185 - I Want to Stand Out!
The drawing room of the mansion.
High Priest Gastone-san of Zain, whom I had summoned.
Lombolt-san, the Prime Minister of Rolfis.
In front of them and Alette-san, a knight of Rolfis who accompanied them, I was conducting negotiations alongside Adele-san.
Monica stood diagonally behind me.
Maxim-san stood diagonally behind Adele-san. Alette-san, the knight, stood diagonally behind Lombolt-san, and her expression was crumbling as she listened to my proposal.
Seeing this, the Third Head was surely saying with a smirk
"Just because you're close doesn't mean you should show your emotions, Alette-chan. We're making a proposal that benefits both sides, aren't we?"
The Fourth Head must have had a serious expression. While irritated.
"Why are you hesitating there! You can reduce the debt you owe to Beim! Don't think we don't know your financial situation!"
The Fifth Head, while exasperated...
"For your information, I've already grasped the number of troops you can mobilize."
Gastone-san looked a bit more haggard than before. Then, he confirmed my proposal.
"Y-you're asking both countries—Zain and Rolfis—to send five thousand soldiers? No matter how you look at it, that's—"
I replied with a serious expression.
"No. Five thousand from each country. I'm asking for ten thousand. For the record, this is ten thousand in pure combat power. It does not include rear support."
The reason for requesting troops from both countries was simple. Because otherwise, we couldn't win. Or rather, I should say I couldn't satisfy the victory conditions I was aiming for.
Beim is a place where adventurers gather.
If we only consider troop numbers, a hundred thousand could be scraped together in no time. However, it would be a gathering of volunteers consisting of adventurers and Beim residents.
A disjointed hundred thousand. There are mercenary groups and highly trained units, but organizing them is difficult.
Lombolt-san, without letting his expression crumble, said
"It is impossible at present. We are struggling just to consolidate the newly acquired territories."
I knew that. Before I could speak, Adele-san opened her mouth.
"But if Beim fails in its defense, even if it doesn't lose, a massive number of monsters will pour in. At that time, can you say they won't flow into Zain or Rolfis? Simultaneously, Lariel-san has decided to participate. Isn't it only a matter of time before pressure comes from Beim?"
Gastone-san groaned. After all, both countries were close to Beim. And they had owed many debts to Beim until now.
Even in the previous war, both Zain and Rolfis owed Beim. Beim intended to use the favor of lending to squeeze them dry.
If something like this happened, it was only natural to seek cooperation.
"How about two thousand troops? With that, we can secure enough forces to handle one corner of the defense."
At Lombolt-san's proposal, the Seventh Head laughed through his nose.
"Not enough. With that, you won't stand out at all!"
I crossed my legs and placed my folded hands on my knee.
"Do you think Beim will be grateful with just that? The enormous debt—if you don't reduce it here, the harsh financial situation of both countries won't change. Besides, the place I'm defending is the front line."
Alette-san said
"The front... line. You're insane. Besides, why should we—"
It was only natural. Why would Zain or Rolfis undertake the front line, where lives are on the line? Was there a need to go that far for the sake of Beim?
Adele-san spoke flatly.
"I won't say the current representatives are at fault, but both countries have taken on considerable debt until now. The accumulated debt is a substantial amount, isn't it? This will continue to increase as it is."
Repayments couldn't keep up. Or, if they tried to pay it all back, they would take on more debt during the war—.
Money truly is a monster.
It was also the reason why Beim held influence over surrounding countries and remained independent.
Gastone-san looked at me and spoke. He seemed somewhat resigned.
"What are your chances of victory? Also, how many conditions do you intend to extract from Beim? The Adventurers' Guild and the merchants are not naive."
It seemed Gastone-san was likely to cooperate with me. Since he had fewer allies, Lombolt-san also had a bitter expression.
The Third Head laughed.
"That's right! It would be embarrassing to send fewer troops than Zain when your benefactor is asking! Especially after they expanded your territory nearly twofold!"
I put on a smile.
The chances of victory were uncertain since the scale of the enemy monsters was unknown. However, if I said there were dangerous elements and anxiety, the two of them wouldn't agree to send troops.
"We will win. I'll win and show them. The power of the new Zain and Rolfis."
Internally, I was breaking into a cold sweat. I was telling a large number of soldiers to go die. It was different from supporting Rolfis like before.
The scale was in the tens of thousands.
Lombolt-san, dropping his shoulders, said
"...We cannot be satisfied with just a ten percent reduction in debt."
"That's natural. Let's squeeze as much as we can. Besides... don't you think Beim has become too powerful?"
