Chapter 52

As I kept being negative, Matriarch Costanza put on a sullen expression.

“Or is there someone you like? Perhaps that person in the mercenary company?”

“I wonder who you mean.”

“The Phoenix Knight from Aquitaine.”

“Ah, Sir Eleonor and I are just maintaining a good colleague relationship, nothing more.”

She was often misunderstood because she was one of the few women in the mercenary company, but Eleonor was truly just a good subordinate.

Rather, it was troublesome because Eleonor, under the pretext of being a historian, tried to leave a record of everything that happened in the mercenary company.

“Then that’s great. There seems to be no problem.”

Matriarch Costanza smiled brightly.

I realized I had misspoken.

I shouldn’t have let it go in this direction!

I desperately put a fake smile on my lips, but inside, I was breaking out in a cold sweat.

Retreat, which one was the retreat button?

Was there really no corner to back into?

Me, a strategist of such supreme skill, being driven into a corner like this? No way!

Just as I was cornered, a messenger from Mayor Rapacio appeared at the perfect time and saved me.

“Sir Gryph? I heard Sir Gryph was here, eek.”

Having her conversation interrupted, Matriarch Costanza glared at the messenger as if to kill him.

It was impossible for a mere messenger to withstand the gaze of Matriarch Costanza, a great merchant with decades of experience.

“What is it?”

“I-It’s an urgent matter, Matriarch.”

“What is so urgent?”

“A diplomatic envoy has visited from Levona, and Mayor Rapacio said he needed Sir Gryph’s advice regarding that……”

“A diplomatic envoy from Levona? Why?”

“I do not know the reason. Only that I was told to bring you quickly.”

Levona was a city-state vying for hegemony in northern Apennia.

A powerful nation with a strong navy.

At the news that the mayor was looking for me due to a visit from Levona’s envoy, Matriarch Costanza was puzzled.

And I, not missing the lifeline thrown from the heavens by Mayor Rapacio, quickly grabbed it.

“Matriarch Costanza, an urgent matter has come up, so please allow me to take my leave for today. I will visit again next time to discuss this matter.”

“It’s a matter of state, so it can’t be helped.”

I asked for the matriarch’s understanding and stood up, following the messenger.

Matriarch Costanza was displeased that her business was interrupted but eventually let me go.

Leaving the Signori Palazzo, I massaged my neck, which had stiffened with tension, and let out a deep sigh.

“Young Master, breathe. You’ll die at this rate.”

“I am breathing. Ugh.”

“You must have been really surprised.”

“I’ll have to avoid the Matriarch for a while.”

“I don’t think she’ll just let you be.”

“You think so too?”

“I suppose so.”

The unexpected marriage proposal left me feeling unsettled.

I had been ignoring it until now, but in truth, marriage was unavoidable in this world.

However, it wasn’t something I had to do with the Signori Family.

A marriage with the Signori Family would be a great help to me now.

Since it was a political marriage between families anyway, and the Signori Family was wealthy, it would be a great help in operating the mercenary company.

However, looking at it coolly, it was uncertain how long that help would last.

Besides, having children was something I had never even thought about.

The same goes for marrying a little kid!

While organizing my thoughts, which had become as complicated as a tangled skein of yarn, I arrived in front of the city hall.

“Mayor, I have arrived.”

“Oh, welcome.”

Mayor Rapacio had dismissed his aides and was waiting alone with a very serious look.

It seemed that even Mayor Rapacio lost his confidence before the name of Levona.

Mayor Rapacio silently gestured to a chair, and as I sat down, I asked a question.

“You called for me? You said you needed my advice?”

“That’s right, Sir Gryph. As you may already know, a diplomatic envoy from Levona visited the city this afternoon with a very serious agenda. I wish to discuss it.”

“I see. Levona is taking action now, so it must be about the pirate subjugation, right?”

“To be precise, it’s about the byproduct of that. The issue of captured cargo.”

As Mayor Rapacio said that, I could roughly guess why Levona’s diplomatic envoy had come to Fasa.

It was about time for the karma I’d been putting off to explode.

“Levona’s envoy demanded the return of the goods Fasa has acquired, claiming they are Levonan property and that Fasa is occupying them without permission.”

“There were quite a few things heading for Levona among the goods we obtained from the pirates. But Levona is shameless too. Their maritime law should also state that the ownership of captured goods belongs to the one who subjugated the pirates.”

“That is correct. However, Levona is making their claim based on the fact that they did not issue a letter of marque to Fasa’s mercenary fleet.”

“That’s just wordplay.”

“But given Fasa’s situation, it is difficult to completely ignore their words.”

Mayor Rapacio wore an uncomfortable expression.

If they were upset, they should have not let the pirates take their cargo in the first place.

I wanted to tell them to go complain to the pirates.

Unfortunately, the other party was a maritime power of the north.

If I really said such a thing, there was a high possibility that Fasa would be turned into a burning crater.

“What will they do if we return the cargo? Surely they don’t intend to retrieve it with empty hands, do they?”

“They say they will pay compensation. But honestly, if we do that, our financial income will decrease a lot compared to what we’re earning now.”

“That’s true.”

One out of every three ships seen in the Golden Sea belonged to Levona.

In other words, it meant that the proportion of them being plundered was also large.

The reality of Fasa was that it was increasing its income by looting those plundered pirate ships, so it was a given that income would plummet if we accepted the Levonan envoy’s demands.

“But Levona are really funny guys. They stayed quiet when they were being plundered by pirates all this time, and now that our business is doing well, they’re telling us to hand it over. I even saved several Levonan ships.”

