Inside a large room, a circular table was placed at the center, surrounded by chairs.
Seated around it were:
Precious, Bit, R. Kizu, Rental, Gesha, Grass, Priya, Takumi, Sunio (Takumi's intelligence head), Grahi (one of Takumi's defense ministers), Udera, Ashi, Huta, Fina, Backtion, Tanu (Backtion's army general), Bala (Backtion's intelligence minister), Amisha (one of Ashi's law ministers), and Isha (Ashi's defense minister).
The atmosphere was serious.
Everyone sat in silence.
The round table symbolized one thing—
This alliance had no single ruler.
Rental finally spoke,
"So… three new members have joined this alliance—Empire, Blegree, and Zinau Kingdoms."
"Let's begin the meeting."
Gesha continued,
"Our topics are—
First: Should we keep the old treaties or not?
Second: Should we sign new treaties or not?
Third: Should the newly joined kingdoms be made permanent members or not?"
Bit nodded slightly.
"I think we should redesign the old treaties once."
Backtion asked curiously,
"…And why is that?"
Bit replied calmly,
"Earlier, I wasn't the king of Shin Kingdom, so I don't know much about the previous treaties."
"Now that we have new treaties and new kingdoms joining… we should review everything once."
Takumi nodded.
"Well… Bit is correct."
Gesha said,
"Alright, then I'll explain the old treaties."
She raised three fingers.
"First—
If any kingdom is attacked, all alliance members must send part of their army to defend it."
"Second—
Cultural exchange. For example, Shin Kingdom's culture will be shared in Secret Sky City, and vice versa."
"Third—
There will be no war between alliance members."
"These are the three existing treaties."
Takumi and others responded,
"Sounds fine."
"I have no issue."
"No problem here."
Udera added,
"Who would even have a problem with this?"
Gesha nodded.
"Then let's move on—"
But suddenly—
Bit interrupted.
"Sorry… but we have a problem."
Everyone turned toward him in shock.
Grass frowned.
"Do you understand what you're saying, King Bit?"
"Yes. I do."
Rental raised his hand slightly.
"Let him finish first."
Grass went silent.
Bit continued,
"I don't need the first treaty."
The room froze.
Everyone except Precious and R. Kizu looked shocked.
Ashi spoke sharply,
"What are you saying? How can anyone have a problem with that treaty?!"
"I do."
Takumi leaned forward.
"And what exactly is your problem?"
Bit replied firmly,
"My kingdom doesn't need protection."
"So I don't want any of you to sign a defense treaty with me."
"And I want to cancel the previous one."
"And yes… that also means I won't send my army to help any of you either."
Priya slammed her hand lightly on the table.
"King Bit, are you crazy?! Maybe we chose the wrong king for Shin Kingdom!"
Takumi added seriously,
"This is not an ordinary treaty. It's extremely rare and difficult to establish."
"And yet all of us agreed to it—so why you?"
Bit's voice remained steady.
"Because we don't need it."
"You see… many people call Shin Kingdom the 'dog of Secret Sky City.'"
"They think we depend on them for everything."
"But we don't want to depend on anyone."
"That's why."
Gesha tried to reason,
"But this would make Shin Kingdom's defense even stronger."
Bit shook his head.
"We don't need it."
"We already have powerful soldiers… and weapons that even Naco Country might not possess."
"And I don't want those weapons to spread to other kingdoms."
"I want my kingdom to become powerful on its own… and stand at the top."
There was silence.
Then—
Rental spoke calmly,
"…Alright. That's fine."
Everyone turned toward him in shock.
Palakh spoke,
"What are you saying, King Rental?! He wants to cancel that treaty!"
Rental replied casually,
"Yes. But that's his decision for his kingdom."
"We don't need to cancel it for everyone."
Inside his mind—
And besides… Lord Precious hasn't objected.
That means he agrees.
And if he agrees… then there's no problem.
Palakh thought quietly,
I don't know what's going on… but I'll report this to Deku.
Takumi sighed.
"If that's settled… let's move to the next topic."
Gesha nodded.
"Yes… next topic: new treaties."
Rental leaned forward.
"I've been thinking about this for a long time."
"I propose two new treaties—
First: Weapon Treaty
Second: Arts Treaty"
Udera asked,
"…What are those?"
Gesha explained,
"Weapon Treaty—
If a kingdom develops new weapons, they must share them with alliance members either for free or at a low price."
"Arts Treaty—
If a kingdom creates a new official material art, it cannot be kept hidden within the kingdom."
R. Kizu thought silently:
Material arts are like weapon-based skills…
Skills that can only be used with specific weapons—like sword techniques or bow techniques.
But every person has their own unique material art…
So how can a kingdom officially create one and share it?
Ashi raised her hand.
"I have a question."
"How can a 'kingdom's' material art even exist?"
"Every individual has their own art… even if someone creates a new one, it belongs to them or their family."
"So why would they share it with others?"
Priya giggled lightly.
"Hehe… Queen Ashi, you're thinking too narrowly."
Ashi frowned in confusion.
Priya continued,
"We're talking about the material arts recorded in a kingdom's top-level books."
"The ones used by royal families."
The room grew serious.
Takumi spoke immediately,
"What?! Why would I share my family's material arts with other kingdoms when I don't even share them within my own empire?!"
Palakh agreed,
"Exactly! Why would anyone teach their kingdom's secrets to others? That's completely illogical!"
Grass calmly responded,
"You see… this is called the Branch Alliance."
"It means many branches growing from a single tree."
"And just like branches of a tree don't fight each other…"
"Neither will the kingdoms in this alliance."
"So if we're not going to fight each other…"
"Then why not learn each other's material arts?"
"In fact, it would increase the popularity of those arts and their creator families."
Silence filled the room.
Takumi spoke slowly,
"…You're not wrong."
Bit nodded.
"I agree with Sir Grass."
Grass gave a small nod in return.
One by one, others agreed.
"Alright."
"No problem."
"I'm fine with it."
Then—
A voice broke the agreement.
"…But I have a problem."
Everyone turned.
It was Precious.
His expression was calm… but firm.
"I don't want anyone to use my kingdom's weapons or official material arts."
Gesha's eyes widened.
"W-What…?!"
Shock spread across the room.
Ashi spoke in a slightly rude tone,
"Hmph. And why should we care about your approval?"