Chapter 260: 263

Chapter 263 - Claims for Compensation

"Are you the new Head of the Arbalest family?"

"I am Laguna de Arbalest, the Head of the House of Arbalest, in case you were wondering. But I am no longer as powerful as I once was since you have destroyed the Arbalest army."

"If you are the Head of the Arbalest family, does that mean that the previous Head died at Midway River?"

"Yes. Both of the previous Heads of the House of Arbalest were defeated by you. The knights who had followed them were also defeated. Thanks to you, we are finished as an aristocratic family. We can no longer even invoke our prided spells."

"I see. Well, forgive me for beating your asses on the battlefield. Anyhow, let's get on with the talks, shall we?"

"I am angry for my predecessors... but what are these talks? If I offer up my head, will you let the others go peacefully?"

"Nope, but thanks for the offer. We might have to take you up on that if things don't go well. What I really wanted to discuss was Fontana's original goal."

"The original goal?"

"Yes, my guy. This battle began with the request that the Arbalest family provide ships to safely transport the King and his vassals who are staying in Fontana Territory to the royal domain. When this request was refused by the Arbalests, we proceeded here to ask for a ship. There, an unfortunate miscommunication only led to a battle."

"...... In other words, if we had meekly offered their ships, there would have been no fight. Is that what you are saying?"

"That's right."

"I totally sensed the wave of your murderous intent just now. So what is your point in the end? As a result of fighting for that reason, Arbalest was defeated. I would like to ask what you intend to do with us."

"I will do nothing. I won't even take away your family's lands."

"I can negotiate wit— eh? What? You won't take our territory?"

"That's right. At least that's what Barca intends to do."

"...... Ars, that's no good. The House of Arbalest also has our pride as a noble family. We should not be treated mercifully after we have fought and lost a battle."

"I see. But please hear me out. Of course, the Arbalest family will have to take on other stuff."

"Which is...?"

"You're gonna pay us for this war. War reparations."

"War... reparations? What are those?"

"The Arbalest family will pay for the expenses and damages incurred in this battle. You are asked to make up funds necessary to pay us back, both the Barcan Army and the Ixian Army. You will pay for EVERYTHING, mind you."

"Reparations, huh? That doesn't sound familiar. Isn't it normal to take away the territory or something? Are you sure you want us to just pay you?"

"Yes, I am. I have already prepared a detailed statement. Please pay the amount written here by the due date."

"I understand. I will take the simplest and least damaging thing to do right now."

"Thank you very much. I will be able to report to the Head of the House of Fontana comfortably with a good answer. I look forward to cooperating with you. If you try to do any fraud, you know what will happen."

　※　※　※

"Are you truly sure about not wanting the Arbalest Territory, Ars-sama?"

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"It's okay, Payne. I just need to make sure that Arbalest is immobile and cannot move its forces at this moment."

"Nonetheless, war reparations? That's an unusual idea."

"Why? I would have lost too much money if I hadn't done at least this much. The loser has to bear the burden, don't you think?"

".....The Arbalest family can't pay, Ars-sama. They can still manage if it is just the cost of the war for both Barca and Ix. But the dragon's magic stone that you used. That is too expensive."

"I've heard that they are rare. However, it is not an absurd amount of money. The price was calculated based on a proper study of past market prices."

"I'm not saying whether the amount is fair or not," Payne said. "I am saying that it is too high for the Arbalest family to pay. If they can't pay, you can guess what will happen."

"That they will, in some way, try to attack us?"

"Yes, sir. I don't know when, but it could happen."

"Then that's not a problem. If they make a move on us, we will use it as a reason to take their territory completely that time. To be honest, it would be a better cause than what we stated for this battle. I'll split apart the territory and claim some myself."

"...... If the Arbalest family were to attack, it would not be Barca, but Ix, who would suffer the most damage. In other words, it would not at all be too late for Barca to wait for the other side to attack before going on the offensive. Yet, even if the Arbalests do not attack, we will still earn money from the reparations. Therefore there is no loss... is that your plan?"

"Yep~. If Arbalest is serious about paying reparations, it will naturally make it more difficult to collect taxes from its citizens. If that happens, the knights who are still alive will resent the Arbalest family. Those knights will raise up the taxes to, once more, earn enough money for their livelihood and maintenance of the land. This will cause unrest among the peasants. When Barca eventually takes over the land, even a slightly lower tax rate will make it easier to pacify the people living in the regions taken over. All good things, right? I don't want it to end up like Paramea again."

"I am afraid you are quite a frightening person, Ars-sama... destroying their citizens' trust in Arbalest while also defiling their economy. I understand. The only way it could go wrong is if the Arbalest family were to connect with outsiders. I will inform Gana-dono and keep an eye on Arbalest's contacts with other nobles."

"I agree with that idea. Thank you, Payne."

　We won the battle against the Arbalest family.

　This time it was a joint battle with Ix's army, but my work was quite significant.

　I'm sorry Gana, but I was put in charge in the first place... allowing me to do anything I wanted was synonymous with being put in charge.

　Having said that, I did not take a cut of the Arbalest Territory.

　It was not something that had to be done right now.

　More to the point, Barca was not likely to be able to rule even if we were to acquire a new domain in the Arbalest Territory at this point in time.

　If I wanted to manage the robbed territory, I would have to leave it to someone else.

　Baito-nii was still short of civil servants even after getting tons of help from me.

　Therefore, I decided not to take the territory, but only to take the gold and money.

　Money was necessary to move an army. What I forced them to do was pay us all those fees plus compensation for the labor and 'emotional trauma' of our soldiers.

　In fact, we would receive more money than we had spent on this occasion.

　Well, as Payne says, it is not impossible that the Arbalest family may not be able to pay the war reparations.

　However, since they have been given a few years' grace, they may just barely be able to repay it, depending on Laguna's caliber.

　As a deposit, for the time being, I received several Thunder Swords, the magical swords of the Arbalest family, as a down payment before returning back to Barcania.

 

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