The coalition of three nations surrendered.
After besieging Kazdel for nearly half a month, without ever managing to inflict any real damage, they finally gave up on that bit of unrealistic fantasy.
No hope—so why keep fighting? Their top-level combatants had been stalled one-on-one by the Ten Kings, and then some lunatic appeared out of nowhere, calling himself a Bloodfiend Fixer, nearly punched a hole through the front lines… utterly deranged.
And as for close combat between the rank-and-file troops—how could they compare? Kazdel's [Ampoules] and energy supplies were rolling like a flood.
It was as though energy inside the country cost nothing, forcibly igniting productivity. Even under siege, they scarcely ran into production crises. Every so often they would even leap out just to disgust the coalition forces, unable to be killed, impossible to chase away, existing solely to irritate.
So, after weighing the pros and cons, the leaders of the three nations made their decision: there was no need to keep fighting. Time for peace talks.
Besides, each nation had its own separate little abacus running.
They still had to cozy up to The City.
If Kazdel could be lifted to such soaring heights just by The City's resource support, and considering the strength The City had revealed during the war when the three nations tried to invade it, all three reached the same conclusion: building good relations with The City was unquestionably better than enmity.
Take that strange energy, for example. Logically, if Kazdel were truly producing that much energy, it would almost certainly be with [Originium]. In which case, Kazdel's skies should have been filled long ago with clouds of [Originium Dust]. But not only was there none, it even seemed like the number of Infected within Kazdel was decreasing.
Outright unnatural.
In the end, the three nations pinned all of this on The City, collectively concluding that it was The City that had caused such changes.
So, even before formal peace with Kazdel, the three nations had already begun, quietly, to approach The City. Though, as with Theresa in the beginning, none of them managed to meet the Head, they had mostly figured out the mode of interaction.
There was no need to meet the Head. It was enough to sort out relations with the companies inside, those free-standing entities.
Although the invasion still left its baggage behind, The City seemed magnanimous enough not to pursue accountability. Thus, the three nations, with perfect tacit understanding, refrained from bringing it up either.
They didn't know why The City chose not to press the issue, but if things looked good, that was good enough.
And so, behind closed doors, the three nations had already begun quietly establishing diplomatic ties with The City. This little town of mere tens of thousands, by virtue of this war, had stepped onto Terra's grand stage in one stroke—gaining the qualifications to negotiate with major powers.
As for K Corp, contact had yet to be made—because Heal was still in Kazdel. But Lobotomy Corporation's X and Da'at were there!
Upon learning that energy was their primary business, the three nations joyfully and hastily began intensive talks with Lobotomy Corporation, and started drafting future cooperation plans. For now, the cooperation centered around energy provision. In exchange, the three nations needed to allow Lobotomy Corporation to establish independent branches within their borders, recruit personnel without restriction, with the branches belonging solely to Lobotomy Corporation and not to the host nation.
That was the baseline condition. Painful, yes—but the amount of energy promised made them agree after some hand-wringing.
By the time the coalition officially made peace with Kazdel and signed the armistice, Lobotomy Corporation staff were already advancing toward the three nations, selecting sites for their branches.
It would not be long before those branches rose on their soil…
And so time circled back, to the very day Kazdel and the coalition signed the peace treaty. The three nations offered Kazdel numerous written guarantees, including promises not to provoke war, and together paid out a massive sum of resources and funds.
Given such terms, Kazdel swiftly accepted the agreement—because in their current state, tearing off another chunk of territory was nearly impossible. This compensation, as startup capital for Kazdel's recovery, was already more than satisfying.
In every sense, Kazdel was the winner of this war.
On the day the war ended, Theresa and Theresis held a grand banquet, celebrating Kazdel's survival through yet another crisis!
While the revelry raged, Nearl was lying in a room. The inner chambers of the banquet. Nearl was not accustomed to the atmosphere of celebrations, and so she had withdrawn to rest here.
Don Quixote, on the other hand, seemed endlessly excited… Though really, she should have anticipated this when he first joined the war. When Duq'arael had told Don Quixote about it, he had burst with enthusiasm on the spot.
For a future legendary Fixer, how could one not have war experience?
So Don Quixote immediately dragged Nearl into battle, and even managed to make a name for himself…
Sigh… that guy.
Thinking of his antics, Nearl couldn't help but shake her head with a weary sigh.
Just now, Don Quixote had rushed out with, "How could a celebration go without those who contributed to the war!"—to join the feasting. Nearl had grown used to it.
But she wondered whether they might rest a while longer in Kazdel…
She let out a slow breath, thinking that to herself. At that very moment, the door was kicked open with a violent crash. Nearl shot upright in shock, staring at Don Quixote suddenly appearing before her—her pupils trembling.
A sudden, sharp, crushing sense of foreboding gripped her.
"Oi! Nearl! I've got another brilliant idea!"
"Our Kazdel journey is at its close! But how could we Fixers ever linger in just one place? Our footsteps must never stop!"
"So! Will you come with me to Kazimierz? I've heard so much of their knights already!"
In that instant, Nearl felt her consciousness scatter, her mind go blank for one heartbeat.
You said… where?
...
The banquet lasted until dusk. As its lights dimmed, Theresa and Theresis exchanged a look, and both exhaled heavily.
"What a day," Theresa said with a smile.
"Yes… everyone congratulating our victory."
Theresis fell silent after that. Theresa too. She understood what he meant.
They had won—but the true victor of this war was someone else.
"Let's go."
Theresa sighed softly, stood, and spoke to Theresis.
"It's time to meet the real winner. Come. We go to The City."