Volume 9 Chapter 1 Part 4

Julio is the leader of the naval battle faction. He had all his ships sail from the South Seas, and they were waiting in a port not far from Palmas, ready to take action the moment the signal to do so would be given.

The reason he asked if there was a plan or not was probably out of consideration for the land-based Lords as he was trying to be mindful of their feelings.

「It’s true that I don’t have anything that could resemble a plan right now… 」

Alexis smiled sadly before continuing.

「…but I just thought of something like this as a play on words. If we can’t win against the Ocean King at sea, then why not turn the sea into land and fight against him there instead. 」

Alexis then performs a line from a poem he wrote. In that poem, the sea surface looked like a golden meadow in the evening breeze, on which he wanted to ride his beautiful steed forever until the end of time.

Hearing Alexis’ words, the Lords looked at each other in confusion.

「I see, it’s not a plan, but more of an idea then… 」

The King of Ismeia nodded his head with a straight face.

「However, it may be a good idea. It’s clear that the Nords have an advantage if they fight on the sea. They surpass us in the number of ships and maneuverability, and each and every one of their warriors is strong. How can we eliminate that advantage then? That’s where that idea comes into play. All we have to do is ask the contracted Mages for ideas, and then we can narrow down the remaining possibilities by thinking about them together instead of arguing amongst ourselves. 」

「I feel the same way. 」

At that time, a certain Lord stood up.
Earl Miguel Suavi is the Lord with the largest territory and title on the small continent of Estrela, which is separated from the continent by a narrow strait. He has recently inherited the title from his predecessor and is only thirty years old, but even so, he already had territory on the coast of Tolera and a powerful navy. Before assuming his title, he was known for his adventurous voyages to all four seas. However, although he did not actively speak out, he did take a position that was opposed to naval warfare against the Nords. For him to take such a stance, he must be someone who is well aware of the horrors that the Nords can inflict upon their enemies.

「If there is going to be a good plan, I’ll have no hesitation in fighting the Nords at the sea. But if that doesn’t happen, then we’ll have no choice but to fight them on land. However, I’m a little tired of this discussion already. With that said, how about we continue this discussion tomorrow, because I’d like to enjoy dancing with the charming ladies of Halusia. 」

Miguel was known for his passionate personality and having affairs with many women, so his statement elicited bitter smiles from the other Lords.

However, Alexis felt that even the Lords who were opposed to naval warfare were satisfied with the idea of considering a plan. That alone can be considered a major development in comparison to the previous impasse.

「Well then, let’s call it a day and have a party. If you’re tired, don’t push yourself too hard. Well, truth to be told, I feel like dancing a little too. 」

Alexis stood up and called out to the other Lords, and one by one, the Lords nodded back at him thoughtfully.

He didn’t know if they can find a way to defeat the Ocean King in a naval battle. However, as Earl Miguel just said, if they won’t be able to find it, they’ll have no choice but to fight the Nords on land.

* * *

The orchestra was playing elegant music.

Women wearing glittering dresses entered the hall and entertained the Lords. The hall of the palace was now lively, a complete change from the previous somber atmosphere when the meeting of the Lord’s Conference was till going on.
This is the culture and richness of the Fantasia Union.

The 「War for the Restoration of Order」started by the Founding Lord Leon and the Free Knights began in Elam and moved westward. Therefore, the concentration of Chaos on the western side of the continent has been decreasing for some time, and the number of Chaos-related incidents and Chaos Disasters has also decreased.

On the other hand, no large-scale expeditions were carried out eastward from Elam. More precisely, they were conducted, but they all ended up in failure, so any further attempts at them were discontinued. This was because the enthusiasm for restoring order was dampened by the appearance of the Demon Lord in Artuk, followed by the siege of Eelam by Adele, also known as the Fallen Hero who willingly became a Demon Lord herself.

Still, the brave Free Knights headed east and build the foundations of the eastern nations. However, in terms of Chaos concentration, the east is generally higher in it than the west, and is generally poorer both culturally and economically in comparison to the west. Ironically, this was exactly the thing that turned into the strength of the Factory Alliance, whose soldiers and Lords are all brave and eager for battle.

Usually, the Lords belonging to the Fantasia Union like to deride the Lords from the Factory Alliance and its people as a band of barbarians. However, the Fantasia Union is now in a critical situation due to the Nords, who can be said to be the epitome of barbarian tribes.

(It’s a lot of fun in situations like this.)

Kato Meletes, the contracted Mage of Alexis Ducet, thought to himself as he conducted the musical troupe.

Kato is twenty-six years old. He has been working for the Ducet family for seven years now.

He hails from the Dark Continent and has beautiful brown skin. His curly black hair was braided into many strands, which he now tied behind her back. He became a member of the Meletes family, a prestigious family that produced many members of the Sages Committee, and the Leader of the faction that produced many excellent contracted Mages.

The Head Mage of Marine Kraische, the current leader of the Factory Alliance is Aubest Meletes, and the main contracted Mage of Theo Cornero, the leader of the Artuk Treaty, is Siluca Meletes, Aubest Meletes’ adopted daughter, ands since they were the members of the same family, they’ve met each other many times during the family gatherings.
As for his responsibilities in the Ducet family, Kato was mainly responsible for the art-related work.

At the Magic Academy and the Magic University, there are the curriculums that teach the Mages-to-be the basic knowledge about art. However, since it has nothing to do with magic, there are few people who are eager to learn it further, which resulted in these courses not being all that popular among students.

However, Cato was interested in all forms of art, including painting, music, theater, and literature. However, unfortunately, he was not given any creative talent in any of the aforementioned fields, so instead, when it came time for him to become a contracted Mage, he wished to become a contracted Mage for the Ducet family of the Fantasia Union.

The Ducet family has been a curator for art for generations, and he also had heard rumors that the eldest son of the Ducet family, Alexis, was a genius artist.

And so Kato became a contracted Mage for Alexis Ducet, and the Head Mage at that time, Hostio Figrus, gave Kato a job related to the field of art seemingly out of nowhere. That was exactly what Kato wanted, and he started taking care of art objects, repairing works of art and taking care of musicians, dancers, poets, and painters.

His companions thought that all of these jobs were nothing but chores, but Kato himself was more than satisfied with them.

However, since Alexis became the head of the family, his position has changed. Perhaps because he had many opportunities to talk about art-related matters, he was often consulted by Alexis.

Then, there was an incident in which Sefaud Latkins, who was in charge of the peace negotiations with the Factory Alliance as a Diplomatic Mage, was fired for the crime of offending all of the Fantasia Union Lords during the Lord’s Conference. He then tried to kill himself on the spot by drinking a bottle of poison that he has prepared beforehand, but Alexis’ maid stopped him. However, Alexis canceled his contract with him after that incident.

If the rumors were to be believed, then Alexis not only did not punish Sefaud for what he did, but he also paid him a considerable Salary for his services.

Also, thanks to Alexis ending his contract with him, Sefaud could now become a Diplomatic Mage serving Theo Cornero and the Artuk Treaty.