Even so, he managed to remember them all. That said, if he hadn’t heard about them from the supreme commander ahead of time, it would have been an impossible feat.
“On behalf of all dwarves, I’d like to thank you. If it weren’t for Your Majesty, our country would have been destroyed.”
It was the chief of caves and mines who spoke. All the other dwarves present followed his lead and bowed their heads as well.
Apparently, the eight of them took turns leading the association, so perhaps it was currently the chief of caves and mines’s turn.
“Don’t worry about it. Everyone needs help sometimes.”
“Your Majesty is so generous. If you ever need help, we’ll do our utmost to assist. Unfortunately, unlike you, who can save our entire country with just two soldiers, I’m not sure there is much we can do.”
“That’s hardly the case. I have military strength, yes, but I’m less confident in other areas. If you could help me with those things, I would really appreciate it.”
“I see. We’d be happy to be of assistance to Your Majesty—and the Nation of Darkness. But first, could you tell us what the purpose of your visit is? The supreme commander explained it, but we’d like to hear once more from you directly, if you please.”
The chief of caves and mines’s eyes narrowed slightly.
His gaze seemed to resolutely declare, We’ll see through any lies!
I’m not getting many positive vibes from this audience… Well, I suppose it’s only natural to be wary when you’re dealing with such a huge power disparity.
If the top-ranked guild in Yggdrasil showed up offering them a World Item and saying they wanted to negotiate, Ainz would have assumed it was a trap, too.
So he wasn’t offended by the dwarves’ reactions.
“First, I’d like to establish friendly relations. After that, I’d like to begin trading between our countries.”
“I see.”
“I heard from one of your people that your main foods are mushrooms and meats. I also heard that you have vegetable fields at the base of the mountains but you can’t grow many varieties or large quantities. We can offer you fresh vegetables and also—are you interested in the alcoholic drinks of the human countries and the Nation of Darkness?”
At the mention of alcohol, the dwarves’ eyes sparkled. It was an extremely honest, easy-to-read response.
“I’ve come to learn that you’re trading with the humans in the east but that the deals aren’t terribly large.”
“That’s right. At the moment, our trade deals are limited to what twenty dwarves can carry. That’s why we’re working on developing bags that can hold an infinite amount of objects.” It was the chief of the merchant council who answered.
“I see. The reason you can’t send a larger dwarf caravan is apparently because the mountain paths are steep. Is that true?”
“Yes.” A different dwarf answered. “The roads are so sheer, we can’t take too much luggage. And if we travel in a bigger group, we would attract the attention of monsters. There are a lot of beasts that will attack despite being outnumbered. It’s especially tricky if we’re set upon from the sky.”
Coming to the dwarf kingdom via a normal method certainly would involve a lot of work. The trade between the empire and the dwarf country must have been so small-scale because the returns weren’t high enough to be worth the risk. But that made the dwarf country a great trading partner for the Nation of Darkness.
At the moment, unfortunately, the Nation of Darkness didn’t have any specialty product that was superior to what could be found in other countries, besides undead. But when dealing with the dwarves, even regular food was an acceptable trade good.
They’re a perfect trading partner.
Ainz grinned internally and said, “If that’s the case, then I recommend negotiating a deal with me—with the Nation of Darkness—and importing foodstuffs.”
“…We haven’t heard where your nation is located yet. Is it somewhere we can carry the cargo on our own?”
“Currently, it would be too dangerous to have you transport everything with your people alone. First, we’ll take the lead, and in the future, I’d like to set up a proper trading route so your people will be able to transport goods safely, too. We’ll even make roads for wagons. Of course, we won’t use anything as weak as horses. We’ll rely on something with more powerful locomotive forces.”
“Do you mean…undead?” one of the dwarves asked with a disgusted look on his face.
Ainz seemed to recall this dwarf was the chief of the smith shops.
“That’s correct. Wagons pulled by undead, who are strangers to fatigue and have the means to defend themselves, are a superior form of transport. In fact, we’ve already implemented them in my nation, and the response from the citizens has been extremely good. And those aren’t the only reasons to use undead—”
Ainz was happily chattering away when the chief of the smith shops interrupted. “I heard undead attack the living, though.”
Ainz pouted due to his internal dissatisfaction but replied with confidence. “It’s true that many people feel that way about undead. And that is a fact: undead despise and attack the living. But!” Ainz forcefully declared, “With an absolute ruler like me, the undead being used in the Nation of Darkness pose no threat. I hope you can trust me.”
The chief of the smith shops twisted his mouth into a frown. He didn’t seem to believe Ainz.
Does he have some bad memory of his family being taken from him by undead? Ainz thought as he played his trump card.
“My nation also can offer a workforce for hire.”
“A workforce?”
“During my travels, I heard from a dwarf I saved from the kuagoa”—not that Ainz had saved him per se, but it wasn’t a total lie, either, so he decided to score a favor—“about dwarves laboring in the mines. I think we could replace dwarf miners with undead.”
