The Invoice (2)
The main harbor of Helvetia Edelweiss, headquarters of the Trade Coalition.
"Oh! A most sincere welcome to Helvetia, honored guests of the Holy Sevelian Empire."
"A pleasure. I am Duke Arto Virtorius Seveli, come as special envoy of the Holy Sevelian Empire."
"My, my — for the illustrious Duke Arto himself to arrive as envoy."
"It would seem the Sevelian Empire is taking this matter quite seriously."
"Indeed, indeed."
The moment my ship docked, an extravagantly lavish welcoming party filled my vision. By the standards of my previous life, it felt like being greeted on the airport tarmac the instant a foreign dignitary stepped off a private jet.
Of course, thinking about it, the reception made perfect sense. We had come because of the debt left by the Predecessor Emperor — but we were still a colossal nation utterly beyond their ability to compare with. Hypothetically speaking, if we ever decided to push hard enough, we could crush them underfoot whenever we pleased.
…Which is exactly the thought they want you to have. Then the second you let your guard down, they suck every last coin of capital right out of you. That's their specialty.
We are harmless. We have no intention of doing anything wicked to you. That was always how the Trade Coalition handled superpowers too strong for them to confront head-on. Against mid-sized and minor nations, of course, they showed exactly what a vicious, cold-blooded corporate predator looked like.
I was turning those thoughts over while exchanging greetings with the Coalition's senior figures one by one when—
"…By the way, the person behind you — is she perhaps a newly discovered species?"
"What do you mean by— ah."
At the stammering words of a clearly flustered executive, I glanced back over my shoulder…
"Hiiing."
There she was, trailing after me with an enormous lump on her head — the result of a thorough etiquette-stick re-education.
"Ah, that. We had a small incident during the journey…"
"I-I see."
I had been looking at that sight the entire way here, and I knew full well it was Riel's particular brand of self-deprecating gag, so I reacted with complete indifference. Everyone else, however—
—murmur murmur—
"Just as the rumors said. A truly ruthless man."
"That woman is clearly the minister's aide, and yet he has no hesitation disciplining her in full view of everyone…"
"Can you even call that discipline?"
"Of course! By publicly humiliating a lady, he's announcing to the entire galaxy what happens to anyone who defies him…"
No, you absolute bastards.
Watching yet another round of completely unhinged character assassination unfold, I had no choice but to weep tears of blood on the inside.
Your reputation within the Trade Coalition has decreased!
And then the status window hit me with a delayed follow-up strike. How was this not the saddest thing in the world? I couldn't exactly march over to the guy spouting that nonsense and set him straight, so I had no choice but to swallow my tears, ignore it, and keep the proceedings moving.
—tap-tap-tap, swish.—
Riel must have sensed the atmosphere as well. She finally deflated the swollen lump and hurried up tight beside me. But—
—murmur murmur—
"Look at that. The moment a few words start circulating, he forces her treatment and puts her right back on duty."
"Terrifying. With that kind of cold-blooded resolve, this negotiation will be anything but easy."
Your reputation within the Trade Coalition has decreased!
Wariness toward you within the Trade Coalition has increased!
It only made things worse. I felt my sanity starting to fray.
"…Mm."
"Shall we proceed inside for now?"
"Yes. That would be best."
Honestly, I had been fairly tense on the way here. Ten years of experience was nothing to sneeze at, but the people on the other side of the table had spent essentially their entire lives dedicated to this one field — the very definition of true specialists.
"This negotiation alone is already a tremendous gain for us, simply for the privilege of standing before a personage of such fine character and intellect from the Holy Sevelian Empire…"
Every single sentence managed to flatter our side while simultaneously flexing just a hint of their own pressure.
"Allow me to introduce you — this is the lobby of our Coalition Grand Conference Hall, which we proudly regard as the most modern and luxurious facility in the entire universe!"
The conference chamber they showed off was every bit as dazzling as you'd expect from a place that had scraped capital from every corner of the cosmos. I was starting to feel genuinely overwhelmed.
"Ah, and if the working-level staff would come this way."
"We are supposed to assist His Excellency the Minister…"
"No need for concern. As a matter of basic procedure, negotiations begin with discussions among the working-level personnel, who then report upward."
