Chapter 99

"Can we not take a ransom?"

Soma, who was having lunch with Shemul and Garam, said this out of the blue.

This place was a corner of the courtyard, not far from the lord's office.

Many people frowned, thinking that Soma, who was the lord of the town, looked like a barbarian eating in such a place.

However, Shemul, a Zoan, preferred places surrounded by walls, and Soma also found it more comfortable to eat under the sun rather than in a dim, damp indoor space that lacked the comfortable ventilation and lighting of a modern Japanese house. Therefore, it had become a routine for them to eat in the courtyard on sunny days.

Today, Garam, who happened to be there, was joining them.

"Whose ransom are you talking about?"

As he said this, Shemul skewered a piece of pork with the skin and grilled it over the fire, then offered it to Soma.

Soma took it and took a bite. The skin, grilled to perfection, was crispy, and when he bit into it, the tender fat underneath oozed out. The flavor, combined with the rock salt and spices sprinkled on top, spread throughout his mouth, creating an indescribable deliciousness.

"Yeah, it's good. -- Look, we've got the former lord, right? His ransom."

When Soma said this, Shemul couldn't recall who he was talking about. She tilted her head, chewing on her own piece of meat.

Garam came to her aid.

"The fat rabbit."

"Oh, him!"

Soma and Shemul had only met the former lord of the town, Prince Vritas Sadma Holmeinis, once, but they had completely forgotten about him. As she remembered, Shemul frowned.

"But, according to Marclonis, wasn't it impossible to negotiate with him?"

"Yeah, but the situation has changed since then."

Last time, it was impossible to negotiate with the Kingdom of Holmea, which was trying to suppress Soma and his group with an army. However, the Kingdom of Holmea had not yet recovered from the damage of the "Battle of Bornis" and had not yet decided to send another army. In that case, there might be room for negotiation depending on their demands.

It was probably too much to ask for the town's independence or autonomy, but demanding a ransom seemed feasible. Besides, they had been struggling with a lack of funds due to the unfair treatment by the Gebau merchant guild, so they wanted to earn as much money as possible.

"I don't think such a person has much value, but it might be a good idea."

In Zoan, it was common to demand concessions from the other side in exchange for releasing a captured clan leader, so Garam agreed without hesitation.

Soma, reassured by Garam's agreement, finished the last piece of meat, chewed it well, and swallowed it.

"Thank you for the meal."

When Soma put his hands together and said this, Shemul followed suit.

"Thank you for the meal."

Seeing the unfamiliar gesture of the two, Garam was puzzled, and Soma asked him.

"What's happening with Vritas?"

Soma had entrusted Vritas to Garam, emphasizing that he should be treated with respect, as it would be a waste to release him without using him for negotiations.

However, Garam said something unexpected.

"I've entrusted him to Lady Eladia. -- We don't know how to handle human royalty. She said that if we mishandle them, it might cause trouble later."

Soma thought that made sense. However, he was puzzled that Eladia, who had suffered as a sex slave, would take care of Vritas, who had owned sex slaves.

"I don't think Eladia would do anything strange. Anyway, we should find out how he's doing."

Shemul stood up.

"If that's the case, I'll go to the kitchen to get some hot water and bring him here."

As Shemul headed to the kitchen to prepare tea after the meal, someone stepped in front of her.

"I've brought the hot water. Please use this."

It was Eladia, holding a small pot of steaming water.

Since being appointed as the head lady-in-waiting, Eladia had been helping Shemul, who took care of Soma. However, she didn't interfere or give advice. Instead, when something was needed for Soma, she would prepare it in advance and quietly offer it to Shemul.

Shemul found this very helpful, but at the same time, she felt a vague sense of caution.

"...Thank you for your trouble. I appreciate it."

However, she couldn't refuse the pot out of kindness, so she accepted it. Shemul placed the pot on a small hearth made of stones, boiled the water again, and then picked some dried leaves from a bag hanging from her waist to make tea.

During this time, she felt someone watching her hands, so she looked up. Her eyes met Eladia's.

"...Is there something wrong with the tea?"

"No, the Zoan-style tea is quite different from what we know, in both aroma and color, and it's very rare."

Eladia, who seemed intrigued, explained that in this world, tea usually referred to water flavored with dried flowers or spices.

"I like this tea. It tastes like oolong tea and cleanses the palate after eating meat."

Soma said this as he took a bowl of tea from Shemul.

Even though Soma, a growing boy, found fatty meat delicious, he would have quickly given up on the Zoan diet, which was mostly meat, without this tea.

