“Thank you for your hard work, Your Majesty. I’m glad you returned sooner than expected.”
“…Well, I didn’t expect to be back this quickly either.”
Martini greeted me with a slightly awkward expression, like a parent who sent their child off on their first field trip, worrying about every little detail.
Who could have predicted this?
When I left, I had sounded like the last warrior of Sparta, rallying three hundred soldiers to conquer the Armes Kingdom. But now, after a single battle and a quick surrender, I felt more awkward than proud.
“I heard you went into enemy territory alone again.”
“To turn the tide against the odds, I had no choice but to act.”
My words inadvertently came out sounding like an excuse, and Martini chuckled.
It felt a bit wrong to be so brazen in front of someone who was genuinely concerned for me.
But I couldn’t tell if I should be relieved, as it seemed she had no intention of scolding me.
“I understand. Ultimately, you returned safely and even secured a surrender, so I suppose I can ease my worries now.”
Martini nodded, looking a little proud, though I honestly felt like I hadn’t done much worth celebrating. But she didn’t seem to share that sentiment.
Well, if securing a surrender counts as a skill, then I can’t argue with that.
But more importantly, there was something else on my mind.
“What about the request I made?”
The request in question was to find a way to approach the Suwang Kingdom.
Now that we had wrapped up with the Armes Kingdom faster than expected, we needed to swiftly take care of the glaring threats of the Luminous Kingdom and the Empire.
However, for that, we absolutely needed to make contact with the Suwang Kingdom beforehand.
If we advanced without gauging their intentions, they might retreat entirely, leaving us to face both the Luminous Kingdom and the Empire head-on.
“It just so happens that I was about to bring that up. Our infiltrator informed us that Suwang Cardan Lionheart has requested a direct meeting with you.”
“Already? Did I hear you right?”
I had instructed them to find a way to make contact, but I never imagined it would come so soon.
Judging by Martini’s expression, it seemed I hadn’t misheard.
“Is that infiltrator in danger of being caught?”
Thus, I arrived at this conclusion naturally.
Isn’t it obvious?
There’s no way an ordinary informant could convince a Suwang to make direct contact.
That meant this request for a meeting was less about our persuasion and more about the Suwang’s personal desire, communicated through our informant.
“I deeply apologize, but that is indeed the case. I’ve heard they were quite intent on searching the area.”
Well, if one invests a little time and effort, there’s hardly any being easier to track down than a vampire informant.
As long as you’re sure they’re there due to their species characteristics, it’s not hard to sift them out.
Moreover, with the two dominant vampire duchies positioned in the continent’s center and northwest, the population density would naturally be skewed, making it quite likely that a vampire identified in the less populous eastern regions was one of our planted informants.
In fact, I was more surprised that they had quietly managed to gather some information as an infiltrator this entire time.
In truth, what they had gathered might have been more rumor than classified intelligence.
“Is the informant safe?”
“Fortunately, it seems they aren’t entirely hostile toward the Allied Kingdom yet; they’ve been used merely as a liaison. However, whether or not you respond to their request will undoubtedly affect that situation.”
Meeting the Suwang directly.
I thought it made more sense to see this unknown individual in person rather than guarding against them from afar.
But thinking about it with my royal perspective, the tension I felt at the prospect of meeting another kingdom’s ruler was of a different kind compared to the anxiety of facing a formidable enemy in battle.
“Is this even possible? I mean in terms of location.”
“They specified the place.”
“Where?”
Between the Sahelrn Duchy and the Suwang Kingdom lies the Greysia Empire.
I’m not particularly well-versed in geography, but as far as I recall, there didn’t seem to be any major roads that didn’t go through the Greysia Empire.
But Martini’s answer was completely unexpected.
“The Perkina Mountain Range. The Suwang has requested to meet in the Perkina Mountain Range.”
*
The Perkina Mountain Range.
It’s the second-highest mountain range on the Terra continent, traversing the southeastern region.
In fact, considering that the first is the Dragon’s Gorge, the Perkina Mountain Range is the most rugged natural barrier that most humans, except the Dragonkin, will come across.
