Book 3. The Long Journey. Chapter 105. Samuel’s Ambitions.
Being told by Samuel to spell out the potential benefits on his own surprised Arslan, but it didn’t make him entirely speechless. “I could speak of many things, but what’s the point?” he asked with an amiable smile, attempting to turn the question around. “Elder Samuel, you said you are willing to consider agreeing. You are a wise person, so I trust you’ve already thought of what you desire from us in exchange and what your bottom line is. How about we don’t beat around the bush and get straight to the point and discuss it further from there?” he suggested, using what he had learned about negotiations and using words in a proper way to the utmost.
As a result, Elder Samuel laughed quietly and gave Arslan a meaningful look. Had he been dealing with an experienced adult, he would have pressed him in order to gain an advantage in negotiations, knowing fully well that it wasn’t his own side which needed these negotiations to succeed no matter what. However, he was facing just a smart but very young child; he appreciated the skillful efforts of Arslan’s and for the sake of their future relationship, he decided to agree to his request.
“As you wish, young master Arslan. I will tell you what I want,” he said with a smile and laughed secretly. Arslan truly wasn’t experienced enough; he could see how happy he was in his eyes and from the look on his face, though in this situation, it only made his feelings towards Arslan improve. “Allow me to start from your camp and from the simplest to explain of my conditions. I want Makarash and the Ruishi Federation to enter into a full military alliance, which will be revealed the moment one of our sides requests the aid of the other, be it in defense of offense,” he stated, then added out of the concern for the young age Arslan’s.
“Naturally, this term and all the others will be written down with specific conditions and clauses for your attendants to review before we both sign the agreement. I wish for our countries to become long-term partners, so I would be happy if for now, you assumed my demands come with no malicious intent.”
Hearing Samuel say so, Arslan agreed in his thoughts. However, he did sneak a quick glance at Jasmine, who nodded ever so slightly, before replying. “I will do so and I can already say that I see no problem with this first condition,” he said while attempting to sound calm, but managing to hide his nervousness only in part. This was the most important part of the negotiations, so he couldn’t help but be fairly nervous.
“I’m happy to hear that,” Elder Samuel said amiably. “Since we appear to understand each other, I will go straight to the second condition. When the southern Eulean Union is reclaimed, I wish to have the former ‘Faren Yimarate’ and ‘Banxi Yimarate’ come under the administrative control of my Ruishi Federation. As for the Guode Yimarate, it’s fine if you wish to offer it to the Holy Union or take it for yourself, I do not mind which,” he stated and as he expected, he noticed the uncertainty appear in Arslan’s eyes. A decision to and over entire countries with a few words… he would have been worried about the child’s character if there existed one capable of doing so without batting an eye.
“…” Arslan didn’t respond immediately, nor did he respond after a moment of thought. When he considered the questions related to this demand, he realized there were far too many things he was ignorant about. For example, was handing over those two countries worth what he was getting back from Elder Samuel? Was Elder Samuel asking him for a lot, or for little? He couldn’t even discern something so basic, so how could he hope to make an informed decision on this matter?
Yet, when his nervousness subsided a bit, he suddenly remembered the words Elder Samuel spoke a minute ago. That he should trust him to speak with no malicious intent, with benefits of both sides in mind. Thus, without resorting to seeing an advice from Jasmine or Sirius, he replied and asked. “It should be acceptable. What are the remaining conditions?”
Elder Samuel chuckled, though the very next second he reminded himself to stop relaxing so much. He was growing to like Arslan more and more, but he couldn’t grow too soft on him. “Great. Then here’s the third and final option that I want your side to agree to at this moment. I want to sign a free trade agreement with Makarash, allowing both our countries full access to each other’s markets,” he declared in the exact same way he had done with the previous two conditions, but perhaps this time it was him who was too hopeful about sliding this demand in under the table.
“Isn’t that a tricky one?” Jasmine couldn’t resist speaking up. “Open trade is one thing, but to make our innate markets fully available to each other… isn’t it the same as gambling on which country is going to economically swallow the other one? How is that negotiating in a goodwill that you claimed to uphold?” she asked with a somewhat dangerous look in her eyes. Alliance and cooperation were one thing, but if Elder Samuel intended to act to the harm of Makarash, she wouldn’t stay silent.
