Chapter 172 - Postlude 1 "I Shall Save You!"
Gokigenyou! I am Violia Nico Fortesia!
Right now, I am gazing at the envoy from the Kingdom of Solas who is prostrating himself before me!
However, I am not happy being kowtowed to by a mere envoy. I'd rather have Chris kowtow to me; that would be more amusing.
What I seek is only one thing.
To make the insolent King of Solas himself—the one who looked down on us and raised tariffs and food prices—kowtow to me!
"Raise your head."
And so, I spoke those kind words to the Solas envoy.
The Solas envoy raised his head with an expression tinged with hope and looked up at me. ...But, surely, he noticed then.
Lital, standing beside me, was radiating unconcealed anger, and Keeb, standing on my other side, had eyes that were terrifyingly scary despite his expressionless face!
And furthermore, the entrance to this room, which serves as the audience chamber, is blocked by a very well-built man and a rough-looking man... in other words, Doran and Chesta!
There is no escape for the Solas envoy! The only thing that might look like a helping hand is my smile. But I have absolutely no intention of saving this fellow!
"If that is the case, I shall visit the Kingdom of Solas directly."
"Eh...?"
Look, the envoy is bewildered by the words he never expected to come from me. This expression is a little bit amusing.
"And, I wish to speak with His Majesty the King in person."
I looked down at the envoy with a smile, but it seems my intention was clearly conveyed.
'If someone is going to kowtow, make the King do it.' If you didn't like this, you shouldn't have taken such a condescending attitude from the start! Ohohohohoho!
And so, we shall embark on a magnificent sea voyage.
We will travel to the Kingdom of Solas by ship. From there, it will be by land to the royal castle... but well, since I'm going all out, I'll go by dragon. I shall arrive at the royal castle before the envoy!
I feel like firing a cannonball or two just for the occasion, but well, I'll let the sight of the country in a panic from the ghost attacks serve as a substitute.
Because of this sea voyage, I am feeling excited for the first time in a while. After all, fighting and conflict are the sources of my vitality...
"How is it, Ojou-san? Are you enjoying yourself?"
"Yes, very much so."
While I was gazing at the horizon from the deck, Giovan came over.
"Then, here's a little something for you, Ojou-san. Since it's a sea voyage, why not enjoy it like a vacation?"
And what Giovan took out from his Spatial Bag was, first, a mini-table. Then a chair. After escorting me to sit in the chair, the next thing he brought out was a cake stand. ...But this cake stand wasn't just carrying sweets.
Potato galettes, an assortment of cheese and nuts, crackers topped with meat rillettes or liver paste, roasted dragon meat... and also, a rich chocolate cake and a dried fruit butter cake flavored with spices and alcohol.
In short, they were wine snacks. And as expected, the next thing Giovan brought out was a bottle of wine!
"How wonderful. Then, I shall bring out another chair."
"Oh, really? What bliss. Then, I'll take you up on that and have some myself."
"You say that as if you didn't come here expecting exactly that."
No matter how you look at it, these snacks are too much for one person. So, I took out one chair from my Spatial Bag and set it up opposite me.
Giovan sat down there too, opened the chilled wine, poured it into glasses... and amidst the soft sunlight and refreshing sea breeze, we had an elegant wine-time instead of tea-time... Should I call this afternoon wine? Afternoon booze? What should I call it? Someone please tell me!
"So, Ojou-san. How do you plan to negotiate with Solas?"
"Oh, it's quite simple. I shall tell them, 'Since there are tariffs, it is a bit difficult to supply weapons at the list price.' If I do that, they will have no choice but to return the tariffs to their original rate, and if they say they won't, I'll drastically reduce the amount of weapons I supply. They can just perish at the hands of the ghosts for all I care."
"Wow, you're a demon."
To me, that is a compliment. Giovan meant it as a compliment too. Ohohoho.
