Swarms fulfilled the roles appropriate for their natural capabilities. I had no intention of preventing them from being something else if they so desired, but they simply complied with the division of roles dictated by the game’s logic.
“I would love to believe your words, but how can you back them up?” Honnoson asked.
“There’s a girl called Lysa. She’s a relatively new member of the Arachnea, but we treasure her for her skills. Once she wakes up, you can talk to her and see if the Arachnea cares for castes and classes.”
“I’ll believe your words...for now,” he replied, his tone grave. “We don’t have the time to delay our decision until this Lysa wakes up. We’ve received reports that Nyrnal’s army has begun moving toward our borders.”
“The Nyrnal Empire...” I muttered.
They were finally marching on this country, it seemed.
“What do you want in exchange for allying with us, Queen of the Arachnea?”
“The right to pass through your territory and to trade with you. That’s all.”
“Oh, so you want to trade with us?” Honnoson raised a brow. “That’s unexpected. Do you have anything to sell us? Items you’ve pillaged from the countries you conquered?”
“That’s part of it, but we can also produce new things on our own. For example, this dress I’m wearing was made entirely by the Arachnea,” I told him, showing off my ensemble.
The Worker Swarms had spun the threads that made this dress, making it as soft as silk, but at the same time difficult to tear. It sold very well in the town of Leen, so I hoped I could sell it here too.
On top of that, the Worker Swarms had recently mastered carpentry. I had them learn it so they could make furniture for me, and they’d produced some promising results. They were also capable of processing the gemstones we mined across the continent. I truly believed their products could open up all sorts of business chances for us.
Once everything was peaceful, we wouldn’t need to pillage or barter. We could really start running an economy. And to do that, we’d need to produce things of value, things people would be interested in buying.
“That’s a fascinating prospect,” Honnoson said. “Would you accept an investment from us?”
“We’ll consider it. Once we get to the point of distributing our goods, we’ll probably need the extra capital.”
After all, we’d need a storefront of some sort to sell our merchandise and connections with other merchants. We’d require a lot of funds to finance that. But right now, any gold we had needed to go toward unlocking new buildings, so we couldn’t afford it.
Honnoson gave a satisfied nod. “I think it’d be quite profitable.”
“So, do you agree to be our allies?” I asked, bringing the conversation back on track.
“Of course. I’m still curious as to your societal structure, but that’s not the matter at hand.” Honnoson chuckled. “All right, we will join hands with you monsters—no, with the Arachnea—and try to thrive together. It’s surely better than joining forces with Nyrnal.”
“Then our alliance is decided,” Keralt said firmly.
“So long as you don’t try to eat us. That wouldn’t be funny!” Konrad joked with a bit of black humor.
“We won’t eat you. We only devour our enemies, and right now, that’s the Nyrnal Empire. If the Empire falls, we won’t have to devour anyone else. Unlike me, the Swarm doesn’t need to eat to survive.”
The thought that I’d finally managed to form an alliance was a calming, comforting one.
“Who’ll be taking over Ventura’s place as chairman of the Senate?” I asked.
“That’ll be Vice-Chairman Paul. He’ll devote himself to running the Senate. Our alliance is as good as confirmed.”
Great. Now we have a way into Nyrnal.
Or so I thought.
Suddenly, one of Keralt’s adventurers burst into the room. “This is terrible!” he cried, hysteric.
“What happened?” Keralt asked him.
“The Nyrnal Empire’s invading! Their army crossed our border and attacked our country! They broke through our border defenses and have reached as far as the Granite Mountain Pass!”
“The war has finally begun,” Honnoson muttered under his breath.
“I suppose we sealed this alliance at just the right time,” Konrad said and turned his eyes on me. “Surely you’ll help us out, ally?”
“Naturally.” I nodded. “The Arachnea won’t allow Nyrnal to occupy your country. We’ll leap to your aid, as per our agreement.”
“Then let’s fight this war,” Keralt declared, rising to her feet. “We can’t avoid it any longer.”
“Leave the mercenaries to me,” Konrad said. “We’ll show them the Eastern Trade Union won’t fall that easily. I’ve fought those Nyrnal bastards plenty of times, and I won’t lose now.”
“I’ll manage the Adventurers’ Guild and gather the nearby mercenary bands,” Keralt said. “Guild contracts include special wartime stipulations we can apply at times like these. Adventurers aren’t suited for fighting other people, but they’ll be useful for reconnaissance.”
“I’ll take care of financial aid,” Honnoson added. “We’ll put all we’ve got into military funds. Nyrnal will just seize all that money anyway if they occupy us.”
I cracked a smile. “You’re a reliable nation.”
“And you’re a reliable ally, Queen of the Arachnea. We’ll be counting on your reinforcements,” Konrad replied with a smirk.
The war in the Eastern Trade Union was finally getting started. At this point, I was feeling pretty attached to this country, and I wouldn’t let Nyrnal destroy it.
Let’s give them a fight they’ll never forget.
“Sérignan, it’s time for battle. Let’s go.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Come at me, Nyrnal Empire. I’ll kick your sorry asses to next Tuesday.