“That might be the safest way of doing it. Still, we’re doing business with them to defeat the Quagoa, right? Then, if we don’t make a deal with them, we’ll need to pay for services rendered, won’t we?…I don’t even want to think about what kind of price one can put on saving a country.”
The Dwarves were all sour-faced.
“I guess the only way to save the country is to accept his proposal. That means we’ll have to rely on the Sorcerer King’s strength for the next few decades.”
Amidst the murmurs of agreement, the Master of Caves and Mines muttered something along the lines of, “Using undead labor means that they can keep going for all those decades,” but nobody paid too much attention to him. That was because there was another pronouncement which seized their ears.
“You seem to have forgotten something important. I oppose this. I will never let our people go and be his slaves!”
“Slaves?”
“The runesmiths!”
“The Sorcerer King already said they would not be slaves, no?”
“Really?! Do you really believe what he says?!”
Thus rebuked, the Dwarf who asked lowered his head.
“Oi, look. We can’t rule that out.”
Even if everything the Sorcerer King stated was fact, anyone who knew the undead hated the living would not be able to believe it.
“Hostages, then?”
“No. There’d be no need for him to specify runesmiths, in that case. He could just as easily have stated demands for our family members instead.”
“Then, can we refuse the matter of the runesmiths but ask if anything else would serve as payment?”
“…Are there any treasures which might change his mind?”
“No. Although, if we take back the capital and if the treasury is intact, we might be able to pay him with its contents.”
“No, he won’t accept that. We’ll need his strength to take back the Royal Capital, right? If we give it to him under that, what will we say when he asks us, ‘Did you take these treasures from the vaults of the city I took back for you?’ Do you think it would be a good deal if you were in his shoes?’”
“…Frankly speaking, I think it would be fine if we just accepted all his terms.”
The Forgemaster glared at the Merchant’s Guildmaster.
“—Slaves!!”
“That’s just your opinion! The Sorcerer King has already said he won’t take them as slaves! All we need to do is send people over to make sure of that, right? And most importantly… While this might seem a bit much… Runecraft is an outdated technology. Considering it might vanish at any moment, I don’t think it’ll be a problem to hand it over. Pretty cheap for what we’re getting, right?”
“But we’ll lose that entire branch of our craft, don’t you think?”
“Still, now’s the best time to sell it, right?”
“I oppose it!!”
Bubbles formed at the edge of the Forgemaster’s mouth as he shouted.
“Is that the result of logic, and not emotions? Doesn’t look that way to me.”
“I have no idea why you all have so much trust in the Sorcerer King!!”
At this point, the commander-in-chief spoke in cold tones. Having faced the Quagoa in battle, he knew the situation of this city better than anyone else. Therefore, he did not wish to waste words in useless conversation and had stood aside as an observer, but he had finally reached his limit.
“Trust aside, this city will assuredly be destroyed if we do not borrow the strength of the Sorcerer King. What you’re doing is casting aside the single lifeline that we have.”
“What did you say, you whippersnapper?!”
“I’m in charge of this city’s military. And I say that the only way we can protect the city is with His Majesty’s power! Do you want to destroy this city? Otherwise, give me a way to beat the Quagoa without using his strength! You old relic!”
“You! You’ve been calling that monster His Majesty ever since you stepped into this room! Have you betrayed this country?!”
The Forgemaster grabbed the commander-in-chief by the lapels.
“What bullshit is that, you addled old fool? You want a fight?! It’s only natural to refer to someone with such power with terms of respect! You’re the ones who can’t be trusted! He could easily annihilate this country, you know! If you say I betrayed this nation, then you lot are jeopardizing the safety of the people!”
The commander-in-chief seized the Forgemaster by the collar as well, and their foreheads collided.
“Oi! It’s one thing to disagree, but don’t fight!”
The other Dwarves hurriedly rose to separate the pair.
However, the two of them still glared at each other, as though they were getting ready for round two.
“In any case, let’s take a vote. If anyone disagrees, we’ll discuss it later. It’ll be more constructive than a fistfight.”
“What’s the vote about?”
“First, whether we will let the runesmiths go to the Sorcerous Kingdom in order to make use of the Sorcerer King’s power. All in favor, raise your hand.”
Everyone except the Forgemaster raised their hands.
“Mm. Then, the next item. Do we want to forge relations with the Sorcerous Kingdom and begin trade? All in favor, raise your hand.”
The outcome was the same as before.
“I see. Then, the vote concerning the Sorcerer King — His Majesty is decided. Sorry, commander-in-chief, but you can call His Majesty back now.”
2
Ainz and company were once more invited to the Council Chamber. After entering, they saw a single disgruntled Dwarf while the others were brimming with positivity. The commander-in-chief also seemed quite at ease.
In other words, everything had developed as he had hoped for. Ainz smiled inside.
“Please accept our sincere apologies for making you come and go constantly. After our discussions, we have decided to proceed as Your Majesty wishes. To begin with, we will throw ourselves upon Your Majesty’s compassion with regards to the matter of stationing of the forces. After that, we shall open diplomatic relations and begin trade with Your Majesty’s nation. That said, the nature of the trade goods and the methods of the transaction will require further negotiation to work out the minute details.”
“Naturally. In any event, I shall promptly furnish you with the fighting strength needed to retake the fortress and hinder any further Quagoa invasion. I shall send a representative over to handle the finer points of international relationships in a few days, whereupon you may discuss the matter at length.”
Ainz breathed a sigh of relief.
He had to hand tasks like this — which required relevant knowledge — to Albedo. Fortunately, they had not insisted on hashing things out here.
“Then, there is the matter of Your Majesty’s price for the recovery of the Royal Capital; the dispatch of our runesmiths to the Sorcerous Kingdom. We shall pledge that to you. However, we would like to send a group of inspectors to the Sorcerous Kingdom to see how our brethren are being treated, and to ensure their welfare. May we have your permission to do so?”
“Of course. The Sorcerous Kingdom will accept interviews from these inspectors.”
The Dwarves looked much more relieved now.
Did they intend to conduct a workplace inspection? Rather, it seemed more likely that they wanted to see if the Sorcerous Kingdom was adhering to its side of the labor agreement between the two nations.
Typically, labor contracts are never honored. However, I swear I won’t let anyone end up like Herohero-san. I’ll need to draw up a contract with terms which the Dwarves will respect, let the runesmiths focus on development and the like, among other things.
Ainz nodded to the Dwarves and their concern for their colleagues.
No, all this is thanks to the Quagoa. This situation came about because they conquered the fortress. If they had not picked this time to attack the Dwarven nation, events would not have unfolded so smoothly. Putting on recruitment shows for the runesmith would have taken a lot of time and resources. I almost feel sorry about exterminating the Quagoa now…