Chapter 356
Chapter 356
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 356
Chapter Title: Maritime Scouts and Plunderers (2)
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Rene felt a wave of refreshment wash over her as she watched Everis's smirking face twist in real time. It was because a group of people had poured out from the massive Gaimeirn flagship that filled the entire harbor alone.
"Th-th-those! Those insolent scoundrels! Guards! Guards! Seize them!!"
"Tremule, Court Viscount. Ahem, even if we can't offer a banquet to those who crossed great distances to aid Us and the Empire, what is this nonsense?"
"Your Majesty!!"
The ones disembarking from the flagship were humans. Well-armed humans, at that. Everis's face flushed with embarrassment. Unidentified armed troops were charging into the city, shouting excitedly, which had the citizens and merchants terrified.
"So, Duke Cerned. Those are the ones you mentioned, right?"
"I see some familiar faces. Yes."
"Perhaps you should go take command of them? If there's any plundering, we'll bill it to you."
"I have no authority to control them."
Rene's escort knights gripped their sword hilts tightly, wary of the rough warriors dashing about everywhere. Of course, those warriors were too busy enjoying the land they were stepping on after months at sea and taking in the new sights to pay any attention to Rene and her group.
Far off, she spotted brilliant golden hair tousled and scattered. The group parted, and a woman strode straight toward them.
"Here she comes. Someone with the authority to control them."
"You know her?"
"The last time I saw her, she was Yarl of Hazat Palan. Who knows now. Aeren Palandotir."
Even the warriors who had been joyfully shouting and running about fell back quietly around her. Her command still held firm. Fernandez smiled faintly.
Spotting him, Aeren approached with a dim smile. Striding forward with bold steps, she glanced at the knights lined up around them, gripping their sword hilts threateningly, and let out a fierce laugh.
"Not just a bunch of beanpoles after all, huh. The south."
Her husky voice rumbled low. Aeren greeted them in clumsy but fairly clear southern tongue.
"Pleased to meet you. I am Aeren Palandotir, King of Digerond. Where is your king?"
"It is I."
"I heard southerners don't respect women, so maybe my vassals were talking nonsense. I thought I was the only woman in the world who was a king."
Aeren laughed heartily and extended her hand. Rene hesitated for a moment, staring at her.
"Don't know handshakes? You grab hands and shake up and down. It's mostly to show you're unarmed."
"How dare you!! This is before His Imperial Majesty, you barbarian!"
A knight beside Rene growled and gripped his sword hilt tight, prompting Aeren to withdraw her hand with a huff of laughter.
"That's why southerners are like this. So damn prickly. Fernandez, I heard you invited us, but this hospitality is lousy?"
"Everyone, stop. I have no face left to greet my guests. Well then, Queen Aeren. Rather than speaking with my consort, perhaps you should talk with me."
"......Consort? Wow, didn't see that coming. Fernandez, I thought your spouse was one of the three. Not all three?"
"Slander, Queen Aeren. It's me!"
"Long time no see. Kirhas."
At Aeren's words, Kirhas shrieked from behind Fernandez. Fernandez felt a headache coming on from the sudden chaos.
If Feizashi had been there, he would have already scolded them and burst into laughter. In truth, one corner of his emotions found the moment amusing.
'Get out of my body, Feizashi......'
He let out a self-deprecating chuckle and stepped forward in front of Rene.
"This is an imperial harbor, Aeren. I would appreciate it if you reined in your men."
"If we came as plunderers, we wouldn't be laughing and chatting so meekly, Fernandez. Try to understand our warriors, cooped up on ships crossing that distant sea."
"I understand. But you've docked in the wrong place. Why not board the prepared ships here and head straight east?"
"We deserve at least a day's rest. Come on, the Elf Queen is pining for you. Haha, I need to tell her quick. That you married the Queen of the South! Follow me, Reia is waiting."
Aeren laughed loudly and turned on her heel. Fernandez shrugged.
"I had to meet Queen Reia anyway. Karbelier, will you join us?"
"I knew your relationships with women were complicated, but I didn't expect every one you meet to be a queen?"
Rene grumbled in a thorny tone.
"Now that I think about it, you have a lot in common with them, don't you?"
"......What do you mean?"
"Queen Reia became the new Serpent Queen of the Gaimeirn dynasty less than two years ago, and that northern woman Aeren became king too, right? Kirhas Hearttaker leading the beastman alliance is about the same......"
And I ascended the throne around then too. Rene stared at Fernandez with pale, drained eyes.
"Were you going around seducing every woman you met into becoming queens?"
"Misunderstanding."
"Ha....... How did I end up......"
Rene shook her head and walked forward. Freyja stifled giggles behind Fernandez.
"As expected of a hero of the era—not with judgment or scheming, right? Look, Fernandez. Karma strikes the back of the head this quickly!"
-Smack!
"Ow!"
"Yes, karma strikes the back of the head this quickly."
Fernandez smacked the back of her head and walked forward. Loose lips invited karma that hit faster than any affair.
* * *
Holding another banquet right after one felt like the lives of first-year magic academy students drowning in booze. Fernandez tried to think brighter as he gripped his glass.
"Heh heh, that's escapism."
"I'd love to actually escape if possible."
"You're not that kind of man."
"Abel, you're overestimating me."
"Who could underestimate you?"
Abel and Fernandez scanned the hall's atmosphere, whispering quietly. Queen Reia's banquet was splendid and grand, yet unfolding in profound silence.
It didn't suit the fierce, free-spirited Gaimeirn elves. Reia usually enjoyed banquets with all her ministers present, conducting meetings in a horizontal atmosphere. But now, no such equality was in sight.
