Ch.165The Great Offensive (2)

# Chapter 165: The Great Offensive (2)

I judged that the war faction’s behavior had crossed the line.

I decided to drop my stance of non-interference and open fire with my words toward the war faction.

“Wait a moment. Using the Ztrakfor… do you really think that makes any sense?”

“Ah… Minister Arto.”

“Above all, this matter would certainly require a diplomatic approach… yet I haven’t heard anything about this over the past month.”

There was a specific reason why I suddenly jumped in after merely observing.

Within our empire, the Holy Sebelli Empire, I generally advocate non-interference except for counterintelligence activities…

But when it came to matters outside the empire, diplomatic issues, I had no intention of tolerating arbitrary actions.

“Or perhaps you’ve established and operated a separate diplomatic channel without my involvement?”

“N-no, that’s not the case, Minister Arto.”

It was a simple matter if you thought about it.

Imagine playing a strategic game, carefully managing alliances and diplomatic relations with other AIs or users.

Then suddenly, an NPC within your country steps forward on their own and ruins your diplomacy or turns allied relationships into hostile ones?

How infuriating would that be?

To put it in terms of my previous life, it would be like a colonel you’ve painstakingly raised in X-COM firing a shot at a Chryssalid right in front of you.

And then another colonel kills your colonel with splash damage from their own shot.

‘These bastards dare to meddle in my territory?’

That’s why I never made any concessions regarding diplomatic matters.

If our esteemed war faction had exchanged communications without going through me, the diplomatic channel…

Then the parties involved would soon enjoy the delightful experience of the Diplomatic Enforcement Ministry’s song of fire and ice.

“W-wait a moment, Minister! We absolutely did not communicate with them through a separate diplomatic channel!”

“Hmmmm.”

Naturally, valuing their lives, they desperately denied any such actions.

But that denial would earn them criticism from me in another direction.

“What are you saying? If that’s the case, then this alliance with the Ztrakfor Council that you’re proposing was nothing but empty talk without any actual planning?”

“W-well, that…”

“No, Minister Arto! We merely intended it as part of a plan, something anticipated…”

Seeing their bewilderment, I subtly adjusted my posture.

Using the chair’s backrest to shield my arm from the view of Ambassador Jamiya, who was sitting behind me as an observer.

I decided to speak confidently while sending hand signals to the other side to clarify the situation.

“Your Majesty, the meeting seems to be getting too heated. Perhaps we should take a brief recess to allow everyone to cool their heads?”

‘Do you think it’s appropriate to discuss such matters with Ambassador Prosnak present? Let’s continue this conversation after the ambassador leaves.’

In response to my suggestion, Artraia, who was sitting askew on the throne in the council chamber, nodded in agreement.

“The Diplomatic Enforcement Minister’s words seem quite right. We shall take a ten-minute recess.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

I decided to buy some time to sort out this situation.

——————————-

Just before the recess ended.

[Pause]

I activated the pause function and began organizing my thoughts.

There was actually a hidden reason behind my extreme anger.

Of course, I was genuinely upset about having my domain encroached upon.

As I explained above, these bastards dared to attempt sabotaging alliances and diplomatic relations—the most crucial aspects of strategy simulation games.

I couldn’t help but be angry about their disregard for the power hierarchy and other issues.

However, it wasn’t my style to directly confront people during an “imperial council” meeting.

The reason I did so was because Ambassador Jamiya from “Prosnak” was present as an observer at this meeting.

‘For fuck’s sake, the ambassador of the very country they want to wage war against is right in front of them, and they’re acting insane.’

I could understand their feelings to some extent.

Being possessed and busy with various matters, I had little time to understand Sebelli’s desire for the “Northern Territory.”

I could hardly claim to have given much thought to that region.

But unlike me, those war faction gentlemen…

They had considered the “Northern Territory” to have been helplessly taken from them for about 30-40 years.

For those old men who had been active since before my body in this world was even born…

They had essentially lived their entire lives with an obsession for the “Northern Territory.”

So despite Prosnak offering Gaia as compensation and Ambassador Jamiya as a hostage…

They instinctively couldn’t help but cause a scene.

But even so…

How could they push for this in front of the involved parties without a proper plan…

Moreover, as I pointed out, we hadn’t even established any treaties or agreements with Ztrakfor.

If things went wrong, Ambassador Jamiya would contact the Prosnak homeland, hostage status notwithstanding.

Then the insane mobility that Prosnak demonstrated during the past Irtelan War would be directed at us again through the John-Bernater Line.

Meanwhile, Ztrakfor would likely just defend their own borders and tell us to handle our own problems.

No matter how benevolent they might be as a species, I couldn’t imagine them helping us in such a situation.

‘At the very least, we need to show Ambassador Jamiya that our position is far from invading Prosnak.’

Even at the risk of appearing to overreact, I needed to push down those who had expressed such opinions.

Most importantly, we didn’t have the capacity to deal with Prosnak.

‘Right now, our vassal state, the Nurbal Republic, is getting beaten by Fuxviet, and we’ve already sent reinforcements there. How can they think about fighting Prosnak without considering this?’

Given Fuxviet’s military power, we had already dispatched quite a significant number of troops.

That alone was having a severe negative impact on our empire’s economy, which had only recently managed to reduce its debt.

And on top of that, all-out war with Prosnak?

It was obvious that our empire’s already fragile economy would be completely devastated before the war even began.

‘Now that the discussion is over, they shouldn’t make such crazy suggestions anymore.’

Looking at the opposition faction members frozen in the paused state…

They appeared as docile as sleeping lambs, which made me nod in agreement while still lamenting.

‘We could do it if we tried, but that obsession with the Northern Territory…’

Anyway, since the discussion was over, I decided to release the pause and focus on the meeting again.

——————————–

After an extremely long time…

The imperial council decided that, at the very least, we would avoid conflict with Prosnak on this issue.

“Kuh…”

“Regrettable, but unavoidable.”

Perhaps some of the war faction gentlemen had psionic abilities they weren’t aware of.

“Oh my God.”

“Father, forgive me! The legitimate heir of this family has failed to achieve the empire’s great cause!”

“Aaaaargh!!!”

Waves of sad emotions surged from all directions, forcing me to witness the wailing of middle-aged family men in real-time, which was a minor embarrassment.

But aside from these trivial and unsightly aspects, the meeting ended quite well.

“In any case, I will report that the Sebelli Empire does not wish for conflict with us.”

“Hmm.”

As Ambassador Jamiya’s words indicated, it would be fair to say that this incident wouldn’t strain our relationship with Prosnak.

Moreover, thanks to my quick response, I had successfully prevented a diplomatic disaster that could have occurred from unnecessarily involving Ztrakfor.

After finishing all this business and returning to the Diplomatic Enforcement Ministry…

As soon as I entered my office and Riel closed the door…

“…I thought I was going to die.”

“Good work, Minister.”

I immediately buried myself in my beloved chair, transforming into a limp slime.

Of course, since it was still far from quitting time, I somehow pulled myself together and casually asked Riel:

“Was there anything unusual while I was in the meeting?”

“Well, if there had been, wouldn’t your status window have shown it?”

Relieved that there had been no incidents, I nodded and adjusted my posture in the chair.

I immediately picked up my terminal to tackle the remaining work during the time left.

But at that moment…

I was forced to witness an event message that made me doubt my eyes…