, maa… I suppose you’re right,” I said.

After all, you can’t underestimate this emperor’s intelligence. We both understand each other’s situations very well.

If a Demon Country Envoy suddenly arrives in our territory without contacting us first, it could become a big incident. If it was a large-scale envoy, the local troops could respond to it as if they were attacking, which is the real problem. Handle it poorly, and we’re looking at war…

On the other hand, once an envoy goes to the Kingdom of Del, ask Del to act as an intermediary, work with our House, and contact us before coming back, it takes a lot of time and effort. Under these circumstances, it would be difficult to have smooth and smart working-level discussions. Besides, there is a fear that Del will intervene in our talks.

As an outsider, I don’t know exactly how deep is Del’s subordination to the Demon Country and what kind of relationship it has. However, it is not treated like a colony or a protectorate, it seems to be a loosely united relationship, and diplomacy via Del is likely to invite meddling.

That’s why when I return, they’ll send the first group together with me. The reception will be inadequate, but in return, the mission will be able to go smoothly. Even if you make a mistake, the envoys won’t be attacked… or at least that’s the plan.

If you open a diplomatic channel between House Caan and the Demon Country here, you will be free to send additional dispatches and contact them. Even if it’s a little hasty now, it’s important to set up an embassy between the two parties first. The emperor must have decided so. And I agree with that.

I would be very grateful if they could come with me to Caan Territory this time. I’m not always in my own territory, either. If an envoy from the Demon Country comes while I’m gone, there’s a possibility that it will become a seed of unnecessary conflict. This is the best way to make sure things get done while I’m still here.

“Oya? Is it possible that Isuzu-san will come, too?” I asked.

“Hai,” Isuzu said. “I will be with you as part of the first group. But I will be back here soon, though. I’m quite curious as to how Mikoto-sama’s daily life goes over there!

Isuzu… is she a high-ranking official? Because she is under Mikoto? So it seems she’ll follow. But I am glad that she won’t be with us long. It’s for the better.

Isuzu is of the few subordinates who can exercise Mikoto’s influence in the Demon Country. Bringing Isuzu to Caan Territory and Mikoto’s personal effects might be good in the sense that they are already good friends, but in the end, it’s nothing more than her personal interest.

From the point of view of a ruler, if Mikoto can contact or exert influence on someone, I would like them to remain in the Demon Country and continue to do various things in the future. When I want to work on the Demon Country through Mikoto, if we don’t have anyone over here that can take care of it, Mikoto will have little mediation power.

Even if it’s just a small amount, I’m grateful that there are one or two people I can contact to relay Mikoto’s orders. In that sense, I wanted Isuzu to remain in the Demon Country. Isuzu knows that too, which is why I suppose she intends to join the first party and then leave.

Maybe Mikoto and Isuzu really want to be together, and I feel sorry for them, but I want them to play their respective roles in the grand scheme of things.

And I’m ignoring something… Isuzu’s saying “daily life”… she probably meant “sex life,” right? That’s what I thought, so I skipped over it, but… I’m nervous about something, and I’m sure the feeling isn’t unfounded…

“Ah, are you going to be dispatched, as well?” I asked another familiar face.

“Eh? Ah, hai. Do you remember me by any chance?” the regular soldier said.

“Eeh. Sorewa mochiron, I’d remember you,” I said.

It was the same person who guided us when we went out to town. At that time, he was among those who paid for us, so I gave him the jewel later to compensate them for their troubles, but I didn’t expect him to come with me…

It seems that he originally worked at the castle, so he wasn’t just a low-ranking soldier, but rather a high-ranking officer, was he? Well, there’s also the possibility that he’s just a soldier regardless, but…

“My name is Musashi,” he said. “I have volunteered to be your escort.”

“Soudatta no desuka?” I replied..

Musashi……. Musashi, like that Musashi? This country really looks a lot like Japan. Even so, to volunteer to be an escort… I guess he volunteered not as a diplomat or a specialist, but as a soldier to guard the envoys.

“I was thinking of presenting this to the Emperor, which you had given to me Flora-sama… but he said that since you had given it as a gift to me, I should be the one to keep it,” Musashi said, taking out the jewel then from his pocket.

It is very carefully wrapped. It’s not that big of a gem, though…

“Maa… soudeshitaka?... But then the money that you all paid, Musashi-san…”

“Please call me just Musashi,” he said. “The Emperor has already paid for the shortfall in your stead. Please rest assured we are bearing no burden.”

I see. Musashi did what I told him to do, and gave the emperor this jewel, and asked him to pay for the shortfall in return. But the emperor already paid and told Musashi to keep it.

I mean, after all, the emperor had given them some money from the beginning, but it wasn’t enough for the amount we used. Musashi and the guards paid out of their pockets… I’m glad I followed up just in case. If I hadn’t, I would have put an extra burden on Musashi.

I don’t know if he has a family or anything like that, but if he had a family that relied on Musashi’s income to live, it would have been a big deal. It would be significant if we had made him guide a selfish princess and her companion to town and made them spend a lot of his money unexpectedly.

In addition to the above, there were some escort soldiers, luggage carriers, diplomats and trade negotiators lined up in a row. After a brief introduction, we finally set off.

