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Vol 05 Chapter 175-1: Unequal Treaty

「My name is Azul Hanno. I am the chief representative of the Pofenian delegation. Pleased to make your acquaintance.」

Azul grasped my hand. I smiled back and gripped his hand firmly in return.

「Likewise, I look forward to working with you.」

Thus, the peace conference between Pofenia and the coalition of countries centered around King Rosais’ Country began.

◇

Azul Hanno. He is the leader of the Plain Party, which prioritizes domestic affairs in Pofenia over military expansion. One of the biggest political enemies of the Barca Family and a military man.

When described this way, he might seem like a pacifist, but that’s not the case. He is also an accomplished general who has suppressed rebellions by foreign ethnic groups and mercenaries within Pofenia.

Pofenia is a very wealthy country, it receives enormous tax revenues from just agriculture. Therefore, Azul Hanno believes there is no need to endanger the national treasury by forcibly building warships to gain naval supremacy.

Well, from our perspective, he is someone we can get along well.

「Now, let’s start with the negotiations for the return of prisoners… That said, our country has no intention of using our citizen’s hard-earned money to pay for the return of losers The payments will be made by the families of the defeated. Please tell us the ransom amount you desire, and I will relay it.」

「We would like to receive three hundred talents for the return of Kepka Barca and the other Pofenia generals.」

「Three hundred? That’s quite a hefty sum. Well, I’ll inform them.」

Hanno didn’t even try to lower the price. It probably didn’t matter to him since neither he nor his country would be financially affected.

「As for the mercenaries…」

「As for them, feel free to dispose of them as you wish. We have no intention to pay for them.」

Well, it’s only natural since they are mercenaries. They are not obligated to pay a ransom to rescue people who aren’t even their own citizens.

Now, the preliminary negotiations are over. From here on, it’s the real deal.

「First of all, let me state that our country has no intention of paying any reparations to your country. If your country demands reparations from us, we will have to engage in battle once again.」

That’s quite a strong stance right off the bat. Well, I didn’t expect to get any reparations either…

「I don’t desire war either. But if your country has intentions of invading the Adernian Peninsula, that’s a different matter.」

The Adernian Peninsula is ours. I subtly implied that.

「Then how about this? Our country will no longer set foot on the Adernian Peninsula. Likewise, King Rosais’ Country and the various city-states in the southern part of the Adernian Peninsula will not invade our territory. Is this acceptable?」

Things are going pretty smoothly, that’s good.

「No, that’s not enough.」

「There’s one more thing we need to add.」

Abraham and Ainz interrupted the discussion when I was going to accept the terms.

What is it? It’s impossible to gain any territory in these circumstances.

「We want your country to guarantee the safety of the merchant ships hailing from the southern alliance countries, including Gehenna and King Rosais’ Country from now on. We want you to vow here and now that you will not resort to cowardly methods like attacking unarmed civilian ships with warships disguised as pirates.」

「We also want to include a clause to allow the civilian ships of the Southern Alliance and Pofenia the free use of the signing countries’ ports for peaceful endeavors.」

I see. They intend to settle the previously ambiguous parts here and now.

I have been so focused on territorial issues that I neglected the use of the ports and the protection of the trade routes. I need to reflect on that.

After thinking for a moment, Azul shook his head.

「That is unacceptable… However, I am willing to consider it with certain conditions.」

Azul said this and then had his subordinate bring a map, which he spread out.

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• Red – King Rosais’ Country
• Blue – Anti-Gallia Alliance
• Dark Yellow – Friendly Countries
• Orange – Virtually Vassal Countries, Vassal Countries, Friendly Countries Favorable to King Rosais’ Country
• Light Yellow – Southern Kirisian city-states- King Rosais’ Country Alliance
• Green – Romalia Forest, Griffon-sama territory
• Pink – Republic of Pofenia
• Purple – Persis Empire

◇

「There is an island called Sandal Island to the west of the Adernian Peninsula. We will allow freedom of navigation east of this island for your alliance’s ships. Regarding port usage, however, we will not grant you access to ports on the southern continent side or on Triskelia Island under the control of the Republic of Pofenia. Naturally, the same applies to ports west of Sandal Island. We will allow the free use of Pofenian ports other than those.」

He’s acting quite high and mighty for someone who lost.

We can freely navigate the coastal waters of the Adernian Peninsula, but they won’t allow us to sail around their territory. They’ll use the ports on the Adernian Peninsula, but they won’t let us use their ports.

This is a grossly unequal treaty.

「Don’t be ridiculous!! Do you think we can accept such terms?!!」

Abraham shouted, his face flushed with anger.

「Hmm… It seems you are misunderstanding something.」

Azul raised an eyebrow.

「Pofenia has not been defeated. This time, you happened to win a small skirmish on land, that’s all. We still control the sea passage between Triskelia Island and the Adernian Peninsula. Have you managed to sink even a single one of our ships?」

We haven’t sunk any. Not a single one.

「However, we did lose the land battle, and maintaining a long-term sea blockade is costly. Using ships for maritime trade rather than idling them in war benefits our treasury more. Therefore, I am making a significant concession here. Until now, we overlooked the Pofenian pirates who hunted Kirisian ships. Now, we are proposing to strictly control the activities of those pirates east of Sandal Island. From your perspective, you lose nothing and gain safety. I don’t think is a bad deal.」

Azul’s argument left Ainz and Abraham at a loss for words.

Well… objectively, Azul is right.

In reality, we cannot defeat Pofenia at sea. Moreover, the attacks by Pofenian warships on Kirisian merchant ships, which until now occurred throughout the sea, would cease in at least the waters close to the Adernian Peninsula. Overall, we stand to gain from this.

A situation that was minus five improved to minus one. The situation significantly improves.

It’s a relatively fair deal.

However, what bothers me is this constant mention of Sandal Island. Is Sandal Island that important?

I pulled Ainz aside and whispered in his ear.

「Is Sandal Island that important to Pofenia?」

「…Sandal Island and Hespania are rich in gold and silver. Exporting this gold and silver to the Persis Empire is a cornerstone of Tethys Sea trade. In the past, Kirisians controlled two-thirds of the rights, and Pofenia one-third, but after the last war…」

So they took it all.

Gold and silver, huh…

It’s indeed valuable. No wonder they don’t want Kirisian ships near it.

If these rights are that valuable, they wouldn’t want to give them up at any cost. If we continue to antagonize them at sea, we’ll be the ones to tire out. We have no choice but to accept.

I looked at Ainz and Abraham. Both had reluctant expressions.

「Alright. Let’s proceed with the peace on those terms.」

「Thank you. I will return to my homeland to get the senate’s decision. As for the next meeting…」

After consulting about the detailed schedule for the next discussion, the peace conference concluded. At the end, Azul Hanno said:

「Honestly, I feel apologetic. That Barca fool, Kepka Baka1—excuse me, that idiot Kepka Barca caused you trouble. Our country is already wealthy enough as it is. Expanding trade further would only widen the wealth gap, which could destabilize Pofenia’s unity. Moreover, while the army is made of mercenaries and losing mercenaries doesn’t hurt Pofenia, the navy is different, Pofenia’s citizens are the ones rowing the navy’s ships. The most important thing is the lives of Pofenia’s citizens. I hope the Baka family—excuse me, the Barca family—reflects on this matter.」

You really dislike the Barca family, don’t you? Well, that’s your business.

TN1: As you probably already know, ‘baka’ means idiot, fool. Barca and baka sound pretty similar, hence the pun, unfortunately this is not something that translates well into English, so I left it that way instead.