Chapter 97
Chapter 97 – Arestia
It’s been a month since Ares arrived at Grants, which also means it’s time for the conference of representatives of four former countries; Grants, Redgear, Trevoir and Brittany to be held .
[It’s only been a month since his arrival, but a lot has changed since then…]
Redgear’s William commented as he peeked at the vibrant scenery of Heinz through the window of his carriage .
The previous Heinz was often attacked by monsters, so people tend to walk around while armed . In short, it’s the image of a crude and underdeveloped land .
In fact, William had a bad memory of being attacked by magic beasts when he visited Grants in the past . The road was rough and the cityscape looked more like a rural village or a suburban area . From those impressions, he’s hard-pressed to believe that it was a capital city of a country .
But what about now?
On his way here, no monster attacked his group . The road was well-maintained and easy to pass . The street was already cobblestone and most of the cityscape had already changed from wooden buildings to stone and brick buildings . Unlike before, the market was more vibrant with more stores opening for business . There were smiles on people’s faces as if they’re having fun .
[When the lord changes so will the country… is it? Then I too, will try to follow . ]
As William muttered to himself, he began to think about the conference of the four former countries, which had seen so many changes under Ares’ leadership .
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William was guided to a large hall with wide round table in the middle .
While he was pondering over the hidden meaning behind the round table, someone greeted him .
[King of Redgear… oh, now it’s Earl of Redgear… this is the first time we meet . ]
When William turned around, he saw a well dressed, tall, silver haired man was standing there .
[…ah, pardon me for greeting you without introducing myself first . My name is Gray . I’ll be representing Brittany . ]
Gray bowed his head as he spoke . William hurriedly responded upon seeing this . .
[Please do not bow to me . We are of equal position right now . ]
[I was originally just an adventurer… while William-sama was formerly a king . How can it be equal…]
[It’s in the past . Please stop . We are comrades now . ]
William said as he offered a handshake . Gray, in turn, finally raised his head back .
[Well then, now we are talking . I’ll look forward to working with you in the future . ]
Gray took William’s outstretched hand and two finally shook hands firmly with a smile on each face .
Afterward, William asked Gray a question .
[By the way, Gray-dono… do you happen to know where we should sit?]
[No… I actually have the same problem . ]
At that moment, the door opened once more . This time around, it was Trevoir’s Louis and Simon .
Just the same, both looked at the round table in confusion .
[This is… where should I sit?]
[What’s with this round table…? This way we won’t know where the leader will sit…]
Seeing this, William and Gray could only smile at each other .
[It appears that we are not the only ones not in the know . ]
[It seems so . But… this is a problem . What should we do then?]
Right then, the door once again opened along with a loud noise .
[Ah! Milord hasn’t arrived yet . I made it in time!]
[If only we finished the sparring early, I won’t be this panicked… it’s because of you as usual…]
[You’re just being petty, Sigurd! At least we made it in time . ]
The two big-bodied loud men who seemed to be getting along well entered the hall . They then sat down on the chairs without much thought .
[…isn’t that Grants’ crown prince, Lord Darius!?]
Surprised to find Darius there, William shouted out of shock .
[Oh, hi, everyone . You’ve come from afar, so why don’t you take a seat? Aren’t you tired from standing around like that?]
Pressured by Darius’ voice, William, Gray, and Louis, hurriedly sat on nearby seats . Simon simply stood behind Louis .
This sort of randomly choosing seat is… . despite that thought, William and the others didn’t dare to voice it out because Darius was there .
Soon after, yet another voice could be heard from behind the door .
[As I told you already, you don’t have to become my assistant…]
[I will leave the corps to Liliandono in the meantime… however, I want you to teach her Schwarzer-style tactics and commands . ]
[Then you shouldn’t have gone to me…]
[By the way, what is wrong with that Liliandono?]
[……… . ]
[Don’t tell me, you’ve touched her too?]
[… . alright, let’s start the conference already . ]
[…milord… isn’t it still a bit too early?]
The door opened to the voice of Ares, Shion, and George .
William was about to stand up, but Ares immediately stopped him .
[You don’t have to do that every single time, you know? Just save up the energy for something else more important . ]
With a refreshing smile, Ares sat on the vacant seat without much thought, just like Darius and Sigurd did . Shion and George took the empty seats next to him .
