Vol 4 Chapter 1 (1/2)
Chapter 1 - Encounter/lıʌǝ ǝɥ⊥
Part 1
Kingdom of Elchea
It was located on the western part of the continent of Andalusia, and the last
country of Imanity, ere the sixteenth-ranked of the Exceed
After their battle with the Eastern Union less than half a
and queen] ie Sora and shi+ro won their matches and restored their territory
to double its previous size
……Follohich, the problems of the country also doubled
There were two major issues
The first was the idea of for a federation with the Eastern Unions that [the
king and queen] ie Sora and shi+ro had proposed
Establishi+ng a country across the racial barriers was simply unheard of, and
thus a huge problem
Even though they had regained a portion of their territory, Elchea still lacked
the technology to properly utilize these lands
The other problem was that, while the Eastern Union had lost its mainland
territories, its nationalstrength stillremained one of the top in the world
…… their nationalstrength, currency, not to mention socialstructures,
ethnicity and language were totally different, yet they were expected to have
equal access to resources
Since it is such an obviously dif icult situation, I believe there isn’t any
need to further elaborate
This was the first time in history that Imanity was faced with such an
impossible task
And the second problem was……
“Really……”
Looking at the cards in her hand, the red haired girl breathed a long sigh
Stephanie Dora
Usually abbreviated as Steph
She was a irl whose disposition
was totally contrasting hat a previous king’s granddaughter should be
Even though she was harshly lacking in sleep and severely fatigued, her
usually beautifulface …… was now filled with a scowl and she was e a
dangerous aura
The reason was the [second problem]
And that was……
“At such an important time, when the heck do those two bastards intend to
come back ～～!?”
––– King City of Elchea, main conference room
Her rant resounded through the entire conference room and it shocked
everyone present
“……Dora-kou
[2]
, I understand how you feel… but it isn’t very good for a
lady to say the word ‘bastard’, right?”
The one who spoke to advise Steph was standing by her side He was a
ure, who looked older than any normal elderly man
His face was mostly similar to Steph’s, as it was filled with a bitter expression
His dog ears and tail were slightly drooping Although he was draped in a
kimono, his robust physique was still unmistakable He was one of the
Werebeasts, Hatsuse Ino
He was the grandfather of the former Eastern Union ambassador (Hatsuse
Izuna) The currently absent king and queen (Sora and shi+ro) had forced him
to handle the proble Steph
“Dora-kou……? Eh? Were you talking to me?”
Steph lagged in responding Ino nodded his head
“Yes As this is a forment and use
this suffix Is there a problem?”
“And I ondering who you were referring to…… please address me as
[the errand girl of the king and queen] instead”
Seeing Steph’s sed his shoulders
“I’m afraid that if I were to address you so impolitely, others would also
address h, Dora-kou,
shouldn’t you be putting your focus onto the things at hand?”
Following Ino’s line ofsight, Steph began to remember the present
situation…… she then began to speak inwardly to herself
“Sigh…… Wellsaid……”
Just tell yourself that you’re just going through an iht
now
The ga particularly special, as it was just normal poker
Other than the fact that Jokers were included in this game, it was just a
regular game of poker
–– Elchea had established a federation with the Eastern Union, with the
former as the leader
With Elchea’s territory doubled, there was still the matter of who it should be
distributed to and what it should be used to do…
The powerfulfeudal lords were the ones ere reaping tremendous
benefits
From the current situation, the so-called [equal and multi-racial country] was
just an illusion
No ap between the two
nation’s strength could not be offset
The day a free market economy is implemented, Elchea would probably be
totally and utterly trashed
Thus, they were trying to allocate the [continentalresources] that the Eastern
Union had requested for
Although it is relevant to say that such is simply Elchea’s fate
–––– It is inevitable that whoever has the power to do so will cluether
to try tothese times
For these reasons, there was a constant stream of Elchea’s feudal lords
challenging Steph, who currently held legislative power, to a game with the
intention of fulfilling their demands
The result was… Steph could not sleep properly for the past teeks, and
was forced to continue playing gaainst them
(Getting challenged to a ga… yeah)
Steph muttered in her heart, because… it was a trap
Everything issmoothly as planned…
That’s right…… all is good except for the 『voluainst
“『All in』––– please hurry up and strip off your clothes?”
