episode_0220

The auction ended with a price three times higher than expected, but the money didn’t end up in my arms right away.

It was only natural that when the barons came here to tour the estate, they came naked. There were no people carrying enormous amounts of goods equivalent to the value of a fiefdom.

However, the barons who took over the territory seemed ready to pay the price right away. This is because it was said that ownership of the territory would be officially transferred only after payment was made.

If he could, he even seemed willing to sell the things he was wearing right now to raise money.

Of course, there were also those who showed the exact opposite of these people. Those who lost the battle for money and did not have territory were brooding over their regrets in a sullen manner.

It was even more regrettable that those who had acquired the territory were gathered together and talking about growing together as allies in the future, and even talking about forming blood ties.

It was so sad that I felt sorry for everyone when I saw them.

However, it was not enough to simply struggle with sadness. One of those who could not obtain territory showed a faint but angry expression towards me.

It was an opportunity to acquire the territory he so desperately wanted, but he seemed to feel resentment that he was not given that opportunity.

It was a ridiculous antipathy, but I thought that was the way the human mind was. Whether it was money, force, or power, there were always people who blamed others for their own shortcomings.

It was as if a seed had been planted that might one day turn into an enemy.

Of course, there was no way. In the first place, we did not take this into account and gathered people together in the form of an auction.

“For your information, there is no need to give up just because you haven’t been able to purchase the territory.”

“Are you saying we should wait for people to become unable to pay their bills?”

He shook his head in response to a baron’s question, as if he was planning to attack those who brought goods to pay and make them unable to pay.

I had no intention of handing over my territory to those who could not pay, but I also had no intention of allowing an attack.

“There is no other territory right now, but there may be one later.”

“Yes… … ? Are you planning on fighting a territory battle on the other side? … .”

“If we fight for territory, we will face difficulties in many ways, so that’s not true. Instead, I have a separate method in mind.”

“What method is it?”

“I have no choice but to keep it a secret for now. This is a plan that could fail if it becomes apparent. However, I can promise you one thing: When we get the territory, we will give the barons a chance first.”

The barons, who were full of curiosity, were very disappointed to hear that it was a secret.

I’m not saying that everyone was like that, but I couldn’t tell them because they could leak or interfere with the plan, and they could try to get territory on their own. Well, it’s not the kind of plan you can follow even if you tell it to them.

However, they seemed satisfied to hear that they would be given priority when the next opportunity arose. Even the person who had shown a faint expression of anger was now looking as if he was moved.

Anyway, I comforted those who had failed to acquire the territory by saying that there would be another opportunity next time and let the barons go. Those brought from the capital went to the capital, and those brought from the County of Carbon went to the County of Carbon.

Although they used zombie wyverns, they did not accompany them directly, but instead sent a skeleton mage along with them. I got used to it enough to be able to handle zombie wyverns freely, and since it was a simple process of simply getting off at the destination and coming back, there was no problem.

“Then one month… … . No, taking all things into account, it would be about two months.”

Among those who left after being divided into the capital and Carbon County, we simply calculated the time for those who won the territory at the auction to return with the goods.

Going back didn’t take long since I used a zombie wyvern, but considering I was returning with a huge amount of goods, it was sure to take longer than normal.

“It would be enough to just have mercenaries maintain the status quo for two months.”

During that period, I immediately returned to the mansion with the intention of maintaining the status quo of Viscount Tarr’s territory.

Since I moved right after the territory battle ended, I tried to understand the situation in the territory first, but something came to mind along the way.

“Ah, Amy said she had something to show you.”

Amy’s words came to mind as I looked at the portraits of the three of us, which had been decorated with various sculptures and decorations because the mansion was too bleak.

He said he had something to show me, but curiosity suddenly began to well up as I wondered what on earth he was trying to show me.

My curiosity grew even greater than the need to understand the situation in the territory.

In the end, I had to call Amy before I could figure out the situation in the territory through the hive mind.

And, as soon as I could call Amy, she came running towards me from near the small training ground located at the back of the garden.

“Andrew, is everything done?”

“What… … . I have more to do, but I remembered you said you had something to show me.”

“Are you that curious about what I said I would show you?”

Amy hummed and smiled as she poked my side. Every time it was poked, my body would inevitably flinch, but Amy laughed as if it was even more fun.

“So, what are you showing?”

“Follow me. It might be a little dangerous here.”

“What are you trying to show me? … .”

Seeing Amy laughing even though it could be dangerous made me nervous for no reason.

In particular, I felt even more tense because I remembered going to the capital to pick up the princess and seeing her explode.