It essentially serves as a de facto border, limiting the territory of the Suwang Kingdom.
‘Who would have thought I’d find myself here again?’
To the east of the Perkina Mountain Range is the Suwang Kingdom, and to the west lies an escape for beastmen that lack an organized nation.
Just as there are numerous human kingdoms, there are regions for beastmen both to the east and west of the mountains, although they don’t form a single cohesive force.
And I had been to one such place.
More accurately, while I didn’t stay long, I had crossed through their land after fleeing the Sahelrn Duchy to enter the Armes Kingdom.
Now, I was traversing the beastmen’s territory with Eleonora, Lavina, and Kanak, finally challenging the Perkina Mountain Range.
“But, really, can we just go alone like this?”
Ravina, who usually exuded an air of nonchalance in any situation, was unusually out of breath and questioning us.
Given Eleonora’s obviously superior stamina from her upbringing in mountain climbing and her now extraordinary physical prowess, it seemed like Kanak was the one struggling even more.
‘No, this is how it should be.’
Though elves have this image of being all-powerful, when you break it down, they’re primarily just gifted in magic.
In contrast, beasts like Kanak, who invested all their stats into physical strength and were leading a resistance army, would naturally hold the advantage in pure stamina.
“Right now, speed is of the essence. I’d love to bring along Plona, but she can’t move much during the day, can she? If we select those who can handle the climb without including vampires, this is the best team we can muster.”
I swallowed the word “probably” as it was unnecessary to voice it aloud.
Until I meet the Suwang, I wouldn’t know if this was truly the best course of action.
If everything ended peacefully, then approaching with this elite small team would have been the right decision. But if negotiations fell apart and led to conflict, I’d surely wish I had brought more people along.
After all, comparing it to Earth, who could predict that a bunch of extraordinary madmen would choose to hold discussions somewhere near the Himalayas?
Nevertheless, I was pretty sure the Suwang Kingdom wouldn’t drag a massive crowd to the meeting either.
Evidence?
If there were hundreds of thousands of troops able to traverse the harsh Perkina Mountain Range freely, then the southern continent would not have been merely a battleground for slave hunting and the desperate survival struggles of beastmen—it would be recorded as Suwang Kingdom territory.
Just then, Kanak, who had been walking in silence, suddenly spoke up.
“Even so, I didn’t expect I’d be called along.”
“There’s no reason not to bring a beastman when going to meet the Suwang. They might even lessen our chances of being seen as the enemy.”
Not to mention, until we reached the foot of the mountain range, Kanak had played a role as our guide.
Though he had never been to the Suwang Kingdom, he had mentioned visiting the southern conflict areas several times in the past.
The fact that we had traveled here rather smoothly without drawing any trouble because of Kanak’s presence as a beastman was reason enough to justify his inclusion.
“That’s not what I meant. What would you do if I betrayed you and crossed over to the Suwang Kingdom? Most beastmen in the western and southern regions stay put not because they have nowhere to go, but because they can’t help it; now that we’ve reached the Perkina Mountain Range, I might as well go along with them.”
“Then you’ll just have to die before you betray me. It’s not complicated.”
I responded without hesitation.
Kanak had aligned with me and the Beastman Resistance Army, trusting that he could judge me with his own eyes, rather than simply relying on the Suwang Kingdom he had no connection to. But even when confronted with the Suwang before him, I trusted he would not waver.
In the end, establishing a reliable image to present to the Suwang Kingdom was my main aim, while making Kanak act as our guide was an added bonus; but I was also subtly gauging Kanak’s trustworthiness.
“That’s quite a frightening thing to say.”
Kanak quickly shook his head as if he had imagined opposing me once again.
“A true warrior does not break their promise of loyalty.”
Well, that’s reassuring.
Anyway, it’s about time for us to take another rest.
We should be arriving at the designated meeting spot soon.
I hoped sincerely that the meeting would conclude peacefully, and I ordered my companions to search for one last resting place.
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