However, Rienna voiced her objection.
“I don’t think that…”
And then Baris added,
“A negotiator is just a representative. Having them under our control won’t mean much. If Sanfaris cannot defend their advantageous position, they will just send someone else. However, Emperor Heal is thinking to destroy Sanfaris, perhaps we can send spies and…”
“I don’t think that will be necessary…”
That was a worst case scenario.
And who knew what we would be forced to do in the future.
When Erevan learned that Aries could control people with poison, he turned to Fule.
“Fule… I didn’t realize you were capable of such gruesome thoughts…”
“You’re one to talk, father. Besides, it would be one way to avoid fighting, wouldn’t it? Do you have any better ideas?”
“No-no…I don’t…”
Like Erevan, we were all troubled over this.
Just then, Leila opened her mouth next to me.
“Gold, poison, bribery… To be honest, I do not believe that the people of Sanfaris will bend or compromise with such strategies.”
“Ah? If you’re so sure, what brilliant ideas do you have?”
Erevan demanded. And so Leila turned to the others.
“You do realize that they hate monsters so much, that they wouldn’t even consider using them as slaves? Do you think money will change anything? No, the moment they see this island, their swords will swing.”
“As if we don’t know that more than anyone. We’ve fought them. I’m asking for a solution.”
“Be patient. These people. They believe that all humans hate monsters.”
“Yes…and?”
“And so we will crush that assumption. We will shake the foundation that they stand on.”
“Uh…in other words… What do you mean?”
Erevan tilted his head to the side as Leila continued.
“What if there were more humans on this island? If those who supported Heal came here and lived together with the monsters… They would think it was a recipe for disaster, wouldn’t they?”
If other humans came here and coexisted with the monsters… Yes, they wouldn’t like that at all.
However…
I turned to Leila.
“I doubt there is a single person in Sanfaris who supports me. And even if we were to accept people from other countries, it will take a long time…”
“Yes. And so there is no reason to actually bring people here.”
“…Just appearances then. It will look like there are more humans here?”
“Yes. In the places that visitors are not allowed to go, you can build human houses in the Sanfaris style. Judging by what I’ve seen here, you should have no problem doing that.”
Leila scanned the island as she continued.
“Then you can just scatter those that are close to humans or the humans from my ship. It will give the illusion that there are some living here. Well…maybe not the one that is half naked.”
Leila muttered as she saw Mappa dancing in front of her crew.
Mappa…was that his way of greeting people?
As they had come this far with Leila, they must agree with her way of thinking. However, they were looking at Mappa’s dance with bewildered expressions.
“…As a plan, it’s definitely worth trying. While the royal navy will tighten security, they have yet to actually come here. So no one will be inconvenienced. Besides…”
I took out a bottle that contained golden liquid.
This was the Ryukin I had received from Shiel.
“Ryukin… It’s a metal that can be shaped into anything. I will be able to make golems that look very similar to humans.”
“Huh. What an incredible metal.”
Leila said with a surprisingly cool voice.
They accepted it rather easily…
Well, perhaps that was bound to happen once you saw the World Tree.
“Yes… And there is apparently a lot more in the underground storages. And we’ll be heading there anyway in order to repair the machine…”
And if we were able to do that, Shiel and the others will be able to return to their human forms.
“Alright… Shiel, can I use it?”
Shiel nodded.
“Thank you. I really do belong underground after all…”
And like that, we decided to go with Leila’s plan and bring more ‘humans’ in.