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Chapter 2: Intentions
WHILE Sutharland was engaged in a heated debate over the direction of its negotiations with Mynoghra, Mynoghra was holding a meeting to solidify its basic policy for negotiations with Sutharland.
“Let’s wrap this up quick,” Takuto began. “Knowing combat can’t happen for the foreseeable future is a rare opportunity for Mynoghra. I’m of the opinion we should be more forceful in our approach with what’s coming in mind.”
“You mean in regard to Sutharland, yes?” Atou responded. “Do you think we need to bring them on board as soon as possible, even if it means putting pressure on them, King Takuto?”
“Yeah. I would’ve taken the time to discuss things with them at a more comfortable pace if the circumstances were different.”
“But knowing we only have a year on our side, we can’t suffer any setbacks this early in the game. Correct, mon dieu?” Vittorio interjected.
Ŵе b̊n̂ǒve ĺ Е́ n̄ū m а̄
Satisfied with how smoothly the meeting was kicking off, Takuto let his thoughts turn to his allied Player. Yu said he was headed to see his god to get stronger. Regardless of how that turns out for him, I want to get stronger too.
Yu Kamimiyadera was the RPG Hero. His unique powers made him one of the key figures in the upcoming battle. Since they were equals as Players, Takuto didn’t know where Yu was or what he was doing, but he was certain the RPG Hero wasn’t playing around. With how frustrated Yu was by how the last fight went down, he was guaranteed to come back with solid results.
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Takuto looked around at his subordinates, waiting for his next words. They seemed fully prepared for what was to come. The usual council members had gathered in the Palace council room. Even Atou and Vittorio sat in attendance together, not kicking up a fuss despite usually being at each other’s throats.
Atou was behaving because she understood delaying the meeting due to bickering with Vittorio would be fatal for Mynoghra. Vittorio was behaving because he was convinced that greater fun awaited him in the near future than picking on Atou in the present.
Ironically, thanks to both of them operating on their own motives, the meeting was proceeding stress-free for Takuto. Then again, it wasn’t entirely stressless when they needed to move things forward as quickly as possible.
“Getting Sutharland on board with the alliance is a must. Of course, I have a plan to make that happen, but I want to see results sooner rather than later.”
Е̄ ṅ um̂ а
Succeeding in their negotiations with Sutharland, the most powerful neutral nation on the Dark Continent, was essential for Mynoghra. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that it was the springboard for the rest of their plans.
Since the Great Ritual only gave them a year, struggling to win over Sutharland, the first step in their agenda, would delay the rest of their plans. That would ultimately spell defeat for Mynoghra. They couldn’t afford to trip up here. They had to succeed at any cost. And quickly.
Only a few days had passed since the breakdown of talks at the All-Faction Conference. That may seem like a drop in the bucket compared to the span of a year, but conversely, they had also already lost a few days they could never get back. There are times when prompt action is the only path to success, and Mynoghra was very much in a situation where time was of the essence.
“In which case, what method should we use to force them into submission? We can’t take more direct measures with all combat-based actions being prevented by the Great Ritual…” Atou pointed out.
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“You’re right. But they don’t know that. I told Phon’kaven not to share more than necessary, so Sutharland shouldn’t know about our limitations.”
“I see your point, King Takuto, but I don’t know…”
Е̃ nu̇ m̌а̄ . і d
Atou sounded hesitant. To her, negotiations meant clearly demonstrating the power differences between the two parties. Especially in urgent situations, it’s often quicker to land a blow, a major shock to the other party that knocks them off kilter, than to fumble over a poor excuse for verbal sparring. But wouldn’t it be difficult to demonstrate their power when combat was impossible? Such questions were inevitable.
Takuto had naturally considered these concerns. Exploiting loopholes in the system was something he had become accustomed to, and he had accumulated ample know-how.
Vittorio seemed to have struck upon what Takuto had in mind, because he began nodding along with great amusement. “We bluff! I love a good con!” he trilled.
“I’m not a fan of how you phrased it, but yeah, that’s the idea. Lucky for us, Mynoghra’s units appear terrifying to non-Mynoghrans. We should be able to use that to our advantage. If worse comes to worst, we can fudge the rules with a mock battle.”
They needn’t resort to direct combat to demonstrate the difference in strength. Mynoghra had several units, including the Botchlings, that were extremely intimidating in appearance. If they could show those off and unnerve their opponent, things would move forward more quickly. Then, like with Phon’kaven, they could just dangle friendly offers of technology to seal the deal.
In short, they were going with the carrot-and-stick strategy.
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“So, the plan’s to scare them witless, then comfort them and become pals? Pull that one out of a mafia playbook, mon dieu? Buuut, do you really believe everything will play out the way you think?” Vittorio questioned.
“Isn’t that the whole point of the Cult of Ira? Sutharland may be an insular country, but that doesn’t mean they have absolutely no outside contact. There are plenty of gaps to drive a wedge through. And the seeds are already sown.”
