Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 174: Unclear Intentions
“「What?」”
The unexpected words from Samuel’s mouth caused Isamu and Annemarie to speak in unison.
“Hmm… Well, it’s no wonder you’re surprised. It seems this is quite unexpected for you too.”
Samuel said, showing no signs of anger despite their rather rude reaction.
“My apologies.”
“We were so shocked we lost our composure. We are deeply sorry.”
Isamu and Annemarie, now somewhat grounded in reality, hurriedly apologized.
“It’s fine. Even I was taken aback by this.”
“Felker-sama, you were surprised too? …So, does that mean you were not one of the five families that agreed to this?”
Isamu felt something off in Samuel’s words.
“Forgive me, but I was under the impression that you were a key member of Duke Yaderud’s faction…”
Previously, Marquis Chartreuse, the head of a faction opposing Duke Yaderud, had informed them as such.
“Indeed, as you say, our house shares common goals with Duke Yaderud’s house. However, I learned of this emergency summons only upon receiving the order.”
Samuel’s normally calm face showed a hint of displeasure.
“I see… My apologies.”
Isamu, who had assumed Samuel was in agreement with the summons, was surprised and apologized upon realizing this wasn’t the case.
“The specific details of the suspicion are kept secret to prevent tampering with evidence… But it’s undoubtedly related to the recent Plazzo incident.”
Samuel, surprisingly, continued the conversation.
“Yes. But considering the current situation, isn’t it a bad idea to summon the upper nobility now? Especially with the Felker territory also bordering Plazzo?”
Isamu took the opportunity to voice his doubts.
“Indeed. There’s no guarantee that the bandits calling themselves Avalushi won’t invade, and there’s a high chance some country is behind them.”
Samuel seemed to share Isamu’s concerns.
“However, we cannot disobey the summons… What about you? The summons is only for the heads of households.”
Samuel turned his eyes to Isamu.
“We also intend to head to the capital immediately. I don’t know what we can do, but I want to speak with Selfers-san…”
“I see. Would you like to travel with us? You know Franboise, and having skilled knights like you as part of the escort would be reassuring.”
Samuel unexpectedly offered.
“We appreciate the offer… However, we have come here using a new vehicle called a magic car. It can travel at more than twice the speed of a carriage, so we must excuse ourselves and proceed ahead. Instead, we will clear the path for you.”
Considering the content of the suspicions against their lord and the person who raised them, traveling to the capital with a key member of the opposing faction wasn’t a bad idea. However, the priority now was to contact Selfers quickly and decide their next move.
“I see. That’s a pity, but you have a point. Take care. Things seem rather uncertain.”
“Thank you.”
Surprised by Samuel’s concern for their journey, Isamu bowed his head in gratitude.
“By the way, that unusual vehicle is the magic car, correct? Is it also one of your creations?”
The magic car was still idling by the gate, as they had found Franboise and the others as soon as they entered the town.
“Yes. It’s still in the prototype stage, so we were conducting field tests while traveling through allied territories.”
“I see. You mentioned earlier that it travels at more than twice the speed, correct? Does that mean it can cover more than twice the distance in a day as well?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“I see. That’s quite an impressive creation. However…”
“However?”
“It’s a bit too good. Be sure to handle it with care.”
Samuel said, narrowing his eyes at Isamu.
“…Yes, I will keep that in mind.”
“Good. Sorry for taking your time.”
“No, thank you for the information.”
Samuel started walking back towards his carriage but stopped and turned back after a few steps.
“By the way, which route do you plan to take to the capital?”
“Route?”
“We plan to take the highway through Count Discaf’s and Count Alkmeyer’s territories.”
Annemarie explained, as Isamu was not yet familiar with the exact routes.
The capital lay to the south-southeast from their current location. The standard route was to take the highway stretching almost straight to the capital, passing through the territories mentioned by Annemarie.
“Discaf and Alkmeyer, huh… If possible, I recommend entering the capital from the west by going south through the Balsham territory. It’s a bit of a detour, but with your magic car, you should still arrive before us.”
“From Balsham territory?”
Felker’s suggested route involved heading south through the highway in Balsham territory, then east from Marquis Skirachi’s territory to approach the capital from the west. The territorial layout south of their current location made this a slightly longer route.
Map Symbols and Their Meanings
– **★**: Capital City
– **●**: Balsham Territory Border Town (Current Location)
– **〇**: Balsham Territory’s Other Locations
– **◎**: Marquis Skirachi’s Territory
– **□**: Count Discaf’s Territory
– **◇**: Count Alkmeyer’s Territory
– **×**: Count Bisseling’s Territory (including Viscount Klaufeldt’s Territory)
– **△**: Count Kalenberg’s Territory
—
“Indeed, with the magic car, it would only extend the journey by a day. May I ask why you’re suggesting a detour?”
