Volume 7 Chapter 8 (1/2)

The Tripart.i.te Medical Alliance

Several days before the meeting...

With the Jewel Voice Broadcast jewel and simple receiver that had been delivered, I contacted Hakuya in Parnam Castle and informed him that I wanted to demonstrate Friedonia’s strength in order to ensure negotiations went smoothly. Demonstrating that our nation could be both a reliable friend and a troublesome enemy would make the alliance firmer.

When I asked Hakuya for his insight on the subject, the first idea he proposed was, “Will you deploy troops along the border?”

“Wait, we’re suddenly resorting to open intimidation in our diplomacy?” I asked, taken aback.

“I believe it is an easily understandable show of force,” Hakuya said with a cool look on his face.

...Huh? Was it possible he was serious?

“You’re joking, right? That would only make the other side needlessly wary, wouldn’t it?”

“I jest, of course. I was merely presenting the quick and easy method. If you hope for a long-lasting friends.h.i.+p, doing it may not preclude that, but it’s far from the best option.”

“...”

He’d said all that completely deadpan. It must have been Hakuya’s idea of a joke.

Way to make a joke that’s hard to get... I thought as I glared at him.

The next proposal he offered was, “Let’s get the Gran Chaos Empire involved in these talks.”

Empress Maria of the Empire?

“If your negotiations go well on this occasion, you intend to bring up the medical alliance with the Empire, too, right?” he asked. “You can move the schedule up on that.”

“That’s... Well, yes, it’s true I was thinking of it...”

If we were going to develop medical treatments and make them generally available, no single country could handle that alone.

If we forged ahead alone, we might be able to create a gap between ourselves and other countries, but our funding and manpower would have limits. If we tried to force just one country to do all the research, the progress would be slow.

If we were going to develop medical treatments and make them generally available, no single country could handle that alone.

In this world, external injuries could be treated with light magic, even serious ones, but there were still many people suffering from ailments that magic didn’t work on.

If someone close to me fell to disease while I was wasting time... I’d definitely regret it. It couldn’t hurt to be quick about developing medical treatments.

For the sake of that, I wanted the Gran Chaos Empire, the largest of nation of mankind, and the one with considerable budget and manpower, to handle one wing of that development. I had a diplomatic channel to the Empire, after all, and their leader, Empress Maria, was a woman I could talk to. She was sure to support the idea.

However, I had been meaning to get things in place with the Republic of Turgis before I brought this subject up with the Empire. Because the kingdom and Empire were distant, we needed a country to act as an intermediary between us, or this would be all pie in the sky.

And yet Hakuya wanted to involve the Empire... to involve Maria... in our current talks.

“There is more than one way to show strength,” he said. “Our connections are another form of power. If we can introduce Madam Maria, who is the empress of the Empire, at the meeting, Sir Gouran will be shocked. It would inform him that the nations to the east and west of the republic have their own independent line of communication.”

“True, I’m sure that would shock him...”

If the Empire and kingdom were coordinating in secret, the republic could be caught in a pincer attack the moment it opposed either. Well, given their geographical situation (in winter they were completely isolated by ice), there would be hardly any benefit in invading them and occupying their territory, but it would still put pressure on them.

“...But still.” I scratched my head hard. “It would be incredible if we could do that, but it’s probably not realistic calling in Madam Maria. There aren’t many days left until the meeting. Isn’t it impossible, considering security, the necessary processes, and everything else?”

“What are you saying, sire?” Hakuya objected, looking exasperated. “Who is each of us talking to right now, and where is that person?”

“...Oh.” I finally realized what he meant.

That was right. If she attended the meeting remotely over the Jewel Voice Broadcast, there was no need to invite Maria to come here from the Empire. I’d been imagining them meeting in person, so I must have been a bit out of it to overlook something this simple.

I felt awkward, and cleared my throat loudly. “Ahem... With that in mind, even if the meeting is held over a Jewel Voice Broadcast, will Madam Maria take time out of her busy schedule to attend?”

“Almost beyond a doubt.”

“You seem awfully sure of that.”

“During my talks with Madam Maria’s younger sister Jeanne, I have already made the request to ‘put negotiation about medical technology on the table,’ and said that we are ‘willing to compensate you appropriately.’”

“You already had your eye on this, huh?” I said. “Well done.”

“We haven’t decided on a policy for medical technology yet, so we’ve just been slowly feeling one another out on the issue.”

Hakuya and Jeanne feeling one another out, huh? They were both sharp, so their conversations were probably like laying down stones in a game of Go. But I doubted they were tense about it. With my and Maria’s permission, Hakuya had even done things like exchange gifts with her while Piltory was making his temporary return to the country.

In regards to their relations.h.i.+p, Maria had once said to me during a broadcast meeting, “Lately, Jeanne feels so full of life. Hee hee, do you think she and your Prime Minister found something in common to talk about?”

