[Commemorative SS for the release of the first volume] Events at the beginning of autumn (4)

While the three of them were walking through town

Licia and Fiona were wondering where their guards would be hiding.

Sarah says to the two with a startled look.

“I knew it, they’re going to dig the ground.”

This is what Sarah had heard from Elk last night. The Norman Trading Company had purchased magic tools and other items to be used for leveling the ground, so they were supposed to use them.

“Well, if they’re going to use it, they should, but for what purpose?”

“I think that’s because there’s something good about digging.”

When told the obvious, Licia could only respond with, “I guess so”.

“What do you think about it, Fiona-sama?”

“I think it might be better described as excavation rather than digging.”

Fiona put her index finger to her glossy lips.

The gesture, which was made without any thought or awareness of what she was doing, made her breathtaking beauty stand out even more.

However, no third party was attracted by her beauty.

This was because she was wearing a common traveler’s style robe, it wouldn’t be strange if they walked around like this.

They were thus a trio of young adventurers.

“I heard that Galgazia used to be a place where hot spring water gushed out. It’s dried up now, but it seems that many people used to come here for it.”

“The land of the landowner in question was part of that area, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, I believe that’s why the landowner’s family used to make so much money.”

“Oh, I wonder if that’s why they only sold off part of the mountain.”

Licia muttered, to which Sarah responded, “That’s right!”

“I’ve heard that the landowners were reluctant to sell their land! Maybe they believed that someday the hot spring water would come bubbling up again!”

“You mean that’s what forced them to buy all those magic tools?”

“Yes! That would make sense, wouldn’t it? And with the geological survey, maybe there’s a prospect of hot spring water gushing out again!”

But then Fiona apologized.

“If it’s a bribe for the Norman trading company to start a joint venture, it doesn’t seem particularly strange to me. If the Norman trading company is going to be the exclusive owner of the land, it wouldn’t be unreasonable for them to pay in order to influence the landowners.”

But.

“Well, if that happens, that would make the Norman trading company get too little money this time around.”

I don’t think they’ll get their money back on the magic tools they ordered, Fiona said.

The money that was already being spent on bribes was too little for the Norman trading company to gain from the hot spring water alone.

“Maybe there’s a chance to make a profit from the hot spring water permanently……!”

“If we can expect that much hot spring water, I think it will overflow again in other places. If not, doesn’t it seem like a reckless business based on past depletions?”

Both Sarah and Licia were knee-deep in the same thought.

Then, why did he order the magic tools used for leveling the ground, and why did he send money that seemed to be a bribe in a complicated flow?

The whole town was bustling with people as the ceremony was being held at the magic ship dock.

As she made her way through the crowd, Licia thought aloud.

(There must be a reason why they were forced to do this.)

Mainly because there’s a reason, to make money.

But as Fiona says, there are also concerns, and they are somewhat unclear.

“Adventurers over there! Look, look, come look! It’s a festival today!”

The owner of the stall called out to them.

The three of them approached the stall and looked at the items laid out in the crates lined up in front of the stall. There were inexpensive magic stones, fruits, and simple clothes. This stall seems to be a general store.

“……”

“……”

Licia and Fiona’s eyes were suddenly drawn to the magic stones.

“—-Fiona-sama.”

“—- Licia-san.””

After a few seconds, they simultaneously utter each other’s names and nod to each other.

“I’m sure we’re thinking the same thing, Fiona-sama.”

“Fufu. Yeah. I think so too.”

The owner of the stall was distracted by other customers and missed the conversation between the three of them.

“Wait a minute! Both of you, what did you find out?”

Licia patted the head of Sarah Riohard, the hero’s descendant, who pouted her lips in dissatisfaction.

“It’s about the excavation that Fiona-sama mentioned, but maybe that’s what she’s right about.”

“Yes. It seems it was surprisingly so.”

In normal times, if someone patted her on the head, she would have complained “Don’t treat me like a child!”  but now she was more interested in the situation.

“As you know, Sarah, when you buy a piece of land for road improvement, you are supposed to check the condition of the land, right?”

“I think that’s what they usually do. …… What’s wrong with that?”

