Life Is Real Combat (1)
Word of Ellen’s arrival in Harryford reached the royal palace at once. King Alberto commanded him to present himself at the royal castle without delay.
“Remy Veritati, subject of Prode, presents himself before the father of Prode.”
“Raise your head.”
Ellen lifted his gaze.
Alberto sat upon the throne, reading the report on the Buner human-trafficking case. The nobles arrayed on either side watched his expression with anxious care.
“A truly horrific affair. To think that human trafficking was being carried out in my own kingdom. Did none of you notice a thing?”
“W-well, that is…”
“Viscount Cliff had always been regarded as a man of high repute, so we…”
BOOM!
Alberto slammed his fist down upon the throne. The nobles flinched at the sound.
“I have no desire to hear excuses! What exactly have you all been doing? Three nobles were actively engaged in human trafficking, and not one of you knew of it?”
The nobles bowed their heads even lower, praying the sparks of royal fury would not land on them.
“This matter will be investigated thoroughly, and every person involved will be punished with the utmost severity. In particular, those three nobles shall be stripped of their titles.”
Prode was a nation where status and lineage were rigidly observed. For men such as these, the surrender of a title was a penalty as crushing as a death sentence.
“Hear me well. Should any among you violate the solemn laws of the realm beyond this incident, I shall hold you strictly accountable.”
“We shall bear it in mind.”
Alberto clicked his tongue as he looked upon the trembling nobles. Then his gaze settled on Ellen.
“Once again you have performed a great service. From the battle against Gosen onward, I have found myself in your debt more times than I can count.”
The king’s expression softened somewhat.
“Your praise is excessive, Your Majesty. I merely did what a subject ought to do.”
At Ellen’s reply Alberto laughed heartily, as though the earlier rage had never existed.
“I hear that when you mobilized the Thorn Unit, you made use of the royal seal.”
“In my insolence I employed the royal seal without Your Majesty’s leave. Forgive me.”
“There is nothing to forgive. Though I must say, the seal could have been put to far more advantageous use.”
The royal seal, equal in weight to the king’s own word, could accomplish anything within Prode. Alberto had never imagined the man would expend it on such an occasion.
“It was a matter of moments. With the very lord charged with public order among the conspirators, there was no other way to save the people.”
The more Alberto observed him, the more he found himself pleased with Ellen. In an age rotten with corrupt nobles and arrogant mages, here was one of the few truly upright men.
“Your merit must of course be rewarded. Therefore I intend to bestow upon you the now-lordless territory of Buner. For as long as you retain your noble rank, rule there as its lord.”
The nobles stared at Alberto in open shock.
And with reason: Ellen was a life-peer, a baron whose title would not pass to his heirs. Granting land to such a man was an extraordinary exception. Yet none stepped forward; they merely shifted uneasily.
“Your Majesty, I speak with the greatest respect, but he is merely a life-peer and a baron. To grant him the Buner region seems… excessive.”
At last Orlando Chedelton, head of the Chedelton house, could no longer remain silent.
“The Marquis of Chedelton speaks truly.”
“Bestowing territory upon a life-peer is contrary to all proper order.”
Once Orlando had spoken, the nobles seized the moment and poured out their grievances.
Alberto’s face hardened visibly.
“You lot truly are a pack that knows no progress whatever.”
Veins stood out starkly upon his forehead.
“Why is it that you know only how to envy another’s success? You are all subjects of this Prode Kingdom. Rather than offer praise to one who has acted for the realm, you seek only to drag him down.”
His voice rang through the great hall. The sheer presence of a king who reigned above all others poured forth.
Overwhelmed by that presence, the nobles fell silent as mutes with honey in their mouths.
“Moreover, you who call yourselves high nobles—what fear drives you to check the success of a mere baron? I find neither dignity nor honor in any of your conduct. How dire must things be that I look to a commoner-born Veritati for the kingdom’s future?”
This should at least lessen the high nobles’ open hostility toward Remy for a while.
Alberto was a consummate politician. Nobles lived and died by their honor; he had deliberately pricked their pride.
Their eyes turned toward Ellen.
As Alberto had calculated, their faces burned with shame. Yet even through that shame their gazes still held envy, jealousy, and naked desire.
How did that fellow manage to wrap His Majesty around his finger?
Receiving such absolute trust from the king is dangerous.
We must check his rise.
Ellen understood the meaning in those stares perfectly well.
Talentless creatures who became nobles solely on the strength of their houses—of course my appearance must gall them.
He paid their sidelong glances no mind at all. If anything, he found them contemptible.
“I am grateful for Your Majesty’s grace. Yet as they say, I am far too small a man to receive a territory.”
A glint of interest lit Alberto’s eyes. He had not expected Ellen to refuse the land.
“Why do you think so? Are you not a hero of the war and the rising star of Prode?”
The nobles, equally curious, waited for Ellen’s answer.
“Governing a territory requires many qualities. Until only a short while ago I was a commoner. I am not prepared to shoulder so great a responsibility. An incompetent lord would only harm both the people of the land and the kingdom itself.”
“Oh-ho.”
Alberto could not keep the murmur of admiration from escaping his lips.
This man is truly the subject Prode needs most.
How many lords fell short of even the minimum standard? Yet they still lived in luxury on the taxes of their people.
If they possessed even half of Veritati’s character, Prode would already be far stronger than it is now.
He exhaled a long, regretful sigh.
“I beg you to withdraw the command. Would it not be better for Your Majesty to dispatch an administrator to Buner directly and have all the resulting taxes brought to the royal palace?”
In truth, Ellen had no need of territory whatsoever.
As for money, he already possessed more than enough—and once the Magic Stone venture succeeded, he would have still more. Territory, by contrast, brought constraints. He would no longer be able to leave his post for months at a time as he had just done.
