“It’s been quite some time, Your Highness,” greeted Fyshe Blundell upon Wein’s arrival, Ninym in tow. With her aide by her side, she’d been waiting for them in the reception room. “I have made your acquaintance on a previous occasion, but allow me to formally introduce myself again: I am the ambassador of the Earthworld Empire, Fyshe Blundell.”
“And I am the prince of the Kingdom of Natra, Wein Salema Arbalest.”
With that, they sat down.
Fyshe was the one to start off the talks.
“Thank you for meeting with me. Please accept my sincerest congratulations on Your Highness’s ascension to prince regent. I do hope I am not too bold in saying we keenly feel the kingdom’s grief over His Royal Majesty the King’s condition and see your promotion as the only silver lining among these darkest of times.”
“Thank you, Ambassador Blundell. I know I’m carrying the hopes and dreams of many on my shoulders. I intend to do my best not to betray my people. I look forward to working together to foster a cordial relationship between Natra and Earthworld.”
“Of course, Your Highness.”
The meeting began on a harmonious note.
The two exchanged pleasantries and discussed topics with no real meaning or consequence. Or it might appear that way. In reality, they were sizing each other up and taking note of their opponent’s character. On one hand, you had an acting head of state. On the other, the ambassador of a powerful nation. They sat face-to-face, eyeing each other. You might even call it a joint effort.
The tension in the room bubbled, palpable in the air. The audience observing them understood: This initial conversation was a calculated, critical dance to find out who had more of an edge.
So it’s true… He’s the real deal… Fyshe reminded herself not to underestimate him. Usually, the young and inexperienced want to see immediate results… But he acts like he has all the time in the world. He doesn’t let his title get to his head but also speaks easily with someone of my station. He just became regent, but he has a regal air.
But she knew her questioning would be thorough, and her talking points were solid. Having said that, she would not resort to underhanded tactics or aggressive interrogations. She needed to remain calm. This opponent was very hard to read.
When she was his age, she certainly didn’t have this much wisdom and tact. She knew this much for sure.
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If I’m not careful, I’m done for… She set her senses to high alert and braced herself.
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As Fyshe was busy with her own thoughts, something else distracted Wein from the task at hand.
Holy. Her boobs are huge…
He was the worst of the worst.
I didn’t notice when she introduced herself, but wow. They’re really somethin’ else… I know they’re two bundles of fat, but it’s like they’ve taken on a life of their own. Is it because the Empire’s overabundant in pretty much everything? I mean, when you compare ’em… Wein turned around to look at Ninym, who was jotting down notes behind him. Well, more specifically, at her breasts.
…Yep. The gap in destructive power is pretty obvious.
Whir! Her quill pen stabbed the back of his head.
“Ow…!”
“Your Highness?”
“Ah, no, just a bit of a headache. I guess losing sleep over work isn’t the best idea,” he suggested, in a hurry to smooth things over.
Ninym passed a document to him from behind. Be serious, it said.
How the hell did she know what I was thinking? He shivered at the thought of women’s intuition.
He was still considering this frightening idea when Fyshe smiled gently at him.
“—At any rate, I feel as though a weight’s been lifted. To tell the truth, I had some concerns prior to our meeting about forming good relations with Your Highness. But this has assured me those fears were unfounded.”
“I’m glad hear you say so, Ambassador. This partnership will certainly help me out and solve some of my worries.”
“Well, I assume you have a never-ending list of worries, now that you’re taking over the duties of your office?”
“Like trying to drink the sea. Pleasing your citizens, meeting with foreign nations, forming relations with the nobility, strengthening the military, increasing funds, supporting our industries… I take many things into consideration.”
“Which would also include,” she said, her eyes glinting shrewdly, “our soldiers stationed here.”
The air froze.
The prelude had come to an end. The true battle was about to begin.
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Well, how are you going to respond? Fyshe eyed him carefully.
Wein opened his mouth. “Maintaining relations with the Empire is my top priority.”
“In that case—,” she started.
“However,” he interrupted, “the truth is, the presence of a foreign military makes my own troops uneasy.”
But his confession had no effect on Fyshe. She’d expected he might say that: He wanted to save face with the Empire and still win over his people. Now it was time for her to negotiate—with funds or commodities—until they conceded. She had predicted those concessions were his aim, of course, and had come fully prepared.
This was exactly why Wein’s next statement bewildered her.
“So I plan on removing the source of their worries.”
“Wha…? ‘Removing,’ you say?”
“Yes. As I mentioned before, I’m very interested in maintaining a cordial relationship with the Empire. To do that, we should attempt to bridge the gap between the two, don’t you think?”
“…You’re right.”
This is bad.
It was clear he had some sort of ulterior motive, but she couldn’t figure it out in time. He was setting the pace of their conversation instead of following her lead. But she couldn’t regain the initiative at this very moment, not now. It wasn’t the time to set things straight.
“I’d like to take this opportunity to restructure the kingdom’s military.”
“Restructure your military…?”
“It pains me to admit our armed forces are weak. After all, we haven’t spent much time on a real battlefield. This inexperience and naïveté has caused friction with the Empire and prevented us from forming a real partnership.”
“And you want to smooth things over by overhauling your military organization?”
“Exactly. The problem is we won’t see any progress or growth if we continue to rely only on our limited knowledge, and we don’t have the necessary funds to carry it out to boot.” Wein smirked. “So, Ambassador Blundell. Could the Empire give us their funds and military expertise?”
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Fyshe stood dumbfounded.
But it wasn’t just her. Her aide and Ninym were also seized by shock and agitation.
How stupid! There’s no way we’d accept those terms! her aide screamed internally.
A crease formed between Ninym’s brow. Requesting the Empire to not only train our kingdom’s military but also pay for it… That’s way too unreasonable! Maybe he’s starting big so his next request seems more fair?
The two instinctively shot Wein a skeptical look.
But it was no use.
He was convinced his plan was perfectly sane. And in truth, Fyshe’s reaction was vastly different from the two aides as she sat across from him.
“…Will this resolve our strife?”
“This small gesture will be enough to reach the hearts of my men. And I plan on doing my part to solve the problem as well.”
“……”
She sank into silence, though her mind was a maelstrom. With all eyes on her, she finally caught up with her thoughts enough to speak again. “Understood. We can discuss the conditions at a later date, but…we will accept this proposal.”
“Thank you, Ambassador. I thought you might understand.”
They shook hands firmly as their aides stared and stared in disbelief.