A subtle nerve war between massive factions was underway.
"Having tasted it myself, that ship is huge. Serpent Queen. An astonishing feat of architecture."
"Ah, yes. One of the mysteries forbidden to humans."
"Like how the land is forbidden to elves?"
'Ah, that's a bit......'
Fernandez sighed briefly. Rene had gone for the jugular from the start. No more subtle tensions—this was wolves baring fangs, ready to tear into each other.
A pre-storm hush settled over the hall. Imperial knights furtively checked their swords, while Reia's wild princes quietly flexed their fingers and tensed their bodies.
At that moment, only two could purely enjoy the banquet as a banquet: Aeren and Freyja. Aeren seemed to relish the tension, chuckling softly, while Freyja shoveled mashed potatoes and salad into her mouth, oblivious to it all.
Watching them, Fernandez felt a new prejudice forming about the north. Gods, humans, Yarls, kings. Wasn't that simple approach to life worth emulating?
"It's nostalgic shaking hands again, Emperor. And once more for war."
"I'm grateful for the aid, Serpent Queen. Your support has been invaluable."
"We just ferried people instead of cargo across the sea. I figured if we were forging ties with the Empire, it'd be over a milder table. Our last bill isn't settled yet, right?"
Reia's fleet had once turned the tide in the Karadskar northern campaign with massive firepower, greatly aiding the Empire. But right after the battle, with Abel hastily leaving the field, the Gaimeirn fleet couldn't land their flagship inland and had to return to sea empty-handed.
Now, half a year later, Reia aiding the Empire was also about collecting that debt with interest.
"My men would lose face otherwise. We do mercenary work, but we don't labor for free."
"The Empire can't offer much......"
Rene leaned back in her chair, eyeing the imperial ministers huddled in a corner. All were holding their breath, listening intently. The Foreign Affairs Minister shook his head frantically, face pale.
Probably because they hadn't prepared a full diplomatic strategy. Rene chuckled and looked at Reia.
"Speak. Remember, you're addressing the sole legitimate sovereign of the continent's most formidable nation."
"Hahaha! Emperor. You've forgotten you're speaking to the ruler of the mightiest sea power. Think gold and jewels mean anything to us?"
Reia burst into laughter. She knew the Empire's structure, however roughly: the Emperor was elected, and the imperial house didn't control the entire realm's wealth.
How much had the imperial house suffered in the last war? Whatever it was, they weren't wealthy now. But the elves—the Gaimeirn dynasty that unified the three elven kingdoms was richer than anyone, even if the world flipped.
You could hire an elven fleet with money. But you couldn't buy an elven dynasty with it. Reia's pride shone brightly.
"Then what do you want from the Empire?"
"Land and titles."
Elves couldn't tread land. Rene tilted her head at Reia. Reia lounged long across her ornate chair, feet propped crossed on the table, laughing. The knights bristled at the rudeness.
"A non-freezing port and electoral prince status. The Elf Queen saved your nation and hasn't claimed payment yet. With interest, that's fair."
Hearing that, Fernandez let out a short gasp of admiration. Brilliant maneuvering.
Elves were long-lived. They couldn't run for Emperor or challenge the electoral council directly, but voting rights would grant immense influence across the Empire. Eternal, undying supporters.
No electoral prince aspiring to the throne could ignore the elven royal house.
A non-freezing port, too. Excluding three inland harbors, all imperial ports tied to Northsea Harbor meant the Empire's trade ports were Northsea-dependent.
Of Northsea's non-freezing ports, there were only five. Securing one would give a huge edge in imperial international trade. As Guir said. But the owner would be elves.
Considering sea supremacy, an elven-ruled port would be seen as safer than any civilized harbor. Merchants hated risk; it'd be irresistibly tempting.
Guir's former lord was a mighty electoral prince and Emperor, letting it become Northsea's top port. If just an electoral prince's port did that, an Elf Queen's personal one? Unnecessary to say.
Asking for just a port and title meant this. Naturally, foreign nobles with merits got lands and titles—history was full of it. But the special nature was the issue. The elven special nature.
"Well, inland fiefs are useless to us anyway, so no need. Petty titles would make me, the Queen, look like I'm kneeling to you—bad for my men’s face?"
"Electoral prince status isn't transferable, Serpent Queen. But land is. Fine. I'll open a port to you soon. Satisfied?"
The Foreign Affairs Minister sighed deeply. Fernandez stroked his chin, replaying the exchange. No title, but territory. That was the maximum concession.
Not accepting as imperial subjects meant the elven port wouldn't be imperial land. Elves would protect and manage it themselves, and superficially, tax-free sounded better.
But no. No longer imperial, it would face tariffs in Empire trade. If Rene yielded land mid-trade route, ships passing would face double taxation—imperial transit plus port.
Rene would ensure that. Not revenge, but to check the elven port. Trade would dry up, populace scatter.
Yet Reia shrugged and nodded readily.
"Satisfactory deal. As expected of the continent's top power."
"Would be better if not war-born. I seized the throne for peace, but it shows no sign of coming. Peace."
"Ah, peace. One of you humans' mythical beliefs."
Reia laughed and sipped her drink.
Watching, Aeren clinked her glass to Reia's.
"A myth worth aspiring to."
"A myth worth risking life for."
Rene shot back at Aeren and Reia, then clinked her glass to theirs.
Northerners without ocean capabilities rode elven fleets across the Northsea.
Landless elves gained a port in exchange.
The Empire, without pretext to intervene, could dispatch troops east without spilling blood.
All eastern gains would accrue to northern warriors, sealing the secret pact.
The alliance of three sovereigns formed.