CH 313

A few days after returning to the Caan Knighthood from the Demon Country, someone came to visit me in the morning, while I was doing my daily paperwork in the office.

“Come in,” I said.

Katharina knocked, so I invited her in while wrestling with the documents, but it seems that Katharina wasn’t the only guest then.

“Miss Flora, Sir Musashi said that there is something he really wants to talk to you about,” Katharina said.

“Understood. He’s already been led this far, hasn’t he? Please let him in,” I said as I stop working and let Musashi into the office.

I basically never meet with guests in the office. If it’s a trading partner like Victoria, I’ll talk to her in my office, and if it’s a close friend, I’ll invite them to my office, too. Even my subordinates often visit here. But I don’t use the office to meet with guests.

My justification is that the office is full of various confidential information. It’s designed so that confidential information can’t be seen easily, but I still don’t know what kind of things can be seen regardless. That’s why I can’t carelessly show others in.

The fact that Katharina let Musashi through despite knowing that means that there must be some kind of circumstance that makes this visit exceptional.

“Pardon my entry!” Musashi cried.

Katarina urged Musashi to enter the room…… oh, come on. Don’t enter the room with your head down while outside the door. I stood up from my office desk and moved to the sofa, prompting Musashi to sit down, too.

“Go ahead. Please come in,” I said.

Even though I said that Musashi didn’t enter the room. Instead, he fell to his knees. No, this is a kowtow pose. He is on his hands and feet with his head bowed.

“Lord Floto! Please, please, please allow me to serve by your side! I have decided in my heart that you are the one and only true master of my life! So please!”

“Hold!” I yelled. “For now, please raise your head. It would be a problem if the door was left open, to begin with. First of all, please come in and sit over there.”

I panic because of the suddenness. I don’t understand it at all. Is he a spy sent by the Demon Country on short notice? I had the thought. Otherwise, it’s too sudden.

Just because I gave you a jewel, even if you don’t stay by my side, you’ll get money… I’ve been keeping an eye on him for the past few days, but Musashi isn’t the kind of guy who is swayed by riches. He watched the town and the lives of its inhabitants with warm eyes. He is not someone who is dazzled by money, and I don’t think he is the type to easily betray his country or his master.

First, invite him into the room and let him sit on the opposite sofa from mine. No matter how you look at it, you can’t just sit down on the ground in a corridor with people walking by.

“Eh~… so then… what is with all this, all of a sudden?” I asked.

First, listen to what the other person has to say. I don’t really know what position Musashi holds in the Demon Country. If he’s a mere soldier, his Lord might easily replace him, but Musashi probably isn’t one of those people.

I don’t know anything official, but he’s been chosen to escort a diplomatic mission, and he’s been chosen to escort Mikoto, the second princess, and he who works in the imperial castle in Demon Country, so at least he’s worthy of attending the Emperor’s children. He is undoubtedly highly trusted.

“It’s not sudden or anything,” Musashi began. “To begin with, I took over the escort of the mission and came here to see you, Lord Floto! How you behaved when you were in our country, and what you did here in your home. My judgment was after seeing both.”

He seems to have thought a lot about the time when he escorted us and the jewel I gave him to make up for the shortfall from our shopping.

Even though Musashi works at a castle in a Demon Country, it doesn’t seem like he originally pledged allegiance to the Emperor and became his vassal. It seems that he turned down the Emperor’s invitation and was looking for a master to serve. And I was nominated as a candidate, and it seems that he’d come all the way here to confirm his feelings.

He saw it with his own eyes, verified his gut feeling, and decided that I was his master. That’s why he seems to have come to plead that he wants to serve me.

To be honest, I want to invite as many people as possible, so if Musashi will serve me, he can. No matter how many talented people there are here, there is never enough of them. However…….

“Sir Musashi, don’t you have family members left behind in the Demon Country? Is it okay for you to decide such things by yourself?” I asked.

I have no intention of holding back against the Demon Country or the Emperor. If the person himself wants it, it would be best to go along with the person’s wishes. In the first place, even the Emperor ignored his intentions and forced Musashi to serve him, and he never knew when he would be betrayed or attacked in his sleep. How could I not trust such a person to do their job?

