GalaxyTL
『…I understand the situation. But we, Annulus, can’t immediately agree.』
The first one to speak was Diega-san. Eh, eh, why? It was unexpected, him saying that, even though he seemed like a nice, kind person, despite his intimidating face.
『Yes, I agree with Annulus. It’s the same for us, Stella.』
Ehhh, even Stella!? So is only Ortus going to cooperate? I was panicking.
『Well, that would be the case, if that was all there was to it. Mara, we, Ortus, also agree.』
Eh!? Even Dad!? Why? It seems like I unintentionally said that out loud. I turned to Ronny, who was next to me, when I sensed him chuckle.
“It’s fine, Meg. They didn’t say they’re not going to cooperate.”
“Eh, b-but…”
Ronny smiled gently and patted me on the head. Wh-What does he mean?
“There’s no benefit for the Special-grade guilds who’ll be cooperating, and for Demon Castle. Only Schutor benefits, from the current proposal.”
“Ah… I see.”
That’s true, all the benefits—the reasons for holding the tournament, the funds—it’s all only for Schutor and Sainsley. They can’t just support one country, and having three Special-grade guilds, and even Demon Castle, go along with it would be a huge issue, wouldn’t it?
『Well then, tell us the rest. Mara, I’m sure you’ve thought about that too, right?』
『…Fufu, as expected. You’re right. Now it’s time for the negotiations. Will you hear me out?』
I don’t think it was my imagination, sensing Dad and Mara-san grinning in that conference room.
『First, I’d like to ask Special-grade Guild Annulus to be in charge of the accommodations, food stalls, and transportation around the tournament venue. I thought it would be best to leave these kinds of things to the commercial guild.』
That’s right. Even for a tournament, there will be people coming from afar. Maybe it’ll be easy for those in Sainsley, but if you’re coming from another country, you’ll definitely have to stay overnight. I’m sure a lot of people will come, and the accommodations will be overflowing if they don’t prepare.
『We’ll provide the personnel needed for that, from Sainsley. And also… the land. The rights to the land where the facilities will be built will belong to Annulus.』
『Wh-What? Will the Sainsley Kingdom even allow that!?』
『They’ll allow it.』
I felt like I saw an image of Mara-san smiling sweetly. Heh~.
『The rights might belong to Annulus, but it’ll still be Sainsley land. So the employees will have to be Sainsley citizens. But we’ll have them allow intervention from other countries, until the tournament.』
『So basically, you’re going to have the Sainsley citizens learn the know-how for operating businesses.』
『It’s true that I do have those intentions.』
Land rights huh. It’s a big deal, but I still feel like Mara-san and the others benefit more. It’s an investment in the future. Will Annulus agree?
『So you’re going to negotiate with the country now?』
『Yes. But I’m confident that it’ll work out.』
Hmm, and they haven’t even started negotiating yet. As I was crossing my arms, thinking about that, I sensed Ronny chuckle next to me. What?
『Hmm… In that case, I’d like to accompany you on that negotiation. If you’re going to be getting land rights, then we’re the ones who should be negotiating. We’d be troubled if you did it on your own.』
『I was planning to put it all down in writing and then proceed once both parties agreed.』
『Exchanging letters takes too much time.』
『Fufu, that’s true. I thought you’d say that. That’s why I haven’t started negotiating yet.』
『Gah, so it was according to your plan. Don’t tell me you were planning on having us handle this troublesome negotiation with the country too.』
『My, why would you think that? I just thought it would be more productive than if I handled the negotiations.』
“That woman’s terrifying”, I heard Diega-san cheerfully mutter. Hmm? So this means the negotiations with Annulus were successful?
“Ah, so that’s okay with Annulus?”
I unintentionally muttered that. Because they seem to be willing to go along with it, even though it’s still just a proposal. Gil-san, hearing me, explained.
“All the guilds have been wanting to establish a connection with Sainsley.”
“Really?”
According to Gil-san, Sainsley’s basically isolationist. They have this strong belief that they can do everything on their own. They’re not completely shutting out the world, like the High Elf Village, but it seems they have those tendencies.
And that means even Special-grade guilds don’t get much work there. I hear they only accept a few requests a year. I thought that would be a loss for Sainsley, but apparently, it was Special-grade Guild Nemo who accepted almost all the country’s requests until 40 years ago, so things were balanced. And because of that, Nemo had a bad reputation with the other countries. I see.
