episode_0031

“Employer. Are you really trying to purchase the title of Great Noble?”

While traveling in an open carriage with an open top, the guide sitting in the driver’s seat quietly spoke to me.

I was tired of looking around the capital in a daze, so I nodded, thinking that it was okay to be bored.

“Yes. There are some things I need.”

“I see. Honestly, it’s quite surprising that I haven’t seen anyone in three years come forward to purchase a title of great nobleman.”

“It’s been three years?”

“Yes. The royal family is not in a very good situation right now. The aristocratic faction was gaining ground, and the royalist faction had no proper internal unity, so there were no people purchasing titles. what… … . Maybe it’s just because I haven’t heard of it, but I’m sure titles aren’t purchased very often.”

The guide made it worth my while to hire him. This is because I was able to find out a lot of information through him.

“Employer. Do you know why titles of great nobility can only be sold by the royal family?”

“Uh… … . I don’t know the details, but I understand that it is to strengthen the influence of the royal family.”

“That’s right. To be more specific, it is for the royal family to use the profits generated from selling titles and to secure talented people who will be helpful to the royal family.”

“Securing talent?”

“Yes. Since the sale of the title was organized by the royal family, the purchaser automatically belonged to the royalist faction. In the first place, the nobles of the noble faction do not consider the major nobles to be the same nobles, so they cannot convert to the noble faction.”

By the standards of nobles from the aristocratic faction who would have inherited titles passed down through their families, it is not strange that first-generation nobles are not considered to be the same nobles.

As I was nodding my head lightly, the guide continued talking very enthusiastically, as if he was excited.

“There is an interesting fact about noble titles. Do you know anything?”

“If you say that, is there anyone who knows?”

“Hahaha! That’s true too!”

“So, what is that fun fact?”

When I heard that it was an interesting fact, I became interested.

“The amount of money needed to purchase a noble title varies from person to person.”

“… … Different?”

It turns out that not only is it fun, but it can also be a bit problematic. The money I brought was a little more than the expected cost, but if you are a warlock and receive a lot of money, you will have the unfortunate situation of not being able to purchase it.

“This is a way to recruit outstanding talent. Those who can benefit the royal family and the royalist faction are charged a lower fee, and those who do not have any particular talent or are of no benefit are charged a higher fee.”

“It is said that it is impossible to predict the cost, so from my perspective, it is not a particularly interesting story.”

“Hahaha, is that right? But here’s the really fun part. Quite a long time ago, there was a person who had such great talent that the royal family even gave him money and gave him a title.”

“… … Wow, I’m jealous.”

I was very envious when I heard that, rather than paying money to buy a title, I was also given a title in exchange for money.

“That person is the ancestor of the Duke of Digar family, who is currently the head of the royalist faction. It is said that he made a remarkable contribution in the battle against the Kingdom of Kam, which was swallowed up by the Finn Empire and disappeared into history. There is a record that he executed the assassin who was trying to assassinate His Highness the King at the time, then immediately went over to the Kingdom of Kam and killed all of the Kingdom’s successors. There is also a backstory that thanks to this, a civil war broke out and the country was torn into several branches and absorbed into bordering countries.”

“I guess one ability was good.”

“That’s right. That outstanding ability has been passed down from generation to generation, and those who still protect His Majesty the King are members of the Digar Duke family.”

“Oh… … .”

It was strangely enjoyable to learn something I didn’t know before. In some ways, I might have disliked it because it felt like a history lesson, but I found it quite interesting, perhaps because it was a story about a major noble title that I was about to purchase.

Or maybe it was because I didn’t learn history properly that I found it even more interesting. Because I was a commoner, I couldn’t learn history, and when I learned black magic from my grandmother, I didn’t learn history because I only learned about black magic. The only thing I learned about history was about black magic.

Anyway, I don’t know if it was because I was traveling while listening to such interesting stories, but I quickly arrived at my destination. No, time passed quite a bit, but it felt like time was passing quickly.

“Please use us again next time! You can purchase great noble titles by going inside the building!”

After paying the promised compensation, the guide smiled happily and immediately drove away in the carriage.

After watching the carriage speed away for a moment, we headed towards the building pointed out by the guide. It was very quiet inside, but there was only one thing inside that could be called an information desk. The only person there was a woman sitting at the information desk.

“… … Customer?”

As the guide said, there really wasn’t anyone to buy the title of nobleman for three years, but the woman who was hanging out looked at me blankly and rolled her eyes as if trying to figure out the situation. Then, he suddenly moved and corrected his posture.

“Welcome. This is a judge who reviews purchases of titles of great nobility. Are you here to purchase a great noble title?”

“Ah… … . yes. I heard that you can purchase the Great Noble title here, is that correct?”

“That’s right. After going through the screening here, you can purchase the title of Great Nobility. After determining whether you are worthy of the title of Great Noble, you can purchase the title.”

“How do I get reviewed?”

“First, please fill out this document. Please note that if you do not know the alphabet, you cannot purchase the title of Great Noble.”

Since it was a job for a commoner to change status, the qualifications seemed to be quite strict. There are many nobles who are illiterate, and if you don’t know how to write, you can’t purchase the title of great nobleman. Of course, this did not apply to me who knew letters.

“I know the letters. By any chance, do you have a pen?”

“Quill pen and ink are provided here. Please let me know when you have finished filling out the documents.”

He took the document, quill, and ink from the woman and began to fill out the document.

There were quite a few things to fill out in the document. Details about the family, the applicant’s occupation, special skills, and use of mana were to be filled out.

“Should I write my occupation as certified warlock or blacksmith shop owner? … .”

Although there were some parts that got a little stuck, I still moved the quill around and filled in the parts I needed to fill out on the document one by one.

