Chapter 15

No matter how much I was riding on the Emperor’s authority as an envoy, in the end, I was just a fourteen-year-old kid.

The kings of the kingdoms or the popes of the Papal State would find it hilarious.

But I couldn’t afford to show that I found it funny.

The military power of the Kingdom of Velbur was nothing compared to the Empire. Both the Kingdom of Velbur and the Empire were conscription states, but the Empire had a larger number of soldiers relative to its population. Naturally, compared to the Empire’s far larger population, the Kingdom’s military strength was alarmingly weak.

Moreover, while the Empire was actively expanding its modern air force and navy, the Kingdom’s military power was still ‘medieval.’ Of course, that doesn’t mean they fought with swords and spears; it’s just that they were still severely lacking in tanks and aircraft. Considering the Empire’s army was evolving from the makeshift tanks of World War I to powerful main battle tanks with revolving turrets, the Kingdom’s army was pathetically weak.

Furthermore, the aerial battleships, which seemed like an extreme inefficiency at first glance, were terrifying in this world where advanced anti-air missiles did not exist.

There are no anti-aircraft guns that can achieve the effective range of battleship-caliber guns yet. Moreover, no anti-aircraft guns that could penetrate the armor of the aerial battleship Dreadnought, which has existed until now, have been developed.

Theoretically, they should shoot with ‘battleship guns’ to hit their targets, but just thinking about it, there would be an overwhelming difference in range when shooting from the sea towards the air versus shooting from the air towards the sea.

The aerial battleships can move at a maximum speed of 120 km/h. That’s faster than all the warships in this world, and since they don’t fly alone, it’s not easy to carry a massive bomber and drop bombs.

And once again, I must emphasize that the Empire’s air force is the strongest in the world. If a slow bomber were to come flying from a distance, there would be a very high probability of it getting shot down. And it’s likely that the bomber would be of Empire origin too.

To summarize, a massive airship fires artillery shells that are more powerful than those of modern self-propelled artillery at relatively precise ranges while being escorted by dozens of interceptors. For countries just beginning their modernization, this is sheer terror.

In actuality, in the Empire’s doctrine, the role of aerial battleships is a mirror image of modern U.S. amphibious assault ships. The problem is they lack the means to shoot them down.

Anyway, because of this, how they truly feel is secondary; the king of the Kingdom and the Papal State’s representative displayed a very polite attitude towards me.

“I understand the Papal State’s intentions. However, we cannot abandon our freedom of religion. The Kingdom of Velbur is a country made up of many different races since ancient times. Making the Goddess Church the state religion would surely cause tremendous social chaos. I’m sorry, but I must refuse this again.”

“We always say this, but we regret it.”

However, just because they were polite doesn’t mean they would genuinely include me in the serious discussions.

In fact, I had no intention of actively participating either. In this trilateral meeting, I would probably be the one speaking the most, but those two countries were practically nothing. Given that the Empire held absolute dominance, it didn’t need to meddle in the affairs of the two countries—unless its interests were encroached upon.

Thanks to this, I was able to spend most of the meeting time sipping fine tea. Milk tea with plenty of milk and sugar was indeed delicious. Was it a special product of the Kingdom of Velbur?

“The Papal State is small, but it possesses significant military power. If we could join forces with the Kingdom, we believed that we could gain considerable benefits…”

“Hm…”

The king glanced at me.

Look at these people.

The Papal State is a tiny country. If you think about it, it’s almost the size of just a city. They achieved independence due to some treaty made hundreds of years ago.

Because of its religious significance, you could say the Papal State leans heavily towards ‘fantasy.’ Well, the Empire, with its airships flying in the sky, is fantasy too, but the Papal State leans even more into fantasy than that.

The cathedral knights who wield holy magic present a new kind of threat compared to soldiers with firearms. Though few in number, they could perform like tactical weapons when mixed into a battlefield.

So, the Papal State is proposing an alliance to the Kingdom.

“…”

I quietly watched the two of them.

The truth is, I was somewhat aware of the real situation. The Kingdom opposes religious unification, but the Papal State seems to help some figures in the Kingdom subtly.

It would be accurate to say they appear to challenge the Empire’s hegemony. At first glance, they seem to be normal, rational religious figures, but in reality, they harbor ambitions to unify all the current religions into the Goddess Church.

