Commander, The Summit (2)
The top floor of the skyscraper.
Guided by Berta's attendants, we arrived to find a single door waiting for us — one that looked thick even at a glance.
"All personnel aside from the minimum escort are requested to wait here."
And then came the accompanying instruction.
We only had three escorts to begin with, so I wasn't sure we really needed to cut anyone. Then again, this hadn't been a same-day notice. We'd already agreed to the terms, so it didn't matter. Their side had also agreed to bring only one person into the conference room. This was fair enough, at least.
I'd already decided who to bring, anyway.
"...Why me?"
"You're the best at protocol out of everyone here."
The moment she heard that, Cardia's face crumpled. At first she'd recoiled in disgust at the idea of having to sit in on something like this, but when I begged her like I was ready to drop to my knees and grovel, she gave in. There wouldn't be anything for her to do anyway. She just had to stand behind me like a decorative screen.
It felt less like she'd been convinced and more like she'd given up and gone along with it reluctantly. But hey — as long as it worked out, right?
In exchange, she said she absolutely had to be compensated for being worked into the ground... hmm. Of course she'd want a reward. She is sworn sisters with a certain someone currently playing acting Commander back at Firma Headquarters, after all. Calia took something weird last time, but this one should be relatively normal, right? I'll just pad her travel expenses a bit for this trip. That should be enough.
Lucy, of course, sulked about why I wasn't bringing her along, but this time it couldn't be helped. Sorry. I'll let you come sightseeing next time I get the chance... not that I know if that'll actually happen.
"Commander..."
"Nothing's going to happen. Just stand by the door, okay?"
Before that, I'd had to soothe Shien, but I'd managed that somehow too. Has she developed separation anxiety or something? What am I supposed to do with this Half-Dragon young lady. She really does not want to be apart from me.
But cut me some slack here. The moment I bring you in front of the Vice President, that's something beyond a mere show of force. I get the feeling you yourself wouldn't care either way, but there's a pretty big difference between them coming to you and you going to them, you know? Can't you see even the attendants standing here are dripping cold sweat...?
"Lucy, I need a favor."
"I can't... exactly promise anything."
"...If it looks like she's about to blow, call me."
We couldn't stay like this all day, so I entrusted Lucy with a critical mission. We'd talked about it yesterday, so I wanted to believe she wouldn't explode — but I needed at least a minimum insurance policy just in case. It really was the bare minimum, but it was better than nothing.
Setting aside an unease whose reasons were all too clear, I entered the conference room to the creak of a heavy door...
"Ah, you've arrived."
The Vice President, who had gotten there first, greeted me. Just like last time — sipping her tea.
The summit proceeded relatively smoothly. Even without me, our people had been fulfilling the terms of the agreement reasonably well, and when Firma had been turned upside down by a certain incident two years ago, fortunately nothing much had happened in Berta. That had helped a great deal.
They really are smart kids. They'd done the absolute best they could in the worst possible situation. They're so damn precious. Everyone's getting a bonus when I get back.
...Which, put another way, meant something might have blown up somewhere that wasn't here. But thinking about that now would just stress me out, so I'll set it aside. Life's too busy looking at the good things as it is. Right?
Shut up. I'm right.
"Regarding the distribution ratio for the Crony Mine..."
"Output there has declined recently, so..."
So all I could really do in this seat was fine-tune some outdated agreements. That said, the Vice President was being suspiciously accommodating, which put me on guard. Surprisingly, though, none of the proposals from their side contained anything that could be called a poison-pill clause. I was so suspicious I tore through it word by word, and still found nothing. What is this, really.
A strategy to make up for yesterday? I mean, it's not bad for me, but... why bother?
Still, is this really okay?
Anyway, to summarize the current situation: it was true that they needed me, the person in charge — but the phrasing in the Vice President's email, "problems requiring resolution are scattered throughout," had been somewhat misleading. We'd estimated there wouldn't be any major issues, but once we actually opened the lid, it was all stuff that just needed a final stamp of approval.
If it was this straightforward, I could've just given Calia the authority and sent her instead. I'd done a quick review of the agreements before coming to Berta, but I genuinely didn't expect there to be zero problems. Kind of takes the wind out of you. Even if there's meaning in me coming in person regardless of the scale of the work, this is just too anticlimactic.
"Well then, it seems we've finished all the outstanding business..."
The moment I thought that, an ominous voice arrived as if on cue. Before I could even get a word in, the Vice President raised her hand, and the aide standing behind her immediately handed over a file folder as if they'd rehearsed it. She took the folder in one fluid motion and held it out in front of me.
"...What is this?"
