Chapter 209: The Kukkoro Male Knight and the Diplomatic Negotiations: The Common Man’s Turn

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“I understood your position. For the time being, you want food.”

After taking a sip of herbal tea, I said that to the elven delegation. Of course, it wasn’t as though food alone was all they truly wanted. As targets of elven raiding, men were an existence nearly as important as provisions.

However, in these negotiations, they hadn’t brought up men even once. That was probably because they understood that if they treated people as bargaining chips rather than goods, our stance would immediately harden. Naturally, I had not the slightest intention of offering up the men of my domain as sacrifices.

“Then let me state our conditions. First, you will issue a formal apology for the outrages committed so far.”

“So yer sayin’ we gotta apologize to you folks?”

The familiar older-sister-type elf glared at me. …These elves really were something. Despite having facial features so refined they could almost be called noble, every single one of them had an awful look in their eyes.

“Of course. We can’t be friendly with bandits. To be blunt, from our perspective, the impression of your elven race is extremely poor. Unless that damaged image is addressed, even if negotiations proceed, the people of this domain won’t be satisfied.”

“Grr…”

Aside from Lady Dalaiya, the elves all looked somewhat displeased, but the two crow beastfolk, including Uru, wore expressions that said, “Well, of course.” There might be a difference in awareness between the elves and the birdfolk.

If it came to war, I’d really like to keep those two groups separated if possible. Should I start laying groundwork to drive a wedge between them in case negotiations collapse? But if that maneuver were exposed, the elves’ attitude would undoubtedly harden… Balancing this was going to be tricky.

“Well, we’ll take it under advisement for now. So, what’s next?”

Meanwhile, Lady Dalaiya smoothly deflected our demands with a constant smile. She offered no visible reaction, making her inner thoughts impossible to read. Just as expected. She was sharp. Judging from how deftly she handled magic earlier, she’d be extremely troublesome on the battlefield as well… As things stood, she was the most dangerous individual among the elves.

“Compensation for the damages we’ve suffered so far, the return of those who were abducted, and a cessation of violent acts such as raiding. …In short, a ritual of atonement to return our deteriorated relationship to a neutral state.”

“I know what yer sayin’, but ye can’t shake sleeves ye don’t have.”

The young elf spat that out with a troubled expression. Well, from the elven side, that reaction made sense. Halting raids could be achieved depending on the level of support we provided, but the first two conditions were likely impossible. Whether in goods or money, the elves probably lacked the capacity to pay reparations, and there was no way they would willingly return the men they had gone to the trouble of acquiring.

“…Depending on how negotiations proceed, we’re willing to be somewhat flexible on these points. Keep in mind that they aren’t absolute conditions.”

I smiled thinly and gave the elves a wink. We couldn’t have them saying, “There’s no way we can accept that!” and walking out on the talks. I needed to show at least some flexibility. Besides, a major purpose of these negotiations was to buy time until the Liseben army could be mobilized. For now, I needed to steer things so the meetings dragged on as long as possible.

“Well, I imagine you’ve got things you want to say as well. Whether we accept them or not is another matter, but we’ll consider it.”

After nodding solemnly, Lady Dalaiya shoveled a spoonful of the heaping plate of army stew into her mouth, her expression melting instantly. Perhaps it suited her taste. Cute.

“In any case, at this stage, it would be difficult for either side to immediately accept the other’s conditions. After all, we’ve had virtually no proper interaction up until now. If we’re aiming to reach an agreement, it seems we’ll need opportunities for mutual understanding.”

Sonia proposed that with a thoughtful expression.

“Indeed… I also agree that we know far too little about one another.”

Lady Dalaiya said calmly. 

…You say that, but you know an awful lot about us already!

“For the time being, we’ll dispatch our own liaison.”

“Hm, a liaison… That seems a bit premature.”

Lady Dalaiya didn’t seem inclined to agree with the idea of placing mutual liaisons. She sipped her herbal tea, her expression turning grim. Most likely, she didn’t want their internal affairs exposed. Judging from the state of the elven delegation, there were serious doubts as to whether this so-called New Elfenia Empire was even being run properly as a nation. The inside was probably in shambles. If one of our liaisons were to witness that, it would give us leverage in negotiations.

That said, we had already accepted one liaison on our side. At this point, refusing to accept ours in return was completely unacceptable. During the first round of talks, we hadn’t dispatched a liaison to avoid unnecessary risk, but now that we knew the elves were at least somewhat serious about negotiating, I wanted to send in multiple trusted agents if possible.

“Well now, don’t say that. If you accept this proposal, we’ll also allow an increase in the number of your liaisons… What do you say?”

I said that while glancing at the elves other than Lady Dalaiya. They let out small murmurs of “Oh?” and all at once turned their gaze toward Uru.

“Huh?”

Uru, who had been noisily devouring the army stew with complete indifference (unlike the starving elves, she’d been properly provided breakfast, mind you…), raised her eyebrows with a puzzled look. Unlike the scrawny elves, her build and complexion were healthy.

“…That’s a mighty fine idea!”

“War ain’t just about clashing swords, after all. Leave this part to us!”

All right, she took the bait! Just as expected, Lady Dalaiya’s expression turned extremely sour. Time to press the advantage.

“However, there’s just one thing I’d like you to observe when coming to our domain.”

“What might that be?”

The one who raised her eyebrows and asked was the young elf. Weren’t you supposed to be from the hardline faction?!

“Elven warriors are all beautiful and brave. I imagine they’re quite popular with men. That said, I’d like to avoid a situation where our domain’s women, driven by jealousy, start submitting complaints to me.”

“…N-no, no, rest easy. The elves of Elfenia are all steadfast. There ain’t any spineless fools who get distracted by men.”

“Still, when it comes to men and women, ya can never know. If anything were to happen, we’d take proper responsibility and make sure the lord ain’t inconvenienced.”

At my words, the elves began to fidget. Wahaha, just as planned—an excellent catch. Lady Dalaiya was looking at me with a clear “Stop it already…” expression, but I didn’t care. At this point, even if she alone opposed increasing the number of liaisons, it looked like she’d be overwhelmed by sheer numbers. …Honestly, I thought that if anyone was at fault here, it was whoever brought people this easy to bait into a diplomatic setting in the first place.

Well, in any case, I’d scored a point. I didn’t know how many new liaisons they’d send, but I’d need to ask Chancellor Adelaide to dispatch a skilled male spy to match them. Time to set up a full-fledged honey trap and peel away the elves’ veil of mystery…

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