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Vol 04 Chapter 113: Bloodless Capitulation

I called Ainz and the representative of Gehenna to discuss the specifics of the post-war arrangements. First, we discussed the distribution of territory, but it went pretty smoothly.

To put it succinctly, the southern regions of King Belvedire’s Country will be controlled by Lezado and Gehenna, while the northern and central regions will be under King Rosais’ Country.

This division reflects the balance of power, geographical location, and political situation of each country. Our country possesses greater national power compared to both Lezado and Gehenna.

It might seem like I intimidated them, but that’s not the case. It was the other way around. Lezado and Gehenna imposed those territories on me.

It’s obvious that an expanded territory would incur heavier defense costs. Lezado and Gehenna, being smaller countries, won’t be able to protect territories too far from them. Thus, our country received the majority of the territory.

Additionally, the unique demographic ratio and political system of King Belvedire’s Country play a significant role. It’s something obvious but, King Belvedire, the prior ruler, is an Adernian king.

King Belvedire’s Country was originally formed by the Belvedire Family forming an alliance with several other powerful families. Over time, the Belvedire Family emerged as a prominent force within the alliance, eventually calling themselves king… much like our own country’s situation.

In essence, it’s a country primarily made of Adernians.

However, the Kirisians, attracted by the warm climate and richness of the southern Adernian Peninsula, began to establish numerous colonial cities there. The number of Kirisian immigrants kept increasing, and so did the number of people moving to King Belvedire’s Country. Successive Kings of Belvedire have encouraged Kirisian immigration, seeking to harness their technological and economic capabilities. Consequently, the immigrated Kirisians married Adernians, leading to an increase in mixed heritage.

Thus, in the central region of King Belvedire’s Country, several autonomous cities predominantly composed of Kirisian-Adernian people were established.

As the national power of King Belvedire’s Country grew over the next generation, the country gradually started to extend its invasive reach towards the Kirisian colonial cities.

I may call it an invasion, but it merely involved enforcing alliances with the smaller city-states located between King Belvedire’s Country and the three big Kirisian Cities. For the small city-states, whether they allied with powerful city-states like Lezado or with King Belvedire, the conditions didn’t differ much.

Therefore, in the southern region of King Belvedire’s Country, there are many Kirisian city-states.

To summarize, the northern part of the country consists of the territories of Adernian patricians, similar to our country; the central part consists of autonomous cities of Kirisian-Adernian people, and the southern part contains Kirisian city-states that have a feudal alliance with King Belvedire.

For Lezado and Gehenna, absorbing the southern region isn’t particularly difficult. They just need to rewrite the treaties that these cities originally had with King Belvedire to themselves.

Conversely, it becomes more complicated in the central and northern parts.

The cities in the central region, while autonomous, are only so within the limits allowed by King Belvedire, their autonomy is limited to the upkeep of the city; diplomacy, trade, and other major policies are under the purview of the king. Many people there would be lost without a guiding king.

So why don’t Lezado or Gehenna take the same role as King Belvedire? It’s not that simple. These people have a certain amount of pride and dislike the idea of following the orders of just another ordinary person; they need a ‘king’.

It goes without saying for the northern region. Since it is governed by Adernian patricians, it must be ruled by an Adernian king.

Thus, under these circumstances, our country decided to annex the northern and central regions. During the process, there was a moment of dispute between Lezado and Gehenna over their shares in the southern region, but eventually, the territorial divisions were settled.

The problem now is the conditions to be imposed on King Belvedire’s Country.

「What conditions are you considering, King Rosais?」

「The main mines in the king’s directly controlled territories will all be controlled by our country. All fortifications, except for those around the capital’s walls, will be dismantled. Possession of an army is forbidden. No wars are to be conducted without the approval of King Rosais’ Country. Cities and patricians who are allied with King Belvedire will be allowed to form alliances with King Rosais. King Belvedire’s family will be entrusted to the care of King Rosais’ Country for ten years… That’s about it.」

I recited the conditions I had been considering. Ainz and the representative of Gehenna seemed surprised.

