“I just hope this goes well,” I muttered to myself.
I still didn’t know what kind of country the Eastern Trade Union really was. I could only hope for the best until my Masquerade Swarms returned with their reports.
♱
The Masquerade Swarms soon blended in with the refugees from Frantz and made their way to the Eastern Trade Union. Their task was to investigate what the Eastern Trade Union was like, who their leaders were, and what their diplomatic approach was. Of course, since they were presenting themselves as refugees, the Masquerade Swarms weren’t in a position to gain any in-depth information.
Back in my world, you could analyze a country with the help of intelligence agencies and open-source information. Naturally, their work was never as thrilling or action-packed as media featuring organizations like the CIA, FBI, and MI6 depicted.
We had nothing of the sort, but that didn’t hinder our ability to gather intelligence. Thanks to Lysa and Roland, whose language skills were now shared by the Swarm, the Ripper Swarms had become capable of reading. As such, I had also acquired the ability to read and write the language of this world.
“The Eastern Trade Union is torn between alliance and independence, huh?” I whispered as I read a report the Masquerade Swarms had sent me. “Ventura Breton, Chairman of the Union Senate, is considering an alliance with Nyrnal despite knowing that the Empire has aspirations to conquer them. Even so, he’s being cautious about it. Another senator, Konrad Crevlas, firmly rejects the idea, arguing that it would threaten the Eastern Trade Union’s independence.”
It seemed the Eastern Trade Union was viewing the Nyrnal Empire with some trepidation. Hmm. Not bad. If we had to hold back Nyrnal from this side, too, we’d have no choice but to build a defensive front here in the Popedom. That wouldn’t be in our favor.
One can only stay on the defensive so long as they have some kind of plan to break the deadlock. That could mean waiting until the enemy is exhausted and effectively bleeds out, staging a counterattack, using the defensive line as a decoy while attacking from another direction, or otherwise. Defending without a plan would just mean staving off an inevitable defeat.
I just had to hope things went as planned. We had to be wary of provoking the Union and to seize power there as quickly as possible. After that, we could use them as a passage into Nyrnal’s lands. That was the best plan we had, in my opinion.
While it did feel like a good idea, I couldn’t shake the feeling I was overlooking something.
Right. Would they even trust us?
After all, we had destroyed Maluk and Schtraut, and we’d taken over Frantz to boot. Would they want to ally with us? Would they let us safely pass through, or was I hoping for too much?
The only silver lining was that, while we had conquered the Popedom of Frantz, we hadn’t destroyed it altogether. We’d signed a peace treaty with them and brought the war to an end, which should have boosted our reputation. It gave the impression that we—or rather that I, leader of the Arachnea—could be reasoned with. Even though they had become our vassals, the conflict had ended peacefully.
“Your Majesty, it’s time to eat,” Sérignan called out, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“Oh, thanks. I kind of got caught up in my work.”
I headed to the dining hall of the frontline base built at the Union border. With Frantz’s permission, we had made use of a fortress that belonged to the Popedom. They had also allowed us to set up a Fertilization Furnace and Conversion Furnace inside the walls.
I had bases set up all across the land, but I would never have done something so inefficient in the game. At the very least, I had a nice, fluffy bed in my room here. The Worker Swarms had made it from real feathers; it was a premium product.
Worker Swarms didn’t appear much during battles, but they proved to be considerate in all sorts of ways outside of the battlefield. They were good Swarms, and I liked them quite a bit. If it were peacetime, I could start a furniture store and sell the things they made. That was a real market we could potentially tap into.
With those idle thoughts in mind, I walked into the dining hall, where Lysa was waiting for me. Having been made into a Swarm, she didn’t need to eat for sustenance. Regardless, she, Sérignan, and Roland had grown accustomed to eating before they had become Swarms. Roland wasn’t here, though, since he was commanding the battles in Schtraut.
“So what’s on the menu today?” I asked.
“Icefish meunière and elf-style white stew!” Lysa replied cheerfully. “Oh, and salad too! I made the stew, so look forward to that.”
“I see. You made it yourself, eh? Good on you,” I praised her. “Maybe I should cook something next time.”
“Oh, no, I couldn’t possibly have you do that!” Lysa gave a gentle shake of her head. “Let us handle the chores!”
I just wanted to help, but she insisted on taking care of things. Then again, I had never heard of a queen handling the cooking. If I walked into the kitchen, everyone might freeze up from the shock.
Maybe it’s for the best.
“You hear that, Sérignan? Lysa cooked today. I can’t wait.”
“Yes. Though to be honest, I helped her a little.”
Grr. Now I feel left out.
“I suppose I’m glad you get along,” I said as I took a seat. “I think the Arachnea are about the only ones who are on such good terms with one another. The other countries are plagued by treachery and scheming; it’s just awful. Thank goodness we don’t have to worry about any of that.”
“Have you decided how we’re going to handle the Eastern Trade Union yet, Your Majesty?” Lysa asked me.
“Not yet. We’ve gathered enough information, but I’m honestly not sure when to make contact with them. If we don’t time it right, we could cause serious mayhem. The Union is different from us, for better or worse. Their senators are chosen through elections, and they’re the ones who handle politics. Basically, in their country, the leadership has to listen to what the people say.”
Right now, many of the members of the Senate held a negative view of the Empire, but if I contacted the Union at the wrong time, they could feel threatened and turn to Nyrnal for help. It was like walking a tightrope; with everything balanced so precariously, I wasn’t sure whether to move.
“I’m not sure who to send into the Union either. The other side’s more likely to trust Arachnea that look human, but we’ll need someone who can handle negotiations too. Should things get dicey, we should feel comfortable leaving them deep within enemy territory.”
This was a real conundrum. It felt right for me to go there personally, but if the enemy thought they could stop the Swarm by killing me, the queen, I’d just be marching to my grave. Pain—let alone death—was not something I was too keen on trying.
Then again, I wasn’t sure if sending Sérignan or Lysa would be much better. They were unique and irreplaceable units. I cared for all the Swarms, of course, but they were particularly special to me; they were my friends. I couldn’t just throw them into enemy territory as though they were expendable.
“If it’s Lysa and myself, we’d be able to fight back even if we were surrounded,” Sérignan suggested.
I shook my head. “You don’t know that for sure. What if they have some secret weapon like the Popedom did?”
Frantz had commanded the hero unit for the Marianne faction, the Archangel Metatron. Just like the Arachnea, the Marianne had been in the game I once played—yet its hero unit had appeared here, in this mostly realistic world. With that in mind, who knew what other units from the game might be hiding. After all, the Nyrnal Empire used wyverns, an aerial unit that belonged to the game’s Gregoria faction.
“Anyway, enough about that; let’s eat. I’ll put my thoughts of work and war aside so I can focus on enjoying lunch.”
Sérignan agreed. “An excellent idea. You shouldn’t let anxiety and concern weigh so heavily on you, Your Majesty.”
The icefish meunière was exquisite, and Lysa’s stew conjured pleasant memories of our times together in that underground base. I made sure to eat the salad too. Gotta stay healthy.
“By the way, who made this meunière?” I asked Lysa.
“I think it was one of the people we control with the Parasite Swarms. Eli...something?”
She meant Elizabeta.
“Ah, right. We could use her.”
With that, our path to success came into view. As it turned out, I just hadn’t been looking in the right places.