Fun Territory Defense Chapter 221 (Patreon)

Information from the Merchant's Guild

"Welcome, Apollo-san."

I raised my hands and call his name to welcome him. Then, Apollo opens the door and comes in quickly, looking at me with blinking eyes. His expression is not one of surprise, but more of a wry smile, as if he is aware of something.

He adjusts his slightly disheveled clothes, exhales lightly, and comes to the front of his desk to look at me.

"It's been a while, Van-sama, and I'm glad to see that you are all well. First, let me apologize for asking to see you without prior notice. I rushed over to see you because I thought it was so urgent, but it appears that I was overreacting."

With a smile, Apollo mouthed the words and bailed. Camsin, Till, and Arte, standing behind me, bailed in return. Then, Apollo looked at the map spread out on his desk. Perhaps, he had found out some information about the movements of the Jiernetta Kingdom. The fact that he rushed to the scene must mean that Jiernetta was taking unexpected actions.

The most direct impact would be an attack on Seat Village, but that seems somehow unlikely.

"I guess that means they didn't come in the right way, after all? Which way did Jiernetta Kingdom choose?"

Unable to read Jiernetta Kingdom's strategy, I decided to ask Apollo, vaguely blurting out the question. It would be embarrassing if I guessed confidently and missed it. I was embarrassed if I guessed too confidently and missed the answer. However, Apollo nodded several times as if he were impressed.

"...As expected of the quintessential Van-sama, you predicted the action from Jiernetta Kingdom's point of view. As a result, it appears that Jiernetta Kingdom has chosen the means of using other countries."

"Eh?"

I looked down at the map while replying animatedly. As if caught in the act, Arte and the others standing in the back also looked down at the map.

The only country adjacent to the Jiernetta and Scuderia Kingdoms is the United Republic of Shelbia.

"What kind of country is the United Republic of Shelbia?"

Till, watching from behind, utters such a question; Apollo is a merchant, but a visitor from a major guild called Merchant's Guild. Apollo laughed and nodded at Till, who mouthed the question in a chatty manner in front of this person.

"The United Republic of Shelbia is a somewhat unusual country, originally formed when two small countries annexed to counter a neighboring threat. Perhaps as a remnant of this, it is characterized by a different culture in the east and the west. Because of this, the country is not governed by a monarchy, but by representatives from the east and west, who take turns ruling the country."

Apollo briefly explained about the United Republic of Shelbia, to which Till noticed something and gave a small bail with an annoyed laugh.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't even offer you tea..."

Till said, embarrassed and ashamed of her mistake. There may have been many other things, but that seemed to be what bothered Till the most. Till was a tea time lover, and I couldn't help but laugh and agree with her words, which were mixed with a lot of subjectivity.

"Till's tea is delicious. Oh, and please bring some sweets too!"

"Yes, I'll prepare them right away."

Till then happily walked out of the room with light steps, and after I saw him off, I opened my mouth to Apollo.

"So, Apollo-san, which side of the United Republic of Shelbia, the east side or the west side, do you think is cooperating with Jiernetta Kingdom?"

When I asked, Apollo's expression tightened and his voice dropped.

"The east side."

I nodded my head in understanding when he assured me of this.

"But the United Republic of Shelbia is allied with the Scuderia Kingdom, right?"

I know the answer, but I confirm that fact just in case. To which Apollo opened his mouth without changing his expression.

"Before the United Republic of Shelbia became one country, the West was allied with the Scuderia Kingdom. That remains intact to this day. On the other hand, the alliance that the east had with the Jiernetta Kingdom remained intact. As a result, there is a standoff within the United Republic of Shelbia following this full-scale war between the leading nobles of the East and West."

I felt Camsin gasp in surprise behind me at these words. Well, considering the surrounding situation, it certainly sounds plausible: the Jiernetta Kingdom was winning too many information battles with us, so we suspected spies, either nobles from the Scuderia Kingdom or peddlers, adventurers, and the like.

Of course, this included the intervention of other countries.

Because of this, I was not that surprised by Apollo's words. Well, I was a little surprised, but not that surprised. It is true.

"Ohon."

I coughed while thinking about this and turned to the map.

"Then the forces that are cooperating with us are in a weaker position? No. Did they simply look at that new weapon and decide that Jiernetta Kingdom has a better chance of winning? Well, I guess there's nothing we can do about that."

Sighing as he says this, Camsin snarls, not hiding his indignation.

"...But I don't think we should act as if we're abandoning someone with whom we have an alliance."

Camsin is quietly angry, and I chuckle at his straightforward opinion and turn to Arte, who has been quietly listening to the conversation so far.

"If Arte were the king of the United Republic of Shelbia, what would you do? By the way, think of it as if I were not in the Scuderia Kingdom."

When I asked this question, Arte was a little flustered, but thought it over cutely.

"...If, if Van-sama is not there, Jiernetta Kingdom might feel stronger and cooperate with us. You know, I might look at the black balls of Jiernetta Kingdom and wonder if the United Republic of Shelbia would be targeted..."

And Arte apologetically, but properly politically minded, voiced his opinion. After all, Arte is a quick thinker. He also thinks about the effects of war on the people around him. I wondered how he had developed such a viewpoint and way of thinking, which he had never learned.

I wondered a little, but agreed with Arte's words and decided to explain.

"Yes, I agree. When a powerful country appears around us, we have to think about many things to avoid being invaded. I hope we can have enough power to oppose them, but if we can't, we need to somehow get them on our side... I mean, the United Republic of Shelbia thought that the Jiernetta Kingdom was stronger and more dangerous than the Scuderia Kingdom. I guess. Normally, there would be an internal struggle between East and West to decide which country to side with, but I guess the nobles on the side of Scuderia Kingdom could not simply join Scuderia Kingdom."

Saying so, he placed his index finger on the map and pointed to the border area between Shelbia and Jiernetta. Apollo nods at that and looks serious.

"Still, some of the nobles could have originally been on the side of the Scuderia Kingdom. Perhaps someone might have information about them..."

Muttering, Apollo looked up with a gesture as if he were looking at us.

"...If so, likely, the nobleman who has that information is the one who has a territory near the border of the United Republic of Shelbia."

As he said this, Apollo pointed to a point on the map, west of the United Republic of Shelbia and bordering the Scuderia Kingdom. Everyone was stunned by the sight of this point.

At that moment, Till returned to the room with tea and sweets on the serving table.

"The delicious tea is here! Here you go!"

Saying this, Till puts the tea and sweets on the table, and finally comes over to me, notices everyone staring at the map, and speaks.

"Ah, the Marquis Fertio. Was there anything on that end of the map?"

Till uttered blithely and tilted her head.