The royal castle of Vegalta stood tall and proud at the center of the capital. Inside the throne room, which was normally reserved for audiences with the king, were rows of plain tables and chairs to accommodate the participants of today’s Assembly—the state heads of the central continent. Some were busy reading through relevant documents, some were nervously observing their surroundings, while others were leisurely chatting with their friends and acquaintances.
In this room full of top authority figures, one was seated right beside the throne. Unlike the rest, she—Mifuru—was puffing up her cheeks in discontent.
Standing guard beside her, Totori leaned over and whispered, “My lord, I would advise against making such an expression before the other heads of state...”
Mifuru begrudgingly dropped her pout, settling instead for a subtle frown. “I understand...but I simply cannot accept this.”
Two weeks ago, Mifuru had received an official letter from the king of Vegalta—an invitation to an international Assembly regarding a publicly undisclosable matter. The issue at hand was related to the First World, as well as Raid and Eluria’s reincarnation, both of which had been previously explained to the leaders of each state. However, the aforementioned Assembly’s agenda was “to discuss the suspicions cast upon Raid Freeden for subversion of the state and incitement of foreign threat, as well as to provide the defendant a setting to plead his case.”
“Of all the things they could have done, they chose to accuse our nation’s benefactor?” Mifuru huffed as her fox ears stood ramrod straight in annoyance. “They will have to choose their words wisely in this Assembly, lest I decide to revise our policies toward their states!”
Totori let out a quiet sigh. “I echo your sentiments, but I have a feeling you’re allowing your personal feelings to take the lead...”
Suddenly, a strained laugh cut into their conversation—it had come from none other than the man seated upon the throne. “I empathize with your discontent regarding this matter, Imperial Lord. Please allow me to apologize, even if I can only do so in an unofficial capacity.”
“N-Not at all! I understand that there isn’t much you can do in your position, King Kratio. Rest assured, Princess Kris’s private letter made Vegalta’s true intentions very clear.”
“Thank you for your kind words. Sir Freeden is the fiancé of my daughter’s dear friend. I’ve no reason to doubt his ability and achievements.” The man—Kratio von Vegalta—smiled, the faint lines on his face forming creases on his gentle expression.
As the unifier of the central continent, Kratio was obligated to respond to the voices of the states regardless of his personal sentiment. However, the private letter from Princess Kris—enclosed along with the official invitation—had made Vegalta’s stance on the matter very clear to Mifuru. Hence, she held no ill will toward Vegalta.
On Kratio’s other side sat an elderly man, who nodded in agreement. “Hoh hoh. If you would also allow me to extend my personal thoughts as Celios’s representative—I am also of the opinion that the accusation is entirely baseless.”
Mifuru turned her gaze to him. “You agree, Chief Kalkas?”
“But of course. I’ve heard that Sir Freeden sent my granddaughter’s Guardian Dragons flying with his bare fists. Would he even need to resort to schemes and collusion? No, he’d have a much easier time beating everyone into submission.” Kalkas Lailas, the representative chief of the Celios Federation, shrugged his shoulders in exasperation. “I would have rather made this trip to meet the Sage than for a farce like this.”
“Do you have some business with Lady Eluria?” Mifuru asked.
“Lady Caldwin saved my granddaughter, so naturally I would love to meet her. Lufus is currently recuperating under my care and working hard on her training. She gets so happy every time she receives a letter from Lady Caldwin. I’ve been told to pass on her regards.” Kalkas nodded slowly, a soft smile gracing his lips. From the looks of it, he didn’t seem to have a bad impression of Raid either.
At the very least, the eastern continent of Legnare, the western archipelago of Celios, and the representative nation of the central continent—Vegalta—all held favorable impressions of Raid. It might have been safe to assume that the eastern region of the central continent—in other words, the countries around Palmare—felt the same way.
However, the same could not be said for everywhere else. Seeing as Vegalta had been pressured into action, there were clearly more than just one or two nations backing this accusation. Had they colluded behind the scenes and acted out as one? Or had one country spearheaded the effort and incited its neighbors into action? Alas, everything—including what would become of Raid after this Assembly—was still up in the air.
However, there was something else that was far more curious at the moment.
“Now then...” Kalkas hummed. “The accusation was presented by the various nations of the central continent out of concern regarding Raid Freeden’s appointment as a special-class magician... So, why were we called here?”
“I wonder as well,” Mifuru said. “Legnare and Celios are independent of the central continent. Their special-class magicians have little to no effect on us. Setting aside Lord Raid’s case, the contents of the Assembly could have simply been summarized and shared to us at a later date.”
“Hmm. A fair assumption would be that he sought us out as allies...but the message he passed to King Kratio is most curious indeed.” Kalkas narrowed his eyes, shifting nervously in his seat. “‘You’ll regret it if you don’t come’... Now, what could he have meant by that?”
Kration sighed. “My apologies. I was aware that the message could be taken as a threat, and so I asked Sir Verminant for more details... However, all Sir Freeden clarified for us was that he meant no malice; in fact, he said that this should benefit you both greatly.”
“Oh? Did he say why he couldn’t elaborate further?”
“Apparently, it is because the matter is related to the First World. So...” Kratio cast the clock a sideward glance. “I suppose we will have to hear it from the man himself.”
The king quietly stood from his throne, gathering all the gazes in the room. “We shall now begin the Assembly of the Unified States of Central Continent Etrulia.”
The people scattered around the room promptly returned to their seats. Kratio swept his gaze across the participants, and once everyone was seated, he also settled back down on his throne.