Chapter 119: Negotiation
Early the next morning, supported by Rem, the two of them came out together and sat down on the grass in the courtyard.
After lying down all night, Subaru's body had somewhat recovered, but he still couldn't do any strenuous exercise.
Even just going out for a walk took a lot of convincing before Rem agreed to his idea.
The White Whale was scheduled to appear tonight, and the Witch's Cult would launch their attack at noon tomorrow. Time was tight.
Subaru absolutely could not lie in bed for a whole day waiting for his body to fully recover.
After sitting together on the grass for a while, basking in the sun and having breakfast, Subaru and Rem returned to the room.
"Rem, I have a question I want to ask you," Subaru said seriously, sitting on the edge of the bed and looking at her.
He was preparing to seek outside help soon, but before that, he needed to know if Roswaal's side had anything to trade with.
As for whether Roswaal's consent was necessary—such a matter was completely unnecessary!
Subaru only needed one person on his side to first agree to his demands; after that, he could go and inform Roswaal.
Whether Roswaal agreed or not was outside Subaru's concern because even if Roswaal was unwilling, he had no reason to refuse a trade already agreed upon.
This was a simple and open strategy: under Subaru's initiative, he would unite the two camps to eliminate the White Whale, defeat the Witch's Cult's Archbishop of Sloth, and save the people in the mansion.
If after everything was resolved Roswaal wanted to go back on his word, it would be very foolish—doing so would pit the two camps, originally allies, against each other.
The consequences of that would be obviously severe.
Thus, after confirming there was no way for Roswaal to refuse or renege, Subaru's immediate need was to find out what assets under Roswaal's name could be offered for trade.
"What do you want to ask, Subaru-kun?" Rem asked.
"I want to know what things under Roswaal's name can be used for trading."
"Trading?" Rem looked at Subaru curiously. "Is there something you want?"
"Here's the situation: tonight, one of the three great witchbeasts, the White Whale, will appear around a large tree on the border of Roswaal's territory.
Tomorrow at noon, the Witch's Cult's Archbishop of Sloth will attack the mansion and village. Just relying on us and the people inside the mansion, we cannot handle both these threats.
So, I need to find some reinforcements in the capital. The people I want to ask have already been decided, but I need something to trade with them—otherwise, they won't agree to help."
Rem said nothing, just looked at Subaru's expression quietly. After he finished explaining, she thought for a moment and then gave Subaru what he wanted.
"On Lord Roswaal's territory, in the Eilio Forest, there are magic ores."
"Magic ores?"
"Yes. But for various reasons, Lord Roswaal has not actually mined the magic ores in the Eilio Forest."
"I see. Then what I can trade is partial mining rights to the magic ores in the Eilio Forest, information about the White Whale, and the glory of defeating the White Whale. That should be enough. But... how do I make them believe I know the exact time and place where the White Whale will appear?"
Subaru thought long and hard but still couldn't come up with a convincing reason.
Not everyone was like Rem—unconditionally trusting everything he said without questioning where the information came from.
So he needed a reason, preferably one that wouldn't seem like a lie. After some time, Subaru touched his pocket, sighed helplessly, and said to Rem,
"Let's go, Rem. We're heading out."
"All right, Subaru-kun. No matter where you go, I'll follow you."
.
.
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"That's quite a rare visitor. I wonder why you've come, Subaru? Also, I'm a bit curious how you knew I'd be on the street," said Anastasia with a smile, but Subaru could feel no kindness behind it.
Shrugging and spreading his hands, Subaru said,
"Who knows? Such things are trade secrets. If you want to know, the price will be steep."
Smiling easily, Subaru looked at Anastasia squinting slightly.
"This is a bit unexpected. After all, this should be our very first real meeting, right? Subaru, you're a bit different from how I imagined."
"Is that so? Then I'll accept that compliment. But now, let's get down to business."
"Subaru, you really can't wait, huh? But go ahead, I'm curious what you want to say."
"It's not really a big deal—just a simple trade. As the leader of the Hoshin Trading Company and a member of the Royal Selection, I'm sure you've noticed something strange in the capital recently," Subaru said without waiting for her to speak.
He held the initiative and wouldn't let it slip away—after all, he was facing a genuine merchant who owned a trading company and a mercenary group.
So he had to reveal the intelligence he'd gathered from several failures in advance.
He wanted to create the impression that he knew everything, making her wonder if he had a massive intelligence network behind him, giving him the upper hand.
