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The Earthworld Empire was a large nation located on the eastern half of the Varno continent.
Blessed with a temperate climate and fertile lands, it was rich in mineral resources, and it boasted access to fisheries in one of the largest, most prized lakes on the continent. The Empire was abundant with essentially everything.
For that reason, it also had a long history of suffering foreign invasions, essentially since its founding. To fend them off, the Empire focused its efforts on military development, and before anyone had time to realize, it had become the strongest nation on the continent. When the current emperor rose to power, he consolidated those forces to occupy neighboring nations one by one. The continent was close to being unified under one leader for the first time in history.
At least, that was the case until the day the Emperor collapsed.
“—And that concludes my report on Crown Prince Wein Salema Arbalest.”
“Thank you.” In a room of the building provided for her, Fyshe Blundell emitted a small sigh as the aide wrapped up her report.
Fyshe looked to be in her midtwenties, and her winning feature was her flowing blond hair, which framed her stunning face. But woe to anyone who thought beauty was all there was to her. She was presently residing in the Kingdom of Natra as an Imperial ambassador of the Empire.
“Hmm, I suppose the rumors are true: He’s wise and benevolent.”
“Yes, he’s been acknowledged domestically and internationally as the rightful heir to the throne. Even his recent appointment to regent went largely unopposed.”
“I’m jealous, especially seeing how our own nation has been turned completely upside down. That aside, it’s unfortunate we haven’t been able to properly meet until today.”
“Well, you relocated to Natra when you became the ambassador, right as he left to pursue his studies in the Empire.”
Yes, Fyshe had first been assigned to the Kingdom of Natra several years prior. Through persistent negotiations, she’d built a decent relationship with the king over the years. But now, the situation had completely changed.
“I wonder how the crown prince will come at us today?”
“He’ll likely get straight to the point… He can’t afford not to. I’ve no doubt he’ll bring up the Imperial troops stationed here.”
At the moment, there were about five thousand troops stationed in Natra—a feat accomplished by a series of successful negotiations that secured official permission from their king. But Fyshe and her aide knew this foreign military presence was being met with anxiety and opposition by the people of the kingdom.
“Will he demand we withdraw?”
“I can’t say for sure. It’ll be important to pay attention to his position during the meeting. But let’s also keep an eye out for his character… It should be easy to tell whether he’s fit to be king. Well, all that being said, anyone who hires a Flahm is more than a little peculiar.”
“You mean Ninym Ralei?”
“Who else? I mean, I knew many of them lived here, but I was surprised to see other countries besides the Empire appoint Flahm as vassals.”
“My thoughts exactly. And it would seem this kingdom has a history of accepting them that is far older than ours. Natra must seem odd to nations in the West, since their people only treat the Flahm as slaves.”
“When the Empire finally unifies the continent, we’ll eradicate such senseless values and traditions… Well then, let us head to the meeting.” Fyshe stood from her chair.
This was the first time they’d be coming together for official business and exchange words beyond a few simple pleasantries.
“If our information is correct, our lack of progress is nearing its end. We must ensure our troops remain here, no matter what.” With a firm resolve, she set out for the meeting.
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“Fyshe Blundell was originally an ambassador to Vanhelio,” Ninym commented, feeding Wein some basic information as she trailed after him down the corridor of the royal palace
“Say, Vanhelio is a large nation in the West. Why would she come here?”
When they were in public, their speech was strictly that of master and servant. Not that speaking this way was particularly difficult. They had a long time to practice and adjust to switching back and forth.
“Well, she was caught up in political turmoil occurring in her homeland and ended up in Natra while you were in the Empire. She may not be rising through the ranks anymore, but she’s still very skilled and talented.”
“If she’s that good, then I bet she’s bored of living in our rural kingdom.”
“Actually, according to her, she is quite satisfied. Our sources have said she’s openly stated she’s weary of dealing with politics.”
He smiled wryly. “I see. Whatever the case may be, I’m delighted to hear outsiders taking a liking to our nation. But if she’s that brilliant, I don’t anticipate this meeting to be a straightforward one.”
“The issue at hand is the occupying Imperial soldiers…,” Ninym mentioned. “This will be tricky.”
Wein sighed inwardly. Yeah, can’t argue with that.
To begin with, why were they even in Natra? On paper, they were using the region to practice drills. That wasn’t the whole truth, of course.
There were a number of factors at play, but they all led to the same core issue: The Kingdom of Natra was in a vulnerable geographic location.
Imagine a rough ellipsis. Let’s say that’s the continent of Varno.
Next, picture the Giant’s Backbone, a mountain range stretching from north to south, dividing the continent into two equal halves. It acted as a barrier between East and West, resulting in completely different policies, races, ideologies, and cultures between the two.
Of course, it wasn’t as if travel between them was impossible. In fact, plenty of roads connecting the two halves had been established in recent years. Unfortunately, most of these paths were only useful for trade and private travel.
Compare those roads to the blood vessels in the human body. To take this analogy further: An artery would be a major road that could support the comings and goings of hundreds of thousands of soldiers. There are relatively few major arteries in a human body, and they serve an incredibly vital function—similarly, these roads hold immense commercial and militaristic value.
For a country aiming for complete dominion, one might even say these roads would be indispensable.
And it was directly through the Kingdom of Natra that the continent’s northernmost artery ran. In its bid to control the Western lands, this was not a place the Empire could ignore.
Why did this happen?
When the Empire stationed its soldiers here, it paid a considerable sum of money for the privilege. It wasn’t a one-sided agreement.
That said, having foreign soldiers on the kingdom’s land was like having a knife pressed to the throat. It made the citizens nervous, and the domestic troops didn’t approve, either.
Well, to be exact, the military was expecting Wein to force the Imperial soldiers to withdraw.
It wasn’t as if he didn’t share their sentiments. After all, it wasn’t just a concern for national security: It was a matter of honor. But there was a reason Wein was unable to grant their wish.
And that reason was… Drumroll, please.
Frankly, I wanna butter ’em up!
And there it was.
Honestly, going up against a huge country would be a huge pain in the ass, and we could really use the money. I’m totally fine with the whole deal, really…
First and foremost, Wein had studied in the Empire, meaning he had a solid understanding of their military prowess.
But ignoring the wishes of his troops would also present a problem.
I mean, the only reason my rise to regent was so smooth in the first place was because the vassals have high hopes for me. If I disappoint them by immediately wagging my tail at the Empire, it’ll make things tough from here on out. And if I tick off the military, there’s the possibility of a coup.
He was damned if he did and damned if he didn’t. As Wein internally lamented and moaned over his crisis, he realized his aide was gone.
“Ninym?”
“—Pardon me.” Ninym appeared from the shadows. “We’ve just received word from our spies in the Empire.”
“Word…?”
She handed him a letter. Wein read its contents.
“…Hmm, is that so?” He cocked an eyebrow. “There’s no doubt that the ambassador caught wind of this, too… In that case…” He closed his eyes for a moment, then started forward. “Let’s go, Ninym. I’ve got a plan.”
“R-right… But what’s your plan, again?”
“I’ve decided,” Wein hinted with a grin. “We’re takin’ it all.”