Governor Government – King of the Wasteland (2)
I secretly laughed because the soldiers opening the gate and Major Okon seemed more nervous than us who were going out.
The orc I met directly after coming out of the gate with Gaston was bigger than I thought.
Aside from his size, it looks like he’s about two heads taller than me.
The fact that his fist is almost as big as my head and he is carrying a large ax on his back is quite intimidating.
“This is the Marquis Pierre de Lafayette, commander-in-chief of the Southern Army of the French Republic and member of the National Assembly.”
“This is Crocs, the king of brothers.”
Crocs has a strong southern accent, but he speaks our language properly.
Is that a name or a last name? But the king of brothers?
Are you referring to the barbarians as brothers? What is the name of the country?
As I was thinking that, Crocs, who had made me worry, was also thinking with a similar expression, and then opened his mouth.
“Marquis, what number of the king’s confidants are you?”
“…”
I thought they naturally called me Marquis, but I guess they didn’t understand the Republic or the National Assembly very well.
Where should I begin to explain this?
“The Republic of Francia is a country ruled by the people’s parliament, not by the king. So there is no king, and I am a member of the parliament and one of the two heads of the military.”
I explained it as simply as possible, but Crocs furrowed his eyebrows and twitched the corner of his mouth.
Only after some time had passed did he open his mouth.
“One of the two heads of the military. “Then can I consider you my first or second confidant?”
He’s a confidant…
I guess it’s easier for this guy to understand.
“If it’s limited to the military, I’d say it’s similar. “I also have a question.”
“Speak, Marquis de Lafayette.”
“King Crocs, what is the name of the kingdom you founded?”
“not yet.”
What does this mean? It’s a kingdom but it doesn’t even have a name?
I don’t know what my expression was, but Crocs grinned, moving his sharp fangs.
“Now we just call each other brothers. “The day we unify the Iberian Peninsula, we will declare it the Iberian Brotherhood.”
This again…
He is a man with great aspirations.
That aside, how should I explain this to Congress?
Of course, I didn’t expect barbarians to share the same culture as humans, but this is too difficult.
It’s a meeting, and it’s no use standing in front of the gate to proceed, but I also don’t want to let this person who looks like he’s comparable to Gaston inside the gate.
“So why did you request a meeting with the Francia Republic?”
Crocs raised his hand, brushed his fangs, and answered.
“We want peace and trade with Francia.”
…I beg your pardon?
Are these the barbarians who are said to be ferocious and beast-like?
“Aside from peace, what do you mean by trade? “With us?”
“Yes. Is it impossible?”
“Trade is established only when there is something to give and receive, but your life and that of a human being must be completely different.”
Crocs laughed.
The pectoralis major muscle twitches as the oak laughs…
“I understand that Franzia is a rich land and produces a lot of grain.”
“You understand that correctly.”
However, I understand that although barbarians such as orcs and goblins are omnivorous, they mainly eat meat through hunting rather than farming?
“We want your grain. And you…”
Crocs fiddled with his pants pocket and took out a few things that looked like minerals. The hands are so big that they look small, but each one is as big as my thumb.
“Don’t you need something like this?”
I narrowed my eyes and looked at the minerals placed on Crocs’ hand.
This can’t be right.
“Gold, silver, and mithril. Iron ore if necessary.”
I quickly closed my mouth that was about to open and straightened up, feigning composure.
Although it is called a wasteland because it is desolate and barren, it is a land with many mountain ranges and alpine areas. There is nothing strange about having a usable mine. It’s just difficult to crawl into this land and mine minerals.
Surprisingly, Crocs seems to have some knowledge about human language as well as human society.
…How did you know that? There would be almost no interaction between barbarians and humans.
“It’s interesting, you seem to know human society well.”
Crocs made a gurgling sound, shook his neck from side to side, and answered.
“I stayed with humans.”
Stayed with humans.
With that body? Or rather, how old is this orc?
