I Was Connected to Earth’s Black Market From Another World With The Skill [Market]! (WN)

Chapter 297

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Chapter 297 – Bluff and Bluff

When they hear the name “Demon King,” the guards who are supposed to protect the emperor are momentarily frightened. The only one who looks at me with hostility is an old man with a disintegrating icicle hanging from his beard. He is a tall, stocky man dressed in black, with a strong, thick eyebrow, mustache, and goatee, looking like an “evil Santa Claus. He seems to have some dignity but is not particularly popular.

“You plotted against me, Merlot!”

The Emperor’s angry shouts do not faze Kjell Merlot, the chairman of the Council, who shakes his head quietly.

“The meeting with His Majesty the Demon King is a separate matter for our own reasons. I had no intention of inviting him to this meeting.”

He gave me a somewhat reproachful look, but if that’s the case, just get it over with. I gave him as much time as I had because I had been knocked out by a cold.

“We were reluctant to show up, but you talk so much. If you want us to be quiet, you should make us wait in a room where we can’t hear the filthy cursing of a miserable old man crying.”

“That’s… I have no words to say.”

“In fact, the Casemaian and His Majesty the Demon King are the greatest victims of the Empire. Even though we are here on vacation, we have suffered repeated damage in the Republic as well. There can be no peace negotiations over the heads of these parties, can there?”

“That is… of course, I am aware of that, but I think it should be between the Empire and the Casemaians, not together with the Republic.”

Well, that’s reasonable, but I won’t do it. Neither we nor the Emperor are willing to do it.

“Do you think our Empire will negotiate with half beasts and half demons? What’s wrong with defeating and destroying those hideous demons?”

Oh, no. The old man is completely out of control in his suicidal thoughts, but I can only imagine how the whole Hagwai will be burned to ashes if he tries to do it here.

But surprisingly, Myrril remained expressionless, tilting her head to look at the emperor who was excitedly flying his spit.

“…If you’re going to negotiate with a guy like this, it would be much more beneficial to use the ‘train the earth dragon’ tricks here.”

The Emperor’s complexion changed as Myrril sneered at him. He raised his hand as if to order his guards to attack, but his sleeve began to freeze.

“Kuh, ah.”

“…Hey, bearded boy. Do you really have a sense of reality?”

“Ah, kuh!”

“”Your Majesty!””

Although only her face retains the shape of a smile, Miss Ecla’s entire body exudes a clear intent to kill.

“Stirring up trouble here is like declaring war.”

“Shut up, half beast! I don’t need you to tell me what to do…”

“Even if the Imperial Army is rotten in the head, it is still an elite army. If the current Republic were at war with them, we might be able to get them into a mud fight somehow. However, you’re trying to get your hands on the “30,000 Killers of the Casemaian” and the “Demon King of Destruction,” which you may have heard about. Do you know what that means?”

The emperor and the others stopped moving with indignant expressions on their faces. Strangely enough, I did not see a red sign of resentment above their heads. Was this a cover-up by the Empire, which excelled in magic technology?

“So far, the Demon King has killed 30,000 soldiers of the Kingdom’s army, 15,000 soldiers of the Empire’s army, and the Republic’s rebels. Including the tribal confederates and missing civilian criminals, more than 50,000 people have disappeared from this continent. On top of that, this is an enemy that has crushed every gunboat, battlecruiser, and golem on the continent without so much as a scratch on himself. If you think you can get away with fighting such a monster in the flesh, you’re beyond naive.”

The Emperor’s guards are quietly bracing themselves, but they seem to have no countermeasures against the raging “Witch of Sarz.” Not even I could do that.

“Even on the southern continent, a great empire had nearly 40,000 soldiers melted away. It’s only a matter of time before his second name becomes ‘Hundred Thousand Killers.'”

Please don’t say unnecessary things. It was Prince Haidar’s doing, not mine. I mean, where did you get that information from, Ecla-san?

“You talk big for a half-demon. Do you think you can get away with it for free?”

“I don’t know what you want to talk about; there are so many things that come to mind. If you are talking about the golem you brought to the Republic, it has already been devoured by the Demon King.”

“””Wha!?”””

What’s with that reaction? I thought that if there was any advantage to the golem invasion at that time, it was the Empire’s internal rebel forces trying to create a weakness in the main Imperial force negotiating in Hagwai. I didn’t think it was the Emperor’s orders?

“The ore golem that went to Casemaian was shattered by a blow from a ‘fire-breathing monster.’ Of course, the wood and clay golems, you know?”

“…..”

“It’s funny how you failed the first time, and yet you keep trying to do the same thing again. They’ve either been dismantled or poured into the ground and are now the dwarves’ toys.”

I wasn’t sure how to read the situation, but I quickly gave up thinking because I didn’t need to take advantage in diplomatic negotiations. I sat down at the table with a deliberately dull expression on my face, looked at the Emperor, and chuckled.

