CH 127

Chapter 127 – Conference

“We ask your forgiveness, Hakumen. This man did not have ill intentions. It seems that he simply lost his composure after going through this series of unimaginable events.” (King Dragia)

“No, he was articulating the goodwill of mankind. He wasn’t wrong. However, I only consider things in terms of profit and loss. I can understand that there will be people who would be incompatible with such a perspective.” (Hakumen)

“…Understandable. Then as a merchant, we presume you are here to offer us benefits?” (King Dragia)

“Of course, that is why I came here.” (Hakumen)

At the moment, the thing they had to be most wary of was the existence of earthlings. There were many humans—hurons in Elrond, but on Earth, there were only humans.

And these humans had the power to destroy this Empire if they wanted to. However, the government naturally didn’t have the time to devote attention and manpower to Elrond, with the way the world was now.

But there was a chance the government might try to contact them. There hadn’t been any previous instances of a city this large appearing in Japan.

“First, I can offer you what you value most right now.” (Hakumen)

“Hoh. What would that be?” (King Dragia)

“―Interpretation.” (Hakumen)

“Interpretation… So our words aren’t intelligible to the beings of this world. Is that correct?” (King Dragia)

King Dragia shifted his gaze to Ze’ev as he asked this question, and Ze’ev nodded in response.

“That’s right. In the last month or so I’ve been here, that’s been the only thing I’ve seriously struggled with. Wherever I went, I couldn’t converse with anyone. If I got too insistent on trying to talk to someone, they would become wary of me. Some of them even attacked me.” (Ze’ev)

“That couldn’t be avoided. Garbels are a foreign existence to the inhabitants of this land. It’s only natural that they would shy away from you due to your appearance.” (Hakumen)

“Hm? What do you mean?” (King Dragia)

In response to King Dragia’s question, I explained to him that there were only humans in this world, which caused the agitated murmuring in the room to grow louder. Naturally, King Dragia looked to Ze’ev once more to confirm this. Ze’ev met his gaze, informing him that I was right.

“Humans tend to dislike those different from them. Especially in a world that has become like this, that sentiment has only grown stronger. The peace of their world was ruined by monsters that came from another world. And you all, who are from that very world, are unable to communicate with them. You may very easily end up as targets for the earthlings to eliminate.” (Hakumen)

“…Presumably so. To the inhabitants of this world, we are the outsiders, huh?” (King Dragia)

King Dragia seemed to be prudent and perceptive, which made it easy to explain to him. I was glad that he wasn’t the kind of short-sighted ruler who would force his way in and go to war with humans to take their land and secure a place to live.

Well, that kind of person probably wouldn’t be the king of a country, though.

“But surely there would be hurons… no, humans, who would understand our situation if we talked to them.”

The one who spoke wasn’t a garbel, but a huron. When I asked him who he was, he responded.

“Please excuse me for interjecting so suddenly. I am Alan, a representative from the country of Sagriat.”

It seemed that he was the representative of one of the countries who had joined hands to defeat the Empire.

After the war was over, they had apparently returned to their own countries for some time to deal with the aftermath of the war, but they had gone back to Elrond to participate in this conference regarding the future of the Empire.

There were representatives from other nations ruled by hurons, but most of them were not kings, but princes and princesses and their close aides. As the proceedings regarding the aftermath of the war had ended up being quite protracted, the rulers of each country were unable to leave, which was why this conference was attended by representatives whose attendance was more convenient.

But to think that the transfer incident happened in the middle of all of this… Most of the people who were in attendance for this conference were not from the Empire, so they were bewildered to find out that they had arrived in another world.

“You said that they would understand our situation if we talked to them, Alan-dono?” (King Dragia)

“Yes, Dragia-dono. We are certainly strangers foreign to this world, but if we could at least discuss things, we may be able to come to an agreement with them, no?” (Alan)

“But if it is as Hakumen says, that they are extremely averse to those different from them, wouldn’t that make it difficult? What if they say that we are the ones who invaded their land? Do you have any evidence to affirm that things would not turn out that way?” (King Dragia)

“We could talk that out, too. It may be difficult, but it would be foolish to become affixed on fighting them from the very beginning. Besides, Dragia-dono, it was exactly through joining hands like this that we were able to bring down the Empire. Even if this is a different world, there is no reason why we should not be able to accomplish something of similar magnitude, as long as we work together.” (Alan)

“….Hmm. There certainly is sufficient possibility for us to be able to reach a mutual understanding with them, then. Indeed… As you’ve said, Hakumen, it seems that what we need most right now is exactly the means to communicate with them.” (King Dragia)

Precisely. I had guided things in this direction, but it was a good thing that we had a huron here, who had a strong tendency towards alliance. If not, it would have taken me a bit longer to persuade the other garbels.

“I am a mediator between the two worlds. Why is that, you may ask? It’s simple. Because I can understand both languages and facilitate a conversation.” (Hakumen)

“In other words, you can serve as a diplomat, huh?” (King Dragia)

“Exactly. If you want to reach a peaceful settlement with them, you will need me.” (Hakumen)

“Hmm… You said you were a merchant, but was the product meant to be yourself?” (King Dragia)

“No, I certainly do work as an interpreter, but that is simply one aspect. I am a merchant, in the end. My area of focus is on providing food, clothing, and shelter.” (Hakumen)

“And what do you desire in terms of compensation?” (King Dragia)

“Riches no longer have no value in this world.” (Hakumen)

Amidst the uproar that followed, Dragia asked me in a dubious tone what I meant by that.

“What I want is the money and valuables that exist in the Empire.” (Hakumen)

However, Yosen proceeded to say that if those things were lost, the Empire would surely collapse.

“Collapse? Why is that?” (Hakumen)

“Why? You don’t even know why that is, and you call yourself a merchant?!” (Yosen)

“That’s not the response I was looking for. Hurry up and articulate the reason.” (Hakumen)

“Tch… Then let me tell you, you uneducated fool! A country needs money to survive! Money is what makes trade work, keeping people from starving. It’s only logical that with money, people can obtain what they require. To protect a country from foreign enemies, supplies are always necessary! And supplies, they cost money! If we cough up all the money like you want us to, the country’s wealth will be depleted, and the country itself will dry up!” (Yosen)

Yosen’s nostrils were flaring up angrily, as if saying ‘how’s that, do you finally get it now?’ It wasn’t just him, though. The others were looking at me like I was a child who knew nothing.

However, Dragia, Ze’ev, Julaf, and a few others were looking at me not with disappointment, but with a searching gaze.

“Certainly, I had no objections to the way you run a country.” (Hakumen)

Yosen wasn’t wrong. Money was indeed an essential part of running a nation. But that was only if everyone believed in the value backing the currency. Unfortunately, this was Earth. The money, gold, and other valuables they owned no longer had their desired worth.

Certainly, they were items from another world, so they may be intrinsically valuable in that sense. But right now, what was more valuable to the people of Earth were food, provisions, and medical supplies, not money or valuables.

If this world was in a state of peace, there might have been room for negotiation. Depending on how things were negotiated, it might have even been possible for the country to have flourished.

However, with the current situation on Earth, money had lost its value, and gold and jewelry were of negligible value. After all, even if they someone had such things, they wouldn’t be able to eat them and survive.