"Two hundred thousand gold coins?" Xu Yi gave King Trutz a startled look, then shook his head with a sigh. "Your Majesty, you certainly are generous. And Ambassador Hakane certainly has quite an appetite."
"He always has." King Trutz smiled. "But this time, I spent those two hundred thousand gold coins entirely for your sake."
"For my sake?" Xu Yi was even more surprised. "Your Majesty, surely I don't carry that much weight... enough for you to spend a full two hundred thousand gold coins settling this matter."
"Two hundred thousand gold coins might be a great deal to others, but is it to you?" King Trutz gave Xu Yi a meaningful look. "President Xu, unless my estimate is wrong, the Xinfei Merchant Guild's profits last year exceeded five million gold coins at the very least, didn't they?"
Xu Yi smiled faintly and did not deny it.
"I admit that our profits are fairly good, but our expenses are also considerable. Besides... Your Majesty, what does that have to do with your willingness to spend two hundred thousand gold coins on this?"
King Trutz shook his head. "President Xu, let's not waste time talking in circles. You wanted me to demonstrate my sincerity, and now I have. Two hundred thousand gold coins may not be much to you, but to me, and even to our Rulson Kingdom, it isn't a sum we can casually throw away. I've demonstrated more than enough sincerity. Now, what about you?"
Xu Yi was somewhat surprised.
From the information Kennard had previously gathered about King Trutz, along with his own observations of the Rulson Kingdom, Xu Yi had concluded that this king had great ideals and ambitions, as well as considerable foresight. That was why he had deliberately seized the opportunity to stir up this