Gaining Much Through A Deal

That evening, Ian safely finished dinner with his family (Princess Adrina was with them as well). The aftermath of his declaring in the audience hall that he would marry must have been considerable, because his mother and younger sister bombarded him with questions.

In any case, when Adrina and Ian said that they would marry within the year—specifically, after her birthday—the two of them seemed truly delighted. Apparently, it brought them a great joy that felt quite different from that of their engagement.

Seeing the two of them like that made Ian feel vaguely sorry, but after that time had passed, he got to spend some time alone with Princess Adrina. They had returned to his office and were now talking together.

“I met with Ambassador Miblanc today.”

“Yes, I heard.”

“Surprisingly, he introduced himself as a mage.”

“What? I–I didn’t know that.”

“I did not either. Are there so many mages in the Magnia Empire that they can even send one as an ambassador?”

“No. Absolutely not. As far as I know, there aren’t that many mages in our empire either.”

When she shook her head, Ian wondered if that man was simply a special case. At the same time, without hesitation, he told her about the request that had been made. Hearing that they needed mana users—and that the number required was seven—Princess Adrina’s eyes widened in shock.

“That many?”

“It seems the ruin they found this time is very different. In any case, they have six, and we have one, so I imagine that’s why they made such a request.”

“That’s really unusual. More than that… did Your Majesty have a mana user among your subordinates?”

“There was one.”

Ian deliberately avoided explaining the details about Camyu’s existence. To do so, he would have had to go into considerable detail about his own abilities. As for Princess Adrina, looking at King Ian, she could not help but think that he truly had many hidden facets.

“Your Majesty is really like a rose. Even if one plucks the outer petals, there are always more inner ones, aren’t there?”

“Ahem, it is not that many.”

“Everything that has emerged so far has been far from ordinary.”

“In any case, what do you think of their request?”

“Do you really need my opinion?”

“Why would you think that?”

“Because there is nothing I can do to help Your Majesty anymore. You can simply decide and act as you see fit.”

When they had first learned about the ruins, she and Ian had been able to negotiate on roughly equal footing. But that was no longer the case. She had nothing now, could no longer return to the empire, and could only continue living here while being a burden.

“Do not speak like that. Had it not been for you, I would never have known about the ruins at all. Are you trying to make me a man who forgets his debts?”

“But…”

“I consider us close enough that I can consult you on such things. So there is no need to belittle yourself.”

“…Your Majesty truly moves people’s hearts.”

“Ahem. Anyway, what do you think?”

“If it’s my opinion you want, then I believe they truly do need someone on Your Majesty’s side. Knowing my brother Jedic’s personality, there is absolutely no reason for him to ask for help while revealing the ruins’ existence.”

“So that is how you see it?”

“Yes. And the important thing is to be careful once the exploration of the ruins is over. There is a high possibility that they will not keep their promise. He is the sort of man who can discard honor for the sake of profit.”

“I had assumed as much. As you say, there is every chance they will break faith.”

There was only one treasure in a ruin, and they would never willingly give it up. If the Magnia Empire chose to act that way, there was nothing Ian could really do about it. Even if he was angry at their betrayal, it was not as though he could simply side with the Doicheun Empire and join the war.

If Polia joined the war on Doicheun’s side, it might significantly delay the end of the conflict in terms of time.

‘But that would be all. In the end, we would become a defeated nation.’

“So we need to get as much out of them as possible.”

“What do you think we should obtain?”

“Anything and everything. Whatever this country needs, we should secure as much as we can in advance.”

At those words, the first thing that came to Ian’s mind was, naturally, technology. He felt that this might be the opportunity to obtain key technologies from the Magnia Empire that they had not been able to get so far. The potential was enormous.

‘Since they might change their tune, we should ask for technologies they can hand over immediately.’

If they squeezed out the maximum benefit in advance, then even if they were betrayed later, it would be less galling. The other side had said they were pressed for time, so they would likely hurry to transfer the requested technologies. With that in mind, Ian decided he needed to move quickly and spend even the whole night drawing up a list.

