kscans

Chapter 150 - Chapter 18. A Versailles-esque Demand

"The plan to advance our forces on Kurtheite shall proceed as proposed by the commander of the First Knight Order."

"Yes, Your Majesty. I will begin preparations immediately."

At the King's words, Marquis Tembelg turned toward the tent's entrance. As he left, he shot a glance at the out of place commoner who remained.

Left in the tent were the King and the Chancellor, with knights guarding them on either side. And then there was Fulsy and me. It's a ridiculously easy game of 'spot the odd one out'. Of course, I'm not talking about the one vegetable mixed in with the fruits.

"Well then, shall we consider the terms to be delivered to the Imperial commander in Kurtheite?"

"Grynisias. Before that, there is something I must confirm."

The King looked at me.

"You foresaw the Empire's declaration of war, defeated their horse-dragons, and this time, you broke their sorcery. To be honest, I found your previous deeds hard to believe, but having witnessed this with my own eyes, I must conclude they are fact."

The old bulleted-list trick. When you put it like that, I sound like some grand national hero. I'm at the level where the reward would be so great they'd just kill me to avoid paying. A form of bankruptcy, you could say. The worst kind, where the one who gets defaulted on is the one who also loses his life.

"The one who predicted the Empire's intent to invade was the great sage who measured the magic veins. The one who defeated the horse-dragons was the valiant Prince Craig. And this latest victory was thanks to the efforts of the First Knight Order and Your Majesty's divine authority."

"What is it that you desire?"

My words were completely ignored.

"It is as I said just a moment ago. My greatest wish is for you to appoint me as the envoy to Kurtheite."

I just want to start the negotiations to get Mia back as soon as possible.

"You surely do not mean for us to grant you the authority of a plenipotentiary, to decide all matters of negotiation with the Empire," the Chancellor said.

"Well, it would be nice if that were possible, but it's not, is it?"

If I could negotiate a deal like, "I'll give you the king if you give me Mia," this would all be so much easier. Not that I'd actually do it, of course. It would be a catastrophe if the Second Prince inherited the throne. Besides, I fully intend to make the Empire take responsibility for their actions.

"I am merely a messenger. I will take our proposal, explain it to them, and bring back their answer. That is the extent of my role."

That's what I told them. The "official" negotiations between the Kingdom and the Empire can be handled by you guys. I'll just piggyback on that and do what I need to do.

"Given your achievements, I would not be surprised if you demanded Kurtheite for yourself."

This was a negotiation to end a war between nations. In this situation, the only way to prioritize the safety of a single girl was to make such a demand. And what's more, my actual demand was far greedier.

"Well... if I had to name another, I would, but I'd like to hear what you plan to demand from the Empire first," I said.

I was an amateur when it came to diplomatic negotiations. I had my own ideas, of course, but it was pointless to talk without seeing the baseline proposal from the professionals.

The Chancellor placed a piece of paper on the table.

・ The Empire will promptly withdraw from all occupied territories of the Kingdom.
・ The Empire will pay the Kingdom reparations of 50,000 gold coins.
・ Ransoms for prisoners of war will be negotiated separately.
・ Regarding future trade, the Kingdom will hand over its exports only after the Empire's imports have arrived, until such a time as trust is restored.

The first point was, by far, the most important. The recovery of our territory. The second was compensation for war damages. One gold coin is about 100,000 yen, so that's 5 billion yen, huh. Less than I expected. No, considering the scale of this world's economy, it's probably reasonable.

The real key, however, was likely the third point, which was slipped in so casually. We had many prisoners valuable to the Empire, such as their horse-dragon riders and mages. And they were, in themselves, the enemy's weapons.

Personally, I wanted to delay the recovery of the Empire's military strength by returning them bit by bit in exchange for magic crystals and sorcery gold. I imagine that's why it was designated for separate negotiation.

The fourth point was about skewing trade conditions in the Kingdom's favor. And it touched upon food, which was essential for the Empire.

It seemed like a well-crafted set of terms. The first point was an absolute condition, in a class of its own. With the second, they would take what they could get to cover our own emergency expenses. Then, while watching the enemy's reaction, they would bleed them dry over time with the third point. The fourth point, the threat of withholding food, would keep the enemy from betraying them.

I looked at the King, and he was nodding. These terms were likely based on something like a market rate, calculated from negotiation records of wars up to fifty years ago. It was a reasonable line, perhaps even generous for a country that had been unilaterally invaded.

But in my estimation, even this would be harsh for the Empire. After all, unlike the Kingdom, where the war ends once the Empire withdraws, the Empire is constantly at war with monsters.

So, I said to the two of them, "Is this all you're asking for?"

"Oh. So you have other demands," the King responded. He was sharp. This was related to the "other reward" I'd mentioned earlier.

"Yes. I'd like to add two more. First, that the Kingdom gains territory on the other side of the great river. Second, that a person versed in Imperial sorcery, preferably a member of the imperial family, comes to the Kingdom as a hostage."

"...What?"

The Chancellor was speechless at my words. The King's eyes widened.

"The Empire would never accept such outrageous terms."

"Though we were victorious in both the east and west, we have not set a single foot into Imperial territory. No country would agree to cede land under those circumstances."

