Secret Pact (2)
“···The atmosphere down here is rather bleak, isn’t it?”
“I’m afraid I have nothing to say in my defense on that point.”
Perhaps it was because I hadn’t set foot in the basement myself for far too long. I had completely forgotten that this building was a recycled structure from the old Executive Ministry—and with it, that every interrogation chamber once used down here had been left exactly as it was.
The price of that oversight was now playing out before me: escorting the Foreign Minister of Rixi, who had come for a highly confidential discussion, on what felt like a guided tour of the infamous underground of Namsan.
“···Ugh, uuugh···”
Poor Colinto kept letting out anxious little moans, forcing me to offer a bold reassurance that nothing was amiss.
“Ahem, that is··· there’s really no need to worry so much, Foreign Minister Colinto.”
“I-is that so?”
“Yes. It’s simply that the friends who use this place have rather··· peculiar aesthetic tastes.”
“Ahh···”
Of course, Colinto didn’t seem entirely convinced. Still, his expression suggested he was thinking something along the lines of Surely they wouldn’t play a prank like this on a foreign minister? He nodded carefully.
Good. If anything, this little incident might give us the upper hand in negotiations with Rixi.
I tried to spin the situation as positively as I could, clinging to whatever hope I could muster. But that fragile peace lasted only a moment.
“Gyaaaaaaah-!!!!”
“?!”
“···”
A blood-curdling scream tore through the wall from the adjacent room. I turned to Colinto with the most apologetic face I could manage.
Terror of the Underground
How surprising. We told you to apply pressure, and somehow you ended up making a death threat instead.
“W-what do you intend to do with me?! If word of this gets out, neither my homeland nor the Galactic League will stand idly by!”
“Um···”
“And killing me would be a tremendous loss—not only for my country, but for Sevelia as well!!”
Colinto’s sudden full-throttle meltdown carried a strangely ominous weight.
Why is he screaming like that over a scream?
Then I realized his gaze wasn’t fixed on me at all—it was locked on something behind me. I turned.
And there it was···
What the hell is that.
A grotesque torture device, still glistening with green blood and scraps of entrails as if it had just been used. Even I froze solid at the sight.
Those damn Purge Squad bastards?!
I already had a pretty good idea who the culprits were. I dragged a hand down my face and spoke.
“My apologies. It seems my subordinates have been playing a little prank. Shall we head upstairs and continue our conversation there?”
“Y-yes, let’s!”
I made a mental note that the people in charge of basement maintenance were going to need a thorough thrashing later.
Some time later.
“···Must it really be a place like this?”
“I simply feel more at ease somewhere spacious and crowded.”
I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had given the Foreign Minister a full-blown case of PTSD. As we walked, I replayed the last few hours in my head.
Endless explanations and reassurances that we meant him no harm whatsoever. An aroma massage to calm Colinto—who had progressed from shock straight into full-blown anxiety (I got one too, while we were at it). Chewing out the Purge Squad members right in front of him for failing to keep the interior presentable. And for the grand finale, a Churchill-style naked performance in which I proudly declared that a minister of the Holy Sevelian Empire had nothing to hide from the Rixi Assembly Territory.
After that extreme ass-kissing marathon, we had finally managed to resolve the damn anomaly encounter. Now, at Rixi’s request, Colinto and I were continuing our talk inside a bustling alien zoo packed with people.
“Karr-rrrk!”
“Hey, look at that! It’s grabbing the food with its trunk!”
“Amazing!”
“Over here! Over here too!”
The zoo was filled with scenes of people casually swarming and petting colossal alien creatures that could have swallowed an elephant whole without noticing. Elsewhere, someone spotted a tiger-like beast and immediately began stroking its fur as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“So this is a Shade Tiger, the native fauna of Janus? Looks pretty cool.”
It felt uncannily like watching visitors at a 1940s zoo from my previous life. A strange sense of dislocation settled over me—and from the look on Colinto’s face, the Foreign Minister of Rixi was feeling the exact same thing.
