Chapter 6: The King and the Exhausting Meeting
Does anyone actually like Meetings? Normally everyone hates them, right?
Say “Let’s eliminate pointless Meetings” and you’ll get a storm of agreement—”Exactly!” At least that’s how it was at my company. I’d bet it’s pretty much the same everywhere else too.
Meetings rarely involve actual discussion. The big picture is already hammered out beforehand by the key people, and the Meeting is just a venue for announcing it. Because obviously. There’s only so much you can hash out in one or two hours. The bigger the topic, the more people are involved. Far too many to fit in a Meeting room. If even a small-to-medium company in some backwater province works that way, well, when it comes to national affairs… yeah, impossible.
Everyone knows this. From new hires all the way up to the CEO. But we still hold Meetings without fail.
Actually, I went through a phase where I held Meetings obsessively. Looking back, I think it’s because the people at the top are anxious. They’re terrified unless they can see their subordinates’ faces and confirm their expressions.
For example, your phone. Haven’t you ever patted your pocket to make sure you have it? It’s that same feeling. But do you ever check to make sure your leg hasn’t disappeared? Of course not. You’re anxious about your phone because it’s not connected to your body through nerves. You’re not anxious about your leg because it is connected.
And how about a company? Unfortunately, it’s very much like the phone. You can’t help but feel anxious unless you keep checking. You worry you might have dropped it somewhere. Phones are precious things you don’t want to lose.
Conversely, if losing something wouldn’t particularly bother you, there’s no need to check on it, right?
That’s why I keep touching the pocket watch in my pocket. Gold watches have a unique softness that calms my heart. Even though it’s metal, I can feel an elasticity to it. I’d like to take it out and gaze at the dial, but doing that during a Meeting would be misunderstood. People would wonder if I’m anxious about an upcoming appointment, or if it’s a gesture indicating I’m bored with the Meeting. They’d read all sorts of things into it. But no, I don’t have any appointments and I’m not bored either. I’m just idle, so I want to look at something I like. A wristwatch would allow for subtle glances, but with a pocket watch…
Anyway, today’s privy council doesn’t have much new information I don’t already know, so I’m a bit idle.
“Your Majesty, we await your royal assent.”
Lord Froisburg, the Chief Steward, solemnly declared this. To me.
Gathered in the audience chamber are the important people from each department. Headed by the Chief Steward who serves as Seneschal, there’s the Finance minister, Foreign Minister, Army Vice-Minister, Navy Minister, Royal Guard Commander, and Home Minister. The heads of major departments and those occupying important posts under them are all assembled. And me.
In other words, approximately everything that is the Kingdom of Santeneri is gathered here. The only thing missing is representatives of the commoners. I mentally sympathize with whoever set this up—it must have been rough. Important people like these have their schedules packed solid. Forcibly extracting them and gathering them together is incredibly troublesome.
In the old days, I would have been observing everyone’s faces intently, my brain working overtime thinking things like “Ah, this person isn’t convinced” or “Ooh, those two seem to have come to an agreement.” But now I don’t feel like doing that at all.
Because if losing something wouldn’t particularly bother you, there’s no need to check on it.
I don’t want loyalty or trust. As long as everyone somehow keeps this country running, I ask for nothing more.
“Has everyone’s discussion been exhausted?”
I respond to the marquis with this. Well, it’s a ritual.
“Yes. We have deliberated at length. We are in agreement that this is the best course for the kingdom to take given the current situation.”
The marquis declares this matter-of-factly yet with dignity. Because it’s a ritual.
“I see. First, my gratitude to you all who think of the Kingdom of Santeneri and devote your hearts daily. I have now received the conclusion you have reached. Having received it, I command you to make it so. —As master of the throne, I command you all.”
There’s only one thing I must say: “This is the king’s order.”
The one who gives the order takes responsibility. That’s why “I agree with everyone’s opinion” won’t do. I must clearly command. In this three-hour Meeting, this is the only thing I must do. I’ve been sitting in this chair just to say these words.
Thus the Kingdom of Santeneri decided to shift its traditional foreign policy—a policy that has continued for hundreds of years and could be called a national principle.
Reconciliation and cooperation with our mortal enemy, the Empire. And my marriage.
The “Empire” that shares a border with the Kingdom of Santeneri to the east—its official name is “The Land Ruled by the Lord of the Human Realm, Granted Authority to Unite the Kings Under the Majesty of the Orthodox Faith.” We’re pretty bad ourselves, but the Empire is just as ridiculous. The name is long. There’s no abbreviated name like “XX Empire.” Because there’s only one Empire on this central continent.
The Empire is a loose confederation where great lords—like Duke Gaillou in Santeneri’s case—each claim royal titles and gather under an emperor elected from among them.
