Chapter 128: Chapter 126 – The Meeting Begins

Translator: Kell | Editor: Weasalopes

The Meeting Begins

Alexei Jarazack. Official name: Alexei von Jalzard Jarazack, the ruler of Jarazack.

The nation had a culture of clear role division between men and women, and nothing was more valuable to a man than strength. That is why they were called the Stalwart Jarazack.

To them the job class bestowed by the gods was part of their strength. Alexei had Great Sword Truth Seeker God: Blade Seeker, a five-character class, the strongest in the whole of Jarazack. Alexei honed his sword skills even further, i.e., he hated his job of supervising his nation.

The Foundation events schedule went as follows: ceremony→party→ceremony→party→meeting. Everything went perfectly as planned. To Alexei those few days were awfully tedious.

But this year was different.

A man that Ivan brought from the academy—Claude Zahad Kirihal—challenged him to a duel and won. As a reward, Alexei promised him something. Thanks to this, a party which he would normally find boring, seemed fascinating to him.

I can’t wait to see the face of Ludancia’s sly fox.

It looks like Rumania’s crafty raccoon doesn’t know about it yet.

Kotobi’s nerdy weasel... is the same as always. He doesn’t seem interested in anything but research. Did they really get his vote?

「Boss. It’s showing on your face. Please try to control your emotions.」his associate warned.

「I know.」

It would appear he wore a fearless expression. Alexei didn’t fare well in tactics or expressing himself without words or gestures. If the others found out about the plan before the meeting, he would not be able to look at himself in the mirror. He had to stay focused.

The ceremony and the afterparty ended without problems. As usual.

The monster problem in Un el Portan didn’t reach Forestzard. It could have just been a local issue. Unless the people suffered clear damage, it was no skin off their noses.

And so the last day’s program—the meeting between the seven nations—was just about to start.

「Her Majesty the Queen has arrived.」

When the announcement came, the people in the room rose and placed their right hand on their chest. Queen Marquedo gracefully entered and took her seat. Then the heads of the seven nations sat as well.

Marquedo the Queen. People often talked about her behind her back, calling her Kirihal’s puppet, but in Alexei’s eyes, she had nerves of steel. The woman sitting next to her, Zofira van Houtens, was a person of high caliber as well. Despite hailing from the same nation of Jarazack, she never leaked confidential information to him. He didn’t resent her for that. In fact, he applauded her fealty.

Rumania’s head, Billion “Green Ogre” Rumanina, who Alexei called the crafty raccoon in his mind. As always, he seemed to be plotting something. His firstborn son, League, at next to him. It looks like he’s up to something too.

Ludancia’s leader was a woman who appeared to be in her forties or fifties. In reality, she could be over sixty. But she wore heavy makeup and dressed to look younger, making it hard to determine her age. Apparently she was jealous of how young the Queen was.

Kotobi’s chief was a small, self-important, old man who had a volatile temperament. Devoted to research, he would often abandon government affairs and shut himself up in his laboratory. In Alexei’s eyes, he was nothing but a nerdy weasel, but he was apparently respected as the Alchemy King, something Alexei couldn’t comprehend.

Euroba’s leader was a gloomy middle-aged man. The Euroban people had distinct, bluish skin, but his was even bluer. He had a habit of muttering to himself which his aide would rebuke. But he wasn’t a fool. The one Alexei was most wary about was him. The man only considered what was beneficial and harmful to Euroba. And he adhered to that way of thinking. As he was always calm and logical in making decisions, information warfare wouldn’t be effective against him. Although Alexei couldn’t really engage in something as sophisticated as information warfare.

Zubura’s chief was a good-natured old man. It had already been decided that his eldest son, Silvester, would take his place. As a matter of fact, people have been informed beforehand that Silvester would represent Zubura in the meeting.

Oh... that’s quite a look he’s got. He’s grown.

It had been months since Alexei saw Silvester, but until now he was just an unmemorable boy to him. It felt like he was too innocent of the ways of the world. But right now, he looked like a real man. Alexei knew Silvester would bring up the proposal in the meeting. Perhaps his determination turned him into a man, or perhaps it was something else entirely.

Let’s see what you’ve got.

Alexei grinned. And so the meeting begins.

Ivan and Claude were in one room of a mansion in Forestzard. The meeting between the seven nations should be starting now. Since they had already formed an alliance, they shouldn’t have to call each member a “nation”. But alas, people’s minds were hard to change. They were all accustomed to it as well.

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「Hey.」Ivan finally spoke. Claude had been pacing back and forth in the room for seventy-five times.「Calm down.」

「How can I calm down? My future with Luka is at stake here!」

「But there’s no need to wear down the carpet. Besides, if they failed, you’ll leave Forestia anyway, right?」

「Yeah.」

Claude had already considered the possibility of the proposal getting rejected. If the plan failed, Claude, Ivan, Luka, and Catherine would be regarded as enemies by powerful people. The others would be safe—Silvester was Zubura’s delegate, League would oppose the proposal until the very end anyway, and Katy had pretty much already secured her position. Although Alexei would most likely protect Ivan.

Claude and Luka, especially, would be in deep trouble. If people found out they took part in the student alliance, their relationship would eventually be exposed. Even if they somehow managed to keep their relationship a secret, it wouldn’t matter. Preparations would be made so they never met again. And in the near future, Luka would be wed to someone else. In that case, they would have to go back to their original plan: flee the country.

「I’ll help you out.」Ivan said.「You can even take shelter in Jarazack.」

「Don’t be ridiculous. Kirihal and Ludancia might launch an all-out attack against your nation. I don’t want to bother anyone.」

「So no other choice but to flee to a foreign country. Ponsonia and Quinbland are close by.」

「I don’t really like either. There’s the maritime nation of Vireocean located further ahead of those two countries. Or the diverse nation of Einbeast. Those are the two options I’m considering.」

「Einbeast is ruled by a Beastman. Are you sure about that?」

「I may look human, but I’m a Spirit Elf. I can embrace different values.」

「What about the suzerain state of Bios?」

「They have deep ties with Forestia. If Forestia requested a manhunt, they wouldn’t be able to refuse.」

「Hmm.」Ivan folded his arms, thinking.

Claude flopped down in a chair, covering his face with both hands.「Now I can only think about the plan failing! I wish I was at the meeting!」

「We can’t do anything about that. I’m not high-ranked enough, and you’re the Queen’s enemy.」

「I’m not. The Zahad family maybe, but not me. She seems to be concerned about me. Which is why she introduced me to Hikaru.」

「By the way, what kind of person is Hikaru anyway? How did he come to know the Queen? He’s not an ordinary boy, that’s for sure. He’s strong enough to beat Professor Mikhail and he even made you stronger.」

「I didn’t want to consider it, but...」Claude raised his head.「Maybe Hikaru is an elite warrior from Ponsonia who came here to destroy Forestia.」

「You’re kidding, right?」

「What would he learn in the academy anyway? We don’t even know why he’s studying the short sword. All he did was gather us and throw the country into confusion.」

「That’s a rather keen analysis.」

「It’s what Luka said.」

「Ah, I knew it.」

「Come on, man. Give me some credit. Anyway, Luka said it’s just a possibility. She also said not to tell Hikaru about this theory. We can’t make an enemy of him, or betray him. If he left, we’ll be the ones in trouble.」

「Ah...」

「It doesn’t matter who he is. If things work out fine, Luka and I will be safe for sure.」

「Of course. I just wish Hikaru was here.」n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

「Same. We can relax a bit if he was around.」

Claude and Ivan sighed.