Riches and Bitches: I have a gate to an isekai and leveling-up system!

"Hear me, hear me, everyone, for today the history changes!"

My voice, recorded by the microphone in my hand, turned into a myriad of zeros and ones that then proceeded down the long cord, through the reverse decoding, and then exploded from the massive speakers hidden on the fifth carriage.

It took an entire carriage's worth of fuel, fuel-based generators, and then, lastly, speaker equipment to turn my serious but silent voice into a wave of sound that nearly shook the world itself.

My voice turned into a wave of sound strong enough to push against my back, making both me, Fay, and pretty much everyone within Etaria's party stumble a bit.

It was also at this point when the noise-blockers proved to be a godsend, turning the powerful sound into an annoyance over an actual threat to our hearing.

'All okay?' I thought, lowering the cube of a microphone and raising my eyes to check on everyone.

Fay was perfectly alright, at most slightly startled by the sudden noise even though she already knew it was going to happen. Behind me, Madam didn't even twitch, somehow manipulating her aura to stop the noise from rupturing her eardrums.

Out of everyone, only Etaria struggled a little, both unprepared for the explosion of the sound and, once she shook the initial shock away, by the possible meanings of me using it at this precise moment.

"Merely days ago, our two civilizations stumbled upon each other. And in a true, human fashion, before we could even talk about things, we ended up engaging in a needless slaughter."

My words once again filled the air to the brim, forcing everyone on the plain and within the forest to listen to my words.

I kept the device close to my mouth, but opted to remain silent for a moment, allowing everyone to take their time figuring out the meaning behind the mere two sentences I uttered so far.

And while it was nigh impossible to predict what the rank and file would think about them, assuming they bothered to listen in the first place, Etaria was different.

By now, even though I'd only spoken a few words, she was already in a state of perfect focus, dissecting every word I said in every possible way, desperately searching for any possible traps I was laying down with my rhetoric.

'If she finds it that hard to trust us, the payoff…'

I couldn't help but smile at my own thoughts, something Etaria instantly noticed, causing her mood and suspicions to spike.

"But I believe we are better than this. We are better than some mindless beasts who can only reach for slaughter when faced with a potential threat. And thanks to the few conversations our side made with Her Majesty, the imperial golden princess…"

I took a little pause, stealing a quick glance at the princess to gauge from her reaction whether the title I used was correct.

Noticing my stare, Etaria gritted her teeth and rolled her eyes, prompting me to continue.

"We've found out that the things we want and the things you guys want… Couldn't be further apart!"

Etaria's face twitched.

I cast my glance over to the unit of a thousand men from all sorts of imperial formations, only to confirm that only a few of the soldiers over there managed to catch my drift.

'I guess I need to make it more obvious…'

Every war was nothing more but an extension of a diplomatic conflict. A means of taking what was impossible or simply too costly to gain in any other way.

With this perspective in mind, though, what did the empire stand to lose by interacting with us?

A part of its authority within the border regions that people in the imperial core couldn't care less about? A huge chunk of its tax revenue? Or maybe prestige?

The authority wasn't a problem, not for an empire this size. By interacting with us, their income and standard of living could only shoot through the roof as a natural effect of bringing the miracle of science and industrialization to this world.

And if it was a matter of imperial prestige then I was already laying foundations for a plan that would allow me to spare them the humiliation of a defeat, something they wouldn't be able to silently suffer through if it were to come at the hands of an unknown, foreign enemy.

Not after Etaria revealed how the return of the invaders from another continent was the prime worry of the emperor himself!

"Before today, both Her Majesty, imperial princess, and all of you were sure to expect us to demand your surrender," I spoke to the microphone again before taking a step forward.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Hearing those words and seeing my approach, Etaria steeled her face and tightened her hands into fists.

"But that's not what we want at all," I added a mere moment later while putting a wide smile on my face as I looked into the princess's frozen face.

"You know, before coming here I requested for every unit of this great imperial army to contribute a few men to represent them. And I need them all for one reason and one reason only," I spoke, seemingly changing the topic. Still, I looked over at the princess and smiled. "Order them to approach, stand at attention several paces away, and then drop their weapons."

Etaria's expression turned ugly.

"Is this your kind of a gift?" Etaria uttered through her teeth, her cheeks turning red from all the rage she held back. "To humiliate me, my men, and the empire as a whole out in public like that?"

I could almost see Etaria's emotions boiling over the lid of her self-control.

"First off, how is this event public?" I asked, putting a confused look on my face. "Only those involved in it are present on the scene, so I wouldn't say it's public. As for your other question…" I made a tactical pause, only to end up revealing an even wider smile. "No, not at all. But you are right on one point," I added before turning sideways and waving at the four other carriages.

Before Etaria could make even a single noise, the two divine coachmen hurried their horses, bringing the four carriages a bit closer, only to then take a turn and move them towards the representative unit. There, roughly twenty meters away from the VIP group, they stopped, only for all the other workers to jump off the carriages and position themselves all around them.

"You see," I spoke in a normal, relaxed tone while lowering the microphone to turn this conversation into something only those directly nearby would participate in. "I kind of realized that if we are to cooperate, then forcing you to surrender to plead for mercy for your men would go quite against the idea of cooperation, wouldn't it?"

I finally looked back at the princess, only to witness a true complexity of emotions only a human could experience.

From one side, the princess was still hostile, interpreting all the events thus far in the most negative way she could think of.

But at the same time, my actions and words were slowly forcing her to realize that the dark scenario she crafted in her mind… might actually be pretty far removed from what I was actually planning.

"Tsk," Etaria clicked her tongue and averted her eyes… Only to wave her hand at her men, making an entire unit stand at attention and then proceed forward.

Step by step, a thousand men marched towards the carriages, stopping merely a few feet away from them. And right as they started to drop their weapons…

"I've put my faith in you," Etaria muttered with a perfectly dark expression all over her face. "Now it's your turn to prove I wasn't mistaken in doing so."

If a stare could kill, my entire group would be falling powerlessly to the ground to begin our final rest right this moment.

'Did I tease her too much?' I thought before taking a deep breath and raising the microphone back to my mouth.

"To all the brave soldiers who were ready to lay down their lives for the cause and now are laying their weapons down for your princess," I addressed the men ahead, forcing them to stop whatever they were doing.

And so, some of them ended up keeping a hold over their weapons, others simply stood bare-handed, not sure what they were supposed to do, while all the others played around with a simple, white uniform and a simple, steel shovel that they received one of each from the carriages.

"When we first encountered each other, our initial response was to kill the other," I spoke into the device, recounting the entire thing right from the beginning. "But then we talked and realized that there's no actual reason for us to be hostile with each other!" Continue your adventure at empire

I lowered the microphone and took a deep breath while moving a few steps forward, stopping only two paces away from the princess. And as I looked right into her eyes, I brought the device back to my mouth.

"That's why, today, I'm not asking for your surrender. And the only reason why I asked your representatives to drop their weapons, is so that they can pick up their new uniforms and tools instead."

Still staring into Etaria's face, I gave her a cheeky smile before turning away and facing the distant line of her army instead.

With Fay silently wrapping herself around my left arm, I moved a bit further away from the forest, putting myself in the direct view of Etaria's entire army.

"Today, we change history. For rather than destruction, we shall all work together to build a better future for everyone!"