Giving the two of them a smirk, I began to explain the plan moving forward.
Adele-san whispered.
"Lariel-san is worse than I thought."
――At the Beim Guild Headquarters, executives gathered urgently were negotiating with guests.
The guests were the High Priest of Zain and the Prime Minister of Rolfis.
Tanya was participating in the meeting for the purpose of guarding and assisting her superior, who had been summoned from the East Branch.
(To move this quickly. Moreover, these two...)
The two heavyweights, their bald heads gleaming, offered cooperation against the crisis of Beim.
That was fine. The Guild and the merchants of Beim had lent money partly for times like this.
However, the degree of cooperation exceeded Beim's expectations.
Lombolt stood up from his chair and slammed his fist onto the desk.
"How can this be! Even though we are preparing five thousand in pure combat power, we are pushed to the edges of the defense! This is outrageous!"
Tanya watched the meeting, keeping her expression neutral. Her superior had a troubled look, but he also seemed a bit flustered.
"No, we appreciate the sentiment, but regarding pure combat power... the total troop count is—"
Lombolt puffed out his chest.
"It will reach eight thousand. The elites of my Rolfis will surely protect Beim!"
(That's almost their entire military force. It's troublesome if they do that. If they just sent two or three thousand, that alone would—)
Originally, they wanted a total of five thousand troops from the two countries. They wanted to place them in locations where defense was difficult, allowing Beim to concentrate its own forces.
High Priest Gastone also agreed with Lombolt.
"Zain feels the same. Furthermore, even Lord Lariel, the hero who saved the nation, is participating and wishes to be on the front line. We are proceeding with the preparations for the Holy Order of Knights. We will likely mobilize nine thousand as well."
They had also prepared the maximum number they could mobilize.
The Adventurers' Guild and the merchant representatives were laughing.
"That is most welcome."
"Indeed, both countries are reliable."
"But, to go that far—"
The executives participating in the meeting were likely thinking that they shouldn't do anything unnecessary. After all, they were doing all that and asking to be entrusted with the front line.
In Beim, it was predicted that the front line could not be held.
If immense damage occurred, it was Beim that would have to provide compensation. If they said, "You helped on your own, so we won't compensate you," it would affect future credit issues.
Gastone spoke in a low voice.
"If Beim falls, we will not escape unscathed. Zain will go all out in this battle. However, if we make such an announcement domestically, there will be dissatisfaction."
Then, one of the executives said
"I imagine so. If you could provide half of that, and the front line remains with Beim—"
Lombolt took over Gastone's explanation, cutting off the executive's remark.
"But! Since we requested the front line ourselves, we cannot ask for compensation if we lose. Hmm, then how about this? I am ashamed to say my country owes a debt to Beim. If you could wipe that clean, there would be no problem."
Hearing those words, several executives narrowed their eyes, as if thinking "as expected." The superior near Tanya also whispered.
"Well, they'd go for that. But in terms of amount—"
One of the executives said
"That is far too... We are happy with the cooperation of the two countries, but isn't the debt enormous? For that amount... I understand, how about twenty percent?"
They had originally intended to reduce it by about thirty percent. They calculated that it would return to the original amount over time, intending to soothe the dissatisfaction.
It was bait for that purpose.
Gastone's eyes widened.
"What! You're saying our cooperation is only worth that much! It seems you don't understand how eager Zain and Rolfis are for this battle. Then I understand. We'll add another two thousand—oh, then we'll lack supplies."
Lombolt also nodded.
"Lord Gastone, we are told that Beim will provide the supplies. There is no need to worry. However, for our evaluation to be twenty percent... I understand. You may leave ten percent of the debt."
The two of them did not budge after that, and as a result, since they would take on the front line which was certain to collapse, the Beim side promised to wipe out seventy percent of the debt.
In exchange, they said they could not provide compensation for those killed in action.
The two heavyweights said with smiles
"Then, we shall return immediately and report to Lady Aura."
"There are preparations in Rolfis, so we shall take our leave."
After the two left, several executives said
"Even if there are casualties on the scale of tens of thousands, as long as the debt is reduced, they won't complain. What greedy priests and prime ministers."
"Condolence money for the dead and injured. They'll just come crying to Beim anyway. It's no problem."
Thus, the meeting shifted its topic to the defense of Beim.
Tanya was wondering who was moving behind the scenes of the two countries—.
(Could it be Lariel-kun?)
"How many Valkyries can you prepare before the monster army starts moving? I want them assembled as quickly as possible."
