VIIIth Century year 63, Fianary of Norman. Day 5; Greenwott Republic Diplomacy Office.

"Anderson, you finally arrived, I was already nervous and ready to cancel this meeting"

"Yes, there was a delay, I was at Lilia house, she wanted to congratulate me on the promotion"

"Anderson, I can't believe you came back to that woman, you know what kind she is"

"Well Kevin, we're in a Republic and not in a Kingdom or something similar, here everyone is free to be what they want"

They were both in a friendly mood, and all the tension Kevin was starting to crumble like a great barrier that was one point away from collapse.

He even was smiling among themselves, it was always a good sign.

But Kevin's concern did not leave so easily, it was in his eyes, even if in small quantities. He have fought with his boss to get that audience on his friend's behalf, if everything went wrong his position was compromised.

With this the two friends left for the reception room, it was a luxurious room, which was not common for the Republic standard, since all departments, offices, and ministries had the same amount of money, with exceptions in moments of war like now, was still an overstatement.

Anderson already showed signs of bitterness in his heart, he knew how much life has lost in this war, they were the ones who received the least amount of money and who were putting his life at risk for the country, and when they are killed his family received a ridiculous compensation, but in the meantime a chief of this department lived luxuriously life with ridiculous privileges.

But he restrained himself, after all, the direction of the Republic would probably depend of this meeting.

"Good morning, how can I help you?"

"I'm Kevin Secret Service Advisor to the Republic and this is the First Manager of the Department of Public Safety."

The girl did not restrain your surprise, and made it explicit on her face, and the atmospheric of disgust become more and more evident. She would probably have wondered why someone from the Department of Public Safety would be here.

"One moment, please"

As the girl communicated to her superior about it, Anderson looked around, that place was a pure waste of public money.

"Sigh, while my beloved Lilia makes a living selling her body and drinking with other men, some only make money for sitting around." He muttered to himself.

"I understand then you have a meeting with the chief, please follow me..."

The girl's gaze showed her displeasure at seeing someone from the Department of Public Safety. No one knew why someone so "low-ranking" of an institution would be upset, after all, the ideological and political disputes between the cabinet and the department did not reach them.

Anderson did not know, however Kevin knew of some rumours that many new people joined the diplomacy department due to their opposition to this war, and all of them believed it was all the fault of the cabinet.

This Girl especially lost here two brother in this useless war between the Republic and the Empire, and the disregard they did whit hes family was terrible.

A pre-programmed letter, four raw sacks of black rice, and 200 grams of gold, was that what my brother's's life was worth?

At that time a bag of black rice was worth 25g of gold, and was always in demand, but was a life worth of just that?

Anderson could probably imagine what was going on in her mind. But not entirely...

"This is the boss's room, he's waiting for you after these doors, have a good meeting"

Finally both arrived at their destination.

And there they were, nervous like as children who had to explain themselves to their parents. Breathed deeply and entered.

Entering into that room full of gold and imposing atmospheric. The room itself possessed the magnitude of an empire hall. There were several statues made of exuberant stone, a huge table made entirely of gold and some chairs positioned aligned to a gigantic window that gave one of the best views of the Republic.

Those things made Anderson lose his patience bit a bit, that man who sat there cared little for the Republic and its citizens, just waiting for the right moment to conspire against the Republic.

Even so, he still needed him, whether he wanted to conspire against the republic or not, the biggest problem was to continue the republic existence.

Conspiracy demands time, money and a good image, that man possessed a lot of those requirements. But Anderson would always be a pebble in his shoe, after all he would never let that happen.

And any evidence or false move, Anderson had soon taken action. But at this moment the situation of the Republic needs this man, and this still bothered Anderson a lot, after all this men,he was also a genius among millions even though he is a man who puts his interests ahead of anything else. As long as the republic remained aligned with his interests only good fortune would come to the republic. And that also corresponds to its citizens.

"Argh, I think I made a bad choice coming here Kevin"

"Now it's late Anderson"

He lightly tapped Anderson on the shoulder, reminding him to keep his posture.

...

"A high ranking officer coming to visit me without your superior approval, this is really interesting"

Those words interrupted any future thinking of Anderson and put him back to reality

"No... You-"

"My position has its own autonomy within the department, if you do not feel free with me, i can call my boss to attend the meeting"

Anderson interrupted Kevin, but Kevin had not been annoyed, and yes relieved, after all, Kevin could not afford to lose his post, but Anderson sure would not lose, at most a transfer to the front.

"There's no need for that, Anderson, right? My name is Truz, it will be a pleasure to receive your words as necessary for the advancement of the Republic. "

"Truz right? His name is very famous in the department, but i had never paid attention "

That comment did not pleased the Truz, his ego had been kicked and it did not make him happy at all, but the atmosphere remained calm, after all Truz was a master at hiding his true emotions.

"I see ... what would you like to tell me?"

