New Years in Both Camps

— End of the 1553rd Year, Continental Calendar —

The people of each country were holding big feasts to celebrate the end

of the year, which would be remembered as the year of the Demon Lord's

Domain's liberation. Freed from the worry that had haunted them for

decades, they were no doubt dreaming of a brighter future. In our country,

Juna was heading up the preparations for the annual Song Battle (this one

wasn't for research, but something like the New Year's Red and White

Song Battle).

However, in contrast to the people's celebratory mood, the political and

military leaders of the countries of the Maritime Alliance couldn't afford to

be in such high spirits. With public opinion in the Great Tiger Empire

hardening, the Kingdom of Friedonia was certain that an invasion of the

Maritime Alliance was imminent. They had communicated these worries to

their three allies—the Republic of Turgis, the Nine-Headed Dragon

Archipelago Kingdom, the Euphoria Kingdom—and to the Nothung

Dragon Knight Kingdom, who was outside the alliance but had recently

been interacting with them as part of their delivery business.

It was necessary to have the others assist with the plan, so I'd been

taking the time to explain what I'd heard in the depths of the Demon Lord's

Domain, including how this world came to be, and about the northern

hemisphere.

Today I was having a meeting with the heads of state for the four nations

of the Maritime Alliance over the broadcast with Kuu, Shabon, and Jeanne.

Once everyone was ready, I spoke first.

"All right, let's get this meeting started."

"Yeah."

"Yes."

"Okay."

Once I saw the other three nod, I nodded and turned to Kuu.

"First up...Kuu."

"Hm? What's up, bro?"

"I hear you've conceived your first through fourth child.

Congratulations."

"Ookyakya. You're making me feel embarrassed." Kuu bashfully

scratched the back of his head as Shabon and Jeanne both chimed in with

congratulations of their own.

He was still emotional over suddenly becoming a father of four. In fact,

Kuu had only learned of both Taru and Leporina's pregnancies just the other

day. Furthermore, Leporina was apparently pregnant with triplets, with her

belly already a considerable size. The white rabbit race was known for its

fecundity, so he could have seen this coming.

Trying to get things back on track, Kuu grinned and shook his head.

"Well, that's how it is. With four kids, at least some of them'll get along

with yours, bro. Let's get them engaged to Kazuha, Enju, or Kaito."

"You're getting ahead of yourself when they're not even born yet..."

There'd be a six-year age gap with Kazuha... That was well within the

acceptable range for this world, but I wanted to avoid a marriage that the

parties involved didn't agree with.

"Well..." Kuu began, shaking his head. "Now that you've told us how

important your blood of old mankind is, bro, the Republic wants a piece of

that bloodline for itself. The Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago has the

betrothal between Cian and Sharan, while the Euphoria Kingdom just needs

you to have a kid with their former empress. As head of the Republic, I

can't accept us getting nothing."

I can see where he's coming from... I'd have felt the same way in Kuu's

position.

"Fair enough. Once your kids are born and grown a little, let's have

them all meet each other. If there are any pairs that get along, then I think

it's fine to arrange a marriage for them."

"Yeah! I'll hold you to that, bro," Kuu said with a broad grin.

Jeanne nodded in agreement. "It's true; we'd like the blood of the old

mankind as well. Once you have children with my sister, we would like to

adopt one of them."

"You're getting ahead of yourself too, Madam Jeanne..."

"Oh! Just Jeanne is fine, Brother."

Come to think of it, she's my sister-in-law now. After Tomoe, that makes

her my second sister-in-law.

"Anyway... I should apologize, Jeanne. For calling Hakuya away so

often when you just got married."

"I understand." Jeanne smiled wryly and shook her head. "You don't

have much choice given the current situation.

"It helps to hear you say that..."

"Honestly, it's not my husband that concerns me... With Sir Hakuya out

of the country, I'm more worried about what nonsense Trill might pull.

She's hard at work developing something to blow off steam over being

separated from Madam Genia."

The Drill Princess is the same as ever, huh? I thought.

Jeanne let out an exhausted sigh. "Earlier she was saying, 'Just

defending the castle alone lacks a certain pizzazz! Would you not agree that

it'd be nice to have a castle that can thoroughly crush our enemies?' and

then started remodeling the castle walls."

"R-Right..."

"That said, Sir Hakuya does go through her inventions and picks up any

that might be of use, so she has been making major contributions to our

country's technology..."

"Ookyakya! Miss Trill's as entertaining as ever, I see! I'd love for her to

come to our country and help remodel the city we stole from Zem!"

"She's all yours," Jeanne said with a gesture like she was passing him

something.

