Chapter 144: The Price of Peace
The magic that gave life to everyone was said to be part of the spirits and therefore part of the gods’ power.
Because of this, the churchs naturally existed on a level of authority apart from the politics of nations—at least in appearance.
To be condemned by the churchs meant a direct threat to the survival of a nation.
So it was no wonder that the men of Dalmasca looked like walking corpses, struck by dread.
Beside them, even Gabrant furrowed his brow deeply, his face dark.
He was not a fool—he clearly saw where this was heading.
Serves him right, Quintus thought.
Quintus let out a quiet huff through his nose, though only on the inside, and then he put on a face that looked unusually kind and harmless.
"Of course," he said smoothly, "it seems that our Rosaria and your Dalmasca may be able to build a good relationship, does it not? I myself would like to avoid making public anything that might trouble a friendly nation."
At those words, the Dalmasca men looked as though they had suddenly regained life, their faces brightening at once.
"Y-yes, indeed. We are most grateful for Rosaria’s consideration. Naturally, we also wish to establish a strong and favorable bond with your country moving forward."
"Even with the incident regarding the magic circle, your nation acted quickly to resolve our failure, and for that, we are truly thankful. And now again, in this matter, we have received your repeated support. We cannot thank you enough. We would very much like to offer our gratitude properly."
The Dalmasca delegation suddenly became eager, falling over themselves in their expressions of thanks and friendship.
"Last night, you granted the release of Dominic de Beaumont , did you not?" Quintus asked.
"O-of course. In truth, Lord Dominic was guilty of nothing at all, and yet we ended up restraining him as if he were under suspicion. That was truly inexcusable."
"Yes, those damaged wings were simply in the middle of being repaired. Lord Dominic bore no fault whatsoever. In fact, his actions were clearly self-defense. There is no issue. On the contrary, it was we who erred by holding him unnecessarily, and we must apologize for that."
Lord Chelmsford and several other key figures all spoke in turn, declaring that the matter of Dominic would be dismissed entirely.
Some even apologized directly.
Compared to the danger of being punished by the churchs and the importance of securing friendly diplomacy for the future, overlooking one man like Dominic was an easy price to pay.
"Then, it is settled," Quintus said calmly. "The matter of Dominic is now closed, yes?"
His eyes turned toward King Jircniv.
The king gave a reluctant nod, clearly displeased but forced to agree.
In this situation, he could no longer bring up the idea of using Shiao Yi as a bargaining chip.
The young man’s face was stiff, as if he was holding back tears.
Quintus thought it was a little pitiful, but still, this too was part of life’s experience.
His real life was still ahead of him.
Surely, he would find a good partner one day.
"As a token of friendship," Quintus said evenly, "though small, I would like to acknowledge that our people caused some damage. We wish to offer a sum of money to cover the repairs. I would be grateful if you would accept it."
"Oh, that is most welcome. We thank the Kingdom of Rosaria for such generosity," Lord Chelmsford replied on behalf of the others.
With that, the matter of Dominic’s "accident" was settled.
Quintus decided that while he held the upper hand, it was best to push through and tie down the key points of diplomacy as well.
At his signal, Louis collected the ancient magic circle deployment plans and the orders, while Amal, with Rex beside him, quietly left the chamber.
When the discussion moved to specific issues of imports and exports, Aaron raised his voice to share an opinion.
He was a mage skilled in barriers, a talented alchemist, and came from a family of wealthy merchants.
Mr. Vundo had once described him as a man with an extremely free spirit.
That much was true.
His sudden proposal left even Quintus momentarily speechless.
"You have wide mountain ranges in your lands, don’t you? And you mine iron from those mountains, yes? Well then, how about this? Would you allow us to conduct a resource survey of that mountain region? I’ve studied many minerals, and where iron ore is found, there are often other valuable resources nearby. There may even be other useful mines to discover. If so, they could become valuable exports for you."
"But how would you explore for such resources?" one of the Dalmasca nobles asked, understandably cautious.
Aaron, however, answered in a light, easy tone.
"You could just use Jesse. His Whiskers Digger Unit could handle it perfectly. They’re experts in digging through the ground."
Quintus turned to Louis, who was staring off into the distance.
"And what exactly is this Whiskers Digger Unit? And who is Jesse?"
"Jesse is the beast tamer from the Dashtadem Fortress, sir. The Whiskers Digger Unit is the group of monsters he controls—they’re huge worm-like creatures," Louis explained.
"I see..." Quintus said.
"If you want to lure them out, big rats work best... though we’re out of honey now..." Louis muttered under his breath.
The way Louis spoke made Quintus feel it was better not to ask too many questions.
Still, watching the Dalmasca men being carried along by Aaron’s energy, Quintus thought to himself that founding new industries might indeed be one way to secure long-term trade and keep relations favorable.
...
The meeting that day had gone smoothly, almost entirely in favor of the Kingdom of Rosaria.
Word had reached Shiao Yi that Dominic’s "accident" had been dismissed without blame, and even the ruined parts of the castle and the wrecked room were ignored as if nothing had happened.
Because of that, Shiao Yi was no longer at risk of being used as the condition for Dominic’s release, and he felt relief.