They both refuted it. From a normal perspective, they were right. Even a proposal to redraw the border along the occupied territories would normally involve returning some of the land to save face for the other side. Yet here I was, demanding they hand over land when we hadn't taken a single inch of Imperial soil.

From their perspective, their response would likely be, "If you think you can take it, then try."

"We were victorious this time, but overall, the Empire's sorcery technology far surpasses the Kingdom's. It's safe to assume they will have countermeasures next time for the pollen that defeated the horse-dragons and the liquid catalyst rounds that neutralized their mages. Furthermore, the Empire deliberately deployed their horse-dragons and mages separately this time. This was likely born from the belief that they held overwhelming military superiority over the Kingdom, and by attacking from east and west simultaneously, they thought they could overwhelm us and secure a swift victory. Setting aside whatever is on Tuvil Mountain, that is. But next time, they will undoubtedly attack with horse-dragons and mages working in concert."

At my words, the King and Chancellor looked at Fulsy. Fulsy nodded.

"That is precisely why we must not push them too far..."

"Whether we push them or not, the enemy will attack if they are able. They will continue to do so until they have secured a stable food supply."

The Empire's biggest problem was securing food. The fourth term, "We don't trust you anymore, so from now on, you'll listen to our terms on trade," was a perfectly natural demand from the Kingdom's perspective.

However, it only reinforced the Empire's motivation for war, as it meant the Kingdom held the power of life and death over them through food.

"The most important thing for the Empire is securing food. Therefore, in this new territory, we will build a city to mediate trade with the Empire. Though at first, it will likely be little more than a warehouse and a trading post. In other words, we shift the transactions from being state-led to being between merchants. When merchants deal directly with one another, the speed of transactions, the volume, and the fairness of prices can be improved. Above all, it's transparent. It will put the Empire at ease."

Just preventing a situation like, "As a result of some opaque power struggle deep within the enemy's royal court, it has suddenly been decided that our people will starve this year," would be meaningful enough.

"Even if we were to make the Empire cede territory, we would be unable to manage it," the King said. He made a good point. There was no way we could manage land where monsters were a constant threat. At worst, the administrative costs could bankrupt the Kingdom. Then, the Empire would invade the Kingdom under the noble cause of reclaiming their occupied land. Riding the momentum of retaking the new territory, the Empire would cross the river. The end.

"Regarding that, it relates to the other wish I mentioned. If I can get the Empire to accept this proposal, I would like you to entrust the management of that land to me. I have a plan for how to manage it."

"Hoh."

The King got a look on his face that said, So you've finally shown your true colors.

"Land on the other side of the great river would require a governor with considerable discretion. Come to think of it, Duke Fellbach's predecessor was a Margrave, was he not?"

"...That's not what I mean."

I had heard that the Fellbachs were originally an independent power between the Empire and the Kingdom, but I didn't know there was a title like Margrave. I see, so they were elevated to Duke in exchange for stripping them of that kind of authority.

Margrave... sounds kind of cool. No, no, I don't need something as troublesome and restrictive as a noble title.

"The territory itself can be under the direct control of the royal family. All I want is to be entrusted with the management of the city that will eventually be built there as a special commercial zone, something like what was approved in Bertold. Of course, a mere silver-ranked company like Vinder cannot handle such a burden alone. It would be a joint effort with Kenwell, the head of the Food Guild, and the Giverny Company for transportation. And, of course, my status would remain that of a mere merchant."

The King and the Chancellor both stared at me with expressions of utter incomprehension.

"What will you do if the Empire refuses? We cannot allow negotiations with the Empire to stall over your personal stubbornness."

The Chancellor, as if pulling himself together, posed the question.

"I'll withdraw my demands. Then it will just become Your Excellency the Chancellor's proposal," I said.

The Chancellor and the King exchanged glances. Then, they nodded to each other.

"Very well. We will add your demands."

They were probably thinking that it was impossible anyway, so it might as well serve as a good bluff. It would also count as giving me a reward for my achievements. After all, if I failed to obtain my desired reward, the fault would lie with me for failing the negotiation.

It was what you would call a phantom reward.

They don't have to tell me. I'll settle this score myself. With both sides.

◇◇

"What sort of madness are ye contemplating?" Fulsy asked me as I stepped out of the tent. The word "madness" was, in a way, surprising. This wasn't a proposal that would work just by being crazy.

"At this point, if we don't do something crazy, we can't ensure our own safety. It would be unbearable to rescue Mia only to be targeted by both the Kingdom and the Empire. Now then, how is that thing coming along? The negotiations with them depend on it."

As usual, I had only provided the idea, leaving the production to Fulsy and Noel. I had specifically asked them not to tell me the details.

"We managed to finish it. As usual, your idea was mind-boggling, but the device itself is little more than a toy."

Fulsy took a wooden box from his pocket. He opened it to reveal a single silver plate and two pens inside. Yeah, this probably didn't look very convincing as the tool I was going to use to seize Imperial territory and a royal hostage.

Though, in truth, even that was only half right.

"The rest depends on the caliber of the Imperial princess who kidnapped Mia."

I hoped she was someone who could grasp my kind of knowledge. I wasn't expecting another Fulsy, of course.