“I think they might have found something interesting. Something that the Norman Trading Company would want to get their hands on.”

“You mean in addition to the spa water?”

“Yes, and it is more expensive than the hot spring water that was depleted before.”

“I have something that both Licia-sama and I would like to look into a little more, but I don’t know if it’s definite. But by the looks of it, it will be confirmed.”

“—- I believe there is a library in Galgazia, so let’s pay it a visit.”

Fiona nodded when she heard Licia’s suggestion.

Sarah also quietly said “maybe” and quietly followed.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

The three of them went to the library and looked for a map of the area, which they picked up and went to the desk.

A large map was spread out, showing comparisons between hundreds of years ago and today.

“This is where we are now.”

Fiona traced the topography of the old map with her fingertips.

“The blue line I am tracing is the underground water vein where the hot spring water flowed before it dried up. As you can see, they used to be concentrated in the mountains near the newly built road.”

(I wonder how much money the landowner’s family used to make?)

It was so large that Licia had to think so.

Don’t underestimate hot spring water. The more one unravels the history, the more one learns that many people came to Galgazia in the past in search of its hot spring water.

It was no wonder that the family wanted to cling to their past glory.

“But, as you both know, this time it has nothing to do with hot spring water. —- No. I’d be lying if I said it had nothing to do with it….”

“I would add to what Fiona said, it’s a byproduct of that.”

“Yes, it is. So perhaps it was revealed during the investigation—-“

To get to the answer, Fiona spread another book on the desk.

The title of the book is “Recommendations of Magic Science”.

The book, coincidentally, is the same academic book that Licia, Sarah and Ren had used to study for their examinations.

Magic science is the study of a wide range of things, including not only magic, but also events related to magic power.

“This, I think this the one.”

On the first page of the book, there was a description of a certain mineral.

It’s a type of precious metal that’s produced when highly heated groundwater and atmospheric magic come into contact with rocks.

“As you can see, it’s a precious metal and therefore expensive.”

Licia and Sarah understood the approximate market price of the precious metal that Fiona indicated.

Both of them are daughters of noblemen, so they had a rough idea.

“I think the geological survey has revealed that it’s underground. Hey, Licia, don’t you think that if we find out if the Norman Trading Company is involved in this investigation, we’ll be as good as done?”

“I agree. The landowner must be very pleased with what they’ve discovered.”

The landowners must have investigated underground resources in the past. It’s obvious from the family’s way of thinking.

However, they couldn’t have done so many times, as even a small amount of research would have required a great deal of money.

I would add that the precious metals are probably lying in a very deep place.

In large-scale projects, the performance of magic tools used for geological surveys is higher than those for civilian use, and many people need to be mobilized.

It’s not difficult to understand that the underground resources were finally found due to a combination of circumstances.

“So it wasn’t just the flow of money that wasn’t in accordance with the law that was at the root of the injustice.”

Fiona sighed.

“What is it that Ignat-sama was referring to when you said it wasn’t just about the flow of money?”

“I mean digging for underground resources. The topographical adjustment in general construction isn’t a problem, but in this case, it’s clear that it’s against the law.”

Sarah was still not convinced, but Licia nodded in agreement.

“The topographical impact is different from that of a typical construction project. It would be a terrible idea to dig without the government’s permission, since the resources were probably found deep underground in the mountains owned by the landowner.”

If a significant impact on the topography is expected, i‘s as good as damaging the national land.

Since it’s not known whether there may be any impact on the surrounding topography, in a case like this, permission must be obtained from an imperial agency and an official investigation must be conducted before digging for underground resources.

In the past, such investigations have resulted in some cases where excavation was forbidden in view of the impact on the surrounding area.

“Come to think of it, it’s in the Imperial Code.”

Unlike the other two, Sarah took a little time to understand, but she, too, has learned a lot as a daughter of a royalist noble family.

She joined the conversation somewhat late.

“Licia. As I recall, there was a place in Clausel where you could dig for underground resources, wasn’t there?”

“Yes, there is a place near the town.”

“That’s different from the landowner’s case, isn’t it? In the case of Clausel, if you dig, will you have to pay a proper tax every time you put it on the market?”