“What? You could do that?” the chief of caves and mines bit out, his eyes open wide.
“Of course. We’ve already attempted it in a human country and succeeded. The mine owner who is borrowing undead has even asked for more hands.”
This was no lie. Albedo had told him about it when he sent a worried Message one time.
“Human countries are doing that sort of thing?” The chief of caves and mines sounded impressed.
“You seem to understand the characteristics of undead…”
“Yes, well, at least the general gist,” the chief of the great earth shrine chimed in.
Ainz asked, “Then I don’t have to tell you what a great workforce undead can be, do I?”
The dwarves exchanged looks and began commenting all at once.
“We understand very well what Your Majesty is saying, certainly. If you can really control the undead safely…”
“If we could use the manpower currently committed to the mines for something else, it’s quite a tempting proposition.”
“But…”
The rest of the sentence must have been, Can we really trust undead? Besides, it was only natural to feel resistance toward changing the way things had always been done.
Really, Ainz was only promoting his wares a little; it wasn’t as if he was full-on recommending them already. But of course, he would be happy if the dwarves would accept undead laborers.
“I simply meant that offering such a workforce is one possibility. I understand your anxiety regarding un—”
“Your Majesty, King of Darkness, first, I’d like to ask something about these undead. Would it be possible to use them for defense?”
The supreme commander’s question caused a stir to ripple through the group of dwarves.
“Commander, leaving the safekeeping of our country up to another nation’s military strength is a huge risk!”
“I know that. But His Majesty’s undead are powerful. They could probably halt the kuagoa if they attacked again. Purchasing them as a last line of defense could be a great
boon. Our top priority is the safety of the nation’s people. Now that the fort has fallen, we need something else to rely on, some other power.”
“Don’t you think it’s more dangerous to be under the thumb of another country?”
“I’m saying we’re not in a position to discuss such things!”
The chief of the smith shops and the supreme commander glared at each other.
“…How about we leave it at that for now? We can review that later among just us dwarves. It’s not the kind of thing to discuss in the presence of visiting royalty. Apologies for that embarrassing display, Your Majesty. I would appreciate if you could laugh off this argument and interpret it as a sign of how very attractive your proposal is. Now then, what is it you want from our country? I don’t think we have very much to offer, but…”
“That’s not true. First, I desire ore. My country has little in the way of natural deposits.”
“I see.” The chief of the merchant council grinned. “So that’s why you brought up the idea of an undead workforce earlier. Increasing mining yields would result in a surplus. That in turn would lower the price of the ore, is that it?”
Ainz hadn’t thought that far, but he nodded anyway. “That’s exactly it. You saw through my plan.”
A round of “I see” went through the dwarves.
“And I would also like to acquire weapons and armor crafted in your workshops. I recall hearing that items of dwarven make are the best.”
This was a truth multiple people he had talked to agreed on.
But processed goods cost more, and if he bought too much gear from the dwarf country, the number of blacksmiths in the Nation of Darkness would decrease. If there was an obvious gap in the technological skill between the two countries, he preferred to improve his own country’s capabilities rather than committing the blunder of importing too much superior dwarven gear.
On the other hand, without a rival in the market, the blacksmiths in the Nation of Darkness wouldn’t be motivated to improve. It was possible importing equipment produced in the dwarf country would inspire them.
Of course, there were various ways to strike a balance, such as imposing tariffs, but when he thought far ahead enough that he realized it would involve not only convincing the dwarves to buy his products but also spending money on foreign goods, it all started to seem like a pain.
Frankly, it was a matter that could be entrusted to Albedo and Demiurge, but Ainz was thinking about it, too.
Maybe he could sell the gear exclusively at the new Adventurers Guild or lend pieces out to working adventurers.
That would be appealing for low-ranking adventurers, and if it meant more of their lives would be saved, that would benefit the Nation of Darkness as well. And once the items got older, they could be sold at a discount, further increasing adventurer survival rates.
“Your Majesty, there are no words to express our gratitude for all that you’ve done for us, but that’s a question that is difficult to answer on the spot. If possible, we’d like to discuss this at length, especially regarding the weapons and armor. Might we have some time?”
“Of course. I want for you to talk it over until you reach a conclusion. And I’m in no great hurry, either. My subordinates already have first-rate armor. I’m after equipment for my country’s citizens to use.”
Now, then, thought Ainz.
This is where it gets serious. It’s time to do what I came here for.
“Should we talk about the kuagoa now?”
The atmosphere abruptly tensed.
“I went ahead and dealt with the kuagoa invasion myself. That’s correct, isn’t it, Commander?”
“It’s as you say.”
“And if I hadn’t been there, what would have happened?”
“We had been holding back the kuagoa behind a single set of doors, so if the gate had been breached and Your Majesty hadn’t been there, we probably would have had to mobilize the city’s inhabitants for an urban battle. I imagine that while we bought time that way, others would have found a location to evacuate to and helped the children escape.”
The dwarves all wore sober looks.
