The next day, the Shapeshifter returned quickly. This time, Lady Sicilia's reply included a location and a time. Kazdel's plan to visit Siracusa was officially set in motion. They would enter Siracusa as Lady Sicilia's partners.
Aside from Theresica himself and Shining, the group was still mainly composed of Shapeshifters. But this was a visit, after all, so although the Shapeshifters had borrowed the appearances of Lupo, they were fully armed. Their armor and weapons were all newly produced and had not yet had the Sarkaz insignia engraved on them.
Looking at these people, Theresica finally felt much more at ease. To his senses, they at least looked somewhat like a proper army. Their level of protection was certainly better than that of the wilderness bandits.
Siracusa and Kazdel were not very far apart. On the second day, Theresica reached the border of Siracusa, where Lady Sicilia had already sent people to wait for them.
The group transferred to cars bearing Lady Sicilia's insignia and entered the Siracusan settlement of Volscian without alerting anyone.
The cars drove one after another, forming a small convoy as they proceeded slowly through the streets. Through the one-way windows, Theresica curiously studied his surroundings.
The pedestrians along the road stared curiously at the convoy, pointing at the cars, but no one interfered with its progress. The cars maintained a constant speed, while the pedestrians voluntarily moved aside to both sides of the street.
It seemed that Lady Sicilia truly wielded enormous influence in Siracusa.
After entering the city center, there were far fewer pedestrians, and the cars sped up considerably. The buildings around them also grew taller, giving Theresica the illusion that he had returned to Earth.
"Your Majesty, why are you smiling?"
"It's nothing. Don't worry about it."
Seeing Shining's curious gaze, Theresica quickly waved his hand.
He had actually spotted a traffic light by the roadside. It should have been turning red, but to ensure the convoy's passage, the traffic officers hurriedly began restricting cars on the other road.
He had only ever seen scenes like this on television. He had never expected to experience such treatment himself.
The convoy drove into a luxurious hotel in Volscian. Quite a few people stood in the garden outside, all dressed in black suits. They stood out conspicuously among the crowd, and ordinary people did not dare approach them. Their manner gave Theresica an unmistakable impression of the black mafia on Earth.
The cars stopped in front of the hotel lobby, and the owner and manager immediately came out to welcome them. They did not know who the visitors were, only that they were partners of Lady Sicilia, who had specially reserved three floors to receive them.
The Siracusans' cautious attitude made Theresica somewhat uncomfortable. When he had gone to Victoria, he had felt like a thief, yet upon arriving here, he had instantly become an honored guest.
This was probably one of the benefits of being powerful.
"Lady Sicilia asked me to tell you that you may tour Volscian as you please. Lady Sicilia will cover all your expenses. Tomorrow evening, she will invite you to join her for a brief chat."
The portly owner followed beside him, deliberately lowering his voice and doing his utmost to appear submissive.
"I understand. Please thank Lady Sicilia for her kindness. I look forward to meeting her. I'm sorry for the trouble, but please pass that along."
"Not at all. It's my honor to serve you..."
The suite's thick wooden door closed, and the surroundings immediately fell silent. Theresica stood by the window, overlooking most of Volscian's urban district.
"This city is really well built."
He sighed sincerely. The various buildings gathered together truly gave him the illusion that he had returned to Earth.
"Such development did not come without a price."
Shining spoke from behind him. "Siracusa has no Originium industry, no professional army, and no arms factories. Turning all its resources into this kind of development was not particularly difficult."
"It would be great if Kazdel could become like this someday."
Theresica turned around. "Kazdel is currently focused on building essential functional and production facilities. In the future, we'll need living facilities like the ones in Volscian as well."
"That will cost a great deal of money, Your Majesty."
"It's fine. We can build those living facilities when we have the money."
Theresica was not getting carried away. The Sarkaz were still paying their workers with food! They had not even solved the problem of survival, so it was far too soon to talk about quality of life.
"By the way, Shining, it's still early. Why don't we go out and look around?"
Although he was not getting carried away, he still felt a little restless inside. He had not gone shopping in eighteen years!
"Your Majesty! This place is full of Lupo! I cannot guarantee your safety with absolute certainty."
"It's fine, it's fine. We'll just take a look around. Besides, Lady Sicilia said we could move about freely. If she could say that, then it must be completely safe."