If it goes through the guild, then it goes to the guild. If it goes to market through the Clausel family, then it goes through the Clausel family.

The flow of the tax is different in each case and is more complicated, but in any case, the tax is paid to Leomel.

Licia, who had finished confirming this in her conversation with Sarah, chuckled.

“When they are paying the money in secret, they are thinking of colluding with the Norman trading company and the landowner’s family to sell the property outside of the country. That way, they can avoid paying taxes and make a nice profit.”

It wasn’t an accusation, and she could think of nothing else.

“Maybe they thought they could fool your father, Ulysses Ignat. Your father is a one-stop shop when it comes to shipping, so they will always be found out….”

However, that doesn’t mean there will be zero crime.

Sometimes this happens. There are those who are confident that they will never be found out and try to make a profit somehow.

(After that, where did the money come from?)

Licia crossed her arms and thought.

The money that remains is a large sum of money that’s out of proportion to the size of the Norman trading company.

If it were said that the money had been forcibly prepared in the sense of entrusting the future of the trading company to them, one would marvel at the feat of great strength.

But was that really the case? Licia wondered.

“I have something I need you two to help me with.’

Licia said this to get their attention.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

All the invited guests were dressed in gleaming attire.

One gentleman was dressed in a suit of recognizable quality, and the ladies were dressed in colorful dresses that decorated the party venue, Viscount Galgazia’s residence.

The great hall, which boasts a scale rarely seen in the imperial capital, is the pride of Viscount Galgazia.

A total of several hundred invited guests were engaged in pleasant conversation.

Some of them are probably performing belly tricks anyway, but I’ll leave that aside.

Seeing her friend who stood out more than any of the daughters who had gathered at this venue, Sarah unconsciously fawned over her.

“…… Licia, are you really human?”

“Don’t tell me you have a fever.”

Licia, who said in a dubious tone of voice, brought her face close to Sarah’s and put their foreheads on top of each other.

Licia remembered halfway through that this was a party venue and realized that what she was about to do was inappropriate.

Instead, she reached out one hand and touched Sarah’s skin.

The touch distracted Sarah from Licia’s white and spotless skin.

“You don’t seem to have a fever. What’s wrong with you all of a sudden?”

“It’s nothing. It’s just something I said, so don’t worry about it.”

“Well then, I’ll just leave it at that.”

Without further comment, Licia, brushed her hair and smiled, looking beautiful and fragrant.

“You look much more mature than you did last spring,”

Sarah said.

“Same as you, Sarah. It’s been over a year since then.”

“That’s not what I meant….. Well, that’s okay. At any rate, I’m sure Licia will get lots of invitations to dance today.”

(—-If I’m going to dance, it better be with someone I like.)

Fortunately, if you are a saint like Licia, even if you are of a low rank noble family, there’s nothing in particular to be concerned about when you wear your invitations on your sleeve.

Because of her age, everyone knows that she wants to avoid rumors with her partner.

The two watch the hustle and bustle of the party and touch on what happened during the day.

They mention the large sum of money that the Norman trading company seems to have paid, which is out of proportion to the size of the party.

“Did you find out anything after that?”

“You mean after investigating Viscount Galgazia?”

Licia said she would ask them at the library to look into the Galgazia family.

The reason was to see if there was any possibility that the Galgazia family might be involved.

But as a result, they couldn’t find any involvement of the Galgazia family.

Viscount Galgazia pays a lot of money to mine underground resources. When dealing with landowners, he faked many of them by putting the Norman Trading Company between them.

This wasn’t the case.

Instead, the girls were able to obtain some interesting information.

“Sarah, there you are.”

As she was about to tell them this, Sarah’s father appeared.

Her father apologized for interrupting the conversation and walked away from Licia.

Seemingly a member of the Royalist family, Sarah was busy with her greetings.

Then, many members of the opposite sex turned their attention to Licia, who was left alone.

While it wasn’t surprising that anyone would go to talk to her, there were several reasons why not a single person stepped to her side.

First of all, Sarah had been by her side until a few minutes ago.

She was watching the situation because the members of the Royalist faction boast influence regardless of faction.

Other than that, they were admiring Licia’s looks, or were tormented by a feeling of fear when they approached her.