It probably helped that the supreme commander had come to talk to them first, but the fact that there were no objections or refutations spoke to what capable individuals were gathered here.
Ainz was confident he could say that because no one was bringing up their ideals, no one was purely interested in what was personally convenient, and no one was arguing based on their emotions. When people who got carried away like that were involved, especially in positions of power, it was a waste of time where nothing was decided, and negotiations would inevitably end on an ambiguous note. The fact that the regency council was nothing like that was praiseworthy.
“Could we hear what would have happened after that? How would the battle have ended up?”
“I can’t say for sure, since we don’t know the size of the enemy army, but if we estimate a thousand kuagoa, we would have been in a fairly precarious situation. It would have been difficult to repel them, and even if we could, the losses of both resources and personnel would have ramifications on the country’s strength.”
The supreme commander explained why that was the case.
It was because the fort at the Great Chasm was so strong. The history of thinking As long as we have the fort, we’re protected bred conceit. That was an issue Ainz couldn’t ignore, either.
He had learned himself during the incident with Shalltear what happened when he was careless.
“If you only have one last resort, then its failure spells the end. That’s why I believe we should have another card up our sleeves, even if we have to accept His Majesty’s assistance.”
Ainz held up a hand to interrupt the dwarf who seemed to want to say something. The supreme commander had hijacked the flow of the conversation, but Ainz wasn’t done talking yet. “The kuagoa have been repelled for now, but it’s not as if we’ve secured lasting peace for Fehu Jura. At least, I don’t think we have yet.”
The dwarves looked grim.
After making sure everyone understood that, Ainz felt that now was the time to push. “Without me, the next kuagoa invasion will be difficult to stop. And it would be problematic for me if this country ceased to exist because I want to establish a trade agreement. So how about it? Will you accept my help? With my nation’s strength, I think we can get you set up so at least the kuagoa don’t attack for a while… Yes, perhaps we could take back the dwarf city they’re currently using as their base.”
A tremor disturbed the air.
This was different from their previous reactions.
The chief of caves and mines licked his lips. “Your Majesty, are you saying that would be possible?”
“I would pour all my energy into making it happen.”
The chief of the smith shops crossed his arms with a surly attitude and rolled his eyes to take in Ainz. “That’s too good to be true. Why would you help us that much? What are you after in exchange?”
“Hey, that’s going too far!”
The chief of the smith shops snorted at his fellow dwarf’s rebuke. “You wouldn’t be wary of a stranger suddenly offering you tasty drinks?”
“Mmmph!”
“That’s a fair doubt to have. Then, let’s speak frankly. One reason is that I’m more interested in a diplomatic relationship with your country than with the kuagoa. I think your people are more likely to have common sense, understand what a deal is, and be grateful. And in the first place, which side would be more grateful for the help—the one about to win or the one about to lose?”
“Hmph. That makes sense.”
“And the second reason is that I don’t want mere gratitude but payment in goods.”
“I see, so it’s compensation. Would that be in precious metals like gold or rare ore? Would you want mining privileges as well?”
Yes, Ainz wanted to say, but he forced himself to hold back.
“No, what I wan
t is something different. I want to invite this country’s rune crafters to my country.”
All the dwarves blinked.
“What? You’re going to have to explain.”
The chief of the smith shops was frowning harder than the others.
“…There are very few rune-enchanted items in the countries around the Nation of Darkness, so they’re prized. In other words, the added value is high, so I want to invite the rune crafters to work in my country.”
“You mean you’ll take them as slaves?”
Ainz replied to the chief of the smith shops with an overt sigh. “No, I won’t do that. Did you listen to what I was saying? I want to establish diplomatic relations and trade, and you’re asking if I want to enslave your people…? Honestly, I’m a bit disappointed. I only want to invite your artisans to craft in my country. That’s all.”
“Then, what if instead we gave you the right to purchase before items go to market?”
“…No. The returns aren’t high enough. If you want to borrow my country’s strength, I want to have the rune crafters working in the Nation of Darkness and selling exclusively to us. That’s what my country wants in return for retaking your former capital. When can I expect a response?”
The dwarves exchanged glances.
“Could we have you wait until tomor—?”
“That’s no good,” the supreme commander interrupted. “You’re forgetting that we’re under attack. If we say we want His Majesty to fight the kuagoa, he’ll have to amass an army. With that in mind, we should decide now, not wait until tomorrow.”
Ainz looked around at the dwarves. “It’s not my place to say anything about that. But if you wait until things are dire to tell me you accept my current offer, that’ll be a problem. If the situation worsens considerably, I’ll take the liberty of adding more terms. It’s only natural that a rush job requires extra compensation.”
“Yes. What the supreme commander says makes sense, and what Your Majesty says is a matter of course. In that case, I apologize, Your Majesty, but could you return to the waiting room? We’ll make our decision as fast as possible.”
“That’s fine. I’ll be waiting in the other room, then.”
The Dwarven Crafter Page 18