episode_0022

22. Isn’t My Subordinate Amazing?

I smacked the back of the fox’s head with my palm to shut him up.

No! I thought he’d say he could make some perfect siege weapon that could obliterate castle walls with just a flick of his fingers…

Or that he’d build that steel horse with wheels he once scribbled like a doodle on the design plans.

This damn fox brat always delivers something beyond imagination.

New weapons of war inevitably emerge with the times.

If a powerful and innovative weapon appeared, we could flaunt strength to the nobles.

If we created an outstanding means of transportation, we could subtly intimidate distant landowners.

But increasing food production? That was a technology beyond comprehension.

Not just 1.2 or 1.5 times—but 2 to 3 times… That wasn’t technology, it was practically a miracle.

Even the greatest emperors and sage kings of the past would’ve called it pure nonsense, demanding heads roll for such lies.

And if such an absurd—no, miraculous—technology were to emerge, those who felt threatened might see us not as a menace but as prey to plunder.

After silencing the fox, I rolled my eyes sideways to gauge the other monarchs’ reactions.

Perhaps overwhelmed by sheer disbelief, they fell into momentary silence.

Cecilia was the first to react.

“Oh ho, how intriguing. Care to elaborate?”

Another round of leading questions.

Assuming the naive, soft-hearted fox wouldn’t withstand the pressure, I nudged him with my elbow as a warning.

Surprisingly, the fox shook his head side to side, defiantly refusing.

It was clearly a cautious gesture, wordless yet deliberate.

I nearly smiled at the adorable display but quickly steadied my expression.

“My apologies, Erika…”

“The hell does that mean?”

“You know what I mean. If his claim is true, social status becomes meaningless…”

Just hours ago, in the stables, he’d used status as an excuse to reject the fox.

Foul curses surged up my throat, but I stifled them.

This was either an attempt to steal the fox or to provoke me into losing composure and making mistakes.

So, suppressing my anger, I turned to our fox.

“Can you back that up? Seriously, can you really increase food production 2 to 3 times?”

“Uh…”

“*Sigh*… It’s fine now…”

“Yes, it’s a guaranteed method.”

The fox nodded firmly.

Even when holding the revolutionary blueprint for the hot air balloon, he had agonized nervously.

Seeing him so certain now suggested another miracle was coming.

Since there was no taking back words already spoken, I brazenly doubled down.

Shrugging at the monarchs, I answered with unshaken confidence.

“Isn’t he amazing? My most beloved and trusted subordinate.

I tasked him with solving our food crisis, and within a single week, he devised a way to triple output.

He built heating stoves in an instant, mass-produced limitless books, even invented popular pencils as a hobby to make me rich.

And when I struggled in war, he whipped up a flying balloon just like that.

Honestly, his brilliance gives me a headache.”

There was no hiding it now.

That I, despite his commoner status, had brought him to this ball.

And thanks to earlier events, they’d all realize the fox was behind the empire’s recent revolutionary inventions.

In that case, I wouldn’t hide it further.

I’d weaponize it.

If everyone coveted what I possessed, they’d unite to plunder me.

But what if he was poised to keep creating marvels?

And with rival factions still standing strong?

They’d calculate that aligning with me was the smarter move.

Cecilia narrowed her eyes and spoke to me.

Her tone was prickly, as if annoyed by the nuisance of it all.

“What a headache. Need me to take him off your hands?”

“A superior manages his own subordinates. No need for your concern.”

Admittedly, if our fox betrayed us, all bets were off.

But he’d never betray us.

He already carried resignation letters in his pocket daily and loathed work almost as much as death itself—a certified slacker.

Did they really think such a guy would jump ship for their offers?

Staring Cecilia down with unwavering confidence…

She sighed in surrender, yielding the silent battle of wills.

“Seems I mistook jest for earnestness, dear friend.”

“Oh? You weren’t serious?”

“I already said I couldn’t take Kain… Since we’re neighbors, I merely wished to discuss trade opportunities.”

“I’ll think about it.”

A slippery retreat, but clear surrender nonetheless.

Then immediately, her rude brother Cedric boldly demanded of the fox:

“Speak, commoner.”

