by Dojyomaru
Gouran turned to look to the side. “Still... I’m surprised. To think you would bring such a thing here...”
He was looking at a jewel for the Jewel Voice Broadcast. The massive crystal that I had also used to communicate with Hakuya yesterday was occupying a corner of the room.
Sir Gouran furrowed his brow. “That is a Jewel Voice Broadcast Jewel, correct? Is this being broadcast somewhere?”
“No, this is only for communication purposes,” I said. “I’m not broadcasting it to the people.”
“...I see.”
“Do you have jewels in this country, too?” I asked.
“Just one. I would like to have more, but they’re made from dungeon cores. Unfortunately, we’ve only cleared one dungeon in this country.”
“I see...”
It sure was inconvenient that there was only one dungeon core.
The country had a fairly large amount of land, so I would want the to have one for broadcasting and one for communication, at least.
If we’d had any to spare, I’d have been willing to sell or trade them, but of the five dungeon cores we currently had, one was used for broadcasts from the castle, one for communicating with the Empire, and three for broadcast programs. Unfortunately, I had no way to help.
Well, with those pleasantries set aside, I dove into the matter at hand. “Now then, Sir Gouran, I have a proposal for you...”
“The ‘medical alliance’... I believe.” Before I could say it, Sir Gouran crossed his arms and groaned. “Treatments that don’t rely on light magic... It really is fascinating. Doctors, were they? For this country, where it’s hard to even walk around outside in winter, there would be great meaning in being able to permanently station one person who could perform treatments in every village. Besides that, you say they can treat diseases that light magic can’t. I’d very much like to have that.”
Sir Gouran sounded impressed. It felt like we weren’t off to a bad start.
But then Sir Gouran’s expression grew stern.
“However, there are things I don’t understand here. Why would you bring this to us? Wouldn’t studying the subject alone allow your country to grow more powerful?”
Suspicious eyes. He was trying to feel out if I had any ulterior motives.
When he asked me that, for a moment, I thought about how the empress of the Gran Chaos Empire might answer. She might say, “Medicine knows no borders.”
That person, who was not a self-proclaimed saint, but had been proclaimed a saint by others, was the sort to think about what was best for the whole world, and so those kinds of words suited her.
For me, on the other hand, that sort of idealism was a poor fit. I always thought of my own country’s benefit first. I didn’t think that was a bad thing, but if someone like me said, “Medicine knows no borders,” the words might sound hollow.
So I looked Sir Gouran in the eyes as I responded, “That’s... for practicality.”
“Practicality?”
“Yes. It’s true, it would be best to study it with only my country. However, that would take too much time and funding. Medicine is not a subject one country can fully study on its own. If I were to try to do it all with one country, I wouldn’t have enough time, personnel, or funding.”
What I needed to demonstrate was the realistic benefit of dividing the research. If I could prove it would be of benefit to both the kingdom and the republic, I could get things moving.
“That is why, like I proposed to Kuu, I want the republic to produce medical equipment and to export it to us. We will dispatch the doctors who can use that equipment. If this can be realized, the field of medicine should progress greatly in both our countries.”
“That’s true. It does sound like both countries stand to profit.” Gouran gave a big nod.
Was this... going to work?
“Well, then...”
“However.” It had looked like things were coming together, but then Sir Gouran fixed a stern look on me. “Can this truly be called an equal exchange?”
“...What do you mean?”
“Hearing your proposal of a medical alliance, I did a fair amount of thinking about it for my own part. It may look advanced, but, to make matters quick, I think it’s really just a development in the way medicine men and women treat their patients.”
“...You’re right,” I admitted.
He wasn’t mistaken. We had managed to cut out a lot of the process because of the existence of the three-eyed race that could see microorganisms, but doctors were merely a further development of the medicine man or woman who brewed medicinal infusions.
“In that case, it is something we can understand, too,” Sir Gouran said. “Basically, the kingdom trains ‘incredible medicine men or women,’ and our country is expected to create the ‘incredible tools’ that they use, right? If that was all we were dealing with, I’m sure you could call it fair, but there’s one more element: the medicinal infusions the medicine man or woman uses.”
“Medical infusions... You mean drugs?”
“We each hold one card, the ‘doctor’ and the ‘medical equipment.’ However, the ‘drugs’ card is floating in midair. We can’t take the ‘drugs’ card for ourselves yet. If the kingdom takes that card, the balance of power will largely shift in your favor.”
Drugs, huh.
It was true that, in the kingdom, the three-eyes race had developed three-eyedine (an antibiotic). Three-eyedine was extracted from a subspecies of gelin that could even live in poisonous swamps.
This country was very cold, and the liquid gelins would freeze solid, so they didn’t live here. It wouldn’t be possible for them to develop it on their own.
Naturally, they’d be dependent on imports. If the kingdom had control of those imports, it would be easy for more funding to flow into the kingdom.
...To be honest, I hadn’t thought about this until it was pointed out.
Obviously, I had considered the element of drugs, but I hadn’t expected the republic to be suspicious about it.