“It was a waste of time. Truly, it was a disappointment. I never thought that a man who claims such a great title as ‘Emperor’ would be such a small man.”

I made an exaggerated expression of disgust, and then I made the object I had taken out of storage appear on the table. Both of them, who had been in a rage, froze with a gasp when they saw it.

It was an ear that had been cut off.

“I will give it back to you while I still can. The Sacred Magicians, or something like that. I left it behind when a troupe of mad puppeteers visited my demon king’s territory.”

“””…..”””

…Ara, no one answered. Even the ever-reliable Myrril-san tilts her head slightly. This was a theatrical performance that went horribly wrong.

“I had given my message to an earless marquis named Lukachev.”

It seems like a long time ago, but he was Rinko’s boss, whom I had interrogated on a scouting mission for a mounted golem unit. Of course, I had already forgotten his name, so I got it from Myrril-san.

“I’ll tell you again. This is the way we Casemaians do things. We return kindness for kindness. For every ill will, there will be an ill will. However, we are not interested in the affairs of other countries, so unless they are hostile to us, we will not attack them. This applies to every nation. However, we will show no mercy to those who would lay a hand on our people.”

Someone gritted his teeth. The Emperor, a middle-aged man who appeared to be an imperial civil servant, and some of the guards.

“You think you are innocent? How many Imperial soldiers do you barbarians think you killed?”

“Where were those soldiers, and what were they doing?”

The speaker, an imperial civil servant, stared at me, and his eyes swam slightly.

“I don’t remember how many enemies we slaughtered. I don’t remember killing anyone except those who tried to kill us.”

“What about the saint you kidnapped from our country!”

The civil official, realizing his disadvantage, changed the subject. I feel uncomfortable with this somewhat forced entanglement. This is not an act of demonstration to gain the upper hand in negotiations. It’s only natural because even if the Empire wins a dispute, it has nothing to gain from the Casemaians, and it can’t choose what to lose.

So, is it a settling of scores? They are trying to find out how much information we have on them and how much of a threat Casemaian is.

“Hmm. Which saint is that?”

Fine, I’ll take care of it. I look the civilian officer in the eye and laugh.

“The former saint of the Empire whom the Imperial Army kidnapped and turned into a puppet, or the former saint of the Kingdom whom they summoned without permission and put a slave collar on as a useless person? Which saint do you mean?”

“……”

“Let me tell you, both of them were once my countrymen. No matter what happens to them, the crimes of the Empire will not be erased. Don’t think you can get away with it for free.”

I looked at the silent civil servant and decided there was nothing more to be gained. Myrril and I nodded at each other and rose from our seats.

“If I did anything to the Imperial delegation here, I would be tarnishing the Republic’s reputation. I’ll let the numerous travesties slide for today.”

The emperor looks at me with narrowed eyes. He looks at me with a quizzical expression, wondering what I am up to. That’s a no-no. If the Emperor came here today, he would either be a bold and powerful man or a cunning and scheming crook. But this guy is neither.

Somehow, I understood the reason for my uneasiness.

“I don’t know about the Republic, but the Casemaians don’t expect anything from the Empire. No apology is necessary. We don’t want reparations. We do not want peace. I have no intention of accepting talks.”

I look at each of the people on the Empire’s side with a smile.

“The Empire is already an enemy of Casemaian and of me. Tell that to the spineless old cretin who is still trembling deep in his nest.”

“””…..!”””

I wasn’t sure; it was just a hunch, but judging by the reaction, I was right.

This guy is just a body double. This Emperor-like abomination was probably one of the steps he was instructed to take to settle the dispute. He was supposed to siphon off information, confirm the situation, and then, if possible, harm the Republican side in order to turn the peace negotiations around. It was just like the yakuza trying to stir up trouble.

When I looked at them, I saw that the only ones who were not surprised were Ecla-san and Myrril. I knew that these two were aware of the situation and were provoking them. Or rather, Ecla-san was looking at me suspiciously. She looked at me as if she wondered how I knew. That’s terrible.

“I will formally protest this matter to your home country.”

Council Chairman Kjell Merlot tells the Empire negotiating team with a bitter look on his face, but it seems to me that this raccoon dog (though he looked surprised along with everyone else) knew all along.

“Don’t be stupid! How far do you think you can make a fool of us?”

Hmm. It was way out of line, but there was a pause as if waiting for a cue to get upset. Maybe someone is watching the situation with some kind of magic.

“Were you ordered to say that?”

The emperor-like figure’s eyes swam at my words.

“A message from the demon king to the emperor. You should run and hide as best you can. I will strip, break, smash, and crush what you rely on, one by one. And then, having lost something to protect, having lost a place to hide…”

I laugh, looking down to see the face of the acting emperor, who has forgotten how to direct his dignity.

“…The Demon King himself will come to you!”