CH 360

It’s already late, so I let the delegation be guided to the mansion and rest then start preparing for the dinner party. At that time, I called Mother.

“Mother, don’t frighten the delegation too much…”

“Oh my, my? He’s the son of the Emperor of Yamato, so I only gave him a little look. But he still has a long way to go. He’s nowhere near as good as his father, the Emperor.”

I agree with that. The Emperor of Yamato was indeed a monster. It might be possible to deal some damage if you launch a surprise attack with a powerful spell from a long distance, but I can’t think of a way to fight and win past that. Compared to that, Subaru has given me a lot of chances to win. I’m weaker in a physical strength head-on collision, but it’s the same as the previous battle that he can’t win with physical strength alone.

“Then you just teased Prince Subaru a little to make sure?”

“That’s right,” Mother said. “I won’t do it anymore. There may be highlights to him, but… Flora dear, you’re better.”

Well… I did fight against him once and won. No matter how strong you are, it doesn’t matter if you can’t hit your target. Subaru can’t catch me, so unless there’s a big chance for him, I won’t be hit.

“I’m saying this because you seem to have misunderstood, but I don’t mean that you’re superior with your current fighting ability, Flora dear,” Mother said. “You’re superior in talent, effort, and everything else. That’s why you’re stronger, Flora dear. It’s only natural.”

“Um… Thank you very much.”

I don’t know what to say. I’m sure I’m better than him at the moment. This is not arrogance or carelessness, it’s a simple fact. Understanding the difference in ability between us in battle is the most important thing, even though it is basic. Is your opponent stronger or weaker than you? And what is the power difference? Accurately measuring it is also a skill.

In that case, Subaru is no match for me at all. He’s above me in one feat of power, but below in everything else. In the first place, the fundamental speed is overwhelmingly different, so the opponent’s attacks won’t even reach. And since I can use magic, I can attack unilaterally even if I’m far away. There are no elements that will cause my loss.

I just don’t understand the difference in talent that my mother talks about. Do I really have such a talent? I’ve been desperately training every day until now. In order to become a little stronger each time…

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But I can’t catch up with Mother at all, and I still can’t see myself getting close enough to Father to see his back. I’m 16, too. At this age, I can’t even see my parents’ backs, I’m so far behind them, and I don’t think I can even catch up. Is it because I have no talent? Or maybe my efforts aren’t enough…

If Mother says I have talent, it means that I don’t have enough effort to make the most of that talent. On the other hand, if my mother evaluates me as talented because of her parental greed, then it might be useless for me to try any harder.

Of course, even if I say that, I have no choice but to keep trying, but I don’t think I’ll be able to fight against real monsters like my parents or Emperor Sumeragi…

Since the preparations were complete, I invited the delegation and held a dinner party. The involved are me, my mother, my brother, and the diplomats who were in charge of the preliminary negotiations, such as Kanbee and Mikalojus, all sitting till the end of the table. Then over on the other side, the current delegation centered on Subaru and the diplomats who were involved in the preliminary negotiations for their side, all lined up as well.

A dinner party isn’t that formal. It’s just a matter of having them eat our food and offering them hospitality. That’s why I’m not going to go into detail about etiquette. I don’t mean to… but what is this?

“Kah~~~! This sake compares favorably with our country’s finest sake!”

The completely relaxed Subaru gulped down his drink all at once with a bright red face. There are also brands and grades to some extent. Although the rules and standards have not been completely decided yet, there are several sake breweries that have devised different manufacturing methods, aging methods, serving techniques, etc., and there are several patterns and types of flavors, such as different profiles depending on the barrel used.

Among them, we have prepared several types of items that are considered to be the best or special selection, and are preparing to serve them to guests on such occasions. These classifications and varieties are decided by the sake breweries themselves, and there is no universal standard. Also, the type of taste and flavor is not fixed, and there is no difference between dry and sweet.

My mother likes things with a fruity flavor, but it doesn’t matter if it’s light or rich, sweet or dry. It is also possible that it has become a special selection in itself.