[Excuse me…]
The Earl of Trevoir Louis opened up .
[Ares-dono is our leader . So I thought that it would only be natural for you to sit on a throne… but this round table does not signify which one of us is the leader . Would you please elaborate…?]
[Isn’t it just a seat?]
[I don’t need such a thing when it’s unnecessary, do I? Everyone is here to confer for the good of the people and nation . There is no need for difference in rank here . ]
It was a concept well beyond their current common sense . Louis, William, and Gray all gave Ares an amazed look .
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After that, Ares continued to have a small talk with the other participants . When several civil officers, including Gail finally took the remaining seats, Ares coughed and formally began the conference .
[Alright… now that we are already acquaintanced with each other, let’s proceed with the conference . First is the political aspects . The moderator of this session is this person, George . ]
[In Ares-sama’s stead, I am George, the State Secretary . A pleasure to meet all of you . ]
That said, George expanded the map of the four former countries .
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George proposed 3 policies for the three countries .
The first were land and agricultural reforms .
Both Trevoir and Redgear were known as rich and prosperous lands .
[But there are still some room for further development . ]
That said, George introduced the double-cropping method that has been encouraged in Schwarzer Territory and became the latest agricultural breakthrough in the Empire . In addition to that, new farming tools, fertilizers as well as the method to cultivate the land were also introduced with illustrations .
[These lands are fertile grounds . It’s best to turn them into big farmlands . Let’s turn them, along with Grants once we opened up the Land of Demons, into the largest agricultural land in the continent . ]
For both William and Louis, George introduced new methods that they hadn’t known yet before .
The next proposal was about commerce .
[There are a lot of merchants in Brittany right now . We’ll have to review the tax system in order to increase logistics . ]
[ What do you mean? Isn’t Brittany’s tax already too high as is?]
[But just opening a small stall requires a lot of money . If you tone the cost down, there are bound to be more people to do business]
In Brittany, one must pay the tax first before being able to start a business . George proposed to abolish that tax to allow people more freedom to do business .
[If water is stagnant, it will soon dry down . Same goes with gold . Steady movement is needed to keep it alive . ]
In this way people can do business more easily, while still paying taxes on interest… that was George’s proposal .
[Of course, let’s not limit it to only Brittany . Practice it everywhere . In addition to that, we’ll also abolish tariffs in each territory so that merchants can trade between cities more freely . ]
The last proposal was about civil engineering projects .
[Let’s build a『road』 . ]
[Road?]
[Yes, a highway that connects one city to another city . ]
George added while pointing at the map .
[We need to build『Roads』that can grant everyone safe passage between cities . This may not be work that will be concluded after a year or two, but it’s the most important work . Also…]
He paused for a while before resuming .
[These roads will not only be limited to the ground . We will also be using the Depay River as a vast waterway . ]
The Depay River is a vast river that runs from Redgear to Grants . It’s usually flooded during the rainy season so it’s hard to develop the fertile lands around it .
[A waterway is currently under construction in Heinz . We will also do this in other places . By building these waterways, we can prevent flooding . And we can also transport supplies with boats through it . ]
In short, George recommended three policies .
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Agricultural reform, commercial reform and infrastructure development .
Nobody voiced their opposition so it was certified right away .
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[Next, Shion will explain our future military strategy . ]
That said, Ares turned his gaze to the sleepy-looking glasses wearing black haired man .
[My name is Shion… I’m Ares-sama’s military advisor . Pleased to be acquainted with all of you . ]
Shion then began to share his plan with William and the others .
What he proposed was pretty much the same to what is currently being applied in Grants .
First was regarding military formations and then the plans for the next few years .
The military formations were particularly given detailed instructions .
[We’ll send troops to Brittany in order to maintain security, so please do not hire mercenaries . Mercenaries’ morale and loyalty are very low to begin with and we need to sharpen the skills of our own soldiers to begin with . This will also allow competent people to advance in ranks . ]
[Trevoir can maintain security with their own soldiers . In turn, Trevoir will have to send their soldiers to Grants for mandatory joint training to improve their skills . ]
[Same goes with Redgear’s army . Liliandono will lead these army to play a major part in defending the borders and supporting the main forces . These soldiers will also be trained alongside Grants’ soldiers . ]
After that, Shion began to talk about the future of the continent, just like he did back at the office .