After Theresica's endless persuasion, Shining finally agreed to go out. However, it had been far too long since he had walked city streets. At an intersection without traffic lights, he watched the vehicles coming and going and could not help showing a trace of nervousness. In the end, Shining had to take him by the hand and lead him across.
The two of them walked silently along the bustling street for quite a while. Theresica led Shining into a shopping mall, where they bought table lamps, electric kettles, fans, and other daily necessities. At the same time, whenever they passed an unoccupied corner, he took the opportunity to repeatedly warn Shining.
"What happened today must never be told! Absolutely not! This is an order!"
People passed by from time to time. Their eyes swept toward them without stopping, but every one of them wore a smile that only made him angrier.
Ah, Siracusa... I hate this place! Just destroy it!
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Elder
While the hotel owner looked on in complete confusion, Theresica carried a large pile of daily necessities back to his room. He then obediently stayed in until the next evening, when a Lupo in a black suit delivered an invitation.
Lady Sicilia had invited him to an opera house in the center of Volscian to watch a performance.
The private car sped through the streets and reached the opera house in no time. The place had already been cleared out. Aside from the troupe performing alone onstage, there was no one anywhere. Only a solitary private box on the second floor had a slightly lonely-looking lamp lit inside.
Guided by an attendant, Theresica and Shining entered the box. A well-dressed, somewhat elderly Lupo stood there. Her appearance did not resemble that of a leader at all. Instead, she seemed more like the kindly grandmother of someone on Earth.
"Lady Sicilia, it's a pleasure to meet you."
"Welcome, young king."
Amid the singing of the opera, the two began their conversation.
Theresica raised the idea of importing Siracusan grain, while Lady Sicilia stated her own demand.
"I need a Sarkaz army."
"Hmm? Lady Sicilia, why would you make such a request?"
Theresica was curious and puzzled.
"Leithanien has recently stationed many more troops along the border, making the situation in Siracusa somewhat unstable. We have supplied Leithanien with agricultural products at prices far below Terra's average for many years, and that has placed a considerable burden on us as well."
Lady Sicilia spoke calmly, maintaining the same kindly grandmotherly smile. "For capable warriors who are within reach, I believe the Sarkaz are the most suitable choice."
"But that could put the Sarkaz at risk of being dragged into a war. I do not wish to see that happen... Why don't we change the arrangement?"
After thinking briefly, Theresica proposed, "Kazdel can export weapons and armor to Siracusa, and you can exchange grain for them. How does that sound?"
"That would be a decent choice, but its effects would not be obvious."
Lady Sicilia did not seem very interested in the proposal, but Theresica had no intention of sending troops. He added another bargaining chip that was currently more useful.
"Originium. We can also provide you with military-grade Originium. With weapons and Originium, you could hold an exercise along the border. Perhaps Leithanien would restrain itself a little, or at least become less excessive."
"Hmm..."
Lady Sicilia's attitude softened somewhat. Siracusa did not have much Originium, let alone military-grade Originium. She then added a condition. "The Sarkaz may trade only with me."
"No problem. Transportation can be jointly handled by the Sarkaz and you, Lady Sicilia. However, I would also like to expand the scope of the trade."
Theresica and Lady Sicilia negotiated repeatedly, and eventually settled on a set of terms.
First, this would not be a trade between Kazdel and Siracusa, but a trade with Lady Sicilia.
Kazdel would provide weapons, armor, and military-grade Originium, while Lady Sicilia would provide grain and large quantities of ordinary medicine, all of which Siracusa was capable of producing.
After reading through the clauses several times, neither of them raised any objections.
Lady Sicilia obtained the things she urgently needed, while Theresica brought a large amount of food back to the Sarkaz and used weapons exports to replace part of their Originium exports.
In fact, Siracusa also did fairly well in areas such as law and education. Theresica had wanted to propose sending exchange students, but after considering it, he abandoned the idea.
Kazdel had only just ended its wars. Everywhere was better than Kazdel! Its cultural development had only just begun to recover as well. Under such circumstances, if they sent exchange students, would they still be Siracusans or Kazdelians a few years later?
"The agreement will be like this..."
He was about to sign, but Lady Sicilia reached out and stopped him.
"Please wait. This is a formal treaty. Signing it just like this would be rather hasty. Please wait a moment."
Lady Sicilia summoned an attendant and whispered a few instructions to him. The man quickly ran out. Not long afterward, an elderly man dressed entirely in black entered.
