Ceres had been having an interesting conversation with the Salamandra sisters. Lara had been conveying her congratulations for Mars’ victory and their successful pitch for research grants. Rhea, her younger sister, on the other hand had a different agenda.

Chin raised, one hand on her hip and the other pointing at her nose, “You’re my rival,” she had declared in a haughty manner much to Ceres’ amusement. The young girl seemed to be in high spirits, going so far as to thank them for taking the ‘steel-winged hussy’ out of her hair. Now that the ‘obstacle’ was out of her way, she was confident that ‘her’ Reinhart would notice her soon. Why, just a little while ago, she had caught him checking her out while the wedding was still in progress.

Ceres found her enthusiasm endearing, though she didn’t really agree with the way Rhea threw herself at the Pholidota heir. Then again, she wasn’t one to talk, having staked her life to earn Mars’ trust and affection. If anything, she was the crazier one.

All in attendance quietened down and focused on the Emperor as he rang his goblet for attention. “Ladies and Gentlemen, We are very thankful for your presence this auspicious afternoon and for the blessings you showered upon the new couple…” he began with pleasantries before coming to the crux of the matter. “For the first time in history, the contest will be open, to not only Regiis, but the entire world.”

He went on to explain the rationale behind such a decision.

By occupying Regiis territory, the Shogunate had officially declared war. Normally that would warrant armed retaliation from the Empire, but the unique circumstances meant that the Shogunate had hostages. Two entire districts worth of hostages. Thus, unless Regiis wanted to sacrifice them all in return for the small portion of the Shogunate’s forces that were currently there, war wasn’t an option. Demigods, as always, were also not an option.

This deadlock was favourable for the Shogunate as all the occupying forces had to do was weather the winter until it became possible for their reinforcements to arrive by way of the Bay of Kings. And that’s what would have happened – the Kirin army and the turncoats hunkering down and trying to consolidate their hold over the captured land.

Then the farmers had burnt their fields.

Though the Duchess’ processing had been swift and efficient, the damage had been done. Now they were looking at a famine come the end of winter. This had forced the Shogunate to the negotiation table.

After a lot of back and forth, the negotiations had fallen through. The Shogunate had pointed out that the ones starving would be Regiis nationals while those who had sold their souls to the Shogunate would be the ones passing the winter in comfort with full bellies. If anything, this development was a blessing in disguise for them – a chance to make some of the stubborn loyalists cave under pressure. After all, seeing one’s family starve would corrode even the hardest of convictions.

After that kind of declaration, the Regiis side had realized that there could simply be no meeting of minds. They had started preparing themselves for war.

A two-pronged approach had been decided upon. From the military standpoint, if they let the Shogunate reinforcements land, then the battle would be lost. Thus, the battlefield had already been determined. It would be a naval war with the Regiis armada facing off against the Kirin army and the Shogunate reinforcements in the Bay of Kings.

This time, they would disregard any threats the Shogunate made with regard to the hostages. If they did dare to take that kind of heinous action, there would be consequences, the Treaty of Demigods be damned.

And no one wanted that.

From the political side, they wanted to unite all the nations of the Continent against the Shogunate. At least in spirit. The method they had decided upon was to open the Swayamvar to the world. By letting the prominent youths of the entire Continent compete for the Regiis Princess’ hand in marriage, they would build a feeling of solidarity. Combined with the geographical separation of the Shogunate from the Continent, it wouldn't be too difficult to implant a paradigm of ‘they’ and ‘us’ in the minds of the populace.

If that tide of negative public opinion could transform into economic sanctions, then all the better. But, at the very least, the youth of the various nations would interact and clash against each other and rivalries and friendships would spring up. Not only would these individuals go on to become the pillars of their respective nations in the future, they were likely the sons and daughters of the current national pillars. And what parents weren’t affected by the standpoints of their children?

As for the logistics of the event… As of now, there were six candidates from each of the eight Provinces of Regiis, each with their current cap of three followers. A total of nearly two hundred young talents. The numbers would be culled to around a fifth of that, to merely six candidates who would be allowed to choose up to three more followers each (a maximum of six followers), resulting in forty-two promising men and women who would travel to the various nations to compete.

Each of the teams would travel to all the nations in turn – Rome, Egypt, Deus, the Caliphate, Indus and Huaxia – while the national teams of each of these countries would also visit the others. Only the Barbarian wastelands and (obviously) the Shogunate would be excluded from this grand competition of unprecedented scale.

This was the tentative plan. The details were currently in the process of being hashed out among the ministries of the various nations. But most of them had responded favourably to the notion.

Finally, the Emperor concluded his speech with, “For his brilliant performance in the resistance against the Calamity and his strength that far outstrips his peers, We are proud to nominate our son-in-law Mars Felidae as one of the six finalists from Regiis.” He turned to Mars who was standing beside Deimos. “Do you accept the challenge of representing the Empire and shouldering the burden of its reputation?”

Ceres realized that Mars didn’t seem too surprised by the news. It seemed that he had been told to expect this during his meeting with the Demigods.

Stepping forward, Mars executed a perfect military salute with fist to chest. “Yes, Sir!”