“Honestly, that was just a coincidence.”

“Theo, be quiet.”

Mayor Rapacio was serious in a different sense.

“If we were to accept Levona’s demands, the nobles and merchants of Fasa would condemn me.”

Currently, the merchants of Fasa were having a good time buying the captured cargo at auction for cheaper than the market price and reselling it.

If that method was blocked, it was obvious where the anger would be directed.

It was an open secret that the real power in Fasa was not held by the mayor but by the merchant families.

If Matriarch Costanza put her mind to it, she could replace someone like Mayor Rapacio.

Just as she had done with Bishop Malone.

“In this situation, the fact that you, Mayor, singled me out of all people and called me must mean you need military advice, right?”

“Correct! Just in case, can Fasa’s navy currently face the Levonan navy?”

“Don’t even think about it.”

I cut off the request in one stroke.

Mayor Rapacio, who probably wanted to hear that it was worth a try, was very flustered.

“Is there really no possibility? Not even a little?”

“If you wanted that, you should have given us a bigger budget. Unless dozens of warships suddenly appear out of nowhere, it’s absolutely impossible with our current strength.”

“Is that so……”

“They’re not some pirates riding around on shabby high-speed boat scraps. How can we face Levona’s well-trained official navy with something like converted merchant ships?”

Mayor Rapacio sighed, but my mind did not change.

No, I could state it with certainty.

A battle on this sea was bound to end in a single all-out fight.

But the other side had more ships they could mobilize and more sailors.

To seize hegemony over the Golden Sea, we would have to face Levona one day.

But clashing with Levona now, when we haven’t even completely subjugated the pirates, was a quick act of suicide.

As it stood now, we would just get beaten up one-sidedly if we initiated foolishly.

And we don't have a restart button.

“Honestly, Mayor Rapacio, you’re not unaware that there’s no chance of winning even if we fight, are you?”

“Hmm. That’s true.”

Mayor Rapacio had a somewhat cunning side.

Calling me for advice was just a struggle and a formality to escape from the responsibility that would follow later.

“Still, it should be possible to end this by negotiating moderately. Who on earth came as the diplomatic envoy to make you so serious?”

“It’s not difficult to tell you. The person who came this time is Gian Cavalieri. He is a naval admiral from a prestigious Levonan family. Do you know who he is?”

“……I have never met him, but I know who he is.”

I knew him very well.

Wasn’t he a member of the Grand Council that represented Levona’s maritime policy and a naval admiral?

Suddenly, I felt as if the headache Mayor Rapacio was suffering from was contagious.

“I need a good way to solve this problem.”

“Let me think about it.”

Well, I couldn't save him from this disaster, but I could help.

As long as he promised to increase the budget, that is.

***

Gian Cavalieri could be described in a single word.

A stumbling block.

I meant he was the type of character who shatters the heads of beginners puffed up with a little growth.

That’s how outstanding Gian Cavalieri’s abilities were, and in the game, countless users were crushed like that.

The fact that Levona sent such a person also had a clear meaning.

In short, it was a threat and a warning that they would resort to military force if we didn’t listen.

It was chilling because it was a warning from guys who could actually do it if they put their minds to it.

Those dirty bastards.

From now on, I should just not save any Levonan ships.

So how should I deal with this?

Should I just assassinate him?

Eliminating Gian Cavalieri would certainly make it easier to deal with Levona in the future.

However, there was the problem of whether it was possible.

Assassination was not as easy as it sounded.

If it were that easy, the world would be full of dictators who had eliminated their political enemies.

It was possible to ask Theo or Eleonor for an assassination, but…….

Like in some famous game, Theo seemed likely to kill everyone and then, seeing no witnesses, cheerfully claim it was an assassination.

Eleonor, being a historian, would understand the purpose of assassination, but she would probably leave a detailed record of the incident that should absolutely not be left behind.

In that case, there was only one person who came to mind.

“Ishmael, do you happen to know any friends with a talent for assassination?”

“Kruk. What kind of crazy thing are you saying, coming to me on such a fine day, Captain?”

Early afternoon.

A time when the sun was still shining brightly.

In the Kobold residential area set up at the port, I was face to face with Ishmael, with Theo in tow.

“I thought you guys would be good at this sort of thing since you’re so agile.”

“……”

Ishmael, who was boiling a teapot over a campfire, looked at me as if I were a madman before turning his gaze to Theo.

“Kruk, Snow Elf warrior. Your master is out of his mind in three ways.”

Theo retorted.

“Three ways? Is that all?”

That’s all?

What do you mean by that, you bastard?

Whether I glared at Theo or not, Ishmael explained the three reasons he had cited.

“Kruk, saying such an ominous thing in broad daylight is the first, imagining something that would not be permitted before God is the second, and looking at the physical conditions of a certain race with prejudice is the third.”

“You’re not really a Kobold, are you? You’re a person wearing a mask, aren’t you?”

“Krrruk. There’s one more. Thinking that other races are less intelligent than humans is your fourth, Captain.”

Ishmael looked at me with cold eyes.

Since his point was true, I had nothing to say either.

“But there’s no suitable way to solve this problem.”

“Kruk, I think you’ve been too influenced by the people here. Just do as you usually do. As usual.”

“What am I usually like?”

“Kruk, you used to come up with evil ideas so well, why are you like this now?”

I thought, is that so? then paused.

“You, you’ve been thinking of me like that all this time?”

“……”

“……”

Ishmael remained silent instead of answering, but that was as good as an answer.

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