“That’s only one way to look at it,” Elder Samuel said with a smile, keeping his cool despite the way Jasmine was glaring at him. “I do apologize though, I should have offered a proper explanation immediately,” he added half-apologetically, then seeing as Jasmine wasn’t about to say anything else and simply waited for him to continue, he did just that.
“It’s true that in the very majority of cases, when you open your country to foreign economic influence, and that influence is competent, you are forfeiting your sovereignty in the long run. That’s why the Three Great Trading Guilds aren’t allowed to owe much actual business in individual countries all over the world despite the great amount of money and influence they possess. That’s also why both your Makarash and my Ruishi Federation kicked the guilds out early on and only do trade with them outside our borders.”
“However… what do you think will happen if the two partners who open their economies to one another are equally matched?” he asked, his gaze attention focusing on Jasmine and Sirius. Of course, while he was talking he didn’t ignore Arslan, but this particular question he directed to the two of them, aware that Arslan was extremely unlikely to be able to provide him with his thoughts on the subject.
“…” Jasmine and Sirius weren’t in a hurry to respond and truth to be told, Sirius didn’t feel all that confident in being able to answer this question despite the plentiful amount of knowledge he had accumulated during his long life. He had never been involved in the matters of governance closely enough to be able to predict the consequences of such an enterprise; would the competition escalate to dangerous levels, or would it bind a point of balance and allow both sides to flourish? Would racial conflicts surface, or would the national pride of both sides prevent them from seeing each other as equal rivals with a common goal? Would both sides play fairly, or would one attempt a scoop in order to take over the second country? There were too many variables for him to give a straightforward answer to Elder Samuel’s question.
“Isn’t that a pure question of faith?” Jasmine asked with a sigh, having come to the same conclusion as Sirius did. She had been involved in the military and often economic affairs for most of her life, but even she couldn’t predict what would happen were they going to go through with this third condition of Samuel’s. “The best outcome is for our two countries to be strengthened through competition and trade. However, I can’t begin to see why you would even want to take this huge risk. Makarash has been out in the world for almost six hundred years, but your country has been living in isolation. The chances of you being swallowed up are much higher than those of you swallowing us or even of the point of balance being achieved,” she elaborated, failing to understand why Samuel was proposing something of this kind, something so dangerous to both sides.
“Nothing you said was untrue,” Elder Samuel said with a smile. “However, if my people aren’t capable of competing with the best on equal terms without degenerating into a hate-filled mob, then I will willingly push for the Ruishi Federation to become a half-autonomous country under the control of Makarash,” he declared casually, very much in contrast to the weight of the words which fell from his mouth. He then laughed inwardly; he had been biding his time for centuries, so seeing the astonished expressions on the faces of the people who heard him reveal a bit was quite satisfying.
“You…” Jasmine murmured with her eyes wide open. “Why do you want to go that far? What Is your motivation?” she asked, no longer able to restrain herself from doing so.
“Aren’t you a blunt one,” Elder Samuel said with a laugh, causing Jasmine to wince slightly. Indeed, during normal negotiations, such an overly straightforward question would be left unanswered or dodged, but since he had been given an opportunity to advance the timeline for his plan by more than half a century, he was willing to display his whole hand to the potential allies. “What I wish for… is to make my country into a top world power within my lifetime and to set in motion the process of unifying the entire continent into a single entity,” he revealed with a hint of excitement in his voice. However, he didn’t blame those seven for looking at him as if he was a madman in response.
“You seem confused,” he said with a laugh. Was this goal of his too unrealistic? Perhaps it was. However, he was sure it was the only way for his country to live on perpetually. If the world wasn’t united, then in a few millennia a time when the Ruishi Federation weakened would inevitably come. Then, they would get invaded by one of their neighbors and their legacy and history would be wiped out… as a one man with a limited lifespan, he had only one way of preventing that from happening.
