French Fries
Phoenix County was an incredibly bustling place. Unlike the barren, blizzard-ravaged border outpost I'd first imagined upon hearing it defended the frontier, verdant meadows dotted the landscape here and there, with throngs of people coming and going everywhere.
And of course, we were drawing massive attention.
“A weird giant's entering the castle!”
“Call the guards now! Evacuate the civilians!”
“It's an Imperial attack! An Argent Empire raid! What? No it's not?!”
They must have known we were coming, but no one expected us to roll in like this—the walls and streets were in absolute chaos. And since we'd heard too late that the Caterpillar Golem wouldn't fit through the city streets, we'd had to park it outside the walls. We'd taken every precaution against theft anyway, and Mina's merchant caravan was standing guard, so we headed inside without worry.
“Salute to Lady Erica Phoenix!”
“Mm! Good work, everyone!”
There was a brief commotion, but once it came out that our ride was none other than the sole lady of Phoenix County herself, Erica, the soldiers and knights snapped to attention in perfect formation. Erica reached out a hand in praise.
Escorted by the knights, we headed straight for the count's castle.
“A whole castle... as a house.”
“It's more like a villa. The main estate's deeper in the heartlands—this is just a stopover before the gates. The family's key figures are out at the border anyway.”
“That's normal around here...? Oh, so Arclight Territory must seem awfully spartan, huh?”
I couldn't help but chuckle at Noel and Erica's words. These people called an entire castle a vacation home.
“Money and power really do wonders.”
A fortress that could pass for any territory's main seat, dismissed as a mere villa. Reina nodded at my reflection, chiming in.
“...Now that I think about it, counts and dukes operate on a whole different scale. Just treat 'em like aliens from another world.”
“Never imagined I'd bond with you over this, Professor.”
“Don't. It's creepy.”
Reina narrowed her eyes and edged away slightly. A clear sense of distance. Well, she came from commoner stock originally, so her take probably matched mine. My life hadn't been much different from a commoner's either.
“House Christa just has the one mansion and one villa.”
“I didn't need to know that.”
“...Sorry. That was thoughtless of me.”
Mina tossed it out playfully, but Noel apologized right away. Time to drop the house talk—I scanned the surroundings.
“Heard relations with the Argent Empire are rocky, but the trade volume here's insane.”
“You don't think war means no meat or bread, right?”
Bad blood with the Empire didn't mean merchants cut off completely. Though right before actual war, it'd all vanish overnight, apparently.
“Means war won't break out till the merchants vanish from Phoenix County.”
We traded knowing nods and arrived at the opulent castle—basically the Phoenix family's villa. Maids and butlers straight out of a painting popped up everywhere as we entered.
“Welcome home, miss. We've prepared everything as notified.”
“Rooms and attendants for your entourage...”
“We'll talk later. Anything I need to know?”
Erica cut straight to it with the head butler, an elderly man. He nodded.
“The count is here at present.”
“Father? Why?”
She'd said the family's big shots were at the border. The commander-count should be there or at the main estate, not here. Erica's surprise confirmed it wasn't planned.
The butler turned to her more formally.
“He wished to see the rumored giant with his own eyes.”
“Details inside,” he said, leading us further in.
We reached the receiving hall, and there stood a giant.
“Father!!”
“UHAHAHAHA!! Good to see you! My girl!”
The thunderous volume from both was hard to believe—Noel froze in shock for a moment. Then the giant with red hair and beard, Erica's father, spotted Reina and lit up.
“Vice-knight commander Reina! No, Professor Reina now! Been ages—five years, maybe?”
“You're as hale as ever, Count. Good to see you.”
“And you're the Nexia lady! If you're close with my girl, I offer my heartfelt thanks!”
“I-I'm the one who's grateful. Thank you for the warm welcome, Count.”
“And you two—Erica's friends? Delighted!”
I wondered if he didn't know Mina and me... but her expression said this was par for the course. Unlike me, she swiftly donned her noble-lady mask and curtsied.
“Mina Christa, fifth saintess of the Saras Church and of House Christa barony, Count. A pleasure to meet you.”
“Ah... that merchant house? Heard you're sharp as a tack—looks like it's true! Forgive me for not recognizing you; no prior dealings, so I was remiss!”
No malice from the count—just House Christa's position wasn't that prominent, it seemed. Made sense why Mina led with her saintess title over her house.
“So, who're you?”
Unlike his boisterous greetings so far, the count eyed me seriously, warily.
“Aizen Arclight.”
No reason not to answer boldly. His expression shifted intriguingly.
“Arclight... barony?”
“Cadet branch of landowning nobility without title.”
“Not an old house, then. My apologies.”
The count sighed.
“No excuse, but titles and ranks are a mess to memorize. Landed nobles start at rank 8, but titles are from ancient grants—so some have titles but no land, others land but no title. Total chaos.”
Usually, titles meant deep history and attached lands, but courtiers and such complicated it.
“Honestly, it's a goddamn mess,” I agreed.
“Aizen! That's not for formal settings!”
Noel startled and scolded me, stepping forward to apologize in my stead... but
“WAHAHAHA!! Couldn't agree more, lad!!”
The count seemed in better spirits, his wariness easing.
“I like how you say what's on your mind, no bullshit. Cyclops maker. Beats that slimy weasel.”
“Mentioning Cyclops—you wanna hear about 'em?”
He nodded.
“My girl's dropped a fortune on three already. Gotta see if she overpaid or got a steal, right?”
Playful tone, but that wasn't it at all.
“You wanna test their utility against the Empire.”
“Spot on, lad!”
Markets bustled, but Empire war talk kept surfacing.
“Still skirmishes mostly—evasion's viable—but Empire assassins and spies? We spot 'em three times a month. Makes me wanna yell 'knock it off!'”
I got why he craved real war machines. Endless probes would dry anyone out. The kingdom was probably probing too, but defenders naturally wanted escalation off.
“Situation's that rough, huh.”
“Nah. You think Phoenix knights are pushovers? We repel Empire attacks on our own.”
Confident he'd win if it came to blows.
“But that doesn't mean I want war willy-nilly, lad.”
“Hence the Cyclops—as deterrence.”
I was piecing it together. He read it on my face.
“Lad—what's the best way to dodge war or win it outright?”
“Hit me, and you won't walk away clean.”
War needed near-equal power to avoid, right? Or at least make attacking too costly. His look confirmed: not victory arms, but deterrence.
Reina stared at me in real panic as the count roared with laughter.
“Rumors are bullshit. Gotta see for yourself.”
“That so?”
“First I heard, some nutjob said you could sell golems to the enemy and defect anytime.”
“Hahaha.”
Couldn't deny that one. Awkward. But he dropped it.
“Enough heavy talk! You're here—time for a proper feast. Brought my personal chef; let's eat, unwind from travel, and chat!”
“Yay, tons of local specialties—can't wait!”
Erica beamed at the promise of county fare. The count grinned.
“Any special requests, speak up. Saw the markets en route? Logistics hub—most anything's possible! Fish might be tricky, though.”
Inland, fresh fish was tough. Not that I craved it...
“Food, huh.”
Passing markets sparked ideas. Most anything doable.
Overdosed on boiled potatoes back home, one craving hit.
“I'd like french fries.”
“Potatoes? But why fry 'em?”
“Figured as much.”
Noel's question showed the concept didn't exist here. No fries? Fine, but...
“Spill it.”
My investor was primed to hawk the recipe.