Chapter 618
Why Don’t You Know How to Talk? (2)
Taking without reason is robbery. Ghislain never considered himself a mere robber.
He was always rational, taking what was due and giving what was fair. This situation was no different.
However, it seemed the commanders of the United Army did not share his perspective. So, he decided to explain it a bit more clearly.
"Shouldn't we demand compensation from those who merely hoarded wealth while keeping themselves safe?"
"B-but they have already provided war supplies with utmost sincerity..."
"Really?"
Ghislain leaned forward slightly and asked again.
"Did they really contribute as much as we did, fighting with our lives on the line?"
"......"
Of course not. Even when their kingdoms were falling into the hands of the rebels, most nobles had simply taken their riches and fled.
For instance, in the Kingdom of Seiron, which Claude had taken over, they even diverted support supplies from Ritania for themselves.
While other kingdoms hadn't gone to such extremes, many nobles had still hoarded wealth, pretending to be destitute while offering only minimal support. From their perspective, it was the reasonable thing to do.
After all, in times of war, when death could come at any moment, self-preservation was their priority.
But now, the situation had changed. The nobles owed compensation to those who had risked their lives to protect them.
"......"
The commanders had nothing to say.
Everything Ghislain said was true. The problem was that they would have to be the ones to go and seize the compensation. It would undoubtedly create an uproar.
Some of them might even risk their own positions. Openly becoming the enemies of domestic nobility was a dangerous move.
Why does he always make us handle these troublesome, impossible tasks?!
Ghislain, well aware of how nobles operated, smirked and gave them a justification.
"As the Supreme Commander of the United Army, I declare: Since the war has prolonged, we must requisition additional supplies. Make sure to relay this message to your homelands properly."
This was the plan all along. Even when he had boldly declared it to the soldiers, he had already decided if they lacked supplies, they would simply take them.
Marquis Alperen groaned internally.
‘I should have asked back then. I should have told him not to do this.’
He deeply regretted not asking out of fear of what Ghislain’s answer might be.
Even with justification on their side, fierce opposition was inevitable.
The mere thought of it made him dreadfully reluctant. Just thinking about it was exhausting.
The other commanders felt the same. If just asking for supplies was enough to receive them, the world would be a far more peaceful place.
But reality wasn’t so kind. Greed always led to conflict and chaos.
Marquis Alperen stepped forward as their representative and spoke.
"Everything you say is completely reasonable, but… it’s not as simple as it sounds. They’ll do anything to avoid giving up their wealth. If we’re not careful, this could spark another war."
Then, Ghislain replied with an indifferent expression.
"Then go fight the dragon in my place."
"……."
"Ugh, I'm too tired for this."
"……."
"I'm always the one fighting on the front lines. The more I think about it, the more unfair it feels."
"……."
"Ugh, I might as well just leave. Do as you wish. Oh, and by the way, we're taking the mages we captured. Because, well, we caught them."
Ghislain rose from his seat. That instantly threw the commanders into a panic, especially those from the Turian Kingdom and the neighboring territories.
"H-hey! Wait a moment! We said it was difficult, not that we wouldn’t do it!"
At one commander’s desperate words, the others followed with awkward laughter.
"Of course, of course. Assisting in fighting the dragon is our duty."
"If we don’t, we’ll all die. There’s no way we’d refuse."
"If we don’t contribute, we’d be considered traitors."
With forced smiles, they hurriedly tried to placate Ghislain. Seeing their reaction, he sat back down with a broad grin.
"Ah, I must have misunderstood again. My impatience always gets the better of me. I used to get scolded for it a lot as a kid."
‘Wasn't it because you were insufferable?’
‘Why do you always do whatever you want?’
‘You never sugarcoat anything.’
The commanders wanted to cry. That man only knew how to use threats. He had no concept of negotiation.
Marquis Alperen struggled to continue the conversation.
"We understand that we must also contribute to securing resources… but it will take some time. We can’t just rush in blindly. It has to be handled through ‘dialogue’ "
Thud.
Ghislain, smiling brightly, placed his sword on the table.
"This sword’s name is ‘Dialogue.’ Funny thing, whenever I take it out, I’ve never met anyone who didn’t understand me."
"……."
He meant to use force. There wasn’t a single person in the room who failed to grasp that.
The grin on Ghislain’s face gradually faded. Then, with a more serious expression, he spoke.
"These soldiers fought for the people, for the kingdom, and ultimately, for the world."
"……."
"Is it really so difficult to give them a little more reward for risking their lives?"
"……."
"Without them, we wouldn’t have been able to fight this war at all. They stood at the very front of the battle. Frankly, they deserve even more. Aren’t they our comrades?"
The commanders of the United Army remained silent. They listened, their expressions heavy.
This was not a noble’s way of thinking. Seeing one’s comrades-in-arms as equals this was a mercenary’s mindset.
Only then did they recall one of Ghislain’s many titles.
‘King of Mercenaries.’
His way of thinking was fundamentally different from theirs.
However, they couldn't simply ignore the opposing opinion. The other side held overwhelming power.
Moreover, their sentiments had shifted slightly from before.
Had they not fought on the front lines alongside the soldiers all this time? Now, they felt closer to the soldiers than to the nobles back in the homeland.
'It's not wrong to say so.'
'In the end, blood must be spilled.'
'There's no other choice.'
They wanted to avoid a conflict with the nobles remaining in the kingdom. Even now, they were facing numerous checks and pressures.
This was different from when they had brought in the mages. Now, they had to openly clash with the kingdom’s nobility.
