第７０１堀：やっぱり腹黒姫 (Part2)
"That said, we can't keep bickering with each other forever. I intend to release Mother from her confinement soon. I plan to explain that she was kept hidden out of fear of the mad god cultists' rampage, and that my uncle and we have been working together all along."
"Won't that cause chaos?"
"Yes. And to minimize the damage from that chaos, I need the cooperation of you and your people, Yuki-sama."
Princess Carrie, who had polished off three pieces of cake while talking, stared at me with a serious expression.
She looked like she was just eating normally, but women really do possess supernatural abilities when it comes to sweets...
Since she jumped straight into the request without pointing out my informal speech, I gathered this was meant to be kept under wraps.
"But if we, Weed, stick our noses into Haiden's national politics any further, won't that cause problems of its own?"
"No. I only need you to attend the meeting. For the future of Haiden, cooperation with you and the people of Weed—who have connections to other continents—is indispensable. Whether they choose to participate in that meeting will be the first test. How they discuss matters with you during that meeting will be the second. And finally, observing how they intend to contribute to our nation's development based on that meeting will be the ultimate judgment. If those who aspire to high-ranking government positions cannot discern the importance of this, they aren't fit for such critical roles."
As I thought, she planned to use us as a litmus test to separate friend from foe.
Or rather, she was also planning to fill the vacancies in those posts while she was at it.
She’s terrifying. This princess is tightening her grip even more than I anticipated.
"What about the terms? It would be problematic if it looked like we were cooperating for free, wouldn't it?"
That said, I couldn't just cooperate for nothing.
Weed must not be perceived as a group that will work for free just because someone asks.
If we let that happen, we’ll be looked down upon in future intercontinental exchanges.
Up until now, we had cooperated with Haiden at a low cost because of the remnants of the mid-level gods, but we couldn't keep that up forever.
Princess Carrie seemed to understand this, as she didn't complain about my demand, but...
"Honestly, we are at a loss as to what we could offer to secure Weed's cooperation. We have helped you extensively so far, and we have provided as much compensation as we could. Well, if you were willing to make it public, there are various rights and interests we could grant..."
"Even if we received those, wouldn't it just earn us the resentment of the Haiden nobility? It would put the Royal Family in a bad spot, too."
"Yes. It would defeat the purpose of having you cooperate in secret. If we are talking about personal compensation from me or my uncle..."
The princess fell into a deep, troubled silence.
Time to throw her a lifeline.
"I don't have any urgent needs for support right now, so let's just call it a favor owed for the future. If Haiden isn't stable, there's no point in us cooperating anyway. I need to make sure you're in a position to pay back the debt properly."
"I am grateful you would say that. Though, I fear that before I know it, the debt will have ballooned to an enormous size."
"I'll keep an eye on it if it looks like it's becoming excessive, but you don't intend to rely on Weed for everything, do you?"
"I would like to say no, but given the current situation, I am entirely dependent on you, so anything I say lacks conviction."
"Well, you did officially document the transfer of the trade city of Baide, so I don't think you need to stress about it that much."
For now, we had deferred the compensation rather than treating it as a formal debt.
Since they were paying for what they were supposed to, I wasn't too worried about creating a debt for Princess Carrie.
I had the trust that she would pay it back properly.
"Then, to live up to that trust, let us conduct a thorough screening at today's meeting."
"Right. Good luck."
"Yes. It is best to dispose of the fools quickly. They only ever hold us back."
Kagura and the others were left speechless by Princess Carrie’s sweet, smiling declaration.
Man, it’s not often you see a smile that feels so ominous.
"The meeting will begin shortly, so please wait a little longer."
And thus, Princess Carrie's screening meeting began.
Her scheming remains as sharp as ever.
And now, the retainers are being put through the sieve.
Will anyone manage to catch her eye?!
The new program, "The Lonely Princess," is about to begin.
No, just kidding.