Heavenly Castle

Chapter 111: The Art of Negotiation

Loud shouts of anger were echoing through the baron’s room.

「Ju-just as the contract demanded, I prepared for the slave an environment that could’ve been called even excessively generous. In fact, the slaves raised no complaints. All of those are your false accusations.」

「That’s right! And on top of that, stealing even the slaves that were the property of our household to begin with, there should be a limit to how brazen and shameless one can be!」

A blonde middle-aged man sitting on a chair with a high back and a man with a wicked stare clad in armor were shouting in anger.

Hearing all of that, Aifa then replied, without changing his expression even in the slightest.

「Perhaps you didn’t fully understand the contents of the contract for a high-grade slave, the slave we took back showed signs of severe malnourishment and total exhaustion from overworking. The number of meals is one thing, but what about the size of portions? From what we could see, the room provided was a stable on verge of collapse, the bed was already broken, yet someone concluded that this was suitable?」

By no means he was loud, yet his voice could be heard very well. The baron hesitated with his reply, but the man in armor, as if to emphasize how much of a valiant warrior he is, shouted with a grimace of scorn on his face.

「Absurd! As if more favorable treatment is possible for a slave! From the very beginning, you bastards planned to extort us!」

That remark born from anger caused a scary light to appear in Aifa’s eyes.

Drops of sweat ran down the faces of two guards that stood at the baron’s sides, as the situation approached a critical point. Their gazes were fixed on Taiki’s robot standing behind Aifa.

But, Yuri, as if not sensing the tension in the air at all, spoke up with a smile.

「This is an unfortunate accident...... At least it would seem so to me. There is no way a person such as Baron himself would treat slaves he purchased from us at the store of Heavenly Country inhospitably. I think it’s quite probable, that the conditions stated in the contract weren’t properly explained.」

「That’s exactly what I think!」

The man in armor expressed his agreement with Yuri’s words in an exaggerated fashion. Smiling even wider to that sight, Yuri that proceeds.

「However, it is also true that among all nobles and royalty of various realms, who received the same explanations, the situation of slaves of your Excellency was the worst. The contract can tell how slaves are treated, so this much is a fact.」

With Yuri’s firm declaration not only the baron, but this time the man in armor as well, both shut their mouths with extremely sour looks.

「Can it be allowed? For such an unfavorable impression of Baron to spread to foreign countries...... Of course, being a prominent man, baron has nothing to fear from Heavenly Country, Imperial Country of Fleida, or Blau Empire. However, infamy is not something one would enjoy.」

Having all of that told in a worried tone, the baron turned pale.

「O-o-of course. Having such scandalous rumors about our house would be extremely regretful. It’s easy to laugh them off as baseless rumors, but if one keeps silent they spread instantly.」

In a slightly trembling voice agreeing with Yuri, the baron kept sneaking glances at the robot standing behind Aifa.

「......I-I wonder if there is any good way to resolve this? I’d like you to suggest a way that both sides might find satisfactory.」

Hearing those words Yuri made a delighted smile.

「As expected of Baron. Calm and collected even in such a situation. Stories of your character would surely reach even our lands.」

「Ha, haha, hahhahaha... No, in fact, I considered this since the beginning. To give generously give away a slave or a couple.」

As the baron tried to laugh with a strained look on his face, Aifa put a small leather bag in front of him. The Baron’s expression brightened a bit when he heard a sound of metal coming from it.

「Wha-what might this be?」

「Payment for the slaves. Please accept it. We prepared the appropriate sum, based on the market price for common slaves.」

With Yuri’s answer, the man in armor rushed to the leather bag, pulled coins from there and laid them down on the table. After calculating the total, the armored man’s face turned red.

「...Wait a moment. The slave we bought in your store cost 2 gold coins. Isn’t this 2 gold coins short?」

As he kept talking, he grew more and more confident in his tone, and as Yuri was about to reply, Aifa interjected.

「He was sold as a high-grade slave but wasn’t treated as such. Doesn’t it mean that you saw him worth no more than a common slave? And to take back such a worthless slave you would demand two gold coins?」

「Nn-ngh...... But, but we certainly bought him for two gold coins!」

「When you bought him, you were convinced that he is worth 2 gold coins, and thus paid the money, right? Then why didn’t you provide him the environment befitting a high-grade slave?」

As Aifa asked so indifferently, the baron called out to the man in armor.

「It, it’s fine. Two gold coins aren’t a big deal for our house. 」

Being told so by his master, the man in armor reluctantly shut his mouth, though his face was colored in rage.

And after arguing back and forth for a while more, the talks ended with both parties satisfied.