Papaldia Empire, Capital Estaurant, Velsai Palace.

  Emperor Phillip is in his office. He is a young man, only 25 years old. Although he has only been on the throne for a short time, just five years, he has implemented quite significant reforms. These reforms aim to diminish the power of the nobility and concentrate authority in the emperor and the central government.

  A noble with a powerful army is a manifestation of feudalism, like a petty king in his own territory. Aware of this, he has continuously made the nobles struggle to control the majority of the territory, which is 90% of the area. The remaining portion consists of large and loyal clans, which are not easy to touch, and there is no reason to do so at this time.

  However, what the late emperor left for him has made the workload so immense that it is hard to manage. A vast territory filled with savages, nothing more, nothing less. Only Mu, Milishial, and Ostrogoth deserve the respect of a great empire like Papaldia. As for Mu, it is a commercial rival, so caution is always necessary; with its aircraft and warships, Mu could easily bring down Papaldia's long-term achievements in an instant.

  Therefore, the nation must always seek abundant resources to nurture and develop the empire stronger than before. Among these is the firearm, a completely new weapon invented from Mu's prototype. Unlike Mu, which uses gunpowder to propel the bullet out of the barrel, Papaldia's firearm uses mana stone as a catalyst to create kinetic energy, replacing gunpowder by releasing energy from the mana stone to propel the lead bullet.

  Mana stone is an important resource for many nations. It can be mined to create powerful wands for sorcerers. Although sorcerers can still cast magic without it, it enhances flexibility, allowing nations to utilize this force. Moreover, mana stone is also the energy source for Papaldia's machinery and the nations in Civilization Zone 1. Civilization Zone 2 uses coal and what is called oil.

  Although it is a common commodity, mana stone comes in many varieties. Some are used to store energy, some to store magic, but very few because the process of creating it is very time-consuming and resource-intensive, taking decades for skilled alchemists to produce, so this type has fallen into obscurity. Additionally, there is another type, which is in metallic form. They are used to create extremely powerful weapons with mana that can be recharged at any time simply by absorbing the surrounding mana. It comes in different metal forms, namely Mythril and Orichalcum.

  These two metals are the strongest and rarest, thus often very valuable in trade. For this reason, the Papaldia Empire has always expanded its territory to seize them. But now, a new potential prey has appeared. Emperor Phillip looks at the information provided by Feldor. It is basic information but very enticing. The Russian Federation, a wretched barbaric empire with useless vassals, that is what Feldor has said.

  A person like Feldor will always provide accurate information; he believes so. At a glance, he can confidently state, with joy: "Finally, there are more resources for development, along with slaves and vast lands. You will help my empire become stronger than ever."

  Phillip is cheerful, stands up, and walks out of the room, as he still has to meet a very important figure, a figure that even an emperor like him cannot afford to ignore. That is the Saintess Seraphina Flameheart Blaze - granddaughter of Pope Pax Maximilianus Blaze. He does not like such meetings as they do not reflect the authority of Papaldia, but he has no choice.

  Any disrespect from Papaldia would lead to a deterioration in relations and could result in sanctions. Civilization Zone 1 is the main trading area of the nation, so he must be particularly careful, behaving politely to win their favor. As he approaches the large door with two soldiers standing there, they see him and shout, "The emperor has arrived!"

  This is a form of announcement for those inside. The two soldiers open the door, he steps in, and encounters the beautiful gaze of a woman, her voice soft and gentle: "I am honored to meet you, Emperor of Papaldia - Phillip Antoine Valois D'Alembert. May God always be with you and bless the people here..."

  The woman with golden hair and a gentle smile looks directly into Phillip's eyes, causing the young man to feel a flutter. His face gradually reddens, drawing Seraphina's attention. She understands this and speaks up to lead into the topic.

  "Please have a seat," she says calmly, "I hope our discussion will go smoothly."

