Water Magician-Chapter 631: Round Table
Editor: Tseirp
Two days later. The day of the conference.
Ryo and Abel rode in a prepared carriage toward the venue.
Prior negotiations had been handled by foreign ministry officials from each country, and it was said a basic agreement would likely be reached.
“We just need to sit there looking important.”
At Ryo’s remark, Abel gave him a dubious look.
“What is it, Abel?”
“No—there’s just this overflowing sense of you being casual… how to put it…”
“How rude! What I just said was because I trust the officials’ work.”
Ryo declared that outright with confidence.
“Well, after all, we’re just advisors.”
“The stars of the show are the Eastern Countries.”
Abel shrugged, and Ryo nodded.
Yes, the two of them were advisors, consultants.
They would not sign anything.
Really, they were only to sit.
Still, they had been formally invited by the host nation, the Grand Duchy of Atinjo.
Ryo’s title listed for the occasion was ‘Premier Duke of the Knightley Kingdom’.
In other words, the Grand Duchy of Atinjo knew Ryo as Duke Rondo.
“They must have spies planted within the Darwei Imperial Palace as well.”
“Well, since they’re talking about the Choouchi Empire, they’re surely gathering intelligence on each country.”
Abel nodded as if this were obvious at Ryo’s words.
“If the Choouchi Empire pushes south, the first — and ultimately the final line of resistance — will be Darwei. Frankly, if Darwei can’t stop them, other countries will fall.”
“That’s an enormous responsibility.”
The carriage carrying the two arrived at an imposing three-story white stone building on Administrative Isle* that looked almost like marble. Its presence was overwhelming. (TLN: Administrative Island)
The contrast with the darker three-story stone building of the Free Assembly next door was striking.
“I’d heard this used to be the Supreme Council, but it really has presence.”
“The white Supreme Council building and the black Free Assembly… Neither are used anymore, are they?”
The Supreme Council building had been closed; the Free Assembly had been permanently dissolved.
Though an autonomous government remained, there were no traces left of the time this had been a ‘free city’.
At least, not politically.
“Still, the citizens’ lives aren’t bad and commerce is active.”
“If people can enjoy material prosperity, the populace will stay placid”.
Abel said, and Ryo nodded in agreement.
At any time in history, revolutions or uprisings occur when the people’s lives fall into hardship.
“Is our Kingdom of Knightley going to be all right?”
“We should be fine. We’re an agricultural power.”
Two keys decide whether people fall into hardship.
Energy and food.
That truth of history and politics never changes across eras or worlds.
Abel may not have formally studied such things, but he’s an active politician.
And as an active ruler, he understood the essence of statecraft.
“If a bad king raises taxes too high, a rebellion will happen.”
That ultimately causes price spikes for many goods, including food and energy.
“I’m not a bad king, so the kingdom will be fine.”
“What confidence…”
“If I ever start to fail, Marquis Heinlein will stop me.”
“You’re counting on Prime Minister Marquis Heinlein? What if Marquis Heinlein goes astray?”
“In that case, Premier Duke Ryo will sort it out.”
“Eh…”
Abel said that casually; Ryo shook his head, looking doubtful.
Alexis Heinlein, Marquis of Knightley and the kingdom’s prime minister, was extremely capable.
As head of administration, he was superb; in intelligence, he was said to be the foremost on the Central Countries’ side, and in martial matters, he had once been the kingdom’s knight commander.
Even now, the Marquis’s domain knights were known as elite, and his son—Phelps A. Heinlein—managed the marquisate as steward and was an active B-rank adventurer.
Frankly, that was a terrifyingly powerful subordinate.
Normally, a king would seek to weaken such concentrated power.
To prevent a potential coup.
But this king…
“If Marquis Heinlein asked me to hand over the throne, I’d give it to him.”
“Are you being boldly foolish or just stupid…?”
“As long as the people are happy, that’s enough.”
Abel wasn’t lying.
Ryo knew why.
Marquis Heinlein wouldn’t betray him.
He was one of those among the nobility who most highly valued Abel as king.