[You mean, there will be no further eastern campaign from Arcadia?]
[Yes . No doubt about it . However, just to keep a facade, we’ll still have to station some soldiers on Fort Jax southeast of Redgear…]
But Shion didn’t stop there .
[What is worrying now is the movement of one of the great powers in the east . In particular concern is the movement of the Byzerd Principality… and there is also that newly-born Dormadia Kingdom . Not much is currently known about this kingdom, which makes it a threat we need to be wary of in the future . ]
William showed his agreement to Shion’s explanations .
[Back in Redgear, I heard from the messenger of Renato Principality that Dormadia Kingdom uses magic beasts as a support to their army . There is also a rumour that the king himself is actually a demonkin . But that’s it . They also tend to destroy and plunder any country they conquer… causing every country nearby to increase their vigilance . Regarding Byzerd, it faced political changes several years ago after the second prince Zachard, known for his bravery, ascended the throne…]
[Those are interesting information . I think it’s necessary to investigate further . ]
Shion then declared in a strong tone .
[Grants, Redgear, Brittany, and Trevoir . These four former countries must work together in both military and political matters as though they all belonged to a single country . The situation may change every moment . It can get out of hand . So in order to survive… we must work together . Let this『Cursed Land』become the beginning to everything . ]
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[Can I add a few more things?]
When the conference was about to come to an end, Earl of Trevoir Louis who had been listening silently up until now, spoke up for the first time .
[The proposals of both George-dono and Shion-dono are indeed the right thing to do, Trevoir will do its best to follow through . Having been able to exchange opinions with both William-dono and Gray-dono also makes this conference truly fruitful . ]
Louis then continued after a short pause .
[According to this conference, all four regions must work together as one, with Ares-sama acting as our leader . So my suggestion is… we should decide on the name for when these four gather together . ]
Grants, Trevoir, Brittany, and Redgear . These four former countries are collectively called as『Schwarzer’s Frontier Territory』at the moment . But Louis insisted for a separate name .
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[ I see… we can’t simply call it the 『4-Country Alliance』or『Cursed Land』 . Do you have a suggestion?]
George who unusually showed interest in Louis’ suggestion responded .
Louis and Simon looked at each other, then said with a small laugh .
[How does Arestia sound to all of you?]
The conference room was filled with silence for a while until Darius broke it with a laugh .
[Interesting!! So the name of the lord becomes the name of his land! Truly interesting!]
Following that, Shion and George also chuckled .
[That’s a good name . I like it . ]
[I think it’s good enough? Easy to understand . ]
Everyone else also showed their approval with a laugh .
Seeing this, George concluded it .
[Well then, since everyone is in favor of this suggestion…]
[But… what about my opinion…?]
Turning around, there was Ares with a bitter look on his face .
[Rejected . ]
[But I haven’t even said anything yet!?]
[For now, it’s rejected because it’ll be like pouring cold water on this good atmosphere . ]
[…too domineering…]
Ares went drooping on his chair .
[Even so… . I do think that it is a good idea . Surely we all have survived due to the pity of Arcadia Empire’s throne . However… we are not serving under Arcadia . All of us are here because we follow Ares-dono as our true leader . ]
Others showed their agreement to Gail’s words .
William said it the loudest .
[Exactly . That is our pride . I would like to cooperate, so that this very name can be revealed to the world one day . Lord Leader-dono]
As if on cue, everyone else also swore their willingness to become Ares’ subjects . Ares could only laugh bitterly from witnessing this . Seeing the situation, George then announced the dissolution of the conference .
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[Arestia . ]
That name was originally a cipher for Ares and the others to call the conference of the four former countries .
Their very thoughts . Their obedience was not for the Arcadia empire, but to Ares Schwarzer . Thus their loyalty was directed to Ares as an individual, instead of Arcadia .
It can be said that this name was very convenient way to embody that thoughts .
They were formally known as the『Schwarzer Frontier Territory』, but in secret, they called themselves『Arestia』 .
However, this name would later become the official name for their country which will rule the entire continent for a very long time… but of course there was no way they are aware of this at the moment .