Back to the Diplomat Scouter.
To negotiate favorably, I needed to line up my justifications and arguments carefully.
One reassuring thing was having the F-Rank Negotiator title in the Hall of Fame.
This negotiator title gave a 20% persuasiveness boost.
[Available Justifications — Treppen, Frost, Responsibility, Loss, Elsheimer, Proof, Promise]
"Two hundred isn't pocket change, but isn't my [loss] too great to give up the son-in-law position of the [Elsheimer] family, which controls all the tax collectors in the capital? I used to assist with tax collector work and built some connections with them. Does Deputy Inspector General Mort know any tax collectors? From what I can see, I have the advantage," I said.
"From the perspective of the family that controls the tax collectors, just having connections with them isn't sufficient, is it? Considering the Elsheimer family's income and influence, 200 may seem small, but if you step back quietly, you'd be putting me in your debt personally—you can't call that a loss," Adelbert countered.
"But that's not enough. As you know, Adelbert, catching [Frost] is [proof] of my capabilities. Personally, I avenged Deputy Inspector General Rüdiger. But the information you gave me then was wrong. [Frost] wasn't part of [Treppen]—he was a Schlange officer. Whose [responsibility] was it that the guards focused their crackdown on the northern district? Because most of the manpower was concentrated there, I had to fight [Frost], who'd killed five knights, in the wrong part of the city."
Adelbert's gaze lingered on Mort for a moment. That information had definitely come from Mort. My suspicion hardened into certainty. That's why the Judicial Department had searched the wrong area—the northern district, Treppen's territory—while I'd clashed with Schlange's vipers in the streets near the slums.
Yet Adelbert still wanted to recommend Mort as the Elsheimer son-in-law, which made me think there might be some other political arrangement at play. The Diplomat Scouter's negotiation objective alone couldn't reveal the full picture. It only showed this negotiation's purpose.
This convinced me that I absolutely couldn't join the Finance Department. Beneath the surface, schemes were everywhere, with the Finance Minister and his successor locked in a constant game of checks. Staying long would just get me caught in the crossfire. At this point, I needed to ease up on the responsibility-based pressure.
"I'm not doubting your or Deputy Inspector General Mort's abilities. I'm just questioning whether 200 silver is an appropriate amount given everything I'd be sacrificing. If I give up on being the Elsheimer son-in-law, is it truly given up? For a lowly hereditary knight to defy the Finance Minister's wishes is an enormous burden. You need to factor in that [responsibility] too."
"Hmm, so what amount do you think is appropriate?"
"I'd say 500 silver is fair."
"...That's an outrageous demand. Five hundred?"
He was visibly angry; he'd been speaking politely up until now, but suddenly dropped all courtesy. For the Finance Minister's successor, a high-ranking noble, 500 silver shouldn't even be that much money. Nothing compared to a knight's pension of 15 coins. Adelbert and I stared at each other in silence for a while.
He was probably running his mental calculations into overdrive.
Time to subtly shift the terms. For other nobles, haggling itself might be insulting, but given his calculation (neutral) disposition, I was confident Adelbert wouldn't be averse to bargaining.
"If you [promise] to take responsibility for me, I'll accept 400 silver," I proposed.
"Three hundred. Come down further," Adelbert shot back.
"Three ninety. It's a figure where both you and I can walk away satisfied, Adelbert."
"Three ten. I've already exceeded the limit of what I can offer as a reward."
"Three sixty. This is the lowest I can accept."
"Three fifty. I'll also shoulder the responsibility you'd bear. That's as far as I go," Adelbert declared.
The Manager Scouter showed his mindset had reached its limit.
Through that, I realized 350 silver was his bottom line.
"Fine. I'll accept that."
"Damn it—looks like I'm making an unnecessary expenditure."
Despite cursing, Adelbert's expression looked greatly relieved. As if a thorn had been pulled free. I couldn't be happier—so happy I could burst. If no one were here, I'd dance on the spot. Negotiation really is the crowning art of diplomacy.
Thanks to F-Rank Negotiator (20% persuasiveness), I seemed to have gotten an even better result.
The Elsheimer son-in-law position was nothing but a worthless shackle to me, yet I'd sold it for 350 silver. I might get addicted to this thrill. The Master Negotiator II quest completed. I received 500 points and 500 copper coins as rewards. My pockets already felt heavier.
I also gained 50 Family Prestige points.
So my current total was 150 points.
For reference, every 100 points increased recognition and governance by 2% each.
Streit Family: 150 points (recognition 5%, governance 5%) was my current status.
