Ch.77Killing a Single Mosquito… #3

“If the mosquitoes are bothering you? Then I’ll mobilize the entire territory to kill them.”

I regretted confiding my troubles to Helena.

Her response was more extreme than I expected, making my head spin.

The thought of squeezing the territory’s resources just to kill one mosquito was absurd.

I’d probably become a laughingstock.

“No, please don’t do that.”

“Okay, I understand.”

Helena nodded easily as if she understood.

I thought she would realize how ridiculous her suggestion was, but looking at her now, I wasn’t so sure.

She had a tendency to jump to extremes whenever I showed even the slightest dissatisfaction.

—Huh. That mountain is blocking the view. How inconvenient.

I recalled a story about a division commander who made a casual comment like that, and not long after, the mountain disappeared.

I wasn’t sure if it was true, but the military was a place where outlandish things happened.

Besides, the more exaggerated a military story seemed, the more likely it was to be true.

Because of this, I realized the weight of my position was still significant.

My current situation was similar to that division commander in the story, and Helena seemed ready to do anything at my word.

Ellen, who stood by my side, was the same.

Two of the three great powers who could ruin the continent claimed to be my women, and at my age, I was already a considerable power holder in the kingdom.

Thinking about it this way made me feel not just unlucky but disgusted.

In other words, if I started to become greedy, there was a high possibility that the entire continent’s power balance would shift.

Looking at the situation, Hypnos’s decision to send me here might have been wrong.

While it might not lead to destruction, I could potentially drive a gloomy trend.

I don’t know what my distant future self will become. I didn’t want to think about it.

Living peacefully was enough, and what mattered to me now was killing whatever disturbed that peace.

Right. Killing that damn mosquito.

But why did I start thinking about all this while discussing killing mosquitoes? I’m not sure myself.

“Hmm…”

I sighed, deep in thought.

There was no efficient way to kill mosquitoes on this continent.

Using attack magic would be too noisy, and especially indoors, it could cause troublesome situations.

If only there were mosquito coils or mosquito trucks around at times like this…

“Oh?”

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck me.

Mosquito trucks and mosquito coils. I didn’t know the exact principles, but they were blessings that sprayed gas with components specialized for killing mosquitoes.

Recently, these damn pests had developed resistance, making them less effective, but this world was different.

Moreover, if magic was used instead of chemicals, resistance wouldn’t be an issue.

It didn’t make sense for mosquitoes plagued by magic to develop resistance to it.

If that happened, the continent would be thrown into chaos.

“What? Did you think of something good?”

Helena, who had been quietly observing my face, tilted her head and asked.

She seemed to have read my expression and realized I had finished thinking.

“Yes. I thought of a way to eliminate mosquitoes.”

“How?”

“I was thinking we could invite a mage from the Magic Tower to set up a formation…”

Calling a Magic Tower mage just to catch one mosquito.

It was truly an insane idea, but that’s what power is for.

Moreover, as a Grand Duke, I could justify it as improving living conditions by eliminating pests.

“Oh? A mage. I hadn’t thought of that. Anyway, it seems like a good idea. These kinds of tasks are what those recluses excel at, so we can expect good results.”

“That’s an excellent idea, sir.”

The two women exchanged glances with me between them.

Not soft, affectionate eyes, but sharp gazes clearly wary of each other.

It seemed like they were subtly competing to see who could flatter me better and win my favor.

This not-quite-argument continued for about ten minutes before they apparently ran out of things to say, and an awkward silence fell between them.

Their attempts to attack each other by raising their voices or with subtle verbal jabs were quite adorable.

“Since I’ve thought of it, I was planning to go to the Magic Tower tomorrow… would that be okay?”

“Of course it’s okay. I’ll tell Father right away and make preparations.”

Helena showed her excitement like a child.

From what she said, it seemed she intended to come along.

Unlike the time I went hunting alone recently, this was a situation where I’d be traveling quite far from the territory.

For Helena, this would be difficult to accept.

And from my perspective, being separated from Helena wouldn’t be good either.

Not only did I have to comfort her for two days and nights after the hunting incident, but I wasn’t yet at a stage where I’d be happy to be apart from my wife.

Of course, I don’t know when that stage might come, and it might never come…

“Lord Ise… looks like I’ll be indebted to my father-in-law again.”

He’s definitely retired from being a duke, but he’s still living a life not much different from before he passed on his title.

Though it couldn’t be helped, it was certainly unfortunate.

So I thought I should at least buy him a gift to console him.

◎◎◎

“The Duke is quite energetic. Perhaps it’s because he’s still young…”

In the afternoon, as the sun that had risen highest began to gradually tilt its head, while the warm sunlight still shone down strongly, Chess spoke first and slid a cup of tea in front of Ise.

The subject was Helena, who had visited earlier with an excited expression.

“At twenty-four, it’s still a time of overflowing energy. Moreover, Helena is a Sword Master, so it’s natural for her to have more energy than others.”

Ise took a sip of the tea placed on the table.

It seemed like drinking hot tea in the hot summer would make one even hotter, but the person himself seemed unfazed.

