Ch.36Secret Agreement (1)

# Chapter 36: Secret Agreement (1)

Some time after the technology expo ended.

“In our Holy Sebelli Empire, the first ship of a powerful new design that surpasses our existing standard vessels is now entering its launching ceremony, everyone!”

“That’s really big, is that the new one they’re deploying?”

“Hmm, that’s right.”

I was taking a sip of iced coffee while watching the exterior of the new cruiser undergoing its launching ceremony on the large TV on my office wall.

Of course, I decided to bury all the numerous stories that led up to this vessel’s deployment along with my coffee.

When I finally asked for a decent standard laser weapon that could be properly used, some fools tried to attach a strange alien spore launcher they got from who knows where.

Then some damned bastards got caught trying to sell the new ship’s blueprints to foreign countries and were destroyed by the purge squad.

Even right before the launching ceremony, some alien hybrid, disgruntled with poor working conditions, attempted a terrorist attack that fortunately failed.

Just thinking about these shitty stories made my stomach burn.

Nevertheless, now that things had somehow been wrapped up well, how should I put it?

“Huff… At least I’ve managed to put out the immediate fires somehow.”

I could enjoy a small but satisfying sense of achievement.

“Good work, Minister.”

“Minister Vermut did more work. I just gave a little push from behind.”

“You know there are very few people who can even give that push when dealing with that reincarnation of madness, right?”

“…”

As Riel and I were enjoying a moment of relaxation while watching the launching ceremony of the new cruiser…

-Beep!

At the brief sound of my terminal, I turned off the TV and accepted the call.

Or more precisely, I checked the contact information displayed on the terminal before accepting.

‘…The secretariat?’

Receiving a call from the newly established Diplomatic Enforcement Ministry’s secretariat, I cleared my throat before answering.

“It’s me.”

“I apologize for disturbing you, but there’s an urgent matter I need to inform you about right away.”

Hearing the tense voice of the secretariat chief through the communication screen, I felt a question mark rising in my mind.

“What’s the matter?”

[Time Pause]

Even as I said that, I searched through the information in my head while pausing time…

‘No matter how much I think about it, nothing comes to mind.’

There hadn’t been any major incidents recently that would warrant such a cautious response.

Of course, I’m excluding all incidents involving Minister Vermut from those “incidents.”

‘There haven’t been any diplomatic disputes or conflicts between other nations either.’

After continued deliberation, I finally unpaused time with nothing but questions about what the problem could be…

[Time Pause Released]

“…It’s an official diplomatic document from the Riksi Congressional Realm, requesting an official foreign ministerial meeting with the Holy Sebelli Empire regarding a border crossing issue.”

“Oh, is that so?”

Relieved that it wasn’t the terrible problem I had imagined, I inwardly sighed with relief.

“Then for the preparations… well, I trust you’ll handle them.”

“Understood. I’ll select one of the hotels in the capital for the meeting venue.”

After ending the call and leaning back on the sofa, Riel, who had been quiet until now, approached me and said while enthusiastically dropping snack crumbs:

“You’ve changed a lot. In the past, you would have been clutching your head in agony the moment you ended the call.”

Despite the crumbs, it was still a concerned comment about me.

I responded to Riel with a languid expression.

“…Time has changed me.”

“So you’ve gotten old, is what you’re saying.”

But the last comment was too much to accept, so I had to pull out the Hell Torture Scroll from my chest once again.

————————–

Another week passed, and the official foreign ministerial summit between the two countries arrived.

For someone like me, who was equivalent to a foreign minister in other countries, this should have been considered a major event during peacetime, but…

“Ho ho, indeed the aroma of tea directly cultivated in Ka’zan is quite wonderful.”

“Indeed it is.”

The foreign minister of the Riksi Congressional Realm, who had traveled thousands of light-years to get here, seemed to be approaching the matter rather casually, contrary to my expectations.

“Regarding the border crossing issue, our border patrol units…”

“Ah, there’s no need to worry too much.”

Or to be more precise, rather than being casual…

“The border crossing area, what was it called again?”

