The Long Vacation (3)
"Make my daughter the focal point of the Spero Kingdom students." At Marquis Magnus's bold proposal, Theo could only stall for time. "Well... it's all rather sudden. I'm afraid I can't give you an answer right away."
Seeing Theo's evasive demeanor, the marquis pressed on. "Honestly, I don't place much value on the academy itself. Learning how to use magic? That's nothing a private tutor couldn't handle. Gaining access to the empire's power circles? At best, it just produces soldiers with a few special abilities. Unless you're some penniless commoner clinging to the legend of the Great Emperor, none of it holds much appeal for the nobles of our kingdom."
"Your assessment is harsher than I expected. Then why send your daughter there at all?"
"Because it's a place where heirs of various noble houses gather, mingle, and learn to act as a unified group."
Marquis Magnus's eyes gleamed. "Do you have any idea how much effort and preparation it takes to build and maintain a useful network? The reason people attend salons and joint hunts is because there's real profit in it. They expand their blood ties through marriage, then widen their connections further through introductions. These 'links' may seem pointless at first glance, but when the time comes, they wield terrifying power. The strength of so-called great houses comes precisely from the connections they've accumulated over generations. You know this as well, don't you?"
Theo nodded. Behind most of the continent's renowned merchant guilds lurked the shadow of some noble house. Not even a hundred years ago, merchants had needed a lord's "permission" to trade within a territory, and that permission was often granted or withheld at the lord's whim. To survive in such an environment, a merchant needed powerful backing. The Midas Merchant Group had flourished despite its short history thanks to the new laws that spread after the Hegemony War, which greatly weakened the lords' authority, and because the New Royalist faction had quietly lent them support—knowing full well that the Midas Group's main targets were the nobles of the Old Royalist faction.
By this point, Theo understood exactly what Marquis Magnus was driving at. "So the actual lessons and rewards of the academy are secondary. The real treasure is the connections one forges there—in other words, the network."
"Precisely. Young people between their mid-teens and mid-twenties, all in the prime of their youth, spending three years together in the same space. Of course, factions will form within, but even those smaller senses of belonging are things one would have to work tremendously hard to obtain outside."
Having delivered his passionate speech, the marquis suddenly seemed drained and sank back into the sofa. "The problem is that my daughter, who should be making the most of this golden opportunity, is completely useless. With the backing of the Magnus Marquisate, she should have been able to rally the Spero students, yet that Betuart boy has completely stolen the initiative. I ordered her to gather a faction, and what did she do? She spent her time sipping tea with daughters of other houses in some alchemy class or another. It's enough to make one's blood boil."
The heavy sigh might have been an unconscious expression of frustration, or perhaps an unspoken signal that he was displeased enough to demand results. "I'm afraid I can't decide this matter on my own. My siblings will be arriving soon, so it would be best to continue the discussion then."
"Hmm. Can't you just agree to it?"
The marquis looked genuinely puzzled for a moment, then nodded as if something had clicked. "Ah, now that I think about it, you're not the head of the family yet. That explains it."
Even if I were the head, I doubt those two would listen to me so obediently. Keeping that thought to himself, Theo smiled and played along. It seemed there would be a great deal to discuss with Chrome and Fiore.
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"—And that's the situation. What do you think?"
At Theo's question, Chrome answered honestly. "Sounds like one hell of an overbearing old man."
"For someone of his station, he's actually rather enlightened. As a father, though... well, I suppose that's not for us to judge."
Theo spoke in a businesslike tone, likely because they were in the middle of work. Chrome nodded. After all, their own damned family head wasn't exactly a model of good character either.
"So, if we're making her the focal point, how much influence does he actually want? If he's demanding something like the largest faction in the academy, I'd have to slap some sense into him right now. If it's limited to Spero Kingdom students... honestly, even that seems difficult."
Chrome recalled Alphons Betuart, who was effectively treated as the representative of Spero Kingdom. As Marquis Magnus had said, it was true that Prellia had failed to act as a focal point, but under normal circumstances another New Royalist student should have stepped up to fill that role. Instead, reality had produced Alphons's de facto solo rule—a testament to just how exceptional his talent as a faction leader was. Chrome wondered what might have happened if Alphons had come from anywhere other than the minor kingdom of Spero.
"He seems to want her to become the leader of the New Royalist students at minimum, and ideally the representative of the entire Spero Kingdom."
"And the deadline and penalty for failure?"
"Before the second-year break. If we don't produce satisfactory results within that time, the profit split changes from 1:9 to 5:5. Of course, all expenses will still be on our side."
"That's already pretty scummy, but the fact that he's not demanding compensation for damages means he doesn't want to make enemies of us."
"The marquis himself is just reluctant to let such a good opportunity slip away. He doesn't seem to have particularly high expectations."
"Hmm..."
Honestly, the power dynamics within Spero Kingdom weren't particularly important to Chrome. At the beginning of the academy term, his commoner status and the Midas Group's notoriety had made his position unstable, so he'd had no choice but to spend money to gather people and grow his influence. But now, no one was picking fights with Chrome or his companions. Of course, that was less because everyone liked them and more because people knew messing with that lunatic would only bring trouble. Still, notoriety could be just as useful as fame, depending on how you used it.
"So, are we doing this?"
"If it works out, great. If not, no harm done. Either way, there's not much to lose."
Having a faction was always better than not having one, and more importantly, this was an initiative led by Marquis Magnus himself. If Chrome had to handle everything from start to finish, it would be a different story, but simply playing a supporting role wasn't a problem. Ligret tilted her head.
"But can that young lady actually lead a faction? From what I've seen so far, she doesn't seem like the type."
Chrome and Fiore answered her doubt in unison.
"It'll be fine. Once you give someone a position, they figure it out somehow."
"Just like Brother said. We'll assign her the role first, then help her with whatever she's lacking from the sidelines."
"Ah, right."
Ligret shook her head, thinking it had been a mistake to expect any humanity from those wicked siblings. Still, since she had no intention of helping either, she wasn't really in a position to comment. After deciding on the forced socialization plan for the useless young lady without her knowledge, it was time to discuss the next schedule.
"A martial arts tournament?"
"Yeah. It's held every two years in the Mars Duchy. It's one of the three largest on the continent, so the rewards should be pretty good. Conveniently, the workshop we commissioned for weapon crafting is nearby, so we can take care of that too."
"Hmm."
Ligret's eyes sparkled with interest. Fiore added by way of explanation, "All sorts of powerful people will gather—wandering knights, elite members of famous knight orders. Quite a few people from our temple and even students are planning to participate. Ah, Brother, why don't you enter this time as well?"
"Me?"
At Fiore's suggestion, Chrome pondered for a moment. The martial arts tournament was a high-difficulty event that even combat-type player characters struggled with unless they'd trained intensely for a year. His chances of placing well were slim. He'd originally planned to just let Ligret participate while he watched from the sidelines, but...
"Hmm. I suppose there's no harm in entering."
Even if his main role wasn't combat, it wouldn't hurt to build up his skills for emergencies. They were also planning to visit a dungeon after the tournament, so he couldn't afford any serious injuries, but as long as he didn't push himself too hard, it should be fine.
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"What? After the new term starts, you want me to become the leader of a faction? Um, Father? Father!?"
Incidentally, the young lady who had been spending her time on potion crafting only learned of this plan about a week before the new term began—but that was a story for another time.