Well.....

'Oh, yes!　Here's the contract documents. I've gone through the whole process.

Hmmm....

　Seven days after my encounter with Silmeria, I was in my office looking through the papers Jessica had brought with her.
　In my office, I was looking through the documents Jessica brought with her.
　And by "documents", I mean the contract document from Olvance that was sent to me the other day. Specifically, it was the matter of turning the demons into mercenaries that Feliana had mentioned before.
　Although Jessica is also a royal member of Orvance, she has said that she will do her best as my military strategist, so she is checking to see if the details are not harmful to Grandizia.

''Does the amount of money matter?''

'Yes!　Well, I was offered about five times the price of hiring a typical mercenary.

Quintuple, huh?

　At one time, I thought about becoming a mercenary too.
　It was at the time when I set out on a journey to find a job change book, but I couldn't locate it at all. I was a former 'hero' and my swordsmanship was in the 80s level at the time, so I thought I could make a living as a mercenary.
　However, when I opened my eyes, I found out that my reward was two silver coins a month, which was just a little bit of extra money for an ordinary job even though I was risking my life. Moreover, if there was no war, no remuneration would be paid at all. In addition, in order to join the mercenary corps, you had to present your identity card, and in order to obtain an identity card, you had to undergo an "analysis" at an official institution, which was something that completely rejected me.
　That's not necessarily why, but I don't have a very good impression of mercenaries.

''Does that mean that if I send one of them, I get ten silver coins?

'Yes!　However, the contract itself is said to be done from a hundred animals. In addition, the calculation will include the commander's demons, so...

　Um," said Jessica, looking up slightly at the heavens.
　She's quick-witted, but she's only eight years old, Jessica. It's not like she's that good at math.
　I'm sure you'll be able to see that.
　Well, I'm not very good at math either, so that's something I have in common with Jessica.

''If we were to dispatch a thousand demon mercenaries for sixty days, we would need to dispatch ten commanding demons in addition to the price of ten silver coins per demon per thirty days. This commander is considered to be double the normal price, so it's twenty silver coins per animal. Also, according to the contract, we are paying in imperial gold coins, but since imperial gold coins contain only ninety-five percent more gold than orleans gold coins, if you take that into account, the total amount of gold and silver coins is one hundred and ninety-one pieces of gold and ninety pieces of silver.

....

　Okay.
　It took her that long to do that math.
　I'm a complete idiot for saying that I'm no good at math.

I thought the price was reasonable. Also, as an additional order from us, it is indicated in the form of 'Grandizia will bear the cost of the mercenary's food', 'If the mercenary dies, the corpse will be sent back to Grandizia', and 'We will pay an allowance of 20 gold coins for each dead one'.

Food money, you know?

'Oh!　But it's not really the money we need. But I intend to disguise the Transportation Corps and have the demons there pull a car loaded with stones. The fact that the demons don't need food, even if they are our allies, needs to be kept hidden.

....

　It's true, though, the Olvance Kingdom is an ally.
　Honestly, I thought that after Jessica was exposed to the fact that 'demons don't need food', I thought that it would definitely be conveyed to the Olvance Kingdom, but apparently, they haven't.
　Well, I guess Jessica has Jessica's ideas.

''Well, the next one is the condition of the Orvance Kingdom. 'Up to 1,000 demons can be dispatched at a time,' 'The deadline can be extended depending on the situation,' 'Half of the money will be paid as an advance, and half will be paid at the end of the operation,' 'The money to be paid shall be Orvance gold and silver coins.'.............That's all.

Yeah. Well, tell him it's all right then.

'Yes!　On behalf of the queen of my homeland, I would like to express my deepest gratitude for your warmth.

　Jessica bows her head.
　We've agreed to send the demons as mercenaries, and the only thing left to do is to work out the details. I've already thrown the rest to Jessica, so it's fine.
　At first I said I'd leave everything to Jessica, but she insisted that it's important for national security and that you should check with her.

'Then I and Orvance's emissary and I will fill in the rest. I'll report back to you before it's decided.

Yeah. Okay.

'Yes!　Now, next....

　Jessica continues to report as she rolls up the paper in hand.
　This exchange, it's something that happens rather every morning. Jessica is only saying, "I'm not going to let Noah-sama bother you! And then he gives me important reports every day, in the morning.
　It's not just about the work that Drake is doing, or diplomatic relations, or judging the information that Silmeria brings to the table.
　If it were up to me, I wouldn't be able to make decisions on my own.

''Oh...?''

　Yes, when Jessica was about to report the next one.
　There was a knock on the door to my office.

"Excuse me, Mister Noah.

'Oh, Alisa. What's going on?

　It was Alisa the Elf there. I was a little hoping that she would have brought me some tea or something, but unfortunately, she was empty-handed.
　I'm not really thirsty, but there it is. That's just the atmosphere.

"We were told to call Noah-dono.

Me?

Yeah. Someone's coming to the east gate.

"Hmm.

　Someone else is here.
　I hope it's not like the last time I saw her, Silmeria. I'm tired.
　If it's the East Gate, it must be the Empire's side. If it's a messenger from the Imperial side, we can kick it no matter what they say.
　Whether it's peace or a truce, I'm going to do my best to refuse.

''Is it an emissary from another country?''

The Empire.

I don't think they'll move on this occasion, but Master Noah, may I join you?

'Oh, yeah. Good.

　I was going to take them without Jessica telling me.
　If they're from another country, it's better for Jessica to be with them than for me to deal with them alone. I can do the brain work.

Come on, let's go.

"Wait a minute, Master Noah.

　But...
　Just as I was about to go, Alisa stopped me.

"Uh... well, I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but...

"Huh?

'I've been thinking about it for a while now...'

What?

　Ummm, Alisa raises an eyebrow.
　Then she looks at me and looks away slightly.

'A little bit, well, I mean, my clothes smell...'

Eh....

You know, I mean...

　Twice.
　Oh, am I that dirty?
　In case you're wondering, these are still clothes that I've washed properly. That's because I haven't bought any new clothes lately.

"Well...

　I look at Jessica.
　He silently looks away. This is a complete affirmation.