Chapter 68
A few days after the meeting ended, I had a preliminary meeting with the delegation members arranged by Louise.
Louise hadn't prepared many people.
"I am Baron Moritz Hughes, in charge of managing the gifts."
"Baron Hughes, nice to meet you. I'm Viktor, the head of the delegation."
To the finance manager who looked diligent at first glance,
"Corps Commander Viktor, nice to meet you! I'm Erika Bauman, in charge of record-keeping and interpretation!"
"...It's been a while, Miss Erika."
"Yes! And the person next to you is...?"
"I'm Anna, General Viktor's adjutant."
"Nice to meet you too, Anna!"
"...Yes."
Erika, who had been with me when I was first delivered to the empire.
Just these two people.
After shaking hands with Anna with a smile, Erika took out a letter from her bosom.
"Here, a message entrusted by Her Majesty!"
I received the letter handed by Erika and read it.
"...'Do your best,' is that it?"
Whether Louise had written it herself, the content was very direct without any flowery language.
"Pardon?"
"Ah, it contains an explanation of the mission content and words of encouragement. It says Baron Moritz Hughes has the list of prepared gifts."
It contained slightly provocative content saying she would minimize interference so I should demonstrate my abilities to the fullest, and brief explanations about Moritz and Erika.
Moritz was said to be trustworthy for his diligence, and,
"You can interpret as well?"
"That's right!"
Erika is said to have both diplomatic knowledge and the ability to interpret the dwarf language.
The Bauman family has been in charge of diplomatic affairs for generations, so it seems to be due to that influence.
Not bad.
My direct visit to the Anchester Kingdom is not only for negotiations but also to grasp the signs of what kind of 'crisis' might occur.
Especially since 'mine depletion' is directly related to the dwarves, I should be able to sense something, even if it's still early.
With just these two people, without any additional members, I should be able to move freely without interference.
"I've wanted to carry out missions with the Corps Commander for a long time! I look forward to working with you!"
"Yes, likewise."
After exchanging greetings enthusiastically, she fidgeted with her fingertips.
"Then, may I have a chat with Anna for a moment?"
"With Anna?"
"Yes!"
Her request was within my expectations.
It would be better for her to talk with Anna, who is similar in age and also a woman, rather than with me or Moritz.
"Anna, is that alright with you?"
"I'm fine with it."
"I see."
"Thank you! Anna, this way for a moment!"
"..."
Erika took Anna away in an instant, and I approached Moritz, who remained in place.
"Baron Hughes, could you show me the list of gifts?"
"Yes. Here it is, Viktor."
He handed me a scroll with the list written on it.
"Thank you. Hmm..."
The scroll contained the names of the gifts along with brief descriptions.
After first skimming through the names of the gifts,
"Didn't you say these were gifts?"
I asked Moritz before even reading half of it.
"That's right."
"...Haha."
The sword 'Votis' said to have been used by the legendary hero 'Fried' and made by the legendary dwarf blacksmith 'Josh Schmidt', the anvil and hammer said to have been used by that Josh, dragon scales occasionally mentioned only in legends, and so on.
They were all such extraordinary items that I would have doubted their authenticity if their sources weren't certain.
Even with just this much, it shouldn't be difficult to conclude the negotiations, but,
"Does this mean that negotiation funds are prepared separately?"
"That's right. Here, Her Majesty has provided the range you can use for negotiations."
"..."
Another paper with an unimaginable amount written on it was handed to me.
Perhaps because she's a dragon, her sense of economy seems quite different from ours.
"...Did you know about this?"
"I had no idea. ...Honestly, I'm still not sure what to make of it."
Both Moritz and I let out dry laughs.
While trading new weapons is naturally a difficult task, with this much, it would be hard to fail unless I make a mistake.
Or maybe it's an admonition not to fail at all since she's prepared this much.
"I'll try to adjust it to an appropriate level."
"...I'm counting on you."
Moritz and I were in agreement.
Now it seems we should worry not about concluding the contract, but about adjusting the negotiation money and gifts so as not to set a bad precedent.
"Wouldn't one of these scales be enough?"
"Huh. Maybe so. ...The smaller one might be better."
"The large scale would be difficult even to transport..."
While Anna was talking with Erika, I pondered with Moritz about which gifts we should take.
***
As Theodore seemed to be holding back, showing little reaction, the preparation of the delegation proceeded smoothly.
Alexandrov agreed to take charge of the Red Dragon Corps while I was away.
"There's no need to worry since Her Majesty's order is in place... but if anyone tries to interfere, I'll step in."
"Thank you, Your Excellency Grand Marshal."
"...That title still doesn't sit well with my ears."
Having also informed Gerhart in case of any contingencies, there should be no problems with the Red Dragon Corps.
After dispatching an escort from the Red Dragon Corps and loading gifts, food, etc., onto the carriage prepared by Louise.
"I will return after successfully concluding the trade."
"Hmm, I look forward to it, Corps Commander Viktor."
The delegation, consisting of 20 people including escorts, departed from Rainesberg.
Anna, Moritz, Erika, and I boarded a huge carriage engraved with the Empress’ emblem together.
"Anna, have you been to the Anchester Kingdom before?"