Sake is difficult because there are various types and standards. Especially in this life, where they only drink wine and beer instead of water. In many areas where the local water source is not drinkable, wine and beer are often treated like water would be in modern times. 1

However, I don’t really know because I haven’t had a lot of alcohol in my life yet. I’ve tasted it a little, but I can’t quite tell the difference because my tastes have changed from my previous life. After all, you can’t compare to a certain extent unless you drink and compare various things and come to understand the differences.

That’s why I leave the alcohol to other people, but Subaru orders the various kinds of sake that we have prepared at home and drinks them all up, saying that this one is good and that one is good as well. At least he never told us anything tasted bad. That’s good, but I wonder if he drank too much. On top of that, he’s drunk a lot of wine and beer, too… I think he’ll definitely get sick…

“You know what…?” Subaru slurred, completely drunk. “Ever since I was a child… I’ve grown up with stories about Bloody Maria… and they were all terrifying. But the thing is… they weren’t all just horrible ones… you know what? My Father also said that there was a beautiful, blood-stained angel running on the battlefield… I was both terrified and enchanted at the same time when I heard about that.”

“Prince Subaru, aren’t you drinking too much?” I gently reprimand him.

For the time being, the other party is a crown prince and I’m just one noble of Ploiss. My guest was in the superior position.

His face was bright red, his eyes were fixed, and he was saying something unnecessary while constantly slurring. The envoys around him are also trying to stop him, but they can’t seem to do it.

“That’s the thing! Today, I finally got to meet… the person I admired!… She’s so much higher than the sky… she’s gone beyond the impossible! Ueeii~… Bloody Maria! Just as I thought! No, not like I thought. She’s even more beautiful than I heard! I envy her husband!”

It’s completely useless…. he’s completely drunk. Indeed, Mother is still unusually youthful and beautiful. It’s almost believable to claim that she’s my older sister.

But I want you to stop being so lustful when you see someone’s mother. As a man inside, I can understand that feeling, but I still want you to stop. Then Mother said, “Hey, hey! I heard that?” and I want her to stop making a face like that. I’ll admit that my mother is young and beautiful for her age, but I wish she had a little more poise for her age.

“Damn the gods! I want a beautiful wife like Bloody Maria! … Oh, that’s right. Her daughter is… hey, Floto… let’s go get married… then we’ll…”

“… Huh? You want to marry me instead of my mother…? You’re using me as a replacement for my mother…?”

I feel like the hair on my whole body stands on end. I have a lot to say. But I can’t put it into words. I’m angry that he’s going to marry me instead of my mother. I can’t stand him looking at my mother like that and saying that because I’m her daughter. If you’re going to make light of us, I want you to say it with resolve for the consequences.

That aside, I’m going to marry Mikoto. Even the Emperor of Yamato, Kamui, acknowledged this. You want me to throw away Mikoto and marry you? What kind of words are those to say when you’re her older brother? If you say too much nonsense, we won’t be able to forgive you for mocking us, no matter how much you had to drink beforehand.

Whether or not I don’t want to marry a man is secondary. Other than that, various other emotions are jumbled up and the blood rises in my head.

“…?! So-Sorry… please pretend you didn’t hear that, that was just drunken nonsense…” a pale and trembling Subaru said as he bowed his head.

“Flora dear, please forgive him already,” Mother said. “Georg has already been hit by your aura and fainted.”

“Huh? Ah…”

When my mother prompted me to look at my brother’s seat, he was blowing bubbles with his eyes rolling into his head with only the whites visible. He’s having a strange convulsion and it might be dangerous.

“Eh~… Teheh☆” I put my fist on my head and stuck my tongue out to deceive them, but I couldn’t deceive them at all.

On the following day, discussions on the treaty began early in the morning. I finish my work early in the morning, so it doesn’t matter if it takes some time.