Of course, Mynoghra’s intimidating units weren’t the only reason Takuto decided that this seemingly reckless plan was a good one. As he said, the existence of the Cult of Ira was a major factor.
The Cult of Ira was a fanatical religious group that worshipped Takuto Ira as their god. Their beliefs had already spread far and wide across the entire Dark Continent. Though their numbers were still small, they had certainly reached Sutharland.
Followers, defined as such by the game system, were powerful. One word from Takuto, and they would gleefully agree with what he said, no matter the details. That was why Takuto was trying to push aggressively ahead with his efforts to incorporate Sutharland. He had judged it was possible to pull off.
“Superb reasoning, mon dieu! Alas, it’s hard to say whether I can fully utilize my abilities under the Great Ritual. We’ll have to make do with the cards we already have, but the groundwork is more than laid. Bravo,” Vittorio praised Takuto’s decision with a round of applause.
Ё n̈ u ḿа̀
Without responding to his praise, Takuto glanced at Atou and confirmed that, although she was pouting, she was watching the meeting progress without issue. Next, he looked at the Dark Elves. They had been quietly listening to Takuto since the beginning of the meeting.
Were they planning on asking questions after they heard his plans? Or perhaps they were acting this way because they believed that it was best to leave everything up to the king’s discretion during a critical time like this? Either way, Takuto was grateful they were going along with him more than usual. It made it easier to make progress.
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“Through Phon’kaven, we have a rough idea of the kind of technology Sutharland possesses. All of it has yet to be obtained by Mynoghra. I’m tempted to see if there’s even more advanced, secret technology they have hidden away, but either way, we absolutely want to obtain what we already know of.” Takuto flicked his gaze over to Elder Moltar. The old sage deeply bowed his head in acknowledgment.
Elder Moltar had been spearheading the initiative to collect this invaluable information. The intel was a mix of what they had gathered when Sutharland was still a low priority and what they could scrape together in a rush over the past couple of days, so it wasn’t refined. But it still uncovered that Sutharland possessed several undiscovered technologies. Much of the technology was nautical-based and didn’t seem terribly useful to Mynoghra, but this was just what they could uncover with a simple investigation. Sutharland likely kept the good stuff hidden. This was the reason Takuto was so determined to win over Sutharland, even though they were inferior in terms of military strength.
“At any rate, it’s clear we need to negotiate with Sutharland as soon as possible. Within the next couple of days, at most,” Atou said.
“Yeah. As long as we can get Sutharland on board, I couldn’t really care less about the other two city-states. Worst case, they’re small enough we can just leave them out. This is a clear first step toward opposing the Lawful Continent Alliance.”
Еn u mа . і d̆
“Didn’t all the neutral nations, including Sutharland, put in a request to talk with us through Phon’kaven? If they are smart enough to want to talk, they should be smart enough to accept our proposal,” Atou concluded.
“I’d like to believe that too, but we’re an evil nation… You never know how that might complicate things.”
“Indeed. Such is the woe of being evil.”
Atou and Takuto shared a grimace. They were both remembering things that had happened in the past…from when Takuto had played the game in his hospital room.
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Difference in values due to differences in alignment, and the resulting clashes, even if they are logical, are not something to be welcomed. Of course, it’s just as wrong to think you can easily mix water and oil when it goes against their very nature. In any case, overturning logic takes time and effort.
“If it comes to that, why not lead the Cult of Ira in a revolution?” Atou suggested. “Then we’ll hang Sutharland’s leaders on a street corner as a warning and everything will turn out fine!”
Ẅеb ň о v̈е̊l̂ Ē n̆u m̃ а̌
“We can’t engage in combat, remember? But I wonder if espionage and sabotage against neutral nations might work? Actually, if the cultists act based on me simply conveying my feelings, would that completely circumvent the rules? I was thinking of them as a political, pro-Mynoghra force, but… the Cult of Ira is a real pain to deal with.” Takuto couldn’t help but frown.
If Lector Yona’Yona heard him bemoan the cult, she would swoon and be bedridden for days, but fortunately, she wasn’t present. The cultists were even more uncontrollable than Vittorio and required extra caution to maneuver. Leaving them to their own devices could lead to them acting arbitrarily and ruining everything.
I’ll have to find time to run things by Yona’Yona later. The poor girl has to put up with a lot.
Takuto had a lot of ideas about how to use the Cult of Ira. To do so, he needed to change his policy from leaving them alone to actively engaging with them. He needed to have a more personal correspondence with Yona’Yona, the cult’s proxy leader, to make that happen. Takuto looked around at his council members as he came up with a strategy that would likely knock Yona’Yona off her feet.
The Dark Elves asked several questions after that, but they seemed to understand the plan. They didn’t go into much depth since the plan was simply to make contact with Sutharland and get them to join the alliance.
