Chapter 136 - Chapter 136: Four Seasons
Thank you always for your typo reports.
The incident of Crown Prince Karl of the Kingdom of Meizack kidnapping Sherry has been resolved. The Kingdom of Meizack ceded its western side to the Kingdom of Cascade and the Kingdom of Merda, and in addition to paying reparations, it was decided to present seasonal goods to Sherry every season.
The reason for "seasonal goods" is that they are offerings to the gods to celebrate the harvest of each season. They are divine offerings, sacrificial food, for Sherry, who is a goddess. Although the Kingdom of Meizack is a southern country with no distinct four seasons, there were still crops unique to each season, and indigenous earth mother goddess beliefs remained in various places even after the expansion of the Fries Holy Church, with a custom of offering gifts to the gods to celebrate fertility.
Everyone accepted this reconciliation proposal. Except for Sherry.
When the reconciliation proposal was presented by the Kingdom of Meizack and the meeting of the Kingdom of Merda to examine it was held, Sherry was pulling her younger brother's ear.
"It hurts, Big Sister."
"Put your hand on your chest and think about why you got your ear pulled."
Sherry's bad mood was exploding. Everyone returning home safely was undoubtedly thanks to Steve, but she couldn't accept that he did unnecessary things. Her bad premonition had come true.
"It was necessary to make the Kingdom of Meizack suffer pain so they never lay a hand on us again."
"You didn't need to go wild dressed as me."
This was completely Steve going too far.
When asked why he went wild dressed as Sherry, he answered that he thought it would be more fun. Steve's impression was that Sherry's face was as scary as the King of Hell.
For Steve, he thought that if he went wild dressed as Sherry, the soldiers of the Kingdom of Meizack would be terrified of Sherry. However, even if he didn't dress as Sherry, telling them not to touch Sherry with his own appearance would have yielded the same result.
The main reason was simply that it was fun.
Since receiving the initial report, Sherry's anger has not subsided, and she is now venting her anger at Steve like this.
And, since it was his own doing, the members of the diplomatic mission who were saved did not offer a helping hand to Steve. They were grateful, but seeing Sherry's anger, they thought they should not get involved.
Watching this bickering pair with a bitter smile was Alex, the plenipotentiary ambassador of the Kingdom of Cascade. Alex was appointed as the plenipotentiary ambassador for the Kingdom of Cascade in the reconciliation negotiations with the Kingdom of Meizack, following the tradition of the diplomatic mission's overseer.
Normally, this would be the work of Margrave Remington, the leader of the southern faction of the Kingdom of Merda, but this time, because Alex had accompanied the diplomatic mission, Margrave Remington yielded to Alex. Well, Margrave Remington himself felt that his territory was already sufficiently expanded, and if he failed in this negotiation and was blamed, he thought it would be fine to let someone else take the credit.
For Alex, it was a wish-fulfillment. He had experienced being kidnapped, but if that led to a merit, he felt that the hardship would be rewarded. And so, he was here now.
Margrave Remington, or rather, a one-sided attack by Sherry, King Abel also watched with a bitter smile and asked for approval or disapproval of the reconciliation proposal.
"Well, who is in favor of this reconciliation proposal?"
However, no one raised their hand.
It was only natural; seeing Sherry in such a state, no one could agree to conditions involving divine offerings.
Sensing the atmosphere, Sherry let out a deep sigh.
"The conditions are impeccable. Besides, it would be more convenient for me to be thought of as a goddess in the Kingdom of Meizack, right? I give up."
With those words, the acceptance of the reconciliation proposal was decided.
Now, the next step was negotiating the terms between the Kingdom of Cascade and the Kingdom of Merda.
The western region of the Kingdom of Meizack being ceded this time included a major port. For the Kingdom of Merda, obtaining a major port was a long-cherished wish, as they had surrendered the port to the Kingdom of Cascade.
Alex understood that, but if he gave the port to the Kingdom of Merda here and further strengthened their national power, it could become a threat to the Kingdom of Cascade in the future. If that happened, he thought future historians would write that he was foolish.
However, at the same time, he thought it was not a good strategy to incur Steve's displeasure here. This incident was the result of Steve trying to save his sister, and he wondered if he, who had done nothing with the profits that came along with it, could take them.
For Alex, this was a chance to finally build a track record, but for these reasons, he had a tremendous internal struggle. Also, Count Cutter, whom he usually consulted with, was not present, and there was no confidant he could consult with.
Before Alex, who still could not settle his thoughts, a map presented by the Kingdom of Meizack was spread out. Even if they ceded territory, neither the Kingdom of Merda nor the Kingdom of Cascade had an accurate map of the Kingdom of Meizack, so they had it presented.
King Abel, as if seeing through the heart of the worried Alex, immediately circled the area including the largest port.
Seeing this, Alex panicked, wondering what he should do.
However, the next words that came out deepened his worry further.
"How about we take this part as the Kingdom of Cascade's share, and the rest for our country?"
He gave up the port he wanted more than anything with such ease.
Alex glanced at King Abel's face, but he could not discern his intention.
Thinking that if King Abel said no, he would look at Sherry and the other retainers, but everyone had a look that said, "If King Abel says so," and no one showed surprise at being taken by surprise.
Alex gave up on reading the other party's face and decided to think from the other party's perspective again.
Did the Kingdom of Merda give up on the largest port because they were afraid of the Kingdom of Meizack's retaliation? No, if that were the case, they would have reconciled without a reconciliation proposal. Then, the Kingdom of Meizack is irrelevant. So, are they afraid of the suzerain, the Kingdom of Cascade? Yes, Alex thought.
The Kingdom of Merda has now welcomed Sherry as Queen and obtained Steve as a card. However, Sherry will not live forever. Also, if she returns to the Kingdom of Cascade for some reason, the card of Steve will become unusable.
