That’s not going to be effective, and you can’t just deal with each and every individual case, either. If it gets buried in the dark then it’s over. Anyway, since we couldn’t get any good ideas right now, the Empire and the Kingdom should continue to deliberate this later.
◇ ◇ ◇
We called back the bureaucrats we sent outside and continued the conference well into the night. Naturally, it was then time to fill our stomachs. Since Jeanne was a VIP from another country, we ought to have had stopped the meeting for dinner but both Jeanne and I felt it would be a waste of time so we continued conversation over food; something that we could eat while working. Therefore, I decided to treat Jeanne and company to some bread that we were investigating whether we could popularize in the country or not. Jeanne’s impressions were:
“Well this is something! While it looked mismatched to put a staple food on top of another, the two different textures when you sink your teeth into it makes for a best match. The sourness of the tomato sauce works well, too. Also, being able to eat something that you normally had to eat with a plate and fork on bread and with one hand, this is a novel idea I’m taking my hat off to! Magnificent!”
She openly praised me. Huhuhu, you’re thinking it’s a sandwich? Too bad, it’s a “Napolitan bread” 1! … well, I actually wanted to make yakisoba bread but I couldn’t reproduce that rich sauce no matter what. Which is why I used the pasta and tomato sauce that already existed in this world and made napolitan bread.
“I doubted the sanity of it when I first saw it, but it was really good”
“Bread and pasta aren’t something new, and yet a new texture is made when you put the two together”
Seems Liscia and Hakuya also liked it. We’re all but done dealing with the food problems, so it might be good to introduce Earth cuisine alongside novel foods like zelring udon. We could also acquire foreign currency by having a unique food culture. Anyway, the one who took to these unique menus, Aisha, was:
“Whom nom nom, huff!”
She was standing behind me as guard, but while doing that, was intently tossing the napolitan bread into her mouth. In fact, Aisha, how many have you eaten already? The mountain that was on the plate had turned into a small hillock. The hungry Dark Elf was operating normally even now.
“Phew … now then, we should get started on the matter of the occupation of Vannes”
“……”
After having a breather after eating the bread, Jeanne broached the topic.
“The Empire wishes to uphold the Humanity Declaration and will not recognize border changes through military action. We would like Elfrieden to return Vannes and its environs to the Principality of Amidonia”
“The Kingdom could not accept that wish. It was Amidonia who attacked first. We have the right of it, don’t you think?”
“Some would see them as the first to be induced to doing it, though?”
“It was an intervention by all definitions. It’s unreasonable to complain when the attacker becomes attacked instead, no? Is the Empire okay with this? The signatory and non-signatory nations will make light of the Humanity Declaration if you allow this attack”
“That is true. Which is why the Empire would have Amidonia pay the appropriate indemnities. As far as the Empire is concerned, both parties are at fault in this matter”
… well, I suppose she’s right. As a signatory of the Humanity Declaration, the Empire would have to stand by Amidonia and press Elfrieden for repatriation of territory. But that said, if they pardoned Amidonia’s attack, they would invite tyranny by the signatory nations and backlash from the non-signatory nations. Which is why they would give harsh sanctions on Amidonia, making them a warning for the signatory nations. The Empire is powerful enough to do so. I sent Jeanne a testing look.
“… If we do not comply, would you escalate to military force?”
“We would prefer not to … but yes, if necessary. Currently, the Empire only brought enough ‘numbers’ to be on par with the Elfrieden military, but we believe we have the ‘strength’ to crush both you and Amidonia together”
“I suppose. We would also like to avoid a fight”
I rested my elbows on the table and folded my hands over my mouth.
“Therefore, let’s first sort out each other’s intentions”
“Sort out …?”
“The Empire does not want to recognize the border change, so you would have the Kingdom return the occupied territory. Am I correct?”
“… yes. That is right”