Translator: AkazaTL
Pr/Ed: Sol IX
***
Chapter 121 Rift (1)
Crash!
A sharp noise rang out from Galgabaro's mansion early in the morning.
The owner of the mansion had thrown the roasted chicken he was eating, plate and all, directly at the servant's face.
Galgabaro, who did not like the small bone fragnt found amidst the roasted chicken, glared with wide eyes.
"P-please forgive . My lord!"
In the end, the servant who was in charge of today's breakfast was dragged away.
That servant would likely be subjected to severe flogging.
As an aftermath, he would be in a state where he could not move for a couple of months.
"Tui!"
Galgabaro spat out the piece of at he was chewing and frowned deeply.
The fact that there were plenty of residents who would stand in line for hours if they could swallow even a single piece of the roasted chicken he had just thrown away did not enter his consideration at all.
What mattered to him was that his already foul mood had beco even more of a ss.
To be honest, the bone fragnt might have been an excuse to vent the mood that had been bad for the past few days.
’What a greedy old man!’
The expression of Galgabaro, who recalled the culprit who made his mood unpleasant, beca even more ferocious.
The conversation he had with the High Priest three days ago rose in his mind.
"Your Holiness, I am sorry to say this, but it is ti to keep the promise……."
"Haha, did I not tell you to wait a little longer."
"But Your Holiness, having the position of Grand Chief remain vacant like this is damaging to Your Holiness's dignity……."
"Did I not say it is still too early! There are still so many foolish people who long for the previous Grand Chief. Why are you acting so hastily! You, are you perhaps unable to trust ?"
"Your Holiness, it is not that……."
"If it is not that, then stay quiet and wait. If you wait, I will naturally take your position into account."
Galgabaro clenched his fists without realizing it.
The biggest reason he betrayed the Grand Chief's family, whom he had served for generations, and sided with the High Priest.
It was because there was a promise from the High Priest to give the status of 'Grand Chief' to him.
However…….
‘The behavior of the cunning old man and the others is not ordinary at all. That old man might have made the sa promise he made to to the other chiefs as well. No, perhaps he is playing tricks to make that brat from the Piras, his son-in-law, the Grand Chief…….’
Looking at the atmosphere and the movents of the other chiefs, the anxiety that the promise he received might beco a void check slowly reared its head.
"Chief! Sothing terrible has happened!"
At that mont, an event occurred that further increased Galgabaro's anxiety.
"They say Wakamba was murdered in his bedroom!"
The news that one of his confidants had been brutally murdered.
Galgabaro jumped up from his seat instinctively.
Crash-clatter-bash!
In the end, Galgabaro completely overturned today's breakfast table.
***
Grate.
A rough sound ca from between Galgabaro's molars as he checked the letters written on the wall of the bed where Wakamba was killed.
Those letters were clearly written with Wakamba's blood.
Because those letters clearly indicated the na of the previous Grand Chief and his family crest.
"To think there are still groups following Tecumseh……."
At the word muttered inadvertently by the subordinate who guided him here, a ferocious aura gathered in Galgabaro's eyes.
Slap!
"You stupid bastard!"
Galgabaro slapped his subordinate's cheek just like that.
"There is no way a lackey of Tecumseh still exists!"
Even after slapping the cheek with all his might, his anger did not seem to be resolved, and Galgabaro breathed roughly and heaved continuously.
"Cunning bastard! You play tricks like this?"
What ca to his mind at this mont was the face of 'Etangu', a chief who was his rival.
They had served Tecumseh together and betrayed Tecumseh together, but the relationship between the two was very bad.
‘Tecumseh's family all fled, and all those who would offer loyalty to him were hanged. There is no way anyone who could commit such a bold act still remains.’
From the beginning, Galgabaro did not consider the possibility of an outsider's deed.
Because it was an impossible thing on this Island of Decline.
Then, it was not very difficult to specify who would do such a thing.
‘You want to weaken my strength in this way and then snatch the position of Grand Chief!’
Galgabaro, who once again gritted his teeth, spoke as if vomiting.
"I will go see the High Priest!"
Galgabaro, who intended to visit the High Priest and report the heinous actions committed by Etangu, stopped his steps.
"Etangu!"
Quite coincidentally.
He ran into Etangu in front of the entrance to the Great Temple.
"You, where do you think this is……!"
"Galgabaro!"
However, the reaction from Etangu's side was unusual.
Etangu, who boasted a physique as massive as Galgabaro's, shouted loudly and then made all the hair on his body stand on end.
Then, he pulled out a heavy hamr and shouted.
"Did you think you would be safe after doing such a thing to Balconca!"
***
"So you are saying that the warriors of the tribes under you both lost their lives side by side last night?"
Galgabaro and Etangu replaced their answers by glaring at each other.
Deep wrinkles were carved between the eyebrows of the High Priest who looked at the two.
"The situation is truly regrettable, but shouldn't both of you tell the story instead of just being angry like that?"
The High Priest embraced the two with a benevolent expression while stroking his beard that had faded to white.
From the outside, he looked like the very incarnation of love and rcy.
"Ahem, I told you to tell the story……."
However, both Galgabaro and Etangu knew very well that the inner mind hidden behind that benevolent expression was full of greed to rule the island.
A greedy and cunning old man and two ferocious n who distrusted each other.
Since three traitors had gathered, it was impossible for a proper story to co out.
In the end, the eting of the three ended without any particular gain.
"I will pay special attention to this matter, so for now, you both should head back. Refrain from hasty actions as much as possible until the truth is revealed."
Ultimately, the High Priest sent the two back by soothing them with words that groups following Tecumseh might still remain.