Or they would restrain each other and read each other’s airs.

Licia was taking this situation positively. It gave her time to think.

(Our fathers have probably already come to a conclusion.)

It’s what Licia, Fiona, and Sarah realized in their combined wisdom and what Licia realized beyond that.

Since Ulysses touched it in such a way, it would be a lie not to believe so.

“Today I would like to take this opportunity to unveil the new products of our trading company! It will be a little dark in the hall, but we will have lights on the tables and under our feet, so please bear with us!』

Suddenly, the hall became dark.

The tables and feet are a little brighter, though, and it’s dark enough that if you’re not careful, you won’t be able to see the faces of those near you.

Although it was an abrupt announcement, the content of the announcement itself had been told before the party began.

Since this was a large-scale project, it was advertised that the nobles and other merchant associations that were close to the nobles would be making some kind of announcement.

Licia thought that the time had come, so she looked toward the back of the darkened hall.

There, lit up like a spotlight, were several magic tools.

They all resembled musical instruments, and when one of the merchants operated one of them, music began to play.

“How would you like to dance with the sound of our merchants?』

And so it went.

This transformed a part of the venue into a little dance hall.

In the changed atmosphere, a number of nobles went out to dance. This is also socializing. Because this is also a part of diplomacy, they brought their partners to the event.

It was a rare event, but the nobles took it in good stride.

Licia watched and envied them.

“I wish I could have danced with Ren.”

“Me?”

His voice sounded like an auditory hallucination from next door.

“Yeah. Think about it. We’ve never been to the same party, have we?”

“I believe we were present at your birthday party.”

“Oh no! I mean, not these neat —-“

Licia twisted her head and shook her head to the right.

He was standing only a couple of paces away, so even in the dark she could make out his face.

“—- Really?”

Licia reached out and touched his hand.

His body heat was definitely there.

“W-W-W-Why are you here, Ren?”

“I’m sorry, there were various circumstances.”

Then Ren laughed as usual.

It had been less than a week since I had seen him, but it seemed like it had been a long time. I think it’s because I felt like I had been away from him for such a long time.

(~~~ You mean you were listening to me just now!)

In a cool moment, Ren asked, “Is it me?”

Licia’s words were heard when she muttered that she wanted to dance with him.

However, she tried her best to remain calm.

“And by the way, what’s the situation?”

“……”

“Ah, are you talking about the illicit money?”

“So you knew about it, Licia-sama.”

Thinking that there was no need to hide it, Ren continued.

“You’ve heard from Ulysses and others that there has been some illicit money exchanged between the rumored landowner and the Norman Trading Company. I’m here tonight to settle it.”

“What do you mean by “settle it” …… are you going to uncover the fraud at the party venue?”

Licia immediately expected this, partly due to the presence of Radius, with whom Ren had been working with.

“I won’t do it here, as you can imagine. It’s going to be in the old library of this mansion —-which I didn’t tell you about. ……”

“It’s okay, because it’s obvious. You’re planning it with His Highness the Third Prince anyway.”

“….Right.”

Ren said that they are going to mix in the dance.

The reason is that there are many members of Viscount Galgazia’s household there.

“Hmmm……… I knew it.”

“Oh, Licia-sama, did you understand it too?”

Licia said “Probably” with a lovely smile.

“But Ren. What will you do when you act as someone who’s mixed up in the dance?”

“I’ve been asked to keep a close watch on a certain person.”

“…… From His Highness the Third Prince?”

“Yes. After speaking with Radius, it turns out that I can pack him up and send him to jail this evening. They needed some time to prepare for that, so I’m going to keep an eye on the guy while they do that.”

Apparently, the target man is working hard at dancing.

Even though she wanted to ask him a deeper question, she avoided asking him poorly, since he was acting at Radius’ request.

Instead, she asked

“If you want, we can go over the answers.”

“Sure. Then, please tell me what you think, Licia-sama.”

“Yes, I’ll tell you. —- but only if we dance together.”

Licia reaches out her hand and acts as if she wants Ren to take it.

At this distance, even in the dark, I could see every detail of Licia’s crimson dress, including her face.

She is a saint who wouldn’t have accepted any advances from any man of the opposite sex.