Once he confirmed everyone was on board, Takuto glanced at the wooden clock designed to blend in with the Palace’s architecture. It was already late into the night. Before the meeting, he had been busy with a wide variety of tasks, such as issuing orders to each unit, notifying his cities of policy changes, and doling out intelligence-related instructions, so finishing the meeting at this hour was a miracle. He could still get some shut-eye and be ready to leave first thing the next morning.
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“With that said and done, I’m heading out,” he announced. “Fortunately, the Great Ritual is designed to automatically prevent harm to us. We can move with speed in mind.”
The Dark Elf council members were already up to speed on the Great Ritual. They struggled to quite accept the surreal aspects of it, but they eventually came to terms with their new reality.
“Not only does it protect from direct harm, but it also protects from assassination attempts and all forms of nasty violence. Now’s the time to do everything we can do!” Vittorio trilled.
“The Great Ritual is absolute magic that can’t be undone by any means,” Atou added. “It’s unfathomable for anything to get passed it. There would be clear signs if it did. Of course, I will still be at King Takuto’s side at all times protecting him!”
The two Heroes had both given their stamps of approval too.
The Great Ritual is a unique magic that occupies a special position even within Eternal Nations. When activated by a nation, the ritual is immune to all exceptions and operates as an absolute law that can never be broken within the game. Of course, the game settings also conform to its effects, and it’s supposed to operate on its own set of rules that separate it from normal magic.
Е̄ ṅ û m̈а̊ . і̀ d
Considering these pre-established settings, it was safe to conclude that the Great Ritual was unlikely to be upended. At the very least, as Atou said, if something strange were to occur, there would be some kind of sign.
Now was the perfect opportunity for Takuto to move more freely than ever before, without being as wary of his surroundings. His conviction and confidence naturally spread to the Dark Elves, which was why no one objected this time. Takuto was relieved he didn’t have to try to further persuade the overprotective Dark Elves, especially after his last lone outing ended with him losing consciousness for a time.
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Human—or in this case, humanoid—emotions are complex. Even if you understand something should be one way logically, there are many things emotions get in the way of. Such is the strongest and weakest aspect of being human.
Takuto had come to understand this concept better since coming to this world. Interacting with people with strong emotions, rather than the sterile social interactions in the hospital, had helped him grow emotionally.
I’m glad everyone is on board domestically. This could have been our first stumbling block, otherwise.
Vittorio seemed to be intentionally supporting Takuto’s plans, while Atou was more of a wild card who did it in the spur of the moment. Even so, they had undeniably helped smooth things over with the others.
W̄.е́ b̊ n о̊v̈ ӗ l̀ Е̂n̄ûm а̃.
Feeling grateful to his reliable allies, Takuto looked each person in the eye before confidently announcing, “I’ve heard Sutharland has many items originating from other continents. We don’t want to get too distracted by this right now, but I’m still looking forward to it.”
Everyone nodded.
Given the late hour, it was eerily quiet. Under normal circumstances, Takuto would have ended the meeting at this point. He stood to do just that, when a different thought struck him and he muttered, “Oh yeah…” All eyes remained on him.
“After we receive two, maybe three, technologies from Sutharland, that will finally be unlocked.”
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If they could successfully secure cooperation from Sutharland and receive the new technology, the total number of technologies in Mynoghra’s possession would increase. It was a natural result that needed no explanation, following the same principle as water flowing from top to bottom.
What in the dark realm was the significance of that? What exactly would be unlocked? Everyone was curious, but only two people reacted immediately: Sludge Atou and Gleeful Spin Doctor Vittorio.
Ën̂u m а. і́ d
“What do— Oh!”
“A new Hero…superb!”
The Dark Elves gasped.
Summoning Hero units has certain tech tree requirements. There are several conditions, such as unlocking specific technologies, and one of them is the number of technologies Mynoghra possesses. They had obtained a number of new technologies during Takuto’s infiltration into the Divine Nation of Lenea, and they were about to gain even more from Sutharland. If all went well, adding these together would allow them to summon a new Hero.
Mynoghra was about to add another ace to their hand.
Joy lit up the Dark Elves’ faces. But was it just Takuto’s imagination, or did a few of them look less than happy?
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Grasping why they weren’t as happy as they could be, Takuto assured, “Don’t worry. The next Hero will be a tad more reasonable…”
It hurt that he couldn’t promise them the next Hero would be significantly better than the last. The one and only sensible Hero belonging to Mynoghra was Isla, after all.
“Mynoghra has two Heroes left. Personalities aside, both are guaranteed to be powerful. They come at a high cost, however… We should be able to summon one within the year.”
Things were starting to get interesting.
Which Hero should I go with next? Takuto swiftly calculated how either could play into his plans. Both of the remaining Heroes had overpowered abilities, and if used properly, they had the potential to greatly increase Mynoghra’s overall strength. Both could work. I can go with whoever fits the moment, he decided.
“Now, a question for you all,” Takuto whimsically prompted, getting excited about the idea. He was asking, despite knowing the Dark Elves had no way to know which to choose. Still, he wanted to share his excitement with the others.
Ē n ûm а̄
“Which Hero would you like to meet next?”
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