‘It’s going to be a busy night.’

He already felt tired just thinking about it, but since this would raise the kingdom’s level of technology by an entire tier, it was something he had no choice but to throw himself into. With that, Ian quickly summoned the chancellor. When the chancellor arrived in haste, Ian explained the situation, and the man agreed and began hurriedly drafting the list of technologies they needed to acquire.

Thus the meeting continued all through the night. After that, two days passed, and only then did Ian summon Ambassador Miblanc and present their demands. Ambassador Miblanc reacted as though the thought had never even occurred to him, but Ian’s side had already decided to push hard.

After hearing the Polia Kingdom’s demands, Ambassador Miblanc immediately had to report them to his emperor back home.

Inside the imperial palace in Noa, capital of the Magnia Empire.

“They’re completely insane.”

Emperor Jedic’s expression twisted deeply. The demands that had come from the Polia Kingdom seemed utterly absurd to him. They were asking for everything from cutting-edge armor technology, to aircraft, to ship engine technology, to triple-mounted naval gun technology—every kind of advanced know-how they could think of.

“All this, just for sending a single mana user. They’re asking far too much.”

“They’re acting that way precisely because they understand our situation so well.”

“Lacen, am I really supposed to accept something this ridiculous?”

“If you want to obtain that thing, Your Majesty, you have no choice but to accept. However, we cannot give them everything.”

“Of course. We can’t just hand over everything. What if we drag things out and promise to transfer the technology later?”

If they did that, things might become murky enough that they could avoid actually giving anything. He knew that was an optimistic scenario, but it was not as though Polia would fail to see through such an intention. Emperor Jedic, more than anyone, did not want to hand over the cutting-edge technologies that the empire had developed at such great effort.

“They know full well how hard that knowledge is to obtain. That’s exactly why they’re making such excessive demands.”

“Mm, that makes sense.”

“They know we’re short on time. So the party that’s really desperate here can only be us.”

“Are we keeping a close eye on them? There’s been no unusual movement?”

“Yes. At the moment, there is no change at all. Even for them, finding seven mana users will be difficult. In fact, it may very well be impossible.”

Even an empire with vast territory and population had barely managed to scrape together six. Including Lacen in front of him, that number alone was already impressive. Of course, they could not afford to be complacent. The secretive organization involved might already have seven at its disposal.

“It’s really ironic. Of all times, it’s now that we discover there’s a mana user in the Polia Kingdom.”

“Indeed. Until recently, we believed that aside from their mages, there were no mana users in Polia at all.”

They had no way of knowing that Camyu, formerly belonging to that secret organization, had been remade as Ian’s subordinate. In any case, pressed for time, they had to make a decision quickly. More than that, what was the true nature of this crystal sphere they kept calling “that thing”?

The fact that there was supposedly something they could do with it explained why they coveted it so much. Perhaps the very fact that they were willing to accept these terms meant that it possessed that much value.

“It’s a shame we don’t have the luxury of time to think this over.”

“That it is, Your Majesty.”

In the end, the emperor made his choice. They would agree to most of the demands while excluding a few specific items. Most notably, he ordered that any technology related to battleship armor be strictly excluded. When word of this reached Ian’s side, they immediately accepted. In reply, they said that only once the technology had arrived would they send their man.

It was a brazen stance, but it worked. In this way, the Magnia Empire received 73 out of the 88 requested technologies, excluding 15. In terms of monetary value, these were worth a truly astronomical amount.

In any case, the decision was made in less than a day after the demands were presented, and in fact, only three days had passed since Ambassador Miblanc had visited the audience hall.

Polia Kingdom, capital city Pullea, royal palace, king’s office.

“They actually agreed to this?”

“So it seems, Your Majesty. We are currently conducting a detailed examination of the blueprints we received.”

