The Sacred Elf Empire · the High Council
At some point no one could name, the topic most discussed in this place had become the Owl Dragon Empire.
"The Owl Dragon Empire" had become the phrase heard here more than any other.
And today the Flame Elf Queen had come back here once more,
bringing with her, once again, a very important topic:
the Owl Dragon Empire's request that the Sacred Elf Empire provide technology for exploring the universe.
On learning of this,
a good many high elf council members saw at once what the Owl Dragon Empire's intent behind it was.
"The Owl Dragon Empire wants to open up new territory, and launch invasions of other interstellar civilizations' universes!"
"How can our Sacred Elf Empire allow such a thing to happen, let alone help a tyrant do evil? That can never be!"
"Not only must we not give it; we must stop the Owl Dragon Empire from even having such ideas. Everyone knows we and the Owl Dragon Empire are allies, so won't what the Owl Dragon Empire does drag us in? Our Sacred Elf Empire's good name would suffer too!"
Hearing these high elf council members,
the Flame Elf Queen scorned them in her heart. Still thinking of these empty things now; had the Owl Dragon Empire not beaten the Devourer Civilization this time,
the Sacred Elf Empire would have been the next target, and no one knew whether any of them would still be sitting here!
But this time the Flame Elf Queen was sure of herself.
She glanced at the Emerald Elf King, who sat resting with his eyes closed; on this matter she had quietly contacted a few fellows the moment she got back to the Sacred Elf Empire.
These fellows, on learning of the matter, had naturally been against it at first, or needed to think it over.
But once they knew the compensation the Owl Dragon Empire was willing to provide, every one of their attitudes had turned ambiguous.
Now all she needed to do was come forward and find these fellows an excuse, a show to dress up their hypocrisy.
Heh.
Hypocritical indeed.
But for the plan to go ahead, there was no help for it.
The Flame Elf Queen looked around at all the high elf council members present.
She raised her hand, and in an instant the whole chamber fell silent.
Because of the great victory over the Devourer Civilization's invading fleets on the Owl Dragon Empire's universe battlefields this time,
the Flame Elf Queen's standing within the Sacred Elf Empire had risen a grade.
She could be said to be at the height of her fame; no one dared offend this lady Elf Queen.
"I know what you're worried about. Once, our Sacred Elf Empire called itself the keeper of peace, and once it truly had the power to be. But then? You all know what came after. The Devourer Civilization appeared, and from then on we never once stopped a war again. We even gave up, ourselves, one interstellar civilization's universe after another that had once been full of peace. And now our ally, the Owl Dragon Empire, fighting shoulder to shoulder with us, has won a great victory over the Devourer Civilization. That at least shows the Owl Dragon Empire's fighting power, and a standing on a par with ours!" Here the Flame Elf Queen paused.
A high elf council member of some standing raised a hand, then stood and objected, "I don't deny the Owl Dragon Empire has a certain military strength and standing. In this war against the Devourer Civilization they gave a great deal and earned great credit too. But that doesn't mean the Owl Dragon Empire may launch wars of invasion against other interstellar civilizations' universes. If so, how would the Owl Dragon Empire be any different from the Devourer Civilization!"
The Flame Elf Queen shook her head and denied it flatly: "The Owl Dragon Empire is not the same as the Devourer Civilization. First, when the Owl Dragon Empire opens up new territory in future, it will very probably use military strength. But that's fundamentally different from the Devourer Civilization. What does the Devourer Civilization invade those civilizations' universes for? To occupy them? No! To destroy them! To make those civilizations' universes food for Order. Will the Owl Dragon Empire do that? Of course not. So the two are fundamentally different."
"But it's all aggression!" the high elf council member stressed.
The Flame Elf Queen did not deny it on that point; she nodded and said, "As a matter of fact, such conduct is indeed aggression. But we also have to look at the heart of the whole thing. First, what is the Owl Dragon Empire going to explore those interstellar civilizations' universes for? To enslave the locals, to plunder the locals' resources, to destroy the locals' homes? No! I can promise you here with certainty: the Owl Dragon Empire will never do such things. Their aim is that in the war with the Devourer Civilization now, their consumption of resources is too great; one Owl Dragon Empire universe alone simply can't sustain it. So even if they beat the Devourer Civilization in the end, with great difficulty, it may very well be a ruinous victory for the Owl Dragon Empire. And mind you, the true enemy, from first to last, has never been the Devourer Civilization, but Order behind it!"
