(A few hours later)
"Luminous and Hinata, how have ya'll been? I can guess why you're both here. We should get straight into it and not waste time."
Artoria led Luminous and Hinata to the capitol building after they used a teleportation array for a meeting. No words needed to be spoken, since they all knew what they were here for.
As they walked through the city, Hinata noticed the construction of a train station and the tracks being laid on the ground. "You're actually making a train?"
"Yeah, what else does it look like? I thought you knew already."
"Seeing it in person gives a different kind of scale."
"It's going to be a cargo train. Passenger rail will be built later, since cargo trains make so much money."
"We should get one connected as well."
"Funny you say that, 'cause I was going to bring that up in our talks. But if we wanted a connection, I think you two know what's in the way."
"The civil war in Ingrassia." Luminous cut in as they walked. These talks could take a few hours at best, or a few days at worst.
"That's right, Luminous. We'll need to discuss our involvement in this. Especially if you want the cargo trains to run smoothly without interference. Which means, we'll both need to take the same side."
(In the meeting room)
"Alright, so we know it's North and South. As for me, I'm going to support the North. It's a lot easier than the South, since they have more support in the court of public opinion; people sympathize with them more."
"Why not the South?" Luminous asked.
"It's simple. They're the 'bad guys' in this, but it's more about the big picture. After the war, the North will be better, well, easier to support, since, again, they have the most sympathy from people. I'm basically saying that if we support the South, we won't be seen in a good light compared to if we support the North. It's really all about image and money."
"Okay, and what about us?" Luminous asked.
"What about y'all? There's no image problem for you. There are very few people who know you're a demon lord, and even if they knew, it'd still look good. If we cooperated, it'd show that we can reconcile our differences, are open-minded, and don't hold grudges. It'd probably be even better for you, since it shows that demon lords are not completely evil. Well, there will be those people who'd think you'd have some kind of ulterior motive, which you would, but everyone would think they're crazy."
"That's…kind of…manipulative." Hinata chimed in, hearing what Artoria was saying.
Arotoria shrugged her shoulders. "It is what it is."
"And those trains? I know of the construction you're doing with Dwargon and the rest of your empire, but why would we need it? I can tell at a glance that building something like that is very expensive. Those returns should be justified," Luminous said.
Hinata quickly spoke to Luminous, knowing how effective and efficient trains could be. "Wait, Lady Luminous, you should agree to make a connection. I don't know the full details behind it, but those cargo trains make a lot of money."
"It's something form your world?"
"Yes. I don't know much, but I know cargo trains are a logistical must-have."
Artoria pulled out the same paper that Vesta and Kaijin showed her the first time about the estimated revenue that the empire would make from a result of cargo trains between Tempest and Dwargon. "Ladies, look at this."
She set it on the table. Luminous and Hinata took at it, and their eyes widened seeing the numbers. "And that's a very conservative estimate with arbitrary constraints and reductions." Artoria added, making the proposal even sweeter.
Luminous and Hinata looked up from the paper and at Artoria. "You're sure about these numbers?" Luminous asked.
"I had the calculations run over and over again, and the same number appears, give or take a few more, but again, the possible constraints are arbitrary."
Luminous and Hinata looked at each other. Nothing was said, but an agreement was made to get a train network between their countries. It was a quick agreement from Luminous.
"Okay, we'll do it."
"Fantastic. Now, before we discuss the train agreement, we'll need to discuss the level of support we'll send to the North. Now, I'm telling you both that we're not sending any direct military involvement. And by 'we', I mean Tempest. On my part, I'm going to send money in the form of loans, as well as supplies, like food, water, weapons, and more. Of course, I don't mean any spies or intelligence officers as part of that. Let's be honest, we both have intelligence gathering going on right now in that civil war."
"Yeah, you're not wrong there. So, that's the plan on the part of Temepest? That's not that bad. Your land has the abundance, even more now after your war with the Eastern Empire, to offer that kind of help," Luminous said, thinking of what she could offer.
"Lady Luminous, if Tempest is offering that kind of support, we could do a more militaristic approach," Hinata advised Luminous.
Artoria was quick to interrupt Hinata. "Be careful of that one, Hinata."
"What do you mean?"
"If you're going to offer some kind of militaristic support, keep it minimal. I'm talking about military advisors, people who can train and equip the soldiers. That's about as much as you should go for in terms of sending in military personnel. The game here is support, not fighting for them."
"Hmm, we'll take that into consideration. We'll also supply the North like you do, and we'll also do limited military intervention. So, about the trains. How will you handle the new country and the permission to build across it?" Luminous asked.
"Simple, that's where the money comes in. We'll let them take loans, with interest, so they can fight the war. Here's the thing: we'll loan them so much that they won't be able to pay back the debt in normal payments of gold coins or stellar gold coins. In that situation, we can ask them to pay in the form of their land, in this case, getting the rights to build a train network through their country. This is going to be a three-way negotiation, but we can discuss things between us for now."
Luminous and Hinata were both a little stunned at how easily she suggested such an idea. Perhaps it was a bit on the darker side, but they also saw the form of financial power. Hinata understood more, but Luminous not as much, considering that, as a demon lord, she saw power in the form of strength with magic, skills, and more.
"That…hmm…you sound more evil than a demon lord." Lumionus had to scoff at the idea, but it was a good one. "Let's do it."
"Gladly. So, about the trains. I'm more than willing to handle all the construction of building the network. My workers will have the experience of making a train network, so it'll be much faster than it is now with Dwargon. Now, you can provide materials for the construction, and we'll also do the same. But we both know that the main negotiation will be profit and ownership."
"Hinata, you're more familiar with this technology from your world." Luminous sought Hinata's advice, since she was more familiar with new technology.
"Yes, but these are cargo trains, not passenger trains, and even then, not the ones I'd be used to."
Artoria felt good. She knew Hinata would be more experienced in trains, but cargo trains are different from passenger trains, and the ones she knew were bullet trains, high-speed rail. Artoria was only concerned with having full ownership of the railroad; she would be fine with taking a significantly smaller split of profit between them.
"Listen, we have some time. Let's negotiate later today after a meal, shall we? We can go the restaurant I own."
Hinata looked away, trying to hide a blush, remembering what happened the last time she went there. Luminous, on the other hand, was more than happy to go, also remembering what happened the last time she went there.
"Of course! Let's go, Hinata. That restaurant is a place of magic."
Artoria knew exactly what she was doing.