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267 - - claim for compensation

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"Are you the new head of the Arbalest family?"

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Laguna de Arbalest. I am the head of the House of Arbalest, in case you were wondering. Though he is no longer as powerful as he once was after you destroyed the army of Arbalest.

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"If you have inherited the power as the head of the Arbalest family, does that mean that the previous head of the Arbalest family died on the Midway River?"

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"Yes. The last and previous heads of the House of Arbalest were defeated by you. Along with the knights who followed them. You've ended the noble family. We can no longer even cast higher magic.

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"I see. Well, I've fought fair on the battlefield, so forgive me. Well then, let's get on with the story.

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"Yeah, I'm sorry about your predecessors, but we just had a problem with not being able to win the war. But what do you want to discuss?　Are you saying that if I, the new head of the family, give you my head, you will let the others off the hook?"

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No, thank you. We at Fontana only want to achieve our original goal.

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"The original purpose?"

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Yes. This battle began with the request that the Arbalests prepare a ship to safely transport the king and his vassals who are staying in Fontana territory back to the royal domain. When this request was refused by the Arbalests, we proceeded to the Arbalests to question them. There, an unfortunate misunderstanding developed into a battle.

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"...... In other words, if the Arbalests had meekly offered their ships, there wouldn't have been a fight. Is that what you are saying?"

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That's right.

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"Well said. I could feel the wave of your murderous intent. So, what is your point in the end?　The result of fighting for that reason was that Arbalest was defeated. What are you going to do about it?

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I'm not going to do anything. We won't even try to take away the Arbalest family's lands."

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"...... what?　You don't take territory, do you?"

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Yes. At least that's what Barca intends to do."

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"...... Ars, that's no good. We in Arbalest are proud to be nobles. We should not be treated mercifully after we have fought and lost.

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"I see. But hear me out. Of course, the Arbalest family has other things to do.

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"Oh, what's that?"

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"We'll make them pay for the war."

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War reparations?　What's that?

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"The Arbalest family will pay for the expenses incurred in this battle. The Barca and Ix armies will be compensated for their expenses incurred in this battle.

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"Reparations, huh? That doesn't sound familiar. But then, isn't it normal to take away their territories or something?　Are you sure you want to just pay him?"

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"Yes. I have already prepared a detailed statement for you. Please pay the amount written here by the due date.

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"Okay. That's all I ask.

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"Thank you very much. I am glad to hear from you and I will be able to report to the head of the Fontana family with pleasure. I look forward to working with you.

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　* * *

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"Are you sure, Mr. Ars? Are you sure you don't want to take the Arbalest territory?"

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"It doesn't matter, Payne. All we need now is for Arbalest to be immobilized."

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"But war reparations? That's a strange idea.

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"Why not? Why not? I'd lose money too if I didn't. The loser has to pay."

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"......The Arbalests can't pay, Master Ars. We can still manage to pay for both Barka and Ix. But the dragon's magic stone that Master Ars used. That is too expensive.

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"I hear it's very rare. The price is almost negligible. But it's not an absurd amount of money. It's a price that was calculated based on past market prices.

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"I'm not saying whether the amount is fair or not. I am saying that it is too high for the Arbalests to pay. If they can't pay, you can guess what will happen.

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"Do you think they will break their promise and attack us?"

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"Yes. I don't know when, but it is possible.

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"Then that's not a problem. If they make a move on us, we will use it as a reason to take their territory this time. To tell the truth, it would be a better cause than this battle. I'll cut them off at will."

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"......If the Arbalests were to attack, it would not be the Barca, but the Ixes, whose territory borders it. In other words, it is not too late for Barka to wait until the other side attacks before going on the offensive. If they do not attack, he will make them pay compensation and get money. So there is no loss?"

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"That's what I mean. If Arbalest is serious about paying reparations, then of course it will be more difficult to collect taxes from its citizens. If that happens, the Arbalests will be resented by the people of their own lands. When Barca eventually takes the land, even a slightly lower tax rate would make it easier to pacify the people. It's a good thing, isn't it?"

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"You are quite a frightening man, Mr. Ars. I understand. The only way that could go wrong is if the Arbalest family connects with someone outside. I will inform Lady Ghana and keep an eye on Arbalest's contacts with the other nobles.

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"Right. Thank you, Payne.

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　We won the battle against the Arbalests.

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　This time we fought together with Ix's army, but I did a lot of the work.

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　So, I'm sorry Ghana, but I'm in charge now.

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　But we did not cut off the Arbalest territory.

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　It was not something that had to be done right now.

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　More to the point, it was not likely that Barka would be able to rule even if he were to acquire a new fief in Arbalest at this point in time.

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　If he wanted to administer the enclave, he would have to leave it to someone else.

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　The Bait brothers had just become independent and were short of civilian officials.

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　So he decided not to take the territory, but only to take the gold.

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　The money was necessary to move the army, plus compensation for the labor and mental anguish.

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　In fact, the amount of money is more than the amount of the army.

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　Well, it is not impossible that the Arbalest family may not be able to pay the war reparations as Payne says.

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　However, since they have a grace period of a few years, they may be able to repay it just in time, depending on Laguna's ability.

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　As a deposit for the time being, I received several of the Arbalest family's magic swords, the Thunderbolt Swords, as a down payment, and then I returned home.

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