“Uu~~~……”

Subaru, who was sitting in front of me, has been making noises since a while ago. Besides, he has a bad complexion and always frowns. I know why. He’s got a hangover. I can see with my own eyes that this is what happens when I drink that much alcohol and do this and that nonsense. At least in my previous life, I had experienced that several times.

“If your hangover seems to be bad, would you like to come back later? Tomorrow it will surely be gone.”

“No… it’s okay… I understand what you’ve said so far… If you don’t want any changes or additions, we can sign it as it is.”

Hey, hey……. can you say that? Well, it’s true that the preliminary negotiations have already been finalized, and if we say that the person in charge will sign it, it’s just the way things go, but if you say the truth like that without signing it yet, you’ll be at a disadvantage in the negotiations, or at least I think they will be…

“Then let’s do a final check, shall we?” I said.

Subaru is fine with just signing. That’s why there are other envoys and pre-negotiations. For the time being, it was settled in advance negotiations, but just to be sure, I will confirm it again here when both of them are together.

The official name is the “Mutual Non-Aggression Pact between the Empire of Yamato and the Kingdom of Ploiss.” Basically, as the name suggests, we will not invade each other. It also includes not assisting or supporting a third party if it is at war with either of the first two parties. Supporting a belligerent is indirect aggression and prohibited.

And, as an accompanying agreement, the continuation of negotiations such as future human asset exchanges and technical exchanges is stipulated. The details have not been decided yet, but you can think of it as just a matter of continuing to interact with each other through negotiations.

This non-aggression pact works negatively for me. This treaty between the Yamato Empire and the Kingdom of Ploiss is valid even if there are other treaties and alliances. In other words, even if the Kamaal Alliance goes to war, the Yamato Empire must maintain neutrality and non-interference, and the same goes for House Caan and the Kingdom of Ploiss.

While only House Caan had a treaty with the Yamato Empire, we are also backed by the Yamato Empire, but if this treaty were to be signed, if House Caan and the Kingdom of Ploiss would go to war, the Yamato Empire must remain neutral and non-interfering.

Well, there are a lot of countries that break treaties without hesitation, so Japan is probably the only country on modern Earth that tries to protect treaties once they’re signed, 2 but… A normal country would withdraw, ask for a change, or even unilaterally abandon it if it becomes inconvenient. A surprise attack without a notice of breach would be a good thing for them.

Of course, I have no intention of raising a rebellion against the Kingdom of Ploiss. At least from here…

But if the Kingdom of Ploiss comes to destroy us because House Caan has gained too much power, we have no choice but to fight. I want to avoid that kind of thing, so I’m doing my best to avoid it as much as possible, but I’m disqualified as a competent Lord if I’m optimistic that such a future won’t come and take no action to counter it.

This means that the backing of the Yamato Empire, which was part of our security policy, is no longer effective with this treaty.

For me, it would be better for House Caan not to sign this treaty. But as a subject of the Kingdom of Ploiss, this is a happy thing. Besides, if I oppose and crush them, there is a fear that I will be regarded as enemies of the Kingdom of Ploiss.

“Is this contract okay?”

“Yeah, no problem.”

Check each other’s contracts and sign both copies. We are going to store this with each other.

“Then this is…”

“The conclusion of the ‘Mutual Non-Aggression Treaty between the Empire of Yamato and the Kingdom of Ploiss.’”

The signatures are over, and each of us holds up the signed document for each side. Applause erupted from the envoys and diplomats.

A treaty was officially signed between the two countries. It’s something to celebrate. We put an end to the long-standing hostilities and ensured the safety of the Hulk Sea. I can’t help but wonder if it’s okay to just arrive yesterday and just do this, but it’s probably thanks to the prior negotiations. It will be like this when the Prince himself goes to sign it. It’s mostly settled in advance negotiations, and the last thing is just to sign it. It would be less likely to quarrel on the spot.

It’s certainly good for the Kingdom of Ploiss… but House Caan has to think more and more about security. Thinking about it makes me a little depressed.