“But right now, there are no Special-grade guilds in Sainsley. They say it’s only a matter of time before Schutor becomes a Special-grade guild, but if they keep focusing on just Sainsley, it’s unlikely they’ll be approved by the World Guild Federation.”
“Hmm, yeah, that’s true. I think the Sainsley King’s also being stubborn. He probably can’t bring himself to ask another country for help.”
Saura-san and Kei-san continued the conversation, voicing their opinions. Ah, so that means,
“If they hold the fighting tournament, they’ll naturally be able to connect with the other countries, using that as an excuse? It’s an opportunity… for Sainsley…”
“Oh, Meg-chan, you’re smart. That’s right.”
“That’s why Mara-san said she was confident… wow, amajing.”
I gasped, impressed with her groundwork. Please ignore how I slurred.
『So is that okay with Annulus? Can I take that as a yes?』
『It all depends on the negotiations with the King. Well, we’ll get those rights, no matter what.』
『How reliable.』
I can’t help but feel like this is all going according to Mara-san’s plan, but it’s fine if it benefits both sides, right? Diega-san’s muttering, sounding frustrated, about how it’s irritating being used like this, so those land rights in Sainsley must be a huge benefit for Annulus. It expands their business area, after all.
And it’s convenient for them if that area becomes more prosperous. Of course, they’ll want to cooperate.
『Well then, I’ll now explain what I’d like to ask of Stella.』
Ludo-sensei let out a long sigh when Mara-san said that. I wonder why?
“This might not be easy, with Stella.”
“Eh, why?”
I instinctively reacted to those words. Ludo-sensei chuckled wryly and explained.
“Both Shezario, the leader of Stella, and my nephew, Isaac, can be a bit rigid. And… they have a bit of a rivalry with us, Ortus.”
“Eh? You mean… you don’t get along?”
I’d never heard that before, so I was surprised, but Kei-san chuckled and said that’s not true.
“They get along fine. They even help each other out. But… the Don and Shezario have completely opposite personalities.”
“Shezario gets irritated with the Don’s casual and easygoing approach. And yet, the Don always achieves results, so… she can’t help but be annoyed, I guess. She won’t actually say it though!”
I see. They acknowledge each other’s abilities, but it seems Stella is incompatible with Ortus. Mainly because of their personalities. So it’s not really that they get along. They have a good relationship, but they’re not friends. What a pain.
“And also… Isaac has a bit of a rivalry with Gil.”
“Hmm.”
“With Gil-san?”
I, and of course Gil-san, reacted when Dr. Ludo said that, glancing at him. A rivalry, huh? Tell us more!
“Isaac’s abilities are top level, even among all the Special-grade guilds. His combat skills, his quest completion rate. But he’s not as good as Gil… and he doesn’t seem to like that.”
“That’s why he joined Stella, instead of us. He’s not going to do anything strange, you know? But he does glare at Gil sometimes. I like how he’s determined to surpass Gil with his own skill.”
I had no idea there was that kind of background. It’s so unexpected. Because I have this image of Gil-san being a superhuman, I never imagined there was someone who could rival him. Now, what does Gil-san think about this Isaac-san? I looked up at him, curious.
“…I see.”
He didn’t even know! It’s rare to see him looking so surprised, but that’s not the point! It seems like he hasn’t even noticed Isaac-san. I feel bad for him.
“…Well, I had a feeling, but… it’s probably better not to tell Isaac.”
“That’s true. Gil’s also working hard at improving, to catch up to the Don. It can’t be helped that he doesn’t notice anything else.”
“Gilnandio’s not that interested in other people, even normally.”
Saura-san shrugged, seeing Dr. Ludo’s conflicted look. Even Kei-san was chuckling, saying, “Well, that’s our Gil, for better or worse.” I also understand, but still.
“It’s not like… I’m not interested in other people…”
“The Don and Meg-chan are exceptions, right?”
“Ah, no… it’s not just that…”
“You’ve been paying much more attention to us since Meg-chan came here, though, haven’t you?”
“Hmm…”
Kei-san smiled, saying, “It’s the Meg-chan effect,” but I haven’t done anything, so I don’t know how to respond. Maybe it’s the child effect? I mean, little kids are just naturally soothing.
But I’m a bit happy if it was because of me that Gil-san’s attitude softened.