In Mynoghra, policy decisions made through meetings were valued.
This was by no means born of democratic ideals — rather, it carried a strong training element aimed at building a foundation where the Dark Elves could think and make decisions for themselves.
After the war against the Brave Questus Demon Lord Army, Ira=Takuto drastically changed that policy.
It was a complete one-hundred-and-eighty-degree reversal from the pacifist operational stance of world conquest that had come before, indicating that the thoughts and decisions of the Dark Elves would no longer be as respected as they once were.
That said, meetings were still held in the spirit of nurturing the Dark Elves' autonomy.
But the meetings, which had previously progressed smoothly, had now, for the first time, run aground.
"How... how exactly are we supposed to judge this?"
"Hmm. There's definitely something behind this, but still... hmmm."
The faces of those gathered in the conference room of the Mynoghra palace were all wearing indescribable expressions.
Few had assembled.
Of course, Takuto and Atou were present, and for the Dark Elves, it was the rare combination of Old Mortar and Emuru.
Only those with the keenest insight had been gathered to assess this particular problem.
The reason others weren't called was that even deliberating on the content would take considerable time, and they didn't want to tie up too many personnel.
And Takuto was no less troubled — which showed just how much this issue had them all perplexed.
The content was...
"To think they'd propose the transfer of Dragontan..."
It was a proposal from the multi-species nation of Fonkavun for the cession of the city of Dragontan.
No specifics were included. Naturally, no circumstances were explained either.
All that had been sent was a request from Pepe, the chief representative of Fonkavun, along with the leader of the Stave-bearers' Alliance, to hold an urgent meeting on this matter.
Nothing else of note.
The rest was just long-winded boilerplate gratitude in stilted prose about their contribution of military forces in the previous war.
No matter how many times she re-read it, Atou couldn't decipher the intent at all, tilting her head and groaning repeatedly.
"If we take the letter at face value, it's an offer we should celebrate, but it's far too suspicious..."
"Indeed. Regardless of it being a letter, casually conveying such a grave matter is the furthest thing from proper diplomacy. It's only natural to suspect a trap, and yet if that were the case, this would be laughably crude. What on earth is going on..."
Even old Mortar, the one who should have been the wisest among them, could only groan, unable to so much as speculate.
Though only one topic had been raised, the strategy meeting for this problem — which resembled a bewildering puzzle — had hit a wall right from the start and wasn't advancing at all.
"Your Majesty... how shall we proceed?"
Unable to sit still any longer, old Mortar turned to Takuto for help.
Takuto had been through numerous negotiations in the game, but a pattern like this was a first.
He could make a judgment at the "probably" level, but it lacked a decisive factor.
Even so, ultimately he was the one who had to make the call.
And Mynoghra had a mountain of things to deal with; he wanted to settle this matter today and establish a direction.
So Takuto turned to Emuru and asked her to organize the available information, hoping to find a way forward.
"Emuru. What do we know about Fonkavun's situation?"
At those words, Emuru quickly began flipping through the documents she had gathered.
Soon, information that everyone present was mostly already aware of was reported for confirmation, followed by several newly ascertained pieces of latest intelligence.
"Lastly, there is currently a significant population outflow from the city of Dragontan. We've been in contact with their city mayor, but the response to our inquiries has been delayed — it seems things are quite chaotic over there."
Thank you, Takuto replied, then fell into silent contemplation.
Because of their alliance with Fonkavun, Mynoghra was able to obtain more information about Dragontan than before.
Mynoghra itself had been somewhat behind in grasping the post-war chaos, but it seemed that war, unlike in a game, didn't simply end with victory.
"Population outflow? Emuru, why did that happen?"
"It's likely due to the previous war, Lord Atou. Emuru, could you explain in detail?"
"Yes. It has come to light that the city was already far from the Fonkavun heartland and was struggling to maintain public order due to bandits who had infiltrated the city. If, during this war, they received almost no support from the mainland, it wouldn't be surprising for some manner of chaos to occur. In that case, it's reasonable to deduce that residents have been fleeing the city to escape into the sphere of influence of the mainland."
While Takuto was consolidating his thoughts, Atou and the Dark Elves were constructing a picture of the situation based on the available information.
Takuto listened quietly to their input, progressively gaining a more accurate grasp of the full picture.
"Hmm. So, Dragontan is in the process of collapsing?"
"It may have already collapsed, Lord Atou. Either way, the cessation of urban functions is only a matter of time."
When you gathered only the perceptive ones, even a few hints would cause the meeting to take a dramatic turn.
