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Negotiation (3)
209
In the afternoon when the sun warms.
Rey sat across from Alessia and held up her teacup.
Ray periodically had a conversation with Alesia alone as it is now.
Ray opened her mouth while looking at Alesia who happily puts the refreshment in her mouth.
“Alessia-sama.”
“Well!”
“I’m going to go back to the Countess soon.”
“You mean the Count of Phillips?”
“Yes, Alessia-sama has been tied up here for too long because of my circumstances, haven’t you?”
“But can I go back?”
At a time of chaos like now, there was no hope for Ernst or the Emperor for the heir of the Space Sword to leave to the outskirts where it was difficult to monitor.
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No one explained it, but Alesia was also noticing that much.
Ray thought for a moment before answering.
“Well… I may have to go back to the Countess and move back in a month or two at the request of the high-ranking people… But I’m still going to show my face in the Counties. I’ll grant that kind of request.”
“Well…”
Alessia gave a slightly gloomy look.
Rey asked, puzzled by Alesia’s reaction that was completely different from what she had expected.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been back to my hometown, isn’t Alesia-sama not happy?”
“Um… So…”
Alessia chewed and swallowed the refreshment she had put in her mouth, raising her voice.
“There are a lot of precious and expensive refreshments and tea leaves here that are hard to find in the counties!”
Except for the really, really expensive stuff, Alesia could get whatever she asked for.
Moreover, the bed for the guests in the fortress was excellent, and you could borrow and try on a gorgeous and pretty dress.
Alesia was already drenched in material abundance. So much so that I don’t even think about my hometown.
“Ummm… It’s a pity, but if Rey goes back, I’ll go back too. It’s a pity though…”
Alessia took the sound that would have been weeping if Count Phillips had heard it.
When Ray looked at her with eyes filled with emotions such as ‘When will my girl grow old’, Alessia was belatedly reconciling her remarks.
“Just kidding! I miss my hometown too!”
“…”
Rey got up from her seat and walked over to Alesia.
Just as Alesia blinked, Rey poked Alesia’s belly with her finger.
His fingers dig into the flesh very softly.
Rey giggled in admiration as Alessia came over and hit Rey in awe.
“You seem to have lost some weight though? Are your fingers smaller than before?”
“Hmm! I’ve increased the time I practiced swordsmanship these days!”
“Just do it like it is now. Take care of your health in advance so you don’t suffer later.”
“You’re right, but you sound like an old man would.”
Rey grinned and took the refreshment Alesia was about to put in her mouth.
“For now, I understand the intention of the lady.”
*
Ernst came to the fortress.
After a brief greeting from the people of the family, Ernst called Rey to his office.
Rei, who had expected to be called in advance, got dressed and went to the office to have a private conversation with Ernst.
As soon as Rey entered the office, Ernst opened an absolute sphere.
All of the mana in the area came under his control.
It meant that no one else would ever hear the conversation here.
Under the absolute realm, Rey sat down opposite Ernst, forcing the tension on her face to subside.
“May I ask if the situation in Alimo has been resolved?”
“I’ll answer you. You deserve to be heard.”
Ernst recounted what had happened in some detail.
The Empire had been conducting military operations in the Kingdom of Alimo for a while, and it was still in progress.
The high-ranking officials of Alimo protested the imperial arbitrariness of military operations.
What they protested particularly loudly was the issue of the Meteor clash.
Common sense, it was much less difficult to disrupt the magic manifestation itself than to change the hitting point by twisting the trajectory of the enemy’s embodied Meteor.
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Nevertheless, the Empire twisted Meteor’s trajectory, striking back the enemy’s leadership.
The operation was successful and it succeeded in annihilating the enemy’s leadership, but the kingdom of Alimo suffered great damage in the aftermath.
The high-ranking officials of Alimo, who suffered astronomical damage, heard how Meteor fell and had a seizure with foam in their mouths.
When Alimo’s high-ranking officials demanded immediate compensation for the damage, the Empire responded briefly.
If you don’t want to follow, close your mouth.
In the first place, the king of Alimo collapsed in the empire, and was tied up by semi-forced force, but the voice of the kingdom of Alimo could not be strong.
The Empire secured the testimonies of Rey, Luna, Ult, and the Silver Cross Knights, as well as several physical evidences to support their testimonies and increase their credibility, also from the Forbidden Forest, which had become a wasteland.
Of course, if the Empire had dug all the underground cities through a long-term military campaign to gather evidence, they would have doubted Rei and Luna’s testimony that the demon worshipers had prepared Meteor.
However, long-term military operations were impossible in the Forbidden Forest.
Even if it was a wasteland instead of a forest, it was still a polluted and corrupted land.
Demon worshipers capable of unleashing lord-class power outside of the demon realm were, at best, only a few among the fully enlightened apostles, but conversely, there were many demon worshipers who could unleash tremendous power within the demon realm.
The Forbidden Forest was a place close to magic, and in that unfavorable place, even an empire could not conduct military operations for a long period of time.
Thanks to this, Rey and Luna’s statements could not be greatly questioned.
Based on the findings of the investigation, the Empire imposed fines on all groups that secretly traded with the Demon Worshipers of the Forbidden Forest.
