His aide carried a modest sized chest and placed it on the table.
The chest opened. Herdial gold coins. Polished. Pure.
The symbol of the royal house minted onto the rare metal.
Clean, clear and uniform.
An assistant scribe brought a weighing scale.
Then, several more scribes brought more weighing scales and set up more tables.
The emissary's face twitched.
The old scribe took the first coin and placed it onto a scale.
It balanced perfectly.
"Ah see, pure Herdial gold. I must say, may I ask why the number of weighing scales?"
The emissary appears just a tad annoyed.
His years of practice allowed him to keep up his friendly appearance.
Hikari could sense his heartbeat rising. Along with his blood pressure.
"Cough* apologise. But my lady's instructions. She has the ability to discern the veracity of the coin with just her touch. I'm afraid none at the estate shares such capabilities. So we must follow protocol."
One by one, the scribes weigh the coins. All of them balanced perfectly.
The emissary's mouth twitched.
Hikari could sense his heartbeat rising.
But she kept quiet.
It was never her thing to get involved in such matters.
"Ahem, if I may, we are a little short of time? The RazenHeir house has done business with Herdial for longer than either of us walked the ground. Is this really necessary?"
The emissary's voice sounds more and more exasperated.
"My apologies, I am merely following orders. I cannot issue an acknowledgement until all of the coins are weighted and accounted for."
The emissary glanced at his aide.
His aides threw glances at each other, as though signaling to each other.
A scribe placed a coin on the scale.
It didn't quite balance.
The emissary quickly walked up to him.
"Is something the matter?"
He gave the scribe a stern look.
The scribe didn't know how to respond to his intimidating presence.
"Could you let me see that?"
The emissary grabbed the coin from the scribe.
Hikari could sense men in the emissary's entourage activate their mana devices hidden in their pockets.
The coins on the scales and in the chest started responding.
"Telekinesis?"
The emissary placed the coin back onto the scale.
It balanced perfectly.
"See? Nothing wrong with the coin. The scale is a very delicate thing. Place it carefully."
The emissary told the trembling scribe in a stern tone.
The scribes continued.
Another scribe placed a coin on the scale.
It balanced perfectly.
Hikari could sense the mana in the coin.
"I should do something. "
The chest was nearly empty. The scribes were on their last batch of coins.
Unlike the coins that were initially at the top of the chest, all of them seemed to be under the effects of the Herdial devices.
The emissary's expression turned from a forced smile to genuine glee.
"Ah.."
Hikari placed her hand on her mouth.
The scribes froze in place.
"Ah.."
"Ah… ! Choo…. !"
The giantess unleashed a tremendous sneeze along with a weak telekinetic blast.
The shockwave knocked over the scales and several scribes and members of the Herdial delegation.
"Apologies."
The emissary dusted his fine clothes as he got back up.
For a moment, he was visibly offended before switching back to his practiced smile.
"No worries. Ah, I see the rumour of the great knight's unmatched strength rings true."
The emissary lauded some more praises at Hikari.
The scribes set the scales back onto the tables and placed the coins onto the scales.
Not one of them balanced.
The emissary's face turned stern.
"Clears throat* It appears we cannot accept these coins."
The head scribe remarked.
"Come now, surely you are not suspecting the Herdial royal house of providing fake coins? Are you sure it is not your scales that were damaged as by your honorable knight's accidental episode?"
"You have a point. It is plausible that the scales are damaged. We are not suspecting you of anything. We just need to recalibrate the scales before we can accept the coins."
At the head scribe's instruction, the RazenHeir scribes began putting the coins back into the chest.
The emissary smile now carried shades of distinct annoyance.
"Honorable Sir. We have travelled quite the distance from the capital."
"My deepest apologies. May I offer you the hospitality of the RazenHeir house."
"A delightful offer, as an emissary of the Herdial royal court, we have other urgent matters to tend to."
"We may reschedule then. We have no doubt that the Herdial royal court will eventually deliver on its obligations."
The emissary's face was wincing and twitching. Even he had difficulty containing his annoyance at the head scribe's stubbornness.
"How about this?"
The emissary signals to his aide who brings forth another chest.
It was as polished and decorated as the one containing the coins.
The lid was lifted.
Inside, neat stacks of paper made of thick, polished ply wood.
Words forming what appears to be a financial contract etched into its surface.
The seat of the royal Herdial court stamped on the bottom left.
"Herdial bonds. We were about to auction this off at the Moradale exchange. But perhaps we could offer you this as compensation instead? A trusted, liquid asset for generations. Fully redeemable for Herdial gold at the capital."
"Your offer is generous, but I am under strict instructions by her Ladyship not to accept anything but gold."
The emissary grit his teeth inside his pursed lips.
"If you accept this, you would be getting quite the discount to what they normally auction for. You could even auction it off for an immediate profit at the Moradale exchange yourself. Saving us the trip as well."
"I cannot accept this. The most I could do for you is relay your offer to her Ladyship. By the way, she is currently in Moradale. If you are heading there, perhaps I could send word and schedule an appointment?"
The emissary could barely maintain his smile.
Thud! He closed the lid. It was just shy of slamming it shut.
Snap! He impatiently snapped his fingers for his aide to take the chest away.
"Very well. I'll defer our settlement to a later date. Do note that if the RazenHeir house defers this for too long, it may be taken as a forfeiture of their entitlement from the Wyvern raid."
The emissary stomped off.