…… what happened to her lady manners?
Because she was ied under her
eyes, and rage had distorted her expression––– it was simply…
Her face gave re』 The feudal lords
looked to each other
Then they selected 『fold』 ––– which means that they were now forced to
obey Steph’s proposal
However ––– Steph used her loud voice to render them speechless She
kicked aside her chair and stood up
“…… Since you illing to accept , why
did you make me waste all my time!?”
She threw the cards on the table and spread them Her hand was……
––– Five of a kind
[3]
Even if they had not folded, it would have the same result Everyone was
eli at that hand of cards, the feudal lords turned
pale
But Steph chose to ignore them, and turned to walk away “If you don’t win
everything, you lose everything (all or nothing)! Please only return once all
your hopes are shattered, okay!?”
Follohich, Hatsuse Ino took over from Steph, and smiled pleasantly at
them
“Then, as ‘pledged to the Oaths’ earlier, I will now eliminate your memories
Sorry about that”
Part 2
–– To put it bluntly, it was a ‘conflict of interests’
Managing the recovered territories properly would profitably contribute to the
countries in the alliance
Even if we’re unwilling to hand them over, we still have to let our
territories be ed by somebody Naturally, benefits would be
reaped if there is a successful outcome
–––– Or rather, we cannot do it any other way, so this is for the best after all
The probleainst the
original proposition of whose land is whose
Thinking further, those were the territories that the for –– Steph’s
deceased grandfather –– had lost in his gambles
Since he had bet with them on his own volition, there would certainly have
been some of the opposition that was left dissatisfied
But…… if that was the case, why hadn’t they used a game to stop the
for back then?
“How irresponsible of them! Whenever they lose out, they’ll cry that it’s the
king’s fault! But once Sora and shi+ro take the territories back, they’d rush to
seize a slice for themselves…… Do these nobles not have an ounce ofshame
in them!?”
“Aristocracy is such a syste
like that for so long?”
Steph unhappily walked through a corridor in Elchea City Behind her was
Ino, as s while he spoke
The problem isn’t that they are aristocrats
No matter how corrupt they are, they are stillrulers with excellent knowledge
on how to operate and e territory
As long as they have the heart and capabilities to do so, entrusting the
territories to thee was unavoidable ––– that hat Steph was
thinking
The problem was……
“Just think of the nobles ere protesting earlier… each one of them
practically had the words 『I’ain profit Don’t throw any
trouble my way』 AHHHHH……!!”
–––– And those who deliberately act that way are allfeudal lords who hold
power that is impossible to overlook
If it is not le may result…… And once a revolt
has been instigated, it would give them an excuse to interfere in national
affairs
At that time…
“Wouldn’t that be easy…… easy to deal with, that is”
The one who had co behind Steph with a
sinister smile on his face ––– Hatsuse Ino
When Sora and shi+ro were absent, the one left in charge of national affairs
was the forhter (Steph)…… Such a rumor was spread
on purpose
Subsequently, this situation brought about a great opportunity The
challengers earlier, ere pursuing their own interests, had lost and were
punished in accordance to the oaths They had promised to [lose all their
ame], and to put it flatly, it was a [clean sweep]
As a result, the policies and beneficial punishment implemented by Steph
were able to proceed smoothly with no resistance
It was very effective, and had Ino’s style embedded in the plan ––– which
was a style developed by the multi-tribal Eastern Union to make others fall
into their trap
However, once they thought about the reason the plan was proceeding
smoothly and how frequently it worked……
“Just how much do they look down on me!? They practically treat me like I
am an idiot!”
–––– It was easy to see that those people looked down on her and her
grandfather
“Alright, alright now Dora-kou…… thanks to this, everything could proceed
s these ignorant
peoples’ contempt ––– and smile while we make use of them, no?”
