episode_0329

* * *

The capital of the county of Branse, the royal castle of Castle Anel.

“The diplomatic envoy has arrived?”

“Yes, I just got there.”

“Where are you from?”

Parfalle bowed his head at Lin’s words and said.

“The orange flag… … appears to be from Hesna County.”

“Hesna? Why is that woman looking for me?”

“I don’t know about that, but should I just listen to it?”

“Yeah.”

Before long, a lion from Hesna came trudging down the red carpet of Castle Anel and knelt down.

“Hello, Lord Lin of the Bran’s Army. Today, I have come to tell you about the proposal of our Lord, Hesna.”

“Tell me.”

The grim reaper raised his head and met Rin’s blue eyes.

“Would you like to form a permanent alliance with our Hesna Army?”

“… … What?”

“Our Hesna Army and permanent-”

“No, no. Sorry to interrupt, but I didn’t ask you to repeat yourself. So… …uh, you want a permanent, indefinite alliance?”

“If we just conclude, it will be like that.”

As soon as Lin heard that, she put her hand on her forehead and thought about it for a moment.

“… … I feel like there’s something more I should know.”

“What are you hiding, Lin? I will tell you everything. So, please help our Hesna Army occupy the southern continent.”

“If you do that?”

“I promise to be of great help to you in your great cause by helping you in the war against the Serpina Army.”

Only after hearing that did Lin start to laugh as if she found it funny and start to twirl the side of my hair.

“It’s quite meaningful to say that it will help you achieve great things. But that’s not the end, is it?”

“We.”

The grim reaper’s eyes sparkled and he didn’t avoid Rin’s gaze as he bumped into her.

“I will give up my autonomy in the Central Continent.”

“… … !”

“Even if our country reclaims the territory of the existing Serpina Army, I will transfer the authority to you, Lin.”

Lin was so surprised that she stopped moving her hands and remained silent for a while-

“The Southern Continent?”

“You can think of it the other way around. You can transfer the ruling authority of the territory you acquired in the Southern Continent to our Hesna Army.”

“Something… … This is a proposal that I don’t understand. It’s like saying that they want to become a vassal state of our country.”

“Thank you for your comment.”

“… … What?”

“When our Hesna Army conquers the southern continent and Lin’s Brans Army conquers the rest of the continent, we will gladly become a vassal state of Brans Army. That is the ultimate goal of this ‘permanent alliance’.”

As if someone had frozen this kingdom-

After the death messenger’s bombshell declaration, no one was able to open their mouths carelessly.

The messenger waited quietly for Rin’s answer without rushing her.

How much time has passed?

Finally, Lin lifted her heavy lips.

“… … Are you talking about becoming a vassal state?”

“Yes. If you will only recognize the autonomy of the Southern Continent, we will gladly promise to be loyal to the Lord of the Branth Army – no, to the new Emperor of the Continent that ended the Eingart era.”

Even when he was called emperor, Lin’s expression was quite cold.

Now, it was important to find out what Hesna wanted from them, hidden in various investigative expressions.

“Yeah. Well, let’s say you can think that way. Honestly, I think I know what kind of thoughts you went through to arrive at that idea. ”

“But why us? If I were in that position, I would have chosen Serpina County over Bran’s County. If it were up to them to become a vassal state. Surely, a country that has already decided to become a vassal state wouldn’t say something like, ‘Because I can’t accept Serpina von Eingart.’”

“What Lin said is correct.”

“What?”

The grim reaper stood before Lin with shining eyes and confidently facing him.

“Why do you think we didn’t approach the Serpina Army?”

“… … So, you’re saying that you came to us as a second choice because you were rejected from your side?”

“Please don’t think so, Lin. Even if there is a second best option, the best option for us is Bran’s Army, not Serpina’s Army.”

“I don’t quite understand.”

“If you think about how helpful it would be for our Hesna County to become a vassal state, I think you will easily understand our lord’s intentions.”

As soon as she heard those words, Lin barely managed to suppress her expression that was almost crumpled for a moment.

Unlike Serpina, who is not particularly attracted to the proposal, our army will be attracted to this proposal – that is, to grasp the subject.

