The hallway was painted a dazzling red.
　The floor and ceiling were lined with flower-like patterns, and openwork lattices separated the rooms on either side.
　There were people striding through such a long and wide corridor.

　Leading the way is a young man clad in a red and black robe. Emperor Ryuyen of the Empire of Kennis.
　Behind him are several high-ranking officials of this country.
　Ryuyuchi was the smallest of the group, but he led the others with an air of supremacy that no one would have thought possible.

It seems that the situation should be looked at not only from a medical welfare perspective, but also from a military one.
　......
"is. If the disease was spread intentionally, the goal would be to sabotage the Imperial Blue Army by infecting the Principality of Cadenis with the disease.
　In the event that you've got a lot of money, you'll be able to use it to buy a lot of things.

　The elf, dressed so perfectly in his official uniform that you can't even see the folds, answers as if he knows everything just by being called by name.

　A strange disease has been spreading throughout the Caenis Empire.
　First in the occupied Duchy of Cadenis. Then it spread to the rest of the country at a pace far too fast for a natural infection to have spread.
　The Caenis Empire, which had long been at the forefront of the war against demons, naturally suspected that this was a cursed disease.

　The prayers of the priests suppressed the spread of the epidemic.
　Especially when they were dealing with a cursed disease sent by the evil gods.
　If this is a conspiracy of the evil ones, the human race should work together to fight it. ...... But that is difficult to do now. This is because the relationship between the Holy Kingdom of Diretta, which should take the lead, and the victimized Caenis Empire is at its worst since its founding.

　Originally, the relationship between the Empire of Caenis and the Holy Kingdom of Diretta was far from good, but it became a flashpoint when the Empire acquired the Walkway in the mountains and established a bridgehead over the mountains.
　In this situation, it is difficult to fight the cursed plague with the help of the Diretta Holy Kingdom's ......, or the Central Great Temple.
　The Ciel-Teirah Exile did not hesitate to take advantage of this weakness.
　In fact, the path of the mountain range is the one that they sent to the empire, so I don't know if they were thinking about this from the beginning.

I'm not sure they've got Lugarut on their side.
　...... What is the status of the Blue Army?
"There are some infected, but the situation is under control with sacred magic and potions.
　However, supply will be difficult. Of course, we'll need to take precautions against infection for the men we send from the rear.
　And the morale of the troops is low. I've been asked to send troops without vassalage to the front.
I'll leave that decision up to you.
　It's probably a demon, a sorcerer, or a demoness who's spreading the ...... disease. Can the Blue Army handle it?
Perhaps.
　We will find and eliminate the source of the problem as soon as possible.

　Xing Huan's reply was calm.
　No matter what the opponent is, the Blue Army will not fall behind.
　Even if it's a demon. Demons are no different from gods, and by human standards, they are nearly immortal, but they will never cooperate with anyone for free, and if you give them a blow, they will return to the moon as if they can't deal with you any longer. The fierce men of the Blue Army would be able to handle such a task.

　It's the ones who run and hide that are more troublesome than the strong ones, but even so, it's only a matter of time.

　--Whatever price you paid to get the disease from the demon gods, you must have spent a good deal of money.
　　　You can't shoot the same arrow twice. We just need to minimize the damage.

　Ryuyuchi only sees the big picture.
　Even the Demon Lord couldn't spread the plague without limit.
　The gods, both holy and evil, are reluctant to bestow favor upon themselves, and while they will respond when asked, they usually demand some sort of compensation.
　If this plague is contained without much success, the Rose Princess of Hell will be worse off than she was before.

So be it.
　...... You hold the situation until the Blue Army does its job, Gosho.
"Yes, sir.
　Prepare for quarantine measures for infected people, regional quarantine measures for areas of increased infection, and distribution of soap to maintain sanitation. We're also planning to form sanitation teams in the next day or two to work on stopping the spread of the disease in the areas that will be the water's edge.
　We have also asked the guilds to increase the production of non-magical medicines.

　The head of the imperial administration, a man of mature years with a stout physique more like a warrior than an elf with a slender star ring, responded reverently.
　It's the head of the imperial administration, the Prime Minister.

"Very well. As soon as I have eliminated the source, I will disperse the potion and control the plague in one fell swoop.
Haha. I've already selected an alternative recipe for the healing potion.

　A few high-ranking officials specializing in medical administration followed after Noisho, and one of them handed Noisho a document, which Noisho looked over as he walked.

"Domestic production is ......
"Not enough. That's about half the target. The longer we wait, the more we'll be short.

　The idea that Diretta might be able to take advantage of this under the guise of "humanitarian aid" or "fighting evil" crossed Ryubuchi's mind.
　It would be a blow to Diretta's prestige to abandon the people of the occupied Principality of Cadenis, let alone the Empire of Caenis.

　In the end, however, they would only express their support and delay the process for whatever reason. They will use the people of Koenis as a hostage card to force diplomatic concessions.
　That future was clearly visible to Ryubuchi.

"I'll talk to Faraiya at .......
"What? I'll have Rousha hurry up with the arrangements.
It's a route halfway around the continent. ...... It'll take time and money, but it's the only way.

　If you're buying from the Faraiya Republic, you can use the latest high-speed ships to transport them. It would have taken longer because of the distance, but it would have been faster than transporting them overland from a country halfway across the world.
　Buying from the private sector would require diplomacy, but at the moment, Faraiya and Koenis were not in direct conflict, and relations were relatively good.

　--If you want to have them transported by a magical engine ship or a magical high-speed ship, it will take about two months, including the ...... arrangements. It's still earlier than waiting for the harvest time of the fukuretsuyusa. In any case, if you want to buy insurance, you have to buy it here.


　　　In the meantime, I'm going to try to get by by buying things in small quantities in my neighborhood. ......

"It is not only warfare that is fought, is it?
"My Lord, ......, you are enjoying this, are you not?
"Huh.

　I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but it's a good idea.

　--I'm not sure I'm going to be able to do it.
　　　You don't think you can win with this, do you?　What will you do next, "Rose of Hell"?

　The flowers in the vase in the hallway stirred uneasily.