Ryo himself felt the same.
“That may be a bit of a carefree attitude, but it’s true that you’re trying to govern for the people.”
“…Are you mocking me?”
“No, I’m praising you.”
Ahead of them, Prince Ryun and Princess Shio Fen had already arrived at the Supreme Council building, and they stood talking just inside the entrance.
Their companion was…
“Hm? Who’s that?”
“That would be Sue Ku, the deputy of Mifasoshi in the Bosuntar Kingdom. So she’s the Bosuntar delegation’s representative.”
“That’s right. Princess Shio Fen and Mifa look so happy.”
Both were talking with smiles.
And Prince Ryun watched them with a smile from beside them.
Sue Ku was the deputy of Mifasoshi, the second-largest jurisdiction in Bosuntar. Although she apparently has royal connections, in her youth she was also active as an adventurer; using the wealth she earned then, she’s now in business and apparently owns a vast ranch.
On top of that, she is a powerful magician!
“We seem to know people who do well in so many different fields.”
Ryo said as he looked at the three talking.
Abel seemed to understand Ryo was referring to the circle around Sue Ku.
But he said nothing.
“That’s to be expected. Whoever applies themselves seriously to anything, thinks properly with their own head, and acts responsibly. No matter the field, that person will produce results. Of course, it’s difficult to be top-class at everything… unlike someone like Marquis Heinlein, perhaps.”
Abel said it with a laugh and caught Ryo looking at him with eyes wide in surprise.
“What?”
“No— Abel saying something so sensible surprised me.”
“I always say sensible things, don’t I?”
“…That one line ruins it.”
“Why’s that?!”
They were shown into a huge room.
A vast conference chamber with not a single window.
Why call it a conference room?
Because at the center of the room sat an enormous round table.
“That’s one big round table…”
“They seem to seat two from each nation.”
Abel exclaimed at the table’s size, and Ryo guessed from the chair arrangement.
Of course, several chairs had been set behind them.
Bureaucrats and officials from each country would take those seats and advise their representatives.
“A round-table conference really has a certain romance to it.”
Ryo murmured as he gazed at the table.
“Romance? About a round-table conference?”
Abel, standing beside him, looked puzzled.
“Not maron, romance.”
“I never said maron. What’s maron anyway?”
“Chestnuts. I love Mont Blanc cake with chestnuts on top, but what we need here is romance.”
“So you’re saying Mont Blanc cake has romance?”
“That’s totally different! If you joke here, the guests will be confused!”
“Who are the guests…?”
Ryo huffed indignantly while Abel rolled his eyes.
In a way, it was the usual scene.
On the round table were triangular objects showing country names.
They were triangular nameplates.
“Atinjo, Bosuntar, Ghegish-Lu, Darwei… Komakyuta, Suje are all here. All the countries we know are included.”
“They’d better be, right?”
“And Abel, right opposite the Grand Duchy of Atinjo, there’s a country name shining brilliantly.”
“Hm? Knightley… oh, that’s us.”
Ryo made a show of it, but the king lightly brushed it off.
Ryo hung his head.
But bounced back quickly.
“I won’t be defeated by Abel’s persecution.”
“Right, do your best, His Majesty’s proxy.”
“Eh? Aren’t you attending as Abel I, King of Knightley?”
“Hm? Ryo is attending as Premier Duke, right?”
There seemed to be a misunderstanding between the king and the premier duke about who would represent whom.
“In Darwei, Abel didn’t wear his identification, so I used mine… until we reached Darwei, we’d been going by ‘Abel’ normally. Wouldn’t it be better if Abel attended as king?”
“Neither Ryo nor I have publicly revealed our identities outside Darwei, right?”
“That’s true… but Queen Iliaja knew, and the invitation from the Grand Duchy of Atinjo came addressed to ‘Duke Rondo of the Kingdom of Knightley’, so quite a few people know our true identities. Also, Prince Ryun and Princess Shio Fen of Darwei know Abel.”
“No… if we’re asked for ID here, I can’t produce it.”
“Ah…”
That problem remained unsolved.