  "Yes, I hope so," Phillip replies, stepping forward to sit across from her. Seraphina takes a cup of tea to enjoy, praising it: "The tea from Civilization Zone 3 always brings a very peaceful feeling."

  "If you wish, I can gift you the finest quality!"

  Seraphina laughs at that declaration. He feels he has achieved something. But she does not, immediately starting to discuss the original purpose. "Well, we would like to import a certain amount of mana stone from Papaldia. We can maintain this in a long-term manner for mutual benefit."

  "I understand," Phillip beams. "We are always ready to cooperate in trade with Civilization Zone 1, especially the Holy Empire."

  "Then let's take a look," Seraphina pulls out a document and places it in front of Phillip. "Mana stone must be the only item. The Holy Empire has decided to include the Empire in the trade list of nations, although..." she hesitates, unsure of how to phrase it, but says it anyway. "Papaldia is still not considered a priority partner compared to Mu, but if in the coming years, you change positively, we will reconsider."

  She speaks in a soft tone, devoid of any hostility, but the meaning of her words implies to the Empire: "Change to receive benefits, or forget it!" Phillip is certainly not foolish enough not to realize this. He takes the document, skimming through it.

  Glancing over it, he learns what Milishial wants to trade with the nation. He assesses that this is a very profitable deal, but it does not mean that Papaldia's benefits will outweigh those of Milishial. Most of them relate to mineral resources, while the others pertain to food and handicrafts produced exclusively in Papaldia.

  Considering the quantity is large enough to make smaller nations sweat, but they are the Papaldia Empire, so this is still within their capability. As for the prices, they still bring benefits to them, which makes Phillip cast a disdainful glance at the girl enjoying her tea.

  'So pathetic,' he grimaces, thinking, 'cooperating with barbarians and giving them benefits, too foolish, but this fool is capable of destroying them.'

  He looks at Seraphina and smiles. "This is a very reasonable trade agreement. Papaldia is always willing to cooperate long-term with you."

  He agrees and signs the document, only hoping that the woman leaves as soon as possible.

  "Thank you," she replies cheerfully, "we hope for a prosperous Papaldia in the future."

  She says, looking at the emperor of Papaldia nodding. Feeling it is time, she finally gets to the real topic for which she is here. "May I ask," she says slowly, "what do you have with this Russian Federation?"

  Phillip is taken aback, not expecting this topic to be brought up by an important figure from Milishial, and based on her tone, it is clear that Seraphina has a particular interest in Russia. This makes Phillip uncomfortable, but he dares not show it.

  Phillip replies calmly: "It is just a country with a bit of territory, but ultimately, it is just a bunch of savages, not worth mentioning by a powerful nation like Milishial," he continues. "Moreover, there are many conflicts between the two sides, but everything will be resolved in the shortest time possible."

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  Seraphina says nothing, that gentle smile still remains, but it carries no emotion. This leaves Phillip at a loss for words. But Seraphina knows what she needs to do next based on the words of the Emperor of the Papaldia Empire. Her thoughts about Papaldia are not good, but Russia is something different. The feeling is both familiar yet very strange when hearing descriptions of the Russia-Rowlia war from merchants.

  'How intriguing,' she thinks, 'I need to go there to find out.'

  With that thought, she stands up to bid farewell to Phillip and leaves with the trade agreement. Outside, someone is waiting, it is Willer, her assistant. As soon as he sees Seraphina, the middle-aged man immediately places his palms on both sides of her shoulders to greet her. "Saintess, shall we head back?"

  "Not yet, we have one more place to go," she says, continuing to walk.

  Willer follows behind and asks, "Where to?"

  "Russia, the Russian Federation," she replies. Willer does not know what that is, so he asks further: "Why?"

  "To establish friendly diplomatic relations," she says hesitantly. "And to confirm a few things."