“No, I think I do get it,” Laien said with a slight smile on his face, thus making Elder Samuel raise his eyebrows in question. “I don’t know you well enough to guess your exact motives for wanting to achieve those goals, but I can see that your ambitions reach beyond simple now and beyond even the simple foreseeable future. You wish to create something akin to… the Durash Empire,” he mentioned, recalling the talk of the past he and Yin had had with those two ‘Demons’ in the Anarchic Lands. Moreover, he knew of Fohan Cail’s ambition to make the Sarkcente Kingdom a hegemon in the southern part of the continent, so it wasn’t that hard for him to imagine someone going one or two steps further and aiming to claim the whole world to his own ideals.
“Now that’s a surprise,” Elder Samuel exclaimed, quite clearly impressed by the comparison Laien made. “I didn’t think the south had any records left after the turmoil of the Age of Strife that happened ten millennia ago, after the sudden fall of the Durash Empire. Did you perhaps find some ancient records during your journey here? Well, it matters not. You are mostly correct about that. After the fall of Durash Empire, no new world power emerged and my ultimate ambition is to allow my country to thrive forever as a part of the new Empire,” he stated with full conviction.
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As a result, with the exception of Laien and Yin who took this revelation calmly, Arslan and the four White Guards of his were left thoroughly aghast. The five of them knew that the Great Prophet of Ikarians was a person who often talked of conquering the world, but even he didn’t seriously attempt to do so and only aimed for the regional domination. Yet, this man from a small country in the mountains had such grand ambitions… and he seemed willing to actually take serious steps in order to achieve it! The four White Guards, in particular, couldn’t see him as anything else but a crazed man.
“So…” Jasmine began saying but needed to take a deep breath in order to calm down and continue. “You want to conquer the world hand in hand with Makarash, or even as its subordinate? And to achieve that goal, you are willing to bet the future of your country during one meeting?” she questioned, beginning to see Elder Samuel as more and more of a madman.
Elder Samuel smiled, for the first time the expression on his face changing into one that contained some ridicule. This woman and those three White Guards, they were seriously underestimating him as a leader. Did they think he was a fool and was taking a random bet with his country at stake? If so, then it might have been his mistake to attempt to use this opportunity to push his plans forward. The party he was negotiating with simply wasn’t ready or willing to consider a deal on such a scale… though now that he thought about it, it was understandable. In the end, wasn’t he the one who was too rash? The idea caused him to laugh helplessly; he had gotten too far ahead of himself this time around.
“No, forgive me,” he apologized genuinely and lowered his head towards Arslan. “I was too rash to propose something that far-reaching. I was simply taking advantage of your position and your father’s injury, while I promised to negotiate in good faith. Let us forget about this third condition. I only hope that once you stabilize your rule over Makarash, young master Arslan, we will sit down again to talk about it,” he said honestly, having reflected on his own actions and found them unacceptable.
Startled, Arslan couldn’t find it in himself to say anything for a few seconds. “Uh, yes. It’s okay,” he said anxiously, the sight of Elder Samuel sitting there with his head lowered for a prolonged period of time beginning to make him feel weird. Thus, he sighed in relief when Elder Samuel straightened up and smiled at him; he was beginning to think that the negotiations would abruptly break down, but somehow, it all worked out fine, though in just as abrupt of a way.
“I’ve shown you something unsightly,” Elder Samuel said with a self-mocking smile, his gaze moving towards Laien and Yin. “It might not be much of an apology, but I will concede on what I intended to ask of you two. Instead of presenting you with a condition, I shall request something from you. It will be entirely up to you if you are willing to agree or not,” he elaborated and after seeing that Laien and Yin didn’t want to add anything from themselves and were listening patiently, he went on.
“I’ve actually called two youths here in hopes of having them get to know the two of you. One of those youths is my youngest son, Mikaela, and the other is Raphael. Perhaps you’ve heard of him from Luca? Raphael is the one who took the first spot in his age bracket in the National Tournament this year,” he mentioned, glad to see that he managed to lit a spark of interest in the eyes of those two youths. He knew that the two of them would undoubtedly hang around Arslan too, so making this request of them was equivalent to making it of Arslan with no cost involved… though he did feel a bit bad for being somewhat scheming after having gone overboard in these negotiations.
