CH 284

Chapter 284 – Contact

I thought I had made up my mind at the time of Ellen and the other oni girls that I would never bother with these kinds of relationship matters again, that I would reopen my mind, but well, I do bother. But in the end, if I didn’t want to, I could have resisted seriously. The fact that I didn’t do so, even though I was still somewhat caught up in it in my mind, probably means that I didn’t really dislike it that much. I decided to leave it that way as I looked at Seraphita-san’s very happy face.

“Kosuke-sama, is there something I can help you with?”

“No. I thought Seraphita-san was really beautiful.”

“Geez, nothing will come out if you stir things up like that.”

As she said that, Seraphita-san smiled happily as she put her hand on her slightly reddened cheek. Well, yeah. Men are simple, aren’t they? They are easily bonded like this. No, am I just a special kind of guy? Yes, I’m sure it is. Yup.

While I was idly waiting for the craft to be completed while looking at the smiling Seraphita-san, a shadow landed on the window sill without a sound. It was Capri, the brown-feathered harpy.

“A group of people with white flags are on their way here, Danna-han.”

“Is it the delegation-like group that was reported in the morning? They must have come in after getting a good rest and preparing their stomachs.”

“We are the ones who are coming in, though, aren’t we?”

“If you put it that way, you’re right.”

Since we are the ones who have been venturing out into the territory of the Kingdom of Tigris, we are certainly the ones who are coming in. Well, let’s welcome them. With a grand reception.

☆★☆

When I moved the golems to greet them, the group that looked like a delegation stopped moving. Perhaps they were on alert. The number of people on the delegation, including the guards, was less than 30.

“It will be me, Seraphita-san, and Ellen who will sit at the negotiating table, okay?”

“That’s fine. I think it would be better to have the same number of guards as the other party standing by in the back, in addition to the three former adventurers. Let Grande watch over us from the fort.”

Seraphita-san nodded at Ellen’s words, so we decided to go with that arrangement. The members participating in the negotiations split into four air boards and headed for the delegation.

“Macrito-dono is there.”

“He seems to be getting more and more worn out.”

“He must be suffering from mental stress.”

Though, the cause of his fatigue is definitely me. Well, I don’t intend to do anything about it at the moment, so I hope he will do his best not to die.

“How should I talk to them in such a situation?”

“I think it would be better to ask them after identifying yourself.”

“I see.”

I instruct Bella, who is driving the air board, to stop the air board at a distance of about 20 meters from the delegation. Then, as soon as it stopped, I opened the roof of the air board and called out to the delegation using the loudspeaker’s magic tool.

“This is Kosuke, the prince consort of Queen Sylphiel Danal Merinard of the Kingdom of Merinard. Her Majesty the Queen has delegated me full authority over diplomacy with the Kingdom of Tigris. Are you the emissary of the Kingdom of Tigris with proper authority?”

The group that seemed to be an emissary group buzzed for a moment when I called out to them, and only two horsemen came forward a short time later.

They are Macrito-dono, who was leading the invasion force, and an elderly man whom I don’t recognize. He is quite well-dressed. He was probably a high-ranking nobleman, a diplomat with some authority or something.

“Kosuke-dono, it’s me, Macrito Jean Nicklaus. This is Marquis Nelson Guy Delacotta. His Majesty has entrusted us with full authority to negotiate with your country.”

“I-I am Nelson…”

Macrito-dono still looked as pale as ever, but Nelson-dono’s complexion was even paler. Hmm? Is this like you didn’t believe in golems until you saw the real thing or something?

“I see. Then could you step back for a moment while I set up the venue?”

“A-ah… the venue?”

I watched as Macrito-dono returned to his horse and took Nelson-dono back to the delegation with a tilt of his head. After making sure they had stepped back far enough, I set up stone blocks on the ground and made up a temporary meeting place. A stone staircase was also set up for the guests to go up to the meeting hall, and a long table and a reasonable number of chairs, which could have been placed in a nobleman’s dining room, were also taken out of my inventory and set up in the meeting hall.

“Is this about right?”

“Shouldn’t we also have a pitcher and some glasses?”

“I see.”

As Seraphita-san said, I prepared a glass pitcher and glasses as well. Amalie-san was in charge of serving the guests. Although Amalie-san is our personnel, she is dressed in an Adol sister’s uniform, so it is unlikely that she will be alerted to poisonings.

When I finished all the preparations and waved my hand, the delegation from the Kingdom of Tigris approached slowly. They must be on alert. Incidentally, there will be four people at the negotiating table this time: me, Seraphita-san, Ellen, and a civil official who is responsible for taking the record of the meeting.

“W-what in the world is this…?”

“Marquis Dellacotta, you need to calm yourself.”

Macrito-dono, accompanied by a bewildered Nelson-dono and other personnel, comes up to the hall. It seems that they left the horses they were riding with the guards who were not present at the event. The personnel on the other side are Macrito-dono, Nelson-dono, two civil servants, and five guards.

“Shumel.”

“Aiyo.”

I gave a look to Shumel, and in addition to Shumel, Bella, and Tozume, I sent two elite riflemen to escort us.

“Then, now that we are all here, let’s get started, shall we?”

“Umu… How about we start by introducing ourselves to each other again?”

“That sounds good. Well then, let me introduce myself first. My name is Kosuke. I am a visitor, the prince consort of Sylphielle Danal Merinard, queen of the kingdom of Merinard. I have been entrusted by Her Majesty to protect the north and deal with the two northern kingdoms of Tigris and Dihart. And this is Her Highness the former Queen Seraphita Danal Merinard, and this is Eleonora-dono, the saint of truth of the Adol religion.

“My name is Seraphita. Marquis Delacotta, it’s been a long time.”

“I-it’s been a long time, Seraphita-sama. Your unfading beauty is like a jewel.”

As he said this, Nelson-dono was sweating profusely.

It seems that the diplomatic envoy Nelson-dono and Seraphita-san are acquainted with each other. I don’t know what position Nelson-dono was in before Seraphita-san went to slumber 20 years ago, but I hope that the fact that they are acquaintances will have a positive effect. Or rather, he is sweating so much that I wonder if Seraphita-san is holding his weakness.

“I am Eleonora. The Lord God Adol has given me the power to see the truth. Please treat me well.”

Ellen turned her crimson eyes toward the delegation. If any member of the Tigris Kingdom’s delegation tells a lie, she is supposed to report it to me by knocking me on my knees. It’s a cheat ability in a negotiation like this.

“Ma-Marquis Nelson Guy Delacotta. His Majesty has granted me full powers in diplomatic negotiations with your country.”

“Count Macrito Jean Nicklaus. I was in charge of the army at the time of the war. I will assist Marquis Delacotta.”

We also introduced each other’s civilian officials to each other. Then Amalie-san distributed drinks, and the respective civil officials began taking records of the proceedings. The negotiations were now set.

Now, what kind of response will the Kingdom of Tigris give to our conditions? First, let’s hear what they have to say.