“Soredewa, my daughters, Flora, Mikoto,” Emperor Sumeragi. “Farewell for now.”

“Next time I come here, I want to take relax and take it easy,” I said. “And we would like you to visit our estate as well, Ogifu-sama.”

It’s not too formal, but it’s like that… I don’t know the customs and etiquette of the Demon Country, so I’ll make it look like it. Maybe it’s strange etiquette here, but it’s important to respect the other person instead of getting caught up in the formality of this kind of thing.

“Umu. I’m looking forward to that day,” Emperor Sumeragi said.

“Hai.”

“Sorejya, I’m heading out!” Mikoto said. “I’ll be back soon!”

Mikoto……. Was that ok? Mikoto is really too carefree…

Whether everyone was surprised or impressed, they were seeing Mikoto off with a subtle attitude. I’ve already carved out the coordinates on myself, and I’ve learned how to descend from the Heavenly Falls. I’ve been through it once, so I made up my mind and jumped into the whirlpool.

Swallowed by the whirlpool! And afterward, I arrived at the shrine I entered before. There is a possibility that people will come out one after another, so I leave the area quickly. The delegation will only spend so long in transit, so I will go outside the shrine so that my back will not get pushed by them.

“Hou… I didn’t expect so many people to come out after you…”

“It looks like you did well over there.”

“Komainu…” I said.

When I went outside the shrine, I was spoken to by the Komainu. But they don’t seem to have anything particular to say about the delegation. We don’t even bother having niceties. I wonder if the komainu are just for the defense of this shrine.

In any case, we waited in front of the shrine until all the envoys had gathered, and when everyone was confirmed, we decided to depart. Of course, I’m not sure if this is everyone. Mikoto and I just watched as the other side gathered and made roll-call on their own.

If it was just me and Mikoto, we would have crossed the mountaintop of Hexennacht and returned straight to Caanburg… but with this number of people, there are not only military officers but also many civilian officers, but we forced them to march to Caanburg. It would be unreasonable to make them run.

“Since it is unavoidable, would you like to stop by Floren once today and spend the night?” I asked.

“I guess so,” Mikoto said. “Well, I suppose we can’t have them all run back, anyway.”

Hmmm… How about running ahead to inform the others that diplomats and envoys are coming…? There are quite a few people, so it’s difficult to put everyone in a carriage, but…

It would have been possible to prepare a carriage for this number of people in advance, but it would be a cruel story to do it out of the blue. It might not be impossible, but there is a high possibility that it will cause chaos here and there.

If you go to Caanburg after going to Floren, it will be a detour in terms of total travel distance. But even though I came back here in the afternoon, if I’m going to Caanburg from now on, I’ll have you stay overnight in Floren, which is closer…?

“It will be a bit late to go to the territory’s capital from now on, so it will be a little detour, but I must ask you all to stay overnight in the nearest town from here,” I said to one of the envoys.

“Understood,” he said. “Then I will relay the orders to everyone else.”

Just as said, the news spreads. Everyone crosses the snow-covered Hexennacht Mountain Range and descends to the Caan side. As expected of an all-demon delegation, their bodies are strong. Normally, it might be difficult to traverse such a snowy mountain with light clothing. However, we crossed the mountain calmly without anyone dropping.

Come to think of it, something occurred to me while we hiked… I don’t think our family’s troops are accustomed to walking in the snow or in the mountains. Since our territory is in forested regions, you should be used to walking deep in trees. Military training should also be centered in forest locations. But… considering the possibility of colliding with the Principality of Moscove in the east, is that not enough?

I don’t know how cold it actually is, but if you apply it roughly to the earth, it is expected that the Principality of Moscove is a fairly cold country. In that case, wouldn’t there be considerable damage if we got caught up in the Principality of Moscove’s “space to time” delay tactics and let General Winter take to the field? 1

I heard that the Kingdom of Polsky has a lot of deep forests and flat plains, but in order to compete with the Principality of Moscove in the future, it will be necessary to prepare for that. Let’s try military training for the march in the snow next time. …… No, wait, won’t they be wrecked and annihilated in the snowy mountains if I tried? I shouldn’t do it, should I?

Well, let’s think about it later. It would be a big problem if I let them train too unreasonably and end up putting my troops into an avoidable emergency. However, you should be prepared. We might need a ski troop or a mountaineering troop.

“I can see it now. That’s Floren, where you will be staying today,” I said.

“Ah… that’s…” one of the envoys said.

Well, it’s not as if I don’t understand his disappointing, mocking, or dismissive attitude. Floren is still a small town. I don’t know if it’s the scale of a big village or a small town, but it’s definitely not that big.

The royal capital of the Demon Country… the imperial capital, rather? It was quite large. Even ancient Japan used to have huge cities with equally large populations. There was a big city like Edo, which was unparalleled in the world. For those who came from such a place, Floren would look like a small rural village.

Well, there’s no need to force yourself to show off. Floren is still a small town even within Ploiss’s standards. Even if they were ridiculed for their small scale, there would be no way to object to them staying here.

More than that, Floren hides our tiger cub galleon fleet. No matter how likely it is that they will become friendly nations in the future, it would be better to keep it a secret so that the Demon Country Mission will not find out.

While thinking about such things, I managed to reach Floren before the sun went down.