After that, Liesel’s explanation continued.

And then, the conversation shifted to topics not discussed in the earlier meeting.

“Western powerful factions… especially the Empire and the Allied Nations, have started changing their policies. For the past several decades, they have been sending people into the Church and focusing on draining holy coins from the East… but this caused resistance, and as a result, the Church’s influence is gradually being pushed out of the East. So now, they are turning their attention not to the East, but to the West. …Of course, this is just temporary, and they will likely attempt to intervene again eventually.”

“Hmph… But as far as I know, only a few small countries will be moving; the great powers won’t take action, will they? I don’t know what the Alliance side will do, but we should have no problem winning, right? Then, what exactly are the Empire and the Allied Nations planning?”

“Reorganization of the West.”

In response to Zighart’s question, Liesel gave a brief answer.

In the West, there is a major road running from the westernmost edge of the continent to the East, which we in the East call the Crossroad. The West developed around this road, and countries through which this road passed could prosper as major nations on the continent.

However, now there are multiple travel routes, and the importance of this road has drastically decreased compared to its peak.

As a result, the countries along the road have gradually declined, but due to their long history as major nations in the West, they still have connections with the royal families of other countries.

Among them are countries that were annexed by the Empire or joined the Allied Nations.

That is likely why they have become unpleasant to deal with.

Originally, the main goal of this issue was to cause chaos in the Riana Territory.

But first, all plans to harm me have failed, and then plans to wreak havoc in the territory have also been thwarted.

Now, they only need to focus on what happens after the Dungeon is opened…

Initially, we predicted that the internal forces of the territory would be diverted to investigate the dungeon, but since a Demon King species was found, it seems our expectations were too optimistic.

However, that optimistic prediction was only our own assumption, as neighboring territories were already preparing reinforcements for this event.

During the festival, when I asked an agent indirectly, they vaguely hinted at it.

It was likely to strengthen the lord and those around him, but I thought they could have said it directly.

The West must also be aware of the Demon King species in the dungeon, and they likely planned around the expected loss of military forces, but this too will end up being in vain.

The information about the dungeon hasn’t leaked, but it seems they decided that the failure of the previous two plans was enough.

So, they shifted the focus of their plans from causing chaos in Riana to the reorganization of the West.

“They will use the smaller countries to start a war with the Great Forest Alliance. In the West… especially the smaller nations, it seems that their royal families are still stuck in the past, underestimating our Alliance as if we were still in the early stages of expansion. They likely believe they can win, but… of course, our side will win. Then, we’ll demand holy coins as reparations… though the amount will be impossible for them to pay. At that point, we’ll step in and offer to shoulder the burden, asking them to surrender under our protection.”

It’s a hassle to be used like this… but there’s no point in wasting effort on the West. If it ends quickly, so be it.

Either way, the Mesaria Kingdom is just a reinforcement, and it will likely serve as a good military exercise.

After hearing this explanation, Zighart seemed to understand and nodded with a thoughtful expression.

“So, how many soldiers will be sent from Riana? There are also security concerns in the territory, and I assume we can’t take all the captains with us?”

“That’s right. I, August, Alexio, you… and then Lord Luban will also join. These are the well-known figures in Riana. As for the soldiers we take, about 50 will suffice.”

Even with the captains included, the total number won’t exceed 60. Though it may seem insufficient for a newly established territory, even without Liesel, the other four are well-known. Especially Zighart.

Even with a small force, they won’t be underestimated either inside or outside the region.

Zighart seemed to understand this and smiled while raising one hand to signal his agreement.

I’ve heard that knights who rise from adventurers tend to become flustered when it comes to war, but Alex is a mercenary, and those with such experience are quick to grasp things. It seems reliable, which is reassuring.

◇

After finishing the main explanation, they discussed basic troop formations and how to guard the territory when they leave Riana.

Basically, as usual, the first unit will continue guarding the capital and the territory. The second unit will lose Alex and Zighart, but Teresa and Fiora will remain, and there should be no issue with preparing for monsters.

The mansion will be the same.

However, with Sera and me here, nothing will happen anyway…

“Ah?”

“Is something wrong?”

“Yes. Sera is coming this way.”

I had noticed she had returned from outside a little earlier. She had been to the dungeon but came back from outside the mansion, so there might be something going on…

As I was pondering, Teresa stood up to open the door.

“I can tell even from here… but I’m impressed you can recognize it so well, even though you have protection…”

Zighart said in admiration, and everyone agreed…

“She’s the only one who would come straight towards us through the wall and enter the mansion from the second-floor window.”

As Teresa answered, she came back into the room with Sera in tow.

“Excuse me! …Whoa… everyone’s here?”

Sera, dressed in different clothes than when she left for the dungeon, cheerfully entered the room, but after a brief surprised expression, she tilted her head.

She only knew about the meeting today, so she must be surprised by how many people were gathered in this room.

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Sera ・【Hideout】 +1【Prayer】【Mira’s Blessing】【Wind Cloak】・【Floating Orb】 +1【Shadow Sword】【Scarlet Bee Needle】【Fairy’s Eyes】【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 ・【Strong Strike】・【Red Shield】【Fierce Horned Trumpet】・7 cards