The air in the conference room is tense. It had never occurred to me that the Heedata Empire would remain silent. I look at His Majesty with my eyes wide open.
"No hard feelings, brother-in-law. There is a reason for this."
"You say you have a reason ......?"
"Mm. The Heedata Empire is a Christian nation, and our state religion is the religion of Crimiana. Therefore, many churches have been built in the capital and other parts of the country, and priests of the Church live there.
"No way, since you say so ...... siding with the Church?"
King Maintia speaks to me in a low voice. His Majesty smiles at him.
"If our country sides with the Church, it will not do any good to any country.
"In other words..."
Vizier Gremont leans forward and looks at everyone there.
"If our empire moves, Crimiana will know we are moving. No, listen to me. I always prepare for the worst. While the elite forces of Agartha and Lamarron are away, we do not know what Crimiana will do. Therefore, we will be ready to move quickly if something happens to Agartha and Ramallon. We will play the role of rearguard, so to speak.
When His Excellency the Prime Minister says that much, for some reason His Majesty is smiling.
"Prime Minister, is this a bitter excuse? Why don't you tell the truth and no longer hide it?"
"But Your Majesty ......"
"If the Prime Minister cannot say, then I will."
So says the Duke of Vilas. He bows quickly, and a look of regret appears on his face.
"To tell you the truth, my current army of Heedata is not a functioning army, and is in no condition to be deployed in a real battle.
"What do you mean?"
It is General Callies who sounds surprised. He looks as if he cannot believe what the Duke of Vilas has just said.
"What have you done to the army that it cannot function as an ...... army? Isn't that a bit negligent?"
General Callies has a point.
This is my responsibility."
His Majesty looks around us to protect the Duke of Vilas.
"I want to send out the army too. But the generals won't agree to it. The Emperor has the authority to give orders... but there will always be those in the army who will rebel... The Hereditary Empire has a bad history of this.
"And you intend to use it to drain out the pus?"
Vieille suddenly interrupts His Majesty. Everyone turns to look at her.
"The Heedata Empire has issued a decree that you will join the Agartha army. Then there will surely be those who rebel. ....... We already know who the disobedient ones are: ....... Perhaps it is those who blindly follow the religion of Crimiana? Once the army leaves the capital, it will go into battle. And there will be a rebellion in the capital. In anticipation of this, the troops that have left the capital are returned to the capital to put down the rebellion. ......
"How did you ...... get that ......?"
"Your Majesty, and Mr. Vilas: ......"
Vieille did not take her eyes off the startled Duke Vilas for a few seconds, and there was silence in the room. Then she glanced at me and continued speaking.
"You two are very good at telling lies, aren't you? Perhaps this was planned by His Majesty and the Prime Minister. I can feel the pained atmosphere from the two of you. And I can feel that Vilas-sama wants to help them somehow. I don't dislike such people.
"Well, that's good to know."
His Majesty responds to Vieille's words with a hawkish smile.
"You have a good guess, Lord Vieille, but I have another plan, do you know what it is?"
"Another plan: ......?"
"Mm. I will use the rebellion to eliminate the insurgents in the army. And along with that, I intend to eliminate ...... the priests of Klimiana and others like them."
"My brother-in-law ...... no, my Lord Linos. Our empire takes this opportunity to disassociate itself from the Crimiana cult. I'm sorry, but that's the way it is. Forgive me."
"Very well."
Vieille's face lights up. She looked at all of us and began to speak fluently in a clear, beautiful voice.
"As for the army, the army I am leading will be with you as it is. The total number is 40,000. If you add the 20,000 troops of Ramallon, the 10,000 troops of Agartha, and the 30,000 troops of Sandanji, you will be evenly matched in numbers with the army of Thana. The key to success now lies in how to plan a strategy.
Everyone nodded as she spoke. Vieille saw this and looked at me again. This seems to be a request for agreement.
"The time has come, I guess. Yes, ...... as an operation ......."
Everyone listened to my words with bated breath.
At the same time, a similar meeting was being held on the side of the Kingdom of Thana. In a room in the lord's spacious mansion in a town near the border, there was no atmosphere of tension here, and the meeting was limited to a casual review of the operational arrangements. The king, Ville, is still smiling with a good mood. At that moment, one of the soldiers bowed and entered the room. Then he ran up to Ville's side and spoke to him.
"I see. Well done. Get back and rest."
After giving the soldier a few words of thanks and sending him back, he immediately stood up and opened his mouth to the staff in front of him, as if to make a declaration.
"Be ready to move as soon as I give the order.
Everyone bowed reverently to his words.
After leaving the room, Ville did not go to his room, but went outside the house. There, in the moonlight, a man was waiting for him. Upon spotting him, Ville smiled wickedly.
"Are you done?"
"Ha. I'm all set."
"Welcome back. ...... octa. We've been waiting for you!
At these words, the man who had been waiting looks up. There he is, the same Octa as before.
"It has taken me a long time to recover. Please forgive me. But your command up to this point has been excellent. I'm very impressed, Octa.
"Yes, you're right. So, have you finished your preparations?
Ha, we have already successfully sent a man to Agartha to enter. My preparations are also ready.
"Octa...... behold! Isn't it a beautiful moon?"
At Ville's urging, Octa turns her gaze to the sky. There was a full moon shining brightly.
"Just like this moon, our preparations have no more missing parts.
"Truly. I think you are right.
At Octa's words, Ville laughed out loud, as if he could not contain himself.
"The fate of Sandanji is now in the wind. ....... Now it is up to me to decide how to cook the king of Agartha. ...... His life is already in my hands. I look forward to ...... seeing how it all ends. The world is in my hands. Like this full moon, everything is full. ...... who is there?
At his words, one of the soldiers quickly rushes to him and falls to one knee.
"Tell the generals. The battle will be held tomorrow. Tell them to be ready.
"Ha ha!"
Ville nodded his head in satisfaction as he watched the backs of the soldiers as they left him.
"Now it's time to finish up my long-cherished ...... dream, Octa, please!"
"Ha, leave it to me."
Ville smiled broadly as Octa bowed reverently to him. .......