Revealing The Terms... Kiriku Is Ruthless

The expressions on the faces of the three as they heard my words were each different.

One bit down on their lip in frustration.

One focused intently so as not to miss the words and intent that would follow.

And one let out a breath as if relieved.

As I confirmed their three very different reactions, I continued speaking.

“As for the broad terms… Kiriku.”

When I called his name, Kiriku stood up.

“Yes! Allow me to explain. In turning the Lufelon Holy Kingdom into a vassal state, the first thing we demand is the dissolution of its military.”

At the condition Kiriku presented, the expressions of two of them stiffened.

Even so, Kiriku, you started with the harshest one…

“Next, the freedom of the Einheria military to exercise force and march within the Lufelon Holy Kingdom. Naturally, this right is to be exercised in accordance with the national laws of Einheria.”

““…”””

The right for Einheria’s military to act freely within the Lufelon Holy Kingdom so long as it obeyed our laws.

Well, if our laws were amended to add that it was permissible to run wild in a vassal state, a great many things would be over… Count Heldio clearly understood that well enough, because his complexion had turned awful.

“Free movement of the peoples of both nations between the two countries. And exemption from cross-border taxes for the peoples of both nations.”

Free movement between the two countries and exemption from taxes when crossing the border.

At first glance, it might seem like nothing much, but from the standpoint of the one being subordinated, it was different.

To those with no attachment to their country, there was no point in living in a vassal state subordinate to another nation. No, even if they did have attachment, most would think they did not want to keep their families in a country where no one knew what might happen at any moment.

And when that happened, where would the people flee… to a strong nation that charged no pointless taxes and permitted free movement. As a choice for migration, something already uncertain in itself, that would surely be the easiest option to choose.

Well, that was only if they could cast aside their resentment over being made a vassal state.

And when a country lost its people, its tax revenue fell… which was to say, a decline in national strength.

And if there were no stopping that, the final destination would be national collapse… and annexation by another country. And the country doing the annexing would without question be Einheria.

Of course, that was not our intention. The clause existed because we hoped that allowing free movement between the two countries would stimulate economic activity.

Or rather… was Kiriku not overdoing the intimidation a bit? Was this guy… a sadist?

Movement between the two nations would be as in the earlier condition, but as for migration, we intended to attach various separate conditions so that it would not be easy, and we had all sorts of plans for revitalizing the economy within the Lufelon Holy Kingdom too.

To convey only the broad terms concerning vassalization without mentioning any of that at all was… no, it was not wrong, but still…

Count Heldio had gone pale blue, but the civil official beside him had gone completely white… only Efaria did not change color at all… did she not understand? No, considering her age, it was possible she did not understand… but judging from the way Efaria acted and spoke, she seemed to understand it perfectly, did she not?

And yet not changing expression in the slightest… that was beyond being composed… it was more like lying flat on the ground.

“As for the nobles of the Lufelon Holy Kingdom, their titles and such may remain as they are. However, within Einheria, even the highest among them shall be treated as equal to our magistrates. In Einheria, there exist no status classes other than His Majesty, but distinctions of authority do exist according to office. A magistrate is, fundamentally, an administrative post. You may think of them as being on the same level as Viktor, who previously greeted you. However, in terms of strength of authority, even the maids working in this castle rank above magistrates.”

“…””

As for the nobles, well, just because they were becoming a vassal state, we were obviously not going to force abolition on them.

They would resist with everything they had, after all. It just meant that their status would not carry over in our country.

Well, he was saying they ranked below our maids, but… that could not be helped, could it? This did not mean I was saying my people were more important; it meant that if they tried acting high and mighty toward my people, I would not allow it.

I thought drawing the line there would be difficult, but people from a vassal state were hardly likely to strut around acting superior in the suzerain state, so it would probably be fine.

“We shall explain that in detail another time. It will likely be quicker if you hear from those who already serve as magistrates. Now then, to continue. There shall be no superiority or inferiority between the peoples of the two nations, and should any citizen of Einheria appear who unjustly harms the people of the Lufelon Holy Kingdom on account of their being from a vassal state, they shall be severely punished. Furthermore, crimes shall be judged according to the laws of the country in which they were committed.”

That meant: do not get full of yourselves just because they were a vassal state, and anyone who did something wrong could be judged according to the laws of the country where they committed the offense.

