Chapter 37
  After spending a few moments thinking about the unique characteristics of my country, the young lady, who had been observing me, seemed to have grown impatient and continued speaking.
  
  “If, for some reason, you are unable to send reinforcements, how about the option of granting us asylum in your country in case of emergency?”
  
  “We can only go as far as the border to meet you, and we have no means of knowing when you are in danger.”
  “Oh, but even within my knowledge, several of your spies have infiltrated the city.”
  
  This was news to me, so I turned to the middle-aged knight and urged him to explain, but he returned a reproachful look.
  
  “This isn’t something to be discussed here, Knight King Claude.”
  “Indeed…”
  
  Realizing that this was not something to be discussed in front of a lord from another country, I agreed with his words and returned my focus.
  
  “…Raizes, what do you think, considering the asylum plan?”
  “Generally, there are no problems. It’s up to you to decide.”
  
  I couldn’t help but think, “You’re going to leave the final decision to me?!” But in principle, the Knight King has the authority to make decisions, and I have never forced a decision on the three senior vassals before.
  
  ‘Well, their advice and lectures do fly at me like arrows, though.’
  
  If I were to make a particularly bad decision, they would all gang up on me and complain, starting with Raizes. Even Izana, who happened to be there and supported me, would get caught in the crossfire and end up teary-eyed.
  
  ‘That aside…’
  
  I briefly summarized the matters at hand and faced Nina, who was silently waiting for my reply.
  
  “I’ll accept that deal.”
  “Mm, deal♪”
  
  “So, what are the specifics?”
  “Well…how far has Lizel come in terms of giant knight technology?”
  
  Even if she looked at me with a cute tilt of her head, there was no way a warrior like me would know such things, so I decided to leave it to the Vice-Captain, who seemed to be a bit more knowledgeable.
  
  “Recently, when our engineers were overhauling a Clawsolas K-type, they said they were able to understand most of the structure, except for the Magic Core and the Heart Unit.”
  
  “Both of which were restricted from technology transfer to other countries midway through development.”
  “Are you sure it’s okay to provide that to the Lizel Knight Kingdom?”
  
  Despite my words of concern for her position within the Empire, she returned a bold and fearless smile for some reason.
  
  “The deal is already a secret agreement between the three of us here and the Knight Captain who’s eavesdropping in the hallway. There’s no need to dwell on that part now.”
  
  “Guh, that’s true…”
  
  In addition to the previous matter about the spies, I’m not good at things like this where we’re constantly trying to figure each other out. But being a warrior doesn’t mean I only swing my sword, so I pulled myself together, determined to improve myself every day, and went into the details of the discussion.
  
  “So, you’re saying we can assume there will be technology transfer for the Magic Core and the Heart Unit to the Knight Kingdom?”
  “No, you’ll develop them yourselves…officially, that is.”
  
  “Ah, so that’s why the Clawsolas units are also domestically produced.”
  
  I suppose the intention is to hide Nina Valer’s involvement and present the Clawsolas units to the world as if they were developed by another country.
  
  “Then, should we prepare a scapegoat among the core engineers?”
  
  “Yes, I’ll provide you with the specifications and materials for the relevant parts. You can have a suitable person create documents that look like imitations and have them lead the engineers.”
  
  “Hmm, after returning home, we’ll select someone with strong patriotic spirit from among the engineers…or Blaze would be fine, in the sense that he can keep his mouth shut.”
  
  Thanks to Raizes’ quick thinking in stopping me mid-sentence, the Chief Magician back home was unknowingly chosen to be in charge of the Magic Core and the Heart Unit, and he was destined to be hailed as the great engineer who succeeded in domestic production for the first time.
  
  Later, because the red-haired mage Revia’s father desperately copied the relevant materials, the name Blaze Lumias would be etched into the history of Lizel’s Clawsolas development…
  
  Anyway, we also smoothly agreed on other matters, such as secretly sending additional instructors disguised as members of the delegation and stationing liaisons in each other’s countries.
  
  Also, due to strategic concerns, they requested that we have at least a few Clawsolas units operational as soon as possible, and arrangements were made to have some of the necessary materials transported via Zephyrus merchants.
  
  “Is that all for now?”
  “I think so. The rest depends on the situation.”
  
  After discussing everything we could think of, we took a break and faced Nina again. We exchanged a light handshake, just like when we first met, and smiled at each other. Then, I released her soft hand and left the office with Raizes.
  
  The forest fire near Dimer, which started this whole thing, caused considerable damage. Three Clawsolas units returned two days after the attack, replacing the cavalry unit that arrived later, but apparently, the remaining half of the Clawsolas units were still unable to return.
  
  Therefore, we, who had taken on part of the city’s defense, were still unable to return home, and we had quite a bit of free time.
  
  “So, let’s go swing our swords!”
  “Huh? I don’t understand what you mean at all.”
  
  Since we often share the same fate when we’re in our Clawsolas units, I walked alongside Revia, who is usually by my side, through the courtyard of the small castle bathed in sunlight, heading towards the barracks.
  
  Our destination was the training grounds where the soldiers of Zephyrus honed their skills. It was the perfect place to get some exercise in addition to our usual morning training.
  
  It would be even better if we had someone to spar with, so I stepped into the stone-paved plaza with the wooden sword I had a craftsman in the royal capital Asia make for me, and looked around for a familiar face.
  
  Among the Zephyrus soldiers swinging their wooden swords, I saw the unusual sight of Knight Raizes wielding a wooden spear and displaying graceful movements.