Part 4
-----------[Underwood Great Tree] Conference Room, Evergreen Longhouse.[22]
Moments after the end of the Hunting event, Jin Russel arrived at the conference room, prepared to discuss the terms of Alliance with [Six Scars].
Within the Evergreen Longhouse, the other party was nowhere in sight. Only Percher and a gloomy Shirayuki-hime stood to the right and left of Jin's back, dressed in their maid outfits.
"Wh,Why must I, Shirayuki wear this maid outfit and become subservient to others?"
"I advise you to give up soon. The clothes prepared by 'Thousand Eyes' are of good quality and quite comfortable once you get used to it."
Percher, who had gotten used to her maid outfit, was leisurely poking fun at Shirayuki hime.
----Originally loaned to [No Name] for the development of the waterways, Shirayuki-hime now had to extend her stay due to the uncompleted renovations of her temple.
Initially complaining and protesting "Who would wear such an outfit!", Shirayuki hime had placed the maid outfit as the bet and played Gift games with Izayoi. Going at it for a hundred times, she had also lost to him a hundred times. In the end, she was almost forced to wear something so indecent that a pen couldn't possibly start to describe it. Hence her reluctant acceptance of the condition to wear a maid outfit as we now see today.
Although Kuro Usagi had specially obtained a maid outfit for Shirayuki-hime, one that was much more reserved and covering more adequately than the previous ones, for one that never wore a western skirt in her life, the outfit was totally strange and foreign.
"……How I miss my wafuku."
"Then wear it. Didn't you receive a wafuku in the set of clothes delivered to you?"
"That….That kind of obscene thing that exposes my shoulders, back, barely covering my chest and lastly showing off my legs, can't be called a wafuku! You aho!"[23]
"Oh so you understand what is embarrassment? Aren't you sleeping naked all the time in your burrow in the form of a snake?"
"Hmph, you are totally incapable of understanding the difference in culture! And my real form isn't that of a snake but a sacrifice------"
--------*Tock Tock!* The doors of the Evergreen Longhouse was knocked twice.
Straightening his sitting posture, Jin warned his aides.
"Quieten down for now."
The wooden doors were slowly opening as the two shoved aside their squabbles.
Carol in a formal dress led the way in before stepping aside for the leader of [Six Scars].
The one that appeared in the doorway was a cat beastman that looked around the same age as Jin.
" ….. You are Jin Russel?"
"I am. And I assume that you are Garol Gundark's son------ Poral Gundark?"[24]
Poral Gundark gave a casual wave in greeting before pushing his spectacles higher on his nose bridge..
The two sitting beside Jin relaxed their shoulders as their tension subsided.
[……. Just a kid?]
[Just like a youth… No, a young leader][25]
A crop of messy hair matched with round framed glasses, with a playful gleam that seems to shine in his eye whites that makes him look even younger than he already is. Only his dress code seemed appropriate for the occasion. In short, he looked more of a normal teen that was in his rebellious period.
[Since it's going to be a negotiation between two of the same age group, Jin shouldn't be pressed into a corner I guess…. This is going to be so boring.]
[I never thought that I would see a day when leaders, that carry the responsibility of their Communities, to be all children around the age of ten coming to the conference table. The end of the world must surely be near.]
Both of them silently came up with similar conclusions as they heard Jin introduce their entourage.
"These two beside me are the support staff of my Community. Percher, who is on my right and Shirayuki-hime on my left."
"I've heard of them. The MizuHeibi[26] God and the reincarnation of Black Death. We of [Six Scars] have also played a part in the project of constructing the waterways."
"What did you say?" Shirayuki-hime gasped in surprise.
Poral sat himself down on the seat on the other end before laughing. Showing his sharp feral teeth.
"[Six Scars] is a Commerce Community. Do you think we would miss out on such a big scale construction when news of it reach our ears? Moreover it's also a supported project by one that is publicly acknowledged as the strongest [Floor Master], Shiroyasha, to provide for the lower levels. With the recent activity of Demon Lords, to have a 'peaceful and secure region' in this chaotic age is a huge advertisement. The price of land in the area will surely increase. I predict that the number of communities shifting to the East will also increase. Hence grabbing the opportunity, I've been having successful negotiations with the Communities that hold properties in the East…… It is with that in mind that you have sought me for negotiations right?"
Poral face broke into a grin, watching Jin with eyes that were exceptionally white as his irises narrowed. Not replying immediately, Jin shifted his sitting posture and kept silent.