On top of everything else, they peeled away the staff who had been accompanying me. Once everyone but Riel had vanished, a complicated feeling settled over me.
And around that point, a single question began to coil in the back of my mind.
These people… when exactly do they plan to get down to business?
They had been the ones urging us inside, and yet they kept leading us around on a tour of the interior.
"I shall take my leave here, Your Grace Duke Arto."
"Mm."
"From this point, Secretary Cento here will continue as your guide."
They even swapped out the guide mid-tour and kept the sightseeing going. I was starting to wonder what the hell this whole performance was about — but I was about to keep following along when, in that very moment—
—ding♪
PAUSED
The familiar sound effect I hadn't heard in a while hit my ears, and I immediately activated Pause and checked the newly appeared status window.
Insidious Scheme
The Trade Coalition is employing a petty trick in order to size up the existence known only through rumor as "Duke Arto."
By pretending to give you a tour of the interior, they are testing how quickly you catch on — the sooner you notice, the higher they will rate you.
Conversely, the longer you take to catch on, the more exponentially your evaluation will plummet.
Oh, for crying out loud. These absolute bastards.
The moment I confirmed that status window — that event message — a truly spectacular surge of irritation washed over me.
What the hell are they playing at? I'd love to know what price they plan to pay when they get caught.
I was about to release Pause on the spot just to vent that irritation, but—
…Wait. Just how far are these guys planning to take me?
A tiny spark of curiosity flared up and seized me completely.
PAUSE RELEASED
"…is our finest art gallery here in Helvetia, filled with a dazzling array of collected works created by countless nations and species."
"I see."
There was even that little thrill you get when clearing all sorts of challenge objectives in a game. Savoring the feeling of setting out on an adventure, I accepted the help of a parade of guides and continued touring Helvetia Edelweiss.
Meanwhile, at that same hour, in the central command post of Helvetia Edelweiss.
"Hmph. Rumors truly cannot be trusted."
"Hohoho. He can't even notice something this obvious — just follows wherever he's led."
Through the countless surveillance cameras installed throughout Helvetia, they watched Arto participate in their little "test." The directors of the Executive Board — the highest authority in the Trade Coalition — were heaping scorn upon him with abandon.
"A pity, isn't it, Director Maximus?"
"Kh…"
"You really should have chosen a safer asset, just as I did… Ohohoho!"
They weren't merely sneering, either. They had even placed small wagers on when Arto would catch on. To the directors, of course, it was nothing more than pocket-change betting — no more, no less. But to the attendants serving near those extravagantly wealthy directors, and to the personnel inside the central command post, the sums changing hands were nothing short of astronomical. An entirely different world.
"N-no, you're supposed to notice it there, you idiot!"
"Hahahaha!"
And in the middle of it all, when Arto once again failed their "test" and accepted the next leg of the tour, another director blew his top. To anyone who didn't know the context — and especially if Arto himself ever learned of it — it would have been a spectacle worthy of absolute, earth-shaking fury.
But after a certain amount of time had passed—
"Hey… is he actually not noticing?"
"Surely not. The guides' acting was flawless."
As Arto continued cheerfully accepting the "tour," directors began to sense that something was off.
"Impossible. He's simply a typical incompetent noble whose reputation was inflated by rumor alone."
"Exactly. All that work done by his countless staff, and the noble figurehead simply took all the credit. That's clearly what happened."
It was still a minority opinion for the moment… but it wasn't long before it became the dominant view across the entire board.
— "This is Helvetia's pride, the finest art museum in the universe…"
— "I've already seen this place."
"This is a disaster! There are no more locations left that can serve as part of the test!"
Arto had successfully toured every single area of Helvetia that could be walked through. The directors watching in real time had no choice but to confront the fact that something was deeply, unavoidably wrong.
"He still hasn't noticed?!"
"There's no way someone in that position lacks even the minimum intelligence…!"
Some continued to deny reality to the bitter end, but—
— "I-I'm terribly sorry. Allow me to guide you to the next location at once…"
— "No. At this point, I believe I've seen everything worth seeing in Helvetia."
At Arto's next words, the expressions of every director in the central command post froze solid in an instant.