Though Trill and Kuu had met during the tunnel construction, it felt like

they could make a dangerous combination.

"Sir Souma..."

"Hm?"

At this point, Shabon, who had been listening quietly all this time with a

serene expression, sat up straight and bowed her head to me.

"I must apologize for how my country's fleet disgraced itself during the

campaign to the Demon Lord's Domain."

"Oh...that, huh?"

When we sent a fleet to the Demon Lord's Domain at Fuuga's request,

Shabon ent a Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago fleet to escort us. However,

when we encountered the humanoid weapon Jangar, one of the NineHeaded Dragon Archipelago ships had disregarded orders not to start

anything and attacked Jangar, causing an outbreak of hostilities. We'd lost

an island carrier in that battle, and there had been no shortage of casualties.

I'd already received one apology from her since returning to the

Kingdom, but this was the first time she said it in an official capacity.

"Those who disobeyed orders will be punished under the laws of our

country, but I must apologize for the failures of those under my command."

"Raise your head, Shabon. We hadn't predicted that situation. It's my

own fault for letting Fuuga push me into dispatching the fleet. I hear that

most of the deaths were in the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago fleet, so if

you say you've already taken care of it, then I have nothing more to say on

the matter."

"Thank you for your consideration."

"The more important thing right now is I have a favor to ask of the three

of you."

"You're talking about Fuuga Haan, right?" Kuu asked.

"Yeah." I nodded. "It's more or less guaranteed that we'll have to fight a

decisive battle against the Great Tiger Empire next year."

"That's what Sir Hakuya has been telling me. He says it's almost certain

they'll invade the Kingdom of Friedonia," Jeanne said, causing Kuu to cock

his head to the side.

"Ookya? Is it safe to say that so definitely? My country borders the

former Mercenary State Zem but is far from the enemy's homeland, and the

Nine-Headed Dragon Kingdom is across the sea. It makes sense that we're

not the targets here, but doesn't the Euphoria Kingdom need to worry too?"

"That would take too much time. As long as we have the plan I told you

all about, time is on our side. If Fuuga launches a genuine offensive into the

Euphoria Kingdom, we'll disrupt it with everything we've got. While

Fuuga is dealing with that, he'll probably run out of time... It wouldn't be

nice for Jeanne being the one invaded, but on the whole, we couldn't ask for

a better outcome than that."

After saying all that, I let out a sigh before continuing.

"But that man's risen up as far as he has because he's got a nose for

danger. It's inhuman, on the level of a wild beast. He's got to realize we're

up to something. I hear that the covert agents who report directly to Hashim

have been getting more active lately."

"You mean to say he will discover that plan and invade the Kingdom of

Friedonia in order to crush it?" Shabon asked.

"Yeah," I replied with a nod. "But it's less that he'll detect it and more

likely that he'll just think 'something's up.' A quick and decisive war is

what we least want to see right now. And as that's the case, it's the policy

Fuuga will pursue without hesitation. If we hope he'll take things in a

different direction and are lax in our preparations as a result, he may just

gobble everything up."

"Ookeekee... Hell of a guy to be born in the same era as, huh?" Kuu said

with a strained smile.

You said it.

In a certain Romance of the Three Kingdom manga, there's a scene

where, after being outwitted by Kong Ming, Zhou Yu says, "Why did

Heaven give birth to Zhou Yu, then give birth to Kong Ming in the same

era?" before dying in a fit of anger. If I had been forced to go up against

Fuuga on my own, maybe I'd have felt the same way.

"But we're not facing Fuuga alone."

We had bonds built and cultivated with other people. Some of our

comrades had been friends from the beginning, while others like Castor,

Julius, and Mary had once been enemies. At some point, all those people

had formed a loose alliance, and before any of us knew it, we were

cooperating towards the same goal. This was the strength of the Maritime

Alliance.

I thrust my fist towards the three of them to show my enthusiasm.

"We'll work together to overcome this difficulty and close the curtain on

this era of Fuuga in the spotlight. Let's show him what we've built and how

resilient it is."

"Yeah! I'm itching for the fight!"

""Yes!""

Kuu, Shabon, Jeanne, and I all raised fists with a hurrah.

◇ ◇ ◇

Around the same time, Fuuga was also ringing in the new year at Haan

Castle...

Following his return from the Demon Lord's Domain, he spent some

time firming up things on the domestic front. The Demon Lord's Domain

was now fully liberated and under the Great Tiger Empire's control, except

for the city at the northern edge of the continent where the Seadians lived.