The Empire is a melting pot of even more races, cultures, and religions than the Kingdom. It’s filled with colonists from numerous colonies, past countries that have been annexed, and local religions tangled together chaotically. Naturally, that would be seen unfavorably through the Papal State’s eyes.

Of course, strictly speaking, that’s just their ‘ultimate goal.’ Just like the South Korean government’s constitutional ultimate goal is to recover and unify North Korea, but for various practical reasons, there is no actual invasion. The Papal State is well aware that if they were to execute such plans, they would be erased from the map.

Thus, they thoroughly change practical matters step by step.

The Kingdom is a state that is directly exposed to the threat of the Empire. The Empire still seems satisfied with its current situation, but discontent is piling up internally. And the best way to alleviate such discontent is to create an external outlet.

It wouldn’t be too strange for the Kingdom and Papal State, which share a border with the Empire, to see it through the same lens.

Therefore, the words exchanged in the trilateral discussions are likely just performative dialogue, while in reality, those two would probably talk separately. Even if things fall apart here, behind the scenes, a secret alliance would be formed.

Of course, even if it’s showy, the Empire would have to do its best to act in a way that it can genuinely believe in this situation.

The slight furrow in the king’s expression was perhaps due to a mixture of genuine feelings?

“…”

I pondered while watching the two of them.

Regardless of whether or not that alliance is formed, the Emperor will eventually move. So… truthfully, it doesn’t matter much what I say or do here.

“… I do not mean to deny the Goddess. Our royal family has worshiped the Goddess Church for generations. However, if we recognize that religion as the ‘only’ religion, there will undoubtedly be discontent rising within the Kingdom. If that happens, forming an alliance with the Papal State would become meaningless, wouldn’t it?”

“To fill that gap, the cathedral knights that the Papal State boasts will take on the responsibility.”

“It sounds like you want to station an army within the Kingdom.”

Nice try.

In reality, they were already stationed.

Of course, the number is so small that it won’t be like the U.S. troops leeching off us; it’s not like they have a proper unit stationed.

They were disguised as clergy within the Goddess Church of the Kingdom. I know this setting well since it was mentioned in the main story.

But even so, since it’s a secret alliance, they probably thought that not having it visible in front of me made it better.

“What if.”

To be honest, I didn’t really like the Papal State. Their sinister intentions bothered me, and every character that emerged seemed to suffer from second-hand embarrassment. No, if they were fanatical characters that typically appear in manga like ●Sing, I might have liked them a bit more, but it’s just…

Characters who pretend to believe in a religion they don’t actually trust while saying they enjoy killing people, or who casually massacre civilians in the name of the Goddess, characters who are just too good-looking to be popular—it’s the kind of faction where characters like that appear. Maybe it’s a common trait in Japanese RPGs, even when it comes to later washing machines.

Well, there are good characters, and among them, some might become friends of the protagonist or heroines, but since I really found some characters annoying, I often shunned that faction.

I sometimes took pieces from setting books to make up my own stories… eventually, I got caught.

Anyway, since it was that kind of country, I wanted to throw them a bit of a dilemma.

So, for example:

“If the Empire made the Goddess Church the state religion, would the Papal State be willing to ally with the Empire?”

I wanted to see the two people freeze up at my remark.

Of course, the Emperor was a man who extremely detested the existence of the Goddess, so it was a story he’d never listen to. It was exactly because of this that I felt free to say it.

Regardless of whether the Goddess truly exists or not in the setting, I just didn’t like the Papal State. Naturally, I had no intention of forming an alliance either.

From the Empire’s perspective, it was unnecessary.

“… Are you saying that the Empire has the intention to adopt the Goddess Church as the state religion?”

“Depends on the benefits. Since the Empire is a modernized country, it currently has no intention of adopting a belief that is not practically proven as the state religion, but if the benefits outweigh the harm it creates, there’s nothing to say it won’t be considered.”

At my words, the representative of the Papal State narrowed his eyes. He was probably trying to discern whether this was just a probing remark or something more.

Moreover, if the Papal State were to bind itself to the Empire, there’s also a chance it could be absorbed into the Empire. The Empire is that powerful. Judging by the Emperor’s attitude, he would willingly want that.