Having peeked into the mansion's warehouse, I asked this while looking at the Golems Damian and Old Man Ratata were assembling.
The human skeletal parts were complete, and some mechanical components were being attached.
The torso and the arms and legs were produced separately, and right now, they didn't look like women at all. Cone-shaped tanks filled with liquid were also prepared; just looking at it made it seem like some truly questionable experiment was being conducted.
Damian took off his gloves.
"That's sudden. These cost a lot, but if we assemble them in a simplified way... since it still costs money, maybe five units?"
Old Man Ratata, with a tool resting on his shoulder, said
"If it's the same as this one, then three. I mean, what happened all of a sudden?"
The two, who were happily assembling Golems while shut away in the mansion's warehouse, didn't understand the situation in Beim.
I explained the circumstances to them. Damian wasn't very interested upon hearing it, but...
"It's perfect for a field test. But in that case, the opponent is a monster army... it would be better to prepare up to three of these."
Damian suggested making three Golems that cost ten thousand gold coins each.
Old Man Ratata also nodded.
"That might indeed be better."
Since the two said so, I replied
"Then assemble three. I want to move to the front line as soon as possible. No, since transport is necessary, I'll have to go back and forth between Beim and the fortress a few times."
Hearing that, Damian turned around and looked at a large Porter.
"Want to use that? We just need you to carry them in at the end. The usage is the same."
Looking at the improved model of the Porter, which seemed capable of loading a large amount of cargo, I decided to nod immediately.
"I'll gladly use it."
Damian looked at me, putting a hand to his chin.
"You seem busy. Where are you going next?"
I told him the next destination with a smile.
"To Vera's place."
Old Man Ratata, hearing that, said
"To the little lady's place, huh. Well, that's how it goes."
――He nodded.
(Right. I should go get some support while I'm at it, and provoke him a bit. Or rather, is there a need to provoke him?)
Under the instructions of the successive heads of the family, I was about to move to my next action.
"That damn leech!!"
Fidel Tres was slamming both fists onto the desk in his room—.
Lariel, who was loathsome just to remember, had the audacity to visit the Tres Family and say
"I'm heading to the front line to protect Beim. Therefore, I've come to ask for support... Father-in-law."
Recalling Lariel's smirking expression, Fidel slammed his fists repeatedly, and his neatly styled hair became disheveled.
"He probably thought the front line couldn't be held anyway, and when I said I'd support him... damn it!!"
Fidel was a merchant too. He couldn't say he wouldn't provide any support to Lariel, who had decided to go to the front line for the sake of Beim.
Thinking it was a cheap price if Lariel would just disappear here, he promised support. Then, Vera—.
"I-I don't have much money left, but you can take the cannons and guns that were loaded on the ship. I don't care if you break them, just make sure you come back,"
she had said while looking down, sounding worried.
It was frustrating, but he could endure that much. However, as if to provoke him, Lariel hugged Vera right in front of Fidel.
"I-It's okay. I'll definitely come back to you."
He had hugged his precious daughter, saying such things. Fidel burned with hatred in his heart, thinking that if his subordinates hadn't been there, he would have shot lead orbs into him.
"And he kept glancing at me to provoke me, that brat!!"
Fidel couldn't take it anymore with Lariel provoking him here and there.
"When the Guild told him to participate, far from hesitating, he moved about with glee... he doesn't have a shred of cuteness. But this is the end. Surely he won't be able to block a monster army of hundreds of thousands."
Beim had fortresses prepared.
They had placed fortresses near the border for times like this, but the labyrinth was running wild and hundreds of thousands of monsters were overflowing. There was no way they could block them all.
Fidel and the other merchants thought it was inevitable that the front line would be breached, and as long as they reduced the numbers at the second and third defense lines and the urban areas of Beim remained safe, they could recover no matter what.
"The Guild is also pathetic. Just because the two countries are cooperative, they wiped out almost all the debt. Well, if they're used up this time, they'll rely on Beim for another few decades, so it's no problem, I suppose."
He regained his composure, but Fidel, whose guts still felt like they were boiling, was thinking about the amount of support money for Lariel.
He couldn't just give a small amount on the grounds that Lariel would die anyway.
Unlike other defense points, going to the front line was practically decided.
"Hmph, provoking me so persistently... I'll let him have one good dream at the end."
Thinking that providing three hundred thousand to five hundred thousand coins would save face, Fidel decided to act accordingly.
"Well, it's a cheap price if I think of it as one bad bug disappearing. Only one left!"
Fidel was acting not as a merchant, but as a father, his emotions laid bare—.