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“Finally!” Alice hopped out of the carriage and stretched her arms towards the sky. She lowered them to her sides and leaned to one side, letting Burc hop onto her shoulder. After he did so, she straightened her back and headed over to Suleiman. He was surrounded by his advisors, and they were speaking quite rapidly. “Hey, when are we starting?” Alice asked, butting into the conversation. “My hands are itchy, and there’s some nice-looking walls over there to scratch them with.”
“I can scratch them for you if you’d like,” Burc said and extended his claws, sinking them into Alice’s clothes. Tiny pricks of pain stabbed her shoulder.
“No, that’s okay,” Alice said, glaring at Burc.
Suleiman and his advisors stared at the girl who was having a staring contest with a cat. “There’s a little bit of trouble,” Suleiman said and sighed. “While we were on the road, the Holy Roman Empire was one step ahead of us.”
Alice tilted her head. “They decided to defend the place we’re going to attack?”
“No,” Suleiman said and stroked his chin. “They conquered the Kingdom of Hungary first. It’s their lands now.”
Alice blinked. “So? What’s the issue?”
“We’re deciding whether or not it’s worth it to declare war at this time,” Suleiman said. “Compared to the Kingdom of Hungary, the Holy Roman Empire is a much tougher opponent.”
“Weren’t you planning on attacking them anyway?” Alice asked. She lifted her hand up and stroked Burc’s chin. “What does it matter if it’s now or later?”
One of Suleiman’s advisors shouted, “See!” He slapped his thighs. “The angel agrees with me.”
“We’re not ready for a war against the Holy Roman Empire!” another advisor said. “The supply chain isn’t prepared for this. The original plan was to conquer the Kingdom of Hungary, acquire its territories, and reinforce them over time, securing a platform to attack the Holy Roman Empire. Now that the empire owns Hungary, if we attack the place, it’ll be the same as declaring war against the empire. We simply aren’t ready for it yet.”
“Nonsense!” the previous advisor said. “What did the angel say? We were going to attack the empire! Three years from now, ten years from now, right now, what’s the difference between the three? The angel guarantees our victory!”
Alice’s eyes bulged. “Ten years?” She blinked hard, her hand freezing beneath Burc’s neck. “You were planning on waiting that long before expanding again?”
“It takes time to assimilate a population,” the second advisor said. “Imagine if we conquered Hungary and launched an attack on the Holy Roman Empire right away. If the people of Hungary rebelled at a crucial moment, wouldn’t that land a devastating blow against us? It takes time to get rid of animosity that comes with warmongering even if we have a righteous cause for war behind us. They don’t have to rebel in an open manner either. They could feed intelligence to the Holy Roman Empire. They can misdirect our own troops. Solving these issues takes time.”
Alice rolled her eyes. For some reason, she was reminded of her time back on the eastern continent where she was the guild master of an adventurers’ guild, all the paperwork and logistics along with a little bit of politics. “You have a point.”
The second advisor jabbed a finger towards the first one. “You see! The angel agrees with me!”
Burc rubbed his face against Alice’s cheek while the two advisors got into a heated argument. “You want to help the Padishah expand his lands to use his influence to help you search for your friends, right?”
Alice raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, and?”
Burc exhaled, sinking down against Alice’s neck. “Have you considered helping the Holy Roman Empire? The Padishah is right here. If you capture him now and turn him in to the Holy Roman Empire, they might acquire everything depending on how well they negotiate.”
Alice turned her head towards her empty shoulder.
“Where are you looking?” Burc asked and pawed at Alice’s face.
“Trying to find the other cat that gives me good advice,” Alice said with a blank expression. “That’s how it works, right? Two cats on either shoulder, one giving moral advice, the other speaking evil.”
“Well,” Burc said. “I already peed on you as you slept. By smell alone, any cat will know you’ve been claimed.”
“You did what?”
“I’m sorry! I was wrong!” Burc said and leapt off of Alice’s shoulder before she could grab him. He landed on Suleiman’s turban, scrambling to hide behind the Padishah’s head.
Suleiman frowned before relaxing his face. “What did the cat do this time, Alice?”
Alice narrowed her eyes. “You don’t have to know the details; you just have to know he committed an unpardonable crime.”
“I lied! I didn’t pee on you as you slept!”
“I don’t believe you anymore!” Alice shouted back at the cat. She glared at Suleiman. “Hand him over.”
A wry smile appeared on Suleiman’s lips as he grabbed at Burc. However, the majestic cat slipped away, running back towards Alice’s carriage. He scrambled up the side and onto the roof, staring down at Alice and Suleiman. “I could’ve peed on your armor too, but I chose not to. Think about that.”
Alice snorted and crossed her arms in front of her chest. She turned away, ignoring the cat. The advisors were still bickering, and it seemed like the head of logistics and the head of the sipahis were about to get into a fistfight. Suleiman gave Alice a wry smile. “No matter where one goes, there will always be a difference in opinion as long as there are people,” he said. “What do you think of the situation?”
“Aren’t you the Sultan?” Alice asked in return. “You’re supposed to make decisions. However, I’d greatly appreciate it if you could cut down the amount of time it’ll take you to conquer the world. How big is Hungary compared to the rest of the world? If it takes you ten years to stabilize this land, how long will it take you to stabilize the whole world? Three centuries? Four?”
“I … wasn’t planning on conquering the whole world,” Suleiman said and furrowed his brow.
Alice slapped her hand down on Suleiman’s shoulder. She had to stand on her tiptoes to do it. “Your ambitions are too small. Think big! Is the Kingdom of Hungary and the Holy Roman Empire really enough to satisfy your appetite?”
Suleiman narrowed his eyes. “You’re right.” He turned towards his advisors. “Enough arguing! We go to war!”
“Excellent!” Alice said and expanded her shield. “I’ll lead the charge.”
“Wait!” Suleiman shouted at Alice’s rapidly disappearing figure. “That’s Belgrade! That’s our fortress! Don’t punch the wall down, please!”