“···”
He stared at me with an expression that clearly said What kind of insanity is this? I could only give a small, helpless shake of my head.
“···Let’s take the long way around.”
“That would be best.”
Normal people like us had no business setting foot in a scene of pure madness like that.
We strolled through the alien zoo at a leisurely pace until we finally found a spot where the nearest visitors were a comfortable distance away.
“Here we should no longer have to worry about eavesdropping or similar issues.”
“I see. In that case···”
Trusting my word, Colinto even took a deep breath, his entire body broadcasting just how tense he was. To an uninformed observer it would have looked like pure terror—but to someone as thoroughly seasoned as me, the performance was so over-the-top that it only made me more suspicious of what he was about to propose.
He’s being way too obvious. It’s almost suspicious in reverse.
That suspicion didn’t last long.
“I’ve heard that Minister Arto dislikes beating around the bush, so I’ll speak plainly.”
“Pardon?”
“This is a decision handed down by our leader, Prime Minister Arimati.”
After another deep breath, Foreign Minister Colinto delivered a statement that left me utterly stunned.
“The Rixi Assembly Territory wishes to enter into an unofficial subordinate relationship with the Holy Sevelian Empire.”
“Pardon?”
“What?”
My first reaction was to stand there looking completely vacant.
Damn it.
Even though I had just made a complete fool of myself, Colinto seemed to interpret it as some kind of dual-track strategy of my own.
“···Did I mishear you?”
“You appear to want confirmation. In the legal terminology of the Galactic League··· we wish for you to accept us as a vassal state.”
He flatly rejected my attempt to pretend I hadn’t heard him and pressed forward. I immediately hit pause.
PAUSED
The moment I paused, an event window appeared.
Rixi’s Intentions
The true intention of the Rixi Assembly Territory was none other than to present a secret pact to the Holy Sevelian Empire.
This is the moment you begin to wonder why Rixi wants to become a vassal of Sevelia.
Even with their current suzerain, the Kerzin Federation, still standing, words and events like this were popping up. A single thought flashed through my mind.
Has the Kerzin Federation’s leadership already begun to collapse?
Of course, with the information I currently had, it was far too early to make any firm judgment. After dozens of mental debates, I concluded that this was not a decision I could give an answer to right here and now.
PAUSE RELEASED
“I’m sorry, but I don’t believe this is a matter I can decide on my own.”
“Of course. I’m not asking for a decision on the spot.”
Naturally, Minister Colinto hadn’t expected me to settle it right then and there either.
“In that case, how about we take the matter back for thorough internal discussion on our side··· and reconvene once we’ve reached a conclusion?”
“Very well. Our party is staying at a decent hotel nearby. Please summon us the moment the issue is resolved.”
After parting ways with Minister Colinto, I headed straight for the Imperial Palace. Along the way I made sure to place a separate call, summoning Riel—who was no doubt lazing around at the Foreign Executive Ministry, sucking honey.
“Minister, you clearly derive immense joy and happiness from tormenting me, ya.”
“Quiet, Riel.”
The price was having to endure Riel’s nonstop chatter and scolding all the way until the moment I met Artraia···
“Arto, I just received a report.”
“Perfect timing—this will be quick. Actually···”
“Yes, that’s right. To think you and a foreign minister from another nation were··· involved in that sort of relationship.”
“From Rixi··· what?”
Faced with Artraia’s misunderstanding born of some mysterious piece of intelligence(?), I found myself thinking that Riel’s nagging had been the better option after all.
“Last time I thought you preferred young children, and now it’s men—middle-aged ones at that?”
“Who the hell is spouting that kind of nonsense?”
And right then I had a distinct, non-premonition premonition that yet another bizarre misunderstanding was going to come crashing down on me later.
“Artraia, I am neither a pedophile nor gay.”
“···”
For now, I simply did my utmost to clear up whatever absurd rumor she had heard.