The Martial Unity

Rui met his gaze with studying eyes.

The man had grown older since Rui last saw him and certainly since Rui first saw him.

Evidently, he had been unable to procure a longevity potion yet.

Rui had no doubt that that was one of the things that his father had offered him, yet he was able to resist the allure of living longer. It meant that his father’s analysis of the man treating his own company like it was his actual child was not too much of an exaggeration. He was willing to die much sooner if it meant protecting the foundation of the company that he had founded when he was still a young fledgling merchant entering the business.

He was more sentimental than he let on.

What caught his attention was his bodyguard.

It was her.

Sage Sariawar.

Rui needed to resist the urge to steal a glance at her even though he could perfectly study with his senses.

She didn’t so much as acknowledge him, as a bodyguard was supposed to not.

Yet, he couldn’t help but feel that her attention was fixed on him.

“Come, Prince Rui, let us have a seat,” Guilmaster Bradt drew his attention as he lightly gestured to the conference table in his spacious office. “I do look forward to speaking with you in your capacity as the representative of the Kandrian Empire. I am honored that the Kandrian Empire deems it fit to send a dignitary of your power and significance to our negotiations. It certainly does inspire confidence that the Kandrian Empire is truly sincere in its expressed desire to form an ally.”

Rui smiled as he sat down opposite the guildmaster. “Let us speak without restraint, guildmaster. I believe that you are a man who prefers to get down to business rather than beat around the bush.”

Guildmaster Bradt’s expression grew mildly amused. “I suppose that is true. I’m especially not eager to speak so formally and diplomatically to you, of all people.”

Rui smiled. “I feel the same way. Though, I’m still here as a representative of the Kandrian Empire rather than your personal acquaintance and former business partner. Both of us have come a long way since then.”

“I would say that statement is especially true for you, Your Highness,” Guildmaster Bradt remarked knowingly. “I have indeed come to some ways since then, but you have skyrocketed from a nameless Squire to the youngest Master in the history of Martial Art and the crown prince of the Kandrian Empire. You would have been Emperor if not for the fact that you were denied your destiny. To say that your growth trajectory is shocking is an understatement.”

Rui smiled. “Well, I appreciate your kind words. However, I didn’t come here to talk to you about the past. Instead…”

Rui leaned forward with a pointed look. “I came here to talk to you about the future.” Guildmaster Bradt simply stared at him knowingly. “You have come to offer me ports and seafaring to replace my land bases and land faring.”

“That is precisely the case, Guildmaster.”

“And just why would I accept it when I rejected the same offer from the Emperor himself?” Guildmaster raised an eyebrow. “Surely you did not think that coming here in person would get me to accept an offer that I had already rejected. I simply cannot afford to have the transportation foundation of my company under the control and within the territory of a single other nation. Even if it is the Kandrian Empire and its spotless reputation.”

Rui smiled. “Oh, rest assured, I am not here to parrot the exact same offer that you have already received. This time, we won’t be offering Kandrian territory. We’ll be selling the territory to you.”

Rui offered a folder to the man, who simply accepted it with interest in his eyes. Yet, the guildmaster didn’t even bother hiding his surprise at the offer that Rui had made him.

“…The Kandrian Empire is willing to part with its territory and sell off a piece of its coast to a foreign power?” Guildmaster’s eyes rose as his gaze returned to Rui.

Rui shrugged. “It solves the problem of having the territory under the control of the Kandrian Empire. This way, the territory is no longer under the control of the Kandrian Empire. It will be its own sovereign territory under the ownership of the Bradt Distribution Service.”

“…That is a deeper concession than I was anticipating.”

Rui smiled. “Think about it. Your company will have its own country as its base of operations. You can connect with all of the human civilization through the waters without having to pay tariffs or answer to other nations through which your distribution and transportation routes run. It will unshackle you from being constrained by considerations of these various nations.” Guildmaster Bradt would be lying if he said that he wasn’t deeply attracted to the idea. Having a separate coastal nation where he had a supermassive base of operations that connected him to the entire continent through the Great Nam Ocean was an extremely alluring idea that exceeded his expectations.

“According to our estimations, seafaring is able to easily compensate for everything that your land faring is able to,” Rui placed logistical maps of the Panama Continent on the table. “Of course, they are not identical, and you will have to make a few changes to your modus operandi. For example, bulk supplies and transportation are the most profitable for seafaring, and they aren’t able to replace short-distance transport. However, these shouldn’t be a problem for someone of your business acumen and experience.”

Guildmaster Bradt silently redirected his attention from the maps atop the table to Rui.

“Need I remind you that before you joined my faction in the Kandrian Throne War, you supported Princess Ranea, who is in charge of the naval and maritime development of the chunk of our coastal territory. You joined the Kandrian Throne War because you understand how extremely powerful seafaring can be in your line of business.”