A reunion with Oliver, huh.

I don’t have such nostalgic thoughts.

Honestly, I can’t read where they stand, so I can’t make a plan.

At this stage, what are they after?

It’ll be a challenge after that comes out.

We have the sign of the pact, but how effective is it?

One of my concerns is what happens when all the demons who are holding the monsters back take hostile action against us.

There must be a considerable number of forces within.

However, the fact that we have snatched away their pact with the dragon has paralyzed their nerves.

This has made it impossible for them to act in a unified manner.

This is one of the reasons I strictly forbid looting.

Fear is one of the reasons why I strictly forbid looting.

Still, it’s not a sure thing.

All I’ve been doing lately is take chances.

I thought I had the information in advance and was going in with a firm plan, but I got complacent one time and now I’m stuck in this mess.

Thinking about it gives me a headache.

I head for Kusanten, trying to hide my resentment toward myself.

In such a situation, I’m expressionless.

But…people around me think that I’m planning something deep.

It makes me want to laugh, but it works as a bluff, so I leave it at that.

Anastasius is accompanying me on the march.

I tried to get all kinds of information, but he is really unreliable.

They are vague and inaccurate.

Is he really trying to negotiate with us?

I was angry, but I quickly tried to stay calm.

Losing my cool could lead to a terrible blunder.

When I observed the situation calmly, I realized something.

That this is what they’re aiming for.

As for us, even if we exclude Anastasius from the negotiation, there is no one to talk to next.

We have no choice but to talk to this guy, even if we are dissatisfied.

At first glance, he is moving about confusingly in a pathetic manner.

In reality, he only gives us the bare minimum of words.

If you hit him, he just vibrates with a bouncing sound.

Even if you cut him away, he’ll immediately cling to you.

There is no real response.

He certainly doesn’t get any credit from me.

But this guy is not the one I’m really negotiating with.

So, in the extreme…he himself does not need to gain trust.

And since he is on the same road with me, we have no choice but to listen to his proposal.

We can’t build up any adverse material for this negotiation.

And the more solid the main negotiating partner is, the bigger this gap is.

And they know I’m willing to wrap up the negotiations.

They choose me because of my personality.

If the other party is not willing to organize, I would not use this move.

Considering all this, the demon tribe would in fact be almost unified.

Certainly, some of them would be rebellious…

After all, Oliver is formidable…

Thinking this, I stopped trying to extract information from Anastasius.

Then, as I had expected, the other party began to give me information in small pieces.

He really is very shrewd.

He must have been watching my reaction and immediately changed his plan.

It may be his camouflage to appear pathetic.

It takes a middle-aged person to be able to act like this…

If you are young, you must be a genius at acting, or you would have a lot of power somewhere.

In other words… it becomes deliberate.

It is a very natural way of feigning incompetence.

You do your part, even if it’s through mud.

Because there is a high probability that he will get a cold shoulder after the negotiations are concluded.

Thinking of this, I don’t feel aversion to him.

If this were not a calculation, I would be very surprised.

It seems that it’s true that the former chief of the tribe fell ill.

This is when the tribe felt unrest.

In the meantime, the former chief, instigated by Suzana, caused an uprising.

Oliver was under house arrest because of his great influence.

The groundwork was all set for an uprising as well.

The fact that we were undefeated added to the fear.

Dorius’ society, which had been so powerful, was swallowed up at once.

The Kriemhild family, with whom they had a history, was in an important position.

It is dangerous no matter how they look at it.

It was obvious that the remaining members of the family would be targeted.

As proof of this, they are provoking the family by building a town in the family’s holy place.

I took advantage of the Wise Man who made the first move.

If I put all these stories together, they’ll never be able to restrain themselves…

If I spread rumors that Oliver is also privy to me, the demon tribe with fear will be easily swept away.

Suzana may not have been a gifted diplomat, but it seems she was a gifted agitator.

Or a scriptwriter.

She took them on a ride well.

I don’t believe it, but it makes sense.

If I talk to Oliver, I’m sure I’ll understand naturally.

After about three days, we arrive at a fairly large town.

The town itself is ordinary.

When we arrived near the town, I instructed them to build a camp.

They were all surprised but quickly carried out the instructions.

Stepping into the town is dangerous.

And there is one more message.

We are not willing to negotiate on the other party’s home turf.

It’s the basis of negotiation.

Plus, one more thing.

There is some discontent among the soldiers that I’m going out there myself.

Some say it’s a hassle…but others say, “Why are you going out there if you’re the winner?”

We go out there for a reason, but you can’t play politics by looking only at the enemy.

The military phase is almost over and we are more than halfway into the political phase.

We have gone so far, now it’s time for you to come this time.

If we assimilate, there will be no ups and downs.

But now it is different.

Otherwise, the soldiers who risked their lives to fight would not be satisfied.

It is just that the side that won will not oppress the losers with pride.

It was notified that the press conference would be held the day after the camp was completed.

The soldiers were surprised at one point, but this notice had relieved some of their frustration.

In other words, they thought we were on the same page.

If I’m unprincipled and tolerant, it makes me look menial and weak.

I would not put my life on the line for such a guy’s instructions.

The next day, Oliver came to my camp curtain.

We greet each other and sit down.

He looks thinner, as if he had been under house arrest.

Oliver looked at me and smiled quietly.

“Lord Alfred, I don’t think I need to preface this. We surrender entirely. I just hope you will not exercise your victor’s rights.”

Surprisingly…I thought you would be a little more pretentious.

“No conditions can be attached?”

Oliver shook his head.

“The seal of our pact with the dragon has been shattered. We have lost our long-held sense of existence and pride. We’re in a situation where I could not even make a plan for what to do next. And now… I predict that our pact has been taken over by Lord Alfred, isn’t that right?”

Now then, is he pretending to be dead? Or is he really telling the truth?

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