Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: The Mana Cultivation Method
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As soon as Marquis Midas finished his declaration of war, Baron Wolfgang rose from his seat as if he'd been waiting for just that moment.
"Your Excellency, if it wouldn't be rude, might we discuss the conditions we've prepared first?"
"Ho? You seem awfully confident."
"Why would we waste your precious time after already taking so much of it?"
"You've wasted my time, but not my money. If young master Jerome hadn't shown up right on cue, I shudder to think what might have happened. Heh heh heh."
Marquis Midas smoothly parried Baron Wolfgang's words with a sly grin.
"In other words, young master Jerome here is something of a benefactor to me. So go ahead—lay out your conditions. Make them good enough that I feel sorry for not selling my grain to that benefactor of mine."
It was a blatant threat: he wouldn't hand it over to the Sword Family for the same conditions.
Marquis Midas had naturally maneuvered the situation to force Baron Wolfgang into offering better terms.
If I had made the first offer,
Baron Wolfgang would have naturally countered with something just a little better than mine. But that wouldn't satisfy Marquis Midas.
In this atmosphere, with Baron Wolfgang unaware of my proposal, he had no choice but to raise the stakes.
Now that Baron Wolfgang had walked right into it, Marquis Midas—who'd been racking his brain for ways to squeeze out better terms—wasn't about to let the opportunity slip.
Even in the atmosphere Marquis Midas had so carefully crafted, Baron Wolfgang's expression didn't so much as twitch.
That left two possibilities.
The first: Baron Wolfgang was a fool who couldn't even grasp the current situation.
But having clashed with him in my past life, I knew that wasn't the case. Which naturally led to the second conclusion.
He had brought conditions so overwhelmingly superior that even such intimidation was meaningless.
"It seems there's a slight misunderstanding, Your Excellency. Of course, the Shield Family's visit warrants renegotiation, but suggesting we rushed the contract knowing they'd come is a bit of an overreach."
Baron Wolfgang glanced briefly at me mid-sentence.
"We had no idea the Shield Family's third young master would come to negotiate in person."
Baron Wolfgang turned back, locking eyes with Marquis Midas once more.
"So, I earnestly request that the deep friendship between our two houses remain unshaken."
He gave a slight bow, then extended a hand to his attendants behind him. They piled stacks of scroll documents onto the table.
"The Sword Family will purchase every last sack of wheat from Marquis Midas's territory, excluding the standard amount needed locally."
"No need to repeat what we already know. Didn't you say yesterday you'd buy at a 20% markup?"
Marquis Midas propped his chin on one hand and waved dismissively with the other.
"My apologies. With the unit price changed, I felt compelled to restate it. Please forgive me."
Only then did Marquis Midas's expression soften.
"Hmph. Fine. Now I'm curious—after failing to dupe me, how much of a premium did you tack on?"
"We'll take even the aged grain that's lost quality over time. We'll buy the entire lot at three silver per sack—triple the market rate."
"...!"
What? Three silver per sack?
I doubted my own ears. Three silver per sack? That was nearly triple the market price. Utterly insane.
Even for the moneybags Sword Family, calling out such a ludicrous price at a time with no famine in sight, based purely on speculation?
Did Duke Dimitri predict this famine that accurately?
"Ho... coming out strong, eh? But at that price, I could hold out a bit longer, wait for the crisis to hit, and still make about the same. No real reason to sell now."
"Precisely. This offer is simply to help you dispose of the wheat far more easily than haggling over every detail. And..."
Baron Wolfgang paused briefly and gestured to his attendants again. This time, they handed him a box.
"The condition that will truly delight Your Excellency comes next."
Crack!
'The family head told me to use this only in truly unavoidable situations.'
This was that unavoidable situation. The third young master known as the Shield Family's worm.
But yesterday's display proved he was no fool matching that rumor. Baron Wolfgang trusted his own eyes.
'This wheat isn't just food. It'll surely strengthen the family's influence across the kingdom in the future.'
Inside the box Baron Wolfgang opened lay a pair of green bracelets.
To my eyes, which had seen countless treasures across the continent, they weren't particularly valuable items.
But their true worth lay not in the objects themselves, but in the meaning they carried.
Marquis Midas recognized that value too—his eyes bulged like saucers.
I was more than a little shocked myself. I hadn't expected Baron Wolfgang to go this hard.
"Ho! Is the Ikenia Kingdom's situation that dire? Enough for the Sword Family to offer a Gift Ring?"
Gift Ring.
A gift from Ikenia's greatest house, the Sword Family under Duke Dimitri, sent to those who provided major aid to the family.
If it were just a simple gift, it might lack value beyond its symbolism. But the Gift Ring's meaning was far from simple.
Present a Gift Ring at the Sword Family's gates, and depending on its color, you could make a formal "request" befitting their stature.
The Sword Family honored any request except the Three No's.
Treason.
Filial impiety.
Declaring war.
Anything besides those three.
The bracelets Baron Wolfgang offered were green. Green signified fourth rank among the colors the Sword Family managed.
A rank that could summon the Sword Family to a major territorial war.
Fourth rank might sound low, but with second rank and above almost nonexistent in Sword Family history, it was effectively top-tier.
Something you could never obtain just for selling food.
