The Price of Pride
I rode the military truck back from the Imperial Palace to the East.
As we neared the train station, the familiar silhouette of the armored train came into view.
I brought the truck to a halt and walked toward the train.
"Commander!"
It was my adjutant, the wolf beastmen, the battalion commanders, and the female rabbit beastman.
Hybel and her group rushed toward me in a chaotic swarm.
"Are you alright, sir?"
Unlike the others who asked about my well-being, the rabbit beastmen couldn't care less about me.
"My—my children! What about our children...?!"
The third battalion commander's face twisted in fury.
"How dare you speak to the Commander like that! He risked his life for you, and you—"
I raised a hand, cutting the third battalion commander off.
Rabbit beastmen were not humans. I knew all too well the sheer depth of their maternal instinct and affection for their offspring.
It was foolish to judge them by human standards.
"Third Battalion Commander. You, of all people, should understand why Hybel is acting this way. We shouldn't scold her. We must understand."
"...My apologies, sir."
"It is the nature of your kind. I understand. Do not take it to heart."
I patted the third battalion commander on the shoulder and turned my gaze back to Hybel.
"With the help of the Emperor and the Grand Dukes of the West and South, I have secured a firm promise that your children will be returned. Duke Orph is a man who can only be dealt with through political pressure, so it took some time."
At those words, Hybel burst into tears.
"Are... are my children safe? Please tell me they are!"
"We are going to verify that right now."
I extended my hand to Hybel.
"Come with us as a member of the brigade, and we will reclaim your children from the Grand Duke of the East together. All battalion commanders! Adjutant, and Mogant!"
At my command, the battalion commanders and my adjutant snapped to attention with military precision.
Mogant, who had received basic drill training but was still unaccustomed to it, stood at attention a beat late, his posture slightly awkward.
"The battalion commanders, the rabbit beastmen, and the adjutant will ride with me in the truck! Mogant! Take the wolf beastmen from the Behemoth and march to the front of the Duke's estate!"
"Understood, sir!"
"We will do as you command!"
Mogant immediately split his pack, leaving some to guard the train's cargo hold while the rest prepared to march on the estate. Meanwhile, I climbed into the truck with the others, and we set off.
The Grand Duke of the East was already cornered politically.
However, knowing his character, he would likely try to wash his hands of this by doing the bare minimum: returning the rabbit children and paying the fifteen million crowns.
He would try to minimize his losses.
But I had no intention of letting him off that easily.
You looked down on the beastmen and tried to bleed the North dry. I will squeeze every last drop out of you in return.
The Leonhal Merchant Coalition had been selling wheat to the North at extortionate prices.
And now, they had committed the atrocity of cutting off the ears of the rabbit beastmen.
I had absolutely no intention of letting either of these offenses slide with a smile.
"I will give you the fifteen million crowns," Duke Orph said, his voice flat and dismissive. "Two million in gold bullion, five million in cash, and the rest in letters of credit. The rabbit children have also been released from the dungeon. They are on their way here, so go and see for yourselves."
He spoke as if tossing scraps to a dog. Hybel clenched her fists tightly.
"My Lord... My children, they aren't hurt or sick, are they?"
At her question, Duke Orph's poker face cracked for the first time.
Looking thoroughly disgusted, he didn't even spare Hybel a glance. Instead, he directed his gaze straight at me.
"That is the absolute limit of what the East will offer. Take it and be done with it."
Hybel trembled, clenching her fists so hard her knuckles turned white. But perhaps realizing that pushing any further would be suicidal, she suppressed her emotions and began to step back.
Or rather, she tried to.
I caught her by the shoulder, guided her forward, and sat her down on the sofa directly opposite Duke Orph.
I stood behind Hybel, positioning her to face the Duke head-on.
A sharp look of displeasure crossed the Duke's face once more.
"That sofa is far too luxurious for a filthy street whore to sit on, Commander Adrakin."
"Address me as the Grand Duke of the North, or Duke Adrakin, Duke Orph. And do not dare call the person sitting before you filthy. She is a soldier of the Imperial Army's 3rd Mechanized Shock Infantry Brigade."
Duke Orph let out a scoffing laugh, utterly incredulous.
"How absurd. Since when does the Imperial Army recruit brothel whores? If she's just there to relieve your soldiers' lust, you're paying a rather steep price for her."
"Apologize for calling my soldier filthy. And answer her question. Politely."
Duke Orph stood up from the sofa.
