Matan's Shooter

Bang-!

The conference room door opened violently and a user walked in.

The place was filled with NPC nobles, but no one could blame the rudeness of the user who rushed in.

“An official proposal finally came from Minis!!”

Everyone instinctively knew that what they had been waiting for so long had come and focused on him.

Listening to the user’s words, a red-haired woman nodded. Ram Hwayeon raised the corner of her lips and asked. “It is only natural, so what is their proposal?”

“They will give two castles and one city facing the Marching Plains! The attitude of the people who tried to give only Castle Van Cowl completely changed!”

It was a shout of joy. And everyone realized that it was finally time to end the game of tug-of-war without any ropes. Count Quintum, who had argued with Browless before, cried out as he slammed the table with a bang.

“Yes! Yes! That’s it! Finally, Marquis!”

“As for the things we face- hmm, if we get those two castles and one city, we can push our borders further, and we would be able to prevent future invasions from Minis!”

Marching Plains acted as a natural buffer between Fibiel and Minis, but what if Fibiel was able to get those two castles and a city?

Although the cities can be said to be in an isolated situation, in terms of the country as a whole, they can be made into an outpost. If Minis made any suspicious movements, the cities could quickly detect it and report it to the capital!

“Although Marching Plains is a deserted land, and crops are impossible to grow, our country could still make use of that large land! We can definitely conduct military training there in the future.”

“Haha, that’s right.”

The NPC nobles laughed because they were able to save the face they had thrown away when they rejected the people asking them to sign the peace treaty in exchange for Castle Van Cowl.

And there were no people who did not show happy faces in such a joyous place.

“What do you think, Hwahong’s guild master?”

Marquis Hujak quietly opened his mouth. His voice was soft, but the power contained within it was by no means weak.

When he opened his mouth, all the NPCs who had been laughing and chatting, as well as the user who brought the news, shut their mouths.

Only after the atmosphere in the hall had sufficiently calmed down that Ram Hwayeon opened her mouth.

“It’s only been two weeks since we got information that Minis is under attack from chimeras. And in only two weeks they are already in a hurry to sign the peace treaty. In fact, if we check the intelligence reports these past few days we could see that Minis is having a hard time defending against the chimeras. They are having a hard time defending even with their most powerful knights…. It is also said that an unknown person- presumably Blue Beard- had intervened to protect and release the chimeras.”

“Hmmm…… So?”

“Minis is the one who is in a hurry to sign the peace treaty. And it seems Marquis Hujak already thought so… We should naturally reject their proposal”

Hearing Ram Hwayeon’s words, the marquis nodded.

However, only he agreed, and the other nobles criticized Ram Hwayeon as their eyes looked like it was about to pop out.

“R-Refuse? Did you just say we should refuse the peace treaty?”

“What is this nonsense? If we do that – if we do that, what would we do if they gave up? If they say that they will do whatever they want with the chimera-”

“There should be a moderate push and pull in negotiations, and that’s the reason we haven’t signed the peace treaty, but the situation is different now!”

“Marquis Hujak, that might be overreaching-”

Baaaang—-!

Ram Hwayeon slammed the table with her palm and stood up and the hall became quiet in an instant.

“Everyone really doesn’t know anything. Is the border that important? We will not be able to make any profit at the border anyway! Additionally, the two castles and the city they are giving are useless! These places have little monthly income and are literally useless except for their defensive purposes”

When Ram Hwayeon raised her voice, the nobles quickly became mice in front of the cat.

In that moment of silence, Ram Hwayeon brought a map from one side of the wall and laid it on the table before continuing.

“Moreover, refusing is not about simply ignoring it and throwing it away! It means that we have to make a counter-proposal based on their proposal.”

“A counter-proposal?”

The map showed Minis’ border and its surrounding cities. Hearing Marquis Hujak’s question, Ram Hwayeon pointed her finger at one place.

“Yes. Instead of the places they proposed, we have to take the city here. Two castles and this city. No, if a simple exchange is not possible, we don’t have to take a crappy castle like castle Van Cowl. Even if we have to give up everything, we have to get this city.”

“Explain.”

“Because it is a hub city where all their logistics were gathered during the war. It wasn’t just in charge of supplying the main army. We had to investigate the supply route of the enemy country and find a way to utilize that route or defend it, and we discovered this city in the process.”

Her didn’t just come simply out of spite or stubbornness.

The eldest daughter of the Ramlong group always had a basis as she pursued only the best with rationality and efficiency.

“It doesn’t matter if we do not take the castles as long as we get this one city. In any case, if a war breaks out, we can put an observation tower and a direct line to the capital, we would be able to spy on their movements. We will not be called greedy for asking for several cities, and in terms of practicality, this place can generate more income than two or three other cities, we need to get it unconditionally.”

She was more knowledgeable about the circumstances of each country in Middle Earth than the NPC nobles.

