Chapter 60
Chapter 60
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Negotiation
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Arriving at the negotiation room...
Was it because of our long-standing hostility?
The atmosphere was quite chilly.
There were two main factions in the negotiation room: Luna and the Charles Grand Duchy side versus the handsome elf man, the middle-aged dwarf, and Yalta the orc.
The two groups eyed each other like they wanted to kill.
"Long time no see. Feeling better?"
I nodded at Yalta's words, delivered with a playful smile.
"Thanks to you, I'm all right."
"Good to hear. Just like you said, everyone's taking a positive view of the peace negotiations."
The elf and dwarf stared straight at me.
"Are you the human who requested talks with us?"
I nodded at the elf's question.
"Yes. I believe we should avoid pointless wars with each other."
He glanced steadily at Luna and asked,
"The Grand Duchy is the one who's been starting wars all this time. Not us."
I spoke up to him, as if Luna were somehow at fault.
"Please consider this a fresh start, without dredging up the past."
"Hmm..."
The other-race representatives wore subtle expressions.
What was that? Their faces looked incredibly uncomfortable. It struck me as odd.
"Did I say something offensive?"
They exchanged glances before one spoke.
"Our demands are simple. First, return Elisha and Roa, and restore the lands taken in this war."
The unexpected words left me flustered.
Those women had already left the Grand Duchy with Jin.
How could we send back women who'd chosen to follow him into exile?
"Uh... Elisha and Roa have already left."
The elf scowled at my words.
He glared at Luna and demanded,
"Grand Duchess, did you kill them?"
Luna replied expressionlessly to his rage-filled voice.
"No. They followed their lover out of the Grand Duchy."
"Ah... So that's why they betrayed us... Because of a lover?"
Luna gave a small nod at the elf's words.
"That's right."
"Nothing to be done about it, then."
I found it strange how readily he accepted Luna's word.
Elves don't trust humans easily... but he believed Luna just fine?
As I puzzled over it, Yalta spoke up.
"So what about the land?"
"We'll return it. However..."
In truth, Luna and I had already tentatively agreed to hand back the land gained in this expedition.
With one condition...
"We need as much of the impotence cure as possible."
"Come on... Impotence cure? The brew doesn't have such a grandiose name. Just call it Yin-Yang Brew."
I nodded at Yalta's words.
"Fine. So how much Yin-Yang Brew do you have?"
He scratched his forehead at my question.
"After checking the other villages, we've got about 500 barrels."
Whoa... 500 barrels?
Even one barrel would sell for a fortune—500 of them? Selling this brew might bring in more than auctioning off the land from this expedition.
I had to secure an exclusive contract somehow.
"I'd like to buy the whole lot and sign an exclusive deal."
He glanced at the other-race representatives.
"That'll need approval from these two races."
The dwarf, who'd been watching us steadily, spoke to me.
"Our condition is returning the mithril mine you took two years ago."
Mithril mine?
Mithril, worth nearly as much as gold.
If it'd been sold to civilians, we couldn't return it to the dwarves.
Unaware of the details, I blinked at Luna.
"That can be arranged. We meant to auction it, but there were no bids."
The dwarf let out a relieved sigh at her words.
"You nearly shaved ten years off my life. Mithril circulation's been a nightmare."
"Haha, then let's begin the peace negotiations in earnest."
With the minimum conditions settled, we dove into talks about the expedition.
"The Grand Duchy's very reason for being is pioneering. We can't stop entirely. But if you other races guarantee human safety, there's no need to keep doing it this way. It saves face for us too."
The elf grimaced at Luna's words.
"If humans roam freely here, it'll be hard to deal with slave traders. Without a solution for that, we elves can't allow human access."
When clashes arose like this, I stepped in to mediate and propose compromises.
"How about this: We'll make slave trading illegal in the Grand Duchy. Anyone trying to enslave and sell elves would have to pass through our territory, so we'll punish the traders and free the elves. They'll naturally disappear."
Both nodded at my words.
"That could work."
"We could convince our kin with terms like that."
The dwarf stroked his chin beard.
"Return all the treasures you took from us before."
"We can't recover the ones sold at auction."
The dwarf looked regretful.
With a hardened expression, he said,
"Then... at least the ones left..."
"Sorry, but your items are popular at auctions. Nothing's left but Grand Duchy property. If that's fine, we'll return it all."
The dwarf nodded bitterly at her words.
"Fine. But pay us in gold, rare metals, and gems equivalent to the value of the auctioned items."
Luna shook her head.
"Unfortunately, the Grand Duchy's finances can't handle that."
I stepped in at her curt response.
"What if we tally the full amount first and pay in installments? Other races live long lives, so over 100 or 200 years?"
Elves live 1,000 years, dwarves about 500, I'd heard.
No idea how much it was, but installments over a century should be doable.
"Well... 100 or 200 years is feasible."
As he nodded, Yalta finally laid out his condition.
"We don't lack for anything. Just keep your armies away."
"Agreed. But no discriminating against us from a human perspective."
Yalta nodded.
"That's worth reporting to our chieftain."
And so the negotiations proceeded smoothly.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Aiden. If you fail to meet my expectations... I'll cut off your head."
Luna's eyes gleamed with ferocious red light.
As she drew her sword, I cried out desperately.
"W-Wait a second?"
I opened my mouth to stop her...
-Slash!
As Luna's swing cleaved the air and my head fell...
I screamed with all my might.
"Nooooo!"
-Thud!
"Haa... haa..."
-Thump... thump.
Relief washed over me as I saw the familiar room.
Maybe because of Jin's incident lately?
I'd started having dreams like this.
"Damn it..."
Luna had seemed so girlish around me.
But knowing from the original story just how cold she truly was... treating Jin like that meant...
She could kill me anytime things went wrong?
I wiped cold sweat from my brow with my sleeve and lay back down, lost in thought.
At first, I thought my bond with Luna was special.
Whether she was cold in the novel or not...
Lately, she felt almost like a lover around me.
She actually cared for me and looked after me, which I appreciated.
But if she could discard Jin, whom she'd groomed as a knight for so long...
Of course, Jin and I weren't on the same level.
Luna and I had shared our purity with each other.
Even if I was rose-tinted now, what about the future?
What if affection faded after marriage, as she said?
She could kill me on a whim then, couldn't she?
Would my future self have to spend a lifetime tiptoeing around her moods after marriage?
I didn't want that.
Was there no way to escape...?
Such thoughts kept sleep at bay.
And that morning.
The other-race representatives, who'd spent a week with us hashing out basics,
were heading back to report the results. Yalta was just about to leave too.
"Aiden. Per our agreement, I'll send one barrel of Yin-Yang Brew next week."
Seeing our keen interest in the brew made him suspicious, but I brightened and replied,
"Thank you for your consideration."
Was I too excited?
Yalta wrinkled his nose and said,
"I still don't get why this stuff matters so much to you."
"Doesn't it give hope to us weak humans?"
He looked puzzled at my words.
"Can't say we understand. Anyway, next time we meet, may we exchange good news."
With that, the other-race rep who'd stayed at the fortress departed, and I naturally headed to Luna's office to report.
I steadied my trembling heart before her door.
To avoid upsetting her in any way.
Who knew when she might cast me out like Jin?
Luna had raised him as a knight for years,
yet burned both his hands when exiling him... I could lose my head.
Last night's dream had been brutal too.
Calming my shakes, I knocked...
-Come in.
Her clear voice came from beyond the door.