第９７９堀：対策会議開始 (Part2)
And so, I explained the encounter with the Hein fleet and the subsequent flow of the conference, complete with visual aids, but...
"Ohhh! That’s incredible! I’ve seen it once before, but it’s as if I were standing right there. And this Weed ship—an 'aircraft carrier,' was it? I’d heard it was large, but it’s practically a castle floating on the sea!"
It wasn't just Emperor Eupia who was in a state of high excitement; every single one of his senior vassals had completely stopped listening to my explanation.
Well, I suppose it was a success in one sense because it certainly left an impact, but the conversation wasn't moving forward at all. Thanks to that, I was only able to provide a proper explanation after the footage had finished playing.
"...And so, if we are to believe General Wave’s words, the behavior of the envoys who appeared beforehand was an act of insubordination. Or, it is possible that the Hein Empire itself is fractured from within."
"I see. Indeed, even for a fool, that was excessive. It is more natural to assume they were being fed instructions from above."
That’s right. In front of Princess Parphil, I had dismissed it as the actions of a mere idiot, but we had suspected the possibility of intentional, performative foolishness all along. Emperor Eupia seemed to grasp that in an instant.
"Well, it is hard to say what their true objective might be, but what we have confirmed this time is that the Hein Empire possesses the national power to conduct overseas expeditions using the sea. And that is..."
"Perhaps that is the reason why our Zurable has never crossed blades directly with the Hein Empire until now."
Even before I could say it, Emperor Eupia had arrived at the answer. Indeed, the reason the Zurable Empire and the Hein Empire had never engaged in direct combat might be because Zurable focused on its ground forces, while Hein centered its power on its navy.
"Yes. I agree with the opinions of His Majesty and Yuki-dono. Otherwise, there is no explanation for why we have never once fought the Hein Empire directly. In other words, they have likely remained in the shadows precisely because they specialize in naval warfare."
"...Fighting on a battlefield advantageous to one's own forces. That is only natural. Still, I had never heard that the Hein Empire was strong at naval warfare. Vol, what do you think?"
"Indeed, I had never heard such a thing either. I understand what Show-dono is saying, but even so, is it plausible that they wouldn't have dispatched even a single army while other nations were at war?"
"Hmm. That is a mystery I cannot answer. However, could it be related to what Yuki-dono mentioned earlier—that the Hein Empire might be divided? Though, that is nothing more than speculation. It would be best to discuss this further once our scouts return."
When Show said this, everyone nodded, and that was when I posed a question.
"May I ask one thing?"
"Hm? Of course. Is there something that concerns you?"
"Yes. You see, we in Weed have almost no foundational information regarding the Hein Empire. We never had any diplomatic relations to begin with. If you wouldn't mind, I would like to hear what you know about them so that we can discuss this from the same perspective."
That’s right—we knew almost nothing about the Hein Empire. I had heard a little from Show and Princess Parphil before, but that was limited to the rough scale of their military. I knew nothing of their territory, location, political policies, or the state of their citizenry.
Who in their right mind would want to trade blows with an opponent when they are so severely lacking in information? For all I knew, they might even deploy some kind of giant monster.
...Well, if they had something like that, they would have deployed it long ago.
"Ah, that’s right. Weed knows nothing of the Hein Empire. As far as I am concerned, I am willing to provide all the information Zurable possesses. What does everyone else think?"
"I have no objections. Weed is now a friendly nation."
"I also agree with Show-dono’s opinion. They are currently preventing the Hein Empire’s intrusion at Aurelia Port. Sharing information is necessary."
At Emperor Eupia’s inquiry, Show and Vol immediately voiced their approval. Thanks to their support, it was unanimously decided that we would share information on the Hein Empire.
Now then, the Hein Empire. What kind of country is it, exactly?
Finally, we were going to have a serious discussion about the Hein Empire. Up until now, we had been playing it by ear, but what kind of information would come to light?