Chapter 146
Chapter 146
That's an excessive assumption." "Hah! An assumption... Fine, let's leave it at that." Yohan bit his lip secretly at Paon's scoffing remark. '...
He's no pushover, as expected.' The Holy Kingdom had indeed intended to aid the Lichtenauers with full force if the archbishops were dispatched. There was no lie in that fact, at least. They simply hadn't revealed what would come after. The Sun Church priests would gradually infiltrate the Aslan Kingdom with their divine power. Over nearly twenty years of preaching the Sun Church and dispensing that divine power... who could possibly maintain their wariness toward it? Human vigilance wasn't as enduring an emotion as one might think. That was why the Holy Kingdom planned to blend in naturally while handling the great disaster. They knew the Lichtenauers weren't all fools, so they might get caught eventually. But they never imagined being seen through right from the attempt. As Yohan repeatedly emphasized it was a misunderstanding and stepped back, Zidanta from the Khan Empire stepped forward next. Bow! Zidanta bowed simply and politely opened his mouth. "I apologize for the rudeness I committed in the past, Your Excellency. Our Khan Empire has no priests, so we cannot offer the same conditions as the Holy Kingdom, but..." Zidanta extended his hand backward, and one of Karawna's warriors handed him a box. Click! As Zidanta opened the box, a clear, ethereal fragrance filled the vast banquet hall. "Whoa...!!" "What a mysterious aroma. Could this be...?" After giving Paon enough time to observe, Zidanta promptly closed the lid. This was part of the drug's effect, after all. "Instead, the Khan Empire boasts remarkable alchemy worthy of Agena." Zidanta spread his right fingers wide and declared. "Ten top-grade spirit pills per cart. Up to 200 in total, payable right here and now. I believe this is far from a bad deal..." Unlike his arrogant attitude before, the Khan Empire's offer today was anything but poor. It didn't fall short of the Holy Kingdom's proposal in the slightest. The Khan Empire's unique alchemy excelled overwhelmingly in efficiently producing top-grade warriors. Even Ian had undone one chain of his Solar Meridian Blockage through the Khan Empire's Hundred Ghost Pill. It was something every warrior desired. And now, 200 of those high-grade spirit pills. To put it bluntly, it was an enormous quantity capable of forming two or three new units in the Lichtenauer Martial Clan within a month. Even for a great power like the Khan Empire, this wasn't something to take lightly. Regardless of their arrogant demeanor, it showed just how seriously they valued the Earth Dragon's byproducts. "...
Hmm. Not exactly tempting." "What...!!" Zidanta bristled again at Paon's nonchalant attitude, but Ian fully understood Paon's thinking. 'Who knows what they've done to those spirit pills.' When Ian had tried to take the Hundred Ghost Pill, the energy hidden within had desperately tried to burrow into his brain. In the extreme, it could turn someone into a puppet at a critical moment on someone's command. Having 200 high-grade warriors fall into that state at once wouldn't bolster the clan's elite forces—it would be like planting bombs in their own home. As the fuming Zidanta was dragged away by Karawna, the last envoy remaining, Adrian, adjusted his glasses and stepped forward. "Wow, the Holy Kingdom and the Khan Empire... Both nations have brought incredible offers. It really feels like they've poured their full national strength into this. Well, these are byproducts from a dragon that only appears in legends, after all... It does make one's mouth water." Adrian scratched his head as if troubled. "Unfortunately, our Dufer Empire, with its short history, cannot make such extravagant proposals as those mentioned by the envoys of the two nations." The Dufer Empire's reticence was unexpected, and the envoys from various countries in the banquet hall buzzed. "Is the Dufer Empire not planning to participate in this contest...? That's surprising." "Yeah. Earth Dragon byproducts like this won't appear again..." Adrian waited until the murmurs among the envoys subsided before speaking again. "So, no choice then. We'll have to make up for it with our bodies." "What?" "Make up for it with bodies...?" Adrian subtly raised two fingers and declared. "Two more times." "...
Two times?"
As heads turned in confusion at Adrian's cryptic proposal, his bombshell continued.
"For every ten carts, the Dufer Empire will grant any request the Lichtenauers desire. Whether it's the wish to annihilate the Khan Empire over there... or to sever the Pope of the Holy Kingdom's head."
"...!!"
The banquet hall's atmosphere chilled in an instant at Adrian's words.
"What did you just say!!" Bang! Breaking the silence was Viscount Zidanta.
"You whelps who just shed your barbarism! And your emperor, the Dufer Empire's sovereign, hails from our Khan Empire! Ungrateful wretches who forget the grace we bestowed...!"
"Heretic! Heretic!!"
"Ah, of course."
Zidanta and Yohan simultaneously condemned Adrian's statement, but Adrian ignored them, gazing into Paon's eyes with a smiling face as he continued his proposal.