"...No, I haven't. How about you, Erika?"
Moritz and I hardly spoke as we were checking our respective duties, and Erika and Anna, who had nothing special to do until we reached the Anchester Kingdom, mainly conversed.
Whether it was because they had broken the ice earlier, or because there was another woman present, unlike her previous quiet demeanor, Erika asked Anna about various things almost non-stop.
Anna's expression was stoic as usual, but the ends of her words when answering were slightly raised compared to normal.
"I visited a few times with my father. Other cities are unique too, but the capital Dinium is almost entirely like the blacksmith district of Rainesberg. When I went, it was winter, but perhaps due to the heat from the forges, it wasn't cold at all."
"Is that so?"
Of course, I noticed because I had spent a long time with Anna and was sitting right next to her, but compared to ordinary people, it was still a dry response, so.
"...Hmm."
It wasn't particularly strange for Erika to look at Anna with narrowed eyes.
"Anna."
"Yes."
"Isn't your reaction very different from before?"
Erika directly asking Anna was different from my expectation that she wouldn't mention it directly, but.
"...What do you mean?"
Anna's reaction was also peculiar.
She slightly averted her gaze and moved her body a little closer to me.
I put down the documents for a moment and focused on their conversation.
"Oh, are you feeling shy? Last time, when talking about Corps Commander Viktor, you spoke so excitedly!"
"Th-That's not... uh..."
"You proudly said that most of the strategies were devised by Corps Commander Viktor, and that he played a major role in diplomacy and agreements."
"..."
"Isn't it too much to act like this, being Corps Commander Viktor's adjutant?"
"...Ugh."
As Anna's head gradually lowered, her hands, which had been neatly placed on her thighs, gradually hid between her legs.
"Is what Erika says true, Anna?"
"...Yes."
She answered in a small voice that was barely audible.
"Well, that can happen. Still, we'll have to spend quite a long time together traveling to and from the Anchester Kingdom, so I'd like you to be friendly to Erika too."
"...I'll try."
"Erika, I hope you can be a bit understanding too. Anna the adjutant can seem a bit brusque at times."
"Understood, Corps Commander Viktor!"
I mediated between them to the extent I felt appropriate, so that Anna wouldn't feel too burdened.
Seeing that Erika agreed without complaint, it seems she didn't have any serious grievances.
If this is a kind of ice-breaking, thinking back to their first meeting, it might be considered a great improvement.
"...I'd like to hear a bit more about the Anchester Kingdom."
"Hehe. Of course!"
Anna, who had recovered shortly after, spoke to Erika with a noticeably lighter expression.
"Ah, Viktor. Please check this list for a moment."
"Hmm."
So while doing work,
"The dwarves of the Anchester Kingdom are said to specialize particularly in metal craftsmanship. Those expensive, intricate metal puzzles that are sometimes traded are all their work! Although they're quite expensive as a result."
"What do you think, General? It might be good to order some armor or weapons separately on this occasion."
"Hmm. We can certainly do that much for the soldiers who've worked hard as escorts."
"..."
As we were heading towards the Anchester Kingdom, occasionally engaging in conversation.
"...!"
"...Hey! ..."
There was a commotion outside the carriage, and it gradually came to a stop.
Perhaps because it was a carriage prepared by the Empress, the sounds from outside were barely audible.
"It seems the carriage has stopped."
"Yes. It's difficult to check through the window, so I'll go out..."
Seeing Anna about to rise as if to go outside almost as soon as the carriage stopped,
"...General?"
I reflexively reached out my right hand and grabbed her arm.
Anna, whose arm was grabbed, turned her head towards me with a slightly surprised face, and Erika looked at us with wide eyes.
"It's probably nothing. Wait in the carriage."
"...Dealing with such situations is my duty as an adjutant."
"No, that's the escort's duty. Wait here."
I shifted my gaze to the mini-map always in the corner of my vision, confirmed that there were no red dots around, and then released her arm.
Thankfully, Anna, who hesitated for a moment, silently sat down.
-Knock knock.
"Corps Commander Viktor! A wild animal briefly blocked the road, so we stopped the carriage! We'll resume as soon as it's dealt with!"
"Thank you for your hard work."
"Yes!"
Before even a minute had passed, one of the escorts opened the carriage door and reported the situation.
It was a very trivial and frequent occurrence of a wild animal appearing.
"...Ah!"
"Is it done?"
"...!"
After faintly hearing shouts and the sound of hooves, the carriage soon began to move again.
"Anna, I'm sorry for grabbing you without saying anything."
"No, I was rash."
"...I'd like you to be careful."
"Yes."
With Anna's reply, silence fell in the carriage, and I picked up the documents again.
"..."
However, I couldn't concentrate on the documents.
My mind was pondering not the contents of the documents, but the reason why my arm had arbitrarily grabbed Anna.
"...Hah."
Right.
Since I have the mini-map, there's no reason for the adjutant to put herself in danger.
...No, this is a matter of efficiency.
It means that Anna doesn't need to go through the trouble of checking something I can confirm by just briefly turning my gaze.
That's all.
...That should be all.
"..."
I started reading the contents of the documents again.
Things are clearly going well, and the future looks bright.
But somehow, a corner of my heart felt uneasy.