「These are quite harsh conditions. But you’re not demanding any compensation money?」

「They wouldn’t be able to pay a significant amount anyway. It’s better not to ask for it. I think it’s smarter to ensure they can never oppose us again rather than demand compensation.」

Ideally, I would have liked to add more restrictions, like banning alliances with any other countries besides King Rosais’ Country, but Lezado and Gehenna are also part of the alliance…

「However, the issue lies with the prohibition of possessing an army and the prohibition of waging war. Will they comply?」

「They’ll have to. After all, King Belvedire’s Country will be surrounded by our allies.」

King Belvedire’s Country’s capital is in the north. Since I now control both the northern patricians and the central cities, King Belvedire’s Country’s territory will be completely enveloped by our country.

This means King Belvedire’s Country will be incapable of waging war with any country other than ours. Thus, such strict measures are not overly severe but rather necessary.

The same goes for the prohibition on possessing an army.

Since we’re not taking any reparations, they need to accept these terms.

I think these are not bad conditions at all. Paradoxically, this treaty means that all defense responsibilities will fall to King Rosais’ Country.

King Belvedire will be able to redirect the funds previously used for defense to domestic affairs. It’s a favorable deal for a defeated country.

Of course, this assumes that King Rosais’ Country adheres strictly to the treaty… At least, I have no intention of destroying King Belvedire’s Country as long as King Belvedire does not make any suspicious moves.

The inclusion of the hostage clause is precisely to convey this. If I were a ruthless person who plans to invade after verifying the dismantling of their army, there would be no need to take hostages. The ten-year hostage term implies I will keep them under supervision for that duration, and that I plan to allow their existence for at least that long.

If one were to read too much into this, it could be seen as a nefarious plot by Almus Aris Rosais. However, no matter what conditions I propose, people with very active imaginations will always make a fuss.

「Actually… my homeland is requesting that, as the victors, we demand reparations.」

「I have received the same instructions.」

Ainz and the representative of Gehenna looked troubled.

So we need to demand reparations for Lezado and Gehenna…

「How much are they asking for?」

「They say to get at least two to three times the expenses incurred from this war…」

It seems Gehenna received similar instructions. It will amount to thousands of gold coins… King Belvedire’s Country definitely can’t pay that.

「Does it have to be paid immediately?」

「No, it can be in installments. However, we cannot wait more than five years for full payment.」

I don’t want to demand too much and cause them to harden their stance… What should I do…

「Let’s do this: our country will shoulder the compensation money. King Belvedire will start repaying our country within three years and complete the payments within ten years. How does that sound?」

「We have no objections, but… is that acceptable to you, King Rosais?」

Ainz asked if my country could handle this financially without facing bankruptcy.

That’s an internal issue for my country… I wouldn’t propose it if it would lead to bankruptcy. We’ll manage. No, I’ll make it happen.

The money will start coming back in three years…

I haven’t considered the risk of King Belvedire defaulting at all. If he can default, let him try. When that happens, it will be the end of his country.

「Let’s summarize this…」

I began to draft the treaty’s contents on paper.

1. King Belvedire’s Country must disarm and surrender all weapons.
2. King Belvedire is prohibited from any future rearmament.
3. All walls and fortifications, except for those of the capital city, are to be demolished.
4. The armies of Lezado and Gehenna will be stationed in King Belvedire’s Country until condition 3 is fulfilled. The costs of their stay will be borne by King Belvedire’s Country.
5. King Belvedire is prohibited from engaging in war without the permission of King Rosais’ Country.
6. King Belvedire must accept that the patricians and cities of the northern and central regions will join under King Rosais’ dominion.
7. King Belvedire must recognize that the cities in the southern region will become allies of Lezado and Gehenna.
8. King Belvedire’s family will live in the capital of King Rosais’ Country for ten years.
9. Any marriage within the Belvedire Family must be approved by King Rosais, Lezado, and Gehenna.
10. King Belvedire must pay Lezado and Gehenna a total of two thousand gold coins within five years.
11. If payment is impossible, King Rosais’ Country will shoulder the burden. King Belvedire’s Country must begin repayment to King Rosais’ Country within three years and complete it within ten years. Negotiations are permitted depending on the financial situation of King Belvedire’s Country.
12. The territory of King Belvedire’s Country will be limited to the king’s direct-controlled territory before the war.
13. The mines within the territory of King Belvedire’s Country (including salt, gold, silver, copper, iron, lead, tin, and spirit stones) will be owned by King Rosais.
14. As long as these conditions are met, King Rosais’ Country, Lezado, and Gehenna will recognize the independence of King Belvedire’s Country.