For the plans he intended to pursue, a wide radius of free movement was essential.
“Your heart is truly upright. I hope some of the nobles present take a lesson from your words.”
Ignorant of Ellen’s true motives, Alberto could only admire the man’s character.
“I understand your loyalty well, Veritati. Even so, I cannot let one who has rendered service go unrewarded. I shall bestow wealth commensurate with your merit.”
“Your Majesty’s grace is boundless.”
Ellen dropped to one knee and placed his right hand over his left breast—the posture of fealty to the king.
“Here, here! Swords forged of Nervik steel!”
“Apples! Fine large apples!”
“Hey you—come take a look at this silk!”
The market district of Harryford always thrummed with life. Ellen, Gavin, and Cabin threaded their way through the dense crowds.
Gavin and Cabin had accepted Ellen’s proposal.
Until now the brothers had gathered and sold information by their own feet alone. With Ellen’s backing they could at last possess the intelligence guild of their dreams.
“So you two were the ones who sold information to Bentler?”
Ellen was surprised to discover that the informants he had meant to seek out upon returning to the capital were these very brothers.
“Yes, we were the ones who obtained information on Phillips. We did not sell it to Bentler himself, however—most likely to someone he employed.”
“Still, to gather intelligence while slipping past that man’s senses is impressive.”
“Thank you.”
In the midst of that conversation they arrived before a certain building.
“Is this not the Kinver Merchant?”
Gavin and Cabin knew most of the better-known trading companies in Harryford.
“You already know the capital’s commerce that well? Correct—this is where our business is underway. The Kinver Merchant.”
Ellen grasped the door handle. It was a new piece, slightly mismatched with the building, clearly a replacement for the one destroyed during the attack on the Isco Company.
The moment the door opened, the first sight that met them was Kinber, both arms laden with stacks of paper.
He had been speaking with his secretary; when the door opened his eyes naturally turned that way.
“Remy!”
Kinber’s delight upon meeting Ellen’s gaze was entirely genuine.
“It’s been a while.”
Ellen returned the smile, a little sheepish.
“Where have you been? I had so much to tell you.”
“Business in Tonton.”
“And the gentlemen behind you?”
Kinber pointed at Gavin and Cabin.
“Gavin and Cabin, brothers who will be working with me. They should prove a great help to the company as well.”
At the introduction the brothers bowed their heads.
“Glad to meet you. Ah, shall we move somewhere more comfortable first?”
Sera was a secretary of sharp instincts. Catching Kinber’s intent at once, she immediately prepared a reception room.
“I’ll start with the progress of the venture.”
They relocated to the reception room Sera had arranged.
“Just as you said, several Magic Stone deposits have been discovered in the Jegaden region. The estimated reserves look enormous.”
Magic Stones had been found in Jegaden—land once dismissed as worthless. Kinber continued, voice bright with excitement.
“The moment we confirmed the stones I used the funds you provided to buy up the entire area. Construction of the mining facilities has already begun. The first extraction should take place in short order.”
Kinber’s business acumen was no empty boast. Matters were progressing far better than Ellen had anticipated.
“Going forward, two-thirds of the Magic Stones we mine will be sold; the rest will be set aside for experiments.”
“Experiments? You’re not selling everything?”
A trading company existed to generate profit through the distribution and sale of goods. The more product sold, the greater the return—that was common sense.
“Applications for Magic Stones are still limited. Even so, demand is already high. But if we research new methods of use, that demand will expand dramatically.”
In his previous life, once Jegaden’s Magic Stones flooded the market, the discipline of Magical Engineering had flourished.
As a result, applications for the stones advanced far beyond their present state—weapons, medical instruments, every sphere of daily life came to incorporate them.
Ellen was no Magical Engineer himself and did not know the methods in detail. He did, however, know the people who would become famous Magical Engineers.
I must prepare for the wars still to come.
Ellen recalled a certain future event. Had Magical Engineering weapons existed then, the losses would have been far smaller.
“An idea I never would have thought of—creating demand ourselves. All right. Once mining begins I’ll send a portion to you.”
“Good. I’m relieved to see the venture moving so smoothly. And if you need more capital, just say the word.”
Kinber squared his shoulders, confidence restored.
“No need. What we have is enough. I’ll make certain the money you invested never takes a loss.”
Meanwhile, the nobles who had left the great hall immediately convened among themselves.
“That man’s influence grows by the day.”
“Offering him Buner? Is such a thing even thinkable? We cannot allow this to stand. We must take measures of some kind.”
“His Majesty’s support is that firm—what measures do you propose?”
They argued heatedly, spittle flying, over how best to check Ellen. The discussion was wholly unconstructive, yet they threw themselves into it with passion.
“Enough.”
The man who silenced the clamor was Orlando Chedelton.
“His Majesty’s words were not wrong. For high nobles to make such a fuss over a mere baron of common birth is disgraceful.”
Contempt and irritation colored his voice.
To a man who was a noble to his very bones, Alberto’s public rebuke had struck a deep wound to his pride.
“Would it not be shameful for us to dirty our own hands?”
“But you saw His Majesty today. He shielded that man and humiliated us—his loyal subjects—in open court. Moreover the Magic Tower itself cannot control him.”
At the mention of the Magic Tower Orlando’s teeth ground together. The noble who had spoken swallowed hard and pressed on.
“So long as His Majesty’s favor continues, there is no faction in Prode capable of reining him in.”
The nobles nodded in agreement. Orlando stroked his beard, appearing lost in thought.
“You are right that we must first put a collar on him. Many in the Magic Tower and among the lesser nobles already wish to check him. If we merely encourage them, we need not step forward ourselves and lose face.”