Everyone — Neia included — could only stare dumbfounded at the utterly ridiculous words which had just left the Sorcerer King’s mouth.
“...Ah, my apologies. I was being unclear. Mm, how shall I say this? I believe that during our previous meeting, the topic of Jaldabaoth possessing powerful maids came up. Those are what I want. What degree of magical knowledge do you have?”
“None at all.”
After Remedios said so, the Sorcerer King looked around, as though seeking help.
“Is, is that so… well, in that case, I wonder where I should start explaining from… ah, well, that too… Ah — you can imagine that Jaldabaoth has bound the maids to him by some mechanism. Therefore, my plan is to defeat Jaldabaoth, take that formula for my own, and then place the maids under my control. In this way, my country will gain powerful minions.”
“But, but we have not sighted those maids of Jaldabaoth’s…”
Gustavo’s answer made the Sorcerer King chuckle.
“They were sighted in the Kingdom, after all. I find it hard to imagine they were not there. Or perhaps they will not appear until Jaldabaoth is forced into dire straits?”
“Let me repeat myself… we are not sure if the maids actually exist. What will Your Majesty do in the event that the maids do not exist?”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. I am not asking you to produce something that could substitute for it, in any case. At the very most, I will just write it off as a wasted effort. However, there is the possibility that they might have appeared outside of a maid’s guise, so my request will probably include Jaldabaoth’s subordinates as well. Ahh, that’s right. He might have used some kind of special item to dominate them, so I intend to add a condition that any of Jaldabaoth’s magic items which cannot be determined to be the property of the Holy Kingdom will be mine. It may turn out that the maids which ravaged your Holy Kingdom might end up becoming part of my Sorcerous Kingdom, and in that event I hope I can count on your forgetting your grudges against them since they will then fall under my rule.”
“You mean you want us to forgive people who might devastate our country?”
After Remedios retorted unhappily, the Sorcerer King shrugged.
“That is because I stand to gain nothing else from the Holy Kingdom. Or do you mean to say you have something else to offer me?”
Remedios bit her lip, unable to answer.
“Your Majesty, the Captain means to say that as outsiders, it will be very difficult for us to convince the victims to forget their grudges.”
“Then you will simply have to work hard to convince them,” the Sorcerer King said in a cold voice. “...No, then, just say that the maids were dominated by the Sorcerer King’s magic and taken away. That ought to quell their hatred somewhat, no?”
What would they do? Neia thought as she heard the Sorcerer King speak. If they still refused to accept the Sorcerer King’s terms after he had made this many concessions to them, it was very likely that they would end up with nothing to show for it. It was plain that these were extraordinarily favorable terms for the Holy Kingdom. If they did not seize this chance, then the only word to describe them would be “foolish.”
“That would be quite vexing. Allowing those who ravage—”
“—Your Majesty!” Gustavo shouted over Remedios’s words. “Please allow us to discuss this for a moment! Please give us some time!”
Do you stillneed to discuss matters after he’s compromised this much? Even Neia felt that it would not be strange for the Sorcerer King to rebuke them. But—
“Very well. However, taking too long will cause me problems, and moving around is troublesome. You don’t mind if I wait here, do you?”
Neia could not help but be surprised by the Sorcerer King’s largesse.
“Thank you very much. Then, we shall quickly discuss things. I pray you will be patient, despite the disservice we do you.”
“That’s fine. Go talk it out.”
The two of them rose to leave, and then they returned with surprising swiftness. No, they had already reached the conclusion from the beginning.
“Forgive the delay, Your Majesty.”
“Oh no, go ahead and discuss more, it’s fine. Well then, how goes it?”
“Yes, our conclusion is that we will abide by all of Your Majesty’s terms.”
“I am not asking you to obey me. I am simply making a trade. Well, that doesn’t matter. Now then, while we should put it in writing, I lack the necessary equipment and stamps. Let us discuss this later… You don’t mind if I use the Kingdom’s writing, no?”
“There are people here who can read it, so it is fine. Then, may I trouble you to introduce us to the person who is on par with Momon?”
“Ahh, he is standing before you right now — in other words, myself.”
Silence filled the room once more, and Neia and the others were unable to speak as they stared.
After blinking several times, their brains finally regained the ability to function.
“Your Majesty is as strong as Momon?”
Remedios’s words made Neia freeze in place, but there was a man who had made a move because of these words.
“Please, please wait a moment, Captain. There’s something else we need to ask His Majesty before this.”
Gustavo turned to the Sorcerer King. “Ah, will it really be all right if Your Majesty leaves your nation and goes to the Holy Kingdom? I do not know how much time that will take.”
“That will not be a problem. Unlike Momon, I can use teleportation magic, So long as I can find your base, I can move between it and the Sorcerous Kingdom at any time.”
“B-But, even so, surely having the ruler of a nation come in person is just too—!”
“After listening to me, did you not think that I would be coming in person? I did say I intended to defeat Jaldabaoth and bring the maids under my control, you know? It would be too much of a stretch to do all that from the Sorcerous Kingdom. In addition, with regards to Captain Custodio’s question, I am stronger than Momon.”
“Then, there should be no problems with that, Gustavo.”
“Of course there’s problems with that! Your Majesty! This jest of yours is really quite vexing for us!”
The Vice-Captain clutched his gut as he shouted that.
“This is no jest. Nobody other than me can defeat Jaldabaoth. In addition, I will be going by myself. I will not bring an army with me. Therefore, I came alone in order to discuss the matter in private with you.”
“But if Your Majesty sustains an irrecoverable injury from Jaldabaoth, that would be very bad for the relationship between our country and the Sorcerous Kingdom!”
“It, it is as Gustavo says. Your Majesty, are there truly no problems in that respect?”
“None at all.”
“But—”
“—Gustavo! I’m still talking. Don’t interrupt me!” After holding out her hand to stop Gustavo, Remedios bowed deeply.
“Then, we will be in Your Majesty’s care.”
The air in the room calmed, as if a storm had just passed — and indeed, it had — but Gustavo’s shout echoed off the walls.
“What are you thinking!? Recruiting a king! The king of a country! To fight Jaldabaoth and whatnot!”
Neia agreed with him.
He might not operate by common sensibilities, but this was simply senseless.
Amidst all this, Remedios spoke quietly.
“Say, don’t you think that it doesn’t matter what happens to the undead?”
The room fell silent once more.
“...You have a demon, and you have an undead being. We won’t be harmed regardless of who gets wiped out. Don’t you think?”