IYAMD 186

“Hmm.”

Marsilia folded his arms and looked pensive.

“I understand what you’re getting at, but Arhen has neither the justification nor the reason to interfere in a civil war.”

“I’m not asking for direct military intervention. I’ve come here precisely because I don’t want to get entangled in a civil war either. However, with Ziras’s current forces, it’s difficult to exterminate the monsters, so we do need support in that regard.”

Fa’ab said he wanted to formally conclude a trade agreement between Ziras and Arhen. The terms would involve drastically reducing the current tariff, which exceeded 30%, in exchange for assistance with monsters extermination.

“And if possible, I would like to invite both of Your Majesties to Ziras. While it is a trading city, it is also popular as a resort destination because it is situated on the shores of a vast lake.”

“So you’re suggesting we stay for a few days and show the world that we’re on good terms?”

“Yes, that is correct. While Your Majesty is here, I will have a valid reason to refuse any requests for assistance.”

Along with this, Fa’ab announced that he would regularly supply Helga’s handicrafts to the imperial court. He added that he would actively consider any other requests they might have.

After concluding the meeting with the promise to consider the matter, Marsilia summoned Serez and Gerald to relay the details.

Jaha hadn’t grasped the conversation up to that point, so he waited until Marsilia had finished speaking before asking.

“I understand that he’s asking for support in the campaign, but what’s this about inviting us? Does our presence there give him a pretext? Why?”

“If we accept the invitation, official documents will be exchanged, and we’ll be treated as state guests. To provide security and hospitality for state guests, the mayor would have to be present.”

Was he saying that he would be too busy receiving guests to fulfill his older brother’s request? Considering they had been talking about succession disputes and civil war, it was absurd that something like that could be dismissed so easily.

As Jaha tilted his head in confusion, Marsilia held out his hand. Jaha, now accustomed to the gesture, placed his hand on top of it, and the man smiled.

“Arhen is the only country on the Western Continent that can truly be called an empire. You probably don’t care much, but that means we’re the richest and strongest ​unauthorized copy​nation. Do you know why a country so preoccupied with monsters extermination hasn’t been invaded?”

“No, I don’t.”

The answer came from Gerald.

“It’s partly because we have a significant number of knights and soldiers, but it’s mainly due to strong divine power.”

Marsilia continued.

“The Goddess’s blessing is exclusive to Arhen. That means other nations can’t use divine power. Although the priests’ divine power has weakened as the Goddess’s influence has waned, I’m here in Arhen.”

Ah. Only then did Jaha understand. So Arhen had an army that couldn’t be killed. Even if thousands or tens of thousands of troops were to fight, if their opponent was an army able to regain vitality just before death, it was obvious who would come out on the losing end.

Moreover, Marsilia’s knights did not fear death. He had already experienced time and again that even pain could not shake their loyalty and trust.

“Arhen is a warlike nation. Since the time of the first emperor, it has been a nation of knights through and through, one that subdued monsters and built the country. It didn’t start out ​visit our site​with this much territory either. More than half of this empire’s territory was gained through war.”

As for Helga, where most of the land is desert, they apparently left it alone because there was more to lose than to gain from conquering it.

Even though he hadn’t fought in any of those wars himself, Marsilia had a somewhat smug look on his face. There he was, arms crossed and chin held high.

It was a little annoying, but he was actually cute.

The man whose eyes met his leaned in. Jaha kissed the cheek he offered without hesitation.

“Ahem. Hmm.”

Serez cleared his throat disapprovingly, but neither of them paid him any mind.

Perhaps it was because they were too familiar with each other. Jaha didn’t usually like showing affection in front of others, but he tended to relax a bit around those two.

Besides, seeing Serez’s disgusted expression made him want to push the boundaries even further. No wonder Marsilia stolen content was so serious about teasing his aide, he got such amusing reactions whenever he provoked him.

After receiving the kiss, Marsilia leaned back on the sofa with a satisfied look.

“Helga has a harsh climate, so Arhen, with its vast plains, must look very tempting. But they’re too afraid of the divine power to dare to covet it. They’re worried that if they make a wrong move, it’ll be like stirring up a hornet’s nest. They know we’ve left them alone because they haven’t posed much of a threat so far. So, if the Arhen royal family just pretends to be on close terms with Ziras, it gives Fa’ab a pretext. Even if it’s just buying time, since the sultan is on his last legs, the succession struggle won’t last long.”

“Alright. I understand. So, would making a deal with Ziras be a big help to Arhen as well?”

Serez interrupted their conversation.

“Of course it would be helpful. As you know, there’s a lot of grain produced in the southern and western breadbasket regions. Most of it exceeds what can be consumed within the empire. I understand that even in your fief, a large surplus is left over every year and is being stockpiled.”

