Ch.38Secret Agreement (3)

# Chapter 38: Secret Agreement (3)

After enduring all kinds of slander and passing through extreme persuasion checks…

“If Arto says so… I’ll believe you.”

“That’s the truth…”

I finally succeeded in driving out the evil spirit that had been lurking in Artlaia’s mind.

And only after that commotion ended could we begin a proper conversation.

“So, what exactly did Riksi do that made you come here in such a hurry?”

“Sigh… Actually, Riksi asked us to make them our vassal state.”

“…Huh.”

The moment she heard my words, a faint but strong will flickered in Artlaia’s eyes.

That will was, of course, the instinct that supposedly lives and breathes in everyone’s heart, including the emperor of a massive empire.

‘There you are, Mein Führer…’

It was the ambition for Lebensraum, territorial expansion.

“Ahem, so, what did you tell them, Arto?”

Of course, our Artlaia had two personality pouches doubling as intelligence pouches attached to her.

Returning to her original clear eyes without succumbing to such evil instincts, Artlaia asked, and I shrugged my shoulders as I replied.

“Nothing special. I just bought time by saying it wasn’t my decision to make.”

But where in my words did she find something strange?

“Heh… hehehe, not your decision to make… hehe.”

Seeing her react as if she’d heard something quite amusing, I pretended to whisper to Riel…

“Riel, it seems our Emperor’s mental state has become unstable due to overwork.”

Despite my blatant mockery disguised as a whisper, Artlaia’s laughter showed no signs of stopping for quite some time.

After several minutes had passed.

“Ahaha… sorry, did I laugh too much?”

“I don’t know what you found so funny, but anyway, can I continue?”

“Yes, please go on.”

Finally addressing the now-composed Artlaia, I decided to briefly explain the current situation.

But before that, there was one thing I needed to do…

“Riel, go get the large monitor.”

“…”

How else could I explain something on a national scale with just words?

Of course, Riel, who had to fetch it, puffed up her cheeks in a pout again.

But shortly after.

“Please explain quickly, Minister.”

“Um… why am I…?”

“I agree, why are you bothering Gaia when she’s resting peacefully?”

Riel, who had brought the monitor—or rather, the touchscreen—as ordered, had somehow brought Gaia tucked under her arm as well.

“What does it matter? It’s not really a problem, so let’s just proceed.”

Of course, my small scolding was immediately shut down by the order of the Emperor, the highest authority present.

“Well… alright, let’s begin.”

Only after all that nonsense was finally over could I get into a proper explanation.

“First, about the Riksi Congressional Territory—why they want a vassal state contract with our Holy Sebelli Empire, and in the form of a secret agreement at that.”

“Yes, why would they want that?”

Artlaia was showing an enthusiastic attitude, seemingly driven by genuine curiosity along with her sense of responsibility as Emperor.

“We need to first talk about the massive power bloc that the Kerzin Federation created.”

“Hmm.”

“Skipping the details and summarizing briefly… you already know that the former Kerzin bloc was essentially a coalition united under the leadership of the Kerzin Federation, right?”

“Of course. I wasn’t the former Emperor’s ambassador to the Galactic Alliance for nothing.”

Satisfied with her answer, I nodded and continued.

“Right, to be precise, it was a structure managed by Kerzin, with Zeltech playing the role of enforcer.”

With that, I brought up a rough chart on the touchscreen.

[Kerzin Federation] – Boss

[Zeltech Conglomerate] – Enforcer

[Makt-Fuchs Free Trade Association]

[Syr Citizens’ Alliance]

[Riksi Congressional Territory]

[Ik-Nur-Val Independent Republican Federation]

[Goroti Republic]

“This is Kerzin’s sphere of influence right before the Prosnak Uprising, as discovered by my intelligence network.”

*Tick-tick, whirr*

As I displayed the territories of these nations on the map, it showed that literally half the galaxy was under Kerzin’s influence.

“It’s… really vast…”

“Indeed, but this extensive sphere of influence has now completely collapsed, hasn’t it?”

