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"First of all, let\'s discuss your business."

Count Saracenia, with his fine beard and stern face, is looking even sterner. Perhaps sensing the atmosphere, the man smiles and opens his mouth.

"His Majesty the Emperor of Lamaron requests that I spare your life.

"What do you mean?"

"Your Majesty, the Kingdom of Juka... or is it Agartha now? The order has been issued to invade again."

"..."

Count Saracenia glares at the man.

"Basically, we are not going to let the people of Agartha live. No, the people of the world will not allow it, even if the Imperial Kingdom does. After all, we have not taken a single action against the Great Demon King.

"Since the fall of the royal city of Juka, the Great Demon King has not been seen. His very existence is doubtful.

"Is that so? Recently, after the fall of the royal city of Juka, a member of its army reported the appearance of the Great Demon King and the destruction of his army. And he went mad. Never have I heard of an army of 3,000 men losing their lives in a single night. If they were surrounded by an army of 100,000 men, there was not even a shadow of an army of that size. We of the Lamaronic Empire have decided to deploy once again because we believe that a great demon king has appeared in this country.

What do you want me to do?

Your name has reached our Imperial Palace. Your Majesty, only a man like you would join the ranks of the Great Satan. If not, we would be happy to receive you as a nobleman of the Kingdom.

"A... nobleman... of the Kingdom of Lamaron."

"Yes. This country has suffered a long civil war. His Majesty has seen me through it with great skill in defending my lands, expanding my territory, and managing my kingdom. It is for this reason that we did not attack you during our recent deployment. If you will join us in the Imperial Army, I will guarantee you your current position and territory."

The man leans forward and opens his mouth as if muttering in a low voice.

"But if you are hostile to me, I will kill you all, just as I did the last time.

Count Saracenia\'s eyes are swimming.

"Well, I trust that will not be the case. If you will ally yourself with us, we will lend you as many men as you need. You are free to expand your territory by defeating the servants of the Great Satan. In exchange, we would like you to pay a part of the harvest as tribute to the Crown each year at harvest time. This one, as I recall, produces wheat, does it not? If so, we would like you to pay tribute twice a year, once in summer and once in autumn. The Imperial Kingdom requires 20 percent of the harvest from you, that is all.

"...okay. Let me think about it for a while.

Yes, yes. I\'m sure the Count will take good care of himself, and we will be waiting for him.

The man shook himself with a chuckle.

"Well, up to seven of you have accepted my invitation! Nihihihihihi."

The one who is bursting with joy, unable to contain his laughter, is Zizeu, commander of the Lamarong Imperial Army.

"Now most of the lords of Agartha near the border are with us.

"But, Lord Commander, we can\'t expect much of a crop from these territories..."

"What do you say! Your eyes are blind! The yield of these territories is enough to feed the people of our empire!"

"That\'s for the entire harvest. They pay only 20 percent of this amount to the Crown.

"You\'re an idiot. That\'s why you\'ll never get ahead.

His subordinate makes a blatantly disgusted face.

"So, are you saying that you will collect more than you promised?"

I will do no such thing. I am a man of my word.

"Then..."

"You\'re an idiot. All the Imperial Guard wants from them is 20% of the harvest. Make no mistake.

I don\'t understand what you mean, Commander.

"Well, you wouldn\'t understand. Good. Now stay back. I\'m going out.

Zizeu waved his hand with a fluttering motion, urging his men to leave the room. Then he giggled again.

"...Ten thousand? What would you use that many men for?"

Staring at Zizeu\'s face is General Callies, Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Army.

"Juka...or is it Agartha now? To march there."

"Agartha? What are you going to do?"

Of course, to collect the tribute.

I don\'t know what you mean. Explain it to me."

Zizeu exhales and opens his mouth with a painstaking expression on his face.

"I have turned the lords of Agartha on the Lamaronian border over to me. Soon the wheat and summer vegetables sown in the winter will be harvested. We\'re going to collect the tribute.

"What? Turned you over? You didn\'t tell me? But 10,000 troops to collect tribute...

I have just received the report and have informed the Shogun. Seven families, including the Counts of Saracenia, have turned against us. It would take an army of that size to collect tribute from them. If you would like, I can give you the breakdown: 1,000 men for each of the seven families to receive the tribute, and 3,000 men to defend the main camp.

"But there is also the problem of logistics. I\'ll discuss this with Prime Minister Madril...

No, I have already received permission from the Empress Dowager.

"What?"

General Callies turns his angry voice toward Zizeu, who responds with a puff of his chest.

Her Majesty the Dowager Empress was exceptionally pleased. She said that it would be a waste of time if you were to lead the Imperial Army from now on, Zizeu.

"Don\'t get carried away. You are good at leading a garrison, but you are not good at leading an offensive force. At least as a second-in-command..."

"No, thank you!"

"Zizeu!"

"May I go now? Harvest will begin soon. I must hurry. I have some preparations to make, so I will leave you now.

With these words, Zizeu left General Callies\' room.

Three days later, Commander Zizeu was given the position of "Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in Agartha" and left the capital in high spirits. Just before his departure, he had negotiated with the Prime Minister Madrin about logistics, but he stubbornly refused to give his head. In the end, we were only able to secure two days\' worth of supplies.

It takes three days from the capital to the border. A simple calculation showed that they would have to set out with less than enough supplies for a one-way trip. Therefore, on the day before his departure, Zizeu asked his soldiers to bring one day\'s worth of food with them.

Commander-in-Chief Zizeu, being seen off by the people of the capital, sets off in a good mood. Prime Minister Madrin and General Callies looked at him with indescribable expressions.

"I\'m sorry, General. I couldn\'t go any further."

"No, thank you. I am rather grateful for the Prime Minister\'s efforts.

General Caries replies with a slow shake of his head.

"Her Majesty the Dowager Empress asked me to bring out the supplies stored in the palace, but that is the last fortress. It is the last food supply we can give out when the people finally starve.

"I know that, too. But I never thought Zizeh would order his soldiers to bring food. It\'s as if he\'s going on a safari.

"Hopefully..."

"Yes, it is. I can only hope that my fears are unfounded.

"What are the General\'s unfounded fears?"

No, it\'s a trivial matter. I\'m not getting so worried as I get older.

General Caries smiles. But to Prime Minister Madrin, that smile looked like a smile of resignation.