Not only had I pocketed 350 silver, but Adelbert had also promised to take responsibility and shield me from the Finance Minister, so I'd finally shed that tiresome shackle. If Adelbert knew the truth, he'd groan and curse the ceiling, but I didn't let my joy show. I played reluctant to the very end.
When I checked with the Manager Scouter after noticing Mort's gaze toward me had softened, I saw his favorability had shifted from −50 to 0. That bastard—now that things had gone his way, he'd suddenly dropped his hostility toward me?
But I'd never forget.
I'd make him pay someday.
Rüdiger's death wasn't my concern, but I'd nearly died too.
And Bodo's mom had died.
Even if I couldn't do it right now, I'd settle this debt someday.
"Sir Mort, you'll pay half."
"Me, sir? I don't have that much money."
"In return, you're becoming the Elsheimer son-in-law. It'll take a while, but you should be able to recoup it, shouldn't you? Since this mess happened because you coveted the Elsheimers, you should share the burden. If you can't pay right away, I can lend it to you at appropriate interest."
"...."
Mort's expression twisted. Truly the Finance Minister's son. Perhaps Adelbert knew about the plot Mort had orchestrated. Was that why he'd offered me this deal? But the reason he was still intent on installing Mort as the Elsheimer son-in-law was probably because of some secret agreement with Mort.
In the end, only the dead were to be pitied.
Bound up like that, even if Mort became the Elsheimer son-in-law, he wouldn't dare rebel. That cold, calculating streak was worth learning from—because that's what it meant to be a noble. The noble world was a place that treated bloody negotiations and backroom maneuvering as everyday affairs.
"And I'd like to step down from temporary inspector," I added.
"I thought you'd use that as negotiation leverage too, but you're giving it up so easily?" Adelbert asked.
"Instead, give me the two soldiers under my command. Not as a dismissal but as a promotion—from ordinary soldiers to a noble's soldiers. That'll change their standing, won't it?"
"You took a liking to those soldiers? Well, fine. I'll do as you wish."
Ted and Oscar's affiliation issue was cleanly resolved too. Since 350 silver couldn't be paid all at once, we agreed to staggered payments of 50 silver per month. Personal payments without documented justification were capped at 50 silver per month, and we'd process them through the Medici Bank.
To pay in a lump sum would naturally require documented reasons and the Finance Minister's approval—in other words, impossible. Anyway, I was no longer a Finance Department man and wouldn't get entangled in their affairs anymore.
"One piece of advice—stay far away from the brothel district for a while," Adelbert warned.
"Are you planning to move against the slum organizations?" I asked.
"Do you think we'd just let the bastards who killed a Deputy Inspector General walk free?"
I could feel the killing intent in Adelbert's eyes.
Schlange, which had carved out territory and power alongside the guilds in the brothel district, couldn't escape its downfall. Whether those bastards fell or not wasn't my problem. If Schlange disappeared, it meant no more forces targeting Bodo or me, so I welcomed Adelbert's crackdown.
Several days passed after that.
The captured Schlange officers and boss were executed in the plaza. The executioner's skill in carefully aiming and cleanly severing their heads in a single stroke was remarkable. Absurdly, if executioners failed to kill in one stroke, they'd get jeered, and in severe cases could even be beaten to death by the crowd.
No job in this world is easy.
With this, Schlange was finished.
I couldn't properly do repetitive quests because of being tangled up with the Finance Department, but in compensation, I spent peaceful days. I trained every day and took on various tasks requested by administrative bureaucrats as part-time work. Thanks to F-Rank Management (20% management), it went fairly smoothly.
Ted needed recovery time due to his injuries, but Oscar put Hans through intensive soldier training. Of course, Hans was the most senior among my retainers, but his combat ability was far below the soldiers'. No matter how much I trained him, knight training and soldier training were fundamentally different disciplines.
After the Finance Minister had summoned me, the landlord seemed to find me rather intimidating.
Normally he'd show his face and hold forth on all manner of trivial knowledge, but these days he was nowhere to be seen. Fine by me, since dealing with him was a nuisance. But the problem was that the house had grown far too cramped—bursting at the seams, really. Four people were crammed together in the living room alone.
Sabine looked troubled surveying the mess, wondering how to keep it clean, and Daniel complained that Sabine only fussed over Bodo. We even got complaints from the neighboring residents—nobles, no less—about the noise from Hans and Oscar's training. So I was currently searching for a house to move to.
No more renting.
With 350 silver coming my way, I should get the Streit family a proper mansion. A true noble residence with a spacious courtyard where I could live and train freely without tiptoeing around the landlord.