Since Samuel specifically recommended a detour to Isamu and the others, there must be a reason behind it.
“The shortest route passes through the territories of Counts Discaf and Alkmeyer, who are both part of Duke Yaderud’s faction and have agreed to his emergency summons. Does that make sense now?”
“…I see. Thank you for the advice. It seems taking the detour would be wiser, even if it takes longer.”
This was valuable information that only insiders would know, making it fortunate for Isamu to hear it from Samuel.
“I’m glad you understand.”
“But why did you go out of your way to advise us?”
“Why, indeed. If I had to say, it’s a hunch.”
“A hunch…”
“Yes. If something happens to you, it feels like the balance would shift dramatically.”
“Balance…”
“Take care on your journey.”
With that, Samuel finally turned and headed back to his carriage.
—
“What balance do you think he was referring to?”
Annemarie tilted her head.
“I don’t know… I don’t know, but it seems their faction isn’t completely unified. The advice was helpful, so let’s hurry and depart.”
“Right.”
Leaving Samuel’s cryptic words aside for the moment, Isamu and Annemarie returned to the magic car to explain the situation and their plan to the rest of their group.
After giving instructions to one of the light magic cars waiting in the town to deliver a message to Klaufeldt, they prepared for departure themselves.
—
Gascoigne, who had hoped to rest a bit, attempted to flee upon hearing they’d be undertaking another forced march by magic car. However, he couldn’t outrun Orihime and was swiftly captured and bundled onto the cargo bed.
Franboise, who witnessed the entire episode with wide eyes, received a smile and a greeting from Isamu’s group before they left the town as if nothing had happened.
—
Despite pushing themselves hard and continuing their march after sunset, they reached the capital of the Balsham territory, Balsharn, by the evening of the next day.
The Margrave Balsham had already left Balshan two days ago, upon receiving the notification of the emergency summons.
In his absence, former knight commander and current steward Larem provided them with information.
—
“Did you already know about the emergency summons?”
Larem was surprised that Isamu was already aware of the emergency summons, which usually only upper nobility were notified about.
“Yes. We happened to meet Marquis Felker en route to the capital from the border town, and he informed us of the summons and its reason.”
“I see… you even know the reason for the summons…”
Larem’s expression darkened, indicating that he too was aware of the reason.
“Lubinda-sama was very angry. It’s outrageous to summon us for such an unreasonable reason when we don’t know when the Zun Republic might invade.”
As a Margrave responsible for guarding the border, Lubinda’s anger was understandable.
“I don’t know what they’re plotting, but it can’t be anything good. Matsumoto-dono, you should be careful as well.”
“Thank you. We stopped by here because we received similar advice from Marquis Felker…”
“Marquis Felker, you say?”
Larem was surprised to hear that Samuel, a member of Duke Yaderud’s faction, had given them advice.
—
The next morning, while making final checks to add four light magic cars to their convoy stationed in Balshan, Isamu spoke with Larem.
“We will be heading south to follow Lubinda-sama. Things are getting tense, so please be careful. I’ll leave three magic cars with drivers here for you. Use them if needed.”
“Thank you. Speed is crucial in times of emergency.”
“I agree. If they bring out their magic giant golems, we will counter with magic cars. Well then, we must be off!”
“Safe travels. Take care on your journey.”
After exchanging farewells with Larem, Isamu and his group left Balshan.
—
On the morning of the third day after leaving Balshan, they caught up with Lubinda’s group about halfway to the capital.
“Oh, Isamu! So, you’ve heard about the emergency summons?”
“Yes. Though I learned about it in the border town, not Balshan.”
During a short rest stop in a village, Isamu explained the situation to Lubinda.
—
“What? Not Balshan?”
“Yes. We happened to meet Marquis Felker, who told us about it.”
Isamu recounted the recent events in Plazzo to Lubinda, who was surprised.
“Those magic giant golems are formidable…”
“Yes. We might be able to handle them with magic devices like ours, but conventional weapons would struggle.”
“Indeed, they live up to the name Avalushi… And it’s surprising that Samuel didn’t know about the summons.”
“Yes. I was quite surprised, as I thought he would be aware.”
“This is turning out to be more complicated than expected.”
“Yes. It’s a significant disadvantage to be caught off guard.”
“Indeed. We must hurry to the capital and join forces with Selfers to devise a plan.”