Anyone looking at the situation properly likely thought he'd been

pushed into a bunch of wasteland. However, for many of his people as well

as the refugees who could finally return to their homelands, it seemed like a

brilliant accomplishment. Even if the long, arduous work of rebuilding

awaited these revelers, they would go about the task with glee. And those

who would complain refrained from doing so. The strength of Fuuga's

charisma was overwhelming.

Troops were sent to his new lands and set to work ridding the continent

of Landia of the remaining monsters. It was impossible to completely

eliminate them as dungeons still existed, but the number wouldn't increase

since Souma and Mao closed the gate.

The domain of mankind would definitely expand further. But simply

hunting down monsters was of little interest to the planning trickery of

Fuuga's strategist Hashim, so the task was left to Shuukin and other

competent retainers instead.

Fuuga, meanwhile, took this opportunity to have some long-awaited

quality downtime with his wife, Mutsumi. On reflection, this may have

been the most peaceful period of Fuuga's life to this point. The time he'd

lived through was otherwise filled with violence.

However, peace was unfulfilling for the great man.

At night in his bedroom, Fuuga sat in a chair naked from the waist up as

he polished his sword. His favored weapon was the Zanganto, a rock-

rending blade that resembled the Green Dragon Crescent Blade. It was rare

for him to draw this sword that hung at his hip, but in the long time he spent

fighting, it still managed to get chipped here and there.

"You can't sleep...?"

Fuuga turned towards the sudden voice. Mutsumi was sitting up in bed

with a blanket wrapped around her and nothing underneath.

With a wry smile, he turned to her and said, "Sorry. Did I wake you?"

"No...I was just drifting off when I realized that my husband wasn't

beside me."

"Yeah. I feel wide awake for some reason."

Fuuga held his sword up to the moonlight shining through the window.

The polished blade reflected his face and the scar given to him by

Mutsumi's brother, Gauche.

He sighed. "When it's too quiet, I just can't settle down. I feel like I

ought to be doing something, I guess."

"'Then help us with internal affairs,' is what Madam Lumiere would

probably say to you," Mutsumi said.

Lumiere was likely working harder than anyone in order to make the

expanded territories contribute to the Great Tiger Empire's national power

as soon as possible. Fuuga understood that, but while he wasn't exactly illsuited to domestic affairs, he didn't find the work satisfying. Unlike Souma

or Maria, he never worked overtime or slept in his governmental affairs

office. That work fell to Lumiere and Kasen, who had been assigned to

assist her.

"I'm grateful to them. Running around on the battlefield suits me

better."

"Even now that you're an emperor, you're still a warrior at heart,

darling," Mutsumi murmured, chuckling.

She wrapped the blanket around her naked body and rose from the bed.

She approached Fuuga from behind and threw her arms around him.

"I know it's hot in these parts, but the nights still get chilly," she said,

inviting Fuuga to join her inside the blanket. He didn't really resist.

"Yeah. Sorry about that."

"No, no. I can't let my darling catch a cold when he wants to keep racing

onward."

Fuuga got a slightly troubled look on his face when she said this. "Even

if the only place left for me to go...is towards the south?"

"I suppose..."

To the south of the Great Tiger Empire were the countries of the

Maritime Alliance. Fuuga's little sister Yuriga resided there, as did

Mutsumi's siblings, Ichiha, Niki, and Sami. Mutsumi understood this, of

course. But still...she nuzzled up against Fuuga's bearded cheek.

"If you say you will continue, I will come with you. Until I've seen what

end your epic tale reaches."

"Oh, yeah?"

He touched Mutsumi's cheek, which was next to his face. The two spent

some time holding one another close after that.

— 1st Month, 1554th Year, Continental Calendar —

And so the new year came. The people of the Great Tiger Empire met it

with incredible elation. Basking in the glory that their emperor Fuuga Haan,

the greatest man of this generation, had successfully liberated the Demon

Lord's Domain in the previous year, they looked forward to seeing what

wonders this new year would bring.

"Can anyone halt our emperor's march? Can any foe stop our emperor?"

These song lyrics rang in the air as the people drank and partied.

There was a luxurious feast at Haan Castle too. Fuuga, who had

complained about difficulty eating and drinking while on the throne, sat on

a wide, fancy carpet with Mutsumi and his retainers. He was at the head of

the group, with the famous generals of the Great Tiger Empire sitting in

lines on either side of him. The dignified scene looked like something out

of a mandala, but not everyone was present.

"Oh, I don't see young Kasen," said Gaten, the most stylish man in the

Great Tiger Empire and the Flag of the Tiger. Because Gaten was always

teasing the youngest general, Kasen, the Crossbow of the Tiger, he was the

first to note his absence.