“Make sure you check thoroughly in case they slipped in any fakes.”

“Of course. We’ve summoned every relevant expert and begun the review.”

At the chancellor’s words, Ian nodded. At the same time, he wondered just how important that thing was for them to hand over such technology so readily.

‘Of course, I know it’s worth its weight in gold for me, since it enhanced my abilities. But do they also have someone who can make similar use of it?’

If not as a way to boost someone’s powers, perhaps it could be used in an entirely different way. For example, Ian thought, maybe it could serve as an energy source.

‘Granted, I’m the one manipulating the weather, but this power really is broken.’

He still could not go as far as summoning a full typhoon, but if he could someday call up something on that scale, the destructive potential would rival, if not surpass, that of a nuclear bomb. The energy contained within a typhoon was that enormous.

Of course, it was not as though it produced destruction in quite the same way a nuclear bomb did. It was simply that the total energy contained within it was immense. Considering that, Ian thought it only natural that the empire would want this so desperately.

‘I still don’t know exactly how it is meant to be used, but I suppose I’ll find out someday.’

In any case, because Ian’s side had insisted on receiving the technology as quickly as possible, the Magnia Empire had secretly prepared airships and sent sealed sets of technical drawings over. With that done, it was now Polia’s turn to keep its promise.

“It’s our turn to keep our side of the bargain now.”

“Indeed, Your Majesty. But are you truly sending only a few people? Isn’t that too small a number?”

“We don’t have much choice. If we send many, the risk only increases. A small, elite team is better.”

“That is true, but even so, exposing an Expert to such danger is worrisome. I only learned of him recently, but from the kingdom’s point of view, he is a critical asset.”

“That may be so, but what can we do when these are the terms?”

Ian regretted it as well. He had spent months remaking Camyu, and losing him would be a serious blow. But that did not mean he could break his word. If he did, the Magnia Empire might go berserk.

“Send him to the designated location.”

“Understood, Your Majesty. We’ll make preparations at once.”

With the chancellor’s response, preparations got underway to receive the Magnia Empire airship that would carry the party. Then, at exactly 8:30 the next morning, a single airship was sitting on a vast open field, waiting.

The huge airship, 300 meters long, was grandeur itself. And there was a line of vehicles approaching that ship. When the vehicles came to a stop, the ones who got out were the familiar white-masked Camyu and two other men.

The two were both agents of the secret police, the Mauter. They could not send Camyu alone, so the two would accompany him to provide support. As they disembarked, a waiting man approached them and spoke in a cold tone.

“Please board quickly. We don’t have much time.”

He checked his pocket watch as he spoke, leaving a strong impression of chilliness. They were not exactly being greeted warmly. Their presence was necessary, but not welcomed. The agents knew this as well and had prepared themselves for such treatment.

“Go and come back safely, all of you.”

Among those who had come to see them off, the highest-ranking figure was Viscount Rubingston, head of the Mauter. When he spoke, the two agents bowed to him and then moved on, with Camyu following behind. Another man who had come along with them proceeded as well, and soon they were boarding the airship that had landed.

Realistically, this was the fastest way to reach their destination. If they traveled by ship, the sea voyage alone would have taken more than a month. From the time-pressed perspective of the Magnia Empire, there was no option but to use an airship.

Buuuuuu—

Before long, the airship began its departure. Its eight rotating propellers spun up rapidly, and the ship slowly rose, climbing higher and higher into the sky. As the airship receded into the distance, Viscount Rubingston watched its departing form with a hardened expression.

‘I don’t know if they’ll make it back alive.’

He could not guarantee their lives. With such a small force going, there was no telling what might happen. He also worried whether they would be able to carry out the separate orders they had been given.

‘There’s probably a high chance of failure.’

There would be almost no opportunity for an interception or theft in the middle of all this. With that thought, Viscount Rubingston turned his body away, got into his car, and headed back to the capital. He needed to return quickly and report to the king that the party had departed.