As I said this and manipulated the screen again, the map showed a dramatic shrinking of the power bloc in the northern galactic region.

“That’s the result of the Prosnak Uprising, isn’t it?”

“Correct. The Kerzin Federation, which was the overwhelming leader with five vassal states within its sphere of influence, effectively collapsed due to Prosnak.”

“And Zeltech, which was supposed to maintain the power bloc afterward, also suffered massive damage, losing all of its western territories.”

I nodded in response to the intelligent young woman—no, maiden—Artlaia’s answer.

“Just as Artlaia said. And because of that, the nations that formed Pax Kerzin are now scrambling to find their own way to survive.”

With that, I pointed specifically to the Riksi Congressional Territory, the cause of this current issue.

“And one of those nations is right here, the Riksi Congressional Territory.”

Just as I was starting to feel proud of my explanation…

*Slide*

Riel, who was still attached to Gaia, raised one hand.

“Minister.”

“Yes, Riel, go ahead.”

“I’m curious about something. Looking at the map, Riksi seems separated from Kerzin’s sphere of influence, so why were they part of Pax Kerzin?”

“I don’t know that either.”

Riel looked dumbfounded at my answer, but I couldn’t possibly know everything.

“Isn’t that too direct of an answer?”

“Tell me why you think I would know enough to briefly explain something that happened decades before I was born.”

“…You’re always like this just with me.”

“Ah.”

After shutting down Riel’s chatter, I decided to continue.

“But actually, I do know. The reason Riksi joined Kerzin’s hegemony was… because of their neighbor, the Roirakan Republic.”

“…”

Riel’s cheeks seemed to puff up again at my words, but I continued my explanation, telling her to be grateful that this was all the payback she was getting for her usual teasing.

“Back when Riksi was invading Kar-Du, which was during the time we were fighting the Janiradean War…”

“Mmm.”

“During that period, Roirakan launched a large-scale invasion against Riksi, which weakened Riksi’s military power.”

“And thanks to that, Kar-Du managed to survive, which is why Kar-Du and Roirakan still have good relations, right?”

“Yes, exactly. So Riksi sought a way to survive, which led them to Pax Kerzin, but…”

“The lifeline they grabbed was cut off by Prosnak, is that it?”

“Right, and because of that, Riksi is in complete chaos right now.”

As I said this, I brought up a comparison chart of the current military powers between Riksi and Roirakan on the screen.

[Riksi vs. Roirakan Total Comparison]

[Combat Power: Roirakan Advantage]

[Technology: Equal]

[Economic Power: Roirakan Advantage]

“As you can see, Roirakan has the upper hand over Riksi in every aspect except technology.”

“That seems too simplified. Could you elaborate a bit more?”

“Hmm… it would take too long to explain everything, so I’ll just briefly mention…”

After saying that, I took a sip of water to moisten my throat before continuing.

“While their territories are similar in size, Riksi is at a disadvantage compared to Roirakan in fleet strength, population, economic power, and even diplomatic relations, making the conditions for starting a war unfavorable for them.”

“Hmm?”

“Wait, diplomatic relations?”

“Yes, remember what you asked earlier… why Riksi would align with Kerzin despite not being physically connected to them?”

I highlighted the territories of Kar-Du, Roirakan, and Ztrakfor near Riksi.

“See, none of the nations near Riksi are friendly toward them.”

“Ohh.”

The Riksi Congressional Territory, which was so hard to see in the original game, was skillfully employing distant diplomacy in reality.

“Ztrakfor might have been a possibility, but they ended up making Kar-Du their protectorate, didn’t they?”

And so Riksi, suddenly becoming a diplomatic outcast, needed Kerzin as a lifeline.

But that very Kerzin was miserably defeated by space Nazis who turn aliens into soap.

“So now they’re trying to cling to us instead, is that it?”

“That’s right.”

After hearing my words, Artlaia took a moment to think…

Eventually, she tilted her head in confusion and said:

“But then why are they specifically requesting this as a secret agreement? They’re still officially Kerzin’s vassal state, aren’t they?”