Fuuga's right-hand man, Shuukin, the Sword of the Tiger, smiled wryly

and informed him, "Kasen is working with Madam Lumiere. He said, 'If

Madam Lumiere is working through New Year's, then as her assistant, I

can't rest when she isn't.'"

There was no time for the bureaucrats to rest on New Year's. They were

fighting as hard as they could to maintain their expanded lands, similar to

the bureaucrats in Parnam a year after Souma was summoned. Hashim was

also not attending the feast as he was busy hatching his next scheme.

"Hard work, isn't it?" Gaten grunted with a shrug. "The strategies of Sir

Hashim and the policies of Madam Lumiere are what's supporting

everything now. I bow my head to them. Especially Madam Lumiere, who

is laying strong groundwork for us despite being a newcomer, and Kasen,

who helps the genius with her work."

"Yeah. They're going to be indispensable to the Great Tiger Empire

from here on," Shuukin asserted. "Capable warriors can be replaced.

They're likely more important than we are."

"Hmm. If it comes to it, I'll have to defend them with my life." As he

imagined himself dying for Kasen, Gaten chuckled. "I guess that's not a bad

way to go."

It went against his sense of dandyism to risk his life for another male,

but seeing the shocked look on Kasen's face as the life drained away from

him wasn't a terrible proposition.

"Hey! Lord Shuukin! This dish is delicious too!" a young girl

interjected, poking her head out from Shuukin's shadow. It was Elulu,

daughter of Garula Garlan, of the Spirit Kingdom of Garlan.

Looking at the flawless smile on her face as she heaped a bunch of food

on her plate, Shuukin was both charmed and disappointed by how

incredibly laid-back she was. Elulu didn't seem intimidated, even while

sitting among the filthy men who made up Fuuga's retainers.

"You have delicacies from all over, right? That's the Great Tiger Empire

for you. Food as diverse as your lands are vast. And it's all delicious."

"Elulu...maybe settle down a little?" Shuukin said with a sigh. "I only let

you come along because you wouldn't hear otherwise, so try to behave a

little, please."

"Okaaay."

It was hard to tell if she got the message or not from her response.

Thanks to Elulu's attachment to Shuukin as well as her connections with

the independent government of the Father Island of the Spirit Kingdom, she

had been given control of the northwest of the Great Tiger Empire. It wasn't

just that the Father Island was effectively under her control; she also traded

with the Mother Island, which was heading down the path towards

liberalization.

The way she ruled might appear feeble to Fuuga or Hashim, but as an

island nation, if the two islands of the Spirit Kingdom were to join the

Maritime Alliance, that would put the Great Tiger Empire's entire coastline

under their control. It would be the same if the Great Tiger Empire

attempted to suppress them by force. Without the ability to control the seas,

should the Maritime Alliance cut off their access to the sea, the Haan

landing party would be easy to starve.

If that were to happen, then using Elulu's friendship with Shuukin to

keep them close would be the better choice. This way, the islands are

preserved as an independent country which Souma couldn't easily lay a

hand on. Essentially, the closeness between Shuukin and Elulu was the best

thing either nation could ask for.

Because of their relationship, Shuukin had told Elulu he would be going

to Haan Castle for New Year's, but she stubbornly insisted on going too.

"I want to see more of the world. Our country became isolationist

because of the differences and competition between the different races, but

times have changed."

Souma of the Kingdom of Friedonia believed in meritocracy and hired

people without regard to race or nationality, so the other nations of the

Maritime Alliance were influenced to do the same. Old hostilities between

different races had died down as a result. This sentiment was shared in the

Great Tiger Empire, which was held together by Fuuga's overwhelming

charisma. There might be clashes between nations or ideologies, but

interracial strife has essentially vanished.

"During the Magic Bug Disease incident, my home country finally

realized they couldn't keep shutting themselves away. I want to see more of

the world. I believe that will be best for the high elf people."

Elulu spoke seriously about her country, impressing Shuukin and Gaten

with her thoughtfulness. Despite all evidence to the contrary, she was still a

princess.

"Besides, there's all this tasty food out in the wide, wide world. I'd be

missing out if I didn't know," she said, tossing a fruit into her mouth, stem

and all.

"You just ruined it, Elulu."

Shuukin clutched his head over how little Elulu had changed, while

Gaten laughed at how the famous Sword of the Tiger was being run around

at her mercy.

While other people celebrated the new year, Lumiere, who'd become the

top bureaucrat in the Great Tiger Empire, was dealing with a murderously

heavy workload alongside her bureaucrats.

