336 4. Business negotiations (previous)

"Ugh...... Is it time?"

A city still unnamed, along the border between the Kingdom of the Chronica God and the Kingdom of Rotosilt.

In one of the recently built chambers of commerce there, Bishop (Bishop) Gilronto, who serves Nerla, the goddess of the moon, was awaiting the arrival of his bargaining partner as he wandered through the holy mark on his chest.

I'm just doing that, but I'm nervous about the elf-specific, endless beauty. At the time of the last negotiation, there was also an incident in which Seneca II, the Divine King, appeared. Even before that, Falv was blown to the bluff of taking over the country by joining the kingdom of the Chronica gods.

That shouldn't happen this time, but it's weirder not to be on guard.

"How did this happen..."

From Bishop Gilront's mouth leaks a crush close to stupidity unexpectedly.

To explain it, it was necessary to explain it from the political form of the Kingdom of the Chronica God to which he belonged.

The political form of the Kingdom of the Chronica God is close to a kind of federalism.

The country is divided into five administrative districts, each of which is dominated by five cities known as the Divine Capital.

Regrax opens the Grand Competition in which Regraz God invited Exile.

Lutetia with the legend that Fermina, the sun god, has descended.

Floating in the Great Falls Rune Falls kettle, the onboard city of Millanon has gained the protection of the water's source.

Dwarf's patron saint Ducommerce and the statue of his subordinate god have been dug out into the mountain skin, the mountain city of Archwarg.

Nercoot, the resting capital of the moon goddess Nerla's miracle, escaped when a large army of demons (demons) pushed

These divine capitals were ruled by a temple deep in fringe with God, who performed the miracle that inspired them to be called so, beneath which dozens of nobles had actual rule.

The military and diplomatic plenipotentiaries of the Cronican Divine Kingdom are held by the Divine King, who has been mutually elected by the representatives of the five Divine Capitals - that is, the Archbishop General, who is the head of each temple.

Not for that matter, but each administrative region holds a high degree of autonomy, and even the Divine King cannot easily intervene.

Now, when it came to whether the power of Shinto was overwhelming within the administrative district, I couldn't even say so.

It does not mean, of course, that it is not involved, but it is more efficient to leave it to the Lords when it comes to so-called internal affairs, such as taxation and water treatment.

The Lordship's power relationship was somewhat antagonistic with its temporal superiority, as it had the authority to remove the Lords, but it could buy suspicion from other nobles if it broke out.

It can therefore be said that it was an unusual occurrence that Bishop Gilrond, who is in charge of extrajudicial negotiations at the Temple of Nerla in Nercoot, negotiated with the Marquis of Istas as deputy plenipotentiary.

In short, it's the result of pulling the poverty lottery. You can say I was pressed.

All the beginnings were that Viscount Playmea, a territory bordering the neighboring kingdom of Rotosilt, worked fraud against the then Count of Istas.

As the kingdom of the Kronika God, which serves the good and the law, that is the only thing that is difficult to forgive. I was to pay compensation, but naturally.

But that amount was the problem.

The Viscount Playmea family tends to be - acceptable to the extent, but not overlooked to the extent that it goes far beyond that and adversely affects the lives of the inhabitants.

Neither did Alcia, who first put the negotiations together, mean it. That's why I offered the amount there to a lesser extent.

In other words, the diffuse financial situation of the Viscount Playmea family, which cannot even pay the "there" amount, is poor. That's why I tried to set up a scam, so there's nothing more I can do.

To break that irresistible situation, Bishop Gilrond came to the negotiations.

As a result, the claim for compensation was asked to be waived and, instead, a section near the border was to be offered as a leasehold.

It resulted in the loss of sovereignty in parts of the territory, but it merely became a city for trading, not giving in.

The result is good, but there was one problem.

Tariff liberalization in transactions on leasehold land.

It was proposed by Jiayuzu Yut Amaxa as a matter of course. That was certainly a policy in which profits could be expected.

It is true that tax revenues will be depressing, but free trade has the effect of increasing merchant transactions and activating economic activity. If so, an increase in tax revenues can be expected in a different way from tariffs.

But Bishop Gilront noticed the pitfalls.

The only products that can be exported from here are crops and wine.

Using a carriage railway can also be expected to ship fresh vegetables, but it will not be a significant amount. If so, the mainstream trade will be cereals such as wheat.

Although production has fallen slightly in recent years, the Kingdom of the Chronica God is an agricultural power. There is as much to turn to exports, but now that the Verga Empire has collapsed, cereal prices are on a downward trend.

Conversely, there are many imports.

There is already a small amount of salt refined in Hardenturm, but it has a reputation for taste better than the rock salt it imports from the former Baldur peripheral borderlands.

There is also a potential demand for bold iron (crystal iron) products for Vermilio's clothing, which is also showing fashion in Folio-Farina.

In the beginning, some equilibrium may be found.

But we are also grasping the signs that development is progressing in the Marquis territory of Istas. What will happen to this trade when we are able to fully cover agricultural products in the future? No, on the contrary, we cannot even consider the possibility that we will be importing food products.

And as you control it with tariffs, can't you do that?

Gilronto is an elf.

Though I keep myself in human society for a long time, I really think about things in a long span. As a result, there were many occasions when they did not interact with the people around them.

Nor was this sense of crisis shared that it was something that hadn't even begun yet, but pushed it forcefully there, searching for what was likely to be a traded item, and bringing in a certain liquid.

Bishop Gilront gazes at the barrel where it is packed as he slams the holy mark on his chest.

It's definitely rare, but honestly, I don't know if it's worth it.

But the opponent is the Great Mage. I jump over this imagination lightly. This time, I bet on that possibility.

"Long time no see, Bishop Gilront"

"I've never seen you before. Valtrude Istas. Nice to meet you."

"Thank you for waiting"

The Bishop of God of the Moon, who welcomed his negotiators in a city that was not yet named, came to negotiate in a sense with a grievous readiness.