Like Takuto, the others had now reached roughly the same inference, and though they lacked certainty, they were beginning to arrive at highly accurate conclusions.
No — it was something easily understood if you simply put yourself in the shoes of Dragontan's residents.
Living on land far from the heartland, they had suddenly been confronted with a massive horde of barbarians.
Moreover, rather than reinforcements from the mainland, they had been forced to entrust their defense to a foreign army.
It was only natural for those seeking safety to flee back to the mainland, and depending on the circumstances, it wouldn't be surprising if riots broke out.
Perhaps there were even people seeking to naturalize in Mynoghra.
Takuto had never met the city mayor of Dragontan in person, but he felt a degree of sympathy for the woman who had to deal with this situation.
"If urban functions were to collapse, the ones who would actually suffer are the weak and powerless. Perhaps she concluded that ceding the city entirely would be better for protecting them."
"Furthermore, in this war, the one who actually contributed military forces was our Mynoghra. Their forces were stretched thin just trying to maintain defense, and they couldn't carry out any meaningful military operations. They're probably struggling even to find enough personnel to maintain public order."
"I see. To put it bluntly — they're trying to curry favor with Mynoghra while they still can. Is that the game they're playing?"
Atou summarized.
It was a remarkably blunt way of putting it, but it hit the nail on the head.
Simply put, Fonkavun was backed into a corner.
That was precisely why they had played what could only be called a bold card, seizing the initiative from Mynoghra at the negotiating table.
Takuto considered that whoever had thought of this first was a remarkably quick-thinking individual.
Or perhaps... a supremely foolish one.
The face of Fonkavun's leader — a friend he had only recently made — briefly surfaced in his mind before being swallowed by the waves of thought and vanishing.
"So they're offering to hand over Dragontan in order to maintain friendly relations going forward, while extracting something in return... is that it?"
"They'll certainly demand the magical source of the Dragon Vein Cave. Well, that was already being discussed as a joint management arrangement, so there shouldn't be an issue there..."
Ceding national territory was not something done with half-hearted resolve.
Dragontan, as an exclave, was difficult to manage on one hand, but could serve as a bridgehead for future national expansion.
And it wasn't just that. Even if it was an allied nation, handing over a city to another country — even peacefully — would inevitably stoke significant distrust among the populace.
If that was the case, Fonkavun would naturally be thinking of a return that matched the sacrifice.
"It's definitely going to be military forces."
Takuto murmured, as though stating the obvious.
The most pressing issue for Fonkavun was the replenishment of their insufficient military strength.
Their inability to mount an adequate response even now had already been exposed when they requested Mynoghra's assistance with city defense.
Since military expansion couldn't happen overnight, it was clear their forces were still lacking.
"But Your Majesty. Even if Fonkavun is requesting military forces, we are also in the midst of preparing for threats. Even as allies, we don't have the luxury of extracting forces..."
"Yes. You're right."
Old Mortar's concern was entirely valid.
He didn't say it aloud, but one of the reasons they had lost Isla was the dispersal of their forces.
They couldn't afford to endanger the nation by treading the same path again.
Naturally, Takuto understood this well.
And so...
"Let's sell them weapons."
Takuto's words fell, and the room went utterly silent.
Had it been before, he might have felt uncomfortable in such a situation, but now, with a certain resolve having been made, he actually found everyone's surprise rather pleasant.
Without even realizing it, people grow, he thought with some irrelevant sentiment, before Emuru cried out in a flustered voice.
"W-wait, Your Majesty! Th-that would be dangerous! If something that powerful were to fall into another country's hands, there's no telling how it could be misused! Those weapons could end up pointed at our own nation!"
Emuru's words spoke for everyone in the room.
Guns were powerful armaments that required the utmost care in handling.
The modern weapons produced by Ira=Takuto's power were the new sword and shield of Mynoghra's national defense.
Providing this hard-won advantage to an ally could, in a roundabout way, lead to the nation's disadvantage, and it seemed dangerous from multiple angles.
However... they had forgotten one crucial point.
"Misuse? How would they manage that?"
"That's obviously— Oh!"
All weapons and bullets could only be produced by Ira=Takuto.
In other words, no matter how many firearms they received to bolster their forces, without continuously trading with Mynoghra for ammunition resupply, that power would be depleted in no time at all.
Furthermore, the technology used in the firearms and ammunition belonged to an entirely different technological tree from this world.
No matter how hard they tried, it was impossible to create copies within this world.
In other words, these powerful weapons were always within arm's reach of Mynoghra — they could be revoked at any moment.
And Fonkavun, too, would be unable to resist the appeal of this overwhelming advantage.