"Lord Soma, you like this tea, don't you?"

At Eladia's casual comment, Shemul felt a growing sense of crisis.

"Yes, Soma likes my tea."

"Yes, that seems to be the case."

Shemul, puffing out her chest, proudly declared that Soma liked her tea, and Eladia responded with a calm smile.

For some reason, a tense atmosphere emanated from the two of them, and Soma looked at Garam as if asking for help. Garam glanced at his sister, whose neck hair was standing on end, and sighed.

"Don't worry. -- She's just being cautious, like a wildcat protecting its territory."

Hearing this, Shemul glared at him.

"Fierce Fang. Who are you calling a wildcat?"

Caught off guard by the sudden shift from Eladia to herself, Garam tried to change the subject.

"Well, well. -- Anyway, Lady Eladia, Lord Soma said he has a question for you."

Soma, who had been smiling wryly at Shemul's frustrated growl, decided to go along with Garam's suggestion because he wanted to confirm Vritas's situation with Eladia.

"Eladia, how is the former lord of this town?"

Eladia, who couldn't immediately recall who he was talking about, put her finger to her chin and thought for a moment. After a while, she seemed to remember and clapped her hands.

"Oh, that scum..."

A small murmur escaped Eladia's lips.

The cold, contemptuous tone of her voice made Soma and the others shudder. The contrast with her usual calm smile made them doubt their ears.

"If you're referring to Prince Vritas, he is being taken care of in a room in the manor, with due respect."

Then, Eladia answered with a smile, as if her previous words were a lie.

Don't touch it.

Soma and the others silently vowed.

"Anyway, can we see Vritas?"

"Of course, Lord Soma. -- Would now be convenient for you?"

Soma, who received this response from Eladia, immediately asked her to guide him to Vritas.

Vritas was being held in one of the guest rooms in the lord's manor. Unlike the other noble children, who were crammed into empty servants' quarters, Vritas, as a prince, was being treated specially. This also served to suppress the discontent of the noble children.

"Even if the children complain that they want individual rooms instead of the servants' quarters, when asked if they want to be treated the same as a prince, they usually fall silent," Eladia explained.

No matter how foolish and dull Vritas was, he was still a prince. The noble children couldn't demand to be treated on the same level as him.

At the entrance to the guest room where Vritas was being held, two female elves with bows and arrows stood guard. When they noticed Soma and the others, they placed their bows on the ground, placed their right hands on their abdomens, and bowed.

Passing between them, Soma followed Eladia into the guest room, and a high-pitched, strained voice came from the bed at the back.

Turning to look, Soma saw Vritas, who had been napping in a thin nightgown, trembling on the bed.

Vritas, whom Soma hadn't seen in months, seemed to be in a poor mental state. Although he was still fat, his cheeks looked slightly sunken.

Eladia bowed gracefully to Vritas.

"Prince Vritas, Lord Soma Kisaki wishes to speak with you."

Indicating for Soma to step forward, Eladia did so, and Soma, followed by Shemul, walked towards Vritas. As soon as Vritas saw Soma, his unhealthy-looking face turned red with anger, and he jumped off the bed.

"You! It's because of you and your incitement of these slaves that I...!"

Vritas, spitting and shouting, tried to approach Soma.

Shemul immediately tried to shield Soma, but Vritas stopped, eyes wide with shock. Moreover, his face turned pale, and he began to tremble.

Soma was puzzled by what had happened, but it seemed that Vritas's eyes were not on him but on something behind him.

Turning to look, Soma saw Eladia standing there with a calm smile.

"Is something wrong, Lord Soma?"

Asked in a puzzled tone, Soma felt as if his nose had been pinched by a fox. Although he was uneasy, he decided to focus on what needed to be done.

"Are you Prince Vritas Sadma Holmeinis of the Kingdom of Holmea?"

"Yes! I am Vritas Sadma Holmeinis! A lowly person like you..."

At first, Vritas had been about to attack Soma, but his momentum faltered mid-sentence, and he stammered. His eyes were still fixed on something behind Soma.

However, when Soma turned to look, he saw only Eladia, who was touching her right cheek and looking troubled.

Don't touch it, don't touch it.

Soma reaffirmed this and forced himself to focus on Vritas.

"I have a request for you today."

Perhaps wary of Eladia, Vritas did not respond to Soma's words. Reluctantly, Soma continued.

"I plan to demand a ransom from the Kingdom of Holmea for you."

"A ransom?"

