Maou No Utsuwa

The Schutz Alten Empire, which was thought to push once and for all on the path to annihilation due to the importance of the independence of the Western House of Berths, does not, in fact, continue to draw with the Western House of Berths, the newly founded Kingdom of Oppenheim, while holding down the centre.

This is influenced by the military power of the Empire. The Empire still has over 40,000 Imperial Knights. The Knights of the Empire are the strongest army in the Empire. Even the Fang Uncle family has inferior military quality by one or two steps.

This military power was a threat to the Kingdom of Oppenheim, as well as to the nobles weighing the Empire and the Kingdom of Oppenheim.

After taking Kamui's advice, he quickly returned to the Imperial Capital until he abandoned the battle in Amphang. The North, on the other hand, has lost it, so I wouldn't be willing to thank Kamui.

Due to the presence of the Knights of the Empire, there has been no military clash with the Kingdom of Oppenheim so far. It means that the Kingdom of Oppenheim knew the movements of the Imperial Army and avoided them.

However, the quiet battles have increased in intensity, such as the retention of nobles in their own country and the pulling out of the aristocracy on the enemy's side. It is a battle of persuasion, frailty, and in some cases intimidation, using all means of negotiation.

If the Empire has military power, the Kingdom of Oppenheim has economic power. The dispute over the maximum use of each other's own weapons is rendering the earlier settlement invisible.

"The dispute with Oppenheim almost went into adhesion. However, with a little distraction, the situation is not alarming, such as leaning towards Oppenheim at once."

Chancellor Kalk explains the situation to Claudia.

"I've heard that many times. I want to know how this one wins."

"Take it to a military feud."

"I heard that, too. Then why aren't you starting a war?

"… we are short of supplies"

The Empire has been at war for a long time. The enormous military supplies consumed, and the military costs of procuring it, are also enormous, and the empire does not have them today.

Not least, the Empire has almost lost all sides. We don't know how long it will take for supplies to be covered by the centre alone, and taxes to make war possible.

"What about Uncle Oriental? I think you should let Uncle Oriental fight you."

Claudia, who can count on Uncle Oriental over this period, is still not a normal nerve.

"... Leaving the North?

Chancellor Calc chose words and denied Claudia's idea.

"Can't you?

"If the Oriental uncle leaves the territory, even if not, I think the rebel forces will be happy to go south if the majority of the Oriental uncle's army leaves the territory"

It is suspicious that this will actually happen, but Chancellor Kalk thinks so.

"It's just enemies, isn't it? So, shall we ask the kingdom to help us?

"... is it a kingdom?

Chancellor Kalk has no idea where there is a kingdom that can help the empire of this situation.

"Kingdom of Ruthua. I have a pact of harmony, so can you help me?

Claudia's positivity goes far beyond Chancellor Calc's imagination. Though in this case it has gone through positivity and even reached stupidity.

"... If you ask for it, the Kingdom of Ruthua will gladly send forth its troops"

"Oh, well, let's ask."

Claudia is pleased with the words of Chancellor Calc. I can't seem to recognize this as an aversion.

"I just don't know where the kingdom of Ruthua is going to attack."

"What?"

"The situation in our country now for the Kingdom of Ruthua is a great opportunity to get everything at once. As far as I'm concerned, I'm wondering why you're not attacking me."

The Empire is divided into several parts. No country is far from the national power of the Kingdom of Ruthua. The Kingdom of Ruthua, without having to do anything, had become one of the strongest in the continent. Only in Prime Minister Kalk's opinion.

"... So, what do we do?

The story went back to shaking it out. It was a complete waste of time. Naturally, this happens.

"First, you have to decide where to make enemies and where to tie them together."

"What do you mean?

I went back from shaking it out to determining the preconditions. But this is right. Until now, the Empire has been blurring this precondition.

"All four sides are enemies. In the end, we cannot overcome this crisis. We should compromise here, throw away what we throw away, and protect what we need to protect."

"So, what do you mean?

Chancellor Kalk dared to blur because it was difficult for him to put it in his mouth, but it didn't seem to make sense to Claudia.