“In the event that a crime is committed across national borders, after judgment has been rendered in each respective country, both nations shall confer concerning sentencing. This matter will require more detailed discussion going forward, so be prepared for that.”

“…Understood.”

Though his complexion remained poor, Count Heldio nodded at Kiriku’s explanation.

This too was the sort of content where, if one wanted to, one could pick a fight over it. Handling criminals was fairly delicate, because it involved the victims as well as the pride of the public order institutions.

Well, those sorts of various complications were completely beyond me, so I wanted them to talk it over and decide properly.

As for me, I had absolutely no intention of exploiting the Lufelon Holy Kingdom or using it as I pleased.

Listening to the conditions Kiriku was laying out now, no one would think that… but I really did not intend to do anything that awful.

“And as for the nobles of the Lufelon Holy Kingdom, noble privileges shall not apply within Einheria. If they commit crimes, they shall be treated in the same manner as ordinary citizens, so they are to take care in their conduct.”

“Yes.”

Well, that was an ordinary demand… was it not? Well, if people from the vassal state did something stupid in the suzerain state, that would obviously be no good.

“Next, regarding tariffs, we intend in principle to set them at nearly the same level as those applied toward the Lumoria Kingdom, but we believe several items would not be appropriate under those terms. The details of that as well shall be worked out through discussions between both nations, but please keep in mind that they will be set to a degree that does not hinder each other’s industries. In addition, tariffs shall be finely adjusted while observing the development of industry in both nations, so tax rates will be subject to continual change.”

“Understood.”

“And finally, one more thing.”

At Kiriku’s words, Count Heldio and the others’ mouths twitched slightly.

They were probably thinking, There is still more…? But from my point of view, this last one alone was already more than enough in various ways.

“We will have mana collection devices installed in every settlement, whether town or village. As you know, I mean the devices with transfer functions.”

“You would place those in our country!?”

Not only Count Heldio, but even Efaria seemed startled by this final condition.

Well, they were masses of outrageous technology… for us the main purpose was mana collection, but ever since coming to this world, I thought we had found the transfer between devices just as valuable.

So it was no wonder they were surprised when told that such things would be installed even in villages.

“Yes. However, use of the transfer function will require our permission, so it will not be something anyone may use freely. Important persons and magistrates may use it with relative freedom, but certain restrictions will still apply. Also, the devices possess a communication function, so in times of emergency it will be possible to communicate with distant places through them. As for the communication function, the regulations will be looser than for transfer, so I think you will find it extremely convenient.”

And as he said that, Kiriku wore… quite a coldly intelligent smile.

In contrast to the content of what he was saying, the way he smiled looked either like a threat or as if it concealed some ulterior meaning.

That said, the installation of mana collection devices was an absolute condition. We would not mind if any of the others were negotiated away, but this one alone would not be permitted to be refused.

If anything, if they refused this, it would almost be fine to conquer them by force.

Well, they probably had no real option of refusing… they knew troops could be sent through transfer, after all, and the moment they accepted, it must have felt as though the country was practically finished.

“There are various other finer points, but those are the broad conditions.”

“Good work, Kiriku.”

At my words of appreciation, Kiriku bowed his head and sat back down.

In contrast to Kiriku, who looked slightly satisfied, the three seated across from me… no, two of them had expressions darkened almost to the point of despair.

He had said the finer details would come later, but no matter how one looked at it, the conditions would leave them with hardly any appearance of being a sovereign country at all.

An unbearably heavy atmosphere wrapped around the two from the Lufelon Holy Kingdom.

In the midst of that, Efaria, who had not changed expression in the slightest even after hearing Kiriku’s terms, slowly opened her mouth while looking at me.

“King of Einheria. If the Holy Kingdom’s military is dissolved, am I correct in understanding that the Einheria military will fight in our stead?”

“Of course. All outside enemies shall be repelled by us, Einheria.”

“Then what of public order?”

“That shall remain your domain. Matters such as brigands, monsters, and criminals must still be dealt with by the Lufelon Holy Kingdom.”

“But our country’s military has been ordered dissolved.”

“That is so. However, we have no wish to dissolve the guard forces necessary for maintaining public order. From Einheria’s perspective, we would rather see needless military expenditures reduced and the budget turned toward guard forces needed for preserving order. Armies are money-eating beasts, yet they are extremely difficult to reduce. We are simply giving you the opportunity to do so.”

