Chapter 287: Negotiation with the Reich empire<hr>


    I finished my lunch, took a break and logged in.


    Ruin-san and the others send me off to Freetia Castle, where the messenger is. After Princess Sarah and Henri-sama tell me to be careful, I meet with the Reich''s messenger.


    "Are you the summoner of Ex Machina?"


    "Yes. My name is Takuto, the summoner"


    "Umm. Can you show me some proof?"


    "All right. Come on! Ix!"


    I summon Ix. Now there is no doubt that I am the summoner of Ix.


    "It''s definitely an ex machina. So what can I do for you?"


    "I would like to speak directly with your emperor about the duel between me and the dark summoners that will take ce in your country tonight"


    "What? I don''t understand why you want to talk to my emperor about a duel"


    Well, you''re going to be sober.


    "Well...I guess I have no choice. I give up. Can you give a message to the emperor of your country?"


    "Let''s make a decision after listening to the content"


    I approached the Reich''s messenger and spoke.


    "I''m sure you''ll never see Ex Machina or any of its weapons again"


    "!!?"


    "That''s all. Please sent my message. Now, if you''ll excuse me"


    "Pl, Please wait! I''d like to know the meaning of the message you just gave me!"


    You got a bite. Well, I had no choice but to bite.


    "Oh? Didn''t you know? My ex machina is powered by my magic. If I lose to the dark summoners, my ex machina will run out of control and use up all its energy. If that happens, the ex machina will never activate again. Of course, it will be impossible to see the weapon"


    This is a lie, by the way. Ix says that even if the contract expires, Ix will be able to re-sign the contract in the capsule and restore it by channeling ones magic power.


    "I''m not going to negotiate with your country again even if I win against the dark summoners. That''s all I''m saying"


    "...You''re saying that you''re going to negotiate with my country over ex machina?"


    "Yes. Can you arrange that?"


    "...One moment, please"


    The messenger converses with someone. When the conversation ends, hees to us.


    "...His Majesty the Emperor would like to see you. I will take you to him"


    "Thank you"


    I''ve passed the first barrier.


    I was teleported to the Reich Empire by the messenger and entered the Reichs''s royal castle. I will meet with the Emperor of the Reich Empire.


    "Are you the summoner of Ex Machina?"


    "Yes. My name is Takuto and I am a summoner. I would like to thank you for allowing me to meet with you. Your Majesty"


    "It is because I deem it important for my country. Tell me what you want"


    "Yes, I would like to negotiate with your country about the weapons used by Ex Machina"


    The emperor narrowed his eyes.


    "Hou. So what do you want from me?"


    "Tonight''s duel will be fought ording to the same rules as thest one, but with a fair judge"


    Then the emperor hit the railing, stood up and shouted angrily.


    "Do you think there will be injustice in our duel arena!!"


    "No, I do not mean that. I just want you to change a few rules and promise a fair judge"


    "I''ll do as much as I can, but is that all right?"


    "Yes. All I want is to settle the matter with the dark summoners in a proper duel"


    The emperor looked at me carefully.


    "What will you do if you lose?"


    "I''m afraid that''s as far as I''ll go"


    "That''s a problem...wouldn''t that make your earlier negotiations ineffective?"


    Hes perceptive.


    "That''s right. So I''m going to show you the equipment beforehand. And if you keep the same rules asst time, I promise to show you what your country wants to see"


    With that, the Emperor seemed to understand what I was trying to do. The emperorughed.


    "I see! It seems that you are just like us! And that''s not all, is it?"


    "Of course"


    I told him everything I wanted and he agreed to negotiate with me.


    As negotiated, I immediately left to show the Reich engineers the Ex Machina weapon.


    In the throne room, a knight speaks to the Emperor.


    "Are you sure?"


    "I don''t care. I''ll just take the better offer"


    "Isn''t that man dangerous?"


    "He may be dangerous. But only if he is your enemy. If we do nothing, he will not harm us. All we have to do is to do nothing and keep sucking the honey"


    The knight nodded to the emperor''s words.


    "I see. That''s great. Your Majesty"


    "You think so?"


    "...What do you mean?"


    "That man is not so naive as to just let you keep sucking his honey. A man like that should only be used when he can be used"


    The emperor then called out to someone.


    "Continue to monitor. But do not interfere"


    The people who had been hiding moved at once.


    "Act ording to what you have just heard"


    "Haa"


    And so, without the dark summoners'' knowledge, the wheels of events began to turn.


    I was finally freed by the Reich Empire''s technicians and was able to log out. I''m going to hate the technicians...they had so many questions already.


    I soaked in the bath to recover from the exhaustion. I was so nervous about the meeting with the emperor. Besides, I was being watched the whole time and it was really tough.


    I got out of the bath and was just finishing cooking when I got a video call from Kayo''-nee.


    "Hello. It''s your brother after taking a bath"


    "Don''t bother to show off after your bath, you''re my brother! So how was the negotiation?"


    "It went well. And you?"


    "We''re good. The rest is up to you, Seigo"


    You''re putting pressure on me. Then Kayo-nee spoke as if she had made up her mind.


    "To be honest, I have mixed feelings about it. I want you to continue ying the game and I want you to stop it. Ever since we started the game, I feel like Sei-kun is bing less and less like my Sei-kun"


    I''m still me, but now that I''ve started ying the game, I feel like the old me ising back. But I can only be me.


    "Maybe I''m changing, maybe I''m not. But I''m still me. I can''t change. I''m the same as I was then. I''ll fight for the people I love. That''s all"


    "...I see. I''m relieved to hear that. But it''s dangerous to equate us with Lily and the others!"


    "Is that so?"


    From my point of view, we''re the same.


    "Haa...I''m serious, you know. Well, it''s okay for now. Don''t make Lily and the others sad, okay?"


    "Who are you talking to?"


    "To Sei-kun, the lolicon. Good luck at the match"


    "Hey. Wait, wait. She cut me off"


    Lily and the others are growing up, so it''s time to put an end to lolicon and young girl summoner. I said the words I couldn''t say to anyone else in my mind and ate my dinner. Finally, the duel with the dark summoners would begin.