Kays Translations

Chapter 405: Why are you here?

Lionel must have sent word ahead to the Marquis of Mulan. There were already several people gathered in front of the Marquis’s mansion. Among them were some familiar faces. I wanted to speak to them right away, but first, I had to greet the Marquis.

I headed straight toward the Marquis of Mulan. Everyone followed behind me.

“I’ve been expecting you, Julius-sama. I apologize for summoning you so suddenly.”

“It’s been a while, Marquis of Mulan. I have come as a representative of the Heine Frontier Count’s Household to offer our support.”

After that, I introduced everyone I had brought with me. Lionel already knew them, but the others probably didn’t. Once the introductions were done, I approached two people who had caught my attention.

“Axel, Isidore, what are you two doing here?”

“Yo! I heard you were coming, so I waited for you.”

“I was dragged here by Axel against my will…”

Axel gave him a look that said, “What are you talking about?” while Isidore gave a deep, wry smile. It seemed he had truly been forced to come along. But why? Axel shouldn’t have known that I was coming.

As I pondered that, Caro, who had been standing near the Marquis of Mulan and his wife, approached us. Fabienne clung to my arm. I won’t say what it was exactly, but the pressure was intense!

“It has been a while, Julius-sama. When I told Axel about the monster outbreak, he immediately brought Isidore here to the Marquis of Mulan’s domain.”

“Oh? Is that so? Well done, Axel.”

I smirked and patted Axel on the shoulder. He gave a strained smile. I wanted to press him about why he had lied, but I figured he didn’t want me teasing him about his relationship with Caro.

I understood that feeling, but sooner or later, the truth would come out. There was no point in hiding it. Or maybe he felt bad for me? Not that he needed to.

So, Isidore got dragged into this, huh? Well, I doubt he could have refused anyway. Seeing Caro’s explanation, Fabienne loosened her grip on my arm. She seemed a bit dejected.

“Is that the girl Julius is engaged to? I can see why he’d be proud.”

“Yeah, she’s exactly Julius’s type.”

“Hey, you two!”

“Julius-sama, would you introduce me to them as well?”

“O-Of course.”

Even after returning to the Heine Frontier Territory, I occasionally wrote letters to Axel and Isidore. After Fabienne officially became my fiancée, I might have included some lovestruck stories. I hate to admit it, but I suppose it was the folly of youth.

“I’ve heard about you two from Julius-sama. He said you are important friends from the royal capital.”

“Important friends…”

“Hehe.”

Axel looked deeply moved, while Isidore gave an embarrassed smile. Before things got too sentimental, I decided to introduce Gile and Christopher as well. Nero would be fine. Since we’d be spending a lot of time together, a brief introduction would do.

“Hmm, you already had a butler-like air about you back in the royal capital, but now you really look like one.”

“He’s a dependable butler. I can’t live without Nero anymore.”

“That just means you want to slack off, doesn’t it, Julius?”

Axel’s remark made everyone laugh. It seemed the monster outbreak had truly been contained, and people were feeling more at ease. That was a relief. If the aftermath had still been severe, I would have considered sending Fabienne back early.

“Alright, everyone, that’s enough greetings outside. Let’s go back inside.”

“Understood, Mother.”

Following Caro’s lead, I entered the mansion. I thought the Heine Frontier Count’s household was impressive, but a marquis family in the city was on an entirely different level. Now I understood why Father and Alex-niisan were so eager to develop the Heine Frontier Territory further. Compared to this, our domain still felt quite rural.

But I think the countryside has its own advantages. For example, since the land is vast, various experiments can be conducted. You can build unnecessarily large structures as much as you want, and horses can run freely.

The salon we were guided to already had tea prepared. Perhaps it was a tradition of the Muran Marquis family, as the room was decorated in emerald green and white tones. It gave off a somewhat divine atmosphere.

“I didn’t expect Mira-chan to come too!”

“Kyuu!”

Caro, hugging the real Mira instead of a stuffed toy, looked delighted. Axel and Isidore, seeing Mira for the first time, seemed intrigued. They hesitated, extending their hands as if they wanted to touch her but then pulling back.

“I’m sorry for asking as soon as we arrived, but could you update us on the current situation? We gathered some information on the way here, but I don’t think that’s enough.”

“Of course. Our territory is facing serious trouble, but the lands we passed through on the way here have also suffered extensive damage.”

According to the Marquis of Mulan, a large number of Forest Wolves suddenly emerged from the depths of the forest all at once. As a result, some regions were slow to respond, leading to significant damage.

The only silver lining was that Forest Wolves were not particularly strong monsters. There were many injuries and a lot of destruction, but the number of casualties was minimal. However, that itself had become a problem.

“Aside from the damage to buildings and crops, the biggest issue is the sheer number of injured people. Our supply of magic potions ran out almost instantly.”

“So that’s why you needed magic potions. I understand now.”

In this world, using the incredibly foul-tasting magic potions was considered a last resort. That meant they weren’t something that sold in large quantities. As a result, they were not produced in bulk, and there were no surplus stocks available.

No wonder there was a shortage of magic potions. Even if they wanted to buy more from other territories, there simply weren’t any in stock. It seemed that people were already out gathering medicinal herbs, so somewhere, someone was probably in the process of making more potions.

Once those magic potions were distributed, would my job here be finished?

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