Chapter 368: A new day?

TLN: Hey guys, Reigokai here!

Merry Xmas to everyone! This calls for an obligatory…

Yes, this is one of the great things that happened to me this year. I have fallen into the Vtuber rabbit hole, and you can be sure I am enjoying it! Years of japanese have led to this moment!

Hope you guys are enjoying yourself too! Fight on guys, as we are close to the end of this messy year!

Merry Xmas to everyone! This calls for an obligatory…

Yes, this is one of the great things that happened to me this year. I have fallen into the Vtuber rabbit hole, and you can be sure I am enjoying it! Years of japanese have led to this moment!

Hope you guys are enjoying yourself too! Fight on guys, as we are close to the end of this messy year!

“Today, we will promise two things to the world. One: We will become the shields that will protect the people of the many threats that push through the wasteland in waves. Second: We will only utilize our power for that sake. In other words, us Tsige will refrain from waging war against hyumans and demi-humans. However, we will fight back thoroughly and aggressively against any invaders -as a measure to continue being the shield that protects the people from the threats of the world.”

Tsige had achieved independence and is now approved as a nation.

Four weeks have passed since the war has finished.

Today is the day when envoys have come from many nations, and it is announced that Tsige will now be a country of its own.

It was being announced at the plaza where the envoys of the countries that answered the invitation were gathered at.

It is information that has already been told in letters, but a public announcement of the rise of a nation really does carry weight.

He is saying they won’t be waging war at all.

They will fight back any invaders. In other words, they have drawn the line that they will defend themselves, but the true feelings of the many nations present here was that they couldn’t understand the reason why they would go through the trouble of making a grand announcement about something that can only be taken as disadvantageous.

In the first place, Tsige was the one who began the war for independence.

It could be taken as quite the hypocritical thing to say.

Especially the envoys of the Aion Kingdom. They are most likely burning in anger internally.

“Now then, let’s leave the greetings of the newly reborn Tsige to this much. There must be a lot of things that you couldn’t properly transmit through letters. From here on, we will be answering your questions as best as possible, and after that, we will be enjoying the banquet. You may begin your questions.”

With gestures that show overflowing confidence, the man that is recognized as the head of Tsige, Patrick Rembrandt, takes a seat.

Around 10 company representatives lined up in a row took seats too with him at the center, and they were facing the envoys of the many nations.

At the side there’s a woman who is leading this meeting.

This woman was wearing a sensational dress that doesn’t match properly with this serious setting. One of the idols that the Rembrandt Company took the forefront to invest in, and also a former Adventurer Guild receptionist, Ates.

An injury that was by no means her fault and came from the worst of timings had changed this one woman heavily.

One time she was pushed into a negotiation with the Kuzunoha Company’s representative which was something she brought upon herself; the second one was that she was faced with misfortune even though she didn’t neglect her job even once, and ended up being transferred into the idol industry.

She still lacks the ability to recite her lines smoothly, but it would be appreciated if it were to be forgiven.

“Then, I would like to ask this of the head of Tsige. This city has been serving as the lid of the wasteland until now. Why have you chosen to cause a war for independence in this time when the war with the demons is intensifying? There’s word that there was even a civil war that was a sorry attempt of a revolution. You could say it can’t be helped that a number of such incidents were to happen, but I would like to hear an explanation of this.”

The man that Ates directed her hand at threw in a question to the Tsige merchants while sitting tightly on his chair.

Rather than saying he was throwing a question, it was more like he was demanding an explanation.

It was a tone that most likely carried criticism.

“It is true that the civil war and the circumstances overlapped, but…explanation, huh… I think it is obvious enough to not warrant an explanation though. You are telling me you need it spelled out for you?” (Muzo)

One of the merchants, the Representative of the Muzo Company, responds to the envoy of Limia.

“Obviously. If it is an independence that took advantage of the revolution, then that speech of just now would be a complete lie.”

“Understood. Then, I will spell it out. It is exactly because a revolution happened in the Aion Kingdom that we finally ran out of any favor towards them.” (Muzo)

“W-What?”

“Even though they are counted as one of the 4 major powers and are counted as one of the nations that represent hyumans, their country was split due to a dispute between royals, and a civil war happened. We have run out of favor towards that so-called Aion country that can’t even properly rule their own lands. Thus, we decided on independence. That’s why it is a bit different from ‘taking advantage’. We were disappointed in this country whose ruling caused a civil war, and that became the reason for wanting independence at this time.” (Muzo)

“In that case! Shouldn’t it be your duty to show gratitude towards the king who rules the remote regions, and offer your cooperation in subjugating the revolutionary army?!”

“If it were like the Limia Kingdom where there’s overflowing loyalty from the nobles, and we had a king with overflowing charisma like yours, that might have been the case.” (Couple)

“!”

This statement that could be taken as ‘the country was way too pathetic, so we abandoned it’ made the envoy of Limia raise his voice because their ruling is similar.

The one who responded to him with a gentle smile was the representative of the Couple Company.

It was clear that she was being extremely sarcastic when she said ‘nobles overflowing with loyalty’, and the envoy of Limia ended up choking on his words.

“I don’t mind if you investigate it, but all the generations of the governors assigned to Tsige were not cooperative at all in the defense of the city against the wasteland.” (Couple)

“What…?”

“All those kinds of problematic things where blood is spilled would be thrown to the Adventurer Guild and the Merchant Guild to deal with and regulate. There wasn’t a single one who would be willing to put out money from their own pocket and spill a single drop of blood for the sake of this city. As you can see, I am already old, but as far as I can remember, the only thing they were passionate about was wringing out every single coin they could from us.” (Couple)

“I have been in Tsige for longer than this lady due to being a dwarf, and I share the same opinion as her. The governors of Tsige have never taken the initiative in utilizing their private armies for the sake of the residents.” (Bronzeman)

The one who agreed with the Couple Company was the Bronzeman Company.