She was the one who had invited Ren to dance with her, her heart pounding in her chest.

“Li-Licia-sama, are you going to dance with me?”

“It’s no good. Or, if that’s the case, how were you going to mix with the people dancing? No way, were you trying to invite someone else….?”

“No! I wasn’t going to do this, because I was going to arrive earlier! I just wanted to join in the dancing because I had to. —-“

“Don’t you want to dance with me?”

“What if someone sees me?”

“I’m fine. I’m certain they can’t see your face in this darkness, and even if they could, they wouldn’t care because you’re one of our knight’s children. You’d better go dancing with me so you can get closer to your target, okay?”

“That’s certainly true, but…”

The opportunity to voice the question of whether the daughter and the knight’s son would dance together was intercepted.

“I’m not going to talk too long about it. Come on, this is not the time for a long conversation.”

Ren heard Licia’s sweet voice and took her hand, “Well, if I may be so presumptuous”.

He approached the dance floor with a satisfied and happy Licia.

While the audience was looking at the new magic equipment, Ren and Licia walked quietly to blend in with the dancers.

“Then we’ll have to test your answers.”

Licia said, showing off her light steps.

Ren, on the other hand, doesn’t have as much leeway as Licia. He had been taught the basics of dancing by the servants, but he had never danced in such an event before.

“Actually, Marquis Ignat proposed this to me.”

She begin by mentioning what Ulysses told the three daughters.

“It is about Ulysses. He must have proposed this with the intention of putting the three of you through an ordeal.”

“Yes he did. We understood that on the way. But we wanted to do what we could anyway, so we had been thinking about it all morning.”

What Licia says next is the source of the ill-gotten gains.

“After we discovered the underground resources, I realized that there was a man in the Viscount Galgazia family who had been disinherited.

“You did your research.”

“Fufu…I know, right?”

Licia smiles at Ren’s surprise.

“The reason why he was made illegitimate is because of his bad behavior and his negligence as a nobleman. I thought there was a possibility that the man was in collusion with the Norman Trading Company. I was hoping he had some kind of grudge against them for making him illegitimate.”

“I see.”

“I heard he was hoarding a lot of money, so I wondered if he was trying to make a comeback.”

Licia believes that someone who used to be a member of the Viscount Galgazia family was involved in the fraud and was giving out money that was not commensurate with the size of the Norman trading company.

In summary, the Norman trading company, the landowner, and Viscounts Galgazia were in collusion.

These three parties were colluding with each other.

It was only once that I thought of it.

“But the money isn’t small enough to be paid by a person who has been disinherited. I don’t think it would be possible to collect the money, because it would be traced back to them.”

“Yes.”

“So it should be someone else. At the very least, there must be someone who is very wealthy and sees the value in being reckless. He must be ambitious.”

Licia then turned her attention to a piece of information.

With the help of Fiona and Sarah, she was able to gather a lot of information and discovered one area of interest.

After researching the existence of the disinherited one, they came across one branch family.

It seems that this branch family is an excellent family, and it seems that the disinherited person was taken care of for a few years. They said that they were trying to strengthen their character, but they failed to do so.

“We did more research on that branch of the family. We found out that it was headed by an ambitious man with plenty of money, and that he was aggressively trying to steal the main family’s business. On top of that, I also found out that the Norman Trading Company has shown weakness in the past when they’ve sought loans.”

Licia looks up at him as she dances, demanding Ren’s answer.

Ren gave a small smile while embracing the feeling of being sucked into those eyes.

“As expected of Licia-sama.”

As soon as Ren begins to tell the rest of the story, the music picks up.

The music was louder and harder to hear, so Licia’s cheeks flushed when Ren really did move his face slightly closer to hers.

“Leave the rest to me. Just don’t do anything dangerous, okay?”

“But what about you, Ren?”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll get it over with right away.”

Licia’s cheeks remained slightly flushed after listening to the story.

She let out a sigh and immediately relaxed her cheeks.

“Since you’re here, will you stay with me for a little while longer?”

“Of course I’d be happy to.”

When the dance ended with the target moving to a different location, Licia couldn’t resist letting go of his hand.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

Fiona didn’t attend the dance, but stayed with her father, Ulysses.