Although they didn’t need to do so in order to know they were in agreement, Laien and Yin exchanged a glance and nodded at each other. Then, as usual, Laien responded for the two of them. “We can meet those two and if we get along, then we will gladly make friends with them.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” Elder Samuel said contentedly but showed a bewildered expression when Laien and Yin laughed in response. “Did I say something amusing?” he asked with a laugh, taking on a lighthearted approach he tended to have when dealing with the promising youths of his own country. He didn’t quite have a chance to ask those two boys many questions, but he had a feeling that they were truly exceptional; thus, he came to naturally treat them with a great deal of favor.
“No,” Laien said and shook his head with a smile. “It’s just, you seem to like this phrase. ‘I’m glad to hear that’, you know?” he pointed out wryly, causing Jasmine and Sirius to groan inwardly… but as it proved, the two of them weren’t as good as him or Yin at reading the shifts in the mood of others.
“I see,” Elder Samuel nodded with a laugh, taking no offense to Laien’s words at all. “Indeed, I do like to say that a lot,” he confirmed casually and exchanged a look first with Laien, then with Yin. “I think we are done here, so how about we part on this good note?” he suggested, seeing no point in prolonging this meeting for the sake of empty talk with no purpose.
“I’m fine with that.”
“So am I.”
Laien and Yin said one after another, prompting Arslan to speak up in a hurry. “The formal document…?” he began saying in an inquiring tone.
“Will be delivered to you to review this evening,” Elder Samuel said amiably. “I guess you’ve already told General Julien about your plans in case I wasn’t willing to agree, so go ahead and tell him that he will receive my permission. All the Grand Elders are still here, so the moment our deal is signed, I will call another Grand Council,” he informed, wishing for the rest of the process to go through without any hiccups like the one he committed with this third condition he had put forward.
“Thank you,” Arslan said with a slight flush on his face, reacting in a similar way to his White Guards. Elder Samuel… he had seen through their backup plan so easily, but he didn’t mind it at all, or at least that was the impression they got from him. Somehow, the five of them thought about the same thing all at once; it was a damn good thing Elder Samuel wasn’t their enemy.
“Likewise,” Elder Samuel responded amiably. “Do you remember where the guest room in which we first met is? Those two boys I mentioned are there,” he informed, planning to get straight to writing down the agreement. He didn’t want to waste time leading the youths around the fort… and he thought the atmosphere would be better if he allowed the kids to meet without him listening in from behind their backs. If only those four White Guards could also take the hint, then it would be perfect.
“We will find the way on our own,” Laien said with a laugh. “Arslan, you will come too, right?” he inquired, just like Samuel was predicting.
“Yeah,” Arslan confirmed enthusiastically. It took him a moment, but he was finally starting to realize that they had succeeded in the negotiations, so all the stress he had been suppressing was quickly transforming into joy and relief. “What about you?” he asked, turning his head to the other side. He thought it would be fine if he went just with Laien and Yin, but if Jasmine or someone else disagreed and insisted on him having stronger protection, he wouldn’t argue either.
This time around, Jasmine didn’t fail to notice the meaningful glance Elder Samuel was sending in her direction. “Does he want the kids to meet without supervision? Well, why not. Those two are strong enough to protect Arslan even if something unexpected happens,” she mused quietly. The combined strength of those two boys was, considering the state of Yin’s Qi, just around the level of Reian’s prowess, if not slightly above it. There really was no reason for her to insist on additional protection.
“You guys can go alone. I and Reian are going to meet Julien again, while Sirius and Kasha can head to the sermon. It should be starting soon,” she said straightforwardly, all at once causing Laien, Yin, Arslan, and Elder Samuel to smile happily. However, she did make Sirius and Reian a bit unhappy at the same time, though for entirely different reasons, one of which really wasn’t worth to be mentioned at this moment.