“Yes. Even after selling about half, there’s still plenty left over. My aides say it’s best to keep some in reserve in case of a crop failure or flood, so I keep about thirty percent in storage.”

“That’s only possible because the Dandelion territory is wealthy. Smaller territories try to sell off as much as they can, aside from what they can consume locally. Especially in the south, which is geographically close to Ziras, merchant guilds buy the grain and sell it in Helga, but the customs duties there are high.”

Although they could sell it at a high price that included transportation costs and customs duties, it was Read on hard to say that the profit margin was higher than selling within the Empire.

“Since you’re selling to another country, the more profit you make, the better, right? So, the fact that Ziras is lowering the tariffs is profitable, right?”

“You’re very astute.”

The terms Fa’ab offered were to lower the tariffs imposed on general guilds to 15%, and to 12% for guilds directly affiliated with the imperial court. Compared to the 30–40% tariffs imposed in the past, this would be a significant benefit.

“And as for monster extermination… as I’ve said before, we do bear some moral responsibility, so it would be awkward to turn a blind eye if they ask for help. If problems arise in Ziras, it would also deal a heavy blow to our merchants, so it’s not entirely someone else’s business to just tell them to handle it themselves.”

Jaha nodded and decided to keep things simple.

“Alright, let’s go, then. While we’re there, we’ll take care of the hunt and finally take that vacation we’ve been putting off.”

“Hmm… I’d love to, personally.”

Where Marsilia’s gaze fell, there were two faces looking as if the sky had fallen.

“The Harvest Festival is only a month away…”

“It’s a little more than a month.”

“But that’s still only a few days left!”

Serez, unable to contain his frustration, screamed and tugged at his own hair.

“Serez, you’ll go bald if you keep that up.”

Marsilia’s words finally brought Serez back to his senses. He straightened his posture and sighed. His disheveled hair looked comical against his expression, which was on the verge of tears.

“Ahaha.”

When Jaha laughed out loud, Serez’s expression turned even more aggrieved.

“At least wait until after the Harvest Festival…”

Jaha cut short Serez’s whining.

“We’ll be busy preparing for winter then.”

“Well, no… there’s also the New Year.”

“From the end of the year through the New Year, we’ll be even busier with budget planning and all that.”

“Next spring….”

“Isn’t Helga’s sultan going to change before then? Didn’t Fa’ab come here because it was urgent?”

Serez lowered his gaze, his eyes brimming with tears. Marsilia didn’t join their stolen content conversation. He waited to see how Jaha would respond, so Jaha decided to wrap things up himself.

“Don’t worry about that, you should come along too, Serez. The work will be the same no matter who does it, right? It’s not like just three or four people are handling all the empire’s paperwork. Delegate some of the work to others. We prepare for the Harvest Festival every year, do we really need to be stuck here for it?”

If things fell apart because a few people were absent, that was a problem in itself.

“I heard Serez hasn’t been on vacation for over ten years. I’ll give you one this time, so go ahead and take it. Gerald has worked hard all this time too, so he should come with us.”

Jaha made it clear he wouldn’t accept any other answer, and raised his hand toward Serez, who was about to speak.

“Serez isn’t under my authority, so Marsilia will decide. And we need to make sure we don’t lose money on this contract. The three of you figure out the terms and compensation plan yourselves. I’m going to step out now.”

He was going crazy from the stuffiness of wearing his formal attire since morning. He wanted to change into something light and go see how the kids were doing.

The children, who had never properly appeared at an official event before, had never met anyone their own age. That was why he was worried about whether they were getting along well with Karim. The kids were naturally gentle and kind, but maybe he just saw them that way because they were his own.

As soon as he finished speaking, he stood up from the sofa and waved his hand.

“I’m going to check on the kids. Let me know when you’re done.”

As he turned to leave, Marsilia’s voice reached the back of his head.

“You’re going to leave me here all alone like that?”

“Yes. You have work to do.”

“They’ll handle the work on their own.”

Marsilia, who had been about to get up to follow him, stopped abruptly when he saw the hand Jaha held out.

Jaha held out his palm to him and said firmly.

“No. This is important for diplomacy. You stay here.”

Although the simple matters had been decided here, he still needed to hold a meeting with the ministers. The discussion was roughly over, but Jaha knew that state affairs were never that simple.

But why was he trying to follow him out? Jaha approached the man, who had grown sullen, and kissed him on the cheek.

“I’ll play with you tonight. Do your best, my love.”

Serez’s laughter followed Jaha as he headed toward the balcony. The moment he opened the window, a dull sound and a single scream rang out.

Jaha chuckled softly and jumped out the window.

Those two really are close.