Chapter 74
Chapter 74
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Gathering People (2)
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“I want to help with the merchant guild as much as possible.”
Maria spoke in a matter-of-fact tone.
It was, in a way, a perfectly natural response. She had been assisting the guild all this time, so it would have been hard to understand if she refused.
Lutia surely understood Maria’s thinking as well, but her eyes were filled with regret.
“But it’s also true that I want to help you, my lord.”
“……Then?”
“If you permit it, my lord, then staying at the mansion as Mother suggests would be fine.”
With that, Maria looked at me with a faint smile.
“Above all, it seems like you need my abilities, my lord.”
“Ahem.”
Maria was as perceptive as ever.
She must have picked up on the subtle regret I showed when she mentioned leaving.
“After going through this incident, I realized something. You know things I don’t, my lord. You have some grand undertaking in mind, and you’re trying to grow stronger as quickly as possible for it.”
It was a bit distorted, but she had grasped it remarkably well.
Being clever, she must have come up with her own reasoning. And honestly, it wasn’t far off.
“So, as someone who owes you a great debt, my lord, I’ll gladly stay if you need me.”
With that, Maria gathered the hem of her dress on both sides and offered a formal bow.
“Then, please take care of me for the time being, my lord.”
Just as the conversation seemed to wrap up.
Gransesia, who had been quietly listening, suddenly spoke up.
[But what are you going to tell the lizard girl?]
‘Don’t worry.’
I planned to leave that to Lutia, who was smiling happily right now.
* * *
I thought there might be a small commotion over Maria, but surprisingly, Riya accepted it readily.
She said she wasn’t the type to restrain others arbitrarily. And since she and I weren’t anything official yet, she had no right to do so anyway.
‘She’s right…… She’s right, but.’
Hearing it from Riya felt strangely off somehow.
[It sounds like she got advice from someone.]
‘I think so too.’
I wasn’t sure if it came from Mone or Lutia.
But at least I knew Riya deeply trusted someone’s words.
‘Listening to others is a virtue of a ruler.’
[Is that how it works?]
In any case, Riya was the princess of the Asktalin Empire.
Even though she could easily dismiss advice from Lutia or Mone, she was willing to accept it if she saw it as counsel.
It might seem trivial at a glance, but it showed just how open-minded she was.
‘Anyway, it’ll take Maria a few days to pack up and come…….’
In the meantime, I planned to handle the backlog of territory affairs, then head to Damian.
I had now met the minimum requirements to learn the ultimate technique of the Single Moon Divine Sword. All that was left was to train it.
Knock knock.
As I sat lost in thought in my room, someone knocked and entered.
“Young Master, the leader of the Timons Merchant Guild is here to see you.”
“Rabin? Let him in.”
I wondered if it was about Maria. Otherwise, nothing else came to mind.
I took the teacup Dorian brought and waited. Soon, Rabin entered the room.
“Greetings, my lord. Seeing you in good health finally puts my mind at ease.”
“I got lucky.”
“I heard from Maria. You escaped several crises with your cleverness, my lord. As expected of the hero of the Founding Festival.”
Hero of the Founding Festival.
It was the phrase I heard most often around the territory lately.
It hadn’t spread much before I left for Aintban, but now, wherever I went, people called me ‘hero’ without hesitation.
“Ahem. Anyway, what brings you here?”
“It’s about the Bellun Count family.”
“……The Bellun Count family?”
I had expected something about Maria, so this was unexpected.
“Yes. It seems they’ve racked up a huge debt recently. They’re shaking badly from financial troubles.”
“Ah, I see. Already at that point, huh.”
Thinking about it, it was right around time for them to bite.
I’d slightly forgotten about the Bellun Count family while going to and from Aintban, but as Rabin said, they should be deep in debt from failed investments by now.
“So, what’s the situation?”
“They’re scrambling to gather funds from everywhere…… but the Deolic Count family is interfering.”
“The Deolics?”
The Bellun Count family’s downfall was inevitable, but I hadn’t expected the Deolics to come up.
‘Well, even with all that debt, they wouldn’t collapse so easily.’
It wasn’t strange if the Deolic Count family was meddling.
“Let me know right away if the situation changes.”
“Understood. And……”
“And?”
“We got this from the mine we seized from the Bellun Count family.”
I shot to my feet at his words.
It was finally here!
“Magic stones?”
“Yes. Mining should start next week, probably.”
I couldn’t help but grin.
Mithril was nice, but nothing beat a magic stone mine. There were no substitutes for magic stones.
It wasn’t for nothing that the Bellun Count cleared all his debts and became untouchable. Demand for magic stones overflowed, and each one fetched a high price.
‘Now I just need to rake it in.’
No more headaches over the territory budget.
I was overjoyed, to the point of tears.
* * *
“Clay Banheart has returned.”