"... I will give up somewhere on the Quartet. It means recognizing independence and alliing with it and hitting other enemies."

The Imperial Quartet, the Republic of Artenkreutz to the north, the Kingdom of Oppenheim to the west, and the South, although not officially stated, are independent. The east is also half defiant.

It's impossible to turn all this around and fight the enemy. It is Chancellor Kalk's proposal to admit some independence and increase his own forces by working with it. It's a common sense measure.

"That's what I've been saying since the beginning. So where does that tie you?

"... I wonder if the Kingdom of Oppenheim would be good"

"What? 'Cause you're fighting there now, aren't you?

The Kingdom of Oppenheim is the most fiercely contested opponent right now. That's Claudia, too, feels strange about Chancellor Calc's thoughts.

"I thought about where it would be best to work with it, in the interest of our country. The least we have in our country right now is the funds. The Kingdom of Oppenheim has this money."

Military and economic power. It seems like a good match, but Chancellor Kalk has taken important things off the table.

"Where are you going to fight if you get the money and you can move the army?

Military adviser Beck has pointed out the problem. Military adviser Beck dares not let Oscar talk to him.

"Wherever in the South, in the Republic or elsewhere. There's also the hand of stabilizing the East."

"You can beat the southern uncle. But then what? Are you going to bump into the Union of Southern Nations?

Southern border territory is largely dominated by the rebel side. Already the countries have declared their independence, and as a whole in the south they have named the Union of Nations in the same way as in the east.

"... if necessary"

Prime Minister Kalk's answer is unclear. I know the problem with my measures, and now I know I dared to raise them.

"If you do that, the Republic shouldn't be silent. We'll fight north and south at the same time."

We cannot afford to carry out Operation Two Fronts on the present empire. The opponents are the Republic and the Union of Southern Nations. Needless to say, the strength of the republican army is imaginable, given how the Union of Southern Nations also fought the East.

"... then first from the Republic"

"I can't win. You already know that."

This is why military adviser Beck is speaking on behalf of Oscar. You can't let Oscar, the chief of the Imperial Knights, tell you that you can't beat another country.

"The Republic is expanding its areas of control. It shouldn't be possible to protect everything with 10,000 and a few soldiers."

"You still think the republican army hasn't changed? If it's just the numbers, there's gotta be a lot more."

There were roughly 40,000 troops in the north. Simply think, if half of them are respectful, there will be 20,000 more soldiers.

"You don't have to be afraid of soldiers you don't like or follow"

This is what those who do not know the battlefield say. Many of the soldiers at the end do not fight for someone. Fight not to die.

"... I want you to think a little bit about us leading soldiers who don't like to fight. The soldiers know that our country cannot beat the Republic in battle. This is the same for soldiers attached to the Republic."

No one wants to die. I want to fight on the winning side. If you ask on which side you want to fight between the Empire and the Republic, most of them will choose the Republic. That's all the Republic has overwhelmed the Empire in the last battle.

"The Empire will not survive this crisis when that is over. Isn't it the role of the military to think about winning calculations?"

"Isn't this how we're discussing it because it's not easy"

"The Empire has military spending bottomed out with repeated troop contributions. The best person to make it up to is the Kingdom of Oppenheim."

Prime Minister Kalk has changed his story about whether he thought it would be a parallel line in the debate between strong and weak.

"... I think the economic power makes the republic a medium one, too?

Even if you can change your mind, it doesn't change your mind. Beck, the military adviser thinks that if we're going to work with anywhere, we should work with the Republic.

Beck, I have no aversion to a republic like the one you tried with your military adviser. Thanks to meeting with Kamui over and over again and discussing various things. Because of the discussion, he also says.

"In economic power, there can be no match for the Kingdom of Oppenheim. The West is a region where commerce originally flourishes."

That may be the case in the Republic, but it lightly outweighs the Kingdom of Oppenheim when it comes to the economic power of the Kamuis. It is the organization of the Det Chamber of Commerce and Dirk that holds up a significant part of the economy both on the front and back of the Empire. But this is something the Empire doesn't understand.

