Claire's breath came out in a slow, trembling exhale. The mana that had been flaring from her a moment ago loosened under Ilea's hand, condensing back into her chest.
"Easy." Ludwig muttered as he forced his knees to stop trembling, straightened his back, and inhaled once through his nose. His new stats held firm, but the raw weight of Ilea's presence was still a reminder.
Claire stayed where she was for a few heartbeats, one of her hands braced flat against the floorboards as if she needed to confirm they were still solid. When she finally pushed herself upright, her eyes were clearer, not warm, not yet, but no longer on the verge of burning holes through the walls.
Her eyes roamed. She didn't look at the Hokage, nor at him. She looked at the Restaurant.
In those eyes, Ludwig could see it. The cold calculation shelved every information for her to use later.
He had seen it before. Not in Ortus. It was right here, in this very restaurant. But the one who had that kind of look was a slime that couldn't be serious even if it killed him.
That slime always looked dumbed whenever his Great Sage told him the answer he sought. But In Claire, it looked terrifying. Not the mana, not the pressure. It just felt pricking, as if he had been dissected and studied for the betterment of the world.
"You done?" Ilea asked, hand lifting from Claire's shoulder only when she felt resistance again.
"I am." Claire let out a long hot breath. But then her eyes whipped towards the Hokage.
Ludwig pretended not to see it. No smile appeared on his face, like people seeing their friends waking up again for a day nap. Instead, he walked at her and handed a glass of whiskey instead before isolating the space around them.
It was by no means a barrier to stop an attack. But it was enough to keep Claire's next words from becoming a public execution.
Her fingers wrapped the glass automatically. She didn't drink. The ice clinked once, sharp in the pocket of quiet.
"But that doesn't mean I will not ask why there's a Hokage sitting here after you were attacked by them."
Ludwig held her gaze for a beat, then angled his body so he blocked her line of sight. Not enough to insult her, just enough to slow her.
"You're not wrong to ask." He answered calmly. A deliberate choice. Currently, he was not talking to Claire who sat in his restaurant just as a customer and friend. But as a friend who was also gifted in politics.
Her eyes flicked up to him. "Then answer."
Ludwig exhaled slowly, letting his thoughts line up in the way they did when he was choosing between a blade and a kitchen knife.
"Ilea stopped the raid we already see happening." He said. "She made them withdraw. Hiruzen stayed because she demanded collateral."
Claire's brow tightened. "Collateral."
"Yes." Ludwig said. "Not a hostage and of course not leverage for an invasion. Just collateral for a conversation."
Claire's grip on the glass tightened. The whiskey trembled, not from her hand shaking, but from the pressure she was forcing down into herself.
"A conversation." She echoed, and there was something razor-thin in the way she said it. "After they tried to take your staffs. Never thought you are that soft-hearted to the enemy."
Ludwig put both of his hands onto his face and rubbed it. That was true, he didn't want to be this soft either. However, this is the first transgression on his restaurant, a place he opened after he decided he wanted no more blood in his hands. That seemingly light reason was enough for him to forgive.
Moreover, killing Hiruzen Sarutobi here wouldn't make the situation better. It would only make more and more Konoha shinobis attacking the restaurant. Kushina too will be shackled. Essentially Konoha would become their enemy.
That was the change he didn't want to make.
But…
It would be the last time.
Next time anyone walked through that door and ravaged his restaurant when he's not there, he would come to him and beat the shit out of them.
"This will be the first time and the last." Ludwig said in a steady tone. "The next troublemaker walking here will be beaten until they realise the wrong they have done."
Claire's gaze sharpened, and Ludwig saw the calculation click again.
"Good." She nodded. "Then, have you negotiated with him?"
"I have." Ludwig answered.
Claire's eyes narrowed. Not anger yet. A controlled displeasure that had more weight than shouting.
"You negotiated without me." She said.
"I negotiated so you wouldn't walk in half-awake and turn this into a grudge that lasts a decade." Ludwig said flatly.
For a heartbeat, the pocket of space felt colder. Then Claire's mouth curved barely. A sign that she understood the insult and accepted its usefulness.
"You're implying I would overreact." She said.
Before Ludwig could answer, Ilea chimed in with a chuckle.
"You did."
Claire's stare sharpened. "Say that again."
"Gladly." Ilea said. "You overreact. Hard. I, of all people, had to physically remind you that diplomacy exists."
Claire's jaw tightened.
Ilea shrugged. "Hey, it's fine. If you want to set the restaurant on fire, do it after we finish the paperwork."
Even though Claire looked angry Ludwig couldn't help but chuckle. A semblance of normalcy had crept into this tight pocket space that no one could hear what was spoken inside.
Visibly pushing her anger down, Claire finally opened her mouth. "I want the terms."
With a nod Ludwig explained everything.
"First and foremost, regarding Kushina." Ludwig started as Claire's eyes became sharp once again. "The Hokage wanted us to not tamper with the seal that snared the fox inside her. No coercion too. Most importantly, not preventing her from fighting for Konoha if she chooses. In exchange, Konoha wouldn't punish her for leaving. No prison, exile, or 'protective custody.'"
Claire scoffed. "They have to put that on the terms? That's basic treatment for someone they called their biggest asset. Look at Ilea. Ravenhall treats her well. No one or nothing shall chain her down there, or even in the whole Elos."
"True." Ilea said casually.
Ludwig chuckled dryly at the anger hidden beneath Claire's words. In truth, that matter was the main reason why Claire hated Hiruzen so much.
