Chapter 44: 42

34th, Negotiations without Compromise

　And so the starting point winds back to the time when the Jotuns’ emissary comes to the doorstep.

　Klein follows the exact same course as in the past.

　He comes to the point just before the question.

“So, after discussing it with my retainers…”

“No! Now, here! I want to hear what the Viscount himself has to say! ! “

　Marriage is an important matter.

　It was a matter of life and territory, but he didn’t give Klein any time to think about it.

“Uh, huh….?”

” ―Come on. What’s your answer? “

　But there is no room for such a thought.

　In the end, he has no choice but to nod his head at the offer of marriage.

“Alright… then, I’ll accept your offer of marriage.”

“Very well, now we――”

“However!”

　If it ends here, he will be plunged into another all-out war.

　This time, Klein is moving in the right direction to avoid war.

“For now, please keep it an engagement. And that, too, in secret.”

“…you mean.”

　The messenger, who had fully intended to play rough with the Eastern Count, gave Klein a quizzical look.

　Klein tones it down and asks.

“Eastern Count will be furious if I marry your daughter.”

“That’s why I’ve told you that my family will send reinforcements in case of an emergency.”

“Even if you send reinforcements, we don’t have the facilities to defend ourselves.”

“Ugh….”

　It is a fact. Even if he calls in some reinforcements, they will be scattered in the field.

　Even if he can’t build a castle, he needs to be prepared to build a fort.

　However, as soon as the marriage proposal news reaches the Eastern Count, the military action starts immediately.

　Because of the rapid attack, there is not enough time to prepare for a defensive battle.

　Therefore, Klein thought of a plan.

　Choosing the path of strengthening the relationship with Southern Count.

　He also postpones the time of conflict with Eastern Count.

　This is the plan he used.

“If the Eastern Count gets serious, we will be attacked by a strong army that has been known to fight against foreign tribes. It is obvious that we will be at a disadvantage if we fight in the field, so we would like you not to announce it until we are ready to do so.”

“However, Eastern Count has already made repeated requests to… us, and it would be difficult to go any further.”

　The other high nobles are reluctant to marry the lady because of their ties to Eastern Count.

　However, the pressure from Eastern Count is increasing day by day.

　So they tried to keep their options open, resulting in his marriage proposal.

　Klein could have guessed that since he did not try to make amends and showed signs of being troubled.

　Even for him, he could not bend on this point.

“I am indebted to the Jotuns for the many unreasonable offers I have made to them, for example, renting the farm… and if I had to weigh the Vanargand family, I would choose you without a second thought.”

　Comparing these two families, it is obvious at a glance.

　It is easy to understand that it would be worse to displease the Southern Count, whose territory is adjacent to the Vanargands and who is an important trading partner, even if the two houses are somewhat far from each other.

　Although they were worried because they knew that Eastern Count would attack them, there was no need to be too stressed about it.

　It is not so scary to make the Count in the enclave angry.

　―If you think about it calmly, it is impossible for the Eastern Count to raise an army.

　But from Klein’s point of view who knows the future, the actions of Count Vanargand are out of the ordinary.

　If they are that obsessed, the pressure on the Jotuns must be considerable.

　With this in mind, he continues.

“Therefore, I would like to proceed with the Jotuns. But only on the condition that you buy more time.”

“…on the condition that I buy more time, is that right?”

“Yes. We’d like to decline if the bridge is so dangerous that we can’t do it.”

　It’s not right for the Viscount of Asgard, who is lower in rank and dependent on them for food, to say this.

　Klein was adamant that he would not compromise on this point.

“…..gu, ugh.”

　The messenger’s face is reddening as if the excitement from earlier has returned.

　He growled, understanding that it was unreasonable to push more.

　Even if it looked like a good match, it would put them at risk of being stared at by the armed forces.

　If Klein did not know about the situation with the Counts of Vanargand, he would have gone ahead without saying anything.

　For Klein, this means.

　A relative who had been a great help to him.

　A proposal from a superior.

　The negotiations were conducted under the pretext of weakness.

　Jotun’s side had thoroughly blocked Klein’s way out before making the offer.

　In other words, it could be said that they were indirectly trying to frame him.

　It may sound bad to call it a scheme, but it was certainly an unscrupulous move.

“How about it? All we need is time.”

　The messenger thinks that Klein is exaggerating the risks.

　But while it is doubtful that they would actually send a large force, a skirmish or two could happen.

　Since Klein said, “I’ll agree with you if you give me time,” after understanding the background and the risks involved, his answer was still righteous.

　The man calms down and asks in a lower voice than before.

“How long is the time?”

“Yes, I think so. At least three months, preferably six months.”

“Half a year…”

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　Because of the distance between Southern Count and Eastern Count, there is no direct threat of force.

　However, for some reason, the Hermes Chamber of Commerce was supporting the Eastern Count, and the Jotuns, who had shifted to agricultural production, were facing the possibility of having their distribution of general merchandise, luxury goods, and precious metals cut off.