Surprised to hear about his own ransom, Vritas echoed the words, and Soma nodded and continued.

"If the ransom is paid, I will release you immediately."

"R-Really?!"

Vritas's face lit up with joy.

"Yes. -- For that, I would like you to write a letter to the Kingdom of Holmea."

"Sure! I'll write it! I'll write it!"

Vritas readily agreed to write the letter.

◆◇◆◇◆

"Lord Soma, who will act as the intermediary?"

As Soma, who had successfully made an agreement with Vritas to write the letter, was walking down the corridor to return to the office, Eladia called out to him from behind.

"Intermediary?"

"Yes. Normally, we should send a messenger with the letter, but there is a risk that our messenger will not be taken seriously."

In the Kingdom of Holmea, Soma and his group are still seen as rebellious slaves. In that case, not only might the letter not be accepted, but even if a negotiation were successfully concluded, it might be unilaterally nullified.

To prevent this, Eladia suggested that they need someone with a position and connections that the Kingdom of Holmea cannot ignore to act as an intermediary.

"Then, should we ask a notable person or a merchant in the town?"

Eladia then looked a bit troubled.

"I'm afraid there is no one in this town who can act as an intermediary."

In governing the town, it is common to invite influential people to the manor, and Eladia, as the head lady-in-waiting, is responsible for hosting them. She had already investigated the influential people in the town, but none of them had connections to the royal palace of the Kingdom of Holmea.

"Then, what should we do?"

Eladia, who had anticipated this question, answered without hesitation.

"Even if they cannot act as an intermediary themselves, they might know someone who can. How about inviting them to the manor and asking for an introduction?"

Soma, who had been thinking of leaving this matter to Eladia, was about to do so, but she smiled wryly.

"This is part of Lord Soma's duties."

Soma couldn't help but ask, "Me?"

"Unfortunately, we are still seen as slaves. It is necessary for Lord Soma to negotiate personally."

Soma understood the reason but couldn't nod immediately.

After all, Soma was a typical Japanese person who was not good at negotiations. Although he had been in a few negotiation situations since coming to this world, they were all due to circumstances and not by choice.

Moreover, the thought of negotiating with influential and eloquent merchants made him feel uneasy.

"First, you need to gain experience, Lord Soma."

Eladia advised the hesitant Soma.

"This time, it's just about asking for an introduction to an intermediary. There's no need to be so tense. I will support you from behind the scenes."

Despite this, Soma, who still felt uneasy, looked over his shoulder at Shemul, who was following him.

"You negotiated with the slave traders properly. Soma, you'll be fine."

Soma couldn't help but smile wryly at Shemul's tone, which sounded like she was boasting about her own achievement.

When he bought Dovarin from the slave traders in this town, it was just a matter of haggling, but hearing Shemul say so made him feel a bit more confident.

"Alright. Since I'm not good at negotiations, please teach me a lot."

"I understand, Lord Soma."

Eladia agreed with a smile.

◆◇◆◇◆

A few days later, a merchant named Lazarev was invited to the lord's manor.

Lazarev was a merchant who dealt with goods purchased from Gebau traders in this town. He was one of the top two merchants in the current town of Bornis, but this was only because many major merchants had fled when Soma took over the town. Before that, he was at best a mid-level merchant.

Therefore, Lazarev was more of a straightforward and honest merchant than a shrewd one.

However, this was convenient for Eladia, who was in charge of selecting the person.

Soma had been taught the basics of negotiation over the past few days, but it was important not to put too much pressure on him. On the other hand, it would be problematic if the person could not introduce a suitable intermediary.

Lazarev had connections with Gebau traders and was not the type to try to take advantage of Soma. He was the perfect candidate.

Unaware of these considerations, Lazarev arrived at the lord's manor at the appointed time.

He was greeted by beautiful elf maids, which overwhelmed him. He had not expected to see so many elf maids in a provincial lord's manor. The intensity of the maids' presence might have contributed to his shock. After all, it was their first time hosting a guest as Soma's maids, and they were putting in a lot of effort.

"Lazarev-sama, please, this way."

Guided by Eladia, who was the only one with a calm demeanor, Lazarev was led to the audience chamber. The double doors opened, and Lazarev hesitantly entered the room.

"Welcome."

Soma, who greeted Lazarev, was not standing near the lord's chair at the back of the audience chamber but at a large table in the center of the room.

Lazarev, realizing that Soma was not trying to intimidate him but was seeking a dialogue, felt relieved.

"Please, have a seat."

Encouraged by Soma, Lazarev