294 Missed Targe (1/2)
I received the Tark Republic's undead envoy group in an empty clearing outside the Forest of Dreams. In many cases, diplomatic envoy groups were no different from spies scouting out information. Even if many things weren't considered top secret, I still didn't want to show them to the Tark Republic.
”…Halu the Twelfth? What a strange name.”
”Your Majesty, we possess our very own naming system. Perhaps other species consider our names strange, but to us, they represent our entire lives.”
The main envoy was a vampire marquis. Tall, white, and handsome, he was clad in ancient black ceremonial attire and held a black staff in his hands. He slowly yet clearly articulated each sentence in a logical manner, although his speech was somewhat archaic with an ancient accent. Despite his young appearance, he resembled an old-fashioned aristocrat.
As for him calling me ”Your Majesty,” that was without any formality at all. It was just the typical way the undead respected SemiGod undead… it would seem that they had long since known the fact that I was Yongye. Actually, I had already resolved myself to this as some things were impossible to conceal from everyone. If I was an Undead Emperor exiled from the mortal plane, I would have been really interested in the only new Undead Emperor to arise in this recent generation, thinking of every method I could to obtain all possible information on him.
Although he was quite deep in enemy territory and surrounded on all sides, the envoy, Halu the Twelfth, was quite gracious and seemed to be an experienced diplomat. With warm passion in his seriousness, his behavior revealed an elegance that only time and accumulated experience could have given him. In fact, there was nothing wrong with his manners, and perhaps we were the ones being a little rude, as we didn't even invite him inside the forest and had casually found him a small wooden stool for him to sit on.
”Let's get to the point. What are you here for? I don't have the time to be playing word games with you.”
In spite of my bluntness, this vampire marquis undead—who was, at the minimum, at the Saint rank—maintained his smile as he shook his head slightly.
”Of course, we would not waste Your Majesty's time with trifling matters. My main purpose on this very day, apart from presenting you the greetings from the other Undead Emperors, was, in sooth, a small matter that I would like to ask Lady Gria …”
Not me, but Gria? I had pretty much guessed at what they wanted. And the next moment when Halu stated his goal, my prediction was proven correct.
”You want to ally with the Xiluo Empire?”
Since the Xiluo Empire was an undead country like the Tark Republic, in a way they were the only possible ally for the Tark Republic in the entire world.
Also, don't judge Gria by how unreliable she seemed when she was with me. As the former Fourth Senator, in a situation where the First and Second Senators had been deposed and the Third Senator Harloys was ”missing,” Gria was indeed the number-one ranked individual under Omar. Even Lionheart, the current Xiluo Empire's prime minister, would have to respect her opinions on every matter.
When I turned around to look at Gria who was standing beside me, she cast a casual glance in my direction before faintly lowering her head. She remained behind me, and this was an obvious indication of her giving me the right to answer for her.
”It's even better to be able to discuss this personally with you.” Halu's elegant smile remained unflustered upon seeing this. Not even a hint of surprise showed upon his face, as if he had long since guessed at this outcome.
Well, his tricks didn't need to be stated out loud. In a way, the Xiluo Empire had already become one of the most important parts of the future Mist Alliance, and any perceptive individual would be able to figure out who really was behind the Mist Alliance.
But, from a certain standpoint, this was also a standard diplomatic tactic, to test whether the Xiluo Empire was still under Emperor Yongye's control. In front of such a sly veteran diplomat, Gria had instantly revealed the truth that I was still in charge as she was used to only thinking about combat matters.
”Alliance? Do you really think it's possible?”
It had been quite difficult for me to get the other Northlands countries to begin accepting the Xiluo Empire. However, the Tark Republic, which was invading the mortal plane, was basically the enemy of every single country in Eich. The moment the Xiluo Empire allied with the Tark Republic, Xiluo would likely be viewed as the same as the Tark Republic, which would waste all of my previous efforts.
”As ancient undead who haven't been back to their homeland for a long while, we find it quite fortunate that we have been able to see another undead country in our original home of the mortal plane. We're even more delighted to see that the Xiluo Empire's citizens have achieved a peaceful relationship with the living. We understand that your country hasn't had it easy in a world filled with enemies, but, at the very least, allow us to express our friendliness to plant a seed of opportunity for the future.”
His words were rather roundabout and slightly difficult to understand, but to express it in an easier manner, he was basically saying ”Even if we can't become official allies now due to the circumstances, we're simply here to express our friendship, and we just want to improve our relationship.”
It would seem that Halu was indeed an expert diplomat. From the very start, he didn't say anything useless like, ”We promise to not attack the wood spirits,” or something as foolish like, ”We'll pretend that Emperor Aso's death didn't happen.” Instead, he had jumped directly to the main topic.
His directness and sincerity had actually given me a good first impression. After all, due to the unique and unavoidable geography of this region, the conflict between wood spirits and the undead was practically unavoidable. Not to mention, Emperor Aso's death would definitely be no small ignorable matter for the Tark Republic, and it would only be natural to blame us for it.
Since the conflict between both sides was unavoidable, with battle the only result in the future, saying something so obviously fake like, ”We won't have any conflicts anymore,” would be nothing more than an insult to both sides' intelligence. Unfortunately, many of this generation's diplomats liked to pretend to be fancy with their words, saying only pretty words they felt their targets wanted to hear. Not only would they be unable to fool their targets, they would be all the more despised.
But, if it was only to express their friendliness, there would have been no need for this vampire marquis to personally come here. I didn't pry and merely sat there quietly, sipping my tea and waiting for him to speak up.
Finally, Halu was unable to wait any longer, and his tone contained disgust and absolute loathing as he spoke again.
”…Gricasio—as long as we obtain his head, the Tark Republic is willing to pay a large price. We're even willing to give up on this forest and the entire surrounding area.”
Alright then, I should have already guessed it. This was the critical point that Halu was here for.