Chapter 87

Today is the third chapter submission.

Please pay attention.

We next headed to Nemea.

Nemea is a colonial city of Kirisia called Telvai.

While maintaining a certain distance from the mother country, it adopts a form of submission.

Telvai is governed primarily by a Senate, which consists of a select group of nobles and influential commoners (wealthy merchants and farmers).

However, important decisions such as war are apparently made by a popular vote of citizens with citizenship.

Nemea also follows the political system of the mother country.

Well, this time we're just talking about trade, so the popular vote isn't relevant.

The military is split evenly between the navy and the army.

The mother country apparently has an elite unit called the Sacred Band, composed entirely of homosexuals. They are undefeated.

In the Adelnia Peninsula, homosexuals do not have citizenship.

But it seems to be different in Kirisia.

Loving beautiful young boys is apparently a custom among the Kirisians...

Especially in Telvai, this tendency is strong.

It was a rather trivial story.

Nemea is not bordered by Gehenah or Lezad, as it is enclosed by them.

Therefore, it has a higher proportion of pure-blooded Kirisians... but this puts it at a significant disadvantage in terms of trade compared to the other two countries.

But if asked whether Nemea is weaker than the other two countries, that's not the case.

In fact, its military strength is much stronger than Gehenah, which relies heavily on mercenaries.

So how does Nemea gain the power to counter Lezad and Gehenah?

There are two reasons.

One is the Kingdom of Carnu.

Nemea conducts large-scale trade with the western Kingdom of Carnu, from which it obtains rock salt.

The second is iron mines.

Nemea has relatively large-scale iron mines and exports high-quality iron.

I want this iron.

In Nemea, we were also warmly welcomed.

The reception was not much different from that in Lezad.

The difference was in the taste of the food. It was slightly different.

Nemea felt more rustic.

Incidentally, the guardian deity of Nemea is the 'God of Love and Friendship.' Incidentally, it is a male deity.

Am I the only one who feels a bit of a perverse meaning in this?

"The export of iron, we will process it into weapons upon order and export it."

"That would be a great help."

Our blacksmiths are still not up to par.

The number of blacksmiths we obtained as compensation from the Kingdom of Domorgal is also small.

In that regard, Nemea's iron products are trustworthy because they are of high quality.

Weapons wear out, and arrowheads are constantly consumed.

Also, I want iron armor soon.

At the very least, I want to equip my standing army with iron armor to distinguish them from other armies.

"Regarding tariffs..."

"Would the same conditions as Lezad be acceptable? I believe opportunities should be equal for all things."

Otherwise, if Lezad has the upper hand, they will buy cheap and sell high, and there will be no benefit.

"I have one request. I would like you to provide information about the Eastern Tethys Sea and Pheonia to our country."

I will ask the same of Nemea.

Information is more accurate when obtained from multiple countries.

"Then, for the friendship between our countries..."

I shook hands with the chairman of Nemea with a smile.

Thus, a friendship treaty was concluded between Nemea and our country.

Next is Gehenah.

According to the plan, our honeymoon will end in Gehenah.

Now, this country of Gehenah... is somewhat special.

Gehenah was a colonial city of the Kirisian city-state of Alt.

It has now achieved de facto independence.

Alt operates a direct democracy, a staunchly democratic state.

But the gap between the rich and the poor is large.

Gehenah, which inherited Alt's political system... experienced a political upheaval about twenty years ago.

A politician named Abraham led a coup with the support of the proletarian citizens, tenant farmers, and those on the brink of debt slavery.

Thus, Gehenah fell under Abraham's control.

Alt, at the request of the politicians expelled from Gehenah, launched an attack on Gehenah to pursue Abraham.

However, the resistance of the soldiers under Abraham's command was fierce, and the battle was prolonged.

This was partly due to support from Lezad and Telvai behind the scenes.

Eventually, Abraham's diplomacy succeeded, and the allied forces of Claris, Telvai, and Reim launched a surprise attack on the thinly spread Alt.

At the time, the southern alliance led by Alt was powerful in Kirisia, and the eastern, western, and northern alliance wanted to topple Alt.

Thus, the Alt army withdrew from Gehenah, and Gehenah achieved complete independence.

The current Gehenah is under the dictatorship of Abraham.

Now, there are two things about Abraham: a very bad rumor and a very good rumor.

The bad rumor is that he massacred or expelled all the opposition.

After all, the majority of the poor were all on Abraham's side. There was no way to resist.

The good rumor is that he worked hard to redistribute wealth and develop industries.

Even the wealthy farmers and merchants who did not oppose Abraham had their assets partially confiscated but were not killed.

Abraham distributed the land confiscated from the opposition to the poor, attempting to revive the independent farmers.

He also addressed unemployment by making the proletarian citizens a standing army.

For those poor who could not be absorbed, he provided wheat rations to prevent hunger.

His greatest achievement was the development of gold mines within the country.

Gehenah had small-scale gold mines, but they lacked the technology, labor, and capital to mine them.

He invited miners from Persis and Pheonia, who were more advanced in mining, and conducted large-scale development. The funding came from the gold confiscated from the opposition.

He also seems to be trading with the Lupus tribe.

However, this is just a rumor, and the true nature is unknown, as the Lupus tribe is a closed society.

But Gehenah and the Lupus territory are directly adjacent without any mountains.

It's not strange if they trade.

