Secret Pact (1)

Some time had passed since the technology expo came to a close.

"From the Holy Sevelian Empire, we are proud to announce that the lead ship of our brand-new class of warships—vessels that finally surpass the design of our previous standard fleet—has just entered its launching ceremony, ladies and gentlemen!"

"It's pretty huge, yeah? That's the one they're deploying this time?"

"Mm. That's right."

I took a sip of iced coffee while watching the sleek silhouette of the new cruiser on the large wall-mounted screen in my office, the launching ceremony already underway.

Of course, all the countless headaches that had led up to this ship's actual deployment were things I chose to bury deep inside along with the coffee.

I'd simply asked for a decent standard laser weapon we could actually use in combat, and instead they'd tried to bolt on some bizarre spore-launcher ripped off an alien life-form.

Somewhere in the middle, a pack of absolute bastards had tried to sell the new ship's blueprints to a foreign power and gotten thoroughly dismantled by the Purge Squad for their trouble.

And right before the launch itself, some alien hybrid, seething over miserable working conditions, had attempted a terrorist attack that only barely failed.

Just thinking about those absolute dumpster-fire stories was enough to make my stomach burn.

Yet somehow everything had been wrangled into place in the end, and I found myself savoring a small, quiet sense of accomplishment.

"Haaah… At least the most urgent fires have been put out, one way or another."

"You worked hard, Minister."

"Minister Vermouth worked harder. I just gave her a little push from behind."

"You do realize how few people in the entire galaxy can even manage to push that reborn incarnation of madness from behind, right?"

"…"

We lingered a little longer, watching the cruiser's launch and enjoying a rare moment of leisure—until a short electronic chime cut through the air.

I muted the television and answered the call. Or rather, I checked the contact that had popped up on the terminal first.

…The secretariat?

A call from the newly established secretariat of the Foreign Executive Ministry. I cleared my throat and took it.

"Speaking."

"Forgive the interruption while you're busy, sir. There's a matter I felt you needed to know about immediately."

The chief secretary's tense voice coming through the line made a question mark float up in my mind.

"What is it that's got you like this?"

Even as I asked, I hit pause and rummaged through the information in my head…

No matter how hard I think, nothing particular comes to mind.

There hadn't been any major incident lately big enough to warrant that careful tone. Of course, anything involving Minister Vermouth was automatically excluded from that assessment.

No diplomatic disputes, no clashes between other nations that I know of…

After turning it over and over, I finally released the pause still full of nothing but questions.

"…It's an official diplomatic document from the Rixi Republic. They're requesting a formal foreign ministers' conference with the Holy Sevelian Empire over a border-enclave issue."

"Ah, is that so?"

Relieved that it wasn't the kind of nightmare scenario I'd been bracing for, I let out a quiet sigh of relief.

"Then as for the preparations… well, I'll leave that to you."

"Understood. In that case I'll select one of the capital's hotels as the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠venue."

I ended the call and leaned back against the sofa. Riel, who had been sitting quietly, wandered over, scattering cookie crumbs as she spoke.

"You've changed a lot, yeah. Back in the day you would've been clutching your head the second you hung up."

Even with the crumbs, the words were still concern for me. I answered her with a half-lidded look.

"…Time changed me."

"Meaning you've gotten old, yeah."

That last remark was completely unacceptable, so once again I had no choice but to draw the Hell-Sundering Blade from my coat.

Another week slipped by, and the full-scale foreign ministers' summit between the two nations finally arrived.

For someone in my position—equivalent to a foreign minister in any other nation—this should have been one of the biggest events of ordinary times. And yet…

"Haha, the fragrance of tea grown right on Ka'zan truly is exquisite."

"Indeed it is."

The foreign minister of the Rixi Republic, who had crossed thousands of light-years to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be here, somehow gave off a strong impression that he was just going through the motions.

"Regarding the border-enclave matter, our border defense forces…"

"Ah, there's really no need to worry so much."

No—more precisely, it wasn't that he was being careless so much as…

"That enclave, the… what was it called again?"

"The Tabander system, Minister."

"Ah yes, of course. Concerning the Tabander system, our side…"

He kept spouting impressive-sounding phrases that, in reality, carried absolutely no substance whatsoever.

He had requested a foreign ministers' conference specifically to discuss the border-enclave issue, and yet he couldn't even remember the name of the place properly.

This is suspicious.

It almost felt as if he had used the conference as an excuse simply to meet me.

No, even so, that would be pure self-importance on my part.

It wasn't as though the man was some crazed fan of mine. The idea was ridiculous.

…Ah.

As if to confirm my suspicions, an event message appeared at the perfect moment. And a choice-type event at that—something I hadn't seen in quite a while. I found myself quietly deliberating.

Two options for extracting information, and one for just letting it ride for now.

Both of the first two would tank our favorability hard if Rixi ever caught wind of them.

Wait—what's our current standing with Rixi again?

The thought of favorability made me open the nation window and select the Rixi Republic without thinking.

After checking the status window, I nodded to myself and decided on Choice 3.

It might have seemed strange—after all the times I'd whined about never having enough time—to suddenly take this approach, but…

Even if the damage from the war with the Loyrakan still hasn't fully healed, their tech level is equal to ours.

If I tried hacking them, a nation with technology comparable to ours would almost certainly notice. And our relationship with Rixi wasn't bad enough to justify the trouble of hacking or planting spies in the first place.

With the choice made—

"…and so, we intend to approach the border-enclave issue with an even more serious attitude…"

"I see. Indeed."

After a long stretch of classic diplomatic rhetoric, the Rixi foreign minister and I finally rose from our seats, bringing the utterly pointless conference to a close.

"Truly a most rewarding discussion."

"Quite so. With this, the bond between the Empire and the Republic will only grow stronger."

Of course we still clasped hands, faced the cameras, and exchanged smiling pleasantries—name, age… no, just the usual photo-op goodwill—before wrapping up the remaining odds and ends, including a bit of media management.

"Riel, contact the Ministry of Internal Affairs and tell them to just give this a light, positive spin."

"Got it, Minister."

"Headline something like… the border-enclave issue was resolved amicably through mutual understanding and compromise."

"Yeah."

After the foreign ministers' conference had officially ended—

"You've arrived."

"It may have been rather impolite of me in some ways, but I am truly grateful that you granted me this opportunity."

"Not at all. First, let's go downstairs and hear what you have to say."

"Understood."

The Rixi foreign minister, Collinto, and I descended into the underground levels of the Foreign Executive Ministry—the same building that had hosted the conference.

The reason ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was simple enough: the other side clearly preferred a discreet meeting, and I was matching that preference while also ensuring we were free from any eavesdropping.

A short while later, I would come to regret that decision with every fiber of my being.