Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1825 1797. Conditions
“My request is very simple, and I’ve already discussed it with you Nilfgaardians a long time ago.”

Lan En continued to bury his head in writing and drawing on a large stack of documents or memos.

In fact, this is what he has been doing for the past few days, ever since he sat down.

The documents on the conference table were not nearly as numerous as those on the table; they consisted mostly of notices and administrative orders concerning Sintra's post-war regain of its independence.

Yes, although the negotiations have not yet been finalized, Lann has already prepared many decrees for Sintra after it regains independence and rule, just waiting to be released after the negotiations are completed and the joint statement of the various countries is issued.

This includes issues such as Sintra's status as an independent kingdom, its current legal system and succession, the clarification of its administrative structure, and minor changes to its laws.

These are all things that need to be clarified by issuing a statement to the world immediately after the country has regained stability.

These definitions may seem vague, but without them, the country would remain precarious and unstable.

Lincoln and his group were of little help in this process.

Although the Ember Knights have developed exceptional strategic vision and intuition on the battlefield and in military affairs under Lann's guidance and through their own learning, they are still a group of newcomers in the field of national administration.

Even the best-managed Ember Knights were merely young noble heirs from Sintra. It's hard to say they possessed any mature experience or insights.

Fortunately, having completed the full set of Space Marine surgeries, Lann's energy and physical abilities far surpassed those of ordinary people.

What ordinary people struggle to accomplish, even with their utmost effort and mental exhaustion, are merely simple and straightforward tasks in the face of his rapidly working mind and the energy that makes these matters seem utterly trivial.

Lan En completed these documents entirely on his own, but for him, the mental and physical effort he expended was about the same as scribbling on paper with his mind blank.

The Space Marines, sons of the Emperor, are skilled at 'using the means of managing interpersonal relationships to ensure the smooth and efficient operation of an organization and to fulfill management functions'.

However, this method was originally used in management organizations at the planetary and solar system level.

If the scale is not large, it's not a big problem to manage it by relying on one's own thinking ability, just like a superhero.

Sintra as a kingdom... to be honest, Lann didn't feel that managing Sintra was any different in difficulty from managing Sagiyama Castle in the magical Japanese Sengoku period world.

If we're comparing population management, Sintra's ability to compete with Minon is questionable.

However, Lann himself didn't care about this at all, but the Ember Knights had been visibly holding their breath these past few days.

Their long history of undefeated victories, coupled with their current situation back in Sintra where they can only watch Lann work alone while they feel lost and unable to help, make them feel incredibly frustrated.

Lan En felt relaxed, but to the Ember Knight, it was like working all night long!
So the five Ember Knights who followed me to Sintra are currently looking bitter and resentful all day long, making people just want to stay away from them.

However, they did not give up on themselves. If they lacked management and governance experience, they could learn from it.

Their sharpness on the battlefield was developed through learning and discussion.

Right now, it's just about learning another project.

Unbeknownst to him, the Ember Knight was also expanding his role from a 'battlefield all-rounder' to a 'comprehensive all-rounder', striving for perfection.

This can be considered a healthy and efficient organizational form, a form of self-renewal that arises from change.

"I advocate restoring Sintra's sovereignty, that goes without saying. Meanwhile, Hans and Henry, you two come here."

Without turning his head, Lann waved, and the two young men who had been hiding behind the Ember Knight stepped forward with a slight tremor.

For a nobleman's illegitimate son, a nobleman's heir who has not yet inherited real power, the level of the meeting before him is far too high.

“The two of them,” Lane nodded, and Lincoln behind him introduced them, “are both Nassers. Sir Hans Capone is the rightful heir to Rathai. Henry is Baron Scarlitz, the illegitimate son and only heir of Radji.”

After Lincoln finished speaking, Lann continued, "The two of them originally belonged to the Nasser Auxiliary Army in the Nilfgaardian Legion, but they helped us in the Battle of Little Fish River on the central front."

"So I thought, no matter what, I must make sure these two young people are not left destitute."

"After all, shouldn't the victors be able to protect their subordinates from retribution?"

Ambassador Nilfgaard's face turned ashen, more so than ever before.

But Lan En didn't even look up; he just continued signing and talking.

"So please forgive me, Lord Oyestalan. Although Nasser is a young province of Nilfgaard, I must declare here—" "Nilfgaard shall not deal with Rattay and Skarlitz, and in order to avoid any possible covert purges in the future, the authority to enforce noble criminal laws in these two territories shall be handed over to Sintra."

