"I... Pardon?"

The dignified expression on Argrand's face slowly faded away as his confident smile turned into a shocked frown. His hand, stretched in front of his chest and at the ready to start convulsing into the gestures of an eloquent noble, suddenly twitched and stayed frozen.

Thom and Suu shook their heads as if they were disappointed in the slow brain of the baron, sighing as they looked at the four knights in the room who had already readied their weapons just in case.

"You seem to not have understood the point yet, Argrand." Thom sneered.

"You're not in the position of highest authority here." Suu followed.

"... Excuse me, but I do not think I deserve being treated like this, in any case." The baron lightly coughed and regained his former confident smile. "Your request for an audience has been accepted and I, in my magnanimity, have even asked my butler to accompany you two into my private quarters. Have I done something to offend you?" He laced his fingers as he asked them.

"It is not that you have done something to offend us, but that your behavior as a ruler has been quite neglectful, full of mistakes that a citizen of this glorious country should not be in the obligation to submit to." Thom spoke and looked at Suu.

"We are aware of the situation in which your country has found itself and we do agree that the Kuulkiam crown has given the nobles a hard time with their tactics. However, we are not especially fond of how you have been acting in retaliation." Suu nodded as she looked at Thom as well.

"You mean... What exactly?" The baron smiled. As soon as he did so, the four knights took one step closer to the desk, holding their weapons at an even lower angle.

"We mean, we find it unacceptable that you, a citizen of Kulkus and one of it's most privileged figures, is partaking in an action so unbearable as it is slavery!" Thom frowned deeply. Although they were putting up an act, his intentions must have come across as completely genuine, since the rage he was feeling inside of him was just as true.

"Oho... So this is what you paid forty gold coins to speak about? Such topics are not something that I wish to discuss with people that do not understand the commercial value of gold, much less of workforce." The baron shrugged. "Knights, please kick these imbeciles out."

"Yes!"

However, before the knights could come any closer to apprehend Thom and Suu, the black-haired girl raised her hand in a stop-sign in front of Argrand, a convinced gleam shining in her dark eyes.

"Halt. We are not here to prosecute you."

"Hm?" At Argrand's confused expression, Thom nodded as if agreeing with Suu.

"What my sister is trying to say is, we are condemning your actions, but we do not wish for a disagreement to turn into a fight. We are the prince and princess of a kingdom that has met its downfall, and we do not wish to engage in violent dispute if this is not necessary. Surely, you understand us."

"I see... I did not possess such information. But now that I think about it, it would not be possible for a pair of filthy commoners to pay that much to see me. What is your business in my humble abode, then, your majesties?" Argrand smiled with a dark gleam, lowering his hand towards the knights as if telling them to calm down. The plated men raised their halberds again and resumed a neutral stance.

Thom had internally flinched several times at the expressions that Argrand used, but did not let it show in his face or hands.

"Baron Argrand, we are here because we want to discuss a peaceful solution, and we want it to be put into execution as fast as the situation allows." Thom finally unfolded his arms, showing a more open and friendly image to the baron.

"I'm listening..."

"As the rulers of a country, we are aware of how it is to reign over people and how tempting power is. Your slave routes could bring wealth to many, but they ultimately contribute to the feeding of the class war." Thom stated while very sure of himself, using the best vocabulary he could without sounding too pedantic. Suu followed his words.

"With this said, we do want to stop the current slave trade going on in your land."

"And how do you think you will do that? No one will believe a pair of foreigners spreading improbable rumors around, much less if they're rumors of someone of a higher order." Argrand shook his head.

"I hate to repeat myself, Argrand, but we do not wish to provoke feud in any way." Thom leaned forward and placed his hands on the desk. "We are willing to do a trade instead of war. Believe me, nothing good would come out of trying to face a noble of another country, and much less add fire to a civil war."