"Other proposals are possible too. For instance... when our empire later conquers the southern continent, a request to halt our advance for a certain period?"
"...!!"
The Lichtenauer clansmen's faces flushed red and purple at Adrian's mocking proposal. Adrian's words insulted everyone present, far exceeding any bounds. The banquet hall's mood turned vicious enough that swords could clash at any moment.
"Hahahahahahaha!!"
Yet Paon Lichtenauer watched this fearless strategist's provocative remarks with evident interest. His expression curious about what thoughts drove such outrageous speech.
"An amusing proposal."
"Marquis Paon?!"
As everyone stared at him for his unexpectedly mild reaction, the two ignored the surrounding gazes and continued their exchange.
"In that case, we'll hand over ten carts to the Dufer Empire. I've always desperately wanted something, and thanks to your prime minister's suggestion, I'm curious if I can finally fulfill that wish."
"Yes, name anything."
Adrian nodded readily. If it meant glimpsing even a fraction of this out-of-spec monster's inner workings, there was no reason to refuse any ordinary wish.
"Then I'll speak freely. My wish is to sever your emperor's head—Siegfried Dupel's—and hang it on the walls of Antigonia, the capital of the Dufer Empire."
"...!!"
But Adrian's mask-like smile cracked at Paon's following words.
"What's wrong? I said anything. Surely not because the price is insufficient? If so, I'll give all twenty carts. Now, go fetch Siegfried Dupel's head." Smooth! Paon leaned forward, matching Adrian's eye level with a sly grin.
"Well? Your answer?"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Ughhh..."
"Better to head out on mission than this... The air's suffocating..."
After the banquet ended. The Latent Dragon Squad, exhausted by the banquet hall's razor-edge tension, sprawled in their quarters, ignoring food entirely. The first day's atmosphere had been uncomfortable enough, but today's was beyond that. The vicious air, where blades could have flown at any moment, had made even breathing difficult.
"Seriously!" Spring! Ralph shot upright, grumbling.
"I can't figure out the patriarch's intentions at all! If he was just going to divide the Earth Dragon byproducts evenly among all these envoys anyway, why invite them to the Lichtenauers and stir up this mess?! Why not just request it from the Aslan royal family and distribute it through trade caravans everywhere from the start?"
The others were too drained to speak but shared the general sentiment. '...
Well, that's the normal reaction for most people.' Ian recalled the final hair-trigger moment from the banquet. "...
Looks like I went too far with my jest. My apologies." After staring into Paon's eyes for a long while, Adrian bowed first. Raising his head again, he wore that mask-like smile once more. "The Holy Kingdom and Khan Empire came so prepared that I got needlessly irritated. But I clearly crossed the line. Archbishop Yohan, Viscount Zidanta, and all the distinguished guests from every nation here—my sincere apologies." As Adrian, prime minister of a unified state like the Dufer Empire, bowed, the other envoys grudgingly accepted. "......" "...
Ahem!"
Adrian's proposal had blatantly overstepped, so the awkward atmosphere lingered.
"Well... this has gotten quite strange."
In the end, Paon Lichtenauer smoothed things over.
"The prime minister Adrian's joke was mischievous, so I joked back, but I didn't expect this. My apologies as well. That said..."
As Paon seemed about to add something, the envoys' attention focused on him.
"It seems most offers don't differ greatly. Dealing exclusively with one nation or clan in this situation would lack fairness... and might leave other clans resentful toward the Lichtenauers. So, we'll distribute and trade equitably with all distinguished guests present. We'll prepare on our end until your departure, so I hope none feel slighted."
The Holy Kingdom and Khan Empire wore dissatisfied expressions at Paon's words but couldn't openly rebel. Objecting here would expose their greed for monopoly. Meanwhile, most envoys struggled to mask their delight. Setting aside Adrian's absurd proposal, the Sun Church and Khan Empire's offers were so extraordinary that lesser envoys had half-given up on their chances. Thus, Paon's declaration allowed them to forget the final incident and disperse. 'The Earth Dragon byproducts were just a pretext to gather the continent's notables anyway. No reason to favor anyone.' To those unaware of the full story, this fiasco seemed like pointless posturing. But Ian and the lesser stars, along with the lords of the three great vassal houses, fully grasped it. This wasn't merely a trade venue for Earth Dragon byproducts. Beneath lay a nerve war: hyenas prowling to gauge a wounded lion's condition, and the lion concealing its wounds. And Ian was mostly certain. The lion had shrewdly evaded the hyenas' keen eyes. Yet he couldn't fully shake the sensation of a thorn in his throat. 'But that guy... did he really not notice?' A different-caliber hyena—the one that had ended his previous life—was among them.