The morning of February 22nd arrived. At last, the Founding Anniversary Ceremony of the Celuroa Kingdom was set to begin.
A little before 9:00 AM, the guests from every nation gathered in the Great Hall of the Guillaume Detached Palace, which loomed over the center of Dali.
"Guillaume" was the name of the king two generations prior—the grandfather of the current monarch.
Representing the Klein Kingdom were six individuals: the second prince Arthur, his attendant Liones Ashford, Jessica Norton, Gloria Allstatt, Boulton Allstatt, and Cynthia Kirkman.
From the Kingdom of Egerea were Duke Angus Blue Pyroid and Earl Dave Maida Guarana.
From the Kingdom of Elias came Marchioness Firenziano. The shipwright Marcia did not hold a peerage and therefore did not attend.
From the Kingdom of Franz was Duke Lufort de Orange.
The Shouro Empire sent a delegation of six: Empress Gerhardt Hilde von Rubiss Shouro, Marquis Gehren Teoderik von Eisen, Magic Technology Minister Degauss Fruit von Manischras, Baron Reinhard Randol von Adamas, Lieutenant Colonel Fritz Randol von Grosch, and Captain Mattheus Geist von Realgar.
And finally, there was the "Lord of Kunlun," Jin Nidou; his fiancée, Female Baronet Elsa Randol von Lazula; and the squire, Reiko Nidou.
Unfortunately, Edgar and the Schwarzritter were not included in the official headcount. Since they were not provided with chairs, they stood behind their masters alongside the other nations' guard golems.
The participants were grouped by nation, each seated at a luxurious table scaled to the size of their party. The fact that the hosts had gone to the trouble of providing tables of varying sizes was a subtle display of their pride as a major power.
The seating was arranged in a three-by-two grid—three columns and two rows. In the front row, from right to left, sat the Kingdom of Franz, the Shouro Empire, and the Kingdom of Egerea. The back row, from right to left, consisted of the Lord of Kunlun, the Klein Kingdom, and the Kingdom of Elias.
The moment the shadow of the large sundial pointed to nine o'clock, a fanfare played loudly.
As the music faded, a podium located halfway up the back wall of the Great Hall was bathed in light. The King of Celuroa, Richard Valois de Celuroa, stepped forward.
In terms of their relative positions, the guests were in the first-floor seats while the king stood in a second-floor gallery. It was a vantage point designed so he could look down upon and survey the gathered assembly.
"Listen, all of you."
Richard began his speech.
His opening words were spoken in an insolent tone. It was hardly the way to address people representing their respective nations—especially when the Empress of another empire was among them.
"I am pleased that you have assembled for the Founding Anniversary Ceremony of my great kingdom."
His words continued in a patronizing manner.
"Our Celuroa Kingdom is the legitimate heir to the former Dinar Kingdom. Therefore, we must shoulder the responsibility of leading this Lauren Continent."
What kind of logic is that? Jin wondered. He stole a glance at those around him, only to find that most of them wore cool, indifferent expressions, as if they weren't even bothered by the self-important speech.
(Ah... I see. This is a regular occurrence.)
The situation felt familiar to Jin. It reminded him of the New Year's greetings given by the president or executives back when he was a salaryman.
It was the same memory: someone getting drunk on their own words while spouting outlandish company mottos, creeds, or annual goals that were completely disconnected from the reality of the front lines.
During his first year in the workforce, Jin had learned that the best way to handle speeches from such bigwigs was to let the words go in one ear and out the other.
"...Therefore, in order to lead the culture of this continent..."
Jin, who was listening while thinking, I hope this ends soon, no longer registered the content of the address.
After about thirty minutes, the long speech finally reached its conclusion.
Well, rattling off a speech that long without even looking at a script is actually kind of impressive, was Jin’s only takeaway.
"...With that, I conclude the opening remarks."
A burst of thunderous applause and cheering erupted. Naturally, these were the plants—or rather, the security soldiers—stationed throughout the venue.
Jin and the other attendees offered perfunctory applause of their own.
(...Wait, those were just the opening remarks?)
Jin felt truly disheartened, wondering how long the main event's speech would be.
At that moment, the ceiling and all four walls of the Great Hall became suddenly bright, as if they had vanished. Everyone looked up at once.
To their surprise, the four walls and the ceiling—excluding the floor—were actually magi-screens. They had all begun to function simultaneously.
It felt as though the assembly had been suddenly cast outdoors.
"O-Oh...!"
Someone let out a cry of admiration.
Dozens of golems appeared on the magi-screens. They were sturdy-looking combat golems, twenty in total.
They split into two groups and lined up, thrusting the spears they held vertically toward the sky.
"Oh!?"
More cries of surprise arose.