I looked at him with narrowed eyes.
I can’t judge because I can’t estimate age.
At this level, trade itself is possible. They want grain, and they have something of value for us as well.
“Once again, we want peace and trade. What is Marquis de Lafayette’s answer?”
Crocs looked at me with red eyes and asked.
“I’ll have to check first. Why do you need grain?”
“To feed my brothers and raise livestock.”
Crocs answered without hesitation.
You said you are currently waging an expansion war. It will be difficult to find the means to hunt, and as the size of the group led by this person grows, it becomes more difficult to make a living through hunting.
The Iberica Peninsula has so little land suitable for farming that it is called a wasteland, so they import military supplies for war? The judgment is not bad.
This man discussed the unification of the Iberica Peninsula with his own words. In other words, Franzia will not want to intervene at least until the unification of the Iberica Peninsula.
So they want peace and trade with us in order to unify the Iberian Peninsula.
There is nothing wrong with maintaining peace with the Germanian Empire in preparation for war, and as we are hit by a trade blockade, a source of precious minerals is of course welcome.
The question is, can we really trust them?
Contrary to expectations, the conversation is taking place properly, but most humans would feel threatened just by looking at this person.
To be honest, even if I were to do it, I would rather see the National Assembly complaining about how they can trust barbarians.
“I have some concerns.”
“Speak, Marquis. “I will listen.”
“I heard that you are waging a war of expansion, and you just said that you will personally unify the Iberica Peninsula.”
“Yes, Marquis.”
“First of all, I don’t know if you guys have that level of capability, so it’s difficult to make a hasty judgment. “If you are defeated, not only will we lose a trading partner, but we also risk incurring hostility from other tribes.”
Crocs looked at me quietly and then burst into laughter.
“Hahaha!”
Gaston’s face distorts.
“It would be rude of you guys. But isn’t it impossible to directly show my strength to weak humans?”
Gaston got even more angry and was ready to pull out his sword before I could say anything.
“Your Excellency the Marquis! “Allow me to teach these barbarians some honor!”
Crocs’ face looked as if he was looking at a cute child, which even made me furrow my eyebrows.
“…King Crocs.”
“Something?”
“War cannot be won through individual force alone. How much more can we trust someone who says he wants peace and trade but who repeatedly uses insults to ruin the negotiations?”
Crocs seemed to think for a moment and then answered.
“Right. I was rude to you who listened to me. “I apologize, Marquis.”
I thought Crocs would get angry and attack me, but I was secretly impressed by his reaction.
It’s better than the idiots from the old system.
“Sir Gaston, take your hand off the sword.”
“Your Excellency the Old Marquis!”
I sighed lightly and asked the question again.
“Okay, I understand your confidence. However, as far as I know, your species has been protecting its own territory, so is there any guarantee that you, who plan to invade and conquer it all, will not threaten Frangia in the future?”
Crocs tilted his head to the side and answered.
“There is a misunderstanding. We are not invading. “It’s about fighting back.”
“Confronting me? “To what?”
Crocs’ red eyes were so angry and lethal that not only Gaston but also I almost grabbed the sword.
Crocs, who was silent for a moment, spoke as if chewing.
“The devils and the renegades who join hands with them.”
–
According to Crocs, the demons of the Abyss Corporation began purchasing slaves about three years ago.
At first, they went around each tribe and purchased humans who paid them protection taxes, but recently they hired mercenaries from Porto or other barbarian tribes to hunt them down and take them as slaves, regardless of whether they are humans or barbarians.
I realized it as soon as I heard it.
During the revolution that broke out earlier than before the return, the Republic and the Abyss Corporation lost ground, and the French civil war ended with the victory of the revolutionary army six years early.
The Abyss Corporation brought about the Industrial Revolution, but unlike before its return, it did not have much fun in Franzia, which was the main source of human supply.
If Crocs says it, it looks like even barbarians can use it as power.