“––– Ino-san, can you please not address me like that… Just Steph is fine”
––– Steph was the head of the Dora family, which was the former royal
family Naturally, that means her title is [duchess]
Nevertheless, Steph continued speaking with a weary face
“I’irl Call me that which doesn’t sound like the position of
any person with honor……”
“But, when Sora-dono and shi+ro-dono are absent, Stephanie-dono is
essentially the representative of the royalfamily –––– so if ere to say
you are the priive you the status of the noblest
person in Elchea?”
Ino continued speaking with his actor-like tone
“–––– duchess Dora is the pri
country, and the forescale
and unprecedented plan to construct a ed
with the Eastern Union under Elchea’s leadershi+p Truly a beautiful, young
and talented woman……! Hoould such a person be addressed?”
–––– Who would that be?
Steph looked up blankly to the ceiling
“The feonist of this heroic story is actually just an errand girl The
rich ironic twist to this story isn’t half bad, eh”
Steph followed up by saying, “Do you intend to write the story and publish
it?” Upon hearing this, Ino se the topic
“But, within these teeks, Steph did not even lose a single time That is
truly a great feat to accomplish”
“That’s only because the opponents eaklings”
While Ino had given a sincere compliment, he was immediately shot down in a
sentence Steph wrinkled her brow
“Those guys are just so If the
opponent was Sora or shi+ro, I’ll definitely be ridiculed to their best abilities,
and then taken advantage of…… Surely I needn’t say more”
“Well, that is indeed true……”
Nonetheless, Ino thought to himself
Initially, Steph relied on Ino’s assistance as a Werebeast to accelerate her five
senses
But Steph continued her winning streak ––– and now, Ino was only escorting
her around
Although this girl greatly underestith…… the fact is that
she is indeed –– very strong
In comparison with 『those two (Sora and shi+ro)』, they are si
to speak of
As for normalImanity, very feould be able to beat her skill
Steph had no idea what Ino was thinking about, and continued co
“And they totally didn’t realize I was cheating Was it those feudal lords true
motive siue!?”
“…… Stephanie-dono, you’re starting to sound more and more like Sora
and the like”
––– Wham!
Steph sto
“––– What did you just say?”
Her body was motionless while she turned her head, and emitted a sound like
her bones were vibrating
“Did you just say…… I’ around in
the Eastern Union!?”
“Pl-Please calameplay is very
similar!”
––– The ways Steph had adopted to win…
They were to calculate the opening attack, hide her cards, swap her cards,
and shuffling skills…
Then to see through the opponent’s cheat and use it against him, and even to
bluff and ame
[4]
the opponent
Those tactics were all learnt fro Sora and shi+ro, after
having failed tiain
The fact was that Steph was initially so afraid that ifshe were to lose, she
would make the implementation of a federation even harder Thus, she was so
nervous that she was able to realize what Sora and shi+ro would do in such a
situation while in her games
However, her lack ofsleep coupled with the fact that those two had yet to
co all her nerves
Eventually, Steph began to unconsciously play as ifshe was playing against
Sora and shi+ro in her games
However, the opponent was too weak and practically just trash Steph could
not tolerate herself thinking of those people as Sora and shi+ro for even a
second
––– She and her grandfather…
–––––– were being looked down upon by such trash
––––––––– That fact made it ––– even harder to tolerate –––––– “Ah”
Suddenly, Steph looked as ifshe had suddenly been enlightened Her
expression changed completely
“Aahh, that’s right The nobles are just trying to get in the way of the
establishment of a federation That’s why it’s been so difficult”
“St-Stephanie-dono?”
Seeing her change into a different person, Ino uneasily called out to her
But, she did not see at
so that was not there
Steph’s eyes suddenly lit up with brilliance and excitement She happily turned
on the spot
“––– Ino-san, regardless of whether we’re approached by nobles, merchants
or guilds, let’s ay all their possessions, and force them to step down
fro can just be ed
by the governrab
some of the citizens and appoint them as officials If anyone dares to do
anything corrupt, we’ll just force the
but bones If they continue to be rotten, we’ll just arrest theet all of
theotiations for
laws and policies can just be decided by ourselves All our problems would
be solved, right? I’enius! I, I’m not an idiot…… Not an idiot～～
～～～～!!”
