In the end, May had to rest for a while in the waiting room. She had been working for almost 48 hours without a break since she was transferred here. She had not eaten or drank any water. Everyone advised her to take a rest, but she just said she was fine and stubbornly refused to take a rest. When we showed May to the waiting room, Posehay and the others thanked us.
As for me, I wanted May to go back to her residence in the capital and take a good rest. Rico and the children must be worried about her. But she said that she could not go home alone and insisted on resting here in the battlefield. In the end, I took her to the waiting room where the other staff members were resting. It was just a place with beds, and at the end of the tent there were blankets on the ground, and apparently some people were taking a rest there. At first May tried to sit down there, so I hurriedly suggested her to lie down on the bed and almost forced her to lie down there. She was strictly told to stay hydrated, to eat and to sleep for at least a few hours. He assigned Roni to watch over them. She nodded with a blank expression on her face. Her ears perked up, which I took to mean that she was pleased.
Then I went back to the main camp and started to prepare the evening meal.
"Thank you for ....... Thank you very much.
My words of thanks were almost simultaneous with the arrival of the messenger into the main camp. As if prompted by my words, the soldiers leave the main camp. The messenger wondered what the hell I was doing, but he soon reported to me that you had all left your positions and were on your way to ours. I thanked him and let him go.
"Well, ...... everything is ready."
I nodded in satisfaction.
A few moments later, General Callies arrived. Behind him was a fearless-looking man who was staring at me with sharp eyes.
"Let me introduce you. This is Almond, the commander of our army.
"This is Almond Jarix. Pleasure to make your acquaintance.
He didn't take his eyes off of me at all, and then he snapped his hips.
"I'm Bertham Darke Linos. Nice to meet you.
"...... This is not the first time I have met the King of Agartha."
"Huh? Oh, is that so? I'm sorry. I was wondering if I could ask you where you met ......."
"At the Irbezi River, during a standoff between the Imperial Army and our forces. ....... I remember that you were wearing adventurer's clothes and riding a white horse.
"Oh ...... that time. Did you serve as a member of the suicide ...... squad ......?"
Yes, sir.
Yes, I'm sure I've seen you around.
"Almond."
General Caries has a look of dismay on his face.
"In your case, I just saw you. This is the first time we have met face to face, isn't it? King Agartha, please forgive me for my rudeness."
"No. I'm glad you remember me."
Almond looked puzzled, but when I held out my hand, he shook it firmly.
"Here you go."
While Almond and I were shaking hands, King Nike of the Sandanje Kingdom arrived. He had brought a man with him. He was Nike's son, I think.
"Hello, you are ......."
When I called out to him, Nike's son greeted me in a conventional way. Nique laughs at this and greets me and Callies.
"I see you all have someone with you.
I told them this casually, but they seemed to find it surprising. Caries looked at me with a puzzled expression.
"You said you were going to hold a military meeting. ....... I thought you would be accompanied by a deputy whom you trusted. ....... Was this a confidential discussion, by any chance?"
As he says this, Kallies and Nique look at each other. Later, she tells me that if she participates alone, there is a possibility that there will be a difference in interpretation of the contents of the mission. In order to avoid such a situation, it is customary for at least two people to participate in a military discussion when a joint front is set up with another country. I learned something.
While I was doing this, Vieille arrived. She was alone, unaccompanied. When I asked her about it, she gave me a big smile as usual.
"Thank you for your concern. No problem at all."
I chuckled at his words and called someone and ordered him to call Knogen. I had a quick look around the Agartha army, and the one who knew the most about military matters was Lafayence, but he was dead for the moment and had already transferred his body to Agartha. Then there was no other choice but Knogen as the next in line. I had called him, partly because I thought that he would be able to follow me well.
"Well, first of all, let's prepare the meal.
"Prepare?"
Nike's son shouts out. I look at him and smile.
"That's right. We're going to have a barbecue today. Don't you know what a barbecue is ......? We each grill our own food. We have a barbecue stand with charcoal over there. Meat and vegetables are provided here. You can grill whatever you like, as much or as little as you like. We will take care of the cooking conditions. We have salt and soy sauce for seasoning. You can also choose your own seasoning.
For this purpose, I took out the meat and vegetables from the endless storage and cut them into bite-size pieces. The vegetables were fine, but my knife was quickly torn to shreds when I cut the meat. So I cut the meat with a Holy Sword, but it did not spill at all. It is indeed a masterpiece made by Mei. Oh, by the way, please don't tell anyone that I cut the meat with this sword.
Everyone is at a loss as it's their first barbecue. I first show them how to cook meat and vegetables. Then, when we are ready to eat, we take them on a plate, sprinkle salt on them, and eat them. It's ...... delicious. Is it the meat or the fact that it is grilled over charcoal? Whatever it is, it is quite tasty.
"It looks interesting!
Vieille then starts grilling the meat. Watching her, Caries and Nike also started to grill meat and vegetables. I serve sake while watching them.
Just then, Knogen arrives. He was accompanied by Princess Rufana behind him. Are these two unexpectedly good friends?
"It's getting late. The Lady Rufana is here. ...... is that OK with you? He says he was ordered by Master Linos, and he follows me all the time."
Knogen looks at the princess with a fed-up expression on his face.
"The king of Agartha told me to follow you, my lord. That is why ......"
She, too, has a look of reluctance on her face. I motioned for them to come in, and I motioned with my eyes for Caries and the others to join us. Nique and Callies both nodded their heads in assent, and Nique's son, Shin, did not make eye contact with me. In contrast, Vieille smiled and approached me.
"No problem at all. The more people we have, the easier it will be to come up with a good plan.
With these words, she invited them in. Then she muttered in a small voice
"That woman is quite strong, isn't she? She knows the value of participating in the military discussions of this war.
"Is that so?"
With these words, I began to prepare the drinks without hesitation.
"Well, the meat is done. The vegetables are ready. Let's toast together for now. Shall we have a war council afterwards?
At the sound of my voice, everyone takes a glass. Among them, there is a man with an indescribable expression on his face. He is Nike's son. He looks as if he has been forced to participate in this military discussion.
"Well, you may wonder why I'm doing this, but I think this battle is going to be a very hard one, although it is good for everyone to discuss it with a difficult face to face. I am sure that the conventional strategies will not work. So, I thought it would be a good idea to have a relaxed discussion over a drink and a meal with everyone. If it does not work, we will think of something else, but let's try this method once. If we can come up with some good ideas, we will be very happy.
Everyone nodded as they listened to my words. For some reason, Knogen is half-smiling. Nike's son turns to me as if he has given up ....... It seems that he, too, has decided to join us.
"Well, first of all, here's to our meeting!
Thus began the barbecue event, which also served as a military meeting.