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Volume 4 Chapter 1 Part 3

The incident that became known as 「The Tragedy of the Grand Cathedral」had that really eerie feeling to it, as if something that was hidden on the other side of the world until now was trying to crawl out onto the surface.

He had heard rumors about an organization called Pandora, but all that he knew about it was that it was a secret society of Dark Mages that was in conflict with the Mages Association. That being said, he never thought that they would be able to cause so much damage.

But if you were to look at it from another angle, Pandora was simply backed into a corner and did not have a choice but to act when they did. It has been said that the Era of Chaos is going to be ended for good once the Grancrest is forged and the Emperor wo will possess it shall appear, so those who were seeking to perpetuate the current ear and bring back the Time of Extreme Chaos needed to do something about it before it would be too late.

(If the integration of the Crests of the Kraische and Ducet families progresses to that stage once more, it will surely appear again.)

In terms of aiming for the unification of the continent and putting an end to the Era of Chaos, Marine and Alexis could be said to still be in agreement, but during the audience with Marine just now, Sefaud sensed that she has resolved herself to see it happen through entirely different means, and if her mindset will not change, then there will be no way for the two of them to ever get married, and that in turn may lead to 「The Tragedy of the Grand Cathedral」simply repeating itself.

Marlene had changed the method to make it happen, Sefaud felt at her audience just now. There’s no way they can get married if that case remains unsolved. The tragedy may repeat itself.

Even before she became the head of the Kraische family, Marine seemed like the type of person who was always thinking extremely rationally. Alexis, on the other hand, seems to only be able to see Marine, and nothing else beside her.
「I will try, but I think it will do nothing but prolong this ongoing charade. Rather, I think it would be better to use this opportunity to launch an armed offensive and shake up the Factory
Alliance a little, which would give as a bit of an edge in the peace talks. 」

Using both hard and soft approaches interchangeably is a common practice in diplomacy after all.

「Do you really think that Lord Alexis would allow you to make Lady Marine suffer? 」

A whispering voice flowed from the magic wand.

「No, of course not. 」

That is the biggest difference between Marine and Alexis, after all.

「And there you have it. Now is a perfect chance for you to display the diplomatic skills that allowed you to win so many of the debate competitions back at the Magic University. 」

The old Mage said so and cut off the contact.

(Say what you want, but that is just too unreasonable….)

Sefaud thought while throwing his wand on the desk.

Debating and negotiating are two very different things. In the case of debate, all you have to do is refute the other party’s arguments with your own, but in negotiations, you have to find a way to achieve a mutual compromise that is going to satisfy both parties involved.

「Essentially, you are asking me to make a fool out of myself. Not to mention that I will be held accountable should anything go wrong and the whole thing fails. 」

And right now, such a future seemed the most vivid to Sefaud…

「Fuhahaha…!!! 」

So he could not help it but burst into laughter.

(This world is filled to the brim with the things that make me want to laugh.)

* * *

May 15, 2013 of the Continental Calendar

It was five days after the Fantasia Union made a proposal for peace talks that the contracted Mages of the most influential Lords belonging to the Factory Alliance were convened at the castle of the Kraische family to attend The Factory Alliance’s Lord’s Conference.

At the suggestion of Jürgen Kraische, who formed the Factory Alliance, the contracted Mages who specialized in diplomacy were to be stationed in the city of Bertha, the royal capital of Waldrind at all times for the Lords with a title of Viscount or higher. Although it is not an official name, they started being called Diplomatic Mages for convenience.
This allowed the Factory Alliance to convene whenever necessary, and decisions were always quickly made and communicated to the Lords of the Alliance. Naturally, Diplomatic Mages were given a great deal of authority because of that. It is said that some Lords even entrusted them with their full power on their behalf

Marine was sitting on the throne, with Aubest and other members of the Waldrind Magic Division on the left and right of the throne, and powerful Heavy Knights of Waldrind were also situated at the bottom of the throne’s podium.

. There were about dozens of Lords’ Diplomatic Mages present, all of them dressed in the robes of their choice, facing the throne in awe.

Aubest then declared the opening of the meeting with a voice without any hint of emotion behind it, and thus the Lord’s Conference of the Factory Alliance have begun.

「This time I have an important proposal to make. 」

Marine opened her mouth first.

「I request all lords of Ozer, Veltava, and Stark to subordinate themselves to me. I have made repeated requests for them to do so, but have not received a reply from any of them as of yet. Please consider this to be an ultimatum. 」

When Marrine spoke in a dignified voice, the Mages from the countries she named came forward. It’s a natural practice to facilitate discussions, and so the Diplomatic Mage of Viscount Murad, Stark’s largest independent Lord, asked for permission to make a statement.

「As a Mage, it might be arrogant of e to be speaking about the matters related to the monarchy, but I heard that the process of subordination requires not only formality but also spiritual connection between the subordinating Lord and the Lord to whom the subordinate is being subordinated to. My Lord, Pavel, pledged his loyalty to your predecessor, Lord Mathias Kraische from the bottom of his heart, but ever since Lord Mathias died such a violent death in Elam, the sorrow and the wounds that my Lord’s heart have received have yet to heal themselves. He has no objections with the fact that Lady Marine has become his successor and the new leader of the Factory Alliance, but at the same time he cannot swear his allegiance to you so easily. 」

「Does that mean that your Lord is unable to recognize someone like me as his new master? 」

Marine asks back with a sharp tone.

「Not yet, at the very least. If you demonstrate your qualities as a leader, Lady Marine, my Lord’s heart will also be settled and he will be more than happy and willing to become your subordinate Lord. 」

「In other words, before he pleadges himself to me, he wants to see exactly what I am capable of as the leader of the Factory Alliance? 」

First, you want me to show you what I’m capable of?「

「If you want my master to subordinate to you as fast as possible then yes, that is what he would like you to do. 」
「Then let me ask you something else instead: if your master is so ready to subordinate himself to me, then what is the reason why he is gathering troops and bringing food and supplies to the fortress on the Isthmus of Penelope? 」

「Since Stark also shares a border with Artuk, he is doing tha as a precaution if our country was ever attacked by Artuk. 」

The Diplomatic Mage of Viscount Murad answered Marine’s question without hesitation.

「If that is really the case, then you should be feeling relieved… 」

Marine smiled.

「Because the Fantasia Union is not going to be attacking Stark anytime soon, since they asked us to engage in peace talks just the other day. 」

Hearing those words, the Diplomatic Mages, who had been quiet until then, roared slightly, but their excitement soon subsided. Perhaps they are thinking about the upcoming changes in their situation.

「I thought the Fantasia Union would surely attack, but… 」

Stark’s Diplomatic Mage said.

「Were you not simply guessing that?「

Marine turned a cold gaze towards him.

「It is true that the situation is different from what my Lord was expecting, but it is a stroke of luck that we will manage to avert war. 」