Chapter 303
(Kyle Calendar Year 514: Age 21)
Prisoner Return Signing Ceremony
Translator : PolterGlast
In the spring of Kyle Year 514, the barrier gate
extending to block the border between the Kyle Kingdom and the Griffonia
Empire had finished the foundation work of the defensive wall on the Empire
side, and was gradually taking shape. Furthermore, the construction to run a
defensive wall around the Kingdom side is now proceeding at a rapid pace.
The space sandwiched between the two walls has a passage
connecting the barrier gates in the center, and guard stations and reception
desks are set up; eventually, there are plans to set up restaurants and
shopping areas in the empty spaces.
And in the vast spaces on the left and right, we plan to set
up barracks for the Demon Territory Knights and stationed soldiers, and
warehouse groups for weapons and food. It is also given the role of a military
base to serve as the final fortress even if invaded from the Empire side (or the Kingdom side).
And now, in the land that will become the new territory
beyond the barrier gate on the Empire side, many tents and temporary facilities
were lined up, enveloped in a strange sense of tension.
On this day, here, the First Prince of the Empire, who had been
a prisoner for nearly half a year, will be returned from the Kyle Kingdom
(Westlights Demon Territory Dukedom), and simultaneously, the northern
frontier of the Empire territory will be ceded to the Kyle
Kingdom, accurately the Westlights Dukedom.
Incidentally, the 1 million Imperial large gold coins as
ransom had been paid before the new year, and have already been distributed to
those who should receive them as rewards.
This time, simultaneously with the return of the First
Prince's person, from the Kyle Kingdom (Demon Territory Dukedom)
side, other prisoners, 10 noble prisoners including Duke Harry, and
5,700 general soldier prisoners will also be returned.
In response, the Griffonia Empire side had prepared
an additional payment equivalent to 500,000 Kingdom gold coins, and the
families and relatives, numbering about 9,000, whom the 6,000 prisoners wishing
to migrate desired to summon, and both sides were to hand them over at this
occasion.
The Empire's
side, with this barrier gate as the boundary, was standing by in an enormous
number of tents set up on the Empire side, waiting for the holding of the
signing ceremony that precedes the return.
"A notice just came in; it seems the other party's preparations are also complete. The signing ceremony for the
return of prisoners and cession of territory will begin. Your Highness, as the
proxy for His Majesty the Emperor, please move to the ceremony venue."
Saying so, Sieghart hurried his lord, who was still
inside the tent.
"What? You, who usually throw tantrums wanting to sleep
longer, are awfully enthusiastic today, aren't you? As for me, I didn't want to
see that man's face ever again..."
"I think they feel the same way, surely. No, they
probably think they don't want to see you even more than Your Highness
does."
Saying so, Sieghart laughed innocently and
mischievously. It's exactly when he makes this face that this man cannot be
caught off guard. Well, there's no mistaking he is a reliable existence, though...
While thinking so, the Third Prince Grat, whose
succession to the throne was almost confirmed and is currently viewed as
certain to be the next Emperor, lifted his heavy hips. After the signing
ceremony for the return of prisoners, he has to face his former political enemy
whether he likes it or not. This time, from the position of an overwhelming
victor.
But he had absolutely no intention of boasting his position
as a victor.
"Come to think of it, that man you favor is also coming
this time, right? Is that why..."
Seeing Sieghart waiting for the visitor who was once
a person from an enemy country, looking as if he was uncontrollably happy like
getting a new toy, he felt strangely convinced.
"So, the meeting with me... is arranged, right?"
"Ah... yes, well... After the signing ceremony and the
exchange of prisoners and families are done."
He didn't like the evasive
reply, but that guy always leaves troublesome things anyone can do to others.
Well, is this the usual too...
Thinking so, Grat stopped asking for further details.
And, albeit reluctantly, entered the building that was the venue for the
signing ceremony, which, although hastily constructed, maintained a reasonable
size and appearance.
In the venue for the signing ceremony set up on the Empire
side of the barrier gate, many Empire nobles
and military bureaucrats were already lined up, waiting for the arrival of the
Third Prince. Then, as if timing his entry into the venue, the representatives
from the Kyle Kingdom side also entered the venue.
At the head was the First Princess of the Kyle Kingdom,
Clarice, as the King's plenipotentiary proxy; behind her followed the Archduke
of Westlights, who achieved military exploits in this campaign and
obtained a status second only to royalty, and Duke Klein as Minister of
Foreign Affairs, Royal Capital Knights Commander Gouras, and Demon
Territory Knights Commander Weiss.
Then, when Princess Clarice leading the way took her
seat with graceful movements, the following four people also took their seats
following her example.
"It is my first time meeting Her Highness Clarice,
whose reputation for brilliance is high. This time, for the sake of our
endlessly revered brother, I am overwhelmed with gratitude that Her Highness
personally took the trouble to come all the way from the Royal Capital. For Her
Highness, a young lady raised in a sheltered environment, the long journey must
have been tiring, no?"