Are you saying you can’t pay the fine? I was really pissed off.
Among the groups that the Empire imposed a penalty for, there were many forces that belonged to the Empire, but they had to spend it sparingly.
In fact, there were too many forces connected with the Forbidden Forest, so it was just a fine line.
“…During a military operation in the Forbidden Forest, several pieces of Dragonheart were found that could be used under the collapsed underground cities.”
“Oh, is it?”
The contingent sent by the Empire must have been too busy digging it up.
Rey was muttering to herself, Ernst added.
“Your Majesty has promised you that some of them will be used to craft or revamp artifacts and reward you.”
“uh…”
Rey pondered how to react, then bowed her head.
“I would like to thank His Majesty’s grace, but may I accept it…”
“There is no need to be humble. You are only receiving what you deserve. Viscount Gadi will be released soon, but tell him to refrain from arrogance for a while.”
Unlike Rey, who was sent to Alimo by Ernst following formal procedures.
Ult neglected the territories given by the emperor and smuggled them into the country, robbing other people’s national relics or even mercenaries.
Even if there were some achievements, it would have been difficult to avoid punishment if Ernst had not protected them.
Ernst took out the main drug after explaining the approximate situation.
“If you intend to claim the Imperial Dragon Heart as a reward for your achievements…”
“…”
“Wait for a moment. I will speak directly to His Majesty the Emperor.”
If he misbehaved for a dragon heart from the imperial family, he could be charged with treason.
Rey nodded at Ernst’s warning.
“All right.”
“Do you absolutely need the Imperial Dragon Heart to extend your life?”
“Isn’t there a slight difference in the fundamental properties of each dragon heart? The imperial dragon heart that Risilote-sama was studying was the imperial dragon heart, so I think you will need the imperial dragon heart.”
Ray added with a sad expression on his face.
“Next time, I will show you the theory that Risilote-sama left behind.”
I was still working on a false theory, so I couldn’t come up with it.
Ernst looked at Rey with a determined expression on his face and sighed briefly.
“Your Majesty is also thinking about how to reward you for your achievements.”
Title, territory, decoration, wealth. There is no end to the discussion.
Ray replied calmly.
“I want to stop by my hometown first. All my people are there. Why don’t you live by seeing your face?”
“…”
There were many cases of people who were truly ambitious, looking forward and not looking back at their hometown for 10 or 20 years.
However, Ray wasn’t like that, and he didn’t have that much time left.
Ernst’s expression hardened a bit.
“Okay. Is there anything else you want?”
“I don’t want to make my name public.”
“Even if it’s only half of your achievements, your name will be engraved in the history books and will be talked about for hundreds of years. But don’t you want to make your name known?”
“If a hero who succeeded the space sword and achieved mythical achievements died in less than 5 years, wouldn’t His Majesty the Emperor be in trouble?”
The backstory will definitely come out.
There will be a lot of conspiracy theories, and it will not be of much help to the morale of the imperial army that has to get through difficult times.
It wasn’t that Rey’s assertion was wrong, but even so, there was no need to hide his existence.
“You don’t have to worry about it up to that point. Also, even if you die early, you just have to pass on what you received to the heir you want.”
“Then the heir who inherited my title and wealth will suffer from excessive interest and checks. I don’t want it.”
Do you hand over most of the land and wealth you received to Count Phillips and Alesia after death?
In Rey’s opinion, it was like carrying an excessively heavy load.
Count Phillips could somehow manage to become a tycoon in central politics, but such a power struggle was not in line with the tendencies of Count Phillips and Alessia.
Ernst asked again.
“Then what do you want?”
Ray cleared his mind once more and opened his mouth.
“…There are two people who have been greatly blessed when I was young. It doesn’t matter if it is a small piece of land on the outskirts, so please grant me a title and territory that can be inherited.”
“It’s not difficult.”
“Give me a foothold for the Count Phillips. Whether it’s growing power on the periphery or entering the political world, give it a foothold enough to make your own choices.”
“It’s not difficult either.”
“I hope that the Empire will cooperate to resolve the curse of Resina, a hero who fell 600 years ago.”
“I can’t say for sure, but try.”
“An elf who sacrificed for the world, loved humans, and was strong enough to be called a hero. Well… we need to know the details of the elves, but if you can save her and grant her a favor, it will benefit the Empire as well.”
“…is there anything else you want?”
“Well, there are more little things…”
Ray grinned.
“Rather than babbling, let’s try to believe in the ‘faith’ that the Marquis said.”
It was a sentence with multiple meanings.
If you interpret it with a bit of distortion, ‘Take care of yourself as much as you can.’ meant to some extent.
It could have been considered arrogant, but considering Rey’s achievements, it was worth closing his eyes even if he was arrogant.
Ernst swallowed his complicated emotions and opened his mouth.
“I’ll arrange for you to go back to your hometown after you meet His Majesty the Emperor. You will be able to use the Warpgate. However, Yohana must stay here.”
Rey blinked and tilted her head to the side.
“Are you going to take Johanna hostage?”
Ernst burst into laughter at the very blatant and rude question.
“I think you’re very misunderstood, too, but there’s another reason .”