After greeting countless nobles, she took her leave without looking at the darkened hall, and spent a short break outside the hall.

The place was a corner of the gardens in the mansion, with Edgar waiting nearby.

Her father, Ulysses, had returned to the venue a step ahead of her.

Viscount Galgazia, who cherishes the gardens of his mansion, doesn’t open these gardens to the public, even for parties.

Normally, Fiona wouldn’t have been able to visit the garden, but just a few minutes ago, Viscount Galgazia came to greet Ulysses and asked her if she would like to take a look at the garden. It was because she had received permission to do so.

But just as Fiona was about to return to the venue.

“Oh, no!  How did that information get out?”

“I don’t know….. Perhaps, the one from the main family, may have found out about it…..”

“Impossible! Unless there are some very wise men at work, but Marquis Ignat and the others are still—“

She heard men’s voices whispering.

Fiona stood up from her seat in the garden as the voices approached.

Sensing a strange presence, Fiona was about to join Edgar when she heard a voice saying.

“This way.”

Suddenly, a hand was extended to her from a blind spot.

Fiona turned around and saw Ren’s figure.

“Ren?”

“Yes, it’s me. I’m sorry to bother you, but I’m going to have to ask you to come this way ……!”

Fiona’s hand was pulled a little forcefully and she was lured into the shadows of a nearby hedge.

Her heart was racing in front of his sudden appearance, and now her chest is about to burst from the sudden withdrawal of his hand.

She tried her best not to let him know this fact.

“Kyu, what’s going on all of a sudden!”

In a panicked tone of voice, but keeping her voice low.

She was aware that someone had appeared in the place where she was supposed to be just a moment ago.

“I had to do some research and wanted to hear what the people who came in had to say.”

“….. Oh, maybe it’s about that illicit money?”

“I’m working on the fraud case, as you say.”

“I was really surprised…. I’m sure His Highness the Third Prince will be there, too?”

“As expected. It seems you understand too.”

Ren and Radius are good friends.

As far as Fiona is concerned, even though she was the one who got to know him first, seeing them getting along much better than her makes her feel a little jealous.

They must be on the same wavelength.

“Find out at all costs.”

“Ha! Let’s hurry and find out!』

The two of them held their breaths as they listened to the conversation that could be heard through the hedgerow.

The distance between the two hidden people is so close that they can hear each other’s breath.

Fiona was about to say, “Um, —-,” when the men behind the hedge were about to say something new.

That’s when Ren said,

“Shhh.”

He puts his index finger to his lips and makes a rare mischievous gesture.

Fiona was almost lost in admiration at the sight of this unusual man.

『I’m going to go to the old library right now and finish the case!』

“I got it.”

Eventually, the men’s conversation ended.

After they finished talking, Ren and Fiona emerged from the hedge.

Fiona was surprised by Ren’s sudden appearance, but didn’t ask why or what he was going to do.

She knew it would be a foolish question to ask.

“The only reason Edgar wasn’t around was because Ren-kun came along.”

“I am sorry. I asked Edgar-san to contact Ulysses-sama just now. I may not have been strong enough to protect Fiona. I was in a hurry.”

“No, don’t say you’re not strong enough! I’m rather happy to…!”

The last word was snatched out of embarrassment and became small.

She feels bad for making him say, “What did you say?”

“…… It’s nothing. I was just overjoyed.”

A little later, Edgar returned.

Ren left Fiona in Edgar’s care and went to Radius, with whom he shared his plans.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

Viscount Galgazia mansion stands on a large, spacious plot of land, and like the Clausel family, there’s an old mansion.

There were men who went there unnoticed, in the shadow of the bustling party.

Forcing open the key, they stepped into the dusty old library.

The old library is fan-shaped, with rows of bookshelves lining the first floor, and shelves lined with rare books can be seen at the back of the second floor, which has a wide atrium.

The men who came in headed upstairs without looking at the other bookshelves.

“You’re late.”

As they approached the bookshelf, they were greeted by a young boy dressed in a robe.

He was sitting in a wooden chair.

“Who are you? Why have you called me here?”