"The honor is mine to meet Your Highness Grat,
whose reputation for bravery is high. I have heard that His Highness Glorious is greatly revered by everyone. An
important person to the Empire. We too have been ordered by His Majesty the
King not to be disrespectful. I am grateful for your consideration, but I too
am a warrior, so please, do not hold back..."
Hoh, with that feeling, Grat looked again at the
Princess sitting before him. In this season where the cold still lingers, for
formal dress, she is wearing a luxurious white-based robe on top, but
underneath she is wearing armor.
As rumored, not a sheltered young lady, but an unyielding
eccentric who runs around the battlefield despite her position as a Princess...
is that it?
And sitting next to this Princess, the man who is completely
acting like harmless air in this place, is that rumored... His appearance feels
as ordinary as, or even more so than, Sieghart, but to think he is the
terrifying man who perfectly defeated that large army with a small force, and
was hailed as first in merit even in the civil war of the Fearalt Principality...
But no matter how you look at it, he doesn't look like that
at all.
"The same... goes for each other, doesn't it."
Suddenly chuckling, Princess Clarice said so; those
words surprised Grat. Cutting her gaze from him, she was staring
intently and ostentatiously at Sieghart sitting at the lowest seat.
『This
girl... casually followed my gaze and probed inside my mind, huh. Cannot let my
guard down.』 He thought so, but of course, Grat did not show an
expression of surprise.
"It might be exactly as Her Highness says. An eccentric
(subordinate) for an eccentric (master), that is what it means."
"Hohoho, just as you say."
Between the two smiling amicably at each other in a
conversation like a Zen dialogue, it was as if an invisible, unspoken exchange
of blows was taking place.
『Please,
don't say unnecessary things.』 That was the thought of Takuhir
and Duke Klein.
"Even so, even though peace is achieved, this heavily
guarded barrier gate might be a little unsuited."
"Indeed, this unsuited barrier gate is precisely the
proof of our resolve to prevent the invasion of monsters and protect the people
who were your territory residents from bandits and miscreants. Even now in the Demon
Territory, monsters whose habitats were ravaged are raging
everywhere..."
Clarice deflected
the Third Prince's sarcasm as if it were nothing.
"Ahem..." The small throat-clearing Takuhir
made echoed quietly.
"Then, since the greetings of both Highnesses are also
done, we would like to get into the main subject right away. Please sign the
signing documents entrusted in advance and exchange the inventories. Note that
regarding the compensation, we have prepared it in a separate room, so please
confirm it."
Prompted by the words of a man looking like an Empire minister sitting next to the First Prince, the signing
ceremony began. During that time, several attendants from each side disappeared
into the separate room. To confirm the gold coins paid as compensation.
"Then from here on, after confirming each other's
inventories, I would like to make this a place where anyone can speak freely if
there are questions, how about it? After all, it is 500,000 gold coins; even
confirming it with a corresponding number of people, I think we will have some
time to kill."
"Gratefully. I too entrust the details to the Duke of Westlights.
I ask that the practical business be handled by the Duke."
"Then on our side too, I have entrusted the practical
business to Lord Kampfer who newly became a Count, so it would be faster
to proceed with confirmation between the persons in charge."
With these words as the trigger, the leading roles of the
negotiation shift to these two.
Receiving Her Highness Clarice's words, I was
hurriedly looking over the inventory handed from the Empire. Because
information on the territory to be ceded, and information on the families of
those wishing to migrate that the Empire side brought along this time were
described there.
"Then, Your Highness Grat, and everyone of the
Empire, it is my first time meeting you. I am Westlights von Takuhir, Demon
Territory Duke of the Kyle Kingdom."
I deliberately emphasized being a subject of the Kyle
Kingdom, and introduced myself with that title. In this place, it's less
complicated that way. Because I thought so.
"I too gain the honor of meeting Her Highness Clarice
for the first time. My name is Sieghart for Kampfer. Please make my
acquaintance."
"Then first I will ask Lord Kampfer. According
to this inventory, the number of immigrants is listed as 14,000... I feel it is
a bit too many. I recognize that the number we sent in advance was about 9,000,
but..."
"Yes, those people are of course included. However...
in addition to the designated families, there was no end to those who came
forward, such as relatives, lovers who pledged their future together, and so on.
We could not confirm the factual relations, and have reflected those people in
the numbers as well, but we have not brought them this time."
"Then, what you brought this time is exactly according
to the list conveyed in advance, is that correct? I am a little relieved there
are no mix-ups or mistakes."
"Yes, without a mistake... is what I would like to say,
but after all, it is the families of 6,000 soldiers. Especially in cases of common soldiers without surnames, or soldiers with the same first
and last names, there might be mix-ups. We intend to have done our best this
time, so to ensure there is no chance of error, if you could scrutinize them
directly... Note that this time, as families with that possibility, we have
brought an additional approximately 3,000 people."