“That bastard? Where the hell was he for a whole month, and now he shows up?”
“I…… don’t know.”
“Tch.”
A middle-aged man with graying hair leaned back in his chair and clicked his tongue.
‘How am I supposed to restore the family’s honor with that guy dragging us down.’
Logan Deolic, patriarch of the Deolic family, was deep in thought.
The more he heard Clay’s name lately, the more it soured his mood.
‘Byan, why the hell did you do that?’
He never imagined Byan would turn traitor and spy.
He’d tried to quietly bury any info related to Byan, but the Deolics had been investigated by royal inspectors for a while, so now it was harder to find someone in the kingdom who didn’t know.
‘The war hero title should have been ours.’
Not just the war with Kainzel Kingdom, but the Founding Festival too.
No one in Talua Kingdom had shone as brightly as Byan at the Founding Festival.
He was certain no one would in the future either——until Clay casually surpassed him.
“A fallen family’s whelp……!”
His teeth ground together. The anger wasn’t just at Clay, but at himself too.
If he’d known it would come to this, he shouldn’t have cut ties with the Banheart family so unilaterally.
Now it was too awkward to extend an olive branch first.
“……Leon.”
“Yes, Father.”
“We have to bring down the Bellun Count family at least. You know why, right?”
“Of course.”
Leon answered calmly.
But his expression wasn’t great. The fact that the Deolics were secretly sabotaging the Bellun Count family weighed on him.
“The patriarch must always put the family first. No room for friendship or morality there.”
“I know.”
Leon bowed deeply.
Logan had already proven that many times.
He’d abandoned his old friend and sworn brother, Karn Banheart, and severed ties with the Banheart family without hesitation.
Logan’s eyes were always sharp, his judgments never wrong.
Except for matters involving the Banheart family.
‘Clay.’
Leon closed his eyes tightly.
He could still picture Clay from their childhood, teaching him the sword.
‘Please, just stay away from the Bellun Count family.’
If not, they might truly become enemies this time.
* * *
“Lately, a lot more people have been coming into the territory.”
The people of Banheart territory watched the bustling visitors with curious eyes.
It was a sight they hadn’t seen since the family fell after Karn Banheart’s time as lord.
“And they’re repaving the roads and sprucing up the streets lately.”
“That’s not all. I heard they’re building sewer systems too.”
“Sewer systems?”
“They’re getting aid from the empire.”
Of course, with the sudden changes, plenty were worried.
Knowing how poor the territory had been, they feared it might be overreaching.
“But the young lord is a true gentleman. You hear about the Founding Festival……?”
“Of course! And get this—it’s top secret, but they say he’s got something going with the empire’s princess.”
“What?! Is that for real?!”
“Shh! Keep it down. Why else would the empire send aid?”
Some welcomed the changes, others fretted, but one thing was clear.
The territory was definitely more vibrant than before.
“Young Master, it’s a relief. The people are accepting it.”
“Yeah. Change doesn’t always go smoothly.”
I chatted with Mone amid the townsfolk.
I was in light disguise, unlike usual, so no one recognized me.
Mone seemed amused by my look, grinning the whole time.
“But you’re really getting aid from the empire?”
“……Riya did it on her own. What can I say to her?”
“You two seemed pretty close for that.”
“I’m used to it now.”
One surprise after returning from Aintban was finding the territory full of people from the empire.
When I asked Riya, she said it was just a bit of investment.
‘She’s not really planning to settle here, is she?’
Having Riya around was helpful in many ways, but it came with burdens too.
Not that I minded. It was the first time in my life a woman had shown interest and stuck around first.
‘Thanks to her, the territory’s stabilizing fast.’
Riya Asktalin, called the empire’s treasure, was capable in every field.
She’d handled part of the empire’s state affairs before. Managing this small territory was child’s play for her.
She even had a workaholic streak, constantly asking if there was anything to do.
[Maybe she just wants to feel like the lady of the house.]
‘……Yeah, she’s got that vibe.’
Lately, Riya looked more at ease than when she was in the empire.
Maybe because there were fewer worries, or no need for her princess mask.
Either way, seeing her like that felt pretty good.
[So, when are you going to Damian?]
‘Soon. I’ve seen enough of the territory.’
We’d recruited more soldiers, and I’d asked Duke Gail to spread word of knight recruitment from the Banheart family. Reactions should start coming in a few months.
‘It’s really wrapping up now.’
With Riya’s help, the backlog was clearing smoothly. Once Maria arrived at the mansion, it’d be even easier.
[It’ll run fine without you. Those two girls can handle it.]
‘……Can’t argue with that.’
If Maria handled finances and Riya administration, it really wouldn’t need me.
“So I need to focus on what only I can do.”
“Pardon?”
“Nothing.”
Grow the power to defeat disasters.
At least enough to surpass the protagonist, Fabian.
That was my top priority.