At this point, Thom had lost track of what he was talking about. Although he kept a very knowledgeable face and did not flaunter in his speech, his mind was a carnival where the clown kept reading the cheat signs someone at the public was holding, and the holder of said sign was the few political chatters he had heard while walking around the cafeteria.

In other words, it wasn't that Thom was particularly good at political affairs—actually, the few books he had read about politics during his adolescence could hardly be called useful— it was just that he was an expert replicating things he had heard somewhere else, to convince people of things he didn't know himself.

If Argrand asked him about anything punctual, he would have already dug a well too deep to get out of it.

"Yes. I agree with that statement." Argrand nodded. Suu moved forward as well.

"Then, you must understand what I mean if I say that commerce moves the world, and as such, it should be commerce which dictates what will happen with the people you are trading as slaves."

Argrand immediately seemed to figure out what was happening and closed his eyes. He seemed to have been lost in thought for a second, but then ended up shaking his head in a pretty condescending manner.

"Boys, I appreciate goodwill and morals, but this is not the table where you should be placing offers that you cannot meet. Do you know how much more gold I make like this? I do not think you could match it up, even if you worked your whole life."

As soon as Argrand ended his sentence, a gleam shone in Thom and Suu's eyes. They hid their smiles under sighs as they retreated back and crossed their arms again, fully synchronized as if the whole act was a pre-written script.

"How much are they paying you?" Suu started.

"One gold? Two gold per head?" Thom followed, and passed the word to Thom again.

"Or are you giving a special discount to your buyer so you sell them at group-price instead of per-head price?"

"Who is your buyer? Although I would rather think it is another species, I would not be stranged if some other noble thinks commoners are their play toys."

"Do you think it is fine to do this? Do you enjoy it? Would you give it up if we handed you something better, or is this just for money?"

"I wonder if you have children... What would your children think of this, hmm?"

"They would probably cry while screaming 'Daddy! Daddy! Why are you selling people? Is it so you can buy that other woman gifts instead of mom?' or something like that, right, brother?"

"Hm, hm. Definitely, definitely."

"..."

At the barrage of questions from the two black-haired royals, the baron started to get incredibly displeased. Irritation started to surface in his face and his cheeks started to turn red, his hand tightly gripped on his other wrist. The knights were already getting ready to slay the pair at the baron's notice, but he slowly swallowed his anger and forced a ridiculously fake smile.

"Prince, princess, I don't think this conversation has any more room in my castle. I have plenty of business to occupy myself with, so, if you wish to keep going about your lives, please step aside and-"

"Five golds per head."

Slam!

Thom placed five gold coins on the table, and Argrand's eyes turned visible rounder. When Thom retired his hand, the baron closely inspected the coins and found out they were, without a doubt, unmarked gold coins.

"Five gold per head... you say? Do you have any idea of what you're saying, kid?" The baron stopped hiding his disgusting face, showing a wretched expression that was only shy of spitting at Thom's face.

"Yes." Thom resolutely nodded. "I will buy each and every slave that you send out, and they will be handed over to me and my sister. Besides that, I will also buy a plot of small land from your fief, since I understand it is quite the sizeable amount of space you own for a baron. This would make me into a Lord, would it not?"

"Hehe, the balls on this kid!" Argrand laughed out loud and the knights lowly giggled to reinforce the sentiment of mockery. "Do you think you can really amass that much money after what you've spent today already? Make yourself a favor and go home before I finish you and what's left of your kingdom!"

"Hmph." Suu sneered. "Argrand, you are really pathetic for a baron."

"What did you just say?!" The man slammed down on the desk, making the empty ink containers crash down to the pelted ground. The knights pointed their halberds at the prince and princess once more, but they simply shrugged it off.

"The dark elves, are you selling to them?"

"How did you..."

"The route of the carriages." Suu made a lie in the spot. After all, she had simply brought up a possibility that Miel had guessed in a meeting. "It was a simple guess. Which means you also had to pass through the border. How much of the money you make is actually spent bribing the marquis that owns that piece of land, hmm?"

