We finished our vacation at the inn and returned to the Eastern Trade Union. I was satisfied to find that my skin felt a little bit softer.
“Now, we have an issue to resolve.”
While we were on our trip, the Nyrnal Empire didn’t make a move. The forces in the northeast retreated because they couldn’t maintain an effective supply chain there, but I couldn’t predict Emperor Maximillian’s next play.
I set the new Swarm unit along Schtraut’s defensive line and kept a reserve force, watching and waiting. Whether that would enable me to handle whatever came my way was another issue altogether.
For the time being, I had the Worker Swarms collect the resources we’d need for a second Dreadnought Swarm. I had one set to watch over the Phros, and I was considering positioning the second one on the Schtraut front so it could help us break through the Empire’s defenses.
Producing a Dreadnought Swarm cost a massive amount of resources. If a single Ripper Swarm cost one cow’s worth of meatballs, the Dreadnought Swarm cost more than an entire farm. Honestly, between that and how slow it was, I didn’t want to have to produce too many.
“Aren’t we going to go on the offensive, Your Majesty?” Sérignan asked.
“I can’t mobilize my forces when I don’t know if they have a trap set up for me.”
I’d sent Ripper Swarms on scouting missions, but I didn’t have enough information to gauge what they were planning. Did they have other Gregoria units besides the wyverns and lindwyrms? If they did, how many did they have? Were they capable of producing more? I had no answers.
“If only we could send more Masquerade Swarms and Parasite Swarms into their nation...”
In past wars, I had Masquerade sneak in among the refugees and infest people with Parasite Swarms. It wasn’t a possibility this time, though, since the Nyrnal Empire had closed their borders and wouldn’t let any of the refugees from Schtraut or Frantz into their land. By now, those refugees were rushing to the Eastern Trade Union. They had to live in refugee camps, and the living conditions were getting progressively worse each day.
“Right, the refugee camps are becoming an issue. We should do something about that,” I remarked.
“Are you saying we should do work for the humans? Why?” Sérignan asked, her face sour.
“They’re our allies now, Sérignan,” I chided her. “We have an obligation to help them. To prove that we’re not just a horde of monsters, but living beings with human sensibilities.”
We’d received a great deal of help from the Eastern Trade Union. They had provided us with all sorts of things in exchange for us defending their land, and if we were to keep our end of the deal, we couldn’t risk them doubting us. If the Nyrnal Empire were to try to split us up, they’d condemn us as horrible monsters so the Union would dissolve our alliance.
At least, that was what I’d do if I were them.
“The Worker Swarms have finished reinforcing the fortress line along the Phros,” I continued. “We can have them learn carpentry techniques so they can build temporary dwellings for the refugees. I’m sure that would inspire trust in our allies.”
“Very well. I suppose we cannot let the alliance fall apart.” Sérignan nodded, still bitter.
“The question is how we get insider information on Nyrnal. We need to get our Swarms through their borders...”
The Swarms couldn’t be super spies like the ones you’d see in movies or video games. They couldn’t go on action-packed missions infiltrating enemy territory. But with things as they were, I could think of one way they could sneak in.
“How about the skies?” I asked.
Sérignan shook her head. “The wyverns are patrolling their airspace. The Griffin Swarms might be capable of shaking them off, but they can’t enter unseen. Even if we did make it in, it’d be a very conspicuous infiltration...”
So swooping in from the skies was a no-go. Parasite Swarms were durable, so they could possibly survive a fall from up high, but if the skies were closed to us, we’d need to come up with another way.
“In that case, there is another way.”
If the skies are no good, we just have to go the opposite way.
“I’ve got an idea. I’ll need to think about it and experiment a little to see if it’s even possible. Either way, it’ll take a while.” I put my idea on the back burner. “For now, let’s build those residences for the refugees. I’ll have the Worker Swarms move out. They’ve got time to spare, after all... I mean, the only thing they’d have left to do once they’re done is create furniture for export.”
“I will have them move right away,” Sérignan said. “Where will we build the human residences, though? If we construct them in the wrong place, it might anger any existing residents.”
She was right. People were likely to complain if we built them on the outskirts, beyond the walls, but there were so many refugees that it was bound to create friction. That would just worsen the peace and the refugees’ standing.
“I’ll go talk to the new chairman of the alliance. They should tell us where to set up the next refugee camp.”
With that, I rose from my seat and went to meet the person in question.
♱
“A new refugee camp, you say?”
The new chairman ended up being Keralt. She’d won the election and assumed the role.