If she spoke first, he might reveal some weakness.
So Subaru had to firmly grasp the initiative and redirect her attention to his real purpose.
"The dragon carriages and weapons being transported around the capital indicate someone is preparing for a big event. My intelligence shows that Crush, one of the Royal Selection members, is buying these items. Also, I've been staying at Crush's mansion recently, so I can be 100% sure it's Crush."
"As for what Crush plans to do, I have intelligence as well: the White Whale will appear soon, and their goal is to hunt it down."
"Oh, that is some serious intel. So, Subaru, what exactly do you want to discuss with me? You haven't said yet."
Looking at Anastasia's unchanging expression from the beginning, Subaru felt it was tricky.
"My goal is simple. The White Whale's appearance is close to Lord Roswaal's territory, and Roswaal has informed me that tomorrow the Witch's Cult's Archbishop of Sloth will attack the mansion.
But Roswaal is tied up with other matters, so he has entrusted me with finding usable forces in the capital to help, leaving me in full charge of the situation.
Therefore, I need allies to help eliminate the threats from the Witch's Cult.
With Roswaal's approval, we will give up part of the mining rights to the magic ores in the Eilio Forest."
After hearing this, Anastasia quietly laughed. Subaru looked puzzled as she said,
"I have to say, Subaru, you're really interesting. You're basically a newbie—not even a true newbie—but you've managed to get this far, which is impressive."
"What are you saying...?"
"It's simple. If your goal were only to eliminate the Witch's Cult threat, you wouldn't mention Crush. Also, you said the White Whale is near Roswaal's border, and the Witch's Cult will attack Emilia's faction.
If I do nothing now, Emilia's faction will collapse, and that means one fewer enemy for me. Although the mining rights you offer are tempting, and I'm curious about the source of your intelligence,
I don't believe you really have such an intelligence network. Nor do I think Lord Roswaal would entrust all this to you alone."
"Anastasia-sama, Lord Roswaal has already given Subaru full authority to handle this."
"Oh, really? Even if that's true, why should I help you? Your trade offer is insufficient. No matter how much initiative you hold, it's you asking me for help. So the initiative remains in my hands."
"You're really hard to deal with. Was I too naive?" Subaru sighed helplessly, looked at Anastasia, took a deep breath, and said,
"I need help. Saying that won't move you, and the partial mining rights aren't enough to make you act. After all, you're the beneficiary. As you said, sitting back and watching means losing one opponent—no, two opponents."
"Two? Isn't it just one?"
"Do you think the White Whale is strong?"
"Huh? Changing the subject? Well, the White Whale isn't that strong. Any country with the will could have taken it down by now."
"Then I'll tell you this: this time, Crush's hunt for the White Whale will fail, and at noon tomorrow, Emilia's faction will be destroyed, leaving only three Royal Selection members.
That's a good thing for you, right? But as a merchant, you should know the White Whale is a threat to traders, preventing some goods from being sold."
"What are you trying to say, Subaru?"
"I'm saying I need your help. If mining rights and the glory of hunting the White Whale aren't enough, then add the glory of defeating the Witch's Cult's Archbishop of Sloth.
Together, these will benefit your faction greatly.
Instead of watching two factions perish, why not defeat both the Witch's Cult Archbishop and the White Whale? The combined glory and goodwill from the two factions will place you on a level others cannot reach.
For you, such a reward should be enough. So I'll say it again—I need your help, and I've already put what I can offer on the table. Anastasia, do you think this trade is acceptable?"
"...Quite an enticing offer. But won't defeating the White Whale and the Witch's Cult involve sacrifices? Wouldn't that weaken my power?"
"Sacrifices may be unavoidable, but we will not fail, and not too many will fall. Why? Because my understanding of the White Whale cannot be explained by just one or two lives. With my intelligence, you can avoid unnecessary sacrifices.
And I will fight on the front lines, acting as the vanguard to draw the White Whale's attention."
"Subaru-kun?!"
Subaru raised his hand to stop Rem, who stood beside him, his eyes serious and solemn.
"So, what's your answer? Only if you agree will I reveal the intelligence. If you agree, I'll go to Crush to negotiate. One faction alone cannot defeat the White Whale, but with two factions plus me, it won't be too difficult."
"I underestimated you. I'm satisfied with this deal. The White Whale is indeed a threat to us merchants. I'm genuinely interested. I will support you, Subaru."