Water is always composed and cold.
The southwestern border of the Aqua Empire.
With the coastline between them, two colossal beings stood facing one another.
Marinus, the black dragon of the Aqua Empire, and Terramont, Emperor of the Terra Empire.
The black scales that made up Marinus’s body surged as if breathing, and beneath it, too, the waves heaved without rest.
And before it, the symbol of the earth stood towering, without the slightest tremor.
The countless soldiers watching them could not understand the situation unfolding before their eyes.
Not a single word could be heard from them.
The Terra party, too, merely stood in place and watched the scene.
Aqua likewise had no other response it could take.
“Terramont……”
Empress Nereia, watching from within the fortress, spoke to herself.
“What on earth is he thinking? Does he have some business with us?”
The retainers and soldiers not far from Marinus and Terramont were also watching the situation in a state of tension.
“What is happening……?”
Sian murmured.
Levian and Naus could say nothing either.
The slime soldiers, following Levian’s orders, all held their positions quietly.
Some time passed.
Marinus and Terramont withdrew their gazes from each other and turned away.
It happened almost simultaneously.
Marinus returned to the deep sea, and Terramont also moved toward the party he had led.
There was neither attack nor retreat between them.
Yet it could not be said that their meeting held no meaning.
It was simply that those around them could not grasp that meaning.
A short while later, the Terra side withdrew as if returning to their own empire, and once Aqua’s slime army confirmed that they had disappeared from sight, they resumed their patrols above the surface.
And so, in the place where two great beings of opposing natures had faced each other and departed, only the currents of the deep sea slowly stirred once more.
The retainers returned inside Nereis, the Blue Cradle, the fortress.
“So, this is how things with Terra have concluded?”
At Nereia’s question, Levian answered.
“Yes, Your Majesty. Fortunately, they withdrew without incident.”
“Can you tell what they were doing with each other?”
The retainers exchanged glances, but no one could answer easily.
Levian spoke slowly.
“As for us, we could not know. Even if the Terra side conveyed some message to our Marinus, their words did not reach us.”
Nereia looked at Marinus.
Marinus had returned to the side of the fortress and was keeping its place above the surface.
“If Terramont said something, Marinus must have heard it. But I do not know whether Marinus has any way to tell us what it heard. Marinus will likely act according to whatever Terramont told it, and we will only be able to infer the general meaning from its actions.”
The gazes of all the retainers also focused on Marinus.
Naus tilted his head once and said,
“Marinus still has not moved. It does not appear much different from before it met Terramont……”
“There is no need to hurry. It is likely not yet the time.”
At that moment, a certain signal was detected from another direction.
The direction of that signal was the Silva Empire to the east.
“It seems someone has come from Silva.”
At Levian’s words, Nereia began to walk.
“This time, there will be much to discuss with Silva. Let us receive them.”
When Nereia and her retainers came out of the fortress, Empress Drian of the Silva Empire and her retainers arrived before them.
Nereia gave a slight nod in greeting.
“You have done well to come. The sea must not be a familiar place to you.”
Drian smiled.
“We also detected Terra’s movements. I thought our conversation was necessary.”
When Marinus approached, Drian looked up at it in silence.
After exchanging brief greetings with their eyes, Drian’s party followed Nereia up into Aqua’s fortress.
Drian’s party barely managed to climb the stairs formed from condensed crystals of water.
Once everyone had gathered in the central hall, Nereia spoke first.
“If you are curious about Terra, fortunately there was no major clash. The one called Terramont faced Marinus almost alone, then left. However, as for what Terramont conveyed to Marinus, we still do not know.”
Drian’s expression grew grave.
“How strange. Terra is opposed not only to us, but to you as well, so I doubt they came to seek cooperation.”
“That is precisely why it is even more significant.”
Nereia looked toward Marinus outside the fortress and continued.
“Literally, Marinus merely stared quietly at Terramont before it. Terramont, who attacked us several times in the past, showed no threatening posture this time. Of course, their army was not large enough to invade our sea.”
“It does not seem they came to you with an attack as their purpose in the first place.”
“Then it appears Terramont came not for us, but only to meet Marinus. What do you think the reason could be?”
After thinking for a moment, Drian answered.
“Unlike the time when they even brought a dragon and violated our border, the current Terra has not yet resummoned its dragon, nor are they actively producing dual-attribute cores. Perhaps your forces may be stronger than Terra’s now, and for that reason, he may have come to ask you not to attack them.”
“That is plausible as well.”