And even if they made the Goddess Church the state religion, it would be impossible to eradicate all other religions. Unless they seriously intend to tear the Empire apart, it’s highly likely that even if this proposal is actually carried out, it wouldn’t go beyond mere ‘state religious adoption.’

But at the same time, this proposal touches on the meaning of the Papal State’s existence. It would be the first step toward abolishing all religions and unifying them into just one religion, a true belief. Of course, this would only be possible under the assumption that the Papal State doesn’t get absorbed into the Empire.

“Is that the Emperor’s intention?”

The Papal State’s representative asked me.

“That’s what I want to ask. You didn’t bring the Pope yourself, so does what the ambassador says here hold the same weight as the Pope’s remarks?”

“I’m attending here as the Pope’s envoy. Naturally, everything I say corresponds to the desires of the Papal State.”

“Is that so? Then my words are of equal weight as those of the Emperor, since I’m here as His Majesty’s ‘representative.'”

I looked back and forth between the king’s stiff expression and the ambassador of the Papal State before turning back to address the ambassador.

“If what you’re saying is truly as ‘the representative of the Papal State’ and ‘in accordance with the Papal State’s intentions,’ does it mean you’re prepared to take responsibility for everything that has been discussed here?”

“Of course. That’s why I came here. Isn’t that true, Crown Princess?”

“Well, I can’t lie in front of the king of the Kingdom of Velbur.”

The king’s eyebrow twitched at the mention of ‘Crown Princess,’ but I wasn’t too worried about it.

“Then, with the authority of the eminent Emperor, I would like to ask something here.”

I inquired to the two people staring at me.

“Is it true that you have had further discussions outside of this trilateral meeting? I wonder if what I have observed here is indeed everything, or if you are forming other alliances outside?”

“…”

I felt a bit bad for putting the king in a tight spot since I had no particular feelings toward him, but it was quite amusing to watch the expression of the Papal State ambassador stiffen.

Well, they wouldn’t honestly answer me just because they heard that line, and they would still forge their alliances regardless.

“Is there any basis for that question? If you’re speaking while riding on the Emperor’s authority, it should be a question grounded in the weight of that statement.”

This time, the king spoke with a grave expression.

“Is a basis really necessary? We are discussing a mutual military alliance here; is it unreasonable to check whether what has been said is indeed for ‘all three’ or if it’s merely to sidelined one country?”

“…”

Both of them fell silent at my question.

It was a rather flawed argument, but since I clearly stated that I came with the ‘authority of the Emperor,’ those two would likely find it hard to respond shamelessly with an ‘No.’ The moment they reply, it means they would be ‘officially’ denying it, and they’d have nothing to say if it were revealed later.

Well, it wasn’t like they would break the alliance anyway. At that point, they would just stick to whatever is said, never denying it but also not confirming it. Later, they would probably just say, ‘We simply didn’t say it!’ to keep it ambiguous.

“I would like to ask one more time.”

Breaking the silence, the ambassador of the Papal State opened his mouth.

“Does the Empire indeed have any thoughts regarding adopting the Goddess Church as the state religion?”

“I’m sorry, but that is merely my opinion; it would need the Empire’s assembly approval. I cannot give a definite answer.”

It was a double-edged answer.

At first glance, it might seem like he said that because the Emperor and the legislative authority, the Empire’s assembly, have different jurisdictions, allowing him to refuse. But in reality, the Empire’s assembly merely serves as a rubber stamp for the Emperor. And by observing the Emperor’s actions, it’s easy to infer this fact.

Just a moment ago, he was boldly declaring that he could do anything under the Emperor’s authority, only to now use the assembly as an excuse to backtrack.

For anyone else listening, it was a situation that would raise blood pressure.

But what could I do?

The Emperor’s power was behind me.

Moreover, I honestly didn’t care how the Empire would be perceived here. If I was concerned about that, the Emperor wouldn’t have sent me here in the first place.

When I lost interest in the conversation and lifted my teacup again, the two of them stared at me for a while.

What? Why?

There’s nothing more to say here anyway.

Let them talk among themselves.

The evil Empire wouldn’t be the evil Empire for no reason!

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