The Weight of an Empire
With this, the urgent internal matters of our Elium-style assassination kingdom were finally settled. Now, it was time for me to get to my own work.
The war between the Karis Empire and the Tirand Empire. I had been continuously receiving reports on their movements even while managing other tasks.
The clash between the two empires had grown far more violent than in my past life. The spark that began as a dispute between minor kingdoms eventually spread to the empires themselves, and at the request of their respective vassal states, both giants finally got off their heavy asses.
The Tirand Empire was an empire ruling over five kingdoms, large and small. The Karis Empire was a solid, unified block commanding four kingdoms. No one could easily predict the direction of the war.
Tirand's early advantage from a surprise preemptive strike crumbled the moment Karis launched its first serious counteroffensive. It took mere days for three of Tirand's legions to be utterly shattered.
Tirand had not even properly reorganized its forces. Karis was in a perfect position to simply push forward and steamroll them. Yet, the Karis Empire stopped. Failing to capitalize on an unprecedented advantage, their chance to bring the war to a swift end vanished into thin air.
This sparked a flurry of rumors and speculation.
All sorts of tabloids and rumors circulated, but I was not swayed by them. Very few people knew the truth of the matter, and I was one of them. The real problem lay elsewhere: Tirand was putting up a much weaker fight than expected. What I wanted was a scenario where Tirand pushed deeper into Karis territory. And yet, Karis—which should have had two of its legions wiped from the face of the earth by the Baba Tribe—was still holding up perfectly fine.
I guess not all empires are created equal.
If we hadn't supported the Baba Tribe, and if I hadn't deployed a detachment to shake them up from the inside, the war would have already been over. That was how strong Karis was, and how weak Tirand was. To think they were considered "equals" in this state was laughable.
Tirand wasn't entirely foolish either; if they had been completely overwhelmed, they would have probably brought the war to a half-hearted end through peace negotiations midway. Then, Karis would have seized all sorts of resources under the guise of war reparations, helping a massive empire take its first steps toward becoming an absolute superpower.
In this rapidly shifting situation, the ambassador of the Tirand Empire now stood before me.
"What does Tirand have to say?"
"They say they are currently reviewing the matter."
"Then go back and tell them this." I stared directly at the ambassador, who was actively avoiding my gaze. "Tell them what will happen if the Allied Kingdom stops keeping the Karis Empire in check."
"T-that is..." At those words, the ambassador looked up. But I did not stop.
"We have nothing to lose. Karis? If we pull out now... sure, they might protest. But so what? We can just throw them some compensation. But what about Tirand?"
The gap in information. The ambassador, completely ignorant of the current relationship between Karis and us, turned pale. If the Allied Kingdom pulled out, would Karis really just take some compensation and back down? Not a chance. But the ambassador didn't know that. Karis's information control was absolute. Officially, they had written off the internal chaos as the work of domestic terrorists.
And the Emperor of Karis had used this opportunity to dismiss his political rival, the Finance Minister, and hang the officials who followed him. He really was a piece of work. He had turned my actions to his own advantage, using them to strengthen his imperial authority.
"Karis will never forgive Tirand. It was Tirand that declared war in the first place. Naturally, you will be held fully accountable for your defeat."
The ambassador flared up. "The war was triggered by the unilateral actions of our vassal state—"
"Only a dog would believe a vassal state would start a war without its empire's permission, Ambassador." As I stared at him with a smile, he shut his mouth and let out a heavy sigh.
"...So, what is it you want? If we truly grant you the trade rights—"
What I wanted? For them to bleed in our stead. The more blood they spilled, the less blood our own people would have to shed when we eventually faced the Karis Empire in the future. To be precise: Fight harder. Drag Karis down with you by any means necessary. That was about it. But despite these underlying motives, there was no need to say it out loud. Revealing exactly what you want to your opponent in a negotiation is something only fools do.
"The situation has changed slightly now."
"What do you mean by that!"
"The terms we originally agreed upon in exchange for our Allied Kingdom keeping Karis in check—I believe we must add a few more things to that list."
"T-that's absurd—!" The moment he reached out to grab my shoulder, the Baba giant warrior standing behind me glared at him.
"If you ever want to use that hand again, I suggest you put it down."
The aura of an 8th-Tier warrior erupted. For a split second, the ambassador's head felt as if it were floating in midair before crashing back down. Oh dear.
"There are five conditions." I spoke as I looked at the ambassador, who had yet to gather his wits. Time to bring him back to reality.
"First, an unconditional tariff-free policy on all goods sold by our kingdom."
