CH 285

Chapter 285 – Peace Negotiations

“First of all, let me reconfirm your demands. The first one is the conclusion of a non-aggression pact, that is, a treaty of peace and mutual non-aggression for the years to come. Is that correct?”

After taking a sip of the cold water that Amalie-san had poured around the table, Nelson-dono regained some of his composure and began to speak.

“There is no doubt about the general idea, but only after you agree to other conditions. Of course.”

“We are aware of that. I wanted to confirm first whether or not there is a will to conclude a peace treaty and end the conflict in the end.”

“I see. Well, if you hadn’t invaded us, we wouldn’t be fighting like this, so I think it’s only natural.”

I pointed out that it was the Kingdom of Tigris that started this war. Nelson-dono did not even change color when I pointed this out. As expected of a man in charge of diplomatic negotiations, he seems to be a formidable opponent once he regains control of himself.

“I think it would be better to start with the payment of reparations. If you say you won’t pay a penny, I’ll have to order the golems to destroy Brignolph.”

“Wha…? Are you going to threaten me?”

“We are still at war with your country. If the negotiations break down, the truce will be lifted immediately, so what’s the problem with us attacking Brignolph?”

I shrugged my shoulders as Nelson-dono hurriedly shouted at me.

“Nelson-dono, we’re―or rather, I’m sick and tired of it. I really don’t want to spend even a second of my time on this stupid war. There are many problems to be solved in Merinard, and there is much land to be developed. If you and the Duchy of Dihart hadn’t been meddling with us, I would have been able to concentrate on those matters under Her Majesty the Queen. So, Merinard Kingdom, or rather, my impression of your country, is terrible. To be honest, as a visitor, I think it would be quicker and less troublesome to destroy the Kingdom of Tigris by clearing all the towns and villages along the way and burning the royal capital to ashes instead of negotiating a peace deal like this. Even so, I am going through such troublesome peace negotiations because Her Majesty the Queen wants peace in this world. Please understand that.”

“…In other words, you want us to accept all the conditions as they are?”

“You don’t want to accept it? The queen says that she can be flexible to a certain extent at her discretion regarding the conditions that she has set forth. I will make some concessions depending on the conditions. As for me, I would be most happy to return to Merinesburg. In the meantime, I think it would be better to start with reparations.”

The total amount of reparations claimed by the Kingdom of Merinard from the Kingdom of Tigris is roughly equivalent to one year’s worth of the Tigris Kingdom’s national budget (an estimate of the royal family’s income). It was an amount that could not be paid, but it was impossible to pay it immediately in one lump sum. And considering the allowances for those who died in the war and the fact that the kingdom lost a lot of labor during the war, the amount of money is completely out of the question. In the first place, the Tigris Kingdom lost so many people in the war that the domestic economy would probably hit rock bottom just to deal with them, according to Melty and the other civilian officials. A year’s worth of compensation from the national budget would be a very difficult amount of money to pay.

“You said that concessions could be made under certain conditions, right?”

“Yes, it depends on me.”

In fact, the kingdom of Merinard does not need reparations. Of course, if we could have it, we would want it. I’m not sure how much money we can get. But to tell you the truth, with my crafting ability, I can make gems, mithril, alloys, and other magical metals as much as I want, and I can handle the products of the elves of the Black Forest, whose prices are soaring, so I have a lot of leeway in terms of budget. Furthermore, tax revenues from the towns and mines are expected in the future, and the new Merinard Kingdom is very rich for a newborn.

“Then, we will hand over the slaves from our country to you. Please reduce the amount by that amount.”

I narrowed my eyes at Nelson-dono’s words. He is not going to sell his own people into slavery in order to protect his country, is he?

“Please don’t misunderstand me. We have no intention of selling our people to other countries. What we are handing over to you are the subhuman slaves and their descendants who came from the Kingdom of Merinard during the chaos of the war 20 years ago. It is restitution, so to speak.”

“…Oh.”

I see. They want to return the people of the former Merinard Kingdom, so they want us to reduce the amount of reparations for this war. I have a feeling that it would be wrong to exchange people in such a position for money. However, even if we refused, it would not make the people who were being used as slaves in the Kingdom of Tigris happy. Even if we told them that they were originally our citizens and asked them to return our property without compensation, they would probably only harden their attitude. It would be better to take the fruit here.

“It’s an interesting story. It seems that you have studied our philosophy of action very carefully. I can’t help but feel sympathy for your country, which was forced to fight such a war in spite of that.”

Neither Nelson-dono nor Macrito-dono responded to my words. Are there any sympathizers of the Holy Kingdom here?

“Well, fine. I will accept your offer, but if you are going to do it, I want you to do it thoroughly. You will protect every single one of them and send them back to the Merinard Kingdom. If there are any subhuman slaves left in your country afterward, we will have no choice but to accept that the conditions of this deal have been violated. Do you understand what I mean?”

“O-of course I do.”

Nelson-dono nodded gravely in agreement. As a result of the discussion, it was decided that the amount of compensation would be half of the original amount, to be paid in installments over a period of ten years. The amount of compensation will be approximately 5% of the national budget per year, but their income should increase depending on future developments, so in effect, their payment itself will be much easier to pay.

Eh? It seems too light, you say? That’s a given. If the economy and political situation become too unstable as a result of imposing excessive compensation, and even bad “refugees” start to flow in, it will be the Merinard Kingdom that will be inconvenienced.

