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Volume 2 Chapter 10-3: (Physical) Negotiations

 

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Furthermore Kuiro’s alchemy had instilled it with two different types of magic that made it oscillate at high speeds and at the same time toughen the blade when magic is poured in.

This increased the resiliency, cutting power, hardness, and maintained the edge of the blade.

Originally this had been a tool I planned to use when manufacturing the ring for Lucy.

As expected I wanted her to have a diamond ring. Diamonds were simply highly compressed and heated carbon so I could create them using Kuiro’s skill set, but unprocessed diamonds were not beautiful at all. Only by cutting the diamond would it expose the true beauty within.

An uncut diamond was no different than a simple rock.

For that I absolutely needed a knife capable of cutting the diamond properly.

Creating high quality alloy, engraving a complicated magic seal, adjusting the oscillation properly, and crafting the blade were all difficult tasks that couldn’t be completed in a single 【Samsara Recursion】. However, once I thought that it was for Lucy’s sake then I didn’t mind the hardship.

「You’re saying this is only a tool!? You have more stuff like this?」
「Mmhmm, and plenty of them. I told you before. We have countermeasures for your countermeasures.」

At my words Baron Lurvish fell into contemplation.

They spoke quietly but thanks to 【Perception Expansion】 I was able to hear the words clearly.

「Who could their backer be? Are they supported by the Choline Kingdom’s technology? No, even they can’t make stuff like this…then where is it from? Damn, who are those sneaky bastards? What’s their objective? Are they using the Elves as an opportunity to weaken the Empire? No that’s not it either…there are plenty of better pawns than the Elves.」

He’s completely off the reservations…but it was no wonder he would think this way.

Since it seems I won’t be getting any important info this way, I should stop pretending I can’t hear him and just stop.

As expected I’m feeling a bit tired so I might as well end things here.

「Well then, if you aren’t going to attack me anymore I will cease the bloodshed as well. Let’s call it a day. Thank you very much for the great care you’ve shown me today.」
「Wait, I have two things to talk to you about. The first is a question…you’re name was Cyril right? Your equipment is amazing, but your skills are even more incredible. Are the other elves capable of such combat skills?」
「Well who can say? But know this…I am the Chief at the end of the day, not one of our warriors.」

Lurvish clearly took my words poorly as he paled.

I didn’t lie.

The goal of these words was to help suss out the traitor in our midst.

Was the knife I had used mass-produced? Were there warriors greater than me within the village? Lurvish would be filled with questions and doubts that he needed answers to. At that point he would be nigh forced to get into contact with the traitor.

At that point my bluff would be revealed, but at the same time discovering the traitor was the priority.

Truly, if there were 100 elves with the same combat ability as me then I could rest easy…

「……the second thing is…an apology for the impoliteness we have demonstrated today. You came in the spirit of negotiation and we have dishonored that. What would you like in remuneration?」

This was what surprised me most today.

I would have never imagined they would say something like this. If that’s the case then I might as well ask for something I had been wanting.

「In that case, firstly would you give me a horse? Your archers killed mine.」

In that chaos they had shot my horse to prevent me from escaping.

At this rate I would have to leave behind the carriage and simply run off by myself.

「That’s fine…but you said that’s the first request? What else are you thinking of?」
「Well then, secondly could you give me one of the bags from the top of your carriage?」

I had used 【Perception Expansion】 and was quite interested in what was in them.

「How sharp. You realized huh? These are gifts for higher ups…but I suppose you can have a single bag.」

A soldier grabbed a 10kg flour bag off the top and attached it to the horse they were giving me.

The soldiers then secured their fallen brethren and left.

I saw them off before driving away on my carriage.

「How tiring…」

The battle today may have appeared easy, but it was truly tiring.

【Perception Expansion】 and 【Program】 were powerful but they were not omnipotent.

The magic used for them was minimal, but the brain processing power required was enormous.

I had been training my calculating ability daily so that I could now operate at full strength for around 2 hours, but even so it was tiring.

Furthermore, these two techniques allowed me to move optimally, but they were far from being invincible.

If for example a rock was dropped on my head from 1km above, no matter how I moved I would still die. It was also weak to attacks that came from all sides without enough room for me to dodge.

It also had the weakness of needing at least 0.1 seconds between calculation and movement.

An attack at the speed of sound could clear a distance of 30 meters within 0.08 seconds so 【Program】 would be unable to deal with it. If there was a signal before the attack…like pulling the trigger of a gun, 【Perception Expansion】 would sense it and I may be able to dodge in time.

However, if there was an attack that didn’t need any preparatory movements or if the attack exceeded the speed of sound I would lose. In truth I was capable of these feats so they weren’t impossible.

If several hundred imperial soldiers surrounded me I would only be able to kill a few dozen of them before I ran out of energy and died. No matter how I looked at it, myself as 【Cyril】 had no ability to change the outcome of an entire battle.

Coming up with plans and working together with everyone was key.

「This tiredness got results though. 2,000 golds…this should cover the fire foxes food and clothes, the livestock, and we can increase our produce for next year.」

We had to assemble whatever we were missing and improve our lives.

Our dinner tables were pathetic and we only had enough to survive. At the very least we should also have onions and carrots. If I was a bit greedy I also wanted corn, rosemary, and sage.

「Good thing I got more than I expected…」

Inside the flour bag that Lurvish had given me was something worth its weight in gold.

If I used this during my apology I was sure that Lucy would forgive me for the matter with Kuu…..at least I hoped so.

I thought and hurried the carriage back to Erucy.

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