Two biggest assets in their respective world. Yet, two different treatments. One was being let to roam freely while the country was ready to whatever weird thing she would bring upon her return, while one was chained inside their village with few she could call friends.
And when those chained assets finally gained people she could call real friends, the village intervened. Trying to paint them as an influence that could derail the heart of the assets.
All in all, bullshitery.
"Regarding Danzo and everyone under him." Ludwig continued. "They need to stay away from her. And for this place. ROOT will treat Checkpoint and all patrons as no-go territory. No spying. No snatching. No 'testing.' If he violates it, I will respond to Konoha as a whole."
A thin line formed at the corner of Claire's mouth. It seemed like that part pleased her. But then, she added. "We. We will respond."
"The Checkpoint will be treated as what it is, a neutral ground." Ludwig said. "No conscription. No dragging people out in chains. If someone attacks shinobi inside, we defend them like anyone else. But Konoha couldn't use that as cover to grab staff or stage raids."
Claire finally lowered her gaze to the whiskey. Though, she still didn't drink it.
"And… The Potions? Their main goal, isn't it?" She asked.
Ludwig nodded a few times before answering. "I suspect so. When I arrived, he looked too composed for someone who was captured."
Claire moved her eyes to Ilea. "Did he surrender quickly?"
Ilea shrugged. "Not really. He only surrendered after I pushed because he told his followers to stop aiming to disable and go straight for the kill."
One of Claire's brows went up at that statement. "I assume you didn't fight like your usual?"
Ilea chuckled before taking the whiskey glass from Claire's hand and chugged it down. "Of course not. This place wouldn't hold."
The restaurant hummed in Ludwig's mind at that moment. Like it didn't agree with Ilea's assessment. But in the same hum, he also felt it was not entirely sure itself. It was like a kid who threw a tantrum in front of topics they didn't really know.
"The restaurant didn't really agree with you, Ilea." Ludwig voiced it.
Tilting her head to the side, she grinned. "Really? Look around, Restaurant. That happened without me unleashing my power."
Even though the Restaurant hummed again in his head, louder this time, Ludwig didn't voice it. Instead, he just looked at Claire. "Should I continue?"
"Yes. I can draw enough from what you guys said earlier. " Claire answered. Her eyes were eerily calm. Calculation of facts snapping into place.
"I give them a limited trade of potions." Ludwig continued. "Normal stuff stock only. Basic healing, common antidotes, stamina restoratives. No advanced regeneration. No limb regrowth. No torture-enabling supplies. Distribution through hospitals and licensed medics. No ROOT hands. Accountability for every bottle. Reports and audits. If a bottle goes missing, trade pauses until it's retrieved and disclosed.
"However… I also told them if they really need the best stuff our world could offer, the treatment will be done here. In case of an emergency, like battlefield emergency, I will personally send it there. Of course, they should vouch that it was not a trap. If it's a trap, we respond to Konoha as a whole."
Claire was quiet for a long moment after Ludwig finished. Not the kind of quiet that meant she was holding her temper. The kind that meant she was counting.
Her gaze drifted away from Ludwig, unfocused again, pupils contracting and dilating in a slow rhythm that made the hairs on the back of his neck rise. He recognized it now. She wasn't seeing through mana perception nor through her eyes to scan around.
She was doing something inside her own mind.
When she spoke again, her voice was calm enough to be frightening.
"You gave them too much trust in the gaps." She said flatly.
Ludwig didn't bristle. He'd already felt it coming. "Where?"
Claire lifted her eyes to him, sharp and precise.
"You positioned yourself as the final arbiter, which works as long as you are present, rested, and willing to personally intervene every time something goes wrong."
Ilea clicked her tongue at the explanation. "That sounds like a problem."
"It's indeed a problem." Claire agreed. "After all, it's human nature to optimize around exhaustion."
She then raised a finger.
"They will not lie to you directly. They will delay. They will reframe. They will classify losses as battlefield chaos. They will submit reports that are technically complete but strategically useless."
Ludwig frowned. "I told them any missing bottles meant pausing trade."
"And who verifies when a bottle is missing?" Claire asked immediately.
The question hit Ludwig harder than he expected. He opened his mouth in order to retort. But a second later he closed it
Thankfully, Claire didn't gloat and just continued. "You are assuming transparency survives pressure. You are wrong. You need witnesses who aren't invested in the outcome."
Ilea hummed after hearing her explanation. Claire's gaze briefly flicked to her, then back to Ludwig.
"But don't worry." Claire's tone eased a bit. "It's salvageable."
"It is?" Ludwig asked.
"You already created a solution without naming it."
Ludwig blinked. "I did?"
"Yes." Claire gestured vaguely toward Ilea.
Both Ilea and Ludwig looked at Claire. Then Ludwig opened his mouth. "I already said to the Hokage, only when Me, Ravenhall, and Tempest agree to this trade that it will happen. Who else should we invite?"
Claire smirked and looked at Ludwig. "Who say something about another world?"
She then moved her eyes to Ilea who was also looking at her. "Think the guys in Medic Sentinel fancy a world hopping job?"
Ilea didn't move for a few moments. She just stared at her like she had just grew another pair of ears and eyes. But then, she laughed out loud.
Meanwhile, Ludwig could only frown. That's a new name. Something he never heard before.
Leave a review, ratings, a comment, or gib me your powerstone please~
And to those who want to read 50 chapters ahead, be my Patron at https://www.p*treon.com/c/imjustaboy_/membership
Or just search Imjustaboy_ in the search bar. Thankiess!