If it was the old Rin, she would have been so hurt by this point that she wouldn’t even bother dealing with a god of death who keeps making such rude remarks, but-

When he thought about it calmly, he couldn’t help but admit to himself that what the messenger was saying was correct.

It won’t be of much help to Serpina.

But we are different.

Guaranteeing autonomy for the Southern Continent was a very attractive proposition. For one thing, there was no need to worry about the Southern Continent, and it was also likely to be a kind of hidden card that could turn the tide of power that had already tilted toward Serpina.

Before that, in this state, Serpina’s army could not be defeated. From Rin’s perspective, it meant that he had to do something.

But if there’s one thing that concerns me-

“For the time being, we can’t help you even if we want to. It’s likely that you’ll have to conquer the Southern Continent on your own.”

“That part is fine. However, it seems like it would be difficult for us to deal with the Lunarian Army alone. I think it would be fine if you just helped us subdue the Lunarian Army.”

‘… … .’

Lin also realized that he had recently earned the nickname ‘Southern Red-Eyed Dragon’ by defeating Theta Roland in a single blow.

And then, it seemed like he finally understood why Hesna had come to him.

“That’s your true intention. I can’t possibly deal with Lunalien alone. So if you help me capture her, I’ll help you capture Serphina in return. You know that, right? Our country and the Serphina military currently have an agreement, so there won’t be any fighting in the central continent for the time being. In the end, you’ll get more out of it, but from my perspective, it’s a difficult offer to refuse, right?”

Instead of answering, the messenger bowed his head and spoke as politely as possible.

“Lin. I am sure that this will be a beneficial relationship for both you and our lord, Hesna. Please make a wise decision.”

“… … .”

Only then did Lin turn her head to Farfalle, who had been watching silently from the side.

Farfalle slowly nodded, realizing what she meant, and moved closer to her.

“No matter what decision you make, I will follow your will, but no matter how many times I think about it, it doesn’t seem like a decision that would be detrimental to our army.”

“What makes you think so?”

“I could tell you myself. But I don’t think you wouldn’t know.”

After hearing Farfalle’s words, Lin lowered her head and began to count on the abacus.

The most important thing to consider now is whether our army can defeat the Lunarian army.

Even if they don’t fall apart at an absurd rate like the Roland or Karelia armies… …what if they face the Lunalian army that has conquered the southern continent?

Will it be possible to subdue the Lunarian army that has taken over the entire South?

‘……no.’

Can’t win.

Can’t win.

Pride and self-pride are not important. I had already thrown all that away a long time ago after sending my brothers away.

Now was a situation where I couldn’t survive unless I thought only about realistic things.

Lin, whose self-objectification was better than ever, could intuitively sense that she could never defeat Lunalian, who had cleared out the southern continent.

Because a monarch who has never even had Swen cannot defeat a monarch who once possessed him perfectly.

If Hesna is thinking of becoming a vassal state of our military, then perhaps this will be our military’s last chance?

With the Southern Continent as an ally, resist Serpina.

The biggest problem here was that Asuki Hesna was aiming for the back of his head.

“Hey, you. What’s your name?”

“My name is Derrion.”

“Yes, Darion. I will admit that it is a good suggestion. However, I cannot answer right here. At least you should meet your lord, Asuki Hesna, at least once.”

“If that’s what you want, I’ll tell you.”

The decision should be made at least after confirming Hesna’s intentions.

Even as she thought that way… … Lin’s heart was pounding with excitement as if her chance had finally come.

* * *

“Sir, the intelligence results are in.”

“What do you think?”

The officer in charge of intelligence responded politely to my words.

“As the bookkeeper said, I was able to capture several circumstances that suggest that Hesna and Bran’s forces made contact with each other.”

‘It looks like they threw bait at you too.’

Lin probably wouldn’t refuse. In fact, considering the current state of the Bran’s Army, the offer could almost feel like the last remaining opportunity for Lin.

What I can tell from this is that the collusion between the Bran’s and Hesna’s forces will ultimately result in losses for our country and gains for our lord, Serpina.

‘I don’t know yet what the outcome will be, but… … it’s clear that a very important issue will be decided here.’

Considering Luna’s current momentum, it’s only a matter of time before we face her.

Before that, my goal was to protect Serpina’s safety.

I was about to start thinking about what to do about it―

The dice of fate were thrown without any regard for my thoughts.