36-Chapter 2-9 Negotiators

I was at the Knights' headquarters. Today is the day that Duke Sanga's emissary is coming. The place is the room where I signed a contract with Primera before.

''Temma-san, please have a cup of tea. Oh, this one is for tea.''

Thank you.

Primera places the tea and snacks in front of me. Himself takes a seat across from me, but he seems somewhat uncomfortable.

If someone who doesn't know anything about us, if they saw us, wouldn't they have trouble deciding which of us is the knight? And I'm so restless that I can't stop thinking about it.

'Mr. Primera. Are you hiding something from me?

The moment I asked, Bikun, Primera's body stiffened.

''Nah, there's nothing there! I'm not hiding anything!

No matter how you look at it, it's suspicious. I stared into Primera's eyes and swooped away. My forehead is covered in sweat.

I didn't look away, but kept staring at her face, and after a couple of minutes of staring, there was a sudden knock at the door.

'Ha, come in,'

'Excuse me. Captain, the Duke of Sangha's emissary is here to see you.

It was a young woman who came in.

'Oh, oh, all right. I'll meet you and show you around.

Primera answers the woman's words and leaves the room, fleeing my gaze.

I hope it won't be any trouble.

Not four or five minutes later, there was a knock on the door again, and I heard Primera's voice saying we're coming in.

The door opened and a gentle-looking man in his thirties came in with the primera.

I quickly appraised him, sat down, and greeted him.

''I am pleased to meet you for the first time. I am Temma, the Adventurer. Make your acquaintance, Duke Sanga (........).

He greeted the man in a manner that was not too much, yet not too rude, and bowed to the man.

''Hey, how did you get that?!''

The first one to cry out in surprise was Primera. The duke looked surprised for a moment, but he quickly returned to his smiling face.

'Primera, you don't sound like that. You're Temma, aren't you? It is a pleasure to meet you, and I am the father of this primera, Arsus von Sangha. I am also a duke.

The Duke chided the Primera and then introduced himself politely to me.

My name...Arsus von Sangha.

Age...48

Race... human race.

Title: Duke of Sangha, Lord of the House.

He's 48 years old with a face like that! If you're alongside Primera, you'll probably be mistaken for a lover if you're not good at it. I thought to myself.

''You are ... quite young, aren't you?''

I returned it. Then the duke smiled bitterly.

'Even though I look like this, I'm almost 50. Sometimes my friends wonder if I'm actually an elf.

and looks and seems to be having a hard time with it. I'm sure your friend is simply jealous.

'Let's get to the point now. Take a seat, please.

And sat me down. Himself sat alongside Primera in front of me.

'First of all, thank you for getting the jewel back. I can't tell you the details of that jewel, but it belonged to a nobleman's wife and was stolen by another thief. She was quite depressed because it also contained a gift from her husband. I'm sorry I could only give you that price.

I told him that if I got any more than that, I'd pay some of it separately. Maybe the previous one wasn't compulsory, maybe it was really a request.

He smelled the same kind of smell as Primera ... natural, that's what it was called!

'No, no, the extra payment is fine. That amount of money is more than enough for us.

I said no. The amount of money was agreed upon in the last contract, and it would be less complicated to do business for that amount.

Really?

And then the duke takes out 22 white gold coins from his magic bag and hands them to me. I put them straight into the bag without examining them as far as I could.

''So, what are the terms of the transfer of the rights of the Guise?''

And then the duke looked a little reluctant.

'About that, his father, the quasi-baronet, took exception to what was going on...'

He seemed to have a hard time saying

Are you saying that my son (Geese) is innocent and that I'm the one to be judged?

The duke sighed.

'That's right. He's making a fuss about how his son (Geez) can't lose to a kid if he doesn't have a cowardly hand.

The cowardly hand and Guise's sin shouldn't have anything to do with it, though.

I asked.

'Yes, I know. He says that what the cowardly man says can't be right,

When it comes to cowardice, Geez is better than me.　　

I said with a laugh, and he looked at me like he was looking at something strange.

You're not afraid of the nobility?

He asked me. I can't just say I'm acquainted with the king of this country (the pinnacle of aristocracy) and so on.

'I don't mean to lick the aristocracy, sir. Is that quasi-baronet more frightening than a duke?

And I'm not a fox who is a tiger (duke), but I'm a bit of a joke. This duke is probably on my side. And even if something happened, I was confident enough to get away with it.

''Please don't make statements like that anywhere else.

He laughed. He knew it was a light joke.

'I'm sorry, that was an outburst of words. But by the looks of it, you must be refusing to deliberate, too.

'Yes, he is. He was a nobleman, for all intents and purposes. It's not a good idea to submit his son to deliberation without permission. Moreover, he himself is a man of some distinction when it comes to matters other than his son.

