A little before 4:00 PM, Gajue Tsuga's party approached the airspace above Resonare, the royal capital of the Norha Principality.
"Vice-Captain Tsuga, you did inform them of our visit, right?" the co-pilot asked in a flustered tone.
"Of course. Although outdated, we lent a manaphone to each nation's capital. Avalon should have contacted them."
"Well, if that's the case, then fine, but..."
Gajue Tsuga soon saw with his own eyes what had the co-pilot so worried.
"...Hot air balloons, huh."
Floating in the skies above Resonare were four hot air balloons, lingering as if to intimidate Gajue Tsuga and his party.
"It doesn't look like their burners are magi-devices."
Perhaps due to a scarcity of magi-stones and magi-crystals, they appeared to generate hot air by burning conventional fuel.
For the time being, the group of four hot air balloons was not blocking the flight path to the airfield on the outskirts of Resonare.
"They aren't aiming them, but they are carrying what look like crossbows," Manon pointed out.
Since it was a helium airship, it would not catch fire and explode, but puncturing the gas bag would cause it to crash. In that sense, even if it was just four hot air balloons, they posed a sufficient threat.
Manon braced herself to deploy a barrier projector, one of her secret armaments, at a moment's notice. Fortunately, however, nothing happened, and the airship touched down smoothly at the airfield on the outskirts of Resonare.
A diplomat from the Norha Principality was already waiting for them on the tarmac.
"Punctual, I see....You would be Sir Gajue Tsuga and your party, yes? I am Harley Bohmsun, diplomat of the Norha Principality."
A middle-aged man guarded by five soldiers introduced himself.
"I am Gajue Tsuga, chief ambassador of this goodwill mission. These are deputy envoy Fione Fias, and my attendant, Manon."
Gajue Tsuga introduced his companions in turn.
"Welcome."
With that brief greeting, Harley Bohmsun had the group board an old-fashioned golem carriage and set off toward the royal capital of Resonare.
Incidentally, this airfield also lacked anything resembling a proper hangar, so the airship remained parked out in the open. Naturally, the pilot and co-pilot stayed behind to guard it.
"Your audience with the Duke and Chancellor will take place tomorrow."
In the reception room of the Guest House, Gajue Tsuga and Harley Bohmsun sat discussing the itinerary.
"The magi-stones you brought as a souvenir this time are an immense help."
"I am glad to hear that."
"To be greedy, we would have preferred magi-crystals, even in small quantities, however."
"Haha, let us save that for after formal diplomatic relations have been established."
It seems negotiating with this country requires plenty of diplomatic tact—finesse, beating around the bush, and reading between the lines, Gajue Tsuga thought.
Meanwhile, Fione Fias and Manon were in their guest room.
"This room is quite nicely made."
Fione Fias felt that the accommodations were a cut above those in the Mimaka Principality and the Darato Principality.
(There don't seem to be any eavesdropping devices.)
Manon had used her detection to confirm that there were no suspicious devices within a twenty-meter radius.
(However...)
The attitude of the lady's maid who had guided them and the soldiers stationed under the guise of security could hardly be called friendly. In fact, their probing, watchful attitude was painfully obvious.
(This doesn't bode well for what lies ahead...)
With that in mind, Manon contacted Laojun and asked him to consult Jin about granting permission to release her limiters.
The permission was granted immediately.
Jin happened to be on Hourai Island, already fretting over the situation in the Four Principalities, starting with the Jagus Principality. Thus, Jin granted permission for Manon to utilize all of her functions to protect the safety of Gajue Tsuga's delegation.
"Now then, let's review our points."
After dinner, Gajue Tsuga called Fione Fias and Manon to his room for a final briefing for the following day.
"The Four Principalities are sometimes called a 'granary,' but that only applies up to about thirty kilometers inland from the coastline."
Further inland, the lack of water prevented any proper plant growth.
"However, within that thirty-kilometer range, the land is extremely... yes, much of it is more fertile than in the Conference Countries, so in that sense, it can indeed be called a granary."
"How mysterious," Fione Fias remarked.
Manon, however, understood the true background behind it: the Origin Clan had terraformed the land. Though their ultimate objective remained unknown, fertile soil nearly one hundred meters thick had been piled over the entire region where the Four Principalities lay. Consequently, as long as there was suitable water for cultivation, it served as first-class agricultural land.
"Perhaps because of the ceaseless conflicts with the neighboring Jagus Principality, this Norha Principality possesses a fair amount of military power."
This much was already known.
"Therefore, one of our objectives is to grasp the extent of that military power."
"Yes. Both its scale and quality."
"Correct."
Judging by their use of hot air balloons instead of blow floaters and the lack of proper hangars at the airfield, their quality—that is, their technology—was likely lagging behind. Even so, just as an outdated golem remained a lethal threat to humans, Gajue Tsuga emphasized that they must never underestimate them.
"...And one more thing."
Gajue Tsuga lowered his voice.
Since Manon had already confirmed the absence of eavesdropping devices and quietly erected a soundproofing barrier, the precaution was largely unnecessary, though.
"Brace yourselves, as tomorrow will likely be quite uncomfortable."
This was directed at Fione Fias.
"This country seems to have a distinct tendency to reject outsiders."
"We don't know the exact reason for it yet, though," Gajue Tsuga added with a wry smile. "Also, refrain from asking questions about the Revolutionary Party. It seems to be a rather sensitive topic."
"Understood."
Gajue Tsuga explained that he would gauge their attitude before bringing up the topic himself.
"Of course, the most important matter is whether they have any intention of joining the Conference Countries, and whether they are willing to make the effort to do so."
"...Doing so right off the bat might prove difficult."
"Indeed, unfortunate as it is."
"From my perspective, perhaps another approach would be to bring the Mimaka Principality and the Darato Principality into the Conference Countries first, showcasing the benefits to encourage an ideological shift," Fione Fias offered.
"Mm. That is certainly one way to go about it. But in that case, I worry that the countries that received those benefits might face jealousy, envy, and harassment... or rather, outright attacks from the ones that didn't."
Gajue Tsuga agreed in principle, but noted the lurking danger posed by the Jagus Principality.
"That is why, if possible, bringing all four nations in at once is the ideal scenario. The second-best option would be to incorporate the three nations excluding the Jagus Principality. But that seems quite difficult to pull off."
Fione Fias nodded slowly.
"Yes, you are right... If we rely on a bilateral contrast—pitting the Norha Principality against the Mimaka Principality, and the Jagus Principality against the Darato Principality—it would take quite a long time."
"Exactly. That is why we must lay the groundwork so that the upcoming goodwill mission from the World Conference can achieve the greatest possible results."
"Yes, I understand."
"With that in mind, regarding how we direct the discussion in tomorrow's meeting..."
Their strategy session continued late into the night.