"And, if they mention lowering the tariffs first, I'll bring up the food supply, saying, 'There is something we would like as well.' If they still insist on food prices being three times the market rate, then the price of our weapons will also be three times the market rate."
Well, our demand is very simple: 'We desire fair trade.' And additionally, 'We desire an apology for the condescending attitude.'
That is all. It's quite a twist of fate that I have to use such methods just to make that claim.
"My, how kind. So, if they offer food at the market price, you'll give them the weapons at the market price too?"
"Yes. Well, I'd like to rip them off just a tiny bit as a token of my feelings. ...But more than anything, it's important to press them with, 'Please decide on the purchase quantity here and now.' I'll tell them something like, 'After this transaction, due to relations with other countries, there is a high possibility we won't be able to supply as many weapons as you desire.'"
Well, in short, it's a threat. I'll threaten them to 'decide right here.' and then firmly conclude the contract. So they can't back out of it later!
"Then, once I've made them buy a large quantity of weapons and had them sell us a large quantity of food, Doran and I will go have a little 'fun.'"
Just thinking about it makes me excited! I'm looking forward to the King of Solas's kowtow most of all on this trip, but I'm placing high expectations on the 'fun' after that!
"... 'Fun'? With Doran? I hope it's nothing indecent."
"Do you think anyone in this group would do anything indecent...? It's just a ghost hunt..."
Yes. Doran and I, and maybe Chesta too if he wants, will go on a ghost hunt.
While Giovan was clapping and laughing, saying 'I see!', Chesta came over asking 'What are you doing?'. Well, I'm in a good mood. I might as well let Chesta join in! I'll take out a chair and another bottle of wine from my bag!
...And so, just as our afternoon drinking session began, Keeb came over saying 'Let me join too,' then Lital came saying 'Please let me join you!', and then Doran lumbered over saying 'Drinking while I'm at the helm, I see.' It couldn't be helped, so we made it a drinking session for everyone! I left the ship's helm to Chris!
Well, it's a bit early, but it's fine to call it the wine of victory, isn't it!? Ohohoho!
Yes. And so, the next day.
"Could I have an explanation regarding the ridiculous tariffs and food prices you slapped us with? We shall talk after that, shall we?"
I ended up smiling grandly in the VIP reception room of the Kingdom of Solas!
"To be perfectly honest, you all are beyond ridiculous. You take a condescending attitude toward us, and then when you need us, you suddenly flip your position? Despite not even trying to build a relationship with the future in mind, did you really think you could obtain our help?"
At my words, the King of Solas's eyes were bulging out, and some minister or other was going 'awawawawa.' But not a single one of us was flustered. Naturally so, for I have Lital, Keeb, and Doran backing me up.
...Yes. The plan was to exude a sense of intimidation by mixing in one well-built fellow! With Doran mixed in, Lital and Keeb also become 'people who are completely unfazed while being with a dangerous guy,' which increases the level of danger!
"T-That is..."
"If you wish to make excuses, that is fine. Even if you make miserable excuses, I can enjoy that in its own way. However, surely you understand what I am seeking?"
Yes. Right now, the only thing the Kingdom of Solas can do for us is apologize for their condescending attitude and provide compensation! That is all!
"...The food prices were an unavoidable increase because our own food harvest was not that bountiful. And as for the tariffs, they were an unavoidable measure to protect our country's industry..."
"Oh, you're giving me excuses? But they aren't very interesting. If this continues, I shall set the time limit to 30 more seconds."
If the excuses were interesting, I might have allowed them or even been pleased. But if they are boring excuses, I don't need them. I am quite strict about whether something is interesting or not!
"...That, we by no means meant to slight the Kingdom of Fortesia..."
"You were slighting us, without a doubt."
And it seems a proper apology isn't coming forth either. Well, as a King, I suppose he cannot easily bow his head to another country... but I don't give a damn about that!
"Your envoy kowtowed to me, but what will you do?"
I shall apply pressure. So that they never slight us again! Firmly and thoroughly, I shall apply pressure, partly as a warning to others!