Chapter 110.2

“Yes. Yes, it will take some more time. ……”

It is not clear whether prayer really works or not, but Kazura was skeptical about the efficacy of such things.

‘I don’t want to deny it outright, of course, but I’m more familiar with medicines that work if you take them.’

I suppose I could’ve said that I don’t need to look into the matter of prayer, but that might have led to denying the whole idea of prayer, so I decided to keep my mouth shut.

Believe it or not, it’s up to each individual.

“Okay, I understand. What about the type of medicine?”

“We’ve already prepared materials for over-the-counter products that can be obtained at stores, but we haven’t finalized most of the special drugs used by sorcerers, so we’re still negotiating.”

“Oh, there’s no need to rush. You don’t have to be in such a hurry. Can you just give me the information on the over-the-counter products later?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I heard that there is a herb garden in the city of Isteria.”

“Is it possible to visit it?”

“Yes, we can visit it when the construction is finished.”

According to what I had heard before, the herbs were cultivated in the herb garden by the sorcerer’s guild, which also had a monopoly on the production of medicines.

I don’t know what was going on inside the herb garden, but they seemed to be doing something about it.

It is troubling that they don’t know how to prepare the medicines, but they could promote the production of medicinal herbs by some means and leave the preparation to them.

We could promote the production of medicinal herbs by some means and leave the mixing to them, considering the friction of vested interests.

“Since ancient times, they have developed their own methods of making medicines, so nothing has leaked out. The cultivation of medicinal herbs is very difficult, and we are trying to encourage them to increase their production with subsidies, but it doesn’t seem to work very well.”

Narson says in a complimentary tone, and Kazura turns to look at him.

“Do doctors not use medicines?”

“The doctor must use medicines purchased from the sorcerer. The doctors are supposed to use medicines purchased from the sorcerers, although they seem to prepare their own medicines for wounds and such.”

“Hmm. …… Don’t sorcerers treat wounds?”

“─ Sorcerers do not treat external wounds, so they rely on doctors. Sometimes they use prayer to heal, but that’s not common because full-blown prayer is expensive.”

Apparently, there is a division of labor between sorcerers for the treatment of illness and doctors for the treatment of trauma.

I was a little surprised to learn that prayer is expensive.

“We should try to increase production somehow. Using fertilizer might be a good solution.”

“That’s right. If we can increase production, we can export it and make a profit, so we should do well. Before we go to the herb garden, I will prepare some sample herbs for you.”

“Yes, let’s use them to prepare before we communicate with the sorcerers.”

After that, we made some minor adjustments and closed the meeting.

“Kazura-san, regarding the meeting with the emissary of Krayrats, …..”, when Kazura and Liese were cleaning up the equipment, Zirconia called out to them.

The others had left the room and the three of us were the only ones in the room.

“Oh, yes. How was it?”

“That’s …….”

Zirconia explained the contents of the meeting with Carnelian and the others.

It’s a good idea to have a good idea of what you’re looking for.

Zirconia didn’t mention that the other party was probing, but only mentioned their demands and her answers.

“There are about four years left before the armistice expires, right?”

“Yes, there are about four years left.”

“If there is such a long period of time, does it mean that there is a possibility that Balbert will break the agreement?

“Of course there is that possibility. However, of course, breaking the agreement will result in a loss of trust from other countries. Unless there is a good reason, I don’t think they will break the agreement.

“Hmm …… Nevertheless, the fact that they have offered to march in means that the Krayrats have information that Balbert will break the agreement? Is that what the army is preparing for?”

I’m not sure that’s the case.

“No, I don’t think so. It’s a good idea to have a good idea of what’s going on in the world.”

“I’m not sure if that’s true or not. I’m not sure what to make of that.”

“I’m sure you’ll be able to understand why I’m so excited about this. If Kreilats is going to betray us, then that would explain the offer of the right to enter.”

Kazura listened and wondered what would happen if Kreilats betrayed them.

The last war had been a fierce battle that the allies had worked together to finally bring to a draw. But if the Krayrats betrayed them, the situation would be hopeless, wouldn’t it?

“There is a great possibility that the Kreilats will turn on him at the last minute. I think that Balbert may have contacted Kreilats in some way.”

When Zirconia finished, Liese, who had been thinking about it, offered her opinion.

“But if Kreilats was going to betray us, would he have bothered to come up with something like this?”

“What do you mean?”

“Rather than risk suspicion by doing so, it would make more sense to betray us just before the war starts and poke us in the side when we’re glued to Balbert. ……”

“I agree. But I think that the Krayrats made a deliberate offer like this to find out if we knew about the secret agreement between the Kreilats and Balbert.”

“If we had some information, we would have thought that they would have come up with some kind of ruse when they talked about the right to enter ……?”

Zirconia nodded again at Kazura’s words while Liese’s expression remained reluctant.

“I’m embarrassed to say that I don’t have as much experience in negotiations as some of the other military and civilian officials. I’m sure the other side understands that. The person I was negotiating with was the military commander of Kreilats, and he was watching me the whole time.”

“If they know that we have information, they will assume that we will betray them and deploy their troops to the border. Even if they don’t know whether we have the information or not, they can drag the garrison to the border line by daring to look deliberate. …… Is this how they plan to do it?”

“Yes. In the event that you are not aware of the fact that you’ve got the information, the Kreilats will be ambushed and suffer heavy losses. However, if we deliberately give the impression of treachery beforehand, we can attract a percentage of the army and bring them into a standoff. The Kreilats will be able to minimize the damage to their own troops while at the same time gaining face with Balbert, so I think it’s an effective measure.”

“I see. I see. So you are planning to leave the fighting to Balbert, with little or no fighting on your part. If that’s the case, then the offer of the right of entry is only beneficial to the Kreilats, isn’t it?”

“Yes. So, if the war starts four years from now, we will actually have to fight on two fronts.”

Ichiran frowned at Zirconia’s line.

“…… Isn’t that hopeless?”

“If the Krayrats don’t intend to fight properly and are just going to stare each other down, they can be contained by strengthening the defenses of the towns and forts along the border with the Kreilats. The Kreilats will have to be wary of the neighboring Protea, so they wouldn’t send their entire army against us.”

“I see. …… Either way, it’s going to be tough.”

“The situation is pretty bad, but we have to try.”

Zirconia then bowed and left the room, saying, “Well then.”

She only told Kazura about the meeting as she had promised the other day, but did not ask for any help.