Against the backdrop of the blue sky, large fireworks—no, flames of fire-attribute magic—erupted from the tips of the spears.
It was likely the mid-level fire-attribute magic, Fireball. However, the quantity and size were staggering.
(...I see, they're using Elradrite to boost them, aren't they?)
Jin speculated, and he was correct.
Even so, the magi-engineering required to use fire-attribute magic as a substitute for fireworks was quite substantial. The gathered attendees were visibly impressed by the level of the Celuroa Kingdom’s culture.
And then, there was more.
"W-What is that!?"
Ten large-scale golems appeared. They were approximately four meters tall.
Despite their massive size, they moved nimbly and formed a line in the center, brandishing swords. Seeing three rows of combat golems of that scale was quite a spectacle.
The demonstration did not end there.
Giant airships—four of them in the sixty-meter class—approached from the north, south, east, and west.
"S-So big..."
Even if "big" did not necessarily mean "strong," the mere size of the vessels was enough to make an observer feel threatened. Richard's plan was working; the other attendees were beginning to look intimidated.
But Jin was different.
(So they're using hydrogen for buoyancy... They seem to know that open flames are forbidden, but still... I hope they don't cause a major disaster eventually.)
Just because they used hydrogen didn't mean they would catch fire immediately, but Jin decided he would give Crown Prince Cesar a warning about it later.
Then, a further blow was dealt to the guests' composure.
"O-Oh? Is mist rolling in?"
The area surrounding the Guillaume Detached Palace was encircled by wide waterways, and mist began to rise from them, blurring the surroundings.
"...Mist Fog?"
Elsa whispered in a soft voice.
Mist Fog was a mid-level water-attribute magic that turned water into particles to artificially create fog. It was commonly used as a screen.
In an instant, their vision was blocked. All they could see was a world of milky white. However, since this was only happening on the screens, their immediate surroundings within the hall remained clear.
Because of this, Jin, Elsa, Reiko, and Edgar could clearly see that the leaders of the various nations were being overwhelmed by this display of the Celuroa Kingdom’s power. Even the Empress herself had turned pale.
(...Granted, the ability to activate magic of this scale in an instant is something that shouldn't be ignored, but...) Jin thought.
(It's just brute force in the end. There's nothing noteworthy from a technical standpoint,) Elsa noted.
Jin and Elsa exchanged looks. To them, the display was nothing more than a hollow show of intimidation. The only thing they were interested in was what would happen next.
"Ooooh!"
Someone shouted.
The veil of mist thinned, and something began to take shape. One giant shadow, then two... six in total.
"L-Look at that!"
The mist vanished all at once—the sudden disappearance being a telltale sign of magically generated fog.
Once the mist cleared, what stood revealed were six ships that, in this world, would be considered "dreadnoughts."
They were wooden magi-sailing ships with a total length of sixty meters.
Jin had mentally dubbed them "wooden magi-sailing ships" because they differed from the sailing ships of Earth by having only one sail. He surmised this was because the technology for sailing by catching the wind was not yet mature. Additionally, since they moved by catching magically generated wind, they might have concluded that a single sail was sufficient.
"How massive..."
"They can actually build something like that...?"
Comparing the ships to the golems made their size easy to grasp. The attendees were overwhelmed by their sheer scale.
"Hmm, from a military perspective, they would have many uses," Marquis Gehren of the Shouro Empire noted with interest.
But Jin felt differently.
"...How dangerous."
He saw through the structural fragility in a single glance. The keels were flimsy and visibly lacked strength. He frowned as he imagined that while they might be fine on a calm lake, they would likely fall apart the moment they entered the rough waves of the open ocean.
«Now then, everyone.»
From somewhere, the voice of the King of Celuroa, Richard, echoed throughout the hall. He seemed to be using a magic tool similar to the loudspeakers Jin had seen in Port Rock.
«I believe you have seen a glimpse of our nation's power. From here, I would like to view the gifts from each of you in turn. We shall allow everyone to see the contents on the magi-screens as well.»
Replacing the view of the outside, a luxurious room was projected.
Richard had moved there at some point and was now seated at the far end, with a butler, a maid, and an automata lined up beside him. Richard had a beautiful maid pour his favorite wine into a glass, which he held up as he spoke.
«Now then, let us first see the celebratory gift from the Kingdom of Franz.»
Four maids worked together to carry in a large box roughly the size of a person's embrace. They placed it on the floor. When they lifted the lid, the contents were revealed.
«Ho, this is quite something.»
It was a golden vase encrusted with jewels and magi-crystals. It was impossible to even guess how much it was worth.
«This is quite the fortune. I have certainly received the sincerity of the Kingdom of Franz.»
Richard directed his words of praise toward Duke Lufort de Orange, then took a large gulp of his wine.