kscans

Chapter 151 - 19: The Kingdom's Agent?

The guest room of the Grand Duke of Kurtheite was needlessly opulent. When I opened the door, the first thing I saw was my secretary, a girl with black pigtails, standing between one woman with dark purple hair and another with light purple hair.

"Mia…"

Seeing Mia standing on her own two feet, I somehow kept my knees from buckling. Mia’s eyes widened when she saw me, too. Well, of course I’d take a risk like this for her.

"So you really came yourself. Ricardo Vinder, the kingdom’s mastermind."

The girl with light purple hair, sitting to Mia’s left at the center of the table, spoke up. I had heard she was young, and she truly was. The one to Mia’s right, by the way, was Princess Lisabet. She looked away from me with an awkward expression. Just as I expected, she resented me.

"What’s this about a mastermind? I’ve only come on behalf of the Vinder Company to ask for the return of an important business partner."

I said this while looking at Mia. Her expression was a mixture of troubled and exasperated. She was probably wondering what on earth I was doing. Then again, for me, this was perhaps a bit reckless, disregarding my own safety.

"Oh? So you’re not here to negotiate on behalf of the kingdom?"

"That’s a secondary matter."

I said with a straight face. This was the moment of truth. I have my priorities in order. After all, the Vinder Company won’t collapse if I’m gone, but it will without Mia.

◇◇

After that battle, the Imperial army had abandoned all occupied territories except for Kurtheite and the northern escape route, concentrating all its forces there. The kingdom, while liberating the area around Grynisias, had closed in on Kurtheite. The king and the chancellor had not returned to the Royal Capital, remaining in Grynisias instead.

It was under these circumstances that I entered Kurtheite as an envoy. Of course, I had several guards, who were more like minders, but they were now being held in a separate room. The order was for me to come alone.

The Imperial soldier who conveyed this looked at me with a probing gaze. It was likely meant to test me, but I accepted without hesitation. It suited me just fine. Besides, if they planned to do something to me, a few guards would make no difference. I wasn’t even sure those guards would lift a finger to protect a commoner anyway.

◇◇

And so, here I was, face to face with an Imperial Princess. Flanking her were two mages, glaring daggers at me. Was it really appropriate to have sorcery staves resting on the table? For that matter, there were two more mages behind me, and knights armed with weapons were guarding the entrance.

It was quite the production for a mere merchant with no military or magical power.

Then again, my opponent was apparently first in line for the Imperial throne, so a certain level of caution was to be expected. Though who knows what will become of that line of succession now.

"Now then, is it safe to assume that everything will be decided by these negotiations with you?"

Maytyl smiled defiantly. What is this woman talking about?

"No, I’m merely an envoy."

I just told you that being an envoy was secondary. The Vinder Company allows its employees to take on side jobs. So much so that the heir has a reputation for being completely dedicated to his side work.

"Well, as the defeated party, I suppose we’ll play along with your little act. By the way, are Crenne and the others safe?"

Crenne, Crenne… right, she was the commander of the magic unit that held its ground until the very end.

"Yes, she and the other fifty-two mages are safe. As our prisoners."

I said, my eyes on Mia.

"I see… Now, about that attack of yours. You dispersed a green pigment that inhibits magic and a red pigment that amplifies it into the air. You disrupted the flow of magic beyond our control. Am I correct? I had heard about the green pigment, but not that it could be mass produced in such quantities. As for the red pigment, this girl here didn't breathe a word of it. You got us. Giving us information only on the green pigment was a brilliant smokescreen."

Maytyl said, glancing at Mia.

"Mia didn’t lie about anything. I kept her away from anything related to the pigments."

"Oh? Then how did she know?"

"How did you?"

I asked Mia myself. She knew I was searching for multiple magic catalysts, and I had discussed the circuits with her. But the magic amplifier hadn't been perfected yet. I hate to think about it, but as a precaution in case she was forced to talk, I had painted the shields green to create a diversion.

The atmosphere felt a little different from what I’d braced myself for. Still, better this than my worst fears coming true.

"Senior has a warped personality. He doesn’t do things by the book. Since disrupting the circuits with just an inhibitor would be difficult, it was a given that he would come up with something more malicious."