“Yes. Lubinda-sama, I propose you and some of the knights switch to the magic cars so we can quickly reach the capital. We have added four more magic cars, so we can accommodate 10 to 15 people.”
“You’re offering the magic cars? Then we’ll send two squads of ten men each, plus a captain and myself.”
“Understood. Lubinda-sama, please ride in my magicar. The others, please board the light magic cars.”
With that, Isamu’s group, now joined by Lubinda and eleven knights from Balsham, set off towards the capital, flying the Balsham family’s flag on their light magic cars.
Two days after joining with Lubinda and four days after leaving Balshan, Isamu and his group arrived at the capital city. To settle down, they headed to the Balsham family’s townhouse.
“Magic car is truly an amazing invention. If we were traveling by carriage, it would take at least two more days even if we hurried…”
Lubinda was amazed that they had reached the capital from Balshan in just four days.
Normally, it would take eight days by carriage to travel from Balshan to the capital, and ten days at a regular pace. It was no wonder he was surprised.
“At this speed, neither Zvar, Nazario or Eleonora would have arrived yet.”
The territory of Margrave Zvar Zabadak is one of the furthest from the capital, taking about 15 days by carriage, so they would likely be the last to arrive.
The territories of Nazario’s Innocenti and Eleonora’s Eriksen are both about ten days away. They would be traveling under forced march conditions, but it would still take them about two more days.
—
“And it’s a relief that Selfers arrived safely.”
“Yes, I’m honestly relieved…”
It usually takes about five days to travel from the Klaufeldt territory to the capital. This time, it seemed they used a light magic car, as word had arrived at the Balsham townhouse that they had already reached the capital three days ago.
Given the uncertainties of the journey, both Isamu and Lubinda were relieved to hear this.
Selfers was reportedly staying at the Silver Dragon’s Scales Inn, their usual lodging, and Lubinda had sent someone to deliver a message.
—
In less than an hour, Selfers arrived accompanied by a knight.
“Sorry for the late hour.”
“No, thank you for coming despite the long journey.”
“No trouble at all, since I got picked up by Isamu’s magic car on the way. It was quite comfortable.”
“Oh, so that’s why you were with Isamu.”
“Yes. I happened to meet Marquis Felker near the border of Plazzo while he was heading to the capital for the emergency summons. He explained the situation to me… I picked up Lubinda and his group while passing through the Balsham territory.”
“That’s quite a coincidence… But it was helpful, as we had very little concrete information about the situation.”
Selfers spoke with a mixture of confusion and fatigue.
—
“By the way, are you aware of the demands made by those calling themselves Avalusi?”
“Yes, I heard about it. But I only learned the details after arriving in the capital and speaking with Nazario’s eldest son, Zayle.”
“I see. I’m glad to hear you made it safely.”
“Haha, actually, we traveled under the Orihime Trading Company’s emblem instead of the Klaufeldt family’s until just before reaching the capital. Since Duke Yaderud issued the summons, we didn’t want to pass through territories of nobles in his faction with our family crest displayed.”
Selfers chuckled.
“That’s quite a clever move.”
“Yes, impressive. If I hadn’t received advice from Marquis Felker, I wouldn’t have thought of that myself…”
Isamu was impressed by Selfers’ risk management skills.
—
“But doesn’t it seem strange that the emergency summons was issued so quickly after the declaration?”
Isamu voiced his lingering concern.
In the border town, the emergency summons motion had been issued by the evening of the same day Isamu had read the declaration early in the morning.
It was clear the summons was based on the declaration’s content, but Isamu was puzzled how Duke Yaderud, whose territory was further from the Plazzo border than Klaufeldt, could issue it so promptly.
“It seems Alexei has been in the capital for some time.”
“In the capital? I see… So he issued the summons immediately after hearing the declaration there.”
“Officially, that’s likely the case. The heads of the families who agreed were probably ‘coincidentally’ in or near the capital too.”
Lubinda snorted, looking displeased.
“…Even though we have no evidence, what do they hope to achieve with such an obvious self-fabrication?”
“Indeed. Such a baseless accusation shouldn’t lead to a successful motion…”
No matter how much they pondered, they couldn’t discern the motive behind it.
In the days following, as more and more high-ranking nobles gathered in the capital, they conducted information gathering, but nothing noteworthy was uncovered.
In addition to gathering information, they spent their days sharing intelligence among faction nobles, communicating with neutral factions, and creating magical tools to counter the magical giant golems.
—
Eight days after Yuu and his group arrived in the capital, the day of the emergency meeting finally arrived.