Chapter 100

Joach sat down in the chair he was offered, a frivolous smile playing on his lips.

"Wow, I never thought I'd get to meet the famous 'Destructive Prince' in person. I'm so happy!"

Given that he was the son of a wealthy merchant from Geborah, Cama had expected someone of considerable stature, but Joach struck him as rather frivolous.

To be more precise, he seemed childish. Even when seated, he appeared restless, looking around the room. Whenever his eyes met those of the elven maid standing by the wall, he would smile and wave at her.

Unable to bear the sight any longer, Lazareff spoke up, and Joach responded with a sheepish grin.

"With so many beautiful women around, I couldn't help but be distracted. As expected, the 'Destructive Prince' is different. Even the maids are exceptional."

"Is that what they say?"

Cama, who had been unaware of such a reputation, asked, and Joach exclaimed, "Yoho! You didn't know? These days, there's not a day that goes by without your name being mentioned in the Western Regions?"

Joach then revealed the rumors circulating about Cama in the streets. They were baseless tales, such as Cama amassing a fortune through wicked deeds and building a luxurious palace where he indulged in debauchery with elven beauties.

Even Cama, who was the ruler of the city, couldn't help but frown when such rumors were said to his face.

After all, he held the power of life and death over the city. If someone were to be so disrespectful to such a ruler, they would usually be beheaded without question.

"Well, well, don't take it so badly. Recently, there have been some good rumors too."

However, Joach, aware of the protection he received from his father's influence as a Geborah Ten Council member, showed no sign of remorse.

"An envoy sent to save Zoan from its plight! Or, a prince from a distant fallen kingdom trying to rebuild his kingdom here! Isn't that a dream?"

Cama had heard that his rule was finally being recognized, but he hadn't known such rumors were circulating. Blushing, Cama found Joach smirking and leaning in.

"So, what's the truth? Could you tell me just a little bit?"

Asked with the casualness of a street conversation, Cama couldn't help but smile wryly.

"I'm not someone of such noble blood."

"Speaking of which, my family was once pirates. The Kingdom of Sand in the south—have you heard of it? They were based there and wreaked havoc. They started their business with the treasure they accumulated. —By the way, recently, something happened..."

Cama thought Joach was trying to probe his background, but Joach seemed uninterested and continued chatting.

However, his chatter never ceased. As soon as one topic ended, another would emerge, and then another. It was a non-stop stream.

During this time, Eraldia quietly moved to the wall and secretly called an elven maid who was on standby.

"What was his behavior in the waiting room?"

"He was flirting with several maids, including me, and chatting non-stop."

While listening to the maid's report, Eraldia glared at Joach, who was still chatting away with Cama.

Is he just frivolous?

However, she quickly dismissed this thought. Eraldia's instincts had been tingling with a sense of danger since the beginning.

Believing in her instincts, Eraldia quietly stood behind Joach and fiddled with her right ear, a prearranged signal to Cama.

Cama, who had been mechanically nodding along with Joach's chatter, snapped back to reality at Eraldia's signal. After a cough to interrupt Joach, Cama quickly got to the point.

"Mr. Joach, there's actually something I'd like to ask of you."

"Yoho! Yes, I was just enjoying the conversation."

Joach, with an innocent smile, continued.

"So, when you say you have a request, should I consider it a business negotiation?"

Cama, who intended to pay a mediation fee for the negotiations with the Kingdom of Holmea, nodded.

Then, with a smile, Joach narrowed his eyes even further.

"Before we get into the negotiation, could you ask everyone to leave the room?"

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"Ask everyone to leave?"

Cama could only repeat Joach's words in response to this sudden request.

"After all, in a business negotiation, there are often confidential matters. It would be more convenient to talk in private."

Joach then turned to Lazareff, who had been standing like a statue.

"Mr. Lazareff, could you also step out for a moment?"

Joach's tone, though still smiling, left no room for refusal.

Lazareff, who had always found the task of negotiating with a country too much for him, took this opportunity to leave the room.

Before Cama could stop him, the atmosphere had already shifted to one where everyone needed to leave.