I say “elected,” but well, it’s just for show. Apparently they actually held elections long ago, but now it’s hereditary in the House of Estvilg. The head of the house serves as both emperor and king of the Kingdom of Estvilg.
Incidentally, the Kingdom of Estvilg alone is about half the size of Santeneri. Conversely, the other royal kingdoms are quite small. About the size of Duke Gaillou’s territory plus a bit more at most.
And our Santeneri and the Empire have always been on bad terms. Whenever a new king takes the throne, we interfere with each other. Since the nobility of this continent are all related somewhere, they can object to succession based on blood ties.
Ah, I made it sound a bit like “both sides are equally at fault,” but for the past hundred years, we’ve clearly been the worse party. You see, the Empire is formally a confederation of small kingdoms, right? So each has its own diplomatic rights. And that makes Santeneri want to poke at them.
For example, the Kingdom of Stuburg, which shares our eastern border.
The House of Stuburg that rules there is a distinguished family that once held the imperial throne, though now they’re mid-tier. We cause trouble with succession to their throne.
Like: “Hm? About fifty years ago, didn’t a princess from our Lerois branch family marry into your royal house? Doesn’t she have a smart-looking grandson? Wouldn’t it be better if that child became King of Stuburg? The direct line died out, didn’t it?”
When we do things like this, Stuburg splits. Into a Lerois faction and a conservative faction. If the Lerois faction wins, the western Empire effectively falls under Santeneri Kingdom’s sphere of influence. That would greatly trouble Estvilg, which shares a border with Stuburg.
First, there’s the possibility of the “framework” of the Empire collapsing. Next, the Estvilg heartland itself is in danger. Because if the Lerois faction wins, we’ll naturally send troops to protect our relative king. I don’t just mean send—we’d station them there. To avoid such a future, Estvilg intervenes militarily. The Lerois faction comes crying to us, so we have no choice. We send troops too.
We keep repeating this pattern.
Incidentally, there are many other kingdoms within the Empire. In fact, this recent decision was triggered by movements in one of those “many kingdoms”—the Kingdom of Prosan.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT gadgetizedpanda.net
Today’s tea time features Mary-san as a guest.
She was at this morning’s Meeting with her father the Royal Royal Guard Commander, so she must be tired. But not showing even a hint of fatigue must be what makes her such a career woman.
Mary-san’s outfit is the ceremonial uniform of the Royal Guard. Or is it court dress? True formal wear would be a dress for women.
This outfit looks cool.
The deep blue jacket has gold buttons arranged smartly, fastened up to the neck. Gold epaulettes, medal ribbons on the chest. Slacks below. The sharp creases emphasize their slimness. The red side stripes are nice too. Beautiful leg lines. But this is also a trap. If I look too closely, it’s trouble.
Labor Standards will come for me.
“Are you truly certain about this, Your Majesty?”
Gracefully pinching the cup handle, she takes a sip of tea and returns it just as elegantly. Mary-san is picturesque.
“It’s fine. King Fleisch of Prosan is a hero of our age. I too admired him and wished to be like him, but admiration is just admiration.”
Prosan is a small kingdom controlling the central northern part of the Empire. It was originally a pastoral duchy, but two generations ago the duke laid the foundation, the previous generation built up the military and distinguished themselves in wars within the Empire, getting the emperor of the time to recognize their royal title. And the current king, Fleisch III, has become the epicenter of the storm covering this central continent.
A refined conscription and training system, the latest equipment. Combined with King Fleisch’s personal genius, Prosan has become a powerful nation wielding great influence despite its small territory.
Personally, my first thought is “Wow, that must have cost a fortune.” Armies eat money to death. More for people than equipment.
It’s the same with companies. Personnel costs, personnel costs, personnel costs. Endlessly personnel costs. A bit removed from that, taxes. If you asked business owners to vote for their least favorite phrase and made a ranking, “personnel costs” would definitely be number one.
The ratio of personnel costs to revenue is super irritating. Thinking that Fleisch-san, renowned as the war god of the central continent, might be sharing this irritation with me daily makes me feel a bit of kinship.
“When I consider Your Majesty’s heart…”
“Did you think I would insist until the end on allying with Prosan?”
“Surrounding Prosan by allying with Estvilg would be standard strategy, but I believed many challenges would remain in implementing it.”
Many challenges would remain. What a wonderful way of putting it. In other words, my childish enthusiasm versus Santeneri’s traditional foreign policy. Those are the challenges. But saying it outright would be criticism of both the current king and past kings who built that tradition. She’s keeping it vague, yet still pushing the boundaries quite a bit. Since the decision was made at the privy council, she’s deliberately stepping in, I suppose.
Is this Royal Royal Guard Commander father-san’s doing?
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