Chapter 6 - What you need before you make a deal (3)
"Although we"ve been in a rush recently, we now have a bit of spare time, so I felt that this was the perfect time to properly introduce myself. Not only that, but I kept saying I was going to give you a reward, but that also continued to get pushed back."
"It"s okay. I"m not too poor to care about money."
"Still, it doesn"t hurt to have a lot of it."
"That"s true."
Jade gently nodded his head.
If it weren"t for the Big Crows" nest, he wouldn"t be as relaxed.
Even though he had the Black Drake"s bones, it wasn"t worth much as it wasn"t cash.
And, it wasn"t like a small town had enough money to afford the bones.
"Reward is a reward, but the reason why I wanted to speak to mister Jade was because I had something to personally tell you."
"You have something personal to say, eh."
Jade"s behavior did not change even after being told she was a princess.
He already had a feeling of who she was since she was protected by a Sword Master. But, not only that, although his body was from this world, his mind wasn"t.
This made it so the current situation made things a bit curious for him, nothing more - nothing less. He did not feel fear or discouraged just because she was of royal blood.
"I believe you have some sort of idea of what the current situation is like in our country."
"Yes."
Jade did not refute.
Although he didn"t want to hear anything about it, he had naturally heard bits and pieces of it during their journey.
However, since it would be weirder for him to say that he didn"t know anything of the situation, he just gently nodded his head.
"To be honest, Lloyd and I need you mister Jade. I believe you know the reason why without me having to explain it to you. However, I"m not shameless enough to blindly ask for your help, nor has your help thus far been small. That"s why I"d like to ask, is there anything you want?"
Laney was more serious than she was ever before.
However, there was no sign of servility.
It"s because she knew how to display the perfect amount of forcefulness when dealing with those who were of equal power.
Of course, the one who had the upper hand was Jade.
Laney desperately needed Jade, but it wasn"t the same for him.
Although he was from Paulstein, there was no reason for someone as strong as him to dwell at his birthplace.
He could easily become a n.o.ble anywhere else if he wanted to.
And, knowing this, Laney decided to confront him honestly.
"We desperately need mister Jade. Not only to correct the rebellion, but to also have him help the country."
Although Lloyd and Laney were chased out, the successor for the throne was yet to be decided.
The king was still alive on his sickbed, and not all the n.o.bles were on the side of the other prince.
Not only that, but there were still many n.o.bles that were neutral, so there was still more than enough time to turn things around.
However, Laney thought even further than this.
She even thought of what would happen once everything fell back in order.
"If the Marquis dies, Heinze will be the only Master left. However, sir Heinze is old. He wouldn"t be able to go back to his prime, even if he were to be healed at the capital."
Although cold, this was reality.
And, even Heinze himself understood this fact.
That"s why Heinze was all for Jade joining their group.
Even if he was to die during this civil war, Paulstein wouldn"t be hit with a huge impact if Jade was around.
"Only, the conditions aren"t the problem."
The most important thing when making deals was to know what the opposite person wanted.
With just that, one had the upper hand on the negotiation table.
However, knowing this, Laney still gave up the idea.
"Holding onto them with conditions is only temporary. To put it differently, if someone gives them better conditions, they will easily choose the other side. That means, the way to….."
Laney bit her lips.
No matter how much she thought about it, there wasn"t a better method than this.
"What I want huh."
"If you want, I can give you a t.i.tle and land."
"I see."
"Are you not interested?"
Laney bit her lower lip.
Jade didn"t seem to show any reaction to her examples.
Of course, she had also expected this situation.
Jade wasn"t a normal person but a summoner.
"To be honest, I have no interest in those things, nor am I comfortable managing other people."
"Then is there something specific that you want?"
Laney drily spoke.
She desperately needed Jade, so she unknowingly showed an air of urgency.
"I"m in a bit of dilemma with your sudden offer."
"That could happen. Sorry. I guess I"ve only been thinking about our situation."
Laney pulled herself together, however, she couldn"t completely hide her look of impatience.
That"s why everything still seemed a bit clumsy.
"A t.i.tle huh."
Jade on the other hand was lost in thought as he knew what Laney wanted from the beginning.
No, it wouldn"t make sense if he didn"t know.
Although he was inexperienced in this world, he had gone through plenty of life experiences in his original world.
-Oh ho! You"re going to become a n.o.ble?
-I don"t mind Jade becoming one.
-Are we the ones that are going to take care of his land?
-That should be the case, right?
-Sounds like fun!
Jade bitterly smiled as he listened to the two spirits speaking nonstop.
There was no room for silence, especially because of Celestine.
Even Elestra spoke a lot.
"My original plan was to moderately use the princess" party."
Although he had helped them in the Great Forest with pure intentions, he also had another purpose.
He could tell they were n.o.bles as soon as he saw them, so he was going to use them to get the things he wanted.
In this world, there was a huge difference of what was available to civilians and what was available to n.o.bles.
Yet, things have turned a little strange.
"I didn"t think they would cling to me like this."
Jade honestly still hadn"t shown all of his powers, yet it seemed like even then he was considered incredible to the princess" party.
-What are you going to do? The princess looks restless!
-She can"t seem to sit stilll? She seems to be doing her best to contain herself, but maybe it"s because of her age, it"s so obvious.
Gguuaam!
Unlike the spirits, Hwid appeared to be bored as it continued to yawn. It then closed its eyes and fell asleep.
"It sounds like the Master cla.s.s on the enemy"s side is the biggest obstacle for them right now."
It was clear why Laney was so aggressive.
Although Heinze was leading the group, he was old, decrepit, and injured. This made it difficult to fight against the Master cla.s.s enemy.
That"s why Jade"s value soared more than normal.
"Mister Jade."
"Ah, yes. Please speak."
Maybe it was due to the long pause, but Laney appeared to have made up her mind as she firmly called out to Jade.
"If you want, I can become yours as well."
"What?"
Jade, who had constantly appeared calm, now had an astonished expression.
That"s how shocked he was.
He was honestly shocked to hear words he never thought he"d hear.
However, unlike before, Laney was calm and collected.
"The most certain method to gain your a.s.sistance is to become your family. If we simply sign a contract through other conditions, you can choose to go with someone else who can offer more."
"…….That"s true."
"However, if we become family, you will support Lloyd and I will all of your power."
"Your serious."
"Yes."
Laney did not look away from Jade.
Now that she had made a decision, she was not embarra.s.sed, nor did she ponder any longer.
And, this was also the reason why she wanted to have this meeting without Heinze.
If he heard these words coming out of Laney"s mouth, he would cough up blood and would do the best he could to stop her.
Completed - Chapter 6 (3)