She’d seemed so happy about it. The only thing I could imagine them having in common to talk about was complaints about their respective masters, though. I wasn’t so sure it was a good thing if they were having a good time talking about that.

“Regardless,” I said, “in short, if we bring up the negotiations on medical technology, we can call Madam Maria to the meeting with Sir Gouran, right? Then, by showing off our connection to them, we’ll shock Sir Gouran, and we can take the negotiations in a direction that’s beneficial to us?”

“Indeed.”

“It feels like accomplis.h.i.+ng two things at the same time, but... aren’t you saying that we should effectively convince two separate countries simultaneously?”

“I believe that will be up to your abilities, sire.”

“You make it sound so easy,” I grumbled.

Honestly...

But, well, that was probably the most effective way to do it.

“Let’s go forward with that,” I said. “Hakuya, negotiate with the Empire and move the preparations along. Make sure there are no mistakes made with the other matter I asked you to address, too.”

“Understood.”

Hakuya bowed respectfully.

And that brings us to the present.

Here now, the heads of the Republic of Turgis, Gran Chaos Empire, and Kingdom of Friedonia were meeting, even if it was over a broadcast.

Sir Gouran was left looking dumbfounded at Maria’s sudden appearance for a little while, but his expression soon returned to normal.

“Why, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I am the head of the Republic, Gouran Taisei.” He nodded to the empress on the simple receiver.

The jewel was on the opposite side of the simple receiver, so Maria could see he was nodding to her.

The Jewel Voice Broadcast of Maria giggled and smiled at Sir Gouran. “Please, forgive me for the rudeness of not informing you beforehand that I would be taking part in this meeting. I heard that a medical alliance was to be discussed here, and the Empire would very much like to partic.i.p.ate.”

“I’d like to apologize, too,” I said. “It was decided on so suddenly, I didn’t have time to contact you in advance.”

Maria and I bowed our heads in unison.

Sir Gouran looked at us with a blank expression for a moment, but then he let out a hearty laugh. “Gahaha! It looks like Sir Souma’s pulled one over on me! I never thought you were connected to the empress of the Empire!”

Even though he was laughing, his eyes were fixed on me. He was probably cautiously probing my intent.

I corrected my posture while making sure not to avert my eyes from his gaze. “I apologize for keeping quiet about this. However, I want to form this medical alliance between the Kingdom of Friedonia, the Republic of Turgis, and the Gran Chaos Empire, the three nations that make up the south of the continent.”

I was stating it clearly for Sir Gouran and Maria.

“I believe knowledge in the fields of medicine and treatment should be shared equally with all of mankind. Sickness strikes all, irrespective of race or borders. If an epidemic runs loose in one country, the damage will definitely spread to its neighbors. When that happens, if just one nation had the knowledge, drugs, or equipment, would we be able to protect our people? ...I say nay. Even if there is no discourse between countries, people such as merchants and adventurers are moving back and forth constantly. We can try to protect only our own people, but infectious diseases will keep on spreading.”

“That’s true,” Maria said. “Fortunately, I haven’t experienced one myself, but history records occasional epidemics on this continent, and how seriously they have shaken up the countries who underwent them.”

Yeah, history had recorded the same thing in my previous world, too.

In studying history for my entrance exams, I’d learned that the Black Death had been transmitted from Asia to Europe along the Silk Road, bringing chaos to many countries and then spreading onward to Africa, contributing to the fall of the Mameluke Sultanate.

In fighting epidemics, it was important to prevent the outbreak from spreading in its early stages. In order to do that, we needed to share medical knowledge.

“As long as our three countries share their medical knowledge, if an epidemic begins to spread in one country, we may be able to limit its spread to the minimum,” I said. “Furthermore, if an outbreak occurs in a country other than our three, we can coordinate in order to limit the area of our borders we have to inspect people at.”

“You’re right,” said Gouran. “For the republic’s part, not having to worry about our borders with the Empire and the kingdom would be appreciated.”

“I agree,” nodded Maria. “Our borders are needlessly long, so there’s nothing we would appreciate more than even a slight reduction in the number of checkpoints.”

Sir Gouran and Maria were both nodding. I could probably a.s.sume I had their support thus far.

“Having confirmed the need for sharing of medical knowledge between our three countries, I will return to the conversation I was having with Sir Guran before,” I said. “The discussion about how the kingdom will aim to train doctors and improve on their techniques, the republic will produce and develop medical equipment, and how we will trade our results. I’ve been thinking it is best to divide the labor, and focused research would be effective in leading to the development of the field of medicine. By having the Empire join us in this, I am hoping to have them handle the ma.s.s production of drugs, and the improvement of them.”

“Drugs...?” Maria asked, and I nodded.

