Riz's return to Bideford was met with the scowl face of Theodora and Charlotte. Feeling inivetable, was lectured by both of them.
He admitted it is his fault for leaving Bideford by just leaving them with a simple note and without informing anyone beforehand. Right now, the reprimand from them is not finished yet.
"Milord, you need to be aware of your own status," said Charlotte.
"Riz, you are king now. You can't do anything you want on your whim." Theodora added.
"Yes, yes, I know. I'm sorry."
Riz keeps apologizing. He knows it's useless to argue against women. They're very good with words.
*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*
A sudden knock interrupted his lecture session.
"Come in," said Riz.
A red-haired man in his early forties enters his office. He was greeted with an awkward scene unfolding in front of him. Riz, Theodora and Charlotte turn their faces toward him.
"A-Am I interrupt you, Your Majesty?" Gerald stutters as he asked.
It is not weird for him to be nervous. In front of him are three influential people in Ryntum; the king, the future queen and the head of the intelligence department.
In a hurry, Riz replies, "No, you're not. Is there something you want to report to me, Gerald?"
"Yes, there is an important matter I need to discuss with you, Your Majesty."
Hearing Gerald's words, Theodora and Charlotte have no choice but to leave the office. Riz let out a sigh of relief.
"You save me there, Gerald," said Riz. If not, it will take hours before they finish their nagging.
"O-Oh...Don't worry about it. It is an honour to help you." Gerald awkwardly replies.
He is still not good at dealing with nobles. He was just a commoner last month. Then independence happens. Before he could fully fathom the ongoing event, he was somehow appointed as minister of trade and industry by the king.
Gerald doesn't know what is so special about him that attracts the king but he is not so brave to ignore and reject the king's offer.
"What's that important matter?" Riz ask.
"Our exploration team has finally found a coal deposit."
Riz's eyes lighten up. It's a piece of news he has been waiting for. He hurriedly asks, "Ohh?! Where is it?"
"At the border between our kingdom and the Kingdom of Inver in the south, Your Majesty."
"Is there a coal mine in that area as well?"
"Yes."
"Make sense. Geographically speaking, our side should have some too. How much coal deposit did they find there?"
"We don't have an accurate estimation yet but it is definitely larger than Inver's coal deposit."
They had their coal imported from Inver in the past month. Due to the high demand from Ryntum, Inver's merchants increase the already expensive coal price and sell it to Ryntum.
Riz can't do anything about it. There's no other supplier except Inver. He tries to negotiate the price by sending a letter to the King of Inver multiple times. But, he receives no replies so far.
He can only swallow the bitterness and continue to buy. Even if it thins the kingdom's treasury.
ραпdα nᴏνɐ| сom "Great! Arrange a team to set up the coal mine."
"Err...There is other news I need to inform you of, Your Majesty."
"What is it this time?"
"The coal deposit is in the undeveloped area. A territory of the Rogvor people."
"Sighhh..." Riz let out an exhausting sigh. It looks like there is nothing that he can achieve easily.
Rogvor people still live in a tribal society and don't associate with outside people. They have their own culture and language. They don't care who the king is or which kingdom controls the area.
All they know is that the west of Baroks is theirs.
The previous duke of Baroks tried to subdue the Rogvor people six years ago but ended up with a lot of casualties.
Rogvor specialities are using poison. They will put it in every weapon from swords, arrowheads, spears and traps. Using the advantage of home terrain, they lure the duke's army deep into their territories before chipping down the duke's army strength little by little.
That war sees only a handful of people manage to survive and return alive. Since then, the late duke of Baroks buried his ambition to conquer the Rogvor area.
Riz doesn't want to resort to the same violence as the duke did. It consumes a lot of money, resources and manpower. Although he won the war against the noble coalition, Riz still suffered some losses on his end.
To be honest, he wants to focus on building his kingdom before making any expansion policies.
Furthermore, the arquebus itself is not suitable to fight against guerilla tactics from that tribe.
Diplomacy is the only choice he has.
"Find someone to communicate with them and strike a deal."
"As you wish, Your Majesty."
....
Returning to his office at the government plaza, Gerald begins to announce the recruitment notice to all the cities within the Ryntum Kingdom.
As expected, no one showed up after a week after it had been posted. It is not until the end of April that someone shows up for the task.
Gerald looks at the woman in her late teens who is sitting in front of him. In his hand is a form filled with the young woman's information. Since the king pays great attention to this coal deposit, he personally involved in this interview. He needs to make sure the person he wants to recruit is a competent one.
The interviewee is probably eighteen or nineteen years old.
"Miss Audrey, where do you learn the Rogvor language?"
"My mother is a Rogvor but my father is a commoner who lives in Csorvar."
Gerald raises his eyebrows, "Isn't Rogvor hate the outsider?"
"Yea..., my mother ran away from home and followed my father." Audrey awkwardly replied. It is not an act that should be proud of in this era.
"I see." Gerald gives a short reply. Not that he cares about her family history.
"Since you're half-Rogvar, why do you still want to take this job? To my knowledge, Rogvar people frowned upon a half-breed like you."
"The payment is good," Audrey said bluntly. 10,000 Ros for one job is not a common payment you can get just anywhere.
Gerald chuckled, "Fair enough. That alone makes you trustworthy."
As a former merchant, Gerald doesn't believe it when people give him a selfless reason. There is no one who would do something for free. Everyone pursues benefits.
"Now to the main point, are you good at negotiating?"
"I grew up haggling with merchants to get the lowest price possible for raw ingredients for my father's bakery. I guess you can take it as negotiation skills."
"Coincidentally, I am a former merchant. Let us haggle over your payment. The final amount will be your payment. How about it?"
"Fine by me."
Gerald tests her haggling skills for nearly thirty minutes. The end result was her payment increase to 12,416 Ros.
"Miss Audrey, your haggling skills are commendable."
"Did I get the job?"
"Well...you're the only applicant for this job which means it's pretty much yours already. The job you're about to take requires you to negotiate with Rogvor people. Failure is not an option. Despite this, are you willing to take it?"
"Yes, Mr Gerald. Leave it to me."
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