Volume 9 Chapter 1 Part 6

「As you wish. 」

Kato nodded, but inwardly he was sighing.

Diplomacy has its good and bad sides, and things don’t always go your way no matter how much you want them to. Just like in a game, you need to use your strengths against all your opponent to remove them as soon as possible.

The other party has offered to send reinforcements, so all they have to do is tell them about how the meeting went.

「Contact her right now. 」

Hostio patted Kato on the shoulder and left. Cato bowed to him and saw him off. Then he took out his magic wand and proceeded to make contact with Siluca Meletes.

He manipulated the Chaos Globe that is embedded in his wand and synchronized it with Siluca’s. The synchronized Chaos Globe resonates no matter how far apart the recipient might be from the caller, making it the best possible tool for long-range communications.

「Siluca speaking. 」

He got a reply right away.

「It’s Kato. 」

「Brother Kato? 」

Siluca seemed surprised to hear from him.

「It’s rare for you to be contacting me so directly. 」

「That’s because the one who told me to contact you was Lord Hostio. 」

「The Head Mage? Well, if he told you to contact me, then it must be about a really important matter then. 」

Siluca said calmly.

「Alright, so what is that matter that you wanted to talk to me about? Do you want to share the information about the Nords with the Artuk Treaty? 」

「Yes, but since Lord Hostio is still wary of the Treaty, I’m afraid that I can’t say anything that would end up putting the Fantasia Union at too much of a disadvantage. 」

Kato sighed.

「I can hear the music playing in the distance. Has the meeting already ended and you moved on to the party? 」

Yes, it did? While we are on the subject already… have you been drinking, Siluca?」

「Why would you ask that? 」

Siluca seemed somewhat flustered when she answered Kato’s question with another question.

「Because your voice is higher than usual and your tone sounds softer. 」

「I was entertaining the subordinate Lords of Lord Theo who came to visit him… 」

「Ahh, so I assume that’s when the topic of the Union came up. Is it correct of me to assume that’s when you’ve been told to get5 the information on what’s going on at the Fantasia Union’s Lords Council? 」

「Yes… that’s about it… 」

Siluca admitted it honestly.

「Putting the matter of Lord Hostio seeing through my intentions aside, it’s true that the entire Artuk Treaty is interested in how the Fantasia Union is going to be dealing with the threat of the Nord invasion. 」

「I’ll contact you when everything’s going to be decided then. 」

「I’ve already told that to Lord Hostio, but if you actually decide to fight against the Nords on land, then the Artuk Treaty is going to be prepared to send its army to you as reinforcements through Ismeia. I assume you know who Lassic David, the King of Selvis is, right? 」

「I heard that he is the former leader of the Artuk Treaty and one of the closest allies of Lord Theo, and that his prowess at fighting is second to none. 」

Kato nodded his head towards his magic wand, even though Siluca couldn’t actually see him making that gesture.

(So apparently even the Head Mage of the leader of the Artuk Treaty is in favor of us fighting the Nords on land, huh?)

Siluca said that if they were to fight the Nords on land, the Treaty would be willing to send reinforcements, which would be a chance for Lassic David to steal the spotlight of the battle for himself.

「Unfortunately, Lord Alexis seems to be in favor of fighting the Nords in a naval battle. 」

「I see… 」

Siluca sighed.

「Both Lord Theo and I have expected that this would be the decision that he’s end up making. However, is there any real chance of the Fantasia Union winning against the Ocean King in a battle at sea? 」

「Don’t underestimate the naval power of the Union. Although we are inferior to them in numbers, our main force is large sailing ships, which can carry a large number of soldiers. 」

「But if the enemy soldiers manage to get on board, then it’s going to be over for you. And at this time of year, when the wind and waves are calm, sails shouldn’t be of much use. Nord longboats have excellent maneuverability, and like you just said yourself, they greatly outnumber you. 」

「I heard that opinion many times during meetings. That’s why we’re trying to think of a plan. 」

「A plan to win against the Nords in a naval battle… 」

Siluca was silent for a moment. She must have been thinking if there was any way in which she could’ve contributed to thinking of a plan to best the Nords at their own game.

(If you have any good ideas, please let me know…)

Kato murmured in his heart.

「I can’t think of anything right away. I think a land battle, especially a siege, would be the most effective. In a close-quarters combat, Nord berserkers would possess an overwhelming advantage. However, in a siege, that wouldn’t be the case. Eric the Ocean king might be a proud Lord, but he also has a violent temper. If you make him angry and successfully lure him to the castle… 」
「If we decide to fight them on land, I will make sure to use that idea. I would also like to ask for reinforcements… 」

Thinking it was time to finish the conversation, Kato looked back at the center of the hall. There, a large number of people were still dancing to the music played by the orchestra.

The person in the center was, as expected, Alexis. He is a master dancer, and there are countless girls who wanted to dance with him. Lords often bring not only their queens but also their young sons and daughters with them to such meetings, so it is not all that uncommon to see marriage proposals being decided spontaneously.

A three-tiered dancing circle had formed around Alexis. They all matched Alexis’s movements perfectly, making it all look like a magnificent group dance.

「A castle, huh? 」

When Cato saw this, something suddenly dawned upon him.

「What’s wrong? Is everything alright on your end? 」

「I think I might’ve found a plan that we might use! 」

Excited by the revelation that suddenly came to him, Kato almost shouted at Siluca.

「Huh? You mean you managed to come up with a plan for a siege? 」

「Unfortunately, not for a siege, but for the naval battle. I’m sorry, but I have to finish the call here. I’ll go and advise Lord Alexis right away! 」

「Huh?! W-Wait, brother Kato…!!! 」

Siluca tried to stop him, but Cato cut off the synchronization of the magic wand on the spot there. Then he put his wand back in his pocket and darted straight to the main hall and the dancing circle and approached Alexis.

The group dance became chaotic, and the orchestra stopped playing the song they were currently playing in a hurry.

「So rude! 」

Someone shouted.

「How uncouth! 」

Men and women who had their dance disrupted didn’t hesitate to voice their displeasure out loud.

「What happened? 」

Alexis ignored the complaints around him and asked with a soft smile. On the other hand, the woman he was partnered with right now had a devilish look on her face.

「I think I’ve found a plan for a naval battle with the Nords! 」

Kato bowed to Alexis before moving on to the heart of the matter.

「Oh really? That’s good to hear. 」

Alexis nodded silently and motioned for the orchestra to resume the song. Then he took the hand of the woman who was his partner and kisses her.

「We will continue this later. 」

「I-I will be happy to! 」

The woman placed the hand which Alexis had kissed on her chest, and nodded softly. Even in such a situation, Alexis was still as attenitive and considerate as he could possibly be.

「Let’s go to my room. 」

Alexis said as he started walking away. His maid, dressed in formal attire, appeared out of nowhere, stood in front of Kato and led the way. Kato followed her while keeping his head down, since he couldn’t stand the scrutiny of the people around them.

(Looks like my own enthusiasm made me go a little too far…)

He thought that Hostio would scold him later for making such a blunder in front of all these people.