I leaked the truth about the disease to the Proone via the Battle Dome.
I even tossed in a little "We have the technology to treat it~" note. (Not that I ever said we'd actually give it to them.)
Things moved at a breakneck pace from there.
After all, they were just a collection of cowards who had become aggressive toward everyone else simply because they didn't want to be eaten. Their mentality was that of the weak. Once you know the true nature of your opponent, there are countless ways to handle them.
First, several groups claiming to be anti-pope contacted us. This was a tricky situation. The Proone were also intelligent lifeforms, but they had a weak-minded perspective. It was safe to assume that almost all of them were liars who just wanted to save themselves. They might have even been a group looking to scalp the medicine for profit.
You can see it just by looking at Wifey; the truly strong are the ones saying, "Let’s all be happy together!"
Certainly, in terms of overall design, it’s fine if the state functions as a flock for the sake of the individual. Therefore, one should be presented with a completed form beyond the ideal, and if they dislike that form, they simply shouldn't support it.
However, the Proone were different. Their intelligence only functioned when it came to snatching things away from others. It was a narrowing of vision born from a survival strategy.
In cases like this, the Galactic Empire's accumulated experience spoke volumes. We whipped up a Judgment AI to discern who was lying. That said, it was difficult to tell from facial expressions or voices—our species were different, after all.
So, I decided to use these guys as samples. I wasn't going to kill them; I was just going to use them as fodder for the learning database.
That was why I set up meeting tables and dragged out the conferences indefinitely. It was fine, really. They weren't anyone important anyway. Normally, they were the type of people who would have been executed, their heads sent back to the Proone home world.
I repeated remote sessions with the bureaucrats, and then held "meetings for the sake of meetings" to prepare for an audience with me—the de facto Minister of Foreign Affairs. I praised some groups while applying pressure to others. Even those reactions served as fodder for the database. I also extracted internal faction information from the content of the talks.
Since the Imperial side was also putting out information, they probably thought they had succeeded in their espionage. But they were wrong. In the case of the Empire, that sort of thing was open information. We were the type of nation that dared not to hide information.
This was how we started—by getting to know one another.
Mutual understanding is such a beautiful thing. ♪
"H-How terrifying! The Empire is terrifying!!!"
Saria looked truly disgusted.
How rude! I was just doing the obvious things in the obvious way!
"The terrifying one is not the Empire, but the Lord Groom," Wifey remarked. "I must give a medal to the civil officials who recommended him for a diplomatic post. To think he was this suited for the job... By the way, Lord Groom, how is your mastery of the Ogre God Language and the Proone Language coming along?"
"Well, for Proone, complete mastery is impossible due to the differences in vocal organs. As for the Ogre God Language, the frequent nasal sounds like 'Ngo' and 'Nga' are difficult, but I've managed somehow."
"Are you serious... You've already figured it out that far... As I thought, the Empire is way too scary!"
"It's not scary. Being able to converse without going through a translator is important, after all."
Saria looked at me with wide eyes.
"...Leo-san?"
"What is it?"
"When did you become able to speak the Ogre God Language?"
"Only a part of daily conversation. It's the result of practicing every night before bed."
Saria pointed at me and turned toward Wifey.
"Well... it is about the Lord Groom, after all," Wifey said. "He has a habit of pinning down academic studies with his motor skills and physical strength..."
"I can't vocalize the Proone Language, though," I added.
"We can't do that either! Waaaaaah, now I have more things to report back to the home world~!!!"
Actually, I knew that Saria was putting his body on the line to conduct espionage himself as the Great King... or rather, it was likely his natural duty. That was probably why he was here in the first place.
I continued negotiations that were stickier than a slug. After all, we held the advantage. The Proone were under the misconception that we were begging for our lives.
It wasn't as if we couldn't fight. It was a trap where the more they fought, the more the Proone would collapse from within, which favored us.
Today was a pre-negotiation coordination session with the Pope's direct subordinate.
"Are you certain?! If we do not mediate the negotiations, you all will face extinction!"
"Are we not already in a state of war with your country?"
"That is why I am saying we will mediate!"
"I am grateful for that (not really). However, the citizens will not accept these terms (I have no intention of accepting them in the first place)."
Written there was nonsense about treating us with the highest honors as livestock. I could have gotten angry and lopped off his head, but it was fine. I was just sowing the seeds of discord.
"Mr. Kansas of the Citizens' Assembly offered much better terms, though."
I gave a beaming smile. It was unknown if the opponent understood the meaning of the smile, but it was a necessary process for my performance.
"Th-That traitor...!"
And there was the rage.
One might think I should support Mr. Kansas. No, no. He was just one faction of the Proone. From the moment they called us "meat," they were not negotiation partners, but merely pawns on the board. In fact, it would be more advantageous if Mr. Kansas were executed and there was no one left to restrain his supporters.
Of course, since this was high-level stuff, they might have been pretending to be angry while shaking hands with Mr. Kansas behind the scenes. But that was fine. That was diplomacy. Because we were gradually breaking them down from that side as well.
I sowed the seeds of discord among the commoner class. I said things like, "War requires money, right?" and caused them to raise taxes.
Furthermore, I used a classic of clandestine operations: an organization that fanned Proone patriotism and screamed, "Exterminate the Galactic Empire!" That group was receiving support from the Empire.
It was fine. It only changed the form of the hostility. Surely, they wouldn't think that the underground publications like The Encouragement of Patriotism or Listen to the Voice of God! belonged to the Empire. I would set fire to the hearts of the common people, who didn't even understand the meaning of the information coming in from the Battle Dome.
If they raised the white flag and surrendered, I was already prepared to hit them with incredibly disadvantageous terms and drag out the negotiations even further. I had made it so things would turn out well no matter which way they fell.
It was fine. I would create a situation advantageous to us regardless of the development. After all, I spent every day in preparation and discussion.
And so, I said to Saria with a full smile.
"Saria-kyun."
"What is it?"
"Peace is the best, isn't it?"
Once again, Saria pointed at me and sought help from Wifey.
"Lord Saria... if you must resent someone, resent Zork for waking the monster..."
In this manner, the Proone were driven into a corner without a single battle. Free speech can be quite the weapon.