“In my country, the three-eyed race has developed three-eyedine, an antibiotic. That’s a medicine that works well on infectious diseases, but the subspecies of gelin it’s extracted from will require land and manpower to raise, so we have not yet gotten to the point of ma.s.s production. If we can’t secure it in quant.i.ty, drugs will continue to be high-priced. For that reason, I want to request that the Empire, with its land, manpower, and funding handle the production of the drug.”

“That’s wonderful,” Maria said with a smile. “If you can tell us how it’s produced, I would like to create a system for ma.s.s-producing it at once.”

I could only imagine a dubbed in voice saying, “I want your technology” behind that smile, so I couldn’t help but smile wryly.

“I’ll tell you about how it’s made...” I said. “However, I do want something in return.”

“Of course. How much do you want us to pay you?”

I reflected on what I had been thinking about earlier. “I don’t want money. I want something else from you.”

“Something else? What might that be?”

“A Jewel Voice Broadcast jewel. In other words, a dungeon core. Looking at the scale of the Empire, don’t you have a lot more than we do? I’d like you to let me have one.”

“A dungeon core, is it...?” Maria got a pensive look on her face, but she must have felt there was no loss to her in the deal, because she soon nodded. “Very well. I accept those terms.”

“Thank you,” I said. “And Sir Gouran.”

“Hm?”

This time, I looked at Sir Gouran. “It must be inconvenient to only have one jewel to use in domestic broadcasts. I am thinking of giving the jewel I receive from the Empire to you. How does your providing us with medical equipment at no cost for the time being sound as a payment for that?”

“Hm... It’s certainly true that we can’t simply acquire a jewel whenever we want.” Gouran thought for a little while, then slapped his knee. “Very well! However, I will want to discuss the exact amounts to be provided further.”

“Yes. That will be fine.”

“This is some awfully indirect negotiating,” Maria said, sounding a little exasperated.

I smiled wryly and shrugged my shoulders. “I did my best to make things work out for all three parties. If the republic only has one jewel, that’s inconvenient for coordination between the three countries. I thought they’d definitely want one.”

“Gahaha!” Sir Gouran chuckled. “It seems you saw right through me.”

“I see...” Maria had a serious look on her face. “By the way, Sir Souma, I have one question for you.”

“What might that be?”

“In regards to the three countries each taking on a field of research, is it not allowed to research the other fields? In my country, for instance, would I not be able to research doctor training or medical equipment?”

“No, you’re free to research the other fields. In fact, I very much hope you will.”

“It’s fine, then?” Sir Gouran checked to confirm, and I nodded.

“The reason I say I want each of us to specialize is in the name of efficiency,” I said. “However, if that’s all we each do, the moment one of the three countries is lax in their duties, the whole thing falls apart. Besides, in order to improve our drugs and medical equipment, I’m sure the knowledge of doctors and their techniques will be needed. Please, I’d like both the republic and the Empire to send anyone you want to master the study of medicine to our country. They will study with us, teach what they’ve learned in our country when they return home, and give birth to more doctors. In they do that, then the Empire and republic should be able to educate their own doctors, too. On the opposite hand, I’d like the republic to send a number of craftspeople who can produce medical equipment to us, too. I want to get a system in place that allows us to produce our own medical equipment if the situation calls for it, after all.”

“However, if we do that, ultimately, won’t we all end up studying every field?” Sir Gouran asked. “Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of dividing the research among us?”

“No, Sir Gouran,” I said. “This is insurance, and it’s also a race. If we fully divide things, it will be over the moment one country decides to break off this relations.h.i.+p. By all of us studying each field, we can prepare for that situation, should it arise. Furthermore, the fact that other countries are also studying it means that if you neglect your research, the other countries may get ahead of you.”

“I see,” Maria said thoughtfully. “In order to prevent that, you’ve introduced the element of a race into this.”

You’re thought into this quite deeply, she seemed to be implying.

Well, of course. I had debated this to death with Hakuya. We’d spent almost the whole time in between this conference being called and my going out to slay the ogres discussing it.

Sir Gouran said, “Hm...” with a pensive look on his face.

“Was there some point that was unclear?” I asked.

“No, I think you’ve put a lot of thought into this, but... there remains one problem.”

“A problem?”

“I’m sure you’re aware, but in winter our land is closed off by snow, and our seas by ice. In that period, means of s.h.i.+pping are limited, and we can only carry out trade in the summer.”

In other words, Sir Gouran was concerned about s.h.i.+pping.

In this world, when you tried to s.h.i.+p large volumes, it either meant land s.h.i.+pping using large creatures like rhinosauruses, or sea s.h.i.+pping using boats. Neither was suited to the Republic of Turgis’s winter.