Still, now that I thought about it, it was only natural they would be. They were approaching these talks with a lot of determination of their own. They would think desperately about what could be disadvantageous to their country, and try to rub it out.
Because he was thinking so hard about their own country, Sir Gouran had hit upon this element of drugs.
He must be a good ruler... Well, in this case, his fears are unwarranted, though.
I mentally shrugged my shoulders. It wasn’t like I was deliberately avoiding the topic of drugs in order to make a profit down the line. I turned both of my palms towards Sir Gouran.
“There’s no need to worry. That card is no longer in the kingdom’s hands, you see.”
“Hm? What do you mean?”
“Juna. Bring that thing out.”
“Yes, sire.” Juna brought out a board-shaped thing that could fit in her arms, and placed it in front of the jewel so that everyone could see it.
It was a simple Jewel Voice Broadcast receiver. And projected on that simple receiver was a single beautiful woman.
When they saw that woman, Sir Gouran and Kuu’s eyes went wide.
“D-Dad!” Kuu cried.
“Yeah...”
“Hee hee, I’m sorry that I seem to have surprised you.”
The woman on screen smiled, then bowed slightly to Sir Gouran and the others.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, head of the Republic of Turgis, Sir Gouran Taisei. I am Empress Maria Euphoria of the Gran Chaos Empire.”
Chapter 7: The Tripartite Medical Alliance
Several days before the meeting...
With the Jewel Voice Broadcast jewel and simple receiver that had been delivered, I contacted Hakuya in Parnam Castle and informed him that I wanted to demonstrate Friedonia’s strength in order to ensure negotiations went smoothly. Demonstrating that our nation could be both a reliable friend and a troublesome enemy would make the alliance firmer.
When I asked Hakuya for his insight on the subject, the first idea he proposed was, “Will you deploy troops along the border?”
“Wait, we’re suddenly resorting to open intimidation in our diplomacy?” I asked, taken aback.
“I believe it is an easily understandable show of force,” Hakuya said with a cool look on his face.
...Huh? Was it possible he was serious?
“You’re joking, right? That would only make the other side needlessly wary, wouldn’t it?”
“I jest, of course. I was merely presenting the quick and easy method. If you hope for a long-lasting friendship, doing it may not preclude that, but it’s far from the best option.”
“...”
He’d said all that completely deadpan. It must have been Hakuya’s idea of a joke.
Way to make a joke that’s hard to get... I thought as I glared at him.
The next proposal he offered was, “Let’s get the Gran Chaos Empire involved in these talks.”
Empress Maria of the Empire?
“If your negotiations go well on this occasion, you intend to bring up the medical alliance with the Empire, too, right?” he asked. “You can move the schedule up on that.”
“That’s... Well, yes, it’s true I was thinking of it...”
If we were going to develop medical treatments and make them generally available, no single country could handle that alone.
If we forged ahead alone, we might be able to create a gap between ourselves and other countries, but our funding and manpower would have limits. If we tried to force just one country to do all the research, the progress would be slow.
In this world, external injuries could be treated with light magic, even serious ones, but there were still many people suffering from ailments that magic didn’t work on.
If someone close to me fell to disease while I was wasting time... I’d definitely regret it. It couldn’t hurt to be quick about developing medical treatments.
For the sake of that, I wanted the Gran Chaos Empire, the largest nation of mankind, and the one with considerable budget and manpower, to handle one wing of that development. I had a diplomatic channel to the Empire, after all, and their leader, Empress Maria, was a woman I could talk to. She was sure to support the idea.
However, I had been meaning to get things in place with the Republic of Turgis before I brought this subject up with the Empire. Because the kingdom and Empire were distant, we needed a country to act as an intermediary between us, or this would be all pie in the sky.
And yet Hakuya wanted to involve the Empire... to involve Maria... in our current talks.
“There is more than one way to show strength,” he said. “Our connections are another form of power. If we can introduce Madam Maria, who is the empress of the Empire, at the meeting, Sir Gouran will be shocked. It would inform him that the nations to the east and west of the republic have their own independent line of communication.”
“True, I’m sure that would shock him...”
If the Empire and kingdom were coordinating in secret, the republic could be caught in a pincer attack the moment it opposed either. Well, given their geographical situation (in winter they were completely isolated by ice), there would be hardly any benefit in invading them and occupying their territory, but it would still put pressure on them.
“...But still.” I scratched my head hard. “It would be incredible if we could do that, but it’s probably not realistic calling in Madam Maria. There aren’t many days left until the meeting. Isn’t it impossible, considering security, the necessary processes, and everything else?”
“What are you saying, sire?” Hakuya objected, looking exasperated. “Who is each of us talking to right now, and where is that person?”
“...Oh.” I finally realized what he meant.
That was right. If she attended the meeting remotely over the Jewel Voice Broadcast, there was no need to invite Maria to come here from the Empire. I’d been imagining them meeting in person, so I must have been a bit out of it to overlook something this simple.
I felt awkward, and cleared my throat loudly. “Ahem... With that in mind, even if the meeting is held over a Jewel Voice Broadcast, will Madam Maria take time out of her busy schedule to attend?”