“That’s it then,” Elder Samuel stood up, prompting everyone else to do the same. He glanced at everyone’s faces, making sure that no one looked like he wanted to say anything else, and after doing so he nodded politely and left with his two personal guards.
“We’ll be going too,” Jasmine said and grabbed Reian’s arm, pulling him closer to herself, thus instantly wiping out the displeased frown from his face.
“Eh, just make sure to be careful,” Sirius said a bit discontentedly. He wasn’t glad to see the kids wander around the fort alone, but it wasn’t to the point of arguing with Jasmine.
“Mhm,” Laien nodded slightly. Soon afterward, with no one else having anything more to add, their group split up and went their own ways.
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“How long do you think they are going to take?” a silver-haired youth asked with a little yawn. His father made them rush here all the way from the capital, so he expected to instantly be told to do something important. Yet, instead of that, he and Raphael were told to wait here two hours ago and ever since they hadn’t received any further news. Although a night-long crazy ride wasn’t enough to make him feel exhausted, he was beginning to feel sleepy due to all this waiting and boredom.
“And how am I supposed to know?” the twelve years old youth with long, golden hair, Raphael, replied with a laugh. “Your dad didn’t even tell us any details, all we know is that he is meeting with someone important and that he expects us to talk with them later on… I mean, we can guess it’s Mustafa’s son, but it doesn’t tell us much as to how long they are going to take,” he explained with a carefree smile and chuckled when he saw Mikaela’s pouting expression. He tousled the boy’s hair, trying to make him cheer up and more or less achieving just that.
“I hope they get here soon,” Mikaela said with a little sigh but still smiled at Raphael. The two of them had been friends since as long as he could remember, so he was pretty much treating Raphael like his older brother. Regrettably, they both had many of their own duties, so they didn’t have as much time they could spend together as when they were younger… so no matter what it was that his father wanted, he was happy to be able to spend some leisure time with Raphael regardless.
A few minutes later, which the two youths spent sitting in silence, the door to the room opened and to Raphael and Mikaela’s surprise, three boys entered on their own and shut the door behind themselves. The two of them recognized Arslan instantly due to his Ikarian features and young age, but they didn’t expect Arslan to be accompanied only by two boys who seemed to be no older than Raphael himself. Who could those two be? Arslan’s friends of a kind or just his companions? Or maybe more than either of those two options?
“Aura?” Raphael’s eyes widened at the vague sensation of two different auras filling the room and probing his body. “I’m skilled in the Secret of Awareness and I’m a dual practitioner, but I can only barely sense their probing? What’s up with those two?” he thought almost in disbelief. He had tried it out before and even some spiritual masters of the third rank were unable to sense his aura when he used it, so how could those two be so far beyond him in this aspect?
“Oh?” Laien raised his eyebrows, then laughed a little. “Sorry, it was pretty rude of us. I never thought you would be able to actually sense anything… but I guess it makes sense since you are just a step away from becoming a spiritual master,” he said with a playful smile. He wanted not to think of himself as someone who judged people by appearances, but he needed to admit it before himself; just the way those two looked was making him want to try and see if they could become friends. One with long golden hair, the other one with shoulders-long silver and a little curly hair, both with incredibly gorgeous facial features. He was absolutely confident that in a few years, all the women of the Ruishi Federation would be chasing after those two if they weren’t doing so already.
“Well, let me return the favor,” Raphael said with a wry smile and released his aura, checking out the cultivation levels of Laien’s and Yin’s. He wasn’t all that shocked to discover that Laien was a well-balanced dual practitioner with both his marital and spiritual cultivation at the early stage of the eighth mortal realm, but Yin’s unstable Qi that was reaching upwards to the late ninth mortal realm did give him a fright. For a pure martial practitioner to have an aura so powerful, it was absolutely inconceivable from his point of view.
“Come on, don’t leave me out of it!” Mikaela complained, feeling a bit annoyed to see how those three started focusing on each other without involving him in the talk. Was he supposed to stand here like an idiot and guess what they were doing? They could at least say something instead of exchanging those ‘meaningful yet meaningless’ words and glances!