Survival Strategy for Weak Territories! ~ My Territory Will Be Destroyed No Matter How Many Times It Is Repeated. How Can This Be Saved? ~ - Chapter 26

“Good, looks like he gave it up honestly.”

After the interrogation, Klein returned to his office and read the report written by the guard.

He read the report, his handwriting trembling with fear, and scrutinized its contents.

“The main culprit is still Hermes. And the Saga Company was about to be crushed by the Hermes Company, who asked them to do a favour.”

The way he said it was mild, but the way he did it was nasty.

Compared to Klein’s torture, their way of doing things was nastier.

“Snatching away the money of your business partner…… This reminds me of something called dumping.”

Wheat, cloth, industrial goods, whatever. If they say they’re going to buy it for 30% more than the Saga Company, they could completely crush Saga’s sales.

They also sold goods at 20% less then the Saga Company.

The neighboring merchant houses that were affected by the sale were also almost completely wiped out.

“The mysterious bandits appeared one after another, and neither the guards nor the knights would move. And the tolls at the gate have doubled? Ha ha ……This is so mean.”

It seems that the authorities have been dealt with as well. The Saga company, for some reason, was asked to pay twice the market toll at the customs post on the way from Klein’s territory to the area ruled by the Eastern Count.

“If I were asked to eliminate the Saga Company and in return, they would give me a discount. Well, even I would do it. I don’t owe them much.”

It’s a big risk to go against the number one company, and there were zero rewards for helping the Saga Company.

This was a question with only one choice.

Regardless of whether the lord was a good guy or a bad guy, he would cut them off without hesitation.

“If the Eastern Count knows he’s in this situation, has he already been talked out of it? Whether they’ve been abandoned or have already been usurped, I can only sympathize with them.”

I guess the Saga company no longer had any choice but to take go with what Hermes says.

If Saga succeeds in assassinating me, the Hermes company will let you establish relations with the Northern Marquis as well.

Help the Hermes company deliver goods from the east to the west and to the north as well.

It seems that the moment the proposal for the assassination plan was accepted, the raising of tolls stopped.

However, this proposal was a double-edged sword.

“They even made him assassinate the Viscount, and the pay is to become a pawn of Hermes, or rather, a subcontractor. There are no advantages, it only gets rid of the pinch that they’re in.”

Well, it’s more like a slave rather than a subcontractor.

It’s exactly the same as what the Laguna family was using in the future.

From the point of view of Klein, who had been a victim of this, he was beginning to feel a mysterious kinship with Dominic Saga’s situation.

“Well, we’re both victims, so I’d like to help him somehow, but I don’t have the means to …… help him. There’s nothing we can do here except confiscate their property.”

Suppose the full-fledged harassment of the Saga company began six months ago.

It was physically impossible to help them since Klein has no power at the time he returned in April.

Feeling somewhat of a bad aftertaste, Klein looks at the realistic future.

“However weak the Saga Trading Company may be, it’s a well-established business in the eastern part of the empire.”

It would have a substantial fortune, and that’s what Klein wanted.

Above all, it would be great if the Saga Company, which would be completely destroyed by their failure, could be absorbed by the Trek-led Suluz Trading Company.

It would be a much bigger and more powerful force.

“Well, I originally planned to expand Trek’s influence, but I guess I have no choice but to change that.”

If the Hermes Trading Company is doing as it pleases even under the influence of Eastern Count, putting them under the Sulez Company wouldn’t help them much.

Since there is not much to gain from it, it would be best to nail Hermes in the form of a favor to them.

Thinking about it, Klein tossed the report on the desk.

And then he realize that The Hermes Trading Company, which was probably tagging along with Laguna, was far more troublesome than he had thought.

Once we have a grasp of the situation with the Saga Company, the next step was to take a broader view of the situation.

When Klein considered the power structure – he realized that the situation was worse than he had assumed.

First, in terms of territory, Marquise Laguna controlled most of the kingdom from the northwest to the northeast.

They are a prestigious family and have tremendous financial, military, and production power.

This is a great wall that stands in the way.

Then came the Hermes Trading Company.

The fact that they can do as they please in the area controlled by the Laguna family means that from the northwest to the northeast of the kingdom is their home field.

And even in the east, they have so much influence that they can destroy the long-established Saga Company at the drop of a hat.

“I heard that they can even get meat from the southern count. Their influence sure is large.”

“”

At first glance, their just getting specialties as a frequent customer.

Every time he regressed, the Hermes Company had a business relationship with the south.

Even in terms of influence in the south, the Hermes Trading Company seems to be stronger than Klein.

“North and east are no good. South is also doubtful. I don’t know about the west, but …… Laguna is eating into it, and even if they were on our side, they are too far away.”

For example, if the Southern Count and Western Marquis were on the prince’s side.

If they send reinforcements to Klein, who is on the other side of the Royal Capital, how long would it take them to arrive?

Before that, their busy fighting Marquis Laguna. They would probably not have time to send an army.

After doing his calculations, Klein sighed.

“This is so troublesome…”

The Asgardian territory is located in the middle of the kingdom and not far from the capital.

It is the gateway to the eastern part of the country when viewed from the Royal Capital.

It borders the east and west and the quickest way to go the east is through the Asgard Territory.

If the Laguna family were to use the dark activities of the Hermes Trading Company as a foothold to reach out to the east, they would surely collide with each other at some point.

“There are no roads in the Great Forest to the south, and there are mountain roads to the north. The army can pass in three directions: From the Royal Capital, the Eastern count, or the Southern Count.”

Even if Klein were to call for reinforcements, the candidates would have to come from beyond these three directions.

No, there was another candidate, but it was the first to be cut from the list of options.

“There is a road leading from the minor nobles to the north, but that’s a blood-soaked land.”

The road to the north isn’t even very well maintained. If you establish a relationship with any of them, you’ll probably be confronted by another force, so it wasn’t an option in asking for reinforcements.

Moreover, even if they could call for reinforcements, it would only be 1,000 or 2,000 troops, which would not be a fundamental solution.

“But if I get closer to the Southern Count, it’ll be inevitable to meet the young lady which is an instant death car.”

Originally, this was more than a year away, but seeing the prosperity of the Asgard territory, they might be approached early.

Considering the advantages and disadvantages, it was best not to get too involved.

“……At the moment, we don’t have any connections. I was thinking that if we were only looking at Laguna, we should get on the Eastern Count’s side, but”

Again, remembering the current incident, that would be difficult.

“……The Hermes Company is a hindrance.”

If we were to divide the enemies and allies at this point:

The enemy is the Northern Marquis. The Eastern Count is a potential enemy.

Other than that, we don’t know our position and there is no clear ally at least. It was a hopeless situation.

“Wouldn’t it be quicker to ride the Laguna family’s kingdom conquest?”

I had succeeded in avoiding poisoning, and I had a rough grasp of the backstory of the various powers.

But the more I looked into it, the more information I found that I didn’t want to know.

Sometimes it’s better not to know anything at all.

As I got closer to the truth, I began to see more and more troubling things.

Having peeked into the abyss, Klein was left alone with his head in a quandary.