At my words, a little color returned to the faces of the other two besides Efaria.

Since Efaria alone had continued talking calmly, the change in the other two was easy to see.

“Guard forces that protect towns and villages cannot deal with brigands or monster nests based far from populated areas, can they?”

Ignoring the other two, Efaria continued firing questions at me one after another.

“What we ask of the Lufelon Holy Kingdom’s troops is defense. If it is a matter of subjugating brigands or monsters, we shall handle it. Use the communication function of the mana collection devices and send for aid without delay.”

“And the cost of requesting aid from the Einheria military…?”

“It is unnecessary.”

“Unnecessary… meaning that payment only for expeditionary expenses will suffice?”

“No. I mean that none at all is necessary.”

“What!?”

As we spoke of military dispatches, Count Heldio, who until then had merely listened, involuntarily raised his voice.

Efaria turned a chilly gaze on Count Heldio.

“M-my apologies.”

Count Heldio, having raised his voice in the middle of a conversation between me and Efaria… between kings… apologized, his complexion changing for a different reason than before.

Looking away from Count Heldio, Efaria spoke again.

“Allow me to apologize for my subordinate’s discourtesy. However, I too am somewhat surprised… to say that no fees whatsoever will be charged even if a military dispatch is requested…”

I had just said a short while ago that armies were money-eating beasts, so if I then said money was unnecessary, I understood why she reacted that way.

Our military, after all, barely cost anything to dispatch… the expense had already been paid in mana stones beforehand, and we had more than earned our keep from that.

“It is fine. We are requiring the dissolution of your military. Naturally, it follows that we should bear the responsibilities your military ought to have borne. To demand money on top of that would be unreasonable, would it not? I am not so shameless.”

Implying that this matter was settled, I said no more, and Efaria lightly closed her eyes and nodded.

“In the earlier explanation, there was no mention at all of tribute. Why is that?”

“It is unnecessary.”

I cut down Efaria’s question at once.

“I shall say this plainly while we are at it. We have no intention of meddling any further in the internal affairs of the Lufelon Holy Kingdom. Nor do we intend to exploit or neglect it. It may be called a vassal state, but to me, the people of Einheria and the people of the Lufelon Holy Kingdom are equally people to be protected. I have no intention of placing a distinction between them. However, it is the Holy King’s role to guide the people of the Lufelon Holy Kingdom. The only burden we shall bear is the military one.”

“The military… the Lufelon Holy Kingdom has never once waged an external campaign since its founding. That does not mean, however, that a military was unnecessary…”

“I understand that dismissing the officers and soldiers who have risked their lives to defend the country until now must pain you, but from here on, leave it to us. You will not be able to accept it immediately, but it is more efficient and rational that way. And when vassalization is achieved, it is not as though the military will be dissolved all at once. We shall provide opportunities for your generals to accompany our military actions and experience our strength and discipline for themselves.”

It would be absurd to entrust national defense to something they had not even seen for themselves, after all. If this had been settled a little earlier, I might have let them observe the battlefield against the three countries attacking us now, but that would probably not make it in time.

I wanted to proceed with the vassalization talks as peacefully as possible, but one wrong move… and I thought it would plunge into civil war. This vassalization was Efaria’s unilateral decision, after all.

She had not even involved the Regent… though well, we were planning to proceed all at once with that sort of groundwork from here on.

“What are your thoughts regarding the movement of the people?”

Perhaps deciding that enough had been said about military matters, Efaria asked about another condition.

She was probably trying to ease Count Heldio and the others’ concerns, and I intended to go along with it, but… why was Efaria so favorable toward us in everything?

I did not think I had done anything to be that well liked… well, whatever.

To each question and concern Efaria raised, I answered carefully one by one, conveying Einheria’s thinking.

It seemed the time spent was worth it, as the other two besides Efaria had calmed down considerably.

Apparently I had managed to cover for the share Kiriku had intimidated them with.

Well, it was not as if Kiriku had done anything wrong.

For now, including Count Heldio and the others, who had settled down thanks to Efaria, we proceeded with discussions over how we would move from here.

Naturally, the talks did not conclude in just this one day, and over the course of several days we hammered out our future course of action.