'But being a criminal, we can force them to deliberate, can't we?

I asked, and the duke shook his head.

''If he does that, he could start a rebellion. Moreover, his faction has a certain amount of power, so if he makes a bad move, the damage will be greater.''

He twists his head, "What shall we do?

'Shall we have a duel?'

I said lightly.

I like that!

The response was.

'Well, if it's a duel, the other side won't complain. There's a part of him that wants to do the aristocratic thing. If we give him a slight stir, he'll come on board.

This duke is quite flippant. But I'm not averse to such deviousness either.

"Do you want me to throw a glove at you?

I returned. 'Good,' we both planned together, but Primera was the only one who seemed to be out of the mosquito net.

'But are you sure you're okay with it? He's got some skilled adventurers around him.

He looked worried for the first time.

'As long as we don't have a top-notch opponent (as long as we don't come in a bunch), we can handle it. We have a trump card.

At those words, the duke said.

''Come to think of it, I heard you're using an A-ranked demon...'' ''I see, and if you can win out against Banza, you should be fine.''

I was convinced that it was a good idea. Leaving the persuasion (provocation) for the duel to the duke, we began to talk about the price of the rights to the gees.

'How about 200,000 G per person, plus the assets of the quasi-barons, for one-twentieth?

He suggests.

'That's fine. However, I ask that all the compensation be in money.

'With money,' he specified, to prevent the dukes from taking in the duke's family for that, if the right to something was a reward.

That's a shame.

It seems that they had such a plan after all. Primera is the only one who has a look on her face that says she doesn't understand why.

''Please don't pull me in like that.

He replied with a smirk. The Duke laughed, too, probably thinking that he'd be lucky if he could do it.

''Then let's draw up a contract.

And then he writes down the contract on a piece of paper in a smooth manner.

"Read the contents carefully and sign here.

And he hands me three contracts. After looking through them all, I sign them.

'Then let's each keep one copy and ask the guild to keep one for you.

Then they shook each other's hands and the contract was completed.

---at the Duke of Sangha's house---.

'My lord. What happened to the little miscreant?

The day after Arsus (Duke of Sanga) made a contract (secret agreement) with Tenma. A man appeared at the Duke's house as if he was waiting for him. The man's name is Honorary Associate Baron Legil Vend. He is Gies's father.

In this country, an honorary baronet could not take his middle name. And some ordinary people also have family names. Therefore, there are some nobles who believe that an honorary noble is not a real noble.

This Regil was such a man that it was said that at this rate, he would be allowed to take his middle name before he died. However, it seems that this talent was not passed on to his two sons.

'My lord, my lord. So, Geez... what happened to your son?

Regil was no longer showing the sharpness of his mind these days that he was in his younger days, but he was capable, Arthas thought, even with that... except when it came to his son...

Arthas gave him a rueful look.

'Baron Regil. I'm afraid the negotiations have broken down. The other party refused to concede that your son was at fault.

Regil became agitated at those words.

'What? It can't be! Besides, why did the duke pull back against the little boy!

I could see from his face that he was a duke and yet he was unworthy.

''Don't say that, they have the Guild behind them. Even a duke would be reckless to make enemies with the guild without a plan.

So you have a plan!

I got one! And Arthas chuckled inwardly.

'Oh, it's a duel! In ten days, we're going to pit their representatives against ours, and whoever wins will get to say what they want! Of course, the little guy on the other end of the line. I've got a firm commitment. Here's the proof!

Arthas hands Regil a pledge signed by Tenma that spells out the rules of the duel.

Regil receives the pledge, reads it in one sitting, grins, and

'Of course, I'll let you decide who to represent here. Do you mind?

I said.

'No matter. It's your son, I'll keep my hands off him.

'I won't get involved,' he told Regil, but he didn't seem to realize what he meant.

'Then I'll go back to the house and start getting ready.

With that, Regil leaves, while Arthas watches his back.

He's a good man, but it's not like he's going to be replaced. It's not like I can't find someone to replace him.

I muttered to myself.

The Pledge.

In a duel on the xth day of the month of the xth day of the xth month, both sides will be allowed to decide if they are justified. Under no circumstances will the loser of this duel be allowed to challenge the winner.

The duel will be fought by representatives of both sides, and will end with either side passing out, admitting defeat, or becoming incapacitated.

There are no restrictions on weapons or magic, but intentionally attacking the defeated opponent or attacking outside the combat zone is prohibited. Those who violate this rule are immediately considered to be the losers.

It is not a crime to cause the death of the opponent in this duel, as long as it happens within the rules.

I acknowledge that I do not disagree with this statement and swear to abide by it.　

The duelist...

The duelist, Legil Vend.

Regil, who had written his signature in the duelist column of this pledge, grinned as he read one sentence.

'Representative (...), hey...'