As we left Eltria's office, I spoke to Hans, the butler, as she had instructed me to do.

'So, of the conditions, I have decided to drink one of them.

Which one is it?　I, for one, would very much like you to be Lady Julia's son-in-law.

　Hans said jokingly.

''Well I'll hold off on that one.

'But Master Eltria, I believe, has offered you two conditions.

I don't suppose it would be a good idea if you only did half the work and only half the time.

What do you mean?

"You will cut your deal with the Demon King's Army in half.

Are you so reluctant to marry my daughter?

　This time he's serious.
　'What is it about our young lady that you don't like,' his eyes say.

''--No, I'm just wondering if it's too early to settle down,''

　I'll muddle through the tea appropriately.

　I've told Eltria about the complicated situation, but there's no need to tell this man or even Yulia.

　I'm not going to be able to get rid of them, but I'm going to have to choose carefully who I reveal myself to.

　--or marriage, for that matter.

　It's a problem, but I don't have anyone I can talk to about it.


　If I talk to Satie, she'll smile and say, "As the master wishes,

　If you talk to Lilith about it, she's going to smile and say, "Do you mind if I kill that guy?

　If you talk to Cephiro about it, he's going to give you a nasty smile and tell you to have your unborn child named after a concubine (straw).

　If I consulted the Demon King-sama, he was going to say, "Is it--?" with a blank expression.


　The only person who seems to be able to consult with him is the married man, Jiron.

　If only he was here, I thought for the first time in a long time, but it can't be helped if he's not here.

　As I was pondering this, Hans came to my rescue.

I think it would be best to make your marriage to the young lady an 'engagement'. That way, the young lady will be satisfied.

　I see, that's the way it works.

　You could use that kind of sophistry, or rather, dialectic, where you say you will marry, but you don't specify until that time.

'Diplomacy is an empty game.

　Grandpa said.
　That much of a lie would be forgiven.

　I told myself that in my mind, and I thanked Hans for suggesting that.

''Well then, I'll fulfill my two promises to Lord Etria, but first we have to take out those pirates.

Yes.

　Hans let out a pause in his fine beard and urged, "Then shall we begin to explain?

　I agreed, and I went with him to the parlor.

　As we headed into the parlor, Hans, the butler, said, "Excuse me," and spread out a chart on the table.

　First he points to Zenobia.

'As you may be aware, Zenobia is a trading city facing the Southern Ocean.

I've heard that it's a prosperous trading center, mainly for island cities in the South Seas.

'On your left, sir. Pepper, cinnamon, saffron, turmeric, nutmeg, it's said that 30 percent of all the spices on this continent come through Xenovia.

That's great.

"And the southern climate, with its mild climate, is good for growing crops.

You said you had enough to export to the North.

On your left, sir.

　Hans bowed his head reverently.

''I would love to have it exported to my Demon King's army as well.

Well, that depends on how well you do, Mr. Ike.

　Hans said, and pointed to the chart again.

''I'm sure you've already heard that our Zenobia trade routes are currently threatened by pirates.

I have heard that. If we defeat the pirates, Lord Etria will agree to a secret pact with the Demon King's army.

Yes, sir.
How big are the enemy pirates?
One ship.

　The unexpected words surprise me.

'A pirate doesn't form groups. They are very conspicuous. They use the smallest possible vessel, and one that is fast enough to jump into the bosom of a merchant ship and swoop in.

"The point is, it's hard to catch a godd*mn person?　And.

Yes, sir.

Don't you know where they are?

They change their stronghold each time. Which is why the Navy has a hard time with them.

　I see, it seems that pirates in this world are similar.
　The pirates who form a large fleet of ships are probably only in stories.

　They disguise themselves as merchant ships to be inconspicuous, and when they get close to a merchant ship, they raise the pirate flag and jump in.

　That seems to be the usual way in every world.
　Then--.
　The story was simple.

'Then let's have a merchant ship loaded with a lot of gold and silver.

But we've done that sort of thing a number of times. They have a keen ear. They can easily see that it's fake gold and silver and won't come near you. And if you have a bunch of mercenaries on board pretending to be merchant ships, they'll see through that too.

That's because it's fake gold and silver. They have a good ear for it, but they're also very cunning, that much information, leaking out of their minions who blend in with the dockworkers.

I see, I'm sure.

　Hans agrees.

'Then let's really load up on gold and silver this time. It will be quite a gamble, but in return, we'll also have a lot of skilled mercenaries on hand.''

　I shake my head, no, even at the word.

''You won't even have mercenaries ready?''

　Hans wondered.

I'm sure that if you recruit a large number of mercenaries at this point in time, that alone will cause suspicion. You'll be able to see that they're all about money. We should at least expect them to sell information.

So I guess we'll have to bring our usual forces to bear.

　Hans suddenly has a divine look on his face.
　But I have to confuse him further.
　After a short pause, he made a further suggestion.

''It's only natural to challenge them with normal forces. It's only natural to actually load up on gold and silver. What's more, you'll need more bait to catch the pirates' attention.

Do you need anything else on top of this?
Yes.

　As I said this, I mentioned the name of the bait that Hans would definitely object to.

'There are 'things' in this city that cost more than gold and silver,'

Is it a thing?
Yes, not a thing, but a person.

　Hearing those words, Hans changes his face.

'Well, no way.'

　And let him shake his fine moustache.

'Its no way. Perhaps, but the recent attack on Miss Julia was also leaked in advance. Hence, it was attacked in such a place. Miss Yulia's ransom can be expected to be worth an astronomical amount.

But...

　Hans countered, as he should have, but I won it.

'Don't worry. I won't let Miss Julia lay a finger on you.

　I said.

　In fact, I was going to prepare a plan that would never harm her.
　If I heard that, this overly loyal butler would understand.
　With that in mind, I told him the outline of the plan.