CH 287

Chapter 287 – Delegation of the Duchy of Dihart

“Hello, long time no see. Kosuke-dono.”

On the day after we had concluded our discussions with the Kingdom of Tigris, a delegation from the Duchy of Dihart paid a visit to our defense facility. It seems that the Kingdom of Tigris had properly sent an envoy to the Duchy of Dihart.

“Ah… If I recall… Antonius-dono, was it?”

“I’m glad you remember me.”

He says this with a somewhat relieved tone in his voice. He was the general who led the forces of the Duchy of Dihart when we first confronted the armies of the Kingdom of Tigris and the Duchy of Dihart. I had thought that he had been left behind when we went to destroy the border fort, but it seems that he has been reassigned to this negotiation. I guess it’s because he knows me.

“Did you come all the way here to talk to me? Have you talked to the Kingdom of Tigris about this?”

“Of course. By the way, my neck is starting to hurt, you know?”

Hmm, we can’t discuss this while I’m at the top of the wall of the defense facility looking down on him.

“You know there’s a meeting place, right? Wait for me over there.”

“Understood.”

The delegation from the Duchy of Dihart rounded their necks and headed for the meeting place I had built yesterday.

“…Well, I guess it saved me a lot of trouble, as I had hoped. Somewhat.”

“Yes, you’re right. Did it save you the trouble of using a golem to frighten people and building a stronghold similar to this one?”

“I don’t know about that. Well, it depends on how the other side comes out, but we have to go in with a flash at first, don’t we?”

After all, the best way to make the other party listen to you is to use violence. Whether or not you actually use it, you need to show that you will not hesitate to use it if necessary. If they don’t at least recognize you as their equal or even better, you won’t even be able to have a discussion with them.

☆★☆

We headed to the meeting place as we did yesterday. The group was the same as yesterday―except that Grande was accompanying us this time. However, it seems that she has no intention of coming to the negotiating table. Apparently, she is bored at the defense facility, so she intends to watch what we are doing. She is dressed as usual.

“I want to ask you to start the meeting; what is that girl…?”

Antonius-dono pointed at Grande, who was yawning while lying on a cushion, and asked that question. Yes, of course. You’re curious about it, aren’t you?

“She’s a dragon. You don’t have to believe me, but you definitely don’t want to offend her. She’s powerful enough to turn that defensive facility into a pile of rubble in an instant.”

“A dragon…? You mean that dragon? The one that flies and spits breath from its mouth?”

“Yes, it is that dragon. They only assume a human-like appearance through the dragon’s own ritual magic. She is not a part of the Merinard Kingdom but has a personal relationship with me. Well, she’s very close to Her Majesty the Queen, too, so I guess you could say that she’s an existence that is indefinitely close to the Merinard Kingdom.”

“I see…?”

Antonius-dono looked at Grande, who was idly watching us for a while, but finally decided not to care. He probably thought there was no point in thinking about it. But he seemed to be the only one who thought so――.

“What kind of an idea was it to bring such a young child to a serious meeting?”

“This is not a game… Are you serious about having a serious meeting with us?”

The rest of the personnel were dissatisfied. Yes, well, that’s what happens, doesn’t it?

“Well, well, well. If she is a dragon, and she is willing to watch over things with a certain degree of neutrality, even if she is leaning that way, then that’s a good thing. Besides, there must be some credibility to the story that she is a dragon.”

“Credibility? What credibility do you see in her appearance?”

A well-dressed middle-aged man, a member of the delegation, pointed at Grande, who was lying on a cushion looking bored and watching the proceedings with a blue vein on her forehead.

“You’ve probably heard that the Dragonis Mountain Kingdom is rapidly approaching the Kingdom of Merinard. Can you think of any circumstance, other than dragon-related, that would cause that country to be on their side?”

“Nngh…”

The people who had been complaining fell silent. Hou?

“In that case, I think it’s dangerous to upset her. Now we’re in front of the dragon and making a fuss about how she’s not a dragon and that she’s a fake, so… it’s going to be tough if she decides to prove it.”

“…..”

Finally, the complainers were silenced. I see; he’s a good talker.

“I’m sorry for the trouble. Well, you can just think of them as little disturbing ornaments.”

“Hahaha, please don’t make any more disturbing ornaments.”

