CH 293

Chapter 293 – Two Free People and A Person Who Is Swayed

“I’m here to play. Now treat me well.”

“Bring me some tea and pastries. Something sweet and tasty.”

“Aren’t you people a little too free?”

As soon as we met, Grande and I made demands that were not even polite in the slightest, to which Kirilovich, the imperial ambassador, responded with a straight face.

This is the embassy of the Varyag Empire, located near the Royal Castle in Merinesburg. Since we were completely left out of the talks between the Kingdom of Merinard and the Holy Kingdom, the two of us, Grande and I, decided to pay a visit to the embassy of the Varyag Empire, not as a courtesy visit but for fun.

Well, Kirilovich is a good guy, so he made sure to provide us with tea and pastries for such an unreasonable request. In fact, he is probably more of a tough guy than a good guy.

“I don’t think it’s right for just the two of you to go to the embassy of another country and unscrupulously partake of the drinks and food offered to you without a second thought.”

“The empire would have no reason to kill me. If you were to kidnap me and put me to work for you, that would be one thing, but…”

“In the first place, there’s no way you could kill Kosuke with me next to him.”

“I also seem to be resistant to poison. I survived being stabbed in the liver with a dagger coated with basilisk poison, after all.”

“Poison has no effect on me, too.”

“Sigh… I think it’s a bad idea to disclose that kind of information to the public.”

While saying that, Kirilovich brought a cup of tea to his mouth with a pained look on his face. I still don’t know what that bitter expression means, but in any case, the best he could do to harm us―or me―would be to stab me in the back, no matter how well he did it.  

Even if he had kidnapped me with a precious magic tool that could travel long distances at a moment’s notice, like the one Qubi used to kidnap me, it would be almost impossible to catch me without killing me with all my equipment and supplies. I can put everything in my inventory whether I am blindfolded, roped, or handcuffed, and once I am unbound, it is easy for me to break through walls and floors to escape, whether I am locked in a cell or a stone chamber. I have no magic power, so the slave’s collar and even the abnormal status magic won’t work on me.

I think it would be impossible to completely restrain me alive unless you physically blind me and then harden me from the neck down with concrete or something.

“So, what is the matter with you today? You didn’t come here simply to beg for tea and sweets, did you?”

“Kirilovich will be very angry if I say I just came to ask for tea and sweets, so I’ll tell you otherwise.”

“Kosuke, these pastries are quite good.”

“Let me see… Ooh, the walnuts are very tasty.”

The tea cakes prepared for us are sticky dough with crushed walnuts kneaded into the dough. I’ve had something like this before. It looks like a walnut rice cake.

“I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t flirt so openly in front of me.”

“That was rude. Well, as you probably know, Kirilovich, a delegation from the Holy Kingdom, has come to visit us. They want to negotiate the return of prisoners of war and peace. For various reasons, it was not my place to be involved in these negotiations, but suddenly the Holy Kingdom changed its mind and asked for a meeting. I was wondering if you could give me your opinion on what exactly is going on here, Mr. Ambassador of the Varyag Empire.”

“Hmm… I see.”

Kirilovich was ruminating over my story in his mind, covering his thin chin and mouth with his left hand in a gesture of contemplation. He is the kind of person who is sent all the way from the Varyag Empire in the far east to the Kingdom of Merinard. He is a friendly and easy person to get along with, but he is a man with abilities that are appropriate for an ambassador of a great nation―even though he is an elf.

“Although the information has not yet come to us, it may be that the fighting with the empire is intensifying. And they may have decided that it is not worth it to continue to cross swords with the Kingdom of Merinard.”

“Not worth it, huh?”

“It would not be worth it. A mere few hundred men can destroy a conventional force of tens of thousands of men without a scratch on them. No matter how large a country may be, knights and soldiers do not come in endless supply, and their operation costs a great deal of money. It would not be economical for them to be melted down unilaterally without inflicting any damage. Besides―”

“Besides?”

“If they found out you still have some more hidden treasures, it would be too risky to deal with you properly. I think that’s why they decided to take a loss.”

“Before they suffer any more damage, huh? However, Sylphy and the others are devoted to their grudge. I don’t think they will make peace so easily.”

The resentment of the subhumans, who lost their homeland and were oppressed for 20 years, against the Holy Kingdom is deep. There is also the problem of the assets plundered by the Holy Kingdom and the people taken away as slaves. In particular, the problem of the elves who were taken away to create capable human resources―in other words, mages―is sure to be a difficult one to solve. It is easy to imagine how they are being treated since they were taken away to “increase the production” of humans with magical powers.

“Well, it must be difficult. For now, I think they will offer to return the same number of people who can be returned as the number of knights who have been taken captive. After that, they will pay a reasonable amount of compensation and make concessions to the Merinard Kingdom by offering preferential taxes on trade for the next few years, perhaps five or ten years, while establishing economic ties with them to at least avoid a two-front strategy with the Empire.”

“I think there’s a possibility that our side might choose to fight the war thoroughly.”

“With all due respect, I don’t think that’s possible. It is true that the Merinard Royal Army is very strong and may be able to kick the Holy Kingdom’s Army to the curb. However, even if you could kick out the Holy Kingdom’s army and cut off the Holy Kingdom’s territory, it would be difficult for the Merinard Kingdom to maintain its territory.”

“Well… that’s true.”

The current Merinard kingdom does not have enough human resources to take care of such a territory, and even if the territory of the Holy Kingdom were to be carved out and made into a new territory for the Merinard kingdom, the inhabitants of that territory are devout Adol believers who have exclusive ideas about subhumans. It is hard to believe that they would honestly submit to the rule of a former vassal state, especially one ruled by subhumans.

“I am sure that Her Majesty Queen Sylphiel is not the kind of person who would invade the Holy Kingdom only to kill enemy soldiers and their subjects or to plunder the Holy Kingdom.”

“No doubt about that.”

“Right.”

Grande, who had been listening in silence, nodded her head in agreement with me. No matter how much she hates the people of the Holy Kingdom, Sylphy would never go off to war just to kill, plunder, and torment them.

“If so, that is. As long as the Kingdom of Merinard has no territorial ambitions, there will be peace between the Kingdom of Merinard and the Holy Kingdom in whatever form it takes once the Holy Kingdom makes a peace offer.”

Kirilovich affirmed and sipped the warmed tea.

“However, it is unlikely that the Kingdom of Merinard will ever fully compromise with the Holy Kingdom and go hand in hand with them. The Holy Kingdom will always face our Empire with a potential enemy, the Kingdom of Merinard.”

“That’s a good deal for the Varyag Empire, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is. The rapid march of the Royal Army of Merinard and its ability to break through would be a tremendous threat to the Holy Kingdom. As a result of focusing too much on the empire, the Merinard Kingdom, which suddenly marched in, couldn’t be taken lightly anymore. From now on, they will have to deploy a considerable number of forces on the side of the Kingdom of Merinard.”

In order to continue to deploy such forces, the Holy Kingdom will have no choice but to continue to drain its maintenance costs, which will mean that it will have less power to devote to the war against the Empire. The Holy King of the Holy Kingdom must be in tears.