Chapter 201
Chapter 201
Chapter 201
Continental Nations Conference (2)
"Haha, please calm down. It was just a joke."
Baal's words immediately switched to honorifics.
"A joke? A jooooke?"
"I don't particularly intend to do anything to you with that. So please put away that murderous intent."
Rudian glanced at Rebecca, who was in the corner.
If it were her, she would feel something upon seeing Baal, the source of power, and sure enough, Rebecca was subtly keeping an eye on Baal.
'Ugh... this is a bit troublesome.'
Especially after hearing Baal's expected target from Diablo, the prediction that he would definitely try something with Rebecca had turned into certainty.
"Now, now, returning to the original point... I would like to start the meeting now, but what do you think?"
"...I won't particularly oppose it."
Gabriel essentially showed approval.
"Since all the key personnel have gathered anyway, it shouldn't matter."
The five Dragon Lords also agreed.
"Ah, no matter what, things cannot proceed this way...!"
One of the seventeen kings stood up abruptly, trying to express his opposition, but...
FLINCH!
"...there is no... law against it. I, I, I agree..."
When Baal and Gabriel in the hall looked at him intently, he trembled severely under his chin and averted his eyes.
Even a Master-level knight would not be able to maintain composure under their gaze, so considering that, he could be seen as having quite decent composure.
"Certainly, lowly beings like us find it quite burdensome to maintain the manifestation of God's representative. If we can save two days, I believe we can gather more strength."
Pope Fabricio II of Luuren quietly stood up and expressed his opinion.
As he said, the reason Gabriel could currently be here was not because something in the heavens was providing power, but because the priests of the lower world had combined their strength to create something like a holy land.
"I hate wasting time, so I agree."
In addition to the religious community, the secret societies that joined this time also agreed, and the atmosphere leaned toward starting immediately.
"Well then, shall we begin?"
Thus began the largest-scale continental nations conference in history, but one that would proceed in the most hasty manner.
***
As might be expected, Rudian ended up taking charge of the proceedings and facilitation of this meeting.
If either Baal or Gabriel were to preside, the opposing side would absolutely not accept it, and excluding the seventeen kings, everyone knew who had actually led this meeting.
Receiving the gazes of Baal and Gabriel, Rudian slowly rose from his seat.
"First, before starting the meeting, I believe documents containing the general facts about why this meeting was held have been distributed, and I trust that no one failed to read them."
"......"
The reactions to those words were varied.
Some showed no particular reaction as if it were natural, some nodded in agreement, others sent questioning looks wondering what that guy was doing...
But fortunately, no one showed a reaction indicating they had just attended without reading the documents.
"If there were such a person, it would be justified to snap their neck. If there were anyone who dared show such an attitude at a meeting we're attending."
Gabriel glared at the seventeen kings with flickering eyes.
FLINCH!
Naturally, even though they were earthly rulers, none of them dared to directly challenge the authority of God's representative.
Well, the moment they did so, they could be branded as heretics by the entire Seven Great Gods denomination and have their royal authority replaced or their nations destroyed.
"Good. It seems there are none."
Gabriel sat back down with a satisfied expression.
'This is certainly convenient.'
With Gabriel playing the role of disciplinarian, things were proceeding smoothly.
Rudian looked at the now-quiet participants and slowly opened his mouth again.
"First, this meeting is not particularly beneficial to each nation. Practically speaking, it's a forced conscription of military power."
The kings' expressions naturally contorted at those words.
"Not individual nations, but the entire continent is facing a crisis of destruction. Although it's forced, the burden from this matter will be equally shared by all nations, and post-event preparations have also been arranged."
"What are these post-event preparations? Honestly, while you say it's equal, as long as there are clear differences in national power, ideal equality simply doesn't exist."
The one who raised the objection was Grand Duke Delphus of the Seta Duchy.
"Especially for weak nations like ours, if even one Master-level fighter is lost, we could immediately become prey for other nations."
For nations like the Seta Duchy that heavily depended on asymmetrical power, there was a high possibility that national power could be tilted with just one blow.
Rudian agreed with Grand Duke Delphus' opinion.
"Yes, the first preparation for that is... to prohibit all wars on the continent."
"Prohibit wars?"
"Yes, we're looking at about 100 years for now, but depending on negotiations, the period could be extended further."
"Nonsense!"
BANG!
The one who vehemently objected to Rudian's words was King Galeol I of the Veledic Kingdom.
"Don't you know that we're currently in the practical merger stage with the Mezen Duchy? In such a situation, if wars are prohibited, who will compensate for the disadvantages we suffer?"
The Veledic Kingdom was a considerable military power located in the northwest of the continent, and while it didn't have major conflicts with the Morian Empire, their relationship couldn't be said to be completely absent.
Especially when the adjacent Ergon Kingdom was fighting a war with the Morian Empire in the north, they had been having quite a good time intimidating nearby small nations.
Baal and Gabriel smiled wryly while looking at King Galeol I, but he only flinched slightly and didn't bend his argument.
"Th-this is a legitimate claim after all! Are you saying this is a place where such things cannot even be said?"
"No, that's not the case."
Rudian shook his head.
"It's natural for strong nations to annex weak nations. It would certainly be unfair to prevent that using transcendent power."
