Welcome to Gaia's Forest
Kazan's moon, Ishadur.
Once it had held the prestige of being the Holy Sevelian Empire's first space colony. Centuries had worn that glory away, leaving only a barren desert moon that housed a weapons testing range and a scattering of imperial research facilities.
"Thank you for accepting my request for an audience, Minister Virtorius."
"…"
"Still, I never expected the talks to take place somewhere like this. Quite the surprise on our end."
I had invited the Prosnark ambassador to the high-end restaurant-café inside the empire's food research institute stationed on Ishadur, intending to hold our meeting there.
"Is the location not to your liking?"
"Not at all. I find it rather beautiful."
Yet while he spoke, the Prosnark ambassador's gaze drifted past the small vegetable and flower gardens near the café. For some reason his eyes settled, soft and almost wistful, on the endless crater-scarred desert beyond the institute's blast walls—the empire's weapons testing ground.
No… not merely wistful. Something closer to fondness. Happiness, even.
"Ambassador Halabidus?"
"Ah, forgive me. How rude."
Only when I called him back from that distant stare did the Prosnark ambassador turn and rejoin the conversation.
"Well then… beating around the bush seems a waste of time, so I'll get straight to the point."
"By all means."
"Why did you request this meeting with me?"
My direct approach seemed to catch him off guard.
"You're far more aggressive than I expected. Though, given the way you handled our eastern advance, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised."
He met my eyes, still looking genuinely puzzled.
"Even so, I can't understand why you're so thoroughly on edge."
"…"
"I had believed Minister Virtorius to be someone favorably disposed toward us."
Instead of answering, I simply glanced toward the café's owner as she approached with our coffee.
"Coffee… is ready…"
It was Gaia. She had finished her basic rehabilitation and was now living at the food research institute, testing her abilities while tending the vegetable and flower gardens as a quiet pastime. Imperial welfare of the highest order had erased every trace of the emaciated, skeletal girl she once was. In her place stood someone whose maternal curves rivaled even Artraia's, still dressed in the overalls and straw hat of a farmer after working the garden, carefully setting cups before us.
"Mm. Thank you."
I made sure the Prosnark ambassador saw her clearly. The message was simple.
You remember what Gaia looked like, don't you? And you know your own history. Did you really think I'd greet you with open arms and trust after that?
Whether he grasped the implication or not, the ambassador accepted the cup with a faintly puzzled expression.
"Thank you. Though it feels like it's been quite a while since we last met."
"…"
What was that supposed to mean? Some new Prosnark-style taunt? Speaking so casually to the girl they had once reduced to a skeleton?
Gaia set the cups down and immediately scurried behind my sofa, half-hiding.
"Oh my. It seems I'm not very popular."
Unfazed, the ambassador simply smiled and remarked on how fragrant the coffee was.
I gave Gaia a quiet signal that she could leave. Once she had returned to her garden and the ambassador confirmed no one else was nearby, he let out the first deep sigh of our meeting.
"Haaah… So this is what happens when there's no trust between us."
I said nothing, merely stirring the coffee Gaia had brewed and savoring the aroma. The ambassador set his own cup down, as if reaching a decision, and fixed me with a steady look.
"…Minister Virtorius."
"Yes?"
"I believe you may be under a misconception, so allow me to clarify. Do you truly think we care about the other nations of this galaxy?"
The words were so unexpected that my hand froze mid-stir.
"Excuse me?"
"Of course you wouldn't know. Our true targets are those ancient, decrepit empires that have endured since the Dark Age."
"…"
"Whatever rises or falls among the rest, whatever wars they wage among themselves—none of it concerns us in the slightest."
"…"
"And frankly, don't you already acknowledge that the northern reaches of this galaxy are the domain of the Prosnark Coalition?"
His sudden acceleration left me thoroughly rattled. He continued without pause.
"Anyone who dared resist us has already been eliminated. All that remains are Zeltech and the Kerzin Federation."
"…"
"Ah, and Zutrakpor as well—but they are allies of the Sevelian Empire, so they can be set aside."
"…?"
"Which is why, more than anything else… pardon me a moment."
He took another sip of Gaia's coffee as if his throat had gone dry, then delivered the next blow.
"…After we bring down the Kerzin Federation, dealing with those who will share a border with us has been designated our highest national priority and grand strategy."
"Those who… You can't mean the Precursors who have endured since the Dark Age?"
Beings whose technology was so overwhelming that even reverse-engineering a dead copy was impossible in the present age. Entities that appeared only as question marks on my national rankings. And the Prosnark Coalition was openly declaring its intent to wage war against them.
Wait—this is essentially state-secret level information…
The first shock of hearing they planned to fight the Precursors had barely faded when the second hit: he had just laid out his nation's entire diplomatic strategy to me.
…Did he seriously just spill every last detail of his country's foreign policy? For real?
Once the disbelief settled, I regarded him with open suspicion.
"Why on earth are you telling me all of this?"
"To earn Minister Virtorius's trust, of course."
He said it as if it were nothing, then returned to enjoying the coffee's fragrance. I could not put a name to the emotion that stirred in me.
Why would anyone go this far just to win the trust of a single individual?
Seeing my confusion, the ambassador set down his empty cup and smiled as though he had read my thoughts.
"It seems you're having trouble understanding why we're acting this way."
"…"
I felt as though I had been completely led around by the nose throughout this meeting. Unwilling to continue looking so helpless, I immediately activated a pause.
Time Pause
Subjectively I spent another hour or two in meditation, steadying my mind, before releasing the pause and resolving not to be swept along by the Prosnark ambassador's words any longer.
Time Pause Released
The very next moment, however—
"Then allow me to add one more piece of information, Minister Virtorius."
"…?"
"Did you know? The Kerzin Federation is, in truth, the descendant of the Precursor empires."
I had always assumed the Kerzin Federation was the same preset empire from the game. Learning from the ambassador that it was an entirely separate entity sharing only the name struck me hard.
…So that's why the surrounding nations were so thoroughly dominated by Kerzin?
As descendants of the Precursors they would have received all manner of support and fleets from the start, fielding overwhelming force to subjugate their neighbors.
Son of a bitch.
A flicker of irritation and petty jealousy toward the Kerzin Federation rose in me. While I had clawed my way up from the dirt through diplomacy, war, and every other means imaginable, they had simply been born with the right parents.
For a brief moment I even felt a small measure of goodwill toward the Prosnark Coalition for having thoroughly disciplined Kerzin—
Wait.
The instant I recognized that the goodwill itself was part of their design, a chill ran down my spine.
Damn it. This is exactly why I hate foreign-minister-level talks.
Unlike half-baked amateurs like me, people of the ambassador's caliber had spent their entire lives at this game. Determined not to be led around again, I steeled myself and spoke.
"So then—what is the reason you are telling me all of this?"
He raised both hands as if he had been waiting for precisely that question.
"Because, you see, the Precursor empire that sponsors Kerzin… came to us with a warning."