Laughing at this, Antonius-dono’s gaze glanced toward the golems standing tall right next to the meeting hall. There are heavily armed golems and golem warriors lined up in a row on this side of the room, so it must be very intimidating. The sense of intimidation must be very great.

“Now that the atmosphere has warmed up, let’s get down to business, shall we? Oh, first of all, should we introduce ourselves to each other?”

With a laugh, Antonius-dono was the first to take his seat. Instead of the place warming up, the mood seems to be almost like a wake, or rather, frozen, except for Antonius-dono. Well, it’s not our concern. We take our seats as well.

“Well, then, let me introduce myself. My name is Antonius Dels Giranzam, and I am a general in the army of the Duchy of Dihart. I am also the head of the Giranzam family, although some say I lack dignity. I look forward to working with you.”

First, Antonius-dono introduced himself, followed by the foreign minister and the home affairs minister of the Duchy of Dihart. After that, it is our turn to identify ourselves. Including myself, there are four people sitting at the negotiating table on our side. Seraphita-san, Ellen, and a winged civil servant who serves as a scribe.

“Is this Her Royal Highness the former queen? I am sorry, I didn’t know that.”

“Her Majesty Sylphiel is now the head of the country. And Kosuke-sama, who is the prince consort, is of higher status than I am. Besides, I am just an elf woman with no title and authority now.”

Seraphita-san says so, but the noble royal aura radiating from her whole body has not diminished in the slightest. How can I say? She has a kind of elegance or something? It is a part that Sylphy, who had been running around in the forest alone until recently, clearly lacks. Well, in the case of Sylphy, instead of that, she has a sense of dignity similar to that of a military man or a ruler. But I can’t feel it at all.

“And the presence of the saint of the Adol religion, Kosuke-dono seems to like to surprise us all.”

“We need stimulation to lead a fulfilling life, don’t we?”

“That’s a funny joke. I’d appreciate it if you could be a little more modest, hahaha.”

“Unfortunately, it’s in my nature. I don’t think I’m going to be able to stop, hahaha. At any rate, we have put our demands in a document. Please read it first.”

With that, I took the document containing the demands from my inventory, slid it across the table, and handed it to Antonius-dono. After receiving the document, Antonius-dono read through the contents of the document, and his brow furrowed.

“As I thought, this is the content, after all?”

It seems that he had heard from the Kingdom of Tigris what kind of demands we had made. The demands to the Duchy of Dihart are basically the same as those of the Kingdom of Tigris. There are some differences in the amount of reparations, but basically, in addition to reparations, we demanded hostages in the name of foreign students, and the conclusion of a non-aggression treaty and a trade treaty are the same. However, since the Duchy of Dihart borders the Holy Kingdom and the royal family has the blood of the Holy Kingdom in its veins, there is a fear that if the duchy is enriched through trade, its wealth and goods will flow into the Holy Kingdom. The terms of the trade treaty were much worse than those of the Kingdom of Tigris. In addition, the overall conditions were stricter than those of the Kingdom of Tigris.

In other words, the Kingdom of Merinard is giving preferential treatment to the Kingdom of Tigris and intends to differentiate its treatment from that of the Duchy of Dihart. It would be ideal if both could get along with each other, but in reality, things do not work out that way. By differentiating the treatment between the two, a rift between the Kingdom of Tigris and the Duchy of Dihart is created. The Holy Kingdom treats the Duchy of Dihart better than the Kingdom of Tigris, so that is also a point to be taken advantage of.

“…The conditions are a little harsh, aren’t they?”

“Of course, there are differences. Do you need any explanation for that?”

The reason for this is that the royal family has accepted the blood of the Holy Kingdom and is treated as a branch of the Holy Kingdom, so it would be difficult for Archduke Dihart to reverse the half-term of the Holy Kingdom. In other words, the Duchy of Dihart and the Holy Kingdom will be on the same path unless there is something more than that―that’s what we think.

“Well, I have no idea, but…”

Ellen sneakily poked me in the knee just as Antonius-dono was about to speak. This is a sign that we had discussed beforehand. In other words, the statement that he had no idea was a lie.

Nelson-dono of the Tigris Kingdom was so disturbed by our pace from start to finish that he didn’t have time to disguise his words, but Antonius-dono seems to have not yielded to our threats at all. It seems that we have to be careful about this.