The baron seemed to be struck by too much of a sudden accusation, as he was visibly taken aback by their verbal assault. He was about to retort, when Thom interrupted him and did not stutter this time.

"I am being merciful with you, foolish baron!" Thom declared at the top of his lungs, rage filling his gaze below his deep and dark frown. "I will cooperate to save your neck, so cut your nonsense! We will not only keep our mouths quiet to the king of Kulkus about this matter, but will also hand you monetary compensation in the process! Do you understand what kind of deal you would be missing on?"

"It..." Argrand started to sweat as he thought carefully about his words. "It doesn't matter what you think you can give me, boy. If I give the order, you and your sister are dead and your mouths shut tight!"

"But you won't." Suu smiled.

"Hm?"

"Baron, the reason why you have not killed us yet is that the deal we are making does sound quite appealing for you, doesn't it? You would make more gold, and not only that, you would not have to reduce your prices because of the dark elve's threats, forget about having to pay tribute to the marquis, transportation would not cost you a silver because we'd be in this fief-" Thom took a break to breathe, and Suu continued the ramble.

"Not only that, but you also would not be in the constant uncertainty of being attacked by the dark elves or having relations cut off, so business with us is even more stable. You would not need to give explanations to any other nobles, as you're simply reallocating people in your fief, and you would still obtain the benefit of acquiring back the land that was bought from you."

"But..." The baron's expression visibly crumpled at the temptations that Thom and Suu kept putting on his desk, up until the point that sweat started to drench his fancy white clothes. The knights seemed to have been put in quite an uncomfortable situation as well.

Thom sensed it was the perfect opportunity to sweeten the deal even more. A smile formed on his lips as he went for his bag, and pulled from the inside several papers and scrolls. He placed them on the table with a light tap.

"Besides that, we'll also hand you the papers of ownership to the adventurer's guild. These are only obtained after approval of an international council or by the legacy of the current guild master, no?"

Argrand seemed to dismay.

"Con... control of a neutral society like the adventurer's guild would certainly come in handy..."

The baron swallowed dry. Thom and Suu knew they had struck the right cord.

"You should take into account that the extra gold we're giving you could serve the purpose of keeping to bribe the marquis so he won't spill a word to the king. That wouldn't be of any convenience, would it now?"

"No... no, of course not." The baron bit his lower lip and shook his head. "But we're getting ahead of ourselves. I need to prove you can give me what you've promised."

"Fine." Thom nodded. "How many slaves did you plan to sale this week?"

The baron looked around for a second rather uncomfortable at the question, but ended up sighing and revealing the answer. "Fifteen." he said.

"Very well. That's five times fifteen, so seventy-five gold."

clink clink clink

Thom started to quickly pull coin after coin and place it on the desk, making seven bundles of ten gold coins and one of five. The baron audibly gulped as he saw the coins being placed down, and the knights behind them did the same. Just how much wealth could someone have to spend 125 gold in a day as if it was pocket-money? That was what they thought, without knowing Thom had spent another 250 that day, to begin with.

When they were done with the counting, the baron smiled and tossed the money inside his chest. He nicely locked it up, sat back down with a much more refreshed smile, and even chuckled slightly.

"It seems we will understand each other nicely." The baron said.

Feeling the sharp gazes on his neck, Thom immediately felt an ominous aura spread through the room. It was something that could happen from the start, so he was prepared. It was obvious, without taking a second glance, that the people in the room wanted to kill them and snatch their belongings without actually completing the transaction.

Because of that, he couldn't give them all he had.

"Very well." He smiled. "I have a bit more gold with me, but the rest is back at the place where we are staying. I'm sorry to say we will not be able to pay in full for today."

"Oh, that is... quite a pity, yes." Argrand muttered as if trying to sound reasonable. However, the disappointment was clear in his voice.