When she spoke the word "Order," the mood of the whole chamber seemed to grow much heavier.
Though many years had passed, the fear of Order had always hung about their hearts, far beyond their fear of the Devourer Civilization.
Against the Devourer Civilization they at least had the strength to fight; but Order?
How many were still willing to cross swords with Order?
"I know that right now we can afford not to fear Order. But will Order let us be? They could raise up one Devourer Civilization, so they can raise up a second, a third Devourer Civilization. And then one day we'll be wiped out by these puppet civilizations Order props up. So what we truly have to face, from first to last, is Order, the final boss behind the scenes!"
At this, the high elf council members present said nothing.
Did they not know this in their hearts?
But knowing and doing were two different things.
In truth most of them were avoiding this matter now.
For standing against Order was far too hard; many records described that time, how much the Sacred Elf Empire had paid to stand against Order.
For the Sacred Elf Empire it had beyond doubt been a dark age!
No one wanted to give up the life they had now and go back to that dark age.
"I know what you're thinking now. You're cowards, every one of you, thinking you can keep running from it forever. But you can run; can your children? Do you mean to toss this to your children? Leave your sons and grandsons to face this axe that may fall at any moment! No! I don't want to see that happen. I don't want our descendants, when they face the final calamity, to say that their ancestors had no courage to face Order. I don't want to be spat on by my own descendants!" The Flame Elf Queen's voice grew heavier and heavier.
Some high elf council members bowed their heads; perhaps somewhat ashamed.
The Flame Elf Queen paused, then went on, "And by comparison, in the Owl Dragon Empire I see the Sacred Elf Empire of old, or rather the youngest, proudest, most fearless Sacred Elf Empire of old. How much of that spirit can still be seen in us now? They dare face Order's threat; they've never once thought of running from it. Even while still fighting the Devourer Civilization now, they're thinking of how to defeat Order in future and win peace for good! Instead of…… shrinking into a shell, clinging to life."
Whom these words of the Flame Elf Queen's were aimed at, everyone knew only too well.
"All right, Salaman; if we're discussing business, discuss business; don't drag in other things," the Radiant Elf King said.
For the Sacred Elf Empire this counted as a scandal; naturally no one wanted to bring it up.
Nor was the Flame Elf Queen's aim this time to reopen that old wound.
She said in a deep voice, "Back to what I said before: the Owl Dragon Empire has to defeat the Devourer Civilization first, then challenge Order. That takes enough resources. And right now the resources of the Owl Dragon Empire's universe alone can't possibly support a military force able to stand against Order. As things stand with the Owl Dragon Empire now, merely sustaining a few months of war has already been very hard. In that situation, outward expansion is the only choice."
Hearing the Flame Elf Queen explain it so, some high elf council members came to understand the reasons behind it.
Striking while the iron was hot, the Flame Elf Queen went straight on: "And I've talked with the Owl Dragon Emperor. His plans for opening up new territory in future in fact have several sides to them. As the Owl Dragon Emperor, his greatest wish in truth isn't to wage war abroad either, but to make the greatest use of other interstellar civilizations' universes' resources at the least sacrifice. On this the Owl Dragon Emperor has promised that so long as the other side doesn't resort to violence, the Owl Dragon Empire will not enslave or harm the locals, and will even do all it can to keep the locals' way of life in order. Through peaceful trade and mutual cooperation, the Owl Dragon Empire can get everything it wants. That, of course, is the best outcome. If some unavoidable wars break out, then the Owl Dragon Empire can only meet them with force. But the Owl Dragon Emperor has promised on this too that all acts of war will be used only when necessary, and all acts of war will serve only the aim of strengthening the Owl Dragon Empire and standing against Order. There will be no needless killing, no persecuting the innocent. On these points, I've looked into the Owl Dragon Empire's history from its founding to now. The Owl Dragon Empire was built mainly by humans. Beyond that, it has taken in other interstellar races as well. And toward these other interstellar races, apart from some necessary armed clashes at the start, the Owl Dragon Empire has never committed any persecution once they were taken in. The locals are even more satisfied with their lives now. The facts are all there as evidence. So I believe the Owl Dragon Emperor's promise!"