Three things to remember once more before negotiating with Blake Gilbert, Baron Gilbert.
One. Jake Gilbert is Blake Gilbert’s half-brother.
Unlike the cases of other bastards or half-brothers, the two half-brothers were known to have a fairly decent relationship—at least publicly.
Two. If Blake Gilbert dies, the barony will pass to his son.
That was what kingdom law dictated, but his son was still a young child who had not even reached adulthood.
Naturally, under kingdom law, a guardian would act as the lord’s representative. But when the heir was too young, that representative would effectively end up acting as the lord.
Three. Jake Gilbert was ambitious.
Back when I had been working as a porter, I had not intended to pay him any particular attention.
I had simply written him off as a rude noble bastard who had taken up adventuring and joined the party.
But now that I had gathered information, things were different.
Jake Gilbert.
A man whom someone most certainly wished would die.
“I’ve studied human society quite a bit this time. And I came to realize just how politically dangerous that bastard, Jake Gilbert, is to you.”
“.......”
The baron said nothing.
The knight standing behind him glanced at the baron, gauging his reaction, but the baron merely blinked without saying a word.
“To begin with, it’s strange enough that a bastard could grow to that age and remain in the territory. And several years have passed since the previous Baron Gilbert died, haven’t they?”
“It has already been seven years since I ascended to the barony.”
“For seven years, that bastard must have thought he had been robbed of the barony by his half-brother.”
The baron’s eyes twitched for an instant.
As expected.
“That is, he must have thought so.”
“.......”
The anger that seemed about to flash through the baron’s eyes gradually faded.
Words had nuances. Even before I had stated anything outright, he must have sensed what I was getting at to some extent.
“So perhaps that was why he tried to take it back. Pretending not to care about his title under the guise of being an adventurer, he remained outside the castle, gathering capital and connections. At the same time, he acted as though he were serving in the knight order, building fairly good relationships with the knights.”
“Did he say that himself?”
“It is merely speculation. We knew the bastard’s past, but we had no intention of examining the motives hidden within it.”
I lightly tapped the hand resting on the table, drawing their attention.
“One million gold.”
An absurd fortune.
The moment I mentioned it, the knight standing behind the baron’s eyes widened.
“That isn’t such a bad price for freeing the bastard of House Gilbert, is it?”
“.......”
We had spoken of it as the price of one person’s life, but even to us, the amount was excessive.
“Do you want the bastard freed?”
“.......”
“Then naturally, you must have prepared one million gold, yes?”
“.......”
“If you have not prepared one million gold, the hostage will have no choice but to die. Do you want the hostage dead?”
“State what you want.”
The baron spoke in a slightly irritated voice.
“Since it seems we’ll be trading riddles all day, let’s get to the point. It can hardly be called a good idea to speak with demons for too long.”
“Fine. Then I’ll do all the talking.”
I snapped my fingers lightly.
“I want to make a deal with you. I will kill Jake Gilbert.”
“.......”
“You will become a compassionate baron who lost his half-brother and bastard family member to an evil demon.”
“What do you get out of that?”
“Publicly, I want it reported that way. And I want this place closed off and used as an intermediary point where we can conduct regular trade.”
The knight’s eyes flew open at my words.
“My lord!”
“Enough. Calm yourself.”
The baron glared at the knight.
“They haven’t killed Jake yet.”
They had killed him, but if necessary, I could claim that he was still alive even if he had died.
Even if the baron knew that claiming “Jake is dead” would benefit him, he instead spoke as though Jake were alive, restraining the knight.
‘So abandoning the bastard and trading with demons is a bit of a problem for him.’
A deal with demons.
Even conducting a simple trade with demons was enough to make it unsurprising if the lord’s head were immediately cut off. But for the lord to go so far as to commission the death of a bastard who posed a political threat, and then trade with demons?
“You must be worried about your public reputation.”
“.......”
“Well, if you’re a ‘good man to both his family and his people’ who doesn’t want him killed but can’t pay one million gold for the sake of the territory’s inhabitants, then I won’t kill him—for now.”
“You won’t kill Jake?”
“That’s right. But I won’t release him, either.”
I deliberately smiled beneath my mask.
Did the baron notice the way the corners of my mouth rose and my eyes narrowed?
“......This is blackmail. What are you trying to get from us through threats?”
“It’s nice that we understand each other so well. We want people. Not any particular person, but a specific number of people. In other words, you could call them sacrifices.”
“Sacrifices....”
“It’s pleasant when adventurers enter the dungeon, but unfortunately, too many of them become somewhat troublesome for us. Rather than suffering from an oversupply one moment and a shortage the next, I decided to step forward and ask that sacrifices be supplied regularly.”
“.......”
The baron looked at me with cold, sunken eyes.
“You want us to offer people here?”
“That’s right, but it can be handled ‘unofficially.’”
