Chapter 99

Alistair was invited to the town.

"Lord Alistair, since you have come from afar, why don't you take a look at our town of Ivalice?"

It sounded like a pick-up line, but there was no such intention. I just wanted to chat a bit and try to gather information about Rosaria.

I thought he would refuse at first, but Alistair nodded and said, "I would be delighted." Apparently, he wanted to see the town of the demons.

He seemed endlessly curious about how the demons governed humans, how Ivalice had become prosperous, and how the firearms were made.

His honest approach was somewhat endearing, but I couldn't help but think, "Oh well."

It was almost as if he was declaring to the enemy country that he wanted to engage in "espionage." However, I deliberately did not point this out.

After all, I needed this girl to be more talkative. Earlier, Sefiro had said,

"If that girl doesn't talk, I can use my special medicine to make her talk, or I can open her skull to extract the information."

—There was no guarantee that the witch wouldn't carry out her threat.

I wanted to gather information as smoothly as possible and probe the movements of the King of Rosaria and his followers. In that sense, this girl was easy to handle and was a great help. With that thought, we headed out of the mansion and toward the town.

The first place I showed her was the large square in the center of the town, where there was a large fountain and a statue.

Originally, it was just a square, but the dwarf king Gunther had added to it, saying it was "boring." In the center, there was a statue of a goddess, from whose fingertips water spouted. It was a statue of the water goddess Aquar.

While it wasn't an unusual subject for a fountain, Alistair's reaction was simply, "It's wonderful."

"Such a magnificent sight cannot be seen even in the capital of Lezas."

"I must tell Lord Gunther. The statue was made by his subordinates."

"Lord Gunther, the dwarf king who is said to be making the firearms?"

"More accurately, his subordinates."

"How many of them are there?" she asked, taking out her notebook.

(Sigh, she really is straightforward and can't tell a lie.)

I thought, but I answered honestly.

Next, I took her to the farm on the outskirts of Ivalice, where clover was now growing.

"Why is clover planted here? It's only eaten by livestock."

"To feed the livestock."

I answered honestly.

The four-crop rotation system is not a secret strategy. Since I have instructed the farmers to do it, the rumor will eventually spread across the continent, and people will start to imitate it.

No, it has already been introduced in the towns under the control of the Demon King's army. There was no need to hide it.

"By letting the fields rest and changing the crops planted, we can avoid the problems of continuous cropping and the need to let the fields rest."

When Alistair heard this, she exclaimed, "What!" and frantically wrote in her notebook, "Such a method exists," and muttered, "We must introduce it in my territory, no, throughout Rosaria."

This was enough to surprise her and open her heart. As we walked through the farm, I casually asked,

"Changing the subject, what kind of person is the King of Rosaria, Tristan III?"

She answered immediately.

"He is a great man!"

"..."

I was at a loss for words.

Well, given her position, she had to say that, but I couldn't get any information from just that, so I pressed further.

"For example, does he have any hobbies?"

"The king enjoys fox hunting and poetry."

"Ah, quite refined."

"Yes, he often goes fox hunting with his attendants and, at night, recites beautiful poems while gazing at the blue moon."

"I see."

In other words, a mediocre ruler with no interest in politics. It was clear that the real power in Rosaria was held by the Chancellor, Eichs. Next, I decided to ask about Eichs.

"King Tristan seems to be a cultured man. Then he will surely keep the peace talks."

"Of course, the king has no second thoughts. No one hates war more than the king, and no one is more compassionate. After all, it was the king who saved me from my confinement."

"I heard that you were confined because you strongly advised in the council that the forces should be concentrated on Ivalice."

"...Yes."

Her voice became smaller, perhaps recalling that time.

"It's hard to say in front of Lord Ike, but the king was indeed angry, but it was Chancellor Eichs who decided to confine you."

"So it was decided by the Chancellor."

"...Yes, he called me a coward and said that as a mere figurehead leader, I should not meddle in strategy."

"So, the command of the war is actually handled by the Chancellor?"

Alistair nodded.

"Politics too?"

Alistair nodded again.

If I had said, "Then King Tristan is a puppet of the Chancellor," she would have nodded, but I couldn't say such a disrespectful thing.

However, from her expression and attitude, I felt I could see the inner workings of the country of Rosaria.

A king who shows no interest in politics, and a chancellor who takes advantage of it to control the government.

It was a typical pattern of a declining country in a story. While it was a favorable political situation for making Rosaria an enemy, it was disadvantageous in the current situation.

A king who was tired of war and had sent an envoy to make peace with the Demon King's army. The chancellor, who had been using Rosaria for his own purposes, was probably not in a good mood. More than that, his pride as someone who had controlled politics and the military might have been severely hurt.

In that case, there was a real possibility that he would take drastic action to sabotage the peace talks and assassinate the king, then pin the blame on the Demon King's army.

I thought for a moment. Was it dangerous to sit at the negotiating table?

As Jiron and Sefiro had said, I might end up playing the fool and falling into the enemy's trap.

As I was thinking this, Alistair looked at me and asked,

"Is something wrong, Lord Ike?"

Alistair asked with concern, but to reassure her, I made a decision.

"I think we should sit at the negotiating table."

Even if there was a high possibility of a trap, it wouldn't be a problem if we fell into it. If we were caught in a trap, we could just tear out the enemy's throat and win by necessity. The key was to have a strategy that outperformed the enemy's trap.

With that thought, I turned to Alistair and said,

"Today was a valuable time. I hope we can continue to work well together—"

and bowed like a gentleman.

Alistair looked bewildered but managed to respond, "Likewise," with a bow. Her appearance was quite delicate, reminiscent of a noblewoman.

Well, this girl seemed to understand nothing, but if the negotiations broke down, what kind of expression would she make?

Of course, I intended to sign the peace treaty with all my might, but if the negotiations were to be stormy, I couldn't help but be curious about what kind of face she would make and what actions she would take.