Chapter 233: The Kukkoro Male Knight and the Third Meeting 1

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After finishing the necessary behind-the-scenes arrangements, the day of our third round of negotiations with the “New” faction finally arrived. Attacking someone in the middle of diplomatic talks was a serious blunder, and it wasn’t something we could simply gloss over. At the same time, pushing the “New” faction too hard risked causing them to snap. Both Sonia and I had braced ourselves for what we expected to be a very tough negotiation, but…

“I sincerely apologize for what happened the other day.”

Those were the first words Lady Dalaiya spoke when she arrived at the lord’s estate. Then, one of her attendant elves stepped forward and handed us a large wooden tub. A pungent stench of decay wafted up from inside it. N-no way… Could this be…?

“…It is the head of Riben, the clan chief who gave the attack order. We have made her take responsibility, so if possible, I would like to consider this matter settled.”

So it really was a bucket with a severed head in it! Wow, being called barbarians wasn’t just for show, huh. Bringing out a decapitated head as your opening move… That was something else. I really didn’t feel like opening the lid to check the contents. After all, Lady Dalaiya’s settlement was inland. Preserving salt wouldn’t be easy to come by. The contents were probably badly decomposed by now…

“…At the very least, I understand that you are sincerely trying to apologize.”

Honestly, even if they gave us something like this, it was hard to know what to do with it, but refusing to accept it wasn’t an option either. Turning it down would amount to rejecting their apology outright. Still, I really hated this… Leaving something like that on our territory felt like it would bring some kind of curse.

“Please build a mound and see that she is properly laid to rest.”

I asked Sonia to do that as she accepted the bucket with a visibly reluctant expression, and I let out a sigh. I really wished they’d consulted us before pulling a stunt like this. Forcing the person responsible to take responsibility—probably in the most literal sense—and then presenting her severed head was going way too far. Personally, I preferred a much more moderate approach.

However, since they’d already gone this far, it was hard to pursue the matter further. The last thing we wanted was for them to spiral out of control. From their own value system, they’d already taken responsibility, and ignoring that would naturally leave a bad taste in their mouths… Honestly, what a hassle.

“So in short, it was a combination of a mishap and rogue actions on the ground that led to this attack incident?”

About thirty minutes later, we were in the conference room of the lord’s estate, listening to an explanation of the events. A large table separated us, with Sonia, Gilberto, myself, several knights, and civil officials lined up on the west side, and the New Elfenia delegation—composed of elves and crow birdkin—seated opposite us.

According to Lady Dalaiya, the incident occurred when a group within their military that harbored strong hostility toward the “Legitimate” faction carried out an attack on their own initiative, and by sheer bad luck, we happened to be there at the time. They should have called off the attack, but things got complicated when the people on the scene became excited upon seeing a man.

Well, killing me wouldn’t have benefited Lady Dalaiya in any way. I supposed I could accept this explanation for now. That said, there was no way to know the truth for sure. Even if Lady Dalaiya herself was innocent, her subordinates might not be. There was also the possibility that a faction within the “New” side disliked us and was actively trying to sabotage things…

“That is exactly right. We never had even the slightest intention of harming you. In the first place, we never could have imagined that Blondin-dono himself would be present at a ‘Legitimate’ stronghold…”

Lady Dalaiya offered her explanation with the demeanor of wilted greens sprinkled with salt. She looked completely worn down. Even as an outsider, I started to feel sorry for her… Subordinates who wouldn’t listen, food supplies dwindling by the day… For a ruler, it was nearly the worst possible situation. Steering a nation under such circumstances had to be an immense burden.

“If this is still not enough to show our sincerity, I am willing to prostrate myself naked before you. So please, I beg your forgiveness…”

As she pressed her head against the conference table, Lady Dalaiya pleaded with us.

…No, please don’t do the naked prostration thing. Watching a woman who hit all my personal preferences do that would be deeply uncomfortable.

“Given that Dalaiya-dono, the Empress of New Elfenia, has gone this far, refusing to forgive her would only make us look narrow-minded. Don’t you agree, Sonia?”

“Yes. Let us consider it an unfortunate accident.”

Sonia nodded calmly. Accepting a severed head and then responding like this. My adjutant really did have nerves of steel.

“Nngh…”

Meanwhile, Lady Dalaiya let out an indescribable groan. After all, she’d been pretending to be nothing more than an elder. Of course she’d feel a sting at being called the empress outright. I didn’t know why she’d lied about her position, but it was better to make it clear that we, too, had our own intelligence network. A way of saying we wouldn’t keep dancing in the palm of her hand forever.

“However, given how unstable your domestic situation is, providing food aid will be difficult. We can’t guarantee the safety of our transport teams.”

“Th-that can’t be…”

The faces of the “New” delegation visibly paled. They had approached us specifically because they needed food. Being told outright that sending supplies would be difficult put them in a dire position.

“There’s no need for you to take such risks. If you hand over the supplies in a safe location, we’ll take care of the rest ourselves.”

One of the crow birdkin representatives argued this point. It was reasonable, but I shook my head.

“No. We’ll handle the transport. Even if we give you the supplies, you won’t deliver them to the ‘Legitimate’ settlements, will you?”

“Albert-don! Are you saying you’ll side with those rebel scum!?”

“They’re traitors! There’s no need to give them any food!”

The elves erupted at my statement. That was only natural. To the “New” faction, the “Legitimate” side was nothing but a hated enemy. Sending food to them as well would understandably leave a bad taste. But from our standpoint, we couldn’t allow that. We absolutely had to avoid a situation where we favored the “New” side and allowed the “Legitimate” faction to be wiped out. The fact that the elves weren’t fully united worked very much in our favor.

Well, even looking at the “New” side alone, it was hard to say they were unified either. To be honest, if the “Legitimate” faction were destroyed, it felt like the “New” faction would just fracture next. That would be a problem in its own way. The situation would become impossible to control.

“Everyone, calm yourselves.”

Lady Dalaiya, the only one among the elven delegation maintaining her composure, admonished her subordinates.

“Albert-dono is not the sort of scoundrel who would recklessly fan the flames of war. If he says he intends to send food to the ‘Legitimate’ side as well, then he must have his reasons. Let us hear him out first.”

“Mm… If the Great Elder says so…”

“Well, we can at least listen. Whether we agree is another matter.”

Thanks to Lady Dalaiya, the elves reluctantly stood down. This loli-baba had clearly anticipated that I intended to help the “Legitimate” side as well.

Still, I was grateful that the elves were at least willing to listen. For now, I’d propose the so-called “Legitimate” resettlement plan to the “New” faction. After all, this plan involved a total of five hundred people breaking through “New” territory to reach our lands. Without the “New” faction’s consent, this plan would be impossible to carry out.

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