"If we fight the Republic even if we can afford military spending, we will also make a huge sacrifice. Even if we can win, won't we have room for the Empire to win the next battle against the Kingdom of Ruthua?

The Kingdom of Ruthua is bound to attack. I also know this is military adviser Beck. Without it, the Empire will eventually perish.

"The only way to beat the kingdom is to regain the power we've lost. I'm going to suggest the best for that."

Chancellor Kalk is still showing stubbornness. We exclude it altogether from our cooperation with the Republic and other considerations.

"If we can establish a harmonious relationship with the Republic, many problems will be solved. About Uncle Oriental, and our relationship with the Union of Eastern and Southern Nations."

All sides are enemies. It is possible that this situation now will be resolved once and for all. If only we could truly establish friendship with the Republic.

"Then the Empire cannot regain its power to taste."

"... better than to perish! How can you not know this!

Bellying at Chancellor Kalk's attitude, military adviser Beck utters words he should not speak. In public, when I say that the country will perish, etc., I cannot complain if I am blamed for disrespect.

"I am thinking of what is best for His Majesty."

Chancellor Kalk never blamed Beck for his military adviser's ramblings, but he doesn't even seem to intend to change his mind.

However, Chancellor Kalk's words are a little strange as an answer.

"Let's open this place up once. You better calm down."

Here, Oscar has proposed an interruption of the meeting.

"That's good. I'm gonna chill my head a little too."

Chancellor Kalk just left the conference room when he accepted Oscar's proposal. Surrounded by the rare attitude of Chancellor Kalk, he eventually left the room with one or two people.

The last ones left were Oscar and Beck military advisers. Oscar caught sight of military adviser Beck.

"What do you mean?

Beck, military adviser asks Oscar. I know Oscar has an idea.

"The Empire ruled by His Majesty cannot coordinate with the Republic."

"... you know what?"

In this short description of Oscar, military adviser Beck figured out the circumstances. Chancellor Kalk was not necessarily rejecting the alliance solely because of his prejudice against the Republic.

It is already clear that there is a Terreise in the Republic. That's not all. The republic is full of Hildegand, and of those who tasted and were called the Therays. The Republic and the Empire, Claudia, couldn't have done it well.

If you do it badly, it's a redo of the inheritance dispute. Besides, in an overwhelmingly favorable situation for the Taileys.

That's what military adviser Beck knew by the time he pulled out of Amphang. But I was focused on thinking about militarily effective measures and completely lost sight of this political circumstance.

"My country cannot bond with the Republic. Not as it is now."

Though a place for two, Oscar made a rather thoughtful statement.

As long as Claudia is the Emperor, the Empire cannot be linked to the Republic. That means things can't be resolved. Claudia's presence is hunting down the Empire.

◇ ◇ ◇

The Empire does not know, but it is the same with the Kingdom of Oppenheim that is being hunted down. At the moment it is still to the extent of being stuck, but if the current situation continues, it will eventually be.

King Oppenheim, a former Western uncle, did not expect the battle between the Empire and the Republic to end so quickly. It was King Oppenheim's plan to consolidate the territory while the Empire and the Republic were in contention and move to seize the Empire's territory by looking at gaps from it. They were after the fishermen's interests.

But with the early end of the battle, the Empire has immediately confronted the Kingdom of Oppenheim. The Imperial Army is 40,000. If it becomes a war from the front than there is little difference in numbers, the winning edge of the Kingdom of Oppenheim is thin. In the Imperial Knights and the Noble Family Army there is an opening to strength. My own army is weaker than the rest of the house because I've been away from the war for so long.

In order for King Oppenheim to crack this down, it was the alliance with the Union of Southern Nations that moved first. The Union of Southern Nations, where Deefleet seems to be the ally. Rather than an alliance, I sent a messenger with the intention of making him obey, but he did not return the answer King Oppenheim wanted.

In the context of the ongoing dispute with the southern ambassadors, the answer is that participation in another war is impossible and so on.