"That's right!"
"Then the Morian Empire will propose an economic alliance to the Veledic Kingdom and provide tariff benefits and financial assistance for military reduction accordingly."
The Veledic Kingdom was like Sparta, with an image of unstable domestic affairs compared to the nation's military power.
Originally, most kingdoms located in the north had similar circumstances, so it wasn't particularly a problem unique to Veledic.
"If only the Veledic Kingdom receives special treatment, wouldn't there be fairness issues with other nations?"
"Of course. Therefore, the Morian Empire is always ready to open its doors if there are any kingdoms that wish to have exchanges with our nation."
"Hmm..."
King Magellan I of Kapuras, who had asked Rudian the question, crossed his arms and fell into thought.
Actually, the tariff issue didn't really resonate with him, since the Morian Empire was a nation with only one port city... most of its territory was located inland.
The south was blocked by the Great Forest, the east by the Rohans Kingdom, and the north by Ergon.
They did manage to build a port city on the western coast, but even that was infested with pirates not far away, which is why Marbas had undertaken a subjugation campaign under the alias Marba Ainsworth, hadn't he?
Even if they used inland routes, originally the Veledic Kingdom didn't have that many goods to export to the Morian Empire aside from leather goods, medicinal herbs, and occasionally mined rare minerals.
In essence, the proposal to the Veledic Kingdom was a roundabout warning to be satisfied with some concessions and keep quiet.
However, whether King Galeol I didn't understand Rudian's words or was doing so knowingly, he snorted and rejected the proposal.
"Hmph! That's absolutely insufficient! Considering the benefits we would gain from annexing other nations...!"
"In that case."
Baal interrupted King Galeol I's words.
"Lord Rudian, how about postponing this meeting by a week?"
"...Why would that be?"
Since he was nominally the demon representative, Rudian responded with honorifics.
Baal smiled brightly and said this to Rudian:
"Because in just one week, regardless of what results this meeting produces, everyone will agree."
"......"
"......!"
Rudian looked at Baal with an expression of disbelief, and King Galeol I turned pale with horror after understanding the meaning of those words.
"If you're planning to make such threats, then why did you bother calling us...!"
"Hmm? I didn't offer that opinion as a demon though. Isn't that right, Your Majesty the Queen?"
Baal turned his gaze to the new queen of the Rohans Kingdom, Terese de Rohans, who was sitting beside him with an affectionate expression.
Queen Terese nodded with a dreamy expression.
"Yes, my mas... no, Grand Duke Alba. The brave warriors of Rohans and the Ergon Kingdom could turn any opposition into agreement within a week."
"Wh-what!"
King Galeol I's expression became even more crumpled as not only Rohans but also Ergon's name was mentioned.
"I heard the prince of the Veledic Kingdom is quite intelligent. It would be wonderful if that prince appeared here after a week."
"......!"
"Hahaha, Her Majesty the Queen's insight is truly excellent."
Queen Terese blushed and bowed her head deeply at Baal's praise.
Rudian looked at that sorry sight with salty eyes before turning his gaze to the trembling King Galeol I.
When Rudian was about to say something, someone stood up from where the kings were seated.
"A-ahem! This Great Chief agrees with the Queen's opinion!"
"You, you bastard!"
The person who suddenly stood up was the Great Chief of the northernmost barbarian tribal Alliance, the Roar Tribal Alliance.
Before Rudian could say anything, he clenched his fist and shouted:
"If Rohans and Ergon lend a hand, we too will gladly contribute!"
"Heh, that's appreciated."
"Ahem, I merely stepped forward to be of help to the Khan."
"......"
At Baal's words, the Great Chief cleared his throat and turned his gaze to the dejected Rudian.
Those eyes were like a puppy seeking praise, asking 'Did I do well?', making Rudian feel a headache coming on.
'To do something I didn't even ask for...'
The Great Chief of the Roar Tribal Alliance, who followed thorough meritocracy, was a being with Upper Sword Master level skills who received treatment as one of the strongest on the continent.
To quickly subdue such a Great Chief, Rudian had shown a bit of his true nature.
By suppressing the Great Chief along with 200 upper-level warriors of the tribal Alliance at once, Rudian had gained not their cooperation, but their loyalty.
Immediately cornered, King Galeol I finally looked at Gabriel.
It was a look requesting help from the angel Gabriel while the demons were running wild like this.
However, Gabriel turned his head with a dismissive expression.
"Survival of the fittest? Good. If you apply the principle of survival of the fittest to earthly problems, most things get resolved."
"Wh-what! O-our country actively accepts the Seven Great Gods denomination and recognizes missionary activities! Will you abandon the faithful so coldly?"
"Who said anything about abandoning the faithful? When the leadership is incompetent, the followers suffer. Rather, if we take this opportunity to replace the king with a wise one, the faithful's suffering will be greatly reduced."
"......!"
Despair appeared on King Galeol I's face.
"Hah, let's stop there."
Even though the situation was clearly flowing favorably for Rudian and the Morian Empire, for some reason he couldn't simply be pleased.
"...I was helping."
Gabriel grumbled in a small voice, and Rudian laughed hollowly while speaking with his eyes.
'I can't tell if you're helping or trolling.'