At the same time, it's not strange if they go to war... I wonder what the situation is like?

"Are you the new king of the Kingdom of Rosais? I am Abraham, the leading figure of Gehenah."

Abraham said this to me.

The councilors of the Kirisian cities I've met so far were not very skilled, but this man is different.

Perhaps the difference between a council of dozens of people who form the state power and a single person who wields state power.

He is almost like a king.

"Mr. Abraham, I am also pleased to meet you."

Abraham and I shook hands.

Still, this guy... I've seen him somewhere before...

It's a strong sense of déjà vu...

But maybe it's just my imagination?

I suddenly noticed something odd. The old man's gaze was not on me.

No, I don't want to be stared at by him. I'm not a Kirisian.

But, isn't it strange to look elsewhere while shaking hands?

Even after the handshake ended, Abraham's gaze was slightly off to the side.

Following his gaze, I saw Tera.

For some reason, Tera was also glancing at the old man.

What's going on?

But Abraham seemed to notice that I had noticed his wandering gaze and smiled awkwardly while making a suggestion.

"Normally, I would suggest sightseeing... but you must be tired of being dragged around in Lezad and Nemea, right? It's about time you're getting bored, isn't it? I would like to move on to diplomatic negotiations immediately. Let's start early tomorrow morning."

The pace is fast.

But I've already seen enough of Kirisia's technological capabilities.

"Agreed."

Thus, it was decided that the talks would begin early in the morning.

"Hey, Tera. Why were you staring at that old man? Did you fall in love with him?"

Yuria asked Tera, half-jokingly.

I hope not...

I'm not exactly a pretty boy, but I'm not bad.

I'm well-built, and I have a good personality.

I'm tall by Adelnia standards.

Still, to lose to a fifty-something old man just because he's suave...

It would be embarrassing and frustrating.

"I'm not kidding. I wouldn't fall in love with an old man like that."

Tera said, tapping Yuria's head with her cane. She looked a bit angry.

Of course, it's strange to ask such a question with me right here...

"I like you."

Tera said, hugging me.

I picked her up and kissed her. Tera is very light, being a small Adelnia.

Alright, time to refresh.

"So, why were you staring at him?"

"...He looked familiar, like someone I've seen before. It felt very close."

"I felt the same way."

That old man, I've seen him somewhere before.

I just can't remember where.

"Does Almus also feel a sense of destiny?"

"No. I don't have a thing for men."

Even if I did, I wouldn't choose an old man like that. I'd choose a pretty boy.

This old man's head is already a bit desertified.

It's impossible, no matter what.

"Have you seen him before?"

"Hmm, I don't know... Maybe I'm just not observant?"

That's possible. Yuria is not very observant.

She relies on her sixth sense as a sorceress, so her visual and auditory observation skills are low.

She's always looking for things in a messy room.

But her sixth sense is amazing. She can tell where I am even with a blindfold.

Blindfold play doesn't work.

On the other hand, Tera's observation skills are very high.

But she often stumbles because she's not paying attention to her feet.

Playing with Tera is more fun.

"If you don't know, you don't know. It can't be helped. It seems that Mr. Abraham is also interested in Tera. I'll ask him if I get the chance."

Thus, the meeting began.

"I understand what your country is seeking from ours. People who can read and write Kirisian and do calculations, and on-site commanders to oversee road construction, water management, and mine development, right?"

"Thank you for understanding so quickly."

"I'll start recruiting immediately. There should be many who want to make a name for themselves in your country. After all, Gehenah is small, but your country is rising like the sun."

Some ambitious young people tend to leave their country.

Like Ismea.

In their own country, the older craftsmen are at the top, so the young people have to wait until they are older to advance.

This is a set path, and many young people walk it with peace of mind, but there are also those who are impatient.

In the Kingdom of Rosais, there are no older craftsmen, so they can start at a high position from the beginning.

Also, the rapid increase in our country's power is a big factor.

With a young and proactive new king... many people see it as a winning horse.

"I will set the tariffs to zero."

"That's very generous."

The talks are going quickly.

There's no haggling, so it's smooth.

He doesn't even hesitate.

Maybe he already obtained the treaties I made with other countries.

"Can I rely on you for foreign information?"

"Of course. Information is important. As a Kirisian proverb says, 'Knowledge is heavier than gold.'"

He accepted it without hesitation.

Very easy to work with.

"By the way, Gehenah borders the territory of the Lupus tribe... Do you trade with them?"

"Trade? Ha, it's impossible to trade with those people."

According to Abraham, they are rather being plundered and suffering.

The damage from plunder is greater than the profit from trade, so they have built a defensive line along the border to prevent them from entering the country.

Negotiations are impossible. Well, they didn't even send a representative to my coronation, so it's not surprising.

"By the way, may I ask you one thing?"

"What is it?"

"I've heard that one of your wives is half-Kirisian... I would like to know the name of her mother."

Tera's mother's name?

What was it? I don't remember.

Tera herself doesn't seem to remember much, and I've never met her.

Tera rarely talks about her family, so I don't know.

"I'm sorry. Tera's mother was killed when she was young... It's not a topic she often discusses. Should I call her?"

I remember talking about it at some point.

I can ask Tera.

"She's dead... Please, I would like to confirm her name."

Next time, an emotional? encounter

The old man's character can be inferred to some extent from his dictatorship.