On the other hand, Poral's words had hit so close to home that it surprised Percher and Shirayukihime, causing them to turn and meet each other's eyes.
Having assumed that the other party would put forth all the disadvantages of the discussion, they were all ready to go on the defensive. None of them expected Poral to start off the negotiation by stating the value of [No Name]. And that would mean that this value must be part of the price to be given.
[So this means that…… his oratory skills in negotiations must have been seen as an important asset enough to be elected as the new leader.]
[Oh? This seems interesting…]
They could see that this youth wasn't the kind that would try to rush for benefits without much thought. Quietly chuckling in their hearts, they decided to observe the progress that had promised much entertainment for them, the audience.[27]
Jin let the silence fill the room for a moment before assuming his usual unreliable smile to respond. " Nn, That is definitely the case. You saw through it?"
"There's nothing much for me to see through. This level is definitely easy enough even for my dim witted elder brothers to know."
"You have elder brothers?"
"Of course I do. I'm ranked twenty-fifth in terms of age amongst my father's twenty five children. Other than Carol Onee-san, I still have many other Onii-sans and Onee-sans that have a large age gap between us. Am I right?"
He turned to pass the question at Carol.
Carol who was obviously not used to this kind of formal conferences could only nod stiffly in response.
Hearing Poral's words, Jin continued to put on a smile while making a mental note to be more alert.
"That's quite something. For you to have twenty-four elder brothers and sisters…… yet being able to be the leader when you are the youngest."
Though his face was smiling, Jin's words implied another subtle message.
Poral seemed to have picked it up as he showed his feral grin: "Oh, it isn't much. My family's tradition places much emphasis on capability. Whenever it comes around to the time when the leadership is transferred to the next generation, an examination elimination game will be played amongst the candidates. And based from the scores, the best would be appointed as the next leader…… The Gift game is quite something as well. In normal circumstances with such a competition between siblings, one wouldn't be surprised if it were to lead to internal strife but due to the nature of Gift Games, it eliminates their rights to protest or revolt."
"! "
To be able to compete with the other candidates within the community for the family business and not worry about the threat of internal strife.
In addition to that, all other strong candidates will be stripped of their rights to protest and revolt.
Jin pondered over these conditions that would be stated in the Game.
"A game that acquires the support of the Community……while making the ones that lost sign a contract that swears fealty to the winner. Even if the winner is a younger sibling……"
"------or the child of a concubine."
Poral's words were sharper than before, but it wasn't one that held any worries or guilt.
A son of a concubine, added to being the youngest child in the age rankings to rise up as the new leader that leads the whole Community. The youth that now sat at the table was able to obtain his victory with such unfavorable conditions against him.
Percher and Shirayuki-hime who were taking him lightly had revised their thoughts and now watched him with eyes that acknowledged a formidable enemy.
Seeming to toss those words in his mind around a few more times, Jin nodded his head thrice before smiling with respect in his eyes.
"That's….. That's really impressive. Since you were able to garner much support from your community, you should be quite acquainted with the intricacies of negotiations right?"
"Who knows? I will leave it to you to judge me later when the negotiations are over."
A smug smile befitting his age appeared on Poral's face. Realizing that this topic was closed, Jin leaned closer to the table to start on the main topic.
"……I guess you would already have heard from your father that we of [No Name] are trying to create an Alliance emblem and are in search of Alliance partners."
"That I've heard of. The emblem and flag that is required for rising up to the sixth level, to put it bluntly you want to make use of the name of my Community to form your Alliance right? And so with that as the price, what can you provide my Community in return?"
Laughing arrogantly, Poral seemed to be enjoying this rare conference with another Community leader of a similar age and held hopes for the discussions to come.
Keeping his silence for half a beat, Jin steered the discussion in a totally new direction.
"I would like to veer a little to another topic…… I believe that [Draco Greif] will be proposing a merger with you."
As the words fell, the smile was wiped off Poral's face.
"……That joke was quite humorous. Why do you think that way?"
"Because the Alliance hasn't been able to utilize itself efficiently. By separating people into their racial ethnicities and then into respective Communities, then further segregating by the racial differences into the specialized tasks. Take for example a Community that specializes in combat while another specializes in defending the city. Utilizing the strength of each Community….. Specialization of tasks for the racial groups. Though it sounds nice to be placed in the specialization program, it isn't necessary as good as it sounds. Any Community that tries to leave the Alliance will spell the end of the pooled strength, leaving it vulnerable to attacks. After all, a Gift Game cannot be won through sheer strength alone."