Fonkavun's mobilizable forces were roughly estimated at around ten to twenty thousand. The majority were warriors primarily trained in close combat.
The numbers of cavalry and archers — both expensive to maintain — were not abundant, and soldiers with high individual combat power like Holy Knights could be counted on one hand.
Judging from Dragontan's defense force, their training level was minimum, relying on the physical capabilities of beastfolk to barely hold together, but in terms of quality, they were generally inferior to other nations.
These militaries — which could aptly be described as fragile — would gain the potential to become an unstoppable force simply by equipping the weapons Mynoghra would provide.
At the very least, they could bid farewell to the pitiful life of trembling in fear of barbarians while desperately trying to defend their nation.
For these people who had been living in the southern part of the Idragia continent — the barren land informally known as the Dark Continent — with visible threats like the Holy Kingdom and the Spirit Pact Alliance looming over them, it wasn't hard to imagine how appealing this would be.
And the counterproposals Fonkavun could make as alternatives... well, there weren't that many.
Conversely, this operation was also an attractive proposal for Mynoghra.
In the event of a future war against hostile forces, they could form a joint front with Fonkavun's army, which would be armed with modern weaponry.
Since Mynoghra's military strength was heavily skewed toward a small elite force, having a sizable contingent of capable soldiers was enormously appealing.
They could maintain the front line with Fonkavun's army while using Mynoghra's forces for guerrilla operations and decapitation strikes — a powerful deployment.
Supplying firearms and ammunition to Fonkavun.
This was, in effect, a double-edged operation: bolstering an allied nation's military strength to gain an advantage in an eventual war against a hostile nation, while simultaneously getting a firm grip on that ally's neck.
The wise among them instantly perceived the hidden intent behind this and smirked, understanding that the other side was in what amounted to checkmate.
There was nothing bad about this deal for Fonkavun. Quite the opposite — it was nothing but benefits.
They simply couldn't escape.
"I see. As expected of our King. I can only express my admiration for that deep insight and strategic brilliance. ...However, this time we may have given slightly too much, Your Majesty. What would be appropriate to demand from them in return?"
Old Mortar asked with a broad, satisfied smile.
Military strengthening was probably the thing Fonkavun desired most in the current situation.
Regardless of what their intent was in ceding Dragontan, on this point there was no doubt.
If that was the case, they would certainly latch onto this weapons export operation no matter what.
"Payment... I think people, actually. People in need, or even criminals — we're completely short-handed right now."
Takuto chose citizens.
It was what Mynoghra needed most in the current situation, and it was something with overwhelmingly poor prospects for acquisition.
"That's a wonderful idea, Lord Takuto! If they were brought under the great protection of Mynoghra, the residents of Dragontan would surely be moved to tears!"
"It would make them evil, though."
"W-well, it's actually surprisingly comfortable, you know... It doesn't feel all that different, really."
"Indeed, indeed."
Those who had recently gained the Evil attribute nodded in agreement.
Apparently it was well-received among them.
Takuto felt relieved that the acceptance of Dragontan's residents would likely go smoothly.
Of course, he wasn't contemplating forced, human-trafficking-style intake.
That might be acceptable against a hostile nation, but Fonkavun was still an ally.
It would likely take the form of recruiting volunteers, but actually putting it into practice would be quite the undertaking.
"But if this works out, the population problem could be improved dramatically all at once, Lord Takuto!"
Takuto nodded at the innocent joy in Atou's voice.
He didn't know how Fonkavun would respond to Mynoghra's demands.
But judging from the fact that they were already planning to cede Dragontan, they had surely considered population transfer as well.
The fact that they had specifically included the matter of the cession in the letter might have been their way of indirectly suggesting that this be discussed in advance.
"Now then, let's select the weapons to sell. Any other opinions? We need to discuss what Dragontan is thinking to make sure there are no gaps."
While watching his subordinates exchange various opinions, Takuto thought of Pepe.
He was a cheerful, approachable, and somehow endearing person.
But Takuto had a vague premonition that his true nature was something beyond that.
"I'm looking forward to the meeting date."
The world was moving in great strides.
If others like them — those who had come from the world of games — existed out there, the time would surely come when they would collide.
It was a conviction of sorts, as though someone who wasn't there was whispering it to him.
"Come to think of it..."
"Is there something concerning you, Lord Takuto?"
Atou immediately reacted to Takuto's words.
But Takuto simply shook his head in response.
"No... it's nothing."
Takuto deliberately avoided broaching the subject and deflected.
And so, telling himself that he needed to properly verify the abilities he possessed before that day eventually arrived...