Underworld Negotiations IX
It was a risky move but . . . it was certainly worthy of consideration.
By giving Jun something that he could and probably would take in the future now, they could save themselves trouble, save Jun a lot of trouble, thus making it a worthy offering for a sincere apology and at the same time, they would also be able to learn more about his capabilities in a way that would not leave him displeased.
Once the others ran Sirzechs' proposal for what they should give Jun's group, they found it was a truly fine plan. They would be paying out a lot but since it was meant to be lost in the future, might as well get rid of it now for profit.
Grayfia had truly come up with a perfect solution for the bribe problem and her husband further refined it into something they could all agree with and find acceptable.
Now all that was left, was to put things into actions when Morgan, Jun's wife, as well as her entourage arrived in the underworld.
Speaking of Morgan, she was currently talking to Jun about the diplomatic visit while being flanked by the two escorts Jun had picked out for the occasion, those being Artoria and Jeanne.
"From the escort, you seem quite sure there will be conflict." The Fairy Queen commented to her husband.
"You don't?" Jun asked her.
"Based on the situation, it is more likely they will cave and act humble throughout my visit. It would be the smart thing to do but . . . So long as they have any spine as rulers, they will probably not lower themselves to such an extend I would think." Morgan replied with consideration.
"You're quite right and yet, they will want to avoid war with us." Jun said.
"So what will be their move since they are not willing to brutally suppress their own people for our pleasure and forgiveness?" He then asked.
"I would imagine they would try to provide something valuable enough to make us tolerate the circumstances." Morgan responded.
"Exactly. I have no idea what they will actually try to bribe you with but it should be good enough to tempt." Jun agreed.
"Based on what you have told me about this world, there are certainly things we would find useful. So wouldn't the right move be to take the deal they offer?" Morgan asked since Jun seemed to be aiming for conflict before the current topic came up.
"It is indeed the right move but rather than accepting, upping the price as much as possible is the best move and you should make a condition that so long as they do not interfere with your reprisal you'll respond to any attack or insult by targeting the speakers and not the devil race as a whole." Jun deviously said.
"I see . . ." Morgan realized Jun's aim.
"I don't understand." Jeanne spoke from the side.
"Although is is a rather dishonorable way of doing things, those seeking to remove the current Four Satans will definitely try to incite war between our two factions so no matter what we do or what attitude we take, there will inevitably be conflict. And so, Jun can extort the Satans for an agreement to stay cool since it will make no difference as conflict will inevitably arise anyway."
Surprisingly, it was Artoria who explained things to the rather politically ignorant Maid of Orleans.
Although it was easy to get distracted by the more knightly side Artoria exhibited most of the time or the young girl persona that sometimes peeked through, there was no denying she had been a very competent administrator in her time as the King of Britain.
In fact, her unerringly accurate judgements on any situation were one of the things that made her subject feel she was inhuman.
"That is exactly what I was thinking. Although you might not like scheming much your aptitude for it is just as good as your elder sister, only your personality stops you from making use of that." Jun commented with a teasing tone.
"And I'm perfectly fine with that." Artoria pouted. Little by little she was starting to be more willing to show her cuter and more feminine sides to people in their little family other than Jun and Morgan, who she had no problem acting like a brat with.
Even then, there were some specific sides she religiously saved just for the man that stole her heart of course.
Jun chuckled at the response before continuing with his point.
"So basically, extort the Satans before the meeting and then await the moment when someone will try to antagonize you too much or straight up threaten or attack you and then, take the opportunity to begin cleaning out our intended targets."
"Jeanne will be on defense and Artoria will counterattack any interlopers while Morgan focuses on taking out specific targets, bases and locations. I'll sens Jack and Asako as a hidden escort for them to capture some high value targets in the midst of the chaos." Jun concluded, obtaining nods from the three girls in front of him.
"Alright then ladies! Go and make me proud." He said, earning smiles with different magnitudes from the three who earnestly accepted their mission and began their preparations, namely, discussing the specifics of their battle plan and how they should respond depending on what type of attacks they might encounter.
And after the alloted time passed, the trio moved to the Occult Research Club building to meet up with Grayfia who was to be their guide while Jack and Asako had already used their group's methods to enter Devil Territory and using their ability to manifest multiple copies of themselves, were already stalking their intended targets in preparation for the appointed time.
All there was to do now, was to wait the other party's move . . .
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P.a.t.r.e.o.n is officially up!
The link is: https://www.p.a.t.r.e.o.n.com/lusoba without the extra dots of course.
You'll get to read up to FOUR week ahead, a full month, but I'll still post here.
There's also my other novel Archon of DanMachi, do check it out!
I would greatly appreciate any support since this is going to be my breadwinner.