Terramont, of all beings, had come to the ever-deepening Aqua in fear, begging for his life.
It was not a convincing conjecture, but from Terra’s perspective, they may have had no choice.
Perhaps they had waited before Marinus until it approached the coastline because Marinus, the only one who did not receive Aqua’s orders, was at least a being with whom communication was possible.
Drian spoke again.
“Even so, we must remain cautious of Terra going forward. Even our Nemorensis saw Terramont and still passed him by to head for Ignis. Something different from what appears on the surface may be happening to them.”
“We are well aware of that as well.”
“However, this is one thing I wish to tell you. If Terra makes any extreme move, we will step forward first and keep them in check.”
Nereia nodded.
“I understand. We still hold deep in our hearts the merit you earned by defeating Montanus. We, too, will not spare support for you.”
Drian also nodded toward Nereia, accepting the greeting.
She naturally shifted the conversation to the next topic.
“In truth, rather than support, I came to discuss something. We are still continuing to produce slime cores, and I would like to know your thoughts on trying to produce a new dual-attribute core.”
Levian, Naus, and Sian looked at Nereia.
She asked in return,
“Do you intend to bring in a type of core other than ours?”
“Yes. Terra would be dangerous to you, and Metallum would be dangerous to us, so I am considering whether we should bring in Ignis cores and study them.”
Nereia remained silent for a moment.
“Ignis……?”
“Yes. I know Ignis is also opposed to you, but their energy is weaker than yours. Therefore, it should not be threatening to you.”
Nereia asked again,
“How do you plan to obtain those cores?”
“Because of Nemorensis’s recent sacrifice, they can be said to owe us a debt. Therefore, it will be difficult for them to refuse our request.”
Nereia still spoke in a voice filled with suspicion.
“Do you truly think Ignis will hand over their cores to you so readily?”
“I cannot be certain yet. However, they recently suffered tremendous damage from Metallum’s invasion, and for that reason, they must be in desperate need of someone’s help. I believe they will welcome us.”
In truth, what troubled Nereia the most was that in a trade with Ignis, Silva would also have to hand over their own life cores to Ignis.
In order to obtain Ignis’s flame cores, they would have to give Ignis something that would be of help to them as well.
Because of this, the Aqua side did not look favorably on exchanges between Silva and Ignis.
After pondering, Nereia soon nodded.
“If that is what you think, then it would not be bad to attempt it once. May I take it that you are confident you can succeed?”
“Yes. The negotiations may fail, but I believe now is the right time to attempt them. As time passes, Ignis may no longer need our help.”
“Very well. Exchanging a moderate amount of cores should be acceptable, but I hope you will ensure that too much of your precious resource does not fall into their hands. If Ignis’s power grows as large as it once was, it will certainly not be good for any of us.”
“We know that as well.”
After finishing her conversation with Nereia, Drian rose from her seat.
“Our empire will continue to grow. If Ignis’s cores come here, both you and we will move forward in a new direction.”
“We will look forward to your accomplishments as well.”
Drian’s party left Aqua’s fortress and headed for Silva.
If considered simply, Drian’s prediction seemed possible.
Because Ignis was currently in a difficult situation, they might readily accept Drian’s request.
However, even so, it was still unknown whether Ignis would follow along as Drian wished.
After Drian left, Nereia remained silent for a long while, looking only at Marinus.
Naus asked her,
“Your Majesty, is there still something that worries you?”
Nereia turned around.
“Drian is a prudent being who governs life. However, the world may not move according to her thoughts.”
“Ah, that may be true, but I also think it would be best to at least make the attempt.”
“I did not say it earlier, but……”
Nereia walked across the floor as she continued.
“There is no way Ignis does not know that we are allied with Silva. If Ignis gives their cores to Silva, I do not think they would overlook the fact that those cores will come to us as well.”
“But the same is true for us, is it not? Silva’s cores entering Ignis’s hands is not at all a good thing for us, but we decided to take that into account.”
Nereia turned around.
“More than anything, fire is something that spreads in unexpected directions by nature. Even at this very moment, we cannot know what plans they are plotting. Silva’s minor proposal may bring Ignis an enormous opportunity, and it may even be that Ignis has already shifted into a state where they no longer need their support.”
Aqua intended to keep Ignis in check.
Their fire spread without rest, and if they were not restrained in time, it could instead dry up the water.
From Aqua’s perspective, the best outcome would be to receive as many flame cores as possible, while not handing over an excessive number of life cores.