*-Turns away-*

“You’d pass up aiding the legitimate heir of House Lacxia?

I’d hoped you weren’t that foolish.”

Was he truly this stupid?

Asking someone to hand over miraculous technology for free?

Clearly, he’d grown so accustomed to people trembling at the Lacxia name that reality hadn’t sunk in yet.

Especially with me standing right beside him…

“How long will we indulge this commoner talk?”

Alvarin, who’d become Nigrem’s ruler via marriage, seemed unimpressed by the fox.

A man who took what he wanted through war—

If he truly needed anything, he’d negotiate with me, not the fox.

As for the white-haired, buxom woman beside him…

“Hehe… Well-ripened…”

Wearing the sinister grin of a predator, she licked her lips while eyeing the fox.

Her whisper was too faint to catch, but the implication lingered.

Though skilled at masking emotions, her usual benevolent expression soon returned…

But pairing Liriana with the fox was a disaster waiting to happen.

Cedric’s hound, Leygaard, didn’t dare intervene in noble discourse.

While his gaze at the fox brimmed with intrigue…

“Hey… No, Kain. Care for a word?”

“Huh? Y-yes…”

And so, I led the fox into a meeting room.

A chamber as enclosed as a confessional booth, meant for discreet business talks mid-party.

Though given its usual misuse, a bed and a standing clothes rack adorned the space.

“Fox, elaborate on your food plan.”

There, in secrecy, I heard his scheme.

Ternova, a region bordering Redmain’s east—

A sea where islands formed from accumulated white seabird droppings lay.

Crushed into fine powder and mixed with compost, the guano could triple crop yields as fertilizer.

“If viable… this would spark an agricultural revolution.”

“Uh…”

The fox faltered, as if caught off-guard.

Just as suspicion crept in, he hastily deflected.

“Anyway, we’d need Your Lordship to persuade Ternova’s nobles.”

“Leave that to me.”

Negotiation was my forte.

Nodding, I then asked what troubled me most.

“…But where did this map come from?”

―――――――――――――――――――

A new map rested in my pocket.

Erika, having shredded the one Liriana gave her (claiming neglectful apologies meant nothing), insisted women were beasts—especially buxom ones like Liriana, the least trustworthy—before handing me this replacement.

Otherwise, things proceeded smoothly.

Trusting my words without doubt, the fox was currently negotiating with Ternova’s nobles.

Too distant to eavesdrop, yet their expressions hinted at:

*‘Lol, dumbass. Buying that piss-stained useless island?*

*Wait… is there something there? Should I probe?’*

Something along those lines.

Observing Erika’s negotiations from afar, I nibbled on party snacks.

Seated at a table, I was approached by a purple-haired, sporty-cut man in his mid-30s—

One of Cedric’s escorts earlier.

Leygaard Steelwind—cool name, right?—plopped onto the seat opposite mine.

“You, are you courting Countess Erika Grace?”

Such a random question.

Sure, Erika was pretty, but dating her meant a lifetime of labor—hard pass.

Would a noblewoman of her beauty and status even glance at someone like me?

Not like some lady handing rice to a stray mutt…

“……No?”

At my answer, Leygaard beamed amiably.

“Then, perchance, are you seeing anyone?”

“No.”

“Perhaps you prefer men—”

“Absolutely not.”

Was dementia hitting him young?

A gay predator? I shielded myself with crossed arms.

Amused, Leygaard made his pitch.

“How about marrying my daughter?”

…What’s with this guy?

Why offer a commoner engineer his daughter? Made no sense.

Still, as a mere baronet, his kids would inherit no titles, becoming commoners.

And assuming military life for his daughters based on his own career? Prejudiced much?

Plus, Leygaard was ruggedly handsome—his daughter was probably cute…

“Uh…”

“Have I come too late?!”

Mid-reply, the ballroom doors swung open.

A towering figure entered—muscles buried under thick fat, clad in lavish armor—

A round, bearded face oozing opulence, trailed by a gold-plated elder and a busty woman.

“Now, now, where are your manners in the imperial palace?”

Baltazar Blackbone, the Northwestern Warlord, had arrived.

Little did I know then—

This man would drag the world into chaos.