"Hmmm."

The older knight didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he rested one arm against the table and went quiet, clearly thinking through the idea carefully before responding.

Darion allowed the silence. He could already guess what was happening inside Garren’s head.

The older man was probably weighing the advantages against the risks.

Because technically, this wasn’t the safest financial decision Percvale could make right now.

Garren had only explained one debt so far.

One.

There were still four remaining kingdoms and Baronies Percvale owed money to, and they still had no idea how those rulers would react once Percvale’s recovery became known.

For all they knew, one of them could be even worse than Valdenmoor. More aggressive and less patient.

A ruler who didn’t negotiate, didn’t investigate and didn’t wait thirty days before sending soldiers to collect what they believed was theirs.

That possibility was very real.

Which meant from a purely logical perspective, the smarter option might’ve been conserving every possible coin for future emergencies.

Hold the treasury, strengthen the military, prepare for the next threat and leave Thandor alone precisely because Thandor wasn’t currently dangerous.

Darion understood that line of thinking completely.

But that wasn’t the point of this.

The seven thousand coins weren’t the important thing anymore. The relationship was. That was the actual investment here.

Back on Earth, countries survived partly because they had allies. Economic allies...military allies....Political allies.

During wars, those relationships mattered. Even in medieval history, kingdoms constantly relied on alliances to survive stronger enemies.

No ruler with sense tried standing entirely alone forever.

And right now?

Percvale was alone. Completely alone. They had no allied territories, no trusted rulers nearby and no one who would help if another kingdom suddenly decided Percvale looked vulnerable again.

That needed to change eventually.

And if Thandor’s Baron truly was the kind of man Garren described...

Then this might be Percvale’s best opportunity.

Finally, Garren spoke.

"I think long-term, it would be a good idea," he admitted slowly.

Darion watched him quietly.

"Paying all seven thousand immediately isn’t wise," Garren continued. "But your idea of paying part of it and requesting forgiveness for the rest..."

He paused briefly.

"...that is reasonable."

Darion nodded once.

"Now the question is," he said, "Will he accept?"

"He should," Garren replied almost immediately.

Darion raised an eyebrow slightly at how confident the answer sounded.

Garren folded his arms. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"Percvale looks hopeless from the outside. Completely hopeless. If anything, the Baron of Thandor will probably be more shocked that you somehow gathered three thousand coins at all."

Darion laughed softly at that.

Garren was probably right. Three thousand gold coins wasn’t a small amount.

Not even remotely. Especially not for a territory that had spent years being described as the most ruined Barony on the continent.

Emphasis on ’Most ruined Barony on the continent.’

Darion scratched lightly at his chin as he started imagining the conversation in his head.

"He’ll definitely ask where the money came from," Darion said. "And... he’ll probably ask why we’re paying him now instead of using it entirely on rebuilding Percvale first."

"Most likely," Garren agreed.

Darion could already picture it.

A cautious older Baron staring at him across a table wondering why a nearly dead territory was voluntarily handing over money nobody expected to see again.

Honestly, from the Baron’s perspective, it would probably look suspicious at first.

Darion leaned back slightly.

"He might even refuse to take it initially," he said thoughtfully.

Garren blinked once.

Darion shrugged.

"Think about it. If he truly abandoned the idea of repayment years ago, then suddenly seeing Percvale appear with three thousand gold coins might actually make him uncomfortable."

That sounded strange out loud, but it made sense.

Good rulers understood priorities..And from the outside, Percvale still looked like a territory that should’ve been focusing entirely on survival.

Darion continued thinking aloud now.

"He might tell me to keep the money and continue rebuilding instead."

"Possible," Garren admitted.

Darion smiled faintly.

"And then I refuse."

Garren gave him a look.

"You already planned this conversation in your head?"

"A little," Darion said with a smile.

The older knight miled too, though it was a slight one.

Darion continued anyway.

"I tell him I want to clear Percvale’s debts little by little and rebuild trust between territories."

Garren slowly nodded.

That sounded significantly more diplomatic than Percvale’s previous rulers had probably ever behaved.

Darion’s smile widened slightly.

"And who knows," he added casually, "just from the attempt alone, he might reduce the debt himself."

"Or cancel it entirely," Garren murmured.

The hall went quiet briefly after that.

Darion noticed the older knight repeating the possibility in his head.

Cancel it entirely? It sounded unrealistic, but not impossible. Not if the Baron truly was generous.

Darion folded his arms loosely.

"He might," he admitted. "I don’t know how kind he actually is yet."

Then after a second:

"I’ll have to find out."

The thought honestly interested him more than he expected.

Most of the rulers Darion had encountered so far in this world were either selfish, politically dangerous or outright cruel.

Meeting a genuinely decent Baron would actually be refreshing.

Assuming Garren’s memory of the man was accurate.

Darion stood slowly from his chair.

"Either way," he said, "we should go there ourselves."

Garren looked up immediately.

"You mean personally?"

Darion nodded.

"It’s only half a day’s ride from Percvale, right?"

"Yes."

"Then we’ll leave soon."

Garren seemed to think about that briefly before nodding once in agreement.

A personal visit made more sense than sending knights with money.

This kind of thing was political.

And political matters were handled ruler to ruler.

Besides...

Darion wanted to see Thandor himself.

A functioning neighboring Barony.A territory that hadn’t collapsed into starvation and debt.

He had spent so much time focused on saving Percvale that he barely knew anything about the surrounding regions beyond "dangerous," "poor," or "owes money."

Maybe seeing another stable Barony would help him understand what Percvale could eventually become.

Garren was already reorganizing the conversation mentally now.

The older knight spoke:

"Now," he said, shifting back toward the actual debt discussion, "For the second Barony we’re owing..."

Darion looked at him.

"It’s called Amberwick," Garren started.

Darion waited.

"And we owe them," Garren continued slowly, "eight thousand coins..."