I filled out all the required information on the document and handed it over to the woman. The woman who received the document scanned the document to make sure there were no blank spaces, and immediately nodded.

“The documents appear to have been completed properly, so we will submit them for review. Which accommodation are you staying in right now?”

“I haven’t found accommodation yet, will it take long?”

“When there were many noble title purchases, it was possible to do so on the same day, but now it tends to take more than two days. This is because there are not many screenings, and the people who will be screening are often absent.”

Since they said they needed time because they didn’t have enough people to review, I nodded lightly. There’s no reason why you can’t wait that long.

“We need to notify you of the results of the review… … . Could you please let me know after you find separate accommodation? It is also possible to hire a separate guide, find accommodation, and then inform me through the guide. What would you like to do?”

“Um… … .”

I was worried about what to do with the woman’s question. Since I had a great time coming here through a guide, I thought it would be a good idea to hire a guide, but at the same time, I also wondered if it was really necessary to do so.

However, the moment I was thinking about that, the door behind me opened wide and a group of people came in.

It was also a stampede of people who didn’t look like ordinary people. There was a person in front wearing clothes that were a bit plain but looked like they were made of good quality, and around him were people equipped with high-quality weapons, as if protecting them. Moreover, the way the woman looked at them in shock and quickly bowed her head showed that they were by no means ordinary people.

“Oh, are you a customer? Wow, I don’t know how long it’s been since someone purchased the title of Great Noble.”

“Your Majesty, the last buyer was two and a half years ago.”

“It’s such a shame. If there were multiple people purchasing the title of Great Nobility, the vulgar nobles would not have been able to install it.”

“Degradation!”

“Okay. They don’t even let me speak.”

And, as I overheard their conversation, I couldn’t help but be shocked. I thought it wasn’t an ordinary person, but I never expected it to be a crown prince. Ah, now I see that the pattern engraved on the armor is that of the Royal Knights.

Although I didn’t expect that the person who suddenly appeared was the crown prince, I quickly shook off the random thoughts that filled my head. This is because it was necessary to be polite, even if only lightly. Even though I’m a warlock who can live for hundreds of years, I couldn’t be resurrected even if my head was cut off by the guard knights. I don’t know if it’s Rich.

Anyway, I got down on one knee and bowed my head towards the Crown Prince, and the Crown Prince told me to stand up.

“There is no need to be polite. After all, it is a royal family with less real power than the nobles, so is there a problem with not being polite?”

“Degradation!”

“Well, what are you going to do if they don’t even let you tell the truth?”

The Crown Prince waved his hand at a guard who was shouting loudly, then turned his attention to me again.

“So, the reason you’re here is to purchase a title of great nobility, right?”

“That’s right!”

Prince. If he were to become the crown prince who would inherit the throne, he was a man who could have my head blown off in an instant. So I had no choice but to be nervous, but thanks to that, I got a kick out of it.

However, the crown prince didn’t seem to be paying any attention, and passed me by to get to the information desk.

“There must be documents received, right? Give it to me.”

“Woah, hit here! There is!”

The crown prince, not paying attention to the appearance of a woman as shy as me, began to look through the documents I had written and received from her.

“ho! Are you a warlock? They say you’re a certified warlock, so you don’t have to be careful.”

The guards, who were about to draw their swords at the sound of a warlock, immediately straightened their posture upon hearing the crown prince’s words. Of course, that didn’t mean the wary eyes on me disappeared.

“Let’s see… … . hmm? It says that they also operate a blacksmith shop. Is this true?”

“Ah, yes. We operate a blacksmith shop using skeletons.”

Since I was dealing with another person, I became a little cautious about what I said.

But the Crown Prince didn’t seem particularly interested in how I spoke. Rather, they seemed to find it fascinating that they were running a blacksmith shop using skeletons.

“Do you mean to run a blacksmith shop with skeletons? Please explain in detail!”

Beyond being curious, the crown prince seemed to be interested as well and began to ask for a more detailed explanation.

I was grabbed by the shoulder by the crown prince and, shaking slightly, had no choice but to tell him a story about my blacksmith shop. They told us that several skeletons were working hard to produce items, and that they were supplying goods at a low price because labor costs could be reduced.

“Oh… … . Looks like a warlock can use skeletons like that.”

“Isn’t there a saying that poison, if used well, can become medicine?”

“That’s right.”

The Crown Prince nodded at what I said and started reading the document again.

Then, the Crown Prince, who had been reading the document for a while, nodded slowly and turned his gaze to me again.

“Why do you want to purchase the title of Great Noble? I wish you would tell me the truth honestly.”

I couldn’t help but hesitate for a moment when the crown prince asked me to tell the truth and honestly. This is because the reason I wanted to purchase the title of great nobleman was not a particularly clean one.

The intention was to do all the mining on his own due to the manipulation of a nobleman who wanted to slash the price of raw materials.

Therefore, it was necessary to soften the intention to some extent and explain it.

“The supply and demand of iron ore is not smooth, so I want to try mining it myself. Wouldn’t it be possible to mine more efficiently using skeletons than slaves? Also, I think that if I directly supply iron ore and other minerals, I will be able to lower the prices of manufactured goods and provide cheap and good products to many people.”

“Oh, I didn’t know you’d have such glorious thoughts! Since I was a warlock, I thought I was applying simply for personal advancement. It was my prejudice and my fault!”

But it must have worked, as the Crown Prince suddenly grabbed my hand.

“You! A member of the Royalist faction, no… … ! Wouldn’t you like to become my limbs!”

“… … Yes?”

No, I don’t want to become the crown prince’s hand and foot, I just need to be given the title of great noble… … ?