"It's not work, so please, take a look."
I was half-skeptical of that, but I carefully opened the folder anyway. It wasn't that I trusted the Vice President herself so much as I trusted the attitude she'd shown today.
The document, consisting of about five pages, wasn't my workload, just as she'd said. If anything, it was the Vice President's. After examining it for about thirty seconds, it appeared to be a request for a legislative proposal and, at the same time... a kind of petition addressed to the Vice President.
The contents inside did make me understand why I needed to see it, but...
"...What is this?"
It made me ask her the exact same question as before. Well, of course it did. This was another country's business, so I'd normally just paper over it and move on...
"Is there someone among Berta's upper echelons who happens to despise me and Firma?"
This scrap of paper was a petition, if you wanted to be generous. It was taking shots at me, at Firma, and even at the Vice President — a full-on roast of everyone involved. ...If we're talking ratios, about 9.5 to 0.5? It might sound strange, but that's accurate.
For the Vice President, it was just a light scratch — accusing her of signing useless treaties that drained national power. But the main thrust was this: Berta had been perfectly peaceful lately with no incidents whatsoever, so Firma and the like were no longer needed. Don't dance to the tune of some Commander bitch whose whereabouts nobody even knows — just kick them out.
And the so-called evidence they'd presented was nothing but flimsy conjecture and rumors steeped in smear.
Have they lost their minds?
Even if you're blinded by profit, come on. Do these people not think at all? How is this any different from firing the entire server management team because there haven't been any server issues for a few years? If they'd at least brought actual evidence, maybe. This isn't even a five-year-old throwing a tantrum. At least that would be cute. This is... haah. Never mind.
This is what the upper crust leading a nation looks like? A federal republic that isn't even particularly tightly bound together, at that? What happened to the high-ranking officials I used to know...?
"Well, if I were to explain... haah. It's a bit of a long story."
Vice President Erhild seemed to have a headache over this part as well, dropping the formality she'd maintained the whole time and clutching her forehead. She even let out a deep sigh. This was clearly no small headache.
"Senator Garron — do you remember him?"
"Ah."
What. He was the one who drafted this? That guy would. He's a greedy old fossil through and through. ...But I'm pretty sure someone dealt with him personally at some point. Not me, of course — the 'Commander.'
"You're aware that our nation of Berta was founded on military power, yes?"
"You explained it to me yourself, some time ago."
As I've mentioned a few times, Firma's backdrop was a world that had already gone through one round of chaos alongside the cataclysm of ability manifestation. The nations in this region were no exception — they hadn't escaped the world's blade as it forcibly restructured the era. Among them, the various nations' militaries that had survived with their arms intact had, in an unusual show of unity, banded together going, "We're all going to die at this rate!"
That military nation became the foundation of Berta... I know that much, but so what?
"Senator Garron... has quite a few connections in the upper ranks of the military."
"...?"
"As it happens, he was a soldier himself back in those days."
"Ah, I see."
In short, he'd thrown everyone else under the bus and slipped out on his own. This damn cronyism is always the problem, then and now. Neither the bastard who ran to the military to save his own skin nor the military that took that trash-tier washout back in are right in the head. Then again, that was the military for you. Even this capable Vice President had failed when it came to reforming the upper ranks, huh.
Wait a second.
A guy whose power has diminished but who isn't politically dead yet... if he's still being greedy...
...This bastard, don't tell me...?
"Then this is also...?"
"He's trying to expand his influence, it seems. The method is stupid, though."
Ah, and I'm the target? What, create an external enemy? And make himself the pioneer leading the charge? What now. I don't have a hobby of entertaining old fossils who are just waiting for their tombstones to be planted.
"If Senator Garron requests a meeting, I strongly recommend you avoid it if at all possible."
"...I'll do that."
I was going to anyway. Yeah, nothing good would come from getting involved with him. I don't know about the rest of him, but upstairs he's running on a brain assembled by a woman who picked out three different fathers. I'll just avoid him on my own. It's obvious talking to him would be pointless, so why put myself through the stress.
"And... personally, I have one request, if I may..."
...Huh? A request? Personal? What, so everything before this was just buildup? She planned this far ahead? Honestly, I didn't catch it. Is this the level you need to operate at to swallow a whole country?
"If it wouldn't be too much of an imposition, j-just once..."
But unfortunately for the Vice President...
"Commander."
"Your Excellency."
Lucy's radio and the aide opening her mouth happened at the same time, cutting her off.
...Is this lucky, from my perspective?
"Armed forces have appeared at the front gate."
...Nope.
Ah, shit. This life, I swear...
Why the hell are you here?