◇

「My most sincere greetings, King Belvedire. I am Ainz Worth, representing Lezado.」

Ainz initiated the standard formal greeting directed at King Belvedire. He then began a lengthy exposition on the virtues of peace.

Summarizing Ainz’s lengthy speech: we desire peace. If King Belvedire wishes, the war can end.

King Belvedire grimaced as the conditions were presented to him with a pleasant smile by Ainz.

「This is…」

The terms effectively reduced his Country to a vassal state under King Rosais.

The only consolation might be the involvement of Lezado and Gehenna. Thanks to them, his country was granted the freedom to conduct diplomacy, albeit limited. This was ironic as it was Lezado and Gehenna’s involvement that had cornered him to this point.

Yet, given that his capital was surrounded, these terms weren’t the worst possible outcome.

It could have been far worse — his country destroyed and his lineage extinguished. The fact that there was still hope was not entirely bad. Although his territory was significantly reduced, his direct-controlled lands remained untouched. The bulk of King Belvedire’s Country’s territory had always belonged to the patricians and autonomous cities, so not much would change in that regard.

The loss of tribute from the patricians and cities was regrettable, but this could be offset by the reduction in military expenses.

Considering the dire circumstances of his imminent defeat, these were very favorable terms.

The problem was…

(King Evile’s Country is still fighting…)

If he kept the siege, it might lead to King Rosais’ Country being destroyed by King Evile’s Country or the Rozel Kingdom. If that happened, King Belvedire would definitely gain territories from King Rosais’ Country.

It was a choice between high risk with high return and low risk with low return…

King Belvedire closed his eyes for a moment, pondering deeply, then made his decision.

「I will accept your terms.」

「I thought a king as sagacious as you would accept.」

Ainz responded with a slight smile. King Belvedire, seeing this, let out a self-deprecating smile.

(These terms were probably presented after taking into account my cowardly nature…)

King Belvedire sighed. He had never desired to become king. It was only due to both his brothers falling victim to their own intrigues and mutual destruction that he ended up with the crown.

He was painfully aware of his own lack of talent, which is why he had never taken bold risks before. However, he had been persuaded by the envoy from the Rozel Kingdom.

「You can definitely win now.」

The envoy from the Rozel Kingdom had confidently asserted. Believing that even the formidable King Rosais would fall if surrounded by the Rozel Kingdom, King Evile’s Country, King Belvedire’s Country, and the Equus Tribe, King Belvedire had thought it might be possible. Furthermore, he had seen King Rosais’s ambition clearly—it was better to strike first in a world where this was the rule.

Already labeled a coward and struggling with that complex, he had decided this was his chance for a monumental gamble…

「Sigh… It seems I’ve stepped on the tail of the Griffon,」

King Belvedire sighed again.

(However, I’m relieved that the country won’t end with me as its last king. Well, it’s not settled yet… Sigh, I suppose history will remember me as an incompetent king, a stepping stone for that young king…)

Later, by redirecting the saved military expenditures to domestic affairs, King Belvedire significantly increased his revenue and managed to repay the debts to King Rosais’ Country fully.

Future history books would depict him as a wise and decisive monarch who lacked military talent but excelled in administration, and who made the ‘wise decision’ to surrender his capital without bloodshed, thereby preventing unnecessary carnage…

One wonders what kind of expression King Belvedire would have if he knew how history would remember him…