"A ruined Northern barbarian who happened to win a few battles thinks he can ride high on a single victory. Take the money I throw at you and get out. I will not tolerate any further insolence."
"ORPH!" I roared.
Even to my own ears, the volume was staggering.
Perhaps it was the result of years spent shouting commands over the deafening roar of artillery, or perhaps it was simply due to my massive physical frame. Whatever the reason, when I raised my voice, it carried an earth-shattering force.
How loud was it?
Loud enough to make Duke Orph stumble back in sheer shock.
Loud enough to make the knights standing behind him instantly draw their swords, their blades instantly flaring with aura.
I didn't care. I took a heavy step forward, closing the distance between myself and the Duke.
"How dare this Northern barbarian...!"
The knights lunged forward, aiming their blades at me, but I had no intention of holding back this time.
I channeled my mana.
Unlike Duke Orph, I was a mage.
There were only two spells I had mastered on the battlefield. One was my innate magic, Messenger, and the other was telekinesis.
I had faced countless assassins, knights, and mages sent by the Kramkin Principality. I had thrown myself directly into the fray when the defensive lines collapsed, fighting monsters hand-to-hand. The Ten Years' War had been that fierce, that brutal.
In an instant, my telekinesis bound the charging knights, freezing them in place. Unhindered, I stepped right up to Duke Orph.
"How classless, threatening me with brute force," the Duke sneered, quickly regaining his composure. "Shout and cast your spells all you want, but I know your position. You cannot harm me."
I leaned in, bringing my face inches from his.
Even a grand duke couldn't help but flinch when confronted with my face—a visage so hideous it was practically a weapon of mass destruction. His mask of indifference cracked slightly.
I placed both hands on the Duke's shoulders.
"Go. Apologize to my soldier. And answer her question."
"I will not submit to such a vulgar demand," he hissed. "What will you do? Try to pressure me politically again? Just because I refused to apologize to a beastman? No matter how favorable the South and West are to you, they will not take your side on this!"
"Apologize."
I squeezed.
With a sickening crack, Duke Orph's composure shattered completely.
"Y-you! What do you think you're doing?! Are you attacking a noble of the Empire?!"
"Yes, I am. If you don't apologize, I will keep squeezing. I will apply more pressure until your collarbones shatter, and you lose the use of your arms for the rest of your life."
"This is madness! You wouldn't dare! If you do this, even His Majesty won't be able to protect you!"
He wasn't wrong. If I actually broke the Duke's shoulders, neither the Emperor nor the leaders of the West and South would be able to shield me from the political fallout.
"This is insane! You're out of your mind, Volka Adrakin!"
I offered the screaming Duke a broad grin.
"I know."
I tightened my grip further.
The Duke shrieked. The knights stationed outside the room burst through the doors, drawing their swords. I didn't have the spare capacity to bind all of them with telekinesis as well.
Ignoring the rabbit beastmen and the battalion commanders, the knights immediately leveled their blades at me.
"Release His Grace! Release him at once!"
Even with swords blazing with aura pointed at my chest, I remained unfazed.
"Go ahead, stab me. If you have the guts. I have nothing to lose."
"You bastard...!"
Seeing that the knights were actually about to strike, Duke Orph frantically waved his hand to stop them.
"Stop! Don't move! If you actually stab him, the consequences will be catastrophic!"
"B-but, Your Grace...!"
"I said, do not stab him!"
At his desperate command, the knights reluctantly lowered their swords.
I applied a fraction more pressure. A sickening crunch echoed in the room. Any more than this, and his bones would truly shatter.
"Aaaagh! You! You barbarian savage!"
"Thank you, Duke. For giving me a reason to die. To be completely honest with you, I really don't want to go back to the North."
I smiled down at the trembling, sweat-drenched Duke.
"We have no money, no food, and no mages. Our army is on the brink of collapse, and our knights are exhausted and wounded from fighting the endless tide of monsters pouring out of the Magic Realm. The North has nothing left but two things."
"First, we have people. Starving, sleepless, penniless, but people nonetheless. And what do you think the second thing is?"
I leaned even closer. Duke Orph's face drained of all color.
"Pride, Duke. The pride of defending the Magic Realm. The pride of fighting for the Empire for ten years. The pride of knowing that even though they don't legally have human rights yet, our beastmen comrades are hailed as heroes of the Empire. That sliver of hope, that pride—that is all the North has left."
"V-Volka! Duke Adrakin!"
"And those two things are more precious to us than life itself. You're a businessman, so you must be good at math. If I break your shoulders, your knights will rush in and kill me. They will kill my subordinates here, and the ones waiting outside. The West, the East, and the Imperial Court will all side with you."