“Almost beyond a doubt.”
“You seem awfully sure of that.”
“During my talks with Madam Maria’s younger sister Jeanne, I have already made the request to ‘put negotiation about medical technology on the table,’ and said that we are ‘willing to compensate you appropriately.’”
“You already had your eye on this, huh?” I said. “Well done.”
“We haven’t decided on a policy for medical technology yet, so we’ve just been slowly feeling one another out on the issue.”
Hakuya and Jeanne feeling one another out, huh? They were both sharp, so their conversations were probably like laying down stones in a game of Go. But I doubted they were tense about it. With my and Maria’s permission, Hakuya had even done things like exchange gifts with her while Piltory was making his temporary return to the country.
In regards to their relationship, Maria had once said to me during a broadcast meeting, “Lately, Jeanne feels so full of life. Hee hee, do you think she and your Prime Minister found something in common to talk about?”
She’d seemed so happy about it. The only thing I could imagine them having in common to talk about was complaints about their respective masters, though. I wasn’t so sure it was a good thing if they were having a good time talking about that.
“Regardless,” I said, “in short, if we bring up the negotiations on medical technology, we can call Madam Maria to the meeting with Sir Gouran, right? Then, by showing off our connection to them, we’ll shock Sir Gouran, and we can take the negotiations in a direction that’s beneficial to us?”
“Indeed.”
“It feels like accomplishing two things at the same time, but... aren’t you saying that we should effectively convince two separate countries simultaneously?”
“I believe that will be up to your abilities, sire.”
“You make it sound so easy,” I grumbled.
Honestly...
But, well, that was probably the most effective way to do it.
“Let’s go forward with that,” I said. “Hakuya, negotiate with the Empire and move the preparations along. Make sure there are no mistakes made with the other matter I asked you to address, too.”
“Understood.”
Hakuya bowed respectfully.
◇ ◇ ◇
And that brings us to the present.
Here now, the heads of the Republic of Turgis, Gran Chaos Empire, and Kingdom of Friedonia were meeting, even if it was over a broadcast.
Sir Gouran was left looking dumbfounded at Maria’s sudden appearance for a little while, but his expression soon returned to normal.
“Why, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I am the head of the Republic, Gouran Taisei.” He nodded to the empress on the simple receiver.
The jewel was on the opposite side of the simple receiver, so Maria could see he was nodding to her.
The Jewel Voice Broadcast of Maria giggled and smiled at Sir Gouran. “Please, forgive me for the rudeness of not informing you beforehand that I would be taking part in this meeting. I heard that a medical alliance was to be discussed here, and the Empire would very much like to participate.”
“I’d like to apologize, too,” I said. “It was decided on so suddenly, I didn’t have time to contact you in advance.”
Maria and I bowed our heads in unison.
Sir Gouran looked at us with a blank expression for a moment, but then he let out a hearty laugh. “Gahaha! It looks like Sir Souma’s pulled one over on me! I never thought you were connected to the empress of the Empire!”
Even though he was laughing, his eyes were fixed on me. He was probably cautiously probing my intent.
I corrected my posture while making sure not to avert my eyes
from his gaze. “I apologize for keeping quiet about this. However, I want to form this medical alliance between the Kingdom of Friedonia, the Republic of Turgis, and the Gran Chaos Empire, the three nations that make up the south of the continent.”
I was stating it clearly for Sir Gouran and Maria.
“I believe knowledge in the fields of medicine and treatment should be shared equally with all of mankind. Sickness strikes all, irrespective of race or borders. If an epidemic runs loose in one country, the damage will definitely spread to its neighbors. When that happens, if just one nation had the knowledge, drugs, or equipment, would we be able to protect our people? ...I say nay. Even if there is no discourse between countries, people such as merchants and adventurers are moving back and forth constantly. We can try to protect only our own people, but infectious diseases will keep on spreading.”
“That’s true,” Maria said. “Fortunately, I haven’t experienced one myself, but history records occasional epidemics on this continent, and how seriously they have shaken up the countries who underwent them.”
Yeah, history had recorded the same thing in my previous world, too.
In studying history for my entrance exams, I’d learned that the Black Death had been transmitted from Asia to Europe along the Silk Road, bringing chaos to many countries and then spreading onward to Africa, contributing to the fall of the Mameluke Sultanate.
In fighting epidemics, it was important to prevent the outbreak from spreading in its early stages. In order to do that, we needed to share medical knowledge.
“As long as our three countries share their medical knowledge, if an epidemic begins to spread in one country, we may be able to limit its spread to the minimum,” I said. “Furthermore, if an outbreak occurs in a country other than our three, we can coordinate in order to limit the area of our borders we have to inspect people at.”
“You’re right,” said Gouran. “For the republic’s part, not having to worry about our borders with the Empire and the kingdom would be appreciated.”
“I agree,” nodded Maria. “Our borders are needlessly long, so there’s nothing we would appreciate more than even a slight reduction in the number of checkpoints.”