‘I will let it go this ti, but if you commit such a thing just one more ti, I will take your head that very day!’
Of course, even while being pushed away by the High Priest's diation-that-was-not-quite-diation, Galgabaro did not forget to glare at Etangu's back as if to kill him.
And the morning after he returned to his tribe.
"Chief! Another big problem has occurred!"
News reached Galgabaro that the Assault Leader of the tribe had collapsed while vomiting blood during breakfast.
***
"I am truly sorry to say this, but it seems I need a little more ti to give an answer to the proposal the Grand Duke made. However, the reason I requested to see the Grand Duke despite that is because there is one thing I wish to ask."
Tecumseh revealed the reason he called Hein to his quarters with a serious expression, and I, Hein Reichart, waited for Tecumseh's question in silence.
Since I did not expect an answer to co quickly to the proposal that I would lend strength to punishing the traitors of the island in the first place.
"The Grand Duke said earlier that he wanted to trade with the mainland once the situation cald down, was that sincere?"
"Of course."
"Hmm…… then I shall ask. What does the Grand Duke intend to give us and what do you intend to take in return?"
"Food. The item Zodiac will provide to Eldrigal is food. Whether it be grain or livestock, I will provide as much as the Grand Chief desires, regardless of its form."
The Grand Chief's eyes shook violently upon hearing the words 'as much food as desired'.
What was the reason he had attempted trade with the continent even while defying the laws of the order, which were extrely closed-off, in the first place?
Was it not precisely to fill the bellies of the people who were suffering from chronic hunger?
Thinking of the children on the mainland who had hollow eyes because they could not eat enough, Tecumseh's heart ached even in his current state of having fled the island.
"In return, what I want to receive are fragnts of ore distributed across the northern and western coasts of Eldrigal. I can receive ore piled up on the shore, or I can be provided with items mined from the nearby rocky areas; it does not matter."
"Hmm…… do those lumps of stone have value here?"
"Yes."
Although he had attempted trade with the continent, it was not as if Tecumseh knew a lot about the continent's trade conditions or prices.
He only vaguely knew that those lumps of stone, which were scattered all over the mainland and grew endlessly even if one broke them and broke them again, were treated as precious among the people of the continent.
"To be honest, I do not know how much value those lumps of stone have, nor do I know how much of a price is needed for the food the Grand Duke says he will give us. Therefore, I cannot give a definitive answer regarding the exact exchange conditions as you are expecting."
Should I call him naive?
Or should I call him foolish?
Tecumseh confessed with his own mouth that he was not well-inford about the ways of the world.
"I only hope that the Grand Duke, and the King of your country, will treat us with sincerity. I will speak straightforwardly. Once I return to the island and punish the traitors, the Grand Duke should provide enough food for all the people of the mainland to eat until they are full. Then we will give those lumps of stone as much as the Grand Duke desires."
However, I, Hein Reichart, knew very well how much value the ores in Eldrigal possessed.
To the extent that I could provide as much food as all the residents of Eldrigal could eat for ten years if he asked.
The value of the ore was that massive.
In other words, the condition Tecumseh proposed was so advantageous that it could not be explained in words from Zodiac's perspective.
"I am sorry, but I cannot accept those terms."
Therefore, I rejected Tecumseh's terms sharply.
"The terms the Grand Chief ntioned are far too advantageous to our side. And an unfair trade where one side unilaterally benefits is bound to not last long. I believe I have ntioned this before. I want a stable transaction that brings prosperity to both of us."
A transaction where one can see a profit of ten tis, or twenty tis the investnt amount, is a wise trade.
However, if the benefit seen through that exchange becos not ten tis but a hundred tis or more.
‘That is no longer trade. It is extortion.’
Tecumseh, who had not thought that I would reject the terms for the reason that they were too advantageous to myself, said with a flustered expression.
"Then…… what does the Grand Duke want to do……."
"Let us decide on the detailed trade conditions again once the situation is settled. First, we need to know exactly how much profit Zodiac can reap from the ores that can be collected in Eldrigal. If we discuss this matter again after those results are out, we will be able to discuss a more rational trade ratio."
"If the Grand Duke wishes to do so, it does not matter to , but……."
"But I can promise one thing even now. If successful trade is established between Eldrigal and Zodiac, no one among the Grand Chief's people will go hungry within six months from then."
"To think of the residents…… can no longer go hungry……."
Whether his heart was moved just by imagining it, the Grand Chief's two large hands were trembling violently.
Of course, there was still quite a long way to go to reach that destination.
Tecumseh seed happy enough just by recalling that day.
"Then I will make sure to give an answer to the Grand Duke's proposal as quickly as possible."
With a complex expression mixed with worry, anxiety, and hope, Tecumseh rose from his seat.
And after parting with Tecumseh and returning to the royal palace, I, Hein Reichart, laid my body down in the rest area located on one side of the office.
‘If things go well, I might be able to sleep for about two hours…….’
As long as Tecumseh, whom I expected to be quite stubborn, showed such a proactive attitude, I also needed to speed up the progress of the work a little more.
Actually, it was not very difficult to sow seeds of distrust and hatred on an island ruled by beasts harboring greed in their hearts.
That was why I had not visited Eldrigal for the past two days, thinking that the fruit would ripen soon even if I left it like this.
However, if Tecumseh acted like this, it was necessary to do so thinning so that the fruit could grow a little faster.
‘I guess sleep is out of the question for tonight as well.’
I closed my eyes.
Was it because I thought about seeking out Eldrigal tonight?
On the lips of the sleeping , a smile colder than the sea wind blowing there was ford.
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