I laughed. I laughed with everything I had.
But as Duke Orph himself had shown when he was cornered by the West, the South, and the Emperor in the palace, some smiles were merely masks for rage. And I was certain my smile right now conveyed a madness born of pure, unadulterated fury.
"So what?"
"W-what?"
"Me, and every beastman here—we are all people who wouldn't mind dying. Our lives are already in the gutter. Even if we go back, the North is a freezing, miserable hellhole with no roads, ruined homes, no food, and no money. Death would actually be peaceful. None of us have anything left to lose."
Duke Orph began to tremble violently. His mask of indifference shattered completely, and at last, the emotion he had tried so desperately to hide surfaced.
Fear.
"Don't trample on the pride of those who have nothing left to lose, Duke. Humiliation is temporary. Endure it, and you can rid yourself of us. If you refuse, choose your pride. You can kill all of us here, including me, at the cost of losing the use of both your arms forever."
"I will remember this! I... I will never forget this grudge!"
"Do as you wish. Now, it's time to choose. Will you live as a cripple? Or will you apologize to the rabbit beastman and end this? Calculate which option yields a better return."
I squeezed just a fraction harder.
Unable to bear it any longer, the Duke finally broke.
"I-I will apologize! I'll apologize, Duke Adrakin! So please...!"
I immediately released my grip.
Duke Orph's legs gave out, and he slumped to the floor. I hauled him back up by his collar and dragged him in front of Hybel.
"Apologize."
The Duke looked utterly dazed. He let out a hollow, disbelieving laugh, but his spirit was already broken.
He bowed his head politely.
The ruler of the East bowed to a beastman who possessed no legal rights.
"I apologize for my insolence, beastman. The children of your clan are safe. They are slightly malnourished, but their limbs are intact, and they have suffered no injuries. I give you my word."
Hybel couldn't bring herself to answer. She simply wept.
As she sobbed, the third battalion commander stepped forward.
"Hybel and I will take charge of retrieving the children, Commander."
"Do so, Third Battalion Commander. If any of the children are injured, report it immediately. We will extract compensation for that as well."
"Understood, sir."
The third battalion commander, Hybel, and the rabbit beastmen left the room.
I released the telekinetic bind on the knights standing behind the Duke. For a spell that was one of only two in my repertoire, its efficacy was undeniable.
"Your Grace!"
The knights rushed to the Duke's side in an instant. However, they did not draw their swords again, as the Duke raised a hand to stay them.
"Now, let's renegotiate, Duke," I said. "I can't settle for just fifteen million crowns. The South and West have promised far more in material support. From the East, I want oil. To be precise, refined oil that is ready for immediate use. Ten thousand tons of oil, delivered quarterly. And I believe you cut off the ears of some of the rabbit beastmen?"
"..."
"I want compensation for that. Pay an additional ten million crowns in damages. Do that, and we will leave the East without another word."
Duke Orph stared at me, utterly dumbfounded. It seemed that when confronted with someone so thoroughly insane, even anger ceased to register.
"You mad dog. You are a raving mad dog, Volka Adrakin."
"I thought you despised vulgar language?"
"What else do you want? Hmm? Shall I lick your boots as well?"
"No, that won't be necessary. I would, however, like this. The two contracts I signed for you—the one granting access to the Eastern railway lines and the termination of the contract with the Leonhal Merchant Coalition?"
"Yes. What of them?"
"Tear them to pieces in front of my eyes."
"..."
"If you don't have them on hand, write a revocation of the cancellation. I don't care which. Ah, and I'd like to adjust the terms of the contract with the Leonhal Merchant Coalition slightly."
Duke Orph began to laugh. I smiled right back at him.
"Nine crowns per sack of wheat is too expensive. Let's make it four."
"You highwayman. Do you have any idea that a single sack of wheat trades for fifteen crowns in the East?"
"Four crowns."
"The Leonhal Merchant Coalition could go bankrupt!"
"Four crowns."
"..."
"Four crowns."
"Fine! I will do as you wish! Just... please, get the hell out of the East this instant!"
With a broad smile plastered across my face, I stood up and approached the Duke.
"It was a pleasure doing business with you."
I extended my hand.
Duke Orph burst into a fit of hysterical laughter and shook my hand.
"Let us never meet again."
My client's voice was laced with venom, but what did it matter? The important thing was that we shook hands.
And just like that, the shakedown in the East was a resounding success.