It was already a common-sense matter he had experienced countless times.

“That’s true. But I was really surprised when she said she would visit the Magic Tower to bring back a mage.”

“Yes. I was quite taken aback myself, as I hadn’t thought of it either.”

Setting aside the distance to the Magic Tower, the idea of bringing a mage to catch mosquitoes wasn’t something just anyone would come up with.

Ise was secretly pleased, thinking it showed true talent.

The Krauzer Duchy wasn’t so tight on funds that they needed to worry about money, so he didn’t mind even if it cost a lot.

It wasn’t being wasted needlessly either.

“Waste… Come to think of it, does my son-in-law still show no signs of buying anything for himself?”

Ise voiced the question that had crossed his mind without much thought.

He felt comfortable as this wasn’t someone he needed to be careful with every word.

“Yes. I thought it would be natural for him to be excited after receiving such excessive fortune… but strangely, he lives exactly the same as before. Though the Grand Duke is my son, there are many aspects of him I find difficult to understand.”

“Hmm… I’m not sure whether to call it admirable or say he’s too frugal. It’s not that my son-in-law has never spent money significantly, but in the end, it was only an attempt to enrich the territory…”

Hiring mercenaries, creating vineyards… repairs to infrastructure for the territory’s people or maintenance of supplies. Ise knew that Jion had quite a bit of influence in the policies Helena led for the territory.

Knowing this made him more proud, but also somewhat apologetic.

It seemed like despite becoming a Grand Duke, he was still mindful of the Krauzer family, just as when he was Helena’s attendant.

“I wonder if he still finds our Krauzer family difficult to approach…”

“The Grand Duke? Not at all.”

When he unconsciously sighed and muttered, Chess, who had been quietly listening, shook his head and strongly denied it.

Ise turned his gaze toward Chess with wide eyes and asked.

“Not at all? How do you know that?”

“…Ahem!”

Though it was somewhat embarrassing, it was necessary.

It was also justified from the perspective of preserving the lineage of the Krauzer ducal family.

Chess brainwashed himself thus, cleared his throat, and began to speak.

“If I may be so bold, I’ve heard rumors among the servants that moans never cease from the Duke’s room. This has led to various embarrassing stories, but they say the future of the ducal family looks bright…”

“…Is that so?”

He knew that Helena and Jion had a good relationship.

More precisely, even though it was a relationship where Helena begged for affection, it looked quite good on the surface.

So he had worried that any hidden dissatisfaction might surface now that they were in a more equal position.

But if they maintained a good relationship just because she was a Krauzer or because he was a Duke, such vulgar rumors wouldn’t have spread.

Ise felt grateful for that. He was also relieved that it seemed like a sincere relationship connected by genuine feelings.

As long as he keeps a good hold on the reins like now… Krauzer will continue to be safe in the future.

◎◎◎

The Magic Tower is located between the Empire and the Bluenail Kingdom, and as its name suggests, it’s the stronghold of mages who study magic.

Not all mages necessarily have to be affiliated with or live in the Magic Tower, but most researchers passionate about exploration and eccentrics tend to stay there.

The mages of this continent could also use mana to unleash great destructive power or accomplish various convenient functions with their bare hands.

The major drawback was that it took a long time and wasn’t swift, so assistance was always necessary.

Also, the mages themselves tended to be reluctant to go to war.

The reason was that they were already busy enough researching the depths of mana and truths they most wanted to elucidate, so they had no time for war games.

Thanks to this, large-scale firepower warfare using mages didn’t often occur on this continent.

However, while that was the general trend, it couldn’t be said that it never happened.

Among them, there were occasionally mages specialized in attacks that, although weak in power and narrow in range, utilized swiftness.

Broadly speaking, the spirit magic of the elven race was one such type.

“By the way… do you know someone at the Magic Tower? You seemed to have someone specific in mind.”

While traveling a long detour to avoid battle zones and supply routes, Helena asked.

With her on my left and Ellen on my right, with me in the center, I felt strangely sandwiched.

Despite the seats being quite spacious, they stuck close to me.

Still, it felt quite nice to have their soft bodies wrapping around me like blankets.

I nodded in response to Helena’s question. From the start, only one person came to mind when I thought of the misty fog sprayed by mosquito trucks.

“There’s a mage named Ive Greenwood who researches strange magic, apparently. It seems perfect for what I have in mind, so I thought we’d go find her.”

“Just from the name, it sounds like a woman…?”

Helena’s eyes narrowed. Ellen’s did too, and she tightened her grip on my arm.

It was clearly a situation where I should be tense, but the feeling of her pressing against my arm was quite pleasant.

“Yes. That’s what I heard. I’ve never seen her though.”

“…Hmm, I see. A woman, a woman… How old is she?”

“Well, I don’t know that either. I just know she’s a female mage, nothing more.”

I spoke the plain truth while calmly looking ahead.

She seemed concerned about me going to meet a woman.

It was natural for Helena, who unwillingly had to share me with Ellen, to be uncomfortable.

So I could only smile slightly while stroking Helena’s thigh with one hand, as if to tell her not to worry.