"Second, unrestricted import rights for key materials such as iron ore."
"Third, a mutual technology agreement regarding magitech."
"Fourth, ten thousand gold coins per month for stationing fees."
"Fifth, the enrollment of a direct member of your imperial family into our Allied Kingdom's Academy. That is all."
These conditions were the bare minimum they had to pay if they wanted the current frontlines to be maintained. Tirand had more vassal kingdoms under its belt, but they still lacked raw power. Not all empires were built the same, and there was a clear difference in weight class. To balance those tilted scales, six Allied Kingdoms had sided with Tirand. Not as subordinates, mind you, but as equal partners in a 1:1:1 relationship. A neutral entity like us was currently getting on the Karis Empire's nerves, preventing them from redeploying their troops. If Karis could just free up the soldiers tied down by us, they would finally be able to breathe.
"If we pull out, Karis will catch its breath. And that breath will be directed straight toward your southern front."
"And the frontlines that have barely maintained their balance until now will collapse. What happens next?" I stopped tapping my fingers on the desk. "How far do you think Karis will push?"
"A single kingdom? Well... if it were me." I dragged my finger across the map. Far past the southern front, I pointed to a spot deep within their territory—Tirand's vast agricultural heartland. "I would take at least up to here."
"T-that will never happen! Tirand's latent strength is—"
"Ambassador. You know as well as I do." I stood up and patted his shoulder lightly. "The Karis Empire isn't holding back because they can't push forward. They're hesitating because they're terrified of getting their house robbed while they're away. Surely you don't actually believe that 'terrorist' nonsense, do you?"
Gulp.
"I expect a positive response via carrier pigeon by tomorrow. If it doesn't arrive, we will have no choice but to send a pigeon to Karis instead. And I assure you, that will not be good news for Tirand."
The color drained completely from his face, as if he were already imagining the catastrophic aftermath. I patted his shoulder a couple more times before sitting back down in my chair.
"A politician must always act in the best interest of their own nation. In my heart, I truly want to help Tirand, but I ask for your understanding."
"...I-I will make sure to obtain approval by tomorrow."
"Excellent. For the sake of our friendly neighbor, Tirand, I shall wait one more day. Off you go."
That evening, the carriage carrying the imperial ambassador hurriedly fled the capital. I stepped out onto the terrace. A massive crowd had gathered in the plaza. It was the second visit from an ambassador, but it was entirely different from the first time the Karis ambassador had visited. There was no servility, no humiliation, and no need for me to put on a show. The public had realized it too. The Tirand Empire had entered our kingdom with its head bowed low. The change was stark. They could feel the rise in our national prestige on their very skin. The people looked up at me. One hand over their hearts, the other reaching toward me. A scene I was now well accustomed to. I raised my hand.
"—Salute Lord Kaimu Doyunes!"
"—Glory to the Elium Kingdom!"
"—Long live the Ifrit Church!"
Listening to their cheers, I spoke. "'With Pigs'... no," the name he used in the Baba Tribe was too difficult to use in the kingdom and prone to misunderstanding. So, they had made another name for him. The son of the Baba chieftain and a great warrior. Now, he was "Jake."
"Yes, Lord Doyunes." The eleven Baba warriors guarding me bowed their heads. Monstrous and peerless by nature, the Baba Tribe never lost in a fight against opponents of the same tier. Just as a human could not defeat an ogre even if both were classified as 1st Tier, the physical capabilities of the Baba warriors were several times greater, making defeat against anyone of the same tier virtually impossible.
"I heard that Blue Justice Pax found a major supply transport route of the Karis Empire." At the mention of the Karis Empire, Jake let out a savage grin. Not only him, but the expressions of the warriors behind him shifted instantly.
"Can you seize it?"
"It is possible."
"There will be knights guarding it."
"It is possible."
"They will have a large force."
"It is possible."
I sent the lot of them, who had turned into parrots repeating "it is possible," over to Pax.
Pax's eyes widened. She had originally planned to execute this mission using only senior priests. With this, however, there was no need to even calculate the probability of success. Realizing it would be impossible to explain a complex plan to the Baba warriors, Pax kept her explanation simple.
"Do you happen to know what assassination is?" As Jake blushed the moment their eyes met, she gave him a gentle smile.
"...Assassination?"
"In our kingdom's tongue, if there are no witnesses, we call it an assassination." At her words, the grins on the Baba warriors' faces widened.
"Seize the supplies, and make sure to subtly leave Tirand's crest behind."
"We shall keep that in mind."