“The Tabander star system, Minister.”

“Ah yes, regarding the Tabander star system, our side…”

He seemed to be making impressive-sounding statements that actually had no real substance.

He even requested a foreign ministerial meeting to discuss border crossing issues, yet he didn’t even properly know the name of the border area in question.

‘This is suspicious.’

It almost seemed like he was using the foreign ministerial meeting as an excuse to meet with me.

‘No, that would be too self-centered of me to think.’

Of course, it’s not like this person was some fan of mine, and such a crazy thing couldn’t possibly happen.

[Time Pause]

[Event: Riksi’s Intentions]

[Despite holding a major strategic event like a foreign ministerial meeting, the Riksi side is maintaining an ambiguous attitude.]

[Additional information gathering is needed to understand why they are behaving this way.]

[Option 1: Hack into their data bank to understand Riksi’s intentions.]

[Option 2: Infiltrate a spy to find out what they’re thinking.]

[Option 3: They’ll eventually reveal everything on their own, so don’t worry about it for now.]

‘…Ah.’

As if confirming my thoughts, an event message appeared at the perfect timing.

Seeing a choice-based event after quite a long time, I fell into contemplation.

‘Two options are about extracting information, and the remaining one is about letting it be for now.’

Both of the first two options could severely damage goodwill with Riksi if discovered.

‘Wait, what’s the current state between Riksi and our empire?’

Thinking about goodwill, I naturally checked the Riksi Congressional Realm in the national window.

-Ding♪

[Riksi Congressional Realm]

[Current Overall Ranking: 9th]

[Population: 14.6 billion (1 billion decrease compared to last month)]

[Political System: Parliamentary Democracy]

[Constituent Races: Riksi (70%), Sebellian (10%), Kar-Du (7%), Ztrakian (7%), Others (6%)]

[Current Ruler: Prime Minister Aramati Isar San Zark]

[Comparison with the Holy Sebelli Empire]

[Combat Power: Primitive]

[Technology: Equal]

[Economy: Inferior]

[Relationship with the Holy Sebelli Empire: Friendly]

[Trust toward the Holy Sebelli Empire: 100 (+3 monthly)]

After checking the status window, I nodded inwardly and decided to choose option 3.

Of course, it might seem strange that I’m saying this now after previously complaining about not having enough time, but…

‘Even though they haven’t fully recovered from the damage suffered in the war with Roirakan, their technology level is equal to ours.’

If we attempted hacking, Riksi, with their similar technological capabilities, would surely detect it.

Besides, our relationship with Riksi wasn’t bad enough to warrant the trouble of hacking or deploying spies.

After making my decision:

[Time Pause Released]

“…therefore, we are taking an even more serious approach to the border crossing issue…”

“I see, indeed.”

After a long conversation filled with typical diplomatic rhetoric, the Riksi foreign minister and I were finally able to conclude this meaningless ministerial meeting and stand up.

“It was truly a fruitful discussion.”

“Indeed, this will further strengthen the relationship between the Empire and the Congressional Realm.”

Of course, we shook hands while facing the cameras, sharing our names and ages… no, exchanging pleasantries with smiles and taking some commemorative photos.

“Riel, contact the Ministry of Internal Affairs and tell them to just report this matter appropriately.”

“Yes, Minister.”

“For the headline… something like ‘Border crossing issues were appropriately resolved through mutual understanding and compromise’?”

“Yes.”

After finishing all the miscellaneous tasks, including some appropriate media play.

———————

After the foreign ministerial meeting ended.

“You’ve come?”

“It might have seemed quite rude, but I truly appreciate you giving me this opportunity.”

“Not at all. Let’s go downstairs to hear what you have to say.”

“Understood.”

Foreign Minister Colinto of Riksi and I were heading down to the basement of the Diplomatic Enforcement Ministry, where the meeting had been held.

The reason was… well, the other side seemed to want a secretive meeting, and I was accommodating that request while ensuring there would be no eavesdropping.

Shortly after, I would come to regret this decision very intensely.