Eraldia, standing behind Joach, gritted her teeth.

Indeed, it wasn't just frivolous chatter.

Joach had been observing Cama while chatting.

What topics did he show interest in? What did he know? What did he not know? And how did he react?

Joach had likely noticed that when Cama was at a loss for words, he would unconsciously look at Eraldia.

Eraldia was convinced that the request to clear the room was aimed at excluding her, who had been supporting Cama from the shadows.

Eraldia didn't think Cama was foolish. In fact, she highly regarded his occasional brilliant ideas.

However, his lack of experience was undeniable.

If left alone with Joach, he would likely be pressured with words, attitudes, and conditions, leaving Cama overwhelmed and unable to cope.

Moreover, Cama had a fatal flaw in negotiations.

That's why Eraldia had been trying to let Cama gain experience through small negotiations. She hadn't expected someone like Joach to appear.

This was a very bad situation.

Eraldia needed to find a reason to stay, but Joach had already made Lazareff leave. It would be difficult to suddenly say she couldn't clear the room.

If the other party was just a merchant, she could use the lord's authority to force the issue, even at the risk of spreading bad rumors.

However, as a merchant from Geborah, it was more complicated.

In Geborah, where the Merchant Guild was powerful, wealthy merchants were granted baronial titles.

A baronial title was a one-generation title granted to commoners for significant achievements, considered lower than hereditary titles but still treated with respect. Pushing through with authority would be a breach of etiquette, and could be seen as an insult to the other country, even a declaration of war.

Cama's desperate gaze for help was felt, but Eraldia couldn't make an immediate decision.

However, there was someone who didn't understand the situation.

"Being alone with Soma is out of the question!"

It was Shemul.

"Soma is my 'Lord of the Navel.' I can't leave him alone in front of the enemy!"

Eraldia and Cama were taken aback. Calling the person they were about to ask for mediation an enemy was a serious breach of etiquette.

However, Joach just smiled.

"Yoho! I just want to have a friendly conversation with Soma-sama."

Shemul snorted.

"Liar. Your eyes are like a wolf's, targeting its prey."

Joach's eyes gleamed, still smiling.

Eraldia almost fainted at Shemul's repeated rudeness.

However, Joach reacted unexpectedly.

"Yoho!"

Instead of getting angry and leaving, Joach exclaimed in amazement.

"Indeed, as you say. Words are a merchant's sword, and negotiation is a duel. To recognize this, you are indeed impressive. —Very well. You may stay as the witness to this duel."

Shemul nodded as if it were obvious. Eraldia, surprised by the unexpected turn of events, was about to say, "Then I will stay too," but Joach preempted her.

"Since I asked for the room to be cleared, I will make this concession."

In other words, he wouldn't make any further concessions.

A quick glance from Joach at Eraldia said, "You can't stay."

By allowing Shemul to stay as a witness, Joach had eliminated the possibility of Eraldia intervening. Shemul, as a witness, would likely not interfere even if Cama was in trouble, given her character.

Eraldia, having lost the upper hand, had no choice but to retreat to the next room with a forced smile, though she was determined to listen in on the conversation using her elven hearing and to intervene if necessary.

"Milady, I have information on that person."

A maid whispered to Eraldia. She had gathered information from Lazareff, who had left the room at Eraldia's signal.

However, Lazareff, who had only been used, didn't know much about Joach. The only rumor they could gather was this:

"Shapiro's biggest fool. —That's what he's called."

Eraldia, usually calm, spat out the words with a rare tone of disgust.

"Is he a fool?"

Her suspicions were correct.

Joach was indeed known as the fool of the Shapiro family.

But to those closer to him, he was known as:

Menahem's favorite, and the son of one of the Geborah Ten Council members, Menahem.

He used his voice, words, and attitude to corner Cama.

Without Eraldia, Cama, who only had rudimentary negotiation skills, could do nothing but be manipulated.

And eventually, the flaw Eraldia feared was exposed.

Next Chapter: "Flaw"

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Joach's catchphrase "Yoho!" comes from the pirate ancestry of his family, as pirates would shout "Yoho!"