They arranged for people to be positioned throughout the new lands that

had once been the Demon Lord's Domain. They were aiming to connect the

lands with roads for the shipping of supplies and the elimination of

monsters to secure their safety.

She was putting everything she'd learned while serving under Maria in

the Gran Chaos Empire to good use. Maria had been partially influenced by

the way Souma ruled, so it was fair to say that Lumiere was able to rule in a

way that was a hybrid between the Kingdom of Friedonia and the Gran

Chaos Empire.

Lord Fuuga is considering a conflict with the Maritime Alliance. If I

don't solidify the country at least somewhat before he moves...then there

won't have been any point in my being here.

Lumiere had abandoned Maria to join Fuuga because she rejected

Maria's stance that it would take a long time to change the world

peacefully. Instead, she felt that if there was a way to solve a problem, it

should be done immediately, even if it was a violent solution. As a result,

the threat that the Demon Lord's Domain had posed to mankind was

resolved. However, Lumiere also understood that because Fuuga had solved

the issue so quickly, he couldn't stop here. The speed with which the

country was built made it brittle. They always needed an enemy to unite

them; otherwise, they'd be at risk of falling apart in no time.

I'm sure Lady Maria would've hated this... Until we also had the means

to stop once the problem was resolved, we wouldn't have started to begin

with, even if we had the power to deal with the problem itself.

It wasn't as if Lumiere hadn't understood Maria's ideals before; Lumiere

was just frustrated with her passivity. Now in her current position, Lumiere

felt she could align herself a little more with Maria's way of thinking.

Although, given her fondness for reckless haste, that might not have

changed the conclusion.

It's too late for that... I chose this path for myself, so I have to follow it.

Changing gears, Lumiere looked down at the document in front of her.

Suddenly, the door to the finance ministry burst open, and Kasen, the

Crossbow of the Tiger, came in pushing a cart. It was loaded with almost

nothing but stacks of paper.

"Madam Lumiere. I've collected the paperwork from all the relevant

departments." Kasen sighed as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

Though she looked at this new pile of work with a face of anguish,

Lumiere quickly regained her composure and smiled. "Thank you for taking

the trouble, Kasen."

"No, this was no big deal," Kasen replied as he carried the stacks of

paper to Lumiere's desk.

She let out a bitter laugh as she accepted the paperwork. "It's a great

help having you around, but aren't the generals gathered to celebrate a New

Year's feast right now? Why don't you join them?"

"No, I couldn't possibly." Kasen shook his head. "It wouldn't sit right

with me leaving you all to do the work while I enjoy a banquet. Let me help

too."

"Oh...I see."

"Yes. And, hey, look..."

Kasen left the room for a moment, returning with a service cart that had

been sitting outside the door. The upper and lower levels of the cart were

laden with sumptuous dishes. Lumiere's eyes widened as Kasen flashed her

the mischievous grin of a kid who'd just pulled off a prank.

"While I was picking up the paperwork, I raided the kitchens. Let's

snack on this and redouble our efforts."

"Hee hee. Let's." She smiled softly.

Feeling defanged by Kasen's behavior, Lumiere's furrows melted out of

her brow.

Yet elsewhere, also around the same time...

Having forsaken the year-end feast to scheme in his own room, Hashim

was receiving a report from the intelligence team that served under him.

Without so much as looking at the man, Hashim asked, "How are things

proceeding?"

The intelligence operative bowed his head and began his report.

"Shaping of domestic opinion is proceeding apace. The voices of those who

wish to see Fuuga conquer the entire continent grow by the day."

"Splendid."

"However...the results of our operations inside the Kingdom of

Friedonia have been less favorable. The intelligence operatives in the

service of King Souma are all rather skilled and deeply loyal to the royal

family. There are no cracks to work our way into. We suspect that

infiltrating them like we did the Gran Chaos Empire will prove impossible."

"Hmm...That's unexpected."

Hashim recalled Souma's face. It was plain, lacking the majesty of

Fuuga's or the charm of Maria's, so he was surprised to learn that Souma

had such capable agents. Hashim had been aware of the existence of the

Friedonian intelligence service, of course, but never thought they could

completely shut down one of his operations. The existence of covert

operatives suggested a darker side to Souma. Anyone who maintained such

a powerful intelligence service had a certain amount of darkness around

them.

"I suppose you can't judge a book by its cover..." he murmured.

"Huh...?"

"No, it's fine. Avoid pushing too far into Friedonia; focus instead on

reforming public opinion inside our country."

"Yes, sir!"

Once he had given his subordinate his orders, Hashim revised his

understanding of Souma.