“I protest!” Oyestalan immediately stood up and shouted, looking at the ‘real’ meeting chair, Archbishop Hermelfat. “This is an interference with Nilfgaard’s sovereignty! We will never agree to such an unreasonable demand!”

"Huh?" The archbishop, who had been dozing off in the chair, suddenly spoke up. He had been waiting for an opportunity to show off his diplomatic skills.

"Ahem! Gentlemen, we can certainly reach some kind of agreement. Know that the public interest is the supreme law..."

“Yes, the public interest.” Before Archbishop Hermelfat could finish his diplomatic display, Lann interrupted him directly, “So I will also make some concessions. Your immigrants who have moved to the north can stay in Sintra during their repatriation process.”

“I will redefine the land of the whole country, and Sintra can take in these poor, lonely people who have nowhere to go.”

Who cares about those thousands or tens of thousands of worthless immigrants?!

Oyestella roared inwardly.

He had already formally accepted Lowardon's orders a few nights earlier during the meeting, choosing to abandon the immigrants. Now that they were already abandoned, what was there left to care about?
But what about Lann's demands? This is a blatant exposure of Nilfgaard's weakness and compromise in front of the whole world!
Unlike Menno Kuhun, Oyestalan did not immediately recognize from a strategic perspective that this request was a prelude to Lann's dismantling of the province of Nilfgaard and its vassal states.

However, considering Oyestylan's family's long-standing expertise in diplomacy, this was undoubtedly a huge sign of failure!
As a diplomat, he knew without even thinking what the imperial public opinion would do if he brought this signal back home, and what the consequences would be for his family and his personal reputation!

Diplomacy is an art. Diplomats can retell the news of a defeat back home in a different way. They may be telling the same story, but by changing the angle, they can make people feel that they have won.

Such things have happened frequently in the history of any world and any country.

But given any other choice, which diplomat would want to take on such a hot potato of news?

At least from a diplomatic perspective, Oyestalan himself had absolutely no desire to do so!

But just as he was about to speak, a more vehement protest and a more resolute attitude were about to emerge from his mouth, a mouth that had been navigating the diplomatic arena for thirty years…

“Lord Oyestalan,” Lann’s voice cut off before he could finish, “I must kindly remind you before you speak.”

The witcher's amber cat eyes stared directly at him, making the diplomat feel as if he were facing a predator.

"The current conditions are the bottom line. As I said before, I will have an open and honest talk with you, so there is no room for negotiation in this conversation."

“Ratay and Skalitz will be under my protection, but I will not collect taxes from them, nor will I make them swear allegiance to me. They will remain Nasser.”

“If Nilfgaard agrees, then we will proceed accordingly. If they do not agree, we can now prepare to wage war against Nasser.”

"Hiss~!" *2
Hans and Henry stood by the table like two wooden stakes, their eyes widening as they looked at Lann upon hearing this.

The Witcher's expression was calm, as if he were simply saying that his quill pen had run out of ink.

“Your Excellency Regent,” Oyestalan said with difficulty, “I must remind you that this is a ‘post-war peace negotiation’!”

"Then I must remind you, Your Excellency. The so-called 'post-war peace talks' means that everyone no longer wants to fight, so peace talks are initiated. It does not mean that the war cannot continue as long as peace talks are initiated."

The Witcher shrugged.

"If we can't reach an agreement, we'll keep fighting until we can. Isn't that what peace talks are all about? If Nilfgaard still wants to fight, then you can attack whether you notify us or not. I'll cut off Menno Kuhun's head and stick it on a flagpole as I go."

Oyestalan's face turned bright red with anger: "Barbarian!"

But Lann ignored him completely, and Lincoln behind him warned him in a cold voice: "If you dare to insult the Regent of this palace again, Mr. Ambassador, I will cut your head off first."

The atmosphere suddenly became extremely tense, reaching its highest point since the negotiations began!

The black-armored guards behind Oyestalan stood up, looking as if they were about to draw their swords.

But Lincoln’s gaze shifted from the ambassador to behind him: “If you dare to draw your swords here, we will kill you all.”

A person's reputation is like a tree's shadow; although there were only five Ember Knights in the throne room, and Lann himself didn't seem to care much.

However, the Nilfgaardian guard could only slowly move his hand back from the hilt of his sword.

(End of this chapter)