Translator: Kazumi
Editor: Silavin
The discussion went on for a long time.
It was understandable.
Kennelsen, which had developed as the continent’s only major production area, had basically never been attacked.
The reason for this was simple: no other place on the continent had as much land available as Kennelsen.
However, the existence of the Amamiya Tower had come to the attention of many.
A comment from one of the Six Marquises who had visited the Amamiya Tower during the meeting said it all.
“If they develop that place in earnest, it will definitely surpass this place.”
Of course, he wasn’t just referring to the 5th Floor, where the town was located.
One of the Six Marquises, who professes that it was important to move first, was moving around the 5th Floor, inspecting it.
The 4th Floor may not be attractive to more skilled adventurers, but it was to the producers.
After all, monsters that were the natural enemy of humanity in more ways than one were not appearing.
All of these things were included in what they were discussing about.
Then, the discussion was divided into two main directions.
The first to discuss was overlooking the defection of individual producers and merchants from Kennelsen. Meanwhile, ideas of how to allow Kennelsen to continue on its own path without the defected.
The other was that Six Marquis and Kennelsen would become a part of the Amamiya Tower.
There was no suggestion of halting the defection and becoming completely hostile to Crown.
Kennelsen’s weapons were not its military power, but its manufactured goods.
The products themselves were made possible by the advantage of having a large area of land.
But Amamiya Tower had the same weapon.
Moreover, unlike Kennelsen, Amamiya Towers were vast enough to allow for the development of vast areas of land.
There was talk of expanding Kennelsen’s land as well, but it was not that easy.
The Six Marquises of the past have been trying to open up new areas of land for generations, but they have been hindered by monsters.
Kennelsen’s lands have not expanded in over fifty years.
The last time they were able to secure land, it was not as vast as they had hoped.
Still, it was a valuable piece of land for that time.
It would not be easy for the Six Marquises to go to Amamiya Tower and negotiate with Crown to let them use the open lands inside.
They didn’t think that Crown would be able to accept such an offer in the first place.
That was why they came up with a different suggestion.
Naturally, all six of them have pride as the Six Marquis, who have supported Kennelsen for so long.
However, the harsh reality was that it was difficult for Kennelsen to continue to develop further, and Amamiya Tower came about in the midst of all this.
For the Six Marquis, Amamiya Tower Floors were a place they wanted more than anything.
It would have been easy to enter if they could use their financial power, but unfortunately, that was not the case.
Those that manage the Tower knew about the information they had gathered. Naturally, these managers would of course know about the Six Marquis and their current conundrum. Therefore, there was no way they would accept their offer.
“…I think we’re out of ideas, right?”
Hewrick said as he closed the discussion.
Everyone looked at each other and nodded.
There had certainly been more than enough opinions expressed.
All that was left was to come to a conclusion.
But before they could, Hewrick closed his eyes and spoke up.
“…Can I have one last thing to say?”
Hewrick opened his eyes and saw that the rest were looking at him before continuing.
“I was thinking that maybe we should remember the original cause that brought us Six Marquis together in the first place.”
Hewrick chuckled to himself, not sure if he was making the right decision either.
All of them looked momentarily deflated by his words, and chuckled as well.
After that, they all had a look of determination on their faces.
“…Hm. Well, it seems like we all know what’s going on without having to ask for your opinions… In the meantime, let’s take a vote. Those are the rules, after all.”
Hewrick, the chairman, began to take a vote, but in the end, the decision was made after just one vote.
It was unanimously decided that each of the Six Marquises would become part of Crown.
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Schmidt, the head of Crown’s Commercial Division, was stunned for a while when Alec, his deputy, handed him the documents.
Seeing this, Alec also chuckled.
[I guess it is understandable.] Alec had been in a similar state a while back.
The document was from Kennelsen and was signed by all the Six Marquis.
It was a simple request for the Six Marquis to join Crown.
A short time later, Schmidt came back to life.
“…How do you feel about the possibility of this being a trap?”
With Schmidt’s statement in mind, Lord Felkia, who messed with Kosuke when he had summoned the three Goddesses.
Felkia originally belonged to Kennelsen.
However, Alec was not worried about that.
It was obvious that the Six Marquises were in a higher position than Lord Felkia.
If the need arose, he would be able to use Six Marquis’ position to expel them.
“No… I can’t say it’s likely, but probably not. If there is, it’s probably because they would want to take a bite out of us if we show an opening.”
That degree of vulnerability was always a possibility when running an organization.
Schmidt was of course aware of the fact that he was favored by Kosuke, but he does not make the mistake of thinking that his current position was secure because of it.
“…May I ask why?”
“That’s exactly what it says in that document. Wouldn’t that make more sense to you than to me, an outsider?”
Schmidt looked over the document again.
He had ignored it because it was written in a format that was used by the Six Marquis in their documents, which made it look more like a formula.
Each of the letters stated the reason for joining the group, and all of them included the phrase ‘in accordance with our principles’.
Normally, such words would be simply judged as decoration, but when Kennelsen’s Six Marquis wrote it, it became a different story.
If one was a merchant in the Central Continent, they would have probably heard of Kennelsen’s Six Marquis.
In a way, it could be said that the philosophy used by the Six Marquis was also used by every merchant in the Central Continent, and that philosophy was also the reason why all the Six Marquises wanted to join Crown.
There was only one reason why all the Six Marquises wanted to join Crown, that is they could provide food for the entire continent.
Unfortunately, that goal was not currently being fulfilled, but the Six Marquis, with its long history, had not yet abandoned it.
In fact, Schmidt shuddered at the thought that it was for this reason that they had made this decision.
“…It’s outrageous.”
“Yeah. I had some tricks up my sleeve, but I didn’t expect it to work out like this. Or rather, it worked too well. We underestimated their principles too much.”
“I agree with you, sir. I thought it was just a philosophy, a goal… A long-standing obsession, perhaps?”
“If we use the Tower well, their dream will most likely become a reality.”
“…Yes.”
“But… Do you think the people of the four continents will be able to rest easy now?”
The four continents around the Central Continent still had a certain amount of influence, as they held the life-critical commodity, food.
But when it came to improving it, the other countries weren’t necessarily going to sit back and watch.
“That’s exactly why it depends on the development capabilities of the Six Marquis and the others, right?”
It was unlikely that they would be able to increase production to the point of immediately disrupting the current import balance.
However, it may become possible in the future.
“…I don’t know. I guess we shouldn’t get too far ahead of ourselves.”
“I guess so.”
Alec and Schmidt looked at each other and chuckled.
“Besides, I’m too heavy-handed on this one alone. It would be best to get confirmation from Master Wahid immediately. Depending on the case, we may need Kousuke-sama’s approval as well…”
“Oh, I suppose so.”
That was how important Six Marquis’ joining Crown could be.
No matter how they look at it, this was not something that Schmidt could decide on his own.
In addition, since it involves land, Alec’s administrative field would also be involved.
It was obvious that a decision from the top would be necessary.
In the end, the discussion went beyond Wahid and went all the way to Kosuke.
After listening to everyone’s opinions, Kosuke decided to give his approval, and within a few days, the official announcement of Six Marquis’ affiliation with the Tower was made.
Within a few days, it was officially announced that Six Marquis would be joining the Tower, which meant that Kennelsen would effectively be joining the Tower, and the impact of this move would spread throughout the continent.