　It is not clear why the big merchants’ association in the capital, which had been building a good relationship with the Jotuns, is suddenly on the side of the Eastern Count.

　The tightening of the relationship would not have any effect for about three months.

　Judging this, the messenger cuts him off.

“After the marriage, will you be able to establish a cooperative relationship immediately?”

” If you just want to strengthen the relationship under the surface, we can start right now.”

“Well, I appreciate that.”

　The Asgard territory has a variety of mines, and the only thing it does not have is a gold mine.

　The Jotun family’s gold mines can just barely supply the gold, and we can import it from the west.

　There is still a lot of room for development in Asgard. If the Jotuns can help them develop the areas where they were lacking, they will not have to be afraid of future pressure.

　His mind is racing, and he makes various calculations simultaneously.

“Then… no, I still don’t think six months is possible. It is better as soon as possible.”

　The conclusion emerged: “it is possible to buy time” and “we should make a connection here.”

　However, it also depends on how the Hermes Trading Company will react.

　The time frame for enduring the situation will depend on how aggressive they will be.

　They need to be prepared for any unforeseen circumstances.

　He really wanted to make a connection with them as soon as possible.

“Is it difficult?”

“Yes. I’m going to hold off on this for three months, and I think that’s as far as we can go.”

　Maybe if they were straining the relationship with Eastern Count, the Hermes Trading Company would harass them.

　However, it is possible to recover by doing more business with other merchants.

　However, the damage would be tremendous if Klein removed the ladder after enduring the situation for six months.

　For the sake of the family’s interest, it is best to establish a relationship in the shortest possible time.

“Yes, sir. Three months from now would be the end of October. If we announce the engagement at the beginning of November, it will be about a month before the news reaches the Vanargand family.”

　Now it’s Klein’s turn to think.

　Let’s say the engagement is known a little earlier, somewhere at the end of November.

　Even if they gathered their troops at that time, they would be ready to go into battle around the middle of December.

　Think of the last few battles.

　Each time, the battle is fought on a plain surrounded by mountains on all sides, about two days away from the capital of Asgard to the east.

　It takes 10 days for the Eastern Count army to reach there, so they will face each other just around the time of the New Year.

　Usually, people would not march in the middle of winter because of the possibility of freezing to death.

　However, the Count would march no matter the time of the year.

　If that is the case, they should move their schedule to the period between January and February, when the snow is deepest.

　Klein persisted even when it looked like they might be able to reach an agreement.

“No, three and a half months. How about that?”

“Does that half a month mean anything to you?”

“Yes. If I could, I would have preferred four months, but… that’s what I’m going to ask for.”

　If the Eastern Count waits until spring to advance, that’s fine.

　We will face them in the middle of January if they attack immediately.

　At that time of the year, there might be heavy snowfall in the eastern part of the country, which might force the enemy to march through the snow.

　The Asgard forces, which are close to their home bases, will be well-prepared, but the enemy soldiers who have traveled long distances on cold, snow-covered roads will be weakened.

　Even if they are stronger than Asgard’s army, the damage from the snow will increase in January.

　So those two weeks could determine the outcome of the battle.

　So far, we had been fighting them head-on, but now we had to change our mindset.

　For example, if we build a fort to block the road to Asgard territory, we can use the fort to fight a siege.

　A fortress can be easily protected from the cold, and the ability of succession will be different in a long war.

　The effort to increase the number of troops and the strength of the troops to strengthen the allies is already over.

　It is impossible to improve one’s army further in a hurry.

　So Klein was trying to strengthen his allies and weaken his enemies simultaneously.

“Then I would like to buy… a lot of food,”

“A lot. How much?”

　With that, he pulled out a plan.

　They would arrive in the second half of January with grain from Count Jotun’s family.

“We want to buy all the food we can get for Count Jotun’s family, as much as we can.”

　In bulk, all of it.

　As much as the Viscounts of Asgard can afford.

“That’s going to have to be adjusted.”

“I’m sure it will. We’ll send the Sleuth Chamber of Commerce, so the transportation will be less labor intensive.””

　The messenger and the lord.

　Both sides were so desperate that they had a heated discussion afterward.

　The discussion went on to specific plans for internal affairs after the marriage―

　―A full-fledged alliance was concluded.

　Starting from the first marriage proposal, which was influenced by the situation, the previous ones were limited to consenting to the marriage.

　Even when they did, they only asked for a garrison to be stationed in the area, but no concrete arrangements were made.

　But now they have gone further.

　The result is an alliance proposal that is much finer and more detailed than before.

　So far, things are proceeding pretty much according to Klein’s ideal.

“….huh. Tough negotiations.”

　Klein has managed to get three and a half months to work, but he has a lot of work to do.

　After sending off the weary messenger.

　He renews his determination to survive this time.

　He immediately begins to send out instructions to various people.

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