The man who asked this question was the same man who had been behind the hedge where Ren and Fiona had hidden just a moment before.

The boy who was asked this question didn’t answer, but instead spoke about something else.

“I wouldn’t have moved myself, but I was just in the neighborhood. I was just doing some research and found out what you were up to.”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t you see? You think you’re cleverly concealing it, but to us, it’s meaningless. We have found out that you have been dishonest, and we will throw you in jail tonight.”

Then the men who had come in were ready to kill him.

Especially the man who had been talking to the boy on behalf of the others.

“I have committed an injustice? Don’t talk nonsense. Who are you, anyway? Who do you think you are to accuse me?”

“You’re from a branch of Viscount Galgazia family, are you not? I heard that your family became a branch of Viscounts of Galgazia after your ancestors lost the succession battle a few generations ago.”

“They did not lose! My ancestors stepped aside!”

“Oh. Then why did you do what you did? Why are you using the Norman Trading Company, whose business was failing, as a pawn to funnel money to you, and why are you trying to get the landowner involved in mining underground resources?”

“You…Why do you…..?”

“Just answer the question. I will give you my name.”

The men he had with him were skilled swordsmen.

The man raised one hand to order his men to kill the boy immediately.

“Hmm—- Very well.”

The man’s voice rang out in an endless stream.

“I don’t know where you heard that from, but I’ll tell you.”

The man continued triumphantly, eager to hear the boy’s name.

“The family was in decline. But I know that our family is different! Unlike the original family, we are doing a better job!”

“I know. I’ve done my research on the rare work of the branch families.”

“Well, you know better.”

The man’s cheeks relaxed in amusement at the boy’s words.

“That’s why. If only we could gain more power, it would be for the good of our land….. not for the good of Leomel!”

“If you want to do that, you’ll even use those who have been outlawed in their own families?”

“Tch`–Who are you really? What do you know?”

“Everything.  Because with the scale you found, you could probably dig it up in a few years if you pushed hard enough.”

“…… So what. If my family wielded its power, no one would complain. Did you know that behind the scenes, this man is also trying to expand his power in order to gain leverage over the current head of the family?”

“I know because I looked into it. You guys must be very easy to pin the blame on. The other one has yet to be attempted, but of course, I’m not going to leave it behind. I know that you will be able to make a lot of money doing illegal things for a good cause.”

“That’s…”

“Hm. Your takeover of the main family and your dealings with underground resources reveal your greed for advancement and power. That in itself is not a bad thing, but this time you went about it the wrong way. What do you want when you go to such lengths to obtain it through fraud?”

“What nonsense! What is wrong with greed?”

The man finally reveals his true feelings.

The flimsy introduction up to that point were no longer spoken.

“Is it strange that I, who was called a branch family, looked down on the head family and tried to gain everything? If I’m better than them, then the existence of the stupid main family must be bothering me.”

He said it was the result of pure greed and a feeling of inferiority fueled by feelings similar to those he had felt since childhood.

I can understand the frustration that this man feels because he is superior to those of the original family, as he boasts.

However, the problem is that he directed those feelings in a direction they should not have been directed.

“Even if I pay my share to the landowners, I can expect to make a lot of money from the underground resources. With that money, I can increase my influence.”

Conversely, it would be as if he couldn’t take over the main house without that money.

But Radius, a member of the royal family, understood that with vast amounts of money, he would be able to have a greater influence over everything. The money he would get would be so much more.

“I understand your point. But the knights are already in the lands of the Norman merchants and the landowners. Your ambitions will be crushed.”

Dispatching knights, that is absurd.

Too much has happened on this night alone. The man who had been the main culprit of the injustice stared at the boy, stunned.

“You call us here alone and you plan to just die like a dog?”

“I called you here because I didn’t want to dampen the buzz in the party hall. That’s the only reason I baited you that information about your dealings being leaked out.”

“Ku– get him, but don’t kill him!! I have to ask him where he got his information!”

Finally, the man gave the order to his men, and they all hung at once.

Boom, boom, boom! They ran across the old wooden floor with great force, even pulling out their weapon in front of the boy sitting in the chair.

But the boy sat still without lifting his back.