Abel was repentant.
“When I get back to the kingdom I’ll wear it constantly, whether I’m in office or not…”
“Please do.”
Abel sighed, and Ryo shook his head with a wry smile.
Everyone makes mistakes.
Everyone commits failures.
What matters is reflecting and applying the lesson going forward.
“All right. For now, I’ll represent as Abel I’s proxy.”
“Thanks.”
“If someone says, ‘But the King is sitting right next to you…’ I might answer, ‘I was coerced; he insisted that I assume full responsibility’.”
“Huh?”
“Or I might claim Abel has lost all memory and the person here is a lookalike who lacks Abel I’s memories… some ridiculous excuse.”
“That’s going too far.”
“Yes, that would damage the Kingdom of Knightley’s credibility.”
Indeed…
“In any case, keep things calm and quiet…”
“I’ll try.”
On a point unrelated to negotiations, the two might find themselves at a crossroads.
While they talked, the delegation from the Ghegish-Lu Federation entered and took their seats.
An elderly man sat in the representative seat; the seat next to him was empty.
Four bureaucrats sat in chairs behind him.
“By the way, the people of Ghegish-Lu who sided with the Grand Duchy of Atinjo won the civil war, right?”
“It seems so.”
“So the southern continent has fallen into the Grand Duchy’s hands?”
Ryo spoke with theatrical emphasis.
Abel glanced at him but said nothing.
“It has fallen into the Grand Duchy’s hands.”
Ryo repeated.
“…You like how that sounds, don’t you?”
“You noticed! Don’t phrases like ‘fallen into the hands of’ sound cool?”
“If you repeat it enough, anyone can see that. Whether it’s cool or not… the Grand Duchy has certainly gained power.”
“One can only hope they don’t become our enemy.”
“They won’t turn into our enemy, will they? After all, this conference is being held under the Grand Duchy’s auspices.”
Abel offered a practical observation.
“Now it’s clear: Atinjo rushed to unify the southern continent, probably in preparation for the Choouchi Empire’s southward advance…”
“Hm?”
“Look—Duke Helb came all the way here to ask for help. If the Grand Duke of Atinjo and Duke Helb are taken over by this so-called Phantom King…”
“The Choouchi Empire would gain the southern continent without lifting a finger. And that means…”
“It could trap Darwei between north and south.”
Neither Abel nor Ryo wanted that to happen.
But hoping it won’t and ensuring it doesn’t are two different things.
Even while hoping for the best, they mentally prepared for the worst… people capable of doing that are rarer than you’d think.
“If the Grand Duchy of Atinjo is taken over, that nation could become critically important to Darwei.”
Abel said, then looked toward the round table where Sue Ku, the Bosuntar representative, was approaching.
“That’s true. Bosuntar could act as an intermediary.”
Ryo nodded.
There was information that the two did not know.
The dense jungle between Bosuntar and the Grand Duchy of Atinjo is called the ‘Forest of No-Wandering’*. (TLN: Previously Unwandering Forest; Ed: It’s actually No Hesitation Forest, which doesn’t make sense in the context.)
Not only Bosuntar but the Grand Duchy also calls it that.
In other words, it’s said to be impossible to pass through that jungle.
Or rather, it had been said.
Conversely, there was information only the two of them knew.
The dragon king Nullus, who had built a golden city in the Forest of No-Wandering, was no longer there.
Whether the Forest of No-Wandering can still be entered now.
No one really knew… probably.
Next to take their seats at the round table was the representative from the Komakyuta Principality, one of the great powers in the Archipelago region.
“He’s the one we saw in the Freedom Breeze Inn lobby.”
“Was he called Minister Jodaar?”
“Chairman Sukhwe of the Eastern Trading Company said Komakyuta wouldn’t help the attack on the Grand Duchy.”
“I wonder what happened to that attack in the end…”
It was the moment Abel spoke.
That a person burst through the door, running in and shouting,
“Urgent news! This building is being attacked!”
TLN: Please read my translations at tseirptranslations.com, I did not give permission to any site to host my translations.
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