"……"
"Since the past till now, the relation of the Alliance was maintained though frequent meetings between the independent Communities. However, the [Draco Greif] Alliance will soon be rising to the fifth level and most probably be the [Floor Master] as well. To get a better close knitted cooperation between the Communities, rather than an Alliance that comprises of independent Communities that have to juggle with the many aspects to handle, there would be a need to become a more efficient Organization through the specialization of tasks……am I right to say so?"
Jin threw the question back to Poral.
Poral had mixed feelings of admiration and interest after listening to Jin's stand on the matter, though none of those made it to his facial expressions that maintained a calm demeanor.
[Hmm…… Seems like this isn't an information gathered from the other Community leaders.]
-----That's right. Jin's deductions were correct for the most parts, around 70%.
The [Draco Greif] Alliance's pending merger. About this matter, there was a gag order issued so he couldn't tell the truth but neither could he ignore the truth of Jin's words.
Facing the topic that focused upon the Alliance merger, Poral could already see what was hinted by the other party. Even in the face of such adversity, he decided to brave it by feigning ignorance and testing the confidence of the other party's deductions.
"Hey, your words seem to lack the logic to back them up. If you remember your previous words, supposing that the Alliance merger is true, there wouldn't be a reason for you to search us out for an Alliance proposal anymore, would there?"
"Because all the other Communities except for [Six Scars] would join the Alliance merger."
Jin seemed eager to tear apart the defenses upon seeing a chink in the opponent's armor as he continued. "[Six Scars] is different from the other Communities. Being specialized in the economical aspect and having the huge resource in finance, you are able to reach out to the other realms to expand your business. Most importantly, to cause a Commerce Community to change their 'flag' and 'Name' would deal a huge blow to your current business. Rather than letting it happen, you would choose to opt out of the merger and continue the task of hoarding your treasury while making use of the relations with [Draco Greif]. This will then enable you to even out the gains and losses……right?"
[Wow! That was impressive.]
Other than that ending that seemed to suggest doubts in his own conjecture, Jin could easily be given a full score for his argument. Since this was brought up by the [No Name]'s before the focus of the discussion today, it would seem that their price can only be related to this.
Softening his attitude, Poral gave a smile.
"So that's the case. *KeKe* If you put it like this, I will not peek around the bush any further. That is to say that [No Name] promises to make up for our loss from not joining the [Draco Greif] Alliance? To utilize the effect of our [Privilege of an Alliance] to lend your strength in future fights that we may have with Demon Lords……am I right to say so?"
"Yes."
Jin replied immediately. Watching this sudden turn of events, Shirayuki-hime couldn't keep silent any further:
"Wait, wait a while you brat! Did you really hear what he said clearly? He asked for our guaranteed participation in any battle with Demon Lords! It's to say that even if the opponent is an Asura god, no matter the situation be it good or bad, you will have to lend a hand! If it is just to borrow the Community's name, it's too high a price."
"Ho…. So our flag and name is that unworthy?"
Poral grabbed the chance to make the fan the situation further, not wanting to back down.
At that, Shirayuki-hime just stared back at him angrily but kept silent.
----How the [Privilege of an Alliance] works is when a Demon Lord attacks an Alliance Community, though the other Communities in the Alliance may not have met the requirements of the Game, they can forcefully join in the fray with that Privilege.
There's no obligation to help even if there's an Alliance. Though it may not sound ethical, to risk one's own Community to help another would be a very bad leadership quality. Hence one would usually assess the situation, strength of the opponent and the winning conditions before deciding whether or not to participate. The might of Demon Lords are comparable to the tragedies of Natural disasters. There's none in Little Garden who wouldn't fear them.
And this Alliance is to be formed with the contract of [Our strength will be lent regardless of the Demon Lord's power].
Jin motioned Shirayuki-hime to back down as he leaned out further.
"The only problem is that battles with Demon Lords are very exhausting in nature. Though my comrades are the ikkitousen[28] power type players, they would also incur lots of costs in the Game. With this aspect in mind, I would like to ask [Six Scars] to provide us with assistance."
"Okay, I understand. Just ask if you need anything."
Poral gave an exaggerated action of leaning back while making that promise. Regarding [No Name]'s battle strength, he had evaluated and rated them highly. If all these expenses were to guarantee their support in a battle with a Demon Lord, it was still a cheap investment.