Mia stated matter-of-factly. What kind of logic was that? Everyone in the room looked as if the wind had been taken out of their sails.

"…I require those two types of pigments for my sorcery research. What will it take for you to hand them over?"

Maytyl asked. She sounded like Fulsy, but I doubted she meant it literally. She wanted to analyze the kingdom’s anti-sorcery weapons. She was a mage, but she was also a soldier. No, as the top heir to the throne and a commander on the front lines, it would be more accurate to call her a politician.

"Princess Maytyl… Let’s hear their proposal first. As an envoy, he must have brought terms from the kingdom."

Lisabet interjected. I see, so that was their assigned role-play.

"You’re right. Let’s get that out of the way."

I produced the letter bearing the kingdom’s official wax seal.

"…and those are the kingdom’s conditions for a ceasefire."

When I finished reading the document penned by the chancellor, Maytyl looked exasperated. Lisabet’s expression went blank, and the surrounding Imperials grew menacing. Their expressions soured at the final two articles. Namely, the demand to establish the kingdom’s territory across the great river, and the one to provide a hostage.

They must have understood the implications of ceding territory and handing over an imperial royal skilled in sorcery. That’s right. I'm going to make you take full responsibility for this whole affair.

"The kingdom’s grasp on the situation is tenuous at best. Listen, it’s true we were defeated in two battles. But we still hold Kazel and Kurtheite. The mages here alone can defend Kurtheite for years. And rest assured, we won’t fall for a trick like that a second time."

"The Imperial army can likely still fight. But can your homeland endure?"

War, especially an invasion of a foreign country, always puts a nation under considerable strain. This is even more true for the Empire, where they are constantly at war with monsters. It’s tantamount to fighting a foreign war in the middle of a civil war.

Let’s say the Empire’s total military strength is one hundred, and the force needed to protect the homeland from monsters is seventy.

Would they dispatch only thirty to invade the kingdom? That would be a poor move. They would surely strain themselves temporarily and commit a force of over fifty, aiming for a swift victory with overwhelming power.

Let’s say they committed a force of sixty. In the recent battle, the Empire lost two-thirds of its horse-dragons and mages, which are also its most effective forces against monsters. In other words, the Empire’s total military strength has been reduced from one hundred to sixty. That should be insufficient even to protect their own country from monsters.

The Empire’s magic vein activity has calmed down for now, but what about next year? The year after that? What if the flow of the magic veins reverses?

"…Assuming what you say is correct, don’t you think that makes it even more impossible for us to agree to such an unreasonable demand?"

"Allow me to add something. I do not believe the kingdom is capable of managing Imperial lands."

Maytyl spoke, and Lisabet followed.

"And why do you think we can’t? As a matter of fact, we defeated the Empire’s most elite unit without much trouble."

I offered a cheap taunt.

"I believe that was not due to the kingdom’s strength, but the power of a very small number of unique individuals. If we were to take you and Mia back to the Empire, I imagine the kingdom would cease to be a threat worth fearing."

If you did that, the kingdom might just attack Kurtheite with its full might, ready to burn me and Mia along with it. And the things you truly need cannot be obtained just by abducting us.

"Princess Maytyl."

Lisabet admonished her.

"In any case, if you’re going to make unreasonable demands like ceding territory, then this negotiation is a waste of time."

Maytyl said. I agreed. I had no intention of wasting time on pointless negotiations either.

"You seem to be mistaken. Who said anything about ceding territory? I merely said you must recognize the kingdom’s territory on the other side of the great river."

I spread out the map I had brought with me.

"What I… no, what the kingdom wants is here."

I pointed to a small plain sandwiched between the Blood Mountains and the great river, located slightly east of the Empire’s border. Maytyl and Lisabet looked more stunned than they had at any point thus far.

I had never considered something as impossible as having them cede Imperial territory. The land I want belongs to neither the Empire nor the kingdom. In fact, it doesn’t even belong to humanity.

"Now, I’d like to hear your thoughts on this proposal."

Alright, my unfitting role as the kingdom’s envoy is over. It’s time to get Mia back and guarantee our safety. The Vinder Company’s "business negotiations" can now begin.