A sense of relief spread among those gathered.

Some didn’t show any change in expression, but most likely, the majority had been concerned about it.

When I directed my gaze towards Liesel, he shrugged his shoulders.

From his perspective, it must be humiliating to think that such unreasonable orders might be given… After all, even counting the time when he served as the representative of Lurtle, it’s been less than three years.

It’s too short of a time to build a relationship of trust.

He must understand this, which is likely why he made that gesture.

However, this isn’t the main topic.

Once the commotion in the room settled, Liesel resumed the conversation.

◇

“…A war?!”

At Liesel’s words, the room, which had fallen silent, became noisy again.

“Is it true?” “Who is it with?” and “Is it our country?” … Well, naturally, people would be curious.

Our country had established new territories and, under the guidance of the royal family, embarked on the development of the demon realm.

Through the church, we had been regularly sending holy coins from the powerful Western forces still largely influenced by the central region’s Eastern frontier, far removed from the empire and the allied nations… it wouldn’t be surprising if they tried to sabotage it in some way.

In fact, there had been signs of this.

But so far, things have been progressing far better than expected.

We had anticipated some form of interference around the time the dungeon opened, but it had already opened, and the internal investigation of the dungeon had also reached a conclusion.

Since we could now redirect our forces from the dungeon to the outside, containment of the Western forces within the territory was going smoothly.

The empire and the allied nations must understand this too.

There had been no suspicious movements from them.

If I had to be cautious about something, it would be the possibility that the remaining factions within the territory could collaborate with the West, since we were interfering with their coordination. But that was something they could do independently, and given the earlier wedding in the royal capital, it seemed pointless to act outside the capital.

If they did, I would be able to manage everything within the capital.

It would end up being futile.

Without my divine protection, the outcome would not be much different either.

Thus, this view was dominant within the country.

However, information had come through that several small nations in the West were gathering troops towards the East.

The Great Forest Alliance has a rule that member states must send troops to one another in case of invasion by other forces.

In that case, since it was a new territory, we would have to send troops to avoid being looked down upon by other families or nations.

It was a good opportunity to send forces from the Riana territory.

As I looked at the commotion in the room, it was interesting to see the various reactions.

One group was surprised because they hadn’t expected a war at all.

Another had expected it, but thought the plan would have failed.

A third group had an idea about the movements in the West, but still believed a war wouldn’t happen.

There were many different reactions.

Since there is always a limit to the information available, I suppose the disparity is due to the size of their networks.

Liesel seemed to be waiting for everyone to quiet down, but before that, one man raised his hand.

It was the representative of Arios’ town.

“May I ask something? I’ve heard that several countries in the West are preparing for military action. However, there’s no sign that the empire or the allied nations are moving. Do you still intend to act?”

“Ah, yes. They will. They will likely issue a declaration in either spring or autumn next year… to coincide with the rainy season,” Liesel confidently replied.

As soon as the first person spoke up, others followed with their questions, and Liesel responded to all of them.

◇

After the meeting, we moved to the lounge next to Liesel’s office.

The representatives were probably still in the mansion, exchanging information.

Perhaps also gossiping about Liesel.

Well… I can allow that.

Although I answered their questions later, I didn’t share any crucial information, and the knights would handle the responses… that was all.

Though they wouldn’t speak it aloud, they must be dissatisfied.

But that’s fine as long as we deal with it when the time comes. It’s just a small matter.

“…So? I know the important figures from the territory have been gathered, but is there a reason why we’ve been called here?” Zighart spoke up.

From a little before the meeting ended, he, Fiora, Teresa, and Elena had been gathered into this room.

Alec and August, who had attended the earlier meeting as senior knights, were different.

Liesel explained things carefully to them.

In essence, this gathering was to gain their understanding.

It seemed Liesel was particularly cautious around Zighart.

“I see… so a war is really happening.”

Zighart, after listening to the flow of the meeting and Liesel’s explanation, seemed to be at ease, unlike the others in the meeting room.

There shouldn’t have been a significant difference in the amount of information they had, but perhaps it was because Zighart had experience working as a mercenary in the West?

“Yeah. In the past, whenever a new dungeon was opened in the East, the West would show some form of movement within a year. Fortunately, we were able to handle it without casualties, but if they actually challenge us head-on, it’s not hard to imagine that we would suffer a significant number of losses. With the demon slaying missions that arose and the shortage of elite troops, we will inevitably run short on military forces. The goal of the West isn’t to win, but to cause enough chaos in the East to create an opportunity for intervention.”

“When I was young, I was sent to the Eastern country without knowing the full reason… so that’s what it was about…” Zighart said, as if an old question of his had been answered, sounding quite pleased.

He might not be taking the war scenario too heavily.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Sera・【Hideout】+1【Prayer】【Mira’s Blessing】【Wind Garb】・【Floating Orb】+1【Shadow Sword】【Scarlet Bee Needle】【Fairy’s Eye】【Dragon’s Lung】【Amber Sword】【Danrem’s Thread】【Snake’s Tail】【Ankle Bracelet】【Amber Shield】【Purple Wings】・7 cards

Seriana・【Range Identification】・【】・28 cards

Elena・【】・【Green Fang】【Amber Sword】・3 cards

Alec・【Power Strike】・【Red Shield】【Fierce Horned Trumpet】・7 cards