“Yes. I imagine the refugee situation is a challenge for you, so I thought we might help,” I told her. “This is an offer of goodwill, of course. We don’t expect any compensation. If you want to press me for a reason, I’ll say that all we seek is your trust.”
“Trust,” Keralt echoed. “You already have our trust. We fought side by side to protect the Union.”
“Well, I’m sure the mercs and adventurers feel that way, but the common citizen doesn’t know how we fought for your country. If we’re going to keep dealing with you, we’ll need to gain their trust as well. Although if you don’t think building that refugee camp is necessary, we won’t.”
The mercenaries and adventurers had fought with us, so they trusted us. But for the common folk, there was still a steep wall of racial differences. There might never come a day where humanity and the Swarm truly understood each other, but if possible, I wanted them to at least learn a bit about us.
“We don’t mind at all,” Keralt said. “Go outside the walls and follow the highway. You have my permission to build the refugee camp there. But please, no quarrels or disputes. We’re still in the middle of the war with Nyrnal.”
“I see. Nyrnal might cause a stir among the refugees, so we’d best build it away from Khalkha. That way, even if they rebel, it shouldn’t influence you as much.”
There was a possibility that the Nyrnal Empire might try to incite the refugees into rebellion so they could make the Eastern Trade Union collapse from within. None of us wanted that. Civil war would only open up an avenue for Nyrnal to strike.
“Very well, you may do your construction beyond the outskirts of Khalkha.”
“Thank you.” I nodded politely. “By the way, did the Adventurers’ Guild get a hold of any new information?”
“Not yet. Nyrnal is making it hard to learn anything about their internal affairs. The guild’s power doesn’t extend there. We have a small number of adventurers hiding among their ranks and sending us information, but they can only find out so much.”
I was hoping the Adventurers’ Guild would be of help here. I’d grown to realize just how effective they were at gathering intelligence. They could use the guild’s name to enter different countries and send back whatever they learned, from the quality of a country’s food, to how they dealt with monsters, and even the size of their armies.
Information like that was useful when dealing with an opposing nation. Poorer food quality implied their economy was worsening, and an army struggling to stop monsters could indicate how much military prowess they held.
“Has your guild analyzed what little information you obtained? What did you come up with?”
“It seems the unit that invaded from the northeast, through Frantz, is preparing to retreat. There’re signs of them reinforcing it with new soldiers, though we’re not sure what it means yet.”
So they’re pulling back from the northeast, but reinforcing their numbers...? I had a bad feeling about that. Maximillian was clearly up to something.
“Can’t the guild gather information on how they’re stationing the soldiers?”
“That’d be difficult. My folks are already putting themselves on the line. I’d rather not ask them to stick their necks out any further.”
Right... The adventurers are like family for Keralt.
“Got it. For now, could you share what you know? We’ll need to prepare in case the enemy tries to cross the Phros again. And we need to know if they’re actually retreating from the northeast or if they’re just winding up for some other plot.”
“This is a matter of national defense, and we’re allies, so we can share that much.”
Keralt was as cautious as ever. She would only give me information she was confident in, filtering out any dubious or murky intelligence. That was encouraging, but it also meant we wouldn’t hear any information she decided wasn’t good enough—including things I might otherwise overlook.
“Thank you. We’ll get busy building the refugee camp, then. Can we borrow some of your carpenters?”
“Yes, go ahead. Khalkha’s reconstruction is mostly underway already, as planned. I’m just not sure if the city will end up being a center of trade again.”
That made sense. Khalkha’s scars ran deep. Once trust was broken, it took a great deal of effort to reclaim it. Buildings had burned down and thousands had died, and that had hurt Khalkha’s reputation as a safe haven for merchants. I couldn’t forgive Nyrnal for striking such a painful blow to this city.
“Anyway, I’ll make sure things start right away. It’s the least we can do, since we’re the ones who drove those people out. We’ll assume responsibility for that.”
“I never thought I’d hear the Arachnea say anything of the sort,” Keralt said, eyebrows raised in surprise.
“What, you think we’re monsters that guzzle everything up and don’t care for courtesy?” I asked dryly.
“Something like that. I mean, until now, you just destroyed everything in your path.”
Well. I guess we really made a bad impression on them.
But that was just us reaping what we sowed. We may have had reasons to exercise our violence, but it was still extreme. After we’d rampaged hard enough to wipe a country off the map, I couldn’t act like I was unrelated to the refugees’ plight and instead blindly prepare for the next war.
I had to make amends for what I’d done. I promised Sandalphon I’d act with such emotions in my heart.
♱
We began building the refugee camp.