The seas froze in winter, preventing the s.h.i.+ps from coming in, and the land was covered by snow, which forbid the entry of creatures that were susceptible to the cold like rhinosauruses. There were cold climate animals like the numoth, but the amount one of those could carry was limited, and they were slow, too. That was exactly why merchants only came to this country in the summer.

I couldn’t blame Sir Gouran for being concerned. However, I had already heard that from Kuu.

“I have some ideas about that,” I said. “Roroa.”

Roroa, who had been silent up until this point, pumped her arm as if to say, I’ve been waitin’ for this.

“It’s finally my turn! Let’s get on with showin’ ’em that thing, then!”

Maria and Sir Gouran were taken aback by her sudden enthusiasm, but it was too soon to be surprised.

We still had a card up our sleeve, after all.

I requested a temporary suspension of the meeting so I could prepare.

Having gained Maria and Sir Gouran’s a.s.sent, I explained the situation to Sir Gouran, and received permission to bring a certain thing in from the kingdom.

I’d a.s.sumed that if I brought that in without clearance, it would cause a huge fuss. If things went badly, they might even think it was an invasion.

I had Sir Gouran write up a doc.u.ment to show at the border, and had a messenger kui carry that doc.u.ment to the border where that thing was supposed to be waiting.

“I’ve given my permission, but... I find it hard to believe,” he said.

“Same here,” Kuu added. “Not that I think Souma’s lying.”

The Taisei father and son gave their honest reactions as they watched the messenger kui fly away.

I shrugged with a wry smile. “You may find it hard to believe, but there is no lie or exaggeration in anything we’ve said, you know?”

“Yeah, you two just look forward to seein’ it.” Roroa had gone back to her less formal speech style at some point, but she spoke with confidence.

“Hmm, in that case, I find it all the harder to believe,” Sir Gouran said.

“Ookyakya!” Kuu laughed. “If it’s true, it’ll be worth seeing, now won’t it?”

Gouran was dubious, while Kuu laughed with enthusiasm. They were contrasting reactions.

Regardless, until that arrived, we decided to relax and drink tea.

About two hours later, maybe, there was suddenly a lot of hubbub outside, allowing me to confirm that had arrived.

When we all went outside the inn, that was already visible.

It was a large object, the bottom of which was black, the top of which was orange, and which was about the size of an elementary school’s gym, standing at the entrance to town where nothing had been before.

When we approached, it became apparent it had a two-layer structure. The top half, colored orange, was like a large s.h.i.+p, and it was supported by the lower half, which was made of a black, rubber-like substance.

That also made a constant sound like air was being expelled from it.

“How do ya like ’er? This is the amphibious s.h.i.+p, Roroa Maru!” Roroa shouted loud enough she could be heard over the sound it was making.

Gouran and Kuu’s mouths were agape at the majestic appearance of the Roroa Maru.

It was an amphibious s.h.i.+p. Yes, this was a s.h.i.+p. One that could travel by land or sea, at that.

I explained how it worked for Gouran and Kuu, who were still flabbergasted.

“Like Roroa said, this is a s.h.i.+p that can run on a water surface without waves, or on land. By constantly sending air into the black rubbery part, that large body floats, and even if there’s water underneath, it’s able to drive across it. In the world I came from, it would have been called a hovercraft.”

“Hovercraft...” Gouran repeated the unfamiliar word.

This ma.s.sive object was the hovercraft Roroa Maru, which I had sent for from the kingdom.

This Roroa Maru hovercraft was the one of a kind, built as an experiment while we were looking for uses for the overscientist Genia’s invention, the Little Susumu Mark V.

The Little Susumu Mark V was a ring-shaped machine that created propulsion by pus.h.i.+ng water or air that was in front of it out the back side. I’d thought it might be possible to create a hovercraft that floated off the ground if that ring was faced towards the ground, and the air was blown up into an enclosure made of the recently discovered rubber-like substance.

And so, with Genia’s design, and with funding from Rora and Sebastian’s company, The Silver Deer, the Roroa Maru was now complete. Incidentally, when I’d asked Roroa what she wanted it named, since she had put up the money to develop it...

“Hey, hey, darlin’, in the world you came from, what were s.h.i.+ps’ names like?”

“Hmm... Most used the names of people or places.”

“Hmm, that ain’t much different from how we do things here.”

“Yeah. Oh, and for fis.h.i.+ng s.h.i.+ps, a lot of them had Maru on the ends of their names.”

“Maru? Hey, that’s got a cute sound to it... All righty then, I’ve decided! This s.h.i.+p’s gonna be the Roroa Maru!”

“Roroa Maru?! You’re putting your own name on it?!”

...And that was how it had ended up with that name.

It was registered to The Silver Deer, which was the investor. Dealing in everything from apparel to the dishes from Earth that Poncho and I had recreated, The Silver Deer had its fingers in a lot of pies, but did they plan to enter the trade business as well now? They had clothing, food, transportation... almost everything at this point.