"As for the war alliance proposal you presented, the Demon King Territory needed more time and feedback to come up with a satisfactory response for both parties. The key lay in the duties we needed to perform and the rewards we should receive."
Yila responded to Orphelus and Novak’s proposal, while Satan Ye and Hilena sat beside him... Facing them, of course, were Orphelus and Novak, along with their guards.
"Regarding the long-term stable trade route construction brought up by your side, it was possible for us to reach an intention during the meeting. I suggested prioritizing trade line communication before establishing the war plan."
Yila spoke, lightly steering the direction of the exchange, while Orphelus, Novak, and their think tank guards constantly took notes... Satan Ye and Hilena seemed very relieved.
It looked like Yila Elkaras was doing very well in the Demon King Territory...
Orphelus judged this, which, while surprising her, didn’t hinder her persuasion. The big problem was... the current formal meeting was somewhat different from what she had imagined.
Ideally, she should have secretly found Yila’s residence in the Demon King Territory, then held a relatively private meeting... including the idea of making Novak the mediator and befriending him.
As a result, Yila didn’t even have a residence, and it could be said that many leaders in the Demon King Territory didn’t either—they lived directly in the Demon King City. Maybe one could consider it the Demon King’s home?
Was this a subject or a family member?
It rendered Orphelus speechless.
"Regarding the continuation of the Bee Flower Snow Moon trade cooperation, we agreed. However, I thought we should discuss a more sincere price hike."
Orphelus frowned, looking at the adept Yila, and began to seriously discuss specific prices with Novak, who agreed with Yila’s opinions... What side was Novak on?
Trade was one thing, but the most important thing now should be the war negotiations...
They should be discussing alliance or not, benefit distribution, war directions, and such, not being led by the nose on trade strategy by Yila.
But it was because of Orphelus being led by the nose... she lacked the capability to steer the topic back. She couldn’t shout, "This is not important! Treat war alliance seriously!" She couldn’t do it.
Since Yila had said they needed more time and feedback, she couldn’t make a statement... But the Duchy needed time to establish an advantage as soon as possible.
Otherwise, even victory would come at a significant cost.
*That didn’t matter much, but the problem was that Yila might have noticed this as well... How did he do that?*
"The spice trade price was very reasonable. We hoped to increase the purchasing quantity, and we would provide specific numbers later. On that basis, we hoped to know more accurately..."
"The Demon King Territory now produced quite good honey. In our conception, it should be enough to..."
Orphelus really didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t even remember the specifics of the negotiation, only that... there was no progress on the war front at all.
She muddled through entirely, falling into Yila’s rhythm...
"Which aspect do you mean?"
Orphelus retorted, rubbing her temples, "If you meant my impression of today’s talks... it was really terrible. We were entirely passively accepting or discussing Yila Elkaras’s viewpoints."
Although one had to admit, they were basically win-win strategies, making both sides feel they benefitted, which was the most interesting part ... If it wasn’t for the more important matters, Orphelus would have been very satisfied.
After all, they made money, and for the Councilmen of the Duchy, making money was a very good thing, not to mention... Yila practically shoved the money into their mouth.
This was why Novak gave Yila such a high evaluation...
"I meant Yila as a person."
Caught off guard by Novak’s correction, Orphelus awkwardly shook her head and said, "Then my feeling was... very tired, even though I barely participated, it was very tiring."
*Indeed, most of the earlier exchanges were between Novak and Yila, yet Novak seemed relaxed... while it was Orphelus who got exhausted.*
"This meant you thought too much yet did nothing."
Novak shook his head and warned Orphelus, "Interacting with Yila was straightforward, but it’s hard to teach you... Maybe you should be more direct, thus whether it worked or not, you’d get an answer. Before that, you had to relax as much as possible."
Orphelus couldn’t respond. She contemplated Novak’s words as she returned to her room... Yes, she thought too much but did nothing.
*How should she describe Yila? Should she say he was slick? Or that... he was like cotton, making it hard to exert any force; or liken him to a lump of mud? In general...*
*It was frustrating. Trying to gain anything from Yila was exceedingly difficult.*
*Although Orphelus couldn’t quite describe it, the arrogance and unwillingness to concede had already dissipated within her... Her once-pronounced sharp edges had completely worn down.*
Orphelus muttered, which meant... simpler exchanges of interests, asking clearly needed questions? Yet, some things remained unclear to her.
For instance, she still wanted to understand Yila’s view on the Empire now — though he defected, he didn’t seem to hate the Empire, or even... It was too strange, making the accuracy of the intel dubious.
Thinking this, Orphelus got up from her room in the Demon King Territory and ordered her servant, "I want to see Yila. Inform those maids."
Now? But it was already night... was it appropriate?
"Miss, it’s already..."