Yuri Empire

On the day that Yuri took over the task of eliminating the threat Lazar from Yubel, she immediately took action.

First of all, she ordered the children of <Nadeshiko> to capture a knight named Oran Struga, who was working as a pawn for Prince Lazar.

This knight has been in contact with illegal organizations around the Volmisian Empire and the Duchy of Selsia, and he is trying to kill Yubel.

It’s hard to narrow down where he’s currently hiding, though, so the search will be difficult. Even so, I believe that the children of <Nadeshiko>, who are skilled in espionage activities, will be able to complete the task safely.

One of the【Transfer Point】registered by the High Dragon Radragulf, Yuri’s messenger beast, was located in the Kingdom of Rapier, so Yuri sent the <Nadeshiko> children there using Transfer Magic.

Princess Yubel said, “If possible, Prince Lazar should be removed from the succession to the throne by legitimate means.”

If that is the case, the most ideal outcome would be for Prince Lazar to be judged by the current king of the Rapier Kingdom, Raven Rapier, and lose his position.

To do so, we need to interfere in the Kingdom of Rapier as a nation.

It was essential to send a secret agent to obtain information about the other country.

Yuri visited the Garden of the Gods and asked for help from Lydina and Arcana.

Whether it’s her position, connections, or items, Yuri tends to use whatever she can without reservation. If necessary, she is willing to use her position as a god and does not hesitate to ask for help from Lydina and Arcana, who are in the same position.

Furthermore, she also visited the Holy Land of Nimun to ask for Altorius’ help.

When Yuri told him that Lydina and Arcana were willing to help and that I would like Artorius to help as well, he agreed almost immediately.

After Yuri explained the whole process, he laughed with amusement and said, “That sounds interesting,” I think he has a good personality.

―――The next day, the 21st day of the summer month.

An oracle from “Yuri, the Goddess of Love” was sent to temples all over the Mekia continent.

『 I strongly condemn the brutality of Lazar Rapier, the second prince of the Kingdom of Rapier, who seeks the life of the first princess of the Kingdom of Rapier under my protection, Yubel Rapier.

His prince has implicated his pawn, Oran Struga, a knight of the Kingsguard, and has contacted several illegal organizations to turn criminals against my country where Yubel Rapier is staying. Our country is troubled, and unless we get a full explanation from King Raven about this matter, we will consider this matter as a ‘declaration of war’ from the Kingdom of Rapier―――』

“The Goddess of Love, Yuri”, who has recently joined the ranks of the main gods, is a god, but she is still in the world and is running a nation called the Yuri Empire.

That nation has an extremely powerful military force that easily defeated a large army of the Eldard Kingdom, which had come to wage war on them, and on the contrary, swallowed the entire territory of the kingdom.

It also easily subjugated the Duchy of Selsia, which had also declared war, and turned it into a vassal state.

These feats are rather well known to those who are familiar with the situation in the continent.

The Kingdom of Eldard and the Principality of Selsia were both nations with enough landmass to be described as ‘great nations’ within the Mekia continent. If they were threatened by the Yuri Empire, which had the military power to overpower them with a single touch of its armor, the Rapier Kingdom, which had only a small mountainous landmass, would have no chance.

In addition, Rapier Kingdom shares a border with the Holy Land of Nimun. Since the Holy Land of Nimun is an ally of the Yuri Empire, it was conceivable that if war broke out, they would immediately send in their troops from the border.

According to the information received from the children of <Nadeshiko> who had infiltrated the Rapier Kingdom, Yuri’s oracle had instantly plunged the country’s leaders into a state of panic.

On the same day, Prince Lazar was summoned to the castle and questioned by the Raven King, ministers, and nobles.

Prince Lazar seems to have maintained his ignorance of everything, but because the oracle of the Lord God cannot be questioned, and because Oran Struga, a knight of the Kingsguard, who was mentioned in the oracle, was not present, it seems that he ended up being greatly distrusted by those around him.

―――The next day, on the 22nd day of the summer month, the oracle from the Goddess of Healing, Lydina, and the Goddess of Entertainment, Arcana, also condemned the Kingdom of Rapier and the Second Prince Lazar.

It was unheard of for an oracle to be condemned by just one main god, but to be condemned by three main gods at the same time was nothing short of disgraceful for the royalty and nobility of the Kingdom of Rapier.

It is a fact that Prince Lazar is trying to escape the blame by ignoring it, but there is no doubt that the fact that he was accused by three main gods by name has caused great damage to the national prestige.

The second prince, Lazar, was ordered by King Raven to stay under house arrest.

―――The next day, the 23rd day of the summer month. Altorius, the Pope of the Eight Gods Religions and the Holy King of the Holy Land of Nimun, visited the Kingdom of Rapier with more than a hundred knights of the Kingsguard without prior notice.

In the palace of the kingdom, he loudly denounced the illegitimacy of the son and even threatened to excommunicate him, causing a tremor among the royalty and nobility of the Rapier Kingdom.

The next day, on the 24th day of the summer, Yuri herself visited the palace of the Kingdom of Rapier using Transfer Magic, after bringing in Oran Struga, the knight of the second prince of Lazar, who was safely secured by the hand of <Nadeshiko>.

She also met up with Altorius, who was staying in the city, and had a trilogy of talks with King Raven, harshly accusing him of the heinous acts committed by his son and the knights of the Kingsguard.

Because Yuri and Altorius had two extremely powerful cards in hand, ‘Declaration of War’ and ‘Excommunication,’ King Raven’s heart was quick to break and give in.

The decision was made to take away the right of succession to the throne from the second prince Lazar, who had darkened Oran Struga, a knight of the Kingsguard, and tried to kill Yubel Rapier, who was under Yuri’s protection.

Although he will not be deprived of his life, his current position and all of his property will be confiscated and he will be reduced to the level of a commoner. As a commoner, there was no way he could interfere with Yubel or the First Prince of Lexmar, and he was completely neutralized.

Thus, the request from Yubel to eliminate the threat of Lazar was completed in a matter of four days.

The next day, on the 25th day of summer, after everything was settled, the three pillars of “Yuri, the Goddess of Love”, “Lydina, the Goddess of Healing”, and “Arcana, the Goddess of Entertainment”, once again sent an oracle saying『 I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Raven Rapier, the wise king of the Kingdom of Rapier, for his swift and fair response in severely dealing with Prince Lazar, his son, and for not hesitating to take away his right of succession. 』

The purpose of this oracle was to restore the credibility and national prestige of the Kingdom of Rapier, which had been damaged in the process up to this point. Yubel would not want the Rapier Kingdom to be disgraced, so this kind of post-event support would be necessary.

From the perspective of the Kingdom of Rapier, there is far more to be gained from the high regard in which the current king, Raven Rapier, is held than there is to be lost from the condemnation of the third in a line of succession.

A few days later, a letter of thanks for the oracle was delivered from King Raven.

With that letter, diplomatic relations between the Yuri Empire and the Kingdom of Rapier also began.

For the one who still doesn’t get it:

Gunboat diplomacy: diplomacy backed by the use or threat of military force

Long explanation:

In international politics, the term gunboat diplomacy refers to the pursuit of foreign policy objectives with the aid of conspicuous displays of military power, implying or constituting a direct threat of warfare should terms not be agreeable to the superior force.