He is a dwarf and a demi-human, but his words hold the same weight as the hyumans in this place.

He is here due to his position and not his race, so no one could complain.

If they were to make noise for that matter, they would simply be made to leave.

“The public order of the city was managed and maintained by the merchants themselves. Sadly to say, but the nobles of Aion were only seeing Tsige as a bag of gold. Don’t you think it is natural for our hearts to grow apart? A king that’s not worth serving under, a kingdom that’s a major power in name only and hasn’t won an ounce of respect. It was truly a time devoid of worth.” (Batoma)

The Batoma Company’s representative continued.

It is correct, but at the same time the complaints were barking at the wrong tree.

In reality, the ones who were being encumbered by the governors Aion sent were the merchants.

They were actually the ones who created a system where the governor didn’t have to do any work and money would still come into their pockets.

There’s a proper reason as to why Tsige was treated as a self-governed city even with its long history.

But even if that’s the case, it is true that the governor agreed to become a puppet that only waves their head vertically or horizontally and abandons their duties.

If asked whether Aion was putting any efforts in holding back the threats of the wasteland, the answer would be no.

“…”

“T-That’s because you bastards made the assigned nobles incompetent through bribery!!”

The one who raised his voice this time around after the Limia envoy fell silent was the envoy of the Aion Kingdom.

“…It is true that the voice and power of the merchants is strong in this city. There must have been those kinds of underhanded people. I won’t deny that.” (Rembrandt)

Rembrandt showed a meek expression for a second, and then agreed with the envoy.

“See? Even you bastards have to adm—”

“Even so, I don’t think it is a good enough reason to abandon your duties. If only one of them had lost to the temptation, you could say it can’t be helped. However, every single noble that has been assigned to Tsige has lost to their desires. Even if few, if a number of them were to have properly done their job, there might have been some loyalty to the kingdom remaining. It truly is a saddening state of crossed paths. As a result, the kingdom didn’t do anything. And so, we reached the point where we decided that we will become our own nation and be the shield for the people.” (Rembrandt)

“Rembrandt, a bastard like you is…!”

“In the first place, if this so-called country of Aion were to still have their power and dignity as a major power, would there really be deserters running to Tsige in the tens of thousands in the middle of the war?” (Rembrandt)

“!!”

“This time around, we somehow managed to win, but we will now be neighboring countries. How about we forget the unfortunate dissonances and begin from zero, Aion Kingdom-san? We also lost more than a thousand lives there after all.” (Rembrandt)

There were people who had their faces bright red aside from the envoy of Aion.

They were being taunted there quite heavily, so it couldn’t be helped.

If the Aion Kingdom were to add the merchants and mercenaries, their losses would be far above the hundreds of thousands, but there was pressure from other countries, and they were cornered to a point where they had to accept Tsige’s independence. And since they have accepted their independence, that makes Aion the losers.

The Apostle of the Goddess that was their lifeline is still missing.

They may have been called here, but they don’t have the authority in their words as one of the 4 major powers as they have until now.

Rembrandt maintained a smile on his face as he glanced at Ates.

She directed her hand at the next one in turn to ask questions while panicking slightly.

“We have received several reports that Tsige used a number of unknown ritual spells. Have you succeeded in the development of new ritual spells? If that’s the case, I would like to strongly ask you for your cooperation as a country in the battle against the demons.”

An envoy of the Gritonia Empire.

Not only Tsige and Aion, many countries who were paying attention to the battle have witnessed the ritual spells.

There were at the very least 3 ritual spells that the countries have seen for the first time.

“We didn’t develop it. There were coincidentally around 3 spells that were already developed, so we bought them after testing if they could be used in actual combat. If the 3 spells that we displayed seem to be of use, please go ahead and use them. I will later make the information public to the countries that request it.” (Rembrandt)

“…Public? In this ci—I mean, in this country that’s ruled by merchants? Don’t you mean sell?”

“Yes, publicize. You are going to be using it for freedom, right? Please go ahead and feel free to take that knowledge in.” (Rembrandt)

“You said you found something that already existed and bought it. Then, who did you buy it from?”

“No comment. As we have previously stated, we will only be answering questions in the best of our abilities. We merchants are especially sensitive when it comes to information sources and supply routes, so please take it as a vice of our trade.” (Rembrandt)

“! Then…!”

Questions were being thrown one after the other.

Ates was desperately trying to adjust the pace of the place in a state that felt like she was gasping for breath.

Why is she here?

That was the very same question she had in her head right now.

(I was simply given a half holiday because I fractured a toe! Why?! Why did my transfer into the merchant guild turn into an interview with the father of Yuno? They told me to sing, dance, and liven up the place, and by the time I noticed, I am here?!) (Ates)

The father of Yuno that would normally yell without caring about the surroundings if it were to protect his daughter wasn’t looking where Ates is at.

He is without doubt averting his gaze intentionally.

He would simply raise his hand every now and then and answer the questions of the countries.

The one here who is taking it the easie—no, the one that is the most worried about Ates must be Rembrandt.

(I have been taking it easy getting advice in marriage and yet, why is it that I am here in such an unfitting attire as I serve as the lead of an interview?!) (Ates)

Being swallowed by the wild waves of Tsige while managing to grab success at the most dangerous part; in that sense, you could say she is similar to Makoto. That’s the beauty, Ates Batoma.

Her head was already in chaos at her new everyday life.

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