  Willer does not know what the Saintess is thinking, but it is clearly an important matter, so he does not ask further, as Seraphina is smart enough to make the right decisions. As for Seraphina, she asks Willer for a favor. "Willer, go buy me some things from the luxury shops, especially tea."

  "To gift to the king of Russia?"

  "Exactly," she adds. "Now go, we are in a hurry."

  The two leave the Velsai Palace, beginning their journey to Russia.

  ...

  Southern Sea, 446 kilometers from the Black Sea.

  On a mana stone-powered ship, Seraphina stands at the bow, watching the waves. She wonders how such a large continent could be here without being discovered. A continent that has never existed.

  This makes her head ache with speculation. Because it simply cannot be, she wonders how Russia got here.

  What she has heard from some merchants is that Russia was abruptly displaced from the old world. From day to night instantly, that is when Russia appeared here. Along with it, other nations were displaced with Russia - collectively known as Central Asia, consisting of five nations.

  But those are landlocked nations, without a navy, and the terrain there is relatively arid, so Seraphina guesses that it is not rich - impoverished, are two words to describe that land. Currently, her goal is to reach a seaport of Russia, located in a place called the Black Sea.

  She does not really know why it is called that, but it must be related to the characteristics of that sea in the past. Additionally, she has learned that the Black Sea is the main operational area of the Black Sea Fleet. According to what Willer could gather, the attitude of these Russians is relatively cautious towards their own people.

  Although Russia frequently establishes diplomatic relations, even setting up a banking system with its currency - the RUB, a type of paper money, which, although not valuable, requires extremely high-quality Russian goods to be purchased with RUB, thus turning places with banks into bustling areas quickly. The nations allowed to trade receive significant benefits.

  This is a way to create a large influence for themselves. But it is also a way to resolve the sudden crisis - to mitigate potential damage. Russia primarily engages in trade, but that does not mean they abandon other markets. Especially, the things that Russia exports do not have mana, or rather, Russia has no mana or magic. Similar to Mu, but not dependent on any amount of mana stone.

  "Russia - a mysterious nation with many astonishing things," she whispers.

  Although she is not sure how Russia will react to the Holy Empire, it probably will not be good. Russia knows nothing about them, so preparations must be made if Russia is a warlike nation. The ship she is standing on is a large battleship. Astral - a symbol of strength. It would not be deployed without a significant reason.

  But because Seraphina is the Saintess and the granddaughter of the Pope, and the waters belong to Civilization Zone 3, which is often unstable due to Papaldia's expeditions, causing many areas across the region to fall into chaos with rampant piracy.

  Although they are not a significant threat to a superpower, caution is never excessive.

  "Saintess!" Willer runs up from behind, looking panicked. "There are three ships approaching us, at a speed of about twenty-nine knots."

  She is surprised; such a high speed must certainly be Russian ships. But what kind of ships are they? She thinks, 'If they are truly hostile, that would be the most foolish thing I have done.'

  She turns to Willer, serious. "Prepare them for readiness. Any hostile move is an attack."

  "Understood," Willer nods, running inside.

  As for her, she prepares to use any kind of magic to fight. She takes a deep breath and whispers again: "Russian Federation, what will you be?"

  ...

  A patrol fleet is carrying out its mission. With three ships, including the Admiral Grigorovich-class destroyer and two patrol ships, the Pavel Derzhavin patrol ship and the Vasily Bykov patrol ship. All three belong to the Black Sea Fleet and are tasked with preventing any hostile entities. If it is a merchant ship, they will be directed to the Sevastopol Naval Base - the home port of the Black Sea Fleet. Although it is a naval base, Sevastopol also operates as a major commercial port, receiving goods from many places and serving both domestic and international trade.

  On the Admiral Grigorovich, Sochi - the captain of the ship and the entire patrol fleet. Currently, there is a ship on the radar. This is not unusual, as they frequently encounter similar situations, and all are either merchants or pirates. But this time is different.

  "32 nautical miles, quite impressive," Sochi mutters.