"I'll get right to the point. The smaller kingdoms were never concerns for the Republic, this because of the 4 white tigers of the West and the 5 Dead Hand. As you know, we are always in dispute with these for the leadership of the West, wars and sabotages among these nations are very common. But the Kingdom of Austrelia is becoming a growing fool, its military power has expanded greatly over these 3 years, almost matching that of a Federation, which makes it dangerous but not now, its protocol has not yet been modified because hes political, social and economic structure to be obsolete and a weak industry with few raw materials can not withstand long periods of war. Among other thing. However, something strange happened, a Kingdom called Florenz managed to come out victorious against the kingdom of Austrelia, to put in numbers, a force of a little more than 3000 soldiers and two low rank general-"

"I understand and your concern is with something so trivial?"

Anger rose in Anderson's mind, but he was right from the diplomatic point of view that was nothing, but from the military point of view it was a genuine concern.

"No, you can not understand, but an army of so little men being only 30% dedicated professionals with 2 low generals, even with terrain in their favor, climate and high morale, would not win a force of more than 9,000 soldiers and 2 generals of high rank. There's something really weird about it. Since we have no alliance with the Austrelia Kingdom, we have no privileged information, only rumors..."

"So you want us to start creating a diplomatic institution with the kingdom of Austrelia? That your great concern? In case I am sorry to inform you, but we will not do this, we do not have time to deal with low protocol like Kingdom. At this time all our efforts are in calming down the 2 remaining tigres to not enter this war with the Emperor."

"I understand, but I do not want to create diplomatic institutions with the Austrelia kingdom, that would require a lot of money and effort that we do not have...but-"

"And what do you want then?"

The look of interest of Truz increased every second, and that amazed Kevin, it was a war of speak among giants. Which of the two would win this?

One wrong word and you would put a reason for the fall in one's prestige in front of the prime minister. That's why Kevin kept strongly out of this battle.

"Well ... I want you to make a diplomatic visit with the Kingdom of Florenz! After all, a diplomatic connection demands a low cost and little effort from the Republic, unlike an diplomatic institution that demands a fortune. And wanting to be more exact, I believe that even with different views I know of your Truz competence, and you dealing with it in person, it would not take less than 1 month to have established a connection."

A sharp jab from Anderson, Truz couldn't Escape the proposal due to his ego. But his heart was wanting to leave his chest by the mouth, size was the fear of possible failure. He knew that if Truz did not go forward he would have no other way, he would ask Kevin for a secret service investigation, but with the war extending it would take a long time. And his intuition did not want to fooling him, and that was his motive. Truz is the best solution here.

A laugh came from Truz's mouth, and then it expanded to a deep laugh.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!"

Anderson was confused, had he said something he should not?

"I accept, but on one condition. In the Hambelt area in the border of the Republic with the Captaincy of Fauvers, which is one of the 4 tigers there is a problem. We can not go on with diplomatic negotiations because of the Empire that prevents access to the Equar channel, with your navy, could you send a naval fleet to this place?

Anderson knew about it, but the republic's navy was weak compared to that of the Empire, it would be a clear and devastating defeat for the republic if them attack. That could reduce its sea strength by up to 40%, leaving the capital very easy to a maritime siege, seeing that the capital was bathed to the north by the sea and to the east by the river Equar, the channel equar was an important military and commercial route, between the Captaincy and the Republic. Of the Captaincy come everything from the North Region and the East side to the Republic. And that was now in the hands of the Empire, which caused an increase in commodity prices. And Truz's intention is precisely to resolve this opening, entering raw materials and contracting merchants from the Eastern Region to strengthen the economy of the Diplomatic Institutions of the Captaincy.

It was an agreement with the devil. If his intuition were right, and he really had something strong in the Kingdom of Florenz that could defeat two high general and more than 9000 soldiers, it could be a weapon against the Empire and force a status quo with the empire, giving more time to improve your sea power, and reorganise your troops to prepare for a possible new attack by the Empire after the status quo peace time ended. But if he were wrong, it would be a huge defeat for the Republic, and your position could be withdrawn ... no ... your position not the whole Republic could fall into the hands of the empire in a matter of months.

"I accept."

Kevin was suppressed and scared, he knew he could make this move with the autonomy of his post, and he also knew it was an idiocy, his intuition could be wrong and we can all die. But Anderson put his hand on Kevin's shoulder to soften his emotions, and with a look he conveyed a sense of reliability, as if everything was going to work. And finally the Republic could feel peace again in 4 years, maybe...maybe.

"But let me give you a counter-offer. I will attack that channel, but only when you return from Florenz "

It was an absurd proposal, after all, it was going to be an effort expense with the departure of the head of the office for an extra curricular mission that could cause considerable damage to the institution

But for Truz, he saw no problem. He had already passed the communication to his secretary to mark the next few day a diplomatic trip to that Kingdom.

And then the meeting was concluded with success. The two Anderson and Kevin, could not handle the joy that passed through his face. They looked like children who had just won a huge reward.

Truz now had a different face, alone in his living room. He traveled in thought

"If I want my plans for this nation to go according with me, I need to be careful with Anderson, he is a cunning person, to perceive something unusual in that Kingdom. It is not for anyone to do this, apparently I have to go there personally"