With this sudden change in tone, the entire atmosphere of the room changed.
It was clear that he was about to talk about something serious, so I revealed a serious look as well.
Scar looked at me with that serious look and asked, "How much ore did you secure?"
I had already expected this, plus Shaka should have already reported this to him since Shaka had been there when we made all the negotiations, so I just brought out a piece of paper that I had already prepared.
This was a list of all the ores that I was willing to split with the kingdom, as well as the prices for all of these ores.
The price was already considered quite good, so as long as they weren't too greedy, this would be a good deal for them.
Scar just calmly took this list and looked it over.
When he finished, he gave a satisfied nod before asking, "How are you planning on dividing this?"
That was the main thing that he had wanted to ask.
Division of the ore trade.
This was something that we had already talked about before, but now he was trying to get the specific numbers.
This was something that most likely the king had asked him for, so it could be said that this was a direct negotiation with the king.
I narrowed my eyes and looked at him before saying, "Half."
There was no change to Scar's expressions, but there was a trace of surprise that appeared in his eyes.
He looked back down at the list before giving a slow nod.
But there was still something else that he needed to ask, "What about the transport and the guards, who will be responsible for that."
I narrowed my eyes again when I heard him say this, but this was the one thing that I wouldn't compromise on.
"We'll take care of everything." I said in a calm voice.
But all that this did was make Scar knit his brows.
It was clear that he wasn't happy about this.
This trade with the Dwarven Kingdom was an important matter for their kingdom, so naturally he wanted them to be more involved in this matter.
Not only would that allow them to build a better relationship with the dwarves, it might even open up new opportunities for them.
But if they followed my plan, then they wouldn't have that chance.
Of course, I could see what he was thinking from the expression on his face. I could see that he was dissatisfied with this arrangement.
Before he could say anything, I said, "I'm the only one that they trust right now. If you try to push your way into this, then all that will happen is that a good thing will be ruined."
Scar couldn't help revealing a surprised look when he heard this.
He narrowed his eyes to look at me, but I just stared right back at him with a calm look.
Neither of us seemed like we were planning to back down until he finally said, "Alright, let's take a step back then."
With this, it showed that he was at least willing to compromise…it was just too bad that this wasn't something that I was willing to compromise on.
After a pause, he said, "What if we sent our people to go with your group? They would follow your orders while they were traveling with you."
But I shook my head and said, "No, no one will be allowed to come with us."
Scar deeply knit his brows this time.
He was willing to compromise, but it didn't seem like Zwein was willing to accept this olive branch with how firm his voice was.
I could see the look on his face, but I just calmly said, "Even if you only send people, can you guarantee that they will follow my people's orders? At the same time, can you guarantee that other people won't sneak people in?"
Scar still deeply knitted his brows without saying anything.
That was because…he really couldn't guarantee this.
It was impossible for him to guarantee that such things wouldn't happen since there were always such possibilities.
Seeing this look, I said, "That is why I won't allow a single person to join my group. If anyone causes damage to our relationship with the dwarves, this isn't something that any of us can handle."
Scar just silently looked at me with this grim look for a bit before asking, "Even if it was his majesty's will?"
My eyes twitched a bit hearing this, but I still said in the end, "Even if it was his majesty's will."
Scar just carefully looked at my expression, as if he was trying to figure out if I was being serious or not.
Then he said with a sigh, "Fine, but what about guards? With such important cargo, there is no doubt that the other countries will not remain idle. When the time comes, will you be able to protect this cargo with your people?"
This time, he had struck at my sore spot.
Indeed, it would be hard for me to protect it since I didn't have enough guards for this if other countries were to get involved.
I was still training up guards and even then, they would be used to guard my territory instead of being all sent to protect this caravan.
When he saw that I didn't say anything, Scar finally felt like he had found a way in and was about to say something, but I cut him off first.
"We'll have the kingdom's army guard us."
Scar was surprised to hear this before revealing a faint smile.
But that smile didn't last long when he heard the latter half of my words.
"But only in the territory of our kingdom."
Scar knitted his brows once more when he heard this.
I looked right at him and said, "The dwarves will protect us while we are in the Dwarven Kingdom, so we only need to be protected when we come back."
Scar narrowed his eyes to look at me as he said, "Do you really think that the troops of our kingdom can be moved that easily? They'll just protect you when you need it?"
I gave a shrug as I said, "This is important cargo, so they'll move when needed. Not to mention, it's only for a few days each month, so it isn't as if it is anything that bad."
Scar kept looking at me with those narrowed eyes as if he still couldn't accept this.
So I used my last card, "The dwarves have sent an ambassador team this time to build relations with our kingdom."
Scar once again revealed a shocked look and he turned to look at Shaka.
Shaka just gave a calm nod to show that this was indeed the case.
Scar looked at me with a strange look as he muttered, "This kid…"
I didn't show any reactions to this.
Finally, Scar said with a sigh, "Do whatever you want, I can't stop you anyway."
I just revealed a smile without saying anything.
But then Scar said, "You still have to talk to his majesty about this."
At that, the smile on my face turned bitter.
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