––– And then she collapsed
“St-Stephanie-dono, please get ahold of yourself! Such is an act of
abolishment ––– an act of terrorism!!”
Steph was shouting while crying and s She then hit a ith her
forehead
All of a sudden, she felt so
sight…… in front of her was –––
––– Sora was there
“Aaaaahhhh……!”
Where had you run of to slack around at?
He threw all the preparatory work to me, and went off to have fun by himself
Although there weremost
was sobecause of the fact that Sora was right
there
She had no way of hiding the joy in her chest, and s
started swelling up……
“So-Sora! You’re back–––– HIGII––!?”
Steph was rushi+ng forward, but her face hit a pole and her nose started
bleeding while shesounds
Her body laid on the floor like a stick figure
[5]
, and she stared at the ceiling
above her…… then, she suddenly realized…
The ‘Sora’ that she saas……
Was a reflection ofso in the shi+ny polished marble column ––––– [her
own face]
Upon realizing this, Steph le sentence while in pain…
“……………………… I can’t go on any longer”
“Stephanie-dono, you should get some sleep No, I should say, please, you
of you”
Ino propped up Steph as lying paralyzed on the floor while he
continued speaking
“…… Do not worry Sora-dono and shi+ro-dono are… indeed two people
who are difficult to understand”
He put in his best effort to think optis ere
impossible for anyone to comprehend
“But since they are stranded in the Eastern Union, they are probably
arbitrating upon certain conditions with Miko-sama…… probably?”
While the federation was established with Elchea as its leader, it was still not
enough to rely only on Elchea’s efforts
“I also think that that’s where they are…… they definitely should be
progressing through a [summit]”
––– Maybe it was like that
The actions of Sora and shi+ro were always never on track
However, their actions –––– had always played a huge role in Elchea
That was the truth
And so they should put their faith in them –––– but ––––
“…… Who knows? Judging from the way that those two usually speak and
act, they’re sure to confuse public and private matters, ah……”
Indeed, the fact was that their actions were always in line with their own
desires
Looking in the direction of the Eastern Union, Steph corily
“…… In any case, they’re definitely fooling around with the Kemonomimi
girls right now, holing up in a roo
soible”
…… Ino had no way of denying that statement
Part 3
–––– Now changing location The Eastern Union’s capital, Kannagari Similar
to Elchea’s King City, the representative of the Werebeasts lives in Miko’s
Shrine
[6]
The courtyard of the central edifice It was filled with a lavish
natural landscape, and where there were gaps, it was painted with either red
or black One cannot help but think that it is a japanese garden
This area was normally prohibited to unrelated people and the like However,
at that athered next to the sacred pond
“…… Miko-sama, what is love?”
“……Tell us, Miko-sa these questions
seriously had a head of black hair and black eyes He was a teenager who
wore a shi+rt with 『I ♥ Iirl hite
hair and red eyes
They were the king and queen of Elchea –––– the sole representatives of
Imanity, Sora and shi+ro
The truth behind the croas that those tere petting severalspecies
of Werebeasts ––– Ke delicate and
char queue of Keirls
looking on with faces that were bursting with envy
“…… What should I say? Even though there’s so much to say……”
Speaking with a voice that sounded like wind chimes was a woman as
sitting on the opposite side of the game board
No one knew her real naolden fox with two lush tails
She was the Werebeasts’ representative who had total authority over the race
–––– [Miko]
“…… I’ve beento ask the two of you…… What on earth is in your
heads?”