But… even Musashi has a family. Considering his age, it wouldn’t be strange to have a wife and children. Even if he doesn’t have a wife or children, he should definitely have parents, and maybe even siblings. It wouldn’t be a good idea for him to suddenly make such a decision on his own while leaving his family behind in the Demon Country.

“I’m humbled by your thoughtfulness, Lord Floto,” Musashi said. “But do not worry! I’m already alone for the rest of my life. No one cares where I go.”

I don’t know if that’s true or not… but if that’s what the person himself is saying, then I wouldn’t be the one to say anything about it.

“Is it really alright?” I said. “You may never be able to return to your homeland again.”

If I took him out on my own, he might never be able to return to the Demon Country again. It wouldn’t matter if I got scolded by the Emperor, but if Musashi were to never be able to return to his homeland again, he’d be in a lot of trouble.

“I have already informed the Emperor that I will be leaving the country,” Musashi said. “Either way, I will only train here until you accept me, Lord Floto!”

“Huh…”

Had he already cut off his retreat…? If so… I can’t say no… to show me that much resolve… I can’t refuse.

“Understood… Well then… I look forward to working with you in the future, Musashi,” I said.

“–! Sire! I’ll make sure to make myself into a servant of value to you, Master Floto!”

From sitting on the sofa, Musashi once more knelt on the ground and bowed his head. Thus, for some reason, I got one of the best people from the Demon Country like taking a product off the shelf.

A day has passed since Musashi became my subordinate and this time we decided to set up another meeting with the Demon Country’s diplomatic mission. The faces are the same as the time of the previous talks. On the other side are several people led by Kanbee. On this side, there are several people in charge, including myself. We sit facing each other in a conference room.

“I don’t like to be roundabout, so let me speak frankly,” Kanbee said suddenly while he handed me a document. “The Emperor said that he agreed to accept all the diplomatic relations and treaties discussed. Here are the documents and signatures stating such. If it would not be much trouble, we would like to request you sign this here,” he said, pointing. “Once you do, this treaty will be concluded.”

It’s so elaborately written that it’s a bit difficult to read, but I manage to get through it. There are two documents, and if you sign and stamp both, and then they put their stamp on the two, it seems that the treaty will be concluded. It’s a good process.

The only question is, is it okay to take our conditions so easily? Maybe there’s some kind of pitfall here… what do I think? Otherwise, the conditions are too good here.

I got carried away and presented with a rather unreasonable condition. The only one who would make a sudden concession at the beginning of the negotiations would be an incompetent ministry, which cannot conduct something like modern Japanese diplomacy. Usually, the first thing to do is to try to make it look like a bluff has been made as part of negotiations to find a place to settle from there. Making concessions from the beginning is neither negotiation nor anything like it.

That’s what I thought, so I made a lot of requests that were a bit too much… but at the negotiation table, Kanbee was making a terrible expression, so I thought he would definitely refuse or continue the negotiations. Even so, it would be too unnatural to sign after all the conditions have been met.

I randomly asked for technical support and dispatch of craftsmen to the Demon Country with precious metals and jewels in exchange for the people. It can’t be normal. No matter how ignorant you are about patents and intellectual property rights, even if the technology is not directly related to war, it is dangerous to export your country’s technology to other countries so easily.

Besides, aside from craftsmen in agriculture and processed food, craftsmen in civil engineering and construction are directly linked to the war in a sense. If you know the structures of buildings, earthworks, and stone walls over there, you will know how to effectively attack and defend against them. The outflow of techniques like pottery and woodwork craftsmen is also difficult, and above all, I asked metalwork craftsmen such as swordsmiths.

Putting aside whether or not they mass-produced swords, for them, swordsmithing was just about military technology. It doesn’t make sense to accept it so easily without even negotiating. Does that mean there’s something behind it?

“… Here, this is addressed to you from our Emperor,” Kanbee said.

I was hesitating, checking every detail of the documents, and Kanbee handed over another letter. It seems that the letter this one was a personal missive, not an official one. Trying to calm myself down, I take the letter and read it over.

“……………… Understood,” I said.