King Oppenheim was not convinced and repeatedly sent a messenger, but the reply from Diefleet remained unchanged.

If so, the next step was to explore alliances with the Republic. King Oppenheim knows that the Empire and the Republic are incompatible situations. Enemy enemies are allies. Considering this would work, I offered an intermediary to the Deto Chamber of Commerce, which, again, did not get a good reply.

I wasn't rejected. Wherever we want to sign the alliance, the Republic has asked us whether we can cooperate militarily now that we are on the way to peace in the North.

This doesn't make sense. What the kingdom of Oppenheim wants is its military power.

Negotiations between North and South, both not working. Now King Oppenheim is stuck.

Fortunately, the Empire will not attempt military action. I found the cause to be apparently in the depletion of military spending, but I can't feel safe with this alone.

Collection is possible only if there is a slight imposition of military expenses. You just have to squeeze it out of the people.

"I think I might have misdirected you."

King Oppenheim, who was silently concentrating on his thoughts, groaned pompously.

"Destination?

Diethardt, who is now Prince Wang, reacts to the whine.

It means we should have made the Republic our enemy.

"What position is that?

The Kingdom of Oppenheim became independent by betraying the Empire. Therefore, King Oppenheim's idea of turning the Republic, not the Empire, against the enemy is incomprehensible to King Diethardt's Prince.

If you do poorly, you will fight on both sides. Even a battle with few wins just turns into a battle with no wins at all.

"As an independent nation, of course."

"Then you will make both the Empire and the Republic enemies."

"Let the Empire recognize independence. It is an empire in which all sides have become enemies. Reach out and you'll be happy to shake it."

King Oppenheim's guess is correct. On the contrary, so much so that the Empire is more contemplative of offering his hand.

"So can we beat the Republic, if the Empire accepts to fight together?

I'm putting it in the form of a question, but I'd like to say that King Diethardt Prince can't win.

"... Hmm"

To the question of Prince Diethardt, King Oppenheim also became silent. It wasn't like King Oppenheim to be stuck in a jammed situation, and he had put it in his mouth before his thoughts could be gathered.

"I think it would be better if we set our minds straight."

"Hmm."

The words of King Diethardt, Prince, have not reached King Oppenheim. Still, Prince Diethardt continued the conversation.

"You can't beat the Republic if you don't have enough gaps or align the big army. Unfortunately, our army is not that strong."

"... I know that"

"So can the Imperial Army win? We've come to a conclusion."

The Empire could not win even if we had 60,000 together. And now that many aristocrats in the North have complied with the Republic, the force gap has widened even further and will continue to widen this time.

"Right. That's why we tried to get the center of the Empire."

However, the battle between the Empire and the Republic ended and the Imperial Army returned to the Imperial Capital. Because of this, I have a situation now. The story is getting back to the starting point.

"Both Deefreet and the Republic said now. Why don't you wait?

We don't have time for this.

"No rush allowed"

"It's not. He says he doesn't know when the kingdom of Ruthua will attack him."

"... is it the Kingdom of Ruthua"

Diethardt had turned his thoughts only within the Empire. Diethardt is also in a hurry to get stuck.

"I don't know where the Kingdom of Ruthua is going for it. But wherever they take it, there's still no country left to fathom. Continental reunification by the Kingdom of Ruthua."

"... then, shouldn't we jointly face the Kingdom of Ruthua?

"What?"

"No one wants continental unity by the Kingdom of Ruthua or anything else. If it's for the common purpose of stopping it, can we hold hands temporarily?

"... you're absolutely right. How could you not have thought of that?

"So I said. It's forbidden to rush."

"Isn't that what you said in a different way? But it certainly is. There is no need to rush. On the contrary, we should wait for the invasion of the Kingdom of Ruthua."

The first step is to remove the common threat of the Kingdom of Ruthua. It should then be for the countries that were former empires to start a feud. And the winning nation takes the hegemony of the continent.

Such a future diagram was in King Oppenheim's head. Independence does not seem to detain the Empire from King Oppenheim's head.