"You!"
The protest from the Daimyo of the Land of Wind and the Daimyo of the Land of Water made the Daimyo of the Land of Earth so furious that his rotund body trembled.
His face turned purplish-red.
He had just endured humiliation from Arashi.
Now he was stabbed in the back twice by his supposed allies.
Instead of immediately retaliating, he turned to Arashi with a mixture of pleading and indignation on his face.
"Daimyo Arashi, look at this."
"I really do want to pay this money."
"But they..."
Before he could finish, Arashi raised his hand to cut him off.
"I'll say it one more time."
"I only want nine billion."
"Not a single ryō less."
"As for how you three families split the payment..."
"Whether you pay more and they pay less."
"Or you cover it all yourself."
"What does that have to do with me?"
"That's an internal matter between allies."
He emphasized the word "allies" with biting sarcasm.
The three Daimyo instantly fell silent.
Heavy breathing filled the tense air.
Their eyes were filled with suspicion and resentment as they looked at one another.
The Daimyo of the Land of Earth glared daggers at the other two, as if he could flay them alive on the spot.
But the Daimyo of the Land of Wind and the Daimyo of the Land of Water didn't back down either.
They knew clearly.
Retreating now only meant giving up more flesh.
In the end, the Daimyo of the Land of Earth was the first to yield. He glared at the others and said through gritted teeth, "I'll pay four billion."
After that, he closed his eyes, pretending to sleep.
The other two exchanged glances, their eyes full of satisfaction and relief.
It was still a loss, sure.
But making someone else lose more while you lose less?
That, in itself, was a win.
"Two point five billion."
"We'll each pay two point five billion."
The Daimyo of the Land of Wind spoke on behalf of both of them, giving the final answer.
Only then did Arashi smile.
He clapped lightly, as if applauding their spectacular internal feud.
"Very good."
"Now we have an agreement."
"That's the attitude I want to see in our cooperation."
His gaze swept across the three.
"Nine billion. Paid in full within seven days."
"If anyone dares delay."
"Or play any little tricks..."
Arashi's smile vanished. A cold gleam flashed in his eyes.
"Then I will personally visit your country."
"And we'll have a good chat about cooperation."
His tone was calm.
But it made all three Daimyo tremble.
They understood clearly.
This young man wasn't bluffing.
He had both the strength and the nerve to follow through.
The Daimyo of the Land of Earth's face was ashen.
Four billion.
A painful price.
The other two didn't look any better.
Two point five billion each was still no small amount.
But compared to what they stood to gain from the Land of Lightning, it was worth it.
They had to pay.
In the end, the three of them silently nodded to indicate agreement.
Arashi returned to his seat, satisfied.
He picked up the treaty signed by the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning, tore off one copy, and left the room without another word.
His figure disappeared through the door, not the least bit reluctant.
Only three pale-faced Daimyo and one ghostly pale Daimyo remained behind in the conference room.
Back at the inn.
Arashi had already returned to his usual calm and detached demeanor.
Asaba Toru was waiting inside.
"My lord, I've brought the item." He presented a scroll with both hands.
Arashi took the scroll and unrolled it slowly.
It was filled with detailed information—names, affiliations, and preferences of court officials from the Land of Lightning.
It wasn't extremely in-depth, but it was enough.
"Not bad."
That aunt of his wasn't completely useless after all.
At least, as a former consort of the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning, she had spent eight years in the cold palace collecting enough useful intelligence.
"This list is the wedge we'll drive into the Land of Lightning."
Arashi handed the scroll back.
"Same routine. Do as we did with the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind."
"Bribe and infiltrate. Quietly place our people."
"Yes!" Asaba Toru bowed and retreated to carry out the order.
After this, Arashi immediately ordered the guards to pack up. It was time to return to the Land of Fire.
The attendants moved quickly to follow his command.
Just then—
Bang!
The door was slammed open.
Chiba Tsuru rushed in, hair disheveled, face pale, completely devoid of her usual grace as a princess.
"Arashi!" Her eyes were filled with panic. Her voice trembled as she cried, "Something's happened!"
The attendants stopped packing and looked at her in shock.
Arashi waved them away, then calmly turned to face her.
"The Daimyo of the Land of Lightning, that bastard!" Tsuru stumbled behind him, her voice shaky.
"He's put me under house arrest! He even said... he said he's going to kill Makoto!"
"What did you say to him? Why has it come to this?!"
She grabbed Arashi's sleeve, eyes pleading in desperation.
Arashi looked at her panic-stricken face and smiled faintly.
"Aunt."
"Do you know why this happened?"
Tsuru shook her head, dazed, tears streaming down her face in fear and confusion.
Arashi's smile became colder, almost mocking.
"If I were you..."
"The moment you learned that the Four Nations were preparing to jointly enter the Land of Lightning, you should've immediately distanced yourself from the Land of Fire."
"Even if it was all for show."
"You should have returned to the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning's side, wept bitterly, accused me of being heartless and power-hungry."
"You should have stood beside him and shown solidarity in the face of a common enemy."
"Only then could you secure your place in the Land of Lightning and win his trust."
His voice was soft.
But it struck Tsuru like a blade.
"Aunt, I gave you the knife so you could protect yourself and my little brother."
"Not so you could wave it around the moment you got it, desperate to kill someone."
A flash of realization struck.
Tsuru's face froze, then turned deathly pale.
She finally understood.
She had made a terrible mistake.
She thought that with the Land of Fire backing her, she could confront the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning head-on and demand the Heir title.
She was too impatient.
She had completely forgotten how dangerous her identity as a princess of the Land of Fire was, especially now that the Land of Lightning was about to be torn apart by four nations.
Not only did she not keep a low profile, she used that identity as her greatest weapon.
But it wasn't a weapon.
It was a death sentence.
Now that the Land of Lightning was on the verge of collapse, she, the internal threat, would naturally be the first target.
"I..."
Tsuru's lips trembled, but she couldn't speak.
Arashi looked at her. His disappointment was plain on his face.
This woman was hopelessly foolish.
Her ambition far outstripped her capability.
Giving her a chance was useless.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)