Night 291

Direct Negotiations is Night 291 of the Magi manga series.

Characters In Order Of Appearance
'' Characters in bold denote the character's proper appearance. Characters in italic are only seen briefly and have yet to make a proper appearance. ''

Magic
'' Magic in bold denotes the magic's first appearance. ''

Summary
Over at the Sindria Trading Company Headquarters, Ja'far reminds Sinbad of the restitution deadline of Kou Empire's debt is a month from today. He asks Sinbad on what he would do. Sinbad simply smiles and gives a vague answer. Then, Sinbad gets a call, assuming it's from Princess Kougyoku. However, Alibaba is on the line, shouting loudly much to everyone's surprise. Sinbad tries to explain to Alibaba who is very excited about the new communication device which he feels is better than the Eye of the Rukh. Then, Alibaba changes his topic and asks Sinbad how cruel he can be. Alibaba explains how Sinbad should look from Kougyoku's point of view and that his world where trade cotrols everything is unfair. He points out how Kou Empire are poor at trading and only think about war. Furthermore, Alibaba states how the world of trading crippled the Kou Empire by stripping away their power to raise an army and how everyone is displaced because no one in the Kou Empire knew how to trade. With the open migration policy, the Kou Empire continually loses its citizens to more affluent countries such as Partheva or Reim. He claims Sinbad challenged Kougyoku and Hakuryuu to a match where Sinbad knew he would win from the beginning. Ja'far and everyone are in shocked of what Alibaba had told Sinbad.

Alibaba wraps it up by telling Sinbad it's a cruel thing to do to a ruler. Sinbad points out that Alibaba's claims are making him sound like the villain here. Alibaba retorts and states Sinbad is kind but he needs to be more considerate of others. Sinbad answers Alibaba that he has a plan to save the Kou Empire from bankruptcy. Alibaba declines Sinbad's help and asks him to delay restitution to one year much to Sinbad's surprise. Sinbad tries to ask Alibaba to reconsider. Alibaba reminds Sinbad how his father had instructed him how to run a trading company and country. Therefore, Alibaba wishes Sinbad to treat him as his own son. Sinbad gives Alibaba his consent and agrees to his conditions.

After that phone call, Sinbad wonders why he gave in. He shrugs it off. Ja'far is impressed on how Alibaba has matured as well as his bargaining skills. While Ka complains that Alibaba delayed the deadline, Kougyoku and the others are impressed at what Alibaba had done for them. Alibaba simply states he just repeated what Budel had told him about Kou Empire's situation. Alibaba notes he didn't solve anything yet and asks Kougyoku for her consent to rebuild the country.

Then, Ka interrupts Alibaba and emphasizes his position as the prime minister as well as the policies are in his hands. Ka thinks Alibaba is going to steal the power. However, Kougyoku wants to leave the situation in Alibaba's hand and names Alibaba as the new prime minister much to Ka's surprise. Ka cries to Kougyoku who assures him that Ka can be Alibaba's advisor. The other staff members laugh at Ka's demotion much to Ka's embarrassment. Kougyoku announces that they will protect this country with all of the strength. When asked if he had an idea, Alibaba simply replies no. Alibaba states that he has to learn about the empire first.