Volume 7 Chapter 20 Dealing With Coin
After discussing and understanding the political situation to some extent at Roman's strategy meeting, we were thinking about what to do next.
Fortunately, Ridge is growing politically, and Moruru is growing as an ancient dragon. I'm also on the same political wavelength as Ridge, and we're devising a strategy against Roman.
Roman says to us,
"Let's reconfirm the current situation."
What's drawn on the prepared blackboard is a simple diagram of people. Lord Birk, Merchant Coin, and "Oath".
"Lord Birk is our ally. Merchant Coin is half-neutral, leaning towards the enemy. 'Oath' is a complete enemy."
Roman writes "ally", "neutral", and "enemy" on the blackboard, and then continues.
"First, let's review the previous strategy meeting. How should we evaluate Lord Birk?"
"A complete ally. We don't have to worry about him betraying us on his own accord."
"Wade-kun, you remembered well. That's right, Lord Birk showed us his dark past, the curse technique, and proved he's on our side. We don't have to worry about him betraying us."
Roman continues, citing evidence.
"When Lord Birk betrayed us, he wouldn't gain much benefit. It would only make the Alexander Empire an enemy. Since there's no benefit, it's unlikely he would betray us of his own free will."
Next, Roman puts a checkmark on Coin's diagram.
"Let's evaluate Merchant Coin."
"A cautious neutral. He'll either show us a big profit and make a deal, or turn against us and force us to listen. It's difficult to get him to cooperate voluntarily."
"Ridge-chan also understands well. Merchant Coin is the type who doesn't open up to anyone outside his inner circle. So, it's impossible to win him over. It'll either be a successful deal or a failure, as Ridge-chan said."
Finally, Roman touches on "Oath".
"How should we evaluate 'Oath'?"
""Enemy Player.""
My voice overlaps with Ridge's. Roman smiles, saying "Well done."
"That's right, 'Oath' is an enemy player. Politically and financially, there's no way he'd work with us unless he's defeated."
We nod in agreement. Enemy player. The term "player" is key here, and it's a curse-like way of thinking.
Roman concludes.
"In this game of politics, they're a complete adversary, and their moves are different from ours on the board. That's why they're an enemy player. Let's call this 'board curse' like Birk-sama does."
Roman turns to face us.
"From here on, let's decide what actions to take against each faction. Today's main topic starts now."
Roman looks at the diagram on the blackboard, then says to us, "Let's start by thinking about merchant Coin's faction."
"What kind of measures will you take against merchant Coin's faction?"
"It's tough... If we show him benefits, he might take advantage of us and get too greedy."
"That's right. If we let him have his way, it'll deal damage to Birk-sama. That's not good."
I grunt, and Roman nods. Then, Ridge speaks up.
"First, let's confirm the current situation. Wade-sama, Roman-sama, do you remember the whispers from merchant Coin?"
"Ah, I remember it well."
"...Come to think of it, did he do it?"
Roman nods, but I tilt my head, unsure. It's like he did it, but didn't do it, during the business meeting with the petite receptionist girl.
"So, do you remember what happened right after that business meeting?"
"That's when 'Oath' attacked, right..."
I say, then shut my mouth.
"What, Ridge, you can't be serious..."
"It's a common tactic used by nobles and merchants~desuwa. You wouldn't expect it. They keep the meeting peaceful, then have someone else attack afterwards. It's a pretty obvious trick, but I didn't realize it until now."
When she says that, I think about it. Indeed, the timing of that whisper was unnatural. It's natural to think it's related to us. And how did 'Oath' find out our location?
"If that's the case, in my opinion, Merchant Coin is connected to 'Oath' and that's not a problem~desuwa. Even if I say that, it's not a complete cooperative relationship, but rather a relationship of mutual benefit."
"Ridge-chan indeed a true noble, isn't she? You understand this kind of clever tactic very well."
"Nobles are scary..."
"Ah, Wade-sama is already a noble, isn't that right?"
"That's right."
I realized I had entered a frightening world. So, this is politics...
"I think it's become more enjoyable to think about it that way."
"Your enthusiasm towards this matter is truly remarkable, Wade-kun. I'm also loved by God, but Wade-kun's talent is on a completely different level, it's amazing."
"Being loved by God is a joke, but I've started to like it."
"It's not a joke. It's the truth."
Roman shook his head sideways with a serious expression. Interesting.
"Well, let's get back to the topic. Coin is, you know."
I said with a bright smile.
"Let's do it."
"Yeah, I think that's good too. If we make our opponent think we're going to attack, they'll raise their guard and we can take advantage of that."
Roman wrote "attack" on Coin's portrait. Sometimes, you need to make a show of force to make your opponent understand. That's what we need to do now.
"So, if we do that, it's like this. We'll leak information to Coin's side, make him think we're going to attack, and then we'll actually attack."
"Ah, that's right. That's a strong move, Wade-kun."
"? Wade-sama, Roman-sama, why is that?"
Ridge tilted her head, and I replied with a thin smile.
"When you use all your strength and get crushed, humans will break easily. I did that during the Windy battle, and it's also what I did during our first meeting, Ridge."
"...I understand that very well."
Ridge's face turned pale. It seemed I had touched on her trauma. But that's not my fault, so I won't apologize.
"Dealing with Coin will be fine like this. For now, we'll leak the information that we're planning to attack Coin through our cooperative partner."
Roman looked at us and said, "Next, but yes, it's better not to think of Birk and 'Oath' as separate entities."
"Wade-kun, Ridge-chan. In the case where we consider these 2 powers, first let's stand on the side of 'Oath' and think about how they would effectively attack us from their perspective."
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