The man’s men didn’t care and quickly closed the distance. —-

“I’m counting on you, comrade-in-arms,”

The boy muttered, and a swordsman intervened between them.

“Yeah, I’ll take care of the rest.”

The boy was holding a dull steel-colored sword in his hand.

Those whose attacks were blocked by the boy’s sword reacted in a variety of ways.

Some of them somehow fell off their bodies and sat on the floor, while others let go of the sword with a strong numbness in their hands.

Stunned, those who could handle magic released the wind.

“Rip!”

It was such a blade-like wind that if it touched the skin, it would tear it.

But it did not reach him.

The one who intervened in between, the iron magic sword raised by Ren, cut it off with no difficulty.

With star killing, that level of magic is as good as a gentle breeze.

“Ku… impossible…How could you…my magic…”

“Be careful! He’s a hard sword user!”

“Are you kidding me? He’s a hard swordsman? I’m not supposed to be dealing with a guy like that!”

While the other party was panicking, Ren, who wasn’t paying attention, showed a wind-like body movement.

He entered the vicinity of the opponent, who had lost sight of him, and shattered their weapon. The men were powerful in their own right, but the man from the branch of the family was trembling.

“A swordsman of this caliber …… why ……?”

They didn’t expect to be annihilated in less than a dozen seconds.

The man sat down in a heap because of the quick battle.

“You were unlucky. I, as well as Ulysses, Lessard, and the others, had already discovered it, all of your plans had been foiled.”

He was aghast.

He was especially shocked when Radius took off his robes and revealed his appearance.

In this way, Radius would no longer have to identify himself.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

The next day in the early afternoon, Ren was in the magic ship on his way home.

Radius had returned to the imperial capital one step ahead of him, and the matter of last night was left to Viscount Galgazia. Since he was dealing with a branch of the family and the circumstances were such that it would be harsh to hold the Viscount Galgazia responsible for last night’s incident.

He said he was prepared to cut off his head in front of Radius, but Radius put the matter to rest by saying, ‘Use that resolve for Leomel’s sake’.

Both Elk of the House of Riohard and Ulysses of the House of Ignat decide that it would be appropriate.

As for the disinherited one, he did not take any particular action. There are only signs that he was trying to do something out of resentment toward Viscount Galgazia, who made him illegitimate.

However, they didn’t leave it alone and advised Viscount Galgazia.

Viscount Galgazia will move swiftly.

Since he was allowed to do so by the Third Prince, he would work himself to the bone.

With this, the recent commotion had come to an end.

On such a return magic ship, the Clausel and Ignat families were on the same flight.

“You know, we didn’t expect Ren and His Highness the Third Prince to show up.”

“I am sorry. Radius made a sudden suggestion, so I thought I’d settle it if there was no particular problem.”

“Well… I’m not angry, but it’s a story that seems to be very similar to the two of us.”

The two of them, Lessard and Ulysses, had figured out who the real enemy was.

The two had even confirmed that the branch family members were suspicious based on the many documents and background checks they had done.

“So, that’s all for now.”

Lessard said he was going to go to Ulysses and talk to him again about this matter.

Ren went to the guest room and visited Licia and Fiona there.

Upon his arrival, the two ladies invited him in.

“It’s difficult to think within a limited amount of time.”

“Yes, it was a good experience, but I also understood my own immaturity.”

In response to their words in front of him, Ren said, “Don’t worry about it,” and threw in a word of concern.

But even so, their expressions were still dull.

“What’s wrong with you two?”

“Because you knew earlier than we did.”

“Yes, you did! You seemed to have figured it out much earlier than we did. ……!”

I hope you will forgive me for saying that this is that and this is that.

Ren’s smile was filled with such feelings, and he coughed deliberately and shortly.

“I’ll make you a cup of tea if you like, why don’t you take a break?”

Although he had clearly diverted the topic, the two who were deflected did not feel inclined to express their dissatisfaction.

On the contrary, they thought Ren was cute and smiled at him.

Since we’re here, let’s take advantage of his generosity.

Let’s talk about what we would do when we go our separate ways and spend some time before we arrive at Elendil.

They thought this in front of Ren, who had grown even more dependable again.

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