[Six Scars] providing items and money.
[No Name] sacrificing their blood and lives on the front lines.
……but this seemed like a contract of a sell-sword mercenary or that of a slave. The maid combination glared at Jin's back with disappointment and anger.
[…… Following the earlier progress, we should have been able to ask for a better condition]
[In the end it's still the ignorance of the child….]
The ones who will bleed and seat isn't the leader Jin, but the three problem kids that are the main members of the Community. If they hear of this condition for the Alliance, they would surely have a gulf in their relationship with Jin.
In their minds, they were already groaning at this predicament.
However, Jin only glanced at them from the sides of his eyes before continuing the negotiations.
"Then, can I seek to confirm the details that you will support us with?"
"Hahaha, you sure are impatient…… But it's no problem. Let's hear it then, what you have decided to request from us? Is it money? Weapons? Or Gifts for battle purposes?"
"I would like to request manpower."
"------What?" Poral's voice came out a little higher in pitch.
"Ah. No. I didn't mean to ask for manpower for the sake of playing Games. Since we are going to run our Community, we would be needing a lot more comrades to lend a hand. I hope that you would be able to provide a sufficient amount of manpower for our cause." Jin quickly added.
"….. Manpower? And roughly how many would that be?"
"At least two hundred."
Poral frowned in surprise.
From what he gathered so far, [No Name] is supposedly a Community that emphasizes on its main member's battle prowess. Though news was that they were developing their farm, the premises of their farm wouldn't explain the need for that much manpower.
What would they require the manpower for then?-------Poral racked his brains and remembered another matter.
[Come to think about it……the [No Name]s will be getting back their land and facilities after rising up to the sixth level….. could their aim be that?]
Though he had found a clue to the answer, he still clicked his tongue.
The [No Name] Community that Jin now led was one of the best Communities in the East Sector. Assuming that they want to rise up to the sixth level to reclaim their possessions, how much value would those possessions be?
[And it wasn't a matter of one or two people but a large amount of manpower……No, it would be more correct to put it as pricey enough to be willing to pit themselves against Demon Lords. If it really is so…..]
In the end, it was becoming more difficult to tell which of the two of them was trying to get a better bargain. Sadly, there was no way for Poral to measure these insubstantial conditions with a Balance. What he thirsted for now was for more information.
"…… I have no objections about sending my comrades to help you as the manpower requested. However, being the leader of the Community, I wouldn't like to be kept in the dark regarding the reason for sending my men there."
This was the almost the utmost limit for probing into the matters of others. It would be the best case scenario if Jin were to be willing to reveal the purpose. If he changed the topic, Poral would just have to accept it. But if it's the worst case that Jin decides to stop the negotiations, Poral would have to apologize to find a common point to agree on again. After all, the negotiations up till now had definitely been quite favorable to his Community.
Hence to respect each other's perimeter of the common point, Poral decided to phrase it carefully.
But to Poral's amazement, Jin had readily agreed and turned to ask Percher:
"……Percher, could you pass that bag to me?"
"Eh? Oh, okay."
Percher who was listening to their conversation intently was surprised by this sudden focus on her as she was being addressed.
From the bag that was handed over to him, Jin retrieved a tightly sealed box and a thick stack of old goatskin parchment. Opening the lid to allow the sparking metal ore roughly the size of a human skull to be visible, Jin passed both over to Poral for inspection.
Percher and Shirayuki-hime couldn't make anything out of this action and looked at each other quizzically.
However, Poral was able to understand the value of that object. Gabbing the goatskin parchments as his face paled, he stood up hurriedly.
"…….Wait! No Way! Give me a moment! This….. No matter how you put it, it is totally unbelievable!"
Poral couldn't help but shout loudly while rapidly scanning the documents with his eyes.
The old goatskin parchments mapped out a vein of ore running through a mountain and the estimated amount of ore obtainable from mining it.
When placed beside the metals like Gold, Silver and Bronze, those would definitely pale in value and be regarded as rotten old trash.
Be it in Heaven, or the Human Realm, the Ore described in the goatskin just held that much value that it cannot possibly be measured.
Seeing that Poral understood the full value of the item, he made the final confirmation of Poral's thoughts.
"--------'That is the vein of [Diamond Iron]. Our aim is mining the [Terramaterial] that condenses in the Community grounds."[29]
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