It would be better to let them live, not to kill them, but to weaken them so that they cannot turn on us. It is more convenient for the neighboring countries to have a certain degree of political and economic stability.

“Next, let’s talk about the study abroad program associated with the non-aggression pact.”

“Study abroad program, huh?”

Macrito-dono’s brow wrinkles deeply. In effect, they are hostages. But this in itself is not all bad news for them.

“As you know, we are hostile to the Holy Kingdom. At least, we’ll ensure that nothing will happen to them under our protection.”

“…That’s.”

“We want you to know that we hate the Holy Kingdom for its anti-subhuman stance. But we don’t hate humans. In fact, there are many humans living in the Merinard kingdom, and we do not intend to favor the subhuman and uphold the supremacy of the subhuman. We just want to make sure that the people of the world can live happily together, hand in hand, regardless of whether they are subhuman or human. In addition, we have no territorial ambitions. There is plenty of land in the country that can be developed. Her Majesty thinks that it is meaningless to go to war with other countries and fight among people when monsters and bandits are roaming around and threatening the people. However, Her Majesty has also decided to take a tough stance against aggression.”

Both Nelson-dono and Macrito-dono were silent at my comment. However, they seemed to be thinking something over.

“Well, I digressed a little. The curriculum for foreign students is still being formulated, but we do not intend to make things worse. We are not like the lowlifes of the Holy Kingdom, so we have no intention of treating them like slaves. In the beginning, we may have to listen to the students’ wishes to some extent, and then we may have to set up an individual curriculum for each of them… Oh, and don’t worry about housing, as we intend to prepare something suitable for them in Merinesburg.”

Foreign students are, in effect, hostages, but that does not mean that we intend to let them spend their time in idleness without any education. Of course, we are planning to take a variety of steps to improve the content of their ideological education.

Eh? It’s brainwashing, you say? Hahaha, that’s such a bad thing to say. I’m just going to disparage the Holy Kingdom a little bit and tell them the fact that the teachings of the mainstream have been twisted by the treachery of the Omit Kingdom. I’m also trying to weaken their dislike and aversion to subhumans by exposing them to a variety of subhumans.

“Next, regarding trade treaties…”

“You were talking about not granting us tariff autonomy, weren’t you?”

“That is correct. But I want you to understand that it is not for the unilateral exploitation of your goods but rather for the protection of your commercial activities.”

“What is it?”

Nelson-dono gives a quizzical look. Yes, that is true. Since they cannot freely set tariffs, they would normally think that we would export a vast amount of goods at low tariffs and covet the goods from the Kingdom of Tigris.

“Of course, we are planning to make some profit as well. The production of food in the Merinard Kingdom is improving dramatically. If things continue as they are, the self-sufficiency rate of food will easily exceed 400% by the fall of this year. Maybe even higher.”

“Four hundred percent or more?”

Nelson-dono is astonished. Yes, it is surprising, isn’t it? But it’s true. Rather, I’m not sure if 400% is enough… because a farm using farmland blocks will be ready for harvest in only two to four weeks, depending on the crop, without my involvement at all. I wonder what would happen if all the farmland in the country were replaced with farm blocks. I don’t plan to do that, though.

I mean, as a matter of fact, even at this point in time, food is being dumped, and prices are falling, which is hurting existing farmers. That’s why there was an urgent need to develop canned food and instant food using dried noodles. To increase domestic demand.

There are also many other high-quality, advanced magic tools being developed. If a large amount of such goods, including cheap food, were to flow into your country, it could cause great confusion and damage to your economy. That is not what we want. If we do not build a mutually beneficial relationship and coexist and prosper together, we will have a lot of trouble. Right now, the nobility bordering the country freely decide the tariffs in your country, don’t they? We don’t accept that, and we want to determine tariffs through coordination among nations.

“I see… This will result in reducing the power of the local nobility and strengthening the power of the kingdom. At the very least, it sets a precedent.”

Nelson-dono nodded in agreement to my words and pondered. The fact that he is dispatched to such an occasion suggests that he is probably a nobleman who is trusted by the royal family of the Tigris Kingdom.

“But… isn’t that convenient? We are in the position of having invaded your country unilaterally and then being beaten back, if we may say so ourselves?”

“That’s true, but you paid a great price in blood, to begin with. Also, as I have said many times before, if you are crushed, it will be a problem for us. Even if we sanction you harshly based on emotion, knowing that, we will be the ones who will suffer the loss.”

There is a saying, “You gain by losing,” and that is exactly what is happening now. If the kingdom of Tigris crumbles and splits, or if there is a civil war between rival kingdoms, Mesotherium and the surrounding area near the border may become overrun with bandits. Or there might be a massive influx of refugees. That would be a situation that we would not be very happy about.

The best scenario for the Kingdom of Merinard would be to secure an advantageous position, gradually improve relations with the Holy Kingdom, and have the Holy Kingdom eventually surrender to us. It would be even better if we could make a profit through trade.

“Shall we discuss the items to be taxed, their tax rates, and other details?”

“…Yes, that’s right. We need to discuss the details in order to decide whether or not to accept your conditions.”

Nelson-dono seems to have been rather positive about the conditions we have proposed. I hope we can work out the details and come to an agreement.