But what could they do? The power was in their hands. And if not now, they might never get another chance.
Ghislain drove the point home.
"It is also the duty of a noble to provide fair compensation. That is what we must do."
"I understand."
As Marquis Alperen nodded in agreement, the other commanders also expressed their consent.
Only Marquis Gideon looked at Julien and asked,
"Are you alright with this?"
Julien was already hated by his father, the king. This decision would only push the king and the nobles to unite further in ostracizing him.
However, as always, Julien answered with an indifferent expression.
"We are not talking about seizing their private property, are we? We protected them, so they must offer appropriate compensation. We’ll calculate the exact amount and take what is due."
With that, Julien closed his eyes, signaling his lack of interest in how the opposition would respond.
Marquis Gideon let out a deep sigh.
'His Majesty is going to fly into a rage again.'
To the nobles, soldiers were mere expendables. As long as they received their promised wages, what happened afterward whether they starved to death or died in battle was none of their concern.
And yet, now they were demanding compensation equal to the soldiers' efforts in battle. A decision that defied long-standing tradition would undoubtedly spark widespread resistance.
But Ghislain had made the decision, and Julien had approved it. No amount of opposition could stop it now.
'If things get too difficult, we might have to settle with the newly acquired lands.'
Not only the royal family but also the nobles and merchants who had funded the war expected their share of the spoils. Perhaps there was room for negotiation there.
If necessary, force could be used but resolving things peacefully was the preferred outcome.
With that, the meeting concluded, and preparations for withdrawal began. The remaining troops now had to focus on eliminating the scattered remnants of the enemy.
In the end, things had once again played out just as Ghislain wanted. And he felt no guilt about extorting money he would be paying the most out of anyone, after all.
"If they risked their lives to fight, they should be properly compensated."
Having lived as a mercenary for so long, his way of thinking inevitably clashed with the other nobles.
However, Ghislain didn’t think he was wrong. This was a truth he had learned firsthand while fighting on the battlefield.
While the soldiers were preparing for their retreat, Ghislain and the other key figures gathered for an important meeting.
The topic of discussion was “How to slay the dragon.”
“So, once the mages seal the dragon’s magic, Julien and I will take the lead…”
“We also have to watch out for its breath attack. Once the fight starts, it’ll definitely target the mages first…”
“Parniel will fight alongside us, and the priests will stay behind the mages…”
The meeting largely revolved around Ghislain presenting various strategies, which the others then discussed and adjusted. Since Ghislain had slain a dragon in his past life, he took the lead in planning the attack.
Back then, they had barely managed to take it down, suffering massive losses because they lacked proper information.
But this time was different. With that past experience, he was carefully formulating and reviewing their strategy.
As the discussion continued, Piote’s eyes suddenly widened in realization.
‘Huh? Wait a minute…’
Now that he thought about it, it seemed like everyone was overlooking something important. Piote hesitantly raised his hand.
“Um… excuse me…”
“So basically, if I just go slash! with my dual swords, I can rip both its wings off at once.”
“If the mages are clustered together, they’ll take heavy damage. They need to spread out their mana fields.”
“Then we should also use interference magic to keep the dragon from detecting us…”
Everyone was too busy talking amongst themselves to notice Piote. Or rather, they were so focused on the meeting that they simply didn’t hear him.
“Excuse me…”
Piote timidly tried again, but no one paid attention.
In strategy meetings, Piote was always left out. He usually just followed orders.
Not only did he lack expertise in tactics and strategy, but he also wasn’t particularly interested in combat.
Yet, this time, he kept raising his hand with an increasingly desperate expression, silently pleading for someone to listen.
“Excuse me…”
“So, the dragon’s attack patterns will likely…”
“EXCUSE ME!”
“Hm?”
Everyone flinched and turned to look at Piote. It was rare for him to raise his voice.
Ghislain blinked in surprise before asking,
“What? Do you have a good plan?”
Alfoi immediately chimed in from the side.
“Piote, your job is just to stand in front and take the hits. And if you see an opening, throw in a Goddess Punch!”
“Ah, I get it. But before that, I have something to say…”
Ghislain nodded.
“What is it? If it’s a good plan, go ahead and say it.”
“Well… everything sounds good, but… why is the discussion only about fighting?”
“What do you mean? The dragon is coming to attack humans, isn’t it?”
“No, I mean… what if we try talking to the dragon first before fighting?”
Thunk.
Ghislain unsheathed his sword and placed it on the table.
“This here is called ‘conversation.’ It works great for talking to dragons. Species doesn’t matter.”
“That’s a sword! I mean actual conversation!”
“Hm.”
Ghislain crossed his arms and studied Piote. The others did the same.
They simply couldn’t comprehend what he was saying.
Feeling all eyes on him, Piote’s face turned red, but he mustered the courage to speak.
“According to Lady Ereneth, dragons fight because they’re searching for an Adversary, right?”
“That’s right.”
“But we’re also trying to eliminate the remnants of the Salvation Church and fight if the Adversary appears, aren’t we?”
“Most likely, yes.”
“Then doesn’t that mean the dragon’s enemy and our enemy are the same?”
“…Huh?”
Ghislain tilted his head. The others did the same.
Piote raised his voice.
“So, even if we have to fight eventually! Can’t we at least explain the situation and try talking first?! Why do you all insist on solving everything with violence?! Do none of you understand what ‘diplomacy’ is?!”
Everyone looked utterly shocked. Their expressions said it all they had never considered that possibility even once.
Seeing their reactions, Piote became certain.
Inside these people’s heads, there was only one solution to everything: battle.