“Hello, members of the Eastern Trade Union. I’m glad to see our alliance has been such a boon to you all. In fact, it’s a bit of a pity; I wish I didn’t have to involve you in this war. But it’s good that we could help you.”
We’d both depleted many resources and lost countless soldiers over this war, and we needed to resupply.
“Let’s celebrate for now. We can consider this a victory. We pushed Nyrnal’s invasion back, and that’s a win, in part. We won it with your strength. Your mercenaries and adventurers helped win this war.”
Indeed, we hadn’t won this war alone. The mercenaries and adventurers helped us, and they should take pride in it. I looked over to Konrad and Keralt, as well as Honnoson, who’d helped lead and fund the war effort. I felt that they should be the ones taking credit for the achievement, not me.
You didn’t give up, and that’s why I could keep going. The Arachnea and I could only fight because you were there. If you hadn’t been, everything might have ended differently.
“We’ll pursue further victories,” I continued. “We will wipe the Nyrnal Empire off the face of the planet and make them submit to the Arachnea. And if we do that, there’ll be no one left to threaten your country’s independence. We’ll defeat Nyrnal completely, utterly, and thoroughly. We have to.”
The members of the Senate listened to me quietly.
“I will win. The Arachnea will triumph. And when we achieve true victory, we can hold a true celebration. I’d like for you to be a part of it too. Same as how you invited me today, I open our doors to all of you for that grand occasion.”
Finishing my speech, I stepped down from the podium. I was never really good with speeches. Talking to a crowd as if I were all-important made me feel antsy.
“All hail the Arachnea’s queen!”
“The Union’s alliance with the Arachnea is a true union of brotherhood!”
They applauded my speech; apparently, they’d liked it. Which was good. I would’ve wanted to bury myself alive if they didn’t. I could hear the Senate members whispering among themselves.
“The queen is quite ambitious.”
“Yes. We won this war, but she even declared that she would destroy the Nyrnal Empire. Defeating that fearsome country when we’re struggling just to defend our independence...”
“And our independence was greatly threatened this time around. If it weren’t for the Arachnea, Nyrnal would have vassalized us by now.”
“Queen Grevillea.” I heard a familiar voice approach me as I walked down from the podium.
“Oh, hello, Keralt. Does the Adventurers’ Guild need me for something?”
Keralt had a sour expression as always. I couldn’t tell what she was thinking, but by now I’d gotten used to this curt lady. I almost liked her.
“Are you going to leave for the Nyrnal Empire next?” she asked me.
“Yes, we’re still fighting them,” I replied. “This war won’t end until one of us defeats the other. And I’m not going to lose.”
“Then let me warn you. Watch out for the Emperor’s Third Secretariat Division. That’s the Empire’s intelligence agency. I sent a few adventurers to scout them out, but they were captured and went MIA.”
“The Emperor’s Third Secretariat Division... I’ll remember that.”
I wasn’t confident in our ability to fight a war of espionage, but assumed we should err on the side of caution. If they were going to launch such a war on us, we’d need to rise to the challenge. The Swarm was highly united and would never betray me, and we had an ally in the Eastern Trade Union.
Humans could betray one another, but that didn’t apply to the Swarm.
“You said you sent adventurers to infiltrate. Any way we can buy whatever information they got off of you?” I asked.
“Of course. We can sell you any information, barring some highly confidential secrets.”
Good. This way we can learn as much as possible about the Nyrnal Empire.
Despite being such an ambitious hegemon, the Nyrnal Empire seldom suffered leaks. I didn’t know how their government was structured. Even if I was going to sneak Masquerade and Parasite Swarms into their country, I could still use more information on them.
“We’ll talk money later, then. Thank you.”
“No problem. We’ll be waiting for you.” Keralt nodded before walking off. “Also, thank you for winning this war for us.”
Then, someone else approached me. “Miss Grevillea.”
“So this time it’s you, Honnoson?”
“I’m sure protecting this country cost you quite a bit of funds. Would you like any financial aid?” the banker dwarf asked me.
I shrugged. “I don’t think I’ll have money to pay you back with.”
“I didn’t mean a loan, but true financial aid. Buying one’s independence with gold might seem lowly, but in the end, the only thing we can really do is provide money. Please let us help you in what little ways we can.”
Hmm. I’d always thought bankers were greedy, but he proved to be oddly empathetic. Similar to how humans tended to assume the Swarm was a legion of unfeeling monsters, I had my own preconceived notions about certain professions.
“We’ll take you up on that offer, then,” I said. “Just don’t expect much out of us; our finances are in dire straits right now.”
“I’m just glad you agreed. If you didn’t, the guild would have tormented me,” the old banker told me.
I might not pay you back for this in full, Honnoson, but I’ll return however much I can. Even if this isn’t really a loan. Once we’ve ruined Nyrnal and things settle down, I’ll probably have some money at least.
“Hey there, hero!” Konrad was the next to come forth. “That was quite the speech.”
“How about you handle the speeches next time, then?” I said dryly.
He handed me one of the two glasses of frothing champagne in his hands. I wasn’t much of a drinker, but I accepted it anyway.
“Speeches don’t suit me,” Konrad said with a grin. “Only thing these lips are good for is barking orders. Even after becoming chairman, I never won any arguments. Honestly, I’m not cut out for this job.”
“Well, that’s no good. You should learn how to debate like a good chairman,” I said, smiling softly. “I think your policies are decent, anyway.”
“Well, if you need a little extra muscle, just say the word,” he told me. “We’ll always lend you a hand.”
“I’ll be counting on you. But for now, focus on defending your country.”
If Konrad were to mobilize his mercenaries for us, it could incite another invasion from Nyrnal. They couldn’t take any risks.
“We’ll be praying for your success, queenie.” With that, Konrad left.
Having schmoozed appropriately, I returned to Lysa and Sérignan’s side.
“You were very inspiring, Your Majesty!” Lysa told me enthusiastically.
“The crowd was listening to your words with rapt attention, Your Majesty,” Sérignan said.
“Stop teasing me,” I said, feeling awkward. “I was just saying what I really thought. Anyway, I’m tired for today, and I’ve had enough to eat.”
Thus, the war over the Eastern Trade Union came to an end. My initial plan to use the Union as a way to attack the Nyrnal Empire hadn’t worked out, but there should be other ways to do it. If worse came to worst, we could just use the Dreadnought Swarm to forcibly cross the Phros.