The three people were in the ame called [Corner Sparrow] It
was a unique traditional game of the Eastern Union
––– Although it was so], it was
essentially a coame
“What? Ah, okay, I win again”
“…… This ga……”
––– They were petting the countless Werebeast girls while asking the flippant
question of ‘what love was’
––– Yet, they had easily ame, which they had just seen for the
first tio
In that very short period of tiies that maximize
in efficiency and countless arrangements –––– and even worked out a few
ways to cheat
But that was not the biggest probles, and
shed
“How the heck did your cheat escape my notice? Tell me?”
––– Even though she was depending on her five senses, Miko could not
perceive the slightest of flaws in their movements
Sora s her
“Oh? You’re going as far as to say that we cheated? How disgraceful But,
shi+ro didtheir
positions, and I only pretended to shuffle so that I could control the cards that
shi+ro ht need –––– This isn’t to be called a cheat”
Indeed, one of the two reasons hat they did could not be deemed as a
cheat–––
––– was that those two had not seen their opponent’s cards at all, and were
only speculating as in each other’s hand
“Also, Miko did the same We’re both in the same boat, eh?”
The second reason was that she still lost to them when under the same
conditions…
They had only chatted with her for a while, yet they had already beaten her in
a ga for over fifty years
–––– Her opponents had faced her directly with the strength to win, and had
exceeded her in ter she could do about
that
She had been so thoroughly defeated, yet she felt overjoyed
Miko’s cheeks perked up as she forced a san to state his
demands
“Alright, ‘as pledged to the oaths’, I s from you
–––– no probleht?”
Facing the helplessly s Miko, Sora continued his speech
“Firstly, I ask you to take into account the interests of both nations, and to
objectively create a tax table in accordance with the import and export of
different goods”
Compared to Elchea, the Eastern Union knew their mainland resources like
the back of their hands That should have been obvious enough
Then, the only person who could accurately evaluate the gap between the two
countries’ nationalstrength, and also to strive to meet the interests of both
sides, was [Miko], the sole representative of the Eastern Union There was
not a more appropriate candidate around
Since it is to implicitly ‘take into account the interests of both countries’, the
benefits cannot go unilaterally to the Eastern Union
Miko admired in her heart the fact that there were never any holes in their
plans, but…
“…… In other words, you guys are throwing all the work onto me once
again……”
In the past half a month, Sora and shi+ro were really hard at [work]
They visited Miko’s residence every day, and bet for the interests of both
countries in games
…… Indeed, they were remarkably efficient in their work They had been
victorious over Miko in every single game If you were to overlook how they
threw all of their substantive workload onto Miko, it was an impeccable feat
“Specialized work should be assigned to those who specialize in it Since
Miko-sae country, I believe in
your abilities ♪ ”
Upon hearing how easily Sora replied her, Miko laughed while scratching her
hair
The federalsystem used by the two combined nations…
It seeinal world’s United States of
America This move was unprecedented, and thus involved numerous
obstacles which needed solutions and compromises to be made The friction
between the two countries also needed to be reduced to a minimum So, they
decided to throw all of these things to Miko to get resolved
In truth, that was the h Sora and shi+ro were
super gamers, they were no politicians
However, Miko’s forced smile was for a different reason
As of that day, she had atteainst Sora and shi+ro several times
––– and failed
This tiame they had never
seen before, but she stillsuffered a beautiful defeat
In addition, she had used a lot of tricks, hoping to win some benefits for the
Eastern Union…… but the result was that she completely failed to trick or
win against them
However, to formulate the policy in this way, as Sora and shi+ro said, it would
thoroughly meet the ‘interests of both countries’ However, be it Elchea or the
Eastern Union, there would be so-term benefits
will definitely be reaped on both sides –––– looking at the records of these
docuh
She had no complaints
However, since she was always trying to deceive those tith cheats, she
began to feel a little guilty
The problem lay with their second request which was incidentally…
“Okay, the second request is as usual –––– let us stroke Miko-sama!”
“…… stroke……”
––– Indeed, they would senselessly bet for the rights to stroke Miko every
tiame
“Well, since you are seriously considering government policies, I’ll let you
have a touch……”
Miko sighed while looking at the stack of documents that was constantly
piling up