  He looks at the control panel, a sense of suspicion rising within him. There are no ships with such high speed. Unless it is a ship from Mu - the first nation to establish a major trade agreement with the country. Although he is not sure why they are traveling alone, typically Mu's ships would have 1-2 escort vessels accompanying them.

  He feels that something is off. He turns to the communicator: "Order Pavel and Vasily to prepare for combat."

  "Yes," the other replies. He then looks towards the vast horizon, hoping for something different to come. A new world, meaning a new enemy.

  ...

  "Damn it," Sochi curses under his breath.

  As the patrol fleet approaches the ship, they discover that it is a battleship, and it does not fly Mu's flag. So it is certainly an illegally intruding ship. Sochi suspects its purpose, but since they are too close, it would not be wise to open fire first.

  He takes the microphone, clears his throat a bit. "This is Patrol Team 4 of the Black Sea Fleet. We are the Admiral Grigorovich destroyer, requesting you to immediately declare your identity."

  After a long moment, the other side responds: "This is MCN Astral from the Holy Empire of Milishial - part of the Divinus fleet. I am Saintess Seraphina Flameheart Blaze."

  That statement leaves the Russian sailors bewildered. Saintess, a strange term they cannot comprehend. Even Sochi is extremely confused about whether that is a title or a name. All he knows is that Milishial - a theocratic nation, a nation with the highest technological level here. Although all of this is just information provided to him by superiors to react well to unexpected situations.

  But like this, even he finds it hard to know how to resolve this accurately without affecting the relationship between the two sides. He scratches his head.

  "Alright, let us ask, what does a significant figure like you have as your purpose in coming to Russia?"

  The other side does not respond. This makes him anxious, ready for any situation that may arise. Then a male voice from the other side finally answers his question: "We come to Russia to meet your king to expand diplomatic relations."

  "What kind of joke is this?!" a bewildered sailor exclaims.

  The others inside are the same. Even Sochi is questioning his hearing to comprehend this. He does not understand the reason, but with the purpose being diplomacy, he can bring this person in, but surely these individuals will have to be placed under military supervision.

  He announces: "We have noted. Please wait a moment while we inform the mainland."

  Then he tells the communicator: "Quickly inform the command in Sevastopol. Prepare for diplomatic situations."

  ...

  MCN Astral.

  "It seems I must have said something wrong?" Willer says slowly.

  His face is quite confused as he says this. But Seraphina does not pay much attention. What she cares about is the Russian ships. They can build steel ships, which means that Russia is a developed nation, and with its vast territory, its navy must be substantial to protect its territory.

  Russia will surely become a significant potential market to solidify the economy and power of the Holy Empire, especially if Russia has strong enough extraction technology to alleviate the resource shortages for industries in Civilization Zone 1 in general and in Milishial in particular.

  But that still requires a direct visit to see; one cannot rely on what they see to make incorrect judgments. She will not let the dazzling things before her lead her away from the truth. She turns to Willer and says:

  "First, let's see how developed the cities of Russia are. But based on my speculation, Russia has just been displaced and is hastily establishing diplomatic relations with as many nations as possible," she takes a deep breath. "So I believe Russia is facing a financial crisis. A trade system without customers means there are no sellers. Therefore, Russia will do everything possible for us to trade with them. I will take advantage of that to benefit the Holy Empire."

  Willer and the crew listen to her words, nodding in agreement. No one dares to contradict someone like Seraphina; any words that upset this woman could mean death for them.

  But Seraphina feels differently. No one is contradicting her words, which makes her somewhat uncomfortable. She whispers: "Can't you do anything else?"

  "Never mind, first..."

  She intends to continue, but is interrupted by the Russians. A good announcement for her.

  "We have informed; they allow you to dock in Russia. Please follow us."

  She takes the microphone, replying: "Understood."

  After placing the microphone down, she turns to the others. With a serious expression, now the most complicated part is just beginning.