The other members of Forge Eizo were befuddled by this exchange.
“Just in case, we’ve agreed to supply the empire with weapons. And of course, those weapons will feature a fat cat on their pommels. So, in exchange for your cooperation, we’ll provide the seeds to aid your nation,” Marius explained with a wink.
Anne looked a touch troubled as she smiled. “So? What will I need to do?”
“Oh, nothing special at all.”
The princess’s eyes grew wide with surprise.
“I just need you to act as the seventh imperial princess,” Marius clarified. “Seriously, that’s all.”
“Could I ask for more details?” Anne inquired.
Marius nodded. He didn’t turn to the margrave this time, so they must’ve planned to explain this all to us from the start. We were getting to the meat of this discourse, and sensing this, Anne sat up straight.
“It’s all very simple, really,” Marius said. “Who bears the highest rank among us?”
“Probably me,” Anne replied.
“Precisely. We’ll undoubtedly have some highly ranked people present as well, but you’re a guest of our kingdom.”
Anne’s expression shifted ever so slightly—everyone probably missed it except for her family. We know her too well.
“If we want to escalate this issue, we don’t need you to cause a stir,” Marius went on. “The orichalcum knife will still be presented to the envoy all the same, but if a Forge Eizo counterfeit is also discovered on the spot... Well, the matter would automatically become more serious. Especially if the seventh imperial princess is present.”
“What if, ultimately, everyone decides that buying from Forge Eizo is too much of a hassle? That separating authentic weapons from the fakes is too much effort? What if all our customers decide to just procure weapons from another forge?”
“If that happens...” Marius paused. Silence settled over the room, and the rest of us waited for him with bated breath. “Camilo might have to suffer a little.”
The count smiled, and I almost lost my composure. Camilo gave a loud and strained laugh while Marius turned to me.
“And Eizo, I’m really sorry, but if that’s the conclusion the kingdom comes to, I’ll have to obey—we won’t be able to outfit our soldiers with your weapons anymore,” he said. “But of course, our primary goal is to escalate the fakes issue and conduct a thorough investigation.”
I nodded at this logic. “I don’t mind.”
Yes, Camilo’s profits would take a temporary hit in this scenario, and yes, he might lose the kingdom as a client for a while (at least in regard to weapon sales), but those were his problems. I was sure he’d immediately find another place that wanted to buy my wares. And if one of our regular orders was canceled, it didn’t really affect us. Frankly, there are lots of projects I could complete with more free time.
Marius smiled once more. “That’s a relief.”
He didn’t seem visibly at ease because he’d probably already predicted my answer. He wasn’t taking advantage of me or anything. He just trusted me...I think. I mean, we’re friends, right?
“But I don’t think that’ll happen,” he continued.
“Why not?” I asked.
“You might not really care, Eizo, but once the kingdom promises to purchase something, unless the goods are all utterly terrible, we have to uphold our end of the deal and complete the transaction. Our dignity and trust would take a hit otherwise.”
“Fair enough.” Yeah, this isn’t the thought process for us average Joes. If fakes of a certain brand are discovered, you’d naturally begin to doubt other items of the same brand.
Regardless, this was a matter between two nations. Or so I assume.
“I see,” Anne said, flashing a slightly terrifying smile. “All right. I now understand what I’m supposed to do and what my nation will receive in exchange. But what will we receive? Would you kindly enlighten me?”
Anne was indeed smiling, but I knew that her next move would be dependent on Marius’s response. The rest of Forge Eizo collectively gave a nervous gulp.
Once again, those two look like a snake and a hawk glaring at each other... I mean, they’re both smiling, and they look calm, but that only makes them more terrifying. I’m sorta glad that Diana won’t be involved in situations like these very often.
Though Marius was engaged in a somewhat heated exchange with Anne, he probably wanted to assuage Diana’s worries and ease her mental strain as soon as possible.
“I feel like tracking down the fakes and destroying the culprits will benefit you more than enough,” Marius began.
Diana tried to stand up in protest, but Anne shot her a glare—Diana remained seated. Still, Marius was right. Out of all the players in this kerfuffle, our forge would benefit the most from the elimination of this counterfeit scheme. And since we would be getting something out of this, it was only natural that we lend a hand. Marius wasn’t wrong to insist as much, and had I been alone, I would’ve agreed and returned home, satisfied with this arrangement.
Marius smiled once again. “But...” he murmured. “I suppose that won’t suffice. The kingdom would be gaining far too much and providing very little in return.”
“Quite right,” Anne agreed. “Even off the top of my head, there are plenty of ways for the kingdom to turn this situation to its advantage.”
I wasn’t sure if Marius was acting coy, but Anne was taking advantage of it. I glanced at the margrave, who remained as indifferent as usual—he didn’t object to this exchange. If one didn’t know better, they’d assume that the margrave was upset, but this was his neutral face. I’m not one to talk... My resting face is apparently pretty scary too. But hey, I’m not gonna touch on that.
“And to fill in that gap, officials on our side have discussed a suitable reward,” Marius said.
Someone gulped nervously. This reward would likely determine whether we’d accept or decline his request. I would probably need to make that final decision. I’m genuinely curious to hear what reward he wants to offer us for our trouble.
“We first thought of gold coins, but I’m sure you have enough of those,” Marius said. “And then I thought of rare ores, but I don’t have any to offer.”
Marius’s requests usually net me a tidy profit—I earned a neat sum from this recent commission too. And while I make most of my money by selling to Camilo, I sometimes earn some cash from other sources.
Putting aside things Forge Eizo might need, what do I want? I usually coveted rare ores, but they weren’t easy to come across. And if they were common, then they wouldn’t be rare to begin with! Plus, our forge currently has a small collection of precious metals already. I don’t think I’d bat an eye at mithril at this point. I was joking, of course, but we already had adamantite and hihiirokane enshrined on the kamidana, and I wasn’t keen on working with mithril again before forging with those two.
That reminds me, back on Earth, I bought a plastic model kit of a mech at an electronics store. I was excited on my day off and made an impulse purchase, but I never did build that thing...
“But you’re not interested in land or a title, are you?” Marius asked, flashing a strained smile at me.
I nodded firmly. I really don’t want to get involved with anything like that... In fact, I don’t even want my name scrawled on a corner of this world’s history. If I ever get some land, I’m positive that Lady Frederica would make proper note of it, and I’d be in the records. I’d rather avoid it altogether.
“So, here’s what we have,” Marius said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out something made of wood.
Anne looked astonished. “This... Huh?”
“What’s wrong?” I asked. “Is this bad or something?”
Anne gently took the little wooden tag in her hands and showed it to me. Two emblems decorated the surface. Wait, I feel like I’ve seen this somewhere in my installed knowledge... Where is it again?