Chapter 234: The Kukkoro Male Knight and the Third Meeting 2

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While doing my best not to be overly conscious of the elven delegation (crows included) staring intently at me, I moistened my mouth with some herbal tea. I really was bad at stiff, high-pressure negotiations like this. In my past life or this one, I’d barely ever done this kind of work at all…

However, I was the lord of Liseben. That meant I bore the responsibility of protecting the safety and interests of my people and retainers. I couldn’t just run away. Putting on a confident-looking smile, I slowly looked over the women before me. I really was good at this kind of acting.

“This is my proposal, a complete separation between the ‘New’ faction and the ‘Legitimate.’ In exchange for food aid, I want the ‘Legitimate’ group to relocate to the north of this city—specifically, somewhere around the foothills of the mountain range.”

“…Ho?”

Lady Dalaiya flicked her finger with an amused expression. The other elves, looking quite shocked, began whispering among themselves with nearby colleagues. Meanwhile, the crowfolk were calm. Whether it was Lady Uru or the other delegation members, they all looked uninterested as they casually ate their tea snacks.

Wow, that’s one heck of a temperature difference.

The crow birdfolk might not be particularly interested in the elves’ future. Even so, given that the birdfolk relied on the elves for food production, I would’ve thought they’d be more sensitive to changes in the elven nation’s situation… Were they considering switching their allegiance from Elfenia to Liseben? If so, that’d be a welcome development.

“This would place us—Liseben—squarely between the ‘New’ and the ‘Legitimate.’ If either side wanted to resume fighting, they’d have to pass through our territory. Naturally, I have no intention of allowing that.”

Well, that was purely theoretical, of course. In reality, the area we could effectively monitor was limited. A small commando unit could probably slip through our sphere of influence unnoticed. After all, most of Liseben was covered in dense forest.

That said, even making it difficult for large-scale forces to cross the border had value. It would provide a meaningful deterrent against war. As far as I was concerned, anything was fine as long as we could maintain security in Liseben’s territory.

“So you’d act as a buffer state, then.”

As expected, Lady Dalaiya caught on quickly. She smiled in admiration and glanced around at the others.

“For my part, I’d welcome having more time to work the soil… But what do the rest of you think?”

“Even without goin’ through all that trouble, if we’ve got food, crushin’ them rebels is easy. Just keep the supplies comin’ without stickin’ your noses in, Liseben.”

“Yeah, but those guys’ troops are all tough bastards. It won’t be that simple. If you’re sayin’ you’ll take care of roundin’ up that troublesome lot, maybe it’s better to leave it to you.”

The elves seemed divided on the issue. Well, that was only natural. From the perspective of the “New” faction, it probably looked like the “Legitimate” and we were working together, so there was no way they’d accept it easily.

Their civil war had been going on for nearly a hundred years, after all. If it were something that could end so easily, it would’ve ended long ago. The fact that it hadn’t meant that even if we intervened, things weren’t likely to go smoothly.

“Well, we’ll hear it as just one opinion. But don’t misunderstand, we’re not asking you to stop the war for us. I want that point clearly understood.”

One of the elves asserted that in a heavy voice. My honest feeling was, “Your endless civil war is a huge pain in the ass, so if you want to do business with us, stop fighting immediately,” but from their perspective, this was probably reasonable. Our proposal did border on interference in internal affairs.

“That’s right.”

“We’ll decide our own matters ourselves. We don’t owe outsiders any explanation.”

In fact, several elves voiced their agreement. Being told to provide supplies while keeping our mouths shut was a bit much, though. They should at least be able to secure their own food before saying something like that.

…That said, I could sympathize with their desire not to be ordered around by newcomers like us. Anyone without that kind of independent spirit had no business leading a faction. Well, within reason, anyway.

“For now, we can put off deciding what to do about the ‘Legitimate.’ Your most urgent issue is securing food. Am I wrong?”

Pushing the issue too hard at this stage would be pointless. I decided to change the subject. Simply stubbornly asserting your own desires would never achieve your goals. Sometimes, you needed to take a detour.

…Probably. Honestly, I wasn’t entirely sure, so I chose to think of it as an application of the tactical theory I was familiar with.

“That’s true.”

Holding her cup of herbal tea with both hands, Lady Dalaiya nodded. The cup was a military issue, designed for dragonewts, so it was far too large for her petite, childlike build. It looked a little awkward to hold. Cute.

“To be clear, Liseben can supply you with food. Of course, it won’t be free.”

After glancing briefly at the documents in front of me, I said that to them. Even so, while we could supply food, there was no way Liseben alone could cover the total amount Elfenia required. Our cultivated land was still quite limited, and the soil itself wasn’t well suited to producing wheat and the like.

Because of that, the food we’d give the elves would likely have to be purchased elsewhere. If we tried to cover all of it using only the Kingdom of Galea, it would amount to near-hoarding but fortunately, the neighboring territory of Zudenberg was a major grain-producing region. With the support of the Diesel Countess family, we should be able to secure the necessary amount without putting too much strain on us.

“What we can provide immediately is one week’s worth of food for a thousand people. After that it’ll get a bit tight, but we do have a plan in place to supply enough for all of Elfenia to get through the winter.”

Sonia supplemented my explanation. In preparation for war and famine, substantial grain reserves were stockpiled across Liseben. Our plan was to release part of those reserves to cover the immediate need, then gradually switch to imported supplies.

Ideally, I didn’t want to rely on imports, but there was no helping it. Even compared to Elfenia, Liseben’s agriculture was extremely weak. If we pushed ourselves too hard, we’d end up causing a famine on our own side. Even if it cost more, food had to be sourced externally.

“Well, we ain’t bandits, so we’re not sayin’ give us food for free. But to be honest, we ain’t got any money to pay.”

One of the elves said that with a miserable expression. Well, of course. You couldn’t squeeze blood from a stone. Naturally, I’d accounted for that.

“I understand. For now, we won’t demand payment right away. But of course, once Elfenia has been restored, we’ll collect in full.”

In truth, as long as we had time and peace, that part would work itself out somehow. Our precious mithril mine would be starting operations soon, and frankly, commerce was booming as well. If we could just maintain regional stability, we could recover the cost of supplying the elves with food in no time. “I’ll feed you, so behave yourselves”—that was my real intention.

“However, resolving the civil war is essential to restoring Elfenia. It goes without saying, but if you’re too busy swinging swords to hold farming tools, reconstruction will be impossible.”

“……”

Even the elves fell silent at that. Without needing to be told, they understood it better than anyone. Seizing the opening, I pressed on.

“I’m not saying you have to make peace right now. Start with a temporary ceasefire. Let’s see… How about half a month? I want you to halt all combat with the ‘Legitimate’ for fifteen days. As long as that peace holds, we’ll take responsibility for continuing to supply food.”

This was the absolute minimum condition. As long as the two factions were actively fighting, we couldn’t deliver food to the “Legitimate.” I had no intention of favoring one side over the other. It would increase our burden, but this was a board position where cutting corners was absolutely unacceptable. If we favored one side, the fighting would only intensify.

“So, what will you do, elves?”

I flashed a grin as I posed the question to the New Elfenia delegation. Well, only my face was smiling. My stomach was already twisting with sharp pain. Being a lord was about five times tougher than I’d imagined…

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