“Unofficially...?”
“For instance, you could announce that this dungeon has been conquered and is therefore being closed. Publicly, you would say that all the dangerous things inside have been dealt with.”
The baron remained wary, but his body slowly leaned toward me.
“And then this dungeon would be controlled with a ‘No Entry Except for Authorized Personnel’ policy. From time to time, a passage connecting this dungeon to our side would open. But that would happen only when you and we were conducting a transaction.”
I slipped a hand into my inner pocket.
The knight pointed his sword at me, but I calmly took a glass vial from my pocket and held it out.
“What is that?”
“A love potion. A love potion containing the yin energy of a succubus, which humans are said to like so much.”
“.......”
“It naturally isn’t poison or anything of the sort. Though I can’t blame you for not believing me.”
I had never expected them to simply accept the potion at face value here.
“One vial per person.”
“Is this potion really worth that much?”
“I tested it on Jake Gilbert, and he managed ten rounds without difficulty.”
“......!!”
I had conducted no such experiment, but the potion was powerful enough to produce that effect in reality.
“I don’t care who they are. Prisoners, slaves, heretics, political opponents—it makes no difference. Ah, but if possible, I’d prefer young men and women. From our perspective, the elderly are useless.”
“.......”
If I had not said that, would he have offered the elderly as sacrifices while arguing that they were people too and therefore counted toward the number?
“This is the price of Jake Gilbert’s life. You could call it an advance payment.”
I deliberately pushed the potion farther across the table.
“One vial per sexual encounter. You can apply it to the other person or to yourself. Either way, once you start touching and kissing, both of you will end up feeling its effects.”
“.......”
“If this deal goes through, you won’t have to pay one million gold.”
I spoke as generously as though I were waiving a debt that had already been entrusted to me, but the baron remained silent.
“Let’s summarize.”
First, how would this look publicly?
“Baron Blake Gilbert entered negotiations to save his half-brother Jake, but was troubled by the outrageous price of one million gold. Ordinarily, he would agonize over the matter before being forced into a deal by the demons... but it seems that is not what you want.”
Therefore—
“After much anguish, the baron decides to raise one million gold, but first agrees to consult with the territory’s administrators and officers. After a fierce dispute, they eventually settle on a position. Yet when he returns to the negotiating site, the door leading into the dungeon has vanished.”
I lightly brushed a hand over the gray, mist-like dimensional gate.
“Realizing that he had been deceived by the demons, the baron mourns. He cannot understand why the demons abruptly cut off negotiations, but because he hopes Jake Gilbert may still be alive, he stations knights at the dungeon and watches it for more than a week. However....”
“The door won’t open.”
I deliberately paused, and the baron completed my thought.
“People’s attention will fade. After Jake Gilbert’s funeral is held, this dungeon will be declared dangerous and sealed off.”
He did not say it as though it were merely something that would happen.
“Even if adventurers investigate the interior, they will see nothing. The knights placed in charge of this dungeon will guard it with their eyes wide open, determined to ensure that no victim like Jake Gilbert ever appears again.”
He continued as though he himself would see to it.
“And then, someday, when I come to this dungeon....”
“The gray mist will spread just as it did today, and I will appear like this.”
“.......”
“Whether you bring people here from the execution grounds or purchase slaves and send them here is up to you. Ah, and heretics would be good, too.”
“Let me ask you one thing. What do you intend to do with the humans?”
“Who knows? For now, food?”
“.......”
At the word “food,” the baron’s expression openly twisted.
“Don’t misunderstand. I do mean that I’ll consume them, but not literally bite and tear into them.”
“Then...?”
“I’ll make them sex slaves.”
“.......?”
Baron Gilbert tilted his head for a moment.
He seemed confused as to whether the word he had heard was the same one he knew.
“Sex slaves. Slaves for sex.”
“.......”
“Don’t overcomplicate it. Just think about what you need.”
I rose leisurely to my feet.
“Is one day enough to reach a conclusion? Hmm?”
“......I will consult with the officials of the lord’s castle. About the one million gold.”
Baron Gilbert also stood.
“Jake Gilbert must be alive until we meet here again, Demon Dandelion.”
My name was Azazel, but I merely turned my back, waved a hand lightly, and passed through the mist—
“.......”
Returning to the dungeon of the Vampire Legion.
‘That bastard.’
At the end—
‘He really can’t resist the love potion. Even if he doesn’t use it himself, he can’t help thinking about its value.’
When I glanced back out of the corner of my eye, the baron’s gaze was unmistakably fixed on the potion.
‘He can’t agree to the deal carelessly yet because it involves trading with demons. But he’ll eventually make the deal.’
Not a deal between humanity and demons.
A deal between the “powers” known as the Gilbert Barony and the Vampire Legion.
‘If both sides close one eye, it’s a win-win for everyone.’
And the link between us would be none other than the love potion.