"Then, I would like to go about the obtention of the land as soon as possible. I want all the slaves to be sent there, and once I can, I will pay upfront for several weeks' worth of trade. For now, you must understand that I can only pay an advancement of the land I will be given."

"Yes, yes. Of course." Argrand nodded his head, inwardly unconvinced of such course of action. "Let's see... I guess handing over Seashore is not really a pain in my heart. Heh, for such a weary village... That would probably be ten thousand gold. And hey, I'm being generous."

"Eh? Seashore..."

Suu's ears perked at the sound of one of the knights very lightly whispering those words. She focused on the man's aura and magic emission, going silent for several minutes as she analyzed even the littlest detail about the knight's presence.

"I see. Then, surely it would not bother you if we started to sign a contract with your magic print included before I hand over the money, correct? Preferably, under oath of the king and mother Feriphia." Thom remembered one of the things he had talked about with Piston that night, about how the snatching of the land was done through contracts that carried a gist of the signer's aura, so they could be upheld in a court without a doubt.

The baron seemed to have clicked his tongue in annoyance at that petition, but Thom and Suu acted as if they had not noticed. The man grabbed several papers from his sides and dipped his quill in ink, starting to write a detailed contract with expert penmanship, until he had written about three pages in just fifteen minutes.

Thom and Suu took even longer than that to read it. But by the time they both had finished, they agreed on the fact that it was an acceptable contract.

Both parties signed the contract without issue. Thom injected his aura into the pen as a replacement for magical energy, while Suu did not have any problem with doing as the contract was originally meant to be signed. The last one to sign was Argrand, and the case was closed.

"Very well. I shall pay 10% of it in advancement."

"What?!"

Everyone in the room was visibly shocked as Thom pulled a thousand gold from his bag and dropped it on the desk, managing to make it pile up on the floor, and even inside the ink containers as if it was just trash that he could get rid of in any way he wanted to.

He stood up and Suu did the same. They bowed slightly in front of the shocked and dazed Argrand, retiring with the contract in hand. The baron seemed to have been trying to say something but quickly stopped as he saw their dignified faces going out of the room.

When the doors of the office were shut down, Argrand simply stood up and ruffled his hair in disbelief.

"Shit... This is either quite literally a gold mine or a disaster waiting to happen. I won't lie, I'm eager to find out." He viciously smiled as he amassed all the coins, throwing them at his feet and under his desk.

On the side, a rather worried knight was looking at him with disgusted eyes.

"Puff."

Thom and Suu were ushered outside by the butler, who bowed in front of them before waving goodbye and closing the gates to the castle. The silence came back as they looked behind and saw the high district of the city, which was rather desolate. And then, when they saw they were alone, they let a long and heavy sigh escape out of their mouths.

"Shit, dude, you killed it!" Suu punched Thom in the shoulder.

"What the hell are you talking about, you were awesome!" Thom smacked her chest with a smile. "That dumbass actually believed we were royalty and he swallowed all our story! We even got a fucking village in the middle of that mess! I had no idea of what the hell we were saying half the time!"

"Hahahaha! It seems like things are starting to set off for Lord Thom, aren't they?!"

"D-Don't say that out loud, it's embarrassing, you know?" Thom whispered at the girl who kept laughing, lowering his head in shame. "But... I did not expect it to go so well. Our speech skills and our gold must have played a good part."

"This might be the greatest lie we've pulled! Not even making that noblewoman back at home give us her golden necklace was this fun!"

"I thought my heart was going to explode..." Thom sighed.

"Well, it doesn't matter. I actually got some more information." The girl pulled her supposed older brother by the neck and got him closer to herself. "It seems one of the knights of Argrand is related to someone or something back at that Seashore village. Do you know what that means?"

"Oh..."

A villainous smile appeared on both their faces. Their giggles interrupted their talk for a second, until Thom finally spoke up.

"So the assassination of Argrand is still on the board, hm?"

"Hmph." She sneered. "Let's make it fun this time."