Only then did everything make sense.
Why did a barbarian kingdom, which had never been heard of before the return, arise?
A kingdom was formed when barbarian tribes, who had only been fighting sporadically in their respective territories, came together to survive.
The renegades who are said to be waging war with Crocs’ brothers are probably the ones who actively sell humans and their compatriots to the Abyss Corporation.
Still, we couldn’t just blindly trust Crocs’ word, so when we told him that we hadn’t heard anything like that from the refugees we had accepted into the border fort, Crocs’ answer was simple.
-Those who have already been sold cannot run away or tell the truth.
Crocs even surprised us by saying that his ‘brothers’ included not only orcs and goblins, but also other races and humans.
I asked him to prove it and Crocs was very willing to do so.
So, on the appointed day, I was at the gate with Major Gaston Ocon.
“Is what the barbarian said true, Marquis? I wonder if such a thing would be possible if the barbarians established a country where they coexist with humans…”
Major Okon has a face that shows he is not at all trustworthy.
“Well, you just have to believe what you see with your own eyes.”
“Your Excellency the Marquis is here.”
After hearing Gaston’s words, I turned my gaze and looked at the person approaching from the distant horizon, kicking up dust.
The last time we met, I saw this as he was leaving, but I can’t get used to it.
Crocs is galloping with his legs as fast as a warhorse, kicking up dust.
“her.”
This time, he even placed a person on both of his shoulders and ran over while holding them with his hands.
“Sir Huh-”
I raised my hand to stop Major Okon from unconsciously shouting to be on guard, and in an instant, Crocs, who had run a little ahead of us, skidded on the ground and stopped.
As soon as he did that, the two people sitting on his shoulders came down.
“Wooweeeek-!”
A man in a robe and turban almost tumbled over and vomited on the floor.
“It was an honor, my king.”
And a woman jumps down with the lightness of a cat and expresses her gratitude.
Both of them have bronze-colored skin, so at first glance, they do not appear to be from Francia or the Central Continent.
“Wow, my king, this is too much…”
As the man vomited and complained, Crocs burst into laughter.
“Hahaha, didn’t it take a long time to get there just by jumping on your feet!”
Isn’t that orc even tired?
I watched with interest as Crocs and his minions spoke naturally in human language, albeit with southern accents.
Although they are properly called kings, I don’t get the feeling that they are afraid of Crocs.
It certainly doesn’t seem like they just hurriedly found someone and forced them to do it.
At least the claim that they get along with humans is probably true.
“Welcome, King Crocs. “This is Major Jean Ocon, the man in charge of the gateway.”
When Ocon bowed his head stiffly, Crocs nodded slightly.
“It’s nice to see you again, Marquis de Lafayette.”
Crocs stretched out his hand and pointed at the man who was still lying on the floor with a pale face.
“It’s Hassan, a bureaucrat and-”
He looks so corrupt that he’s dressed in a robe. If there’s a deal going on, I’m guessing he’ll be in charge of the working-level negotiations.
Crocs spoke this time, pointing to the woman standing next to him.
“This is Shandra, the warrior.”
A woman dressed in black with tattoos on every inch of her exposed skin came out with curious eyes, looked into the gas can, then slightly closed her eyes and bowed.
How is it that his movements are light and he is a warrior? Is this their article?
“These are the ones who will follow you and explain and prove our brothers.”
After finishing speaking, Crocs seemed to think for a bit and then added.
“Marquis de Lafayette. “I trust and entrust my brothers to you who listen to us.”
“I know, King Crocs. But I hope you understand that all I can guarantee is their safety and the discussion of your proposal.”
As an envoy, it would be better than taking orcs and goblins, but I still don’t know how the National Assembly will accept this nation of barbarians and pagans.
But Crocs unexpectedly grinned and answered.
“I know very well that the human nation is sinister and frustrating, so you don’t have to worry.”
People who hear that have nothing to say.
?