"!!!"
Theresica suddenly felt as though the room had grown brighter. Shining immediately took a step forward behind him, ready to begin a fight to the death.
"Neither of you needs to be nervous."
"Indeed, there's no need. I'm not one of those Sankta from Laterano, after all."
The old man followed Lady Sicilia's lead and displayed that he meant no hostility. "You may call me Father Agniel. I cannot detect any Sankta blood on either of you, either. Such Sarkaz are quite rare."
Since the other party had shown his intentions, Theresica signaled for Shining to relax somewhat.
"Greetings, Father Agniel."
He suddenly remembered something Kal'tsit had once told him—a lesson concerning the Sankta.
Every Sankta carried a firearm, and their strength was beyond question. However, the Sankta were not enthusiastic about war, so Laterano had become the only neutral nation in all of Terra besides Kazdel. The Sankta were also exceptionally devoted to the law and maintained an unusually strict system of judgment.
As time passed, whenever the nations of Terra formally signed treaties, they came to favor inviting Sankta to witness them. The Sankta subsequently established the Laterano Notarial Office and the World Messenger. They served as Terra's court, handled international arbitration, and also became Terra's diplomatic envoys.
Did Lady Sicilia keep this move hidden until now?!
Theresica's brows drew tightly together.
Any treaty signed under the witness of a Sankta would incur Sankta punishment if either party violated it! But things were different for the Sarkaz. This could directly become a war between Laterano and Kazdel! That meant the cost of violating the treaty was not equal for both sides!
Older people really were different!
"I, Father Agniel, hereby witness the signing of this treaty. Do either of you have any further objections to its contents?"
"None."
"None."
"Then are you both willing to abide by the contents of the treaty?"
"We are."
"We are."
"Then sign your names. The Sankta hereby declare this treaty in effect. Should it be violated in the future, the law will judge the offender."
Theresica and Lady Sicilia exchanged their copies of the treaty, while the original was entrusted to Father Agniel.
"Ah, there's nothing else, right? Then I'll head back to sleep."
"Please wait."
Theresica suddenly called out to Father Agniel. He smiled apologetically at Lady Sicilia.
"Lady Sicilia, may I borrow your place and speak with this Sankta priest for a little while?"
"Of course. Please, go ahead."
Lady Sicilia left the box without a moment's hesitation. Now, the not-so-large room held only one Sankta and two Sarkaz.
Father Agniel sat down leisurely in front of them. He seemed genuinely free of any prejudice against the Sarkaz as he asked, "What would you like to discuss, young Sarkaz?"
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An Attempt
"Why have the Sankta and Sarkaz remained enemies to this day?"
Theresica looked at Father Agniel. "I can't find any records about it in Kazdel. No one can remember why we started slaughtering each other. I've always been curious and wanted to find out."
"That question... I can't figure it out either."
Father Agniel spread his hands. "The Sankta and Sarkaz were already enemies several generations ago. The two sides have always fought to the death. The Sarkaz hunted isolated Sankta in the wilderness, while the Sankta shot through the Sarkaz's hearts and cheered happily over it."
"But the pain of losing one's people is the same for everyone. What's the point? If... if it were possible, do you think the Sankta and Sarkaz could achieve peace?"
Theresica carefully put forward the question. Laterano was a religious nation, and priests governed the country. But priests normally did not appear outside Laterano. For a Sarkaz to meet one usually meant they were in the middle of a battle. Today was a rare opportunity.
Hearing the question, Father Agniel fell silent. He lowered his head as though deep in thought—or perhaps asleep. After a long while, he raised his head.
"I cannot give you an answer, young Sarkaz. What are your thoughts?"
"I think that since no one even knows what they are fighting over anymore, why continue? Can't we end it?"
Theresica continued, "Apart from a small amount of weapons manufacturing, nothing else in Kazdel remains. There are no hospitals, no schools, no shopping malls. Even the houses are dilapidated, and there are hardly any people left. What benefit does Laterano gain from continuing to kill Sarkaz? Aside from the pleasure of killing, what else can you get? If it really is for pleasure, then I suggest taking a short break, because once the Sarkaz are all dead, you won't be able to enjoy that pleasure anymore."
"This is the first time I've heard someone put it that way. Raise them for a while, then kill them? I've never heard anyone describe their own race like that."
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