Listening to that explanation, the NPC nobles became speechless. They could refute neither logically nor emotionally. The marquis nodded his head.

“Good. I’ll tell his highness and ask him to come. We will refuse this proposal because Minis’ loss might be too great. They do not need to give up too many cities, we are satisfied with only this one city here…… that would be our counter-proposal!”

Fibiel would pretend to make concessions to Minis for the sake of the future alliance of humanity, but in reality, it was a proposal that would maximize Fibiel’s gains.

The marquis understood exactly what Ram Hwayeon was proposing.

“Right. Thank you, Hujak-nim.”

She bowed her head toward the marquis until marquis Hujak left the conference room.

A faint smile hung on her face.

Justification and truth? It wasn’t just for that reason that she said this.

‘Hmm, I can’t give Ha Leeha such a crappy city as a gift after yelling at him so much. I have to give him this much to make him think about me again.’

It was also because she wanted to make an effort to keep her promise to a man.

‘By the way, why isn’t he connecting? He’s been logged out for quite a while, where is he and what is he doing?’

Then, looking at her friend’s window, she grumbled inwardly. If she had known where and what Leeha was doing, she would never have said such a thing to Minis.

***

“Wow, how did you know that curry is my favorite? You really have a good sense!”

“Cough, I think you would have liked ‘most’ food today, right?”

Four people sat around a table in a Japanese curry restaurant.

When Kijeong overreacted, Nara rebutted. It was because she had a premonition that Kijeong would say something that would praise her for choosing the restaurant, not just a curry restaurant.

“T-that-”

“Haha, Kijeong is quite big but he has a cute side.”

“Eh, yes?”

Looking at Kijeong, who was embarrassed, Bobae butted in. Unlike Kijeong, who was surprised, Leeha was able to get a feel for Bobae’s personality to some extent.

‘If I think about it, she was like that in the palace too. She also asked if I had a girlfriend out of the blue. Maybe because she’s an archer, she doesn’t take any detours and is always a straight-shooter.’

Nara looked at Leeha’s face, which was looking at Bobae and Kijeong, filled with thoughts.

“What would you like to eat? I will be the one paying today. Take your pick.”

“Yes? I don’t know what to say. We didn’t even order yet.”

“No. If you do it like that—”

“No, no! Then Leeha-ssi will pay for today.”

Even before ordering, Bobae intervened as she watched Shin Nara and Leeha fight over the bill.

Why did she suddenly butt in and asked Leeha to pay? Nara looked surprised.

“Bobae……?”

“Aigoo, you idiot. Leeha-ssi will pay for today so that you can pay for him next time. Isn’t that right, Leeha-ssi?”

“Cough! Yes, yes. Bobae-ssi is right.”

Bobae was definitely a straight shooter. Leeha had an ulterior motive for paying, it was to set up an appointment with Shin Nara in advance because he didn’t know if there would still be a next time after this meeting!

Kijeong, who immediately realized its great meaning, clasped his hands and shook them with small movements from the side.

“……Oh……. Then, wouldn’t it be better if you talked about it in whisper?”

After hearing Bobae’s words, Leeha thought about it for a while but soon understood. It was for their next meeting. However, what was the point of telling it to Nara in front of Leeha?

Isn’t that the same as confirming that Nara was anxious about not being able to meet Leeha?

Leeha thought it was ridiculous, Nara was embarrassed, and Kijeong watched them with a smile.

In fact, the two people, who were the main reason for the meeting today, were blushing, and the two people, who were only tagging along, giggled while enjoying themselves.

“Hmm, then what shall we do? If Leeha-ssi is paying, shouldn’t we eat something expensive…? I can’t decide if I should order something like this.”

Unlike Leeha and Nara, who were staring at the menu awkwardly, Bobae and Kijeong looked at the menu separately.

“Then I, a friendly man, must step in.”

It was at that time that Kijung shook his shoulders.

Only Leeha sensed an ominous energy.

‘Kijeong, you…… no way…’

Was he about to say nonsense that he usually says, here? The two women, who had no way of knowing Leeha’s worries, focused on Kijeong.

“Huh? Why? What does being friendly have to do with it?”

And Bobae’s question became the trigger.

” I will be ‘friendly’, I will be ‘tender’.”

Baaaang—-!

Eventually, Kijeong fired the bullet.

“……Kijeong-ah…”

“Kijeong-ssi, by any chance, isn’t that a gag?”

Leeha felt like the silence he was going through right now was similar to the time he laid down alone for sniping.

However, could it be said that he was lucky?

The goal of sniping is hitting the target accurately!

“Puhaha, what was that? What was that just now? Puheup! Kijeong is really funny!”

“Oh, i-is that so?”

Was the damage so strong that it was enough to embarass even the shooter?! Bobae laughed and teased Kijeong.

“I love puns like that, . One more, do another one.”

.(To be continued…)