"Then, I will ask two points. First, in the unlikely
event, unfortunately, there is a mistake, what will you do? Second, regarding
the immigrants not brought this time, how will they be handled hereafter?"
"Allow me to
answer. In the unlikely event there is a mix-up, it is probably the relatives
of a family member who died in battle. The number of war dead is enormous, and
they have no family or relatives to rely on. If possible, I would be grateful
if you could let them rely on you so they can live on in the Demon Territory
Duke's territory from now on. Of course, we do not mind if you send them
back to the Empire."
Tch, has he already made his first move. If they are
relatives of someone who died in battle, they must harbor no small amount of
hostility towards us. Is he sending them, unneeded by the Third Prince's camp,
to become disturbing elements in the future?
He says he doesn't mind if we return them, but if we treat
them mercilessly, it will benefit them in its own way. Conversely, if we
obediently take them in, our consumption of funds and supplies will accelerate
further with livelihood (food) support and such.
"And the second point, the people highly likely to be
additional personnel, their total number will be about 2,000. They will be
dispatched sequentially to the Viscount Duroul territory hereafter.
Beyond that, whether to accept them or not, I hope the respective soldiers and
families will discuss and judge among themselves. Regarding them, it
is strictly self-declaration of those wishing to migrate, and unfortunate
mistakes might occur, so I leave the judgment of acceptance to you."
"If we do not accept them?"
"They are also in circumstances deserving sympathy. And
we, bearing a part of the responsibility; in this case, Viscount Duroul
will likely look after them within the territory representing us."
"I see... public support, is it. In this case, the
target of support is..."
I understood and deliberately didn't say the last part. So
to speak, these 2,000 people are support for Viscount Duroul, who will
become an enclave. If done openly, there's a possibility it would be criticized
as something throwing cold water on the peace.
However, the Empire side will take responsibility and
support the personnel whose acceptance was refused. Put that way, the just
cause stands. As always, what a nasty way of doing
things.
"Our 'sincerity' towards peace, I hope you will by all
means surmise it..."
Hmm? I see, so that's what it is! In the Empire, there still
exist many factions that do not approve of territory cession or peace. It was
used as one of the persuasion materials, so to speak, directed at them who are
still overflowing with hostility, or they sent them in with malice. Is that the
gist of it?
The meaning of 'sincerity' is to convey that in advance by
manipulating numbers and emphasizing it blatantly. It probably means that.
Well, the ulterior motive of supporting Viscount Duroul is probably
included, though...
"I see... Lord Sieghart's sincerity, I have
certainly confirmed it."
"I thought Lord Takuhir would surely understand.
I express my gratitude anew."
At this time, I deliberately chose my words and changed how
I addressed him. And since Sieghart also returned it similarly, I turned
my guess into conviction.
"By the way, from today we will entrust our former
territory to you, but what will happen to the development of the new territory
led by the Archduke of Westlights?"
Here it comes right away. When I was informed of the
negotiation process by the Old Raccoon, I guessed the intention that it was a
trap for me, or if not that far, a shackle within the Kingdom, and initially
held my head and agonized over how to handle it.
"As previously promised, we will invest equivalent to 1
million Kingdom gold coins as development funds. Of course, manpower is also
limited, and development will be conducted sequentially over years and months,
but enriching the region is considered a major premise." (Well... we
will enrich the region, but the Empire side won't be enriched that greatly, you
know)
"That is a relief. From here on, as neighbors, we too
intend to spare no cooperation in development." (Of course, we intend
to recover the invested gold coins in that process, though...)
"Thank you very much. It will be immediate
construction, but first we plan to limit the districts and do the following:
·
Construction of an irrigation canal
network accompanying agricultural land reclamation
·
Construction of temporary housing
(mainly barracks) on a scale of 10,000 households
·
Construction of large-scale
reclaimed agricultural land (to bear logistics)
·
Revetment works (defensive walls)
prepared for disasters (war damage)
·
Construction of a commercial
district (fortress city) to become an accumulation point for supplies (a fort
capable of countering the Empire Army)
We plan to gradually expand these circles, and in the
future, we want to cover the new territory extensively." (Well, it will
take a considerable amount of time to cover the whole thing, though)
"Thank you very much. And you requested to gather the
Empire's merchants right away because of that, wasn't it. We also called out
widely to merchants, and have gathered as many merchants as we could in the
tent outside." (Of course, not just calling out, but we have strictly
briefed them, though. First, we will see your skill)
"That is helpful! As soon as this signing ceremony is
over, we too wanted to place various orders with the merchants." (Fufufu,
we'll be whipping them a bit, since they're fully intent on plucking us clean,
though...)
This conversation exchanged with smiles that were eerie from start to finish for both sides, conversely made the people around pull back. Of course, separate from each other's inner thoughts, the confirmation work proceeded amicably at first glance.
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