Marquis Midas knew that full well, which was why his eyes gleamed.
Baron Wolfgang waved off Marquis Midas's question with a laugh.
"Hahaha, nothing like that. Just think of it as our family's wish for eternal friendship with Your Excellency."
That explained it. Why Baron Wolfgang stayed so calm under Marquis Midas's pressure.
I'd have been confident too. A fourth-rank Gift Ring's utility was boundless.
Far beyond mere financial gain, as Baron Wolfgang said.
"Hmph! This puts me in an awkward spot with my benefactor, young master Jerome. What a pickle."
'Spit some shine and bluff, you sly old fox.'
Marquis Midas spoke as if troubled, but his eyes stayed glued to the bracelet in Baron Wolfgang's box.
He clearly figured I couldn't top it. A perfectly reasonable assumption. But...
"Wow, the Sword Family's playing big. I'm impressed. But Your Excellency, you don't know who's won until the cards are all down, right?"
I acknowledged the Sword Family's generosity before pressing on.
"True in most cases. But sometimes you know without flipping them, young master. And I just can't see you topping the Sword Family."
As expected, Marquis Midas replied unenthusiastically. The old man's eyes were already on that Gift Ring.
"Life's greatest thrill is when things veer off script, don't you think? That's why the world's such a madhouse."
"That's for youngsters like you. For an old codger like me, surprises aren't great for the heart."
With that, Marquis Midas leaned back in his chair.
His greedy stare at Baron Wolfgang's bracelet made it clear he had zero expectations for my offer.
Sure, Baron Wolfgang's countermeasure was near-perfect. My past self would have folded, and even my brother handling it personally might not have measured up.
But I was the one who'd vied with the cunning old Wolfgang. Losing to this greener version was unthinkable.
"Your Excellency, you're satisfied with the Sword Family's offer because you expect their military might, right?"
"Isn't that obvious? Look at me—getting on in years makes you cautious. Without a solid breakwater, you never know when the waves'll crash over."
The marquis grumbled as he sipped his tea.
"So, how tempting is that treasure? A 'shield' to protect me when some external pressure comes knocking—sounds reassuring."
"A shield that vanishes after one use, like a mirage."
"A weapon's true strategic value lies in deterrence—never using it."
The weight of the Sword Family's backing via the Gift Ring was what he craved.
From his words, I gleaned one hint.
'His ties to the Empire might not be by choice—could be forced.'
In that brief glimpse, Marquis Midas struck me as a pure merchant, not some ruthless overlord.
In my past life, his Empire alliance might have been thrust upon him. Denying his words, I countered.
"True enough. A weapon's value is in deterrence. But a weapon that's hard to use can't prove its worth properly, can it?"
I was referring to the Three No's.
"Hmph! You make it sound like you can offer a real weapon."
"As expected of Your Excellency—sharp as ever."
I nodded vigorously, playing along.
"Under your rule, Nile has become the kingdom's most prosperous territory. But one regrettable flaw: the knights handling military affairs are on the weak side."
I felt the knights standing behind the marquis bristle, but they didn't dare act rashly.
With Beskin at my back, their actual weakness, and most crucially, Marquis Midas's lack of reaction.
"I'll fix that regret in one go."
"Oh? You, personally? How?"
"A mana cultivation method."
"...".
Marquis Midas didn't react. He probably thought he'd misheard.
"...Heh heh, sorry about that. Getting old—my ears must be going. Keep hearing weird things. Mind repeating?"
Snapping out of it belatedly, Marquis Midas looked almost broken. I smiled brightly and repeated myself.
"You heard right. A mana cultivation method. The prized possession of powerhouses, coveted by nobles everywhere."
The marquis's kindly eyes bulged again. What a shame to hog the show.
"I'll give you the foundational method passed down in our family. Not the secret arts, of course. How you develop it further is up to you—it's just the basics."
As things unfolded, Beskin behind me panicked and shouted.
"Third Young Master! What are you—"
Ignoring him, I laced my fingers on the conference table and continued slowly.
"Isn't the skill to catch fish worth more than one big rare catch?"
"Third Young Master!!!"
Now truly alarmed, Beskin yelled regardless of venue.
I ignored him, gently shaking the lord's seal-stamped ink stamp to tempt the marquis.
"Your Excellency, have you made up your mind?"
The moment my question ended,
"Dra—draft the contract right now! We'll provide all the wheat except our territory's minimum reserves!"
Marquis Midas ordered a servant for the contract without a second thought.
"Wai—!! Please wait, Your Excellency! This is suspicious!"
Reeling from my unimaginable card, Baron Wolfgang finally snapped to and shouted.
"Your Excellency! True, young master Jerome represents the Shield Family here, but he can't arbitrarily leak a family secret like a mana cultivation method!"
Right. No authority. Yeah. But will that land on these ears right now?
"This exceeds his authority by leaps and bounds! He's blinded by a momentary win and insulting Your Excellency!"
Baron Wolfgang pointed at the fidgeting Beskin behind me and yelled again.
"Look at the Ice Knight's panic! This is clearly young master Jerome's solo act!"
Despite Baron Wolfgang's desperate cries, neither I nor Marquis Midas—
nor anyone else paid him any mind.
