Chapter 522: The Relationship Between the Three Countries

「I’m sorry for that fool from before」

The one bowing his head with a wry smile in front of Fran was the master of the Kiarazen Adventurer’s Guild.

He looked like a refreshing uncle, but his speech was coarse and had a gap. However, the presence emanating from his body was definitely that of a high-ranked adventurer.

「High ranked adventurers rarely come here, after all, I think that’s why she was so panicked when she met a B-ranker from another country in front of her. It has been a long time and I still can’t get rid of this newbie mentality. It’s better than last year though」

「Not many high-ranked? What if a strong magic beast appears?」

「They rarely appear, but when that happens, I’ll come out or ask the commercial fleet for help」

The fleet itself travels along a fixed route, but it was possible to reach each town in a few days by using small boats.

The adventurers in each town were trying to get by while waiting for help from the commercial fleet. That seems to be their basic strategy when an uncontrollable situation arises.

Therefore, most of the high-ranking adventurers in the area belong to the guilds in the commercial fleet, and they scatter to each town to do their work. The receptionist doesn’t have much contact with the high-ranking adventurers because the masters will be the ones to take care of them.

「And then, what will Fran do after this? You must have heard about the commercial fleet from that fool, but are you interested?」

「Nn… A little, but I can’t, there are places I have to go, maybe next time」

「I see, If the Black Lightning Princess is going to be active around here, I’d very welcome it」

「You know about that?」

「There’s not a single guild master on this continent who doesn’t know your nickname. I’m sure Diaz also has his eyes on you now. There’s been a lot of talks about you when she raised you to a B-ranker」

Come to think of it, to become a high-ranking adventurer, you needed a recommendation from a guild master. Because of this, it seemed that Fran’s story was spreading to the top brass of the guild.

「You’re a hell of a thing to actually face… Are you really from that Black Cat kin? It’s been a long time since my strong person detection skills have sounded that much of a warning… Even though I’m a former B-ranker too」

It can’t be helped, but it was true that this guild master was also quite strong.

He then observed Fran lightly and smiled bitterly.

「Coming here to get information about this country」

「Yeah, you’ve just crossed to Belios from Kranzel after all」

「Nn. What’s the relationship between this country and the other country?」

「Well, first of all, the current relationship between Belios and Kranzel is probably not so close」

Both countries were bordered by the military power of the Raidos Kingdom and have not had any major conflicts in the past. They both knew that if one of them falls, the other will be the next target of Raidos, so they work together moderately while accommodating each other in various aspects. That kind of relationship has continued for a long time.

「Ideally, we’ll reap the profit while the other country and Raidos try to crush each other. But I understand how difficult that would be」

Currently, there was no threatening force other than Raidos, and thanks to the threat of that country, the nobles were not asking them to attack the other country.

As long as there was no war, it was safe to say that the country was stable.

It reminded me a little of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms from my previous life, where the famous military strategist Confucius Kongming (Note: Zhuge Liang alias) proposed to his master Liu Bei a plan to divide the country into three parts. It was a famous plan that three opposing countries should check each other to bring stability. The northern part of the continent of Zilberd seemed to be in such a state by accident.

「Well, it looks like Kranzel is a little shaky for the time being, but that’s a big country. It’s not like it’s going to suddenly collapse. But the Belios Kingdom can’t afford to have it fall」

Although they send spies to each other, it seems neither side wants to actively destroy the other.

「I’m sure there will be some kind of support from Belios to Kranzel soon. Well, of course, we’ll do it quietly behind the scenes」

「I see, what about Raidos then?」

「 We’re still talking about them a little now, but it sucks」

They had been at war with each other for hundreds of years, and public sentiment between them was bad. To put it bluntly, many of the people here seemed to consider that country as an enemy.

「However, we believe that the risk of invasion is low now」

「Why?」

「Because we have that special self-governing region」

The special self-governing region. This was where the Academy of Magic was located. In terms of location, it was located on the west side of the Belios Kingdom, and if Raidos invaded, the self-governing region would definitely be in their pathway.

「Even though she was a High Elf, we wouldn’t just simply lend her a piece of land that’s equivalent to 10% of the country right? So, we used that as a deterrent. In fact, there are already several deals between Weena Rhyn, the head of the self-governing region, and the country」

「Deals?」

「I don’t know much about it, but I’ve heard that there are deals to participate in emergencies and that the technology created at the Academy will be made available to the rest of the country on a priority basis」

And so, the country has also granted various privileges to Weena Rhyn.

「We granted self-government for the special region, but this is probably for the best. They’re also exempted from paying taxes to the government, have the right to veto the extradition of criminals, and so on. They also have the power to interfere in the governance of Lake Vivian」

「Does that lake belong to the High Elf too?」

「No, she doesn’t have full authority, but she does have the power to interfere in development and other matters. She has also said that there is a spirit living in this lake and that if the spirit is angered, the country might be destroyed by it. I was told that she’s responsible for monitoring the spirits to make sure they don’t get angry」

「A spirit that could destroy a country?」

I’ve heard of that kind of story somewhere. It was Klimut’s Great Spirit of Wind. Could it be that the Great Spirit of Water was here? If so, it would be dangerous to anger it.

「But the guys from the commercial fleet were complaining about that too. Because every time they add a ship or decide on a new route, they have to report it to the government or the self-governing region, which is troublesome」

In fact, no one knew whether such spirits lived in this lake or not. It’s just that the High Elf, Weena Rhyn, said so, so it must be something like that.

「They can’t afford to offend the High Elf though, so they’re not going to against it」