At that time, if they are targeted by the Kingdom of Cascade, they will be crushed. The Kingdom of Merda must show a posture of submission.
They might gain enough power to fight the Kingdom of Cascade eventually, but he concluded that they probably do not want to provoke the Kingdom of Cascade as much as possible until then.
This was exactly the same as King Abel's thoughts. King Abel thought that he should not say the desired profit as it is for now.
He thought that if gaining the port and increasing economic power would lead to being eyed with suspicion, it was better to give up the port. Rather, he wanted them to think he had no hostility by showing a posture of voluntarily ceding to the Kingdom of Cascade.
Not knowing his inner thoughts, Alex proceeded with the negotiations on the premise that he would do so.
Next, it was his turn to yield, and he worried about what to yield.
While Alex was forced to make a choice at a crossroads in his life, Steve, disguised as Sherry, was making everyone laugh.
Sherry's appearance, Sherry's voice.
"Steve, you child!"
Steve's impersonation echoed in the meeting hall.
The high officials of the Kingdom of Merda burst out laughing, but seeing Sherry's face turn red with anger, they hurriedly stopped laughing.
Sherry did not reprimand the laughing officials but targeted only Steve.
"Big Sister, you're angry, you know!"
Saying that, she slapped Steve's cheek hard, but her palm was swallowed by Steve's face, which had turned into mercury.
And thus, Sherry's anger grew even stronger.
Alex, watching this, was dumbfounded that he didn't know human feelings. He thought it was ridiculous that he was the only one thinking seriously.
Strangely, when he stopped thinking like that, things he hadn't thought of before began to well up.
"King Abel, if so, let's extend from this port like this, so that the Kingdom of Cascade holds territory between your country and the Kingdom of Meizack. That way, the responsibility for preparations against the Kingdom of Meizack will be ours."
Alex proposed that. It was a territory shaped like the number 7.
From the largest port on the northern coast, extending eastward, obtaining a long, narrow territory north to south. It would be sandwiched between the Kingdom of Meizack and the Kingdom of Merda on the east and west.
For now, the Kingdom of Merda is a vassal of the Kingdom of Cascade and has no movement toward independence, so practically, they would only station defense troops against the Kingdom of Meizack on the eastern side.
By doing this, the Kingdom of Merda can thin its defenses on the eastern side. And, although small, they can obtain several ports.
He judged that this would save face for the Kingdom of Merda.
Alex glanced briefly at Steve. He prayed in his heart that if there was a problem, tell him immediately.
Such Steve, with a serious face,
"Sister, this is an important meeting that affects the national interest. Please calm down."
He admonished Sherry.
In Sherry's form.
"You are the most irresponsible one!"
Sherry's thunder struck.
Alex, without saying it out loud, prayed for Steve to take this seriously and looked at him as if clinging to him.
Steve himself was in high spirits because he had successfully rescued Sherry. He had gone to the Kingdom of Meizack assuming the worst-case scenario, but as a result, there were zero casualties among their allies.
It was the best possible result, and he was elated from the feeling of having accomplished it. Besides, for Steve, the reconciliation proposal of the Kingdom of Meizack didn't matter at all.
So, he thought it didn't matter what the distribution was as long as King Abel and His Highness Alex discussed and agreed.
If he had said that out loud, Alex would not have worried so much.
"That is a good proposal."
With King Abel's statement, the distribution of the territory was decided.
For King Abel, it was also a perfect result. As for the reparations, they decided to divide them by headcount. Normally, the Queen and His Highness would be higher than other officials, but since they could predict that there would be those who would not be satisfied with the Kingdoms based on the proportion of Sherry and Alex's reparations, they simply divided it by head regardless of status.
Naturally, the Kingdom of Merda ended up with a larger share.
There were no objections later, and it was the best choice.
As for Steve's share, Sherry decided it was none due to her anger. Both Alex and Abel were very apologetic about this, but Steve did not seem to mind it at all, so they left it as is.
For Steve, if the Kingdom of Meizack's reparations went into the Kingdom of Merda, the money would be refunded to the House Archibalt, which had covered the costs, so he thought that was fine.
And, Sherry certainly did not think of defaulting on the reparations that her parents' home had covered for her.
Alex, who had somehow concluded the negotiations with the Kingdom of Merda, was enjoying the sense of liberation of having finished the job. Beside him, Steve and Sherry were still playing around.
Steve, whose ear was being pinched by Sherry, looked at King Abel.
"Brother-in-law, let's hold a parade to celebrate Sister's return. The people must have been anxious hearing that Sister was kidnapped. We should definitely show them her safe appearance."
"I see. Indeed, that is so."
King Abel agreed with Steve's proposal. Sherry opposed it.
"No way. It's embarrassing. Besides, Steve's antics have probably spread throughout the country, right? Everyone must be misunderstanding. Being worshipped during a parade is embarrassing."
Steve's success while dressed as Sherry had also reached the Kingdom of Merda. To avoid the Kingdom of Meizack realizing their misunderstanding, the Royal Family did not deny that it was not Sherry. As a result, some people in the Kingdom of Merda began to think that Sherry might be a goddess.
Sherry was originally popular among the people. With the added notion that she might be a goddess, in addition to being thought of as a Virgin Mother, the soil for accepting it smoothly had been prepared.
"Sister, then I will participate in the parade dressed as you instead. I will show the people your benevolent magic."
"Oh, in that case, I'll go."
Sherry placed her hand on her forehead. She had given up on Steve doing it and decided to participate in the parade herself.
This time, last time, and the time before that, the titles were taken from songs that were popular when the author was young. So, "seasonal divine offerings" is forced, but please ignore it. No, saying "when the author was young" is a lie.