Since Amy is not a wizard, it would be difficult to cause an explosion on a large scale, but it was clear that it was not an ordinary event that could be called dangerous. I wondered if I should at least put shield magic on the mansion and walls.

But thankfully, Amy made me stop a few steps away, saying it was not dangerous. The scope of danger itself did not seem to be that large.

I thought it wasn’t a similar level of danger as the princess’s alchemy, so I looked at Amy with peace of mind. Of course, Amy herself could be in danger, so she was prepared to step out at any time.

“Look carefully.”

As if to show off, Amy slightly stretched out her arms forward. It was a gesture of gently extending an arm as if asking for a hug, but rather than looking directly at me, it was looking slightly at an angle.

And, in that position, Amy closed her eyes and began to raise her mana.

I could feel the mana swirling around Amy’s whole body, making the air around her fluctuate. Not only was the air shaking, but the natural mana around her rushed towards Amy like a storm.

“This… … .”

The Mana that poured in like that soon began to spread a feeling of intimidation around Amy, centering around Amy. An enormous amount of mana was flowing in, putting pressure on the surrounding space itself.

It was almost like being in the water and feeling like the water was pressing down on my whole body. Whether it was moving or breathing, it became very uncomfortable unlike usual.

“Huh!”

But Amy was unable to understand that I was in that state. I was concentrating with all my mind and increasing my strength as much as I could, so it seemed like I had no time to pay attention to anything else.

And Amy, who couldn’t pay attention to me and focused and drew on her strength, eventually bore fruit.

The mana that had been rushing like crazy seemed to have calmed down and began to gather into one point, creating a single form. In the air between the two outstretched arms, something closer to navy blue or purple than blue was created.

“… … Crazy.”

When I witnessed that scene in person, I could not hide my astonishment.

This is because what Amy is doing now is creating mana as a kind of material.

It was completely different from the typification of mana, which was the symbol of an expert, that all knights had used until now. No, comparison itself was impossible.

Materializing mana was the standard for determining the level of ‘master’.

“Amy! What happened?!”

Naturally, having witnessed this myself, I called Amy in complete astonishment.

I am by no means a warlock with average skills for my age, but what Amy looks like right now is so out of the norm that I couldn’t help it.

In my case, it’s not certain, but I have the special ability of remembering my past life, so it could be said that I have unusual skills, but Amy wasn’t like that, so I couldn’t understand it at all.

Among those who reached the level of master, those who were younger were those in their forties. To be honest, it was ridiculous for Amy, who had barely entered her twenties, let alone her thirties, to be able to materialize mana.

Fuuuh-!

“Ahh!”

However, perhaps because I was so shocked that I distracted Amy, the mana that Amy was materializing instantly disintegrated and spread out.

At the same time that Amy was startled and embarrassed, a strong wave of mana spread around her. Thanks to this, Amy was swept away by the wave of mana that exploded right in front of her and rolled around on the floor, and I was also hit with the wave all over my body.

Of course, he didn’t roll over like Amy did because Amy kept him a few steps away, saying it was a safe distance. I simply stumbled as if my whole body had been hit by a strong wind.

“Ugh, I failed again.”

And, as soon as the wave calmed down, Amy suddenly approached me. Since he had physical abilities several times greater than mine, it seemed like nothing was wrong with him just rolling over lightly.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes. I don’t know if it exploded right before success, but since it exploded right after the start, the power was weak.”

“… … That’s weak?”

It was absurd to say that Amy, who was no one else but a physical ability worthy of an expert, was rolling around, and that she was weak.

“It’s weak. The last time it exploded it was stronger than this. I thought this was dangerous so I shot it into the sky and it fell down?”

If it had exploded right in front of you, you might have had to recuperate for a while? He looked at Amy, who was smiling calmly, and then grabbed Amy’s cheek.

Ah, ah- I sighed softly and shook my head when I saw Amy frowning as if she was in pain.

“So, what happened? Suddenly materializing?”

“Wow, that’s Gahul Zbacher.”

My pronunciation was muffled due to my cheek being grabbed and pulled, but I could understand what he was trying to say. It was something I figured out a while ago.

It felt like it was before the Territory War even started, and it seemed like it wasn’t long ago that we were able to show it in person like this.

“… … So you’re really a master?”

“Tsu-eup, I am not a master. Pull-ups barely reached the level of master… … . No, should I say I only wore my fingers?”

Amy said, ‘It’s a finger hanger because it doesn’t cover the chin and barely covers the outstretched fingers!’ He smiled.