After reading the letter, I signed and stamped the documents. Now that the treaty is signed, it’s not between the two countries. This is only for House Caan, not the Kingdom of Ploiss, but they will ratify the treaty. Keep one signed set for each.

I was skeptical because the conditions were too favorable for me, but apparently, my worries were groundless. If you summarize the contents of the emperor’s letter, it’s roughly like this.

First of all, the Demon Country recognizes the relationship between me and Mikoto. In other words, I will become the daughter-in-law of the Emperor, and it seems that this is meant as support from the parents.

House Caan prospering and gaining power here is also convenient for the Demon Country because Mikoto will marry me and House Caan will have familial ties with the Demon Country. You can entrust the defense on this side to House Caan.

It’s not just the emperor’s personal judgment or spoiling his daughter, Mikoto, but he’s doing it because he’s thinking about the future as a nation, and House Caan’s prosperity is good for the Demon Country, or, so he says.

Just because he said so in a letter doesn’t mean he honestly believes it and doesn’t doubt a thing. Sometimes I think differently. Still, no omissions or pitfalls were found in the treaty. If all the conditions I wanted were accepted and there were no particular losses or traps, there would be no reason for me to refuse.

“Please let us check here as well,” Kanbee said, asking for the documents back.

“………… Of course,” I said.

After Kanbee validated my signature and seal, we confirmed the conclusion of the treaty. With this, House Caan and the Demon Country will formally establish diplomatic relations… wait, ah!

Hey……, hey, hey…… hey, Me… are you stupid? Didn’t you screw up just now?

Didn’t I make diplomatic ties with other countries on my own? Without even the permission of the Kingdom of Ploiss…

I am a noble of Ploiss. And in the Kingdom of Ploiss, the feudal lord has no diplomatic rights. Within the borders, a Lord’s authority is quite strong, but only diplomatic authority is prohibited. It is not permissible to form diplomatic relations with other countries without permission.

No… I mean, it’s a violation, or it’s a last-minute thing, or it’s a deceit… There are guys who do that kind of thing, right? It seems that Duke Nassam and Duke Bayen are doing diplomacy with the Dukes of Aust on their own accord. And if that’s allowed, it’s going to be a big deal.

It would be important if Nassam and Bayen negotiated diplomacy with the Principality of Aust without permission, and if they allied with the enemy and attacked the Kingdom of Ploiss. That is why Feudal Lords are prohibited from diplomacy without permission. Even House Carruthers doesn’t negotiate with the Kingdom of Frasia without permission.

I didn’t do anything of the sort… There is no excuse for this. Completely so… I arbitrarily conducted diplomatic negotiations with another country and ended up establishing diplomatic relations. We have even signed a treaty.

Oh no! This cannot be revealed to the Kingdom of Ploiss. No…or should I go ahead and advertise on a large scale that I’ve made peace with the Demon Country? Wouldn’t it be a great achievement to say that we were able to make peace with the Demon Country that had been a source of trouble for many years?

No, no… even if I had gotten permission from the King or the Prime Minister to negotiate behind the scenes, I would have rushed ahead and signed a treaty, even if the treaty itself was ratified. Such sin will not be forgiven. If such a precedent is set, the Lords here and there will be able to do whatever they want.

It seems that I went to the Demon Country and got a little carried away. It’s about this time that I realized something so important…

Don’t tell me… did the Emperor accept my conditions so easily because I was carelessly signing the treaty, and he realized I was dooming myself? I was thinking about other things and forgot that I shouldn’t be engaging in diplomacy with other countries.

Recently, I had completely forgotten about the War with the Kingdom of Hollant, the Battle for Goslant Island and Free City Wars, and the War with the Kingdom of Polsky, which involved many other countries and territories. Even in those cases, I was negotiating various things with foreign agents, so I couldn’t help but do the same thing as always…

It’s a fundamentally different story to negotiate with other countries during peacetime like this than when you’re threatened with war, sortieing on the order of the king, and negotiating on the ground during wartime.

Now that we’ve already signed the contract, we can’t tell the Demon Country to wait a little longer to enact the terms. This turned out to be bad…