Chapter 33: Miscalculation
As the war between Weimar and Admos reached its climax, a room in Admos Castle was filled with the kingdom’s high-ranking officials, including the King of Admos himself.
Their expressions were uniformly grim.
“Your Majesty… at this rate, it’s certain that the Weimar forces will break through our lines and invade the capital… We must act now…”
“Enough! I know that already!!”
The King erupted in frustration at the report from his advisor.
“Those Weimar scoundrels… they were supposed to be cowards, chasing after a foreign Summoner like a dog… How could they have become so bold?”
At the King’s muttering, a military official spoke up.
“No, far from being cowards, the morale of the Weimar soldiers is unnaturally high. It’s as if they are being driven forward with desperation, as if they are being attacked from behind…”
At those words, the King suddenly had a realization.
“I see… It’s not that Weimar is chasing after Kenta Maya; they are being controlled by him…”
Everyone present was taken aback by this revelation.
“So that’s it… Their desperation stems from Kenta Maya being behind them.”
“If they show any weakness, they might face purging from Kenta Maya…”
“How dare they… Those outsiders, meddling in our world! This will not be tolerated!!”
The high-ranking officials of Admos began to direct their anger not at Weimar, but at Kenta.
Watching the heated discussion unfold, the King of Admos reached a conclusion within himself.
“If that’s the case, it’s pointless to continue fighting Weimar. We must urgently seek reconciliation and bring this war to an end.”
The officials nodded in agreement with the King’s decision.
Weimar was a pitiful nation, dominated by the Summoner Kenta Maya.
They believed it was their mission to rescue it.
Thus, they sent envoys to negotiate with Weimar’s representatives, but…
“Wha—!? There’s no way we can accept such conditions!!”
They were left speechless by the terms proposed by Weimar for reconciliation.
“You can’t accept the conditions? Then we cannot agree to peace.”
The conditions from Weimar included ceding part of Admos territory and paying a hefty indemnity. The Admos representatives, who had come to liberate Weimar from Kenta’s grasp, were taken aback by Weimar’s unexpected hardline stance.
“W-Wait a moment! Didn’t you start this war under threat from that Summoner?!”
When the Admos representative said this, the Weimar representative scoffed.
“What are you talking about? It was your country that killed our soldiers, putting us in a national crisis. Kenta’s intentions have nothing to do with this war.”
The Weimar representative, backed by the Royal Family, flatly denied the claims of Admos.
“Y-Yes, it’s true that our soldiers killed yours, and we apologize for that. However, to say it led to a national crisis… We can’t accept that without hearing more details.”
It was clear that Admos bore some responsibility for the initial incident, making it difficult to overturn that fact.
However, they couldn’t understand what the supposed national crisis was about.
Yet, the Weimar side stubbornly refused to elaborate.
“We cannot disclose that. Do you think we can simply reveal state secrets?”
“W-Well…”
Once they mentioned state secrets, there was no further information to extract.
Thus, to establish peace, the Admos representatives had no choice but to accept Weimar’s demands.
They had no option but to return and report to the King.
Upon hearing the conditions proposed by Weimar, the King was genuinely shocked.
“What!? They really proposed such terms!?”
“Y-Yes…”
“Why? Aren’t they supposed to be under Kenta Maya’s control?”
Admos had intended to end the war unconditionally and agree to a plan to eliminate Kenta, but that premise had crumbled.
“It seems that’s not the case. Weimar views this war as retaliation for the crisis caused by our actions…”
“Then what is this national crisis supposed to be!?”
“That was the one thing they absolutely refused to discuss. They claimed it was a state secret…”
Listening to the report from the negotiator, the King of Admos became convinced.
Weimar was not being controlled by Kenta.
They were undoubtedly bowing to him and had submitted to his authority.
Continuing the war with Weimar would lead nowhere.
In fact, the current situation was leaning heavily in Weimar’s favor, and if the war continued, there was a high risk that Admos would be annexed.
With that in mind, the King made his decision.
“Convey this to the Weimar representatives: We will accept their conditions.”
“!! Y-Yes, understood…”
The negotiator bowed, his face betraying his frustration.
“I share your feelings of regret. But it’s better than losing our nation.”
The high-ranking officials nodded in agreement, their expressions still tinged with disappointment.
Thus, Admos accepted the terms for reconciliation from Weimar.
Amidst the busy aftermath of the war within the Royal Castle, the King of Admos was consumed by intense anger.
“Weimar… and Kenta Maya… I will not forgive you… I will not forgive you…”
And so, the war came to an end, leaving a deep-seated grudge within Admos.